Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1856-08-28
THE osTEND CONFERENCE.

THE osTEND coNFERENcE.I
Not the least surprising feature of
the present canvass is the party In
fatuation which causes even South
ern know nothings to denounce Mr..
Buchanan for what is called the Os-
tend Manifesto, put forth in 1853 by
our Ministers to the three leading
Courts of Europe = England, France
and Spain-in relation to Cuba
This document shows the importance
and the relationship Of that island to
this country, its present situation
and future fate--urges that if Spain
retains it she must not Africanize it
as st. Domingo was, that it must not
pass into The hands Of any other pow
er Of Europe, that We ought to buy
lit from her even at a cost of two
hundred millions, and rather than
let it be Africanized or become an ap-
pendage Of France or England, we
ought in stern self defence to seize
it. Yet Southern men, blinded by
party zeal, denounce Mr.. Buchanan
for his watchfulness over Southern
interests and safety! The following
extracts embrace the salient points of
the Manifesto:
On the importance to our govern
ment Of the acquisition of Cuba the
Ostend document holds this language:
at must be clear to every reflect
| ing mind that, from the popularity of
its geographical position and the con-
siderations attendant on it, Cuba is
as necessary to the North American
republic as any of its present mem
bers, and that it belongs naturally to
that great family of States of which
the Union is the providential nursery.
"From its locality it commands the
mouth of the Mississippi and the i'm
mense and annually increasing trade
which must seek this avenue to the
ocean.
"On the Vulnerable navigable
streams, measuring an aggregate
course of some thirty thousand miles,
which disembogue themselvesthrough
this magnificent river into the Gulf
of Mexico, the increase of the popu-
lation, within the last ten years, a.
mounts to more than that of the en-
tire Union at the time Louisiana was
annexed to it.
"The natural and main outlet to
1.-THE products Of this entire popula-
Ition. the highway of their direct in
Itercourse with the Atlantic and Pa
Icific States, can never be secure, but
must ever be endangered whilst Gu
ba is dependency of a distant pow
er, in whose possession it has proved
to be source of const annoyance
and embarrassment to tnelr interest
"Indeed, the Union can never en-
10y Iepose, nor possess reliable secu.
rity, as long as Cuba is not embraced
within its boundaries.
ats immediate acquisition by oul
government is of paramount impor-
tance, and we cannot doubt but that
lit is a consummation devoutly wished
for by its inhabitants.
"The intercourse which its proximi
ty to our coast begets and encoura
ges between them and the citizen;
of the United States has, in the pro
gress of time, so united their inter
course and blended their fortunes
: that they now look upon each othel
as if they were one people and ha(
, but one destiny.
T considerations exist which rem
der delay il, the acquisition of thi
, island exceedingly dangerous to thu
United States.
THE system ofimmigration and la
Dor, and the tyranny and oppression
which characterize its immediate ru
Hers, threaten an instruction at eve
) ~ moment, which may result in dread
: fal consequences to the America,
' people.
II "Cnba has thus become to us an un
ceasing danger, and a permanent cause
> of anxiety and alarm
After arguing to show that Spair
, would consult her own interest by a
| greeting to sell Cuba to the United
! States, the document proceeds to dis
cuss the question, in the alternative
of her refusing to sell, as follows: