The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-05-25

brutal Spaniards call trial has been shown in
its true light there should be no hesitancy on
the part Of the President to demand his re-
lease and full restitution of the property the
Spanish underlings In Cuba made his illegal
sentence pretext to confscate-that is, to
steal. We have been glad to note the in
creased vigor with which President Grant has
resolved to protect our flag upon the
ocean; but if an unmistakeable demand for
redress has not been already made in DR..
Houard's case the whole thing loses it's moral
effect. Delay and evasion are the time
honored diplomatic means to wriggle out of
difficulty, and Secretary Fish has made as
much use Of these as any dishonest diplomat
of the steele Louis Quatorse or since. The
American people will remember that while
Secretary Fish has been indulging in the
luxury Of pro- Spanish doubts DR.. Houard has
been rotting literally in Spanish chains.
The Senate and the Washington Treaty.
The Senate spent the whole of yesterday in
secret session, considering the proposed sup
elemental article to the Washington Treaty.
Having sat for five hours the Senators took q
brief recess, after which they reassembled,
with the intention of continuing the
discussion until they should come to q
final disposition OF the case. The various
amendments were fully discussed. Some of
the Senators, as will be seen from our Wash.
ington correspondence this morning. were un-
sparing in their denunciations of the bungling
manner in which the whole affair, from first
to last, had been managed by the administra-
ton. AT midnight the Senate adjourned with
out having agreed as to final DISPOSE
ton. The subject is to be resumed to-day,
when it is confidently expected an agreement
will be arrived at. The opinion still prevails
that in some slightly modified form the pro-
posed supplemental article will be adopted 1t
is quite manifest, however, from the time con-
sumed by the Senate that there is anything
course which the administration should
be advised to pursue. President Grant
must by this time be fully convinced
that he would have acted far
nobler part if he had emphatically stated to
England that the treaty must go before the
Geneva Tribunal in it's original shape or be
abandoned altogether. The advice of the
Senate, whatever that advice may turn out to
be, does not tie the hands of the President.
He is still free to act on his own responsibility.
1t would certainly have been better for himself
and better for the nation at large if he
had adopted an emphatic course at the
commencement of the proceedings, and refused
point blank to entertain for moment the
Granville proposition. Still, it is not too late;
and if he is bold enough to act with frmness
even now the nation will stand by him.
If, however, things having gone SO far,
the Senate should advise the ratification,
and the President should take the advice.
The nation will not be sorry to learn that at
last there is q reasonable presumption that this
much-vexed question is on q fair way of being
finally settled. Should such be the result, let
us hope that the next time our rulers shall
have occasion to enter into diplomatic CORE
spondence with England they will show proof
that they have profted by the lessons of ex-
perience