A PLAIN ENGLISHMAN ON AMERICA.*
WE have given the designation of "a plain Englishman" to, the author of this work simply on account of its character ; of Mr. Adams himself we know nothing, except that he seems to. be a Newcastle, or, at all events, a North-country man. We should have preferred to style him "level-headed," only "level-' headed." has not yet been naturalised on this side of the, Atlantic, although it no doubt will be, one of these days. Mr.. Adams may have had his fancies in the past ; he tells (p. 293) how, "on the banks of the Coniston Water," he and Mr. W. J. Linton, well known as the author of The History of Engraving.' in America, "dreamed together of the establishment of an. English Republic." But he has now, if we may judge from the general tone of his book, and also from his very sensible remarks on the secret societies and fantastic labour movements of the- United States, got rid of some of his illusions, as, indeed, Mr„... Linton seems also to have done, since he has come to the con- clusion that the Union is not "the ideal Republic," and that "America is no country for the poor man." Mr. Adams is a " plain " writer in the sense that he indulges in no senti- mentalising or philosophising. He speaks respectfully and even lovingly of "our American cousins," and so raises that phrase above the level of common-place ; but he does not hesitate to indicate what he considers their political, socials and other weaknesses. Above all things, he does not dogmatise, or draw large conclusions from a limited experi- ence. In other words; having used his eyes and ears to, some purpose, when on a visit to the States in the spring a4c1 summer of 1882, he now uses his pen to equal purpose to. record his impressions. Transparent truthfulness, modesty,.. simplicity of style, and readability are the characteristics of * Our American Cowins; beinj Personal Impresaions of the People and tions of the United States. h7-W, E. Adams, Lanclim; Walter sow. 1885t, his writing. This book by a plain Englishman on America may indeed, be recommended to Americans much as The American 2i'our4n-Hand in Great Britain, by a plain Scotchman, with, however, a turn for poetical quotation and viewy politics, who has made a fortune in the States, may be reeommended to Englishmen.
Mr. Adams's book, as its title indicates, deals more with the inhabitants of the Union—their habits and institu- tions—than with the physical characteristics of the American eontinent. He makes some shrewd observations, however, on the -effect ef climate, the champagne-like exhilaration of the air, .on life in the States. "When one takes into consideration the effervescent character of the air our cousins imbibe, one is less .disposed to wonder at the vast schemes and speculations which find favour among them. The habit of rushing around,' common -among all ranks in the West, is born of the Western climate." There is something of a warning, too, in the observation, which Mr. Adams tells us is a common belief in America, that "both Kingsley and Dickens, taking no account of the exhilarating influence of the atmosphere, exerted themselves so much when 'visiting the States that they considerably shortened their clays." Nor do we remember to have seen the spirit of speculation which is the result of atmospheric intoxication in the United States better hit off than here :—" A stranger whom I met -on the railway explained the difference between our country-
men and his own An Englishman,' said he, when he gets a good thing, tries to keep it; but an American, when he gets a good thing, wants to sell it.'"
Mr. Adams necessarily travels over old ground, and has practically much the same thing to say as other travellers of American humour, political corruption, politeness, misgovern- ment, newspaper personalities, tobacco-chewing, sensational preaching, "square meals," and the like. Occasionally he puts some tolerably well known things in a very startling way, simply by his power of matter-of-fact exposition. Take, for example, 'what he says of the educational contrasts in the States :—
" The Teer-centage of persons unable to read is 5.3 in Massachusetts, 4.0 in Wisconsin, and 2-4 in Iowa ; while the same per-centage is -43-5 in Alabama and 482 in South Carolina. Some alarm was naturally created when the statement was made before the National Educational Convention in August, 1882, that 32 per cent, of the voters of the country were unable to read the ballots which they cast. That there are two million voters who cannot spell the names -of the candidates to whom they give their suffrages must necessarily be a subject of grave anxiety to the citizens of the Republic. 'Three- -fourths of the two millions of illiterate electors live in the old Slave States, large numbers of whom, of course, were born and reared in slavery. But the trouble is that most of the children of the emanci- pated slaves are growing up in as dense ignorance as their parents. The extension of the suffrage in England was immediately followed 'by the establishment of a national system of education ; but the cnfranchisement of the negro has not so far been followed by the ;Emma happy result in the Southern States."
