The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1853-05-02

Tha dinc,nnsca 70 UA1ca thla treaty has given
r;. in the senate Of tho Unitad atatss and in party
journal, shows that diapositoa prevails to render
the treaty unpopular With IL country. The qaes
ton whether il was wise or expedient to entsr into
,rs.tv with G treat Britain on a subject that con
esrns US intimately, viz: the various passage
wavs over the Isthmos OF Darien, is very differ
eut one from that now presented to the country,
VIZ shall its stpulations be- faithfully performed
In respsct to this We have but little to say. The
treaty. is made. II was made in the mode appoint
al BY the Constitution, and was ratified by the
senate of the United States. There ia no minority
act that can be pleaded by nations. Our Govern
rneut has reached full maturity. 1t il competent
10 contract with cvilised and harbaFous nations,
and we know OF no contracts that should be more
faithfully complied with than those which are
found TO be less beneficial than was ina giued
The force OF the treaty cannot be weakened on Y
such grounds without manifest and deep disgrace
to the country. The Washington Union attac k 3
the treaty another but not more tenaole ground
(see extracts in a subsequent colomn) that is
to say thai, by OF the acts OF Great British,
ii has become either void voidabie. The mat
ter Of which this ground is alleged is the attempt
last year on the part OF Brush cruiser TO AID
the MOSQUITO authorities in the collection OF pert
duties, in disregard, az it asserts, OF toe nrst
article of the treaty, which prohibits either party
from maintaining jurisdiction OF MAKING SET
Elements TO the prejudice of the other. There are
several bot comolet. answers to this position. In
the hrst place, the act of the brltlsn cruiser was
Immediately disafhrmed By the British govern
ment. The disaffirmance was aecepiea Al Tue time
AZ satisfactory. solemn treaty between NATIONS
cannot be affected by the unao horiEed acts of
mere agents of the government, and especially not
when those acts were promptly aisafns med by the
or;pcinal nd more particularly after the accept
ancs Of an apology by the party which had right
tocomclan. But if we are not concluded by that
act from setting up that the treaty IS either void or
void pie, there other reasons which make the
ground improper. The party which intends to
take that ground is bound in good faith to take It
Immediately. The omission TO take II within
soma bic time admission that the treaty stands
By failure then to urge that II became invalid,
and by asking and receiving explanations, we took
a position which admttsa It's legal efficacy. Theirs
is Their efore pretence for the ground put forth
by the Union, that the treaty u either void or
voidable. Our Government, on the contrary, by
tts most solemn acts has given renewed vitality 70
the instrument IL is in operation under the came
obligation which holds as to compliance with all
other treaties whatsoever; obligation that
cannot evade without disgrace, or attempt to
weaken without ma nitestimpropriety.
But admitting, for the sake of argument, that
the making of treaty were still open question,
how should stands 1t would be miserable self
ishness to claim that all other nations should be
driven TO navigate the Cape, and that we alone
shall enjoy the benefits of cut scross the narrow
fsthmus Of Darien. This is not merely an Ameri-
can question, the Union insists-it 10 question
that interests the commercial world, and must be
decided for il ia right to decide il, the broad
interests of general commerce. We need
elusive advantages The growth which Is fOsered
BY unnatural stimulants and encouraged by ex-
GLIDING competition, will never be stron and vigo
rous Il is on our industry, enterprise, and bold
ness under fair competition with the nations OF the
world, that rely with most certainty for endur-
ing advantages. The Clayton and Bulwer treaty
ia the fruit of these sentiments, but 1t IL supported
by peculiar reasons resulting from antecedent
claims on the part of Great Britain. She abandon
ed. on the king of the treaty, quasi possession
to portion of the territory over which the treaty
operates Il ia well known that since the visit OF
the great Humboldt to that region, all nations
have tur ned their attention to the question OF
communication between the Atlantic and Pacific
AZ the various points indicated by that naturalist
and philosopher. His capacious mind applied
to that question for the benefit of the human race;
and he now lives at the advanced age OF eighty
three, with his intellect yet mighty, to witness
movement in behalf of his noble spec uiations,
embracing the interests of all commercial nations
The Uaton would give TO this movement limit.
ed, sectional, and selfish character, forgetting
that long antecedent to our right 10 occupy the
Pacific coast acquired in the late surveys had
been made at Nicaragus, by the British govern
ment, that she had acquired by the consent OF the
local authorities ri hts OF an important character
at that commanding route, and that she released
them when the treaty in question was made.
Subsequent events have, il is true, deepened the
Interest with which the United States regard this
subject. The isthmus ia, as IL were, interposed
between our Eastern and w estern possessions.
But other nations have possessions and commerce
In both oceans, and they cannot be expected TO
surrender their ancient claims and interests to the
recent claims and interests Of this country. We
nave opened the doors of the United States to the
whole world Emigration is rushing in from all
parts of the habitable globe, and if We have not
become, We are fat becoming, deeply influenced
by the presence of population which converts Us
from a homogeneous people 10 one OF wholly diff
ferens character. Americans are fast guaranteeing
their peculiar advantages within their ackuow
lodged limits and jurisdiction to others; and yet
on behalf of race thus mixed and general, and
which habituaIy surrenders to strangers a con-
trolling interest in the sovereignty Of the country
the Union claims, as against those who yet remain
abroad, that passa gs- way between two oceans
the territory Of another power, shall be sell
shly grasped by "a, to the exclusion of the residue
Of the human race. The ground is untenabIe
apart from considerations growing out of the ex-
iatencs of the treaty; and claim that honest.
square, and prompt fulhlment of its provisions
shall be made by our Government.