Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-04-09
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

The London Times on the Cuban Question.
The veteran reviler of the United States, the
London Tunes, it appears by the Battles
mails, is in terrible pucker over what it de-
nounces as the active efforts of this Govern.
msnt TO get Cuba by force; by letting leoss
upon the island Gen. Qsitman and his flli-
busters. The Times discourses with apparent
very virtuous horror of the enormity of ma
tional land stealing as though almost every
other page Of England's written histcry-em-
bracing due account of the position of the
Times on all its Governments international
questions occurring in the last quarter Of q
eentury-were unknown to the reading public.
The idea that a nation like the United States
covets such an island as Cuba-one situated
as Cuba $50 shocks the Times as to make
it wonderful that its conductor did not faint at
the very thought of the terrible crime!
In view of the fact that the great Robber of
the World-the great land stealer (by coun-
tries) Of the universe-is no other than Eng.
land, and of the additional fact that she has
stolen no land within twenty-five year with
out being praised for the act and stoutly de.
Tended in it by the Times, that journals
homily to which we refer, is just about the
most impudent thing We ever saw in news
paper.
Its argument is based on the allegation that
while the United States Government is issuing
proclamations against illibustering, it is So
cretly aiding and abetting infractions Of its
neutrality laws; and, by way of carrying
conviction to its readers, they are assured that
the American Government would let the Quit.
man expedition. with which Pinto's conspiracy
was connected, sail undisturbed. Already
that expedition has been defeated through the
measures taken by the authorities at Wash
ing.on. So the furious argument of the
Tsmes already turns out to be supremelS
ridiculous. 1t is really hardly worth COM
ment, except by way of showing up the bitter
neEs and want Of foundation of the hostility
which the Times entertains towards tho United
States, as manifested in its every paragraph.
The editor thinks tina. the Cuban negroes
would be vastly worse off under American
than under Spanish jurisdiction, as at present
To say TIE iea:. Of it, this idoa is a novel one;
and coming from party that, beyond all
question, knows that it is untrue, it evinces
the utter lack Of sensible arguments against
our great national policy of the acquisition of
Cuba. The conductor of the LINES knows
we'll that tho physical moral, and, indeed, the
Intellectual condition of the mass of the negro
slaves Of the United States is infinitely supe.
rior to that Of quite an equal number of Eng
lish citizens in England, Scotland, Wales, and
Ireland, to say nothing of that of ten times
as many of the lego subjects of her gracious
Majesty, Victoria, in India, the West Indies,
at the Cape, and elsewhere in distant parts of
the realm.
1t seems TO be hard to make the world u.
derstaRd the true position Of this Government
upon the Cuba difficulty, owing to the misrep.
resentations of interested parties On both sides
ct the question. Here we have the Times &C
cusing the United States Of being aotuated By
principles (of and tuuEl) as loose as those
which were openly avowed by tho British
Goyernmsnt when she sent out her buccaneers
to dsspoil Spain then at peace with her-of
Nor gold In the West Indies and South America
On the other haId we have those who Justify
and apologize for buccaneeringi in 1855, striving
to create the impression that the Govern.
ment Of the United States sym pathises with all
their misrepresentation Of the truth to extern
uate fiibustering, and is preparing secretly to
aid and abet it. We really do not know which
of these two parties do the American Cove m
ment most Injustice. Both are making meal.
culable mischief. The former aye encourag.
ing Spain to pursue policy with reference to
Cuba, which must sooner or later cost her tn
island without the least naturalization for it;
while the latter are practically justifying the
Spanish authorities in the eyes of the world
in executing such men as Pinto and Estrampes,
and are also encouraging the idle and adven-
turous among US to believe that the neutrali.
ty laws of our land, may be violated with pro.
priety and iDpunity.
Now, we have watched the measures-poli.
cy-of the Government Of the United States
with reference TO Cuba with as much care
as oHe could possibly exercise, and have been
unable to discover the first sign to justify the
belief that theparties referred to above repre-.
seat it cOE,ectly-tho one Che Times and its
c0nJreres) insisting On their view, and the
other generating in the public mind the i'm.
preston that such representations as those of
Times are correct.
There is not word In all the Soule CORES.
pondsnce recently published to justify the
idea that those in charge of the Government
here have at any time for an instant contem.
plated seizure of the island, or its obtain.
msnt otherwise than by and with the free con-
sent of Spain. There is, we know, much in
that correspondence showing not only that the
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