The herald., 1896-12-22

Justice and prudence of the measures
which might be adopted.
The initiative thus asserted by congress
and conceded by President Franklin
Pierce to congress in the case of the rec
ognition of Texas was followed in the
case of Hungary by Presidetn Taylor,
which authorized his agent to invite the
revolutionary government of Hungary
to send to the United States a diplomatic
representative since the president enter
tained no doubt that in such case, at the
next meeting of congress "her indepen-
dence would be speedily recognized by
that enlightened body
Until now no further question has been
raised in regard to the power of congress
HAYTI AND SAN DOMINGO
The cases of Hayti and San Domingo
are passed over as governed by peculiar
influences. In every instance the only
question that has disturbed the inter-
has regarded neither the right nor the
policy so much as the time and mode"
of action. The only difference between
European and American practice was
that the United States aimed at the
moderating or restricting the extreme IL
cense of European Intervention and this
was the difference which brought the
United States nearly into collision with
Europe in 1861 and 1862.
Lords Palmerston and Russell, as well
as the Emperor Napoleon and his min
listers, entertained no doubt of their right
to intervene even before our civil war
had actually commenced, and accord
ingly recognized the insurgent states as
belligerents in May, 1861, although no le-
gal question had yet been raised requir-
ing such decision.
The United States government never
ceased to protest with the utmost en-
ergy against the act as premature and
unjust and this last and most serious
case of interference in which the United
States We're concerned as an object for
European intervention revealed the vi
tai necessity of their American system
at the same time that it revealed the
imminent danger of it's destruction.
The report then gives the circum-
stances under which the Southern Con-
federacy was recognized. tracing in de-
tail the diplomatic correspondence.
ALL BUT THE GUIANAS
Under the sub-head of Cuba" the re-
port concludes as follows Into this
American system thus created by Mon
roe in 1929 and embracing then, beside
the United States, only Buenos Ayres,
Chile, Colombia and Mexico, various
other communities have since claimed,
and in most cases have received, admis-
sion until it now includes all South
America except the Guianas. all Central
America except the British colony of
Honduras and the two black republics
of Spanish Santo Domingo and Hayti in
the Antilles.
No serious question was again raised
with any European power in regard to
insurrection or independence of their
! American possessions until 1869, when a
rebellion broke out in Cuba, and the in
surgents, after organizing government
and declaring their independence, claim
fr6 ION f,at f1,n -oif Cfnfn
| The government of the United States
| had always regarded Cuba within the
| sphere of it's most active and serious
| interests AS early as 1925. when the
| recognized states of Colombia and Mex
| leo were supposed to be preparing an eX-
| pedition to revoluticnize Cuba and Por-
| to Rico, the United States government
| interposed its friendly offices with those
! governments to request their forbear-
| ance.
! The actual condition Of Spain seemed
| to make her retention Of Cuba impossi-
! BILE, in which case the United States
| would have been obliged for their own
| safety to prevent the island from fall
| ing into the hands of a stronger power
| in Europe. That this emergency did not
occur may have been partly due to the
| energy with which Monroe pronounced
| "our right and our power to prevent
| IT." his determination to use all the
means within his competency "to guard
| against and forefend it,"
| This right of intervention in matters
! relating to the external relations of
| Cuba, asserted and exercised seventy
| years ago. has been asserted and eXer-
| cised at every crisis in which the island
| has been involved.
| GRANTS ADMISSION
| When the Cuban insurgents in 1869
applied to the United States for recog
milton. President Grant admitted the jus
| tice of the claim and directed the minis
! ter of the United States at Madrid to
| interpose good offices with the Spanish
| government in order to obtain by a
| friendly arrangement the independence
| of the island. The story of that inter-
| vention is familiar to every member of
| the senate, and was made the basis of its
resolution at the last session requesting
the president once more to ''interpose
| his friendly offices with the Spanish
government for the recognition of the
| independence of Cuba" The resolution
then adopted by congress was under
| stood to carry with it all the conse-
| uuences which necessarily would follow
the rejection by Spain of friendly offices.
THE PRESENT SITUATION.
On this point the situation needs nc
| further comment The action taken by
! congress in the last session was taken
ciples," on the right of intervention eX-
| ercised twenty-seven years ago and
| after patient delay uneXampled in his
| tory.
The interval of nine months which has
| elapsed since that action of congress has
| proved the necessity of carrying 1t out
to completion. In the words of the presi-
| dents annual message, the stability OF
| two years duration has given to the in
| surrection the feasibility of its indefinite
| prolonga ton in the nature of things and
as shown by past experience the utter
and imminent ruin of the island unless
the present strife is speedily composed,
are, in our opinion, conclusive evidence
that the inability of Spain to deal sue
cessfully with the insurrection has be-
| come manifest and it is demonstrated
that her sovereignty is extinct in Cubs
for all purposes of its rightful existence
"a hopeless struggle for its re-establisn-
| ment has degenerated into strife, which
| means nothing more than the useless
| sacrifice of human life. and the utter de-
| struction of the very subject matter in
| conflict Although the president appears
to have reached different conclusion
| than ourselves. we believe this to be the
actual situation of Cuba and being un-
able to see that further delay could lea6
TO any other action than that which the
president anticipated, we agree with tbs
conclusions of the message that, in sucf
case, our obligations to the sovereignty
of Spain are superseded by higher OBJ
legations which we can hardly hesitate
to recognize and dicharge.
rr~1,r f1,n nf nci