Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-04-29
CUBA AND HER TROUBLES.
A RUMOR THAT MEXICO CON
TEMPLATES A PURCHASE.
The Report Not Generally Accredited,
However-Ex- Consul General Badeau
Explains in Letter the Causes which
Led to His Resignation.

Governments Of Spain and Mexico, look
ing to the transfer by the former to tn,
latter of the Island of Cuba, contingen
upon the agreement of the Cubans ex
pressed by a plebiscite to the transfer
and upon an obligation from the United
States of a guarantee of the payment by
Mexico of the purchase money, is dis
credited at the Spanish and Mexican le
| cations in this city. Senior Valera, the
| Spanish Minister, said tonight to an AS
sOciated Press reporter that the story was
unreasonable and absurd. Spain, he
said, would never consent to part
| with Cuba unless that island was wrest.
ed from her by force. The national pride
would not permit her to give it up other.
| wise. Even should there be a revolution
/ in Spain which would result in the over
throw of the present government and the
| substitution of most radical system OF
| government in its stead, even should
/ Spain become a republic, it would not. be
thought, consent TO give up Cuba. He
said that he had received advices from
Madrid to-day in reference to various
matters, among others Cuban af-
fairs, but nothing indicating any
such intention on the part of the
| Spanish Government as that with
which his report credited 1t. Senior RO-
nero, the Mexican Minister, thought the
report highly improbable. He said that
| he did not think that the national pride
would permit Spain to sell Cuba, and he
had had no intimation from his govern
ment that they wanted to buy it. He said
that he had never heard anything about
selling Cuba, except that at one time.
some years ago, it was said that negOti-
ations were pending for its sale to the
| United States
BADEAU'S EXPLANATION.
NEW YORK, April 2S.-The Tribune of
Tuesday morning will contain the follow
ing letter:
To tile Editor Of the Tribune:
SIR-HavIng resigned my position Of Consul
General at Havana / beg leave to state nv
reasons for this act. Under our democratic
system even the government is amenable to
those whom it represents, and a subordinate
whose charges of delinquencies in his supe-
riors are disregarded may appeal to his cOun-
trymen to secure their rights in his own We
are even now approaching moment when
the present administration is to ask for a YER
dict upon its course. The time is therefore
fitting to throw some light upon the
conduct of one of the departments which
compose that administration. On February
26 and again on March % last addressed the
President, protesting against the action of the
State Department In persistently screening
corruption. and at the same time negotiating
an Injurious and improper treaty with Spain
On April 4. having received no reply bev0nd n
bare ACKNOWLEDGMENT, l telegraphed to the
President requesting to be ordered to Wash
lngtOn TO substantiate my charges. To this
also received no reply. On April | again
telegraphed in these words, Il have the honor
to tender my resignation to take effect i'm
medlately, unless l can be ordered to Wash
lngtOn Tor the purposes already explained -
| then received a dispatch by cable from the
Secretary OF state announcing that the Presi-
dent dld not think 1t advisable for me to re-
turn to w Washington, as my services were re
quired at Havana. | Immediately replied :
II request you to say to the President that
am unwilling to serve under a department
whose policy | disapprove and which con-
slider has treated me with injustice and in
dignity. / tender my resignation to take
effect at once" To this | got no reply, and
again telegraphed to the President: ii shall
appeal to the people tomorrow unless |
hear from you" Within twenty
four hours the answer came: Res
lgnatlOn accepted as requested - [
now charge the State Department with
grave dereliction from public duty, with
gross and continued neglect of injuries and
insults put upon American citizens, Ameri-
can sealnen and the American trade in the
island OF Cuba, with a vacilating and
lgnOmlnous policy, requiring often to be
stimulated into defense or protection of
Americans, and even if sometimes assuming
an honorable and becoming position. aban-
doning it as rule before the resistance of
Spain, and yielding more than once lust be-
fore Spain acceded to its lust demands I
charge it with negotiating commercial
agreement with Spain so manifest1y improper
and i'll considered that in six weeks after il
was signed it had to be abandoned and a new
one concluded in which two of the original
seven articles were omitted altogether while
two others must be submitted to a decision of
the Spanish COrtes not yet elected. charge
that the stlpulatlons of this agreement are in
