7?
1 T77E GO WHE2E DEMOCRATIC PEINCIPLS POIlfT THE "WAT jWHXN THEY CEASE TO LEAD, "WE CEASE TO FOLLOW."
VOLliJIE IX.
EBENSBURG, TMRSDAY, ARCII 3, 1853.
1 19.
TERMS.
Tie "JMUXTAIX SEXT1XEL" is publisb
6.1 every Thursday morning, at One Dollar and
r,fm Cents per annum, if paid in advance or
within three months : after three mouths T wo
hollar will be charged.
No subscription will be taken for a. shorter
reriod than six months ; and no paper will be
discontinued untiV all arrearages are paid. A
failure- to notify disconlinuanc at the expira
tion' of the term subscribed for, will be consid
ered s a new engngement.
ADVERTISEMENTS will be inserted
at the following rates: 50 cents per square for
t',e first insertion; 75 cents for two insertions;
$1 for three insertions ; and 25 cents per square
nr every subsequent insertion. , A liberal reduc
tion made to those who advertise by the year.
K advertisements handed in must have, the
proper number of insertions marked thereon,
or thev will be published until forbidden, and
chr.red in accordance with the above terms.
-Sl All letters and communications to insure
attention must be postpaid. A. J. RHEY.
SPEECH OP HOX. J. CLEMEXS,
OF ALABAMA.
Delivered in the Senate, February 7, 1853, on
the joint resolution declaratory of t1 e views
of the United States . respecting colonization
on the N'-H" American continently European
power-, and respecting the island of Cuba.
Vi CLEMENS said :
Mr President : - When the senator from lr
cirin PIr- M'-iS'n introduced his resolution in
relation to the tripartite convention proposed by
Eucl-md and France. 1 was confined to a bed of
8:ckue : but I gathered from the reported de
bates i hat he had consulted with no one but the
gemitor from Michigan Mr. Cass and the Se2
rtt irv of State. Now. sir. I do not deny the
individual right of those senators, under ordi
nary circumstances, t" exclude whom they please
from their consultations ; but this is not an or
d nMrv occasion, nor are they ordinary men.
One'rMr Mason is chairman of the Committee
on Foreign Relations, the ether Mr. Cas has
h i.fbvstowed upon him the'. title of Pater ,-t-us
Whatever thevdo commits the party to
Tthich they are attached, and L think it but fair
,i,lt those of us who are expected to be bound
bv their action should have had some notice in
a'lv.nce of what that notion was to be. I think,
' moreover, that the wishes of the President elect
iiould have been ascertained that prominent
members of bis -.own party should have hesitated
before placing him in, a. position so embarrassing
that in which he now finds himself If Jt
il.ould turn out. i s I sinc rely hope it m.-y,
lW he does not accord with many of the opin
ions which have been advanced upon this floor,
he is placed in the very outset of his- career, in
direct opposition to leading members of his par
ty 'If. on the other hand, he should concur
with them, it would have ben more respectful
to hn him take the first' steps, and not to have
Bnatebed. with s-uch impati. nt hands, the wreath
(zod or bad) which his were already extended
to prasp. On this and other accounts the reso
lution of the senator from Virginia seemed to
me impolitic, and those of the senator from Mi
chigan, which are based upon it, equally inde
fensible. Mr. President, there arc periods in the histo
ry of individuals, when one false move must be
fallowed by years of suffering ; when the neg
lect or improper use of the right moment, or the
right occasion, infuses a poison mto the body
clitic no remedy can reach. We are approach
in? such a period, if it is not already upon us.
rJ!,n, ti.o i;.. ..f ronduct now to be adopted
much that is good, or much that is evil, will
surely ensue. To render all 1 have to say per
fectly iute'digible, it will be necessary to cuter
upon a brief review of the past.
Heretofore the advice of Washington has
ken respected, and we have succeeded in steer
ing clear of the tangled web of European p.d
;:ic$.. Besides, the growth of the American Uni
on has been so rapid as to defy the calculations
of European statesmanship. The merchant,
Len he found a rival taking away his most pro
vable traffic-, the manufacturer, as year by year
tie demand for his productions diminished, the
Esherman, when he saw Yankee sails invading
the haunts of the great monsters .of the deep,
t'.l these understood that a new power had
lining into existence, and felt that they were
engaged in a rivalry in which European energy
ami European intelligence were destined to be
overshadowed. But kings and cabinet ministe rs
could not comprehend that a few scattered col
onies, a short time siuce a feeble dependency
en the Crown of Britain, had indeed become a
powerful nation. The monarch who looked
back upon a line of a hundred sire? could com
prehend no stable form of government save that
vhich was endeared to him alike by interest
tnl by educational prejudice. If, in his im pe
ri id dreams, the vision of America ever rose be
fore Lis eyes, it was oidy as a people whose own
ciibridled passions would drive thein into amr
liy, whose turbulence and dissensions would
furnish another reason to the woild for commit
ting all government to sceptercd hands.
la the mean time, the neglected and despised
republic was moving steadily and rapidly along
the road to wealth, to power, and to honor ; but
its strength was unmarked and its vigor un
known abroad. The war with Mexico followed.
