The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-12-19
THE BRITISH SIDE.

|
same date and the former, which the
ambassador is directed to communicate
TO Secretary Olney, is of the highest I'M
portance. as in it Lord Salisbury goes
broadly into the Monroe doctrine. In
full it is as follows:
Foreign Office. Nov. 26. 1895. Sir-On
August Z | transmitted 10 Lord Cough
a copy of the dispatch from Mr.. Olney
which Mr. Bayard had left with me that
day and of which he had read portions
TO me. | informed him at the time that
il could not be answered until it had been
fully considered by the law officers of the
crown. | have therefore deferred reply
ing 10 it until after the recess.
Il will not now dwell Oh those portions
which are concerned exclusively with the
controversy that has for some time past
existed between the republic of Nene-
Zuela and her ma esty's government in
regard to the boundary which separates
their dominiOns. | take a very different
view from Mr.. Olney of various matters
upon which he touches in that part of the
dispatch. but will defer for the present
all references to it as it concerns mat
tiers which are not in themselves of first
rate importance and do not concern the
relations between Great Britain and the
| United States. The latter portion of the
dispatch. turning to the question of the
| frontier of Venezuela. proceeds to deal
with principles of wider character and
to advance doctrines of international law
which are of considerable interest to all
| the nations whose dOminions include any
portion of the Western Hemisphere. The
contentious set forth by Mr.. Olney in
this part of his dispatch are represented
| by him as being an application of the
! Ia Dh NDH N
| in American discussion under the name
of the Monroe doctrine. As far as | am
aware this doctrine has never been be-
| fore advanced on behalf of the United
| States in any communication addressed
! to the government of another Nation, but
| il has been generally adopted and assum-
| ed as true by many eminent writers and
politicians in the United States. 1t is
said to have largely influenced the gov
eminent of that country in the conduct
of its foreign affairs; though Mr.. Clay
ton, who was secretary of state under
President Taylor, expressly stated that
the administration had in no way adopt
ed it, but during the period that has
elapsed since the message of President
Monroe in 1923 the doctrine has under
gone very notable development and
the aspect which it now presents III the
hands of Mr.. Olney differs widely from
its character when it first issued from the
pen of its author. The two propositions
which in effect President Monroe laid
down was: First-That America was no
longer to be looked upon as field for
European colOniZation and second, that
Europe must not attempt to extend its
political system to America or to control
the political condition of any of the
American commandments which had re-
Gently declared their independence: The
dangers against which President Monroe
thought it right to guard was not as
imaginary as they would seem at the
nresent day. The formation of the holy
alliance" the congresses of Laybach ana
Verona. the invasion of Spain by France
for the purpose of forcing on the Spanish
people form of government which
seemed likely to disappear unless 1t was
sustained by external aid were incidents
fresh in the mind of President Monroe
when he penned his celebrated message.
The system of which he speaks and OF
which he so resolutely deprecates, the
application to the American continent
was the system to adopt 10y certain pow
ers. States on the continent of Europe
were in the habit of combining to pre-
vent by force of arms the adoption in
other countries of political institutions
which they disliked and to uphold by
external pressure those which they APP
proved.
various portions of South America
have recently declared their independence
and that independence has not been rec,
ogniZed by the governments OF Spain ana
Portugal. to which small exceptions were
taken. 1t was not an imaginary
foe that he foresaw, for, if he
feared that the same spirit which
had dictated the French expedition
into Spain might inspire the most power
full governments 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 con-
nectiOn which they had thrown off.
I'm declaring that the United States
would resist such an action, President
Monroe adopted a policy which received
the entire sympathy of the English gov
eminent of that date.
"The dangers which were apprehended
| by President Monroe have no relations to
the state of things in which we live at the
present day. There is no danger of any
| holy alliance imposing its system on any
portion of the American continent and
there is no danger of any European State
| treating any part of the American conti-
nent as a fit object for European colonial
ton.
1T is ineligible that Mr.. Olney should
invoke in defense of the views on which
he is now insisting, an authority which
enjoys SO high a popularity with his own
fellow countrymen. But the circumstan-
ces 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 people of Venezuela are neighbors
and they have differed for some time past
and continue to differ as to the line by
which their dominions are separated. II
is no controversy with which the United
States has any apparent practical con-
Germ. 1t is difficult. indeed, to see how
it can materially affect any state or com
munity outside of those interested, eX.
cept, perhaps, other parts of her majesty's
dominions. such as Trinidad.
THE disputed frontier of Venezuela has
nothing to do with any of the questions
dealt with by President Monroe. 1t is
not a question of colonization by Eu
rOpean power of any portion of America
1t is not question of imposition upon thu
communities of South America of any
system of government devised in Europe
1t is simply the determination of the from
tier of British possession which be
longed to the thone of England long befor,
the republic of Venezuela came into eX
istence. But even if the interests of Ven