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 "Yes, I have something more to say. There is Cuba — poor, struggling 
 Cuba. I want you to stand by the Cubans. Cuba must be free Her ty- 
 rannical enemy must be crushed. Cuba must not only be free, but all her 
 sister islands. This Republic is responsible for that. I am passing away, 
 but you must look after this. We have been together; now you must look 
 
 to this." 
 
 Dying Words of GENERAL U.UVI.INS in Becivtarj Cresswell. 
 


«/ 
 
 THE CUBAN QUESTION 
 
 AMERICAN" POLICY, 
 
 THE LIGHT OF COMMON SENSE. 
 
 "Yes, I have something more to say. TJiere is Cuba — $001; struggling Cuba. 
 I tuant you to stand by the Cubans. Cuba must be free. Her tyrannical enemy 
 must be crushed. Cuba must not only be free, but all her sister islands. This Re- 
 public is responsible for that. lam passing away, but you must look after this. We 
 have been together ; now you must look to this." 
 
 Dying Words o/Genenal Rawlins to Secretary Oresswell. 
 
 N E W YORK 
 
 1869. 
 

 ~p 
 
 *e 
 
 
THE CUBAN QUESTION. 
 
 The United States Responsible for the Fate of Cuba. 
 
 The fate of Cuba rests with the United States. The Cubans 
 have struck the blow for freedom, and for more than a year have 
 maintained a most heroic struggle. Without effective arras or 
 munitions of war, and without organization, preparation, or mili- 
 tary training, they bravely proclaimed their liberty, risking their 
 lives, property, and all they hold dear for that inestimable bless- 
 ing. They were goaded to this step by intolerable tyranny and 
 grinding exactions. They had no voice in the government over 
 them ; they were heavily taxed without their consent ; they had 
 no control over the enormous revenue exacted from them ; they 
 had not only to support a host of hungry officials in the island, who 
 were sent out from Spain, and who had no sympathy with the 
 colonists or interest in the colony, but they were compelled also 
 to contribute largely to the support of their oppressors and of 
 that very government in Europe which denied them even the 
 shadow of political liberty. No people ever had greater cause 
 for revolt. None ever behaved more bravely, and, considering 
 their want of means, the difficulties they labored under, and the 
 vast organized military power against them, none ever made 
 greater success, within so short a period. Yet, if unaided, di- 
 rectly or indirectly, by the United States, the conflict must be 
 long and doubtful, and would only end with the utter ruin of the 
 island. Hence, as was said, the fate of Cuba rests with this 
 country. 
 
 The Cubans may maintain the struggle to the bitter end, and, 
 no doubt, have made up their minds to do so. The die is cast, 
 and it would be better to suffer death in the effort to be free than 
 to be subjugated, for Spain is cruel and unforgiving. They would 
 have no hope in the future from the magnanimity or promises of 
 the Spanish government. Their painful experience, throughout 
 
their whole history, of the unfulfilled promises of Spain, and the 
 persistent refusal of that country to listen to their appeals for 
 some show of liberality or justice, must convince them that what- 
 ever government is in power at Madrid, whether monarchical or 
 republican, they can expect *ao concessions, no change for the 
 better, no toleration. Doubtless, then, they will fight to the last, 
 and rather than submit, carry universal desolation over the country. 
 Their determined purpose to do this no one can doubt, who looks 
 at the sufferings they now willingly endure, at the sacrifices 
 they make, and at the fact that they are applying the torch to all 
 sugar plantations and other property which might be appropri- 
 ated by their enemies and used against themselves. 
 
 Nor would Spain leave Cuba without desolating it, and, as far 
 as human power goes, making that magnificent island worthless, 
 both to the Cubans themselves and to America, unless the United 
 States should interpose and prevent the calamity. If the Span- 
 iards see that Cuba can no longer be of value to them as a colony, 
 they would do all in their power, probably, to make it valueless 
 to others. Disgraceful as such conduct would be to any civilized 
 nation, and to that Spain which was once so famous in history and 
 for its chivalry, there is every reason to fear the most vindictive 
 course toward Cuba. The statesmen of Spain — such men as Ser- . 
 rano and Dulce — might not desire it, but the Spaniards on the 
 island, and the ignorant masses of the old country, who know 
 . nothing about Cuba, and are systematically deceived as to the 
 condition of things there, would force these statesmen even to 
 measures they might abhor. The vindictiveness, cruelty, and as- 
 sumption of the Spanish volunteers in Cuba, with which the 
 American government and people are familiar, show what may be 
 expected in the future. A governing class or oligarchy becomes 
 merciless in revolutionary times, when there is danger of its 
 power and privileges being lost, and there is no people more vin- 
 dictive, cruel, and reckless than the Spaniards under such cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 Then, the so-called pride or haughty vanity of the Spaniards 
 would blind them to reason and lead them to excesses even where 
 there might be no hope of saving their fancied honor. Besides, 
 old Spain has no sympathy with American republicanism or 
 American progress. Notwithstanding the late revolution in 
 
Spain, the overthrow of the Bourbon monarchy, and the profes- 
 sion of liberal principles, the old European prejudices and jeal- 
 ousy of America are strong in the Spaniards. While they pro- 
 fess admiration and friendship for the United States they are as 
 jealous of this country and as ready to throw obstacles in the 
 way of its progress as the ruling classes or governments of other 
 countries in Europe. Nothing will be left undone, therefore, to 
 prevent Cuban independence, the acquisition of Cuba by the Uni- 
 ted States, or the desolation of the island, so as to make it as 
 worthless as possible to any other people than the Spaniards. 
 
 But the desolation of Cuba — the destruction of the sugar, to- 
 bacco, and other plantations, burning of towns and villages, and 
 the ruin of all the material interests and commerce of the island — 
 would not be the only evil of a prolonged and vindictive war, 
 dreadful as this mast prove. Want and anarchy would necessarily 
 follow. The passions which revolution lets loose would find their 
 vent, probably, in a war of races and factions, and we might see 
 the horrors of San Domingo revived. The richest and most pro- 
 ductive country in the world would be utterly ruined and left a 
 prey to frightful disorder and carnage. The vast negro popula- 
 tion, amounting to over half a million of souls, or near forty per 
 cent, of the whole population of the island, are like the negroes of 
 the Southern States, docile, peaceable, and industrious when under 
 proper control ; but they are ignorant and capable of fearful ex- 
 cesses, as was seen in San Domingo, when aroused by suffering 
 or wicked leaders. Should the war continue long, and, conse- 
 quently, the people be reduced to want and anarchy, there is reasi n i 
 to apprehend a state of things that will make the civilized world 
 shudder. Such is the terrible prospect, unless the United States, 
 for the sake of humanity and from a principle of high public- 
 policy, stop the war by claiming the independence or annexation oi 
 Cuba. The revolution has assumed such proportions, and all the 
 circumstances connected with it are such that either freedom or 
 utter ruin must be the consequence. The American republic can 
 only decide which shall be the alternative, and upon it alone i 
 the responsibility. 
 
What the United States ought to Do. 
 
 Here the question arises, then, what should the United States 
 do in the case of Cuba ? The answer to this involves many con- 
 siderations bearing upon international obligations, the material 
 and political interests of the country, the claims of humanity, the 
 cause of republican freedom in the world, particularly in this 
 hemisphere, and the progress and future of the great American 
 republic. Should the United States Government interpose to 
 secure the independence of Cuba ? And if it should, on what 
 grounds ? Or, taking a less decisive course, ought it to recognize 
 the Cubans as belligerents ?. The last proposition of conceding 
 belligerent rights would carry probably the first with it, for the 
 American Government is not likely to take any such decided ac- 
 tion without feeling assured that it would lead to the independence 
 of Cuba. Nor can there be any doubt of the result should the 
 United States recognize the Cubans as belligerents. That act 
 alone would do much to secure the independence of Cuba. Though 
 not bound by the mere recognition of belligerent rights to aid the 
 Cubans the American Government would hardly permit itself to 
 be placed in the humiliating position of seeing Cuba subjugated 
 afterwards. 
 
 Ought the United States to recognize the Cubans as belligerents ? 
 Nine- tenths of the American people, at least, say, yes. Probably 
 there are none, except a few Spanish agents, and a few narrow 
 minded men who are opposed to all progress, who would say, no. 
 The generous and liberty-loving citizens of this great republic 
 would proclaim at once the independence of Cuba, and act in a 
 manner to secure it, if they would follow the noble impulses of their 
 own hearts. There is no question as to the popular sympathy and 
 will on this subject. It seems strange, in fact, that the government 
 has not acted in this matter more in accordance with public 
 sentiment, for public opinion is the basis of our republican 
 institutions and law of our national existence. But the executive 
 administration is naturally conservative, and properly so, as far 
 as relates to maintaining the laws. Still, under the American 
 i'o.m of government, the will of the jecplu should be obeyed on 
 
great questions of national policy. There is, however, a large 
 degree of latitude allowed to the executive in this country on all 
 matters of an international character, and the people are disposed 
 to be patient till they understand fully the motives or object 
 of the government, or till their representatives in Congress can 
 speak. With regard to recognizing the belligerent rights of the 
 Cubans the administration has followed up to this time its con- 
 servative instincts rather than the popular will. 
 
