-^.^ '^^^cs^ \- .^' 9^v "-^^0^ - - -- "^ V^^y^^ ^-oj^^^y \;^^y^^ "V^^f^ LETTER OF HON. R. J. WALKER, ON THE PURCHASE OF ALASKA, ST. THOMAS AND ST. .JOHN [From the W^'shington Daily WLorninsi- Chronicle, Jan. 28, 1868.] Washington City, January ;J4, 1SG8. The question of the acquisition of Alaska. aad of the islands of St. Thomas and St. John, will be discussed in this letter. The Alaska treaty was deemed so promotive of all the ;.^reat interests of the country, as to have been ratified by the Senate of the United States, ac- cording to the published vote, with a near ap- proach to unanimity. Since the ratification of the treaty, the reports of our explorations, re- cently filed among the public archives, have more than confirmed all previous statements, and demonstrated the immense value of Alaska. The climate, tempered by, the Patific gulf stream, is found to be most salubrious, and as mild as that of this city. It has as manygood harbors as all our Atlantic coast, and one, (free . from ice,) believed to be the best in the world. It has coal of the best quality, upon the banks of navigable streams, and In immediate proximity to the ocean, thus furnishing one clement indispensable to the command of the commerce of Asia and the Pacific. Its timber is excellent and abundant, including pine and cedar of the best quality, and its fisheries are unsurpassed. As a grazing country, its .advantages are. great. Potatoes and the root crops are produced in abundance, and so are tke^ereals, except Indian corn. It must be the great fur country of the world; it abounds in gold and copper, and the geological struc- ture indicates the presence of other minerals. Such are some of the material interests in- voked, but perhaps, even more important, are those considerations which so deeply concern our maritime, commercial, aud political su- premacy. The ultimate struggle 'for the command of the commerce and exchanges of the world, is ,^ to be decided mainly upon the Pacific, and, the acquisition of Alaska, includini; the Aleutian S has immensely strengthened our position liat ocean. It carries us half-way across ■ ,' Pacific, aud within a few days of China ;■.' J Japan. The climate of these islands is most genial and salubrious, and many excel- lent harbors are found there. We own now the whole western Pacific coast, from Lower California to the Arctic sea, except British Columbia, which, (against my earnest protest in the Cabinet,) was ceded to Entrlandin 1846. I say ceded, for our title to the whole of Oregon, from the forty-second parallel northward to Russian America, was in truth "clear and t!n- iquestiouable." But, possessing now the whole western Pacific coast, from the thirty-second parallel of north latitude to the Arctic, except the intervening distance from 49 to 54 40, now a British colony, it must come to us evcntua'ly, by a commercial and political attraction, which is as irresistible as the law of gravitation. British Columbia was lost to us by. the mo«t unfortunate diplomacy, extending through a long period of time; but Alaska can only be sacrifled by the fossil remains of a party, not yet quite extinct, which, in 1782, would have made the Ohio our boundary, and, in 1787, would have confined us withiu the original limits of the Republic, east of the Mi?sissipiM, and north of the thirty-first parallel of north latitude. When the articles of Confederation wore formed in 177S, the following provision was inserted : "Canada, acceding to this Confeder- ation, and joining iu the measures of the United States, shall be admitted into and entitled to all the advantages of this Union; but no other colony shall be admitted into tha same unless such admission be agreed to by nine States.'' These articles were signed by all the thirteen ^original States, proving, first, that, during our revolutionary .struggle, the influence of slavery must have been very limited, or Canada would not have been nnaultnonshj invited into the Union; second, that the power which would otherwise restrict our boundaries, had only suftlcient influence to insert'in these articles, a clause, requiring the consent of nine States to the admission of any other colony. The surrender of Corawallis at Yorklown, in 17S1, cldsed, in fact, our war for independence; yefc^ the treaty of peace with England was not signed until 1783.- This was owing;, mainly, to the fact, that Great Britain insisted for a long time, on making the Ohio river our wes- tern boundary. This would have left to Eng- land the territory now comprising the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wiscon- ain, and a considerable portion of Minnesota, iais also of western New Tork and western Peii'nsylvania, and would have cut us off from all the lakes, except Ontario. There was then a- considerable party of restriction- ists, iflcioding many, so anxious for peace, as to have dbusented to this bound- ary, to which England long adhered, until the American negotiators, Benjamin Franklin, JoUu Adams4 and John Jay, infqrpied the l^ritish commissioner, David Hartley, that the Ohio boundary would never be accepted, when that of the lakes was finally inserted in the treaty. This was the first great effort of the ■party, advocating a limited area, as best suited for a Ilepublic, which idea is not yet qiaite ex- 'tiact. Had this party succeeded, we never "could have been the leading power on this con- sinftt, and the late rebellion must have tri- When the Federal Constitution was framed in 1787, an effort was made by the restriction- ^ ists, first, to require the assent of two-thirds of the State? to the admission of any new State; second, as moved by Mr. Rutledge, of South Carolina, to limit the power of admitting new States, to territory within our then existing boundaries. But both limitations were rejected, and, upon motion of Goijverneur Morris, of Pennsylvania, it wiisprovided.tbat "new States may be admitted by the Congress into the Union," thus leaving the power of extension and annexation unlimited. At the close of the American Revolution and the peace of 1783 tlie area of the whole Union was less than 800,- oao square miles, and our settlements were contined almost exclusively to the limited re- gion east of the Alleghan^es. Since that period, our area, including Alaska, has been more thau quadhipled, and our coast line is more than eight times greater thau in 1783. But for the opposition of xVew EnglaDd,(so patriotic, courageous, and distinguished in our revom- tionarv strugele,) to the war of 1813, we shoula IhCH have conquered Canada, and, as a conse- quence, would now hold all BriiisTi America. Bat for the discordant element of slavery, as shown bv the votes and speeches of Mr. Cal- houn, we should have retained tha whole of Mexico after its conquest in 1847. Had we, then, always been true to ourselves, our area, including Mexico and British. America, would ■^ ^'^t Jew, juare miles, I nearly have