The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-10-21
PARIS PEACE COMMISSION
THE HEINELEXIBILITY OF AMERICAN
 MEMBERS.
Spanish Commissioners Are Much Dis couraged-Spaniard Speaks Bitterly of Attitude of the Americans on Question of Cuban Debt-Opinion of Great Spaniard Probably Commissioned to Rouse Sympathy and Support for Spain.


 Rouse sympathy and Support for
 Spain.
 London, Oct. 21.-The Paris corre- spondent of the Times says: T had visit to-day (Thursday), from great Spanish parsonage who seems to have been commissioned to ascertain the trend of public opinion on the negotia- tions here. He appeared much depress- ed. He has found great and general sympathy with Spain, but has been un able to discover any possibility of ob- taining moral support against the American delegates who are inflexible in their demands, and, with much po- liteness of form have refused to make the slightest concessions on any of the instructions received by them, never having asked their government for the slightest notifications. I have already explained the mode of negotiation. Me moirs are handed in, which are trans lated and replied to in the same fashion. The Spaniards from time to time en- deavor to enter into conversation
 "Senor Abarzuza, who is a master of the English language is the Spanish commissioner who makes the attempts to lead to a conversation and as he is described as very prepossessing and eloquent, he always makes profound impression. The Americans, however, listen attentively but rigidly maintain Nf intended sitting yesterday could not be held because the Spaniards, in view of the written replies made them, re- nounced their attempts at conversation and asked forty-eight hours grace to consult their government and prepare written rejoinder The friend who called told me he had found his coun- trymen much discouraged, being con- Vinced that the United States are bent on rigorous exercise of. the rights of the victory. I have heard you say, he remarked, that Prince Bismarck once said to you when you have your knee on the throat of vanquisheG nation you can take from it all you like; but you must always beware of abusing your victory and exagerating your conquests. Otherwise you load your self for many generations with a cruah- ing burden which ends by having the most mischievous results for the victor almost more than for the van- quished.'
 My caller remarked The Ameri- cans are not adopting this wise and humane view; they seem bent on push ing the results of the war to their ex- Tyt-. entertain any concession on the finan- cial question, and while declining to un- dertake sovereignty in Cuba, they main- tain that the Cuban debt is a Spanish debt and that Spain abused her sover- eighty by saddling the island with a debt by which she alone profited.' Vain ly have we urged that they themselves accepted financial obligations toward England after the war of independence; that they accepted the burdens of Tex as after the conquest; that there is no more general law than the law of the obligations of a country changing with it's rulers, and that it would be an ar bitrary course and a veXatious prece- dent to throw the Cuban debt on us. All is useless, and they stand peremp- torially to their demands.
 What our delegates should say to them if they persist, as it is to be fear ed they will, is this: We are in your hands. You are the victors. We for once committed the folly of going to war with you because you left us no time to avoid it, because you treated us in such a way that even at the risk of suicide we were bound to plunge into war, though the result of it was evil dent to us But we will not commit the fresh folly of recommending war in any form. We are, therefore, at your mer- cy. We shall submit to your dictation and shall leave the world to judge of those dictates. but no human voice will compel us to subscribe to them and we shall not subscribe. This is what our delegates ought to say on this Cuban question. As for the other points, they will wait to hear what they are