 Is it wise to pursue that course any longer ? Has not the 
 time arrived when the Cubans should be recognized ? Does not 
 every consideration of national policy, interest, and humanity call 
 for recognition ? There is no positive international law or rule of 
 action to govern nations as to the time or circumstances when a 
 people struggling for liberty shall be recognized as belligerents. 
 The only principle generally acknowledged as a guide for govern- 
 ments in such cases, is, that those fighting for independence must 
 have been able to sustain a war for some time with reasonable 
 prospect of success. But each nation or government judges for it- 
 self, and that generally in accordance with its own interests or 
 some policy it favors. Great Britain and some other European 
 nations recognized the Confederates at the commencement, or 
 during the first months of the late civil war in the United States. 
 True, they did so on the plea that the magnitude of the war justi- 
 fied it. But a plea is never wanted whenever state policy and the 
 supposed interests of a nation are to be promoted by such a course. 
 The European governments looked with jealousy and disfavor up- 
 on the growing power of this republic and the consequent progress 
 of republican ideas, and they seized the opportunity for doing 
 what they could to dismember the country. This was their 
 state policy. This was the State policy of monarchical Europe. 
 Yet the Confederate States were an integral portion of a 
 friendly and mighty nation, where all the people were free, pros 
 ous, and happy. The South was not a distant possession or depen 
 dency like Cuba, or like the American colonies before the wa 
 independence. There was no grinding oppression or mill 
 despotism as in Cuba on which a plea of recognition or inter- 
 ference could be made. The action of Great Britain and other 
 European powers in the case of the Confederates was simply S 
 policy based on hostility to American institutions, jealousy and 
 
national rivalry. Other examples might be cited to show, as was 
 said, that a plea is never wanted where national interests and 
 policy are concerned. 
 
 Not only do the powers of Europe recognize and aid revolting 
 dependencies or sections of a country whenever it suits their pur- 
 pose, but they seize and annex territories and States, depose and 
 set up governments, for their own advantage and aggrandizement. 
 Did not France set up an Imperial foreign government in Mexico 
 against the will of the people on the principle of monarchical 
 State policy ? And did not the powers of Europe, Spain included, 
 promptly recognize that government ? Did not France seize large 
 territories in Africa and appropriate Savoy ? Has not England 
 pushed her conquests over a large portion of Asia and in every 
 part of the globe to aggrandize herself and extend her commerce ? 
 What did Prussia in Germany ? What is Eussia doing continu- 
 ally? Was not heroic Poland dismembered and parceled out 
 among the surrounding great nations from State policy ? Spain 
 did the same as the others in former times and if she has not 
 gone so far lately as they have, it was because she had not the 
 power. Yet she even attempted a few years ago to reconquer San 
 Domingo. It is absurd to talk of principle in such cases. The 
 only principle recognized is that of national interest : the only 
 law followed is that of the strongest : the only consideration is 
 that of national progress, development, and grandeur. Is the 
 great American republic to be the only power that must not study 
 its own interests in extending its system of government, in- 
 influence, commerce, or territory ? Shall it not take advan- 
 tage of favorable circumstances, as other powers do, to fulfill 
 its destiny and to carry out the policy of national progress ? 
 Any other great nation occupying the position this republic 
 does with regard to Cuba would have acknowledged the 
 the independence of that island or have annexed it long since. Yet 
 the American government has refused up to this time to recognize 
 the Cubans as belligerents, though that heroic people have carried 
 on the war for independence more than a year, though they have 
 irom the smallest beginning in the sparsely settled district of 
 Bayamo extended their conquests over the largest part of the is- 
 land, and though the revolutionary government and forces are 
 stronger and better organized to-day than ever. Upon every 
 
9 
 
 principle of justice, right, expediency, humanity, and national 
 policy the United States ought to acknowledge Cuba not only 
 as a belligerent power but as an independent republic. 
 
 The question is treated here as an American one chiefly, and 
 from an American point of view, because whatever may be the 
 destiny or fate of Cuba, this country has a great interest in it, 
 and because the argument is addressed to Americans. If the is- 
 and should be dessolated and ruined from the want of action on the 
 part of the United States, the American people would suffer in their 
 trade and commerce, the character of the nation would be damaged 
 for permitting such a calamity, and it would lose the finest op- 
 portunity for enriching itself and developing the wealth of the 
 Antilles. If Cuba should become an independent republic that 
 would add another buttress, to use the simile of Mr. Seward, to 
 the American republic and republican system, would largely in- 
 crease the trade of this country, and would open a vast field for 
 American enterprise. If the island should be annexed, that would 
 increase the power, importance, and wealth of the United States, 
 would give the most commanding position for naval purposes and 
 for the domination of the whole of the West Indies, as well as 
 the countries bordering the Gulf of Mexico and Carribean sea, 
 and would add two or three States to the Union richer than any 
 now possessed. It would increase greatly the variety of domestic 
 products, give the monopoly of sugar production and other tropical 
 productions, and would go far to make the United States inde- 
 pendent of the rest of the world for everything that enters into 
 the daily consumption of the people or into commerce. In fact, 
 the rest of the world would be dependent to a great extent upon 
 the United States for sugar and other tropical products, as it now 
 is for cotton. Whether Cuba should be annexed or not at present, 
 in the event of it becoming independent of Spain, there can !"■ 
 no doubt that in the end annexation must take place. The position 
 of the island geographically considered and the interests of both 
 the Cubans and the United States must lead to that. In every 
 point of view, then, this is an American question. 
 
10 
 
 The Monroe Doctrine applied to Cuba. 
 
 Forty-six years ago, when the United States were an insignifi- 
 cant power compared to what they are now 7 the government laid 
 down as a fixed policy what is known as the Monroe Doctrine. 
 The propositions of President Monroe in his message to Congress, 
 December 2d, 1823, were : 
 
 First. " The American continents, by the free and independent 
 condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth 
 not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any 
 European power." 
 
 Second. " The United States considers any attempt on the part 
 of European powers to extend their system to any portion of this 
 hemisphere as dangerous to their peace and safety." 
 
 The principle proclaimed here is, America for the Americans 
 no European interference with the existing republican govern- 
 ments and progress of republican institutions on American soil, 
 and no farther extension of the monarchical system or colonization 
 in this hemisphere. Mr. Canning, the minister of England at the 
 time this doctrine was proclaimed, was, in a certain sense, the 
 author of it. He proposed it to Mr. Eush, the American minis- 
 ter at London, to checkmate the designs of Spain and the Holy 
 Alliance, for subjugating and restoring the revolted Spanish 
 colonies, which had already declared their independence. True, 
 England had her own policy to promote by this proposition to 
 the American government, and did not make it from any love to 
 this republic, but that does not weaken the fact that a great English 
 statesman saw and suggested the importance of America having 
 a policy for itself, based upon national interests and republican 
 institutions. But this was no new doctrine, though it assumed 
 the official form and importance given to it by the message of 
 President Monroe in 1823. Nearly all the statesmen of the 
 United States up to that time, and this country was blessed with 
 far seeing statesmen in those days, had used their efforts to prevent 
 the extension of European influence and the European monarchical 
 system in this hemisphere. Nor did they ever lose an opportunity 
 to extend the area of this republic and republican institutions in 
 
11 
 
 America. The early recognition of the independence of the 
 revolted Spanish- American colonies, the acquistion of Louisiana 
 and Florida, and other acts of the government in the earlier and 
 purer days of its history show this. Hamilton, in 1797, tried hard 
 to organize an invasion of the Spanish-American colonies under the 
 protection of the United States, and in concert with General Mir- 
 anda, with a view to help those colonies to their independence. And 
 what did Mr. Monroe say, in 1812, when he was Secretary of State, 
 to the seizing of Amelia Island and Pensacola by an American gene- 
 ral ? He advised the retaining of these places till an amicable adjust- 
 ment could be made by negotiation with Spain. Doubtless this 
 statesman had in view then the annexation of Florida. Did not 
 the Americans in 1819, 1820 and 1821 rush, unmolested by their 
 government, with arms and ammunition to Mexico, and very effi- 
 ciently assist in overthrowing the Spanish rule there ? And what 
 was done in the liberation and annexation of Texas ? Mr. Jef- 
 ferson, when consulted in 1823, by President Monroe on the 
 question of the Monroe doctrine and the action of the govern- 
 ment with regard to the revolted Spanish American colonies, spoke 
 of the importance of recognizing and sustaining the independence 
 of those new States. He remarked that the independence of the 
 United States was due to the recognition abroad of that inde- 
 pendence. While the United States should not interfere in Euro- 
 pean affairs, he said, they should never permit Europe to intervene 
 in America. He added, the interests of America are distinct from 
 those of Europe, and that so long as the latter foster despotism 
 we must secure a home for freedom upon this hemisphere. Mr. 
 Jefferson in this same letter to President Monroe expressed the 
 wish for the acquisition of Cuba, and said that he considered the 
 island of great importance to the United States. 
 