reached 8,(500,009 square miles, and our population would have approximated ] 70,000,000. We would have been the richest. \ and most po'sjerful nation of the earth, the in-' | ternational equilbrium question would have been settled iu our favor, and the combined . monarchies of the world could not have suc- cessfully assailed us. That the European monarchies "must unite" to resist our progress, has just been formally announced in the French Senate. When the Articles of Confederation were framed, our population was less than one- fourth of that of North and Sputh America; now, we number as many people as are found in all the rest of both the continents. This relative rate of progress indicates with unerring certainty, where the course of events will take us before the close of this century. At the peace of 1733, our limits on the west, were the Mississippi river down to the 31st parallel of north latitude, which was then sub- stantially our southern boundary. The Flori- das. and Louisiana, (including Texas,) were •European colonies, excluding us entirely from the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans, Mobile, and Pensacola were foreign cities. The mouth of the Mississippi and all west of that river tothe Pacific, were held by European dynasties. So, also, wasthe eastern bank of that imperialriver for more than three hundred miles from its mouth, and eastward to the Atlantic. Our coast on that ocean was only about one- tenth part of its eastern American shores, and the Gulf of Mexico was an European sea. Who would •DOW have us shrink within our original limits, recall our flag from the Pacific or the Gulf, surrender any of our acquired territory, and ■dwarf the limits of the Republic ? Confined witjhin our original limits, our area would ' have been about one-fourth that of British America, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, one-fourth of the Emj^ire of Brazil, less than one-half that t)f Mexico, *fcd less than one-twentieth of the American conti- nents. We shoiild have been surrounded on all sides by neighboring American natiftn-, more wealthy and populous than our own. •The European system of the balance of power would have been introduced on the^e cpnti- nents, the monarchies of the Old World would have stirred up strife among us, and war would have been our normal condition. From the.^e disasters we have been thus far saved by the annexation and extension policy. But, our security is %ot complete, until we shall have embraced at least the whole North American continejit, including the railroad and ship canal at the li/thmus of ranama and Darkn, and, through the telescopic glass of Isss than f' /VVY'^ half a century, in the prophetic words of Alexander Hamilton, "ultimately equinting at South America." I do not desire annexation by anunrighteoils war, or by any species of injastice ; for, in the providence of God, there surely comes retribu- tive punishment for all iniquity, individual, or national. Bu*., I do wish to see my country fulfil her destiny, by spreading the blessings of liberty and of the Constitution peacefully over the American continents, placing her beyond the power of any monarchical combinations, with iraesiotible ability for good, and no mo- tive for evil or aegression. When that day .shall have arrived, as come it surely will, if we are truetootfi'selves, may we not hope, that, under the moral influence of our example and success, all other nations will ultimately enjoy the blessings of constitutional liberty aud self- government. These views arc entertained in no spirit of aggression, but, because it is clear, that, whilst such a result would confer count- less blessings upon- my own country, it would also advance the interests and promote the happiness of the whole brotherhood of man. - Yet, essential as was the extension policy to our welfare, if not to our existence as an inde- pendent nation, the various lawB and treaties, by which we enlarged our boundaries, were fiercely contested, and often escaped defeat by small majorities. Our first and greatest ac- 'lulsition was Louisiana, much more than doubling the area of the Republic ; yet, the oppobition was violent and powerful, and Mr. Jefferson was ridiculed, denounced, and lam- pooned in prose and verse, (worse than Mr. Seward.) for making this treaty. Yet, what American would now surrender Louisiana, with its million of square miles, and its numerous States and Territories? But, in this case, as in all others, the anti-annexation policy, though powerful at the time, was always ultimately condemned with great unanimity by the people. Scarcely was the annexation accomplished, as regards all our acquisitions, when tjie multi- plied piop'hecies of evil all vanished, aud countless blessings and benefits flowed in upon the whole people of the United States. We have seen, that, when the Constitution was framed in ITijT, this same anti-annexation party endeavored to confine our limits Avithin our then existing territory, but x^as defeated through the instrumentality of Washington, Franklin, Hamilton, and Madison. In June, 1797, Alexander Hamilton addressed a letter to Dr. McHcnry, then Secretary of War, in which he said, "Btsides eventual security against invasion, we ought to look certainly to the possession of the TLoridas and Louisiana, and we oi»ght to squint at South America." This original letter, all in the handwriting of Mr. Hamilton, obtained from the family of Dr. McHenry, was handed to me in 1845 by Alexander Hamilton, the son of the great statesman, and was first read by me in Feb- ruary, 1845^ in the debate in the Senate of the United States on the annexation of Texas. When Louisiana was acquired, INEr. Jeflfersou was President of the United States, James Madison was Secretary of State, James Mon- roe Minister to France. Thus, we have seen, that the patriots of the Revolution, and the fathers and founders of this Republic, were nearly all extensionists. They looked for- ward, as we have seen, to the period, when both the continents of America and all the dependent isles should be embraced within the boundaries of the Union. W^e have seen how fierce was the opposition to the annexation of Louisiana, Texas, and Florida; yet, when they, together with the South, attempted to secede, we expended, during the late rebellion, billions of treasure, and sacrificed thousands of lives, to retain them all in the Union. A few feeble utterances were then indeed heard in the North, saying, 7o< them rjo. Bat the American people would not consent to dis- iuteurate#the Republic, to Jet Florida or auy of the Southern States secede, or dismember the Valley of the West. No; where our flag is once unfurled, there it must float fc^rever. We have had two antagonistic principles, , constantly at work, since aud during the war of the Revolution. These wtre disintegration, \ -f ecession, and disunion on the one hand, and the