The New York Herald Newspaper, September 7, 1874, Page 4

4 GERMANY AND AMERICA Will the Kaiser Have a West Indian Foothold? Pipa oe cere THE CORRESPONDENCE WITH COSTA RICA Diametrical Opposition of Foreign Policies. THE EFFORT TO SECURE DOMINICA. Tt Is Defeated by American Diplomacy | Under President Grant. THE PROPOSED CESSION OF PORTO RICO. aerereeeeee! Doctrine and Grant Doctrine. Monroe ter of the North German Coutederacy. I hardly need expatiate upon the an 4 Costa Rica would derive from 4 treaty su the one in view, for you, Mr, Minister, are better able than myself preciate'them fully. For the present | shail, there fore, romain satisfied with requesting your best interest in obtaining irom the supreme government the terms required, and improve this opportunity to subscribe my- | self, Mr. Minister, your humble servant J. PREDR. LAUMAN, Consal. Hon. Don Jutiam Vouio, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sun Jose. SENOR les TO MR LAHMAN. bi Translation. Nartoxat Parace, Sum Jos, May 6.1868 ven due consideration to Your esteemed are D Kinderling, commanding His Prussian war Augusta, in the Buy of Limon, an the At epubhe, in order to ascertain whether said Dort lunites ail those conditions which inay appear desirable | to His Majesty's goverument for establishing there the | depot for thetr West India naval station. You, a tho | same time, request that this government should consent to enter Into no ari ther with any foreign Government or private company, with respect to the ‘of Litwon for six months dated trom June 1, n time suMiclent for a commission of the cy, invested with full powers, come here and negotiate for a concession in said port. 1 am instructed by the President of the Re- | public to answer that although Costa Rica would | Most assurediy derive great material advantages trom biishment of a naval station in any of her ports, | ly on her north coast, still her traditional reeing with those principles acknowledged by | nd, above all, with the peculiar circum: | situation, forbids her to make any special jons to any government whatever, however great her sympathy for the same, and however secured er political independence and autonomy may be. NEW YORK HERALD, MON DAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1874.-TRIPLE SHEET. jed to make of It as a depot and station for the navy | session, the inviolable secrecy pledged in the pro- tocol prevented the President from alluding to the subject in his frst annual message to Congress. Moreover, Genera! Babcock had been charged to keep the character of all his movements and acts a8 secret as possible. Nor did the President fully unveil his motives in the annual message of 15703 but in bis message of April 5, 1871, tne President Bayt Soon after my inauy tion as President I was waited upou by an agent of President B int {o annex the Republic of Se Dominge to ther United States. ihts gentleman represented the capa of the island, the desire of the people umd. thelr ¢ Habits, about as they have been. described by ti Missioners, wi report accom, Hated, further, that, being weak in Numbers snd hoor 1 purse, they were not capable of developi Fesources; that the people had no incentive to iudustry on account of iack of protection tor their accumula- tions, and that, if not accepted by the United sta’ with institutions which they loved above those of any other nation—they would be compel tion elsewhere. To these statements I made no reply aud gave ne indication of what I thought of the propo- sition. In the course of time I was waited upon by a second gentleman from St. Domingo. who made the sa.ne representation and was received in like m In view of the tacts whieh had been laid betore me, a with on earnest desire to maintain the Monroe doctrine, I belis we duty it the” exact jovernmept and itants of Republic of St. Domingo in regard to annexation, and communicate the information to the people of the United States. Under the attending cir- cumstances, I felt that if I turned a deat ear to this appeal | imignt in the future be justly charged with a flagrant neglect of the public interests and the utter dis- regard of the welfare ot @ downtrodden race, praying for the blessings of @ free and strong government and to seek protec- In our present condition any deviation trom the in- flexible rule we have bound ourselves to tollow—viz.. to | grant equally to all nations that honor us with their | Iriendslip, without distinetion or privilege of any kind, | such advantages as they justly demand both for their commerce and countrymen, would create complications we must avoid, even at the expense of delaying that Progress we so anxiously covet. Such being the case, there ix no danger of this govern. ment granting any exclusive privilege to any other gov- ernment, neither during the six months you demand | nor within a longer period, whatever the advantages | tendered in return. But as ‘the spirit of private enter- prise in Prussia might need for its development either the use of the bay of Limon, or of part of the public | lands, or of some navigable river in this country, noth- | ing prevents that during the, term of six months asked | uy Captain Kinderling, should some private company be WASHINGTON, Sept. 3, 1874, In view of the policy inaugurated by the North | German Confederation as early as 1868 of requir | tng a foothold on the American Continent, for the establishment of a depot and naval station, the recent statement concerning the alleged proposed | annexation of Porto Rico to the German Empire | and the establishment of a German colony on | Spanisn-Americam soli does not appear so absurd as Secretary Fish would have the world believe. It has already become a serious question whether | the North German Empire intends to follow the plan laid out of enlarging her possessions, so platoly made known prior to the Franco-Prussian | war, That such Was the intention the archives of | our State Department plainly show; for, in spite | of the Monroe doctrine, on two occasions, both | before and since the administration of President Grant, our State papers reveal that it was the aim of Germany to get a foothold in the West Indies. The Monroe doctrine was quite as well under- stood by Germany before the inauguration of Gen- eral Grant as it has been since that event; and notwithstanding the plain declaration in nis firs: Message to Congress, December 6, 1869, that the col- oniai possessions of Spain could not be regarded ag subject to transier from one European Power to another, or the other declaration made in the message of December, 1870, that the acquisition of St. Domingo was an adherence to the Monroe doctrine, and ought to be agreed to by the Senate, to prevent the people of St. Domingo from looking for foreign support, Germany did not cease her efforts, and seemingly ignored the existence of the Monroe doctrine. According to our diplo- matic correspondence and a message of President Grant Germany has been anxious to secure the | Bay of Limon, in Costa Rica, and the Bay of Sam- ana, St. Domingo, for the benefit of her people and her navy. Of the truth of the first statement the Jollowing diplomatic correspondence will show :— 1No. 9) Lecation or tax Usirep States, San Jose, Costa Rica, May 8 168, Srm—I have the honor