A little handful of citizen soldiers overrun a
nation of seven millions of inhabitants and dic
tated the terms of peace from her national cap
sti!. Here, was a lesson which even kingly dul
te;s could not misunderstand, nor ministerial
ervility misinterpret. Suddenly the whole
tone of the public journals of Europe was
changed. Prior to that time they had derided
ur progress and laughed at the lehleness of our
military force. It was issumed to be impossi
ble fur a government like ours to carry on n war
f foreig i conquest. Foolish editors, writing
t the dictation of still more foolish masters,
rfued themselves and their readers into the
conviction that the first summons of the drum
to an aggressive war would be the signal of ruin
al destruction to the Union. That summons
Cl'"e ; a powerful natiou was vanquished ; mid
o little were the energies of our people taxed
home it would scarcely have been known that
ar was going on save for the reports of bat
jsiuvl victories which floated upon every gale
"fctn the south. ' ' . ' " "
Thus vanquished one delusion, and with it the
0l(l system of political tactics. It was no lnu
ger our weakness, but our strength, which be
th eubjeot of comment. Th afi&reesiye
i spirit and the grasping ambition of America
j were portrayed iu the darkest colors, and Eu
' rope was called upon to interpose Borne check
; to the territorial aggrandizement of the great
' republic Wrong in their apathy, . they were
j roused from it on'y to involve themselves still
' more deeply ia error by their action. From
I newspaper articles they progressed to diplomat
, ic notes ; and now, as we have been informed
by the President, France and England have made
! a formal picpositioa to the United States, that
j the three powers should unite in assuring to the
Crown of Spain undisturbed possession of the
, island of Cuba through all coming time.
! KoWj Mr. President, I am willing to go with
; the senator from Michigan, and to sj y that this
: proposition meant something. 1 am willing to
say that it did not mean what it imported on its
- face, that it was known it must be rejected,
and the idle form of making the offer would
have been dispensed with but for ulterior ob
jects. Let it be conceded that it was intended
to intimidate the United States, to give us notice
that Fratice and Euglaud were watchiug Cuba,
and were determined to refcit any efforts upon
our part to acquire its possession. But, sir,
while conceding all this, 1 do uot agree with
that senator as to the mode iu which it is to be
nut. 1 do not think it is the part of wisdom,
or ound policy, to permit ourselves to be hur
ried into intemperate action because France and
England have made a foolish parade of their fu
ture purposes. To redeem a threat from con
tempt it is necessary that the party making it
should poss -ss the power of cu-rying it into ef
fect. As long as English statesmen keep their
senses a thousand Cubas could not induce them
to declare war against the United States.
Withhold the exports of our cotton for oneyear.
and her starving millions will be in open rebel
lion. We have heard not long since, in a time
of profound, peace, of banners borne hy her
peasantry with the fearful inscription, '-blood or
bre-i i." Wli'j doubts that cry would be re awa
kened, and who doubts that blood would furnish
the lirst, the second, and the third course of
the banquet to which she would be invited at
home ? Add to this the certainty of seeing a
.hundred thousaud American bayonets glittering
in the sunlight of Cauda, and a thousand Amcr
cau vessels cutting up her commerce on every
sea, and you have an amount of danger and
suffering no nation will willingly brave. A
member of this body not long aj:o declared that
England had given bond and security to keep
the peace towards the United States. Yes, sir,
arid that security is her life's blood, her : very
existence ; not merely her provinces and depen
- deucies, though I fancy she would consider.
; it a poor exchange to secure Cuba to Spain,
1 and lose Canada herself'; but she has something
' more at stake, and I regard any threats from
i tht quarter as the veriest gasconade in which
j any government ever permitted itself toiudulge.
France is in scarcely a better coudition. he
has recently erected an imperial throne above
the crater of a volcano, and he who occupies
j that seat must watch by day and, by night, or
an eruption will soon come to bury him und his
fortunes beneath a burning flood. Even if the
I great Empcroi himself now held the reins, a
j war with America would be destruction to France.
