The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-04-21

- 'NA'oSSAAs p'o~ohotio .siiA OhiPAoJe''
Don Carlos justifes this practice on the
ground that the government and the directors
will not neutralize the roads and the telegraph
by refusing to use them for military purposes.
"We cannot allow republican troops to be
moved hither and thither by railroad says
the Carlst chief, "while our own troops are
compelled to travel on foot" He is ready to
open negotiations for the neutralizng of the
railroads and telegraphs whenever the gov
eminent at Madrid comes to its senses but
SO long as it persists in its refusal to allow
armed bodies of revolutionists to travel on
the rails and to use the electric wires. or to
consent not to make use of those facilities for
their own military operations to put down re-
bellion, the firing on trains will be continued.
War is war, and you cannot make an omelet
without breaking the eggs is the philosophy
of Don Carlos; 80 his followers. desiring to
make an omelet Of the Spanish government
for their own enjoyment, do not hesitate to
break the eggs of innocent lives 1t is evil
dent, therefore. that their guerilla war
fare will continue, and it will not escape
observation that it is encouraged by the hope
of foreign aid. Don Carlos does not believe
in the stability of the Republic: he regards M.
Theirs as the dangerous enemy Of Carlism /;
but he believes that nothing but success is
needed to secure the support of Russia and
England to the Spanish cause Would this
confidence exist without encouragement?
On the old story of Cuba Don Carlos is
Spanish. The honor OF the nation is pledged
not to give Cuba up. No government in
Spain would venture even to allude to a
policy of separation But if the honor of
Spain insists upon holding captive an unwill-
ing people may not the honor Of Cuba in
sist upon breaking the bonds? The same
spirit which impresses the gallant Prince with
the conviction of his own divine right to rule
over the Spanish people as q monarch without
consulting their wishes inspires Spain with
the belief that her honor is implicated
in the retention Of Cuba against the will
Of the Cuban people In the progress
of the world, in the spread Of intelligence, in
the power of steam and electricity, oil such
doctrines must soon be scattered to the winds,
whether cherished by monarchs or by nations.
| Tho Atlantic Disaster and tho Conn
P0Ay AAUsPOhbAUAAAtys
The public has read in the columns of the
HERALD the report of the Investigating Board,
and the apologize letter of Mr.. Sparks, the
agent of the White Star line in this city.
Want of space has delayed till now our
comments on both these documents,
which are of too much importance to
let pass unnoticed The decision of the In
vestigating Board at Halifax, after some COM
mendation for bravery in saving life, revokes
Captain Williams certificate for two years,
and suspends that of the fourth officer John
Brown, for three months. This we think
very mild punishment indeed. The point
| which we wish at present particularly
to note, is that the Board have con-
demned the shortness of coal. Commenting
on the loss of the Atlantic on the day that
the news thereof was given to our read
ers we said, after hesitating to pronounce
upon the blunder in seamanship which ran the
steamer upon Meagher's Rock:-"But mean
time the fact that short supply of coal took this
ship from her true course to the rock on which
she foundered leads to the conclusion that the
probable calculation by the Company Of the
difference in the cost between ton Of coal in
England and ton in Halifax fixes the re-
sponsibility first and heaviest upon the Com
pany for the heavy sacrifice of life involved in
the loss of one Of their finest steamers. We
are unable, after reading the agents defence,
sensibly to alter this The shortness of coal
is admitted on all hands as the reason for run
ming into Halifax. The agent, in defence,
doubtless under superior instruction, says:-
lowing to the strikes among the miners
in England coal has for some time
been difficult to obtain, especially of
the best quality. To provide against any
contingency arising from this cause the
managers of the line have supplied to the
steamers large margin beyond the average
consumption Of the boats, and we find the At
lantic was furnished in Liverpool with 967
tons, against her average consumption, on the
eighteen passages to New York, of 744 TONS"
Now, what does this amount to? We do not
admit that the difficulty of obtaining coal of
the best quality was anything more than the
difficulty Of obtaining it at its former price.
It is plausible to refer to the strikes but
we, who read the English papers, know that it
is the combination of rich coal owners, and
not of delving pitmen, that ran up the price
of coal in the United Kingdom during last
Winter. It was not so much scarcity as high
price that was the difficulty The Company
could get enough coal of an inferior quality
that is, cheaper coal-but they appear to have
taken no means to ascertain its relative heat
producing quality. We cannot therefore, by
any means acquit the management of the
charge Of greed in relation to the coal There
were one thousand souls on board, and sharp
bargain COR short supply of bad coal is no