The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-12-12
State of Feeling in Havana.

The following extract from private letter
from Havana, dated December 2, gives an idea
of the state of feeling there respecting the
Virginius affair."
The Virginius affair appears to be exceeding
" threatening I dare say you know much
more about it really than we DO, but some OF
the national characteristics will be lost by tele-
graphic transmission. The reports for some
days past have been very threatening, CASTELAR,
being accused of selling the honor of the great
Spanish nation, of being an ''insurrecto" or
"laborante" and what not.
Morally, it is perfectly clear that the Span
iards were in the right capturing the Virglnius,
a vessel which for the last three years has been
employed in bringing assistance in men, money
and munitions Of war to the insurgents at the
east end of the island. Legally, no doubt they
made null of the affair; first, because they
captured the vessel in neutral waters; secondly,
because they shot the Americans on board on
their own confession of their intentions, and
the object of the voyage; acting in that, with
an unseemly, blOodthirsty hastiness But there
is much to be said on the other side; for the
Spaniards have been aggravated bitterly by the
repeated successes of the Virginius, boosted OF
in all the American newspapers; successes
which have no doubt largely contributed to
keeping up this contemplate insurrection-a
movement which, if successful, would plunge
Cuba into the depths of an anarchy worse than
that in which the continental republics descend
ing from Spain are constantly wallowlng.
think the greatest mistake any one can fall in
to is sympathy with the creole Cubans, who are
as far as have been able to study them, the
very lowest OF human beings pretending to
have white skins
The last telegram received from Madrid Or
ders that the Virginius be given up to the
Americans and the question between the two
nations will be settled by arbitration. HOwls
of indignation are to be heard on all sides in
this place. They won't give up the Virginius,"
they say. The Didrio declares that there is not
"marinO"-nay. not man in the island OF
Cuba, who would move a finger to give up the
Virginius The Comandante de Marina and
and resolved that, if the order for the giving
up of the Virginius should be insisted on, they
would one and all send in their designations,
and give up titles, honor-everything. And
the VOz de Cuba declares these sentiments to be
the heighth of patriotism and soul of honor.
So far is the public press from knowing the
meaning of the words, duty and obedience, be-
ing qualities unknown to them.
That the public sentiment here should openly
express itself as against the government, and
and the officers of the navy refuse to obey its
orders, appears to me a serious position of
affairs All the banks have stopped discount,
exchange on London has gone up to 95 per cent.
premium; gold is at ~ per cent premium.
Business is at standstill; and of course, Ha-
bana being purely business place, there are
a good many idlers and loafers about, whose
next amusement may be a massacre of the
Anglo-Saxons in general. So we English,
Germans and Americans may find ourselves in
a fix. Luckily for my skin, l can gable away
in Spanish nearly as fast as these people them
for myself. Bnt what we may come to if the
United States decide to send a force down here
to seize the Virginius is more than any of US
can foresee for the present