The New York herald., 1873-11-22
n Dishonornbie Peace an Honor
able War-Whfch Shall Is Bet

| OF having practically established the TACT that
differences between civilized nations can be
settled by appeals to peaceful tribunals more
satisfactorily and more proftably to all con-
cerned than by appeals to arms. The inter
ests OF our country demand peace, for our na-
tionh growth and prosperity depend upon
peaceful pursuits-upon immigration, the set
tlement and cultivation OF our vast
unoccupied territory, the development of our
mineral and other resources, the construction
of works of internal improvement, the revival
of our shipping interests and all those advan-
tages of which a nation is deprived in time
of war. We recognize the fact that war is
always a calamity, even to those who engage
in it with honor and whose quarrel is just.
When needlessly provoked or dishonorably
undertaken it is not only a calamity,
but crime. No good citizen, no
true patriot, can wish his country to
resort to war except as last resort, when oil
other remedies have failed. Nevertheless, as
peace has its triumphs as well as war, so peace
has its calamties as well as war. Purchased
at the price of national honor, it is as criminal
as war in an unrightcous cause A disgrace
full peace defeats its own object; for nation
that sacrifices its honor to cowardice or ex-
pediency is always the object of insult and
attack.
We fear that our government, through its
tortuous diplomacy, is about to sacrifice the
national honor tor the sake of a deceptive
peace, or to suffer us to drift slowly into war
after our honor has become tarnished and the
enthusiasm of the people has passed away.
Such appears now to be the inevita-
BILE tendency of the wavering policy
of the State Department, which, under
the influence of its highly respectable but
very timid Secretary, has brought US to this
shameful dilemma. For it must be evident
to every clear-minded man who read our i'm
portant special cable dispatches from Madrid
yesterday and who will read the feeble, shaky
inspirations from Washington which we pub
lish to-day, that we are really in such a
dilemma. Our opinions about the Virginius
outrage have been freely expressed. We
have urged, and we still urge, that the only
effective remedy is to seize Cuba Immediately
and hold possession until some civilized gov
ernment is established there. But when we
received our special Madrid dispatches yester-
day, in which the demands OF our government
upon Spain were enumerated with forcible
brevity and decision, We were free to
confess that these demands evinced
maintain the national honor through peace,
if possible through war, if necessary We
were willing to accept this action of our gov
ernrnent as one the people could approve, and
we hoped that at last the popular spirit
had galvanized the diplomatic department Of
Secretary Fish, or that our soldier-President
had resolved to take this difficulty into his
own hands for adjustment But we fear that
we have again been deceived.
Brave demands, five in number, were made,
truly enough; but we fear that, like the
threats of bully, they came noisily from the
tongue, not earnestly from the heart. They
should have been accompanied by further
| demand-that the terms of settlement must be
accepted or declined within forty-eight hours.
They were made without any such limitation
and since the insolent refusal of the Minister
of War even to allow them to be dis
cussed in his presence they have
been deferred, or ''suspended,' as we
are mildly informed from Washington, to give
time for Spain to obtain the requisite informa-
ton from Cuba. Information of what? That
the yirginius, an American vessel flying the
United States fag was seized on the high
seas? That is known already, and the intel
lgence has been welcomed with bell
ringing at Havana and shouts of Joy
at Madrid. That American citizens and
men of other nationalities who trusted
their lives to the protection of our
flag have been murdered without trial
in violation of international law and treaty
obligation by the bloody butchers of San
tiago2 That news has already been officially
received, and the brutal slaughter has been
celebrated by great bull fight at Havana
and by savage demonstration on the Amer
lean Legation by the delighted rabble at
Madrid. Let US now address word of warn
ing to our government, which in all its
acts consistent with national honor
shall have our earnest support Lot us warn
it that in this last Spanish villany the Amer
ican people will not brook further parleyng
and delay. The game Of biindfolding them
by diplomatic falsehood and chicanery is now
a dangerous one to play. They have had
enough of it in the past, when outrage
after outrage committed against the United
States by this miserable and dastardly
Cuban government has been suffered
to die out and be forgotten. They
demand that our government shall deal
frankly with them in this matter; that it
shall cast aside the tricks of diplomacy and
boldly avenge the outrage on our flag, the in
suits to our representatives and the inhuman
butchery of our citizens and Of those whose
lives were under our protection. The Ameri-
can people have information enough on this