The herald., 1895-12-18

| passed and they are content with such a.
| sertion and defense of the rights of self
government as their own security and wei
fare demands. 1t is in that view, NOR
than any other, that they will not tolerate
| the political control of the American states
by the forcble assumption of European
power.
| GROUND FOR APPREHENSION.
The mischief to be apprehended from
such source is none the less real becaus
not Immediately imminent in any specific
case. The United States is today practi-
cally sovereign on this continent, and its
| fiat is law, All the advantages of this SUI
periority are at once imperied if the priu-
ciple be admitted that European powers
may convert American states into colonies
| of their own.
| The principle could be easily availed of.
and any power doug so would Immediate
| ly secure base of mill AIRY operations
against us, and it is not inconceivable that
the struggle now going on for the acquisi-
ton of Africa might be transferred to
| South America. he weaker countries
would soon be absorbed, and South Amer
lea would be partitioned between Euro
| peau powers.
The consequences to the United States
would be disastrous. Loss of prestige
would be the least of them. Our own real
rivals in peace, as well as enemies in war,
would be located at our very doors. We
must be armed to the teeth, convert the
flower of our male population into soldiers,
and thus annihilate large share of the
productive energy of the nation.
THE RELATION OF STATES.
Our just apprehensions are not to be al
layed by suggestions of the good will of
European powers toward us, for the people
of the United States have learned in the
school of experience to what extent the
relations of states depend, not upon senti-
| ment or principle, but upon selfish interests.
They will not soon forget hat in their hour
of distress all their anXieties and burdens
were aggravated by the possibility of dem.
onstrations against their national life on
the part of the powers with whom they had
long maintained the most harmonious re-
latons. They have yet in mind that
France seized upon the apparent oppor-
tunity of our civil war to set up mon
archy in Mexico, and had France and
| Great Britain held important South Amer
the temptation to destroy our predom-
nance by furthering our ACKNOWLEDGMENT,
might have been Irresistible. From that
grave peril we were saved in the past and
may be saved again in the future through
the operation of the sure but silent voice of
the doctrine proclaimed by President Mon
roe.
AMERICAN DooT me
There is this Secretary Olney contin-
ues. "a doctrine of American law, we
founded in principle and abundantly sane
toned by precedent. which requires the
United States TO treat as an injury to her.
self the forcible assumption by any Europe
an power of political control over an
American state. The application of the
doctrine to the boundary dispute between
Great Britain and Venezuela remains TO be
made and presents no great difficulty"
The secretary shows that, although re-
lating to the boundary line. the question is
one of political control over domain of
great extent, the BIRTHS claim, apparently
expanding in two years some $4,000
square miles and directly involving the
command of the mouth of the Orinoco, in
connection with the whole river navigation
in the interior of South America. He dis.
misses as valueless the contention that
British Guiana may in this controversy be
regarded as an American state like Vene-
zuea.
| He suggests that while Venezuela might
! possibly not object to settling the ma tier
directly with British Guiana, if this conten-
ton was once allowed, every European
power with a South American colony
might extend its possessions indefinitely,
while other powers might do the same by
first procuring a voluntary cession of a
small tract of soil 1t is not admitted and
therefore cannot be assumed, that Great
Britain is in fact usurpng dominion over
Venezuelan soil. While Venezuela charges
such usurpation, Great Britain denies it,,
and the Z nit ed states, until the merits are
auhoritatively ascertained, can take sides
with neither, but it may demand that the
truth shall be ascertained. Being entitled
to resent and resist any sequestration of
Venezuelan soil by Great Britain, it is
necessarily entitled to know whether such
sequestration has occurred or is now
going on.
BUT ONE SOLUTION.
There is but one reasonable mode of de-
termining the merits of the question and
that is peaceable arbitration.
Great Britain admits that there is Q con-
troversy which should DE adjusted by arbi.
tration. but nullifies this admission by her
insistence that the submission shall cover
just part of the controversy. If it were
to point to boundary which both par les.
either expressly or tacitly. had ever agreed
to, the demand that the territory within
that line should be excluded from the dis
pute might rest upon reasonable basis,
but there is no such line. Great Britain
has shown in various instances that she
was willing to arbitrate her political sover-
eign rights. when the interests or territory
involved were not of controlling magni-
tude. Thus she arbitrated the extent of
her colonial possessions with the United
States twice, with Portugal once. with
Germany and, perhaps, in other instances.
The secretary quotes from some of these
arbitrations in the past to sus ain his as
sertion that the British demand for secog-
milton of her right to portion of the dis
puted territory before arbitration seems to
stand upon nothing but her own ipse dixit.
She says comments Mr.. Olney) to Ven
ezuela, in substance: "You can get none
of the deDatable land by force, because
you are not strong enough; you can get
none by treaty because l will not agree,