CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



ica 



insurgents, she shall not have any assistance 



:ii ai-eoinplishin:,' her oliji-ct. This, 



with n>. i> tin part of wi-dom ; and let us now 



tin- world that hereafter this shall 



lie our position. 



We want peace with all the world, outan- 

 glin;: alliances with no nation or peoples. Wo 

 our own duty and our own destiny, and 

 that i-' to do justice to others, to compel, if 

 need he, justice to ourselves; to engage in no 

 ipiam-K or strifes, or wars, which wo can with 

 r avoid; to husband our resources; to 

 etlueate and elevate our people; to develop 

 the material wealth with which a kind Provi- 

 dence has hlessed us ; to repair the great losses, 

 the terrible destruction of our late troubles, 

 and to continue to give the world the bright 

 example of a nation discharging all its duties 

 and all its functions in the spirit of an enlight- 

 ened and elevated humanity. "Wo are not a 

 nation of buccaneers or filibusters. Wo have 

 wise laws upon our statute-books; we desire 

 to have those laws obeyed. We have upon us 

 the obligations of treaties, into which we have 

 voluntarily entered ; let us honorably stand by 

 and respect every such obligation. Such has 

 been our past history, and such I fondly hope 

 and believe will bo our future history. 



"The gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 

 Banks) has, among others, invoked the name 

 of General Jackson. Sir, that is a name re- 

 vered by all Americans, and I am glad he has 

 appealed to it. I thank him for doing so. 

 There are many within the sound of my voice 

 who will recollect the feeling that grew up in 

 this country consequent upon the declaration 

 of independence by Texas against the republic 

 of Mexico. Many of our own people had gone 

 there to seek homes, and in process of time 

 had raised the flag of independence. Our 

 sympathies were naturally enlisted in their 

 favor, because they were men speaking our 

 language and deeply imbued with a love of 

 our institutions. 



"The language and sentiments of President 

 Jackson are so wise and prudent, and those of 

 President Grant are in such strict accord with 

 them, that I ask the Clerk to read from Jack- 

 son's message." 



The Clerk read as follows : 



The acknowledgment of a new State as indepen- 

 dent and entitled to a place in the family of nations 

 is at all times an act of great delicacy and responsi- 

 bility ; but more especially so when such State has 

 forcibly separated itself from another of which it had 

 formed an integral part and which still claims domin- 

 ion over it. A premature recognition under those cir- 

 cumstances, if not looked upon as justifiable cause of 

 war, is always liable to be regarded as a proof of an 

 unfriendly spirit to one of the contending parties. 

 All questions relative to the government of foreign 

 nations, whether of the Old or New World, have been 

 treated by the United States as questions of fact only, 

 and our predecessors have cautiously abstained from 

 deciding upon them until the clearest evidence was 

 in their possession, to enable them not only to decide 

 correctly, but to shield their decisions from every un- 

 worthy imputation. In all the contests that nave 

 arisen out of the revolutions of Franco, out of the dis- 



putes relating to the crowns of Portugal and Spain, 

 out of the separation of the American possess!' 

 both from the European Government!*, uixl out of 

 the numerous and constantly-occurring struggles for 

 dominion in Spanish America, so wisely consistent 

 with our just principles has been the action of pur 

 Government that we have, under the most critical 

 circumstances, avoided all censure, and cncounU-rc <1 

 no other evil than that produced by a transient es- 

 trangement of good-will in those against whom we 

 have been by force of evidence compelled to de- 

 cide. 



''Mr. Speaker, the doctrine thus enunciated 

 by President Jackson was not new. It was the 

 doctrine held by Washington in the troubles 

 with Franco; it was the doctrine held by 

 Madison and Monroe in the troubles arising in 

 connection with the South American and 

 Central American republics. This is the doc- 

 trine upon which the Administration has 

 planted itself to-day; and it is the doctrine 

 that will commend itself to the sound sense 

 and patriotism of the American people. It Is 

 the only safe doctrine, and we should not en- 

 deavor to establish any other. It is the policy 

 that comes down to us from the wisdom of 

 the fathers. I hope and trust that no appeals 

 to the tiner feelings of our nature, when we 

 see horrors and crimes committed in a neigh- 

 boring isle, will deter us from the duty which 

 we owe to ourselves and those who may come 

 after us. 



" Do gentlemen who are pressing this ques- 

 tion of recognition desire the acquisition of 

 Cuba ? If so, permit me to say to them that 

 in my judgment this course will retard, if not 

 entirely destroy, the realization of their hopes. 



" In my judgment the island of -Cuba must 

 inevitably gravitate toward us, and sooner or 

 later be added to our possessions. Its prox- 

 imity to our coast ; its geographical position, 

 standing in the very door-way of the Gulf, and 

 thus commanding a very large portion of our 

 commerce; the increasing weakness of the 

 Spanish Government these, and many other 

 considerations, point most clearly to the ulti- 

 mate destiny of that rich gem of the Antilles. 

 When the apple is ripe it will fall, and fall into 

 our lap ; it is not the part of wise statesman- 

 ship, in view of the inevitable, prematurely to 

 hasten that fall ; at least, let us not in our 

 eagerness commit ourselves to any measures 

 that may mantle our cheeks with the blush of 

 shame. 



"To my mind the future relations of this 

 Government to the North American Continent 

 and the adjacent isles of the ocean are as clear 

 as the sunbeams that are now dancing so 

 brightly on the dome of this beautiful capitol. 

 European Governments, European policy, and 

 European power, will soon cease to exist in all 

 the vast domain that stretches from the north- 

 pole to the equator; and throughout that en- 

 tire region yonder flag shall float, and under it 

 all human beings shall enjoy the blessings of 

 free government, guaranteed by our Constitu- 

 tion, improved as it has been by the terrible 

 struggles through which we have passed ; and 



