The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-03-24
Its Powers and Duties Defined i'm a
Decree to Be Issued by the Gov
ernOr General To-Day.
MUSTER ROLLS STILL MISSING
ROSTER OF CUBAN ARMY NOT YET
TURNED OVER TO AMERICANS.
Meeting of the ACCOMPLISHMENTS
of Secretary AIEer for Havana-His
Trip Merely for Pleasure.

HAVANA, March 23.-The decree estab-
fishing a Supreme Court for Cuba will be
published tomorrow. The court, which is
provincial institution, necessarily is based
on the former Cuban court of last appeal,
which Madrid intended to operate until the
laws of the autonomous government had
been revised 1t is adapted to the present
needs of the island. Ii will consist of one
presiding judge and six associate judges.
The salary of the. presiding judge will be
$500 year in American gold The law
under which it is constituted requires the
presence of five judges in rendering SEN
tence in an ordinary case and all of the
seven in the case of a sentence TO death
or perpetual punishment. The court will
have Jurisdiction over criminal actions
against even its presiding officer, as well as
all civil officials and the military secretaries
in the provinces. 1t will decide questions of
jurisdiction between inferior tribunals and
will supervise the administration OF justice
in Cuban territory. The direction and con-
troll of the court is vested in the presiding
Judge, and all its members must be Cubans
or swear to accept the new government of
the Cuban territory. The preamble of the
decree organizing the tribunal covers thirty
typewriter pages and contains numerous
details of administration.
The executive committee of the Cuban
Military Assembly has appointed Gen. Bar
tOlome Maso, former president of the Gu
ban revolutionary government, commander
in-chief of the Cuban forces in the Orient,
or eastern provinces. The Assembly was in
session this afternoon The motion pro-
posed yesterday by Senior Gualberto Gomez
for the reorganization of the Cuban army
was passed, but under existing conditions
the action of the Assembly in this respect
Is unimpOrtant.
A dispatch was read from the veterans
association of Santiago asking the Assembly
to restore Gen. Maxine Gomez TO the post
of COMMUNICATIVE hief. From General Maso
a telegram was received recognizing on his
part the superior authority of the Assembly
acknowledging it as a duty to sustain the
Assembly, and amenting the controversy
with General Gomez.
Little has been said of late as to the pro-
posed trip to Washington of Seniors Villalon,
Hovia and Despaigne the committee APP
pointed by the Assembly on March IA to lay
before President Mckinley the resolutions
that day adopted on the motion of General
Sanguilly, TO the effect that the $3.O00,0o0
offered by the United States would not be
sufficient and that the United States should
help Cuba to obtain more by way of loan
Apparently the matter had dropped, but to-
day Senior Rafael POrtuendo, chairman of
the executive committee, suggested that the
commission should hand the resolution to
the secretary of war This course was OPP
posed by General Andrade who said Gen.
Alger would decline to recognize the Assem-
bly, officially, and that the commission would
left on the table General Sanguily sug-
gested just before adjournment that to-
morrows session be secret, and a motion
TO this effect was passed. though some of the
members professed ignorance of the reason
for secrecy. 1t is reported that a secret
meeting is I'm progress this evening at the
house of Senior Parragas, where the dissolu-
uon motion. TO be argued on Saturday, is
under preliminary consideration.
ral lia.x Nnrata do
Robau, Nodarse, Betancourt and Peraza.
who held secret meeting last night, after
consulting their commands. with reference
to the course to be taken in the controversy
between Gomez and the Assembly, reported
to-day that they had decided to accept the
So. 0O0OC0 for the soldiers and also to helm to
organize new Cuban army of ten thousand
men under the American administration.
Meanwhile the Cuban muster rolls not
yet In the hands of General Brooke They
were last seen by American officer i'm
uanabacoa. when they were i'm possession
of General Roloff, the Cuban inspector gen.
eral. From his hands they probably passed
TO the Military Assembly and if the AS
sembly still possesses them the payment can
be indefinitely delayed merely by the with
holding or the rolls from the American au-
| thorities If the Assembly should dissolve
next Saturday after ordering the disband-
ment of the army, with permission to ac
cept American money, as 1t is asserted will
be the case. the Americans probably would
get the rolls Immediately If the Assembly
should not dissolve il would still hold the
does not seem able TO get the rolls by per-
suasion, and his lack of official authority
makes il impossible for him to demand
them. Therefore, the action of the Assembly
Is watched with particular interest.
Governor General Brooke has notified the
department commanders to hold themselves
| in readiness to come to Havana to meet Sec
rotary Alger. They submitting re-
| ports as TO the number of Cuban officers
| holding positions under them. The city Of
Havana alone shows nearly four hundred.
| The other departments have not completed
| their reports, except Puerto Principe. where
| Brigadier General Carpenter reports that
CubanS hold ninety-three out of $50 Offices
General Brooke has issued an order for
| bidding the sale of possession of lottery
| tickets of any kind, under penalty of con-
fiscation and fine.
sentinel on the Toledo plantation yester-
| day ordered an armed Cuban about entering
| to halt. The Cuban, ignoring the order
pushed on, and the corporal of the guard.
who was summoned by the sentinel arrest
| ed the offender and started to take him
| through Marianao to General Lees camp
| While passing a house in Marianao the two
Americans were accosted by eight Cubans.
who came out with rifles leveled, and were
| told to release the prisoner. AS the Cubans
had such an obvious advantage the prisoner
| was released but the Americans immedi-
ately reported the incident to General Lee
who sent Major Russell Harrison the pro-
vost marshal, to General Mayia Rodriguez
with instructions TO inform him that if the
offending Cuban was not surrendered with
sonaly with a sufficient force of American
soldiers TO take him. General Rodriguez
found the man and gave him up, and he
now lies in the MdrianaO lail.