The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-12-25

WAR, sE NECESSARY
cLEVELAND TAKES HIGH, STRONG
.eRoUND.lN THEvENEzUELA CASE
England Won't Arbitrate--An American
Commission Must Now Fix the Disputed
Line and II John Bull Steps Over it, He
Must Fight. *
| WASHINGTON, Dec. 17.-The Presi.
dent sent to congress today the Vene.
zlaelan correspondence, accompanied
lby the following significant message:
To the Congress: 70 I
In my annual message addressed to
1.-The congress on the 3ro instant, j
called attention to the pending boun,
dary controversy between Great Bri.
tain, and the republic OF Venezuela,
and recited the substance of d repre-
sentation made by this government to
her Eritannic majesty's government
suggesting reasons why such disputes
should be submitted to arbitration for
settlement and inquiring whether II
would be SO submitted. The answer
of the British government, which was
then awaited, has since been received
and together with the dispatch to
which it is a reply is hereto appended.
Such reply is embodied in two com
munications addressed by the British
prime minister to Sir Julian Paunce-
| fote, the British ambassador st this
capital. l[t will be seen that one of
these communications is devoted ex-
| fclusiyely to observations upon the
Monroe doctrine and claims that in
| the prese MT instance, new and strange
extensions and development of this
doctrine is insisted on BY the United
States, .that the reasons justifyil1g an
appeal to the doctrine enunciatsd by
President Monroe are generally inap-
plicable ITO the state OF things in
which we live at the present day, /"
and especially inapplic to a con-
troyersy involving the boundary line
between Great, Britain and VeneTuela.
Without attempting extended argu-
ment in reply ito those positions, it
may not be amiss to suggest that the
doctrine upon which we stand is
strong and sound because its enforce
ment ii Important to our peace and
safety as s. nation and is essential to
the integrity Of our free institutions
and, the tranquil maintenance OF our
distinctive form Of government. It
was intended to apply to every stage
of our national Life and cannoE be-
come obsolete while onr republic. en-
dures. If the balanceo power is justly
q cause iior Jealous anxiety ambnIy the
governments of the Old World and q
subject for our absolute non,interfere
ence, none the less is an observance
of the Monroe doctrine oe vital con-
Germ to our people and their govern
ment. Assuming, therefore, that we
probably may insist upon this doc.
trine without regard to the, ssstate of
things III which We iven or any
changed conditions here or elsewhere,
lit Is not apparent why its application
may not be involved tn tho present
controversy H q European power by
an extension of it's boundaries, takes
possession Of the territory of one of
our neighboring republics, against its
will and In derogation of its rights, 1t
lis difficult to see why, to that extent,
such European power does not thereby
attempt to extend its system OF gov
ernment to that portion OF this cetnti-
nent which lis thus taken. TINS is the
precise action which President Monroe
declared to be ! dangerous To our
peace and safety, y and it can make no
difference whether the European sys-
tenn is extended by an advances of from
tier or otherwise. it is also suggested
in the British reply that we should not
seek to apply the Monroe doctrine TO
the pending dispute because it does
not embody any principle of interna,
tional law, which is founded on the
general consent of nations" and1 THAT
s.no statesman, however eminent, no
nation however powerful, = are com
petent to insert into the code Of inter
national law q novel principle, which
was 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 II not exclu-
sive relation to the United States 1t
may not have been admitted in SO
so many words to the code of interna.
tional law, but since in international
councils every nation is entitled to the
rights belonging to it, If the enforce
ment of the Monroe doctrine is some
thing we may justly claim, it has its
place in the code Of international law
as certainly and ss securely as il it
were specifically mentioned, and when
the United States is a suitor before the
high tribunal that administers. inter-
national law, the question to be deter
mined is whether or not we present
claims which the justice of that code
of law can find 10 be right and valid!
The Monroe doctrine finds its recog-
milton in those principles of interha-
tional law which are based upon the
theory that every nation shall have it's
rights protected and its just claims en-
forced. ;s / .33.5,., a Is y.
p OF course this government is entire
-ly confident that under the sanction of
this doctrine we have clear rights and
undoubted claims, Nor is this ignored
in the British reply. The prime min
lister, while not admitting that the