The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1871-04-05

ted to show mat we were engaged IN
forcing upon q weak people the saeri;
'fce-of their country. The State De-
paEtment also, contained q record dis
graceful, intolerable and d~eplorab1e.
Unless the reports CT the State and
Navy Department are discredited, it
is obvious beyond doubt that our gov
eminent has seized the war. powers,
.carefriiy guarded by the CONSTITUTION,
and without the authority of Congress
has employed them to .rample on the
independence and equal rights of two
nations at peace with ours.
The Senator then charactefizes BeaZ
and Grant as co-partners in this mel
ancholy affair, and carefully reviews
the history Of the former and his uu-
scrupulous usurpation he recited the
origin of the scheme of annexing half
of the island which is generally known.
Quoting The exclamation of tire Duke
of Wellington : ''Tbere' can be no
ouch thipg, my Lords, asa little war"
The Senator asserted hat there may
be. a war without a battle, and SO far
our navy has, thus far, conquered
without a shot, but its presence in
Hayti and Dominica was war. He
then infinitely reviews the testimony
to this effect, furnished by the State
and navy departments, from which it
appears that the very agent who sign
ed the treaties officially reportedEthat
the usurper was maintained in power
by II guns. But Intervention in
Dominica is only one part ofthe story
even, according to the reluctant con-
fession of the navy department. In
the-effort to secure the much coveted
territory, u government, not content
with maintaining the usurperBa in
in power, and occupying the harbors
of Dominica with val ships of the
United States, sent other war ships,
being none other than our powerful
monitor, Dictator, with the frigate
Severne as consort, and with yet other
monitors in their train, to menace, the
black republic of Hayti by an act Of
war. An American Admiral was
found to do this thing, and an
American minister, himself of African
blood, was found to aid the Admiral.
The dispatch of the Secretary of State,
instituting this act of war, is not com.
municated to the Senate, but we are
sufficiently enlightened by that ofBas-
sett, our minister at Porte au Prince,
who under date of February 18th,
1870, informs the State department in
Washington, that he had Transmitted
to the Haytien government, notifca-
ton that the. United States asked, and
expected It to obscrveia strict neutral
ity in tcfercuce to the Internal affairs
of San Domingo. This assault upon
the independence and equality of the
black republic, Summer adds, APP
pears more fully in the report of the
navy department which is an authen-
tic record of the acts, 1agrant and in
dcfensible.
Sumner proceeds to show that this
conduct is a gross violation of the in
|%ternational law and the constitution of
the United States {; that every employ
ment of these powers liz pursuance of
the assumption was usurpation, and
that the assumption in the San Do
mingo treaty is exceptional and alb
normal, being absolutely without pre-
cedent, But, continues Sumner, even
admitting some remote infnitesimal
semblance of an eXcuse or apology
during the pendancy Of the treaty, all
Of which 1 insist is absurd, beyond
question, though not entirely impossi-
bic in a quarter unused to constitu-
tional questions, and heeding them
little, and ~conceding that the assun-
sit Inserted in the treaty by the secre-
tary Of state had deceived the Presi-
dent into the idea that he possessed Il
kingly prerogative, declaring war at
his mere motion and wishing to deal
most gently eve with an undoubted
usurpation of a kingly prero gative so
long as the secretary of state, the
sworn counsellor of the president,
supplied the formula for usurpation ;
and you Will bear witness that 1 have
done nothing but state the case. 1t is
hard to hold back when the same
usurpation is openly prolonged after
the senate has rejected the treaty on
which tho exercise of kingly preroga-
tive was founded and when the assum-
sit devised by the secretary of state
had passed into the list of things lost
on earth. Here there is no remote in
initesimal semblance of excuse or
apology-nothing, absolutely nothing.
The usurpation pivots on %nonentity,
always excepting the kingly will Of
the president, which, constitutionally
is a %nonentity. The great artist of
Balogra, is a much admired statue,
sculptured Mercury as standing OF a
puff of air. The president has not
even a puff of air to stand on.
Sumner concluded: In the evidence
adduced, l have confined myself care,
fully to public documents. On this
80 LIZ. ,-n.k nn4;n ,rA .