The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-05-08


Major Luke Tilden, OF Australia; DR.. J. M. Blake,
OF Chicago, and Colonel Frank d. Ribet, Of Boston,
are at the st. Charles Hotel.
Bishop Basser and Lieutenant Davis; of Nassau.
are at the Astor House.
B. B. Taylor, George c. Kenny Of the United States
Navy; James Y. Ely, OF Washington; Dr. Wilbur p.
Morgan, OF Baltimore; Colonel F. Nemeggin, of
Boston and Congressman W. II. Barnum OF Con-
nectcut, are at the st. Nicholas HOTEL
Prominent Departures.
Judge T. L. Jewett, for Steubenve: Major General
Heintzeman and General Badeau, for Washington
Judge c. Quincy, for San Francisco; Captain Storer
for New Bedford; Ex-senator Stark, for Connecticut
Colonel Hfdt for West Point
Our Foreign Relations and General CRAMPS
Foreign POlicy-A Glorious Opportunity.
The opportunity now offered to General
Grant for the extension of the boundaries of
the nation, and its moral and material power
throughout the world, is without precedent
in American history, and without COMPARE
son in the records of the human race. If as
soldier the results of his strategy and tactics
and his cooperative combinations of nume-
rnus armies, amounting to over million of
men, and distributed over an area of eight
hundred thousand square miles, eclipse the
grandest combinations of the first Napoleon,
he has now the opportunity as statesman to
reduce by comparison the late imperial pro-
gramme Of Napoleon the Third in both hemi-
spheres to mere bagatelle. General Grant,
in word, has the opportunity of making this
government, by general consent, the arbiter
of the American Continent, and he has the
advantages for securing, through China and
Japan, the commercial balance of power in
Asia He may thus make Washington NOR
ally the dominating political capital of the
civilized world, and New York and San Fran
cisco the commercial and financial centres of
the worlds exchanges.
Cuba, Mexico and the Alabama claims cover
the three great foreign questions upon the
settlement of which the commanding
position indicated may be secured for the
United States. The annexation of Cuba is
only question of time but the time may be
heightened or shortened, according to the in
terest of the administration in the settlement
of this question. 1t seems to us that without
any difficulty, considering the domestic en-
barrassments Of England, France and Spain,
the subject of the annexation of both Cuba
and the island Of st. Domingo might be 80 far
pushed forward meantime as to be submitted
Cor the ratification of Congress at its next ses-
sionin December. Such, too, upon this matter,
is the present favorable aspect of things in the
Gulf, and at Washington and in Europe, that
we are strongly inclined to the conclusion that
the annexation suggested will be among the
recommendations of General Grants next mes
sage to the two houses. These acquisitions
will give us the lock and the key Of the Gulf
Of Mexico, and by the law of gravitation as
they ripen all the contiguous islands will
fall in.
The possession of the Gulf involves the con-
troll over every isthmus ship canal inter-
oceanic transit route from Tehuantepec to
Panama. To make this control effective and
useful, however, the absorption of Mexico and
Central America becomes political and COM
mercial necessity. Having, since the removal
of Napoleons protectorate given the people
and politicians of Mexico fair trial in self
government, in which they have signally failed,
we may now, without fear of European opposi-
ton, follow the example of Napoleon, and, in
the interests Of humanity, civilization, law and
order, take Mexico under our care, and by treaty
with the local authorities provide also for the
fusion into the great republic of the Central
American States. The great impeachment
which in 1s47 deferred General Scott from
the acceptance Of Mexico as free gift in the
name of the United States was in the broad
political lines of distinction and caste which
at that time divided the whites from our
black and African-tinctured people. Now
those barriers are all removed, and under the
new dispensation Of '1iberty, equality and
fraternity" the hybrids of Mexico cease to
be an embarrassment on either side. Sub
ject, then, to the will and pleasure of our gov
eminent, Mexico and the Central American
States await the development of General
Grants foreign policy.
On the Alabama claims the upshot of
Senator Summers exhaustive and conclusive
exposition of the case for the United States
has been put into a nutshell by Wendell
Phillips in this demand-a full pecuuiary