Evening Star Newspaper, December 21, 1896, Page 12

12 ‘THe: EVENING STAR, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1896-16 PAGES: ON’S REPORT - CAMER (Continued from First Page.) much more pronounced. Although this dictum of Canping’s was never, so far os we know, officiaily pubitshed, {t was quot- by Lord John Russeli, then her imajes- princtpal secretary of staie for foreign ffairs, in the speech wnich he made in the house of commons May 6, 1861, as his single and sufficient authority to justi- fy the step upon which he ani nis col- leagues in the government had ¢ecided, of | recognizing the belligereney of the or community” which he officially “the southern confederacy of Americ: which at that time had not a ship at sea or an army on land, and which had given yet no official evidence of a war to the ritish government. same action was ac ment of France, which “concur: ¥ in the views of her majesty’s government, ard whose concurrence, in the absence of protest or objectiun by any other power, made Russell's view the aceepred practice , of Europe. Canning’s recognition of Greek belligerency in 1825, as well as the joint recognition of “the southern confederacy of America” in 188i, was only the first step toward an an- ticipated system of intervention. The Allied Powers. France joined with England and and the three powers, on the 6th of ly, 1827, united in a formal treaty, signed in Londen, which committed them to armed intervention In case the sultan should still reject their proffered media- tion within the space of one month. The preamble to thts treaty set forth the motives which led the three sovereigns to intervene: ~“Penetrated with the necessity of putting an end to the sanguinary contest which by delivering up the Greek provinces and the isles of the archipelago to all the dis- orders of anarchy, produces daily fresh im- pediments to the commerce of the Euro; pean states, and elves occasion to piracies which not only expose the subjects of the high contracting parties to considerable losses, but, besides, renders necessary bur- densome measures of protection and re- pression, H. M. the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and H. M. the King of France and Navarre. having besides recetved on the part of the Greeks a pressing request to interpose their mediation with the Ottoman porte, and being, as well as H. M. the Emperor of all the Russias, animated by the desire of stopping the effusion of blood, and of ar- resting the evils of all kinds which might arise from the continuance of such a state of things, have resolved to unite their ef- and to regulate the operation thereof by a formal treaty. with a view of re establishing peace between the contending parties by means of an arrangement, which is called for as much by humanity as by the interests of the repose of Europe.” The treaty proceeded to bind the three parties to offer their mediation immediately on the basis of Turkish suzerainty and Greek self-government; and in case Tur- key should not accept within one month the proposed mediatian, the powers should prevent further hostilities by ordering their Squadrons to interpose. The Turkish government, August 30, re- iterated its decided, unconditional, final and unchangeable refusal to receive any proposition on behalf of the Greeks. The next day the ambassadors sent the neces- sary orders to their squadrons, and in at- tempting to carry out these orders the ad- mirals, much to the regret of the British government, brought on the battle of Ni arino. October 20, 1827. The Belgian Revolution. The report next takes up the Belgian rev- olution of 1830. When the French revolution of July, 1830, occurred, it spread instantly to the Netherlands. Toward the end of August, 1830, disturbances began, and soon became so serious as to threaten grave complica- tions abroad as well as at home. Without concerting with or supporting King William, the powers imposed an im- mediate armistice on both parties. Naturally, the Belgian rebels then de- clared themselves independent. With such encouragement, their safety was guaran- teed almost beyond the possibility of risk. The claim of independence was made No- vember 18, 1830, and was recognized one month later by the powers, ip their seventh conference, December 20. The representa- tives of the five powers, whose names were among the most famous in diplomacy—Tal- leyrand, Lieven, Esterhazy, Palmerston, Bulow—adopted, without adhesion, or even Invitation to be present, of the Nether- Jands minister, a protocol, which an- nounced intervention pure and simple, be- ginning with the abrupt recognition of the revolutionary government. “The plenipotentiaries of the five courts, having received the formal adhesion of the Belgian government to the armistice pro- to it, and which the King of the Netherlands has also accepted—the confer- ence will occupy itself in discussing and econcerting the new arrangements most Proper to combine the future independence of Belgium with the interests znd the se- curity of the other powers, and the preser- vation of the European ¢quilfbrium.” The Netherlands minister tmmediately recorded, December 22, a formal protest, and a reservation of King William's right to decide on “such ulterior measures as should be taken in the double interests of his own dignity and the well-being of his faithful