The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1896-05-23

this resolve was sent to Mr. Adams for
his opinion on that point He declined
to give it, and left it to the Senate to de-
eide for itself, The question Of uneran,pted
departure fran its olen nsagtx, and mpon
tie motire ,chich, not being himself IN
formed, he did not feel Ma,seif competent
to decide
The reference to the motives of the
members and usages of the Senate, with
its clear implication of the badness of one
and the violation of the other, gave great
offence in the Senate, and even led to a
proposition (made by Mr.. Rowan, Of
Kentucky, not to act on the nominations
until the information requested should be
given In the end the Senate relinquished
the idea of public debate, and contented
itself with its publication after it was over.
Mr. John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, and
Mr. Rice and Clark Anderson, of Ken
lucky, were the Ministers nominated; and
the question turning wholly upon the mis-
sion itself, and not upon the persons nom
mated to whose fitness there was no OBJ
lection, they were confirmed by close
vote-24 to 20.
THE negatives were: Messrs. Ben
ton, Berrien, Branch, Chandler, Cobb of
Georgia; Dickenson, Eaton, Findlay,
Hayne, Holmes of Maine; Kane, King Of
Alabama; Macon, Randolph, Tazewell,
Rowan, Van Buren, White of Tennessee;
Williams, of Mississippi and Woodbury.,
D-oo.Io,4 NJ, NoIbo1n ,ro
siding in the Senate had no vote, the con-
stitutional contingency to authorize it not
having occurred; but he was full and free
in the expression of his opinion against the
mission. y
Having quoted the views of one of the
most eminent of American statesmen on
the subject of the proposed mission, brief
history of the mission itself and its subse-
quent career compels us again to quote Mr..
Benton to the close of the subject ''Af-
ter all, the whole conception of the Pana-
ma congress was an abortion 1t died out
of itself, without ever once being held
not even by the States (the Spanish
American republics) which had conceived
it, 1t was incongruous and impracticable,
even for them, apt to engender
disputes among themselves than to harmon
ize action against Spain, and utterly for
eign to us, and dangerous to our peace and
institutions.
The basis of the agreement for the con-
tween all the new States and the mother
country-Spanish pride and policy being
slow to acknowledge the independence of
the revolted colonies, no matter how in
dependent in fact, and the wish to estab-
lish concert among themselves in the mode
of treating the commerce, and that of such
of her American possessions Cuba, Porto
Rico, as had not thrown off their subju-
cation,
We are at peace with Spain, and could
not go into any such council without com
promising our neutrality and impairing the
integrity of our national character
The subject, however, was one that
would not be conquered without severe
struggle, and President Adams was com
PEELED, in special message to the Senate,
in 1925, to communicate the objects of
the proposed Congress, which were as fol-
lows lst The establishment of liberal
principles of commercial intercourse, which
he supposed could best be done in an as
sembly of all the American States togeth-
er ID The concentane0us adoption of
principles Of maritime neutrality. Sd.
The doctrine that free ships make free
goods. 4th. Mark the fourth. An
agreement that the Monroe Doctrine, y
as it is called, should be adopted by the
Congress, each State to guard, by its own
means, its own territory from future Eu-
ropean colonization.
Here we must call the close attention of
the reader to the last clause, as the enun-
citation of this doctrine, so different from
that which it was supposed by many to
be. as binding upon the United States to
stand guard over all the territory of the
New World and protect it from European
colonization, makes it proper to give this
passage from Mr.. Adams message in his
own words IAN agreement between all
parties represented at the meeting, that
each will guard. by its own means, against
the establishment of any European colony
within its borders, maybe found advisable
This was more than two years (lS23) an
nounced by my predecessor Mr.. Monroe)
to the world as principle resulting from
the emancipation of both of the American
continents 1t may be so developed to the
new Southern nations, that they may feel
it as an essential appendage to their indie
pendence.
Here plainly was dissenting view from
the opinion generally INDUCED in by Amer
lean statesmen, as according to their inter
probation the Monroe Doctrine applied only
to our own borders, and it was only pro-
posed to get the other States of the New
World to agree that each for Itself and
by It's owa means, should guard its own
territory from European aggression.
This was plainly the meaning of Mr..
Adams words; he had been member of
Monroes cabinet, and filled the depart
ment from which the doctrine would ema-
nate. They were written at a time when
the enunciation of it was still fresh in the
minds of the people, and when he himself
in this communication to the Senate, was
laying it down for the adoption of all the
American nations in a general congress of
their deputies, who had purposed to meet
on the Isthmus of Panama
We cannot concede that President
Adams would be deceived in his under
standing of this important subject, and
according to his own personal conviction,
the doctrine was entirely confined to our
own borders, and that the other States of
the New World should agree to the same
mode Of reasoning, and ''each for itself,
and by its own means, should guard its
own territories, and consequently, that
the United States, so far as extending
gratr,itous protection to the territories of
other States, would neither give nor re-
ceiye aid in any such enterprise, but that
each should use Its own means, within its
/ own borders fnr IFS ayemntion from Euro-