To land an M iny on our shores would be to devote
it to tue sword ; ana toe ocean is not an element
on which any great portion of French g!ory has
been acquired. 1 am not unaware that upon
! paper the naval power of France seems to lie
J immensely superior to ours ; uui muse vt uo c?i
i culate lose sight of a great truth : guns and
f . vessels do not constitute a navy. If every ves
! sel on our naval register were to-morrow burn
I ed to the water's edge, France would no more
be capable of contending with the United States
I upon tiie ocean than the oak of the forest is ca
j pable of resisting the thunderbolt of Heaven.
j It is seamen who make a navy ; and wherever
j tliey are found vessels will not long be wautiug.
In this, the main element ot success, we are
far in advance of every European power. Our
fisheries turn out annually a body of hard 3' ma
riners, unequalled for skiil, for energy, and for
daring. .It must be remembered, too, that our
tonnage greatly exceeds that of any power.
And as long as these advantages remain to us,
the crumbling dynasties of t lie Old World may
build war-steamers without number ; but when
ever a contest conies, the best of them will soon
be found sailing under Yankee colors. Vessels-
l of-war, manned by peasantry, are feeble foes,
j Mr. President, 1 have referred to these things
with no view of encouraging a spirit of aggres
sion, but the reverse. Ti.c proposition of Eng-
! land and of France has been seized hold of to
inilamc the popular mind, and 1 had some ap
prehensions that the indignation aud reseutmeut
j excited by it might lead to offensive acts, which
j could have hut one termination. It is this which
j I wish to avoid. I wish to show that we canaf
: ford to laugh to scorn the implied threat hang-
' . 1.1 .1 !. . 1 ! .!
Jllg over US, anu mat litis is oener puncy ihhii
yielding to the dictates of a hasty resentment.
Cuba will be ours whenever it is right and need
ful for us to take it. Whenever the might of
this republic is put forth in a just cause there
is no human power which can resist it. Under
such circumstances we can well afford to wait
until the pear has ripened. I have no sympa
thy with those who are so impatient to grasp
the territory of our neighbors ; nor do my
opinions at all accord with those who tell us,
with 6uch a confidence and self-satisfied air,
that it is time this government had a foreign
policy. I believe we have always had a foreign
policy ; nay more, the very best that it was pos
sible to adopt the policy of attending to our
own business, without attempting to assume a
sort of general guardianship over all mankind.
I said, Mr. President, in the outset, that we
were approaching a period of trial and of dan
ger but that danger does not threaten us from
abroad. In that quarter the skies are clear and
bright- It is at home that t.e symtoms of an
approaching hurricane are manifest. These
symtoms are everywhere about us and around
us. They may be found in the restless and dis
turbed state of the public mind, iu the speeches
of dinner orators, dignifying war with the name
of '-progress," and clothing wholesale robbery
with the mantle of patriotism. They might have
been seen in the plireusied euthusiasm which fol
lowed the footsteps of that sturdy beggar, Louis
Kossuth ; in the wiid and reckles attempts of
American citizens to take possession of the isl
and of CuW. Sir, 1 deplore their fate as much
is any man can, aud condemn ub strongly the
cruel and barbarous conduct of the Spanish
governor. I but refer to them & Tidnc of a
state of things to which all eyes ought to be di
rected And last, sir, though not least, the
signs of this .danger maybe found in the ill-regulated,
but fierce and strenuous, efforts of "Young
A mere", to bring about a war - with anybody,
or upon any pretext. ' ''
All these things indicate that a spirit of change
is abroad in the land. I may be told that word
is written on every earthly , thing. - Perhaps it
may be so ; but justice, honor, mercy, are the
children of God, and know no change. In the
sublime morality of the Christian's creed we
may find a guide for our footsteps which cannot
lead to error : "Do unto others as ye would they
should do unto you." It is not in the Book of
Revelations that we are taught to covet the
goods of our neighbors. It is not there we are
encouraged to indulge a lawless spirit of war
and conquest. We do not learn from thence
the dutyof progressing backward from a peace
ful ace to a period of barbarism, when the strong J
hand was the only law, and the steel blade the
only arHter of disputed questions.
Sir. I have heard much ot this
thing
called
progress.
