The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-01-27
The CENTRAL AMERICAN QUESTION.
Interesting Episode in the United States
Senate,
do., &c., TO-
TEIRTY-rOUnTa CONGREsS.
FIRST SESSION.


rHRTY-FOUnTa CONGREsS.
nf FIRST SESSION.
e.. senase.
astM THURSDAY, Jan. "a, 1856.
CLAYToN.BULwsR TREATY.
Mr.. CLAYTON Mr. President, AL important paper
wHs reeei ed when the Senate last in executive
session. fiom which the injunction of secrecy was
removed therefore move that il be taken nom the
executive and tr1 ed to the legislative Journal.
The motion was agreed To. Al
Mr.. CLAYroN-In now move that the communica
tion be read
The notion was agreed to; and the Secretary read
tine message Of the President, together With tns let
ter of Lord John Russell which il conmmu nj cated
1.-THE letter Was published inthe HERALD of Jan. o.
Mr.. CLAyToS-Mr Presi ient l desire to move the
printing OF that communication. l hope that the
Senate will order that i've hundred copies or some
other node ate number, In addition to the usual
quantity be printed, aud that it will be referred to
the Coaninee ON Foreign Relations. l shall make
such motion before sit down; but my immediate
object ID TO call the atteltion vi the Senate aud Of
the country TO that letter, particularly to the con-
GLIDING sentence of it, aud to its whole tone and
spirit. The declaration s0emniy uiade BY the Bri-
fish government to ours the 18th day Of January
1868, then Was, that Great Britain " intends b, sd-
here strictly to the provisions OF the treaty Of Wash
1ngton OF the 18th April 1850. aud not to assume,
America" Sir, We could ask no more; that Is pre-
ciseiy Whist meant by the treaty. and that is the
language " one of tho Z who was lie aiding man in
power at the the when the treaty was made say
sir that IL was under the administration OF
this gentleman and his friends that the treaty
with Great Britain of the 18th April 1850, was
made; and ! put it to all fair men, whether
they who made the treaty with Us were not
better competent to put fair construction on
it than those who came in afterwards under new
administration, hostile 10 that, and were never be
heved to be fiiendly to the objects of it Trre it
was that Lord Pa merston was at the head of the
Foreign Office at the time the treaty was formed,
but his letters wee subject to the direction OF the
Prem Ter be could write nothing which the Premier
did not approve Of ho more than then co aid have
written anything of which the President of the
United States did not approve. Shortly alter that
letter was written, u I'd Johr Ruec We out of the
Foreign Office, and Lord Clarendon came in and
Lord Pain erston, instead OF Lord Aberdeen Lord
John Rus ell stood at the head Of the administration
OF the British government From that time, and
not until then-tr the ii OF the change OF that
adminstl st Oh omInt need series OF hostile decu-
ratons de, aratons entirely subvers,e Of the true
meaning Of the treaty which, at last have brought
Us 10 the point where We now sta, din peril OF a
ruLt.ie with Great Britain. Mr.. PRESIDENT, need
Call the att n'ion OF the Senate TO the difference be-
tween the language here used and that contained in
Lord Clslei dons letters t. Minister in London
which were lately laid beore Congress Lord Caren-
don, acting under the direction OF Viscount Pal
merstoD, the Premier, takes the position that the
treaty instead Of operating ., eSen is to operate
30 Tar as relates to tue interests of Great Britain
tuinrO 1t il, says be. prospective ia its opera
ten. the effect o which IL to leave them 10 posses
sion OF every thing they claimed when the treaty
made, while it debars FROM the acquisition of an
acre OF crpund ia the vi hole territory OF the Central
American States. Directly hostile and anta2 onis-
hc-as strongly as two positions can be-are the
letters OF Lord John Russell, one OF those who as
sisted N making the treaty, and were understood at
the tine TO be in favor ut the treaty and the decla
ratiOba OF the Lew British Secretary for Foreign AZ
fairs, acting under British Premier, suspected
at the time of being hostile TO the arrangement,
now informing u.s. fer the FIRST time, that the treaty
was prospective in its operation, aud did not either
retroact Der act in prestnh when it was made.