to tran: t herewith copies and | translations of the correspondence rejative to the visit of the Prussian siea) ri War Augusta to the bay of Limon and its object. The documents consist of the letter of Captain Kinderling to the Prussian Consul re- siding here, with translation; the letter of the Consul to the Costa Hica government, with translation; the reply of Secretary Volio, with transiation, and my letter to the Secretary soliciting copies, with translation, of his reply. ‘The documents fully explain themselves. T submit this correspondence without remark, merely the solinitation so observing that the refusal to accede to flatterinzly presented may be accounted tor by the pointed allusion to the Monroe doctrine, the prineipies | of Which are declared to be “acknowledged by ali Amer tea,” which is sufficiently significant: Fhave the honor to remain, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant. A. MORRELL, Hon, Wiitiaa H. Sxwanp, Secretary of State, Washing- Ps, D.C. the other Central American States of this afair by this mail, and by the next will send them copies of the cor- ne Respecituily, AM. CAPTAIN KINDERLING TO MR, LAHMAN. (Translation. SAN Jose, April 20, 1863, Hononxp Str—I have the honor to make the tollowing communication :-— His Majesty's Admiralty, all of which contemplate the protection of Rorth German commerce of His Majesty the King of russia’s ing the port oi Limon, on the coast of the Republic of Costa Rica. in order to ascertain it it possesses ali those requisites iis Majesty's government may deem desirable to establish there a depot tor their West india naval «tas tion. Ihts has been the motive of my visit to Limon, whieh port I have surveyed minutely, reconnoitring also its environs; nor did I hesitate to ‘go up to the in- | terior and across the whole coun:ry, so as to obtain all Recessary information, since & port ts useless without the possibility of communicating with the interior. The resu.t of investigation is, on the whol favorable to the object in view. Jt is true the bi | of Limon at present is nothing more than a roadstead, | partially sheltered by @ point of land, a c islaud; however, | dition is, with @ comparatively small outlay, it can and a ogether, such | turned into a good por:—tar better, for instance, than Colon (Aspinwall), the present intermedium ‘of the | whove transit between the two oceans. Neither is there, for the lume being, a road between Limon aud the in: terior. A dense forest. lo smail | rivers stili arvide the At: tivated country. Sull as I crossed this region 1 be- an easy matwr to open a road nds to the coast, inasmuch ag st difficulty—crossing the mountains—ts al- ready overcome. All the part of the road already made | 1s graded on nearly an equal level, winding gradually | Jown the sioves of the hills; almost the only part want- part which crosses the forest, where. tue ouly labor will be. to clear away she wood by telliug and | Durning thet | ‘Taking all viese circumstances into consideration I cannot but recommend to His Majesty's government the bay of Linon as @ proper place for erecting @ depot. ut an immediate consequence of my. instructions | and mistion, and a duty to be necessarily derived trom them, is that of securing it possible, to His, Majesty's government, the means of subsequent negotiation; for ) Otherwise, ihy reports, however \avorable, would iilusive and useless. My motive for expressing this | is ‘hat am pertectly aware at. this” very ment, an effort is being to secure to other parties the ot the port ot Limon, under one pretence or another. Therefore, Iclaim your good offices as the repre- | sentative of Prussia, in order to present to this supreme | governinent a request that they will agree to consider themselves, as bound, with regard to the port of Limon, | for a term of six months, from the Ist of June next, m this sense that they will not consent to make any con- tract with any foreign governtuent or private company before the expiration oi the term specified, viz., Decem- | ber 1, next. | T teed not dweil on the advantages Costa Rica must derive from a more intimate connection with Prussia, these being pertectly understood by the supreme gov ernment. I'shailaiso strictly abstain from taking any political view of the question; for a formal treaty can | bniy be azreed to with some diplomatic representative | ot the North Gerinan Coulederacy invested with tull powers ior this purpos it is hurdiy probatle any formal ob'e against my request, since J present it through Mr. Consul; and, as I have stated before, sidered as agreeing with my instrucuons necessary consequence of the same. | LT would respectiuily beg you to communicate this note | to Don Julian Volio, Minister of Porcugn Aflairs, and re- main, Mr. Consul, your most obedient servant KINDERLING. Captain Commanding His Majesty's sloop-of-war Augusia, FREDK. Laiaax, beq., His Majesty the King of Prussia’s Consul. MR. LAHMAN TO SENOR VOLIO. H is Jaton. | K Ps lomsuLaTs OF His Masesty tux KinG or Prossta, ° Bax Jost, Costa Rica, May 1 1505." { Hoxonrp Sim—His Majesty the King of Prussia’s m sloop of war Augusta cast anchor in the of ‘Limon on. the lth of April las. Her Captain. ‘Kinderling, B. N., has re- instructions irom ‘the German Confederacy, tion will be ster Bay commander, ceived various or the othe! in sea might be turned to account as a de he North German Navy, it being ts of the world, t the sea of the Antiles. government having Kindly invited Captain Kinderting, he is now tn ths capital, as you are He port of Limion very and, taking imto of ber inhabitants, the circumstance of @ road having been planned and even begun leading from the interior to said bay. and, finally, the prosperous future such ud Vantages must secure to the country, he considers him- self justified in recommending to his government the Port above mentioned. and slso the expediency of Nego- ating with the supreme government of Costa ica for & grant insaid port , japtain Kin erling considers all the surveys and all the trouble he lias taken would be thrown away If he did ot succeed in obtaining from the supreme government of Costa Rica the assurance that they will not bind them: es to any other government, company or private arty for the use of said port, with the object above spe , Until his report reaches Berlin, when his govern- i ment will weigH and consider the reasons he adduces, | and will, in all probability, be prompted by them | pen negotiations with Costa'Rica for a grant of said port for the purpose Of estaolishing there a uaval depot wad jon. on ye the honor to inclose the original communica- directed to me by Captain Kinderiing, who commis- me to ask your kind mediation in obtaining irom rome government of Costa Rica a term of ix pout from the yt war £0, Ingare sufficient receiving and despatciuing and reoviving « re- his to his government about Port Limon bi yy Fit being understood that dur: tel Rica eet pa | dressed the following letter to the Costa Rican | S.—I deem it proper to advise our representatives in | | Domingo, a tree port will be negotia M | the existing relat mentioned the government of Costa. Ri Titaelf ot to enter into any engaxement re ‘2 far as concerns the nae it Js in. forme! with the object of improving the port, or building | a road to the interior, or some other work Useful to this | Republic, with the assurance that if the conditions set forth are'accepted ail lawtul privileges required shall be | granted, and, in the meantime, this government will consider iiself bound to negotiate with no other com- pany during said term of six months, ‘Teusting thut my answer will prove satistactory to you, have the houor to remain, sir, your obedient servant J. Prepn, Lagwan, Prussian Consul, San Jose. But what 1ollows of this correspondence is re- Markable. The reply of Sefior Volio is dated May | 6, andon the same day the American Minister, | who must have enjoyed unusual privileges in know- ing what was being diploinatically conducted, ad- | Secretary of State :— LEITER OF THE AMERICAN MINISTER, GATION oF THe UNiTRD STATES, ‘saw Jose, May 6, 1000," Srm—I would respectfully solicit copies of the corre- spondence between the Prussian Consul and this govern- ment in relation to the proposed establishment of a naval station by the North German Confederation in the Bay gf Limon, for the purpose of trausmitting the same to the | State Vepartinent of the United states. Please accept, | Mr, Secretary, the assurance of my high consideration. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, ‘ ‘A. MONELL, Acting Consul in Charge of Legation. The inquiry is naturally raised, How did our humble representative know what had been going on if some member of the government did not in- form him, or unless he had been consulted as to the Monroe doctrine? Your correspondent was | pendencies as subject to transfer trom one Euro- | pean Power to for protection in the enjoyment of the fruits of their own industry. Ivis pertinentat this point to ask what led the President, in addressing Congress for the first time, to declare that Spanis and other European Powers could no longer regard their American de- other, That passage tn the mes- Bae Was not without signuiticance to at least two European nations, and what led the President to speak of it 1s summed up in a word, and that word, “Germany ;”’ and though he mentions Spain | first, by reason of her larger colonial posesssions | in America, the sentiment was uttered to meet another proposition of a similar character to that of Porto Rico, When the subject becomes the topic of diplomatic controversy will be the proper | tume to explain the origin of the new doctrine of national rights. On the evidence, then, of Captain Kinderling’s | instructions and the diplomatic correspondence which followed, tt 18 established that after the Austrian-Prussian war Germany did seek to gain THE CESSION OF IMPORTANT TERRITORY on the American Continent for a depot and naval station, and by the messages of the President it is also established that the second effort, alter the Franco-Prussian war, Was more sagacious and bolder than the first, and that in both instances it was American diplomacy which prevented Ger- many irom carrying into effect her intention. in regard to St. Domingo the Commisstoners | reported that the most important commerce of the island—the tobacco trade—was carried on mainly by Germans and the new German Emptre, and that to such an extent had this tendency developed itself that the tobacco trade was rapidly becoming a German monopoly. The Commissioners found the number of German subjects in important business operations and agencies on the north side of the island to exceed those of any other foreign Power, and their infu- ence was extending steadily up into the great central districts. So, too, the examination of witnesses beiore the commission revealed the fact that while annexation with Spain, France or England was possible, yet in regard to the attempt of any European Power to form relations looking | to annexation of St. Domingo, !t was ascertained that the North German Confederation had taken | such steps in regard to the commerce of the island generally, and particularly in relation to informed oy a gentleman who knew whereof he spoke that Mr. Monell undoubtedly framed | the reply of Volio to the request of German consul, and this statement is | based upon unpublished ducuments at the State Department. On the sth of May, two | days after the request was made, Sefior Volio com- pliea with Consul Monell’s request, and he took occasion to say that he was free to make of the correspondence such use as be mignt deem proper. This for a time onlv interrupted THE EFFORT OF GERMANY to secure a suitable naval station in the West In- dies. The interierence of the Monroe doctrine Was noted in the report of Captain Kinderling to his government, as well asthe inauence of our Consul at San José with the Costu Rican authori- | ties, At that time St. Domingo was harassed | with interior troubles, and, having an indepen- | dence which she could not well sustain without | | Joreign aid, the attention of her peupie was turned to the United States. In December, 1868, Presi- dent Johnson, in his last message to Congress, called attention to the deplorable condition of a | fairs on the island of St, Domingo, and recom- Mended the annexation of the island, taking bot. | republics—Hayti and Dominica. When this be- | came known Germany at once instituted meas- | | ures to secure, if possible, the protection of at least Dominica, and had, in @ more quiet way | | than was pursued with Costa Rica, sent | out agents to ascertain what amount of responsi- | biltty would devoive upon Germany in the event | | | | | | | ofthe acceptance 01 a portion of the territory. Meanwhile it was repreeented to our government | that the proposition of the President of the Costa | Rican government, for the Germans to form a pri- vate company was being strenuously urged upon the German government; and our Consul iniormed | the State Department, that in the event the com- | any was formed, it need be no cause of aissatis- faction to the United States, 1or the clause in Mr. Volo’s letter “if the conditions set forth are ac- ceptable,” covered a wide ground; and such a company, unless its members should ‘become nat- | uralized citizens of Costa Rica, would be on no | | Other footing than ali other foreigners, | The few months remaining of President John- son’s administration made it impracticable to | | begin the task of winning this siack Republic. | | President Grant, however, had hardly become | familiar with his new habitation than there came | an envoy irom Baez with the pitiful story of | | Dominica’s condition, and the report that emis- | saries of the Nortn German Empire were using | | every influence at their command to get the most | | favorabie concessions trom the Dominican govern- | | Iacnt on behalf of their commerctal interests, and | | which really meant eventually the protection of the island aud the estaviishment of a naval sta- | tion at Samana, No soouer had the first visitor | departed tnan Fabens arrived and persuaded the President that, unless the United States tuok the | matter in hand promptly, the poverty and weak- | hess of the Dominican government would compel her to accept the protection and aid of Germany, whose citizens monopolized the principal trade of | the island. Of what followed the country is fami- | liar, Four months after Grant was inaugurated, in July, 1369, General Babeock left New York