The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1895-12-18

tween the Republic and British
Guiana-The Responsibility Fully
Realized.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.-THE President
to-day transmitted to Congress the COR
respondence betwean the Government
of the United States and Great Britain
with regard to Venezuela, together with
the following special messages:
ITO THE CoNaREss:-In my annual
message addressed to the Congress on
the 3rd instant. called attention to
the pending boundary controversy be-
tween Great Britain and the republic of
Venezuels, and reoited the substance OF
representation made by this Govern
ment to her Britanio msjesty's governs
ment, sug esting reasons why such dis
pute should be submitted to arbitration
for settlemens, and irquirinR whether
it would be 80 submitted. The answer
OF the British government, which WAS
then awaited, has since been received
and together with the dispatch which
the reply Is hereto appended.
"Such reply ia en- bodied in two COM
municatiohs addressed by the British
prime minister to Sir Julian Paunce-
fote, the British ambassador to this
capital. These communications are de-
voted exclusively to observations upon
tho Monroe doctrine, and claims that in
the present instance q new and strange
extension and development OF this doc
trine Ia insisted on by the United States;
that the reasons justifying an appeal to
the doctrine enumerated by President
Monroe are generally inspplicable to
the state OF things in which we live at
the present day, and especially inappli-
cable to controversy concerning the
boundary line between Great Britain
and Venezuela. Without attempting
extended argument in reply to this
position, 1t may not be amiss to suggest
that the doctrine which we understand ia
strong and sound because its enforce
ment Is important to our peace and
safety as nation and is essential to
the Integrity OF our free institutions
snd the tranquil maintenance of our
distinctive form of government.
ut WAS intendsd to apply to every
stage OF our national life, and cannot be
absolute while our republic exists. II
the balance of power Is justly cause
for jealous anxiety among the govern
ments OF the Old World. 80 Is the OBJ
servanoe of the Monroe doctrine of vital
concern to our people and their Govern
ment.
Assuming, therefore, we may prop.
erly insist upon this doctrine without
regard to tho stnte of things in which
we live or any changed conditions
here or elsewhere, 1t ia not apparent
why It's application may not be in
voked in the present controversy. II
m European power. by an extension
of It's boundaries, takes possession of
the territory of neighboring republics
against its will and in derogstlon OF
It's right, 1t Is difficult TO see why, to
that extent. European powers do not
thereby attempt to extend their sgs.
tenn of government to that portion OF
this continent which is thus taken.
This Is the precise action which
President Monroe declared to he
dangerous to our peace and safety, and
1t can mako no difference II the Euro
pean system ia extended by an advance
of-frontier or otherwise.
''It is also suggested in the Britieh
reply thatw should not seek to apply
the Monroe doctrine to the pending dis
pute, because Of the principle of in-
transitional law, which is founded on
the general consent OF nations and tn at
mo statesmen, however eminent, and no
nation, however powerful, Is competent
to insert in the code OF international
law novel principle which wss never
recognized before and which has not
since been accepted by the government
Of any other<country.'
practically, the principle for which
we contend has peculiar exclusive rela-
tion to the United States. 1t may not
have been admitted in 80 many words
to the code of international law, but
since In International counsels every
nation is entitled to the rights belong
ing to 1t, II the enforcement OF the Mon.
roe doctrine is something we may Justly
claim, 1t has its place in the code of in.
transitional law as certainly and as Sc
curely as IL It were specifically men.
toned, and when the United States Is
before the high tribunal of international
law, the question to be determined ia
whether or not we present claims which
the justice OF the code of law can find to
be right and valid.
Tine Monroe doctrine finds its recog.
milton In those principles of interna-
tional laws based upon the theory that
every nation shall have It's rights pro-
tected and it's just claims enforced. OF
course this government ia entirely con-
hdent that under the sanction of this
doctrine we have clear rights and un-
doubted claims. Nor Ia this ignored in
the British reply The prime minister,
while not admitting that the Monroe
doctrine Is applicable to the present
conditions, agrees that the United
States with President Monroe adopted
policy which received the entire sym.
pathy of the English governments of
that date"