The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-12-21

SPEECH or MR. SENATOR cLISGMAN.

hsh ~ W. inonpie VITA the public interest, any
which may have "e , S r,sa bssa @
nen and Nicaragua, Win respect u Tue efHhnaoh ="
Sreseryalhpn Of the clayt bal"sf treaty.
The foregoing resolution being under consideration
AZ cIJNGAfAN said If senators will indulge me for
80 ,i,utes should like to offer OF two why
think some action ought to take place Immediately win
rssrepoe 70 these questions. The American public Is
srv sensitive In relation to the proceedings IN Genital
America and we have had within the last Few days some
,anarxable information from that quarter
W. were told Mr. President, in the annual message oil
tine Executive that England had abandoned the lsht OF
search and thought we had obtained great triumph
Of some sort the question OF the isht 70 seao ana
visit our ships II turns out however, u the newspaper
te,ens are 10 be relied and there seems 10 be
no doubt about the ethat Great britain mas not only
boarded our ships, but that she has examined inc st OF
men on board to ascertain who they were, whether
American born or not, and whether they had arms
Now Il will be recoected that when those proceedings
we're taking place in tho Gulf last spring, which attract
1 40 much attmtion the allegation OF Great britain was
not that she had right to search our SHIPS but that she
lad right 10 visit vessel TO ascertain Its nationality TO
ccran whether il was really American ship, and il
h was then she would let alone but she thought our
flag was liable 10 be abused and to prevent That was ef
sole purpose That was the point IN controversy and
supposed from the Presidents message that she had
abandoned that IL turns out now however, that her
officers 90 on board ship, well knowing it to be an
American ship not raising any petence OF that Sort and
then examine the list of passengers and make inquiries
about them At the time OF tho wal OF lsI2 they went
IN hoard our ships 10 take of their they have
now gone step further they want to ascertain whether
Americans on board have not Is not this very
extraordinary proceeding?
The great difficulty in the way of righting these
onrs Is the Clayton Bulwer treaty BY the terms of
that treaty the United States is bound to occupy,
colombo or fortify any part Of Central America We
have abed by that treaty and Great Britain has not
That treaty very extraordinary IL is the appli
,Gon 10 us of the Monroe doctrine by Great Britain.
lnptrip lyus n ueplu rat nj
that European governments should not colonies Ameri-
"a but Great Britain says to you shall not COLOMBO
Central America They have TUNED the tables COM
pletey upon by this treaty they have actually got
the United States to agree to cclonze, or forty
or occupy any part of Central America While we
talking about the Monroe doctrine and facilitating our
selves the progress il has made Great Britain has ac-
tually applied it to ourselves.
have quoted in this resolution the language OF the
President at the last session upon this subject AS then
understood it, and the whole country understood it,
was supposed that he ardenty desired the abrogaton OF
that treaty but if it could not be abrogated choice
of evils he would acquiesee in settlement which
was not inconsistent with the American view. But from
the tone of the present message il would SEEM think,
that the idea of abrogtng the treaty has been abandoned
by Executive desire to give the Executive If that
be the ct opportunity Of stating the for this
change to the country. think the country ought to
know them.
But there is especial reason Mr.. President, why
desire this subject to have early consideration 1t is
easy to determine precisely what the President means
in his second message but take it that ii is something
like this that this treaty is to stand upon the American
construction which excludes of forever from
that country but that Great Britain is to so in and
make separate treaties with these States. Now what
sort of treaties they TO be ask gentlemen what
sort of treaties is Great Britain likely to make Sir
William GoTely 0useey has gone down there. Will he
take of interests II is said that straws show
which way the wind blows - and / amused three
or four days ago see an elaborate article in the Wash
do lrtln hat
paper is sometimes, at least supposed to reflect the
views of the administration purport of which, as
understood ii, that Great Britain is the only free
country except own and that she is standing up for
freedom and will protect rights against threatened
danger from the French Executive 1t is said that Ma
poeon is dcspoc and with injuries but that
Great Britain will kindly take under her protection
and suppose Sir William Gore 0useley has gone down
there to make treaties for joint advantage What
sort of treaties will he make The newspapers say that
they to be bottomed upon the model of the Cass-
Irisarr treaty. do not know that the programme for
treaty has ever been promulgated by our Executive
read it in manuscript at the last session. then read it
confdentiay, and have right to speak of 1t but
there published in the American papers during the
spring and summer what purpored to BE- copy of it,
and have right to alludc to that, because that
Of the British papers have represented Sir William
Gore Onseley making similar arrangements
There two features in that treaty to which had
decided objections The first that under il and upon
the construction placed upon it by Irsarri who made
two publications. give two notices in the papers, which
commented member of the other house, the right
to to Nicaragua, or to pass through it, might be linn
tied to those who went upon particular line from New
York, and who had permits from the consul was OPP
posed TO that. j thought that Boston, Philadelphia
Charleston, and New Orleans had right to establish
lines and that American citizens la! right to go
them to Nicaragua and to pass through ii. / made some
objections in the other house to this feature
But there another feature which still more OBJ
ectionablc my Judgment It was this: according to
that programme of treaty the United States had the
right protect the transit route by the landing OF troops
&C. There another clause, perhaps the fifteenth
sixteenth article by which the United States bound itself
TO its influence to induce other foreign governments
to make similar guarantee of protection and neutrality
to the routes. What is the meaning Of that We bind
ourselves to induce Great Britain, for example, and
France to guarantee tho neutrality and the safety of
those routes If they do it, of it is not to be
naked guarantee without right to carry it out If they
bind themselves to keep those routes in certain cond
ton, they have right of course to the means
oeary for that purpose and what means will they use
Most unquestonably they will have the right to
actly the that the treaty allows to use
that is they may occupy with troops and therefore
gard this treaty for the joint occupation of those
tries by the United States, France and England and all
other nations whopropose to come in,
What desire is to get all the facts at present In
the dark. 1t looks from these late proceedings very
much if that to be the policy of Great Britain.
You find her going forward and searching ships in
neutral port avowng the purpose to prevent fbusters
going there not only the high though they may
go in ships, and stopping citizens who at
tempt TO go there in large numbers and obgng them to
put back to New York. Remember, sir that the very
ground which the Clay -Bulwer treaty placed
was to open the way to our Pacific possessions Our
government went into it to get passage across the
iStbmus That we have not got but the restrictive
provision by which we bound ourselves never occupy