for St, Domingo as the special agent of the State De- partment, with full instructions, and among them the jollowing :— Inquiry should also be made as to whether any other foreign Power may be seeking to obtain pessession of any bart of that country. The result of which inquiry is apparent in the fourth section of the protocol agreed upon by Gen- eral Babcock and M. Gauuer, vhe Dominican Secretary of State, as follows In either case the United States will guarantee the safety of the country and of the government against every foreign aggression or machination, in order that the present Cabinet may earry into effect the obligation which it contracts, to obtain from the people the expres- sion of the national consent, which will necessarily have to be carried into effect within four months froin the acceptanee of the idea of annexation by Fresident | dran Thus for the second time American diplomacy checked the course of Germany westward, In his message to Congress in December, 1870, | after regretitng the rejection of the Treaty of An- | — at the previous session of Congress, he said:— I now firmly believe that the moment it is known that the United states have entirely abandoned the project | of accepting, as o part of its territory, the Island of St. ted ior by Suropean | nations in the Bay of Samana. | The: President recognized that the Dominicans | were not capable of maintaining themsetves, and thought the a of St. Domingo would not | only be an adherence to the Monroe doctrine, but a measure of national protection. Io that message, however, the President did not reveal the whole truth, but it was reserved lor the mes- sage which accompanied the report of the Com. | missfoners sent out in 1871 to examine and report | upon the conaition of the island, &c. In that mes- | sage, dated April 5, 1871, he says, by way of pretace, | that in entering upon the duties of President, — | while he did not dream of instituting any steps | for the acquisition of insular possessions, though he believed that our institutions were broad phn to extend over the entire Continent, yet | 1e Say I believed further that we should not permit any inde- | pendent government within the limits of North Ainerica ty puss trom & condition of Independence to one of owner- ship or protection under a Kuropean Power. Now it may be true that the President did en- | +h sentiments when he entered upon | the duties of the office. but it 18 equally true that | he did not mention them when he wrote his frst | message to Congress (ior reasons hereaiter given), | | lor on tue subject of the Monroe doctrine all he | Said applied directly to Spanish and other Euro- pean possessions, for I quote the only paragraph | OM the subject in that message :— The United States have no disposition to intertere with of Spain w her coloniai posses sions on this Continent. They believe that indue time Spain and other European powers will find their in- terest in terminating those relations and establishing their present dependencies as independent Powers— members of the iamily of uations. These dependeneies | are no longer regarded as subject to transfer trom one European Power to another. When the present rela- tion of colomies ceases they are to become independent Powers, exercising the right of choice and of selt-con- | trol in the determination of their future condition and relation with other Powers. This, by the way, is not regarded as Monroe doc- | tring, but Grant doctrine, by the diplomatic corps at Whshington. At the time that paragraph was written General Bavcock had made his report, the Treaty of Annexation had been drawn up and the age closed so far as it Was in the power of the State Department todo so. The President was in full possession of ali the facts relative to 1oreign intrigue, prominent among which was the one re- ferred to ip his Message accompanying the report of the St. DomingdO Commissioners and already quoted, tuat— Ye should not permit any independent government within the limits of North Atherica to pags trom a condi- tion of independence to one of ownership of protection under a Kuropean Power | excitement on the island, the port and town 0: Samana, as to cause much The same obligation which the United States assumed to protect the island from every foreign | aggression or machination compelled Baez todo | all im his power to check the advances of the Ger- man agents. So when our Commissioners were examining the special ageut of the Dominican government at Samana, they elicited the tact that though Mr. Pon was duly accredited as the German Consul and was a citizen of St. Domingo, yet he had not received his exequater, for the minican government had its own reasons for ae receiving him im the capacity of Prussian jousul. What Consul Labman was authorized todo at San José on behaif of the acquisition of the bay ‘and port of Limon, Consul Pon could not do in St. Domingo, because the latter government refused to recognize him, 1 say the second step ol Ger- Many was bolder than the first, because in the very teeth of the Monroe doctrine; for was not Germany attempting in a Covert way to take ad- vantage of the weakness of an independent gov- ernment on the American Continent? and had Germany succeeded in taking advantage of the Dominican’s condition betore the United States interposed, what the result would have been it is useless now to conjecture. The fact, neverthe- Jess, remains the same. After all this, does the statement of THE PROPOSED CESSION OF PORTO RICO temporarily or definitively to Germany 100k so ab- surd as Secretary Fish saysit does? Is not Ger- many stronger to day than four years ago, and if | @ West India naval station was desirable in 1868, is itnot more so to-day with an increased navy and an increasing commercial marine? Aud What was proposed according to the confidential information of the Freeman’s Journal: — s ‘The Spanish government agrees to cede to the govern- ment o! the German Empire by a provisional title, but one that may become perpetual, the island of Porto suco, in whole or in part What more did Germany ask of Costa Rica than @ part of her territory or of St. Domingo than @ pate fit? If spain 1s willing to give what the jonroe doctrine prevented, the quarrel then would be with both Spain and Germany, and as it isevident that the influence of American dip- Jomacy has twice interiered with Germany's aspi- rations what more reasonable than to suppose that the third eifort would be so guarded as to put it beyond the reacn of our diplomats. It will also be borne in mind that 1t was not Germany but Spain that wanted to know what position the | American government would take in the event of | the cession of Porto Kico temporarily or defini- | tively to the government of His Majesty the Em- | Tor. | | If nothing else would give credence to the story of the intended cession of Porto Rico, that alone entitles it to the gravest consideration; lor was it not the action of the allied Powers of Europe tn ; taking advantage of the interna: condition of Spain that ted to the promulgation of the Monroe doctrine, though that doctrine can in no way be Spplieable to the peacelul acquisition by Germany of Perto Rico? The declaration goes that the overtures of Germany to Spain were honorabie and acceptable. Though