The Yale expositor., 1895-02-01


decree of restoration was issued IN
Madrid, but secret instructions were
forwarded to Cuba to disregard the de-
cree. In September and November,
1873, in consequence of further pro-
tests from our government sent orders
to the governor general of Cuba,
directing him TO release the property
of Antonio before Nov. 30. Be-
fore this was done came the DOWNFALL
further consideration of the case had
to be postponed for two years. In
November, 1875, our secretary of state
reopened the case in letter sent to
our minister at Madrid, in which,
among other things, he said: 1.-THE
President feels that the time is at hand
when it may be his duty to submit the
subject, accompanied by an expression
OF his views, to the consideration OF
congress. This conclusion is reached
after every other expedient has been
tried and proved failure" To these
strong representations the Spanish
government replied that the king of
Spain had decided to grant pardon
to Mora and restore his property, say
ing at the same time that a cable to
that effect mad that day been sent to
Cuba. Nothing was ever heard of this
cable, nor was the least sign of resti-
tuition made by the Cuban government.
On the contrary, the Cuban govern
ment set up the plea that certain
creditors of Mora had stepped in and
absorbed the profits of the estate, none
of which had ever been paid over to
the Spanish government. That this
was utterly false was proved at the
time by the ten custodians of the
estates, who reported that they
had paid over to the Cuban treasury
from the estates the large sum of
S9,317, 900. From 1876 to 1886 succeed
ing administrations tried persistently
to induce the Spanish government to
redeem its oft made and often broken
promiSes of restitution. Finally, in
July, 1885, Mr.. Foster, the American
minister at Madrid, addressed very
plain and unvarnished statement of
the case to the Spanish secretary of
months. In the meantime the estates
had gone TO rack and ruin. The Cuban
government had taken everything they
could out of the plantations and put
nothing in. The machinery was out
of repair and useless, the buildings
tumble down and the 1, 900 negroes en-
ployed on the estate had disappeared.
Il No inc l,s % h -
airy, 1886, in response to repeated APP
plications made by Minister Curry,
who had succeeded Mr.. Foster, the
Spanish government proposed "the
payment of a sum of money, which
will represent an equitable indemnity
for the value of the Mora property,
said sum to be fixed by mutual agree
ment, after which the minister of the
colonies can include in his budget the
sum upon which we have agreed"
At last this really looked like bust
ness, and Mr.. Curry Immediately &C.
cepted the proposition. Mr.. Mora, on
a very conservative basis, figured up
his actual loss, including that of his
brother, at $4,000 900. This included
$4,000 worth of sugar in bond, which
was seized, and the estates, buildings,
etc
Poor Mora, who was ruined and
growing old in the prosecution of his
claim, gladly received even this COM
promise, and our secretary of
state notified Mr.. Curry that
the government would accept
the sum named, $1,000, 0O6, "as a
full discharge of all demands against
the government of Spain growing out
of the claim of this citizen of the
United States"
But, alas! The Spanish government
dissolved the Cortes before any action
was taken on the Cuban budget. Nor
was the Mora claim included in the
Cuban budget of the following Cortes.
In the meantime, President Cleve-
land had come into Office, and it was
now Secretary Bayard's duty to take
up the cudgels in behalf Of justice but
no settlement has yet been reached.