North Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1850-1852, 1851-10-04
gin. Amer1can Consul at Havana.

"a1aoJ s.o, consI,r;no his course, confess W
dea with reoret. not only that they Keep MN
office. but apoloeize for him through tne colun,'
of the Republic because such course - az onu
an insult to the mourners among US WHOM Fl ~
oh brtcborv has bereayed, and an outrage on I'LL
public humanity H., t. o,,oo ia too in
.olI;a.on+ to seek to excuse his total derehcuon Q
dutv bv pleading the proclamation IN ms :D.l.o
and 80 infers that there must be SOME -
bonsion" in the whole matter. "eli' 1nen' WI" iI.
is Owen kept in Office for! Does tlie 4Sep 49,
to,'I 80 have heard, from any quarter, the Con
ssr,rS own account included, that he performed ONE
80 of his nlain official duty in the premises! Adj
y,.t;no what is not true, that the Americans were
MI that the proclamation announced them to pc
robbers. plunderers, outlaws, pirates-stII does
the ReDu6Lic deny that under the express suPula,
tons of the treaty with Spain especially INSISTED
on to meet cases of gravest offence, these Americans
were fuIly entitled not only to fair and deliberate
rial under the forms of Spanish law, but were also
entitled in preparation for such trial, to have full
and free conference with any consul, notaries, or
aaants official or unofficial, whose services they
MIGHT REQUIRE Does the Republic deny, that "''-
der this treaty, it both the clear right and So
lemn duty of the American consul to have den'o''-
ed in peremptory terms, not only free access 10 the
prisoners but all reasonable delay to prepare both
for their General defence and for accurate dscrlml-
nation ofthe guilt of individual cases among them
And what now is Consul Owens mean and
wretched excuse given in his own letter. for dong
nothing of all of this-for standing still, with fol-
ded arms and marble heart, while the gun-shots,
that slaughtered his unarmed countrymen by whole.
sale rang in his ears What is his excuse !!
Why, forsooth, he had no time for interference !!
No time 1t was his business under the treaty to
see that the Cuban authorities gaze him time 1t
WIS his business to tell those authorities that he
should tuke time, and thai if they touched one hair
of the head of any American citizen without giving
that citizen not only time but every other privilege
guaranteed to him as an alleged offender by the
very words of the treaty. they did the deed at their
peril. And more than this-if, in these days of
prolonged and thrice-repeted presidential pleasure
trips and junkettings we may say so much of any
whig official without " outraging public decency"-
we would respectfully intimate that on that bloody
morning it was Consul Owens duty not to lie a6ed
till near ten o'clock IN the day. when the savage
shooting match was Just ready to come off!
Can any man doubt what is the real explanation
of all this shameful nertness of the American Con
sui 1t is in the proclamation proclamation !.
The proclamation forbade him to interfere, by pro-
nouncing interference unwarranted. The procla-
nation forbade him to interfere, by thus, in the
plainest implication, denouncing the men of the
expedition as without the pale of the law and the
treaty, which is the supreme law of the case. The
proclamation forbade him to interfere, by empow-
ering the Cuban authorities to say in the teeth OF
the treaty. as they did say, that the President of
the United States had outlaaOed these prisoners,
and left them to be dealt with just Concha might
chose. W. charge, again and again, it was the
fatal proclamation which unlawfully and prema-
turey arrogatng to the President functions plainly
judicial and unlawfully assuming to override and
abrogate the plain words of a solemn treaty, not
only deprived these men of legal trial. but struck
the American consul with numb palsy, and turned
an American official on foreign shore into stone
statute, having eyes that not and that hear
not and hands that help not, the miseries of his
captive countrymen! Even to this day it appears
he will not go near them in their dungeon!
But, softly whispers the special organ Consul
Owen" "neisapprehended'- proclamation. Did
he so p? Then censure him if you dare. For he
put the same construction the proclamation that
Owen did, and that Concha did, and that we do
and that every body else does, that we know Of
except the Republic and perhaps of the cabi-
net. Commander Platt tells you in his official
despatch of September LIST, from Havana, that
when he visited the prisoners in their jail, they
were told distinctly that they were in the power of
the Spanish government, and that nothing could be
done for them americans, iroasnuch as the Pre-
sident's proclamation had declared that any per-
sons joining i1eUading force aDouM thereby for
tcit the protection Of the government ofthe United
States"
There you have it all. Nothing could be done
for them as Americans Nothing could be done
for them under the treaty And why " THE
President had declared" that they had forfeited
evey right to every sort Of protection or interfer-
ence! That was Commander Platt's construction
OF your proclamation and that was his action under
it. Censure accuse him for his course, and he
can plead before his peers your proclamation and
they will sustain and you cannot gainsay, his con-
struction of it. Nay, we believe and charge
he can plead your own more recent instructions
either to himself to his brother officers of the Sara
mac or to both, fully confirming his view of the
proclamation by subsequent official Interpretation
OF your own In any event, his position is entire
~ unlike Owens, because as an officer of the navy
he was to obey the orders of the President and had
cot the discretionary power which belonged ne
cessarlly to the consul as civil functionary
But Owen had not the nerve to exercise his dis
cretionary power and so in the spirit of patriotism
justice and humanity take his stand upon the trea-
ty, and trample under his feet the proclamation
which unlawfuy, unsurpingly, and to the bloodiest
issues, assumed to set the treaty at naught. He |
has thus gone down-hopelessly down-before
the patriotic Judgment of the American people
but he goes down with the proclamation in his
hand, and ne drags the author of the proclamation
down with him! Washingtou IJn;on
The Washington Telegraph is very severe on
Mr. Secretary Stuart who made SDeecb in Ros+o,