The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-19

i" It In q timely book which Mrs. Il. w. LAT1MID
has given usin tho volume Spain In the Mac
feenth Century Chicago, A. c. McClurR & Cob
1t Is, 80 far rs we know, the only continuous
English history Of Spain during tho period men.
toned. In tho course of which Spain has had no
fewer than seven Constitutions. and, OCCASION
ally, two at o time. 1t Is q pity that tho author
OF this book did not set forth In some detail the
Constitution established after the restorationoe
the Bourbon monarchy. which. with some amend
ments, exists to-day. She brings out clearly.
on tho other hand, tho fundamental cause Of
the difficulty experienced by the d~ynastic par
ties. whether nominally. Conservative or NOM
inally Liberal, in carrying on the Government,
That cause is tho existence OF two irreconcilahlo
parties, neither of which will DO content with
anything short Of the subvcrsion of the present
Constitution. We refer. to tho Carlist party.
which retains considerable strength In the
Basque provinces. in Navarro. in Aragon and in
Catalonia, and to tho Socialist or Rcd Ropub-
lican party. which has a good many followers
among the workmen in the large cities aud
among the agricultural laborcrs OF Andalusia.
In a concluding chapter on Cuba, Mrs. Lati.
mer makes the mistake of assuming that two
thirds of the population of the island are colored
persons. Can the United States" she asks,
want u million more free blacks 10 be ndded
10 our population T. The last census showed
that pcrsOnS ,oI CO.Cr, lnCluulnE unOor L0ao
term every trace OF negro blood, were outnum.
bered by inhabitants OF pure white descent in
the proportion OF 2 to l. There Is no ground.
either, for her apprehension that the es-
Establishment OF a regular Government would NOT
bring back to rural labor the men who now
constitute the rebel forces. 1t Is tho guerrillas
who fight upon tho Spanish side that may bo
fairly described MS "brigRn6s," and they would.
doubtless, give some trouble, even after the In
dependence OF the islands was acknowledged.
But thcy would soon be rooted out, for the vast
majority of the population is law abiding. We
are glad to soc, however. that tho author of this
hook Is Mt pains to correct tho impression cur
rent In England and France, that the insurrec.'
tion Ia sustained. almost exclusively. by bands
OF savnges, ~outcnsts from Cuban society,
and negroes, who carry on an irregular
warfare of rapine and murder. Touching this
point. she quotes with approval the statement
OF a well-informed and trustworthy witness who
spent Eve weeks with tho Cuban Insurgents,
1t is admitted BY this witness that the rank and
file of the rebels in tho cast are blacks, but fur
thcr west they are almost exclusively white, and
here a negro Is on exception in the insurgcnt
forces. In Macco's army a few OF the officers were
black. but usually they wore white Cubans.
Tho staff OF Gen. Joss Maceo was largely COM
posed OF tho sons OF wealthy CUBAN planters, of
doctors, and other professional men, many of
them educated in the United States and speak.
Ing excellent English and French. In fact, "al-
most every Cuban on the island is In sympathy
with tho, Instruction. Nothing Is moro false
than to suppose that only those who have moth
Ing to lose favor the revolt. Rich and poor, edu.
Gated and uneducated, even the children born in
Cuba OF Spanish parents. all arc against SPAIN"