subjects.” ne report tells of the protocol of Hol- land, followed by a Holland military expe- dition, which was met by 40,00 French troops. The report continues: “Thus within less than a year after the revolution had broken out, and without waiting for evidence of the richt or the | military force of the insurrection, every sort of intervention took place, diplomatic and military, joint and separate. Nor did the intervention stop with the measures taken for the succor of Belgium. As Kin William of Holland continued to reject thd conditions imposed by the powers, and held Antwerp as a pledge for more favorable conditions of peace, the governments of | France and England, abandoning the Euro- pean concert, announced that they should | put their naval and military forces in mo- | tion, and accordingly the British govern- ment, November —, 1832, embargoed Dutch ships and blockaded the Dutch coast, while the French army, November 14, formally laid siege to Antwerp.” ‘The report says that the Polish rebellion of 1831 seemed to have no value as a pre- cedent except as far as it offered an ex- ample of the power of Russia, as the Bel- gian Insurrection had shown the power of England and France when in union. Hungary's Revolt. The next European people who claimed recognition as an independent member of the family of nations seems to have been the Hungartans. On the 14th of April, 1849, the Hungarian diet formally declared Hungary an inde- pendent state, and the Hapsburg dynasty forever deposed from the throne. The next day the diet elected Louis Kossuth pro- visional president. The young emperor, Francis Joseph, in- stantly appealed for aid to Czar Nicholas of Russia, who instantly intervened. The ezar issued a manifesto, April stating the facts and the grounds on which his in- tervention was believed to be legitimate. This paper founded the right of interven- tion, not on the weakness of the belliger- ent, but on his strength. Russia asserted as a principle that she must intervene, be- cause, if she did not intervene. Fiungary Would establish her independen “The insurrection of Hung2i the manifesto of April 27, 1849, “‘h made so much progress that Russia cannot Possibly remain inactive. * * * Such a State of things endangers our dearest in- terests, and prudence compels us to antici- pate the difficulties it prepares for us.” This precedent tended to establish the right of every government ‘to Intervene in the affairs of foreign states, whenever their situation should.“tend. to endanger its own safety or the political equilibrium on its frontier.” As far as is known, every other government in the world tacitly acquiesced in the establishment of this precedent. If any government recorded a protest, it was that of the United States, but even the United States protested orly by infer- enee from the acts and language of the President. Secretary Clayton signed his in- structions June 18, 1849, six weeks after the Russian troops had been ordered to enter Hungary. The language of these instruc- tions was as emphatic and as decisive as that of the czar’s circular: “Should the new. government prove to be, tn your optnion, firm and stable—you might intimate, if youshould see fit, that ‘he President would, in that event, be gratified to receive a diplomatic agent from Hun- gary to the United States by or before the Rext meeting of Cong and that he en- tertains no doubt whatever that, in case her new government iid prove to be firm and stable, her independence wonld be speedily recognized by that enlightened bedy.” ‘The Russian intervention brought the Then Hungarian war so quickly to an end, that. before October, all resistance was over, and whe. Corgress met, early in December. 1849, President Taylor's annval message could only proclaim what would have been American policy. To some expressions in the instructions, the Austrian minister was ordered to take exception. He protested accordingly. Dantel Webster had then be- come Secretary of State, and replied to the protest in a paper known <s the Hulsemaan letter, in which he declared what he be- Keved to be the American policy, and the law in regard to new nationelities claiming recognition: “Of course questions of prvdence natur- ally arise in reference to new states brought by successful revolutions into the family of nations; but it is not to be re- quired of neutral powers that they should await the recognition of the new govern- ment by the parent state. No prnciple of public law has been moze frequently acted the last thiriy years, by the of the world taan this. With- in that period, etght or ten rew states have established independent governments within the limits of the colonial domintons of Spain on this continent; and in Europe the same thing has been done by Belgium and Greece. The existence of all these govern- ments was recognized by some of the lead- ing powers of Europe, as well as by the United States, before !t was acknowledged by the state from which they had separat themselves. If, therefore, the’ United States had gone so far as formally to ac. knowledge the independence of Hungary, although, as the event has proved, it would have been a precipitate step, and one from which no benefit would have resulted to either party, it would not. nevertheless, have been an act against the law of na- tions, provided they took no part in her contest with