American Characteristics.

Evening Star, Issue 6914, 29 May 1885, Page 4

American Characteristics.

[By Sir Richard Temple.]

The leading trait of the American character is generosity. This is to the American character what the UPp§ r shoots are to the growing tree—those shoota that rjsse toward the light and air, determining the direction the growth is to take. To use other meUphcrg, it is as the leaven affecting the whole disposition at the people, or the foundation that underlies the national charter. There may be difficulty in defining thin nobjp fjuality of generosity, but the full import oi'thb mm immediately strikes the English eye and ear. I'U Americans are ' generous in the largest sense of the term ! that is. they are large-hearted, bountiful, desirous to BleagP, ready to forgive, mag- ; nanimous in adversity, tm tvm\ pettiness of soul. The enuaas that have produced, this characteristic relate partly to the eirpumstances of the country and partly to the hiSto'y Ot the people. The habitable area : of' the MltilWlit, ricj» , with * variety of resources ttUpaJtoUrieil in tlie history of any single nation, tiits S*h- l »f- st " less abundance of nature, the spaclousnQßg of territory inviting the accession of "unHMrltered millions, must open a constantly lengthening vista to we eyes PI v!l e people, must render their thoughts f)CC #>W fresh as tlio Atlantic breezes, and must lmtue their breasts heave with patriotic aspirations. Such ideas are necessarily conducive to generosity pf temper. But, more than all that, there is iriUPh i" the national history to foster this nobility of sentiment. The struggles of the early settlers with the savagery of Nature and the untamoable fierceness of tho Indians, the uprising of the colonists under a sense of wrong inflicted by the Mother Country, the happy Issue from tho anxieties and perils of that momentous time, the'tjuabosaful Union oi self-governing States, the victorious termination °f tl)e civil war, averting secession and disruption, tho blessed elimination of the one unjustifiable institution which was as a plague-spot to the body polltlo—the memory of countless sacrifices endured for fchouu and other rHiteous ends must, on the most cursory retrospect, fill the mfndfi of the people with a proud consciousness of mPtmn, and predispose them to take ft generous yjew of human affairs. For the same reason, the total absence of jealousy is remarkable. It is conceivable, for instance, that gome of the European nations—with conterminous frontiers, llldofined, or not marked by any clear physical line, with powers respectively equal, and ureas incapable of any considerable expansion be mutually jealous and mistrustful » m/vy unavowedly but actual,}' grieve over one another's good luck, or rejoice over one another'* reverses, But tho America])? feel that their future U m 6YOl*widening prospect, that their race marches on triumphing and to triumph, that their new-world nation is multiplying faster and faster relatively to the old-world nations, Hence there in genuine liberality in their doctrine of live and lot live, prosper and let prosper, develop and let develop. The nationalities of continental Europe may reasonably be afraid of another, as there are no physical obstacle* whatever to attack or aggression. Everyone knows how greatly the existence of the narrow ocean channel has helped to produce tho golf-sufficing independence of the British character. How much more must this effect be produced on the Americans by tlio broad Atlantic rolling between them and the elder wotld, It may, indeed, be that, fearless as the Americans are iu respect to the European nations, they will entertain some apprehension in respect to the power of England being established on the American continent, and may note that even their own growth is at present rivalled by that of the British Empire in the world at large. Even then, however, they must imagine that in this rivalry of Greek with Wreck the ultimate superiority will incline to the side that has preponderating social advantages, and that the mighty parent must in the end be outgrown by its giant children. Fearlessness is among the most salient of the American characteristics. T]>e magnitude of defensive armaments is a striking feature in the national life of Europe, entailing sacrifices always grievous and sometimes verging on the intolerable. The agency of destruction, instead of decreasing with the peaceable influences of civilisation, seems actually to advance, in a sinister maimer, together with the general progress of affaire ili the nineteenth obUfcnry. European nations avd all more or Isss* J6M ; faJ of their neighbors. They wonM say that- hard experience has made them so, Even England, with all her insular self-reliance, js fearful of losing any pwt of the defences with which Nature hag mhwixl her, and at present forbids the construction of «■ fcHlincl underneath the British Channel. lJut MiC Americans, though not underrating the value of defensive armaments, do not deem it necessary to incur the cost of maintaining either an army or a navy in u.,y considerable strength, They apparently prefer to save their mattay #nd labor from being expended on. non-productiv£ services, and to let these resources fructify in productive enterprises at hpiiie, running whatever risk may be involved therein. They can fciloiv! to do this, though other nations can not. Thoy ])3VO warnings from tilllP to time regarding the defeiwdfigg state of their seaboard, but their fears are not aroused there'.y. 'They remember how on the outbreak of the Civil Wart-heir inilitmy UK preparedness was soon turned int.* Mi'parednesfc, u!?d though they would admit the possibility of i-evtrSP? in the beginning of a war, they would hope to \ii-U\Q invincible in t]ie end. Indeed, there is much reason lor this hupp of theirs, and for the fearlessness thereby engendered. It is probably this that makes them think that, as their vital interests arc well-nigh unassailable, It is bt»it«i' that they should continue unpre pared, so "that ti,C psflttlc shall be obliged to hesitate before engaging („ # war, and deliberate as to whether the su, reme HtUltm. ineut u»C . T .'°t by some means be avoided. It would Mihk.st follow from the foregoing that a cognate quality or ths will be candor. Some nations may be geuwidly rflsfiiVSd j n speech, or, while in some respects voluble" wilt'it, aSICT3 he reticent. But the Americans are altogether tfw))4id and outspoken. In Europe our neighbors probably feel surjjrisfi at the manner in which the English toil t&ul'i J!''Jt'!} themselves, mercilessly set forth their own jpnke sackcloth for their own wearing, «*na sproh'i h*]]S3 f° r themselves to sit upon. The English do Wlw nsJjev'ng that a frank recognition of evils it) tn&OTss jstej) iWpJ'll p remedy, relying also on the trustworthy ' iieiS (,( tfccjr virtue and on the stability of their roputatfft'ii; & #$ respfot, however, ;

