The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-03-21

draft of enc message. with it's many
erasures and interlinea lions, is all in
Mr.. F'ish's own hand. The message sent
TO congress and printed as eX doce No.
80 is verbatim as in that draft down to
following paragraphs or near the end
There is no de facto government in
the island Of Cuba sufficient to execute
law and maintain just relations with
other nations. Spain has not been able
to suppress the opposition To Spanish
rule in the island, nor to award speedy
justice to other nations. or citizens of
other nations, when their rights have
been invaded
Those sentences were written and in
serted by the president. the next two
were written in the cabinet and on the
presidents suggestion, added by the Sec
rotary of state; the last and concluding
three were written and added in the
cabinet by the secretary of the navy.
Speaker Fish then showed facts to
demonstrate that the policy of the ad-
ministration on this matter of Cuba APP
pears to have been adopted by the re-.
publican party by a decisive vote in the
house of representatives on the pend
ing resolution suggesting belligerent
recognition. and the state department
was free to pursue it's Alabama negotia-
lions.
Senator Cameron. in the recent mi
nority report of the senate committee
of foreign affairs, alluded to a rumor
of a belligerency proclamation having
been signed by President Grant. The
state department had on the request
of the president prepared a draft of a
proclamation of belligerency. Some
time after the president signed it he
went on a journey to the west and on
the way wrote the following letter:
Kane, Pa, August IA, 1S69.-Hon.
Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State
My Dear Sir: On reflection 1 think 1t
advisable to complete the neutrality
proclamation which l signed before
leaving Washington and to issue it if
General Sickles has not received an en-
tirely satisfactory reply to his propo-
sition to mediate between Spain and the
Cubans. Not that Spain has not a per-
feet right to prosecute as vigorous a
war as she pleases upon her own soil,
observing the rules of civilized warfare,
but that the rights of our citizens have
been so wantonly invaded by Spanish
troops or volunteers that such a course
would arouse the sympathies of our
citizens in favor Of the Cubans to such
a degree as to require all our vigilance
to prevent them from giving material
aid.
Except the issuing Of the proclama-
ton 1 do not give this as instruction,
but as something to think of whether it
is not sound. If deemed so the policy
Of acting upon it will be discussed af-
forwards. Yours truly,
"U. S. GRANT"
On July 10, 1870. in a conversation in
which Fish had expressed to the presi-
dent his desire to retire from the Of
flee, Fish was strongly urged by the
president to remain through his term.
These are the words of the diary up
on the subject:
THE president said: Without re-
ferring to other instances on two i'm
portant occasions at least, your stead
mess and wisdom have kept me from
mistakes into which 1 should have fall
en-. On one of these occasions you led
me against my judgment at the time,
you almost forced me in the matter of
signing the Cuban message. now see
how right you were and l desire most
sincerely to thank you. The measure
was right and the whole country ac-
quiesced in it,
''He repeated that he wished to thank
me especially for these two occasions.
They were, one preventing the issuing
last August and September. of the proc
lamation of Cuban belligerency which
he had signed and which he wrote me
note instructing me to complete
(Which I did and to issue (Which 1 did
noD, and second, the Cuban message of
June 49,