 The early statesmen of the republic foresaw the mighty future 
 of the country, and seized even opportunity to carry out its des- 
 tiny. -So, too, have the statesmen of other countries foreseen it. 
 The great Napoleon, addressing the council of State in 180-4, 
 said : — " I foresee that France will be compelled to abandon all her 
 colonies. All those in America will, within fifty years, come 
 under the dominion of the United States ; and this conviction has 
 led to the cession of Louisiana." A distinguished traveler and 
 writer, M. Simonin, wrote, in the Moniteur Universel, April 11, 
 
12 
 
 1368 : — " The destiny of North America is curious to contemplate. 
 It is the country of the future to which is attracted emigration, 
 and which is at no distant day to alter the laws of the political and 
 commercial world." But why multiply arguments or authorities 
 upon that which is so evident ? Will the public men in the Uni- 
 ted States at the present time — will the administration and Con- 
 gress, be less ready to comprehend the destiny of the country, 
 and the opportunity that is offered in the case of Cuba ? 
 
 It may be said that the Monroe doctrine does not justify the 
 seizure of foreign possessions in this hemisphere, and the forcible 
 dispossession of the European governments over them. No, not 
 in time of peace, and unless the law of self-preservation demands 
 that. But it does not mean that the government shall aid in per- 
 petuating monarchical despotism and institutions on American 
 soil through neutrality laws, pretended friendship to European 
 governments, or an over sensitive regard for what is often mis- 
 takenly called national honor. It does not mean that the generous 
 impulses of the American people shall be suppressed by their own 
 government when they call for aid and recognition for those 
 struggling to be free in America. It does mean, and that upon a 
 broad principle of national policy, that every means should be 
 used that a great nation can consistently use to secure the inde- 
 pendence of an American people fighting to be free from European 
 domination. It means that the United States should lose no op- 
 portunity to republicanize and Americanize this continent and the 
 islands that belong to it, and to increase the power, influence, and 
 commerce of this country. Never was there a case in the history 
 of America which appealed more earnestly for the application of 
 the Monroe doctrine than that of Cuba. The state of affairs in 
 the island, the horrible despotism of Spain over it, the frightful 
 cruelty of the Spaniards in the war, the prolonged and heroic 
 struggle of the Cubans, their successes under the greatest difficul- 
 ties, their ability to sustain the war, the cry of anguish from the 
 suffering people, their touching appeals to and hope from the 
 United States, the political and commercial interests of this coun- 
 try that are involved, the progress of American freedom and 
 republican institutions — all call for the sympathy and interposition 
 of the American people and government. The exclusion of Spain 
 from Cuba should be the determined policy' of the United States. 
 
13 
 
 Let the Cubans be recognized as belligerents — yes, let their inde- 
 pendence be acknowledged — and let the generous and liberty-loving 
 American people go to their aid, and the war will soon be over, 
 and Cuba saved from the fate of San Domingo. 
 
 No doubt the independence of Cuba would lead, as was said 
 before, to its annexation to the United States. Whether it should 
 or not the argument in favor of American action is the same. In 
 addition to the views of American statesmen and eminent men, 
 which have been given, with regard to the importance or value of 
 Cuba to the United States, those of Mr. Edward Everett, as 
 expressed when he was Secretary of State, in his famous reply to 
 the French and British governments on the tripartite treaty pro- 
 position, may be cited. He remarks : — " Territorially and com- 
 mercially it would, in our hands, be an extremely valuable 
 possession. In certain contingencies it might be almost essential 
 to our safety." Again : — " There is at the present time an evident 
 tendency in the maritime commerce of the world, to avail itself of 
 the shortest passages from one ocean to another, offered by the 
 different routes existing or in contemplation across the isthmus of 
 Central America. The island of Cuba, of considerable import- 
 ance in itself, is so placed geographically, that the nation which 
 may possess it, if the naval forces of that nation should be con- 
 siderable, might either protect or obstruct the commercial routes 
 from one ocean to the other." In another place he says : — " The 
 United States, on the other hand, would, by the proposed con- 
 vention (tripartite treaty) disable themselves from making an 
 acquisition which might take place without any disturbance of 
 existing foreign relations, and in the natural order ol things. The 
 island of Cuba lies at our doors. It commands the approach to 
 the Gulf of Mexico, which washes the shores of five States. It 
 bars the entrance of that great river which drains half the North 
 American continent, and, with its tributaries, forms the largesl 
 system of internal water communication in the world. It keeps 
 watch at the door-way of our intercourse with California by the 
 Isthmus route. If an island like Cuba, belonging to the Spanish 
 crown, guarded the entrance to the Thames or the Seine, and the 
 United States should propose a convention like this to Franc 
 England, those powers would assuredly feel that the disability 
 assumed by ourselves was far less serious than that which we 
 
14 
 
 asked them to assume." Mr. Everett might have added, had he 
 not been writing a diplomatic note, that if Cuba lay across the 
 mouth of the Thames or the Seine, or guarded any other great 
 outlet of British or French commerce, it would have been seized 
 by either of these powers long ago. It would not have taken long 
 before national interests would have overruled their national 
 honor or regard for the nation in possession of such an island. 
 
15 
 
 The Trade and Kesources of Cuba. 
 
 The value of Cuba to the United States as the key to the Gulf 
 of Mexico, as dominating the West Indies, as a protection to the 
 coast and trade of this country on the Gulf, as extending Ameri- 
 can influence over the whole region bordering the Carribean sea 
 and the Gulf of Mexico, and in fact, as making the latter simply 
 an American lake, has been adverted to, as well as the commercial 
 value of that island to this country. It will be well, however, to 
 call attention particularly to the productions, trade and prospec- 
 tive resources of Cuba. 
 
 According to an estimate made up from reliable data, the 
 imports and exports of Cuba for the year just preceding the revo- 
 lution, and, therefore, while the island was in its normal condi- 
 tion, were : — 
 
 Imports $64,000,000 
 
 Exports 80,000,000 
 
 Total $144,000,000 
 
 In 1859, according to Pezuela's Geographical and Statistical 
 Distionary, they were : — 
 
 Imports $43,465,976 
 
 Exports 57,455,185 
 
 Total §100,920,864 
 
 Taking the statistical report of Dr. Jose Maria de la Torre 
 for the three years from 1861 to 1863, the average yearly total 
 imports and exports were, $130,000,000. 
 
 The total imports and exports then have increased steadily at 
 about the rate of fifty per cent, in the ten years since 1859. It 
 must be remembered that this large and valuable trade has been 
 developed under the most unfavorable circumstances — under the 
 high tariff, repressive government, and grinding exactions imposed 
 by Spain. It shows, however, the vast wealth and importance of 
 the commerce of Cuba. Had that island been under the benefi- 
 cent and liberal government of the United States, the trade would 
 have been doubled probably, and would have amounted to three 
 hundred millions at least instead of a hundred and fifty millions. 
 
16 
 
 The importance of the commerce with Cuba may be appreciated 
 by referring to a table of statistics by Fernandez Corredor, 
 showing the relative proportion among the different commercial 
 nations. It is as follows : — 
 
 United States of America 35.94 per Cent. 
 
 England 22.52 
 
 Spain 19.48 
 
 France 8.33 
 
 Germany, Holland and Belgium 7.02 
 
 Spanish America 4.49 
 
 Denmark, Sweden, Italy and Norway.. 1.84 
 
 Austrio, Russia and Portugal 0.15 
 
 China, Rio Congo and San Domingo... 0.04 
 
 99.81 
 Mercantile Depot 0.19 
 
 100.00 
 
 The United States has more than a third of the whole, amount- 
 ing to over fifty millions of dollars a year. Yet the taxes on 
 American products and trade are very heavy. Flour, for example, 
 pays a duty of ten dollars a barrel, while on flour from Spain only 
 two dollars are imposed. Cuba looks chiefly to America for 
 breadstuffs, and takes largely from this country dry goods, agri- 
 cultural implements, machinery of every description, articles of 
 cooperage and many other things. Then, independent of all this, 
 a large American tonnage is employed which enlarges the com- 
 merce and brings great profits to the shipping and merchants of 
 the United States. It is estimated that five thousand vessels of 
 all classes enter the ports of Cuba in a year. Yet, this valuable 
 trade will be lost if the United States does not interfere to stop 
 the work of devastation now going on, by securing the independence 
 of the island. Bat an imperfect idea can be formed of the vastly 
 inereased value of that trade to this country should Cuba become 
 free or annexed. The crowds of enterprising Americans that 
 would go there and develope the resources of the island, to say 
 nothing of the number of invalids and pleasure seekers that would 
 visit this tropical paradise in the winter season, the vast sums of 
 money that Cubans would spend in the United States, and the in- 
 creased exports and imports under free trade and free intercourse, 
 would make it a most valuable possession. It might well be called 
 the gem of the Antilles for American interests. Indeed it would 
 
17 
 
 be of far greater value to the commerce of the world generally 
 than it is now. 
 
