The Portland daily press., 1870-11-11
Gen. asaties On the s.eitcy Of the Rebab-


HfH. nuktSE BA tHr &kkSs Va kne kAGRu9s
licnu Party.
We reprint from the N. Y. Tribune a com.
plete outline of Gen. Buffers views of what
is necessary to give the Republican party re.
newed vigor, reference to which was made
yesterday in our New York dispatches:
The republican party, he says, is not now
united upon single question of public policy.
Upon the tariff question it is split in two by
the backbone of the Alleghanies. Upon ali
financial issues the division is almost as mark
ed. The party has no longer any coherent
force, and recognizes no leadership. 1t gives
no support to the administration it has chosen.
which was not able at the last session of Con-
gress to carry single one of the measures it
proposed. The San Domingo treaty failed in
the Senate in spite of all the influence the
President could bring to bear. Mr.. Cres-
wells one idea of aboishing the franking priv
ilege was lost. The Secretary of the NAVY
did not get the appropriations he asked for to
carry On his department.. The army was re-
duced, notwithstanding the protests of the
War Department.. The Attorney-GeneraPs
office was knocked into pi. Boutwelrs finan-
cial measures were badly cut up. There was
never before an administration possessing so
little influence with Congress of its own par
~. The republican party, Gen. Butler thinks,
has been kept alive for the past two years
solely by the unwillingness of the people to
intrust power to party which sided with
the codntry's enemies during the war. These
war memories will not last much loueer, how
ever, and cannot be counted upon to furnish
political capital for the presidential struggle
two years hence. By that time the Demo-
Gratis will have fully accepted the results of
the war.
Reconstruction suffrage, and all domestic
issues growing out of It, will have been fully
settled and finally disposed of, and will fur
nish no possible foundation for the Republi-
can party to construct a platform upon
There is one question of the war, however,
that is not settled; and that is the foreign
question. The wounds received by our ma
tional honor at the hands of Great Britain
are not yet healed, and it is the duty and
true policy of the administration, ac-
corcing to General Butler, to at once
demand and enforce the settlement OF
the Alabama Claims. Here is a question up.
on which the President can lead the RepubIi-
can party and unite it in his support. A vlg-
| Orous prosecution of these claims to salts.
factory settlement within the next yeaf
| would make the reelection of Grant inevita-
BILE. The people would rally to his support
| with enthusiasm, and the Republican party
would be given immense strength and new
nature Of the settlement he would have pro-
posed to England and the way of bringing it
about, General Butler said that a special
agent Or ambassador extraordinary should be
sent Immediately to London and intrusted to
put the case to Earl Granville somewhat in
this way: We have waited long enough fer a
settlement Of these claims, my lord, and we
propose to wait no longer. They are a
| constant source Of irritation between
our government and yours and be-
| tween our people and yours, and
no good can come Of longer delay. Besides, it
has become question of political policy with
us at home and we are determined to have a
| settlement at once; amicably if possible; but
if'not possible, then by other means. AS be-
| tween your government and ours these claims
| are very heavy. The damage done to our
commerce by your pirates was enormous, and
| the prolOngation of the war caused by your
cruisers was an incalculable injury to us. No
amount of money which you are able to pay
would make full reparation for the wrong you
did us. Still, as between our government and
our citizens these claims are not large. Most
OF our ship owners who lost vessels were in
sured. We would not have to pay them nor
the Insurance companies, who were compen-
sated for their losses by the war-risks they
charged in their premiums, nor would it be
practicable to return to ship-owners the
extra premiums they paid. nor make good to
the actual losers the great loss sustained by
our commerce in general way by the des-
truction OF our ocean carrying trade. We
should only have to pay our citizens who ac-
tually lost ships or merchandise, and were
not insured. This fact, however, does not at
all lessen the magnitude of the claim we
have as a nation against Great Britain, but
it enables us to offer you liberal terms of set
fIQmnnt NOyU fhocn ho off.
you. We will assume the claims and settle
with our people, and we will take from you
all your provinces north of the United States.
They are only burden to you, and must
sooner or later gravtate to us. We want
them now to get rid of the expense and an
noyance of keeping up custom houses on
frontier line of 5000 miles, and-to settle the
troubles about the fisheries. We do not
propose, however, that you should bar
ter them away or abandon them in any
dishonorable manner. We will have plebis-
cltum, and we will agree to take only such
provinces as shall freely elect to join the Uni
ted States. But the vote must be taken by
provinces, for we will have nothing to do with
your Dominion, which you put to make an
unfrlendly power on our nOthern border when
you thought we should have powerful enc
my at the south in successful States. When
the vote is taken, which must be done with
out the influence of your government agents,
we will give you receipt in full OF all claims
we have against you, and take only such prov
lnces as vote aye upon the question. This we
consider very 1IDeraT offer on our part, and
it is our ultimatum. Ifyou do not accept it,
we propose to fight" Such course on the
part OF the administration, General Butler is
confident would electrity the whole country
and bring such powerful public sentiment
to the support of the President, that his re-
election would be sure to follow. England,
he thinks, would come to terms at once when
she found we were in earnest and determined
to enforce them. There would be no war,
for England dare not go to war with any first
class power. The provinces would vote to
join us; or, if only one of them should, we
should have got in the entering wedge. The
Dominion would be split in pieces, and the
other provinces would be sure to come to us
in year or two. With a few millions we
could pay the people whose property was ac-
tualy destroyed by the British pirates and we
would more than get 1t back in year by our
increased revenue from our enlarged domain
and our increased commerce. 1t is under
stood that General Butler has already urged
these views upon the administration.