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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
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 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/factsaboutcubatoOOalda 
 
FACT® ABOUT OTBA, 
 
 TO THE CONGRESS 
 
 OF THE 
 
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 NOW ASSEMBLED. 
 
 JANUARY, 1875. 
 
 N. PONCE dk LEON, Publisher and Printer, 40 and 42 Broadway. 
 1875. 
 
FACTS AI©Uf 
 
 TO THE CONGRESS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 United States of Ameri 
 
 
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 JANUARY, 1875. 
 
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FACFTB llilf CHUBJu 
 
 Population. — According to the two last Spanish official 
 censi : 
 
 WHITES. 
 
 1863. 
 
 1867. 
 
 
 115,114 
 
 G03.141 
 
 4,203 
 
 4,999 
 
 2,496 
 
 792,953 
 34,973 
 
 594,488 
 
 225,938 
 379,523 
 
 
 South Americans 
 
 
 Foreigners of different countries . . 
 North Americans 
 
 764,750 
 
 
 
 Chinamen 
 
 225,938 
 368,550 
 
 
 COLORED. 
 
 605,461 
 
 Totals 
 
 
 1,422,414 
 
 
 1,370,211 
 
 Area. — The island, in a straight line from east to west, is 
 about 600 geographical miles long, and in width, from north 
 to south, varies from 21 to 135 miles. 
 
 Territorial Division. — The Spanish Government has di- 
 vided the island in three departments : the Western, Central, 
 and Eastern. 
 
 According to the constitution of the Cuban Eepublic, it 
 has been divided in four States : Oriente (Eastern), Camaguey, 
 Las Villas, and Occidente (Western). 
 
4 
 
 The published epitome of the census of 1866 does not give 
 any details about the elements of the total white population, 
 which shows a decrease of 28,203 in comparison with that of 
 1862. The number of the free colored population is the same 
 in both censi ; leaving the inference either that the account 
 was not really taken in 1866, or that the free colored people 
 had so much increased between the two epochs, that the 
 Spanish Government, having adopted as a rule of policy the 
 balance of the races, was afraid of publishing the true amount 
 of that class of the population. 
 
 The total of this must be actually less than in 1867, owing 
 to different causes ; such as diminution of the immigration 
 from Spain ; the emigration of thousands of Cubans ; the 
 large number of slaves dead by overwork and misrule of the 
 Spanish agents in the confiscated sugar states ; and the im- 
 mense loss of lives on account of the revolutionary war. 
 Wealth.— In 1862. 
 
 Total value of producing land $380,551,523 
 
 Total value of urban real estate : 170,400,833 
 
 Total amount of commercial and industrial pur- 
 suits 773,846,496 
 
 Total $1,324,801,852 
 
 The value of agricultural productions for the same year 
 (1862) amounted to $129,510,518. 
 
 To give an idea of the wealth of Cuba, the Minister of the 
 Colonies said to the Spanish Congress in October, 1871 : 
 " From 1858 to 1868 (the year of the revolution) the revenues 
 collected in Cuba have amounted to $405,025,576 ; the sur- 
 plus over the expenditures to $9,698,701 ; the remittances of 
 money to Spain $34,172,693 ; the expenses of the expedition 
 to Mexico and the war on San Domingo to $18,000,000, and 
 up to this date the civil war has absorbed $62,900,000." 
 
5 
 
 The importation of sugar and molasses into the United 
 States, in the year 1873, amounted to : 
 
 Prom Cuba and Porto Rico. Prom all the rest of the world. 
 
 Raw sugar $59,795,728 $18,157,742 
 
 Molasses 9,139,709 761,342 
 
 Melado 4,568,329 153,836 
 
 Total $73,503,776 $19,072,920 
 
 The sugar and molasses imported into the United States 
 from Cuba and Porto Rico represent 1,590,000,000 pounds 
 weight, or in tons of 2,000 pounds, something like 750,000 
 tons of freight, nearly all carried by American tonnage. In 
 1873 American ships made from and to Cuba the following 
 trips : 2,196 vessels entered from Cuba, and 1,772 cleared for 
 Cuba. At the rate of only $5 per ton, the American shipping- 
 earned nearly $4,000,000 in this freight. 
 
 Public Revenues. — In the general budget for the fiscal 
 year 1871-72, presented to the Cortes by the Minister of 
 the Colonies, the public revenues of Cuba were estimated 
 at $40,091,834 and the expenditures at $27,481,570. 
 
 Revenues $10,091,834 
 
 Expenditures 27,481,570 
 
 Surplus $12,610,264 
 
 Notwithstanding this surplus, the Minister declared to 
 the Cortes that it would not suffice to cover the extraordi- 
 nary expenses of the war ; on which account he requested 
 the Cortes to authorize him "to establish (discretional ly 
 and without consulting the Cuban people) such duties and 
 taxes as the necessities of the war might require, and to use 
 credit for raising money for the treasury of Cuba.*' 
 
 To use the credit the Government has authorized the 
 Havana Spanish Bank, a privileged corporation with 
 
6 
 
 $8,000,000 capital, to issue an unlimited amount of notes, 
 which exceeds to day $90,000,000 over what is granted 
 by its charter. The consequence of this system has been 
 to depreciate the notes, as everybody knows that they can- 
 not be redeemed ; to raise the value of gold to 240 per cent., 
 and that the debt of the treasury of Cuba exceeds to day the 
 sum of $100,000,000. 
 
 Army. — General Prim, Minister of War, stated to the Cortes 
 in 1870, that since the outbreak of the revolution Spain had 
 sent to Cuba 40,000 men. One year afterwards, in De- 
 cember, 1871, that number had increased to 60,000, according 
 to the Havana official newspaper " Diario de la Marina." 
 This proves that each year Spain is compelled to send 
 20,000 soldiers, say 120,000 in 6 years, without succeeding 
 in crushing, nor even in weakening the rebellion. Besides 
 that, several battalions have been raised on the island, to be 
 sent to the seat of the war. The volunteers have never 
 been less than 30,000. Lately, Captain General Jovellar or- 
 dered a general draft of 10 per cent, to be made among all 
 the able-bodied men between the ages of 20 and 45 years, 
 and 1 per cent, of the total slave population. At the same 
 time he asked that 12,000 men be sent immediately from 
 Spain ; and as it was not possible for the Madrid Govern- 
 ment to satisfy this petition, he tendered his resignation, 
 which was accepted, and General Concha appointed to suc- 
 ceed him. The same thing is repeating itself now. Captain 
 General Concha is asking for more troops, which it is out of 
 the power of the Madrid Government to send him ; the 
 volunteers are dissatisfied with the Home Government and 
 with General Concha also ; and in consequence, he has like- 
 wise sent his resignation. 
 