MIR. President, the able ard admirable State
papers which were submitted BY our Minister In
London, in opposition to the special pleading and
pretexfs Of the British Ministry, have discussed
the case sufhri+ntly for me. am quite satisfied
to lay the American pretensioDs before the world
on the argument between Lord Clarendon and Mr..
Buchanan. The annals Of American diplomacy do
not exhibit specimen OF stronger, clearer argumen;
than that presented in the last despatch Of Mr. Bu-
cbanan. 1t is conclusive 1t had its effect. Whit
effect? 1t slenced his adversary; and although he
he N ssrdv o. n tha.
was not convinced by that argument. Sir, before
proceed further-and | do not purpose to address
the Senate at 'lenrh-let US look at the position
which Viscount Palmerston and his friends In Eng
land have occupied since they have been known to
as public men. need go back no further to
illustrate their character as statesmen than to the
periodwhieh Lord Clarendon points out in his dis
cussion with Mr.. Buchanan as the period when she
first commenced the assertion OF her claims on the
Genital American coast. to wit: the years Of 1888,
1889 and ls4O, instead Of which, Mr.. Buchanan
L
fles Of the Foreign Office there are to be found
what Lord Clarendon states in his letter to Mr..
Buchanan, declarations and assertions Of title
in portions Of Central America made by Great
Britain In 1888, 1889 and le4O. Her design was
then formed and fixed; and simultaneously with
that, the same men who, with all the sagacity which
is so highl, character site of them, were graspng
territory on the Mosquito coast were directing their
attention to the East we'll to the West 1t was
during that very period that they commenced and
prosecuted tier cruel and unjust against
Affghanistan. 1t was during that very period, too
sir that they carried on their wars against the Be-
ioot bees, and tie people OF Cabul 1t was at that
very period that they seized the forticaton and city
OF Alden. which controls the Straits of Bab-elMan
deb, through Which the waters OF the Red sea run
INTO the Arabian nd the Indian Ocean, controlling,
by that single key of commerce. all the treasures
which flow to or FRI IN that great gulf by the coast
Of arabia Felix, tie ',atan DE ert, Beloochistan,
spd the countries beyond the Indus; and, sir, on
what pfetezt-for ea uno disco omnes-under what
preteXt were these seizures made of Alden,
among tue Af1hans, the Beloochees, and the
people OF Cabuly Was there reasonable
For ftarce hen lie took and seized the FORTH
cation that on,manded the Straits OF Babel Man
deb Sir, ] will not read from an American work
to disclose tire character Of British agg essons lest
should be charged hy Efgi-hmen wl'h having
taken un' sir authority against them. but / will
reada few sentences from British work and an able
one BiatIpt cd Nagaaint for the year ls43, which
show the grounds and miserable pretexts upon which
shey seized this town and fertilization of Alden.
On page 4e4 OF tie fiftythird volume OF Backwood,
for The year 1913, you find the whole subject dis
cuseedf Tie writer says
The process by which we ottsiDed this f,ong Ia Ara
bia ict TdsEse with the maxi ms CT 10y
adopted ~ he tbeu Of B sh Inois and whi;n
they tip engaged in carrying nut
far extepced in AifphaIis.an. in both
per bsps f,"r benevaen' anxiety 70 aceo nnocate
dip om.cy 70 he psiive ideas Of those with whom
had To deal
The good oil rule
Sufbcesh them, the simple plan
That they shosli take who have the power,
Ard trey should kteo who can
was ss% d. the ba.s proceedings and though
the praant VIII N FOR time attended our phil
an IN. in the Ct good and civil
xauop hey the Indus comp eeiy threw into the
stace tbe minor gore Of that this latter achieve
ment eey publc attention at the time
OF ts its merits quite sufficient 70 ente
IL tre sed Office than II has hitherto received
in the psres Of Maya
The author then proceeds to show the modus ope
randi By which Great Britain has extended her pow