the European Powers have recognized the Movroe doctrine, and Ger- Many has in two Instances respected it, yet none of the Continental Powers have as yet given in their adherence to the Grant doctrine, expressed | in his first annual message about the transier of Spaaish colonial possessions to another European Power. Then what more proper for Spain to do | than to seek in an authoritative manner to know:— What position the American government would take in the event of the cession of an isle of Porto Kico, temporarily or detimtively, to the Government of | His Majesty the Emperor. I repeat, the European nations do not. construe the message of Presideut Monroe as lorbidding the twansier of their possessions in this hemisphere from one to another, and as President Grant has taken an advanced step it 18 the right of Spain w know what the United States would do if the President is to be susiained, Jt was this iniorma- tion Admiral Polo refused to ask. Spain and Ger- many both await the answer. The successor of Admiral Polo will present his credentials so soon as the President returns to Washington, and Sefior Mantilla, it 18 stated, will, in accordance With his instructions, ask if the United States pro- poses to dictate to inaependent European nations What must be done with their American colonial possessions. The inquiry, tt is understood, will not necessarily apply to Porto Rico any more than to Cuba, but that it is desirable that there should be an amicabie understanding upon the subject. Whether this indicates tnat Spain is willing to give Germany a part of the island of Porto Rico as @ naval station I cannot now say. In the event the State Department adopts und adheres to the doc- trine laid down in the message of 1869, which L have designated asthe “Grant doctrine,” it will be construed a8 a determination on the part of this government not to ailow Germany to have even a depot or naval station in American waters. And this doctrine extended applies to Great Bri ain, France, Denmark and Spain, and if the con- cession 18 made of auy portion of Porto Rico Ger- many, too, will be arrayed against it, Will this | “Grant doctrine,” which invoives the question of | dictatorship, be acqniesced in by the European nations? If the issue is made who can predict the end? It is then @ momentous question whether Germany fs resolved to have a foothold in | the sea of the Antilies, H THE RETURN OF THE YACHT NETTIE. The yacht Nettie, of the New’ York Yacht Club, Captain Horace T. Comstock, arrived Thursday | afternoon from a cruise of seventy-seven days, from Halifax around the coast of Nova Scotia, | through the Gut of Canso, Cape Breton, across | the Guif of St. Lawrence to Gaspé ana the mouth | of the River St. Lawrence. The Nettie has sailed in @ direct line over 1,000 miles, ana went fur- | ther north than any American yacht, except the | Palmer, of the New York YachtCiub, Rev. George H. Hepworth, the owner of the Nettie and pastor of the Church of the Disciples in this city, who | sailed the entire cruise in the yacht, also Mr. A. | C. Arnold, his assistant, and George E. W. Stivers, and E, 8. Butler, of New York, and A. A, Ramsey | and son, of Boston, formed the company. | They have visited ali the principal places on the seaboard of the New Engiand States, Nova Scotia and other places, The Nettic has ex- | vperienced some very rough weather, spilt her sails | and Jost one boat; but during these trying times: has behaved herself nobly, Her record lor sailing stands first rate, never in a sinyle case having | len in With @ vessel that outsailed her; and in | her run from Portland to Halitax, in forty hours, the regular Steamer Only beat her jour hours, while her trip from Canso to Halitax in one night is said to be the quickest time ou record. fr. | than by saying that it was simply glorious. ICELAND. Dr. Hayes in the Valley of the Geysers. A Hundred Boiling, Bubbling, Bottomless Springs. THE TERRIBLE HRAFNA GJA. The Dreary Desolation of the Lava Lands. THINGVALLA LAKE. A Glimpse of the Great Volcano, Recla. AT THE GeyseEns, Iceland, August 5, 1874 Here I am at last in the very midst of this great nest of bubbling fountains of boiling water, which I first saw pictured in my school days’ geography book, and which have been tome a@ wonder ever since, and are, now that 1 have seen them, more a wonder than ever, A hurdred jets of steam are rising in the air all round me like so many columns of smoke from as many piles of buraing brush- wood, A hundred holes of various sizes are in the earth, and looking down into them through the rising bubbling, boiling spring that seems to be bottomless. From many of from time to time pours over the brim and runs away in boiling rivulets, above which clouds of steam are ever rising; steam hisses out through fissures in the rock, througn the soft turf, through seething pools of mud, and over a marsh a quar- ter ofa mile distant a veil of mist is seen rising ana floating away, to be melted in the tender sunshine. For the day ts lovely past all description, and, weary from our two days’ journey of not less than ninety miles over the worst of roads, on horse- back, to which few of us have been of late accus- tomed, we enjoy our repose on the grassy slope overlooking the vailey of the hot fountains, and steam one sees a great | them water | write, and sketch, and wonder, and admire. The | air 1s clear, as it rarely is in Iceland. THE VALLEY OF THE GEYSERS. The outlines of the mountains are sharply de: fined against the clear, pearly sky, and even the snow peaks can be discerned in all their varied forms through eighty miles of distance, away to the southeast great Hecla looms above a range of purplé bills, the position of its immense crater distinctly marked in a depression of the cap of snow. I am looking directly across the steaming plain of the Geysers that stretches away beyond through miles and miles of soft green, and through which meander silvery branches of the Hyita, or White River. wonderful for pen or pencil. The sunlight glow on Hecla surpasses anything I have ever seen. Occasionally a delicate cur- rent of warm air touches it, and, chilled AS I look | ‘The scene is too grand and | by the cold ice and snow, a light vapor for a few | | we see, and that quite near the gja. The plains | moments floats away {from its highest point, cre- ating the impression that a stream of smoke is issuing from it, But this happens rarely, and the great mountain seems to float in the sky asa light- | some cioud, glorious and luminous and vast. Be- hind me 1s the ievel, white sammitof the Ling J6kull; nearer rises the great sharp, snow-streaked Bidfell, whose marvellously rich hue reveals at, once the meaning of its name; while between this and Hecla, with the same dark foreground which frames and intensifies the glow of the famed yol- canic mountain, rise peak on peak of the great Ar- | narfello, which is the very central crest aud heart of Iceland, It is a picture for a painter to linger over; it 18 @ picture for a poet to dream of all his iife, and one which I cannot better describe further A poet (Bayard Taylor) sits now by me on whe green, and I find myself wondering if his fancy and intense sympathy with nature are not, even while I write, rearing up some wondertiul