The Retention of the Philippine Islands
Author | : Henry Cabot Lodge |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 58 |
Release | : 2015-07-14 |
ISBN-10 | : 1331401593 |
ISBN-13 | : 9781331401599 |
Rating | : 4/5 (599 Downloads) |
Download or read book The Retention of the Philippine Islands written by Henry Cabot Lodge and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-14 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Retention of the Philippine Islands: Speech of Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge, of Massachusetts, in the Senate of the United States, March 7, 1900 The Secretary read the bill (S. 2355) in relation to the suppression of insurrection and to the government of the Philippine Islands, ceded by Spain to the United States by the treaty concluded at Paris on the 10th day of December, 1898, reported from the Committee on the Philippines, as follows: Be it enacted, etc., That when all insurrection against the sovereignty and authority of the United States in the Philippine Islands, acquired from Spain by the treaty concluded at Paris on the 10th day of December, 1898, shall Have been completely suppressed by the military and naval forces of the United States, all military, civil, and judicial powers necessary to govern the said islands shall, until otherwise provided by Congress, be vested in such person and persons, and shall be exercised in such manner as the President of the United States shall direct for maintaining and protecting the inhabitants of said islands in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and religion. Mr. LODGE. This bill, Mr. President, is simple but all sufficient. It makes no declarations and offers no promises as to a future we can not yet predict. It meets the need of the present and stops there. The President, under the military power, which still controls and must for some time control the islands, could do all that this bill provides. But it is well that he should have the direct authorization of Congress and be enabled to meet any emergency that may arise with the sanction of the law-making power, until that power shall decree otherwise. Above all it is important that Congress should assert its authority; that we should not leave the Executive acting with the unlimited authority of the war power to go on alone after the conclusion of peace, but that he should proceed under the authority of Congress in whatever he does until Congress shall otherwise and more specifically provide. By this bill we follow the well-settled American precedents of Jefferson and Monroe, which were used still later in the case of Hawaii. To leave the war power unrestrained after the end of war, as was done in the case of California and New Mexico, is to abdicate our own authority. This bill is the assertion of Congressional authority and of the legislative power of the Government. To undertake any further or more far-reaching legislation at this time would be, in my judgment, a great mistake. But I believe it to be of great importance to define our position, so that it may be perfectly understood by the inhabitants of the Philippines, as well as by our own people. Negotiations, concessions, promises, and hesitations are to the Asiatic mind merely proofs of weakness, and tend only to encourage useless outbreaks, crimes, and disorders. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.