The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1899-06-03
THE DECLINE OF SPAIN.
That Nation Resigns Sovereignty
Over Pacific Islands.
gBDBD TO THE GERMAN EMPIRE.

Tho Cession Marks tho Relinquish-
ment of Spanish Colonial Possessions
Save Fernando Po and Dependen-
cies on the African Coast.
Washington, June 3-The announce
ment at Madrid in the speech from
the throne to the cortes that Spain
had ceded the Caroline islands and
Palaos and the Mariannes was received
with surprise here. The cession marks
the reliuqulshment of Spanish pos
sessions in the far east save the
island of Fernando Po and dependen-
cies on the African coast. The des-
patch containing the news was shown
to the German embassy officials, but
Ambassador Won Holleben said that
he had no comments to make. He had
received no information, he said, as to
the cession, and the German foreign
office had not communicated the facts
to him.
Reports have been current from time
to time that Spain was figuring on
transfer of sovereignty of the Caro-
lines and that Germany had made
overtures looking to their acquisition
in the extension of her colonial pos
sessions. Sovereignty over the Caro-
lines was formally adjudged by the
pope in 1885 to be in Spain, and was
admitted by Germany and Great Bri-
tain. This was after a rather prolonged
dispute, opened up by Germany raising
her flag over the island of Yap. Por-
tugal first acquired the Caroline islands
but Spain soon wTested the group from
her, but until the eighties had paid
little attention to the islands. German
interests in the Carolines are relatively
extensive, and have been fostered by
provision of the pope's award he as
arbitrator awarding sovereignty to
Spain, but reserved to the German gov
ernment special trade facilities. The
Marianne islands, which go with the
Carolines and Palaos in the cession, of
course do not include Guam, over
which the American flag now flies.
Including Guam, the Mariannes, the
Carolines and Palaos have a total area
of almost 1000 English square miles,
and a combined population of about
$4,000 people. Over all this, save the
American acquired island of Guam,
the German flag is to be hoisted.
While this government has been un-
advised of the cession of these groups,
the colonial policy of Emperor Will
lam has led the administration to eX-
pect that the German government
would lose no opportunity to stretch
out its domain in the Pacific. Admin
istration officials do not regard the
movement as requiring any special
cognizance on the part of the United
States, for, according to one member
of the cabinet, this government has
acquired all that it wants in that quar-
ter
While Guam is In the midst of the
other islands of the Ladrones that are
ceded, that fact is giving no concern
here, and this government is not dis
posed to raise any question upon even
further extension of German sover-
eighty in the section of the globe
should Germany follow up the present
cession with other efforts. Most of the
islands in the neighborhood in the past
have been infested with pirates, the
very name of the Ladrones indicating
the former hotbed of piracy, and there
are not few islands yet where the
black flag is common.
State department officials have been
aware for some time that the German
government was in treaty negotiation
with Spain for the cession of the ISL
ands referred to. The fact that this
has been accomplished, however, had
not been communicated to the author
tiles and the announcement from Mad
rid, therefore, was news to them. Sec
retary Hay said that the question OF
cession was not one concerning which
the United States would be consulted.