The Portland daily press., 1869-05-01
Terms $500 per amman, In adranee.


ward, so as to leave The road clear afteward,
for their own advancement. / never wa
fully satisfied with the suggested decIinatlon
OF Mr.. Douglass, and should have written
him, but from being most positively assured
he could not be induced TO accept.
Several Of the important consular nomlna-
tons viii be declined. by those havn.g ap-
pointments, and in quite . number no
changes viii be made, AZ least not until aitsr
the close OF the fiscal year.
The nomination Of Gen. Sickles b spain
viii undoubtedly be made. Il b deemed .
hi compliment 10 an able man. bat OUTSIDE of
the tact tha, Gen. Sickles i presumed - bs
an ardent believer IN the ~raanilest drstfny-
Idea, there i no special siznidctnce IN his b.
ins sent ic Madr,d. o. course the uos.ips
Try to make somsthins more thaa ordinary
IN the appointment.
oUR EonEIos nEIAruoxs
The British Minister has buf = sl,.ht cnn-
prehension o. the feeling here On The Ala-
bama question. He has enoush q Brlti.h
self suilieieBey to keep him from believing us
In earnest, and h known 10 declare that lhe
next oVertures Tor settlement must coms
irom us. OF course any idea of The transfer
OF the New Dominion 70 he United states
Is regarded e. impossible, and b therefore
secuted a.. The diplomatlc corps are AL en-
the qui sive ior the departure Of Mr. Motley
and the subsequent developments. Our MIN
istsr wiz leave about The mlslaie.ol Nav. and
great interest Is iel As to the nature OF Lis
instructions. One report has Il that Caleb
Gushing has been engaged, under the d.
reetion Of Mr.. Fish in making out the
claim we intend to present. Cushing, Is with
Mr. Bemis and Mr.. Sumner, the person best
acquainted with all the details Of our case.
But there appears to be but little foundation
in the story. Another and more probable
statement is that Mr.. Motley's instructions
are to be of the most general character, and
In brief will be what Mr.. Summers recent re-
view indicates as our view of the case. That
view embodies three points:
lst, That the discussion shall be regarded
from its international standpoint, and not as
mere matter Of. individual claims to be set
tied on their equities.
I'd. That Great Britain shall acknowledge
as preliminary to negotiations being con-
tinued, that in her early proclamation of neu-
trality and consequent belligerent recognition
of the Confederacy, she did an act essentially
unfriendly in character, whose result renders
her justly liable to the
Sd point which will be claim for the de-
struction of our ocean-carrying trade-a
claim Mr.. Sumner figures up as amounting to
over s1O0,OOO,OOO..
The presentation of the case will close our
action, and the matter will be left to the
British government for consideration. They
will understand very clearly that left in such
a situation long, complications may easily
arise where the Alabama precedent win be
terrible one for her to have, Mother Carey
fashion, come home to roost.
There are not wanting shrewd and we'll
informed men here who believe that the Ad-
ministration viii prefer to have the question
remain open thrS1gh the folly of the British
government itself-for year or so at least
Such persons argue that there will be at the
White House desire for reelection mani
Testing itself about 1S71-and that then,-the
reconstruction question being out of the way,
the Indian ditto, and financial matters having
settled down to normal basis, President
Grant will be quite desirous OF compelling a
settlement Of the Alabama dispute, it being
card sure to ensure his renominatlon.-
Apart from this merely ambitious motive
there will be a stronger one one even-that
OF not leaving such question unsettled for
a possible successor. Whether true or not,
there is widespread belief that the Presi-
deIt holds the view that the thing needed to
fuse North and South again into amity is
foreign imbroglio, which whether war actu.
ally results or not, will bring out the South
ern patriotism as well as the Northern.
On the other hand so good an authority as
Gen. Banks declared very recently that the
horizon never looked more cloudIess, and
that the administration was altogether pacif-
ic in tone and purpose. The General by no
means proposes to give up his favorite ideas
OF annexing st. Domingo.
Congress ought to provide for and the
State Department be authorized to employ,
IN view of the leading position America is to
occupy in the worlds politics, capable and
competent persons to obtain such informa
ton, tif it is really neededJ as the Ways and
MeansCommittee propose to seek, and to visit
new points Of present or prospective COM
mercial Importance, with the view OF inform
ing the government as TO the progress of cur
relations, or as to what manner they can
be best enlarged, Great Britain and France,
employ such persons constantly. ConsuIs
cannotaio the work suggested. They must
attend to their Office duties, ard only Incl
dentally know aught of the region about
them. As an instance of the need OF such
agents, let me suggest that the completion of
the Pacific Railroad, win so greatly increase
our commercial relations with the Asiatic
communities on the other side Of the Pacific
ocean as to startle even the most sanguine.
Would not carefully prepared report, made
after direct observation by competent per-
son, of the present probable character of
such trade, what it needs and how it should
be made to grow, be of very great service to
our merchants and to the Government.
In this and many other respects our con-
sular system needs very great revision
One step towards it is to pay liberal sala-
ries, which is not done now. Another is to
make it career, into which men could enter,
with honorable hopes of preferment to be
won by merit and ability. SPECTATOR.
Gleanings and G+ossip.