England and America (1893)
England and America is a letter written by Arthur Conan Doyle published in The Daily Chronicle on 5 june 1893.
See also :
England and America
THE EDITOR OF THE DAILY CHRONICLE.
SIR, — Such an idea as that put forward in Mr. Carnegie's article, that England and America should find some method of acting in common upon international questions, is not to be dismissed with a sneer. It is one which is entertained by many of the broadest and most progressive minds upon both sides of the ocean, who fail to see why the obstinacy of a king or the folly of a minister a century ago should eternally separate two peoples whose origin and whose aims are largely identical. "Let each nation mind its own business," says the writer in The Chronicle. Does he mean to infer that it is not the business of a nation to strengthen its position, and to convert possible enemy into a close and permanent ally? What more important business could engage the attention of any country? The British Empire may be quite strong enough to meet any danger which may assail it — let us pray that it is — but it would be stronger far if it had the moral, to say nothing of the material, support of the 60,000,000 English-speaking people over the seas. When prominent American citizen champions this cause of Anglo-Celtic unity it is bad policy as well as bad taste for an English journal to find no more fitting answer than a sneer. — Yours faithfully,
A. CONAN DOYLE.
12, Tennison-road, South Norwood, June 2
[We gladly publish Mr. Conan Doyle's protest. Mr. Doyle, however, is quite mistaken if he thinks we either did sneer, or intended to sneer, at the idea of an alliance between this country and the United States. What we protest against is the conception of a great military alliance which shall control the affairs of the rest of the world. An alliance of the kind which Mr. Carnegie seems to have in his mind would, instead of making for peace, rouse against us a gigantic international movement of peoples who happen to think they have as good right to the earth as the English and Americans. The world has had enough of the international and imperial "boss"; now we want fraternity based on equality of national rights. Besides does any one suppose that the United States would remain in alliance with us a single day if interests clashed? Not a bit more than they would remain in alliance with France or Germany. The true union of the future, we repeat, is the international alliance of commerce and industry. — ED. D. C.].
