Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1848-06-15
IContinued from first page.

HIiEu VAN 'uC S"UlICt' ~ V%S"
pied the attention Of her government,
her people, and her press; and her
diplomatic agents were active and per-
severing. While the subject was I'M
der discussion in the French Chamber
Of Deputies, the eyes Of Europe were
directed to Paris, anxiously watching
the result. That result was soon man
ifested. The public opinion of France
spoke too loudly to be resisted The
government gave way, and refused TO
ratify treaty. negotiated under it's own
directions, & signed bv its own minis
Ter. The part which Gen. Cass bore
in this transaction is we'll understood
and appreciated by his countrymen;-
and, if any doubt existed on the sub
ject, i: would have been removed by
the abuse heaped upon him in the Eng
fish journals, and by the declaration of
Lord Palmerston, in the House of
Commons, that his efforts contributed
in great degree to the rejection ofthe
measure.
An American writing from Europe,
in Nlles's Register, March, 1912, says:
"Gen. Cass has hastily prepared a
pamphlet setting forth the true import
and dangers of this treaty. 1t will be
read by every statesman in Europe; >
and. added to the Generals personal
influence here, will effectually turn the
tables on England. The country owes
the General much for his efectual in
huence with this government"
The London Times, of January 5,
1912, says:
"The five powers, which signed the
late treaty for the suppression Of the
slave trade, will not allow themselves
to be thwarted in the execution of this
arrangement by the capricious resist
ance of the cabinet of Washington"
1t is not little curious, in reading
over the papers relating to this trans
action, to see how some of the party
journals Of the day in the U. S. censu-
red the minister for his interference in
foreign concerns; and foretold, very
confidently, that he would be rebuked
by the French government. And the
London Times of May 16, 1912 states,
with apparent exultatlon, that the VEN
cradle patriot, who has just been called
from among us, (Mr. Adams said in
Congress that he regretted Gen. Cass
"Should have so completely forgot.
ten the wholesome rules of the found
ers ofhis country as to interfere, with
out Instructions from his government,
in delicate negotiation between the
great powers of Europe
This "delicate negotiation" directly
involved one of the most precious rights
Of the u. States-that of sailing the
ocean undisturbed in peace. To pre-
vent the consummation Of such pro-
ject was not TO interfere with other
nations, but to prevent other nations
from interfering with US. As to the
French government, it took no such
view of the matter. The answer of NJ
Guizot to Gen. Cass was in very
good spirit, and exhibited the best fee
ling to the United States. He stated
that the treaty had not been ratified,
and disavowed all designs of doing any
thing whatever unfriendly TO the U. S.
On the 18th of September following
this transaction, the news of the ratih-
cation of the Ashburton treaty reached
Paris, and Gov. Cass Immediately re-
signed. His reasons for so doing we
gather from the following extracts of
letters to Mr.. Webster:
cit is unnecessary to push these
considerations further; and in carrying
them thus far, l have found the task
an unpleasant one. Nothing but JUS
tice to myself could have induced me
to do it. | could not clearly explain
my position here, without recapi!ula-
ton. My protest OF 18th Feb. distinct
)y asserted that the United States would
resist the pretension of England to
search our vessels. l avowed, at the
same time, that This was but nv per-
sonal declaration, liable to be confirm.
ed or disavowed by my government.
now find treaty has been concluded
between Great Britain and the United
States, which provides for the co-ope-
ration Of the latter in efforts to abolish
the slave trade, but which contains no
remuneration by the former Of the extra
ordinary pfetension, resulting, as she
said, from the exigencies of these very
efforts; and which pretension ! fel, ii
TO be my duty to denounce to the
French government. In all this, | pre-
sumo to offer no further judgment than
as am personally affected by the
course of the proceedings, and | feel