The Portland daily press., 1895-10-26

AouO11 WIS Ilo uOpUflue dS Cousul uco
by the statesman that first declared it.
Each nation was to guard by its own
means against the establishment OF any
future European colony within its bor-
ders -
President Adams never dreamed that
the United States assumed a guardian
ship over the other American states. We
proposed to guard against any colonial
ton of our territory, and it was hoped
that the South American states would
do tho same. President Adams advocacy
of the Panama congress rested on that
ground, and that it would result in the
adoption of such policy by all the
American states.
In the debate that followed as to the
expediency of sending repro ssntatives to
Panama the whole subject of the relation
of the United States to the South Ameri-
ate and the house. But not even the
strongest advocates of the mission limited
at the idea that the United States would
under any circumstances exercise guard
d1anship over the Central and South
American republics, or in any way pro-
tect them.
Although in tho outcome representa-
tives to Panama were appointed by our
government, the conference itself proved
to be failure. But what the whole his
torical passage is notable for is the expo
sition of the monroe doctrine" by John
Quincy Adams, it's undoubted author, to
the effect that European exclusion from
the western hemisphere was to be the
work, not of the United States solely, as
champion of the two Americas, but of
each American republic primarily, as
policy might dictate.
LATER VIEWS AND ILLUSTRA
TIONS.
1t has already been intimated that
when the question arose between this
country and Great Britain as to the very
territory concerning which the original
utterance had been, that the United
States receded from its contention, and
instead of insisting on '54 40 or fight,
which had been a campaign cry in the
presidential election of 1914, accepted
the parallel of 40 for the Oregon boun-
Diary, thus giving up the whole OF What
is now British Columbia.
In 1S4S a revolution occurred in Yucca
tan, and the white government OF that
country offered to cede it's dominion to
Great Britain, Spain or the United
States. President Polk made this offer
the subject of message to congress IN
which he urged that such measures
should be passed as would prevent it from
becoming a colony of any European
power, which he said would be in con-
travention of the Monroe doctrine. But
John c. Calhoun. who had been mem
Der of Monroe's cabinet at the time the
doctrine was announced, and had taken
part in the cabinet discussions of the
subject, rose in his place in the senate
and opposed any action on the part OF
the United States. In the course OF his
argument he proved that the Yucatan
case did not come within the terms OF
any part of Monroe's message, and that
under the circumstances Yucatan might
be acquired by any European power.
President Woolsey in his able work ON
international law indorses Calhoun's
position on this subject, and says "to lay
down the principle that the acquisition of
territory on this continent by any Euro
pean power cannot be allowed by the
United States would go far beyond any
measure dictated by the system of the
balance of power, for the rule OF self
preservation is not applicable in our
case.
Senator Cass, who certain ly was never
accused of any lack of strong American
feeling, in speech delivered in the SEN
at in January, 1856, said, referring to the
Monroe doctrine
To colonization by purchase, treaty Or
lawful conquest the Monroe declaration
was not intended to apply, however it
may have come to be considered i'll these
days. To suppose that this
declaration was intended as promise,
pledge or engagement that the United
States would guard from European en-
croachlnent the territory of the whole
boundless continent is greatly to misoon-
ceive the purpose Of its prom ulgator,
and so misconstrue the explicit 1nterpre-
tation published to the world by it's au-
thor, Mr.. Adams Yet, had this inter
probation been couched in the most am
biguous terms it could hardly have been
more misunderstood than it would seem
to be at the present day.
Congress has never adopted any resolu-
ton Oh the subject of the Monroe doc
trine in either of it's phases, though it
has twice refused to adopt resolutions
that tended to give it support.
The more recent constructions given it
by newspaper writer's mainly, but not
by statesm en-, have no foundation in his
tory They are in effect new enuncia-
tions of policy, which may or may not be
adopted by congress or by the executive.
But they are no Monroe's doctrine.
OF course, no European government
has ever recognized the doctrine in any
of it's aspects. AS Lord Clarendon polite
ly said to Buchanan, when the latter was
,,,ipictar at the co11rt of ST James NTha