Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-17

Lord Salisbury.
| of government which seemed likely to dis
| appear, unless 1t was sustained by external
| aid, were incidents fresh in the mind of
| President Monroe when he penned his cele-
| brated message. The system of which he
| speaks, and of which he so resolutely depre-
| Gates the application to the American con-
| tinent, was the system then adopted by
| certain powerful states upon the continent
| of Europe of combining to prevent by force
| of arms the adoption in other countries of
| political institutions which they dislked
| and to uph Did by external pressure those
| which they approved. Various portions of
South America had recently declared their
| independence, and that independence had
| rot been recognized by the governments of
| Spain and Portugal, to which, with small
| exception, the whole of Central and South
| America were nomnally subject. 1t was
| not an imaginary danger that he foresaw
If he feared that the same spirit which had
| dictated the French expedition into Spain
| might inspire the more powerful govern
| ments of Europe with the idea of imposing
| by the force of European arms upon the
| South American communities, the form Of
government and the political connection
which they had thrown off In declaring
| that the United States would resist any
| such enterprise If 1t was contempla ted
President Monroe adopted a policy which
received the entire sympathy of the En-
glish government of that date
The Present State of Affairs.
| The dangers which were apprehended by
President Monroe have no relation to the
| state of things in which we live at the
| present day. There is no danger of any
| holy alliance imposing its system upon any
| portion of the American continent and
there is no danger of any European state
| treating any part of the American CONT
| nent as fit object for European colonial
| ton It ineligible that Mr. Olney should
| invoke, in defense of the views on which
| he is now insisting. an authority which en-
| joys so high a popularity with his own fell
| low countrymen. But the circumstances
| with which President Monroe was dealing
| and those to which the present American
| government is addressing itself have very
| few features in common. Great Britain is
| imposing no System" upon Venezuela. and
| Is not concerning herself in any way with
| the nature of the political institutions
| under which the Venezuelans may prefer
| TO live. But the British empire and the
republic of Venezuela are neighbors. and
continue to differ, to the line by which
| their dominions are separated. 1t is a
| controversy with which the United States
| have no apparent practical concern. 1t is
| difficult, indeed, to see how it can ma
| terially affect any state or community out
| side those primarily interested. except per-
| haps other parts of her majesty's denim
| ions. such as Trinidad. The disputed from
| tier of Venezuela has nothing to do with
| any of the questions dealt with by Presi-
| dent Monroe 1t is not question of the
| colonization by European power of any
portion of America 1t is rot a question of
| the imposition upon the communities of
| South America of any system of govern
ment devised in Europe. 1t is simply the
| determir alton of the frontier of a British
| possession which belonged to the throne of
England long before the republic of Ven
| ezuea came into existence But even If
the interests of Venezuela We're so far
| linked to those of the United States to
| give to the latter locus standi in this
| controversy, their government apparently
have not formed, and certainly do not ex-
| press any opinion upon the actual merits
| of the dispute.
| The government of the United States do
| not say that Great Britain or that Nene-
| zuela is in the right in the matters that
are at issue. But they lay down that the
| doctrine of President Monroe, when he OPP
| posed the imposition of European systems
| or the renewal of European colonization,
| confers upon them the right Of demanding
| that when a European power has a from
| tier difference with South American com
munity, the European power shall consent
| to refer that controversy to arbitration
and Mr. Olney states that unless her
mand it will greatly emharrass the future
relations between Great Britain and the
| United States
| Whatever may be the authority of the
| doctrine laid down by President Monroe
| there is nothing in his language to show
| that he ever thought of claiming this novel
| prerogative for the United States. 1t is ad-
| mitted that he did not seek to assert a
protectorate over Mexico, or the states of
| Central and South America. Such a claim
| would have imposed upon the United States
| the duty of answering for the conduct of
| those states, and consequently the re-
| sponsibility of controlling it. His sagac,ous
| foresight would have led him erergetically
| to deprecate the addition of so serious a
| burden to those which the rulers of the
| United States have to bear. 1t follows Of
| necessity that If the government of the
| United States Will not control the conduct
of these communities, neither can it under
| take to protect them from the consequences
| attaching to any misconduct o{ which they
may be guilty toward other nations. If
they violate in any way the rights of an
| other state, or Of its subjects, It is not al
legged that the Monroe doctrine will assure
them the assistance of the United States
in escaping from any reparation which
they may be bound by international law to
| give. Mr.. Olney expressly disclams such
an inference from the principles he lays
| down.
| The Question of Arbitration.
| But the claim which he POUNDS upon them
is that if any Independent American state
advances a demand for territory of which
its neighhor claims to be the owner, and
| that neighbor is the colony of European
state, the United States have right to In
sist that the European state Shall submit
| the demand and It's own impugned rights
| to arbitration.
| I will not now enter into discussion of
the merits of this method of terminating
| int no tiooa1 5ifferenoes II hoe prora5 If