The Richmond palladium., 1873-03-22
THE CUBAN REVOLUTION.

1s.eA1 Il
ten bssn charged With being utterly ineapa-
bic Of patieat endurance, protraetsd sxsftions |
and heroic sacrifices for an idea or prineiple; |
bat, however true this charge may Be. like |
every other rule Il has its exceptions. What |
ever verdict history shall pronouncs on The |
Latin rases, 4 win hersaftsr DO justies 10 shs
devotion with which the Cuban patriots have |
stood By the cause Of liberty and indspsnd-
snee. We know Of no revolution, aneienl or
modern, that has besn attended with SINH
lar struggle. Its hopslsssnsss vas betsay-
I'd on the Arst day. The belief that ths
whole island would battle for freedom vas
shaken By The attitude Of the large citiss,
which although they eontaised The elsmsnss
Of the revolution, did not Join In tie move.
msnt. The hope that the Unitsd States, q.
ther Voluntarily or with an ultsriof vis1 %
annexation, or compelled by the pressure Of
circumstances would take part in the quar-.
rslin which they eoald espouss only 90 side
was soon dispelled BY the strictly neutral
policy adopted at Washingtou. After that
the fate Of the rsvolution sssusd insvitabls-
The mother country unclaimed hsr blood
hounds; she used the last remnant Of her
credit TO crush the insurrection under rsp-
id. powerful blows. Her best 0susrals,
trained in the Spanish guerrilla wars, she
dispatched to the colony. Large fleets wsrs
collected round the island. Every bay, port
and creek was placed under the closssst sur-
veillancs that no rebel might escape, no aid
from abroad might reach the patriots. What
the lamenSed Governor Seward once said
about the Suppression Of the Southern re-
beiliou. the Spanish statesmen have said
time and again about the revolution In Cuba-
that it would b put down within The next
three months,
Years have passssd. Spain has sent aeet
after feet to the Antilles. Hsr choicest
troops have been landed By tens sf thousan nds
ON the island. Hosts of volunteers have
joined the regulars to shed the blood Of thei.
brethren. Commander who bad won laurel,
in Spain lost them in Cuba. The stratseist,
Of the spanish Sierras found their science o
no avail in the insular land. The superiori
ty Of numbers, the momentum of the mass
%, and the skill Of leaders trained amid th
smoke Of . hundred battles effected moth
ing against the endurance, resolution an
valor of handful of islanders. The swor
having failed, conciliation was then .tsiel
The patriots were offered full amnesty. eve
rewards. provided they wsuld consent /
abandon seemingly hopeless rssistanc,
There were few traitors who not only d.
sorted their companions in arms, but ala
turned their swords against them, bat Il
majority remained faithful to the Cubs
cause. What these faithful men suffer nor
save martyrs can bs expected to sndur
Tho pen 10 10th to describe the horrors
the war of determination. All that the mo
refined malice combined with the most zen,
ish cruelty could suggest was done 10 for
the patriots to submit, to rslinquish thu
hopes. Even this proved useless. The rev
luton whose overthrow the mother count,
r has repeatedly celebrated ID not ev,
z now in the way Of being conquered. r
A small band Of heroes which unfarlsd q
! banner Of liberty in the colony may be d
|, cimiated, it may NO longer be 20 "
equipped, NO longer 90 confident and dari
: ~ formerly. but 1t 10 still full Of plsek, .
never despairs, however dark the prospe,
: may seem.
q The world has not appreciated this- stRl
Gle for liberty in the degree it dsssrv
That monarehical Europe should not hs
!, done sois, perhaps, natural; bat that u
should not be moro sympathy with the p
8 riot cause in republican Amsries b dif6e
Q 10 understand. The re.olntionary stzuaa
d Of the Latin races ON this contineut may
|, have been calculated to inspire confidence
, respect. Their chronic recurrence in Nez
2 and the Central American States, VII
!. hey are the manifestations of Q lavl
a minority, where they mean NO triumph
q principle but the possession Of political POI
.a and the spoils, has dons much 70 render
n Gallo ~ to the subject. But Il 10 differ
x with Cuba. The revolutionary novem
n there rests in tha consciousness Of an
= justice and oppression which have bee
8. intolerable. Americans can afford to Be
to those who stand up manfully for I
. rights, and honor tho sms II band whic
~ shedding such luster on the Latin race,
It least awarding 70 them the moral r.
nition or tact of belligersney they
q maintained since October, 1864.