even the English outstripped by the Amencaofc J' d ch'eir Press and in their public utter*'' . ice atne Americans Beem never tired of sr ooting at fol i y in its tUghtj of dragging a jrjd en misdeeds into the glare of I'l f Ol - 1 ' denouncing colossal wrongs, so '"•" .ne foreign hearer or reader is at first ,iS * o ' .lislied. In a nation like theirs, full of J.° -ivo virtue and bursting with energy, i acre must needs be some of those countervailing faults to which all human societies are liable, something of flagrant error, absurdity, or wrong. Hence there are doubtless some grounds for these denunciations ; but they will probably be found to be tinged with exaggeration. The immoderate , use of superlatives distorts the vision and destroys mental perspective. It is obvious that just reprobation loses none of its force j from being guarded in substance and < measured in expression. It is not that the Americans are wanting in national pride. They are reputed to have been formerly over-sensitive to criticism, but are apparently much less so nowadays. Like the English, they are confident of the general excellence of their institutions and the satisfactory rate of their progress. Hence they think, and with reason, that the finger may be put unsparingly upon the known defects, and the probe applied unilinchingly to the plaguo spots, without the effect of the whole being impaired. It often happens that an American, after explaining to a. stranger the evils (chiefly politioal) with which his country is aillicted, and making out an apparently formidable catalogue, end? by saying that, nevertheless, the ouuntry is, WQwderfully well governed—better governed, he supposos, than any other on earth. Despite the grave faults that may be discovered, and the perils with which society may be conceivably threatened, he will say that ft form of goyPfiiHipnt mifßf ultimately be tested by its results. For such results—while admitting that gaunt, grim, degrading poverty is beginnjng t° appear pi % new world, ftS H has already appeared in tne old—ne would point to the social condition of a large mass among the people. He would dwell on their industry and enterprise : theft education* training, and, intelllpwe i thefe Iwhearance and self-command; their sound sense; their obedience to the law , their fulfilment of public obligations and duties; their respect for the constitution of their country. Perhaps samp Gangi4ev that evils »ve u> separable from the constitution or things, and therefore need har-diy be regarded seriously, while others are disposed to extenuate or minimise. But there are many severely conscientious men who, without any disparagement; of the undoubted merits by which the present order of affairs is distinguished, and without adopting any Utopian standard of reform, do display the characteristic of candor in the highest degree, Suoh men will depiot politioal evils without the least extenuation, often expressing the gravest alarm at the growth of poverty in cities, at the dangers of universal suffrage if the multitude shall become ignaranp anil delved at the pwalence of corruption. (To be continued.)