CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



159 



"In 'good faith,' if you please, sir. 



"I have heard it said that Orville E. Bab- 

 cock did not write 'aide-de-camp' against his 

 name at the bottom of this protocol. This 

 was not necessary. The designation of a per- 

 son in such documents always appears at the 

 beginning ; as, for instance, in a deed between 

 two parties, the party signs it, and in signing 

 it he recognizes the designation. 



"Therefore we have here a 'protocol,' so 

 entitled, signed by a young officer who en- 

 titles himself ' aide-de-camp of his Excellency, 

 the President of the United States,' and who 

 promises for the President that he shall pri- 

 vately use all his influence in order that the 

 idea of annexing the Dominican Republic to 

 the United States may acquire such a degree 

 of popularity among members of Congress as 

 will be necessary for its accomplishment. 

 There was the promise; Senators about me 

 know how faithfully the President has ful- 

 filled it, how faithfully he has labored, pri- 

 vately and publicly, even beyond the protocol 

 the protocol only required that he should 

 work privately privately and publicly, in or- 

 der that the idea of annexing the Dominican 

 Republic should be agreeable to Congress. 



"The young officer, aide-de-camp of the 

 President of the United States, with this im- 

 portant and unprecedented document in his 

 pocket, returned to Washington. Instead of 

 being called to account for this unauthorized 

 transaction, pledging the Chief Magistrate to 

 use his influence privately with Congress in 

 order to cram down a measure that the con- 

 federates justly supposed to be offensive, he 

 was sent back to this island with directions to 

 negotiate a treaty. I would not allude to that 

 treaty if it had not been made the subject of 

 discussion by the President himself in his 

 annual message. You know it. The treaty 

 itself is not on your tables legislatively; it has 

 never been communicated legislatively to Con- 

 gress. The other House, which may be called 

 to act upon this important measure, can know 

 nothing of that treaty, and what we know of 

 it we cannot speak of even in this debate. We 

 can simply speak of its existence, for the Presi- 

 dent himself has imparted that to Congress 

 and to the country. The treaty exists; and 

 now the practical question is, by what means 

 was it negotiated? I have described to you 

 the three confederates who seduced into their 

 company the aide-de-camp of the President; 

 and now I have to aver, and I insist that the 

 evidence will substantiate what I say, that, at 

 the time of the signature of the treaty of an- 

 nexation, Baez was sustained in power by the 

 presence of our naval force in the waters of 

 the Dominican Government. Go to the doc- 

 uments, and you will find that what I say is 

 true. Confer with naval officers, confer with 

 honest, patriot citizens who know the case, 

 and they will all testify that, without the pres- 

 ence of our ships-of-war in those waters, Baez 

 would have been obliged to flee. 



^ "This is not all, sir; I broaden this allega- 

 tion. Ever since the signature of the treaty, 

 and especially since its rejection, Baez has 

 been sustained in power by the presence of 

 our naval force. Such I aver to be the fact. 

 I state it with all the responsibility of my po- 

 sition and with full conviction of its truth. I 

 ask you, sir, to do as I have done : go to the 

 State Department and Navy Department, and 

 read the reports there on file. I ask you to 

 read documents printed confidentially for the 

 use of the Senate, and I feel sure that what I 

 state will be found to be substantially true. I 

 ask you also to confer with any naval officer 

 who has been there, or with any patriot citizen. 

 " Sir, this is a most serious business. Noth- 

 ing more important to the honor of the re- 

 public has occurred for long years. How many 

 of us now are hanging with anxiety on the 

 news from Europe I There stand matched in 

 deadly combat two great historic foes, France 

 and Germany France now pressed to the 

 wall ; and what is the daily report? That Bis- 

 marck may take Louis Napoleon from his splen- 

 did prison and place him again on the throne 

 of France that he may obtain from him that 

 treaty of surrender which the republic never 

 will sign. Are we not all indignant at the 

 thought? Why, sir, it was only the other day 

 that a member of the Cabinet, a much-honored 

 friend of mine, at my own house, in conversa- 

 tion on this question, said that nothing could 

 make him more angry than the thought that 

 Bismarck could play such a part, and that 

 France might be despoiled by this device. 

 And now, sir, this is the very part played by 

 the American Government. Baez has been 

 treated as you fear Bismarck may treat Louis 

 Napoleon. You call him 'president;' they 

 call him down there 'dictator;' better call 

 him 'emperor,' and then the parallel will be 

 complete. He is sustained in power by the 

 Government of the United States that he may 

 betray his country. Such is the fact, and I 

 challenge any Senator to deny it. I submit 

 myself to question, and challenge the Senator 

 from Indiana, who, as I have already said, 

 champions this proposition, to deny it. I 

 challenge him to utter one word of doubt of 

 the proposition which I now lay down, that 

 Baez is maintained in power by the naval force 

 of the United States, and that, being in power, 

 we seek to negotiate with him that he may 

 sell his country. It cannot be denied. 



" The Senator asks if I am not aware that 

 all persons there are in favor of annexation, 

 and the inquiry is repeated by my friend the 

 Senator from Vermont. I answer categorical- 

 ly, no ; I am not aware of it. I understand 

 the contrary. I have at least as good informa- 

 tion as any accessible during the last week, 

 and it is not four days old, just to the contrary. 

 There are two chieftains in Dominica one the 

 political jockey with whom our Government 

 has united and is now sustained in power by 

 our naval force, and the other is Cabral, who, 