 The products of Cuba, according to the statistics of Don Fran- 
 cisco Fernandez Corredor, which have something of an official 
 character, are as follows : 
 
 53,380 houses, annual rent $16,2G0,060 
 
 3,285 cattle haciendas, 270,798 bullocks and cows, 
 35,200 horses and mares, 
 3,342 mules and asses, 
 349,960 hogs, 
 34,813 sheep and goats, 
 1,365 sugar estates, producing 1,127,351,750 lbs. with 
 molasses, rum, and savings attached to the 
 
 culture 
 
 996 coffee estate, producing 16,822,000 lbs 
 
 9,482 vegas of tobacco, prod'g 69,030,000 lbs 
 
 Wax, 5,227,600 lbs 
 
 Honey, 362,276 barrels 
 
 5,738 pasture grounds, and 21,842 farms, producing 
 4,902,525 lbs. cocoa "| 
 
 500,000 
 
 125,000 
 
 50,000,000 
 
 7,329,425 
 
 7,500,000 
 
 1,025 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 2,192,775 
 
 125,000,000 
 
 cotton 
 
 arrowroot 
 
 rice 
 
 beans 
 
 potatoes 
 
 indigo 
 
 seroons of plantains 
 
 cheese 
 
 nourishing roots or vegetables , 
 
 70,000 loads of greens 
 
 1,000,000 " maloja, or corn grn. fodder . . . 
 240.000,000 lbs. of corn 
 
 ... J 
 coal. 
 
 Ginger, Palm Leaf, rope bark (majagua) bituminous 
 
 (chapapote) 
 
 Fruits', milk, starch, poultry and eggs 3,83 
 
 Brick manufacturers, block quarries 1,419.000 
 
 Timber 1,3 
 
 Fisheries 1,000,00 I 
 
 Copper ore : I 
 
 5,286,180 
 
 67,641,105 
 
 2,523.300 
 
 16,912,500 
 
 1,794,381 
 
 1,226,966 
 
 13.748,746 
 
 LOOO.OOO 
 
 106,088 separate estates, urban or rustic and 20,156 
 establishments of industry and commerce; anony- 
 mous companies, professions, arts, and trades . . 
 
 8,62 
 124,469,in 
 
 Total amount of products and annual inc es, $259,522,8] 1 
 
18 
 
 It was estimated by the Commissioners at Madrid in 1867 
 much higher. After making a liberal deduction it amounted ac- 
 cording to their statistics, to :— $307,500,000. 
 
 No estimate has been made, as far as known, of the total value 
 of the developed property on the island, but taking the products 
 as a basis, and the estimate of products given above is less, doubt- 
 less, than the actual amount, the value must be near two thousand 
 millions of dollars. What, for instance, must be the value of the 
 sugar plantations which yield sixty-seven millions of dollars a year, 
 or of the tobacco plantations which give seventeen millions ? But 
 these are only the developed resources of Cuba. The undeveloped 
 resources — those that might, and would, no doubt, be brought 
 out, if the island belonged to the United States, are almost in- 
 calculable. The whole area of Cuba embraces over twenty-five 
 millions of acres of land, or according to General Dulce, there is 
 in the island proper over twenty-one millions of acres. Less 
 than fifteen per cent, is under cultivation, and less than twenty- 
 eight per cent, pasture lands. The wood lands cover more than 
 thirty- seven per cent. Probably three or four times the amount 
 now under cultivation could be cultivated. No doubt the sugar 
 and tobacco productions could be increased two or three hundred 
 par cent, or more, and would give this country, in the case of an- 
 nexation, the complete monopoly of these products in the world. 
 Besides the productions peculiar to the tropics, including a great 
 variety and abundance of fruits, Cuba produces in the high lands 
 the apple, pear, peach, fig, grape, as well as wheat, rye, barley and 
 other things of the temperate zone. It is hardly necessary to 
 mention the wonderful variety of medicinal and aromatic plants, 
 the fine mahogany, cedar, and other valuable woods, or the 
 abundant resources in minerals and stones — as of copper, lead, 
 iron, coal, marble, asphaltum, jasper, agate, opal and other things, 
 for their existence is generally known. Enough has been said to 
 show that there is no spot on the globe richer or more valuable 
 than Cuba in resources to a country like the United States which 
 knows so well how to use them. 
 
 Spain derives a revenue of about thirty- seven millions of dollars 
 a year from Cuba. Six to ten millions of this, according to cir- 
 cumstances, go to the government of the old country, and the rest 
 is taken by Spanish officials, and for the support of an insufferable 
 
19 
 
 Spanish despotism on the island. The Cubans — the people from 
 whom this vast amount is wrung — get none of it, and have no 
 control over a dollar of it. The tax on the city and rural revenue 
 of the Cuban people is over fourteen per cent., and this is in ad- 
 dition to the high import and export duties. It is calculated that 
 the Spanish rulers over Cuba intend to draw for the year ending 
 July, 1870, fifty to sixty millions of dollars from the suffering 
 Cubans. 
 
 It may be proper to mention under this head that no island or 
 country in the world has more excellent harbors than Cuba. There 
 are more than twenty, besides a number of bays, into which ship- 
 ping can go. Nine of these, namely, Havana, Bahia, Honda, 
 Nuevitas, Nipe, Levisa, Guantanamo, St. Jago de Cuba, and 
 Cienfuegos will admit ships of the largest class, and some of them 
 are the finest and best protected harbors on the globe. The 
 value of these to commerce is very great, but in addition to that, 
 they are of the highest importance in a naval point of view. 
 
20 
 
 The Population and Character of it. 
 
 The population of Cuba, according to the last census of June, 
 1862, showed there were : 
 
 WHITES— European.Stock— Males 403,337 
 
 " " Females.., 326,620—729,957 
 
 " _ Yugatese — Males , 507 
 
 " " Females 236— 743 
 
 " Chinese — Males 34,025 
 
 " " Females. 25—34,050 
 
 Total Whites 764,750 
 
 COLORED— Free— Males 108,097 
 
 Females 113,320—221,417 
 
 " Captured Emancipados — Males 3,171 
 
 " •' Females... 1,350— 4,521 
 
 " Slaves— Males 220,305 
 
 " Females 148,245—368,550 
 
 Total Colored 594,488 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 Whites. 764,750 
 
 Colored 594,488 
 
 GRAND TOTAL 1,359,238 
 
 Fernandez Corredor made the population something more ; 
 and considering the increase since the census of 1862 there is 
 now, probably, a million and a half inhabitants on the island. 
 
 One feature of the population is worthy of particular notice, 
 and that is, that over six hundred thousand of the people are 
 native whites of pure European stock. There has not been, as in 
 Mexico, Central America, and some of the South American States, 
 a mixture with Indians, for there were no Indians left in Cuba, 
 and there has been little amalgamation with the negroes. The 
 existence of slavery and the pride of race naturally "prevented the 
 mixture of whites and negroes to any considerable extent. Of 
 all the so-called Spanish American countries or colonies, not one 
 can boast of a higher or more intellectual, type of people than 
 Cuba. 
 
21 
 
 In an article in the North American Review, January, 1849, 
 on the poetry of Spanish America, attributed to Longfellow, 
 the following language is used with reference to the people of 
 Cuba : " Passing eastward across the Gulf, our eyes rest on the 
 Queen of the Antilles, on fair and glorious Cuba, that ' summer 
 isle of Eden,' whose name fills the mind with the most enchanting 
 pictures of tropical beauty, the most delicious dreams of splendor 
 and luxury and magnificent ease — that garden of the West, gor- 
 geous with perpetual flowers, and brilliant with the plumage of 
 innumerable birds, beneath whose glowing sky the teeming earth 
 yields easy and abundant harvest to the toil of man, and whose 
 capacious harbors invite the commerce of the world. In this 
 island, so richly endowed with material gifts, we find the noblest 
 and loftiest poets of Spanish America, men of true and universal 
 sympathies, of high aspiration and heroic character, whose souls 
 are fired with great ideas and unselfish hopes, whose poems are 
 not stereotyped sentimentalities, tender or terrible, but manly 
 outpourings of serious feeling, full of a genuine, high-toned enthu- 
 siasm for great and generous objects." 
 
