The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-06-07


dispose Of her territory and adopt new institu-
tions Of government at her discretion, as far as
consistent with the vested rights Of her people
and Justice to her neighbors; and they cannot
complain. Her admission into our Union upon
her own application would not involve even
the cause Of war which was attached to the an
nexation of Texas. The republic Of Texas was
claimed by Mexico as part Of her territories;
and even admitting the independence of Texas,
the boundaries which she hsd assumed could
only be made good by war. Not SO with Hon.
duras; she has her defined boundaries; her indie
pendence as a republic is nowhere denied and
her annexation, therefore, would be complete
with the signing of the parchments between the
contracting parties. And from the naval, COM
mereial military, and political advantages
which this act of incorporation would confer
upon us, we are entirely of the opinion that
when Gen. Barrundie shall proceed to lay his
proposals of annexation before our government,
we should proceed to take them up, and clinch
the rvet while the iron is hot.
We have nothing to fear from the other
States of Central America; but everything to
expect-we have nothing to fear from England
aud France and their balance Of power" for
with the free will offering of a free American
State they can have no business to interfere.
Besides, they have their hands full, just now, in
their present business with the Cossacks, and
are powerless to arrest the " manifest destiny"
of Central America, should we decide upon it
in the annexation of Honduras. On the other
hand, should the allies come VIGOROUSLY out
of the war againt Russia, we may REASONABLY
expect that they will give us some trouble, and
perhaps war, in the regulation of Central
American affairs.
We shall watch, therefore, with interest, the
opening Of his budget by General Barrundia to
our executive government In the event of a
clear, unqualified offer of annexation, the least
that Gen. Pierce can do will be to lay the mat
ter before Congress; and whatever may be his
recommendations (and we have no right to ey-
pect much,) it will be the duty of Congress to
act upon the subject with that deliberaticn and
patriotism which its Importance will demand.
A prize SO important and valuable as the State
of Honduras, should not be lightly thrown
away. The spirit of our institutions, of the
American people, of the age, is progressive; and
American patriotism, in its largest sense, is
identified with the expansion of the boundaries,
the prosperity and the power of the republic.
Let Gen. Barrnndia speak. He must be heard.
The CAPITAL AND THE METRoPoLIs.-Within
the last few days, the city has been thronged
with Senators and members of Congress from
Washington. These gentlemen have availed
hon, al Of ha cd tn
and try to learn the state of public sentiment
on their doings during the winter. They know
perfectly well that they live in little world of
their own at Washington, and for all practical
purposes SO far as ascertaining the current Of
American opinion is concerned, might as well
be in Kamschatka. Some information on the
point reaches them in the newspapers Of this
city; but even these only reflect partial por-
trait of the movements of the popular mind.
| To guage these, one must mingle with the
throng of a metropolitan city. One must hear
men speak and converse with them ia return:
above all, one must enjoy an opportunity Of
becoming familiar with every party every fac
ton, and every shade of opinion. This cannot
be done at Washington, where certain political
factions are either unknown or very imper-
fectly represented, and where AL the little
nesses peculiar to a small city are seen in
bold relief. To enjoy the benefit of these ad-
vantages, our legislators are compelled to come
to New York. where they see and hear all the
different classes of politicians who WELD in
fluence in this country, and where they can
acquire what is ironically called knowledge
Of the world. Hence the moment vacation
or an adjournment takes place, our hotels gil
up with Senators and members of Congress;
and for time, at least, New York is actually
the capital of the Union.
Why should this be only for time? The
miscalculation made by the founder of Wash
ington is now SO apparent that no one will
still contend that the District of Columbia is
ever destined to contain first class city
Washington derives all its Importance aud
| nineteen-twentieths of its inhabitants from its
being the seat of government; remove the Pre-
sident, and it sinks into the obscurity for which
| it was naturally destined. Now, without en-
larging on the folly of building up large cities
by adventurous support to the dstriment Of
rivals who, with equal advantages, would build
themselves up, it does seem very absurd that
We should be sending our statesmen to an out
ofthe-way place like Washington, where they
lie secluded and shut out from the world,
while in point Of fact all the thinking and &C
tive movement of the country's mind is done
here. 1t is flying in the face of one of the
most obvious and imperative laws Of civilized
nature-that which tends to Capitalization; and
must interpose a formidable bar to our pro-
gress. There never was an instance where the
various elements of advancement and civiliza-
ton converged towards two centres in the same
country. For some time struggle may be
carried on between two or more rivals but
long before either reaches the point of devel-
opement attained by New York, the battle is
over and the winner obvious. Nothing is