 No less than seven Captains General, invested with unlim- 
 ited powers, have ruled in Cuba since the commencement 
 
7 
 
 of the war. Every one of them lias vied with the other in 
 cruelty ; but no one has succeeded in pleasing the ferocious 
 mob of the volunteers, and all of them have gone back to 
 Spain gorged with money, but scorned by their own coun- 
 trymen. The actual Governor General, Jose de la Concha, 
 has recently arrived for the third time in Cuba in that capa- 
 city. The first time he shot as pirates Mr. Crittenden and 
 49 others, American citizens, captured in a boat on the 
 coast of Cuba. They had gone in an expedition under 
 General Narciso Lopez, to promote the annexation of Cuba 
 to the V. S. Lopez was also taken prisoner, and garroted 
 in Havana [1851]. The second time, a plan to co-operate 
 with the expedition prepared in the U. S. by General Quit- 
 man, was discovered : the chief, Mr. Pinto, a gentleman born 
 in Spain, an intimate friend of General Concha, was impris- 
 oned, and subsequently garroted [1855]. The only measures 
 hitherto taken by General Concha have been an extraordi- 
 nary contribution of 10 per cent, on all incomes ; a draft 
 among the able-bodied men from 20 to 35 years of age, and 
 another similar one among the slaves, the last to serve as 
 soldiers five years, at the end of which they will be free. 
 
 Losses. — It was stated in the Madrid papers of 26th of 
 October, 1871, and the Government has not denied it, that 
 from the commencement of the war up to February 1st, 
 1871, that is, in less than two years and a half, 29,700 men 
 and 1784 officers of the regular army had died, or nearly 50 
 per cent, of the whole number which arrived from the Penin- 
 sula during that period — a fact which explains the necessity 
 Spain is under of sending 20,000 men to Cuba every year, 
 simply to make good the losses of her army. 
 
 Navy. — The Spanish navy in Cuban waters has about fifty 
 vessels of all sizes, with about 400 guns, besides the 30 gun- 
 boats, built in New York in 1870. 
 
8 
 
 Armament. — From the first of November, 1868, to the mid- 
 dle of December, 1871, the Spaniards imported into Cuba 
 from New York, 83,7G6 Eemington and Peabodj rifles and 
 carbines ; and from the United States and Spain 8,500 fire- 
 arms of other patterns. The importation of arms and am- 
 munition has continued without interruption ; and lately, it 
 has transpired that a contract was made with Messrs. Eem- 
 ington & Co. for 60,000 of their improved guns. 
 
 CONDITION OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT IN CUBA. 
 
 The proclamations and decrees of the late Captain-General 
 Jovellar, published in the official Gazette of Havana, under 
 the date of February 7, 1874, give the best picture that could 
 be drawn of the utter demoralization of the Spanish Govern- 
 ment in Cuba, and of its impotence to conquer the insurrec- 
 tion. They are not less than ten, and, being too long to be 
 inserted here, we will only mention their object. 
 
 The first orders a draft of 10 per cent, of the whole number 
 of volunteers to be sent to the field as regular troops. 
 
 The second, on the movilization of the militia, prescribes 
 that all the men, from 20 to 45 years of age, are obliged to 
 serve in the regular militia, subject to be drafted and sent to 
 do campaign duties, in the same way as the volunteers. 
 
 The third applies the same rules to the free colored people. 
 
 The fourth compels the slave owners to lend to the Govern- 
 ment, until the end of the war, one slave out of every hun- 
 dred, to be employed in the campaign ; this per centage to 
 be taken of the actually existing number of slaves in the 
 cities and in the country, whatever their sex or age may be. 
 
 The fifth adds two companies to each battalion of the 
 army. 
 
 The sixth establishes a special Service of Vigilance in the 
 Eastern and Central Departments of the Island, having under 
 
9 
 
 its charge all the persons employed as informers, detectives, 
 guides, explorers and couriers. The most essential duty of 
 this police will be the ascertaining of all the movements and 
 plans of the enemy, and, specially, the most strict vigilance 
 in the centres of population, to prevent these to communicate 
 with, or lend any aid to the rebels. 
 
 The seventh creates a board of inspectors of the extraor- 
 dinary expenses for the war. 
 
 In compliance with the eighth, the army is to be paid in 
 gold, or its equivalent in bank notes. 
 
 The ninth increases the pay and ration of the troops. 
 
 The tenth gives rules for the erection, preservation and de- 
 fence of new centres of population, and for the destruction 
 of some of the existing ones. 
 
 Some, at least, of the considerations to justify the issue of 
 these decrees are, we think, worth repeating : 
 
 " Our troops (so says General Jovellar) continue overcom- 
 ing the natural difficulties of a traitorous war with the same 
 unremittiDg courage and unrelaxed patience of which every 
 day bears new testimonials ; but all their endeavors and pri- 
 vations will be useless, as long as the insurrectionary bands 
 are able to obtain with impunity, through their abettors and 
 accomplices, fresh reinforcements of men and their requisites. 
 Hence arises the extreme necessity of impressing with awe 
 those treacherous and cunning sympathizers with our armed 
 enemies, inflicting upon them severe punishment, in accord- 
 ance with the summary procedure of the war code." 
 
 " Auxiliaries less direct, but for that not the least effectual 
 and useful to the rebels, are those who, through perverse 
 motives, or protected under the mask of a spurious patriotism, 
 disturb not unfrequently ivith crimes the tranquility of the 
 country ; those who, bending their pen, their talents, or their au- 
 dacity, to serve the passion or a bastard interest at the least dis- 
 2 
 
10 
 
 turbance of the public order, keep the spirits in a cruel anxiety ; 
 * further, those who, under cover of an official position, impoverish 
 the State — defrauding it of its legitimate income ; finally and like- 
 ivise those who, ivorking their own discredit in the public offices they 
 hold, aid to the contempt of our national institutions.'" 
 
 " There is nothing so important to the ultimate success of 
 military operations (especially if the enemy to be combated, 
 as in Cuba), places the success of its aggressions upon the 
 secrecy of its movements, and upon the sagacity and 
 cunning of its chiefs as to have a well organized service of 
 explorers, practical guides and spies, who, scattered in the 
 towns and country, would disclose the position and plans of 
 the enemy, and lead the troops through the most rapid and 
 practical routes." 
 
 " Unfortunately, owing to excess of confidence, based on 
 the insignificancy of the enemy, that service has been con- 
 stantly neglected, thus depriving the troops, on many occa- 
 sions, of glorious victories, and compelling them to undergo 
 fruitless marches and countermarches with great and pitiful loss of 
 men by fatigue and disease." 
 
 " The contrast is marked between the means possessed by 
 the Cubans for obtaining a thorough knowledge of the num- 
 ber and quality of troops opposing them ; the status of their 
 chiefs, as well as of our plans, devices, and in fact all the re- 
 sources upon which our armies depend, and the almost im- 
 possibility of acquiring similar information on our part." 
 