maintenance, perpetuation, nnd extension of the Union on the other. The expansion aud limitation of the area of the Union had their first struggle, as we have seen, in frarainj; the Articles of Confederation in i77S. Th« second was when our boundaries were fixed by the treaty of 178o; the third was in 1787, whp the Constitution was formed and ratified. The same antagonism was again exhibited In •lbO;>, when Louisiaua was acquired; again, in 1S'?1, when we purchased Florida, but relia- quished Texas; and. in 1S45, when Texas was again received into the Union; in 1S48, when California was ceded to us with a vast adja- cent territory, but with the unfortunate aban- donment of the rest of Mexico, which we had conquered and occupied, and should have re- tained; and, . finally, in Arizona in iSS^i. There, before the ratification of the treaty, the Senate amended it by strilving from i^ most unfortunately, all that most important portion of the Territory to be acquired, bprdering for a great distance upon the "Gulf of California, leaving Lower California a broken wing to Mexico. On every occasion, thelJ, when we have acquired territory, there was a struggle between these two contending principles. If we look at the causes affecting the action of parties at these various periods, we will find, that slavery had nothing to do with it in 1778, 1783, and 17S7. The opposition to the acqui- sition of Louisiana was geographical and anti-slavery. The loss of the Canadas and British America was occasioned by hostility to the war of 1812, and by the ferocious spirit of party, rousing the passions, and, for a time, obscuring the judgment even of great and good men. In 1821, Texas was relinquished, partly from geographical, but mainly from anti- slavery opposition. In 18-15, the opposition to the reauriexatiou of Texas, was based mainly upon anti-slavery grounds. In 1816, in con- nection with the unfortunate action of pre- ceding administrations, Oregon, north of the 49th parallel, was lost to the Union. In 1848, the treaty by which Mexico was surrendered, would have been defeated, but for the support of Mr. Calhoun, and many of the slavery propagandists. Their argument was this: that, if Mexico was all retained and annexed to the Union, the States to be carved out of it, would all be free States, because Mexico, by an unanimons vote, had abolished slavery. It seems quite certain, that, if Mexico (as urged by me in the Cabinet) had been retained as part of the Union, the pro-slavery rebellion of 1861 would have been impossible. Commingling with the slavery and geo- graphical questions, was another, quite power- ful in its influence heretofore, and not yet quite extinct. It was that party, distrustful of the people, who doubted their capacity to main- lain successfully a republican form of govern- ment when extended over a large area. By them, t'he example of the fall of Greece and Rome was often quoted, forgetting that Rome did-not fall until centuries after she ceased to be a republic; and that Greece fell by secession and disintegration, and the weakness of the Achiean League. It must be remembered, also, that, the colonies of Greece and Rome were mere military provinces, held and governed by the sword through .military pro-consuls. Be- sides, then they had no steamers, no railroads, no telegraphs; the art of printing was unknown, and not one in the ten thousand of the people could write or read even the few manuscripts then in ^existence. All this is changed now, and the hrea of the Union, by various instru- mentalities constantly progressing, is traversed now more easily au'd quickly, than the distance between BuffJo and New York, when the Con- stitution was founded. Besides, our form of government, national for national purposes, with a Congress at Washington, and State gov- ernments for local purposes, is better adapted for diffusion over a continent, than contraction within a limited space. Nor does the distance of the States from the national capital consti- tute asy difficulty. Indeed, whilst States near and adjacent to Washington, during the rebel- lion, assailed the Government, those most dis- tant from it, including the States of the great Northwest and of the Pacific, gave it a most loyal and generous support. As to diversity of products causing opposing interests, it is just the reverse, for, it is this very interchange of products, growing out of diversity, that binds the Union together in the bonds of that free trade among the States, established by the Constitution, where our cotton is sold for our breadstuffs and provisions, and btjth for oui' manufactures. Whilst the history of annexation in the United States, shows various obstacles by which it has been retarded, yet, the chief among these, was the discordant element of slavery. Thus it was, that, whilst the free States, to a great extent, opposed the acquisi- tion of slave territory, the slave States opposed the annexation of free territory. But for these opposing principles, our area would be far greater than it now is. In extinguishing sla- very, then, we have removed the principal cause which retarded the progress of annexation. We take a new departure now, and enter upon a new career of progress. We see already the good effects of the disappearance of this insti- tution, in the almost unanimous vote of the Senate by which the Alaska treaty was ratified. Before the extirfction of slavery, that treaty would have been defeated, upon the samfe prin- ciple that Oregon north of the 49th parallel was ceded to England, and Mexico surrendered after the conquest. Aud now let us not sub- stitute for slavery, the baneful influence of sectional passions and prejudices; for, if the Western and Pacific States oppose Eastern ac- quisitions, such as St. Thomas, Cuba, Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the East would retaliate, and vote against the purchase of British Columbia, the Sandwich Islands, or any portion of Mexico. There is no real an- tagonism of interest between the States, and any other doctrine leads to strife and disunion- But,'it is said, that, we should not complete the purchase, because we are in debt. If so, our territorial progress will be retarded for at least half a century ; for, it is quite certain, that our debt will not be extinguished within that period. In the meantime, we alone, of all the great nations of the world, are to re- main stationary. Upon the same principle, we must not, for half a century, acquire British Columbia, or the Canadas, or »the Sandwich Islands, nor Caba, nor any portion of Ivlexico, nor a single coal or naval or commercial depot, and as a consequence, let our commerce perish. Why, there is not one of these acquisitions that would not hasten the extinguishment of our debt, by the increase of our wealth and power, our commerce and revenue. The treaty now before the Senate, establish- ing reciprocal free trade between us and the Sandwich