The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-05-08

sICH OFFICES AC<HHONED or FOa
LIBERAL PRICES.
ELe Crses napaesty ~ the Gover.inx
oMefals-Peeple 1AxeA MeFetIessfy
10 Compensate Oneers-ReIiGfsa
Made the Pret~1t for Conquest.

& short perusal OF the history bearing
Upon the Bahama and West India group cs
Islands, dIsciosss MANY things OF interest
and eonysnees enc that our war against
Spain 10 nost righteous. About 90 years
ago. by discovery. Spain claimed the en-
sffe group OF riaacs asd had no one 10 dis
cute her possession al the time. except her
ncialabcr. Portugal. IL was almost Ns
years thereafter. before England. France
and Germany received any considerable
portion OF these smaller islands.
One author, a Spanish priest and early
missionary TO she Islands alleges that
there wsre EA.oo0 natives In the bahamas
when the Islands were firat taken ~ tae
Spanish. This Number. IL woald seem, ~
large. However, IL Is safe 70 gay tfiai
there we're many natives on all these ISL
ands at that time. These natives. the Ca
sfbe, became subjects of Spain. and were
treated as such b. the government. they
were not like the natives On rte main land.
but were kind, easily governed and not
Wariske and seemed 80 obey fsgsdly Their
new sovereign.
The Spanish in discovering and attempt
tnx to control the new world had Two OBJ
jects In view. Tae first was nominaHy 20
establish fhehir religious creed, and sec
ond 10 enrich taemsesyes, Ponce dc Leon
and other adventlrers explored the main
land, especially along the mississippi river.
and found the natives so waglike and dan
eerous that 1t would pe impossible 10 oe-
0upy the country. They we're willing TO
undertake cenquering wcr1en aid children,
but not men. Finding a different character
OF people on the iSia nGia. and discovering
that the land was very rich, they set
about the cultivation OF the sell Slaves
Rere made of tho natives, and thus the
cost of produetssn was reduced 10 a mini
mum.
II diA rot take long for the avaricious
Dpzniard to discover that by setting con-
troll Of = district he could soon enrich him.
self. and at the same time send large
sum Of money to the mother country, and
II need be. pay large amount for the
place that he had or was seeking.
SO avaricious and low did these people
become who ware seeking appointments
n the new world. and findiag the people in
authority at home who lacked conscience.
that the places we're often put up at auc-
&icn II ss well known and authenticated
sbv Spanish historians, that governors for
aon1a Of the Islands paid from 5000 10
$4,000 TO the home officials for the appoint
ni@fst Al. thfs. TOO, at time when Il dol
lar WAS equivalent 10 ten OF this day
In the sixteenth. seventeenth and eigh-
4eenth centuries there was regular fixed
stipend which hal TO be paid in order to
secure foreign appointment. The money
was paid for the pace ard not to be lost
By the foreign appointee. The people
were ground down TO make up for II.
Sometimes an official was found who
seemed 10 be making too much money. IL
he did not remit certain portion to the
mother country. he was removed and an
other sent. Even AZ this day. IL Is believed
20 be a fact that one OF the recent gov
ernsrs OF one Of the Philippine Islands