The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1859-02-15
THE CUBAN DEBATE.
Speech Of Mr.. seward, In the u. .. Senate,
Monday Jan. "a, 1869.

Mr.. SEwARD-Mr. President. tho bill
which engage the attention of Congress
generally originate either in tho Senate Of
in the House of Representatives. But thil
measure is ushered into our presence by 9
message from the Executive Ialace. 1t il
therefore, in its origin an Executive meas
ure. It's nature corresponds TO its paren.
tagc. 1t proposes to relax constitutional
and legislative restraints upon the Execu
tive power, and to transfer control over the
Treasury, together with tho power Of nego
tiation in foreign affairs, from Congress and
from the Senate TO the President of the
United States. Il Is not an isolated Exec
utive measure of this kind, but it is ono Of
series Of such measures which the Presi
dent of the United States has introduced
at the present session in the same way
One of this series proposes that Congress
shall authorize the President to move the
Army and the Navy Of the United States
into adjacent States of the Republic Of
Mexico ard establish a protectorate there.
Another asks Our consent TO invest tho
President of the United States with the
power to make war in his own discretion
and at his own pleasure against all, or near
ly all, the Spanish American States on this
continent.
A measure thus disparaging to the intel
ligcnce, the virtue, and the independence
of The national Legislature, n measure 80
dangerous to tho civil and religious liber-
ties of the American people, it must be ex.
pected, will receive at the hands Of Con-
gress careful scrutiny. 1t is not my pur-
pose, Mt this time, to bestow that scrutiny,
in its full extent, upon the bill which has
been reported in accordance with the rec
ommendation of the President of the Uni.
ted States; but do intend to indicate
some of the considerations which have bro't
me to the conviction that this bill, under
no circumstances, ought TO receive the ia.
vor Of Congress.
The bill has financial aspect. 1t has
also broad political character. In regard
to the financial aspect, call tho attention
of the Senate to the fact that the bill pro-
poses to appropriate now, at this time, out
of the Treasury of tho United States, $780,
100000 to be placed under the control of
the President Of the United States, to be
paid 10y him to Spain, whenever she shall
have consented to accept any treaty which
he may make with her, for the cession Of
Cuba to the United States, without wait
ing for q ratification Of that treaty by the
Senate Of the United States. This appro
priation of $30000,o ,o00.necessarily involves
now pledge. guarantee, virtually grant
or appropriation of so many more millions
of dollars rs the President Of the United
States, without any recourse to the Senate
or TO Congress, and consulting only his own
mere ambition, caprice or pleasure, shall
agree to give for that island; and this
last amount is altogether Unlimited.
The Bill contains no limitation, and the
President recommends no limitation. 1t is
a Bill then for just so many millions rs the
President may choose TO write in the treaty.
What viii be the number of those millions!
The report Of tao majority Of the commit
tee says. that it will probably be $l25,000
600. This calculation is based upon the
fact that Spain refused slo0,0000,000 ten
years ago, and that Cuba has increased in
value s25,oOO,0 600, according to the esti-
mate OF the majority Of the committee
This estimate is inconclusive, and therefore
unsatisfactory. The amount which Spain
will ask. II we suppose her to accede to this
treaty, will be all that she can get, and the
amount which the President will give, il it
be his purpose to acquire the Island OF
Cuba at all events and under all hazards,
will be the least that Spain will consent to
take. II may then just as well and as ac-
curately be estimated that the sum 10 be
written in the treaty will te 5000, 100000,
or $3.50, 900, 900. or $500, ,O0o, 900, as that
it shall be only Sl25,OOO,0oo.
I will assume that il authorizes the Pres
ident to contract debt to Spain, without
again consulting Congress or the Senate Of
the United States, for the sum Of $780,
100000. This proposition comes at atime
when our revenues are reduced to 0,000,.
900, and there rs q confessed deficiency for
the year Of $50, 100000. 1t is immaterial
whether we borrow this $30,000,000 to
pay Spain, as the Bill proposes or whether
we pay it out Of the receipts Of the revenues
flowing into the Treasury, and borrow the
money to support the place Of what we
thus abstract. 1t proposes nothing less
than to authorize the President Of the Uni
ted States to create at once and absolutely
a debt of $22o,OoO,0o0, in addition to
deficit, which is virtually an existing debt
against the Treasury of 100000, 600; ma
king 100000 Of new debt certain, and
$22O,O0O,O0O contingent. This, added to
an already funded debt of $60,000,0o0,
will raise the National Debt to 92S0,000,-
600. This is to be done under extraordi-
nary circumstances. We have, indeed,
tariff law which brought last year into tho
Treasury over $4,000, 900, and this year
is expected to bring in $50,0oo,0oo; but a
revenue law which leaves an annual deficit
cannot be said to constitute fiscal system.
Congress, after being in session now nearly
two months, has utterly failed 10 devise
any kind of revenue system whatever
Nor has the Executive Administration sub
mitted to Congress any system for this
emergency. This statement is strictly true
If you consider that the President recon-
meuds one system in his annual message,
and that the Secretary Of the Treasury, his
own responsible minister Of finance, submits
to us another and widely different one.