The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-11
Danger Height of
sALIsBURY's SPEECH.

The speech of Lord Salisbury at the
lord mayors banquet, on Monday even
ing has a double interest. First, as
being the first explicit and formal an
nouncement by the British government
of its foreign policy; and, second, as
autiining an arrangement reached with
the United States on the Venezuela
question. the details of which are pre-
scented in our news dispatches TINS
morning In the latter affair we have
every reason to congratulate ourselves.
No episode in Mr.. Cleveland's admin
is1ratlon in connection with foreign az
fairs will reflect such luster upon 1t,
and such credit upon his advisers, as
their treatment of this, the most for
midable issue that has arisen for many
a year. That portion " the press which
nIaces commercial success above ma
ticral honor was loud in condemnation
of Mr. C,IeveIand's interference and the
ine:stence of our government that Great
Britain should not be allowed to ao-
sorb without protest an American state.
The peace at any price" people deciar-
ed that the administration, for political
reasons, was about to plunge this coun-
try into all the horrors of foreign
to establish the rule and right Of this
country to protect an American republic
against aggression for all time to come.
The original enunciation of the Monroe
doctrine and the applications that have
been made of it since its origin are
trifles compared with this latest signal
illustration of our potency among the
nations, wherever national interests on
the American continent are involved.
Lord Salisbury's announcement is
supplemented by the news from
Washington. The dispute as to
the extent to which arbitration shall
be appIied is settled finally and settled
in our favor. It has long been agreed
by both governments that the question
Of boundary should be submitted to
arbitration The sticking point between
them was what should be done in the
case of that territory occupied by Brit
ish colonists within the disputed
ground Great Britain insisted that she
could not submit the rights Of her sub
iects to arbitration, and we insisted
that all disputes must be arbitrated or
none. The compromise that has been
reached is a compromise in name only.
IF consists in the application of
what is called in American law the
statute of limitations. The principle
governing occupation within the United
States is to rule in the Venezuelan dis
mite. Where settlers have been In
actual possession and occupancy Of the
soil for fifty years they are to
be left secure. Where they have
not thus acquired a title, they are to
zlbmit their claims to arbitration.
Thus we have scored a double triumph;
for we have received recognition Of our
right to interfere in a dispute to which
we are not directly a party, and we
nave SGIL1eO II OH Inc UdS1S VI IIiS en-
tension of our system of law to the
larger field.
We have, furthermore, won a moral
victory in that the English press, at
first bellicose and clustering, as it al
WAYS is, now not only admits the sub
stantial justice Of the method of settle
ment arrived at, but the propriety and
necessity of our original intervention.
Mr.. Cleveland, Mr.. Olney and Mr.. Bay
ard will have a high place in history
for the firmness and diplomatic ability
with which they have concluded these
important negotiations.
1t seems to us that the English peo-
pie can scarcely be proud Of the atti-
tude of their prime minister in respect
to the other topic that divided with
the Venezuela question his attention
at the lord mayors banquet. Ones has
to go back great way in English his
tory to find an English government
declaring its absolute dependence upon
the other nations OF Eurane. All that