In the eyes of some gentlemen it
covers all tieiects, ana mases atonement ior ( opaiu was greauy ceusurcu tor mu&iug mc its
every error. I am not its enemy, but I wish to sipn while the. .professed to be an ally of Eng
know exactly what it means, and in what direc- i land; and the conduct of the ministry in per
tiou I am to progress. . If it means that glori- I mitting.it to be done was animadverted upon in
I f . 1 , . . J.
ous spirit which sweeps abroad upon the wing3 terms equally severe. Nor are we without au
of peace, shedding life, and light, and happi- thority front our own officers Commodores llod-'
ness, on the laud and on the sea which sends 1 gers, Perry, and Tattnal, have all made reports
the missionary among the heathen, and gathers ! shewing the immense importance of these points,
.1... i,l tUa 11 n ltttlittvoi KpnofttTi tlio tf?riz- ' nnil thfir n!nbito rntriTnjind nt" th trnlf trade.'
pel's ample shield which doubles the produc-! Commodore Porter repeatedly, expressed " like
tions of earth, and lays bare the treasures of opinions, bised upon practical experience while
ocean which plants the church of God in the he was in command of the Mexican fleet. Gen.
wilderness of the West, and substitutes the Totten Las iubmitted to the War Department an
Sabbath bell for the howl of thepanther which elaborate itport to the same effect; and Lieu-
carries literature and science to the log-cabin tenant Maury, in one of the ablest papers writ-j
of the pioneer, and connects everj' part of thi-s 1 ten by himhows conclusively that no vessel t
wide republic by links so strong, s"4 close, that under canvtss can leave the gulf without pass
the traveller feels every spot lie treads is heme, ' ing iri tigltof Tortngas and Key West ; and es- '
ami every hand he praps a brother's hand; timates the amouut necessary to complete the
if this be the progress which is meant, most ; fortification at these points at something less
gladly do I enlist under its banner. ! than two millions of dollars.
But, sir, 1 am not permitted so to understand j It thus appears that it is the part of econo
it. I understand prosress, as interpreted bv mv. as wellas of honesty, to fortify, our own
modern politicians, to be quite a different thing,
The first lesson they inculcate is a sort of gen-
eral defiance to all mankind, an imitation
of the worst practice of olden chivalry the
practice 01 Hanging a giovein some puniic piace
as a challenge to every passer by to engage in
mortal combat a practice in no degree based
u, on wrorjrs to be redressed or injuries to 'be
avenged, but upon a pure, unmitigated love of 1
blood and strife. They have borrowed also from : on Cuban inports an annual revenue of 15o,0t0
the crusaders.anotlier vicious and indefensible 000 r $6Q,0,000.' If Cuba be annexed, that
habit that of impoverishing themselves at home ; revenue ceuses entirely, Higher duties must be
to raise the menns of transportation to other laid on otlr articles, and we shall have a ren-
lands to erect altars and inculcate principles by
the edge of sword. They ptopose to grasp the
territory of an old and faithful ally, not only
without the shadow of a claim, but without evtn
the robber's plea of necessity to hush the busy
hum of commerce to withdraw the artisan
from his workshop, the laborer from his field.
the man of science and the man of letters from
their high pursuits to convert the whole land
into one vast camp, and impress upon the peo
ple the wild and fierce character of the followers
of King Clovis. ,
Sir, I wish to indulge in no egaggerated state
ments, but let U3, in the cant phraseology of
the daj-, "establish a foreign policy." Let us
set about convincing the world that we are in
deed "a power upon earth." Let us rob Spain
of Cuba, England of Canada, and Mexico of her
remaining possessions, and this continent will
be too smallt theatre upon which to enact the
bloody drama of American progress ! Like the
prophet of the East, who carried the sword in
one hand and the Koran in the other, American
armies will be sent forth to proclaim freedom
to the serf; but if he happens to love the land
in which he was born, and exhibits some manly
attachment to the institutions with which he is
familiar, his own life's blood will saturate the
soil, and his wife and children be driven forth
as houseless wanderers, iu proof of our tender
consideration for the rights of humanity. Sir,
this is a species of progress with which Satan
himself might fall in love.
Mr. President, there are in this connexion still
other lights n which the question before us may
be presented. Look at America as she now is
prosperous in all things, splendid, magniS- ';
Cfnt, rich in her agriculture, rich in her com- j
merce, rich in arts and sciences, rich in learn
ing, rich in individual freedom, richer still in the
proud prerogative of bending the knees to none .
but the God wlto made us, and of worshipping
even in His temples according to the forms
which conscience, not the law. has prescribed.
Gaze upon that picture until your soul has !
drank in all its beauty, nil its glory, and then ,
let me paint for you that which is offered as a '
substitute. Look upon a land where war has
become a passion, and blood a welcome visitant;
where every, avenue to genius is closed, save
that which leads through a field of strife ; where
the widow and the orphan mingle unavailing
tears for the husband and the lather; where
literature has become a mockery and religion a
reproach ; upon a people, strong indeed, but ter
rible in their strength, with the tiger's outward
beauty and the tiger's inward fierceness ; upon
a people correctly described by the' poet when
he said .-
"Religion, blushing, veils her sacred fires,
And unawares morality expires ;
Nor public flame, nor private, dares to shine.
