The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1859-02-15

gates 10 Dare majority OF the senate, anC
to majority Of the House of Representa-
tives, the treaty-making power of this great
empire.
Sir, If there ever was an occasion on
which l should adhere tenaciously to this
right, and insist upon retaining this power
it would be in such case as this. / want
TO see the treaty which shall bring the Is
land Of Cuba into the United States.
want to know the status which that coun-
try is to occupy. 1t is to be Territory Of
subjects, of pocal slaves?-a province, gov
erned by armies and navies, as Spain now
governs it! may ask the President Of
tho United States when he has executed
the treaty-Who are to be the electors OF
the State! What is to be the status OF
the white population? Are they to enjoy
universal suffrage? What is to be the
status Of the free negro population What
is to be the status Of the slave population
We who have disputed SO earnestly, often
so vehomently, year after year, year in and
year out, over the question whether tho In
stitution Of Slavery shall be introduced into
the Territory Of Kansas. are expected by
the President, in his simplicity, to allow
him to determine for the North, and for the
South, forthe Free States and for the Slave
States, at his own absolute pleasure, the
terms and conditions upon which Cuba
shall DO annexedIto the United States, and
incorporated into the Union. say moth
ing Of the present incumbent Of the Execu-
tive office. l say that men never chose,
nor did God ever send on earth, a magis.
trate to whom I would confde this great
question, having a constitutional right to
decide it myself.
l need not say, Sir, that all our treaties
Of annexation contain stipulations guaran-
tying rights to the countries annexed, to
be Incorporated into the Union, and deter
mining the future political rights, power,
and authority of the inhabitants Of those
countries. This bill, then, is in derogatiou
Of the power Of the Senate to determine by
treaty for itself what the safety, honor, and
welfare Of the country demand In regard to
the political organization and government
Of tho Island of Cuba, il it shall be acquired.
Sir, have always received as political
maxim, the declarations made by our pre-
decessors in regard to the acquisition of
Cuba. Every rock and every grain Of sand
in that island were drifted and washed out
from American soil by the floods of the Mis-
sissippi and the othS estuaries Of the Gulf
of Mexico. The islaud has seemed 10, just
as our predecessors have said, to grsvitate
back again to the parent continent from
which II snrano 7 have supnosei that mo-
litical necessities would determine that ul-
innate conclusion, and know that to po-
litical necessities all actions Of government
must bend, and all sentiments Of nations
must accommodate tn msolves. l have
nevertheless, been taught, with the same
maxim, this other rule, that the acquisi-
tion of Cuba is question Of time, of neces-
sity, and of opportunity. 1t was just as
clear sixty years ago, when we acquired
Louisiana, as it is now, that Cuba, in the
language of John Quincy Adams, gravi
tates to the United States, as the apple yet
hanging on its native trunk gravitates to
the earth which sus.ains it. Yet it certain
ly Is true that Cuba was not then acquired,
nor attempted by extraordinary means to
be acquired; and the reason was, that the
time, necessity and opportunity had not
then presented themselves, In fact, the
time is determined by the coincidence Of
necessity and opportunity; and that coinci-
dcnce is the result ola decline Of European
power on this continent, and Of develop
ment of tho growth Of American power on
the same continent. Our forefathers said
all our predecessors have said, that when
the juncture shall arise that there should
be just that necessary decline Of the polit-
ical European power on the continent,
and just that development Of American
power here which makes Spain unable to
keep, and ourselves able freely to obtain,
the island, then it would be hopeless and
idle to refuse TO receive Cuba, even il il
wero undesirable. They have said more,
and | subscribe to it, that we may safely
hold ourselves in patience so long as Spain
can keep it, and no other and stronger Eu-
ropeau power can, or dare, take it from
her. What have to say now is, that the
time and opportunity do not now serve, in
my judgment, any moro than they have
served for tho last sixty years. We may
be nearer, as, indeed, I doubt not We are,
to the acquisition Of Cuba; but we have
not arrived at the point at which the acqui-
sition must necessarily be made, consistent
ly with the conditions Of peace, prudence,
justice, and the national honor.
Ten years ago the President Of the Uni
ted States declared that Cuba was to be
acquired only by treaty, by purchase, and
not by war. The present President Of the
United States re-affirms that proposition
now; so that the only question to bc con-
sidercd is, whether it can be purchased
non. We'll ten years ago, the President
of the United States offered $l00,000,oo0;
and the answer TO the proposition was con-
ceived in terms so decided, so unequivocal,
so utterly forbiddng all hope, that it was
never afterwards renewed; and silence has
been observed about it ever since, in order
to preserve the good understanding and tho
good nature Of the parties. The message
Of the Presidsnt, sent here on Friday last,
shows us that, down to this hour. the
proposition has not been mentioned to
Spain for period Of ten years. The same
message assures us even that il will not now
be mentioned TO Spain, unless some pecu-
liar aud extraordinary measures are adopt