The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1870-06-23
StatesnasMp afihe White House.

90 Wecopy the following article from
l Wilkes Spirit Of the Times, which is
one of the most intensely Radical
papers In the icountry: Is n94i ~
4 z GeItelaloG Grant. notwithstanding all
the craftsmanship which has been
claimed for him by his admirers, has
lbeef I singularly unsuccessful In his
foreign policy. -...,.,,s = =,
The task which be had first in hand
on coming to the Throne, was the AL
ALBANIA question; and by way of run-
ming thatiwith special vigor, he placed
lit in the hands of literary Sir Charles
Grandson, the single aspiration of
i whose soul has been, the endorsement
of himself by the British savans as
one of the great writers of the English
language. This was an ambition to
be achieved alone through facile
bending to the British aristocracy,
| thus rendering him, though in other
respects well. qualified, the most unfit
man, in abusiness point of view, of
all other men of equally high qualities
in the nation.
/ The result of this singular incom-
prehension has been, that our dealings
4 with England have been water-logged
for eighteen months, and are likely to
to remain so during the end of this
administration. The man whom the
English liked the least, and who least
liked them, General Butler, was the
right man for Grant to have selected /;
and had Butler accepted the mission,
our notional securities would by this
time have been lifted from that chance
of war; and, instead of the Fenian
folly of the other day, we would, ere
this, have fired rejoicing guns over the
annexation OF the Canadian Dominion.
The next effort of the President at
statesmaDshipw was the idea of boring
through the mountainous backbone of
the Continent at Darien, in order to
enable Europe to compete with more
advantage than around the Cape, or
even through the Isthmus of Suez,
against our direct line, via the Pacific
Railway, for the Chinese trade. But
the Isthmus of Darieii would not be
bored, as we told the President it
would not; and the only result of that
foolish enterprise has been, the heavy
cost of the surveying fleet, and the
| proof, al interim, that English emf
grafton lines found it shorter and
more convenient to send their passen-
/ gers from London to Australia by the
overland road from New York to
San Francisco, than via the Mediter-
ranean and the new canal.
eFhe Presidents next foreign VEN
ture was the Cuban question, of which,
with the light now thrown upon it, it
is hardly necessary we should speak.
This question had not come before
the country since. the Lopez eXpedi-
ton of 1851, from which time new
generation had sprung up in the
United States, who needed the counsel
of the Government, in the form of a
proclamation, to hold themselves
'aloof, and particularly to remain neu-
tral to Spain, for the reason that she
was herself animated by the throes Of
Liberty. This would have been O
good reason to Americans against in
terference; and, on the strength of
such friendly act to Spain, the Pres
ident could easily have made condi-
tons with her that no prisoners should
be murdered in cold blood, and es.
peeially prisoners who were citizens
of the United States. But the Presi-
dent had evidently not been struck by
the fact that no killing of captives," :"
was one of the great results of our
war, and that Providence, working on
the hearts of men high in command
during the bitter struggle, had deliv-
cred this sublime doctrine into our
charge, as the loftiest mission ever ems
trusted to nation. But Grant did
not see it he neither warned our boys
NOR intereeded with the Spaniards.
On the contrary, blind to what God
had pointed out to him, he permitted
our citizens to be garrotted, old men
and women to be shot down in the
field,apd butcheries to be perpetrated,
Z under our very windows, as it were,
that made the very hearts of our
whole people sick. Worse than this,
he allowed his Minister at the Court
Of Spain Qong after Spain had showed
her intention to relapse to Monarchy
to promote contracts in the United
4 States for gunboats to hunt down our
citizens, that they might be murdered
in cold blood. Such was the fate of
that noble patriot and American citi-
zen, Domingo de Goicouria. That
Grant did not know better is most
likely; but that he was heartlessly
Indifferent is certain. There, can be
no stronger proof of this latter fact
than his Fenian proclamation, which
informed the Fenians, and all citizens
taking part with them, that the Gov
4 ernment would lose all its psternal in
terest in them, should they invade thr
British Provinces, and transfer its In,
terest rather to the stranger who
should capture them, even to the
} death. This was brutal proclama-
ton; but the British have not been
weak enough to act upon its hint.
Nevertheless, they have glorified Gen.
eral Grant exceedingly aHd well they
may.
We come now to the Presidents
last great effort in foreign diplomacy.
He wishes to purchase San Domingo
just as he and his minister at Madrid
desire to purchase Cuba. Now, we
4 Mn