Litchfield enquirer., 1870-12-15
EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESIDENTS : i37't @aie Stssia MESSAGE idHJ 8s1 ,tnid
THE EUROPEAN VAR, ii

| !, l.. s,as.. THE EUROPEAN Rps VAR, ii aas As soon as I learned that Q republic Ina,
 been proclaimed at Paris, and that tn,
 people of France had acquiesced in th,
 change, the Minister of the Unitetl State. was directed to recognise it aud tender m, l congratulations and those of tue United States. The re establishment in Franc,
 of system of government disconnt ctet
 with the dynastie traditions of Europe ap
 peared to be proper subj. ct for the fei ! citatiors of Americans. Should the pres
 ent struggle result i'll attracting the heart!
 of the French to our simpler forms of rep
 resentative government, it will be 6 sub ject of still further satisfaction to our peo
 pie. While we make no effort to impose our institutions upon the inhabitants o iher countries, and while we adhere tt
 our traditional neutrality in civil contests l We cannot be indifferent to the spread o !! American political ideas in a great and
 highly civilized country like France. We
 were asked by the new government to ust
 our good offices jointly with those of Flu. opean powers in the interests of peace.
 Answer was made that the established pol.
 icy and true interests of the United States
 forbade them to interfere in European
 
 ascertained informally and uuofficially that the government of North Germany Was not disposed to listen to such represe n ta. tlons from any powers, and ithough ear nestly wishing to sec the blessings of peace restored to the belligerents, with. all of whom the United States are on terms of triendship,I declined, on the part of this government to take 8 step which would only result in injury to our tue interests without advancing the object for which our intervention was invoked. Should the time come when tue action of the United States can hasten the return of peace by a single hour, that action will be heartily ta. ken. t.' 3, 5i'@ #.f'' .-t
 , During the last session of Congress a treaty for the annexation of the republic of Santo Domingo to the United States, failed to receive the requisite two-thirds vote of the Senate. l was thoroughly con vinced then that the best interests of this country, commercially and materially, de- manded its ratification. Time has only confirmed me in this view. now firmly believe that the moment 1t is known that the United States have entirely abandoned the project of accepting as Il part of it's territory the Island of San Domingo, q free port will be negotiated for by Euro pean nations.
 In the bay of Samana large conner cial city will spring up, to which we will be tributary, without rt ceIving correspond ing benefits, and then will be seen the fol- ly of rejecting so great a prize. ..,,-e ..'ss
 The government of San Domingo has voluntarily sought this annexation. It is a weak power, numbering probably less than one hundred and twenty thousand souls, calities under the sun, capable of support ing @ population of ten millions of people in luxury. The people of San Domingo are not capable of maintaining themselves in their present condition, and must look for outside support They yearn for the protection of our laws, our progress and Shall we refuse them?
 The acquisition of San Domingo is de- sirable because of it's geographical posi- tion.a It commands tue entrance to the Caribbean Sea and the Isthmus transit of commerce. It possesses the richest soil. best and most capacious harbors, most sa- lubrious climate, and the most valuable pro- ducts of the forest, mine and soil of any of islands. Its possession by the United States will, in a few years, build up a coastwise commerce of immense magni. tude, which will go far towards restoring to us our lost merchant marine. 7'*H
 It will give to us those articles which we consume greatly and do not produce, thus equalizing our exports and imports. In case of foreign war it will give us com mand of all the islands referred to, and thus prevent an enemy from again possess ing rendezvous upon our coast. It will protect our coast trade between the states bordering upon the Atlantic and those bor- dering upon the Gulf of Mexico, and to the Bahamas and Antilles Twice we must, as it were, pass through foreign countries to get by from Georgia to the west coast of Florida. San Domingo, with stable gov ernment, under which her immense re- sources can be developed, will give remu- nerative wages to ten thousand laborers not now upon the island. This labor will take advantage of every available means of transportation to abandon the adjacent islands and seek the blessings of freedom and it's sequence, each iuhabitant receiv ing the reward of his own labor. Porto Rico and Cuba will have to abolish slavery, as measure of self-preseryation to retain their islands. San Domingo will become a large consumer of the products of the North, its farms and manufacturies.
 The cheap rate at which her citizens can be furnished with food, tools and machin- cry will make it necessary that contiguous islands should have the same advantage in order to compete in the production of SUI gar. coffee, tobacco, etc. This will open to us 8 wider market for our products. The productions of onr own supplles of these articles will cut off more than one hundred millions of our, annual imports,
 besides largely increasing our exports. oS With such 2 picture it is easyfto see how our large debt abroad is, ultimately to be extinguished. With @ balance of, trade lagainst ns, including interest of bonds held by foreigners, and money shipments ! by our citizens travelling in foreign lands, equal to the entire yield of precious meta
 in this country, 1t is not so easy to see how
 this result is 10 be otherwise accomplished The acquisition of San Domingo is an ad
 herence to the Monroe doctrine, and is measure of national protection. It is as ,serting our just claim to controlling in fut nee over the great commercial traf6, tsoon to flow from West to East by way O.
 tho Isthmus aof Darien; it is to build ul fonr merchant marine; it is to furnish nev 3marketsi for the products of our farms ! shops and manufactures; it is to mak, l slavery insuppoftable in Cuba and Portl
 Rico at ionceg and ultimately so ia Brazil it isfo settle the sahhsppy condition of Gu lsa end end an nsexterminating conflict; it i A<sr ;s7o hrw zmk essaoo SxS osNsr <s