Current:

Tomahawk (1867-1870), 11th June 1870, Edition 1 of 1, Page unpag, T H E TO M A H A W K. A SATURDAY JOURNAL...

Page unpag
Page 3
3 of 16

On this page

  • Departments (1)
    • CANADA TO THE RESCUE.
  • Text (4)
  • Transcript

    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

      Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.

      T H E To M A H A W K. A Saturday Journal...

      T H E TO M A H A W K . A SATURDAY JOURNAL OF SATIRE . Cbiteti t-p ^ . rtftux tfMeckett . ¦ ¦ "'• . ... ¦ ¦¦ . 0 ~ _ - "INVITAT CULPAM QUI PECCATUM PRETERIT . "

      No. 162.] London, June N, 1870. [Price T...

      No . 162 . ] LONDON , JUNE n , 1870 . [ Price Twopence .

      Canada To The Rescue.

      CANADA TO THE RESCUE .

      It Has Become The Fashion To Sneer At Ou...

      It has become the fashion to sneer at our Colonies . The Times , that mighty ruler of public opinion , has pointed out more than once that in Atxstralia , India , and Canada , lies the secret of the weakness of the British Empire . The cession of Gibraltar with to Spain the , and most the p Ionian hilosophical Isles " to sang Greece 1 froid , has . The been rise discussed of the Republic of the United States is now regarded with satisfaction . In fact , times have so changed that it is a wonder that our ancestors do not turn in their graves . When George III . was king it was our pride and boast that where , once the Union Jack had waved no other standard would be tolerated , but time has " changed all that , " the policy of the Presentunlike the tactics , p of ride the , . ^ Past no , faith is to . cede £ s everything . d . are gre . We ater have letters no than ambition GLORY , no . Peace is more desirable than Honour . Wealth is infinitely preferable to Respectability . So we grub on , and grub on , daily , hourly adding to our store of gold , and in the toil sinking lower and lower in the scale of nations . Once the voice of Britannia secured the reverential attention of thousands , nay , millions , ° * listeners ; now that same voice remains as unheeded as the

      donkey ' s bray , and as little respected ! We are the laughingstock of Europe , the derision of the World ! Few people would declare war to be the national pastime of the English . In spite of our volunteershor . se and footwe are , , not a military country . To the Englishman the commencement of hostilities means simply so much additional Income-tax . JLa Gloire may be all very well with the French—it is their fortethey like it , but with us it is very different . We care not a rush for those gaudy pictures of battles that cumber the walls of the Tuileries and Versailles—if we win a fight we are satisfiednothing more . The hero of the hour is raised to the Peerage , and the new . noble is secured for a show at the Crystal Palace . But with this transaction the hero retires into private lifein a fortnight he has been quite forgotten , and has to give up his popularity to the next favourite . But as to painting big pictures of sanguinary battles the idea is too absurd—it is wrong—worse—unbusinesslike ! It is not astonishing that with this tradesmanlike spirit alive among us that we cannot appreciate the patriotism and love of Fatherland ^ Perhaps it so is common the heat among of the our sun Colonists that . causes our colonial countrymen to feel such a hearty regard for our institutions . In cold , foggy , dreary London , it is difficult to be love-struck with " dear old England . " Our country is certainly old , probably as

      old as any other country ; and it is certainly dear , possibly dearer than any other country ; but it is simply absurd to grow sentimental over a land containing a Putney , and possessing a Leicester square . At-any-rate , that is the creed of the Times , and the leading journal has many followers . True to our policy of snubbing and sneering at our colonies , we have been recently robbing Canada of all her strength . In spite of our knowledge that the Feaians were ready to attack her on the southwhile the Red-river rebels were already assailing her on the north , , we deprived her of the Imperial troops . It was pleasant to Mr . Lowe to know that lie was saving money . What cared that eminent mathematician for the loss of Canada ? It mattered not a jot to him whether Canada was in a position to fight , or was in a , state forcing her to succumb . How to save fourpence was the Chancellor ' s one thought . It mattered not to him at whose sacrifice that fourpence was obtained , at what risk it was gained . So long as Mr . Lowe had it in his power to wax eloquent about his retrenchment in the House of Commons , it mattered not to him whether Canada held her own , or fell into the hands of the , volunteers i

      . Fortunately tor us , tne rifles or tne Anglo-Americans are gooa and well handled . For the second time the volunteers have beaten the Fenians without State assistance . This is encouraging , very encouraging . It is pleasant to find that , although we have lost all enthusiasm in Britain , some of our own flesh and blood recognise and defend the colours of the Queen . If we were not so crowded , it would be almost worth the while of some patriot to import a few loyal Canadians to show us the way to resent insults ; to teach us how to keep the honour of England bright , and free from stain . Yes , in spite of the braying of rifle bands , and the silver and gold uniforms of vain cheesemongers and martial pawnbrokers , we have lost our taste for distinction , cur thirst for glory . We know not how to fight , but we have learnt thoroughly how to cringe ! We can cheat and boast and bow , but we have as much nobility in our natures as a cur has courage , as much patriotism in our hearts as a snail has activity J Cut bono ? Ah , indeed , cui bono' ? What possible good will all the writing in the world do ? The taunt of the First Napoleon that we were " a nation of shop-keepers " is now regarded as a compliment . We are a nation of shop-keepers , and we are satisfied to remain so . Now-a-days it is considered a grander action to sell a pound of cheese than to win a battle . Our army is gradually disappearing . Instead of soldiers we have crossing-sweepers , in lieu of generals , paupers and thieves ! Every possible insult is heaped upon our warriors . Thev are

  • Citation
    • Tomahawk (1867-1870), June 11, 1870, page unpag, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/t/issues/ttw_11061870/page/3/