The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1859-03-03
SPEECH
SENATOR THOMPSON OF KY.
On the Acquisition Of Cuba.

! DHlNu ULD uUlIlL DUlN VI III q
On the Acquisition of Cuba.
Mr.. THOMPSON CKy) Mr.. Prosi.
dent it is annoying to me that, after
having been on good terms with all my
brother Senators, have had so much
difficulty in getting the floor to say
what little L have to say on this subject,
| just as I am going out. 1 will not say
that it is impolte or unfeeling, but it is
certainly very annoying. I desire to
say something on this bill, which pro-
poses to make an appropriation "to ia
cilitate the acquisition of Cuba by ne
gotiation, so far as my strength and
voice may hold out
In tho frst place. object to the title
of the bill 1t imports that we arc to
acquire Cuba by negotiation, and that
we simply want some facilities for that
purpose, which, in mercantile phrase,
means money. Here it means $50, ,O0O,-
O00 I will not vote to commit myself
to anything of that sort; and, besides,
before get through I hope to show to
any reasonable man that the whole
scheme is ill-timed improper and un-
called for.
The zeal and ability with which the
Senators from Louisiana press the ao-
QUESTION of Cuba have struck me with
some surprise. 1t seems to me that if
Cuba were acquired the whole sugar in
terest of Louisiana, which is now pro-
tccted by a tariff, would be prostratcd.
The lands of Louisiana are too far south
to be very well convertible into cotton
lands, The loss of machinery, the loss
of time, the ignorance of the hands,
would be equivalent to fire on each
plantation. Not only that, but there
would 90 out from Louisiana to Cuba,
for the purpose Of getting land there, the
active, the enterprising capitalists, the
men of value, and the men ofsubstance.
Many of the sugar planters, and the
best Of them, would emigrate; the droncs,
the idlers, and the trifers, would stay at
home. We see this exemplifed in the
case Of every new State. You find there
an active, enterprising, thrifty popula-
ton, more so than you see in an old
State, because the active, the enterpris-
ing, the intelligent, the men bent on ma
king a fortune have gone there. Ken.
tucky has been bled in that way by
Missouri, by Louisiana by Illinois, and
by Indiana until will not say that it has
such a sorry population that it lately
turned to be a Democratic State; for l
believe we could have held our own if il
had not been for this everlasting niger
question and the American question.
Well, sir, what will be the second ef-
feet upon Louisiana? Whereverin the
world commerce prevails, its cntrcpots
are the points of transhipmeut-the ter
mini Of great times; they are the places
where commodities arc exchanged, and
there cities grow up, Now, suppose the
city of Havana should grow up under the
American protection: it will be some six,
or eight, or ten days shorter for foreign
vessels to load with cotton there than TO
60 o New Orleans; and cotton will be
| transported there from the Mississippi
Valley, passing by New Orleans. Cotton
will land at the last terminus; land in
a good harbor; and it is pleasantor
place than New Orleans, and no more
liable to yellow fever. I say, then,
this is bill to break up the sugar
planting interest Of Louisiana, and to
dwarf the City Of New Orleans. Why,
Mr. President, that little City of Lex
ington of yours, in Kentucky, was a
very nice, pretty, growing town until it
had a couple of railroads run through
it, andnow nobody goes there at all, peo.
pie do not even dine there Laughter. !
Two railroads have run through it-ono
going to Cincinnati and one going to
Louisville; and all the people go to the
one city or the other, where they have a
larger stock of goods to pick from, and
because they like a little pleasant trav-
ell, and ladies like to take an airing
anyhow, and see another city. There is
neither trade nor commerce, nor eating,
nor anything done there. Why, Sir,
the jimpson weeds are all over the
streets, and the town absolutely looks
seedy. Laughter.
That is the effect Of going through
one of these places and giving them a
thing of that Sort just before that,
the little town Of Danville, when L was
a boy, as a matter of great enterprise,
constructed, and nearly broke themselves
in constructing a turnpike road to the
city of Lexington; and a fine turnpike
road it was. AZ that time they had
thirty three stores and a good deal of
trading there; but when the turnpike
road was made, everybody went TO Lex
ington, and Danville is now a perfectly
finished town. There is a grocery, aud,
perhaps, ono or two stores aud sort of
tavern-just symptoms of a town hay
ing been there. Whenever you trans
late the terminus, the entrepot Of tran
shipment, you will find that New Or
leans, as a place Of business, will shriv-
el up and sink in the same way. That
is my judgment.
This bill proposes to grant the Presi-
dent of the United States 100000
to be used in purchasing Cuba 1t was
known TO the President, when he made
the suggestion in his message, that
Spain had refused tho trade; and .he
knew very well that, by the civil or
common law it took two to make a trade,
Now / will ask what was tho use, instead
Of resorting TO the ordinary means Of
negotiation, to put into the message a
sort Of proclamation TO Spain, and TO
garry n forward bv this bill when we