the signature of the treaty, without waiting till it be ratified by the Senate."

Nevertheless, what does Spain reply? On the 31st of December, 1858, on being interrogated by the House of Representatives, the Minister of Foreign Affairs declares that "the government is disposed to demand the satisfaction due such an insult, . . . . . that it decidedly rejects propositions so dishonorable, and that, if need be, it will oppose, even by force, the dismemberment of the smallest portion of the Spanish territory."

M. Olozaga proposes to Congress to assent to these words, and the proposition is unanimously adopted.

On the 4th of January, 1859, the Minister repeats his declarations to the Senate, and affirms that no misunderstanding exists between the United States and Spain. He adds, that no offer has been made for the sale of Cuba, and exclaims, in conclusion:

"If any representative of a foreign power had attempted to make me an offer for the alienation of Cuba, I should have interrupted him at the first word, to tell him the effect that such insinuations would produce on the mind of Spaniards. The preservation of the island of Cuba is not to us a question of interest or convenience, but of dignity and honor; all the interest that might result from it, all the gold that might be heaped up from it, would not suffice to persuade Spain to make the sacrifice of this glorious relic of the precious discoveries and surprising and magnificent conquests of our sires. The alienation of Cuba! Such an insane thought could only enter the minds of those who know nothing of Spain, and have never penetrated her inmost thoughts."*

*In Cuba, the authorities instigated protests. In an address to the Queen, the corporation of Havana remonstrated indignantly against the project of selling freemen like a vile herd of slaves. Was this the comparison to be chosen by men who did not blush to buy and sell other men, and to whom reverts the shame of having given meaning and application in human speech to the phrase, "vile herd of slaves"?

Thus all that Mr. Buchanan affirms, Marshal O'Donnell denies; all that the United States ask, Spain refuses. Who is mistaken here? how avoid a collision? Alas! I greatly fear that this is one more proof that the reason of the strongest is always the best.

Let us hope for better things, however; let us believe that right will be the stronger, and that the nations neighbors to Cuba by their colonies and to Spain by their territory will not suffer this noble nation to be despoiled. Whatever may be the future, we will not digress from our subject, but draw from these events the lessons which they contain.

Had Spain followed the example of Christian nations, had she emancipated her slaves, it is probable that, after the sacrifices of a few transitional years, the prosperity of this magnificent colony, like that of Jamaica, Bourbon, and Mauritius, would have resumed its course. It is also probable that the negroes, in general better treated in the Spanish colonies than elsewhere, would have readily gathered about their ancient masters. Instead of this, the Spaniards have persisted in lulling themselves to sleep with their proverb, Que los esclaves se acaben cuando el tiempo los acabe, Slavery will be destroyed when the time comes." They have found pleasure in wringing the greatest possible profit from this glorious relic of their ancestors' discoveries, as they would squeeze an orange; and but few voices were raised in Spain in favor of emancipation, when England and France were resounding with triumphant huzzas.

66

At this time Spain could not free her slaves; emancipation would have been the signal of insurrection or betrayal; either the slaves would have made Cuba a second San Domingo, or the Cuban slaveholders, desirous at the same time of keeping their slaves and of ridding themselves of functionaries and imposts, would have stretched their hands to the United States. Now the latter did not wish Spain

to emancipate her negroes, for fear that the example would be contagious in the Southern States; it proposed to buy them; it reserved to itself the right to take them. was as it were hedged in one crime by another.

Spain

As for the United States, they were also impelled fatally to one crime by another. At any price, it was necessary to aggrandize themselves, as we have already said; for every increase of territory augmented the influence in Congress, in the Senate, in the Presidential vote, in the public functions. The North and South vied with each other in hastening to organize new States; the question was, which should be the first to attain them: it was a veritable territorial race.

Cuba, therefore, was not alone menaced. Mexico was weak and agitated; it was the moment to turn her weakness to account, and to profit by her disturbances. Listen again to the insinuations of President Buchanan.

"Our position in relation to the independent states south of us on this continent, and especially those within the limits of North America, is of a peculiar character. The northern boundary of Mexico is coincident with our own outhern boundary from ocean to ocean, and we must necesarily feel a deep interest in all that concerns the well-being and fate of so near a neighbor. We have always cherished the kindest wishes for the success of that republic, and have indulged the hope that it might at last, after all its trials, enjoy peace and prosperity under a free and stable government. We have never hitherto interfered, directly or indirectly, with its internal affairs, and it is a duty which we owe to ourselves to protect the integrity of its territory against the interference of any other power. Our geograph ical position, our direct interest in all that concerns Mexico, and our well-settled policy in regard to the North American continent, render this an indispensable duty. . . . . . The truth is, that this fine country, blessed with productive soil

.....

and a benign climate, has been reduced by civil dissension to a condition of almost hopeless anarchy and imbecility."

Pecuniary reclamations are not satisfied. American citizens have been the victims of murder, imprisonment, and pillage. Provoking contributions have been exacted. The American Minister, Mr. Forsyth, advises his countrymen not to pay them; he protests against the banishment and seizure of the goods of an American citizen; he quits Mexico.

The President awaits the end of the struggle, and hopes for justice, if the Constitutional party be victorious.

"But for this expectation, I should at once have recommended to Congress to grant the necessary power to the President to take possession of a sufficient part of the remote and unsettled territory of Mexico, to hold in pledge, until our injuries shall be redressed and our just demands satisfied."

The moderation of such counsels seems praiseworthy.

The Constitutional party have a gloomy prospect for the morrow of their triumph, in having to answer to reclamations, in respect to which it is declared that "all gentle means are henceforth exhausted."

We do not clearly comprehend by what right President Buchanan reserves the power of refusing to recognize the government or Absolute party as legitimate, if it triumphs. Nevertheless, we willingly compliment him on awaiting the end of the struggle. But is this all?

"There is another point," says the message, "which calls for immediate action."

On the southwestern frontier, in the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora, are a few whites and bands of natives who take advantage of the state of anarchy to commit depredations. This lack of security hampers the colonization of Arizona, and may be an obstacle to the transit of the mail recently established between the Atlantic and Pacific.

....

"I can imagine," writes Mr. Buchanan, "no possible remedy for these evils . . . . . but for the government of the United States to assume a temporary protectorate over the northern portions of Chihuahua and Sonora, and to establish military posts within the same. This protection might be withdrawn as soon as local governments shall be established in these Mexican states, capable of performing their duties towards the United States."

Protect! The Czar, too, wished to be the protector of Turkey, Turkey protects the Principalities, and England exercises a protectorate over the Ionian Isles. Before long this word protect will pass from the language of honest men, to remain the exclusive property of diplomatists.

The message of 1859 repeats, defines, and renders the insinuations more and more transparent.

"Mexico ought to be a rich and prosperons and powerful republic. She possesses an extensive territory, a fertile soil, and an incalculable store of mineral wealth. She occupies an important position between the Gulf and ocean. for transit routes and commerce. Is it possible that such a country as this can be given up to anarchy and ruin, without an effort from any quarter for its rescue and safety? Will the commercial nations of the world, which have so many interests connected with it, remain wholly indifferent to such a result? Can the United States especially, which ought to share most largely in its commercial intercourse, allow its immediate neighbor thus to destroy itself and injure them? Yet, without support from some quarter, it is impossible to perceive how Mexico can resume her position among nations, and enter upon a career which promises any good results. The aid which she requires, and which the interests of all commercial countries require that she should have, it belongs to this government to render, not only by virtue of our neighborhood to Mexico, along whose territory we have a continuous frontier of nearly a thousand