THE MONROE DOCTRINE 339 



struggling for expression for a number of years, and, in 

 voicing it, the President touched a chord w^"V>i Yl^^f?^ J n 

 every American heart. From all political parties the admin- 

 istration received the warmest commendation, while a most 

 friendly feeling made itself apparent throughout the United 

 States toward England, which had now become a silent politi- 

 cal partner. In England that portion of the message which 

 related to interference in America on the part of the Allied 

 powers^otf Europe was enthusiastically rf r>piivp f f]. and the Eng- 

 lish press was fulsome_Jja ita maise of Prp.irl^|^t Monroe. 

 The British Government felt relieved of a burden by the 

 positive attitude of the United States. The message had 

 come at a most opportune moment ; the allies were pressing 

 Great Britain to meet them in convention at Paris, with 

 a view of settling the Spanish-American question. Mr. 

 Canning, though hesitating to isolate his country from the 

 rest of Europe, knew that the proposed settlement would be 

 unsatisfactory to England. Mr. Monroe's message relieved 

 the situation and settled the matter in just the way Great 

 Britain desired. Canning afterward boasted, "I called the 

 New World into existence to redress the balance of the Old." 

 The other part of the message, ^Intiing t^ roHniiuHuiT; 

 was not so acceptable to Great Britain. There being at 

 that time much uncertainty as to the extent and ownership 

 of unoccupied land in the great Northwest, Canning main- 

 tained that England "could not acknowledge the right of 

 any power to proclaim such a principle, much less to bind 

 other countries to the observance of it. If- we were to be 

 repelled from the shores of America, it would not matter to 

 us whether that repulsion were effected by the Ukase of 

 Russia, excluding us from the sea, or by the new doctrine 

 of the President, prohibiting us from the land. But we 

 cannot yield obedience to either." The declaration was "very 

 extraordinary " ; one which His Majesty's Government was 

 " prepared to combat in the most unequivocal manner." The 

 right of colonization was one that, as heretofore, .may be exer- 

 cised "without affording the slightest umbrage to the 

 United States." 