Nor human spark is left, nor glimpse divine.
Lo! thy dread empire. Chaos, is restored,
Light dies before thy uncreating word ;
Thy hand, great Anarch, lets the curtain fall,
And universal darkness buries all."
Let no one tell me that these are imaginary
dangers. At the commencement of the French
revolution, if any one had predicted the excess
es to which it gave birth, he would have been
regarded as a madman.- What security have
we against the occurrence of similar scenes ?
We are human, as they were. Our law . of be
ing is the same ; nnd if we once depart from the
plain path of prudence and of rectitude, no hu
man wisdom can foresee the result. .
The present-acquisition of Cula. in my opin
ion, in any way, is of. questionable propriety;
but if it is to come to us as the result of warand
violence, , instead of a blessing, it will prove a
deadly. ill. - When . Caractacus , was carried to
Home, to grace the triumph of his conqueror,
lie gazed with wonder and awe upon the.splen- I
, ' , ' f . 1 1 - T 1. !
-dor and magnificence
with which he was sur-
rounded.
Then, turning to the Emperor, h -
pressed his simple wonder that one' so rich, so
powerful, so blessed, with, the possession of eve
rything that' earth could bestow,- should have
envied him his humble cottage home in the for
ests of Britain. , With what force, with, what
propriety, might not old Spain address to us a
siinilarappeaH -Possessed of a territory exten
ding almost from the northern ocean to the re
gion 0 tht' tropics, embracing every variety of
soil, climate, and pi oduction, why should we
envy Spain the last little island of her. once
mighty dominions? - We do not need it for ag
ricnlfure ; we do not need it for purposes of na
tional defence.- '
The assertion that "Cuba commands the gulf 1
tra-le isr a fallacy which it requires a very slight
examination todispeT. Tbrtugas arid Key West
command the gulf trade; aud not only that, but
thev.cammand Cuba itself." 'With those points
properly fortified, a hostile fleet in the harbors
of Cuba would be powerless for mischief. This
fact has long been familiar to ' English, states-
men; and on tt account tlie cession 01 rioriua
I to the United States was made the subject of J
excited debate in . the Parliament of Britatn.
TO - . 1 1 X , . I .
possessions, and leave our neighbors in undis- .J
turbed enjoyment of what belongs to tnem. It j
is surely bter to appropriate ij2,000,000 to 1
complete Forts Taylor and Jefferson than to ex-
pend $100,J.006 in the purchase of Cuba, or
uncounted iiillious in its subjugu;ion and con- .
quest!- Nor would the heavy outlay rendered)
necessary bj either"'"mode cf annexation
cover 1
our whole loss. We derive now from duties up-
t
1
i
ewal of the discontents, bickeriugs, and dissen
sions which attend the passage of our earlier
tariff laws. I am not in the habit of using ar
guments addressed to the North or to the South.
No argumeit can be a good one which does not
address itsef to the whole country; and the
statesman whose patriotism is limited by a State
line is an unsafe legislator tor a great people.
Cut sectional appeals have been made, and I
propose to neet them. In no one aspect in
' which I can look at this question does it present
i any appearance but that of injury to the South.
1 If Cuba came in as a slave State, it would give
' U3 no additional political advantage, no addi
i tional pol'tical power. The once-cherished
: dream of southern statesmen of maintaining a
balance of power in the Senate of the Uuited
. States has been completely exploded. The
North has s,lready obtained a preponderance,
i and that prponderance will be increased from
year to j-ear. W hat we have lost can never ne
regained, for the maintenance of our rights,
and the prej-rvation of our privileges, we must '-
look to other sources to the good sense 01 tue
American peple, to their deep love for the in
stitutions uider which we live, to their innate
sense of right and justice, nnd to the certainty
that any serious encroachment must be follow
ed by convulsions which would shake the conti
nent, j
Cuba, as a slave State, would not restore the
, balance of pwcr, and is therefore politically of
. no importance. In a pecuniary point of view.
