The sun., 1895-03-01

succumbcd 10 Spain IL was SIMON BOLIVAR,
who at n corresponding crisis saved Peru.
An Engishman, Lord CoCHRANE, played
the same part in the South American strug-
gle for independence, that had been taken
by LAFAYETTE in our own Revolution. It
was another Engishman, GEORGE GAN
MING, VINO, when Spain, determined to re-
cover her colonies, invoked assistance from
tho powers united in the Holy Alliance,
forbade their interpositon; and there
by, as me truthfully said, called a
new world into existence to counter
balance the old. How was 1t with
| British North America More than sixty
| years elapsed after our Declaration Of indie
pendence before, in 1S4l, Great Britain
conceded to the inhabitants OF Canada that
| exercise Of influence over the Executive
| through the peoples representatives, which
| constitutes the essence of responsible gov
ernment in England. That concession would
not have been made, or would not have been
made so early, but for the notorious fact
that the Canadians were incessnntly wrought
to mutiny by the outspoken sympathy and
promises OF overt support on the part of their
American neighbors. When, finally, the
Mexican republic lay stricken and helpless
beneath the feet of French invaders, it was
an American Secretary Of State who bade
the French Emperor recall his legions.
Thus we see that not commonwealth
upon this continent achieved it's freedom by
the single-handed struggle to which un-
happy Cuba has been left. 1t Is equally true
that no country in this hemisphere has at
any time so thoroughly deserved the sympa-
thy of fair-minded and kind-hearted men,
az this is now deserved by Cuba in her sub
lection to Spanish tyranny and greed. The
position Of Cuba at this moment is incom-
parably worse than was that of the thirteen
United States in 1776, or that of the
Canadas in 1S41; and it is much worse even
than was that of the other Spanish-Ameri-
can colonies at the time of their revolt from
Spain. What, by comparison, had we to
complain of in 17T62 We had by no means
fully awakened to the hardships of the navi-
cation acts, and England had repealed the
stamp act, retaining nothing but the barren
assertion of the mother countrv's theoret-
ical right to tax her transatlantic pos
sessions. What had the Canadians to grum
BILE at in 1871 a? They were not asked to
pay a penny's worth of taxes for the sup
whole cost of their colonial Government
was borne by the British treasury Es-
recially impressive is the comparison of
Cuba's actual plight with her relatively
fortunate condition ut the beginning Of this
century. When the American dominions of
Spain stretched from the confines of Oregon
to Cape Horn, the burdens imposed upon
the cOlonists for the benefit Of the Spanish
treasury, of Spanish producers and Of Span
ish office seekers were distributed over
vast area, and only small share fell on the
inhabitants Of the Queen of the Antilles.
Now, on the contrary, Cuba has to bear the
whole grinding impact of Spanish despot-
ism and rapacity her inhabitants are COM
PEELED to buy in the dearest markets and to
sell their own commodities under the most
disheartening restrictions; offices and sine
cures for needy Spaniards have been in
ordinately multiplied, and the salaries at
tached to them outrageously increased taxes
and imposts of every kind have been pushed
to the danger point where production and
consumption are alike discouraged. The
sum wrunG from Cuba per head of the pop
ulation is much larger to-day than it was at
the beginning of the century. either in that
iSldHu UT III any oeier VI Cpdlh AmcTiCuu
possessions.
Such is the plight of Cuba at this hour,
when all around her on the American
continent freedom has taken root and
fiourishes; when even of European Christian
countries Russia alone denies the right of a
people to lf-government; and when in old
Spain itself the people exercise through their
delegates to the Cortes control of the
executive and legislative functions. The
admission of handful of Cuban deputies to
the Spanish parliament has proved cruel
mockery, their prayers for local autonomy
or for some alleviation of fiscal oppression |
being invariably received with cold indiffer-
ence or open contempt. How does it happen,
then, that Cubans in their misery look in
vain for help to their brethren of the Spanish
American republics, which were so helpful |
to each other in their great uprising against |
Spain? How comes it that they appeal in |
vain to the people of the United States, who |
by the mere outburst of their sympathes |
secured for the Canadians the blessings of |
self-government and who with one peremp-
tory fiat drove the French out of conquered |
Mexico? Not forever shall CuSa's prayer |
remain unanswered. The day, we believe,
American commonwealth will awaken to
the sacredness of the fraternal duty which
it has too long neglected, and when every
true-hearted citizen of the United States,
with pang of self-reproach, will recognize
that Cuba's ruin is his countrys shame.