 Out of the seven to eight hundred thousand whites of Euro- 
 pean stock, there are not more than a hundred thousand Span- 
 iards, including thirty or forty thousand troops, and numbers of 
 officials. All the rest are native Cubans. The total colored, 
 or negro, population, apart from the comparatively few Chinese 
 and Yucatese, as shown by the table given above, was a little less 
 than six hundred thousand. Out of this, according to the census 
 of 1862, two hundred and twenty-one thousand were free. The 
 slaves at that time numbered three hundred and v sixty-eight 
 thousand. 
 
 But slavery no longer exists in Cuba, except where the Span- 
 ish government is in power and maintains it. The Cuban revolu- 
 tionary government has abolished it. This is particularly worthy 
 of notice, because the fact may not be generally known in the 
 United States, and because it has been denied by a distinguished 
 member of the American Congress. When the revolution com- 
 menced the leaders contemplated the gradual abolition of slavery. 
 In the declaration of independence, on the 10th of October, 1868, 
 the Cubans declare : " We desire the gradual abolition of slavery 
 with indemnification." But they soon advanced beyond this, and, 
 
22 
 
 therefore, in the constitution of the Cuban Republic, adopted on 
 the 10th of April, 1869, it is declared, in article 24, " All the in- 
 habitants of the republic of Cuba are absolutely free." This ques- 
 tion, then, is set at rest forever, so far as the Cuban revolution or 
 the Cubans can settle it. Slavery can only continue to exist on 
 the island through Spanish power. This fact alone ought to make 
 the statesmen of the United States, and particularly those of the 
 republican party, warm friends of the Cuban cause. 
 
23 
 
 Nature of the Spanish Government in Cuba, 
 
 Throughout the whole history of Cuba the Spanish govern- 
 ment has been a pure, unmitigated military despotism. The few 
 brief and spasmodic concessions of reform or change hardly 
 amount to an exception, for the government has invariably fallen 
 back to the old despotism, and instead of any improvement for the 
 better, the oppression of the Cubans has gone on from bad to 
 worse. Every branch of the administration has been always 
 under the absolute control of the Captain- General — a power with 
 which he has been invested by the home government. Ever 
 since the close of the war of independence of the South American 
 States, he has been clothed by special law with all the powers 
 given to commanders of besieged places. The following royal 
 decree, issued at Madrid, May 28, 1825, has been the basis of the 
 government over Cuba : 
 
 " His Majesty, the King our Lord, desiring to obviate the in- 
 conveniences which might result, in extraordinary cases, from a 
 division of command and from the interferences of powers and 
 prerogatives of the respective officers ; for the important end of 
 preserving in that precious island (Cuba) his legitimate sovereign 
 authority and the public tranquility, through proper means, has 
 resolved, in accordance with the opinion of his council of ministers, 
 to give to your excellency the fullest authority, bestowiny upon you 
 all the powers which by the royal ordinances are granted to the 
 governors of besieged cities. In consequence of this, his majesty 
 gives to your excellency the most ample and unbounded power, 
 not only to send away from the island any persons in office, what- 
 ever be their occupation, rank, class, or condition, whose continu- 
 ance therein your excellency may deem injurious, or whose 
 conduct, public or private, may alarm you, replacing them with 
 persons faithful to his majesty, and deserving of all the confidence 
 of your excellency ; but also to suspend the execution of any order 
 whatsoever, or any general provision made concerning any branch 
 of the administration, as your excellency may think most suitable 
 to the royal service." 
 
24 
 
 In accordance with this decree, Cuba was under martial law 
 until 1860. A modification of the administrative system was then 
 made, but this lasted only for a short time. In 1867 Captain- 
 General Lersundi virtually re-established martial law in the island, 
 and had even the plainest civil cases tried by military commis- 
 sions. These commissions generally were composed of stupid and 
 ignorant officers of the army, who, trampling upon all law, often 
 sentenced to death or hard labor innocent men, and acquitted the 
 worst criminals for money. Heavy taxes have been imposed 
 without the Cubans having a voice in the matter, and if any one 
 ventured to remonstrate with the home government he was looked 
 upon as a rebel. The Cubans have been excluded from all offices, 
 except such as were insignificant or unprofitable ; while their prop- 
 erty, liberty, and even their lives were at the mercy of their re- 
 lentless rulers. 
 
 This tyrannical and barbarous system, which brought about 
 the present revolution, was abolished by Captain- General Dulce, 
 but only for a short period. He fell back to it with greater 
 severity, for since then even sham trials have been dispensed with, 
 and only his will while he was in Cuba, or the will of the Spanish 
 volunteers was the law to imprison, banish, or execute any sus- 
 pected Cuban. 
 
 The judges and other civil officers of the government have 
 always been either corrupt or the most ignorant men of Spain — 
 men who only came to Cuba to make money. In numerous in- 
 stances their offices have been left in the hands of underlings and 
 clerks to transact business. 
 
 The collection of the revenue has been in the hands of igno- 
 rant and corrupt men, who, from the highest to the lowest officer, 
 have always plundered the treasury. Nearly, if not fully, two- 
 thirds of the revenue has been generally embezzled or stolen. 
 
 Of late the government, the revenue, the high courts of jus- 
 tice, and the Captain-General himself, have fallen into the hands 
 of a mob, known as the Volunteers, who rule over whatever is left 
 to Spain in Cuba. 
 
 At present the so called Spanish Government in Cuba is an- 
 archical and as revolutionary as that of the patriots, only not in 
 so good a cause. The volunteers, that is, the Spaniards, numbering 
 less than a twentieth of the whole population, deposed the late 
 
25 
 
 Captain-General Dulce, and by this revolution usurped the 
 authority over the island. This revolutionary faction is virtually 
 the ruling power in Cuba now. A significant trait of the present 
 rule of the volunteers at Havana is the announcement of a deter- 
 mination to hold the power now in their hands, whatever govern- 
 ment be established in Spain, and to reject particularly the re- 
 publican form, and any decree favorable to the emancipation of 
 the slaves. In fact, the present accidental ruling Spanish power 
 in Cuba has no legitimate origin, and does not protect life and 
 property. Poland has been called the Niobe of nations, and how 
 truthfully might Cuba be called the Niobe of colonies. There is 
 not in the civilized world a more despotic government than that 
 over Cuba. It belongs rather to the dark ages than this age. It 
 is a disgrace to our enlightened times, and a foul blot upon free re- 
 publican America. Such a vile government which treats free 
 white men as slaves, and which would perpetuate African slavery 
 if it could, should not be suffered to exist in any part of the 
 civilized world and should certainly be driven from American soil. 
 
26 
 
 Efforts of the Cubans for Freedom. 
 
 The earliest effort of the Cubans for freedom was about the 
 time the Spanish colonies of South America acquired their inde- 
 pendence. Venezeula, which was then at war with Spain, was 
 fitting out an expedition to help the Cubans, but the United States 
 opposed the movement. Mr. Clay explained in a speech the 
 motive for this opposition. It was feared that the independence 
 of Cuba at that time would lead to the abolition of negro slavery 
 in the island, and that this would affect the institution in the 
 Southern States of this country. Thus, it will be seen, the 
 United States was mainly instrumental in preventing Cuban in- 
 dependence long ago, and that it owes something to the poor 
 Cubans for this selfish and cruel conduct. Cuba has been suffer- 
 ing under a relentless tyranny ever since, though still endeavor- 
 ing at times to shake it off. Her endeavors have brought about 
 not only the persecution and even execution of maxiy illustrious 
 Cubans, but also that of high-minded Spaniards, such as General 
 Lorenzo, who, while Governor of Santiago de Cuba in 1836, pro- 
 claimed there the liberal constitution promulgated in Spain, for 
 which Captain-General Tacon sent from Havana a heavy body of 
 troops against him and his constitutional followers. Several 
 years later many Cubans, who remonstrated against the slave 
 trade, were persecuted for having done so, and nearly all of them 
 driven into exile. Shortly, thereafter, military commissions were 
 set at work all over the Western Department of Cuba to suppress 
 an alleged conspiracy among the colored people. The guilty par- 
 ties were found chiefly among the rich free colored men, whose 
 property was, of course, confiscated, and their lives taken by 
 wholesale on the scaffold, while not a few of them died under the 
 lash, which was freely and mercilessly used to compel them to 
 confession. The suppression of this alleged conspiracy was fol- 
 lowed a few years later by a real conspiracy of the white people 
 under the lead of Gen. Lopez, who, being detected before his plans 
 were matured for an uprising in the central part of the island, 
 
27 
 
 fled and came to the United States. In 1850 he renewed his 
 efforts and sailed from the United States, at the head of some six 
 hundred men, and landed at Cardenas. He failed in this attempt 
 to free Cuba, and returned to the United States. During the sub- 
 sequent year partial uprisings took place, and Lopez sailed for 
 Cuba once more, with about 450 men, to assist his friends to 
 achieve their independence; but he again failed, and he, with 
 many of his followers, were executed. However, the Cubans, 
 persevering in their determination to be free, renewed their plans 
 to that end, and a well organized movement was started under 
 Gen. Quitman, but fell through in 1855, with the loss of valuable 
 lives, and the banishment of many distinguished Cubans, to say 
 nothing of a heavy outlay of money. Nevertheless, the Cubans 
 did not despair, and a few years afterward, began to work again 
 for their freedom, but suddenly stopped to listen to liberal propo- 
 sitions from Spain, whither a delegation was sent in 1866. After 
 a protracted stay, and long deliberations at Madrid, the delega- 
 tion returned home disgusted, and reported to their constituents 
 that nothing was to be expected from Spain in the way of liberal 
 reforms or justice to Cuba. Then the Cubans recommenced their 
 interrupted work, and when the late Spanish revolution broke out 
 they were maturing their plans to free Cuba from the military 
 sway of Spain. That revolution improved their opportunity, and 
 on the 10th of October, 1868, they rose up in arms, and made 
 a declaration of independence, dated at Manzanillo on that day. 
 The following are extracts from that instrument : 
 
 " In arming ourselves against the tyrannical government of Spain, we must. ac- 
 cording to precedent in all civilized countries, proclaim before the world, the cause 
 that impels us to take this step, which, though likely to entail considerable disturb- 
 ances upon the present, will insure the happiness of the future. 
 