poetic fabric worthy of the marvellous forces that have been and still are at work in the earth beneath and around ns, and worthy, too, of his comprehensive intellect and subtle qualities of thoaght. MOUNT HECLA. Hecla in itself, that isin form, is not at all pic- turesque. There was nothing in it to interest the fancy but the giow of sunlight on its cap of snow. It is simply a long ridge standing broadside to the northwest and southeast, and is only remarkable in outline when seen from the northeast or south- west, when the sharp ridge comes out like a peak against the sky. I learn that the ascent of itis not dimecult, and it has been already reached this year by Dr. Leit- ner, whom I have had the pleasure of meeting on board the Albion and again at the King’s dinner, at Reikiavik, From the Geysers to its tootis a good two days! journey. the little hamiet of Nwfriolt, a good way up the side ofa spur that it sends out to the west, from whence, alter reireshing one’s self with a night's sleep, the crater may be reached without difficulty or danger in five hours. This year the summit is more than ordinarily covered with snow. ‘The season has been unusually backward and enilly, nud there are very {few dark patches to be seen near the crest. Usually, as I am told, the crest is almost clear of snow be- fore August, and therefore Hecla nas failed to be dignified by the name of Jékull, which means snow mountuin, or at least a mountain always white, It is a simple Fell, or rocky waste, REGIONS OF PERPETUAL SNOW. First in importance of these Jdkulls is the Vatna, which occupies an immense space of several thousand square miies in the southeast part of the island, which has never been expiored, Iwas tola in Reikiavik that an English party of four enthusiastic Alpine climbers have gone tnere this season, supplied with every appliance, in the shape of Alpine guides, ropes, ladders, spiked stafs and spiked. boots, to do what has been hitherto regarded as impossible; but whether or not they have succeeded tn breaking their necks remains to be reported. I sincerely hope they may come out safe and sound, for the region is one of great interest both in an artistic and scientific point of view, and may they live to tell of it. One thing Imust not forget to mention before quitting the description of this scene from the Geysers. It is the surprising richness of color- ing in the landscape, Surprising, because I nad read quite the contrary, and my iriend Mr, Bryce, who crossed over Iceland last year, had told me that everything to the artistic eye was unattractive and monotonous, This is douptiess in general quite true, for fog or rain is the prevailing condition of an Iceland summer. | before us the valley of Laugardalr, and would bave had but for the fact that a party Of some sort had got there before him and engaged it, And they really seemed pleased with the idea that they could keep a king from the only dry Place in all Thingyalla, But somehow or other he got in a8 any other mortal might and got a nap, and, no doubt much disgusted, ordered every- body up at an unusually early hour and marched off for the Geysers with bis enormous cavatcade. We were far enough ahead of him to be out of his way. Even when we halted at the miidle of the march for lunch and to give the ponies a chance to graze he did not overtake us. A few scattering horses only were sevn as we mounted to ride away. THE VALLEY PRIMRVAL. The day was a most enjoyable one. Although the night had been cnilly and damp, the day was sunny and warm, and the scenery was iifinitely finer than on the previous day. First, we made our way along the banks of the Oxara River for a mile, and then, leaving this, started off directly to cross the Thingvalla plain, It was avery dreasy ride, About a mile from the Uxara we came upon @ little farm, but otherwise there were no signs of life, except as we now and then heard the mourn. ful call of the wimble or the plaintive cry of the plover, and sometimes caught sight of them. The party, however, was in so great a hurry— especially the guides—to get ahead and keep the spare horses from mixing with the King’s, that, without risk of being leit bebind altogether, we had very little chance for sport, Yet Mr. G. managed to bag a brace or so of birds whileI held his pony, and then we galloped on after the party, and did not try our luck again until we had come near our noonday halting place, wien we discovered numerous flocks of plover and secured enough fora hearty meal all round, But to go back to THE CHASMS IN THE LAVA BEDS. We crossed the Thingvalla plain by a most ctr- cuttous route in about two honrs, and, mounting an aclivity at an angle of about forty-five degrees, crossed the Hrafna Gja at the only place where it 18 passable to man or beast. And it is scarcely less wild and wonderful than ita sister, the more famous Almana Gja on the other side, The great yawning riftis in places almost as it was when the crack in the lava first occurred, but in other places the lofty walls have broken down and the piles of detached fragments, sometimes almost bridging the riit, tell of the influences of time in | its steady work of decay ana change. A MOUNTAIN GIRDLED LAKE, Once over the rift and at the summit o: the plain which stretches away tor many, miles I | paused a little while to view the scene, It was in. deed a wonderlul picture. To the left, mirror- ing as if it were a silver tabie the clear blue sky, lay the beautiful, mountain girdled Thing- valla Lake; above it, clothed in shadow towered the dark Vellankalla; before me stretched the Thingval'a plain, which we had crossed, clothed here and there with verdure, with what are here called forests—mere clumps of dwarf birches peeping up occasionally; beyond rose the majestic Almana Gja, over which, as a silver thread, could ve plainly seen tne Oxara wateriail, while away beyond to the right rose the dark-crested Armannsiell and the snow-capped Skjaldbreith and the purpie Histhufell. It is one of the pic- tures I have seen to-day not easily forgotten. THE LAVA PLAIN. ‘The lava plain, which we crossed after leaving the Hratua Gja, is even more desolate and dreary | { than that which we crossed on approacaing the Almana Gja, One Jarm house only did | presented a most singular scene, The lava had in many places wasted away with time, leaving only rough hummocks here and there, which in multi- | tude though not in picturesqueness, may be best | compared to stumps in a vast clearing, embracing many thousands of acres. For miles and miles we wound around among these lava hummocks with- out seeing a single trace of vegetation except some tufts Of grass and patches of stonecrop and green moss, Then we wound about the base of @ great mountain and came down into A LITTLE GREEN VALLEY. The outline of the mountain, as seen from this valley, Is exceedingly picturesque and grand. 