The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-05-25

troops under General Monckton. q
captured from the French Martinique,
the fall OF which involved tina of
Grenada. st. Lucia and st. Vincent. A
large part of the naval and and forces
that had been engaged in these opera
lions was released for action against
the Spanish possessions. The British
expedition under Admiral Sir George
Pocock and the Earl of Albemarle.
which left Portsmouth March 5, 1852.
ships OF the line, Is smaller men-of-
war. and $50 transports. with 10000
troops. They made good their landing
near Havana. In the harbor were IL
ships of the line. In the Qualifications
a force numerically equal to the in
vaders. Havana fondly imagined the
MORO and Punta to be i~mpregnable in
1852. just as they believe them to be
i~mpregnable now. The first attack was
directed against the Moro. The con-
struction of the British batteries began
on June IL, but the progress of the
siege was slow, being hindered more
by the climate han by the Spaniards.
In July some reinforcements arrived
from New York. On the 30th OF that
month. after a breach had been effect
ed by mining and battering. the Brit
ish took MORO by assault. the garri-
son. excepting the officers, behaving
with much cowardice. The MORO in
their hands, the British began to plant
batteries against the city. These
opened fire Aug. IL, within six hours
had silenced the defenses. the
Spaniards on the 18th entered into cap
itulation. by which they surrendered
the city. the whole west end of the ISL
and, and all the ships in the harbor.
In the old war the capture of Ha-
vana preceded hat of Manila. 1t was
not until Sept. "a that an expedition
comprising about 1890 troops. under
the command of Brigadier General
Draper, dispatched from Madras. ap-
peared before Manila. the acting gov
ernor of which, who was also the arch
bishop, having not yet been apprised
of the breaking out of the war. He
made such a defense as he could, and
directed a desperate rally of some
hundreds of the native islanders who
had been enrolled in the Spanish serv-
ice: But on the 18th day after landing
a practicable breach had been effected
and the invaders took possession of the
town, which for several hours was CIV
en- over to unrestrained pillage. The
archbishop made a capitulation by
which they ransomed not only Manila
itself. but the whole group of islands
and the ships in the harbor. for 1000
900 Spanish dollars. half paid down in
cash, and half in bills upon the treas
ury in Madrid. A transaction almost
equally profitable was the capture in
the South Pacific by vessels of Dra-
per's squadron of the Spanish g~alleon.
the Santissima Trinidad, of which the
cargo was valued at $4,000, 900. An
even richer prize was the Hermione,
bound from Lima to CadiZ, and cap
tured off Cape st. Vincent by British
ships. The treasure on board amount
ed to "a, 200, 900. 1t was taken TO Lon
don and carried past st. James pal
ace on the very morning of the birth
of the Prince of Wales, afterward
George ~. July IL. 1862. 1t is to con-
meet the two anniversaries that the
surrender of Havaua is commonly said
to have taken place on the same day,
though i'm fact the capitulation was
not signed till the 18th.
Except these losses Spain took moth
ing whatever by coming in just at the
close of a war in which she had no real
business. She did not ven get Min
orca, for England took that from
France in exchange for Beileisle. and
II did not revert to Spain finally Gf Ii
can be said to be hers finally even
now) until the peace of Amiens. in
1903. To obtain possession of Havana
Spain was forced to give UP Florida
to the English. Even that was con-
sidered by the English to be a bad
bargain for them. They declared that
Lord Butte ought to have insisted upon
Puerto Rico also. and would ave got
it il he had i~nsisted.-New York Times.