The sun., 1900-12-21


H. fON AND BULWER TREATY.
NcteNew York Tribune
~ Fseveral occasions the abrogatien of
"a % LAY ton-Bulwer Treaty has been sug-
kstSd. 1t will be recalled that the treaty
4 lsN<S concluded in the brief Administra
|X*Fion of President Taylor. During the
complementary Fillmore Administration |
it became evident that the two parties !
I. to the treaty differed radically as to its !
u Interpretation, the United States hold
H. ing that it should oust Great Britain
- absolutely from Mosquito, Greytown and
tSstthe Bay Islands, and Great Britain hold
44fg the contrary, and, in fact, retain
4hg possession of tsose territories. Con-
LSMversy over these differences arose,
1Saich eliminated early in the Pierce |
y e x3inrninistration in Great Britain's de- |
hek Hsag to recognize the Monroe Doc |
taY l& as international law, and insisting |
lSn 1 her own Interpretation of the Clay
bBulwer Treaty. There was then |
&ys*AF6od opportunity for the United States |
Vi to demand abrogation of the treaty, and |
~ such course was actually suggested, but |
Ak@ nss,tction to that end was taken.
NJ President Buchanan, however, con- |
~ juring up again the spirit of his Ostend |
YManifesto, in his Message Of December
rs 1857, referred to the opposite senses in
SsSvhich the two countries understood the |
p
f limstances the wisest course was ito
IN Iorogate such treaty by mutual con-
hnt, and to commence anew" The
~ aaeSritish Government did not want the
Treaty abrogated, nor the question of alb
w Arogation seriously raised, and to pre-
IYIYent such action it-in current colloqui-
A&hlism-"put up a magnificent bluff" 1t
q .f&sent Sir William Ouseley to Central
~ #America to negotiate settlements of all
n #,ontroversies with Nicaragua and Hon
III Mluras, and informed the United States
" FNpf that fact, with expression Of hope that
settlements satisfactory to this country
would be made; but, it added, if the
United States preferred, it was quite
willing and ready to submit the diver
Iyent interpretations of the treaty to ar
'Ne,-. filtration, or to obrogate the treaty out
Fright, remarking shrewdy that such ar
bitration would have to be before a
M European tribunal, and such abrogation
M would, of course, restore the status quo
ante, with Great Britain in possession
of the disputed territories. At this the
Berserk spirit of Ostend oozed out of
Buchanan; and he dropped the abroga-
~ tion proposal. Sir w. Ouseley made
NJ treaties with Honduras and Nicaragua,
- greatly increasing the British posses
N Nsions in Belize, and while nominally re-
y lgR6quishing Mosquito and the islands,
, A&confrming the British protectorate over
&#them. And these treaties, which were
l&%oyerwhelmingly in favor ofGreat Britain
! f43and which altogether sustained her view
, & pf the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, Buchanan
NkN Eecared to be quite satisfactory to the
n Kiam United States.
#Nt The subject came up again in April,
1*6 $780, when the French designs upon
iEfN' Panama took serious form. Congress-
e9,gs sealizing that the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
n 363,Fas an obstacle to the construction of a
kvgpurely American canal at Nicaragua,
W such as Presidents Grant and Hayes
IA, had recommended, flrst INDUCED in much
", abuse of the Taylor Administration for
zsEI making the treaty and of the Buchanan
Administration for not abrogating it, and
s. then adopted a joint resolution calling
\ upon the President to take steps for
Ia abrogation. The execution of this man
" date was undertaken in the succeeding
administration by Secretaries Blaine and
Frelinghuysen. In the long diplomatic
y controversies that ensued the United
States did not attempt arbitrarily to
a break the convention, regardless of Great
N Britain's will, but sought to gain Brit
ish assent to abrogation or British recog-
hilton of the alleged fact that the treaty
. ~ had practically lapsed through violation
II dbf its terms and through its own in
M deficiency for the accomplishment of its
! ssx objects. Mr.. Blaine, in November, 1881,
M writing to Mr. Lowell, after pointing out
l2N1 The unsatisfactory character and effect of
ia he treaty, stated the United States at
III 1itude toward the canal as follows:
q, y For self-proection to her own inter
"A hst, the United States asserts, in the first
a instance, her right to control the 18th
y "Imus transit. And secondly, she offers by
IN such control that absolute naturalization
gp fof the canal as respects European Pow
~ rers which can in no other way be GER
p otainly attained and lastingly assured.
Fiy And in urging, ten days after, a modi-
N t i146cation of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, he
4 +, Wrote:
Bie 1t will be seen that from the time of
1'Il 1855, its provisions were thrice made the
X III sis of a proposal to arbtrate as to
their meaning that modification and alb
"Eogrtion have been alike contingently
lta Considered, and that its vexations and
imperfect character has been repeatedly
recognized ON both sides.
J1i Mr. Frelinghuysen even more out
" spoken, declaring that repeated British
< violations of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
M had made it, if not actually void, al
least voidable at the pleasure of the
. United States He summarized his ar
guments with Great Britain as follows
n in letter to Mr.. Hall, in July, 1884:
The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty was void
n able at the option of the United States
This, / think has been demonstrated full.
IL on two grounds. First, that the con
sid1ratinn of the treaty having failed, it
\ M object never having been accomplished
~ the United States did not receive that fo
IN which they covenanted; and second, tina
Ms Great Britain has persistently violates
Nl her agreement not to colonize the Gen
N] trail American coast.
ISL The British reply was terse and posi-
tive Her Majestys Government de
clined to give its assent to abrogatior
iAy but regarded the treaty as still "intrir
sically sound and applicable to the pres
= ,rb,ant state of affairs" And meantime, i
Ia s1SSI, Great Britain got Nicaragua t
~ submit their controversies to the arb
tration of the Austrian Emperor, VIII
decided in favor of Great Britain an
reconfirmed the British protectorate owe
L Mosquito.
n Such has been, in its salient feature
the story of attempted abrogation.
p cannot be SNid that it is on the who
creditable to American diplomatic acl
men or to the resolution and consi
tency of American Government polio
The final chapter of it has yet to be wri
ten; or is, perhaps, even now beiI
written 1T ought to be possible to NAL
IL more creditabe to this country al
more consonant with the policies adopt,