The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-01-07
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 1871.
Letter from Wnshiuufom.
H1etter from WoshinHt0n.
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. 8, 1870.
To the Editor ofthe Press:
PORTLAND.

IL Will be hard work for the Democracy to
justify opposition to the San Domingo policy
when as will probably be the case, their past
intrgues and efforts in that direction shall be
exposed in the debate on annexation. Re-
Gently have been conversing with those Gu
rious relics of the pre-Adamitic period of our
politics that are occasionally found stmnded
here. This particular specimen is most in
terestlng fossil Of the genius fllbster. He
knows all about the inside history of the
movements that during the Sresidencies OF
Pierce and Buchanan, ana even before their
day the Democracy inaxgurated for the pur-
chase of Cuba, and The purchase or leasing of
Samana Bay.
ACQUIsIoN a DEMOCRATIC POLICY.
The latter policy was first suggested by a
we'll known Southern politician while Consul
at Turks Island. refer to Col. Pickett of
| Virginia, "a ex.rebel brigadier OF some fame,
and recently before the public as the lawyer
who refssed to submit the secrets of his Cuban
| cliepsS to the rather insolent demands Of Gen.
Brtler, when he stretched resolution of the
House as authority for an inquisitorial pro-
frequent visitor when Consu, at Turks
Island, to Samana and San Domingo. He
became impressed with the great advantages
of that bay for naval and commercial pur-
poses, and being also thorough believer in
the idea of Southern extension tropicward,
he strongly urged upon the State Department
the acquisition of the Bay. Cazneau, of
whose association with the treaty-making at
San Domingo, so much has been made by its
opponents, was then U. s. Commercial Agent
there. Under instructions, Cazneau did nego-
tiate, or obtain semi-oficially aproposition from
Gen. Cabral, then President of the Republic,
for the sale of Samana Bay to the United
States. So much feeling was manifested
against the idea by the Dominicans, that Ca
bral abandoned it. As the major portion of
his people were colored they did not look
with complacency upon nation,-then the
chief enslaver of their race,-obtainng foot
hold in their country.
These negotiations were renewed under
Pierce, and believe that a survey was made
of the Bay by one of our vessels.
PIERRE sOULE's DIPLOMACY.
The first attempt to get Cuba by purchase
previously no one had proposed to do any
thing but steal the island by means of filbus-
tor ,expeditions-was iby Franklin Pierce,
who ,sent lPierre ISoule to Madrid with in
struction to offet one hundred million dollars.
Soule from the first made a considerable i'm
preston on the Madridellos. A polished, as.
tute, able diplomat, speaking Spanish almost
as fuently as he did English orFrench, he was
different man from what the rather insolent
grandees of Queen Christiana's courts were.
There were some deliberate attempts made to
snub the American. The Duke Of Alva, half
brother.of the Empress Eugenie,was the active
leader. According to my informant, who
knew him personally, Alva was an insolent,
half educated aristocratic snob. These at
tempted sights eliminated at last at a fancy
dress ball at which Mrs. Soule personated
some historical parsonage.
Madame Soule was Louisianian, of a fam
lily as long resident ON this continent as the
New York Knckerbockers, yet when she
came here as Mrs. Senator Soule, she was al
most unable to speak English. She had been
very beautiful woman, and at the time of
her residence in Madrid was still very fine look
ing. Alva, in the hearing of her son, a spirit
ed youth of eighteen or so, made jeering re-
marks about the minister's wife, likening her
to "Mary of Burgundy"-a sort of mixture of
Catherine II. and Lucretia Borgia, Dumas
had just made notorious by one of his novels.
Of course young Soule resented it, and words
passed and perhaps blow was given. At
/ any rate challenge was the result
Then the Minister, angered at the insult and
unable TO challenge Alva himself went to the
Marquis at whose house the insulting incident
occurred, and by demanding why he had not
resented and chastised such breach of hos
pitality, brought about another duel. The
dual duel occurred on the same day
Young Soule and Alba fought with rapiers
and both received severe flesh wounds. The
others used pistols but neither were injured
A burlesque account, intended to misrepresen
Soule, was sent to England, and afterwards
copied into the home press. Lord Howden
II believe that's the name-he may be better
remembered as the gallant old Tory peer
who when Lord Brougham, about 1S49, made
an insulting reference in the House of Lords
to Garibaldi, rose in his place and warmly
defended the personal purity of the Italian
Liberator, though opposing his principles !;
who was the second of Soue's antagonist
wrote letter defending the personal gallant
ry of the American Minister.
This decisive method taught the grandee
that the peppery Franco-American was no
to be lightly insulted, and it made him pop1
lar with those opposed to the then Court fac
tion; an advantage Soule did not fail to use
At last he won concession from new minis
try which had got into power through pal
ace revolution. 1t was to submit to the Cor
tes his proposition to buy Cuba for one hun
dred million dollars. They told him it woult
not be received, even let alone entered on the
journals for consideration. And it was not.
That is all Soule was ever able to accom-
plish. Preston, whom Buchanan sent to sue
ceed him, made even less progress than Soule
The ministry then in power refused to evel
receive the proposal Then came the o.
tend Conference, with its banditti pro
gramme; fortunately perhaps in time to de-
stroy Southern prestige and make many Eu
ropean States more careful of the aid they ex
tended TO power built on such ideas.
Buchanan, it will be remembered, aske
Congress to appropriate thirty millions 70
the purpose of beginning negotiations or
fight for the possession of Cuba. He Gidn'
get his money. He didn't get Cuba either
The democracy begun its "dance Of blood,
ending in the death Of its hopes of slave EN-
pire, Cuba, San Domingo and all. Now the
are exceedingly vrtuous, and don't want t
admit these communities when they ask
mainly because they are free and are nike
race. Their objection is that they are n
longer able to enslave or a'nalgamate th
races in the old brutal planter fashion. 1t
freedom and fraternity they object to. virtu
and intelligence, Or the opportunities for il
to which they are opposed. SPECTATOR.
The FUNERAL OF GEN. PRrM.-A des
patch from Madrid on the I'd, contains tn
following:
General Prim's hodv uac roc,oyoJ =, -, Al,