 " If the enemy, without money or means to compensate favors re- 
 ceived, and without other elements than vengeance and punishment, 
 obtains such astonishing residts, it is to be ivondered that our 
 
 * General Jovellar alludes evidently to the volunteers, and to editors of the 
 Spanish newspapers on the Island, who constantly are inflaming their savage 
 instincts with their writings. 
 
11 
 
 chiefs of operations having at their disposal all hinds of resources 
 to remunerate important services, we should, after five years, remain 
 yet destitute of practical guides to lead our troops, and of spies to 
 give them information as to the position and plans of the enemy." 
 
 " But this is not all. Experience has demonstrated that seldom 
 an attach on any town has taken place, without the enemy being in 
 communication and accord with some of its neighbors, who, thor- 
 oughly knowing the locality, lead and protect them in their incen- 
 diary, sacking and devastating toorky 
 
 The foregoing statements of General Jovellar leave not a 
 shadow of doubt of the corruption of the Spanish rule in 
 Cuba ; of the false patriotism of its agents and supporters ; 
 of the crimes of its adherents ; and finally, of its dreadful 
 isolation in the midst of the oppressed country, forced, as its 
 highest authority confesses, to grope its way across the ob- 
 stacles of a hostile or unsympathizing population. Should 
 more proofs of these facts be yet wanting, the actual Captain- 
 General, Concha, will furnish us with a more recent and not 
 less convincing one, among many others, in his extra taxes of 
 five and ten per cent, on income and capital, to meet the re- 
 quirements of the war. His absolute powers, notwithstanding, 
 and in spite of his manifold decrees, either coaxing or threat- 
 ening and punishing the reluctant people, he has not yet suc- 
 ceeded in collecting the fifth part of the amount expected to 
 be derived from those sources. 
 
 Alarmed by the severity of the decrees of General Jovellar, 
 great numbers of persons left the Island, among them many 
 of the boasting volunteers, who, deserting their colors, some- 
 times by tens, came to this country or went to Mexico ; thus 
 showing that even those most fervid Spanish patriots have 
 lost confidence in the ultimate success of their Government. 
 
12 
 
 THE KEVOLUTTON. 
 
 Carlos Manuel cle Cespedes, an able lawyer and wealthy 
 planter of Bayarno, in the Eastern Department, raised the 
 standard of independence in his State, Demajagua, in the 
 district of Manzanillo, at a short distance from the town of 
 Yara, of which he immediately took possession on the tenth 
 of October, 1868. 
 
 During the first month of the war a provisional govern- 
 ment was organized at Bayarno, with Cespedes at its head, 
 who, on the thirtieth of October, 1868, published a manifesto 
 declaring that he would not impose his government on the 
 people of the Island, and that he was ready to submit to 
 whatever the majority of its inhabitants decided ou, as soon as 
 they could freely assemble to make use of their right of self 
 government. 
 
 On the 10th of April, 1869, a convention met at Guaimaro, 
 presided over by Cespedes, composed of the delegates of the 
 different sections of the Island. A draft of a constitution 
 was laid before this body, which, after being discussed and 
 amended, was finally adopted. 
 
 This constitution, and the laws successively passed by the 
 House of Eepresentatives (notwithstanding all the contrary 
 statements made by the enemies of the Cuba Libre), con- 
 tinues to rule as regularly as can be expected from an infant 
 republic laboring under the two-fold difficulties of con- 
 stituting itself and of fighting its opponents, who commit 
 everything to fire and sword. The Cubans hold their own 
 from Santiago cle Cuba to the district of Five Cities 
 (Cinco Villas), embracing more than half of the territory of 
 the island. 
 
 Their army is now stronger, better disciplined, better 
 armed and equipped than ever ; and if it is not more numer- 
 ous, it is only for want of arms and ammunition. 
 
13 
 
 It is composed of the following corps : 
 
 Camaguey. — Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Maximo Gomez ; 
 Second Chief, Gen. J. Sanguili. 
 
 Infantry 3,700 
 
 Cavalry 900 
 
 4,600 
 
 Las Villas. — General Jose Gozalez. 
 
 Infantry 1,200 
 
 Cavalry 340 
 
 1,540 
 
 Las Tunas. — 'General Francisco Varona. 
 
 Infantry 1,300 
 
 Cavalry 200 
 
 — — 1,500 
 
 Bayamo.— General Modesto Diaz. 
 
 Infantry 2,400 
 
 Cavalry 450 
 
 — — 2,850 
 
 HolguIN. — Brigadier, Miguel Barreto. 
 
 Infantry 1,690 
 
 Cavalry 370 
 
 2,060 
 
 Santiago de Cuba. — General Manuel Calvar. 
 
 Infantry 4,300 
 
 Cavalry 400 
 
 4,700 
 
 Total 17,250 
 
 The liberating army increases every day in number and 
 strength, not only with the Cubans always ready to be en- 
 listed as fast as they can be furnished with arms, but also 
 
14 
 
 with the deserters of the Spanish lines, who pass over to it 
 with their equipments. The patriots are supplied with arms 
 and ammunition from abroad when possible ; but more 
 frequently they capture them from neighboring towns occu- 
 pied by Spanish troops, not a few of the sellers being them- 
 selves Spaniards. For so doing, a wealthy one of the latter 
 was not long ago convicted and shot by order of General 
 Portillo, then Spanish Governor of Puerto Principe. 
 
 The Cubans are now asking for artillery, the only thing 
 they want to take possession of, and hold important towns 
 and ports. In spite of this deficiency, they attack and pene- 
 trate into the towns whenever they like, to provide themselves 
 with provisions, clothes or arms. In this manner they have 
 entered at different times large places, such as Manzanillo, 
 Holguin, Nuevitas, San Miguel and Sancti Spiritu, remaining 
 there some hours, and retiring afterwards abundantly pro- 
 vided with all kind of supplies. 
 
 The fighting during the last twelve months has been very 
 active, and as acknowledged by the Spaniards themselves, 
 almost always favorable to the Cubans. The most impor- 
 tant feat in the campaign, and the most threatening to the 
 Spanish power, has been the invasion of Cinco Villas. This 
 is an extensive territory in the Western Department, where 
 the populous towns, or Villas, of Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Sancti 
 Spiritu, San Juan cle los Remedios and Villa Clara are lo- 
 cated, studded all over with the finest sugar plantations of the 
 Island and teeming with slaves. The Spanish authorities, 
 ever since the breaking out of the insurrection, have devoted 
 their most strenuous efforts to keep the patriots far off 
 this territory, confining them to the cattle growing portion of 
 the island. With this object they have cut open a wide 
 zone across the island, building extensive fortifications 
 along it from one coast to the other. The patriots have 
 
15 
 
 lalely succeeded in crossing this line : they have already en- 
 tered some of the towns ; burned several plantations ; and 
 the destruction of the rest is imminent, as they hope, by 
 destroying the material rescources of the country, that it 
 will be impossible for Spain to carry on the war. 
 
