The New York herald., 1869-04-13
Tic Cuban Question-Duty Of the Adminis-
tratiOu.

T'c Cuban Question-Duty Of the Adminis-
trasiOu.
Inc % oluu0n passed by the House of Rep
resentatives on Saturday last by the large vote
OF SO yeas to "A nays is clear and truthful
exposition of the feeling entertained by the
people of the United States in regard to the
revolution now in progress in the Island of
Cuba. Its words are these -
Resolved, by the House OF Representatives That
the people Of the United states sympathize with the
people Of Cuba in their patriotic efforts to
their independence and establish republican form
OF government guaranteeing the personal liberty and
the equal political rights OF all the people; and the
SUPPORT to the President Of the United states wSea
ever, In his opinion republican government shall
have been N fact established and he may deem it
reignty OF such republican government
Had time permitted in the short session of
Congress which has just closed that the reso-
luton should have been offered in the Senate
it would no doubt have been passed by an
equally large vote in that body. The passage
of this resolution by the Senate would have
strengthened its record before the people, but
could have added nothing to the strength of
the resolution nor to the duty incumbent
upon the administration to recognize the
wish ofthe country and to act in accordance
with it.
In all great questions Of national polity the
instinct of the people is always in advance of
the politicians and place men; and these are
successful in administration in proportion
only as they recognize the ideas Of their age
and act in accordance with them. The Cuban
-, kbo ohctor - n -
administration. He will succeed or fail in
proportion as he exhibits capacity or incapacity
to grasp the problem now presented to him.
If he fail to comprehend the true grandeur
and power which attend the march of the
American idea, and waste in diplomatic parley
and inaction the precious moments, when
''from the nettle danger he should ''pluck
the flower safety" he will forfeit the high con-
fidence which the country has reposed in him
and consign his administration from its very
start to the distrust and doubt of the people of
America and to the contempt of the statesmen
of the world The resolution offered yester-
day by Assistant Alderman Stephen Roberts,
and so promptly passed by the Common
Council of New York city, is the true echo of
the popular voice to the House resolution we
have quoted above, and we hope, and the
whole country hopes, that the President will
listen to the call of duty and prove himself
equal to the task of its requirements.
The first step for him to take is to lay down
bold and national line of policy for his ad-
ministration in this great question, and to re-
quire every member of his Cabinet to live up to
it, When the fires of civil war were lighted
in this Union the cabinets Of Western Europe
did not hesitate to show their sympathy with
the rebellion and England France and Spain
in rapid succession proclaimed their neutral
ity between the cOntending parties, which was
in fact a proclamation of their sympathy with
the rebellion. Upon the heels of this announce
ment came the great fact that the harbors of
England and Spain in the islands of the Ameri-
can Mediterranean were converted into nests
for blockade runners, while France undertook
the still grander r5le of establishing an empire
| in Mexico. From all these points war was ac-
lively made upon us, and the conflict was
greatly prolonged, and our sacrifices of trea-
sure and of blood were enormously increased in
consequence. When victory perched upon our
banners our first step was to drive the French
out of Mexico. This we did, not because the
contendng parties in Mexico had no right to
invite French Intervention there, but because
France made that Intervention a part of the
war of Western Europe against the integrity of
the American Union.
The march of events leaves US no choice in
taking the next step in this truly American
policy. Spain converted Cuba into a picket
post hostile to us during the late rebellion, and
now, that the natural development of Ameri-
can ideas and the love of freedom has led the
Cubans to proclaim their independence, we
owe it to ourselves and to the cause of humanity
and civilization to throw the moral weight of
our sympathy and favor in their behalf The
war which Spain is to-day waging in Cuba is
much more war against us than was French
Intervention in Mexico. 1t is war to per-
petuate African slavery. It is war to per-
petuate a hostile position on our coast, from
which to annoy and harass us whenever occa-
sion shall offer. It is war to stay the march
of American preponderance in America. We
should accord to the Cubans at once the bel
ligerent rights which Spain hastened to accord
to the rebels. When the Sumter ran out from
New Orleans to inaugurate the rebellion upon
the sea had she run into Havana she would
have been perfectly safe, and the lives of her
crew secure under the proclamation of the
Spanish government. II was the activity of
our own cruisers in those waters only that
closed the ports of Cuba to Semmes. When few
Cubans boldly captured a Spanish steamer on
the high seas, a few days since, had they taken
refuge in an American port they would have
been subject to trial and execution as pirates;
and IL tho frionda of fraa l,,ha