Islands, is of great importance, and foreshadows the early acquisition by us of those valuable islands, for coaling depots and half-way ports to China. Those rich and beau- tiful islands, in our posscf sion, would furnish us, not only with sugar, many tropical pro- ducts, and raw material for manufactures, but would become considerable markets for our fabrics, our lumber, our coal, as also our bread- stuflFs and provisions. According to the estimate of the political economists of Europe, the average value pro- duced by each human being, over consumption, is 81,000. At this rate, in additioa to the wealth already accumulated, that produced by* the 18,000 people of St. Thomas and St. John, during the next generation, would be §18,000,- 000. Supposing the wealth already accumu- lated there, during several centuries of most proStable tradt^ to be only as much more, this would make the whole amount 636,000,000. Surely, so large an addition to the wealth of the nation, is not to be disrecrarded, in connec- tion with the question of our public debt. And now I will proceed to the discussion of the treaty, by which we would acquire St. Thomas and St. John, two of the West India group, known as the Virgin Islands, of which St. Thomas is the principal. As a depot for coal, and a naval and commercial station, St. Thomas possesses greater advantages than any other of the West India islands. It is the point where mo,-t vessels from Europe bound to South America, or to the isthmus of Pana- ma, or to -the Pacific, by the way of Cape Horn, touch for coal and supplies, often taking and receiving cargoes, fco, also, with our own vessels, bound to the same points, as also to Africa, and, by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, to Asia and Australia. No island in the world, with so small a population, receives so large a tonnage, or transacts so great a business. It has a splendid harbor, of great depth and capacity with a good entrance, half a mile wide, that can be easily defended, and made a^ impregnable as Gibraltar, both by land and sea. There are more vessels, Eu- ropean and American, which touch at St. Thomas, than at any other of the West Indies. The island of St. John is a few miles from St. Thomas, and also has a splendid harbor with great depth of water; and having a very good, but narrow entrance of 800 yards, is susceptible of complete defence, and is almost a natural dry-dock. These facts, taken from the per- sonal observations and admirable memoir of Vice Admiral D. D. Porter, are confirmed by other authorities. If St. Thomas were ours, It would soon be placed in telegraphic communi- cation with us; and, with augmented busineea, would rapidly become a considerable comnn.r- cial city. It is on the test route to South America, to Africa, to Asia, and Australia. As an etUrepoi lor international trade, it has one of the best locations in the world. There is no barbor in which vessels can coal so rapidly, and now, that steamers are taking the place of sailing ves- sels, we mast have coal depots at various pointo in the Atlantic and Pacific, or abandon the commerce of both oceans. England has coal stations and commercial depots on every eea, and this is the greatest source of ber wealth and prosperity. France and other European Powers are rapidly following her example. Notwithstanding our magnificent domestic trade, it is to our foreign commerce, and the tariff basedjpon it,«tbat wc must look mainly for the re ^p ie to pay the interest on the pnb- lic debt aijPsnpport the Government. If St. Thomas fflhd St. John are lost to us now by the failure of this treaty, they are lost to us for- ever; and, Di nmark being willing to sell, they will fall immediately into the hands of France or England. During the late rebellion, if St. Thomas had been ours, as a point where our steamers could go for coal, supplies, and re- pairs, or to take prizes, the running of the blockade, mainly through the British island of Nassau, could not have occurred to any con- siderable extent, the war would have been more rapidly brought to a conclusion, and thousands of lives and millions of treasture eaved to the country. Indeed, the difference In expense, between agoing to New Tork for supplies or repairs, or for coal, or to take prizes, and then returning to the blockading ground, independent of the time lost and the breach of the blockade meanwhile, compared with the short run to St. Thomas for the same purposes, would have been a much greater sum saved, than the whole purchase money of these islands. The question of the command of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea, is thus discussed in my Texas letter of the 8th of January, 1844 : "In the Gulf of Mexico, England has seized, in Honduras, large *nd extensive pesseEsione, and most commanding positions, overlooking from the interior the outlet of the Gulf; whilet British Guiana, in South America, stretching between the great Oronoco and the mighty Amazon, places her in a position, (aided by her island of Trinidad, at the month of the Oronoco,) to seize npon the outlet of those gigantic rivers. With her West iHdia islands, from Jamaica, south of Cuba, in a continued chain (from Nassau) to the most northern of the Bahamas, she is prepared to seize the Florida Pass and the Mouth of the Mississippi; and let her add Texas and the coast of Texas, and her command of the Gulf would be as effectual as of the British Channel. It would be a British sea; and soon her capital would open the great canal which must unite at the isthmus the Atlantic and Pacific, and give her the key of both the coasts of America." And now the press has just announced, that Mr. Seward has negotiated a treaty for the con- struction of a ship canal at the Isthmus of Darien, thus rendering our possession of St. Thomas and St. John an imperative necessity. Whilst this through-cut ship canal would facilitate so much our trade by sea with our own .Western coast, and that of Mexico and* Central and Southern Amerit'a, it is essential for the short passage of onLvyar steamers from shore to shore. Having ■^jTved, during my recent tour through Egyp^fte rapid pro- gress of the ship canal at the IsflJnus of Suez, it is clear, that, to insure the coriimand by us of the world's commerce, we must make the Darien Ship Canal. It is said by some, why not purchase Cuba instead of St. Thomas and St. John? There is no evidence that we can purchase Cuba at this time; and, if Cuba were ours, the posses- sion of St. Thomas and St. John would be siill more important. The best way for ac- celerating the acquisition of Cuba and Porto Rico, as well as cheapening the price, thus terminating slavery there, and, as a conse- quence, abolishing the African slave trade, would be first to obtain the islands of St. Thomas and St. John. This would give us a most important and impregnable position in the West Indies, bringing us within sight of Porto