The St Thomas Treaty A Series Of Letters To The Boston Daily Advertiser

Author : Sidney Andrews
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781331659419
Total Pages : 30 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (594 download)

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Download or read book The St. Thomas Treaty written by Sidney Andrews and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-18 with total page 30 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The St. Thomas Treaty: A Series of Letters to the Boston Daily Advertiser What shall be done with the St. Thomas treaty? is one of the most embarrassing questions now before the Senate. Shall it be let alone, rejected, or ratified? Look at the matter as you will, and there are grave difficulties in the way of an adjustment. The negotiation for the purchase of these Danish islands began a good deal earlier than the public suppose. It goes back to January, 1865 - four years ago this month. On the 7th of that month, if I am correct in the date, Mr. Secretary Seward and General Raasloff, the Danish Minister here, met at a Washington dinner party. In the course of the evening, Mr. Seward took General Raasloff aside, and then and there unfolded the idea - saying, I believe, that we wanted the islands for a naval station, and adding that their geographical position made them properly a part of this country. The Danish Minister, as I hear - and the matter has been a good deal talked about in the closer official circles for some weeks - the Danish Minister was surprised at the proposition, and said that he believed his government would be opposed to selling the islands. Mr. Seward wished it should be brought to the attention of the King of Denmark, remarking that the United States would treat upon the question in a liberal and chivalrous spirit. The Danish authorities, in due course, responded that the islands were not for sale, and that it was not considered advisable to negotiate on the question. This response reached here early in April, when Mr. Seward was confined to his bed - it will be recalled that he was thrown from his carriage and very seriously hurt. The answer was submitted to Mr. Fred. Seward, acting Secretary of State. He replied that he knew nothing about the matter, and could take no step in relation to it whatever. This was in Mr. Lincoln's time. I have reason to believe that Mr. Seward had conferred with him, and that the proposal to buy was made with his consent and approval. General Raasloff was not favorable to the sale. At that time he was merely the King's Minister here, honored alike in private circles and as an official, but not, as he is now, one of the King's confidential advisers. He reported Mr. Seward's illness, and the doubt that was felt as to his recovery - asking, as I understand, for instructions as to his course in the event of the Secretary's death and the appointment of a new man to the State Department. He was advised to let the matter drop, and say nothing more about it till it was again brought forward by the United States. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.