New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-11-18
THE CUBkN MEETING.

The meeting at Steinway Hall last night was
as we said it would be, very large and earn
est demonstration. The audience that filled
every inch of the hall and overfowed into the
street was not especially disposed to listen to
moderate counsels, to welcome arguments
opposed to their sympathies. 1t was q
piece of special good fortune that MIR.
Fyarts was secured for presiding
officer. He is one of those men whom no
connection swerves from their center of
gravity, and who could not be illogical II they
tried. His speech, while perfectly decided
and American in tone, was at the same time
reasonable and well-founded in every partlcu-
lar. 1t set the tone Of the meeting on much
more justifable key than would have been
thought probable, when we take into cOnsd-
Grafton the public excitement which has pre-
vailed for several days. Some OF the
other speakers furnished the requisite supply
of "cakes and ale, and ginger hot In the
mouth But the tone Of the meeting was
on the whole creditable to the city, and
did not exaggerate the popular feeling in
regard to the outrage of Santiago. The
ruling spirit was one of resolute determination
to exact prompt reparation of all injuries, and
the prospect held up by the orators and
greeted by the people was one OF an easy and
rapid righting of all wrongs and the speedy
coming of the good time in the Caribbean Sea.
Yet with all this thunder of the captains
and shouting there must have been in the
minds of most of those intelligent and quick
witted men who sat upon the platform and
were distributed through the body of the
house, an undercurrent of thought not entirely
in harmony with the rhetoric of the platform
and the answering applause of the hall. 1t would
be very easy for us to accept the momeDtary
cry of this meeting for that voice of the
people which it is the tradition of democracy
to call divine, and to join the fluent orators
of last night in predicting all sorts of agree
able and impossible things. But as
we feel no necessity of losing our senses
in the steam of blood which rises
from the pavement of Santiago, and
are not called upon to yell at Gen. Burriel
because he yelled so vociferously at the Amer
lean Vice Consul, we prefer to consider the
situation in which we are placed as matter
of fact rather than of passion, and TO devote
some thought to what Is about to happen,
whether we. wish it or not. rather than to
waste time in saying what we would prefer.
We are in a place where inaction ia no
longer possible. We do not pretend
to PREJUDICE all the legal aspects of
the Virginius case. There Is asl yet
no Trustworthy evidence to show how
far her capture was trespass on the freedom
of the seas and an outrage to our flag. We
do not know how many of her crew and pas
sengers were Americans; we are equally ignOr-
ant of the part taken by our Vice-Consul in
the matter of the trials and executions. But
enough is known of the circumstances of the
massacre to show that the animus of the
Spanish authorities was one Of cOntemptuOus
hostility and malignity towards the United
States. The act was a lawless and inhuman
one, accompanied by expressions of feeling
towards the United States which would be
enough of themselves to warn us that the Pc
ninsulars of Cuba were bad and dangerous neigh
bors, whom we could not afford to neglect.
But this was no isolated fact. In the matter
of the Lloyd Aspinwall, in that of the aboli-
ton of Slavery, in that of the embargoed es-
tates, in that of the murder OF Speakman and
Wyeth, the Spanish sentiment in Cuba had
been demonstrated to be one Of active hos
tilty to the United States, which was with
The UTMOST OlHlCulIy IteLIdinCu W thO wv
eminent at Madrid. The feature which dis
tinguishes this outrage from all the others
IS that it marks the point at which
the Homo Government has lost its
power to control. They murdered, as
It appears, some scores of victims
N Santiago after orders to the contrary had
been sent from Spain. These facts show q
state of things which we cannot in self
defense any longer disregard. The sentiment
Of the Peninsulars in Cuba Is intensely and
awlessly hostile to Americans, and the
Government at Madrid does not appear
able to keep it within bounds. We are
thus forced to interfere for our own protection.
We must first demand redress from the Be-
publican Cabinet at Madrid. II this is refused
or evaded, or the confession is made that
orders from Spain cannot be executed in
Cuba, we must hold the Cuban authorities di-
rectly responsible in future for the conduct of
5he Spanish army on the Island and the Span
sh navy in its waters.
II is throwing words away to dispute with |
hose who say this can be done without event |
lally bringing the Island Of Cuba uDon our !