it would be oppressive and buruensome in the
extreme. It would bring a powertui rival into
direct competition with the most profitable pro
portions of tb southern States. Remove the
duties now levied upon those articles which co- e
from Cuba, aud their culture in the southern
States will eoon'sicken and die. The present
tariff upon sgar is highly protective, aud its
removal would prove a grievous burden ; but
there is even greater danger to be apprehended
from its increased production. Spain has been
Eluiubcring for a hundred years. Not long since
I met an intelligent Louisiana planter in Hav
ann. who assured me that he had traversed
nearly the whole island, that he found in its
fields but one modern plough, and in its mills
ficnrcelv a sinele modern improvement. His
opinion was that if Cuba belonged to the United
1 States, its productions would be quadrupled.
if that opinion be correct, as 1 douot not 11 is,
no one can fail to see the disastrous effect of an
nexation upon southern agriculture. -
As lonz as Cuba remains in the possession of
' Spain it will be of inestimable advantage to the
j United States
in tue event or a war witn any
foreign power. The whole commerce of the
Gulf States could be poured into its harbors;
merchants would be found there ready to pur
chase, buying in a neutral port, and reshipping
in a neutral vessel, they would be safe from the
danger of capture, and thus one of the greatest
hardships of war would be almost entirely alle
viated. Our previous history is pregnant with
proof to this effect. During the , embargo of
Mr. Jefferson we shipped to Florida, then a
Spanish colony, about eight thousand bales of
cotton. As soon as the embargo was removed
those shipments ceased entirely. Iu 1814, dur
ing the war with Eugland. we shipped to Flori
da about thirteen thousand bales of cotton. In
181G, when the war had ended, not a solitary
bale. These figures show how great was. the
advantage of having a neutral power upon our
borders, and how much suffering was avoided
which must otherwise have been endured. The
vast increase of the Gulf trade renders uch an
t outlet of far more importance now than at any
former period, and it is difficult to estimate an
the advantages which may flow from it.
Let me turn now to a more general view of
the subject, . Cuba has- a population of one nil-
i " "l.-,v,:r .
two liuniirPfi thousand- innaDiianiB. . ui
these aoout six nunorea tnousana ,
a littlta more than two hundred thousand free
blacks, and the remainder slaves, most of them
of recent, importation. If the island of Cuba
were turned over to us to-morrow without cost.
with this heterogeneous peptization, how is it to
be governed! Not one tf them has ever exer
cised the right of suffrage. Nt one cf them
ever for a moment felt the iron baud of military
despotism relaxed.- They oould not be trusted
to govern themselves. The habiU and the pre
judices of centuries are not to be shaken off in
an hour. They would still cherish a deep seat
ed attachment for the splendor of roj'alty. and
as deep a contempt for the plain republican gov
ernment which would supplant it. To eucb a
people a constitution and .state government after
American models would be a curse, leading in
evitably to anarchy, constant disturbances, and
daily scenes of violence and bloodshed.
Auother imposing difficulty is to be found in
their established leligion. With us that could
not continue. The magnificent ceremonies
which they have been accustomed to see, sur
rounded and protected by .the full strength of
the Jaw, would at once lose that protection 1 and
the cowled priest, whose tithes are now paid to
him as a legj.1 right, would find himself depen
dent upon the charity of his flock. This blow at
a religion which has been transmitted to them
from century to century would dissipate the last
hope of a cordial union between the races, and
render it nearly certain that in order to govern
Cuba peaceably we must first make it a solitude,
and then people it with emigrants from the
States.
But. sir. if everv other objection to the an
nexation of Cuba were remov
ed there would
still exist an a most insuperable difficulty in the
number of tree blacks who swarm about the is
land. Ignorant and vicious, they would be
found ready instruments in any work of mis
chief. Mingling freely with the slaves, they
would be constantly exciting the latter to insur
rection aud revolt, aud thus render the lives of
the planters every moment insecure. It may
be asked why these evils are not now felt ! Iu
some degree they are ; but they are felt less sen
sibly, because over these, as over the rest of her
subjects. Spain maintains a sleep't-ss military
rule. They can turn in no direction without
meeting a company of infantry or troop of
horse: and the certainty with which a heavy
punishment follows suspicion, even operates as
an effectual" check upon their vicious propensi
ties. With us it would be wholly different,
There-would be no soldiers to overawe them, no
military executions to keep alive their terrors,
no police exercising over them a constant vigi
lance, and checking every plot in its first incep- j
tion. In the South we understand the- difScul- '
ties and the dangers which arise from this class '
r.c r.f,T,,ili.tmn o,,rt nir.at .f thp soii'liem States '
have passed laws to exclude them from their li.n- f
. v. - nlr...,l. VuvitP.l in Cuba, and ;
the difficulty is to get rid of them.
