Mr. Seward on 20th October made a speech to his
friends and neighbours at Auburn upon the Monroe doctrine. His language was very guarded, but he believed that with respect to the pecu- niary claims of the country against foreign nations the President would " yield, and recover indemnities justly due without any com- promise of the national dignity and honour." As to Mexico, he "expected to see republican institutions, wherever they have been heretofore established throughout the American continent, speedily vindicated, renewed, and reinvigorated." In other words, the American Government hopes for a frank negotiation with Great Britain, and expects that the Mexican Empire, the French troops being withdrawn, will perish of itself. Not much evidence of a desire for aggression in all that, or in the fact that General Grant proposes to reduce the permanent army to 75,000 men.
Previous page
