The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-09-16

We publish to-day the letter Of Lieut. VAN
vEcHrES. who is one of the party that belonged
10 the late Cuban expedition. 1t explains the
course and result of that movement
We think that the evidence is now sufficient
for Judgment on that enterprise.
1t is plain that il proceeded from the informa-
ten and belief that the white population of that
island were IN favor of revolution. The i'm
putation therefore, Of piracy ard robbery, which
has been so freely made against those WHO were
engaged in 1t, by the London Times, National
Iatellgsncer, and other papers of the same
school, falls to the ground. The expedition was
undoubtedly in violation of our laws, and that is
about all that can be said.
We look on any attempt to disturb an exist
ing government by force, as the assumption of
very great and grave responsibility. And
when it il attended with violation of our own
laws, the thing becomes criminal offence. AS
general and almost universal rule, the perma-
nent government of any country is the one TO
which it il best adapted; and it is also very
general rule, that it is wrong and impotic to
attempt the overthrow Of such government by
force. But as for the attempt to stgmatze such
amovement as pratical or predatory, it is absurd.
Robbers seek merely the property of others by
violence. Pirates are robbers who seek property
ban expedition evidently intended to revolution
ize the government of that island according TO
the wish of It's people, and intended their bene-
fit, although Mt the same time reward was ex-
pected for the service That this belief existed
in the minds Of the men who went with LOPEZ
to Cuba, IL evident from their number. For
they never would have made such an attempt
with less than FIVE hundred men, except from the
conviction that the mass Of the native white
population desired a evolution, and would Join
them. They may have been mistaken in this
expectation but that does not affect their belief
their intention, and the moral quality of the en-
terprize
But were they mistaken in supposing that the
Creoles desired revolution? We think not
Cuba is more heavily taxed than any other coun-
try under the sun, and the government is in all
respects pure despotism, and in addition to
that, the despotism of foreign people. The
nett taxes are paid into the Golfers of Spain,-a
country on the other side of the sea- and of the
globe,-and the Offices and honors of Cuba are
monopolized by people Of alien, Of Spanish birth
Cuba,which has only half million of whites avs
$24,000,000 Of taxes-half the amount VIII -ch
our federal government levies on twenty-three
millions of people. In Cuba there is no trial by
Jury or hateas corpus-no person or property is
safe against the il.wil or suspicion of alien and
suspicious public officers. Besides all that the
Creoes are not perm tied 10 have arms, although
they are in the midst of a large body of slaves
and exposed at any tire, to servile Instruction
This exclusion Of the native white Cubans from
office, from repre- sentston, ard from arms proves
that the Spanish government itself either re.
CARDS the'a as Unaffected. or wantony and
canselessly Expresses them. To suppose there.
fore, that the Cubans do not desire independence
or annexation to the United States, is TO impute
to them degree of stupidity and debasement
not compatible with the success which has at.
tended the culture of the island, and the wealth
which, under 80 many difficulties, the people
have acquired
But we told the people cannot desire a
change, or they would have joined the standard
OF LoPIz. How could theys In Cuba there
is standing army of twenty thousand men
one soldier TO every. five or six Creole adult
'naes-and then there are some twenty or thir-
" fhouaapd G,on,,.l. lu.:l-
dent in the island. No despotism in Europe or
any where else is thus fortified How could an
unarmed, nnorganized and dispersed population
like this feed authorized TO rebel, with the aid
merely of four or five hundred strangers Ger. |
tainIy, our fathers Of the revolution who tleber-
ted and hesitated long before they declared in
dependence, had no such difficulty to encounter.
There Is no doubt LoPEz himself expected CO.
operation, or he never would have taken the
risk which proved 80 desperate But the case
ofLoPEz is TINT Of many gallant, and enthusi.
astic man who has expated, by his blood, the
indulgence Of hopes too sanguine, and of con- |
fidence in the virtue and energy of his fellow
men far above their deserts As for the impu. |
ploh OF ueachery or Hypocrisy now made |
against LoPEz, it is crushed by the heroic man.
ner in which he pledged his own life for his
faith the courage he displayed in battle, the for
titude with which he met his fate.
Call such man pirate, arobber, or hypo-
crise! Why he was a Spanish American by
BIRTH and Cuban by residence Who had
better opportunity of knowing the wrongs of
MS country--who bad more imperous duty to
redress them than he? If LAFAYETTE, KoscI. /
UsKo, Pulaski, and SrEUBrx, were received by
us with honor and distinction, as great and good
men, for cooperating in the liberation Of a for
etgn country shall we denounce LorEz for at
tempting to give freedom to his own!
We arc told that he levied war without The
authority of agovernment. Well, was not the
battle of Lexington fought without such au-
liberty Aud do we think the less of those
who fcuRht that hattie for that No rather tho