There are other arguments which I might ad
vance, but they are not needed. In the elabo
rate discussions which these resolutions have
caused, I do not recollect to have seen a single
tenable reason advanced in favor of the acquisi
tion of Cuba. Its possession is assumed to be of
immense advantage ; but in what the advantage
consists we are wnolly uninformed. We are
not told how we. are to be benefitted by throw
ing away a revenue of five cr six millions of dol
lars annually. We are not told how we are to
be benefitted by destroying the culture of sugar
in the southern States. Vteare not tola now
we are to be benefitted by changing the charac
ter of a neutral harbor into which our commerce
might be safely poured in time of war. We are
not told what advantage we are to derive from
incorporating among us a mass of wretched hu
man beings, whites, free blacks, and slaves, un
fit to govern themselves, and unwilling to be
governed by us.
Not one of these things seems to have been
considered of sufficient importance to attract at
tention. In the eloquent speech of the honora
ble senator from Lousiana, Mr. Sovle, I was
particularly struck with the absence of ad this.
I noticed, also, another significant omission.
He did not venture to tell us when or in wnat
'way be thought Cuba ought to be acquired. He
told us that he was not in favor of its purchase.
hut t'.prp he stormed. 1 am sure he d -cs not
desire that it should come to us as the result of
fin unnrovoked anu accressive war. 1 here is j
but oue other mode in wiuca 11 can come, anu
that is by successful revolt of the Cubans them-
selves Well, sir, if that be his method, we are
prett3' nearly agreed. I am w illing to coropro-
mise on that ; for it is tolerably certain that he
and I will both be cold in the grave bng before
that revolution is begun, much less accomplish-
j,
The senator from Florida "Mr. Malh.ry went
. . . . ' . r :
a bowsuot ne3'onu tue senator iroin iduim:ih,i, i mm uu-iutss, ne iikinsuiiiuui me Tiuce moDty
and argued that there was some sort of "over- j aud transacted business with it, as he formerly,
ruliug necessity" which was about to compel us used to do with his own, thinking it a pity it
to snatch this gem from the Crown of Spain. 1 j tdiould li quite Tbc IVince of Cassel
recognise an overruling lrovidence whose law had heard of the French cruelty iu plundering
demands that nations should be upright, just, I poor Joseph Rothschild, and concluded all hut
nnd honest, and deny the existence of any ne- j money aud jewels were gone. When he went to
ces.-itv which comes in conflict with that law. J Frankfort he called on him and eaid "Well Jo
Ileretofore, "progress" and --niauifest destiny" eeph, all my money has taken by the French."
have been considered sufficient to cover all de-j "Not a farthing," said the honest man, "I
sinis upon the property of our neighbors ; but ' have it all. 1 ha.e useJ a little in business. I
th'ese catch words are nearly two years old. and will return it all to you, with interest ou what
are therefore approaching the precints of "fogy- 1 hae used "
ism." It was necessary that "Young America" J "No." said the prince," keep it I will not.
should have a new one ; and the senator from take the interest, and I will not take my money
Florida has supplied it " overruling neccssi-j from you for twenty years. Make use of it for
ty." I admire his judgement. He could not j tvat time, aud I wi;l only take two per cent,
have selected a more comprehensive phrase. interest for it.
Certain it is that there is no wrong it will not The prince told the 6tory to Lis "Old friend?.
excuse, no outrage it will not extenuate, j Joseph was in consequence employed by most of
Mr. President, I need not say that I do not the German princes. He made an immense for
intend to vote for these ' resolutions. The one tuue, his eons became barons of the German Eui-
which announces our purpose not to take posses
sion of Cuba by fraud or violence is certainly.
that far, in accordance with my own feelings ;
but I do not see the necessity of making the dec- mentof that excellent medicine known as Ayer'e
laratiou. It seems to me to" be both undignified j Cherry Pectoral. Its success in curing the ra
and unmanly to be making constant protest- rh.us diseases of the Lungs is attracting uri
tions of our honesty. Let us show the world by versal attention, not only ol the larnc4 and
our acts that we are honest, and leave all such philanthropic but of the whole public. Th.
declarations to those whose doubtful character arlic e undoubtedly is what it pretends to be a
requires some su- h bolstering. Nor do I think I remedy for Lung Oomp.aints. and tho remark
th?rffirmation of the Monroe doctrine would J able cures wmch are becoming known every
ndd to its importance. Our policy has long ago where cannot long be overlooked by the pec-
been announced to the word, nnd this rest .ess
desire to reiterate it upon all occasions locks to
ma umuitiot a if Tte. dnuhtcxl our own .reso
lution, and required a few legislative resolves to
keep np our courage.
