The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-03-21

trip this spring. In the course OF week the river
| will no doubt be in fine navigable condition.
| Our Spanish Relations-An Extra Session.
The Last Hope OF the Administration.
The most interesting problem of the day is
the settlement Of our complicated and embar-
raising relations with Spain Instead Of any
| approaches having been made by the Spanish
government to this end, in the liquidation Of
| long schedule of outrages against our citizens
and our commerce, new provooations have
been recently added to the list, Of the most fla
grant character. Not even among the insults
to the American flag committed by England,
which resulted in the war Of 1872. can there be
| found clearer case Of extreme offence than the
| recent Spanish outrage against the steamer
| Ell Dorado. We are admonished that the ad-
| ministration SO understands it, from the noisy
| clustering and bravado of the Cabinet organs;
| but we have had enough of such verbisge, in
| oil conscience, and we plead for action-action.
We call upon the administration, in behalf of
the people and the country, to make virue
of necessity, and to screw its courage up to
the sticking point" of action, and do some
thing at venture.
tory. 1t is now of little consequence whether
his mission failed from the treachery Of Pierce
or Marcy, or both, or from his own impru-
dences. The material correspondence against
the administration has been suppressed,
while that which bears most strongly
| against Mr.. Soule has been laid be-
| fore the world. Yet, as this is more
a personal affair of the ex. Minister than ours,
we have perhaps, no right to complain. Mr.
Soul6 may lack the courage, the facts, or the
capacity to make good his defence against the
President and his Premier but the conse-
auences are among themselves. If the high
toned son of Southern chivalry is content to
let his name 60 down to posterity coupled with
he Cabinet verdict, that in Spain he proved
himself incompetent for and faithless to his
trust, he is probably resigned to bear it; and
there we leave him.
Various reports Of the policy which Mr..
Dodge, our new Minister to Spain, is to pursue
| at Madrid, have been put afoat Among the
more plausible Of these rumors, we have been
informed that he is to fall back upon the pallia.
tive Of reciprocity treaty with the West In
dia colonies of Spain, similar to that just pro-
claimed by the President to be in force between
our country and the British Canadian and
Northeastern provinces But this expedient
would avail nothing il adopted. 1t would not
touch the root of the evil. Nor is there the
least probability that Spain would listen to
overtures for q compromise which would in.
volve the confscation of her tariff revenues
derived from the island Of Cuba. She
will, while she refuses to sell US the
island, refuse also to sacrifice the profits OF
the island gathered from our commerce Con-
Citation in any shape, has become distasteful
TO Spain; but the concession Of free trade
she would, doubtless, look upon as an insult to
| her digHity second only to the immeasurable
atrocity Of proposing to take her favorite
colony under our protection.
But within these last few days, we have been
appraised that holder and more emphatic
policy than reciprocity has been preached in
policy, too, which only requires little nerve
and little backbone on the part of Mr.. Pierce
to reduce it to speedy and satisfactory solu-
ton, ut home and abroad. 1t has been urged
upon him by influential members of Congress,
again and again, and is nothing more nor less
than the simple but emphatic policy of General
Jackson touching those French indemnities Of
twenty-five millions OF francs.
To reduce this policyto practice in reference
to SPAIN it proposes the call of an extra ses-
sion Of Congress within sixty or ninety days
but sixty would suffice to fill the vacancies
yet TO be filed in the new Congress from the
Southern States. Congress, then, being thus
called together, the next thing would be mes
sage from the President, detailing our unset
tied differences with Spain, the faint hopes left
MS of any pacific adjustment, and the manifest
acquisitions for prompt and declsive &C.
ton. Upon this preamble, strongly laid
down, this new line of policy would fur
Their require the President TO follow up
the precedent OF Old Hickory, and TO ask
OF Congress authority to make reprisals upon
Spanish property, on land or sea, as the last
remaining expedient Of naturalization. or
course, decisive step like this would involve
the repeal or suspension of our neutrality
stpulations with Spain, and would practically
be tantamount to declaration Of war Peace.
however, might be still maintained-nay moro
IL might be firmly establsbed-by brino;ng
Spain to satisfactory terms, which, we anore.
bend, England aud France, in such an exiren.
cy, would soon find II their interest to dictate
to their profeg<.
Such is the policy which, we understand, has
most recently been occupying the Cuban de-