The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-11-25

fore be pardoned Tor the exercise or lis habit In
regard to the well-worn discussion which has
grown out of the action of the Administration
upon the Cuban question But however con-
sderate of the weakness of our contemporary in
this respect, we are not disposed TO allow him
to finish with the republication of a stale I'M
truth, known to be such by himself and by all
who have watched the progress of the contro-
versy between us.
day or two ago, in the course OF an article
upon the Union'S discreditable conduct in this
matter, we charged that journal with inten-
tional dishonesty in having again and again
declared that we have stigmatised the Cuban
prisoners as pirates. We maintained that from
the commencement we had recognised the dis
tinction "between robbers by land and robbers
by sea, and therefore have never written
line to prove these men pirates" The Union
processes to accept this as ''a direct and dellbe
rate issue of veracity on question of fact"
and then proceeds "to the proof in the case"
This "proof" is neither more nor less than
a small batch of extracts from our columns, pa
raded with a great show of fairness, and with a
highly amusing assumption of conclusiveness.
But a glance at these quotations will satisfy
any candid man that they are in strict conformi-
ty with our declaration, and are, therefore, in
direct opposition to the construction attributed
to them by the Union. The blunder is in this
instance so palpable that we are constrained to
believe that our contemporary has for a season
lost the ordinary power of analysis, or as
sumes that his readers will receive his dictum,
although at variance with the evidence of their
senses.
The first proof is citation from our ar
ticle of the 18th of September, in which--after
copying a section from the treaty with Spain,
providing that the acceptance of letters of
marque or other commissions by subjects of
Spain or the United States, from third bel
ligerent power, should subject the person so Of
Tending to punishment asplrates-we remarked:
"It not deemed necessary to include specif-
cally in the above prohibition the carrying on Of
an armed expedition from our own shores against
the territories of Spain, the acceptance of COM
mission from man known only to her laws
rebel and traitor. Those cases provided for
by the first article of the treaty. But when the
preme law of country denounces pirates
who in times of accept commissions, or
what would be its language in regard to men who
in time of peace accept commissions from Span
ish outlaw, and commence hostities under no
flag except that of rebellion and treason against
a sovereign to whom they were bound to observe a
sincere friendship and inviolablc pcacc?
The Union seizes upon this as irrefragable
evidence that we have endeavored to convict
the followers Of LOPEZ of piracy. Does not
the Union see that the interrogatory bears a
very different construction, and that the term
pirates as used is essentially comparative
The passage does not apply that term to the
Cuban invaders, but rather indicates the enor-
nifty of their guilt by the application of a we'll
recognised standard. The arithmetical rule of
three is available in such a case: If persons
taking out letters of marque are, under the four
teenth article Of the Spanish treaty, pirates"
what precise shade of guilt attaches to 'men
who in time OF peace accept commissions from
Spanish outlaw 2"
The Union goes on TO quote passages from
this journal of the 30th Of September, and re-
marks:
'In the frat OF these extracts the Rsp,ibEe writes
description Of the acts Of these men, in the second
extract it declares that the universal law of the
world regards and treats robbers and pirates
the men who do those acts, adding that the legal
proposition is elementary Having written this
on the 3Oth Of September, the Republic now comes
forward TO deny that it ever called these men pi-
rates, or wrote line to prove them TO be pirates;
and upon this denial question Of fact its rera-
city stands impaled.
son the Sth of the month the Republic quoted
the same passage-as follows-taking care to de-
scribe it beforehand containing 'the whole doc
trinc in the view we 1.-THE RepubIicl contend for.
We cite the Republics quotation, retaining its own
italics:
1.-THE whole doctrine in the view we contend
for, is very clearly and succintly summed up in
the article WAR in the Encyclopedia americana,
from the pen, we presume, of Mr. Justice Story
who furnished many Of the papers in this depart
ment of that valuable work individuals have no
right to commit acts Of hostility except in selfde
fence tcitho,itG commission from the proper aufhor
ties and liable 10 be treated pirates and robbers
II they undertake hoSIiiin~ their oton responsi-
bHity.'
"Wbat value, then, can we attach to any deca-
ration of the Republic as a matter Of fact when we
find il now declaring that il never represented Lo
peas associates to be pirates and never wrote line
to fix that character upon them?"
If the Union had looked with more candid
eyes into the article from which this last para
graph is taken, it would have found these
words, which are necessary to a correct inter