Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-02-06
THE CLAYToN-BULWER TREATY.

The London Chronicle raises an OBJ
lection to the passage of the Nicaragua
Canal bill which is before both branch
es of congress, and which is morally
certain of enactment. The Chronicle
says the passage of that bill while the
Clay -Bulwer treaty remains in OPP
Grafton would be regarded by the Brit
lsh government as an unfriendly act
toward itself. As there is belief in
i Some circles in this country that the
Chronicle may represent the British
cabinet in this view, it's comment is at
tracting some attention. It hardly de-
1 serves the attention, however, which
is being given to it.
There has been such a sweeping
change in the conditions since Taylor's
secretary of state, John M. Clayton, ar
& ranged the treaty in 1850 with the Brit
ish representative, Sir Henry Lytton
Bulwer, that there is not the faintest
prospect that England will raise any
objection to the building of the canal
by the United States. The gold dis
coveries in California in 1s4S, which
/ started a rush to the Pacific coast from
all parts of the country in 1S49, neces-
STATED a long and dangerous journey
by the way of Cape Horn or equally
dangerous and slow journeys over
land thru Mexico or across the plains
Of the United States. 1t was to avoid
these trips of three or four months
that the United States wanted to find
a short cut by building "a canal across
Central America, and as England had
some entangling relations AT that time
with Nicaragua, which offered the read
lest way across the isthmus, this coun-
l,n1 10
with England. In that convention,
which is called the Clayton-Bulwer
4 treaty, each country promised not to
s exercise complete control over any wa
ferway which should be built across
2 the Nicaragua isthmus.
bun the situation has changed so rad
ically since that time that England's
objections to the abrogation of the
treaty would not be likely to be very
strong. The United States had pop.
ulation. in 1850 of only 23OOO,OOO, or
less than third of it's present number.
I " had just come into possession of ter
ritory on the Pacific thru the Oregon
Z treaty with England, and thru the adj
justment with Mexico by which we
gained New Mexico and California.
There were less than 100000 white men
in all the territory of the United States
on the Pacific coast at that time, while
there are millions today. We have
gained large domain in the Pacific it.
self since then. counting our islands in
Alaska, as well as Hawaii and the Phil
lipines. Moreover, the feeling of un-
friendliness between the United States
and England which existed at thar
time has vanished now, and England is
in q better mood to appreciate the need
which this country is in to build the
canal than it could have been at any
time in the past. The canal, of course,
would be of benefit to the whole world.
and particularly to England, the great
est Of all commercial countries. The
London Chronicle is mistaken. ENGLAND
i not likely to make any objection to
the abrogation of the treaty of 1850.
In fact, there is strong probability
that some sort of an understanding has
been arrived at between Secretary Hay
and the British foreign office by which
the republican leaders in both branches
OF congress who are pushing the Mica
ragua bill are sure of their ground,
There will be no hitch in the project
to build the Nicaragua waterway.