New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-06-16

emory the French socialists. The distinguishing
doctrne Of these socialists, and that upon which
they base their whole system, is this: that the
right of property is not to be determined by pos
session, inheritance. acquisition BY purchase or
labor or any uch Old-fashioned test but solely by
the fact of greatest need-he who needs thing
most being BY that very fact alone the best entitled
to the possession and enjoyment oft
Thus, if al poor fellow who has had nothing to
eat for two days, should walk Just at dinner time
into the dining room of the editor of The journal
Of Commerce, he might Justly insist upon his prior
right to swallow the Injuries there collected, 10.
asnuch as be who has gone two days without tast-
ing m0rsel, must, in the nature of thogs have
much greater need Of dinner than he who has
eaten hearty breakfast that very morning, and
who. so far from really needing the dinner, might
in all probability be saved from severe fit of in
digestion and internal commotion by having some.
body el.e eat it for him.
1t was precisely by this kind of socialstic rea-
soning that Mr.. Buchanan and his brother diplo-
mats who met at Ostend undertook to urge aud to
justify the seizure of Cuba by the United States
tits true that Spain has had possession of Cuba for
three hundred and fifty years or co. and that, &C.
cordng to all oldfashioned notions on the subject
her title to it is perfect and complete. But then
the United States-that is to say, the Shareholders
who alone, in Mr.. Buchanan's view and that of
The Journal Of Commerce, constitute the United
States-are very hungry. 1t is lsng time since
they swallowed Texas. That morsel is alre,dy
digs their nav is empty, and they are crying
for more. Self preservation =" exclaim the
diplomats at Ostend; and the hungry individual
claiming the right TO devOur the dinner prepared
for the editor of The Journal of Commerce would
doubtless concur in the justice Of this maxim;
"Self preservatiOn is the first law Of nature, with
Estates as well as with individuals
Property is robbery" exclaimed Proudhon.
The Journal Of Commerce reverse, the terms OF this
startling proposition, holding with the diplomats at
Ostend, that "robbery is property" Our need OF
Cuba is so great if we leave Cuba in possession OF
SPAN there is so much danger that she will mis-
manage it to her BARN and ours, that IN order 10
give us rghtful possession Of it, it is only necessa
nv for us to seize it. In doiog so we s'all pre-
serve, at least that is Mr. Buchanans opinion, our
cons ,ous "recttude and self:respect, and can
afford to disregard the criticisms of a censorlous
and i'll natured world. To justify us in Wrestling
Cuba from SPAN we have only to get somebody
the newspapers, Congress, the President, Nomi-
mating Convention, candidate for the Presidency,
or these Fillibuster diplomats met at o.
tend, to cay "afirmatively" that the possession
of Cuba by Spain is dangerous to our internal
"peace and the existence of our cherished
Union" 1t is mighty easy to say that. That is
what our democratic " politicians are accus-
toned to say of everything and everybody thai hap
pens not to meet their appreciation. Let somebody
cay that and forth With We are invested with per-
feet right to take Cuba, if possess the power"
Nay, more "under such circumstances we ought
" neither to count the cost nor regard the odds
" which Spain might enlist against u.s." That is
what Mr.. Buchanan says, and that is what Tho
Journal Of Commerce indoTscs. Rather thnn per
nit Spnin 10 exercise her sovereign and uDqres
tonable right Of cmancpating the slaves Of Cuba,
rather than allow that to be done in Cuba which
was done in Pennsy lyania, New-England, New
York and New jersey, Mr.. Buchanan ia OF opinion
and The Journal Of Commerce agrees with hun, not
only that We ought to seize Cuba, but 70 seize it
AZ the risk Of war with France and England. 4
il upon this platform that Mr. Buchanan presents
himself az a candidate for the Presidency and ii is
upon this ground that The journal Of Commerce
SUPPORTS him, and invites conservative men gencr-
ally to support him too.