Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-02-24
MORNING LEADER.
SPEECH
OF SENATOR THOMPSON, OF KENTUCKY
On the Acquisition of Cuba.

resumed the consideration of the bill Is. No
497) making appropriation to facilitate the ac-
QUESTION of Cuba by negotiation; the pending
question being on the amendment offered by
Mr.. Foot
Mr.. THOMPSON (Ky.)-Mr. President, 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 l am going out. l will not say that it
is impoite or unfeeiing, but it is certainly very
annoying. desire to say something on this
bill, which proposes TO make an appropriation
''to facilitate the acquisition of Cuba by negO-
tiatien, asG far as my strength and voice may
| hold out.
In the first place, object 10 the title of the
bill Il imports that we are to acquire Cuba by
negotiation, and that we simply want some IA
ciiities for that purpose, which, in mercantile
phrase, means money. Here it means $780,
100000. l will not vote 10 commit myself to
anything of that sort; and, besides, before get
through, hope to show to any reasonable man
that the whole scheme is ill-timed, improper
and uncalled for.
The zeal and ability with which the Senators
from Louisiana press the acquisition of Cuba
have struck me with some surprise. 1t seems
to me that if Cuba were acquired the whole
sugar interest of Louisiana, which is now pro-
tected by tariff, would be prostrated. 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 GO
out from Louisiana to Cuba, for the purpose of
getting lands there, the active, the enterprising
capitalists, the men of value, and the men of
substance. Many of the sugar planters, and the
best of them, would emigrate; the drones, the
idlers, and the trihers, would stay at home
We see this exemplifed in the case of every
new State. You find there an active, enter
prising, thrifty population more so than you see
in an old State, because the active, the enter
prising, the intelligent, the men bent on making
fortune have gone there Kentucky has been
bled in that way by Missouri, by Louisiana, by
Illinois, and by Indiana, until l will not say
that it has such a sorry population that it late.
| ly turned to be Democratic State; for be-
lieve we still could have held our own if it had
not been for this everlasting Digger question and
the American question
Well, Sir, what will be the second effect upon
Louisiana! Wherever in the world commerce
prevails, its entrepots are the points of trans
shipment-the termini Of great lines; they are
the places where commodities are 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 go to 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 pleasanter place than
New Orleans, and no more liable to yellow fever.
l 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 Lexington of yours, in Ken
lucky, was a very nice, pretty, growing town
until it had couple Of railroads run through
it, AMI now nobody goes there at all, people
do not even dine there [Laughter.1 Two
railroads have run through it-one going to Gin
einnati and one going 70 Louisville; and all the
people go TO the one city or the other where
they have larger stock of goods to pick from,
and because they like a little pleasant travel,
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 jimson weeds are all over the
streets, and the town absolutely looks seedy.-
| ILaughter.l That is the effect of going through
one of these places and giving them thing of
that sort. Just before that, the little town of
DantiIfe, when / was boy, as a matter of
great enterprise, constructed, and nearly broke
| themselves in constructing, turnpike road to
| the city of Lexington; and fine turnpike road
it was. At that-time they had thirty-three
stores and good deal of trading there; but
when the turnpike road was made, every body
went to Lexington, and Danville is now per-
fecty finished town. There is grocery, and,
perhaps, one or two stores and sort of a tav-
| ern-just symptoms Of a town having been
| there Whenever you translate the terminus,
the entrepot of transhipment, you will find that
New Orleans, as a place of business, will
shrivel up and sink in the same way. That is
my judgment.
The bill proposed to grant the President of
! the United States $50 100000 to be used in
purchasing Cuba It'was known to the Presi
dent when ne made the suggestion in his mes
sage, that Spain had refused to trade; and he
knew very well that, by the civil or common
law, il took two to make trade Now l will
ask what was the use, instead of resorting to
the ordinary means of negotiation, to put into
the message sort of proclamation to Span,
and to carry it forward by this bill, when we
know that the proposition of the message was
received at Madrid, will not say with Casti-
ian pride, bat at least'with Spanish pomp =
They inscribed their determination on columns
and pillars; and unanimously made address to
the throne, saying that they never would part
with Cuba They have said to you they will
not trade; and yet, in the face of their declara-
ton, you propose to trade with them. What
sort of trade do you mean! You say your
svowed policy is, that England and France shall
not have Cuba Do you mean to beat off all
other bidders, and levy on the island by sort
of Constabls's salelof it, without authority of
law just say it is sale and seizure, and buy it
for what you please That is i substantially.
| Or, if you do not mean that, / ask what kind Of
pious and Christian humanity there is in proud
nation like this. to poor, weak, old Govern
ment that has a raw, sore place, to take an ig-
nited frebrand and be jabbing her, and bbing
her, just to torment herr Is the idea that ali
though she is not willing to trade, you will tor
ment her so that she shall have no peace of her
life, and finally make the trade to get nd of
youi eE5zFl EaF
Without regard to the fact that Spain says
she will not trade, the bill is an enormous prop
osition upon its face We gave SIS, 5,000, 600 TO
the Emperor Napoleon for Louisiana, vast
territory, reaching from the mouth to the source
of the Mississippi river, embracing the present
States of Louisiana. Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa
and ldnnesots. There was a perfect kingdom
for sl5, 5,00e,000. We got vast domain of
public land, of crown lands belonging to France,
more than enough to pay all the expenses of
the purchase, and of their survey. and leave us
a profit. That is trade that man might well
strain point for. Jefferson was said to enter
tain some constitutional scruples about that &C
QUESTION but almost any mans constitutional
scruples would give way under the force of
such trade as that Then we bought the
whole southern end of Florida, that vast penin-
sula, for s5,oO0,0 900. It would have been a
pretty good purchase, if we had not been pay
ing ever since will not say that we have
paid more than the State is worth, for it is a
good State nov, and / viii not speak disre-
sPectfully of herr but if it had not been for