The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-21

and Perkins, of CALIFORNIA;, Tell
of Their Instructions Nicara-
qua Canal Disc ussion.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 20.-The senate
was in session for five hours and half
today, but the session was practically
barren of results Two notable
speeches were delivered, one by Mr.
Nelson (Rep., Mimi in opposition to
Mr.. Vests anti-expansion resolution
and the other by Mr. White (Dem..
CaL), personal explanation of his po-
s.tion with respect to the Instructions
given the California senators by the
legislature in that state as to voting
on the pending peace treaty.
Mr.. Nelson's address was a constitu-
tional argument in support of the right
of the United States to acquire and
govern foreign territory. He main
tanned that it was no longer an I'M
settled question that this country had
the power not only to acquire foreign
territory by discovery, conquest or
treaty, but also to govern the territory
SO acquired. That question, he said,
had been settled by decision of the
supreme court and was scarcely longer
| open to debate. He maintained that
the United States had inherent power
10 acquire territory-a power as full
anu comprehensive as that possessed
by any other nation
He referred to the territory that had
| been acquired in the past by the Unit
! ed states government, and declared
That IN no single case had the peonle
or the territory acquired been consult
ed or their consent secured The an
nexation of Texas and Hawaii had
more nearer approached the point of
consulting than obtained In any other.
but even in these cases there was but
a shadow Of consultation In that of
Hawaii less than 5000 out of the in
habitants, out of a total of 125. 900 had
been asked for their consent to an
nexatlon. In the course Of this de-
bate, he said, the contention was be ing
made that the people of the territory
proposed TO be acquired were not fit
Tor citizenship in our republic Admit
ung that contention was correct. it
was quite as true that the people Of
much territory hitherto acquired by
this country were unfit for CITIZENSHIP
at the time the territory was taken
into the Union.
MT. Ne4Son then entered upon an
eidoorate legal argument citing num-
erous authorities in support of his posi-
tlon- He maintained the practice Of
taxation without representation was
tyranny, and that governments de-
rive tneIr just powers from the con-
sent of the governed was true to q
certain extent. A majority of orr
people, he said, women. minors and
impeclles, were without representation
IN our government, and had to bear
their share Of taxation.
FTLIPINOS AS SLAVES.
In his discussion of the situation II,
the Philippines when Admiral Dewey
a OF
frst of May, Mr.. Nelson pointed out
that the islanders were in a state of
practical slavery, under the dominion
OF Spain. Aguinaldo had abandoned
them, he said, on the payment to him
by Spain ola paltry thirty pieces of
silver, which il, this case was to be
$ooO,o0o, half of which amount the in
surgent leader has already received.
He maintained, further, that today the
Phlhppines were rightly in the control
of the chief executive of this country,
as completely and legally in his con-
troll eS any territory ever was. Our
duty is to protect the Filipinos from
the anarchy and despotism that
threaten them. Our duty is to breathe
into them the life and spirit that will
enable them to enjoy and appreciate the !
government and the privileges that are
to be given to them.
In response to another question put
to him by Mr.. Mason, Mr.. Nelson re-
piled:
Are we bound by any utterance or
any action of ours to enslave the Fill
pfnos? Is there single word in the
utterances Of the chief executive of
this country or in the utteranceS of
any senator on this floor that leads the
senator from Illinois to believe that we
expect to enslave them? In making
even an intination of such a purpose
the senator is slandering the officials
Of this government. We are there to /
give them a just, free and good gov
eminent, and to keep them out of the
clutches of the great powers Of the
earth. 1t is our duty to thus protect
them, and il would be the highest
cruelty for US to leave them at the
mercy of any who might choose to at
tack them
He sincerely regretted. he said to
see a disposition in the senate to ap-
plaud all efforts to make trouble in the
Philippines. both for the inhabitants
of the islands and for the United States
government, which had lawful control
of the territory.
In conclusion, Mr. Nelson said that
prophecies just as gloomy as those now
made concerning the Philippines had
been made about Louisiana when that
territory was admitted. Many states
had been made from that territory, and
no man was to be found who would
give any of them up. It was d great
privilege to be able to give the Fflipinos
a good government, and the United
States was equal to the emergency He
was satisfied that all Americans were
of one accord in the desire to give them
a free government.