New-York tribune., 1895-12-06

month after month. FISH III plch'! cu"e 10 HIS
hook in BuzZards Bay. but never letter from
over the sea- The time drew near for him TO
have the Congress on his hands ii" must
give an account Of the Venezuela negotiations
in his Message He could tell easily enough
what he had written four months before But
what could he say about Lord Salisburys reply:
IL would he awful 10 have To CONFESS that MS
letter was still unanswered. So ne made the
cables hot with messages to Mr.. Bayard, i'm
plorlng. urging commanding him to get Lord
Salisbury TO send him a letter in time to be
uuotcd in his Message. Even as late as last
Saturday would do. only two days before the
meeting of the Congress But all was in vain.
The letter never came. lie was compelled TO
send in his Message with that humating CON
fesslon. that the British Government esteemed
him so slightly that il let his most serious and
URGENT communications lie for months unan-
swercd, And then. to add the final touch to his
Diplomatic degradation. it was announced with
pitilcss. sardonic humor that the longed-for let
ter had been dispatched just in time to get here
a week TOO late
The annals OF the correspondence OF great ana
friendly nations contain, we imagine, scarcely
one parallel tc that Even Lord Salisbury
though a past-mastcr of the art Of cynical ar
front could not more effectively have expressed
his contempt for White House diplomacy. But
what else was TO be expected? Whom but him
self has Mr.. Cleveland TO blame for his personal
discontinue? Whom but hlm has The Nation
10 blame for the humiliation thus put upon 1t!
Mr. Cleveland has deliberately and fatuously in
vitcl exactly such treatment. He invited 1t
when he wantonly neglected. from March until
Julv 70 follow the directions Of the Congress
If he could ignore for four months the mandate
Of thc peoples representatives,. why should not
his own letter he ignored by Lord Salisbury for
an coual period? Still moro did he invite il by
his palicrng and pusillanimous conduct in the
Nicaragua business. when he allowed Great
Britain to discriminate against citizens OF the
United States as arbiirators and to seize forcbly
and exercise dominion over Nicaraguan terri
tory. in defiance Of the Monroe Doctrine and in
violation of the Clayton-Bulwcr Treaty. After
that could he expect Lord Salisbury to take him
seriously or to treat his communications with
prompt and respectful consideration:
But with all his sorry plight let Mr. Cleveland
thank God and take courage. The worst has
not vet hofallcn him. There is Il lower depth. Ia
which he has not yet been dragged. We Sald a
moment ago that Lord Salisbury could not have
treated him moro c0ntcmptuously. We were
wong and we beg the British Minister'S par
don for undertaking his ability. Lord Salisbury
might have treated Mr. Ccvclands letter as he
did the Sultan's He might have read IL aloud
at some u'nionist jollifcation meeting. and made
if the theme of his own acrid wit and Of his
hearers scornful mirth lnStcnd he exercised
the pity of utter silence Mr. Cleveland is there
fore 10 br congratulated He ranks not quite
as low as the "Sick Man. of Europe. And the
American people: Well. they may be cOngrat-
ulated. too on the sure prospect OF soon having
cleveland and Clcvelandism swept out of the
White House and man put in that place who
not only can speak brave words, hut can ais"
command the respectful attention of those To
whom he speaks