The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-03-25

repeal. Fresh from the people, with the
House of Representatives, he directly repre-
sents the will Of the people. ODly one-third
OF the Senate represent directly the cleo ions
Of 1868. The other two-thirds, excepting re-
construction, we're elected upon other issues.
The House therefore should not yield to the
Senate upon this Office holders law, bat hold
fast to the ultimatum of the administration.
Cuban CODquests and Spanish Scrim-
images.
From the ". T. Times
Were not the memory of our own little
unpleasa santness" so fresh, the daily Spanish
official war news, whereby it is made to ap-
pear that "the Cuban insurgents have bsen
defeated in a severe battle and their cause Is
hopeless" might be deceptive; but 1--WE have
been there" we, too, have seen times when
every trivial slxirmish was magnifed by 'offi-
cial advices" into a great victory, and the
accidental discharge Of a muaket might echo
like the roar of q Waterloo from Maine to
Missouri. According to the Government re-
ports, the Cubans are worsted in every en-
counter, and the ''lsst spark of the rebel
lion" is just going to be "trampled out"
precisely as, in our favorite figure, the "back-
bone of the Rebellion" was always on thepoint
of being broken.
Everybody remembers when, in 1861,
"heavy firing near the Chain Bridge" used
tualitv-'just in time for the evening pa
pers." A satirist described one of these
diurnal battles, which began, as usual, with
ga series of loud explosions on Arlington
Heights" Twenty-four reporters, according
to him, Immediately telegraphed to twenty
four papers that 500,0 900 Rebels had attacked
our lines with 1000 rifed cannon, and had
been repulsed with loss of IA 600 killed
Federal loss, zone killed and two committed
suicide" But when General Mcclellan came
to INQUIRE of an orderly about the particulars,
there turned out to be ''no firing at all, but
only William Brown, of Regiment 5, Mackerel
Brigade, which has horrible cold and sneezes
in that way" William was warned accord
ingly to telegraph to the War Department
whenever he sneezsd, to avoid any more OF
those narrowing mistakes.
Spanish victories in Cuba remind one of
such historic events. Our Havana cores
pondent has Just shown up in most ridicu-
lous light the three last "battles' in Cuba,
proving them to have not even the proper
tions OF cross. road skirmisb. He qualities
the affairs as 'scrimmages," and of the
grand storming of Mayari he remarks that
this Sebastopol is ''smsller than Miller's
somewhat larger than an apple-woman's
stand"
In plain truth, there has as yet been no
measure of strength between the Spanish and
Cuban soldiers, no anaconda coil" drawn
round the rebellion, and no "backbon
broken; the accounts Of battles are moon
shine. But, on the other hand, the present
sluggishness of the struggle is no proof that
it will not ere long break into fierce activity.
AS transatlantic spectators checked their
niIth over the bloodlessness of Sumter and
its sequence when the rain of battle pattered
heavily on Bull Run, and the full thunder
storm broke over the blood-drenohed field Of
Shiloh, so we may yet see terrible carnage in
Cuba. It is for the advantage of the Spa
pia1ds to settle the question promptly, but for
that of the Cubans to delay it. The troops OF
the former are already disciplined veterans,
those of the latter comparatively raw re-
oruits. Time helps the latter, not the former.
And, besides, while the Spaniard stands the
winters climate of Cuba very well, he will
find fighting in summer to be another affair
We are probably at the beginning rather than
the end of the insurrectiop.