Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-04-10
THE FOREIGN POLICY OF WASHINGTON

AS attempts have been recently made to put a
new construction upon the Foreign Policy Of WASH
INGToN, it may be well to recall what was the i'm
preston produced by that policy upon his contem-
poraries In Sargents Standard Speaker" re-
Gently published among the specimens of the oratory
of CHARLES JAMES Fox we find the following,
pronounced in the House of Commons in 1894, on
the Foreign Policy Of the United States
How infinitely superior must appear the spirit
and principles of General WASHINGTON in his late
address to Congress, compared with the policy OF
modern European Courts Hlustrfous man -
deriving honor less from the spendor of his situa-
ton than from the dignity Of his mind! Grateful
to France for the assistance received from her. in
that great contest which secured the independence
Of America he yet did not choose to give up the
system of neutrality in her favor Having once
laid down the line Of conduct most proper to be
pursued, not all the insults and provocatons Of
z the French Minister, Genet could at all put him
out Of his way or bend him from his purpose. It
must indeed create establishment that, placed in
circumstances SO critical and filing station SO
conspicuous, the character Of WASHINGTON should
: never once have been called in question that he
should in no one instance have been accused either
of improper insolence Of mean submission in his
transactions with foreign Nations. 1t has been
reserved for him to run the race Of glory without
experiencing the smallest interruption to the bril-
Hancy of his career. The breath of censure has
not dared to impeach the purity of his conduct,
nor the eye of envy to raise its malignant glance
to the elevation of his virtues. Such has been the
transcendent merit and the unparalleled fate of
this illustrious man
g How did he act when insulted by Genet? Did
he consider it as necessary to avenge himself for
the misconduct or madness of an individual, by
involving whole continent in the horrors of war
No; he contented himself with procuring satisfac-
ton for the insult by causing Genet to be recalled
and thus at once consulted his own dignity and the
interests of his country. Happy Americans !
while the whirlwind flies over one quarter of the
globe, and spreads everywhere desolaton, you re-
main protected from its baneful effects by your
own virtues and the wisdom of your Government
Separated from Europe by an immense ocean, you
feel not the effect of those prejudices and passions
scenes of horror and bloodshed. You profit by
and afford, in your more congenial cline, asylum
to those blessings and virtues which they wantony
contemn or wickedly exclude from their bosom
Cultivating the arts of peace under the influence
: Of freedom, you advance by rapid strides to opu
lence and d'e~ Qn; and if, by any accident, you
should be u n to take part in the present
unhappy conucsc-if you should find it necessary
to avenge insult or repel injury, the world will
bear witness to the equity of your sentiments and
the moderation of your views; and the success Of
your arms will, no doubt, be proportional to the
Justice Of your cause"