The weekly standard., 1869-10-20
rhe cuban Man-of.war.


1t seams that the government has deter
mined to detain the Hornet and to have a
trial as to her right to sail underthe Cuban
flag -or at least to enter the ports Of the
United States. 1t is said that the Hornet
will not be allowed to proceed upon her
way
There can be but two views taken of this
affair.
Either the Hornet is legal man -of-war,
even though flying & flag not recognized by
the United States, or
She isa pirate. '~S''T 7.-- 9' - - = '''''''s
In the former case she, was entitled, as she
was in distress, to remain in the port OF Will
mihgton twenty -four hours without being
molested. After the expiration of that
time she could have been forced to leave,
and in the event ofnon-compliance with the
order, could have been seized.
If pirate, she has no rights whatever,
and her officers and crew should be hung.
These are the horns of the dilemma, and
the government must take one of them. 1t
must either allow the Hornet to go free, or
it must proclaim her pirate and hang her
crew. .....,,
Were the, case to be, decided by the
American people, we believe that nine hun
dred and ninety-nine of-every thousand
would say '"let the Hornet 60 free" But
this case is not to be decided by the people,
butby the representatives of the people,
who, as often happens, may not at all repre-.
sent the wishes Of the people. There are di-
plomatic currents to be considered, and di-
iplomatic undercurrents to be. taken in con-
alteration, which the people are notsupposed
to understand, and which must be under
stod for them. .I. ...... .....,,...,....
ID That fearful bug-bear, the Alabama claims,
must be considered. The case OF the ALa-
6anaa and Hornet bear wonderful diplo-
matte resemblance, inasmuch as they are
wholly dissimilar. Therefore the Seward
Johnson-M Motley -Clarendon-B Bruce & Co. cor
respondence of few thousand pages must
be carefully studied that we may not damage
our chance of getting money we never stood
any chance of getting. The Secretary OF
State has nova chance to distinguish him
self in pointing out how this and that may
prevent things from happening which never,
under any circumstances, would have hap
pened at all. Because this is diplomacy,
and the Secretary of State must always
seize upon every occasion to prove himself a
diplomat.
And the opinions and wishes of the Amer
ican people are the only things not deemed
worthy of consideration.
We believe that the government should
allow the Hornet to go free. She bears a
flag which, in several parts of the world, is
recognized as national emblem by nations
friendly to the United States. The Hornet,
which is legal man-ofwar on the Mexican
side of the Rio Grande, cannot be pirate on
the American side. Therefore, it is clear that,
according to the law of equity, the Hornet
is not pirate. The whole affair hinges upon
the fact that Cuba has not been recognized
by the United States. Perhaps the shortest
and best way to solve this matter would be
to recognize Cuba at once. We believe that
to be the opinion of the American people.
They wished the government to recognize
Cuba long ago. They wish it now. Let
Secretary FISH dismiss from his mind
the alabama claims-which amount to moth
ing anyhow, so far as indemnifcation is con-
cerned--and let Cuba be recognized.