The New York herald., 1870-03-24
Annexation I'm the West Indies-The Prcsi-
dent and C0ugress.

dent and Congress.
1t will be seen by our correspondence from
St. Domingo and the news on the subject of
tho treaty Of annexation, published in another
part Of the paper, that the wish to be annexed
and under the protecting flag of the United
States is almost universal among the people of
the island. Wherever a vote had been taken
on the question an overwhelming majority was
in favor of that. General Grant, too, it is evil
dent, earnestly desires the annexation Of st.
Domingo and the completion Of the bargain
the State Department made to that end. On
Tuesday night the President, it is said, called
Secretary Fish and Senators Carpenter, Pat
terson, Ferry, Ross, Sprague, Morrill,, Pratt,
| Upton, Gilbert, Cragin, Revels, Rice, Abbott,
| Howe and Harris to the White House to con-
fer with him on the subject Of the St. Domingo
treaty. The same day he and portion of the
Cabinet, 1t is reported, were at tho Capitol using
| their influence to get the treaty ratified.
| We know that he has been good deal at the
| Capitol lately, and have no doubt that this was
one of the objects that took him there Nor is
| it merely because General Grant does not wish
| to see his foreign policy and the acts Of his
| administration defeated that he is so anxious
about the st. Domingo treaty; he has, we
believe, larger view Of the matter than that.
He regards the annexation of st. Domingo
as an important stop to the acquisition
Of Cuba. To use military simile,
he thinks this would be an excellent flank
movement. He is pursuing the same tactics
with regard to Cuba and the West Indies gen.
| orally as he did when he sent General Sher-
man on that stupendous raid through Georgia
and South Carolina as cooperative and flank
movement on Richmond. He believes that
with st. Domingo in our possession Cuba
could not long remain under Spanish rule,
even If the present revolution in that island
should fail, and that, in fact, 1t would have
an important moral effect in favor of Cuban
independence and annexation. In this matter,
then, the President has q statesmanlike fore
sight, and is pursuing comprehensive policy.
Mr.. Seward, when Secretary Of State, had
similar views. His expression that the islands
of the West Indies were the buttresses Of the
American republic showed this, and his nego-
tiation for the island of st. Thomas was a part
of the same policy. General Grant, however,
begins nearer home, and proposes to take
territory that is more valuable in itself and
more important in a strategical point of view.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs,
under the control, in great measure, of MIR.
Sumner, does not seem to comprehend the
policy of the President or to have any
sympathy with his views. Mr. Sumner is the
'sOld Man of the Sea-" who has no idea of the
destiny of this country, who is opposed to its
natural progress, who stands in the way of our
development southwark, and whose mind is
narrowed down to petty local things. The
difficulty about both the St. Domingo treaty,
and probably about the St. Thomas treaty
also, as well as concerning the recognition of
the Cuban revolution, lies chiefly with this
narrow minded Senator. How humiliating to
think that the Senate of the United States
should be controlled in such important mat
ters touching the progress and interests
of the qGDhlic by this man. We
hope sena rill show hereafter more
sense, patrl and independence. Mr..
Sumner is a croaker, an obstacle and dead
weight in our noble ship Of state, and the best
thing his colleagues can do is to throw him
overheard.
The time has come when this country is
called upon to take bold and comprehensive
policy with regard to the whole of the West
Indies and the Continent of America. Our
depressed commerce can find there a vast field
for development. The West Indies, particu-
larly the most productive of them, as Cuba and
st. Domingo, if they belonged to the United
States, would do much to revive and increase
our commerce, to enlarge our tonnage and
employ our shipping and to add greatly to the
variety of our products. We could become
the first sugar and coffee producing country of
the world, as we now are the first in cotton
production, besides obtaining q great number
Of other products Of tho tropics. These pos
sessions would give US, too, the naval
and military command Of the Caribbean
! Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and all the
channels of commerce to and through the
West Indies and with Central and South Ame-
rica. Nothing is palmer than that these
islands, in political, strategical and CONNER
| cial point. of view, ought to belong to this
mighty republic. We neglect our destiny and
| interests if we do not seize every opportunity
to dispossess European Powers Of the Antilles
and to annex them to this country. Let US
| hope the Senate, and the House of Represen-
tatves as well, will sustain the President in
his efforts to acquire ST. Domingo and to make
q flank movement upon Cuba. Now is the
time to pursue bold and comprehensive pol
| icy with regard to the West Indies and Ameri-
can interests generally in this hemisphere.
! A FINANCIAL BALLAD.-Written on o green
back found in the Assembly Chamber:-
1t was in the Legislature.
And the dollars, yea BY Heaven