 "It is well known that Spain governs the island of Cuba with an iron and bl I- 
 
 stained hand. The former holds the latter deprived of political, civil and religious 
 liberty. Hence the unfortunate Cubans being illegally prosecuted and thrown into 
 exile, or executed by military commissions in times of peace : hence their being kepi 
 from public meeting, and forbidden to speak or write on affairs of State: hence their 
 remonstrances against the evils that afflict them, being looked upon as the pr 
 ings of rebels, from the fact that they are bound to keep silence and obey: hen e 
 the never-ending plague of hungry officials from Spain, to devour the product of 
 their industry and labor : hence their exclusion from public stations and want of 
 opportunity to skill themselves in the art of government: hence the restrictions to 
 which public instruction with them is subjected, in order to keep them so ignorant 
 as not to be able to know and enforce their rights in any shape or form whatever : 
 
hence the navy and standing army which are kept upon their country at an enormous 
 expenditure from their own wealth, to make them bend their knees and submit their 
 necks to the iron_yoke that disgraces them : hence the grinding taxation under which 
 they labor, and which would make them all perish in misery but for the marvellous'fer- 
 tility of their soil. On the other hand, Cuba cannot prosper as she ought to, because 
 white immigration, that suits her best, is artfully kept from her shores by the 
 Spanish Government. And as Spain has many a time promised us, ^Cubans, to 
 respect our rights, without having hitherto fulfilled her promises ; as she continues 
 to tax us heavily, and by so doing is likely to destroy our wealth ; as we are in 
 danger of losing our property, our lives and our honor under further Spanish domi- 
 nation ; as we have reached a depth of degradation unutterably revolting to man- 
 hood ; as great nations have sprung from revolt against a similar disgrace k after 
 exhausted pleading for relief; as we despair of justice from Spain through reason- 
 ing, and cannot longer live deprived of the rights which other people enjoy, we are 
 constrained to appeal to arms to assert our rights in the battle-field, cherishing the 
 hope that our grievances will be a sufficient excuse for this last resort to redress 
 them and secure our future welfare. 
 
 " To the God of our conscience and to all civilized nations we submit the sin- 
 cerity of our purpose. Vengeance does not mislead us, nor is ambition our guide. 
 We only want to be free, and see all men with us equally free, as the Creator in- 
 tended mankind to be. Our earnest belief is that all men are brethren. Hence 
 our love of toleration, order and justice in every respect. "We desire the gradual 
 abolition of slavery with indemnification ; we admire universal suffrage, as it insures 
 the sovereignty of the people ; we demand a religious regard for the inalienable 
 rights of man, as the basis of freedom and national greatness." 
 
20 
 
 Review of the Insurrectionary Movement. 
 
 The Cuban patriots first rose at Demajagua, in the district of 
 Yara, and, as was said before, on the 10th o± October, 1868. On 
 that eventful day there were only one hundred and twenty men 
 to start the movement in this locality, and they had but few fire- 
 arms. Three days after, the districts of Bayamo, Manzanillo, 
 Jiguani and Las Tunas rose also, and the ranks of the liberators 
 swelled to four thousand men. Some were armed with fowling- 
 pieces, others with old flint-lock guns, not a few with pruning 
 knives fastened to long sticks, some with pistols, and the majority 
 with cutlasses, and whatever they could get. Such was the be- 
 ginning of this heroic struggle. 
 
 Shortly afterwards the insurrection spread over the districts of 
 Holguin, Palma Soriano, Cobre, and Santiago de Cuba in the 
 Eastern Department, and at the same time it was spreading over 
 the whole of the Central Department. The want of arms and 
 other materials of war caused the insurrection to drag along, but 
 it continued to extend farther and wider, and soon embraced 
 Palmilla and Saguey Grande in the Western Department. At 
 the end of one year the patriots had risen in and had overrun 
 nearly two-thirds of the whole island. More than forty thousand 
 are now in the field, and though poorly armed for the most part, 
 are successfully contending against the Spanish troops, which are 
 well armed with the best approved weapons of the United States. 
 
 But a small amount of war materials has reached the patriots 
 on account of the difficulties met with by their agents abroad. 
 The restriction placed upon their actions in the United States, 
 under the construction given to the neutrality laws, has amounted, 
 in some instances, almost to persecution. Perhaps not more than 
 two hundred Americans have been able to join the patriots in 
 Cuba, in consequence of the strict vigilance of their government, 
 though thousands have been eager and ready to go. 
 
 The means used up to the present time to forward the revolu- 
 tion are from the Cubans alone ; nobody else has helped the cause 
 with funds. 
 
30 
 
 The districts of Santiago de Cuba, G-uantanama, Holguin, 
 Manzanillo, Jiguani, Bayamo, Las Tunas, Puerto Principe, Nue- 
 vitas, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Moron, Remedios, Trinidad, Santo 
 Espiritu, Sagua, Cienfuegos and Colon, are controlled by the 
 patriots, with the exception of a few towns and villages within 
 these districts, where the Spanish troops are kept at bay and de- 
 prived of any other means of attack than by increased reinforce- 
 ments from Spain. Want of war materials alone prevents the 
 patriots from capturing their besieged enemies, even in those in- 
 trenched places where they are supplied through the seaboard 
 and under the protection of the navy. Hence the determination 
 of the Cubans to burn the sugar plantations, so as to deprive their 
 enemies of the means relied upon to carry on the war, and to 
 make the island valueless to them. This, to some extent, will 
 be a set-off for the want of war materials. Were the Cubans as 
 well armed as the Spaniards, the contest would soon be ended and 
 the independence of the island established. The devastation now 
 threatened, and necessary as a war measure with the Cubans, 
 might then be avoided. The determination to burn the planta- 
 tions, and the whole conduct of the patriots, show how terribly 
 in earnest they are to conquer their independence. A people who 
 would rather see their beloved country in ruins than submit any 
 longer to despotism and political slavery, are not likely to fail in 
 their object. And as Spain is in revolution herself, and too poor 
 to carry on the war without resources from Cuba, there can be 
 little doubt of the success of the Cubans ultimately, though utter 
 desolation may come with it. 
 
 The reported expressions of attachment to Spain by wealthy 
 Cubans, as published in the Havana newspapers, are only sham 
 manifestations of loyalty, extorted at the point of the bayonet 
 by the Spanish officials and volunteers, for political effect abroad, 
 and for the purpose of deceiving the people and government of 
 Spain. The revolution is in every Cuban heart throughout the 
 whole island, and as soon as the Cubans have arms enough to 
 confront their enemies at every point, this will be shown. It 
 would be strange, indeed, if any Cubans could be found devoted 
 to a government which denies them the smallest measure of liberty, 
 and which has always cruelly oppressed them. No, there are no 
 Cubans/who do not sigh for freedom, whose hearts do not swell at 
 
31 * 
 
 the thought of independence, except, perhaps, a very few renegade 
 paid agents of the Spanish Government. 
 
