The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-10
HALE RAPS CUBA RIGHT HARD.
RECOGNITION OF BELLIGERENCY
DECLARED UNwARRANTED.

Recognizes the CUbans-The Sena-
tor Denies That Spain sympathized
With the COnfederacy The
Charges Against WeyIer Also De-
eIaFed UnwaFranted.
Washington, March 9.-The Cuban bel
igerency resolutions as reported from the
conference committee did not have the
plain sailing in the Senate which the res
olutions of the same general import had
when they were reported from the COM
mittee on foreign relations. At that
time there was practically no obstacle
interposed to them, but to-day when the
conference report was taken up in the
Senate, it was attacked by Mr.. Hale, rep,
of Maine, in a two hours speech of great
force and earnestness. and then it had
to give way TO the report of the commit
tee on privileges and elections to the
effect that Mr.. Dupont is entitled to the
vacant seat in the Senate from the state
of Delaware.
The negative of that proposition was
asserted to-day in speech by Mr.. Tur-
pie, dem, of Indiana, one of the minority
of the committee on privileges and cleo
tions. his contention being that Mr.. Wat
son. while acting governor of Delaware,
was still in law and in fact, a senator
in the state legislature, and had a right
to vote in the general assembly, and that
his vote being counted, Mr.. Dupont had
not a majority of all the votes cast. The
question may come up tomorrow, wheth-
er the report of conference committee is
not matter Of higher privilege than the
claim TO a seat in the Senate. MIR. Sher-
man, it is understood, holds that ii is;
but If the decision should be otherwise,
and if there be any real desire to defeat
or postpone the Cuban resolutions, the
Dupont case may be used as a parlia-
mentary means for doing so.
There were large crowds in the galleries
at the opening of the session this morn
ing in anticipation of action aud discus
sion of the Cuban resolutions. The chap
lain's prayer was terse and comprehen-
sive. It was comprised in single SEN
tence and was an Invocation to the Di-
vinity TO stretch out thy right hand to
be a defense against all our enemies"
Numerous petitions were presented from
! the states of Delaware South Dakota,
Kentucky and Arkansas in favor of rec
| ognizing God in the constitution of the
United States. A bill for the punishment
| of offenses on the, high seas Crevoit, mutt
ny, assault and rioD was reported from
| the judiciary committee and was, after
| some opposition on the part of Mr.. Call,
passed.
AT lilo o'clock Mr.. Sherman called up the
| conference report on the Cuban resoiu-
| tions. Thereupon Mr.. Hoar offered res
| olution which went over, under the rule,
| that the consideration of the conference
| report relating to Cuba be postponed until
/ W o.
| en- foreign relations be directed to report
| the facts, which in it's opinion justify the
adoption of such resolutions, with the evil
| dence therefor.
Mr.. Hoar also offered resolution, which
| was agreed to, requesting the President
| to communicate to the Senate, so far as
| not incompatible with the public inter-
| ests, all the facts in his possession relat-
| ing to the existing conflict in the island
| OF Cuba, and especially such as affects
the finances and duty of the United States
| in the premises.
The conference report on the Cuban con-
| current resolutions having been laid be-
| fore the Senate, Mr.. Hale spoke in oppo-
| sition to it. He was one of the few sena-
J tors, he said, who had voted against the
| concurrent resolutions reported from the
| committee on foreign relations and he had
| seen no reason since to regret his ac-
| ton; and should vote against the confer
| ence report. All of the reasons which at
| that times seemed to him pressing and
| conclusive against the proposed action
| had, in his mind, grown in strength since
| that day. He did not feel that on so i'm
| portant a matter, closely involving rela-
| tions with hitherto friendly power, the
| Senate possessed information to justify q
recognition of belligerency against a
| friendly government, and in favor of the
| insurgents of the island of Cuba. He had
| not believed then that the infiammatory
| appeals that were made by senators, pas
| ed on alleged statements of atrocities
| and horrors on the island of Cuba, We're
sufficiently backed up as facts for. the
! Senate to act upon. That feeling had be-
come greatly strengthened by the events
which had occurred and by other infor-
| nation which had been brought to light
! since then. He had voted no, because
the subject of the treatment that should
| be accorded to an insurrection in Cuba
against the. Spanish government was not
| a new subject. In the Forty-first con-
| gress similar efforts were made and reso-
| lutions of even stronger import than
those of the conference committee had
| been reported by the committee on for
| eign relations of the House of Repre-
sentatives by Gen. Banks. Fortunately,
said Mr.. Hale, there was then in the
| presidential chair man whose love of
| liberty and whose patriotism were GER
| tainly equal to those of the members of
| the committee on foreign relations, and
who knew a good deal more of belliger-
ency and war than they do or than any
of us-Gen. Grant.
| Mr.. Gray-What was the action of the
House at that time in regard to those
| resolutions?
Mr.. Hale-In the presence of the mes
sage from President Grant, the resolutions
| came to nothing. The message was so
| clear and distinct that in the presence of
it all the excitement disappeared and the
| resolutions of the House went for naught.
| Extracts from President Grants mes
sage having been read, Mr.. Hale said that
no language could better picture the pres
| ent state of things in Cuba. There was
nothing in the message that was not
| sound, good, practical sense: Gen. Grant S
| propositions touching belligerency pre-
sented as clear a light for to-day as they
did then, when they We're accepted with
| out question, and when the subject passed
| for the time being, from the consideration
of men, in or out of congress. The ques-
ton of belligerency, Gen. Grant had said
was a question of fact. Mere fighting did
not constitute war. There must be mill
tary forces acting under military rules
and laws. There must be, above all, a
distinct political organization, capable OF
discharging the duties of a state and
meeting its just responsibilities to other
powers The insurrectionists, Mr.. Hale
said, had no government except on paper.
1t had no legislation, no courts no ports
nothing but struggling bands occupying
struggling camps. To the present day not
only had the insurgents in Cuba not won
a battle, but they had hardly fought what
deserved the name of battle
1t was a case of clean, outright
guerrilla war. He asked the senators to
contrast the Cuban insurrection with the
American civil war. when European ma
tions in most guarded fashion-and not
| by offensive esolutions-recognized the
beIligerency of the southern confederacy
| The southern confederacy was then in
the occupation of more than a million
/ square miles of territory. With three OF
| four exceptions there was not a single
post held by the federal government in
the confederacy. Resolutions of seces-
sion had been put to the test of popular
elections, after the deliberate action OF
/ state conventions. The cOnfederatns had