Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1888-11-02

IL, ana claiming 10 come lToIn haVui aliN
ed Engishman who wanted advice as TO
how to vote this year The claim is now
made that this letter Of inquiry was a iicti
tious one and was written TO entrap the
British minister
LORD sACKvILLEs LETTER.
GPryate1
SIR: am IN receipt Of your letter of the lth
inst. aud bcg 10 say that | fully appreciate the
difficulty In which you find yourself In casting
your vote You are probably aware that any po-
litical party which openly favored the mother
country at the present moment would lose pupl
larfty, and that the party In power is fuly awarr
of this fact. The party, however, is' ! believe
still desirous Of maintaining friendly relations
with Great Britain, and is still as desirous Of
settling all questions with Canada which have
been unfortunately redpened since the retraction
Of the treaty by the Republican majority in the
Senate and by the Presidents message, to which
you allude All allowances must, therefore, DE
made for the political situation as regards the
Presidential election thus created It's, however,
impossible to predict the course which President
Cleveland may pursue In the matter Of retalia'
tiun. should he be elected; but there is every rea
son to believe that, while upholding the position
he has tlkeu.-be will manifest spirit Of con''la-
lion in dealing with the question involved III hts
message. enclose an article from the New York
Tunes Of August % and remain,
Yours faithfully,
l.. $. SACKVILLE WEST.
Beverly, Mass, sept u, 1883.
The awkwardness Of the publication Of
Lord Sackville's letter at this juncture ap.
pears to have impressed itself upon the
Democratic consciousness. The White
House expresses itself under cover Of an
interview with Senator Morgan, and Secre-
tary Bayard rushes into print in an inspired
and semi official interview, all with the
purpose Of breaking the force Of this most
undesirable endorsement. At time when
the administration has been trying to make
political capital out of its professed eager
ness to retaliate against Canada, and its
yearning to twist the tail of the British
lion it is embarrassing to have the British
minister, in effect, assure an inquirer that
all this demonstration is meaningless, and
that Mr.. Cleveland and the Democratic par
ty are as friendly to England ds ever. New
er was II buncombe demonstration of brag
gadocio more neatly aud efiectually exposed
Lord Sackville having suddenly awoke to
the consciousness that he has done an awk
ward thing, tries to relieve himself by ex-
pressing an anxiety to discover and expose
the author Of the alleged fraudulent inqui
ry What difference such disclosure could
make it is not easy 10 see. The significant
thing is that the minister accredited to our
government 10y that Of Great Britain should
be 50 desirous Of witnessing the triumph OF
| free trade and the Cleveland administra
ton that he should he willing To advise an
American citizen-a perfect stranger-how
u vote His letter gives "A semi-Oiiicia
statement Of English sentiment 1t is more
| important than the utterances Of the Eng
lish press, though those were significant
enough before considerations Of eNpedencS
| had muzzled the editors. Lord Sackvillei
letter, inconvenient as its publication may
be, is unquestionably sincere, and it attest
the truth Of the Republican position, declar
ed in the party platform and maintained
throughout the campaign, that Mr.. Cleve
land is distinctively the English candidate
aud his policy the English policy
\ Washington despatch Of recent dat
says
"The administration people are still en-
gagged in considering how the effect of tn
letter of British Minister West, Lord Sack
Vile, can best be broken. Consultation
at the White house have been almost con
tinuous since the letter appeared. Secre
tary Bayard Senator Morgan and the Off
cias of the state department have beel
discussing the precedents, hut it has no
been found possible TO suggest anything ye
except the interviews of Secretary Bayar,
and Senator Morgan, which were CAREFUL,
prepared and given to the press. There j
no attempt in any quarter to deny the au
thenticity of the letter. Minister West i
busy now in looking after his own fences
| ia anticipation of rebuke or a recall frun
his own government for having been in
| discreet enough to reveal the interest whic
Great Britain has in the election His mai
effort seems To be to cause 1t 10 appear tina
the publication is due to "A betrayal Of con
iidence. and that he did not intend to par
ticipate in the campaign. Tx Senator JOIN
b. Henderson of st. Louis, who is here
saws Of the West letter: That letter show
precisely how English sympathy stands, an
it shows, moreover, that under all this re
cent bluster of the administration concern
ing Canada there was no real seriousness q
purpose, and that Lord Sackville know
perfectly well that the Presidents letter o
the fisheries was written for effect | shoul
saw that he has made himself the Demo
cratic Burchard of this campaign. | thin
MS letter will cause the Democrats to lose
great many Irish votes.
Other Washington dispatches bring tn
news that the Democrats are SO much di
turbed over the letter and so much afrai
of its effect on the Irish vote that they al
claiming that Mr.. Vests sympathies hay
always been with the Republicans, and thu
he wrote the letter TO iniure Mr.. Clevelan'
The truth is, however, that Lord Sacl
Vile, as his flunkies insist that he must
called, is an aristocrat through and throug
and has not the least sympathy with r
publican Institutions.