1 fell behind the party long enough to make a hasty sketch of it, and long enougn also to inspect aremargable cave atits base, From this valley we crossed a series of low ridges, and these opencd where we halted tor lunch and to bait the ponies, I, I. HAYES. ESsiX MARKsT COURT, Robbed When Asleep. Before Judge Bixby. John Kennedy, a lad of sixteen, residing at No. 197 Hester street, was intrusted by his mother With the sum of $53 wherewith to purchase cloth- ing tor himseif and a younger brother. Kennedy, | who had probably imbibed some beverage of a soporinc character, fell asieep in a hallway on Saturday night, and, while slumbering, was robbed of his money. He inlormed the police and suspi- cion fell upun another boy named Thomas Hicks who w: rdingly ar ed by Oflcer Stack, o! tue 5 precinct. The principal witness is v | one Frank Park, wiio received $16 trom Hicks ag One may go on horses to | On this day, however, the | air was remarkably transparent, and there was | no color in the landscape wanting to delight the | artist’s eye. The most delicate violets, the love- Hest purple, the richest gray were all from time to time conspicuous, and there has been throughout the day a glow on mountain, bili and dale that is truly charming. THE KING'S STAY AT THINGVALLA. But how did I get here? the reader may well ask, since Ihave broken off my narrative by this de- scription of the day. The narration leit our party eating breakfast at Thingvalia. We had resolved not to allow the King to go before us, But right well he may have been pleased to go anywhere, for they tell me he had a miserable night of it at Thingvalla, and I fancy he was much like everybody. Itis ali very well for one accusiomed to it to ride a horse forty miles a day, but none of us had done so for a long while, and I doubt whether the King ever had, although he has the reputation of being a crack horseman. He could not sleep at all in his cheer. less vent, and went wandering about nearly all night, as 1 did, and finally brought up onthe foor ofthe church, which he onght to have had the ‘Though all these important facts were in his pos ph and all have enjoyed the trip very much, od now return to work far thadall aud winter, privilege of doing by courtesy in the beginning, “hush money.” Park was sent to the House of Detention and Hicks was committed for trial in default of $1,000 bail. Alleged Assassin Arrested. Yesterday OMcer Cooney, of the Seventeenth precinct, arrested John Reddy, charged with stabbing Michael Mooney. Judge Bixby committed him to await the result of the victim’s injuries, Caught in the Act. . | Aman named John Petzel was brought before | Judge Bixby yesterday charged with burglary on -the premises 0! Joseph P, Pettit, 0: No. 49 avenue Cc. He was arrested while endeavoring tocarry | off four brass cocks, 100 pounds of solder and a coat, © worth in ali $34. He was heid in $1,000 bau for ial. FIFTY-SEVENTH STREET POLICE COURT. One Phase of Misdemeanor. Before Judge Smith, Charles Kopf, lately the keeper of a lager beer saloon at No. 189 Bowery, was yesterday held in $2,000 bail to answer a charge of misdemeanor, It 18 alleged that Kopf obtained trom Martin Schwaner, brewer, of West Fifty-seventh street, lager beer oi the value o1 $4,000, to secure the payment of which he gave complainant a mort- gage on the furniture and fixtures or the estab. lishment. He then, tt 18 alleged, surreptitiously conveyed the mortgaged property from the prem- ises named and endeavored to dispose of it. A Mystery Gradually Clearing Up. OMicer Ferris, of the Twenty-first precinct, yes- terday brought to court a man giving the name of Bryant Lawrence to answer a charge of complic- ity in the robbery and attempted murder of Mr. William L. Hervert, of Louisville, Ky. It will be remembered that Mr, Herbert a few mornings ago was picked up in Twenty-ninth street, by the police o1 the ‘Twenty-first precinct, in an almost insensible condition from wounas 00 the head, and through the stupidity of a sergeant was ar- raigned at this court on a charge of intoxication, Here his true condition was discovered and the | wounded man was sent to Beilevue Hospital, where he still remains. Two women were @ day or two aiterward arrested jor the crime, but tae contession of Lawrence to the officer that he and another man were guilty oO! the assault resuited in their release, Lawrence was committed to await the recovery of Mr, Hervert, who is now rapidly convalescing. OOURT CALENDARS—THIS DAY. MARINE CourT—Triat TeRM—Part 1—Held by | Judge Gross—Court opens at ten A. M.—Nos. 5409, | 5620, 5621, 6624, 65 9, 5581, 5538, 5630, 6540, 6541, 5547, 1, 6554, 5567. Part 2—Held by Judge Spaulding—Court opens at ten A. M.—Nos. 1505, 5450, 5458, S464, 5465, 5467, 6409, 6472, 5473, 5474, | 5482, 6485, 5400, 5497, 5498, Part 3—Held by Judge McAdam —Court opens at ten A, M.—The calendar | jor to-day ind to-morrow in this part is com- | posed exciusively of cases marked over t ber from 08. 6238 209, 5u0t, BHT1, 3433, j 5800, 6420, 6421, 6 6280, 5281, 6837, 6835, 6720, 6714, 5780, 5608, 5749, S621, 5613, 5721, 5690, 5848, 5310, 4306, 6708, 5423, 58° 26, | 5432, 5400, 5401, 6399, 5388, 5369, 6397, 6361, 5365, 4913, 5662, MASONIO INAUGURATION, Palestine Commandery, No. 18, Knights Tem- Plars, Ellwood E. Thorne, Grand Master of the State of New York, Commander, will inaugurate the asylum which was completed Saturday night in the new Masonic Temple, Twenty-third street and Sixth avenue, to-night. The room has been elegantly fitted up, and among the useful adorn- ments 1s a rich toned organ. After the ceremonies the Commandery will be entertained at a banquet by Mr. i. H. Brockway in the magnificent banquet- ing hall of the Temple. y of the distinguished Masons of the State are expected to be present, | and for the first time from their oirths their | days, | Spoke of, which had but a day, | Without homes and masters, and, SLAUGHTER OF THE CURS, Review of the Season’s Work at the Dog Pound. Five Thousand Vagabond Canines Put to Death and Five Hundred Re- deemed by Their Masters. “THE WORK GOES BRAVELY ON." It will be interesting just now to take @ survey of the subject of dogs and to estimate the chances of being bitten hereafter in this city, Through the summer everybody had a fevertsh dread of hydrophobia, whic lessens in proportion to the ap- proach of the winter, ‘The sentiment of fear is 80 small now that the myriad dogs of Constantinople might frolic in our streets without exciting any remark, except {rom the professional dog catchers, who would fall on the joyous curs, foredoomed by Alderman Morrts, like the wolf on ine lamb. The jell ordinance against the curs has now been in operation for three months, and during that time the choking of vagabond canines nas gone on piti- lessly. The streets present evidence that the or- dinance nas been effective, and through some of them enticing dog catchers pass sadly, without bagging @ canine. These are the impecunious dog catchers, The wealthier members of thoir craft, however, scour the city in wagons, and aver, with profane emphasis, that for every dog de- stroyed ten of his kind appear immediately. The dog catcher, however, 1s unapt with logic; and, when he makes this remark with 8 view to be con- unued tn his Occupation, he fails to see that, if bis assertion were true, it would be better for the city to stop choking the canines present rather than invoke @ flood of their brethren. Betver testimony as to the EFFECT OF THE ORDINANCE is offered by the appearance of the dogs which are now brought to the pound. When the crusade opened the old pound in Thirty-seventn street was filled with dogs of most scoundrelly aspect. “Blood will tell” and did tell against them, Not an ounce of pure blood ran in their veins, Seurf-crusted, made hatriess by mange, maimed by the stones cast by their ill-avored captors, and, scarred in face and iortune, when they came to be tled in the pound every one who saw them could say with tue punning Launce, “It 18 DO matter ff the ty’d were lost; for it is the un- kindest ty’d that ever any man ty’d.”” What Gold- smith wrote of ‘Poor Ned Purdon” might have been said appropriately of each :— He led such a damnable life in this world Idon’t think he'll want to come back, Now, however, the caste of the dogs brought to the poundmaster is high, It will not do to inquire tod closely how it comes to be so, “Flesh is weak,” that of dog catchers especially 80; the fences of front courts are not high, and so many a pet of the famuly has for the first time been “clapper-clawed by the palms of the vulgar” as he was basking in the sun and carried by the nape of the neck toward the wagon of his captor. Never before now were the owners Of good dogs calied more earnestly to say sadly, “on! 