HODDER: the duty of the scholar in POLTITCS. 67 



barded the town. Lord Palmerston, at that time prime minister 

 of England, in referring to the incident in Parliament, said: 



" We may think that the attack was not justified by the cause 

 which was assigned. But we have no right to judge the motives 

 which actuated other states in vindicating wrongs which they sup- 

 posed they had sustained."* 



In 1855 the United States became involved in a controversy with 

 Paraguay, in which justice appears to have been largely upon the 

 side of the weaker state. Reparation was demanded and refused. 

 Thereupon President Buchanan sent a fleet of nineteen vessels, 

 which forced an apology and the payment of an indemnity. 

 In i8go we threatened Venezuela with force in order to collect a 

 private claim and in 1892 we threatened Chili with war to secure an 

 apology for an injury. No European power interfered at any time 

 to protect the weaker state. 



In 1894 the authorities at Bluefields, Nicaragua, insulted the 

 British consul there and a mob destroyed the consulate. Great 

 Britain demanded an indemnity of the Nicaraguan government and 

 proposed, in default of payment, to take possession of the port of 

 Corinto and collect the duties there until the amount claimed was re- 

 alized. Immediately the American press raised the cry of "Monroe 

 Doctrine" and in effect denied the right of Great Britain to resort to 

 the same measures of redress in her intercourse with independent 

 states which we had many times employed in similar cases. We 

 might have said as Lord Palmerston did of the Greytown bombard- 

 ment that we did not think the punishment was justified by the cause 

 assigned but we were bound to add as he did, that "we had no right 

 to judge the motives which actuated other states in vindicating 

 wrongs which they supposed they had sustained." To deny to 

 foreign nations the same modes of redress that we employ our- 

 selves is an encroachment upon their sovereignty, a violation of 

 their independence and a denial of their equality. 



In 1861 the United States was confronted with the most stupen- 

 dous insurrection ever organized. The rebellion began in South 

 Carolina in December of i860. By the 8th of February, 1861, 

 seven states had seceded and organized an independent government 

 as complete in all respects as was the Union government. They 

 were subsequently joined by four more states making eleven in all, 

 exactly one-third of the total number at that time and including 

 nearly a third of the area and population of the Union. For five 

 months after the beginning of this rebellion no effort was made to 



''WhHitou's ■' Digest," \'o\. 2. p. 590. 