 We will now refer to some of the most prominent engage- 
 ments during the last ten months, as described by official 
 documents, either Spanish or Cuban : 
 
 1873, Nov. 10. — Attack on Manzanillo, an important sea- 
 town, of above 5,500 inhabitants; exclusively of the garrison, 
 always strong, as the place is one of the Spanish head-quar- 
 ters. The city was defended on the land side by two castles 
 and eight fortified towers ; and on the sea side, by a steamer 
 and two gunboats, which took part in the action. The gar- 
 rison consisted of 500 regulars, 800 volunteers, and a com- 
 pany of firemen. General Calixto Garcia, at the head of 
 1,400 men, took possession of the town; burned some build- 
 ings, and after killing 200 Spaniards, and making prisoners 
 of 100 more, retired with a rich booty of 250 rifles, 8,000 
 cartridges, horses, money, and a variety of other articles. 
 The Cubans had 18 killed and 70 wounded, rank and file. 
 
 December 2.— -Battle of Palo Seco, in Camagiiey. The 
 Cubans, numbering 300 infantry and 250 cavalry, commanded 
 by General Maximo Gomez, surprised a stronger column 
 of Spaniards, under Colonel Vilches, and routed them com- 
 pletely. The first and second commander, several officers 
 and 200 soldiers were killed. Sixteen officers and 35 men 
 were made prisoners. Besides, the Cubans captured 257 
 Remingtons, 16,000 cartridges, 12 revolvers, 100 sabres, 80 
 horses, with their equipment, and 30 baggage mules loaded 
 with ammunition, medicine, clothing, and some money. The 
 loss to the Cubans was trifling — 3 killed and 15 wounded. 
 
16 
 
 1874, January 6. — General Julio Sanguily, heading a 
 force of cavalry and infantry, entered the military zone of 
 Puerto Principe, and finding a party of 90 foragers, near 
 fort " Garrido," put thern to flight, killing 49 and capturing 
 33 Berningtons and 1,200 cartridges. The Cubans approached 
 so near the city of Puerto Principe, that they could see the 
 movements of the garrison, and hear the bells ring the alarm 
 under fear of a general assault. 
 
 January 9. — Colonel Esponda, with 650 Spanish soldiers, 
 attacked the Cubans at " Los Melones," (district of Las Tu- 
 nas) and after a severe fight, was compelled to retire, leaving 
 behind 4 officers and 16 soldiers dead, besides 14 officers 
 and 50 soldiers wounded. The losses of the Cubans are not 
 known. 
 
 January 12.— Colonel Gabriel Gonzalez, in command of 
 two brigades, penetrated by different points at the same 
 time, into the village of Sibanicii, (Puerto Principe) with- 
 out being molested by a single shot from the adjoining 
 advanced forts. The object of this operation was to protect 
 the exodus of those of the inhabitants sympathizing with the 
 patriots. This was accomplished, about 500 persons of every 
 sex and age leaving the village, amongst them 100 able- 
 bodied men fit for field service. Besides, the Cubans took 
 10 Ptemingfcons, 14 horses, and plenty of goods of every des- 
 cription, and then burned the village, under the fire of the 
 Spanish intrenchment, without receiving any harm. 
 
 January 13. — Brigadier Jose Gonzalez, with 460 infantry 
 and 80" horses, scouring the zone between Santa Cruz and 
 El Rio, burned a sugar estate, captured some rifles and cart- 
 ridges, 10 horses, clothing, provisions and 40 prisoners ; only 
 one of these was executed as a highway robber, the rest 
 were set at liberty. Forty able-bodied men joined voluntarily 
 the column. The Spanish Brigadier, Bascones, was encamp- 
 
17 
 
 ing at that time near "El Eio " with 1,500 men ; but, al- 
 though the Cubans took position and provoked him with 
 some shots, he did not dare to move out. 
 
 February 10.— Brigadier Bascones and Colonel Armihan, 
 with 2000 men, attacked the Cuban General Maximo Gomez, 
 with about the same number, at a place called " Naranjo," 
 in Camaguey. The Spaniards say that the fight lasted seven 
 hours ; they lost 140 killed and 120 wounded. The Cubans 
 had 91 killed and wounded, and captured 39 Kemingtons, 
 3,000 cartridges, 12 horses, and sundries. Both parties claim 
 the victory. The probabilities are in favor of the Cubans, 
 because the Spaniards have officially confessed that, next 
 day, as they were retiring, they were attacked by the Cubans 
 at " Mojacasabe," losing 2 officers and 22 soldiers, and hav- 
 ing 8 of the first class and 103 of the second wounded ; proba- 
 bly these numbers were larger. The Cuban report does not 
 mention this second engagement. 
 
 February 28. — According to Spanish reports, Colonel Es- 
 ponda, with the Fourth Brigade, attacked at " El Ciego," the 
 insurgent general, Calixto Garcia, who commanded from 150 
 to 500 men, and after a fight of an hour and a half compelled 
 them to disperse, leaving behind 13 dead. 
 
 March 3. — The Spaniards report also an encounter at Ji- 
 maguayii between a strong column of 1500 infantry, cavalry 
 and artillery, under Brigadier Armihan, and a Cuban force 
 of 1,000 infantry and 600 cavalry. They had only 2 officers 
 and 10 soldiers wounded ; but as they do not state the losses 
 of the Cubans, neither do they claim the victory, it is to be 
 inferred that they were badly beaten. The Cuban return says 
 that their infantry did not take part in the engagement, their 
 cavalry having been sufficient to repel the enemy. 
 
 April 15-18. — Battle of "Las Guamimas," between the 
 Spanish troops, commanded by Brigadier Armihan, and the 
 3 
 
18 
 
 Cubans, under General Maximo Gomez. The Spanish re- 
 turn, being so unusually laconic, the inference is that they 
 were severely repulsed, as it merely mentions the fact 
 that after a bloody fight, in which both parties suf- 
 fered severely, the rebels were forced back. On the con- 
 trary, the Cubans claim a decided victory. They state that 
 when the battle began on the 15th, they were 1,500 infantry 
 and 500 cavalry, and the Spaniards had 3,000 men of both 
 arms, besides four pieces of artillery. The engagement con- 
 tinued the two following days : the Spaniards burned great 
 heaps of their dead, and were reduced to the last extremity 
 when they were reinforced by Brigadier Bascones, arriving 
 from Puerto Principe with 2,000 men and one cannon. The 
 fighting was then renewed at " Jimaguayii," on the morning 
 of the 18th ; but the Spaniards finding the patriots too strong 
 for them, notwithstanding their fresh help, decided finally to 
 retreat, harassed by the Cubans as far as Jimaguayii. The 
 losses of the enemy are estimated at least 1,000 men, the field 
 remaining strewed with corpses of men and horses that they 
 could not burn or bury. The patriots had 29 dead and 113 
 wounded, all classes counted ; and they got a good amount of 
 horses, arms, ammunition, clothing, &c. 
 
