Washington telegraph., 1849-11-21

"At a future time we may examine
the points in the diplomatic conduct of
Mr.. Clayton set forth by the National
Mtelligence1, If ace can do so aolthout
distractiug the public attention. from the
Nicaragua and Mosquito questions
Mr.. Clayton's organ doubtless wishes to
lead us off from that point; but we most
respectfully inform that journal, iii the
words used by Mr.. Webster under an
October sun, I'VE are not soft enough for
that - Union.
If the Union meant to say, in the above
extract, that It would be soft to let the
Nicaragua and Mosquito question drop.
it may boast of emulating the ripest kind
of a squash; for it has been as silent of
late about the doings of the last admin
istration in that matter as though the
members of the Polk Cabinet had minis
tered to it a drowsy syrup concocted OF
their own interminable reports. Consid-
ering with what pompous and truculent
air the sole organ claims for it's party the
especia! mission of protecting the Amer
ican continent from foreign aggression, of
all kinds and from all quarters, the his
tory of the last administration will exhibit
succumbing to British pretension more
disgraceful than the pusillanimity with
which the remainder of Europe witnessed
the partition of Poland between the al
lied powers of the North. There is no
parallel in the miserable trucking and
timid submission with which the spoil OF
Nicaragua was acquiesced in. AT time
when Locofococracy was as brave and as
bloody minded as paragraphs couched In
the most sanguinary phraseology could
make it, this Mosquito farce was played
off in the eyes of the world, and the
Polk Cabinet looked on in stolid wonder
or trembling admiration. Though inn
plored by Nicaragua for help; though
apprised of every step i'll the progress of
usurpation; though the importantly of
personal application was added to the
prayers of repeated dispatches, they fold
ed their arms in submission, and yielded
up neighboring republic to forcible dis
memberment and foreign spoil.
Yet these are the people who fret and
fume if General Taylor does not catch
every foreign potentate by the beard,
with or without cause, and complcate
,, the affairs of the United States with the
destinies of revolutionary Europe. These
are the people who have seen the Presi-
dent of the United States open the dun
geon of Cuba and bring to light and lib
erty man supposed to have been abduct-
ed from our soil, and yet rave because
something more is not done before the
crime of abduction is proven by the con-
viction of the Spanish consul or the
avowal of the Spanish court. Their
vaunting threats to take the whole of Or
egon up to "fifly-four forty" coupled with
their ignoble and compulsory retreat upon
''for:y-nine," might have prepared the
public mind for acts which fail short OF
their boasting; but nothing had ever trans
pired in the history of America which
could have given token Of so lamentable
shrinking up and collapse of bombastlc
patriotism as the surrender, by the last
administration, of the Monroe doctrine
without blow or preliminary parley.
They, the boasted exclusive proprletors
of this doctrine; the peculiar and appointed
defenders of all America, North and South;
the discoverers and patentees of non-in-
tervention-that they should have blanch-
ed from the contest upon the presentation
of the first occasion TO illustrate the sin
cerity of their professions, was scarcely
to have been expected by even those
who bore their "hfty.to forty exploits
in deprecatory remembrance. From the
swelling tone of the Locofoco press, one
might have imagined that the Polk cabi-
net would have resented the slightest
movement of Great Britain towards the
acquisition of a foothold i'll Nicaragua,
by seizing all the Capadas and wrestling
Ireland from the crown, at least. But
how awful the gap between promise and
performance. What difference between
gas and gunpowder!- Republic.