The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-09-20

Hac,usAOn OF tho Lon aOn csnmes ana New York
Herald from sf4e span,sn DSminA0ns.
The government of Spain have done the
London Tsmes the honor of excluding it from
the Spanish doMinions by royal decree. A
similar compliment was paid some time ago to
the New York HERALD by the Captain-General
of the most important Of SPANS colonial pos
sessions-the island Of Cuba. At the present
moment Spanish subjects residing at Havana
can neither read the Times nor the HERALD II
they desire news from Great Britain or the
United States they must content themselves
with journals whose limited circulation places
| them in the second rank in their own country;
| they must rely for correct intelligence on one
of two classes of newspapers It those which
dare not censure tyranny, dishonesty and the
slave trade, or those whose censure is not worth
fearing. 1t does not suit the temper Of the
| Spanish government to tolerate the presence
of any others.
So far as we are concerned, we need not tell
our subscribers that we have endured Spanish
prescription with tolerable philosophy. Neither
| the interests nor the political course Of the
HERALD have been affected in any perceptible
degree by its exclusion from Cuba. The event
was, in fact, as our London co-exile properly
remarks the very best evidence that could be
obtained of the business of our past policy, and
Of the unfnching severity with which we as
| sailed the blunders and the fOllies of the Cap
| tain General. Had the charges we fastened
| upon him been less true he could have afforded
| to allow them to circulate. Had Spanish rule
| been rooted in the affections Of the people he
need not have apprehended danger from the
censure of journal whose opinions would be
obviously received with caution by the Creoles
1t was their palpable truth which constituted
the sting of our accusations. 1t was the rotten
ness Of the edifce we attacked which rendered
our invectives so formidable Hence the pru-
dent resolve Of Canedo to postpone the evil
day by concealing our disclosures from his
subjects, and to screen himself from merited
obloquy by sitting discussion and closing the
ports OF the island to disinterested observers.
We repeat, so far as our own interests
were concerned, we viewed the measure
by which the HERALD was excluded with as
much indifference as the London Times treats
it's royal decree. But when we turn to the peO-
| pie Of Cuba and of Spain it is impossible to
| regard these acts with apathy. 1t is asking too
much Of the civilized world to expect them to
entertain feelings of friendship for govern
ment which thus debars its subjects of the lead
| ing journals Of the two most intelligent coun-
! tries on the globe. We have spared Spain much
that might have been said on the cruel operation
OF her protective tariff and the famine that law
so frequently occasions on the island Of Cuba.
But when we find that not only the material
but the intellectual necessaries of life arc forbid
den fruit to the Creoes. it is time to inquire how
we can justify to our conscience any semblance
of amity, or any show of countenance, to
power which sustains itself by such intolerable
acts. Common usage has licensed, in mea
sure, the exaggeration and duplicity usually
found in diplomatic messages; but even these
have limit. beyond which the national credit
must not be pledged. We can afford to smile
at the innocuous falsehoods which pass between
our Mexican Minister and the Dictator; but can
we, consistently with any feeling of honor,
! fa;sn scntrmcnts Or REGARD IOr power which.
| by royal edict shuts out from its dominions
the leading opponents of independent public
opinion in the world? ....
In one sense we hail the Times decree with
| satisfaction. The attacks which provoked it
are familiar to most of our readers; aud they are
well aware that its only fault was to have spoken
the truth fearlessly. Its punishment is invalu-
able evidence OF the guiding rule Of the Span
ish government and we trust we may appeal
to the fact as affording a tolerahly strong pre-
| sumption that our offence, which was visited
with like penalty, was of similar nature
Like the Times, we had in fact, spoken the
truth and that truth was not palatable to the
Spanish authorities. As it from Spain, we have
been excluded from Cuba, in the miserable hope
that the victims Of Spanish tyranny would for
| get their degradation when they were no Ion
ger reminded Of it from abroad.
To succeed in such task, the Spanish autho-
rites will need to do something more than ex-
pei the Times and the HERALD from their shores
They will require first to cease kidnapping ne
groes on the African coast and sell them on
the Cuban plantations. They will need to en-
ploy Captain-General who will not sell his
soul for gold and get rid Of Queen Mother
who cannot restrain her ardor for dealing in
negroes. They will be compelled to attempt
some show ofhonesty in their national dealings,
and try to pay some portion of the interest on
their debts. They will be obliged to tolerate
some Sc nblance of free discussion at home and
to restrain their natural tendency to imprison
Independent writers and break their presses.
They will find themselves under the necessity
of abolishing few of the tyrannical rules of
their despotic government, and give some sha-
dow of probability to their promises OF popular
liberty. In fine, they will need to let the world
see that Spain and her colonies are not govern
ed for the exclusive behoof and benefit of the
Queen Mother, hut that the Spanish and Cuban
people are also slightly cared for in the ar