He states that "Great Britain's dependence on Northern wheat ...

operated as a contributing influence in keeping the British government officially neutral ..." (p.

423), a cautious statement soon transformed to the positive one that "this fact did not escape the attention of the English government," since leading journals referred to it (p.

431).

Progressively, it is asserted: "But it was Northern wheat that may well be regarded as the decisive factor, counterbalancing the influence of cotton, in keeping the British government from recognizing the Confederacy" (p.