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part05+-第33部分

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fruitful theme for the exhortations of all American clergymen to



their flocks; whether Catholic; Jewish; or Protestant。 May we not



hope; also; that Mr。 Pulitzer's new College of Journalism will



give careful attention to this subject?







As to public questions then demanding attention; the first which



I now recall was a bit of international comedy; serving as a



prelude to more important matters; and worth mentioning here only



as showing a misconception very absurd; yet not without dangers。







One morning; as I had just sat down to my office work; there was



ushered in; with due ceremony; a young gentleman of light color;



Parisian to the tips of his fingers;in accent; manner; and



garb;who was announced as the charge d'affaires of Haiti。 He



was evidently under deep concern; and was soon in the midst of a



somewhat impassioned statement of his business。







It appeared that his government; like so many which had preceded



it; after a joyous career of proclamations; revolutions;



throat…cutting; confiscation; paper money; and loans; public and



private; had at last met a check; and that in this instance the



check had come in the shape of a German frigate which had dropped



into the harbor of Port…au…Prince; run out its guns; and demanded



redress of injuries and payment of debts to Germany and German



subjects; and the charge; after dwelling upon the enormity of



such a demand; pointed out the duty of the United States to



oblige Germany to desist;in short; to assert the Monroe



Doctrine as he understood it。







The young diplomatist's statement interested me much; it brought



back vividly to my mind the days when; as a commissioner from the



United States; I landed at Port…au…Prince; observed the wreck and



ruin caused by a recent revolution; experienced the beauties of a



paper…money system carried out so logically that a market…basket



full of currency was needed to buy a market…basket full of



vegetables; visited the tombs of the presidents from which the



bodies of their occupants had been torn and scattered; saw the



ring to which President Salnave had recently been tied when the



supporters of his successor had murdered him; and mused over the



ruins of the presidential mansion; which had been torn in pieces



by bombs from a patriotic vessel。 My heart naturally warmed



toward the representative of so much glory; and it seemed sad to



quench his oratorical fire and fervor with a cold statement of



fact。 But my duty was plain: I assured him that neither the



President whose name the famous 〃Doctrine〃 bears; nor the



Secretary of State who devised it; nor the American people behind



them; had any idea of protecting our sister republics in such



conduct as that of which the Germans complained; and I concluded



by fervently exhorting him to advise his government and people



simply topay their debts。







It gave me pleasure to learn; somewhat later; that this very



prosaic solution of the difficulty had been adopted。







I make haste to add that nothing which may be said here or



elsewhere in these recollections regarding sundry equatorial



governments has any reference to our sister republics of South



America really worthy of the name。 No countries were in my time



more admirably represented at Berlin than the Argentine Republic;



Chile; and Brazil。 The first…named sent as its minister the most



eminent living authority on international law; the second; a



gentleman deeply respected for character and ability; whose



household was one of the most beautiful and attractive I have



ever known; and the third; a statesman and scholar worthy of the



best traditions of his country。







As to more complicated international matters with which my



embassy had to deal; the first to assume a virulent form was that



of the Samoan Islands。







During the previous twenty…five years the United States; Germany;



and Great Britain had seemed to develop equal claims in Samoa。



There had been clashes from time to time; in which good sense had



generally prevailed; but in one case a cyclone which destroyed



the German and American vessels of war in the main port of the



islands seemed providential in preventing a worse form of



trouble。







But now the chronic difficulties became acute。 In the consuls of



the three powers what Bismarck used to call the furor consularis



was developed to the highest degree。 Yet this was not the worst。



Under the Berlin agreement; made some years before; there was a



German president of the municipality of Apia with ill…defined



powers; and an American chief justice with powers in some



respects enormous; and each of these naturally magnified his



office at the expense of the other。 To complete the elements of



discord; there were two great native parties; each supporting its



candidate for kingship; and behind these; little spoken of; but



really at the bottom of the main trouble; were



missionaries;English Wesleyans on one side; and French Roman



Catholics on the other;each desiring to save the souls of the



natives; no matter at what sacrifice of their bodies。







This tea…pot soon began to boil violently。 The old king having



died; the question arose as to the succession。 The power of



appointing the successor having been in the most clear and



definite terms bestowed by the treaty upon the chief justice; he



named for the position Malietoa Tanu; a young chieftain who had



been induced to call himself a Protestant; but on the other side



was Mataafa; an old chief who years before had made much trouble;



had been especially obnoxious to the Germans; and had been



banished; but had been recently allowed to return on his taking



oath that he would abstain from all political action; and would



be true to his allegiance to the Malietoan kings。 He had been



induced to call himself a Catholic。







But hardly had he returned when; having apparently been absolved



from his oath; he became the leader of a political party and



insisted on his right to the kingship。







The result was a petty civil war which cost many lives。 Nor was



this all。 A drunken Swiss having one day amused himself by



breaking the windows of the American chief justice's court and no



effective punishment having been administered by the German



president of Apia; the Yankee chief justice took the matter into



his own hands; and this Little Pedlington business set in motion



sensation…mongers throughout the world。 They exerted themselves



to persuade the universe that war might; and indeed ought to;



result between the three great nations concerned。 On the arrival



of the American Admiral Kautz; he simply and naturally supported



the decree which the chief justice had made; in strict accordance



with the treaty of Berlin; and was finally obliged to fire upon



the insurgents。 Now came a newspaper carnival: screams of wrath



from the sensation press of Germany and yells of defiance from



the sensation press of the United States。







It was fortunate; indeed; that at this period the American



Secretary of State was Mr。 John Hay and the German minister of



foreign affairs Count von Bulow。 Both at Washington and Berlin



the light of plain common sense was gradually let into this



jungle of half truths and whole falsehoods; the appointment of an



excellent special commission; who supplanted all the officials in



the islands by new men; solved various preliminary problems; so



that finally a treaty was made between the three nations



concerned which swept away the old vicious system; partitioned



the islands between the United States and Germany; giving Great



Britain indemnity elsewhere; and settled all the questions



involved; as we may hope; forever。







Among my duties and pleasures during this period was attendance



upon important debates in the Imperial Parliament。 That body



presents many features suggestive of thought。 The arrangement



under which the Senate; representing the various states of the



empire; and the House; representing the people as a whole; sit



face to face in joint deliberation; strikes an American as



especially curious; but it seems to work well; and has one



advantage in bringing the most eminent servants of the various



states into direct personal relations with the rank and file from



the country at large。 The German Parliament has various good



points。 Some one has asserted that the United States Senate is as



much better than the British House of Lords as the British House



of Commons is better than the American House of Representatives。



There is much to be said for this contention; and there are some



points in which the German Parliament also struck me as an



improvement upon our Lower House: they do less than we in



committee; and more in the main assemblage; German members are



more attentive to the work in hand; and spread…eagleism and



speeches to the galleries which are tolerated at Washington are



not tolerated at Berlin。 On the other hand; the members at



Berlin; not being paid for their services; absent themselves in



such numbers that the lack of a sufficient deliberating body has



been found; at times; a serious evil。







As to men prominent in debate; allusion has already been made to



the chancellor; and various ministers of the crown might be



added; of whom I should give the foremost place to the minister



of the interior; Count Posadowski。 His discussio
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