Year: 1873

ieuulHB WESTERN JOurnai-tne SlHciu-
natl Esqairer-upon the heel of the first news
OF the capture Of the Virginius, and in view of
the discouraging facts that the elections are
over for this year, that times are exceedingly
hard, and that there is not apparently very
much to live for, says:-'It occurs to us that
we might as well proceed to carry out
scheme very dear to the American heart. We
allude to the acquisition of the island OF
Cuba" The reasons, next, for this opinion
are given, and they are very widely entertained
among our politicians Of the old manifest
destiny" school, and here they are: 1--WE are
not troubled about Cuba because we lack
elbow room, but because we think the
island should be made a part of the United
States, and because it would certainly be an
act Of humanity to put stop to the slaughter
which hns been needlessly going on there for
the past four or five years." and because the
Spanish Republic is myth, failure and little
better than despotism; and because the
Cuban patriots do not want Spanish dominion
continued over them in any shape. but want
free Cuba. Finally, says our warlike West
ern contemporary, 1--WE want little shindy
with some third rate Power" and he insists
that although war with Spain would crafty
General Grant we must nevertheless have it,
Now, with due respect for the time-honored
opinions Of manifest destiny" here again
advanced, we do not think that the scheme Of
the acquisition of Cuba is still ''dear to the
American heart" It was so; but is SO no
longer. Some three years ago. strong in the
impression that the public sentiment of the
country was still in favor of the indefinite
expansion of our national boundaries, Presi-
dent Grant entered heartily into the movement
for the annexation of the Republic of Do
minica, which covers two-thirds of the large.
fertile and splendid tropical island Of st.
Domingo. Dominica was offered us at the
ridiculously low figure of million Of dollars,
yet SO signally did the President fail in all his
efforts to carry through the scheme, SO con-
vincing were the evidences Of public senti-
ment brought to bear against it Tin the New
Hampshire election of 1871 for example),
that he was glad to announce as a settlement
his abandonment of the enterprise.


We believe that the adverse public senti-
ment which bafled and defeated all the efforts
of the President for the acquisition of the pro-
life sugar and coffee fields of Dominica was
not limited to the island Of St. Domingo. On
the contrary, we believe that this change in
the public mind touching the manifest des-
tiny of the United States began with the
annexation of Texas; that it was strengthened
with our subsequent territorial acquisitions
from Mexico Notwithstanding their incalcu-
liable treasures in silver and gold, and that
this adverse opinion assumed a commanding
shape upon the annexation of that stupendous
Arctic Empire of Alaska and was made mani
fest in the Senate in the rejection of the vol
canic island of st. Thomas. Mr.. Stewards
grand idea Of manifest destiny was the
ultimate extension of our national flag over
the whole continent of North America and its
islands. In the rejection of his st. Thomas
treaty we believe that the Senate acted from
conviction that the people of the United States
had had surfeit of annexations, and that
with Alaska we had secured scope and verge
enough to last us for thousand years.


We do not want Cuba. In acquiring it we
shall find it necessary for the security of this
island and the Gulf to annex all the main
West India group and all their outlying sup
ports. Mexico will then be in our way and
the Central American republics and so the
never ending but still beginning work Of alb
sorption will 60 on till arrested in the confu-
sion and dissolution Of the whole incoherent
and incongruous fabric. We do not want
Cuba because of the future dangers threat
ened from its acquisition; we do not want it
because Of the immediate debts, embarrass-
ments, political complications, corruptions
and demoralizations that will come with
the island. This annexation would
be made q job among scheming
and unscrupulous politicians, compared with
which our Pacific Railway jobs, with their
Credit Mobilier swindles, would appear con-
temptible. We do not want Cuba as State
or Territory of the United States. It's "mani-
fest destiny is that Of an independent repub-
lic and our true policy is embraced in the
gradual building up of Gordon Of indepen-
dent, self-sustaining, but allied republics,
south and north of us, with the United States
as the head and guardian Of the confederation.
Acting upon this idea, nothing can be easier to
President Grant than the solution of the
Cuban question. 1t is to strike while the iron
is hot for the emancipation and independence
Of Cuba.


The POLICE JUSTICE QUESTION. argu-
ment on the constitutionality Of the new
Police Justice appointments was concluded
yesterday, and the decision Of the Court is