The wnator. from Sfiehignn
has ' express d
considerable surprise it what he terms our
shrinking from meeting the questions raised by
his resolutions. Sir, there may be other citut
than fear which render us reluctant to vote, for
them. When a boy I read a story of tho civil"
wars of England, which taught me a lesson not
yet forgotten. An adfiorent of the Parliment
had been cruelly treated by one of the opposite
party. His houses had been burned do wo, and'
his fields made desolate. . Some time r.ftewaid
he met an acquaintance to whom he "told the
story of his wrongs. It was done simply" and
plainly," without a single threat or execration..
When he had finished bis friend asked him with
surprise. "And did you not vow revenge
"No." was. the reply; 'those who take tie'
trouble to mako vows are very certain that ft -time
will come when they will need a vow to
steady t .oir purposes. I never doubted what
I would do, and I made no vows." Sir, there'
was more dancer in one such man than a wLole"
regiment of noisy babblers. Silence is almost '
invariably the concomitant of determined reso
lution ; and the world will be quiet as likely la
believe us in earnest, and will respect us as much
for refusing to pass, year after year, a series of"
threatening resolutions
Mr. President, I find that I an taxing my
strength too much. iud I find that I must son
close. The pilgrim who, in obedience to a vi.-iou
oftentimes repeated, seized his staff nhd st-t out
in search of a land in which he brul been prom-
ised all the joys ' of Paradise. fter traversing
many lands, steadily 'pursuing his dangerous
wav through forests, and deserts, and jungles.
reached at last the only mountain which shut
out from his gaze the premised h;nd.
SlowlT
he commenced the ascent ; then paused, over
come by contending emotions. If from that
mountain ton. he fchonld indred look urxm
! ley such as had appeared to him in hi Jrrums,
beautdui an J glorious, w here the Cower Lad lost
it thorn, where the sweetest melodies were con
tinually poured into the ear, and the very ir
wi;s redolent with perfume, how cheaply would
it be purchased even by all the toils and dan
gers he had encountered. Eut then came the
fear that dream had decieved him ; that ha
might find a l-arren waste of thorns and bram
bles, desert, cheerless, and inhospitable. Anx
ious to know the truth, yet dreaming to have it
revealed, he stood upon the mountain side un
able to advance or to reced. Even such emo
tions, Mr. President, might now well swell tho
American bosom. We have reached the hill
side from whose top the future of America may
be found. Cut who can ascend it without a
feeling of doubt and . terror ? U it to be tb
America whicn all of us loved to paint in our
boyish days free, happy, nnd prosperous, in
culcating by its precepts, and enforcing by it
example, a deep Jove of law and order, offerinr
refuge and asylum to the 1
S10n' cultivating with assidu
lugitive inmi opres-
luous care the arts of
peace, and illustrating all the. mild beauties cf
Christianity ? Oris it to be that America which
"progress." "manifest '. destiny," and "over
ruling necessity" are now seeking to make it,
where freedom will be. lost amid tiie clash of
arms, and the wail of every good spirit will rise
above the crushed aud broken hope of man's ca
pacity to govern himself? Sir, it is in our ac
tion that the answer must bo found. Oar coun
try is at stake, and he who loves it as he ought
should pause and ponder long and well
before
holy
i tampering iu any way with so high and
trust.
Note. It appears from nn explanation cindi
by Mr. Mallory, that I misunderstood his re
marks. 1 never saw a corrected report of them.
I saw on abstract in one of the papers, iu which
he was made to dwell with considerable unction
upon the certainty that nn overruling necessity
would compel us to take possession of Cuba. I
did not doubt its correctness, nnd commented cn
it accordingly. In justice to him, I now niak.
the rjropcr correction. J. C.
m m m m
Origin of the Eothschilda.
The late Baron Rothschild whs t!4 son of a
Jew at Frankfort, of tne name cf Joseph, fie
was in humble circumstances, but very highly
thought of for honesty and integrity. At tLa
time the French crossed the Rhine and entered-Germain-,
the Prince of Hesse Cassel came to
Frankfort, aud asked Joseph to take charge of
his money. Joseph did net much like the cn-
atnaKing. dui me 1 nnce pressed it so much
j that at last he consented, and the treasures were
j given him. When the French entered Frankfort
Joseph buried the prince's money and jewels in
j a chest, but did not hide his own thinking that if .
( they found no money they would be suspicious,
j aud tearch more earnestly. The couscquenc3
1 was he lost all his owh money. When affairs
, became more tranquil, and he could again enter
: -. . . i .. 1 . l, .... c .1
pire and one of them settled in England.
In oar columns m.iy be found the advertise-
; pie
Col. Slay, U. S. A., who distinguished blm
seli in the Mexican war, is about to marry ou
oi she most wealthy ni.d accomplished daugh
ters cf 2iw York. -f - " . -
h'l
( ,
(S !'
1;
r i
If
l
r