Connecticut western news., 1881-12-14
OUR NATIONAL AFFAI IRS
A Few of the Questions Discussed by
 the President in His Message.

A Few of the Questions Discussed b, ,I the President in His Message. 10 the Senate and House of Represen
 t0tiVes of the United States: . E An appalling calamity has befalle1 the American people since their chose1
 representatives last met in the hall.
 where you are now assembled. W.
 might else recall with unalloyed con
 tent the rare prosperity with whicl . throughout the year the nation has
 been .blest. Its harvests have beer plenteous, it's varied industries have thriven, the health of its people
 has been preserved, it has main.
 tained with foreign Governments the
 undistu1bed relations of amity and
 peace. For these manifestations of His
 favor we owe to Him who holds ou,
 destiny in His hands the tribute of our
 grateful devotions. To that mysterious
 exercise of His will which has taken
 from us the loved and illustrious citizen
 who was but lately the head of the
 nation, we bow in sorrow and sub-
 mission. The memory of his exalted
 character, of his noble achievements,
 and of his patriotic lie, will be treasured | for ever as a sacred possession of the
 whole people. The, announcement of
 his death drew from foreign Govern
 ments and peoples tributes of sympathy
 and sorrow which history will record as
 signal tokens of the kinship of nations
 and the federation of mankind.
 OUR RELATIONS WITH GREAT BRITAIN.
 The feeling of goodwill between our | oo&o khn+ <E N D,,; | tain was never more marked than at
 present. In recognition of this pleasing fact directed, on the occasion of the that salute be given to the British flag. Save for the corre- spondence to which I shall refer here- after in relation to the proposed canal across the Isthmus of Panama, little has occurred worthy of mention in the l diplomatic relations of the two countries. Early in the year the Fortune Bay
 claims were satisfactorily settled by the British Government paying in full the sum of G15, 5,OOO, most of which has been already distributed As the terms of the settlement included compensation | for injuries suffered by our fishermen at Aspee Bay, there has been retained | from the gross award & sum which is deemed adequate for those claims. '0- THE YORKTOWN CELEBRATION.
 The presence at the Yorktown cele- bration of representatives of Republi- cans, descendants of Lafayette and of his gallant compatriots, who were our allies in the Revolution, have served to strengthen the spirit of good will which has always existed between the two na- ions. .. .F., 7. ..
 No new question respecting the status of our naturalized citizens in Germany has arisen during the year, and causes of complaint, especially in Alsace and Lorraine, have practically ceased through the liberal action of the Imperial Government in accepting our often expressed views on the subject. The application of the treaty of 1868 to the lately-acquired Rhenish provinces has received very earnest attention. A definite and lasting agreement on this point is confidently expected. The participationsof the descendants of Baron Von Steuben in the Yorktown festivities and their subsequent reception by their American kinsmen, strikingly evinced the ties of goodwill which unite the German people and our own.
 OTHER FOREIGN TOPICS. .''s
 Our intercourse with Spain has been friendly. An agreement concluded in February last fixes a term for the Iabors of the Spanish and American Claims Commission. The Spanish Government has been requested to pay the late awards of that Commission. and will. it IS believed, accede to the request as nd rfo c1x occasions. By recent legislation oner- ous fines have been imposed on Ameri- can shipping in Spanish and Colonial ports for slight irregularities in mani fests. aE7 p~." -.. '@ !. g o' THE PANAMA CANAL.
 The questions growing out of the pro- posed interoceanic waterway across the | Isthmus of Panama are of grave na- tional importance. This Government | has not been unmindful of the solemn | obligations imposed upon it by the compact of 1846 with Colombia, as the | independent and sovereign mistress of the territory crossed by the canal, and has sought to render them effec- tive by fresh engagements with the Colombian republic looking to their practical execution. The nego- tlatlons to this end, after they have reached what appeared to be mutually satisfactory solution here were met in Colombia by disavowal of the powers which its envoy had assumed, and by 8 proposal for renewed negotiations on modified basis. Meanwhile this Govern ment learned that Colombia had pro- posed to the European powers to join in guarantee of neutrality of the pro-
 
 which would be in direct con- guarantee of the integrity of Colombian territory, and of the neutrality of the canal itself. My lamented predecessor felt it his duty to place before the European powers the reasons which make the prior guarantee of the United States indispensable and for which the interjection of any foreign guarantee might be regarded as super fuous and unfriendly act. Foreseeing the probable reliance of the British gov ernment on the provisions of the Clayton Bulwer treaty of 1850, as affording room for a'share in the guarantees which the United States covenanted with Colom- bla four years before, I have not hesi- tated to supplement the action of my predecessor by proposing to her Majes- tvs Government the modification of that instrument and the abrogation of such clauses thereof as do not comport with the obligations of the United States toward Colombia, or with the vital needs of the two friendly parties to the compact. .....
 As in the present excited condition of popular feeling in these countries there has been serious misapprehension of the position of the United States and aa