New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1858-12-03
TIE pARAGuAY ExpEpIr1oY.

From Washington we learn that the Administration
and its friends entertain serious apprehenson8a as to the
result Of the Paraguay expedition It is thought that
if President Lopez should prove stubborn, and &C.
lively resist the squadron sent against him, he will
be able to either beat it Of altogether prevent it
from doing him any material harm Small as our
sympathy is for the present blundering and in some
respects mbecile Administration, and little as we re-
gret its frequent hnmliations, we cannot but feel
concerned and anxious when, as in the present case
the honor Of the country is imperiled in its hands
So far as is known in this country Of the history of
the original dlihculfy' our Government was fully jus
tilted in fitting out an expedition against Paraguay
and IN eXactlng IRON her the most ample redress and
satisfaction. Our Consul had been nsaIted, our cit
zens maitreated and eJected from the country, and
one of our vessels, engaged in peaceful mission,
had been hred lhto WIN iatal elect
Any nation pretending to respect itself and to pro
tect It's ctzens' could not pass over occurrences Of
this nature IN silence and SO Congress appeared to
think when u placed IN the hands OF the President
the means TO exact reparaLon from the petty Para.
guayan Republic seldom has the note Of prepara-
tlon sounded 50 loudly and 50 long as in the
mastering OF the forces which were to chastise the
insolence and presumption Of contemplate despot,
whose narrow domain Is SO remote from the centers
Of the worlds commerce and intelligence, that its
name s almost unknown, or was until this quarrel
brought it into notice. Vessels were chartered,
armed, manned and equipped, at, from all we can
learn, an almost fabulous outlay of money, No mat
ter, however, for the expense The American nation
is rich, and,the Federal GoyernmentCan always have
/ plenty of money and men, to maintain its rights and
yndicate its honor i it will make proper use Of
the means at its command, its power will be felt and
respected and feared in every quarter of the globe
But how has the carte blanche granted the Presi-
dent in this affair been applied What use has he
made OF the unlimited power placed in his hands to
bring Paraguay to terms whether peaceably or by
force! Perhaps these queries should be addressed to
the Secretaries Of War aud the Navy, to whom, of
course, any defect of Judgment in the preparation
of this expedition is attributable. But the Presi.
dent, himself, is responsible before the American
people for any grave blunder in bringing on or prose
cutting hostilities against foreign power especially
if the result should beto place the nation in false
or ridiculous position, AS we have stated vessels
were chartered, equipped, armed, manned and most
OF them have been dispatched to the scene of diff.
Guilty, or, mayhap, 70 whatever point in the neigh
borhood they will be permitted 10 approach, People
in condition to know something about it, say that
majority OF the vessels engaged in this expedition
are worthless for any purpose of that character and
that among the most worthless are those of sufficient