Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-03-18
SPAIN AND THE UNITED STATES.
Anticipated Trouble ON the Cuban
Question,

IrOnted by q Sltuatl0n OF affail
involving the relations between I'll
United States and the Governor {
Spain, which will demand seriou
, consideration, and which will requir
more Immediate attention than an
ofthe interests probable at presen
to press upon the Department O
State. The various attempts mad
: to change the attitude of this govern
meat towards the Provisional Coy
eminent of Spain, in the direction il
which the latter stands towards thu
colony of Cuba, have taken two
forms, each of which has drawn the
notice and compelled the remonA
STRANGE of the Spanish legation Al
this capital. These forms of attempt
are, respectively, the reported fitting
out of expeditions to aid the Cuban
insurgents, and the introduction on
Friday last in the House of RepreS
sentatives by Gen. Banks, the Chair
man of the Committee on Foreign
Relations of that body, of series
of resolutions extending sympathy
to, and calling for recognition of,
the island rebels at as early a day
as expedient. The. Spanish officials
here profess to have information
that, as far back as December, a
series of expeditions began to be
fitted out at several ports along our
coast, and that several more are now
projected moreover, that some have
already set out, and that few have
succeeded in landing on the island.
They complain that the law officers
of our government, at New York
and New Orleans especially, have
been knowingly oblivious or blind
to the facts of these expeditions
and that, in some cases, circumstan,
tial evidence exists to the effect
that Federal officials have wills
fully connived at these UNI
friendly attempts. 1t appears that
beginning with the exposure of the
first IF these expeditions from New
York, made exclusively in the
WOrld of last autumn, and then
stated to be under charge of a Gen.
De Palakoff and other notorious
filibusters, the efforts of the Span
ish legation and consuls in this
country have been directed vigil
lantly to hunt up all evidence show
ing the existence of attemptsto help
the insurgents from this republic.
Complaint is made that these efforts
have been coldly seconded by the
Federal officials; that direct evil
dence has been in some instances
quite ignored; that vessels have
been allowed to depart with full pa
pers, which vessels were known to
be stored with arms and ammuni-
ton for the insurgents; and that
such vessels have effected, in several
instances, a successful junction with
the insurgents, to whom the arms
and ammunition have been sold
and that the vessels have returned
to our ports, have been unmolested,
and several Of them ale again pre-
pairing for a second similar trip,
with the conceded sympathy of the
press and people of the United
States. The legation can make no
issue, but they respectfully submit
that open, overt, and systematic
breaches of the neutrality laws are
being, and for months have been,
committed by citizens of the United |
States against the government of
Spain, and moreover that such
breaches are chargeable to palpable |
neglect of duty and diligence on the
part of the Federal authorities at |
the ports of New York, New Orleans
and Boston. The representatives
of the Spanish government insist
that this instruction has been |
mainly kept alive by this practical
and illegal aid from parties in this |
country; that it has, and ever has
had, no intrinsic force, but has
been really maintained by American
leaders, chief of whom is Henning-
sen, second in command of the re-
volt, and by American arms and
American money. 1t is represented
that the muskets found in the hands
of the insurgents bear the trade
mark of firms in New York city and
Connecticut, and that receipts and
other papers have been found which |
prove a constant system of eommu-
nication between the insurgents and
adventures in the States.
Evidence is offered to show that, |
for the 18th Of February next, ar
engagements have been made to send
out, in United States mail steamer,
formidable quantity of Springfield
arms to Cuban port, from the city
of New York; that the vender and
conveyor of these arms is an officer
on the vessel wherein they are to be
shipped that he has had them adj
vanced to him, on credit for specu-
lation, by an arms manufacturing
company in that city; and that he
has been provided with abundant
funds and full assurances by CAPT
taIists in this city, New Orleans, and
in New York. These past factsf
present movements and future de-
signs are submitted to be grave |
grounds for complaint, and to call
for remedy and for prevention.
In regard to the resolutions of
Gen. Banks they are held to be I'M
friendly in spirit, premature in pre-
sentation, and based alike upon q
Misrepresentation of the resources |
and the claims of the insurgents.
While the resolutions in question
cannot bind the Executive depart
ment of this government, and while
they are no more than an expression
of empty and misconceived opinion,
tits objected that such an express
sion of opinion could courteously
and judiciously be deferred Until
the arrival and hearing of the
special envoy of the provisional
government of Spain, now en- route
for this city, with discretionary
powers to treat upon the following
questions the real extent of the
instruction as disclosed to the gov
eminent, the real resources and de-
signs of the government to sup
press the same, the intentions of the
provisional government concerning
the future of Cuba, and the steps on
foot to inaugurate and consummate