The daily gazette., 1882-02-11
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It would not be quite fair to com
ment upon the summary. of Lor,
Granville's dispatches tonchlng ths
ClaYtOneBulwer treaty and th,
Panama transit which this morninI
reaches us by cable, as II that sum
mary put US fully into possession O
The views OF the present British
Government. But Congress shoull
call upon the state Department a
once 70 communicate to 1t officially
the full text Of those dispatches, ii
order that the questions dealt with
In them may be taken out Of thG
control OF the State Department
and submitted to the Judgment
OF the country. II Is apparent how,
ever, from the general tenor Oi
Lord Granville's dispatches a.
represented in the summary now
before us, that the English Secretary
has availed himself not unskilfully
OF Mr.. Blaine's mistake in calling
upon England to consent, not to an
hsnicable and complete abr0gation
OF the nischievous treaty Of 1850,
but TO notifications of that treaty.
Mr.. Blaine should have adhered
more closely 10 the leadership Of
the Democratic statesmen upon
whom the evil lcgecy Of this treaty
dev0lved quarter Of o century ago.
Those statesmen knew, ASP Mr..
Blame does not seem to have known
that Mr.. Clayton deliberately
invited England to enter into this
treaty for the express purpose Of
helping the Whig administration Of
President Taylor to reverse the
broad natianal policy under which
President Taylor's Democratic
predecessor had secured for this
country the control Of the Isthmus
of Panama by the treaty of 1046 with
New Granada. There is no more
discreditable chapter in our political
annals than that which records the
submission by Mr.. Clayton to Mr..
Champion, then the British Minister
at Washington, Of the treaty Of 184o
with Nicaragua negotiated by Mr..
Hise, which reached this country
after the accession OF the Admistra.
tion of General Taylor.
Mr.. Clayton actually eonfded to Mr..
Champion bis determination not to &C
cept this treaty before he communicated
1t to the Senate of his own country, and
IL Is TO the confidential advances then
made by MIR. Clayton that we are in
debted foEthe steps which Lord Palmer
ston subsequently took to handcuff
American enterprise and the traditional
policy Of the American people IN Gem
trail America. When the Clayton-Rnl
wer treaty, which was the first
great Outcome OF Mr.. Clayton's wretched
imbecility, 10 give 1t no hArsher name,
finally came before the Senate, Senator
Douglas opposed 1t In secret session
with all the masculine earnestness Of
bis strong will and his thoroughly Amer
lean faith 10 the rights and the future OF
his own country. Had Senator Douglas
then known, as we now know, by what
methods Mr.. Clayton had invited the
negotiation Of this treaty, his opposition
would have assumed q skerner shape
still, and the treaty would scarcely have
been confirmed at all, Notwithstanding
the elaborate pains which Mr.. Clayton
had taken TO pack the vote Of the SEN
ate beforehand in its favor. Had Lord
Granville been as familiar 40 he ought
to be with the history Of the Clayton
Bulwer treaty he would scarcely have
committed himself TO the proposition
that no Spanish.AmericAn slate could
be expected TO admit the claim OF the
United States to erect Notifications on
Its territory. As matter of fact, Nicar-
aqua Invited the United States In the
treaty Of 1949 TO do precisely this thing,
and within the last decade both Nicara
qua and Costa Rice have intimated their
entire willingness to sec any canal
through their territories put under the
direct and exclusive protection Of the
United States.
Down to this day Great Britain in-
sists upon retaining that anomalous
position In Central America which
thirty years ago made her pretensions
a standing menace. to the territorial
integrity and the political independ-
ence of Nicaragua. Had Mr.. Blaine
like Mr.. Marcy and President Buch-
anan, taken the clear firm ground that
the United States will no lenger be
bound by arrangements which were
entered into with the express purpose
of curbing the extension, not of Amer
lean territory, which no one sought TO
extend, but Of American influence
over Central America, Lord Granville
would have had no excuse for his at
tempt to draw this government into
"modifying" the ClaytOn-Bulwer
treaty by extending its provisions TO
all the maritime states, and taking not
England only but all Europe into
partnership with the United States in
the pretectorats and control of region
which can only be kept free from the
chances and perils of European politics
by keeping 1t absolutely under the
guardianship of the one great power
Of the New World.
Still we have no reason either AZ
Democrats or as Americans to regret
the inadequacy Of Mr.. Blaine's treat.
ment Of this great international ques-
tion. The London Times points out
to the statesmanship of Congress, II
there be any statesmanship in that
body, an issue which should be 40
cepted and made without delay, wheI
it echoes the propositions of Lore
Granville and expresses the belief tha
they will be "viewed favorably" b.
the American people. The sooner thG
verdict OF the American people Oh
propositions which Invelve deliberat'
abandonment OF the whole traditiona
policy of the republic is taken, thu
IA n