Evening star., 1901-02-01
international lawyers, and their views In

international lawyers, and their views in
all these matters are received with re-
spect by their colleagues.
1t is the delegates who do not talk much
that are really putting the constitution
through. Some of them have just as much
vanity as their colleagues and are just as
anxious to appear in print but they are
even more anxious to have the constitution
adopted without delay. SO they deny them-
selves the privilege of making many ora
tions. MendeZ Capote, the presiding offcer,
is one of these members. He refrains from
yielding the chair in order to take part in
the debates.
Rivera and Quesada.
Gen Ruis Rivera is another worker, and
he and Gonzalo Quesada are the two men
who are pushing the constitution through
on behalf of the men who drafted it. Ri
vera occasionally breaks out impatiently
and protests against filibustering. Quesada
profits by the knowledge he gained in
Washington of legislative methods. Both
he and Rivera are constantly crying "Vo-
tacion," Votacionn' C'Vote," Vote!'D II
was Quesada who engineered the plan to
prevent obstruction by securing night ses-
slons. He did it after the truly American
Plan Of going around and securing the sig
natures of two-thirds of the delegates to
the proposition When that was done the
pres ding officer who was in the scheme
recognized the motion and the so-called OBJ
SlTucuOnlSlS, WHO dppTtcfdltu lNe SlludtlOH,
and who had protested in private. made no
further opposition.
The subjects which the convention dis
cusses must be followed in the newspaper
dispatches from day to day. At the outset
they were fundamental and We're of great
value as an index of the future, as we'll as
of the present. After listening to the ear
lier discussions no one can fall to under
stand their significance. The constitutional
guarantees were recognized as something
tbo,, fho na1a arpin npat toryy
and the earnest contention over the pro-
posed division into provinces was useful as
an Indication of internal or domestic policy.
While the provincial regimen, as it Is call
ed, must be further discussed, and discussed
in detail. nothing so far has developed to
indicate that the convention will be driven
into seeking to establish sovereign states
out of the provinces.
Dramatic Scene.
More widespread interest attaches to the
relation of the prospective Cuban COM
monwealth to religion than to any other
phase of the conventions work. l do not
recall any more dramatic scene In parla-
mentary body than that which occurred at
the first public session. The discussion was
on the preamble with its Invocation of the
Deity to guide the future commonwealth.
OF course, there were some constitutional
lawyers in the body, who. without caring
to reflect their own religious belief, thought
This gave occasion to the venerable Judge
Llorente. one of the jurists of the cenven-
tion to protest that with the weight of his
seventy-sX years on him he did not want
to have part in framing charter OF lib
critics which ignored God The climax was
reached when he protested that the dele
gates did not represent an atheistic people
and had no right to adopt an atheistic con-
stitution. The scene was a most impress
i've one. There was further discussion,
some of a patron zing tone and some after
the French models, but the preamble stands
as submitted.
A more practical side Of the discussion
was seen at later session. when the act
ual relation Of the church and state was
under consideration. This developed that
ward to a time when the hostility to the
Catholic church. growing out of It's identity
with the Spanish misgovernment OF Cuoa,
will be forgotten and the church will be
recognized as occupying a certain relation
to the commonwealth. Among the cham
pions of this view were Mr.. Giberga, the
annexation.st, and Juan GualbertO Gomez.
the leader Of the colored race. They pre-
sented their views with great force and
elouuence. What they asked was that the
constitution should not preclude the future
Cuban congress from recognizing the
church. Both of them have the idea OF
helping to preserve the Latin identity or
the Cuban commonwealth by leaving the
is upheld by the Latin peoples.
Separation Determined On.
The contrary view was sustained on
various grounds. Mr.. Nunez, who is the
civil eoyernor of Havana proyinco, want