The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-12 00:00:00

" To TILE CORTES.

"In the old Spanish island, the first land of the Western
World which the great Christopher Columbus considered
worthy of an important establishment, in that great An-
tilles where, many years after its separation from the me-
tropolis, not a drop of Spanish blood was shed, now flows
that generous blood, and the rigours of a pestiferous
climate aiding the enemy, make terrible ravages in the
ranks of our valiant soldiers.

" This sanguinary struggle, which is also attended by
the disadvantage of uselessly and profitlessly expending
the public treasure, and consuming the abundant products
of our colonial possessions, was not provoked by the
attempts of anterior Cabinets to carry out an ambitious war
of conquest—so opposed to the rational, just, pacific, and
disinterested policy so long observed by Spain—neither
did it originate from the necessity of repelling foreign
aggressions, of opposing force to at any cost, consi-
dering only the defence of insulted honour—such was not
the case : this cruel struggle commenced the day following
that on which her Majesty's Government of that day be-
_

lieved that all the inhabitants of the Dominican Republic
asked and solicited with impatient desire to be reincorpo-
rated with the Spanish nation, their ancient mother, arirl
to form one of its province* aspiring to the happiness
enjoyed by those of Cuba and Puerto Rico.
" Such a desire might not be certain, but it was very
probable. The Government, actuated by these senti-
ments, had faith in that which appeared to inspire the
Dominicans, and, therefore, accepted their votes and coun-
selled her Majesty to effect the annexation which this State
professed so ardently to desire.
"On this account the Ministers in a solemn document

described this event as auspicious, highly honourable for
Spain, and one not often encountered in the annals of peo-
ples. For this also, after referring to.the lamentable history
of Santo Domingo since the proclamation of its indepen-
dence in 1821, following the example of other provinces of
the American continent, after drawing the sad picture of
such prolonged misfortune, of a state of things in which
the sources of public and private wealth were exhausted,
independence completely lost for want of strength to main-
tain it, liberty no less lost through the insecurity felt by the
citizens, and the continual agitation of the Republic ; the
Ministers invoked every sentiment of justice, humanity,
and honour in counselling the annexation of this unhappy
island. They believed such a meagure all the more desi-
rable considering the circumstances and character of its
inhabitants, the fertility of its soil, and the strong attach-
ment which the people, after past excesses whereby they
had been terribly disabused, professed• towards their
ancient metropolis.
" The annexation was thus founded upon two most noble,
just, and weighty reasons. The first was the right inhe-
rent in the unanimous will of a people, a right not disputed
and previously affirmed by the general assent of the na-
tions of Europe and America in a recent case. The second
was the duty of humanity, of compassion towards the un-
fortunate people who sought favour and mercy, over-
whelmed, as they were, by a sea of disaster and misfortune.
No other right supported nor supports the Spanish Go-
vernment in holding the Spanish portion of the island of
Santo Domingo, neither the right of revindication nor the
right of conquest, both being opposed to the policy of the
Government, the interests of the people, and the friendly
relations which Spain has always endeavoured to maintain
with the independent States of Ameriea„which once formed
part of the immense territory protected by the tutelary
mantle of the Kings of Spain.
"But such flattering hopes soon disappeared; fatal
symptoms very soon manifested themselves that the an-
nexation had not that spontaneous and unanimous support
upon which it was based. Nevertheless, it was the duty
of the Government to ascertain with certainty whether
those violent protests, several times repressed, did not pro-
ceed only from a discontented few, but were the expression
of the feeling of a people who rejected the legitimate power
they had invoked in a time of trouble and distress. The
agitation increased, and gained towns and frontiers, extend-
ing over the whole of the territory, and at this day the
Spanish portion of the island of Santo Domingo presents to
the civilised world the spectacle of an entire people in arms,
ungratefully resisting as tyrants those whom they called in
preaorvarc. _
_ _

