Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1859-01-28
BUYING CuBi.

! fess to be intent on acquiring Cuba (ssrcan-
nexing" ii, will probably be the term by which
the proposed robbery will be commended in
! the next National Democratic Platform)-
would seen, to ouI-Herod any former exhibi-
tons in this liue. Cuba is the largest and most
cherished external poSsessionUf a nation which
| has outiived, indeed, its palmiest days Of power
and grandeur, bns which is only rendered the
more proud, sensitive and jeaions Of its honor,
/ by painful consciousness Of its own decline
and decay. Under any circumstances, to per-
suade this nation to sell US Cuba would be
very difficult and delicate operation, Ike ask.
/ ing an old noble, tbs living head OF family
I that won renown IN the Crusades or the War
Of the Roses, TO sell bis daughter 10 a lucky
grogseiler or pigdrver for the means of eking
out in relative comfort his few remaining years.
! A franklin or Talleyrand, with carte blanche
| from an astuie and clese-mouthed Government
might well shrink from undertaking so critical,
] dlstasteful, unpromising negotiation Sue
cess In ii nigh. we'll make the fortune Of the
shrewdest diplomatist ever s'sent abroad TO lie
''for the good OF bis country
But in the management of their Cuban di-
| plomacy, our Democratic statesmen evince
! neither tact, adress, nor even simple common
sense. They act precisely az the grogseiler or
pigdriVcr would were he to belt into the pre-
seDco Of the decayod aristocrat in muddy boots
and with his hat on, aud, shaking bag OF
eagles in his face, bIurt out, ssThere's $40 900
SIN hard cash for your daughter all earned in
! ''my regular course Of irade--and If you dou't
! "gire her TO me for thar magnificent sum, I'll
''take her away by force, aud you can't help
/ yourself" A Shiny, crawling worm would
be ashamed to yield to such solicitation as
| that.
The House has, very properly, asked the
| Presiden! TO ibsorm it whether he knows, CO
6ciaIly, that France and England have agreed
| 10 prevent our getting possession Of Cuba un-
| der any circumstances. That he knows il un-
officially, we presume no one doubts, as IN ex-
Minister TO London Is not to be supposed s-
norant on such point OF fact ggh1ich is n--,Tv
well known to everybody cise The only
| question IN the premises is-Have France and
England formally apprised our Government
| that they will not let Go what We have for
mally notified them that VIC viii not let either
OF them do7 Since we have repeatedly notified
them we will not allow any formida bic .i.ar-
time power to acquire Cuba from Spain, have
they been equally frank ip revealing their in-
tentrons and resolutions to uss Plainly, they
ought TO have done SO, and we presume they
| have, aimee Mr.. Buchanan hesta.es 10 answer:
and meantime q caucus Of Democratic Senators
is held at which it is resolved to have Slidell's
modest proposition to.put $50, 900 900 lof pro-
mises for oui children to pay) into the hands of
Mr.. Buchanan, to be used in operations look
ing 10 the acquisition Of Cuba. The Demo-
cratic side Of tue House is 10 follow suit, and
| We shall soon have thi Thirty Million job
brought before Congress and the Country in al
It's monstrous proportions.
The conooctors Of this nsfsrious scheme are
10. idiots, as they would a; first seem to be-
They know, just as we'll rs re do, that Spain
will nevnr yield to suo besslly solia;sstious.
and that, if her Cour. and Cabinet could bo
bribed iu,o yielding assent to such National
dishonor, her People, backed by France and
England, would arrest the conspiracy far this
side Of coDsumnration. What ia the real mean
ing, then, Of thid seeming futiliiy? We answer
it is dodge Of political gsnblers-a bold
stroke for triumph in 1860. 1t is not intend-
e1 to aeqairs Cuba. bu. TO difFuse among .he
ignorant, greedy and unprincped portion of
our people notioa taa: the acquisition Of Gu
ba wouli be capital thing if it coa.d only b,
accomplished That is enough for the present
purpose. How Tyler tripped W Van Buren
in 1881 by pressing the Annexation of Tex
as-how Pierce swept S;ntc after State in 1852
thrcugh The secret organic: :;ion and nischipa-
tiops Of s'The Order Of the Lone Star" or
whatever was the pane Of the flibuster organ
| ization at tia, time, our Slideis and Jeff Da-
vises understand rigA, we'll Let them on'y,
With tue help Of sundry whiting journals in
this city and elsewhere, iufame the popular lust
oF acquisition, and direct it toward ssthe gem
of tho Aatil!es," and their bAtile fer 1860 is
half won.
We meet this juggle at the outset. We in
sist that territorial extension is not now desira>
bic for our country, that We have more good
land already than We subdue and cultivate
for century, that the acquisition of a great,
rich island like Cuba would involve an enor-
nous increase of our Military aud Naval ex-
penditure, and general misdirecton of our
National policy ard aspirations at war with re-
! publican purity and simplicity. The acuuis-
ton of Cuba would largely increase the annual
cost OF our already prodigal and needy govern
ment, while it would scarcely add to SO much
as II subtracsed from our annual revenue. [,
would thrust u into the midst of the rosses-
| ions in the West Indies Of the great European
States, would soon involve rs 10 pro-slayery
| ibuster raids upon Hayti, and expose us to
dangerous complications and frequent wars.-
If Cuba were freely offered Us TO- morrow, with
the hearty assent of every European power, we
should urge its prompt and positive refusal
But to dream Of acquiring il in defiance not
only of every impulse, every instinct, of the
naughty and sensitive Spanish nation, but of
the stern determination which va have justified
by proclaiming that neither of them would be
permitted under any circumstances TO acquire
that islanj--is sheer madness Far better
STRIFE for India at onee, or propose to revolu-
sionizc ireland by the aid of the plotters whose
recent arrest has excited so much pood-natured