Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-11-05
The Monroe Doctrine and the
Panama Canal

Editor Aor1ing NeScs: General Zen
jamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts,, is adj
mitted by every one to be an uncom-
monty shrewd man. and in nothing of
his that we have heard or read has he
shown keener sense Of ridicule than in
his remark to an interviewer, published
in your issue of this morning (Novem-
Der A.
The first specimen of Canning intro
duced into America was by the
clever British Minister of that name,
the friend and favorite of Pitt, who sent
over the Monroe Doctrine" so called, in
compliment to the President of the
United States, in 1928, nicely put up
and spiced with the declaration that
we (the people of the United States
should consider any attempt on the part
Of the European powers to extend their
political systems to any portion af ttss
hemisphere as dangerous to our peace
and safety"
On the second day of December Of that
year President Monroe presented the
dainty dish to Congress and the Ameri-
can people in his annual address.
They relished and swallowt it, and Mr..
Canning thereby defeated the ambitious
designs of France and secured to the re-
VOTED Spanish colonies of South Ameri-
ca their freedom and independence of
Spsin-and, modestly for England, their
commerce and trade. It was a clever
policy by which Uncle Sam was made to
play the castanets while John Bull, as
usual, consumed the visnds.
From the quotation taken, it will be
seen that "the Monroe doctrine" is
aimed solely at the political systems"
of the European powers, which the ad-
dress declares Ito be essentially different
from that of America, j. e. the United
States, and in no manner refers directly,
or by implication, to any canal at any
point through the narrow isthmus con-
Meeting North and South America, out
side of the borders of the United States
Ii must be horne in mind that at that
time the United States was the only
republic in the Western hemisphere, and
that the republics now controlling the
isthmus were not in existence, but were
colonies of Spain struggling for their
independence, as we had done with
Great Britain, and, naturally, had our
| sympathy-the chord tremendously
struck by Mr.. Canning in concert with
the political schemes with Great Britain.
The suggestion of canal through the
| American isthmus to connect the Allan
tic and Pacific oceans is as old as the
knowledge of The Isthmus by the early
| Spanish discoverers. but was not brought
to practical efforts until after our
war with Mexico, when the Mica
raugua Canal Company was or
Panized under the patronage OF the
Government of the United States This
| company was composed of American
and English capitalists, and to protect
| their Joint and several interests con-
vention was made in the city of Wash
| ingtOn by Mr. Clayton, Secretary of
State, and Mr. Bulwer, Her Britannia
Majestys Minister to this country, set
| ting forth the objects and national guar
antees of the enterprise. The company,
however, fell through, and the Clayton
| Bulwer convention was never brought
| into operation.
By this convention, admission was
made, however, by the United States of
/ the principle of international guaran
tees for the protection and neutrality of
| the canal and that such an enterprise
was not entirely under the control of the
| United States. And, therefore, under
| the admissions of that convention, Mr..
| Blaines extreme views in regard to the
Panama canal as recently expressed by
| him are not tenable.
| prt fhoir cOalpInacc in fhnOru
| they are not practicable, and for the rea-
son that Psnsma is not within the con-
troll of the United States, but Of Great
Britain. A glance at the Atlani. coast
| of America will demonstrate Thu There
we see that Great Britain has, ct Hall.
| fax, Nova Scotia, a strong military and
naval depot; at the Bermudas. south of
it, another similar depot; at Jamaica, in
the Caribbean sea at the entrance to the
| Gulf of Mexico, another, and at The
Belize, Honduras, another. Besides she
holds convenient and strong piquet posts
at her many island possessions, com
| handing every pass from the Atlantic
ocean into the Caribbean sea and the
Gulf of Mexico. and the United States
has not one. In consequence Great
| Britain holds a complete check on our
| Lawrence to the Rio Grande by a
strong Gordon of military and naval
posts, shutting in our ports whatever
fleets we may have, weak as they are,
and threatening our sea-caast defenses.
Now, way down south of mis- Gordon,
in latitude 1910 degrees, will be
the canal, already completely under the
control of Great Britain, whose men-Of
war possess the ocean; and unless we
create a navy more powerful than
| that of Great Britain, Chat
can break through her naval command
of our coasts, and steam down TO the
rescue of the Panama isthmus) always
to remain under the guns of the British
navy. We might almost as sensibly talk
of protecting the neutrality of the Cape
of Good Hope as of any csnal through
the American isthmus. And here comes
in, it seems TO me, the irony of General
Butler, who, no doubt, recalls the say
ings of his school days. that Drag was
q good dog, 0ut Hold Fast was better"
DEMOCRAT OF THE OLD SCHOOL.