New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-04-08
As MIGHT HAZE BEEN EXPECTED.

The SANTANA Bay Company have succeeded
as i'll as President Grant in their efforts at the
annexation of SantO Domingo. They have
failed, however, from contrary reasons to those
which caused the defeat Of the BabcOck treaty.
An unusual consciousness induced the Sen
ate to reject that instrument, and far from
unusual lack of conscience has instigated
Senior Gonzales to abrogate his predecessors
concession to the American Company. An at
tempt will be made by the projectors to in
vOlve the Government in their quarrel, and
this ATTEMPT will be met according to the
logical habit of portion OF the press by ef-
forts to defeat this scheme through abuse of
the enterprise and those interested i'll it. We
see no necessity for siding with either
party in this matter. When the enterprise
was set on foot, We rendered full justice
to the motives and purposes of the capitalists
who were endeavoring in this way to open up
a new highway of commerce. But while we
saw nothing Objectionable in their scheme and
hoped for it's success we could not refrain
from the prediction that sooner or later the
exigencies of Dominican politics would give
rise to trouble which would call for the inter-
vention of the United States, and that this
should be refused, no matter under what pre-
text it was asked. The gentlemen who went
into this business were not born yesterday.
They knew what risks they were taking. They
knew the character of those catG-au-idH mag
mates who make their living out of revolu-
tons in that latitude. 1t was the business OF
the buyers to look carefully at their bargain,
and not to look to the Government to avenge
~, %oI hnx
no claim now to ask the Government to de-
fend them against the scOundrels who are try
ing to rob them.
II is not worth while to cOmplicate the ques-
ton by bringing in the supposed influence of
the British Government in inducing Gonzales
to issue his recent decree. 1t was an old
maxim of art that a god should not be brought
out of the flies, unless the matter on the stag e
were important enough to call for his assist
ance. In this case the cruise of the WOodlark
is not a necessary explanation of Gonzales's
action. We need not look any far
Their than the dictators cabinet for, a
motive. No one suspects Senior Baez
of any very lofty motives in making the orig
inal concession. When he and Caceres and
Gonzales arranged the recent farcical revou-
ton by which he gave up the Government to
them, there is no question that the annual rental
of SANTANA Bay was the principal resource the
new rulers looked to for furnishing their
shabby civil list. The first thing that Con
zales did on arriving at his capital was to
warn the Company not to pay their rent to
ANYBODY else, and to assure them of his
friendly regard. While they were waiting
for official information of his inaugural
ton which did not occur, and were natu-
rally hestating about paying $4,000 to a
usurper who might be driven out tomorrow,
he drew upon them for $4,000 without further
notice, and they allowed his drafts to be pro-
tested. After this, nothing he could do ought
to surprise them. In common with statesmen
of his class, if he has no conscience he has
any quantity of dignity. He needed no further
incentive, from COnsulGeneral St. John, the
Haytien Government, or anybody else, to re-
sent the prudent suspicious of the Yankees,
and to answer them by an act as public and
as thorough as possible.
The cause of the COmpanys failure was in
herent in this enterprise from the beginning.
They had no right to expect honest and fair
dealing from the Dominican Government; il
was not reasonable to hope for any perma-
nency in the occupants of power atsSanto Do
mingo. Their scheme was in some respects an
admirable. one, but it has been mismanaged
from the start. 1t could only have succeeded
by putting a sufficient force at SANTANA to hold
the place against the greedy and treacherous
statesmen who made the grant. This was
the only course to adopt if the enterprise was
genuine one. If it was merely intended for
piece of stock jobbing, it might as well die
now as later, and in either case it has no just
claim that we can see to come upon the
United States for protection or naturalization.
FINANCE IN THE BOSTON, PULPIT
h. 10