THROUGH THREEFOLD TENSION 165 



less enthusiastic than diplomacy over the pros 

 pects of transisthmian communication; but, 

 however slowly the realization of the great 

 dream approached, and with whatever of wile 

 and guile in the lobbies of legislation in Nica 

 ragua and at Washington the realization must 

 be promoted, the work of Clayton and Bulwer 

 stood a majestic monument of a union of the 

 two great English-speaking peoples for the ac 

 complishment and protection of a great public 

 work that should be &quot;for the benefit of man 

 kind, on equal terms to all.&quot; 



While the tension over the Central American 

 affairs was acute, its effect was aggravated by 

 various other subjects of suspicion and of con 

 troversy between the two governments. The 

 craving for expansion of territory continued to 

 manifest itself in the United States and to take 

 a form determined more or less by the sectional 

 cleavage of the nation on the slavery question. 

 There was a steady pressure from the southern 

 States for the extension of influence and pos 

 sessions in Latin America. Popular sympa 

 thy for the filibustering expeditions of Lopez 

 against Cuba, and Walker in Central America, 

 was strong enough to paralyze the efforts of the 

 Washington government to prevent them. But 