- -
"So strange a political phenomenon has been examined
by the Ministers undersigned with delicate attention and
deep study. They have thoroughly sifted the sad history
of the annexation of Santo Domingo, and have considered

the question from every point of view imaginable, commenc-
ing by those of justice and right, and last regarding those
of expediency. They have well taken into account the rea-
sons that might be alleged on the ground of the national
honour and respect, and have considered the event of
_the
most brilliant future possible, a triumph obtainedat the cost
of immense sacrifices ; they have weighed the arguments
for and against, that may be based upon considerations of
national and foreign policy, and finally have carefully made
the sad calculation of the numerous and precious lives that
Spain loses every day that this sterile contest is prolonged,
and of the great amount of treasure it consumes.
"As a result of this laborious examination, the Ministers
are impressed with the conviction that the question of
Santo Domingo has reached a point which will allow us to
make the following deductions :

" That it was a delusion to believe that the Dominican
people, as a whole, or in the great majority, desired, and
above all demanded their annexation to Spain. That the
struggle having become general, it does not now bear the
character of a measure taken to subject a few discontented
rebels, but a war of conquest completely foreign to the
spirit of Spanish policy. That, even by concentrating our
efforts and sacrifices in order to obtain a triumph, we
should place ourselves in the sad position of holding the
island entirely by a military occupation full of difficulties,
and not exempt from dangerous complications. That, even
under the most favourable hypothesis that a portion of the
population may show themselves devoted to us after vic-
tory, the governmental system that would have to be esta-
blished in those dominions must either be little suitable to
the usages and customs of the inhabitants or very dissi-
milar to that of the other colonial provinces.
" Upon all these and other considerations which the
superior intelligence of the Cortes will supply, the Ministers,
anxious to put an end to the useless sacrifices in men and
money which the war in Santo Domingo imposes upon the
nation, have the honour to propose, being duly authorised
by her Majesty, the following'project of law :
"Art. 1. The royal decree of the 19th May, 1861, declar-
ing the territory of the Dominican Republic reincorporated
with the monarchy, is repealed.
" Art. 2. The Government is authorised to take the ne-
cessary
Duke of VALENCIA, President of the Council.
the same
tfoorthtehecoexrteecsu.tion of this law, giving ac-
ceeoussantryofmthe
ANTONIO BENAVIDES, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
LORENZO ARRAZOLA, Grace and Justice.
BARZANALLANA, 11 Finance.
CORDOVA, It War.
ARMERO, Marine.
Luis GONZALEZ BRABO, „ Interior.
GALIANO, ,t Public Works.
SEuAs Lowo, 17 Colonies."

A RECOMMENDATION TO MERCY.—At the West
Kent Quarter Sessions, just held, before Mr. Ga-
thorn Hardy, chairman, Richard Hawkins, aged 49, a
watchmaker, was indicted for unlawfully selling, in a public
place, a certain obscene print called Peter Spy, published in
London, on the 19th of December, at Tunbridge-wells. Mr.
Russell appeared for the prosecution, and evidence of the
sale of the publication named having been given, Mr. Em-
bery, the superintendent of the local police at Tunbridge-
wells, stated that for a small pecuniary consideration the
prisoner had been accustomed to libel the character of indi-
viduals, and in this manner had caused much unhappiness
in Tunbridge-wells. In one instance a man and wife had
been separated through his agency. At another place in
the neighbourhood a man had been set at valiance with his
wife by the prisoner, whose course of action was to charge
persons with some immoral act. By leaving out only one
or two letters of the name, and stating " that they lived
not 100 miles from such and such a place" (naming the
locality where the person resided), he pointed so closely
to them that it was impossible to mistake who was meant.
The jury found the prisoner guilty, but, to the surprise of
nearly everybody in the court, recommended him to mercy
on the ground " that they (the jury) saw so much in public
life characterised in these prints." The chairman, in sen-
tencing the prisoner, said the engravings of the paper were
not merely satires on the dress or manners of the people,
but were filthy in conception and design, executed for the
purpose of producing debauchery and immorality among
those who read them. If he could suppose, as he fancied
the jury did, from their recommendation, that they were
mere satires upon the dress and the crinolines of the pre-
sent age, it would not be an offence he should have thought
of placing before the jury ; but this was an offence of the
worst character. The paper was also full of passages in-
tended to wound the honour and insult the feelings of pri-
vate families. With all respect to the jury, therefore, and
desiring always to carry out their wishes as far as he could
he could not pass a less sentence than six months' hard
labour, and the prisoner must then be bound over in the
. sum of 201. not to repeat the offence.