Rico, and within a lew hours by steam from Cuba. Indeed, so soon as we acquire St. Thomas and St. John, the people of Porto Rico would clamor for annexation to the United States, and Spain would gladly sell it te us on most reasonable terms. The acquisi- tion of Cuba would of course speedily follow. In 1S06, Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison favored the acquisition of Cuba, as did John Quincy Adams in 1823. Ind|^d, this great island, so essential to all our interests and security, would have long since been ours, but for the in- tervention of slavery, bringing discord into our counsels, and arresting the growth and pro- gress of the Republic. But, imder the great constitutional amendment abolishing slavery, the institution would terminate in Cuba, the moment it became a part of the United States. Nothing is more certain, than that a large ma- jority even of the whites of Cuba, desire the abolition of slavery and annexation to the United States. The Cubans, with few excep- tions, are Americans and republicans, and are sick of the oppression and grinding taxation of the Spanish Government, as well as the total exclusion of the natives from all offices, either of honor or emolument. The Government is military and despotic, and an immense stand- ing army is required to prevent and suppress rebellion. The taxes for this purpose, (as well as to supply the Spanish exchequer,) which are all collected from the people of Cuba, are oppressive and intolerable. For these and other reasons, an overwhelming majority of the people of Cuba desire annexation to the United States, and, as a first step in that di- rection, have lately petitioned Spain to abolish slavery throughout the island. If slavery were abolished in Cuba and Porto Rico, it would soon disappear from Brazil, the slave trade would cease, and thus would the whole eartL. be consecrated to freedom. In case we should be forced iuto another war with England, the possession of St. Thomas would be of incalculable benefit. Being a small island, encircled by i-eefs, so as to pre- vent a landing, except at the opening of the harbor, which is easily susceptible of complete defence, it would be in fact an ocean Gibraltar. It would flank the British port of Nassau, whence, during the late rebellion, the British blockade-breakers sailed to supply the South with the materials of war and subsistence, and receive their cotton. In case of such war, the fleet of England would concentrate there for an attack upon our coast and commerce, to de- feat which, the possession of St. Thomas may be regarded as indispensable. All future Wars in which we may be con cerned, must be mainly maritime wars not mean by that, conflicts of single ve or even of fleets, upon the ocean, but the cap. ture of merchant vessels as prizes at sea, the ; destruction of the commerce of the enemy, and the blockade of their ports. Strong, light, and swift steamers, covering the ocean by hun- dreds, would annihilate the commerce of the enemy. What a single such steamer can do, we know by the achievements of the Alabama during the rebellion. But, steamers having taken the place of sailing vessels, in order to carry on such a warfare upon the ocean, coal depots at many points, rendered impregnable, are indispensable, not only in case of a war with England, but with any other Power; for, I be con- 1 3. I dol vessels,! he caD_ 1 i the experience of the late civil war has taught us, that, a pretentlcd neutrality, like that oi" England during the late conflict, may be al- most as dangerous as open war. St. Thomas, we have seen, is situated in one of the great tracks of our commerce and that of the world, and its possession is indispensable to us in case of another maritime conflict. Our mines of coal are inexhaustible, and of the best quality, but, in our anthracite, for naval war- fare, we possess advantages over any other nation. Steamers are first seen by the smolic, which signals their location, whether for at- tack or retreat, as also their course on the ocean. But, our anthracite makes no smoke, and hence such steamers may come much closer, unobserved, upon the enemy. But of what use is our coal in naval warfare, if we have no depots where it can be supplied to our steamers? Let us remember, that England is the workshop, that lives only by her trade with all the world. Her commerce in imports and exports, including what she carries for other countries, reaches nearly two billions of dollars a year. Destroy this trade— which, with proper coal depots, our swift war steamers and privateers could do— and England falls forever. Great as the loss would be, the ex- perience of 1807 has proved, that, with' ours Immense irfterior resources, we can sumive an embargo, but England could not. That this question is thoroughly understood in England, may be seen by perusing the British press, not only that which was hostile, but that, like the Star, which was friendly to us during the late rebellion. I select the following, which is a leading editorial in the London Jforning Star of the 17th of December last. [From the London Blorning Star, December 17.] "The acquisition by the United States of the "West Indies islands of St. Thomas and St. John is an event of sufllcient gravity to warrant an examination into the motives of the nation which has acquired a foothold in that region, and of the probable future results to the scat- tered communities of the area belonging to different European powers. We believe when the late dicturbances occurred in Jamaica, and the press of this country was filled with vio- lent denunciations of the negroes, President Johnson took advantage of the circumstance to sound the late Sir F. Bruce as to the proba- bility of our ceding to the United States that magnificent, but up to that time ill-governed island. The exceedingly cold reception with which his overtures were met induced the Presi- eent, or rather Mr. Seward, for that astute old man is at the bottom of the business, to apply to Denmark, where he has been moresucccsful. The two islands purchased are by no means the best of the Danish possessions — ttie island of Santa Cruz, siill left to Denmark, being very much larger and more fertile than either of the two little islets which have been ceded. The object of the United States was clearly not 10 obtain territory, of which he has enoiigb, and to spare. We are, therefore, inclined to think that even if the rumored otTcr by Spain of Cuba and Porto Kico were true, the Govern- ment would not be tempted to buy except upon very advantageous terms. The object of the recent purcaase is very frankly pointed out by President Johnson in his^meseage. He re- minds his countrymen that in the War of Inde- pendence we were able to gall the struggling colonists from our West India stations, that, tlie same results happened in 1812, and that in the late civil war the West Indies formed the rendezvous of