8
PRESIDENT'S
MESSAGE
McKinley's Advice on the Cu
ban Question.
HOSTILITIES MUST CEASE.
Fnsce Must Be Restored In Cube it
Once at Any Cost.
The President Asks Congress Is Authorise
Him t« Take Measures te Secure This
Object and Kstabllsh a Stable Qorera
ment In Cuba and to Tee the Military
and Naval Forces ot the United Rtatee
as May Be Nwcessary If or This Pur
pose—He Says the Only Hepe of Be
lief Is the Knforced Paolfleatloa of the
Island—The Issue Is New With Con
gress and the President Assures That
llody That He Stands Heady to Carry
Out Kvery Obligation I caponed Upon
Him by the Constitution.
WASHINGTON, April IV—The Presi
dent today sent the following mesiiuge
to Congress:
To the Congress of ithe United States:
Obedient to that precept of the con
stitution which commands the presi
dent to give, from tinv? to time, to con
gress information of the state of the
union and to recommend to their con
sideration such measures as he shall
judge necessary and expedient, it be
comes my duty now to address your
body with regard to the grave crisis
that has arisen in the relations of the
Cnlted .States to Spain by reason of the
warfare that for more than three
years has raged in the neighboring
island'of Cuba. I do so because of the
intimate connection of the Cuban ques
tion with the state of our own union
and the grave relation the course
whicTi it is now incumbent upon the
nation to adopt must needs bear to the
traditional pdlcy of our government if
it it to accord with the precepts laid
down by the founders of the republic
and religiously observed by succeeding
administrations to the present day.
The.present revolution Is but the suc
cessor of other similar insurrections
which have occurred In Cuba against
the dominion of Spain, extending over
a period of nearly half a century, each
of which, during its progress has sub
jected the United States to great effort
arw.l expense in enforcing iits neutrality
lavve, caused enormous losses to Ameri
can trade and commerce, caused irri
tation, annoyance and disturbance
among our citizens, and by the exer
cise of.cruel, barbarous and uncivilized
practices of warfare, shocked the sen
sibilities and offended the human sym
pathies of our people.
Since the present revolution began in
February, 1895. this country has seen
the Tertile domain at our threshold rav
aged hy fire and sword in the course
of a struggle unequaled in the history
of the island and rarely paralleled as
to the number of the combatants and
the bitterness of the contest by any
revolution of modern times where a
dependent people, striving to be free,
have been opposed by the power of the
sovereign state.
Our people have beheld a once pros
perous community reduced to compar
ative -.want, its lucrative commerce
virtually paralyzed, its exceptional
productiveness diminished, its fields
laid waste, its mills in ruins and its
people- perishing by tens of thousand
from hunger and destitution. We have
found ourselves constrained, In the ob
servance of that strict neutrality which
our latws enjoin and which the law of
nation*, commands, to police our own
waters and watch our own seaports in
prevention of any unlawful act of the
Cubans.
Our trf.de has suffered; the capital in
vested by our citizens In Cuba has been
largely lost, and the temper and for
bearance of our people have been se
verely tried as to beget a perilous un
rest among our own citizens, which
has inevitably found expression from
time to time In the national legisla
ture, so that issues wholly external to
our own body politic engross attention
and stand In the way of that close
devotion to domestic advancement
that becomes a self-contained com
monwealth, whose primal maxim has
been the avoidance of all foreign en
tanglement*. All this must needs
awaken and has Indeed aroused the
utmost concern on the part of this
government, as well duriner my prede
cessor's term as in my own.
PEACE EFFORTS.
Those Made by Tlilh Government Have
Proved Failures.
■*n April, 1896, the evils from which
our country suffered through the Cu
ban war became so onerous that my
predecessor made an effort to bring
about a peace through the mediation
of this government in any way that
might tend to an honorable adjust
ment of the contest between Spain
and her revolted colony, on the basis
of some effective scheme of self-gov
ernment for Cuba under the flag and
sovereignty of Spain. It failed,
.through the refusal of the Spanish
government, then in power, to consider
any form of mediation or, indeed, any
plan of settlement which did not begin
with the actual submission of the in
surgents to the mother country, and
then only on such terms as Spain her
self might see fit to grant. The war
continued unabated. The resistance
of the insurgents was in no wise di
minished.
