The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-02-10

wv 4VISA LINZ ALL, OVN
Trcn The London Gioss, Jan. a.
We are anxious not to assist tho weak and time
70 retrieve lost popularity for his administfAtisn 1t
the expense OF Pesce-or at least Of friendship
tween the great community which. for the present,
he represents In external Affairs and this great
try We shall. therefore, endeavor to use no express
sions regarding the Central American imbroglio
which we might not equally use TO enlightened
Americana as 70 enlightened Engiishmsn. The
the BalwerC Clayton treaty was taken by the Ameri-
can minister at our court and the assiged motive and
that which induced our statesmen to lend favorable
ear to the proposal was the desire to obvate the fu
ture dangers of monopoly ola great channel of inter-
national communication. collision ocasoned by any
attempt at such monopoly. It was against these
dangers that negotiation was expressly proposed TO
provide; and the engagements concluded must ne
cessarily be construed with reference to their sole
declared object. How widely the intentions and
pretensions put forward by President Pierces gov
eminent go beyond the views laid by Mr.. Abbott
judged by the following paragraph of instructions
to Mr.. Buchanan, dated July 2, 1863 -
The Object xhoh i Is hoped you may Be able to accom-
over the territories and Islands Of
and If possole, the Belize also, and to abstain fom
ntermeddiDg With the political affairs Of the govern
ments and people in that region OF the world.
The withdrawal from all control aud the abstinence
from all intermeddling in other peoples affairs
excellent policy, when those affairs don't concern
But the reciprocal engagements, first proposed to
press ground that certain affairs In that region of
the world" did concern us, and did require some
joint arrangement. If Great Britain had no recog
nized footing there, it would have been very gra
ter that she should not avail herself of that foot
ing for the purpose Of colonization, occupation, or
dominion. The Bulwer Clayton treaty, as Lord
Clarendon has stated in reply to Mr.. Buchanan, de-
clares in w0rds:-
That the two parties win not occupy, forfy, nor
colonize assume nor exercise any dominion
Of Central America and that neither party win make
uee of any protection which either affords may afford,
any alliance which either has or may have with any
State people, for the purpose of occupying orty
ing, cOlonizing Nicaragua, Costa Rca the Mosquito
coast any of Cen raj America, Of assuming
exercising dominion over the same.
state, that the above cited article clearly &C
knowledged the possibility that the protection
hitherto afforded might continue to be afford
s sreathed IN the s0' negotiation Is no Sas
ceivable, as Lord Clarendon elsewhere stated,
that rights assumed and exercised tor centuries
should have been surrendered without word of
notice, or claim OF equivalent. The British 60
yernment was applied TO- as to its future Intentions
and if it had been intended that it should uncondi-
tionaly resign Its actual position, that intention
should have been unmasked-as it was in the in
structons of 1853. But it is question what are
the past or present rights of any party, and quite
another what are their interests or duties. The
practical question, as regards England, is not what
but what rights we have that are worth exercis-
ing The practical question as regards the United
States is not what engagements they made with
us-but what substantial value was likely to
belong to such engagements. After the light
thrown on these affairs by subsequent occurrences,
the first reflection that occurs is to question the
policy, on the part of this country, Of any such
transaction with the United States as the Bulwer-
n A indo
that policy is seen to have been than doubtful
But even before the event, we think that misunder
standing and disappointment might almost have
been anticipated. The subjectmatters Of negotia-
ton were necessarily regarded by the contracting
parties from opposite points of view and the national
modes of action Oh snch matters are essentially diff
ferent and almost unacceptable Of previous adjust
ment. The Times says we have hitherto had nothing
to complain of a. regards the observance by the
American government Of its portion of the treaty and
recommends that we should throw over the Mosqui-
t0s bodily, and Belize bonnie b0che into the bar
gain, and call upon the American government in
return Ito root out the gang Of pirates and muir
derers who have taken forcible possession Of the
State Of Nicaragua, and hold it In defiance OF the
will of both countries Now, that is just the pinch
ing point: and we confess we have seen nothing of
President Pierce's government which should lead us
to think it either able willing to root out iibus-
terng occupation from that region Of the world"
not to occupy. The United States may max
treaties; but 70 compel their eitizsas 70 sbsery
them in such outlying parts Is the difficulty. Un-
der such an administration as the present, whose
chief asks, "Why should Texas have been q lon
star PTS any such "rooting OUT really to be look
ed for, whatever cession might be made by this
country2 In our humble judgment, whatever We
withhold or concede Sin that region Of the world"
we should keep in mind that we cannot fix Ameri-
can adventure to any binding bargain. We should
ourselves act on calm considerations of national
ternatonal rights; we should trust in so acting to
preserve the friendship of the great enlightened
body Of the citizens of the United States; and we
should limit diplomatic engagements to the precise
points intended to be provided for, make no blind
bargains, and build no walls to keep birds from
cherry trees.
The Sound Dues Conferences.
The Sound Dues conferences were formally opened
at Copenhagen on the 4th ultimO, but the business
transacted consisted of little than the presen-
tation and verifcation of the different credentials
The Russian Commissioner, Tengoborski, was the
only specially nominated deputy there. The Danish
papers for long time observed the most perfect
silence on the subject of these conferences, and it
was not till the l4th of January that the Dag5ladet
favored the public with few particulars from pri-
vate source.
According to this statement the Minister Won
Scheel opened the proceedings by announcing that
Herr Buhme, the ci-deUant Minister for Foreign
Affairs, deputed by the government to represent
Denmark, after which communication he withdrew.
The assembly was composed Of the representatives
Of twelve States. Herr Bluhme proceeded to de-
velope q plan for the capitalization of the Sound
dues, and of the other incidental payments, based
upon mixed calculation of the imports and ex
ports the various nations At that part of his speech
in which he described Denmark having come for
ward to meet the others half way he interrupted
by Herr Tengoborski, who maintained that it was
Russia that came half way to meet Denmark, seeing
that the former had desire at all to capitalize her
share; Hamburg and Mecklenburg had also already
declared they had no desire to commute their pay
ment of the Sound dues for a fixed sum down. The
speech OF the Danish representative was answered
NV Ia rhau In uta tiynn If
and Norway. AS all the materials had not been col
lected that the members thought necessary for their
deliberations, more particularly the reports on the
Sound dues from the years lS41 to lS47 the confe-
rences were adjourned till the end of this month.
The deliberations hitherto not to have been con-
Quoted in the most regular and tranquil manner pos
sble, for 1t is mentioned that it took considerable
trouble to get protocol minutes of the proceed
ings drawn up and agreed to.