blockade-runners, while the United States steam vessels, which were watch- ing them, could only coal up in their own dis- tant harbors. ''With the possession of a good and convenient port and harbor in the West Indies," argues Mr. Johnson, "neither we nor any other American nation need longer appre- hend injury or otience from any transatlantic- enemy. The object of the United States, therefore, '. has been to acquire war ports as a protection against European enemies, and, in St. Thomas and St. John they hare certainly succeeded in gaining what they desired. This move on the part of the Americans has unquestionably altered all the relations between the countries in the event of a war,"and is of fifty times more importance to England than all the ma- noeuvres which have taken place about Turkey for the last hitndred years. In the event of ;i great cont^lsiou in our own country, occa- sioned ^?1the persistent machinations of the Americ|»lFeniaus, St. Thomas and St. John may beoome convenient shelters from which to annoy the commerce of England. Certainly in a war with the United States, should that calamity ever occur, the possession of these two islands would entirely alter the balance of power which has hitherto subsiited between this country and America. We do not point out these results in any spirit of hostility to the United States, but rather to show the blindnsss and stupidity of the traditional pol- icy of the Foreign Office. We are in the act of spending millions, under some delusion that in doing so we are keeping up our prestige in the East Indies, while, without a protest, without a murmur, without an exchange of notes, so far as we are at present informed, our greatest naval rival acquires two islands in the West Indies, avowedly as war ports against possible transatlantic enemies. The presence of the Americans in these lati- tudes will be a disturbing cause to the Euro- rean Powers in peace as well as in war. Spain especially may proceed at once to set her house in order. Porto Rico, where slavery still reigns with all its hateful features, is the near neigh- bor of St. John. Imagine the state of mind of the Spanish planters, with a community of negroes in the possession of manhood suffrage in the next island! Nor can wo escape the difBcultics which the advent qf this new neigh- bor will certainly cause in the West Indies. Already the United States have begun to domi- nate the minds of the negroes. They have not been inattentive observers of what has been passing in the great country -vvhich so lately was the chief stay of slavery. They will not watch with less jealousy the possession of the fran- chise by their lately-emancipated brethren when the American flag floats over two of the islands in their midst. In addition to what may be called the passive propagandism of 8 American views, an active and most powerful iDfluence will be exerted by the superior com- mercial activity of the Americans. Although the obtaining ot war ports has been the leading idea of thelate acquisition, the intense business activityof the Americans will undoubtedly soon convert the new colony into a commercial cen- tre, where they will amass all the rich produce of the neighboring islands before launching it upon the markets of the world* What Port Royal once was St. Thomas will'soon become in the hands of our competitors across the Atlantic." We are destined, long before the close of this century, to have a large and valuable traffic with Liberia and the whole coast of Africa south of that Republic, and St. Thomas and St. John, lyiug immediately in the track of that trade, are almost indispensable to us for coal and supplies. St. Thomas, being a great entrepot for uni- versal commerce, would become, in our pos- session, a station where vast quantitiss of American coal and other of our products would be concentrated for the supplies and repairs of our own vessels touching there, and those of all the world. The consumption of our coal and other products would be increased, not merely by the demands of the people of those islands, but, for a use infinitely greater by all the vessels touching or trading there. As early as 1707, the Pere Lahat, in his '=Voyif ages aux Isles de I'Amerique," said: "Den- mark being almost always neutral in the wars of Europe, the port of St. Thomas is open to all nations. During peace, it serves as an en- trepot for the commerce which the French, English, Spanish, and Dutch, do not dare to pursue openly on their own islands; and in time of war it is the refuge of merchant ships when pursued by privateers. On the other hand, the privateers send their prizes here to be sold when they are not disposed to send ihem to a greater distance. A great many small vessels also proceed from St. Thomas to the coast of South America, whence they bring back much riches in specie or in bars and valuable mer- chandise. In a word, St. Thomas is a market of great consequence." All the modern au- thorities confirm this statement, and show that this commerce has greatly increased. Indeed, the merchants of Porto Rico are mere retail traders, receiving their supplies mainly from the wholesale stores of Bt. Thomas, and the same is the case with the entire South American coast, from the Orinoco, including Trinidad, Margarita, Curacoa, and the Wind- ward Islands, to Carthagena and Panama. But a small portion of these goods are American; but, after annexation, nearly all of them would be furnished by us. As regards our trade with St. Thomas and St. John, I have only been able to obtain tables for the Danish West Indies, which include Santa Cruz; but, as will be shown hereafter, nearly the whole of this trade was with St. Thomas. From the official tables of the United States Treasury for the fiscal year ending the 30th of Juna, 1866, num- bers eleven and twelve, the tonnage of vessels which cleared during that year from our ports to the Danish West Indies, and which entered our ports from the Danish West Indies, was 40,693 tons, and this is esclusive of their ton- nage (far greater) connected with the ports of all other countries. Looking at Treasury table eleven, before referred to, I find that the ton- nage of the vessels which cleared from eur ports to the Danish West Indies, was greater than that to two-thirds of the countries given in the returns. It was greater than the tonnage to each of the following countries, namely: te Russia, on the Baltic and White seas, Asiatic Russia, Russian possessicms in North America^ Prussia, Sweden and Norway, Swedish West Indies, Denmark, Greenlapd, Holland, Dutch West Indies, Dutch Guiana, Dutch East In- dies, Gibraltar, Malta, British Honduras, British Guiana, Falkland Islands, British possessions in Africa, French North American possessions, French West Indies, French Guiana, French possessions in Africa, Spain on the Atlantic, Spain on the Mediterranean, Ca^ry Islandf, Philiippine Islands, San