The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-08-02

territory in behalf Of some OF our citi-
Zens- This purchase was uudoubt-
edIy the most important peaceful
event in the whole history OF our
country and Is a romance in its-lf
Spain hal held Louisiana since before
our revolution For many years her
possession of New Orleans and OF the
Mississippi river had been a standing
menace TO the peace and safety OF our
country.
SPANISH ISTRIGUES.
At one time her intrigues with the
people Of the west almost threatened
the disruption of the newly formed
Union. Ii was openly charged, and
by many believed, that Gen. Will
kinson of Kentucky was for some
years in the pay of the Spanish king,
with the Interior object of detaching
the west from the federal governme
and setting up an independent gov
eminent, or becoming dependency
OF the Spanish crown. But in $500
Spain ceded Louisiana TO her old
enemy France, and the hold-over gov
ernor OF the province issued pro-
clamatiOn closing the navigation of
the river and abolishing the right of
deposit at New Orleans, which right
the western people had enjoyed since
1895.
Jefferson became alarmed. He de-
clared that whoever held New Orleans
was by that fact our enemy. He
secured an appropriation of two mil
lions of dollars from Congress to buy
the island of Orleans and sent James
Monroe as minister extraordinary to
France and Spain to act in con-
junction with our regular ministers
already there. Their proposition to
buy place of deposit for western
merchandise was met by counter
proposition to sell an empire.
Here was puzzle. Jefferson was
the apostle and high priest of the doc
trine of strict construction of the
powers of the federal government.
had power under the constitution to
buy depot for the purposes of COM
merce, but none to acquire and annex
territory. But the Anglo-SaxOn has
for thousand years been the living
exponent of the doctrine that the gov
eminent is made for the people and
not the people for the government.
The president was equal TO the occa-
sion. He laid aside his strict con-
struction scruples for the time being,
accepted the treaty and summoned
Congress in extra session to ratify the
same The vast territory thus ac-
quired was then practically an UNI
known land north and west OF st.
Louis, and the most extraordinary
stories about it were circulated among
the people and were gravely discussed
in congress. 1t was said to be inhab-
tied by Indians of gigantic stature;
the plains were said to be covered
with buffalo, and the soil was declared
so rich as to preclude the growth of
trees. A thousand miles up the Mis-
souri, was said to be pure mountain
of salt, white and glittering in the
sun, and $50 miles long by fOrty-five
wide.
This masterstroke gave JeffersOn's
unbounded popularity,
and well nigh finished the destruction
of the old federal party. Its success
also seems to have made Jefferson
annexationist, for his cor
in later years indicates
that he contemplated, when we were
threatened with war with Spain, the
of both Florida and Mex
leo.
THE FLORIDA PURCHASE IN 1919.
The same logic of events which de-
creed the purchase of louisiana ike
wise made our ownership of Florida
foregone conclusion. In sixteen more
years the young ''pygmy" had grown
too vigorous to longer tolerate such
as Florida was in the over
ship of Spain. That portion west of
the Perdido river had been claimed by
the United States under the Louisiana
purchase, and in 1911 our government
took peaceable possession of the same.
In our second war with Great Britain
the Spanish government was unable
or unwilling to preserve her neutrall-
ty, and a British expedition was fitted
out against our country from Pensa-
cola, and General Jackson thereupon
marched against the place and cap
tured it.
In 1878 we had further trouble with
the country, when Jackson again cap
tured Pensacola and also Fort st.
Marks. 1t was in this expedition that
the pugnacious Tennessee general
caused the execution of the two Bri-
fish subjects, Arbuthnot and Ambrls-
ter, a proceeding which came near
causing a third war with Great Bri-
tain.
The Spanish minister also demanded
an apology and indemnity from our
country, but never got either, and
finally the country passed into our
possession by the treaty of 1919, and
Jackson being appointed its first
governor, took formal possession OF
the country July IS, 1921. BY this
same treaty we also acquired a quit
claim from Spain to the Oregon
region and extending as far south as
the present northern boundary of
California, and thence eastward to
the summit of the Rocky mountains.
THE TEXAS ANNEXATION.
The story of Texas is another ROM
ance. 1t is the only part of our
territory which had an independent
national existence before it became
part of the Union. 1t is true the
United States had claimed the most
of her territory by virtue of the
Louisiana purchase, but Spain had
resisted the claim, and in the Florida
treaty of 1919, the question had been
settled by the establishment of
the Sabin river as the boundary be-
tween the two countries. Meantime,
from almost the date of our acquisi-
ton of Louisiana, the unfortunate
region of Texas had been the Mecca of
every adventurous spirit of the south
west.
The ambitious schemes of Aaron
Burr contemplated the capture and
of this sparsely settled and