 April 8th. — On the morning of this day — if the Spanish re- 
 ports be true — a strong Cuban force of 2,000 infantry and 
 300 cavalry, failed in an assault on " Fort Caridad de Ar- 
 teaga," in the vicinity of Puerto Principe. In the night of 
 that day they were also repulsed from the hamlet of Cascor- 
 ro, leaving 12 dead soldiers, and carrying away many more 
 wounded. 
 
 April 12. — General Maximo Gomez, at the head of a strong 
 body of troops, threatened to invest the important city of 
 Nuevitas; and while the Spaniards were concentrating all 
 their forces to protect the town, he sent a detachment of 600 
 
19 
 
 men to enter San Miguel de Baga, a village nine miles dis- 
 tant, which they did that night, sacking the stores of the 
 Spaniards, and retiring with a rich booty. To carry away 
 this booty the Cubans employed litters, causing the Span- 
 iards to report that instead of spoils, they were removing 
 their dead and wounded. 
 
 April 14. — Colonel Jimenez, with a strong column, crossed 
 " La Trocha," or the fortified line of the Spaniards, to rein- 
 force the pariots who are operating in " Cinco Villas " terri- 
 tory. 
 
 April 17. — In the Eastern Department, near a place called 
 Yaya, General Calixto^Garcia attacked a corps of 1,100 Span- 
 iards ; killed 130. 
 
 April 29. — The renowned Spanish Colonel Hilario San- 
 doval assailed the Cubans under Col. Jimenez at " Las De- 
 licias," in Sancti Spiritus district. He was killed, as also 50 
 of his followers. 
 
 April 29.— The Cubans, commanded by General Calvar, 
 assaulted " Mayari (Eastern Department), but after a fight, 
 in which the forts of Camara and Montana took part, retired, 
 leaving 12 dead; they succeeded, notwithstanding, in burning 
 some houses. [Spanish report.] 
 
 April 30. — From the same source we know that General 
 Calixto Garcia, leading 400 infantry and 200 cavalry, invested 
 the village " El Horno," in the Eastern Department, defended 
 by 200 infantry, one squadron, and the volunteers of the 
 place. The Cubans retired after a very sharp fight. No 
 casualties are reported. 
 
 May 9. — Colonel Benitez protected the departure of 150 
 Cubans who remained in the village of Sibanicu, which had 
 been destroyed on a former occasion. 
 
 June 27. — Lieutenant-Colonel La Rosa, with 600 men, at- 
 tacked the Cubans at Baire, in the district of Jiguani. He 
 
20 
 
 affirms, in his report, that the patriots, numbering 500, with 
 40 horses, had 32 dead and many wounded ; but he does not 
 mention his own casualties. 
 
 July 20. — ^Commandant J. Carrillo crossed the Troclia with 
 a convoy of men and ammunition, dispatched from head- 
 quarters at Camaguey, to reinforce Colonel Jimenez, operat- 
 ing at Las Yillas. Being overtaken on the 22d at "Los 
 Buniatos" by a Spanish column, he checked its pursuit, with 
 some loss on both sides. He was again attacked on the 26th 
 at Corojo ; but on the 27th he reached safely his destination 
 with the convoy. 
 
 August 12. — Colonel Jimenez, while encamped at " Los 
 Charcos," heard that the enemy was advancing towards him 
 with 300 men. Although he had but 63 horses and 82 infantry, 
 he decided to fight, relying upon the advantages of his posi- 
 tion. A brisk and deadly engagement followed, in which the 
 Spaniards took to flight, leaving 90 accoutred horses, 33 
 Remingtons, 2,500 cartridges, and a medicine chest on the 
 battle field. Night put an end to the persecution of the 
 stragglers. The casualties of the Cubans were 2 killed and 
 13 wounded. 
 
 August 14. — To sum up the results of this victory, Colonel 
 Jimenez started with a force of cavalry ; and at midnight 
 entered into the city of Sancti Spiritu, an important place, 
 with not less than 15,000 inhabitants. His first step was to 
 order Captain Barrera to go directly to the residence of the 
 General Commandant Don Francisco Acosta y x^lvear, one 
 of the bloodiest Spanish officers, although a native of Cuba ; 
 but, fortunately for him, he was absent. The Cubans pos- 
 sessed themselves of the streets and squares of the city, 
 made prisoners of a detachment, took away their arms, and 
 then released them ; captured 410 rifles, and after remaining 
 for some hours in the city, they retired without doing any 
 
21 
 
 harm, nor being molested by the volunteers nor regulars 
 stationed in the place. 
 
 On the next morning the garrison of the fort " Micaguabo " 
 passed over to the patriots, with arms and ammunition. The 
 fort was destroyed. 
 
 A similar result was effected on the 18th with the garrison 
 of Fort " La Herradura." 
 
 September 4 — General Calixto Garcia Ihiguez, one of the 
 ablest and most popular of the Cubans, was taken prisoner 
 by the Spaniards at San Antonio, in Oriente (Eastern State), 
 of which he was in command. His captor, Lieutenant Ariza, 
 pretends that the deed took place in a battle against 800 
 Cubans ; but it is an established fact that General Garcia fell 
 victim to a surprise. 
 
 September 12. — From Spanish quarters it is reported that 
 the Cubans assailed the village of " Jumento," in the district 
 of Trinidad ; but that the garrison made an heroic defense, 
 and repelled the patriots. 
 
 October 28.— To compensate this failure, we have the sur- 
 render of the village "San Geronimo," in Camaguey, to 
 Brigadier Jose Gonzalez. The place was defended by in- 
 trenchments and several block houses, manned by 115 men 
 armed with Remingtons. After two days fight, the Com- 
 mandant, Captain Agustin Branas, dangerously wounded, 
 capitulated with the garrison, on condition that their lives 
 should be spared. They numbered 61, and were escorted to 
 the nearest Spanish encampment at " Las Yeguas." 
 
 The casualties were to the Spaniards 60 killed, 25 wounded ; 
 to the Cubans 2 killed, 15 wounded. One sergeant and 
 several soldiers went over to the Cubans. 450 persons were 
 rescued. And besides that, the Cubans captured 130 Re- 
 mingtons, 25,000 metallic cartridges, horses, clothing, pro- 
 visions, and 50 head of cattle. 
 
22 
 
 We cannot give a more reliable, although incomplete, 
 picture of the internal condition of the revolution, than 
 translating the following extracts from a pamphlet, entitled 
 " Los Mambises." Memoirs of a prisoner, by the Spanish 
 Captain of Infantry, Don Antonio De Bosal. (Madrid, 1874.) 
 