Austria.” Thus on both sides the right to intervene, both for and against the Hurgarian, seems to have been claimed and not expressly denied by either; and no other power ap- Dears to have offered even so much opposi- tion as was shown by President Taylor to the principles or to the acts of Russia, which settled the course of history. Besides the four precedents of Gree: Belgium. Poland and Hungary, where new rationalities were in question, a much larger number of interventions occurred in Europe in the process of disruption or con- soldation, which has, 2n one hand, disinte- grated the ancient empires of the sultan, of Spain, of the church, and on the other, concentrated the new systems of Germany, Russia and Italy. French Occupation of Rome. Interventions have occurred most con- spicuously in Spain, by France in 1823; in Portugal. by Evgland in 1827; again in Spain and- Portugal in 1836, by England and France, under what was called the quadruple treaty; in Piedmont and Naples, by the Holy Alliance, in 1821; and in so many instances since 1818 that the mere enumeration would be long and difficult: but none of the disturbed countries claimed permanent independence under a form of revolution, unless it were, perhaps, the states of the church or Rome, which, on February 8, 1849, declared the Pope to be deposed, and set up a provisional govern- ment under a revolutionary triumvirate. The French executive, Louis Napoleon, gave another direction to the policy of France. He immediately sent a French army to Civita Vecchia which landed there April 26, and. after a bloody struggle, drove the republican government out of ‘Rome. e French ertered Rome July 3. Pope Pius IX returned there in April, 1850, and during the next twenty years Rome re- mained under the occupation of a French army. The only reason given by France in this instance for intervention was that the oc- cupation of Rome was necessary in order to “maintain the political influence of France.” This was the ground taken by President Louis Napoleon in explaining his course to the chambers in 1850. The British government acquiesced in this rule of European law or practice. On May 9, 1851, Lord Palmerston, then foreign secretary, said in parliament, in reply to a formal inquiry, that the occupation of Rome was “a measure undertaken by France in her own discretion and in the exercise of hemown judgment. The British government had been no party to this measure. France had exercised her own rights In regard to it, and {t was not at all necessary that the previous concurrence of the British govertr-ment should have been obtained in th's matter. The British gov- ernment had been no party to this aggres- sion and could not, therefore, be said to have concurred in it. It was a matter on which they might have an opinion, but in which they had no particular right, by treaty or otherwise, to interfere.” Since the year 1827, intervention in the affairs of the Ottoman empire has been s0 constant as to create a. body of jurispru- dence and long zeries of treaties on which the existence of all political systems of southeastern Europe seems now to be more or less entirely based. Not only Greece, Monter.egro, Roumania, Bulgaria, Roumelia, Servia and Egypt have been the creations of such intervention, or the objects of its restraints, but also Samos, Crete and even the Lebanon owe their legal status to the same source. An authority so great must assume some foundation in law, seeing that the entire world acquiesced not only in practical ex- ercise of the force, but also in the principle i} on which it rested, Whatever that principle was. The treaty of Berlin in 1878 was a broad asscrtior of the right of the Euro- pean powers to regulate the affairs of the Ottoman empire, but the treaty contains no statemert of the principle of jurispru- dence on which the right rests. The preamble merely declares that the powers “being desirous to regulate, with a view to Eurcpean order, the questions raised in the east by the events of late years, and by the war terminated by the preliminary treaty of San Stefano, have been unanimously of opinion that the meet- ing of 2 congress would offer the best means of facilitating an understanding. So liberal a use of the right of interven- tion has seldom been made, but the prin- ciple of jurisprudence on which it rested has never been officially declared. These six precedents include, as far as is known, every instance where a claim to independence has been made by any people whatever in Europe, since the close of the Napoleonic wars in 1815. Other suc- cessful revolutions, such as those of Tus- cany and the states of the church in 1859, were the immediate reeults of interven- uon, and that of Naples in 1860 from first to last was perhaps the most striking ex- ample of intervention in modern times, although Naples hardJy thought necessary to pass through any intermediate stage of recognition as an independent authority. The six precedents, therefore, constitute the entire European law on the subject of intervention in regard to European peoples claiming independence by right of revolu- tion. There is no other authoritative source of the law; for the judicial courts of Europe were bound to follow the political decision; and the opinions of private per- sons, whether jurists or politicians, being without sanction, could not accepted az