The times., 1898-04-14
THE SENATE RESOLUTIONS.
RESOLUTIONS and Report Of the SENATE
Committee onoFoFeign Relations.

adopted:
Whereas the abhorrent conditions which have
existed for mere than three years in the Island
Of Cuba, near our own borders, haye SHOCKED
the moral sense of the people Cf t,ic United
States, have been disgrace to Christian civili-
zation. eliminating, IS they have in the destruc-
| ticn OF United States battlCship, with 266
OF its officers and crew, while on friendly visit
in the tlarbor of Havana, and cannot longer be
! endured, as has been set forth by the President
OF the United States in his message to Congress
of April II, 1898, upon which the action OF Con-
grcss was invited; therefore.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Represent
atives cf the United States of America IN Con
gTess assembled,
First That the people OF the Island of Cuba
are, and OF right ought TO be, free and indie
Second That it is the duty Of the United
States to demand, and the Government OF the
United States does hereby demand, that the gov
ernment of Spain mt once relinquiSh It's authority
and government in the Island OF Cuba and with
draw its land and naval forces from Cuba and
Cuban waters.
Third That the President of the United States
be, and he hereby is, directed and empowered
To the entire land and naval forces of the
United States and to call into the actual service
OF the United States the militia of the several
States, to such extent may be necessary TO
carry these resolutions into effect
Accompanying the resolutions was
report which bitterly denounced the
Spanish government and set forth rea-
sons why it should be driven from the
tSIand. 1t began:
The destruction of the United States
battleship Maine and of two of her Off
GERS and 264 of her crew in the harbor
of Havana on the night of February
10, 1898, excited, to an unprecedented
degree, the compassion and resentment
of the American people.
manifestations of that resentment
| were suspended, although the feeling
! was not allayed, by the self-restraint of
! our people, who determined TO hold
| their judgment in suspense concerning
| their ultimate action until an official in
vestigation should disclose the cause
of that great disaster and enable them
! by direct or circumstantial testimony
to impute the responsibility therefor.
| THAT investigation has been made.
/ 1t was conducted with judicial thor
oughness and deliberation. The diff
Guilty of demonstrating by conclusive
proof the efficient personal cause of that
| sinister event was the usual one of ex-
| posing plotted and mysterious crimes.
! No such difficulty, however, obscures it's
| official and responsible cause.
| The evidence and findings of the
Court of Inquiry were transmitted to
| the Senate by the President, and, with
! the message, We're duly referred to the
| Committee on Foreign Relations. That
| committee has considered them and al
| so the message of the President Of April
| II, 1898, with all the careful and anxious
deliberation which great duties and re-
/ sponSibility impose upon the judgment
and conscience.
The event itself, though in certain
sense distinct occurrence, was linked
with a series of precedent transactions
which cannot in reason be disconnected
| from it. 1t was the catastrophe of a
| unity of events extending over more
than three years of nOmentous history
Standing by itself it would be, perhaps,
merely an ominous calamity. Consider
| ed, as it must be, with the events with
which reason and common sense must
connect it. and with animus by Spain
| so plainly apparent that no one can
even plausibly deny its existence, it is
| merely one reason for the conclusion
to which the investigating mind must
come in considering the entire subject
of the relations of the United States
with that government. Your committee
! have also before them several Senate
resolutions. which make it their duty
to consider all our relations with Spain
for the last three years, including the
destruction of the Maine, as one OF the
! incidents of the history of the war
which during that time has devastated
| the Island of Cuba.
so clearly is the destruction of the
| Maine only a single incident in the re-
| lations of this Government with Spain.
! that if that calamity had never hap
pened the questions between the Unit
| ed States and that government would
press for immediate solution.
! 1T is the opinion of your committee
| having considered the testimony sub
mitted to the Board of Inquiry, in con-
nection with further testimony taken
| by the committee and with the relevant
| and established facts presented by the
| events of the last three years, that the.
destruction of the Maine was compass
| ed either by the official act Of the Span
| ish authorities or was made possible
| by negligence on their part so willing
and gross as to be equivalent in culpa-
| bility to positive criminal action.
The status of the Maine while in
| the harbor Of Havana and the duty of
| Spain toward her are defined in the
| opinion of Chief Justice Marshall in
Schooner Exchange VS.. McFadden, I
| Cranch, 116, 141:
| If there be no prohibition, the ports
| of a friendly nation are considered as
| open to the public ships of all powers
with whom it is at peace, and they are
| supposed to enter such ports and re-
main in them, while they are allowed
to remain, under the protection of the
| government of the place
| 1T is not contended that this duty of
| protection to which the public ship is
| thus entitled while allowed to Temain in
a port of friendly nation imposes the
| obligation of an absolute guaranty of
| her safety. But it is insisted that the
| existence of the duty creates the OBJ
| legation to use diligence in it's perform
ance. When property and life are de-
| stroyed by an act which the exercise
of due diligence by the person whose
| duty it is to use it could have prevent
ed, the happening of such an event is
sufficient proof that such diligence was
not employed
The system of civil and military po-
| lice and espionage in Havana is all
| pervading to an extent probably un-
| equaIed in any city in the world. 1t is
not pretended that any employment was
made as regards the safety of the Maine
| of this instrumentality for the detec-
| ton or prevention of any attempt
! against her by private persons.
1T is established that the Maine was
! destroyed by the explosion of subma-
rine mine. IN position under her in
| Spanish harbor, at place where she
| had been moored to a buoy by the ex-
press direction land guidance of the
| Spanish authorities.
Explosive contriVances of this char
| acter are almost exclusively govern
ment agencies of warfare. There is no
operation of a pacific character for
which they can be employed. excepting
the removal of wrecks or of harbor OBJ
structions. They are not to be had in
any place of private sale. Their de-
structive contents, excepting, perhaps,
sunpowder, which undoubtedly was not
employed in this instance, cannot be
easily obtained and are not easily made
The entire cOntrivance is mechanism
of somewhat complicated character,