Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1870-04-20
OBJ freeman.
MONTPELIER, VT.:
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 1870.
st. Domingo.


has been said, and we hope with truth, that
a majority of the Senate would have voted
against the treaty. The Democrats were
solid against it !; and for this, if for nothing
else, they deserve the thanks of the country.
No act of Gen. Grants administration has
been so injudiciously conducted and GER
tainly none has been so pregnant with mis-
chief as a measure of policy Every appliance
of executive influence has been used to push
it through the Senate. The President has
visited his room in the Senate wing of the
Capitol, and sent for Senators to urge upon
them the ratification of the treaty. He has
invited Senators to the White House to en-
deavor there to influence them to vote for the
treaty. He has used all the power of his
position to drive it through. Yet the Senate
has stood firm and Senators Sumner and
Schurz of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
have, in very able speeches in Executive SEES
sion, demonstrated beyond question the great
mistake this country would make in ratifying
abe treaty.
The negotiations for the annexation of this
territory are noticeably extraordinary. The
Alaska real estate operation of Mr.. Seward
arrested the attention and called forth the
unqualified condemnation of the whole
country. If there was anything that the
people had right fairly to expect from this
administration, it was that no more territory
was to be purchased. They had given their
unqualified voice against the policy of extend
ing the boundaries of the republic. The
House Of Representatives., in the debate upon
the appropriation to pay for Mr. Seward g
purchase, had declared, and in the vote had
expressed the opinion, that a treaty calling
for the appropriation of money ought not to
be made without the assent of the House.
The Senate by refusing to ratify Mr.. Stewards
st. Thomas treaty, had shown that it had
heard and needed the voice Of the country
against any further squandering of money in
purchasing territory. Last spring resOlu-
ton was offered in the House favoring the
annexation of st. Domingo, but it got no
farther than reference to a committee, re-
ceiving beyond that no favor. Neither Con-
gress nor the people had any reason TO expect
that this administration had inherited from
its predecessor this real estate mania, and
naturally enough were not protesting against
what they did not anticipate would happen.
Yet, in face of these facts, the treaty was
secretly negotiated during last summer and
autumn, the transaction being studiously
kept from the public and, what is even
more extraordinary, while the stipulations of
the treaty were of no binding validity on this
Tbov -
by the Senate, United States officers hoisted
the American flag in st. Domingo, United
States vessels of war established protecto-
rate over President Baez and publicly espoused
his cause against instruction in his ter
ritory, and one hundred and fifty Thousand
dollars, more or less, were paid over to Baez
IN the shape of arms and munitions of war,
and that official was thus enabled to keep
himself in power, Which he otherwise wouldt
not have been able to do probably for sis.sy
days; and now Congress and the people are
told that, inasmuch as this has all been done,
and the people of St. Domingo have voted to
agree to the treaty, the faith of the United
States is pledged to Baez and the treaty must
be ratified. 1t is fortunate for the country
that the Senate have sufficient independence
to hold that a treaty is no treaty until con-
scented to by that body, the previous action
of the President being of no binding force,
either upon the Senate or the people.
1t was too much to expect, however, that
with practical defeat of the treaty in the
Senate, the project of the annexation of St
Domingo would be suffered to rest The
L.
his part of the negotiations, and had been
made to believe that the acquisition of foot
hold in the West Indies of the utmost i'm
portance to the United States. Admiral
Porter, and other gentlemen of the navy,
have urged the great value of the bay Of
SANTANA as a naval station. Many persons
sincerely believe in the a. manifest destiny >
of this country to annex not only everything
that joins our territory, but the adjacent is
lands of the sea. The influence of these
persons is, of course, in favor of ratifying
this treaty. There is, however, behind al
these persons body of Spectators who hold
the money or the bonds of st. Domingo, OIL
who own property in the island, or who
would like to go there and speculate in lands
and silver mines and be protected by ouI
government. These spectators are not &C.
customed to abandon good thing because
it is not at first successful, and they DOM
propose to drop the subject of the annexation
of St. Domingo. There is money il ii fol
them, and they never give up the pros, .cutior
of such a scheme while there is the faintes
hope of success. Their next step is to anne
St. Domingo by joint resolution passed b,
the two Houses of Congress, and requirin,
only a majority and they quote the slave
holders annexation of Texas as a sufficient
precedent for such action. Gen. Butlel
seems to be the champion of this method il
the Eouse. Thus far it has made no rea
progress, and we cannot believe it will b.
more successful than the treaty has been il
the Senate.
We cannot enter here into full statemen
of reasons why st. Domingo should not b
annexed to the United States. One reason
which ought to be sufficient, is that we haven
the slightest need of it. We have no neec
of the harbor of SANTANA, as our south herr
coast is full of harbors (; and SANTANA is but
short distance from Key West. We certainl,
don't want the population, as it is unedu
Gated, lazy and worthless; and if we tax,
them we must make citizens and voters Of
them at once. Our experience with the
gulf states should discourage us from taking
into the republic populations further south
We don't need the land, for we have million.
upon millions of unoccupied acres within
our present limits. We don't need the mines
for we have full enough of these already fol
the GOOD of the couutrv We don;t nod 81.