The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-09-04
BALTIMORE.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1860

So long as desperate and unprincipled Adventu-
rers are permitted to violate the neutrality laws
with IMMUNITY, and TO make war upon neighboring
States on the shaowest Of pretexts, or without
any prctext at all so long such reckless forays will
be undertaken. and the nation whose citizens have
been guilty of these misdeeds must, Justly or I'M
Justly. bear the burden of the blame A war waged
in good cause, in defence Of principle or in vim
dication ola right, however much lis necessity may
be deplored, carries with it the popular sympathy
and merits popular support. But that band of
common marauders should be permitted to attack
peaceful and friendly people, with other OBJ
iects than ambition Of conquest and partition of
the spoils, is neither in accordance with the spirit
of the age nor in consonance with the simplest dc
tates of humanity. The capture of Truxillo, by
WALKER, differs but little, except in respect to lat
itude, from the capture of Harpers Ferry by old
JoHN Brown. WALKER entertains wild scheme
of revolutionizing the whole of Central America
Just as the programme drawn up in Canada showed
that BROWN was visionary enough TO believe that
he could revolutOnize the Southern States BRowN
and his companions failed miseraby in their
ill-concerted enterprise, and were summarily dis
posed Of; and if WALKER and his followers were
to meet with similar fate, none but their i'm
mediate friends and acquaintance would mourn
over their loss. If people in arms were en-
deavoring to shake off oppressor and had
invited foreigners 10 assist them in conquering
their Independence, expedition fitted out in
response TO the appeal might find lis justification
in the facts Of the case, and in the urgency Of the
summons. 1t was this plea which gave some
color Of propriety TO WALKERS first appearance in
Nicaragua, for he had really been called there to
support the CHAMoRGo faction; and it was not
until he found himself strong enough to crush
out, or overawe both factions, and to secure his
own election to the Presidency, that the Ncara-
guans, discovering that they had exchanged King
LOG for King SToEK entered into those plots
and combinations against him which resulted in
his expulsion from the country. The evil conse-
quences of his brief tenure Of office are apparent
to this day--in the ruins of Granada; in
the numerous graves of his too confiding
companions in the destruction of q large
amount Of valuable property belonging to
American citizens, and in the utter breaking
up of an important transit route between the At
lantic and the Pacific. Such disasters as these
would scarcely warrant under any circumstances,
the larger aspirations in which he is reported to
indulge, and which, with the limited means he
has at his command only serve 10 add to the
of his present invasion of the territory
of Honduras, The superstition that he was acting
in conjunction with CABANAs TO expel GUARDIoLA
from the Presidency, as GUARDIoLA, with the as
sslance of Guatemala had previously thrust out
CABANAs, receives but slender confirmation from
the proclamation which WALKER has addressed to
the people of Honduras. In that precious docu-
mcnt nothing is clear but WALKERS own per-
plexity with regard to his future course. He as
sumes, indeed, to have taken Truxillo in the in
terest of the people of the Bay Islands, and avows
that his object is--also in behalf of the people of
the Bay lslands--to secure TO Honduras the peace
able possession of the Islands, by putting down
GUARDIoLA on the mainland and elevatine some
one else in his stead. As the population of all the
Bay Islands, Ruatan included, does not much ex-
coed twenty-five hundred persons; of which number
only about five hundred are whites the remainder
being negroes and mixed breeds this patriotic ex-
ercise of an authority which has not been delega-
ted Is much more noticeable than commendabe.
That the people of Ruatau-a nest of smugelers
chiefiy--in view Of their transfer to Honduras by
Great Britain, have demanded concessions of
GuARDIoLA which, if allowed, would be equivalent
to independence, is undoubtedly true But it is
also unquesti9rable that il would be in the highest
degree impolitic in the Government of Honduras
to acccde to their terms. That emigrants from
the UNITED STATES were invited to Ruatan, to aid
the people there in defending the privileges which
they claim, is, we believe, conceded. But the
spirit Of opposition was evidently confined to
few Of the more turbulent of the inhabitants, for
whom the emigrants reached Knatan, in squads, by
the schooners which occasionally touch there, they
met with by NJ means so hearty n welcome as they
were led 10 anticipate For deliyerers, the treat
ment they experienced was lrigid in the extreme
Instead Of having lands set apart for them, and
provision made for their subsistence until the
lands were brought under cultivation, according
10 promise, they were obliged TO shelter them
selves where they could, and subsist as they
could, until WALKER joined them under a
ieigned name and took them on board of
his schooner. i part Of this GOODNESS may be
attributed to the fact that the transfer of iurisdic
ton did not take place at the time appointed the
British authorities still holding possession at the
request Of GUARDIOLA. This modification of the
programme appears to have disconnected alike the
designs of the macontents Of Ruatan. and the
prospects Of WALKER. From the 2lst of June until
the 9TH of August he continued to cruise about the
Caribbean sea in the hope that during his absence
the transfer of the island would be perfected, and
1t was not until after he had abandoned all expec-
tation Of making Euatan his base of operations,
that he determined upon the capture of Truxio
That act only bc characterized as the desperate
resort OF desperate man. Being foiled in obtain
ing foothold on the islands, and ashamed to
abandon the enterprise, he has struck a blow
wlGch secures nothing and advances nothing. If
lie beats off GUARDIoLA, who is said to be march
ing against him, he cannot follow up his victory.
With but about four hundred followers, a limited
supply OF arms and ammunition, and with no party
in the interior in his favor it would be little short of
madness 10 attempt to march upon the capitol, two
hundred miles distant. Equally dangerous would be
the attempt to reach Nicaragua across the brok en-
and mountainous country Of Honduras or by the
swamps and lagoons of Mosquito By the first
route he would be subjected to incessant attacks
from the Carihs; by the second he would encoun-
ter In malaria an enemy perhaps still more fatal.
His avowed intention is to overturn the present
Government Of Honduras, and if the enemies OF
GUARDIoLA--who are said to be numerous-should
cooperate with WALKER-as it was at one time
confidently asserted they would-he might possibly
succeed in efecting his purpose. IF, on the con-
trary, no popular rising should take place, and
he should happen to fall into the hands of GUAR
DIoLA, his fate may be surmised from what we
already know of the old instincts of 'the tiger of
Honduras
We are gratified to learn, from the american of
yesterday, that our reporter was right in not as
cribing to Judge BOND the erroneous view of the
law of haJeds corpus, upon which we commented