New-York tribune., 1873-12-10
PUBLIC OPINION IN CUBA.

ITO HltdSITeS duOpIcu ny tno icduiHS o
ninsulars of Havana to quiet the agitation
which they had themselves excited were in
genOus and characteristic. Up to the 29th OF
November the clamor of the cafes and the
voice of the press all tended in one direction.
The universal cry was to save the honor of
Spain at the price of every life on the Island,
and the honor of Spain was regarded as in
dissolubly bound up in the Spanish flag which
floated from the masthead OF the Virginiu5.
The man who should have suggested that
the vessel might possibly have to be surren-
dered would have been denounced as traitor to
the country, unworthy the blood of Pelago
and the name of Spaniard At the first rumOr
of the intended surrender, the press burst out
into sudden and harmonious fury, denouncing
the prOpagatOrs of false intelligence aud re-
fusing in advance to be "bound by any dis
honorable compromise which the CASTELAR,
Government may make with the United
"States.D The editor of one advanced paper
bade farewell to his readers, saying it was
highly probable that before another week
came round he would be on the sea to redeem
Spain from the dishonor cast upon her by her
ill-advsed Ministers.
But when the authentic news of the protocol
arrived, the Havana press assumed tone
entirely different. They pretended that they
had expected something much worse, and
quoted the extravagant claims OF certain
American papers as proof that our Govern
ment had abated much of its demands. They
sald it was deplOrabe that the United States
should make any claim at all in view of the
well-known piratical character of the Virginius,
but that there was nothing in the disposition to
be made of her which was dishOnOrlng to Spain,
or illegal from the point of view of international
law They made especial use Of the state
ment teegraphed from Madrid that the rep
resentatives of foreign powers had approved
of the settlement, and that the eminent Con-
seryative statesmen, CanOvas del Castillo and
Lopez de Ayala, had also recommended it to
the Government. There was no attempt to
affect satisfaction over the affair. They did
not pretend to like it. but they thought
it best TO accept it rather than give
the insurgents the advantage OF a
mutiny among the Peninsulars. One journal
referred with bitterness to the common re-
mark that there are two rebelliOns in Cuba,
and called upon all loyal Spaniards to dis
prove it by their moderation and .calmness.
They nearly all conclude by saying, with that
unanswerable rhetoric of the race, that the
man who now attempts to disturb the public
tranquility is disguised ldbordnte.
The cause Of this sudden and remarkable
change is not hard to seek. The leaders of
the Casino are men of great wealth, of which
q large portion is invested in business and
real estate in the Island. They have sagacity
Al. 0r Ia
the United States would be the utter destruc-
ton of their fortunes even if their lives es-
capped. They are therefore opposed to war,
but an equally powerful set of motives in
duces them to give to public opinion as viO-
lent tone as possible consistent with
the preservation of peace Their most
immediate fear is that President Cas-
telar and his associates will proceed
at once to inaugurate series OF reforms
which will make the business of governing
Cuba much less lucrative than it now is. 1t
is therefore desirable to impress the CASTELAR,
government as deeply as possible with sense
of the danger they are running in doing any
thing against the prejudices of these pat
"riotc and high-spinted people" AS long as
the matter of the Virginus was undecided, it was
sound ,policy to create the impression at Madrid
and at Washington that the Peninsulars of
Cuba would never submit to any conditions
humliating to their pride. But after they had
by these devices obtained az good bargain
as possible, they thought it best to accept it
grOwingly, and not provoke worse state of
things by revolving against it. An enlight-
ened regard for their own pecuniary interests
doubtless inspired the chiefs of the Spanish
party, and their tyrannical discipline has
secured the cooperation of the organs of
opinion.
INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIP.