The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1888-10-31
How Englishmen Should Vote.

An English citizen of Pomona, CAL,
recently wrote to the British minister
at Washington, asking his advice as to
the duties of those voters who are of
English birth but still consider England
the motherand. The writer also states,
among other things, that while in
former years many resident English
men declined to be naturalized, the adj
ministration of Cleveland has been so
friendly to Great Britain, so kind in
not enforcing the retaliation act, so
sound on the free-trade question, etc.,
that thousands have become naturalized
for the express purpose of helping to
elect him over again. Minister West
replied promptly to the foregoing, and
his autograph letter, surmounted with
the British coat-of-arms, is in posses
sion of the Los Angeles Times. The
letter is as follows:
(Private.) BEVERLY, Mass, Sept. 10, 1888.
Sir Il am in receipt of your letter of the
4th instant, and beg to say that / fully APP
precate the difficulty in which you find
yourself in casting your vote. You are
probably aware that any political party
which openly favored the mother-country
at the present moment would lose pOpu-
larity and that the party in power is fully
aware of this fact. The party, however, is,
l believe, still DESTROYS of maintaining
friendly relations with Great Britain and
is still as DESTROYS of settling all questions
with Canada, which have been unfortu-
nately reopened 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, be made for the political situation
as regards the presidential election thus
created. 1t is, however, impossible to pre-
dict the course which President Cleveland
may pursue in the matter of retaliation,
should he be reelected: but there is every
reason to believe that, while uphoding the
position he has taken, he will manifest
spirit of Cancellation, in dealing with the
question involved in his message. | en-
close an article from the New York Times
of August %, and remain,
Yours faithfully,
l.. S. SACKvILLE-W EST.
In an interview with reporter of
the New York Tribune the minister
acknowledges the genuineness of the
letter. 1t is interesting as confrma-
ton, from indisputable authority, of
the English view of President Cleve-
lands course in its bearing upon British
interests. The publication of the letter
is received with burst of indignation
in this country which is not confined
by party lines. The New York San, a
democratic journal but one that is loyal
to American interests and that places
country always above party, declares in
a patriotic article, that g" If this letter
is an audacious forgery, Lord Sackville
should denounce it as such without an
hours delay. If it is genuine, Mr..
Bayard should send him his passports
before tomorrow night" Lord Sack
vile does not denounce the letter, but
laughs at the SUMS declaration. Secure
under Bayard's sheltering wing, the
example set by Washington in demand
ing the recall of the French minister
for interfering with the political affairs
of this country has no terrors for Min
lister West. But the people of this
country will soon recall Cleveland and
install at Washington an administra-
ton that will conduct the affairs of the
American government in the interest
of Americans. We hope and trust that
the days of the British administration
of the American government are num-