Do- mino, Portugal, Madeira, Azores, Cape de Verde Islands, Italy, Sicily, Austria, Austrian possessions in Italy, Turkey in Europe, Turkey in Asia, Liberia, other port^.in Africa, Vene- zuela, Uruguay, Buenos Ayres, Chili, Bolivia, other islands of the Pacific, and Japan. It was also greater, as shown by the same table, than the combined tonnage which cleared from our ports that year to all the following countries, namely: Prussia, Sweden and Norway, Swedish West Indies, Denmark, Falkland Islands, San Domingo, Portugal, Madeira, Austria, Turkey in Europe, Turkey in Asia, Bolivia, and Japan. From the table accompanying the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, schedule E, I find, from the returns of all our consulates, there were more of our destitute seamen that year sent back from St. Thomas to our ports, than from each of four-fifths of all the others; more than from Liverpool, and the same num- ber as from London. I find, also, that the to- tal tonnage from all the ports of the world of the vessels trading with St. Thomas, for the year 1850, was 285,843 tons; exclusive of the British mail steamers, of which there were live semi-monthly lines, and one monthly last year. In addition to these were the French, Span- ish, and Venezuelan lines of steamers, each making two trips monthly to St. Thomas, and the United States and Brazil steanaship line of steamers makes one trip monthly. Thus this tonnage which arrives at St. Thoma'fe (accord- ing to Treasury table No. 18, for the fiscal year -ending 30th June, 1866,) was greater than the whole tonnage registered and enrolled for any district in the United States, except New York, and, including the British mail steamers which stop at St. Thomas, greater than the combined tonnage of the district of Boston and Balti- more, and nearly half that of New York. It will at once be seen, with such an island in our possession, how great weuld be the consump- tion of American coal there, and our other products, including supplies for vessels. England has always interposed to defeat our policy of extension, as she now does, through the British press, if not th<^ British ministry. We know with what pertinacity she opposed the extension of our boundaries in framing the treaty of peace in 1783. The same opposition was repeated upon the acquisition of Louisiana in 1803. Indeed, it is an historical fact that, but for the celerity and secrecy with which that treaty was made, and the prempt action, of Napoleon the First and of our own Government in its execution, England would have seized and retained Louisiana, to preveft its falling into the hands of the United States. The same deadly hostility to our territorial ex- pansion was again exhibited in 1844 and in 1845, upon the question of the reannex- ation of Texas. The confidential documents published by order of the Senate of the United States, demonstrate these facts : that, with a view to defeat the acquisition of Texas, she offered vast advantages to that republic. These were to repeal, so far as Texas was concerned, the heavy duty she then im- posed upon raw cotton. Second. To loan her five millions of dollars in gold at a very low rate of interest. Third. When tlie danger of reannexation became imminent, she actually interfered, while negotiations were pending be- tween Texas and the United States, and secured -the consent of Mexico to recognize the indepen d- ence of Texas, upou condition that she would never annex herself to ihis country. Had she thea succeeded, as the official documents demonstrate, Texas would soon have become a cotton colony of England. We all know how she availed herself of our war with Mexico to deprive us of our lightful* territory of Oregon north of the 49th parallel. Her course during the late rebellion was marked by persevering efforts to destroy our commerce and to divide the Union. And now her press opposes our purchase of St. Thomas, and indicates with un- erring certainty that, in the event of the rejec- tion of this treaty, she will immediately pur- chase that island herself. And are we indeed so poor, and ha,ve we fallen so low, that we cannot purchase a single West India Island, necessary as it may be to us as a depot for coal, as a naval and commercial station, and for the protectipn of our commerce with South America, and of our coastwise trade with the Pacific by the way of the Isthmus of Panama. If we refuse to purcUase St. Thomas on the ground of our poveriy, it is a proclamation of bankruptcy to all the world. lif we will not thus prepare to defend our foreign and coast-" wise trade, in case ol another war with Eng- land, let us' indulge no longer in empty de- clamation as to enforcing the Alabama claims, or the rights of our adopted citizens in for- eign countries. A single act, such as the pur-' chase of St. Thomas, will do more for the peaceful settlement of all these coutroversies, than a thousand spetches, however truthful or eloquent. It is said we have defended our commerce heretofore without coal depots, but this was when we were engaged in wars before the era of steam upou the ocean. *But surely we cannot have forgotten, that, during the late rebellion, a few coufederate steam cruisers like the Alabama, in so short a period, destroyed our commerce, and we will profit by the sad experience. We know, that besides her hun- dred coal depots, England has alliances with France and other European Powers, which might furnish her with great facilities In their ports, which, under various pretexts, might be denied to us. Surely we cannot rely upon the friendship or neutrality, so far as their ports are concerned, of European monarchies, in case of another war with Enir- land. Let us take timely warning, ere it is too late, that, in the abfeuce of such American depots, another conflict upon the ocean, so far as the destruction of commerce is concerned, would be most perilous and unequal. Whilst from these depots, scattered all over the world, England could send her swift steamers to sea, capture her prizes, return with them short distances to port, take iu coal, and proceed upon new cruises, how would we accomplish the same purpose ? Where would we take our prizes, or where would we receive coal and other sup- plied; or, must we return home, thousands of miles, for all these purposes? It is q.lear, under existing circumstances, in such a conflict, that, whilst the British stea^iers cruise but hundreds of miles, we must make thousands, thus in- creasing indefinitely the depredations upon our commerce. It is then manifest, that, the revo- lution in naval warfare, by the introduction of steam, as exhibited by the achievements of the Alabama, demonstrates, that, if wc mean to defend our commerce and protect ourcomm;r- 10 cial marine, coal and naval Jepots are indis- pensable. But it is said we can purchase tlie bay of Sa- mava from San Domingo at a lower price than we give for St. Thomas. Undoubtedly, the