Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1871-02-24

IN article IN the Gaiaru io- March pre-
cents pretty full statement Of tie views oil
the President. as it i understood. upon the
san Domingo question. It seems that the
President was frs; approached by a COM
missioner from Baez On the suhiec. Of an
nezadon soon after the I'll Of March 1859.
The matter made DO ye:y deep impression ;
but soon afterwards. Nj Fish discovered that
many public men were interested IN tie pro-
iect In june. 1862. Il was arranged % send
out a representative OF this Government % OBJ
tain information. The plan was tempora
rily defeated, and in July Of the same year
4 second Commissioner from Baez appeared.
He presented bis views forcibly, ard con-
viz ed the President that the time bad come
to ct. Among other things Baez sent
T mess lee stating that his people had fully
demon str,'ci the fac. that they could no
/ LONGER preserve thei- independent iorm Of
,3vernn ,ent, and that, if their 0yortu-es were
rejected by the United States. they would be
compelled. to seek the protection Of some
other DOW srsal nation. The mission T. San
Domingo IA snfGed to Gen Babcock,
trusted ne nber x the Presidents house
hold. 1t ", $ necessary 70 keep the matter
secret. in consideration Of the position Of
Baez. and in .1-Ger 70 avoid the hard terms
Of loan be was making. and which would
be forced upon him. If it was thought that
the United States wonld possess the island.
General Babcock re ;u-ned from San D7min-
90 il September, ar Z made Eost favorable
rep5rt. He was cent cut agaiR in Noyem- F..
Der. and carried treaty that was signed in 1
December. In February, $50, ia accord /
ance with a provision o. the treaty, thas the
Dominican people should give free expires
sion Of their viii il regard 20 annexation +
within four months from the date Of signing,
an election vas held. This it is asserted was
q perfectly fee expression Of tic popular
will. and resu lied IL an almost luminous
vote in favor Of annexation. There We're
Is, l69 votes ;ast for the measure. and less
than 400 aga INST it, making those poiled in
opposition about two per cent. Of the whole.
Even Cabral ls.ys the Gaia1y), former
revolutionary Pr resident, who had lately been
conducting guerilla warfare in the noun
.ains, has communicated his acquiescenee il
the proposed annexation.
The magazine writer dwells at iength upon
the advantages of the acquisition Of san Do ,
ningo, and draws brilliantly eolored pic
lure of the wealth it would confer upon this
country. Referring 70 the opinion Of the
,qrqns that tie West India Islands have :
,een formed from the Debris thrown out by +
he Mississippi, and that they are IN this /
way a part of our soil, the writer remarks /
hat - while no one possessed Of due regard f
or truth will accuse the Yankee Of q dispO- f
ition to despoil his neighbor, yet it is pretty a
generally conceded that there is no one who v
will 20 further after what he regards as his g
,wn." This cannot but be regarded as pref
v weak spot in the argument. The title .
which we have acquired by the supposed T
cientifc fact that the West Indies were =
ormed from the sands of the Mississippi, n
onr before that river was discovered by II
white men, OF owned by the Yankees, is not :,
he most perfect one conceivable. But it h
nav DO. at pinch, to talk about OF