The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1865-08-08
THE MONROE pocrRrnn.

Newspapers, stump orators and political re-
soluSipn-makers have had much to say about
the Monroe Doctrine, and yet it is believed
that only small proportion of those who use
or hear the term have both definite and q
sls correct idea of what that doctrine is. There
isa very general impression that this doctrine
ifcarie lout, would prevent any foreign prince
from gaining foothold on this continent nc
matter under what circumstances he mi ht at
tempt it. IfMexico, Central America, or any
othel- American state should, by peaceful and
legitimate treaty, attempt to transfer portion
Of its territory to European sovereign, &c
make room for a European prince on this side
of the Atlantic, it has been thought by many
% that this would be a violation Of the Monroe
Doctrine, and that the United States, under
tlat doctrine, j" would be called upon to pre-
vent by force if necessary, any such trans
planting of royalty from the Old to the New
World and yet no one has been able to tell
from whence we derived the right thus to in
tsrtere with our neighbors. Now the Monroe
Doctrine Is too sensible to cover any such med
diesome spirit as this on the part of our gov
eminent. The whole Of this famous doctrine
is emb'acei in single paragraph of the an
n1al message OF President Monroe of Dec. 2,
1928. s.-i.e iaiaasslsaa iltfss
Thai was time when the South American
States o. well as Mexico were in the throes Of
revolution; or when they had ignored foreign
rule, spurnee the Spanish yoke, and asserte d
AMI were laboriny to maintain and establis h
their rights as free, Independent and sovereign
States. II was at such time, and under such
circumstances, and with reference to such a
condition of afairs, that the President said in
his annual message already referred to:
k"Wish the existing colonies or dependencies
OF any E1ropean power we have not interior
ed, AMI shall not Interfere But with the gov
6 erlnsnss who have declared their independ-
q aeaes, aa1 maintained it, and whose independ-
encs W. have on great consideration, and on
just principles acknowledged we could no.
yiew any int opposition for the purpose of-op-
p-e5nlg them, or Controlling in any other man
n,r thsif d stiay, by any European power, in
any osher light thaa as a manifestation of an
ulffie1 IDLY disposition towards the United
The above is the aMonroe Doctrinen II
wa,a friendly word for those peoples which.
like oar own, had thrown off the foreign yoke
and succsssfulIy asserted their right to be free
and Independent; it was a word Of admoni-
ton 20 any foreign power that should attempt
to Cypress or control them; it was an assertion
Of our sympathy for such infant and strds
Cling governments; a distinct avowal that theil
cau5e and our own were so nearly identified
that blow at them would be regarded as an
uariendly act towards ourselves s5
1t seems to us the case Of Mexico, at the
pre'ent moment, affords precisely such an ex-
ample as Mr. Monroe contemplated, and if the
Monroe Doctrine is sound, that we owe it to our.
se.ve' tonotify Messrs. Napoleon and Maximili.
az that we can look upon their foray in Mexico
in "no other light than as a manifestation ~
an unfriendly disposition towards tho TTnitod
States" At any rate, we would send 70 cool,
of these twin usurpers and despots a cow ~
Mr. Monroes message, with the paragraph
copied above marked with a pen, endorsed
with Hthe respects of Brother6J onathan ~
Such notice would probably be enough, es,
pscially if served at the present time when we
have so many "boysin bluep whose terms of ser.
vice has not expired, and when our fleet Is
formidable in the face ofthe world. The Great
Eastsm, shouldshe succeed in landing the ca
BILE safely, could not be better employed than
as transport to carry "Max." and his single
handful Of courtiers and his double handful Of
troops, back to the other side of the Atlantic
where the soil is better fitted to grow mon
arches and despotisms than is the soil of this
Western world.