The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-04-05
BRITISHERS EXPECT WAR
Their Great Interest In the State of Affairs.
They Think the United States Must In
tervene-Activity of Spanish Legation in
London

copyrighted by Associated Press.)
London, April 1.-THE nervousness of
the stock markets, Which was emplla-
sized by a sudden drop of three points
in Spanish As at the opening of the
stock exchange, has been fully reflect
ed in diplomatic circles, which have
experienced almost as much difficulty
as outsiders in extracting facts from
the mass of contradictory statements
regarding the INSTRUMENTATION crisis
until today.
The wtarlike tone of the great mass
of evidence, and the marked divergence
of the United States demands and
Spaim's proposals have led the MIA
| jority to conclude nat the parting of
| the ways has been reached, unless,
Within a few hours, Senior Sagasta is
! able to give assurances that the delay
| he asked for Will ensure the complete
freedom of Cuba. 1t is not too much
to say that all Europe regrets it,
though for different reasons, some be
cause genuinely friendly nations are in
involved and others because they dread
that the war bacillus will spread and
| a~ggravate the feverish spirit of unrest
already in evidence in the Old World.
To the last, therefore, it is hoped that
a solution will be found, even when
Spain is apparently ~intractajble. The
best informed PERSONS believe Spain is
only tempOriZing, as it is recognized
that there is difficulty in the Spanish
government accepting without de-
muir, the demands of the United States
in view of the danger of a revolution
and the overthrow Of the monarchy.
| So. though realizing the imminence of
hostiltties, the apparent hopelessmess
of averting war has come as a shock.
| 1t was generally believed that the enOr-
NOUS majority obtained by Senior Sa-
| gasta in the new corteS would make
him master of Spain and permit him
to Yield to the inevitable; but, ut seems
that some rs per cent. of the voters,
who did not participate in the elections,
including the army and the Barcelona
and other merchants who are vitality
interested in Cuba, do mo propose to
allow him a free hand.
General interest in the situation is
intense. All the news bulletins are
eagerly scanned, and in the Hobbies of
the house of commons yesterday even
ing there were animated discussions of
the crisis, which have given enhanced
interest to the statement of a prOrnl-
nent Ship-owning member of the house
of that the United States,
during the day, had been offering very
large sums for 19-knot steamers .
Opinion in london has been little in
fuenced by the specious character of
Senior Sagasta's cOunter-proposals. AS
an official of the foreign office remar
ed: the Americans will NATURALLY de-
cline to accept such proposals as a
sufficient guarantee that a power which
has so long patiently failed to discharge
it's duties, can now be trusted to give
effect to its tardy CONVERSION 1he
foreign office official added: The re-
~sponsibility resting upon each party Is
terrible. Happily nothing will tend so
effectively to quicken the feeling OF re-
SponSibility among the Spanish states
ment as the prospect of having TO face
Immediately the grim ~nsequen OF
persistence in an un~conpromising
course. Reading between the lines of
Senior Sagasta's proposals, I have rea-
son to think ne does not mean to drive
matters to extremes, and that he VIII
learn from the construction put upon
them that his conditions VIII mot re-
lieve the United States of the duty of
intervention, compelled, as the Ameri-
cans, are. by a sense of moral obliga-
ton, ITO take action in the matter. 50,
if Senior SagaSta is as strong as he
is unuuestionably well meaning, he will
persuade his countrymen to accept I'M
r~eservedly the American conditions.
From the extraordinary activity at
the Spanish legation here there is rea-