New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-09
CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED.

The Hon. Doneson Caffery IS a represent
alive Of Louisiana in the United States Senate.
He has seat in that body primarily because
Robert r. Livingston and James Monroe signed
in Paris on May 2. 1903. treaty transferring
bodily and without consent Of its inhabitants
a vast territory to the United States. small
part Of that tract comprises the present state
of Louisiana. 1t contained considerable pop
ulation Of Frenchmen and Spaniards who are
recorded to have wept bitterly when they saw
the flag Of the United States run up In New-Or-
leans and themselves turned over to the Govern
ment at Washington. to be ruled regardless OF
their wishes. And they were so ruled. A military
government was established, and that was re-
placed by a civil system as undemocratic. which
concentrated all real authority in the hands Of
the President and his representatives. and gave
the governed no actual power and hardly
voice In the making Of their laws. In view Of
these facts, II Is somewhat amazing to find
Senator Caffery solemnly arguing to the Senate
that it has been the unvarying policy Of this
Government to obtain from the governed their
consent before the reins Of government were
drawn over them"
II Mr. Caffery will study the history Of our
acquisitions he will find that the almost I'M
varying policy Of this Government has been to
draw the reins Of government first and get
the consent afterward. We believe there were
people who thought that getting to be
dangerously fixed habit Of this Government
about 1865, but we are speaking now Of the
consent Of the inhabitants Of foreign territory
brought under our authority. There is no rec
ord that the trappers Of the Northwest Terri
tory or the French settlers in the Mississippi
Valley were asked for their consent to being
handed over to the United States by England
in 1888 They were residents Of coded terri
tory in sense entirely different from the peo-
pie Of the thirteen States. They were as much
subjects Of the United States as are the inhab-
itants of Porto Rico. Then we annexed Lousl-
anians without any consent OF the governed.
In 1910 we made treaty with Spain and took
In Florida without asking whether the inhab-
itants liked it or not Then came Texas by
the vote of its own COngress-the first excep-
ton TO the rule. The Mexican War followed,
and the purchase Of New-Mexlco and Caifor-
mia. Both these districts were settled with
Spaniards and Mexicans, and their consent was
not asked to the change OF masters We bought
them Just as M Caffery complains we are
buying people now. few years later we
made the Gadsden Purchase and acquired some
more people. who there Is reason to believe,
greatly preferred their Mexican nationality.
After that came Alaska, and we never asked
II the Russians there wanted us to rule them
or not Finally, Hawaii was admitted at the
request Of It's Government 1t Is true, but
without any plebscite, as the opponents OF its
acquisition loudly complained. In fact, we
have had the consent Of the cedng Government
in every case, but In no case the, consent OF
the people except so far as the old rulers may
have been considered truly to represent the
popular wish Perhaps they did this In Texas
md Hawaii. They certainly did not in Louis-
ana