Middletown transcript., 1873-11-29
THE REASON FOR KEEPING
COOL ABOUT IT.

W cuuuaFot W pus ~uIsctfess w to"sv"
able degree. in their place. We ought not
to forget, in measuring thoir guilt that tho
men whom they have massacrcd arc the
chiefs and promoters Of an insurreciion
which has now lasted for several years
and which. however noble or justifable VIC
may think is, they look on as an attempt
to dismembcr and humiliate their country.
and which--and this is tho most impor-
tam point Of all--has. during that whole
period. had its base aud headquarters in
this city. More Cuban generals. and
coloncls, and commissarics could. We ven
turc to say, for long while past have
been seen in Broadway. on fne days, than
in the island Of Cuba, aud the great bulk
ofthe supplies Of arms aud munitions which
the insurgents have received have come
from this country owing to the connivance
or negligence Of United States officers at
various ports. What most contributed
to the capture Of the Virgnins was ,hi
no,orie,y with which tho preparations for
her voyage were made, and this notority
was the direct result Of long snjoyed i'm
punity.
Everybody in Cuba was on the lookout. for
her, and n, she was krown to coaiain ine
batch Of insurrectionary leaders. the temp
ta,ion to massacre them, and thus end the
struggle, was therefore ovcrpowering TO
the savagcs into whose hands they fell. In
fact, their readiness to capture tho ship a.
all hazards being an old offender
will BE- understood by those who can i'm
agine the feeling with which the trip Of
steamer from Liverpool to Charleston with
lot Of Confederate leaders on board would
have been regarded in 1862. Tho officer
who threw his law books overheard and
seized her. anywhere and anyhow, would
hardly have Jared worse, in the public
estimation, than Captain Wilkes after be
took Mason and Slidel out Of tho mail
steamer. Otcourse no bu,chery or cruelty
would hayo been thought of; aud this loads
US TO another plea in behalf Of ,he Santiago
cntthroats which ia perhaps not powerful.
but which is to be weighed
\ year ago or more u number Of gem
,elmen in Madrid, after the experiment, oi
getting somebody to reign in Spain as a
king had been tried and had thoroughly
failed, argued that they would hereafter
call Spain - republic" There was no
harm in this that we could sec In fact,
it was the only thing to be done But
there was also no prospect Of immediate
good in it, as wo pointed out a, the time
1t lct, Spain jus, us sho was. neither bet
ter nor worse the defects Of character.
and manners, aud opinions which had
made her century and half barbarous
aud declining nation, were still as deep rs
ever. The causes which had made the
monarchy failure Here still a, work. and
ware likely to make the republic failure.
! Nevertheless, considerable number OF
persons hore worked themselves into a
state Of enthusiasm ovcr tia change, aud
tried to persuade people that a process Of
regeneration had suddenly begun in Spain.
and tha, all that the rest Of tho world had
to do was to look on and wonder or ad-
miro. Within few weeks the republic
broke down aud was postponed. The
army went to pieces; tho navy resol,ed
the provinces began 10 declare ,henselye.
Independent; aud ministers at Madrid cam,
aud went like showman's diura,ua. A
dictator was accordingly appointed. ane
even be declared hc could not rule II th,
Legislature did not adjourn. lie has a
this moment three civil wars on his hands
which ara waged viii, that feeble inde
cisivencss which characterzcs all spnnisl
military operations. and he 10 forced /,
confess that in the greatest rsmainin,
colony Of the nation neither the army no
the navy obcys his orders. Our deman,
for satisfaction for gross outrage indeed
seems likely to result in his overthrow,
he complies.
Now. what Inns this 10 do with our atti
tude in this Cuban matter? Much Th
Spaniaras In Cuba, on whose heads We ar
now calling for vengeance. are men Of pro
cisely the same kind as thu Spaniards i,
Spain whom NO arc now embracing a
brother Republicans. They arc not on
whit more lawless or more cruel. TIL
Santiago aud Havana volunteers have .h
passions Of .hoir coun.rymsn ss home, an
are doing what their eoud.rymen wish then
to do. and in the way they wish them
do Il. and what any Spaniard brought ou
, to Cuba would do in their place. Tho a,
tempt to distinguish between tho two
either ehjldjsh or ignorant. The Cuba