The efforts of Spain were increased
both by the dispatch of fresh levies to
Cuba and by the addition to the hor
rors of the strife of a new and in
human phase, happily unprecedented
In the modern history of civilized
Christian peoples. The policy of de
vastation and concentration inaugu
rated by Gereral Pando Oct. 21, 1886.
In the province of Pinar del Rio »at
thence extended to embrace all of the
lr.land to which the power of the Span
ish arms was -tbl* to reach b." otcupa
t'on or by military operations. The
peasantry, including all dwelling in
the open agricultuiai inttiior, were
driven into the garrison towns or iso
lated places held by the troops. The
raising and movement of provisions of
all kinds were interdicted. The fields
were laid waste, dwellings unroofed
and fired, mills destroyed, and. In
short, everything that could desolate
the land and render it unfit for human
1-abitatlon or support was commanded
by one or the other of the contesting
parties and executed by all the powers '
at their disposal.
By the time the present administra
tion took office a year ago, reconcentra
tlon, so-called, had been made effec
tive over the better part of the four cen
tral and western provinces, Santa
Clara, Matanzas, Havana and Pinar
del Rio. The agricultural population
to the estimated number of 300,000 or
more was herded within the towns and
their immediate vicinity, deprived of
the means of support, rendered desti
tute of shelter, left poorly clad and ex
posed to the moßt unsanitary condi
tions. As the scarcity of food increased
with the devastation of the depopulat
ed areas of production, destltion and
want became misery and starvation.
INHUMAN ORDERS.
Starvation Used as a Means «( Kxter
mlnatlon.
Month by month the death rate in
creased at an alarming ratio. By
March, 1897, according to conservative
estimates from official Spanish sources,
the mortality among the concent radon,
from starvation and the diseases there
to incident, exceed 50 iper cent of t.brfr
total number. No practical relief -was
accorded to the destitute. The over
burdened towns, already suffering; Trom
general dearth, could give no aid. The
so-called "zones of cultivation" "estab
lished within the Immediate a-rea of
effective military control about the
cities and fortified ramps proved illus
ory us a remedy for the suffering.
The unfortunates, being for the
most part women and children with
aged and helpless men, enfeebled by
disease and hunger, could not have
tilled the soil without tools, seed or
shelter, for their own support or for
the scrpport eft the cities. The recon
centrntion adopted avowetf.y as a war
measure in order to cut 'Off the re
sources of the insurgents worked its
predestined result. As I said in my
message dT last December. It was not
civilized warfare. It waA extermina
tion. The only peace it could beget
ww that -of the wilderness and the
grave.
Meanwhile the military situation of
the Island had undergone a noticeable
change. The extraordinary activity
that characterized the second year of
the war, when the Insurgents invaded
even the hitherto unharmed fields of
Pinar del Rio and carried havoc and
destruction up to the] city walls of Ha
vana itself, had relapsed into a dog
j?ed straggle In the central and eastern
provinces. The Spanish arms regained
a measure of control In Pinar del Rio
and parts of Havana, but, under the
existing conditions of the rural coun
try, without immediate improvement
of their productive situation. Even
thus partially restricted, the revolu
tionists held their own, and their con
quest and submission, put forward by
Spain as the essential and sole basis
of peace, seemed as far distant as at
the outset.
In this state of affairs, my adminis
tration found itself confronted with a
giave problem of its duty My message
of last December reviewed the situa
tion and narrated the steps taken with
a view to relieving its acuteness and
opening the way to some form of hon
orable settlement. The assassination
of the prime minister, Canovas, led to
a change of government in Spain. The
former administration pledged to sub
jugation without concession gave place
to that of a more liberal party, com
mitted long In advance to a policy of
reform involving the wider principle
of home rule for Cuba and Porto
Rico. The overtures of this govern
ment made through its new envoy,
General Woodford, and looking to an
Immediate and effective amelioration
of the condition of the Island although
not accepted to the extent of admitted
mediation in any shape, were met by
assurances that home rule, In an ad
vanced phase, would be forthwith of
fered to Cuba, without waiting for the
war to end, and that more humane
methods should thenceforth prevail In
the conduct of hostilities. Coincident
ally with these declarations, the new
government of Spain continued and
completed the policy already begun
by Its predecessor, of testifying friend
ly regard for this nation by releasing
American citizens held under one
charge or another connected with the
insurrection, so that, by the end of
November not a single person entitled
in any way to our national protection,
remained in a Spanish prison.
While these negotiations were in pro
gress the increasing destitution of
the unfortunate reconcentrados and
the alarmlntr mortality among them
claimed earnest attention. The suc
cess which had attended the limited
measure of relief extended to the suf
fering American citizens among thc.ni
by the judicious expenditure thiough
the consular agencies of the money
appropriated expressly for their suc
cor by the joint resolution approved
May 24, 1897, prompted the humane ex
tension of a similar scheme of aid to
the great body of sufferers. A sugges
tion to this end was acquiesced in by
the Spanish authorities.
CHANGES MADE BY SPAIN.
More Human Methods Resorted to by the
New Government.
On the 24th of December last I
caused to be issued an appeal to the
American people, inviting contribu
tiens in money or kind for the succor
of the starving sufferers in Cuba, fol
lowing this on the Bth of January by
a similar public announcement of a
formation of a central Cuban relief
committee with headquarters in New-
York city, composed of three members
representing the American National
Red Cross and the religious and busi
ness elements of the community. The
efforts of that committee have been
untiring and have accomplished much.
Arrangements for free transportation
to Cuba have greatly aided the char
itable w*rk. The president of the
Americau Red Cross, and representa
tives of other contributory organiza-
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, TH UK SPAY, AI FIT. 14 . jgjjg.
tions have generously visited Cuba,
and co-operated with the consul-gen
eral and the local authorities to mako
effective distribution of the relief col
lected through the efforts of the cen
tral committee.
Nearly $200,000 in money and supplies
has already reached the sufferers and j
more is forthcoming The supplies are j
admitted duty free, and transportation
to the interior has been arranged, so j
that the relief, at first necesarily con- j
fined to Havana and the larger cities, |
Is now extended through most, If not '
all, of the towns where the suffering
exists. Thousands of lives have al
ready been saved. The necessity for
a change in th« condition of the re
concentrados is recognized by the
; Spanish government.
I Within a few days past the order of
General Weyler has been revoked, the
] reconcentrados, it Is said, are to be
l permitted to return to their homes
! and aided to resume the self-support
ing pursuits of peace, public works
have been ordered to give them em .
ployment and a sum of J600.000 h;
been appropriated for their relief.
The war In Cuba Is of such a na' atrfk
that short of subjugation or ext /eitli
natlon a final military vlcto- 'f lft
either side seems Impossible. T
ternatlve lies In the physical exhaus
tion of one or the other party K w per
haps of both, a condition w) ij, e f_
feet ended the 10 years, w the
truce of Zanjon. The proF -of such
* protection and eoncluslo a xfthp pres
ent strife Is a contlnge a«-y .hardly to
be contemplated with equanimity by
ttv- civilized world, and Jeast of all by
the United States, aff«tcted and Injured
«.s we are deeply and intimately by its
very existence.
Realizing this, it appeared to be my
duty, in a spirit of true friendliness, no
less to Spain than to the Cubans who
have so much to lose by the prolonga
tion of the struggle. U> seek to bring
about *n immediate termination of the
war. To this end I submitted, on the
27th ult., as a result of much represen
tation and frorrespondence through the
United States minister at Madrid,
propositions to the Spanish govern
meet looking to an armistice until
Oct. 1 for the negotiation of peace, with
th« good offices of the president. In
adtiltion, I asked the immediate revoca
tion of the order of reconcentratlon,
so as to permit the people to return
te their farms and the needy to be re
lieved with provisions and supplies
Crom the United States, co-operating
with the Spanish authorities, so as to
«.ITord full relief.
The reply of the Spanish cabinet was
-received on the night of the 21st ult.
It offers, as the means to bring about
peace in Cuba, to confide the prepara
tion thereof to the insular parliament,
insasmuch as the concurrence of that
body would be necessary to reach a
final result, it being, however, under
stood that the powers reserved by the
constitution to the central government
are not lessened or diminished. As the
Cuban parliament does not meet until
the 4th of May next, the Spanish gov
ernment would not object for its part
to accept at once a suspension of hos
tilities if asked for by the insurgents,
from the general-in-chief, to whom it
woud pertain in such case to determine
the duration and condition of the arm
istice.
The proposition submitted by (Gen
eral Woodford and reply of the Span
ish government were both in the form
of brief memoranda, the texts of which
are before me and are substantially
in the language above given. The
function of the Cuban parliament in
the mater of "preparing" peace and
the maner of its doing so are not ex
pressed In the Spanish memorandum;
but from General Woodford's explana
tory reports of preliminary discus
sions preceding the final conference,
it is understood that the Spanish gov
ernment stands ready to give the in
sular congress full powers to settle
the terms of peace with the insur
gents, whether by direct negotiation
or indirectly by means of legislation
does not appear. With the last over
ture in thj direction of immediate
peace and its disappointing reception
by Spain, the executive was brought
to the end of his effort.
FORMER ADVICE GIVEN.
Foralble Annexation ■ Subject Not to He
Thought Of.
In my annual message of December
last, I said: "Of the untried measures
there remain only: Recognition of the
insurgents as belligerents; recognition
of the Independence of Cuba; neutral
Intervention to end the war by impos
ing a rational compromise between
the contestants, and intervention in
favor of one or the other party. I
speak not of forcible annexation,
for that cannot be thought of. That,
by our code of morality, would be
criminal aggression."
Thereupon I reviewed these alterna
tives, in the light of President Grant's
measured words, uttered in 1875, when
after several years of sanguinary, de
structive and cruel hostilities-in Cuba,
he reached the conclusion that the
recognition of the independence of
Cuba was impracticable and inde
fensible; and that the recognition of
belligerence w*s not warranted by the
facts according to the tests of public
law. I commented especially upon the
latter aspect of the question, pointing
out the inconveniences and positive
dangers of a recognition of belliger
ence, which, while adding to the al
ready onerous burdens of neutrality
within our own jurisdiction, could not
in any way extend our influence or
effective offices in the territory of hos
tilities.
Nothing has since occurred to change
' view in this regard—and I recog
nize as fully now as then that the is
suance of a proclamation of neutrality,
by which progress the so-called recog- j
nition of belligerence is published, '
could, of itself, and unattended by I
other action, accomplish nothing to
ward the one end for which we labor,
the instant pacification of Cuba and ! !
the cessation of the misery that af- I :
filets the island.
Turning to the question of recogniz- |
ing at this time the independence of j 1
the present insurgent government in ! ]
Cuba, we find safe precedents in our j i
history from an early day. They are <
well summed up in President's Jack- I
ton's message to congress, Dec. 21, 18:16, <
on the subject of the recognition of the ! 1
Independence or Texas. He said:
"In all the contests that have arisen j i
out of the revolution of France, out of ' i
the disputes relating to the crowns of ! 1
Portugal and Spain, out of the separ- j <
atlon of the American possessions of [ '
both from the European governments, i <
wjii out aC th.e nur»er<.jis - I
incurring struggles 112 fr -dominion in
Spanish-America, so ¥ , consistent
with our Just princ-' #JtWi h}l!< been lhe
action of our gover , that we hy V( ,
under the most <• | circumstances
avoided all censu' encountered no
other e\il than Uhfc'l produced by a
transient estra jgjoirtent of good wild in
those against n.,ilt r , we have been by
force of evlde compelled to decide.
"It has thi £ Ibren made known to the
world that uniform policy and
practice o tthe United States is to
avoid all ' jtfwrferenee in dlsput.es which
merely r eliujttf. to the Internal govern
ment of .richer nations and eventually
to reco the authority of the pre
vailing ■ 'party without reference to our
parti' jtijigr Interests and views, or to the
mer' As 'iff the original controversy.
fHlt 'on this as on every other try
to / 'occasion, safety is t,o be found in a
r ijfld 'adherence to principle.
"fin the contest between Spain and the
, Wvolted colonies we stood aloof and
1 12( availed not only until the ability of the
I i«ew states to protect themselves was
fully established, but until the danger
■oK their being again subjugated had en
tirely passed away. Then, and not un
til then, were they recognized. Such
was our course in regard to Mexico
herself.
"It is true that with regard to Texas
the civil jutority of Mexico has been
expelled. Its invading army defeated,
the chief of the republic himself cap
tured, and all present power to control
the newly organized government of
Texas anlhllated within its confines.
But, on the other hand, there is, in ap
pearance, at least, an immense dispari
ty of physical force on the side of
Texas. The Mexican republic, under
another executive, is rallying its forces
under a new leader, and menacing a
fresh invasion to recover its lost do
minion.
""Upon the issue of this threatened
invasion, the independence of Texas
may be considered as suspended; and
were there nothing peculiar In the rela
tive situation of the United States and
Texas, our acknowledgement of Its
Independence at such a crisis could
scarcely be regarded as consistent with
that prudent reserve with which we
have hitherto held ourselves bound to
treat all similar questions."
JACKSON'S POLICY.
Bow the Extreme Te»t Waa Applied In
the Tezaa Caae.
Thereupon Andrew Jackson proceed
ed to consider the risks that there
might be Imputed to the United States
motives of selfish interest in view of
the former claim on our part to the ter
ritory of Texas, and of the avowed pur
pose of the Texanß in seking recogni
tion of independence as an incident to
the incorporation of Texas in the
Union, concluding thus:
"Prudence, therefore, seems to dic
tate that we should still stand aloof
and maintain our present attitude, if
not until Mexico itself or one of the
great foreign powers shall recognize
the Independence of the new govern
ment, at least until the lapse of time
of the course of events shall have
proved beyond cavil or dispute the
ability of the people of that country
to maintain the sepate sovereignty and
to uphold the government constituted
by them. Neither of the contending
parties can Justly complain of this
course. I3y pursuing it we are but
carrying out the long-established pol
icy of our government, a policy which
has secured to us respect and influ
ence abroad and inspired confidence
at home."
These are the words of the resolute
and patriotic Jackson. They are evi
dence that the United States, in addi
tion to the test imposed by public law
as the condition of the recognition of
independence by a neutral state, to
wit, that the revolted state shall "con
stitute in fact a body politic, having
a government In substance as well
as In name, possessed of the elements
of stability," and forming de facto
"If left to itself a state among the
nations, reasonably capable of dis
charging the duties of a state." has
imposed for its own governance in
dealing with cases like these the fur
ther condition that recognition of in
dependent statehood is not due to a
resulted dependency until the danger
of Its being again subjugated by the
parent state has entirely passed away.
This extreme test was in fact applied
in the case of Texas. The congress to
whom President Jackson referred the
question as one "probably ieadinc to
war" and therefore a proper subject
for "a previous understanding with
that body by whom war can alone bt
declared, and by whom all the pro
visions for sustaining its merits must
be furnished, "left the matter of the
recognition of Texas to the discretion
of the executive, providing merely for
the sending of a diplomatic agent
when the president should be satisfied
that the republic of Texas had become
"an independent state."
It was so recognized by President
Van Buren, who commissioned a
charge d' affairs March 7, 1837, after
Mexico had abandoned an attempt to
reconquer the Texan territory, and
when there was, at the time, no bona
fide contest goinr on between the in- '
surgent province and its former sov- |
ereign.
1 said in my message of December !
last: "It is to be seriously considered [
whether the Cuban insurrection pos- |
sesses beyond dispute the attributes |
of statehood, which alone can demand j
favor."
The same requirements must cer
tainly be no less seriously considered
when the g: aver issue of recognizing
independence is in question, for no less
positive test can be applied to the great
er act than to the lesser; while, on the
other hand, the influence and conse
quences of the struggle upon the inter
j nal policy of the recognizing state,
' which form Important factors when the
recognition of belligerency is concern
ed, are secondary, if not rightly elimi
nable, factors when the real question
Is whether the community claiming
recognition is or is not independent be
yond peradventure.
Nor from the standpoint of expe
dience do I think it would be wise or
prudent for this government to recog
nize at the present time the independ
ence of the so-called Cuban republic.
Such recognition is not nee: s: ary in
order to enable the United States to
intervene and pacify the island.
To commit this country now to the
recof. iitio:. of any particular govern
ment in Cuba micht subject us to cm
barraj-finvr cond ticns of international
obligation tov,ai'.'l:; the organization so
recognized. In mse of Intervention our
••ondi<( 1 v.oi li! le sur.t?ct io the ap
lu uViii v< of such govern-
I ment; we would be required to submit
| to its direction and to assume to it the
j m«;re relation of a friendly ally. When
l ft shall appear hereafter that there is
j within the island a government ca
| pable of performing the duties and dls
i charging the functions of a separate
! nation, and having as a matter of
| fact, proper forms and attributes of
nationality, such government can be
promptly and readily recognized, and
the relations and interests of the
United States with such nation ad
justed.
There remain the alternative forms
I of Intervention to end the war, either
j as an impartial neutral by imposing
| a rational compromise between the
contestants, or as the active ally of
the one party or the other.
As to the first, it is not to be forgot
ten that during the last few months,
the relation of the United States has
virtually been one of friendly Interven
tion In many ways, each not of Itself
conclusive, but all tending the exer
tion of a potential influence toward an
ultimate pacific result Just and honor
able to all interests concerned. The
spirit of all our acts hitherto has been
an earnest, unselfish desire for peace
and prosperity in Cuba, untarnished
by differences between us and Spain
and unstained by the blood of Ameri
can citizens.
The forcible Intervention of the Uni
ted States as a neutral to stop the
war, according to the large dictate* of
humanity and following many histori
cal precedents where neighboring
states have Interfered to check the
hopeless sacrifices of life by interne
cine conflicts beyond their borders, is
Justifiable on rational grounds. !t in
volves, however, hostile cons raint
upon both the parties to the contest,
as well as to enforce a truce as to
Sulde the eventual settlement.
The grounds for such Intervention
mi'V !>h briefly surnmariz*.l as follows'
First—ln the cause of humanity and
to put an end to the baroarltles, blood
shed, starvation and horrible miseries
now existing there, and which the par
ties to the conflict are either unable or
unwilling to stop or mitigate. It Is no
answer to say this is all in another
country, belonging to anotehr nation,
and is, therefore, none of our business.
It is specially our duty, for It is
at our door.
Second—We owe It to our citizens in
Cuba to afford them that protection
end indemnity for life and prope-ty,
v.'hlch no government there can or will
affoid, and to that end to terminate the
conditions that deprive them of legal
proiec lion.
Third—The right to intervene may
be justified by the very serious Injury
to the commerce, trade and buslnes of
our people and by th*> wanton destruc
•»n of property and devastation of
the islands.
Fourth—And which is of the utmost
importance. The present condition of
affairs of Cuba is a constant menace to
our peace, and entails upon the gov
ernment an enormous expense. With
such a conflict waged for years in an
island so near us and with which our
people have such trade and business re
lations, when the lives and liberty of
our citizens are in constant danger and
their property destroyed and •them
selves ruined, where our trading ves
sels are liable to seizure and are seized
at our very door by warships of a for
eign nation, the expeditions of filibus
tering that we are powerless altogether
to prevent, and the Irritating questions
and entanglements thus arising, all
these and others that I need not men
tion, with the resulting strained rela
tions, are a constant menace to our
peace and compel us to keep on a semi
war footing with a nation with which
we are at peace.
FATE OF THE MAINE.
It Shoiti That Spain Can Not I'roteot
Foreign Troperty.
These elements of danger and disor
der already pointed out have been
strikingly Illustrated by a tragic event
which has deeply and justly moved the
American people. I have alreadv
transmitted to congress the report of
the naval court of Inquiry on the de
struction of the battleship Maine in the
harbor of Havana during the night of
Feb. 15. The destruction of that noble
vessel has filled the national heart
with inexpressible horror. Two hun
dred and fifty-eight brave sailors and
marines and two officers of our navy,
reposing in the fancied security of a
friendly harbor, have been hurled to
death, grief and want brought to their
homes and sorrow to the nation.
The naval court of inquiry, wh'ch.
It is needless to say, commands the
' unqualified confidence of the govern
ment, was unanimous in its conclusion
that the destruction of the Maine was
caused by an exterior explosion, ..hat
of a submarine mine.
It did not assume to place the re
sponsibility. That remains to be fixed.
In any event the destruction of the
Maine, by whatsover exterior cause,
is a patent and impressive proof of a
state of things in Cuba that is intoler
able. That condition is thus shown to
be such that the Spanish government
cannot assume safety and security to
a vessel of the American navy in the
harbor of Havana on a mission of
peace and rightfully there.
Further referring in this connection
to recent diplomatic correspondence, a
dispatch from our minister to Spain,
of the 20th ultimo, contained the state
ment that the Spanish minister for
foreign affairs assured him positively
that Spain would do all that the high
est honor and justice required in the
matter of the Maine. The reply above
referred to of the 31st ult., also con
tained an expression of the readiness of
Spain to submit to an arbitration all
the differences which can arise in this
matter, which is subsequently explain
ed by the note of the Spanish minister
at Washington of the 10th inst., as fol
lows:
"As to the question of fact which
springs from the diversity of views be
tween the report of the American and
Spanish boards, Spain proposes that
the fact be ascertained by an impar
tial investigation by experts whose de
cision Spain accepts In advance."
To this I have made no reply.
VIEWS OF GRANT.
Coming Event* Foretold by the Departed
President.
President Grant, in 1875, after dis
cussing the phases of the contest as
It then appeared and Its hopeless and
apparent * Indefinite prolongation,
said:
"In such event,l am of opinion
that other nations will be compelled
to assume the responsibility which de- I
| volves upon them, anil to Beriously
i consider the only remaining measures
j possible, mediation and intervention.
Owing perhaps to the large expanse
j of water separating the island from
| the peninsula. * • * the contending
j parties appear to have within them
selves no depository of common con
fidence, to suggest wisdom when pas
sion and excitement have their sway,
and to assume the part of peace-mak
er. In this view, in the earlier days of
the contest, the good offices of the
United States as a mediator were tend
ered in good faith, without any sel
fish purpose, in the Interest of human
ity and in sincere friendship for both
parties, but were at the time declined
by Spain, with the declaration, never
theless, that at a future time they
would be indlsposable.
"No intimation has been received
that in the opinion of Spain that time
has been reached. And yet the strife
continues with all its dread horrors
J and all Its injuries to the interests of
the United States and of other nations.
Each party seems quite capable of
working great injury and d&magt to
the other, as well as to all the relations
and Interests dependent on the exist
ence of peace in the island, but they
seem incapable of reaching any ad
justment, and both have thus far
failed o* achieving any success
whereby one party shall possess and
control the island to the exclusion of
the other. Under the circumstances,
the agency of others, either by media
tion or by intervention, seems to be the
only alternative, which must, sooner
or later, be invoked for the termina
tion of the strife."
CLEVELAND'S VIEWS.