'TIs A FOUL THING when a dog cannot keep bimselfin all com- panies!’ It 18 certain tnt if he cannot keep hi seli in the good company of a regulated house- boid and out of the streets the collariess young men who patrol the throughfares will keep bis com- pany until he answers Shylock’s sarcastic inquiry, by procuring toem money from Captain Marriott, though he hath none himself. As dias been sald, there are now many very fine dogs brought to tne pound, a number of which are redeemed by their owners, or by persons who see them in durauce. Owners very often go to the pound and are unable to tind their dogs, and it is a Jact that usually the mulssing animals are valuable, Dog catchers bave a quick eye for the points of their victims, and it is Itkely that the animals which do not reach the pound may be 1ound in the shops of the fauciers, who clear the thoroughfares of dogs are not casuists; theyare simpiy ia business, and in this world tt 1s muca better to sell a tung for $5 than for fiity cents. Business at the pound has continued briskly since the instituuiou was opened on the lith ol June. When it was opened, and for several weeks thereafter, canines doomed to death were bougnt irom every persen who cuose to bring them. The tact was @ happy one for the roaming youngsters and their elders of irregular ways. ‘The vagabond curs were hunted from their homes in the big pipes and lumber piles along the river fronts, were DROPPED ON CASUALLY in the avenues and carried squirming to be stifled in Captain Marriott's gas tank, At first none of the dogs received at the pound were ever redeemed. They were the dregs of canine pomeiye in sides were fliled. But, alas for them! the filing was vile carbonic acid gas, and they did not ac- cept it kindly. They beat @ tattoo of protest against it upon the waiis of the tank which aroused Mr. Bergh, who at once caused Captain Marriott's arrest lur crueity and closed the pound for several But Bergh was’ beaten, and Captain Mar- riott continued .o administer gas to his temporary boarders until within jour or five weeks, during which he has smothered them in the river. For this way of riduing himself! of the canines Captain Marriott has had made at the back of the pound, woich is now im the Seventeenth street Market, a railway on which ruus a barred car. Into this be puts his and Alderman Morris’ vice tims, and rolls it solemnly, to the dirge-like music of a trombone played by an assistant, to the edge Oi the dock, where a derrick lits the car and then lets it down Into the river. The process is speedy, Ce 18 said to be the easiest way for the dog to ie. THE DROWNINGS TAKE PLACE every second morning; tor at the pound every dog hus two days, unlike the cur which Hamlet At every sacrifice there are about oue hundred and twenty animals done away with, Very often during last month more than that number were drowned, and altogether through that period 2,000 canines went to some ovker world, prob- ably situated {n the Dog Star. Altogether about 5,400 dogs have been received at the pound. Ol tas Dumber more than 500 have been redeemed by their owners or bought by visitors to the insti- tution, The price paid for each animal thus taken from the pound was $3, and the aggregate sum thus accruing to the city 18 DOW about $1,600. The principle upon which this system of redemp- tion is pursued, is that itis better to keep a good animal alive if he can be properly cared for; and tue idea is urged by the Jact that the mouey got for them, go far, pays the current expenses of the pound, except the saiaries of its regular em- pioy és. ‘The sale of one good dog will secure the pur- clase movey lor six curs, and it will be seen from this that the pouud can be made a permanent in- | Stitution ata trifling cost. The need to get rid of | ALL UNCARED-FOR DOGS | 1s seen in the lignt of the statement that there are yet about 50,000 in this city, many Of whom are being more likely to go mad than other domesticated animals, are also More dangerous in madness, lor thay are not controiied by any such sentiment Ot affection as authorities on the subject say act upon the latter, eveu when bged have the rabies, The authorities conflict upon this jatter point, and Goldsmith, who kuew “Animated Nature” taoroughbly, says:— ‘The dog and man at first were friends, But when # pique began, ‘The dog, to gain some private ends, Went mad, and bit the man, It doesn’t matter, however, whether a a Would bite his master or would not, the Vagabond dog 1s the more likely to get mad, and man is better without his company. He 1s not useiul as a scavenger bere as in other countries, and cer- tainly is not ornamental. Therefore, since the better classes of dogs can be made to pay jor the destruction of their vuigar breturen, the city can atford to keep the pound open uatil all the curs Both mongrel, pappy, whelp and hou! ‘And cur of low degree as are eliminated from the world. ‘The present avatar of catching the dogs 1s about a8 good as can be bad until the plan Captain Mar- riott 1s now orking. upon is matured. Under this new system h dog im the city must have aa owner and be numbered and carry its number upon its collar, Kacn will be trained to go to the pound from any part of the city, and when tt fs un~ abie to find its home, to go w Captain Marriott, who will escort it over the proper route. This Method demands @ gvod deal of intelligence fru! the canines, but Captain Marriott is sanguine ‘at Its ultimate success. THE IBISH RACE IN MASSACHUSETTS, According to the Boston Pilot there are in Mas sachusetts 914 O'Sullivans or Sullivans, 34 of whom retain the 0; 620 Murphys, 452 O’Briens, 432 Mc« Donalds apd McDonnells, 304 McLaughiins, 239 O'Neilis, 240 Fitzgeralds, 100 Hogans, 104 Cough lins, 370 Welcues, 225 Fiynns, with smaller compa« nies of Magonagles, McCinnises, 0’Connells, O'Con= hers, O’Keefes, O’Donnells, Sheebans, Fiahertys, Foleys and Connollys. The frequency with which the “Oo” occurs in Irish surnames 1s probably the Tesult Of sincere astonishment on the part Of na tives ol the Green Isig that they possess any name at all, the murtherin’ Saxons having taken from them ali that the dovendenco, Y posses: luberties and ta ‘The “b’hoys” .