Mr. Adams thus pleasantly describes from his own experience ,one result of democratic institutions in America, although we are by no means certain that Mr. Adams is right in making these institutions the sole cause in this case :— "The effect of the democratic institutions of America may be 'noticed in the total absence of that system of tips' which renders travelling both in England and Europe generally so disagreeable to most people. When you leave an American hotel, you are not surrounded by waiters and chambermaids, who expect to be rewarded -for services which have already been paid for. Not the least annoy- ance of this kind meets the traveller from one end of the States to -the other. The same comfort is experienced on the railways. There the officials have too much self-respect to hang about the carriage -doors in expectation of having gratuities surreptitiously slipped into their hangs. The conductor of a train, indeed, is as much a gentle- limn as any of the passengers. If you offered him money, be would deem himself so much insulted that he would—well, he would pro- bably stop the train and order you to leave it ! If you offered him a cigar, ten to one be would, if he took it, offer you another in exchange. -During the whole time I was travelling about the States, I did not pay, and I was not expected to pay, a single cent for anything but services I had received. Even many services of a valuable kind were cendered, not only without payment, but without any expectation of it. An amusing instance of the independence which early in life takes possession of the American people occurred at a friend's house. 11y friend's son—a smart, intelligent lad of some ten or twelve years .—had been put to a good deal of extra trouble on my account. On the day I was leaving I called him aside. But the moment be saw any hand in my pocket, he turned on his heels and disappeared. Nor could I get speech with him afterwards. I learned subsequently that his own explanation was, that he was too old now to receive presents from his father's guests. If this is the spirit of the youth of America, anybody can understand that the dignity of the elder people will for- -bid them from asking for what they have not earned. re is, perhaps, to this same spirit that the country is indebted for its freedom from another evil—beggary. There may be beggars in America ; indeed, there is at least ,ruip State in the Union which has enacted penal laws against them ; but I was never importuned for alms myself, nor did I see anybody else. What I did see, however, was a young lad who sold newspapers in the streets of Chicago, who kept and educated an orphan sister out of his earnings, and who was as proud of the girl as any father in the States of his own child."
If, however, any reader of these words should infer from them that Mr. Adams is unduly partial to Americans and American institutions and habits, let him read what he says about political scandals, the Tammany Ring, and the lenient treatment accorded to such ruffians as the James Boys, of whose atrocities in the West and South States we have not yet heard the last. The condition of the streets in New York he describes as" disgusting" and as "a disgrace to free institutions." "I could not help think- ing that the citizens of Newcastle would go into fits if the state of Grey Street for a single week resembled the state of Broadway all the year round." Again, "The persons who ride in the tram- cars are shaken and jolted about in a manner that reminded me of a ride in a spring-cart over a mountain bridle-path. When the driver turned a corner, one had to hold fast by the seat to avoid being flung on to the floor." Mr. Adams appears, more- over, to share, to some extent, Mr. Spencer's fears as to the im- mediate future of the Republic. Surely, however, there is not much to be alarmed at in the invasion of the States by hosts of persons belonging to European nationalities, at least on the ground that they may bring European, in the sense of aristo- cratic and even autocratic, ideas with them. Thus the Germans are the most formidable of these invaders ; yet they
go to the States not to propagate Bismarckisrn, but to escape from it. And, speaking of Germans, we could have wished that Mr. Adams, in the course of his remarks on the peculiar use in America of certain English words, such as "elegant"
and "clever," (what about "lovely," by the way P) bad told us something of the probable effect of German immigration on the English language as spoken in America. The present writer once heard a New York lady, of German extraction, de- scribe as "majestic" a person who certainly did not seem to merit the adjective. It was subsequently explained that " majestic " meant at once well-built and neatly dressed.
While Mr. Adams was in America, he had an interview with Mr. Wendell Phillips, his account of which is highly interesting, even from the political point of view :—
"I found Mr. Phillips, as I found every other American of emin- ence to whom I was introduced, accessible and cordial. Although I was a perfect stranger even by name, although I had no other object than the satisfaction of making the acquaintance of a man whom I highly esteemed, he received me so kindly that I did not feel that my visit was in any way an intrusion. During the short time I ven- tured to inflict myself upon Mr. Phillips's attention, two or three subjects of interest to folks at home were mentioned. Mr. Phillips had taken a determined stand on the Irish question—favourable to Ireland, but somewhat hostile to England. When I told him that I thought the point on which all Englishmen were united was that of the integrity of the kingdom, Mr. Phillips remarked that he had told some of his Irish friends that Ireland was not big enough to make a strong self-reliant notion, that she might become a sort of Switzer- land, and that it was perhaps better for her to remain united to Britain, and so continue part and parcel of a great country. The argument that the position of England was precisely the same as that of America when South Carolina wanted to secede, reminded Mr. Phillips of a conversation he had at the time of the war with the late Lord Amberley. The noble lord had contended, liko his father, Earl Russell, that the North had no right to coerce the South. But,' asked Mr. Phillips, what if Ireland should want her independence ?' Lord Amberley could only respond that that was a different matter ! We talked also, however, about the condi- tion of America. Mr. Phillips is probably no more satisfied with that condition than any other man who has entertained great and exalted hopes for the future of mankind ; but he made one remark which seemed to indicate that he did not regard with the same mis- givings as Mr. Linton the position and prospects of the Republic. We manage in this country, he said, to work out a rough average happiness for the millions."
Mr. Adams found, indeed, the people of the United States as disposed to be friendly to the United Kingdom as Lord Coleridge seems to have done. The bulk of the persons be met appear to have taken a very sensible view of the Irish question, and instead of complaining of our action in Egypt, thought that action was not taken with sufficient promptitude. Alluding to the help given by Commodore Josiah Tattnall, of the American Navy, to the English Naval force engaged under Admiral Hope, in assailing the forts at the month of the Peiho in 1859, and to his exclamation, "Blood is thicker than water," Mr. Adams assures us that, "The sentiment that inspired that
action would probably inspire the entire American people, should the old country ever find herself in need of help to preserve her existence or maintain her Empire." Should many more such assurances be given—and they are increasing every
year—they will set even the author of The Expansion of England speculating about an offensive and defensive alliance of the future, which, if concluded, would be without a parallel in the history of the world, and would, indeed, as Lord Coleridge says, be "irresistible."
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