The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-04-08
Will Mr.. Cleveland he governed by
the action Of the caucus Of our
sional delegation We doubt It.
The Fall Of BnrriGs.

The auducious attempt Of Guatemala to
conquer the neigibnrine Republics h ; ended
as suddenly as IT began. With the news of
the death of Barrins, The bold and nn>crupu-
movement doubtless originated, comes the in
tclligence that the Legislative Assembly of
Guatemala has 4 ,nullcd the decree in which
be declared the union Of the Central American
Republics and proclaimed himself Dictator and
supreme military chieftain of the whole.
Hostilitics have been suspended, and the war
IF conquest has been virtually brought to a
close. So cndeth Barrios, and with him prob
ably ends the long line Of petty tyrants with
which til. Central American States have been
scvcrally and collectively afflicted, OF threat
.ned, for a hundred years, and from the
rule Of which class even the Mexican States
have but recently escaped. AS for Barrins
himself, his death is a source Of satisfaction
to the people whom he aspircd to rule, and will
be regretted BY very few persons, perhaps, in
the particular State Of which he was master.
The Promptncss with which the Gauten;alan
Assembly has retraccd its steps shows to what
were interested in the plans Of their leader,
and that they, in common With their neie hbors
aud the rest Of the world, perfectly we'll I'M
dcrstood the true motive of his conduct. Not
the union of the Central American States, but
their subsection, was the object of his auibi-
| ton, and the first step was simply IL means
to the second aud principal ono
which he had in view. The charnc:e-nf A.
man was too we'll known to nllnasnnim to nose
a.; a pn,r,o! IN even the lifted sphere to which
MS operation nag peg confined, and it was to
cSPecreu That his character, or conduct
would be improved by the possession Of larger
and The control Of a large field where.
in to exercise them IhJbs<ss:iie decree hat
eraclniNsath uninn of the Central Ame.cSih
Republics, Barrios declared himself their Oh
premc Ruler aud his true object was thereby
made plain: The threatened Republics, re-
cognizing their danger, rose i'll defence of their
rights liberties, and by one brave effort have
the invader aud established II firmcr
and surer basis of Independence than ever be-
fore.
1t is not likely that the desperate attempt
of Barrios will be repeated by any fceblcr i'm
itator. What he tried to accomplish by force,
ana for his own personal ends, will probably
be effected ut no very remote day, but it will
be accomplished without violence ard without
olo"t!shsd, ANA for II. better purpose. Even
should il second BarriUs arise, or Should one
of the small Republics attempt to cocrce its
sister States, the Lesson OF the revolution just
ended is toa Ilain to be misunderstood.
Force can and will be met with force, and.
either by their own might or that. Of their
powerful ncighb0rs on the north, the indie
pcndrnce of the several minor States will be
maintained. Mutual interests aud aims, and
the obvious advantages Of union, will sooner |
later impcl the citizens of Guatemala, San
Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras and Nicara-
qua to form u voluntary confederation under
one government. Divided, they have prcyed
upon each other, and are mcnaccd with the
threat of annexation to Mexico. United, |
they will constitute a respectable and power |
ful government, the stability Of which, would
be guaranteed by their own combined |
strength, and, if necessary, by that of the
United States. The hint which Minister
Morgan gave to the Mexican Government n |
few years ugo will not be forgotten, and no |
circumstances are likely to arise under which
government would be warranted in in
'erfcring will, the affairs of thc new Republic
is to be.
Not the least cause Of satisfaction, indeed, |
in the connection with the overthrow of Bar |
rios, lies in the fact that his defeat WIS ac- |
without the aid of Mexico, and
the people ofthe invaded States appealed
to the United States for protection in the
hour of their need. The revolution ended, it |
is true. before the United States had gone be- |
yond moral %suasion, but it is significant of
the relations of this Government to other
Governments ON the continent that its author |
ity should have been recognized in such an
emergency, and that it's power should have
been 80 promptly and confidently invoked for
tho protection of Governments SO far remov-
ed from it's OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES and Courier.