McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1884-12-11
The Spanish Question.

ImS government has more than once beer
called upon of late to take action in fulfillment
| OF Its international obligations toward Spain
An agitation in the island of Cuba hostile to
the Spanish crown, having been fermented by
persons abusing the sacred rights of hospitali-
ty which our territory affords the officers of
the government have been instructed to use due
vigilance to prevent the infraction of our neu-
trailty laws at Key West and at points near the
cuban coast. L am happy to say that in the
only instance where these precautionary meas
ures were successfully eluded, the offenders
were found in our territory, and were subse-
quently tried and convicted. The growing
need OF close relationship of intercourse and
traffic between the Spanish Antilles and their
natural market in the United States led to the
adoption in January last of commercial
agreement looking to that end. This agree
ment has since been superseded by more
carefully framed and comprehensive conyen-
ion, which shall submit to the senate for ap-
proval. Ithas been the aim of this negotia-
ton to open such favored reciprocal eX-
change of production, carried under the flag of
either country, as to make the intercourse be-
tween Cuba and Porto Rico and ourselves
scarcely less intimate than the commercial
movement between Our domestic ports, and to
insure removal of the burdens on shipping in
the Spanish Indies, of which in the past our
ship owners and ship masters have so often
had cause to complain.
The negotiations of this convention have for
a time postponed the prosecution of certain
claims of our citizens which were declared to
be without the jurisdiction of the late Spanish
American claim commission and which we
therefore recommitted to diplomatic channels
for adjustment The speedy settlement of
these claims will now be urged by the govern
ment.
The negotiations for treaty of commercial
reciprocity with the American republic have
been successfully concluded and the result will
al fhn a.
questions between the United States and the
Ottoman Empire, still remain uIisolved; COM
plants In behalf OF our citizens are not salts
factorily adjusted. The senate has sought to
withhold from our commerce the right of IA
vored treatment to which we are .entitled by
existing conventional stipulations and the re-
vision of the tariff is unaccomplished
The final disposition of pending questions
with Venezuela has not, as vet been reached,
but l have good reason to expect an early set
Element which provides the means of reeXamin-
ing the Caracas awards, in conformity with the
recognize the justice of certain claims prefer
red against Venezuela. The Central and
South American commission appointed by au-
thority of the act of July 9TH 1884 will soon
proceed to Mexico. 1t has been furnished
with instructions which will be laid before YOU,
they contain statement of the general policy
of the government for charging its CONNER
cial intercourse with the American states.
The commissioners have been actively prepar-
ing for their responsible task by holding con-
ferences in the principal cities with merchants
and others interested in Central and South
American trade. The internal meridian con-
ference lately called in Washington upon the
invitation of the government of the United
States is composed of representatives from
twenty five nations. The conference con-
Guided its labors on the LIST of November, hay
ing with substantial unanimity, agreed upon
the Meridian of Greenwich as the starting
point whence longitude is to be computed
through one hundred and eighty degrees east
all purposes for which it may be found con-
venient of universal day which shall begin at
midnight on the initial meridian and whose
hours shall be counted from zero, up to twenty
four. The formal report of the transactions
of this conference will be hereafter transmitted
to congress.