The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-12-25
General Cass ON Cuba.

the charge Of filibusterism which has been pre-
ferred against him, and in reference also to the
course pursued by the Administration in the
recent Cuban difficulty:
$50 long as Spain retains Cuba, should
the Island become independent, truly and hon.
estly we have no right to interfere with it.
And for myself, should be willing, DESTROYS, in
deed, at any time to purchase it of Spain. and At
liberal, even at an extravagant price; but no
transfer to another power, either by peace war,
and the resistance of such an attempt by all the
means which God has given US. And have never
uttered a sentiment, here or elsewhere, inconsst-
ent with these Views, though ! have often been
charged with what is called flibustering projects,
and that, too, by respectable journals. during the
Presidential contest; by the Republic, Of this city,
| amongst Others and quite recently by the Journal
Of Commerce, of New York. No man, editor
reader has the right to prefer such charge against
me, believe in public as well as in personal mo-
| raity, and value the honor Of my country at too
high price to barter it for any scheme of aggran
dizement. And embrace this opportunity to bear
my testimony of appreciation to the recent conduct
of the Administration in relation to Cuba. repro
bate these repeated efforts at in the
Germs OF another nation, and have no charity for
the motives of the leaders engaged in them. II the
people of Cuba desire to free themselves from the
| government Of Spain-and worse one is hardly to
be found the face Of the earth-ther effort will
| have all my sympathies and all my good wishes,
as ! am sure it will have those Of the American
people. And l cannot doubt but that their inde-
pendence would be cheerfuy recognised by the
Government the moment it could be properly
done. But this work is their own, and not ours;
and 30 long as they acknowledge allegiance to
Spain it is our duty to respect that relation. And,
sir, there circumstances in the condition both of
that country and of ours which may we'll demand
some forbearance on our part. Spain is weak and
| remote from this, almost the last, of her i'm.
mense American possessions. We are power.
| full and near; and, besides, the condition of
| the Island has been critical and uncertain. There
are questions Of internal police there which pos.
seas paramount importance, and they are pre-
csey questions which would awaken the vigilance
| of any people earth. And Cuba has been in a
state Of quasi revolution, the government fearing
external collision as we'll internal explosions
And there is not nation which would not adopt
very strong measures for its security under such
circumstances. We should, and persist in them,
too, at all hazards. This ia precisely . state of
things when extreme points Of right should not be
unnecessarily pushed by foreign power; and /
saw with regret that effort ma king to bring
matters to a crisis by insisting upon the introduc
ton OF person supposed by the Government OF the
lsland-wrongly, indeed-to be dangerous. And I
commend the course of our Administration in this
affair One OF our citizens, however, seemed to
think it his duty to interfere, whether voluntarily
or involuntarily. almost to provoke q collision.
Consider his conduct equally presumptuous and
unPatriotic. It could have been to him compare.
lively unimportant point whether or was the
purser OF his ship; certainly not point worth the
consequences possible, and even probable. And a.
to the principle Of exclusion, that q question
for the Government. and think the Government
was right in the view it took of it, The honor of
the country, thank God, was not in the keeping of
Mr.. Law. 1t was in better hands"
During the KossurH debates, twelve months
ago, we had occasion to comment on the incon-
slstency which We believe existed in General
CAss's views on the subject of intervention;
the General contsndng that Intervention in
necessary relationship to war, while we main
tanned that without war as an implied contin-
gency Intervention would be a fiction.
We presume that General CAss does not
refer to this controversy when he speaks of the
Republic as one of several journals which
have attributed to him "filibustering projects"
His remark refers, we imagine, to structures
"
SoULE elected during the Presidential cain
paign; in which General CAss was alluded to
incidentally as having succumbed to filbuster-
ing influences. The alusion then made was
founded upon the published telegraphic reports
of speech delivered by him at a meeting at
tended by Judge DOUGLAS at Detroit, and of
course proceeded on the assumption that his
views were then correctly represented His
speech in the Senate on Wednesday proves
that upon this point he has experienced injus-
tlce. So far as we are concerned, it as been
unintentonal, and we now give with pleasure
his own statement of his position on the ques-
ton. His exposition is timely, and in many
respects will be advantageous
1t removes doubt as to the intended policy of
the influential section of the Democracy of
which he is the leader, and presents ground on
which conservative Democrats and conserva-
tive Wings can act IN common, without regard
to the ordinary distinctions of party.
The tone in which General CAss declares
his adhesion to the policy of Mr.. FILLMORE in
the Crescent City affair is honorable to both. |
1t refutes the allegation in which some have
INDUCED, that the conduct of the Administra-
ton was unacceptable To all but Wings; and
administers severe rebuke to those who la
bored with pertnacity to misrepresent it for
strictly factious purposes, without regard to
consequences. Mr.. LAW and his CO workers
meet with no sympathy at the hands of Gene
raj CAss, who condemns their course as in the
highest degree reprehensible. We are glad to
be able to avail ourselves of a condemnation
which will have weight in quarters not acces-
sible to the opinions or arguments of political
adversaries.
New York to Washington.
The frequent failures of the mail trains from