New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-12-25
SPANS OFFER TO CUBA.

The full text Of SPANS offer Of autonomy TO
Cuba is now at hand. With the omission OF
routine and non-essential details, II Is print
ed elsewhere in this mornings Tribune IL
must be confessed, with regret, that 1t appears
less satisfactory, from the Cuban point Of view,
than the telegraphed abstracts Of it indicated.
1t contains some good features and some bad
ones. 1t Is vast improvement upon the pres
ent system in Cuba, and upon any Spain has
ever granted TO any colony. 1t falls far short
Of the Canadian system and far short, too, it Is
to be feared, Of the reasonable expectations
not merely Of the insurgents, but Of the constl-
tutional Autonomists Of Cuba.
There are three major objections to Il. One
Is, the dictatorial power reserved to the Gov
ernor General, appointed by the Crown. He
represents the sovereign and II is the Spanish
theory that In Cuba, at any rate the sovcr-
eign Is to rule as we'll as reign. SO the Gov
ernor- General Is to have power to appoint ar
bitrary seventeen Of the thrty-nve members
Of the Cuban Senate. The election Of one other
member favorable to him will therefore give
him entire control Of that body, and, Of course,
Of all legislation. His Minister'S too, though
rominally responsible to the Legislature. are
really to be appointed or removed by him with
out regard to the will Of the Legislature. Final
ly. he Ii to have power not only to suspend or
dissolve the Legislature at WILL but to suspe- q
the constitution itself, or the vital clauses Of /,
and ts'govern the island with the personal abso-
lutism Of car.
A second objection is that all the Judges Of
all the courts are to be appointed by the Ma
drid Government without regard to the wishes
OF the Cubans Since the judges are to inter
pref the constitution and the laws, and to de-
eide all disputes between the Governor General
and the Legislature, the purpOrt Of this provi-
sion Is apparent. 1t Is to give judicial sane
ton to The Governor-G eneral's absoutism, and
to deprive the islanders Of all recourse against
him, no matter what he may do.
The third objection Is the financial one, al
ready explained in these columns. 1t Is pro-
vided that the Madrid Government shall FIX the
amount Of tribute to be paid yearly by Cuba
to the Pennsular treasury, and that the Cuban
Legislature shall be required to appropriate
that amount In full before it can even consider
the question Of the local Budget. 1t is also
provided that the Madrid Government shall
hereafter fix the proportion Of the public debt
to be assumed by Cuba. And against these
exactions of the Madrid Government the
Cubans shall have no appeal The enormity Of
the debt has already been explained 1t
amounts to hundreds of millions OF dollars. and
1t has been created not for the benefit Of Cuba
but Of Peninsular Spain. The Cubans are I'M
willing to have it, or any considerable part Of
1t. laid upon them. That they will agree to
scheme under which 1t may all be laid upon
them, and they be burdened with debt many
times greater than any other public debt in the
world, and they be compelled, moreover, to
pay to Spain. for the benefit Of Spain and not
Of Cuba, an enormous yearly tribute-that they
win agree TO have Cuba made, in brief, ut once
the pack'mule and the milch-cow of the PENN,
sula-is scarcely 10 be expected
Nevertheless, this offer Of the Madrid Gov
eminent is not properly to be rejected in ad-
vance and without consideration. II Is rather
to be met with counter-proposas, between
which and It some common basis of agreement
may be found. For the Cubans to point out
their objections to II, and to declare what
changes would make It acceptable to them,
would commend them to the reason and to the
sympathy Of the world. For them to say they
Will not even consider It, but win put to death