Arizona republican., 1914-05-04
TRIAL OF SANGUILLY

One of the direct influences that brought on the war between the United states and Spain in 1898, aside from the blowing up the Maine. was the arrest of American citizens by the Spanish government of the island in opposition to q treaty that existed between the two countries which had stood since 1921. One of the men upon whom the Spanish government was specially severe was General Julio Sanguilly who had been imprisoned, contrary to this treaty, for several years.
 On February "A, 1897, the question was taken up by the senate demand ing a release of the prisoner The resolution that was adopted was as fellows: That the government of the United States demands the inn mediate and unconditional release of Julio Sanguilly, a citizen of the United States. from imprisonment and arrest under the charges that are pending and are being prescott ed against him in the military and civil courts of Cuba upon alleged grounds of rebellion and kidnapping" The resolution also stipulated that the Spanish government should com rensate Sanguilly for his imprison- ment and sufferings.
 Sanguilly had taken out his natur- alization papers as a citizen of this country in 1878. He had been na- tive of Cuba. On the day before the rebellion broke out three hundred miles from Havana he was arrested in the bathroom of his house He on the same night was put through a rigorous examination by military officers without the presence of counsel or witnesses.
 It is obvious that the charges were false from the fact that Sanguilly's s active service and his age would have prohibited him from going into the military service of Cuba. But be was kept in prison, under one rreteXt and another, for a long peri cd. Finally. after many delays and many protestations on the part of the government of the United States in November, 1896. he was placed or trial. The American government, uI to that time, was in total ignorance Of what the charges were. The pris- oner and his counsel demanded the charges, but were refused The tria was continued to December 23, 1896 and no evidence was given whici in the slightest degree would con- Vict Sanguilly.
 He was accused of being mem Der oe the committee who was con- ducting the war against Cuba iron New York city. Sanguilly had no been in New York since 1878 There was others little less serious if they had been true. one unfortunat; element in the case was the inability to prove some of the charges brough against the prisoner on account O the death penalty that had been ad' | ministercd to some of his friend! who would have been able to assis him in proving his innocence.
 This was the second trial of San gully. the first having occurred tn, previous year and resulted, on Dec
 ember. ,. 1895. in his being con | demned to life Imprisonment il l chains The second trial ended ol | December 26. 1896. repeating the sen
 tencc of life Imprisonment and or dering the prisoner to pay half tn
 expenses Counsel for the prisone announced that they would appea 1 from the judgment of the tribuna | to the supreme court at Madrid ol the ground that the indictment wa
 defective in form and that the cour proceedings were irregular and there
 fore an infringement of the law.
 | Sanguily, after the verdict wa
 rendered, was returned to Nor,
 castle and began serving his sen tence From this on the Unitet
 States government was active il
 their efforts to have him released
 This they were not able to accom-
 plish until February 25, 1896, upol
 which day the Queen of Spain signe
 a formal decree of pardon.
 i Sanguilly was released the follow ing day and upon the condition tha he would leave the country an
 abandon any claim for damages. H
 arrived at Tampa. Florida. on Mare
 1, and felt quite a relief to be i the land of the free after the year spent m the Cuban fortress How
 ever he did not find it so free afte
 all, for on April ', 1897, he wa | again arrested by United State marshal on d warrant sworn out D Juan Potoeous, the Spanish vice
 consul. The charge was attemptin
 to fit out military expeditio against the people and property C the king of Spain. This arrest wa made with the knowledge of tn government at Washington. He wa
 tried the following day, but no evi
 dence could be found of his havin
 been engaged in any way in filibus
 tering, and he was eventually sub
 merged in the more important event