The New York herald., 1876-01-29
rhe Cuban Conundrum.


nor even belligerent rights at our hands, the
President should threaten Spain with inter
vention-which means war-on their ac-
count; and it is still curious to know what
is the nature of that further proposition
which he promised in the Message.
Under these circumstances we recur to the
Message and to the Spanish note just made
public to see if a careful examination of
these declarations of the Presidents
thoughts may not afford some light on a very
dark subject We find it there asserted that
! Intervention is necessary-First, because of
our great trade with Cuba. But our great
trade has not suffered it is doing very well
Second, we can no longer remain quiet. it
seems, because, to quote the language of the
Message
The property OF our citizens In Cuba is large and
rendered insecure and deprecated in value and in
capacity OF production by the continuance OF the strife
] and the unnatural mode OF its condlct The same is
true differing only In degree with respect to the inter
ests and people of other nations and the absence OF
any reasonable assurance OF near termination of the
conflict must OF necessity, compel the States thus
suffering to consider what the interests of their
people and their duty toward themselves may demand
But the President appears to have for
gotten what the people of this coun-
try do not forget, that 'the property
of our citizens in Cuba" consists in
slave estates that these unworthy citizens
of free country have invested their means
in slaves and in sugar estates, worked and
only to be proftably worked, by slaves.
Does the President mean to say that he
would make war on Spain-because inter-
vention means war-to protect American
citizens in the holding and use of slaves
which our own laws forbid? Having, at a
monstrous cost, abolished slavery in our own
cotton sugar and tobacco producing States,
are we now to undertake another war to pro-
tect absentee Americans in the secure owner
ship and working of their slave gangs under
another flag and in another country2 Ought
not Congress rather to make haste to pass a
law forbidding American citizens to hold or
use slaves anywhere, and depriving them Of
all claim to protection as citizens from our
government if they do SO?
But it seems, according to the paragraph
quoted above from the Message, that the
people of other nations also own property in
Cuba, and for these, too the President is
concerned. Why should he be? 1t is none
of our business. 1t is very well known that
they would like to see us make it our busi.
ness. There is not an Englishman, Ger
man, q Frenchman or an Italian in Cuba, the
owner of sugar estate with its slaves, but
anxiously desires the interference of the
United States. American Consuls abroad
Americans travelling in Europe or in Cuba,
can toll how often they have been addressed
on this subject by foreigners, and how gladly
the foreign property owners in Cuba would
welcome American Intervention. Their own
governments will not help them to enjoy in
security their slave estates; they would like
nothing so we'll as that we should pull their
chestnuts out of the fire for them. The Lon
don Times has for some months repeatedly
urged and justified American intervention,
and it is shrewd enough to conceal the rea-
son why some Englishmen would be glad to
see us make war on Spain.
What are our real relations to Cuba? The
question has been so long befogged by the
Presidents anxiety about the future of the
island that it is worth while to examine it
carefully, and not in the twilight of the
Message. Cuba is an island lying near our
coast owned by Spain. large part of its
inhabitants are in revolt against its Euro
pean rulers, and the parent government,
after seven years of effort, is unable to put
them down. That is the whole story. It is
not a new one. A similar struggle went on
for years between Spain and her South
American colonies What did we then do?
We did not, certainly, express our sympathy
with Spain. We did not suggest that pos
sibly some means might yet be found by
Spain to subdue or pacify her rebellious
colonies. What the Presidents of those days
did was to observs carefully the course
toward Spain to which international law
obliged us, but at the same time to express
plainly, repeatedly and constantly, our
profound belief that the independence of
these colonies must be the final result Of the
struggle, and the satisfaction with which the
American people would view such an end.
That is our true and simple course now. 1t
is absurd to say that Spain can ever quiet
Cuba or repossess it in peace. 1t is absurd to
say that any American wishes she may do so,
unless he is STAKEHOLDER in Cuba The
plain truth is that the Cuban struggle will
go on to its certain and proper end-the
freedom of tho island-and that when the
Cuban revolutionists have attained this end,
as they can, and, if we let them alone, will, by
their own growing strength and the increas-
ing weakness of Spain, we shall very gladly
welcome them into the family of nations.
and wish them liberty and prosperity In
the meantime we are to look on and wait.
We are neither to bully Spain nor to help
her crush the insurrection. We are to do
our duty by Spain and to let the rebellion
work out its inevitable result, meantime tell
ing Spain frankly that we neither believe she
can succeed nor desire that she shall. That