 It is estimated that there are in the revolted districts sixtv 
 thousand men, besides the thirty to forty thousand now in the 
 field, ready to join the patriot army as soon as arms can be put 
 in their hands. The whole force even in these districts could thus 
 be raised to ninety or a hundred thousand men — a force, if pro- 
 perly armed, large enough to drive the Spaniards from every part 
 of the island, except in a few places where they might be pro- 
 tected by ships of war. There have been a number of conflicts 
 of arms all along between the Cubans and Spaniards, and although 
 there have not been any battles on a very large scale, several con- 
 siderable engagements have taken place. The Cubans have 
 shown great bravery as well as skill in these conflicts, which have 
 resulted in general favorably to them. Of course, the Cubans 
 pursue what is called the Fabian policy in war, as General Wash- 
 ington did in the war of American independence, and as all 
 revolutionists do who at first have comparatively limited means 
 for warfare. This is effective war, nevertheless, and succeeds 
 better in the case of a revolted colony like that of Cuba, or of 
 the revolted American colonies, than any other mode of warfare. 
 It proves exhaustive to the enemy which draws its resources and 
 men from a distance, and strengthens the native revolutionists. 
 It is unreasonable, therefore, to ask of the insurgents to make 
 decisive pitched battles on a large scale as a condition for recog- 
 nizing them as belligerents. The fact alone that Spain is com- 
 pelled to strain all her means, and to send out continually rein- 
 forcements of troops from the old country to keep up the war 
 and that, too, after the conflict has been raging over a year, shows 
 the magnitude of the struggle and the ability of the Cubans to 
 sustain it. Looking at the progress of the revolution since it 
 commenced, at the augmenting forces of the patriots, and the 
 increasing area of territory over which they are spreading, and 
 at the declining power of Spain over the island, the Cubans have 
 every reason to expect success, and to claim the right of being 
 recognized as a belligerent power. There can be found few 
 examples in history in which a people fighting for their independ- 
 ence have accomplished as much within so short a time as the 
 Cubans. 
 
32 
 
 The Cuban Constitution and Government. 
 
 The Constitution adopted by the Constitutional Convention as- 
 sembled for the purpose of making one, and unanimously approved 
 by the Cuban Congress at Guimaro, the Provisional capital of the 
 Bepublic, on the tenth day of April, 1809, is as follows : 
 
 Article I. The Legislative Power shall be vested in a House of Representatives. 
 
 II. To this Body shall be delegated an equal representation from each of the 
 four States into which the island of Cuba shall be divided. 
 
 III. These States are Oriente, Camaguey, Las Villas, and Occidents. 
 
 IV. No one shall be eligible as Representative of any of these States except a 
 citizen of the Republic who is upward of 20 years of age. 
 
 V. No representative of any State shall hold any other official position during 
 his representative term. 
 
 VI. Whenever a vacancy occurs in the representation of any State, the Execu- 
 tive thereof shall have power to fill such vacancy until the ensuing election. 
 
 VII. The House of Representatives shall elect a President of the Republic, a 
 General-in-Chief of its armies, a President of the Congress, and other executive 
 officers. The General-in-Chief shall be subordinate to the Executive, and shall 
 render him an account of the performance of his duties. 
 
 VIII. The President of the Republic, the General-in-Chief, and the members of 
 the House of Representatives, are amenable to charges which may be made by any 
 citizen to the House of Representatives, who shall proceed to examine into the 
 charges preferred ; and if, in their judgment, it be necessary, the case of the accused 
 shall be submitted to the Judiciary. 
 
 IX. The House of Representatives shall have full power to dismiss from office 
 any functionary whom they have appointed. 
 
 X. The legislative acts and decisions of the House of Representatives, in order 
 to be valid and binding, must have the sanction of the President of the Republic. 
 
 XI. If the President fail to approve the acts and decisions of the House, he shall, 
 without delay, return the same, with his objections thereto, for the reconsideration 
 of that body. 
 
 XII. Within ten days after their reception, the President shall return all bills, 
 resolutions and enactments which may be sent to him by the House for his approval, 
 with his sanction thereof, or with his objections thereto. 
 
 XIII. "Upon the passage of any act, bill, or resolution, after a reconsideration 
 thereof by the House, it shall be sanctioned by the President. 
 
 XIV. The House of Representatives shall legislate upon taxation, public loans, 
 and ratifications of treaties; and, shall have power to declare and conclude war, to 
 
33 ■ 
 
 authorize the President to issue Letters of Marque, to raise troops and provide for 
 their support, to organize and maintain a navy, and to regulate reprisals as to the 
 public enemy. 
 
 XV. The House of Representatives shall remain in permanent session from the 
 time of the ratification of this fundamental law by the people, until the termination 
 of the war with Spain. 
 
 XVI. The Executive power shall be vested in the President of the Republic. 
 XYII. No one shall be eligible to the Presidency who is not a native of the Re- 
 public, and over 30 years of age. 
 
 XVIII. All treaties made by the President may be ratified by the House of 
 Representatives. 
 
 XIX. The President shall have power to appoint ambassadors, ministers-pleni- 
 potentiary, and consuls of the Republie to foreign countries. 
 
 XX. The President shall treat with embassadors, and shall see that the laws are 
 faithfully executed. He shall also issue official commissions to all the functionaries 
 of the Republic. 
 
 XXI. The President shall propose the names for the members of his Cabinet to 
 the House of Representatives for its approval. 
 
 XXII. The Judiciary shall form an independent co-ordinate department of the 
 Government, under the organization of a special law. 
 
 XXIII. Voters are required to possess the same qualifications as to age and 
 citizenship as the Members of the House of Representatives. 
 
 XXIV. All the inhabitants of the Republic of Cuba are absolutely free. 
 
 XXV. All the citizens are considered as soldiers of the Liberating army. 
 
 XXVI. The Republic shall not bestow dignities, titles, nor special privileges. 
 
 XXVII. The citizens of the Republic shall not accept honors nor titles from 
 foreign countries. 
 
 XXVIII. The House of Representatives shall not abridge the freedom of religion, 
 nor of the press, nor of public meetings, nor of education, nor of petition, nor any 
 inalienable right of the people. 
 
 XXIX. This Constitution can be amended only by the unanimous concurrence 
 of the House of Representatives. 
 
 .Here follow the signatures of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, Pre- 
 sident of the Convention, and of all of the Delegates. 
 
 We, the undersigned, hereby certify and declare that the foregoing is a correct 
 and faithful translation of the Cuban Constitution, and of each and every Article 
 and clause thereof, and that the same is the fundamental and supreme law of the 
 Republic. 
 
 Done by order of the Junta Cubana, at the City of New York, in the United 
 States of America, this 17th day of November, A. D. 1860, ami the second year of 
 the Independence of Cuba. 
 
 MIGUEL DE ALDAMA, 
 
 President. 
 J. M. Mbstre, Secretary. 
 
34 
 
 The government of the republic of Cuba is democratic and 
 federal, as is seen by the Constitution. It shows too that slavery- 
 is forever abolished. 
 
 The Cabinet is composed of the President of the Eepublic, a 
 Secretary of State, a Secretary of War, a Secretary of the In- 
 terior and Treasury. 
 
 In all the territory controlled by the patriots there are Courts 
 of justice, Post Offices, and a perfect interior organization to 
 execute the laws of the Republic. 
 
 The Cuban government has in the United States a special 
 Envoy with full powers to represent it, at Washington, to make 
 loans, and to do other things in behalf of the Eepublic. 
 
 The Cuban Junta has been appointed by this Envoy to assist 
 him in the service of the Republic. The appointment of said 
 Junta has been approved by the Cuban government. 
 
 In every department the government is properly constructed, 
 efficient in administration, and commands the respect and 
 obedience of the people. The President, Cespedes, has proved 
 himself to be a man of great ability and equal to the crisis that 
 has brought him to the head of the government. He is assisted, 
 too, both by able civil officers and competent military command- 
 ers. It is, then, in all respects, a de facto government, which 
 deserves the respect and recognition of the nations of the world, 
 particularly of the United States and the other republics of 
 America which are interested in the development and perpetuation 
 of republican institutions in this hemisphere. 
 
35 
 
 Position of the United States toward Cuba in the Past 
 and at Present. 
 
 It lias been shown in the foregoing pages that Cuba might have 
 become independent and a republic, shortly after the Spanish 
 South American colonies acquired their freedom, and would have 
 been aided in the effort by these new American republics, had not 
 the United States checked the movement. The motive for this 
 policy on the part of the United States sprung from the fear that in 
 the event of Cuba becoming independent, negro slavery would be 
 abolished in the island, and, that, on account of the proximity of 
 Cuba, this might prove dangerous to the "peculiar institution" in 
 the Southern States. 
 
