New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-10-06
AsSAILING THE WEAK.

AsSAILING THE WEAK.
That there is but slender foundation in justice
for the impost which the Danish Government
levies on ships passing through the Sound must
be universally admitted. 1t may be maintained
that the considerable expense Of maintaining lights
and buoys along those difficult and dangerous
coasts ought to be borne by the commerce which
profits by such advantages but the sum required
for this purpose would be trihing compared with
that produced by the existing rates of toll 1t is
then highly proper that attention should be called
to the subject and that steps should be taken for
the modification or removal of the Objectionable
institution and in this movement it is quite right
that the American Government as representing
the second commercial nation of the world, should
take prominent part. We observe however, that
the organs of NJ. Pierce and of his official cOad-
tutors are disposed to claim special credit for those
officials on account of the manner in which they
have so far conducted this affair. Possibly they
may have some right to such glorifcation but we
fear that they are only making new appll-
cation of familiar course Of policy, of which the
people have no great occasion to be proud.
SlLce the advent Of this Administration, in
che only important cases which have arisen,
the foreign policy Of the country has been
governed by one inyariable rule. This rule
NAV be stated in brief terms as simply to
truckle to the strong and to bully and assault
the weak. The bombsrdment of Greytown is
our great achievement in the latter line. There
Mr.. Pierce and Mr.. Marcy fired upon and de-
stroyed defenseless town of five hundred in.
habitants, and thought they were covering
themselves with glory by their more than Ro-
man energy and courage. What spectacle it
was-a great Power directing its force againsta
helpless little seaport, which had committed no
real offense except that its territory was
coveted by few land spectators In this the
first part of our rule was illustrated; and il we
seek for a counterpart to this revolving and
discrediiabe act, we shall find it in the mode
which the same Administration took to settle
the Fishery question and secure the navigation
of the st. Lawrence. Greytown was weak and
friendless and we throstled her like bully and
wounded her and left her for dead like brig
and. England is great and powerful kingdom,
and to her we granted every demand, even to
the gratuitous injury of our own people.
We had the means in our hands Of securing
both the fisheries and the navigation of the
st. Lawrence. There was not the slightest
need of paving for them at the pernicous rate
which England required. All that was neees-
sary was to repeal the act of 1916, allowing Can
adam merchandise to pass over our great routes
in bond Under that act, the Canadians had long
enjoyed the free navigation of the Canals of this
State, and it had raised them to degree of
prosperity otherwise impossible. A message
from the President to Congress simply advising
a repeal of the act, would at once have brought
from the British Minister the prefer Of the ST.
Lawrence and the fisheries, if net from the
Provinces the prefer of themselves as States Of
the Union. But so simple and unobjectionable
q measure was too vigorous and too bold for our
American Government. We could be truculent
to the powerless magistrates Of GreytOwn, butwe
mu.t truckle to the powerful rulers of England
Ard accordingly, though We had long since given
what wss worth infinitely more to the Canadas
than the st. Lawrence, and what was far more
essential to England's control over all the Prov
inces than their exclusive possession Of the fsh-
eries,-We surrendered everything else that
Lord Elgin called for, and made the sham reci-
procity treaty, by which We receive free of duty
whatever the Provinces wi.h TO sell US, while
they are still allowed to levy an impOst on what
ever we have t. sell them. Under this arrange
ment We shall yet be found adding twenty or
thirty millions year to the foreign debt Of the
county, while Canada is built up at the expense
Of our own people, and Lord Elgn is made
Peer, and Mr.. Hincks the Governor Of Bar
bados.
These two transaetiOns-the bombarduent Of
Greytown and the sham reciprocity treaty-are
the great events which characterize the foreign
policy Of the present Administration. That they
amply illustrate the rule by which we have de-
clared that policy to DO guided is plain We think,
from the succiact s.atsuea. No haze given Of the