The Monroe Doctrine.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXIII, Issue 7366, 14 November 1898, Page 4

The Monroe Doctrine.

To many lit. will come as a revelation that the famous declaration by President Monroe which has' been adopted as a doctrine by the United States, originated with the British Government and was adopted by the Great Republic on the suggestion of a British Minister. The fact is, however, established by historical records, which have been recalled by a contemporary. In 1823, after the South American colonies had shaken themselves free of the Spanish yoke, Russia, Prussia, Austria and more actively France, entered into a secret agreement to suppress the newly-won independence of the young Republics and bring them again under European domination. Great Britain was aware of the unholy movement, and determined to frustrate it. Mr Canning, the Prime Minister, wrote to President Monroe, through Mr Richard Rush, the American Minister in London, _ bringing the designs of the "Holy Alliance" to his notice. He suggested that the' American Government should take "decided grounds" against the proposed combination, and that the United States should cooperate with England in upholding South American independence. Monroe thought the matter was of such far-reaching importance, that he forwarded Mr Canning's letter to his two presidential predecessors, Jefferson and Madison, for their advice. Monroe himself was decidedly favorable to an alliance with Great Britain, and his view was strongly supported by the ex- 1 Presidents. Jefferson, in his reply to Monroe, wrote : Great Britain is the nation which can do ns most harm of anyone, or all on earth, and, with her on our side, we need not fear the whole world : with her, then, we should sedulously nourish a cordial friendship, and nothing would tend more to knit our affections than to be fighting once more side by side in the same cause. Madison, though he had no very great love for Great Britain, wrote in the same strain. He said : With the British power and navy combined with our own, we have nothing to fear from the rest of the world, and in the great struggle between liberty and despotism we owe it to ourselves to sustain the former (Great Britain) in this hemisphere at least. Backed by such opinions, President Monroe embodied in his reply to Mr Canning that historic and emphatic dictum so familiar to us.