 Little was done by this country with regard to Cuba from that 
 period, 1820-22, until the presidency of Mr. Polk, except to pre- 
 vent the island falling into the possession of England, France, or 
 any other European Power. During Mr. Polk's administration, the 
 American Minister at Madrid was instructed to ascertain if Spain 
 was disposed to transfer Cuba to the United States for a liberal 
 pecuniary consideration. Spain was not disposed, and no great 
 effort was made to induce her to part with the island. Then, in 
 1854, the famous Ostend conference was held with a view to press 
 Spain to sell Cuba to the United States. The three American 
 Ministers abroad, who composed this conference, Mr. Buchanan ^ 
 Mr. Mason and Mr. Soule, strongly recommended the acquisition of 
 Cuba. Mr. Soule, the Minister at Madrid, was instructed to open 
 negotiations with the Spanish Government to that end. It was 
 said the United States Government was disposed to pay the large 
 sum of a hundred and fifty millions to two hundred millions of 
 dollars for Cuba. But Spain would not listen to the proposition, 
 and the project tailed. At this point the subject was dropped, 
 though Mr. Buchanan, when President, was disposed to renew the 
 offer to purchase if an opportunity had occurred. From the time 
 of Mr. Polk and all along to near the end of Mr. Buchanan's term, 
 the Southern States and people of the South wished to acquire Cuba 
 for the purpose of strengthening the institution of slavery and in- 
 
S6 
 
 creasing the political power of the slaveholding section of the 
 Union. This, in fact, was one of the strongest motives which led 
 to the efforts to purchase Cuba. It was during these years, too, 
 that several expeditions of Cubans and American sympathizers 
 were organized in this country to revolutionize the island and to 
 make it independent of Spain. Those of General Lopez and Gene- 
 ral Quitman were the principal ones. They failed, as will be re- 
 membered, chiefly on account of the vigilance of the United States 
 Government in enforcing the neutrality laws. 
 
 Scarcely anything had been said or thought of Cuba since Mr. 
 Buchanan's presidency, for the people of this country were ab- 
 sorbed in their own civil war and its consequences, till the revolu- 
 tion in Spain and the rising of the Cubans brought the subject 
 prominently before the American public and government again. 
 This time it is not a filibustering expedition or the effort of a few 
 Cuban refugees and American sympathizers to free the island 
 from Spanish rule. It is a grand and wide spread movement of 
 the Cubans themselves on their own soil. Indeed, it has assumed 
 such proportions and the revolutionary feeling is so strong every 
 where that this movement may be called an universal one. The 
 success of the revolution in Spain, which drove Queen Isabella 
 from the throne, and changed the government of the mother 
 country, inspired the Cubans to follow the revolutionary example 
 set them. They resolved to shake off the intolerable despotism of 
 their Spanish masters, knowing that whatever might be the 
 change of government at Madrid, there would be no hope for 
 them — that they would be kept in political slavery and under 
 military rule. 
 
 The first appeal of the Cubans for sympathy and recognition 
 was to the United States. They sent an envoy to the govern- 
 ment at Washington to represent their case, and they commision- 
 ed several of their eminent fellow patriots, known here as the 
 Cuban Junta, to aid the revolution. But the former has not been 
 received officially, and only as a private individual, though with 
 much kindness and many expressions of sympathy, while obstruc- 
 tions and difficulties have been thrown in the way of the latter in 
 their efforts to serve the cause of their country. Yet, how dif- 
 ferent are the circumstances connected with the present revolu- 
 tionary movement to those associated with all previous movements 
 
37 
 
 for the independence of Cuba. No party in the United States now 
 desires the annexation of Cuba to strenghten the institution of 
 slavery, for slavery has been abolished both here and in Cuba — 
 that is, in Cuba as far as the action and power of the revolution- 
 ary government go. Spain alone sustains slavery, and wherever 
 her power ceases to operate there are no more slaves. The present 
 movement, therefore, is in the interest of universal freedom for all 
 races, as well as for emancipation from Spanish despotism. Then, 
 how insignificant were all previous movements for Cuban independ- 
 ence, by expeditions from the United States or otherwise, compared 
 to this one. It has, indeed, attained the character of a grand 
 national movement. 
 
 From whatever point of view the Cuban revolution is looked at 
 the position the American Government has occupied with regard 
 to it appears anomalous, weak, unkind, and in conflict with sound 
 policy. The Cuban republic has been recognized by one inde- 
 pendent American nation, and several others have acknowledged 
 the Cubans as a belligerent power; yet the United States Govern- 
 ment, which ought to have been first in taking such a step, con- 
 tinues to give a cold shoulder to the Cubans. 
 
 It is time the administration at Washington should see the value 
 of Cuba to this country, if it can become independent or annexed 
 before it is utterly desolated by war, and see, too, that no better 
 opportunity can arise for securing its independence or acquisition. 
 Hence the instructions given last spring to General Sickles, the 
 American Minister at Madrid, to make another proposition for the 
 purchase of the island. A hundred millions of dollars were offer- 
 ed, but this time in the form of a purchase by the Cubans them- 
 selves, under a guarantee of the United States for the payment. 
 This, doubtless, was considered a delicate way of making the offer 
 in order to save the amour propre of the Spaniards and Spanish 
 government in the case of a sale being made. Again the govern- 
 ment of Spain refused to listen to such a proposition, and begged 
 the American Minister to withdraw the communication embody- 
 ing it as an official document. It was evident, the revolutionary 
 government of Spain, whatever might have been the views or wish 
 of the individual members of it, was afraid to entertain the offer. 
 It was not very securely seated in power, had a formidable oppo- 
 sition arrayed against it, which might have made the Cuban 
 
38 
 
 question the fulcrum of hostility, and was looking to political 
 ambition in the future. The members of that government were 
 not prepared to risk so much by the sale of Cuba, though common 
 sense and the condition of things both in the island and at hom^ 
 might have taught them that this would have been the best solu- 
 tion of the difficulty. Thus, it is seen, this last effort to secure the 
 independence of Cuba in a friendly way has failed, as all former 
 efforts failed. 
 
 Since the Spanish Government rejected this proposal, it has ex- 
 hibited a remarkable friendly tone to the United States, and over- 
 whelming politeness to the American Minister at Madrid. And 
 this seems to have had a very soothing effect upon the administra- 
 tion at Washington, particularly upon certain members of it. But 
 is it not known that all this overstrained politeness is mere pre- 
 tence, and that Spain, like nearly all the old countries of Europe, 
 has no love for the American republic and would do anything to 
 check its progress and growing power ? Are there not evidences, 
 and that of a recent date, too, that she has been ready to inter- 
 pose in American affairs for the purpose of destroying republican 
 institutions in this hemisphere ? Why, then is so much consider- 
 ation shown to Spanish sensibilities and interests on this Cuban 
 question ? Surely more consideration is due to our neighbors — 
 to the natives of American soil — the heroic Cubans — who appeal 
 with outstretched arms to the American people and govern- 
 ment for recognition and aid. The politeness of the State De- 
 partment to Spain has been withering to American interests and 
 humanity. The punctilious and overstrained regard for the 
 neutrality laws, which are un-American in principle and ought 
 not to exist, is blighting to the proper policy and noble sympa- 
 thies of this country. 
 
 It has been said, and, no doubt, with much truth, that the question 
 of the Alabama claims has had some influence upon the American 
 government and certain public men in Congress, and that this has 
 prevented the recognition of the Cubans and a more vigorous 
 policy in their favor. How selfish and weak this appears ! How 
 humiliating to this mighty republic, which should and ought to 
 make laws for itself on all American questions ! But there is no 
 parallel between the hasty recognition of an integral portion of 
 the United States as belligerents by England, and the recognition 
 
39 
 
 by this country of the Cubans — a distant colony of Spain and an 
 American people — after fourteen or fifteen months of successful 
 warfare. Nor should the American Government be deterred from 
 performing a duty, which humanity and sound national policy call 
 for, by any such consideration. But if this great question, which 
 appeals to the pride and hearts of the American people, and which 
 involves the interest and progress of the republic, is to be reduced 
 simply to one of present profit or loss, the balance will be greatly 
 in favor of Cuba. That island is worth far more than the Alaba- 
 ma claims. But really there is no such question — it is a mere 
 bugbear. The United States can take Cuba and settle the Alaba- 
 ma claims afterwards at its own convenience and in its own way. 
 All the statesmen of the world, except, perhaps, a few public men 
 here who are not worthy of the name, see that Cuba must belong 
 to the United States and that the opportunity for acquiring it 
 has come. 
 
 The recent action of the government in seizing the Spanish 
 gunboats, and thereby preventing them from making war on the 
 Cubans, indicates a change of policy. There are indications, too, 
 that the President and Congress will shortly take a decided course 
 in favor of Cuban independence. The country expects this. Pub- 
 lic sentiment universally calls for it. And, as this great republic 
 cannot afford to take half measures merely, or to place itself in a 
 position to be humiliated by defeat in whatever it earnestly under- 
 takes, there is hope that the hour of Cuba's freedom is approach- 
 ing. Such a consummation would do honor to the country, and 
 to the people of all parties who desire it, but especially would it 
 bring glory to the administration and the party in power. The 
 lamented General Rawlins, the President's dear friend, and Secre- 
 tary of War, comprehended the Cuban question and the position 
 of the government, when, in his dying and touching words, he 
 appealed to Secretary Cresswell for " poor, struggling Cuba," 
 when he declared that " her tyrannical enemies must be crushed, 
 and Cuba must be free." It may well be said, also, as he earnestly 
 expressed the sentiment, this republic is responsible for the fate of 
 Cuba. 
 
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