Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. III.djvu/265

 CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR 219 of isthmus transit, in accordance with the spirit and purpose of the so-called &quot;Monroe doctrine.&quot; As the best and most practicable means of securing a canal, and at the same time protecting the para mount interests of the United States, a treaty was made with the republic of Nicaragua, December 1, 1884, which authorized the United States to con struct a canal, railway, and telegraph line across Nicaraguan territory by way of San Juan river and Lake Nicaragua. This treaty was rejected by the senate, but a motion was made to reconsider the vote. Before final action had been taken it was withdrawn, March 12, 1885, by President Cleve land, who withheld it from re-submission to the senate, and in his message of December 8, 1885, expressed his unwillingness to assert for the United States any claim of paramount privilege of owner ship or control of any canal across the isthmus. Satisfaction was obtained from Spain of the old claim on account of the &quot;Masonic,&quot; an American vessel, which had been seized at Manila unjustly, and under circumstances of peculiar severity. From the same government was also secured a recognition of the conclusiveness of the judgments of the U. S. courts naturalizing citizens of Spanish nativity. From the British government a full recognition of the rights and immunities of naturalized Amer ican citizens of Irish origin was obtained, and all