The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1871-03-24
DATLY-PRESSs:
PORTLAND .-,,-,---
FRIDAY, MARCH II, 1871.


What All Americans Want.
The San Domingo Commissioners are on
their way home and there is great likelihood
that their report will be unanimously and
warmly favorables4tp annexation. But San
Domingo has becom. the foundation OF SO
many personal animosities, and is so Ell
tangled with irrelevant matters ana partisan
politics that it is to be feared thai there IS
hardly anybody left in the country VINO ID
qualified to consider tue question nhparilaiiy
and decide it OH its merits. No doubt Inc
President began the agitation in purity OF
uurpose and singlpness of heart, desiring an
nexation simply and solely because he thought,
to use the last sentence of Mr.. Wade's re-
port, that "to embrace this opportunity to
plant our republican Institutions and estab-
fish civil liberty and American civilization
upon that beautiful and productive island,
thus laying the groundwork of a great, free
and prosperous State, would add another to
the achievements OF our republic worthy to
rank with the great events OF our history,
aud would be equally beneficial to the people
OF both countries. But the perversity Oh
selfish pride in some quarters and unyielding
obstinacy in others have surrounded the lit
tie island with such clouds and storms OF pas
sion that its latitude and longitude ale, NOR
ally speaking, lost.
What pleasant thing it would be if some
peaceful god, intent on working good for
mankind, should divert the attention of the
country from this debatable ground to some
thing about which there is substantial unan-
unity among the American people, Canadian
annexation, for instance. Whatever doubts
there may be about the West Indies, there is
meme whatever about the British Provinces.
While. the former contain a heterogeneous
population whom it would take decades to
mould into genuine intelligent American citi-
zens, the latter have people closely connect
ed with ours by ties of blood and common
ancestry. While the former are not aecus-
toned to any re sular, enduring government,
the latter have political institutions closely
allied to ours, and their people are so thor
onghly imbued with The notion Of the su.
, premacy OF the government and its stability
that in case of the annexation of the Prov
inces, effected with the consent OF clear
majority Of their people, the Canadian States
would be among the most peaceful and most
loyal communities in the Union. 1t is this
very valuab' quality of optimism-this re-.
spect for ,,Istins institutions and indsposi-
ton to change-that causes a great majority
of the people of those parts to cling to their
anomalous relations with Great Britain.
What will make them good citizens of the
United States when they have once assumed
that dignity prevents them at the present
from becoming SO. Our people have long
been waiting wiLhsepen aims to receive them,
but they are still c0yly pulling at the indiffer-
emit old mothers apron strings, till that Sc.
verely practical matron is a good deal more
than half inclined 10 cast them off. Only
the poor French Acadian trash comes to on.
call. Now and then, especially in the maritime
provinces, there is little annexation furry
and anrexationisis are sprinkled somewhat
plentifully through even Quebec and Ontario
But they lack leaders. II a DR.. Howe comes to
the surface occasionally he soon-becomes a
Cabinet officer, But in the lower prov
inces the feeling is becoming so strong that
we believe not many years are wanting to
give organization to the annexationists and
ultimately the sympathy of majority of the
people, Even now a resolution is pending
in the Nova Scotia Legislature recommending
that that Province be annexed 10 the United
States with2 the consent of its people as an
indemnity for the losses inflicted by the Ala
bama. The movement will probably not
amount to anything but it is a significant
straw.
1t Is strange how habit and prejudice can
reconcile contiguous people, speaking the
same language and with identical interests,
to the existence of wicked waste of lire
of custom houses along the whole frontier
1t is strange that they are content with
boundary lines intersecting great channels of
communication, and making the use of the
st. Lawrence by the Americans and of the
Sauit st. Marie by the Canadians, matter
OF suffrance - to commercial limitations
that keep out of the United Statesi Can
adam coal, lumber, stock, wheat and other
agricultural products, which we greatly need,
and out of the Dominion our manufactured
goods which the people of that country
greatly need-to protective" legislation that
makes our fishermen's trips semiwarlike
raids, on the one hand, and, on the other.
excludes the shipping of, the Dominion from
the rich harvest of our coasting trade. In
short, there is no law of religion, morality,
prudence or political economy that is not vio-
lated by the antagonistic attitude of the
United States and Canada. The natural
conformation of the country by reason of
which the two most important Provinces of
the Dominion, Quebec and Ontario, are
obliged to find winter port in foreign
country in order to keep open communica.
ton with the smother country" and the rest
OF the outside world, is a simple fact that in
itself is most conclusive as to the unnatural
ness of the present relations OF the Domin-
ion and the United States. Ii they should
be changed the bargain would by no means
be one sided one and the United States
would not be the only gamer. Canada has
It's 'outs" as well as we, and an honest OBJ
jector on our aide might well say: A coun-
try with an annual deficit of $3,OOOOOO
and debt Of $24,OOoOOO in four years
with nothing unusual to cause such an enor-
nous expenditure, is country in sad lack of
somebody who knows how to govern it, but it
is not country which we want until its debt
Is paid without any assistance from us. We
have quite enough to do to pay our own.
The PLANT OF A MAINE DEMOCRAT
A Maine correspondent of the Norfolk Jour-
mol, Democratic paper, trusting that dis
lance may give his misstatements exemption
from danger of contradiction, takes the most
gloomy view of the condition of things in this
State, due to "Radical rule % of course. This