Litchfield enquirer., 1859-03-10
SPEECH OF SENATOR THOMPSON ss u 2g OF KENTUCKY, -ss
 9. ON THE ACQUISITION OF CUBA.
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 MT. President, there are many other things to which l should alude but know the time of the Senate is precious. Perhaps should be indulged with continuance but, conden- sing as well as l can, will make an effort to get through with what have to say.-I have an objection to the terms of this bill it. self-an insuperable objection. It provides
 'That the sum of $50 900 600 be- and the same is hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated to enable the President to malea treaty with Spain for the pur- chase of the Island of Cuba, to be used by him in the event of said treaty, when signed by the author ized agents of the two Governments, and duly rati- fled by Span shall call for the expenditure of the same or any part thereof full and accurate ac- counts for which expenditure shall be by him trans mitted to Congress at early day practicable" "
 What does this mean? O'Donnell, or Els partero, or somebody else, is at the head of Donna Isabella's Government. Who is in power do not know but the intention is, that the money is to be drawn out aud lodged safely with our Minister, Mir. Preston, under the flag of the United States, and then we are to wait for revolution in Spain, then we are to make a trade with the incoming Gov ernment-say it is a de facto Government get them to sign treaty, and the thing is finished. They will have got $50, ,000, 600 of our money as prepayment. It is to be in hand in readiness to take advantage of the nick of time for it cannot be supposed it is to be used in any other way, or any other juncture or at any other time. Some pro- mumcsamemto or coup detat upsets the Gov ernment, and there is trade of this sort Well, Sir, l am not much for that kind of ne- gotta tion and, beside, I am for keeping the money where it is.
 The Constitution provides that the Presi- dent may make treaties, by and with the ad- vice and consent of the Senate of the United States-two thirds of them concurring. The framers of the Constitution were so cautious in regard to this matter that they put upon the President the check of requiring two thirds of the Senate to ratfy any treaty he might make, before it should be binding. In the beginning of the Government the Senate was regarded as consulting Executive Chamber. How many Senators the President has con- suited about this matter l do not know ; what Senators he. has consulted, 1 cannot tell The money, however is to be drawn out of the Treasury, and We are not to know how it is to be used but, after it has been spent, the President is to file full and accurate &C., counts. What is filing full and accurate ae- counts
 Suppose the money is misspent, suppose it is lost or fooled away you have granted him a vote of confidence, and I would as soon grant vote of unlimited confidence as to have no further security than this. He is to file ac- counts Of what he spends. He is to have this vast amount of money in his pocket under his control He is anxious to distinguish his Ad- inistration-anxious, if possible to do some- thing by which posterity will remember him and connect his name with Cuba. In addi- tion to his natural ardor, and the opinions he already has on this subject, he might think, if you vote him this money, that he was under obligations to do somethng-that he must move. Well, Sir, 1 will not put any such en- barrassing obligation on him. l do not care how fair or how accurate his accounts may be, whenever they come in there will be an eternal scandal and gossip in the politics of this conn. try, and supposition that all was not right People will so talk and so think, and you can not help yourselves.
 Besides, when the Senate come to ratify the treaty, do not think it is fair for them to have such constraint imposed upon them as the payment of such large sum would be- When my successor comes here to act upon the treaty, want him to be untrammelled, to act according to his dictates of duty under his oath, and according to his conscience but ii you have already paid $50, O,OOO, 900, that vii hang like mllstone around his neck The Senate will act, under the fear of losing this large sum, and the demand will be, "Come down with the balance to secure what you have already granted, or you will lose what you put up." That is not the Constitution that is not the way the Constitution contem plates. It it not the way, in my judgment to carry it on.
 Mir. President, iu refecting on the proposi the spirit of fillibustering, must say wort or two more to him. He is a man of eminent ability and genial in feeling. do not thinl his election would be casus federis-nt breach of the league between the States. H, is constitutional man, and if he should b. elected, there must be some overt act of op pression, or rebellion, or derelction from duty before you could complain. My opinion is that he is such generous-hearted man tha he would rather lean toward the South, b, way of showing that he was impartial. But Sir, l do not want him to talk any more abou
 that gang of Austrians, and Netherlandmen ard lrishmen, in the Rocky Mountains, ma
 king his Pacific Railroad, with the idea tha
 he is going to work off the filibuster spirit. I
 reminds me of an anecdote which i hear,
 about countryman of my friend from Soul
 Carolina. For the first time in his life he say
 some monkeys, and from the agility witt l which they jumped from prong to prong witt
 their nice little fingers, he thought it would b
 the grandest speculation in creation to trai
 them to cotton picking, and he got some fo
 that purpose. A friend met him afterward
 and asked him how he had made out. {" Firs rate," said he, "except that it took two ovel