Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-11-27
THE VIRGINIuS CASE.
The President UnbOsOnis Himself til
a western COngressman-Is a war
Man and In Favor Of Free Cuba.
FrOm the Cincinnati Commercial.

IiVhi tsiS commercial.
WASHINGTON, Nov. PA report gain
| ed currency here to-day that the capture of
the Virginius was brought about by Span
| ish eInissaries, who were on board the yes
sci in disguise. 1t is supposed that it was
| through their agency that shes aleak,
whereby her speed was greatly retarded.
! The VirginiGs was a very swift vessel.
while the Tornado was heavy and slow,
and to those acquainted with these facts it
his beeii iiiatter OF surprise that the former
was so easily overtaken by the latter
| The British Minister to-day authorized
the contradiction of a statement telegaphed
| to the Herald last Friday evening, that he
| had received dispatch from his govern
| merit saving that the government did not
intend to make any disposition Of its naval
| forces until there was fuller evidence OF the
need of a demand upon the part of Great
Britain to protect the interests of its sub
| jects.
A suspicion is entertained by promi-
nent Treasury officer that, notwithstanding
| the fact, as proven upon examination, that
| the American register of the Virginius was
regular, and the law in regard to the pro-
cufeiilent thereof complied with, she has
| later register from another couiitry which
would forfeit her character as an American
vessel.
The people have watched eagerly since
the taking of the Virginius for sign from
the President which would indicate wheth-
er he was inclined to war or a diplomatic
adjustment of the Spanish difficulty. 1t
was natural that the views of the Chief
Magistrate-the great soldier, who is
thought by many to be no less a great
statesman-should be looked for with in
tere:t. The position of the President is
not, however, one which leaves him free to
publish his personal feelings from the
house-tops, and although he has talked at
times with others than those Of his own
household on this subject, he has done so
IN the guarded way natural to. and necessa-
ry to the official and tiis little that he has
let fall has been variously interpreted gen
orally in accordance with the wishes of
those under whose observation his meager
expressions have fallen. 1t can no longer
be gainsa;d that from the first the President
| has been chatting under the restraints
| which leave him free only to act after Con-
| gress shall have marked out that which
| should be done; that from the time of the
! taking of the Virginius, and the inhuman
| butehery of her crew, he has longed to take
bolder, more aggressive steps than the laws
of the land authorize him to take: and al:
| though that which he has before to-day said
can very properly be construed to sustain
| the above position, many and bitter COM
plants have been uttered against those who
| have thus construed his position. as senSa-
| tional, exaggerating n2wsmongeTs, who only
| care to create excitement, and who to do
so are willing to involve the President and
| country
| An Interview which the President had
| to-day with proHlinent Western Congress
man, in which he spoke most freely 6nftfn-
| reservedly on this subject, is a sufficient
answer to those who, whatever may have
been their motives, have charged that i'm
| proper motives have actuated the newspa-
| per correspondents who have interpreted
his position as that of man who believes
that the United States has just cause for
war with Spain unless immediate and full
reparatj6n is made by the latter Power for
| What he estSetIIs d gross violation of inter-
national law, and barbarouS and inhuiian
| outrage upon the civilization of the nine
| teenth century. In the conversation allu-
ded to the Spanish complication was fully
| discussed. The President, i'll the most I'M
fnistakable language, regretted that not only
| the Constitution prohibited him from TAX
| iIiC Immediate action tn secure reparatiOn
| for an insult offered TO the american flag
but that law of 1868, passed for the pur-
yese ~ tying the hands Of Andrew Johnson,
also hampered him. He alluded IN the act
| of taking the Virginius as an unlawful CIsei
and the shooting down of American cltl-
| ZenS by Burriel AS brutal and uniustifiable,
and he CONSTITUTES the two acts, with the
manner in which the official representative
of. the United States (Vice. Consul
Schmitt) was treated, as deliberate
| insult to the United States, offered
in cool blood, and with q full un=
Outstanding of all the impOTtAnee and grav-
| ite of the gflense. When it was remarked
| to him that had the victims of Burriel's
brutality been British subjects, the old lion
would have reused to a speedy and fearful
aN enging of the crime, he quickly rejoined
that there would have been in this case just
IS prUtIpt and decisive action taken by the
American Government as CUnld possibly
have been taken by the Government OF
Great Britain, if'the Chief Magistrate had
not been so restricted by the Constitution
and the laws as that he could go no further
Congress.
The President said that in his message
he would lay before Congress all the facts
bearing upon the case that shall have come
into the possession of the Government, and
then he added, Significantly, 'five days will
be ample time in WHICH to decide as to the
proper action to be taken by Congress III
the case" The President said he was i'll
- OIL. = ,llN
mean by that he favored annexation, al
though he believed that in time annexation
would be accomplished i'll the natural
course of things.
In abiding to the relations sustained by
the United States Government with the
Spanish Government, the President said
the Castelar, Republic and that of the
United States were natural allies, and that
they had common interests, common sym
pathies, common aims, common friends,
and he added, the enemies OF the one are
the enemies of the other. While this is
the case. the relations srbsisting between
the CASTELAR, Republic and the Spanish
governing power i'll Cuba are not friendly,
and the orders and directions Of the home
government are likely to be evaded, dis
obeyed and ignored by the Government au-
thOritieS in Cuba, whenever by any preteXt
such a result can be accomplished; so that
while the CASTELAR, government is held re-
sponsible and cannot evade the response
bility for the acts Of the Spanish authori-
ties in Cuba, yet the latter can embarass
the former to the grave extent, while the
home government is powerless TO avert the
evil till the mischief is done. There is no
love in the Spanish authorities in Cuba for
the United States. We have no sympathy
in common.
The law of 1868, to which the President
referred, is the act of July 81, concerning
the rights of American citizens in foreign
States, and the particular part of it which
the President complains Of as hampering
him, is the third section, which is as fol-
lows:
'sThat whenever it shall be made known
tothe President that any citizen ofthe Uni
ted States has been uniustly deprived of his
liberty, by or under the authority of any
foreign Government, it shall be the duty of
the President forthwith to demand of that
Government the reason for such imprison-
ment, and if it appears to be wrongful, and
in violation of the rights of American citi-
zenship, the President shall forthwith de-
mand the release of such citizens. If the
release so demanded is unreasonably de-
layed or refused, it shall be the duty of The
President to use such means, not amount
inc to acts of war, as he may think necessa-