 " I spent fifty-six days among the insurgents : this pro- 
 longed visit, which, much against my will, I made them, 
 began on the 26th of September last, on which day, while 
 attached to the column of Colonel Dieguez, I shared in the 
 unfortunately celebrated battle of Santa Maria, and un- 
 luckily was taken prisoner. *•*.** * * 
 
 " Blacks and whites, officers and soldiers, all possess consti- 
 tutions to be envied. One occasionally meets people appa- 
 rently weak, but really able to support an immense amount 
 of fatigue. Sick are seldom seen, and, of these, as of the 
 wounded, although they lack almost all resources, few die ; 
 almost all have been wounded, and some can count their 
 wounds by the dozen. They carry loads like beasts of bur- 
 den, and will travel ten, twelve, and even fourteen leagues, 
 at more than an ordinary pace, without being fatigued or 
 giving out, notwithstanding their scarcity of nourishment, 
 of which I will speak further on. * * * * * 
 
 " They are so simple minded, that the chiefs make them 
 believe whatever they choose, and rule them at their plea- 
 sure, for they are plunged in the grossest ignorance ; but 
 this does not mean that men thoroughly instructed, such as 
 are the deputies, and some others who fill the offices of mili- 
 tary judges and other like positions, are not to be found, nor 
 that there are not among them a great many, who, being sons 
 of good families, have been carefully educated, and who 
 possess the general, although perhaps superficial, know- 
 ledge usually given to young men of this class. Others, a 
 lesser number, although of good families, have received no 
 
23 
 
 instruction whatever, on account of having joined the insur- 
 rection while still children. * * * * * 
 
 " Let it be understood that whenever our troops have the 
 ill luck to show their backs, they are always disastrously 
 routed, for then they are terrible ; they fall like wild 
 beasts on their enemies, without regard to their number, and 
 with no weapon but their machete ; and this each one does 
 individually and in disorder. * * * 
 
 " They admire and greatly respect courage in their ene- 
 mies ; in fact, to such a degree, that I recommend to those 
 who at any future time may have the misfortune to fall into 
 their hands, to show themselves haughty and worthy, 
 although they know they are going to die ; in the certainty 
 that, if they can inspire their captors with any sympathy, it 
 will not be by humbling themselves, for they hate cowards 
 and timid people. **.•,.*•■•*■■*•*.* 
 
 " Colonel Dieguez, fighting like a brave man, was wounded 
 by three bullets in one foot ; he was taken prisoner by the 
 enemy, carried to the rear and transferred to the camp 
 where he was presented to the chief, Calisto Garcia. * * * 
 He died as a martyr, after having fought like a brave Spaniard; 
 and almost all the chiefs of the enemy, admiring his courage, 
 assisted at his funeral, which was presided over by my com- 
 panion in misfortune, Don Andres Gallurt, and was con- 
 ducted with the greatest solemnity possible under the 
 circumstances. * * * * *.*..# * * 
 
 " They know how to appreciate the conduct of those of 
 their enemies who prove themselves great in the supreme 
 moments of life. 
 
 " They possess also the noble characteristic of extreme 
 generosity, although their resources are so few that they are 
 generally hungry and in want of everything. One often sees 
 three or four of them smoking the same cigar, or dividing up 
 
24 
 
 with each other a plantain or a tomato. I was entirely naked 
 from my middle up, and the so-called Major Ruiz, who, by a 
 strange coiucidence, possessed both a jacket and a shirt, 
 ceded the latter to me, notwithstanding my strong endeavor 
 to decline the present. * * * * * * * 
 
 " I have heard from everybody that the Mambises are cruel 
 and bloodthirsty. Being new in the campaign, I never had 
 an opportunity of witnessing any horrors committed by them, 
 and can only state that, alike to myself and to iny other com- 
 panions who shared my fate, they conducted themselves gen- 
 erously, attentively and respectfully ; treating us even with 
 affection. The fact of restoring us to liberty, without exact- 
 ing from us any conditions, I can explain solely by attribu- 
 ting it to political views. 
 
 " They are, as a general thing, good marksmen ; but this 
 is not their chief characteristic, which is their intimate 
 knowledge of the forests. This is such that, although they 
 may find themselves on a spot which they occupy for the first 
 time, and although they may be so taken by surprise as to be 
 obliged to scatter before their chief has had time to indicate 
 to them a spot in which to re-unite, it is truly surprising to 
 see how these men, guided by a never failing instinct, will 
 come in, few at a time, to the place where their chief has 
 halted. I cannot understand this, but it is true. 
 
 " They obey their officers blindly, although everybody is 
 treated as an equal, and although quarrels and altercations 
 may occur : they complain loudly when they are detailed for 
 any service the performance of which they may think can- 
 not properly be required of them, but they never fail to fulfil 
 their orders. They perform certain services with a ridiculous 
 gravity ; but all such work as outposts, and others of like im- 
 portance, are performed with the greatest exactitude, vigi- 
 lance and care, on which account it is very difficult to 
 
25 
 
 surprise them. For their arms they entertain a real affec- 
 tion, cleaning them and preserving them with the greatest 
 care ; and they go into ecstacies on the subject of ammunition, 
 always endeavoring to increase their number of cartridges, and 
 priding themselves in economizing them. The gravest charge 
 which can be made against an officer is that of having aban- 
 doned any arm to us, or of leaving any of their killed or 
 wounded in our hands. The wounded, on receiving their 
 wounds, run off as far as they can from the field, and very 
 few of them ever require any help from their companions in 
 their retreat. * * * 
 
 "The Government of the Mambises is a Republic, and its 
 fundamental code is a charter or constitution, very broad in 
 rights and liberties, and more democratic than any I know 
 of. * * * * * 
 
 " There are two powers — one is the House of Representa- 
 tives, the other is composed of the President and his Minis- 
 ters, or Secretaries. The House consists of sixteen deputies, 
 elected by universal suffrage. It has the right to make laws, 
 to declare wars and make peace. The House nominates the 
 President. * * * * * * "" " 
 
 " For the election of deputies everybody, not belonging to 
 the force and having a vote, must go to the camps. * * 
 
 " The House has the power to remove from office any func- 
 tionary whom it is authorized to appoint. * 
 
 " There are two classes of authorities — the Judicial and the 
 Civil. Justice is administered by a person called preboste 
 (provost), and the chief civil authority is the Prefect, who has 
 under him a Sub-Prefect and Constable. * * 
 
 " The force is divided into various army corps ; each of them 
 
 commanded by a chief called major-general. Each army 
 
 corps is composed of a certain number of brigades; each 
 
 brigade of two battalions, whose regulation strength is 125 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 rank and file, although they often do not number over 60 or 80 ; 
 the brigades are commanded by brigadiers, who are general 
 officers, and the battalions by colonels, who have under them 
 a lieutenant-colonel, two majors, a captain-aide-de-camp, a 
 lieutenant, and an ensign. Each one of the six companies 
 which compose a battalion is commanded by a captain, two 
 lieutenants, and two sub-lieutenants, and has besides a 
 regular complement of sergeants and corporals. 
 
 " Carlos Manuel de Cespedes had issued a decree of pardon 
 granting liberty to all officers, prisoners of war, on the 
 shameful condition of not fighting any more against the 
 Mambises during the present strife ; by another law, passed 
 on the 27th of October last, unconditional liberty was granted 
 to all persons. 
 
 This is all I have been able to find out with respect 
 to spies, but it is certain that I have read papers of 
 as recent a date as they could have in Holguin ; that the 
 insurgents kuow every step that any of our columns take, 
 and that, when they attack a town, the commander receives 
 information every half-hour before they reach the place of 
 any new circumstance that may have occurred. "- * * 
 
 "The mail service is pretty well organized : the nearest 
 prefect takes charge of the correspondence which is fre- 
 quently arriving from abroad in canoes, and is remitted 
 from prefecture to prefecture to its address, for which service 
 there are special employees. * * '" * * 
 
 "All communications are received quite punctually, and 
 letters or official documents are rarely lost. ~ ;f * 
 
 " Almost all their fire-arms are rifled, mostly Remingtons, 
 with some Peabodys, and a feAv Berdans. They are well 
 provided with arms and ammunition landed recently from 
 abroad, and not the least quantity of them from ourselves. 
 
27 
 
 " The service of outposts is performed with great diligence 
 and caution. They are placed half a league from the camp, 
 and one is posted on each road which lead's to it ; its force is 
 relative to that of the main body, but it is always sufficiently 
 strong to check any attack for a time necessary for the main 
 body to prepare. Each outpost places a sentry on the road, 
 at a distance of thirty or more yards from it, and when they 
 suspect the presence of our troops, they likewise post other 
 sentries, in different directions, inside the wood. When the 
 order is sounded for silence in camp, each battalion names a 
 sort of patrol guard, composed of four or six men, of whom 
 one alone remains awake, and who is entrusted with seeing 
 that no noise is made, which is scrupulously observed. 
 Although they have at this headquarters nothing more than 
 a corporal's guard, it is not easy to surprise them, as they 
 sleep very lightly. * * * * * 
 
 " Another of the important services is that of commissions 
 and detachments. The officer to whom a commission is 
 entrusted receives his in str actions ; and without enquiring, 
 perhaps, if he will be able to find provisions on his road, 
 and sometimes even without a guide, sets out for the locality 
 of the nearest prefecture. On arriving there he will be fur- 
 nished with a guide, who conducts him to the vicinity of the 
 next, and so on. * * * * * * * * 
 
 " We all know that the war waged in Cuba is one of 
 factions or guerillas, because such is most suited to the 
 country ; but it is not a war of factions such as we have been 
 accustomed to in Spain from the time of Viriato up to to-day. 
 * * * * * * This does not mean that they do not 
 know how to wage war ; quite the reverse, for I think the 
 system which they employ is the very best one they could 
 possibly have adopted. * * * * * Thoroughly acquainted 
 with the forests, they avoid battle whenever they please; 
 
28 
 
 tliej hide in thick underbrush, and, unless they choose to let 
 us do so, we very seldom can come up with them. * * * 
 * * * As a general thing, the BTambises soldiers return, 
 immediately on our retreat, to the camps from which we may 
 have dislodged them. * * * * " * f * 
 "The acting president, Salvador Cisneros, is of an ad- 
 vanced age, tall and thin ; he has one arm broken by a bullet 
 which struck him when he was commanding the attack on 
 the tower of Colon, which was heroically defended by the 
 thenceforth celebrated Captain Don Cesareo Sanchez. The 
 insurgent deputies say that Cisneros is a well-educated man, 
 and that he is a deep and thorough mathematician; but I 
 can only assert that, if he is scientific, he certainly is not elo- 
 quent. His manners are agreeable, and he is highly appre- 
 ciated by the insurgents." 
 
 ORGANIC LAWS. 
 
 The Constitution. — A copy is annexed. Its principal pro- 
 visions are : 
 
 Art. 1. — The legislative power is vested in a House of Re- 
 presentatives. 
 
 Art. 7. — The House elect the President of the Republic, 
 the General-in-Chief of the army, the President of the House, 
 and other executive officers. The General-in-Chief is sub- 
 ordinated to the Executive. 
 
 Art. 8. — The President of the Republic, &c, 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. 
 
 Art. 9. — The House has full power to dismiss from office 
 any functionary whom they have appointed. 
 
 Articles 10, 11, 12 and 13. — Prescribe the form of passing- 
 laws. 
 
29 
 
 Art. 16. — The executive power is vested in the President 
 of the Republic. 
 
 Art. 22. — The judiciary forms an independent, co-ordinate 
 department of the government, under the organization of a 
 special law. 
 
 Art. 24. — All the inhabitants of the Republic of Cuba are 
 absolutely free. 
 
 Art. 28. — The House of Representatives shall not abridge 
 the freedom of religion, of the press, of public meeting, of 
 education, of petition, or any inalienable right of the people. 
 
 Judiciary. — By the law enacted on the 6th August, 1869, 
 the administration of justice is vested : first, in a Supreme 
 Court ; second, in criminal judges ; third, in civil judges ; 
 fourth, in prefects and sub-prefects ; and fifth, in courts 
 martial. 
 
 The tribunals are acting as regularly as the conditions of 
 the war can allow it. 
 
 The House of Representatives has passed laws regulating 
 the administrative and civil organization, prescribing the re- 
 quisites of civil marriages, organizing the army, and on several 
 other matters. 
 
 Two facts are sufficient to , demonstrate the power exer- 
 cised by the House of Representatives, and of the obedience 
 paid to its decision : first, the dismissal of the General-in- 
 Chief, Manuel Quesada, in 1870 ; and second, the deposition 
 of the President of the Republic, Carlos Manuel Cespedes, 
 who, after near five years service, was impeached for viola- 
 tions of the Constitution. In both cases the sentenced parties 
 submitted to their sentence, and these were approved by the 
 people. The deposition of President Cespedes took effect on 
 the 27th of October last ; and the same day Mr. Salvador 
 Cisneros, formerly Marquis of Santa Lucia and President of 
 the House, according to law was appointed President of the 
 
30 
 
 Republic ad interim during the absence of the Yice-Presi- 
 dent, General Fraucisco V. Aguilera, who was on a mission 
 abroad. 
 
 An official " Bole tin de la Revolution " is printed regularly 
 at the headquarters of the executive, and a constant com- 
 munication maintained with the agents of the Republic 
 abroad. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The cane fields of Cuba are the real treasury and arsenal 
 from which the Spaniards draw all their resources for their 
 savage war against the Cubans. Lay waste those fields, and 
 Spanish rule in the island were virtually at an end. Hitherto 
 a strongly garrisoned line of posts has served as breakwater 
 between the sugar and the insurrectionary districts. But 
 those garrisons, for lack- of reinforcements which the ex- 
 igencies of civil war in Spain have made impossible to send 
 out to Cuba, are now reduced to so low an ebb, as to be nearly 
 impotent, or not able to withstand much longer the irruption 
 of the patriots across the border, which is sure to be so de- 
 structive of the cane fields in its westward sweep. There- 
 fore, let us see to what extent the American people would be 
 affected by so possible a contingency. 
 
 In the sugar season, ending 31st December, 1873, Cuba ex- 
 ported some 690,000 tons of sugar, of which 64 per cent. 
 (441,000 tons) were exported to the United States, supplying 
 to the American people fully 30 out of the 40 pounds which 
 they consumed that year per capita. For the year just ended 
 it is known that, while the aggregate amount exported has 
 fallen short of that of 1873 by some 70,000, there has been 
 an increased exportation to the United States of more than 
 50,000 tons, or a falling off in the exportation to Europe 
 120,000 tons. These are startling figures for the people of 
 
31 
 
 the United States to ponder, showing, as they do, their de- 
 pendence on the casualties of this war for 80 odd per cent, of 
 the sugar consumed in this country. 
 
 The value of the sugar exported to the United States in 
 1873 was fully $77,500,000, or some $43,000,000 in excess of 
 the exports from France to this country for the same year, 
 and only $11,000,000 less than the exports for all the German 
 States united. 
 
 But not alone in this sugar interest are the people of the 
 United States thus deeply concerned in the present and 
 future condition of Cuba. Under proper commercial rela- 
 tions and conditions, there would be an immediate market in 
 the island for more than 1,000,000 barrels of Western flour, 
 instead of the few thousand barrels which are now sold them, 
 in consequence of the heavy or prohibitory duties imposed in 
 behalf of Spanish grown flour. So heavy, indeed, are those 
 duties that relatively few Cubans use flour. Throw off these 
 duties, however, and American flour would at once find a 
 large, ready market there — a market more cheaply reached 
 from the mills of the West, than either Boston, New York or 
 Baltimore. 
 
 Nor is this all. The duties imposed on cotton goods in 
 Cuba, are directly calculated to, and do exclude the products 
 of the mills of Massachusets and Ehode Island ; when natu- 
 rally there should be a large consumption of American cotton 
 in the island. 
 
 It remains to be noted that the sugars and molasses ex- 
 ported from Cuba to the United States in 1873 afforded an 
 exceptional employment to American shipping to the am- 
 ount of $4,000,000 ; while the other foreign sugars used were 
 brought in foreign ships for the most part. Further, were the 
 Cuban market opened to American flour and cotton goods, as 
 assuredly should be the legitimate consequence of the near- 
 
32 
 
 ness of the island to the United States, whose people, in 
 turn, are the chief consumers of Cuban products, there would 
 be opened a further large field of employment for American 
 shipping. 
 
 Hence, the fact should be apparent, that there is not one 
 State in the American Union in whose industrial develop- 
 ment and prosperity the whole people of the Union have so 
 heavy a stake involved, as that of the Island of Cuba. 
 
 The above statements are respectfully submitted to the 
 consideration of the members of the Congress of the United 
 States. 
 
 Miguel de Aldama, Jose Antonio Echeverria. 
 
33 
 
 49pnfitiintton of the ^M tmhllc of 
 
 Adopted by the CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, and unanimously 
 approved by the CUBAN CON&RESS assembled at GUAIMARO, 
 on thq tenth day of April ', in the year of our Lord 1869, and the 
 FIRST of the INDEPENDENCE of CUBA. 
 
 Art. I. — The Legislative power shall be vested in a House 
 of Representatives. 
 
 Art. II. — To this body shall be delegated an equal repre- 
 sentation from each of the four States into which the Is- 
 land of Cuba shall be divided. 
 
 Art. III. — These States are Oriente, Camaguey, Las Villas, 
 and Occidente. 
 
 Art. IV. — No one shall be eligible as Representative of 
 any of these States except a citizen of the Republic who is 
 upwards of twenty years of age. 
 
 Art. Y. — No Representative of any State shall hold any 
 other official position during his representative term. 
 
 Art. YI. — Whenever a vacancy occurs in the representa- 
 tion of any State, the Executive thereof shall have power to 
 fill such vacancy until the ensuing election. 
 
 Art. YII. — 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. 
 
 5 
 
34 
 
 Aet. 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 exam- 
 ine into the charges preferred ; and if, in their judgment, 
 it be necessary, the case of the accused shall be submitted to 
 the Judiciary. 
 
 Art. IX. — The House of Representatives shall have full 
 power to dismiss from office any functionary whom they 
 have appointed. 
 
 Aet. 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. 
 
 Aet. XL— 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. 
 
 Aet. XII. — Within ten clays after their reception, the 
 President shall return all Bills, Resolutions and Enact- 
 ments which may be sent to him by the House for his 
 approval, with his sanction thereof, or with his objections 
 thereto. 
 
 Aet. XIII. — Upon the passage of any Act, Bill, or Resolu- 
 tion, after a reconsideration thereof by the House, it shall 
 be sanctioned by the President. 
 
 Aet. XIV. — The House of Representatives shall legislate 
 upon Taxation, Public Loans, and Ratification of Treaties ; 
 and shall have power to declare and conclude War, to 
 authorize the President to issue Letters of Marque, t@ raise 
 Troops and provide for their support, to organize and main- 
 tain a Navy, and to regulate reprisals as to the public 
 enemy. 
 
35 
 
 Art. 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. 
 
 Art. XVI. — The Executive Power shall be vested in the 
 President of the Republic. 
 
 Art. XVII. — No one shall be eligible to the Presidency 
 who is not a native of the Republic, and over thirty } T ears 
 of age. 
 
 Art. XVIII. — All Treaties made by the President may be 
 ratified by the House of Representatives. 
 
 Art. XIX.— The President shall have power to appoint 
 Ambassadors, Ministers-plenipotentiary, and Consuls of the 
 Republic to foreign countries. 
 
 Art. XX. — The President shall treat with Ambassadors, 
 and shall see that the laws are faithfully executed. He 
 shall also issue official commissions to all the functionaries 
 ■of the Republic. 
 
 Art. XXI. — The President shall propose the names for 
 the members of his Cabinet to the House of Representatives 
 for its approval. 
 
 Art. XXII. — The Judiciary shall form an independent, co- 
 ordinate department of the Government, under the organiza- 
 tion of a special law. 
 
 Art. XXIII. — Voters are required to possess the same 
 qualifications as to age and citizenship as the Members of 
 the House of Representatives. 
 
 Art. XXIV.— All the inhabitants of the Republic of Cuba 
 are absolutely free. 
 
 Art. XXV. — All the citizens are considered as soldiers of 
 the Liberating Army. 
 
 Art. XXVI. — The Republic shall not bestow dignities, 
 titles, nor special privileges. 
 
36 
 
 Art. XXVII.- — The citizens of the Republic shall not 
 accept honors nor titles from foreign countries. 
 
 Art. XXYIII. — 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. 
 
 Art. XXIX. — This Constitution can be amended only 
 by the unanimous concurrence of the House of Repre- 
 sentatives. 
 
 52 
 
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