The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-12-31
The Spanish Treaty.

Secretary Frelinghuysen has written
letter to the chairman of the senate
committee on foreign relations, making
some suggestions in answer to the OBJ
jections urged against the treaty. The
following extracts, relating to some of
its political and commercial aspects,
are of general interest:
"The convention now before you, in its
political aspect, is of Importance Some
have thought that there is a disposition in
the United States looking to the annexation
OF Cuba. Such action would be unwise, for
reasons which are apparent to your commit
tee, for, even could 1t be accomplished by
general consent, our institutions would be
endangered by this beginning of colonial
system, or by an incorporation into our
body polite of n large population not in en-
tire sympathy with our governmental aims
and methods. The treaty removes the
causes of complaint as to the treatment of
our citizens and their property in Cuba
and Porto Rico, which have heretofore led
to serious discussion between the two gov
ernments, and, by bringing the islands into
close commercial connection with the
United\ States, confers upon us and upon
them all benefit which would result from
annexation, were that possible. The con-
vention with Spain is one of series of in
ternational engagements following the re-
ciprocity treaty with Mexico. 1t opens the
markets of Cuba and Porto Rico to our
products. The treaty with Santo Domingo
opens those of that republic, and the pend
ing negotiations with the Central American
states and with Columbia lead to the same
subject In conjunction with these, the
treaty with Nicaragua for the construction
of an interoceanic canal, while bringing the
most distant parts of our own country into
closer relations, opens the markets of the
west coast of South America to our trade
and gives us at our doors a customer able to
absorb large portion of those articles
which we produce in return for products
which we cannot profitably raise. Now let
me refer to some of the objections made to the
Spanish convention 1t is said that we thereby
give up revenue on sugar from twenty-five
to thirty-five millions in return for a reduc-
ton of duties upon our products imported
into Cuba and Porto Rico, estimated on the
basis OF the existing traffic, at from three to
five millions. The REIMBURSEMENT of revenue,
when for the public good, is in the line of
the national policy hitherto. 1t was done
in the case Of tea and coffee, which, by the
act of May l, 1872 were placed upon the
free list without an attempt to obtain there
for any equivalent whatever, and wholly in
obedience to the popular demand for a
free breakfast table, BY this measure
the treasury of the United States has
lost, during the last twelve years, a:revenue
of some one hundred forty-four millions of
dollars on coffee alone; and, besides, let us
not forget that Brazil availed itself of the
action of this government to impose an i'm
port tax upon coffee which deprived the
people of this country of the benefit of our
tariff reduction. Article five of this conven-
ton prevents similar action by Spain. The
treaty now under consideration tends to
cheaper the cost of the necessaries of life by
reducing the cost of staple of daily con-
sumption, of which we are obliged to import
each year nearly one hundred millions in
value to make up for the inadequate produc-
ton of our own soil, which amounts TO only
about twelve per centum of the whole con-
sumption; and at the same time we secure
growing market for our products in the
Spanish Antilles coupled with especialprivi-
leges to our merchant marine, 1t is also
said that the importation of free sugars from
Cuba and Porto Rico, when added to our
domestic production, and to the importation
from the Sandwich Islands, will fall short of
the quantity needed for home consumption,
and the price will be ruled by that of the
part remaining liable to duty, so that the
profit from the removal of duty will go to
the Cuban and Porto Rican planter, and
not to the consumers in this country. If
this argument be true, the treaty will not
affect the price of sugar in Louisiana. The
price of commodity is lessened by the sup
ply being greater than the demand. But IL
is frank to say that other conventions have
been negotiated, or are in process of nego-
tiation which will provide an adequate i'm
portation from sugar regions