2. Resolved, That it is the interest and right of the United States to have the possession, direction, control, and government of any canal, railroad or other artificial communication to be constructed across the isthmus connecting the American Continents, for the transfer of vessels and cargoes from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, whether the same be built or constructed at Panama, Nicaragua, or elsewhere; and, in view of the magnitude of this interest, it is the duty of the United States to insist that, if built, and by whomsoever the same may be commenced, prosecuted, or completed, and whatever the nationality of its corporators or the source of their capital, the interest of the United States and their right to possess and control the same will be asserted and maintained, whenever in their opinion it becomes necessary.
3. And be it further resolved, That the President be requested to take the steps necessary and proper for the abrogation of any existing treaties whose terms are in conflict with this declaration of principles.There is, of course, no mistaking the significance of the position here taken. Whoever constructs the canal, and wherever the money comes from, this nation is to take possession of it and to maintain it. The newspapers have prepared us for this by declaring that the canal must be ours even at the cost of war, and though it be necessary to raise armies and navies to fight the whole world. Even so grave a journal as "The Nation" declares, and reaffirms in a subsequent issue, Wherever and whenever it [the canal] is constructed it will become the most sensitive and vital part of our interstate and international commercial system, and we must be prepared to protect it from the evil of local revolutions and foreign aggression, to seize it when necessary, and successfully defend it against the two greatest naval powers in the world. The completion of such a canal involves, therefore, the creation and maintenance of a naval force in the Atlantic and Pacific capable of contending with that of any possible European combination." And here comes the "New York Tribune," formerly the champion of peace, industry, and the ascendancy of civil rule, but now viewing the Interoceanic Canal as first of all a question of war. International law, the honor of governments, and mere paper protectorates are disparaged, and our policy is proclaimed to be "the erection of American forts, manned by American soldiers, at the two mouths of the canal."
The pretext for all this is the "Monroe doctrine," reaffirmed in the first of the above resolutions. Let us see what this doctrine is, and how it has been perverted to base ends for which it was never designed.
When the career of Napoleon ended, and the legitimate kings of Europe were again restored to their thrones, there came a reaction in favor of "strong governments," that is, government by despotic coercion in opposition to free constitutional governments. This resulted in a propagandism of tyrannic rule. A Holy Alliance was formed, embracing Russia, Austria, Spain, Prussia, and France, which, under pietistic pretenses, aimed at the repression of free institutions. The spirit of revolt against Old-World despotism had spread widely in Central and South America; and Venezuela, New Granada, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, and Brazil had declared themselves free and independent. It was in the programme of the Holy Alliance to regain control over the revolted American colonies, and reestablish the European system.
In this enterprise England did not join, nor did she at all approve of it. Mr. George Canning, the English Prime Minister, called the attention of the United States to the Continental plots, and asked if this Government intended to allow the subjugation of the