pur- chase of this great bay would be vAy import- ant, but it would not answer the purposes to be accomplished by St. Thomas. In the first place, a position on this great bay, (a part of a very large island,) cannot be made impregnable like St. Thomas, especially against a land at- tack. Second. It is not so directly upon the track of our commerce as St. Thomas. This is proved by Treasury table No. 11, showing, that, the tonnage of the vessels clearing from our ports for the Danish West Indies, was more than twelve times that clearing for the whole Republic of San Domingo, including the bay of Samana. This great bay, in our possession, together with St. Thomas and St. John, would aid and accelerate our acquisition of all the West, Islands and the Isthmus of Darien and Panama. That a paajority of the people of these islands are of the colored races, con- stitutes with me no objection whatever. England has more than thirty ^Vest India islands, although she is a far distant Eu- ropean monarchy. L'nder these circum- stances, is it too much that, upon our conti- nent and in our own immediate neighborhood, we should have two or three coal depots in the West Indies? It is my duty to say, that the views expressed in this letter, are exclusively my own, and that I do not know whether the President or Secretary of State, or any member of the Ad- ministration, concurs in these opinions. My conviction of their truth is most profoundand undoubted, and hence I have promulgated and discussed them, believing that it is the duty of every American to maintain and advocate all such just measures which deeply concern the interest of his country. In taking a retrospect of the past, whether in public or in private life, whether residing North or South, I have never entertained any sectional views, or ex- pressed any opinions but those which embrace the welfare of the whole nation. In the closing sentences of my Texas letter of the Sth of Jan- uary, 1S14, 1 say: "The Union and all its parts, fV they are all aportionof our common country, I love with the intensity of filial afi'ection; and never could my heart conceive or my hand be raised to execute any project which could efleet Its overthrow. I have ever regarded the disso- lution of this Union as a calamity equal to a second fall of mankind; not, it is true, intro- ducing, like the first, sin and death into the world, but greatly augmenting all their direful .■iiiiuences.-"' This settlemewt has ruled my action through life. It is true, my Texas let- ter of the. Sth of January, 1844, was falsely represented as a mere effort to extend slavery, but the vote in favor of that measure, o-f the people of New York, Pennsylvania, and a ma- jority of the free' States, and of many of the slave States against it, proved how unfounded was that assertion. Speaking of slavery in that letter, I say: " Again, then,_the question is asked, is slavery never to disappear from the Union? This is a startling and momentous question; but the answer i&easy and the proof is clear; it will certainhj discq^j^ear if Texas is rt ■ annexed to the Uidon — beyond the Del Norte slavery will not pass; not ouly because it is forbidden by law, but because the colored race there preponderate in the ratio of ten- to one over the whites; and, holding, as they do, the Government and most of the cflices in their possession, they will never permit the erfslave- ment of any portion of the colored race, which makes and executes the laws of the country."" In that same letter I said: "I have not thus- contrasted Texas and Oregon with a view to oppose the occupation of Oregon;"" for I have always been the ardent friend of that measure. I advocated it in 4 speech published (February 1833.) long before I became a member of the Senate; and now, since the death of the patriotic and lamented Lynn, I am the- oldest surviving member of the special com- mittee of the Senate which has pressed upon that body for so many years the immediate occupation of the whole territor.y of Oregon. There,>upou the shores of the distant Pacific if my vote can accomplish it, shall be planted the banner of the Union, and with my con- sent never shall be surrendered a single point of its coast, an atom of its soil, or a drop of all its waters. But while I am against the surrender of any portion of Oregon, I am also against the resurrender ©f the territory of Texas ; for, disguise it as we may,it 1,6 a case of res?(n'e«(4cv, when it once was all our own, and now again is ours, by the free consent of those to wham it belongs, already given, and waiting only the ceremony of a formal ac- ceptance!" These views I maintained with great earnestness, from first to la'st, in the Cabitfetof Mr. Polk, advocating the retention and annexation of the whole of Mexico after the conquest, and opposing«the treaty by which so.large anc^ important a portion of Oregon was surrendered. Has not time verified the trbth of/my statement in the Texas letter, that "beyond the del Norte slwery ivill nUpass f-- and, is it not now also clear, that, if we had re- tained and annexed the whole of Mexico, all the States carved out of it would have been free Slates, and that thus, as described in my 11 letter, "slavery would slowly and gfradually disappear without a convulsion ?" Aud may I not DOW ask the North, as well as the South, whether such an extinction of slavery would not have been infinitely better, rather than the terrible civil war, with all its dread- ful sacrifices of blood and treasure, and all the perils from which the country has not yet been rescued ? May 1 not also further ask whether time has not justified my opposition in the ■Cabinet of Mr; Polk to the surrender of any portion of Oregon. Indeed, when we look at the map ef our two eoutinents ann dependant isles, the City of Mexico is the centre of the whole system. In the letter of the 3.d of March, 1845, of the late James K. Polk, tendering me the office of Secretary of the Treasury, he enclosed me his proposed inaugural address, discussing the Oregon and Texas questions, in which letter he said: "If, sir, you concur with me in these opinions and views, I shall be pleased to have your assistance in my Administration as a member of my Cabinet, and now tender to you the office of Secretary of the Treasury. I shall be pleased to receive your answer at your earliest convenience." In toy reply of that date to Mr. Polk, accepting this tender, I said: "The reannexation of Texas, in the mode pro- posed in my letter of 8th January, 1844, may be regarded as nearly consummated. The kindred measure referred to in that letter — namely, our just and rightful claim to the ii'hole of Orcijmi — will, I trust, be successfully asserted by you. This wo#d leave no European Power upon o*r r««ffio coaat except Russia, whose well-known friendship to us would, it is hoped, induce her thea to cede to us her North American territory.*' This correspondence nee