The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-01-06
erey4ions of Northe,7. men to defeat Mei,. pllr-

ereytions Of Northern men TO defeat their p'tr-
poses"
We make these long extracts for the double
purpose of illustrating our remarks above, and
of exposing the heretical tendencies Of the Of
fetal organ. The Intelligent reader Will not
fail to see in these remarks of the OH'on the
effects of the recent Northern elections, and we
should not wonder If the Cabinet of Mr.. Blu
chanan begins to recognise the existence OF a
North.
Many an honest man has been ridden upon a
rail for the utterance of heresies not more grave
than those above quoted from the Union, and
the spirit of the South must have been greatly
lowered, if that journal and the Administration
which it represents are not signally rebuked.
according to the Union, SlaUeyy IN all the
more northern Stare States is utterly Mprotto-
ole, and ,oould break dOlcR at once, bit for the
Southern market, 'ohfch takes Of the surplus.
The editor also states that g ace compare the
negro and aohite populations Of the GU!f
States, zoe shall find that the preponderdnce Of
the former as already. sufficiently great for per-
manent safety and stability" In this state Of
things, the editor takes the side of Virginia and
the northern tier of States, insisting that they
have the right to send their surplus slaves to
the Gulf States, although the effect will be to
increase the preponderance of the blacks in that
! quarter, and thereby endanger their safety and
stability"
INCONGRUITIES IN THE MESSAGE.
The President, in order to make a preteXt
for his proposition to purchase Cuba, at an eX-
pense of hundreds of millions, raises terrible
hue and cry against the Government Of Spain
for Withholding from American claimants an
amount of one hundred and twentyeight thou
sand dollars, damages for injuries alleged to
have been suffered by American citizens at the
hands Of the Cuban authorities. This is GER
tanly specializing in Cuban stocks on a very
small capital, but we presume that it was the
best the President could do under the circum-
stances, and we shall not stop to quarrel with
him on that account, at present 1t is as if
William B. Astor should expend a million in
buying out neighbor whose cattle had dam
aged his farm to the value of thousand dol
lars.
We will add the further remark, that the bit
ter complaints and menaces in which the Pres
ident INDUCES against Spain upon this head
would seem to be no very direct way of concil-
iatiug that Power, or of putting its naughty
rulers in the mood for ceding away its most
valuable possession. But the President is a
famous diplomatist and we would not venture
our poor opinion against his in such matter.
On reflection, it occurs to us that the invectiveS
in which he INDUCES, at the expense of Spanish
honor were intended strictly for home con
sumption, in order to lash the body polite into
passion, and prepare it for the bold PROPOSE
ton which follows
The message is communication addressed,
not to foreign Governments, but TO our own
Congress; and it is not to be presumed, in legal
contemplation, that foreign Governments will
ever see it. But let that pass.
Our object at present is to draw attention to
the seeming inconsistency of the President
loud, long, and angry complaints against Spain
for her failure to do Justice to our aggrieyed
citizens, aohen in tie same message he admits
and ereR insists, that the american Government
has ,cithhe1d justice from Spanish s,,tjectr :
The claims of our citizens against Spain are
of recent date comparatively, none of them run
ming back further than seven or eight years.
But the Spanish claims are of nineteen years
standing. We allude of course to the claim Of
the Spanish pirates Ruiz and Montez, for the
Amistad negroes, who were freed and returned
to Africa by the decisions of American courts.
We deny the justice Of these claims We de
nounce them as infamous but the President
stands in very different attitude towards them.
He admits their justice, and urges their pay
ment upon Congress. The value placed upon
the slaves by these Spanish claimants with in
terest for nineteen years, would be nearly or
quite equal in amount 70 the American claims
against Spain. How utterly unjust and prepos-
ferrous, then, must the Presidents angry com
plants and menaces against Spain appear to
the people and Government of that country.
should his message be translated into Castlian
by some wicked intermeddler in our domestic
affairs .
But there is another marked inconsistency
into which the Presiden has fallen, in his deal.
ings with this subject He is known to be q
champion Of the Supreme Court. It's Glitter
dictd are far more sac ed, in his estimation,
than its solemn decision were to Mr.. Jefferson ;
and, indeed, the President is known to cherish
for the decisions of the Supreme Court a ven
Grafton equal to that Of the Modes and Persians
for their laws. How passing strange, then, that
he should insist on ignoring the decision of the
court on this question? That court, on an APP
peal from the District Court of Connecticut, de
cided the slaves to be free, on the ground that
they were kidnapped and carried into Cuba in
violation of the laws of SPAIN and in violation
of our own laws, which make the crime piracy.
How can the President, an the face Of this de-
cision, and of his own denunciation of the 4 fri
can trade, call upon Congress to pay these in,
famous pirates for the loss of their prey?
THE REVIEW.