Year: 1872

Our Relations with spain and Cuba


The Duty OF tho Government in tho


Light OF tho Herald Disclosures.


Our relations with Spain during the last
four years and the position Of President
Grants administration on the Cuban question
have not won the approval Of the American
people An uncomfortable impression has
prevailed in the public mind that undue in
fuences have been exerted to induce our gov
ernment to shape its policy too much in ac-
cordance with Spanish interests. This idea
may owe its origin to the well known relations
existing between our Secretary OF State and
certain special agents of the Spanish govern
ment, and may be altogether erroneous and
unjust. A government cannot allow it's inn
pulses to control its action, and, whatever
sympathy it may have for people struggling
to throw of an offensive yoke, it has certain
obligations towards friendly Powers which
cannot be disregarded. It is unfortunately
true that the President and his Cabinet ad-
visers have been dependent upon the
Spanish authorities and the Spanish rep
resentatives for oil the official informa-
ton they have obtained in regard to Cuban
affairs. They have had no means of ascer-
tanning the condition of the rebellion except
through Spanish sources and hence they mny
have hitherto found it difficult to discover
justification for interference between the
belligerents, however willing they may have
been to bring the struggle to close AT the
same time Il is impossible to deny that the
| policy of the administration has been tenn
porizing and vacillating to degree that has
greatly aggravated the popular dissatisfaction.


The Presidents Messages have evinced SYM
pathy with the Cubans SO warm as to excite
the hope that he would exert oil the influence
of his high Office to secure the recognition of
their independence by the Republic of the
United States. Congress has from time to
time adopted resolutions strongly taYorins the
extension Of belligerent rights to the revolu-
tionists and expressing no measured indigna-
ton at the acts Of their oppressors. The
State Department. has occasionally displayed
similar spirit, and has issued brave instruc-


tions to our representatives at Madrid to pro-
test against the faithlessness of the Spaniards


to their promises of enfranchisement to the
| Cuban slaves. But these demonstrations
have passed away without effecting any
practical result, and the hopes they
have from time to time excited in the hearts
of the people have been suddenly dashed by
some new exhibition of our practical subser-
viency to Spanish wishes and to Spanish
interests. It may be, as we have said, that
the policy pursued by our government has
been necessitated in the absence Of any off,
cial information as to the real character and
| status of the Cuban insurrection except such
as has been derived from Spanish sources


stained from any expression Of sympathy with
the Cubans SO long as it was unadvisable to
back up friendly words by friendly deeds.


| The important developments made by our
Special Commissioner to Cuba have thrown


light upon the dark mystery Of the rebellion


and have impaired an entirely new feature to
our relations with the Spanish government.


The HERALD has laid before the administra-
ton at Washington information it could not
hope to obtain from the Spaniards informa-
ton coming from an impartial and disinter-
ested source information that shows the


true animus Of Spain towards our people; the
faithlessness Of Spain in her repeated pledges
| to give freedom to the Cuban slave, the false
hood of Spain in her representations as to the
strength and character Of the Cuban insurrec-
ton. What our government has failed to do
the HERALD has accomplished. We have dis
covered the existence Of ON organized Republic
in the heart Of the island, with freedom for all
| as it's watchword. We have conveyed to the
American nation the thoughts and wishes, the
objects and hopes, Of President Cespedes
and Of his people. We have found that the
Spaniards with a well appointed army Of from
forty to fifty thousand men, are as far now
from any hope Of speedily suppressing the
rebellion as they were four years ago; that the
patriots who have been described as handful
of wandering marauders without resting
place OF an organization ore in fact people,


with devoted army ten or twelve thousand
] strong, well clothed and fed, with plenty Of
! ammunition, but not fully supplied with arms


We have learned the determined char
acter Of their warfare against foreign
oppression their reliance upon their own
power to win their freedom; their resolve
never to abandon the struggle for indepen-
dence but with life itself. We have brought to
American ears their brave words-"We ask


only for sympathy and recognition. We want
no men, for we are strong enough to win our
freedom for ourselves, but we do ask that we
may be permitted to buy arms in the
markets open to our oppressors." On the
other hand, the experience of our Commits
sioner in Cuba has been sufficient to show
that the Spanish hatred Of Americans, despite
the friendly acts of our government only con-
ceals its intensity through fear of our power
as nation that in their proAered free par
don to repentant rebels the Spanish author
tiles especially exclude negroes fighting in the