The I'reiiitlrnt Quote* From Oue of Hl*
PredeceHMor's Meaiagc.
In the last annual message of my im
mediate predecessor, during the pend
ing struggle, it was said:
"When the Inability of Spain to deal
successfully with the insurrection has
become manifest and it is demonstra
ted that her sovereignty is extinct in
Cuba for all purposes of its rightful ex
istence, and when a hopeless struggle
for its re-establishment has degener
ated into a strife which means nothing
more than the useless sacrifice of hu
man life and utter destruction of the
very subject matter of the conflict, a
situation will be presented in which
our obligations to the sovereignty of
Spain will be superseded by higher ob
ligations which we can hardly hesi
tate to recognize and discharge."
In my annual message to congress,
December last, speaking to this ques
tion, I said: "The near future will dem
onstrate whether the Indispensable
condition of a righteous peace, Just
alike to the Cubans and Spain, as well
as equitable to all our Interests, so Inti
mately involved in the welfare of
is likely to be attained. If not, the ex
igency of further and other action by
the United States will remain to be
taken. When tha:t time comes that ac
tion will be determined in the line of
indisputable right and duty. It will be
faced without misgiving or hesitancy in
the light of the obligation this govern
ment owes to Itself, to the people who
have confided to It the protection of
their interests and honor, and to hu
manity.
Sure of the right, keeping from all
offenses ourselves, actuated only by
upright and patriotic consideration#,
moved neither by passion or selfish
ness, the government will continue its
watchful care over the rights and prop-
I erty of American citizens and will
abate none of its efforts to bring about
by peaceful agencies a peace which
Kitl" be honorable and enduring. If it
shall hereafter appear ito be a duty im
posed by our obligations to ourselves,
to civilization and humanity to inter
vene with force, it shall be without
fault on our part and only because the
necessiity for such action will be so
clear as to command the support and
approval of the civilized world."
The long trial has proved that the
object for which Sp.ain has waged the
war cannot be attained. The fire of
insurrection may flame or may smoul
der with varying seasons, but It has
not been, and It Is plain that It cannot
be extinguished by present methods.
The only hope of relief and repose from
a condition which can no longer be en
dured is the enforced pacification of
Cuba. In the name of humanity, in
the name of civilization, In behalf of
endang» red American interests which
give us the right and the duty to speak
and to act, the war In Cuba must stop.
In view of these facts and of those
considerations, I ask the congress to
authorize and empower the president to
take measures to secure a full and
final termination of hostilities between
the government of Spain and the peo
ple of Cuba, and to secure in the island
the establishment of a stable govern
ment capable of maintaining order
and observing its international obli
gations, insuring peace and tranquility
and the security of its citizens as well
as our own, and to use the military
and naval forces of the United States
as may be necessary for these pur
poses.
And in the Interest, of humanity ami
to aid in preserving the lives of the
starving people of the island, I recom
mend that the distribution of food and
supplies be continued and that an ap
propriation be made out of the public
treasury to supplement the charity of
our citizens.
The issue is now with the congress.
It is a solemn responsibility. I have ex
hausted every effort to relieve the in
tolerable condition of affairs which is
at our doors. Prepared to execute
every obligation imposed upon me by
the constitution and the law, I await
J'our action.
SPAIN'S CONCESSION.
Hostilities to lie Suspended, but Drltila
Arc Lacking.
Yesterday and since the preparation
of the foregoing message, official Infor
mation was received by me that the
latest decree of the queen regent of
Spain directs General Blanco, in ordu
to prepare and facilitate peace, to pro
claim a suspension of hostilities, the
duration and details of which have
not yet been communicated to mt
This fact, with every other pertinent
consideration, will, I am sure, hi
your just and careful attention in
solemn deliberations upon which
are about to enter. If this measure
attains a successful result, then our
aspirations as a Christian, peace-lov
ing people will be realized. If it fail
t will be only another justification i
|ur contemplated action.
WILLIAM M'KINLT
Executive Mansion, April 11. >