Show what the hie telegram plit bould what i a world of trouble annoyance anil and expense might inight hive have been saved to the t of the united states in in connection with th the san juan island affair had the telegraphic ivores wires been stretched entirely across the continent as they should have been longsam long sin 0 11 reflect e upon the facts fora for a moment 7 suppose the telegraph in in working order from fort vancouver er on tho the columbia to W AVa ashington hington city gen harney was apprised of events at san juan island vanch ihl c h to dier seamed to demand instant and emphatic action but the soldier could not well know what the diplo matises were doing at a point five thousand miles away by the most rapid means of communication hi he cou could id po not t understand all the little in international ter arrangements P devised by the statesmen to prevent dint john bull and brother jonathan from trea diba upon each others corns pending a little paper light bight about at out the title to P bit of land in in the northwest alvith ith the magnetic mig netia telegraph at hand however how ev cr he might have hav a advised I 1 the secretary of war at it washington of the fact that mr cutler culler having shot a trespassing tres passing boar nv as in ill danger of being torn by the british lion lio nand and could have asked orders as to his course an ali hour or two or a day at most would hav have e brought brou glit him back an answer dictated h bythe the of the american cabinets Cabine Ci binet tj after consideration of f all the die facts and all the little arrangements and understandings dewi der ridings had between the two governments qan 1 or P 1 such an r misunderstanding mi sunder standing could riot pot bacur nor could a V collision li be precipitated I 1 which the merest trifle anna in in itself might in i nevertheless great treat nations in war war but see ee how ahe case stands we lve have no 1101 the telegraph gen I 1 harney ar compelled to act upon hison his own authority arid and without instructions placed himself and his bis government in in an attitude of hostility to the british authorities who naho carne came very near precipitating a deadly conflict with the mot most mischievous results however the difficulty may eventual eventually lybe be settled it has excited ill feeling which would have been much better beter avoided if possible and it may I 1 be t that at the united states will w ill be c compelled om in m honor to by disavow the acton act of its officer and mike make a humiliating apology to iier her bratanic Brita Brit anic mc Ma majenty jety for gen harney 5 valant defence of mr cutler the pork butcher butch e r of san juan besides all this it at least two of great uneasiness on sides saved by means of the telegraph to say nothing of the fati fatigue which the gen eral in chief of American the army must undergo in his voyage of 1 miles in coming to and return returns from fon the pacific chast it is is safe to say that excel for the forbearance forbe aranca of the british naval authorities in the north a collision gen harney would have been unavoidable the firing of a single gun would have jost cost the the united states much modi more inore than the erection of the best possible line of magnetic telegraph from ran casco to the mississippi river will not congress acquire a lesson from ex experience anda andia tits approaching sessio session resolve jhc thc liberal eco economy nonty of providing for the connection of the two oceans by telegraph without fu further r delay weekly meeky san francisco bulletin |