The bee., 1896-04-23
THE CUBAN RESOLUTIONS.
Declaration of Cuban Belig erency
Greeted with Enthusla SIN
by the Peple.

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The Cuban resolutions passed
by the House of Representatives
at Washington in concurrence with
the Senate are as follows:--
Resolved, that IN the opinion OF
Congre IS, a condition of public
war exists between the Govern
ment of Spain and the Government
proclaimed, and for some time
maintained by force of arms by
the people of Cuba; and that the
United States OF America should
maintain strict neutrality between
the contending powers, according
to each all the rights of belliger-
ents in the ports and territory Of
the United States.
Resolved, further, that the friend
| ly Offices of the United States
should be offered by the President
of the Spanish Government for the
recognition of the independence OF
Cuba.
The Philadelphia Press says:
"Belligerency is a question both
of fact and of policy. Mr.. Hit IN
his speech to the House on the
Senate Cuban resolution had no
difficulty in showing that belliger-
ency existed as fact in Cuba and
that it was the policy of the United
States to recognize it.
SPAN, with force outnumber-
bering the insurgents three or four
to one is unable. as Mr.. Hit
pointed out, to exclude the forces
of the Cuban Republic from the
immediate vlcinage of Havana.
If the insurgents are in force there,
where the Spanish forces are
strongest, their occupation plainly
extends over the island at a great
er distance from the Spanish forces.
Whether an organized and set
tied administration has been es-
tablished over the island in insur-
gent hands, they have excluded all
Spanish authority. Belligerent or
not measured by European condi-
tions, the precise belligerent condi-
ton which they have established
matches all the resources of Spain.
Belligerency to war, and Spain has
in line in Cuba to-day every man
who could be armed and placed in
the field for war.
These facts are admitted. OF
them there is no question. Nei-
ther is there any of our past poll
cy under like conditions. Our at
titude toward any body of men
struggling for freedom and inde-
pendence for century has been
friendly. Our recognition has
sometimes been premature. 1t has
always been cordial. The revolted
Spanish colonies eighty years ago
received the recognition now pro-
posed for Cuba. While the Gu
ban insurgents, from 1868 to 1873,
never received a belligerent recog-
milton, the dispatches Of Secretary
Fish and later of Secretary Evarts
upon the struggle distinctly claimed
the right to interfere if the conflict
was unduly protracted or charact-
erized by extreme barbarity.
The insurgents to-day occupy a
position which they never held
then. Their forces are greater and
they are moving freely in the west
ern end of the island. Twenty
years ago they were confined to the
unsettled and mountainous regions
in the east of Cuba. The insur-
gents have a right to the recogni-
tion proposed to them by the pass
age of the Senate resolution, and
the instant and immediate effect of
of their recognition as belligerents
will be to make it difficult if not
impossible for Spain to continue
to raise money to prosecute the
struggle by selling bonds, as the
Spanish treasury is now doing, Sc
cured by Cuban revenue.