FURIOUS TO the interests and honor of the cOuu-
try and reprOach to its diplomacy for il
provides that the United States shall abandon
to Spain duties amounting annually
70 = rtsaN
the United States only 81 100000 in re-
turn. 1t provides that American custom
house officials shall report to the Spanish
Consuls in order to enable the Cuban authOri-
ties to enforce vigorously their eXaetiOns on
our own trade, and this, as ii stands, Is the
whole of the agreement to-day. | charge
that TINS agreement was in reality treaty,
and not submitted to the Senate In accordance
with the constitution, but under a pretence
that it was commercial agreement" In
portant stipulatiOns with foreign govern
ment were entered into W thOut the sanction
of that branch OF the Legislature whose con-
sent is indispensable. Two important provis-
ions in the treaty of January ,, were thus al
together illegal and unconstitutional. one
stIpulating, as have shown, that the '.Cus-
tom Houses of the United States shall furnish
to spanish C0nsuls, whenever they may re-
quest them, certificates of cargOes of sugar
and tobacco brought from the Antilles: and
the other, far more grave. establishing a per-
feet equality of treatment between the Span
ish provinces and the United States and re-
moving all extra duties or discrimination not
general as to other countries having the treat
ment of the most favored nations. The Ex-
ecutlve had no more right to make thfA en-
gagement without the sanction of the Senate
than / had. | charge that this agreement
was scrupulOusly concealed in all its
points from the chief representative of the
United States on the island which
its stipulations almost exclusively affect
Although private parties and interested ind-
viduals were taken into the confidence of the
department and repeatedly consulted as to
Hn.saNH
circulated in lithograph, no hint of its pro-
gress was given to an officer more closely con-
cerned IN its provisions than any other SER
want OF the government, and who ought to
have been able, and who was able, to furnish
information, without considering which, it
should never have been concluded.
| charge the department simultaneously
with those other delinquencies: with screen
ing and supporting a corrupt Consular Clerk.
whom | repeatedly reported for vio-
lation of orders, gross insubordination,
and abstraction of public and private moneys.
These accusations, eight times presented, re-
manned utterly unnOticed Officially, for four
months until the day when ] left Havana
a private letter, it IS true, eXtOrted an eva
sive reply from the Secretary Of State in
March, defending the delay and announcing
further postponement: and after / had re-
signed the decision was hurriedy forwarded
to me, dated April I, but mailed April u
iDdorsiDg this clerk upon his own state
ment that he was innocent, without
receiving the proofs | had offered or
allowing me to be heard in person; a
decision which / venture TO say Will
be pronounced by either Congress
or the courts to be in contra vention of law
justice and prosperity. j charge that these
cOineident circumstances make it imperative
upon the department to prove that no con-
nectiOn exists between them, and to show why
it neglected American interests and Amerf-
can sufferers; why it negotiated hasty and
injurious treaty without submitting il to the
Senate; why it concealed that negotiation
from the officer who should first have been
consulted in regard to il; why for months il
failed to notice the accusations of cOrruDtiOn
repeatedly pressed upon its attention and
finally dismissed them without calling
witnesses or considering the evidence
whether these were all part of one
deliberate scheme an what was the reason for
this cOurseg hold myself ready to substan-
tiate every ore Of these charges, and | call
upon the State Department to publish every
dispatch that has passed between itself and me
since November 2S last, the date of my arrival
at my post without enc word omitted or one
line mutiIated. / declare, of my own knowl-
edge, that no legitimate interest, public or
that nO one viii be hurt except those who
should not be screened. am, sir. your
obedent servant, ADAM BADEAr.
Ne3c York, april 2S, 1851.
PAsQUINADOs IN HAVANA.
Letters from Havana dated April q
say: ION Monday evening a large num-
Der Of Pasqulnados appeared, some being
distributed throughout the city, and some
posted at street corners. The document
called upon the people to join the Aguero
movement and to assist in throwing off
the Spanish yoke, all hopes of better gov
ernment having vanished. 1t is reported
that the police arrested eight persons
charged with distributing REASONABLE
papers. The troops have not vet sue
ceeded in annihilating the insurgents and
the few of the latter killed have been re-
placed by new adherents."