But (it is said) the North will never succeed in conquering the South;
and since the separation must in the end be recognized, it is better
to do at first what must be done at last; moreover, if it did conquer
them, it could not govern them when conquered, consistently with free
institutions. With no one of these propositions can I agree.
Whether or not the Northern Americans will succeed in reconquering the
South, I do not affect to foresee. That they _can_ conquer it, if
their present determination holds, I have never entertained a doubt;
for they are twice as numerous, and ten or twelve times as rich. Not
by taking military possession of their country, or marching an army
through it, but by wearing them out, exhausting their resources,
depriving them of the comforts of life, encouraging their slaves to
desert, and excluding them from communication with foreign countries.
All this, of course, depends on the supposition that the North does
not give in first. Whether they will persevere to this point, or
whether their spirit, their patience, and the sacrifices they are
willing to make, will be exhausted before reaching it, I cannot tell.
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