The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-01-02
REPUBLICAN SPAIN.

A Republic Without Republican,.
'.By the way" said q leading cuban to a HERALD
representative recently, 'let me draw lthe atten-
ton OF your great American journal to some STA
tistics which lind written on the back OF an en-
velope that brought me letter enclosed from
London. Here 1t is"
The gentleman produced the letter cover, upon
which the following interesting facts were writ
ten:-
SPAIN together with the Canary and Bslssnc Islands
ss esa nor S
read but cannot write and only little 500 900
esd
sign their own names Long live Spain with honor.
"Now,n said the gentleman, ''what can you do
with an ignorant nation like that 2 Spain can
never be republic until the masses Of her people
become educated. Education is the first essential
OF republcanism. The present government OF
Spain Is an anomaly. 1t is hybrid abortion that
neither one thing nor the other. Castelar, Ia, Or
was, a republican. While I'm the opposition he was
strongly pledged to the abolition of slavery, yet
since his advent to Office neither he nor his sup
pOrters have taken the first step In the direction OF
emancp patton. The ABOLITION OF slavery in Porto
Rice and the law OF Moret, providing for gradual
emancipation In Cuba are not the work Of Caste
savoy. Repubiicanism therefore, thus far, owes
couched, it is true, in the eloquent Ian,
EaSu Of Of agsS sat ssT rr Ta st0 FoDe to
and other well known rampant champions
cant signs Of the times in Spain, clearly point out
the TACT that the present sO-caed republic Is only
a thing Of chance, ephemeral as the contingency
which called 1t into existence and that CASTELAR, is
eHs S s m n Go sss Ss s
In old Iberia, under the son OF ex-Queen Isabel8S
ABOUT THE v!RG1NIus QUESTION.
u don't understand" said an eminent Cuban.
''the position Of Attorney General Yll,sms. He
since PATTERSON. the owner Of the Virginius, per-
jarsd himself in swearing that ne was the owner
s a. ssos 0s sus 9 Ss
parties who furnished the money to buy the ship,
and who were the real owners II, after two
years, Patterson. who Is said to have per-
the government prosecute those whose only
crime consists in having named that gentleman aA
their agents A thing which they might, according
to law, do. General Quesada had q perfect right
to charter the Virginius-whith he Is said to have
dOne-and take her. loaded with arms and amWu1
nltion-which 1t is admitted he dtd-and altEfA
wards employ her in the service OF NEUTRAL
Power, under General GuZman Blanco. In all this
there was no act committed against the inter-
national or neutrality laws. The fact that the.
virgnius committed during her long absence IN
South America no act contrary TO the law OF ma
lions or OF the United states Is amply proved
by her being protected In Aspinwali by the
American man-owar Kansas; and also that, in
all her trips 70 and fro In South and Central Ameri
S her sailing papers Legal order
sulates where she touched. II she was not entitled
to tins protection and acknowledgements Of her
right to bear the nag. then what must be thought
of the bungiing, negiectfu II not ignorant or cui
pable, wav In which the several Consuls, the COM
mander of the Kansas, even the government itself,
treated the vessel In every port she called at
until captured on the high seas without the shadow