Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-02-24
AMERICANIZING CrBA.

AMERICANIZING CUBA.
Two or three very vague notions have been
introduced into this debate. Gentlemen
have talked about Americanizing Cuba
What sort of Americanizing will 60 on there?
/ understood the Senator from Louisiana to
express sympathy with Cubans, who, he
said, were painting for liberty" Annex
Cuba, and men from Georgia, from Alaba-
ma, from Kentucky, will 90 in there; they
will say: 1.-The Government has bought it,
and, as against Cuban, they will consider
that it is pre-empted and paid for by them.
The truth is, it is hereditary, or it has been
taught to them: at any rate, it is in the An
glo-Saxon blood. Our people believe it is no
harm to take away from a Spaniard or a
Mexican or an Indian anything he has got,
and they want; and they do not believe it is
homicide or murder to kill him either
daughter What will be done by our ad-
yenturers when they land there? Not TO be
invidious, will take my own State as an il
lustration. | Twill suppose that three Ken
tuckians 90 down to Cuba; one of them an
old fellow, with parcel of negroes. As MIR.
Buchanan is going to buy Cuba by sort Of
forced sale, without authority of law, warn
ing off all other bidders, this old fellow
would settle upon some Cuban, hunt him out,
and take possession. He would then begin
to survey and denmark for annexation, some
other mans plantation. He would elbow
him, browbeat him, and frown at him; show
him bowie-knivcs and rcvolyers; knock him
down with his fist, perhaps, and stamp on
him little in place where he could not be
seen, 80 as to escape the law. 4 man would
be inclined, naturally, under such process,
to give up. There is sentiment among our
people that they have right 10 do that thing.
They would murder; they would marry; or
they would do anything in the world, to get
all that was going.
The other two young gentlemen, whom
suppose to 20 down from Kentucky, are a
couple of your tillibusters-elcgant men,
having nothing to live upon and doing moth
ing and nothing to do anything upon
(Laughter.) They talk about fast horses,
about pistol shooting, and about cunning,
and they can shoot pistols. One of them will
get to be all oyerseer for widow, and marry
her, and the next year You would find the
rest of the family disinhcrited. daughter.
The other, being remarkably spry and
rood-looking fellow, will run away with
some old Cubans daughter; he would get in
to the family, and he would be there but a
little time before the old man would be in a
corner of the plantation, and he in full pos
session and with good title! That is the
way it is to be Americanized, and the way
they will 90 on when they get there.
Why, sir, there is not Spaniard now TO
be found in New Orleans; and | have been
there and perambulated over the whole city.
There is not one that ever saw in St. Louis,
and have been there two or three times
At St. Augustine and Pensacola there are
none, The truth is, the Spanish race get
out of the way of our race. They will not
remain in Cuba: they have too much instinct
for that. You just put out here in one of our
forests, or on the plains, ut spring or lick, a
lion from the torrid zone, and let a herd OF
buffalo see him lash his sides with his tail,
and roar, and strike down with blow a
horse. and break the back of an elk, and
they will have sense enough not to go back
there. Put down tiger, and let him, with
his fierce sweep, and his yellow, glazing
eyes, pounce in upon gang OF deer, and /
venture to say they will not be in that neigh
borhood nor within twenty miles of that
place, in forty days. Your Cubans know, If
they have any sense, how this population
have been rooted out will give familiar
illustration that you can all understand, and
that want the people in the country to un-
dsrstand. We formerly had about our barns
in Kentucky what We called the old-fashion-
ed blue rat, and there are in the country
swarms of another description of rats called
tho Norway rats, who eat up the blue rats.
When the travelling gangs of the Norway
rats invade barn, the blue rats scamper fer
their lives, knowing that they will be eaten
up if they do not leave. They are literally
Cubans ''panting for liberty" and would
also be Cubans painting for life under those
circumstances. Laughter) That will be
the effect of it, evidently and plainly. That
is the process by which the Americanization
would 60 on.
FILIBUSrRRING AND THE PRESIDENCY
Mr.. President, in rejecting on the PROPOSE
ton of the Senator from New York to let of
the spirit of flibustering, | must say word
or two more to him. He is man of emf
mont ability, and genial in feeling. do not
think his election would be casus ,ftrderis;
no breach of the league between the States;
He is constitutional man, and if he SHOULD
be elected there must DO some overt act OF
oppression, or rebellion. or dereliction from
duty, before you could complain. My opin-
ion ia, that he is such generous-hearted
man that he would rather lean towards the
South, by way of showing that he was impair
tial. But, sir, do not want him to talk any
more about that gang Of Austrlans and
Merchantmen and Irishmen in the Rocky
Mountains, making his Pacific Railroad.
with the idea that that is going to work of
the tilibuster spirit. 1t reminds me OF an
anecdote which heard, about countryman
of nv friend from South Carolina. For the
first time in his life he saw some monkeys;
and from the agility with which they jumped
from prong to prong with nice little fingers,
he thought it would be the grandest specula-
ton in creation to train them to cotton pick
ing, and be got some for that purpose. A
friend met him afterwards and asked him
how he had made out. First rate" said
he, Except that it took two overseers to
watch each monkey" Laughter.) That
will be precisely the way you will work the
flibusters out, according to the plan OF the
Senator from New York.
Mr.. President, this is mischicvous thing
for another reason. 1t brings up agitation
on the negro question, inevitably and GER
tainly. was in hopes that after We had got
rid Of Kansas the country would have some
ouiet, have been now, of and on, nearly
tventy years in Congress; and trusted that
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