The foreign proposals are vague, though aggressive in tone. "
No American people shall ever be held in unwilling subjec- tion to European authority." If that is meant as a threat to us in regard to Canada, we need feel no concern, as we shall certainly never attempt to keep the people of Canada within the Empire against their will. Whether the French will feel the same in regard to Guiana and their West Indian islands we do not know. The clause relating to the Nicaragua Canal and the attack upon "the ill-concealed Republican alliance with England" are in reality purely conventional pieces of "tail-twisting," and need not excite opinion here. As we have said elsewhere, as far as our national interests are con- cerned, it matters not in the least whether the Democrats or Republicans win. Englishmen, therefore, had better trouble themselves as little as possible about the Election. They must avoid taking or letting it be thought that they are taking sides in the matter. It is immaterial to us which of his daughters does the housekeeping in Cousin Jonathan's house.
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