law. From this body of precedent, it is clear that Europe has invariably asserted and practiced the right to interfere, both col- lectively and separately, amicably and forcibly, In every instance, except that of Poland, where a European people has re- sorted to insurrection to obtain independ- ence. The right itself has been based on various grounds: “Impediments to com- merce,” “burdensome measures of protec- ” “human- “the repose of Europe” (Greek ity” treaty of 1821); “a warm desire to arrest, with the shortest possible delay, the dis- order and the effusion of biood”’ (protocol of November 4, 1830, in the case of Bel- gium; “his own safety or the political equ! librium on the frontiers of his empire” (Russian circular of April 27, 1849, in the case of Hungary); “to safeguard the inter- est and honor” and “to maintain the po- litical influence” of the intervening power j (Prench declarations of 1849-50 in regard to the states of the church). Finally, in the latest and most considerable, because ab- solutely unanimous act of all Europe, sim- ply the “desire to regulate” (preamble. to the treaty of Berlin, in 1878, covering the recognition of Servia, Roumania, Montene- gro and Bulgaria). The report then turns to the experience of Asia. In regard to Asia, probably all authorities agree that the entire fabric of European supremacy, whether in ‘Turkey, Persia, Afghanistan, India, Siam cr China, rests on the right of interven- tion. The American Precedents. ‘The American precedents are handled ex- haustively. It says that America, both North and South, has always aimed to moderate European intervention, and to re- strict its exercise. On.this point we have the evidence of George Canning in a cele- brated speech on the foreign enlistment act in 1823. “We have spent much time,” said Can- aig, “in teaching other powers the na- ture of a strict neutrality; and, speaking, we f¢ them mont reluctant scholars. * * * If I wished for a guide im a system of neutrality | should taxe that | where there may laid down by “America in the days of che Presidency of Washington, and the eecre- taryship of Jefferson.” After tracing the uprisings in Mexico, Ven- ezuela, Chile and Argentine Republic against Spanish rule, the report says: The question of intervention began in 1817. The Spanish government appealed to the European powers for ald. The czar cpenly took sides with Spain, and when, in September, 1817, the Spantsh government asked permission to bulld several ships of war in the Russian dockyards, the czar suggested that Spain should buy five ships of the iine and three frigates belonging to the Russian navy. This was done, and the ships were sent to the seat of war. At the same time, in October, 1817, the Russian overnment Instructed ite ambassador in ondon to press on the British government the great importance of European interven- tion. President Monroe decided, as early as April, 1818, to discourage European media- tion.” In August. he made_a formal pro- posal to the British and French govern- ments for a concerted and contemporary recognition of Buenos Ayres, whose de facto !ndependence made that country the natural object of a first step toward the ablishment of a general policy. In De- cember he notified both governments that he had patiently waited without interfering in the policy of the allies, but as they had rot agreed upon anything, and as the fact of the independence of Buenos Ayres ap- peared established, he thought that recog- nition-was necessary. In Janvary, 1819, he announced to them that he was actually considering the measure. ‘Thus all parties had agreed as early as 1817 and 181 upor. the propriety of inter- vention between Spain and her colonies. Both the United States and Europe asserted that the time had come—they disagreed oniy 2s to the mode. When Lord Castlereagh, at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, in October, 1818, proposed to the four ether powers “to intervene in the war between Spain and her Americen colonies by addressing offers ot mediation to the two belligerents,” Russis erergetically opposed and rejected scheme, not because it was in{ervention, but apparently because it was mediation, and to. that extent recognized rights in the insurgents. President Monroe's Fiat. When President Monroe interposed his flat, that no Interference could be counte- nanced by him except on the basis of inde- pendence, he dictated in advance the only mode of intervention which he meant to permit. If he waited before carrying it out, It was only degause, in the actual balance of European and American power, he felt that isolated action might injure the cause he had determined to help. He waited in vain. Neither England nor any ot’ er power moved again. After « delay of tour years from the time wien he began his policy, the Greek revolt in Europe and the military successes of Bolivar and Iturbide in Amer- ica gave the desired opportunity, and Mon- roe sent to Congress his celebrated message of March 8, 1822, recommending the recog- nition of all the revolted colonies of Spain, Mexico. Colombia, Chile and Buenos Ayres. These countries asked more. They based their claim on their independence de facto, and Monroe admitted its force. ‘The prov- inces,” he said, ‘which have declared their independence, and are in the enjoyment of It, ought to be recognized.’” He added that “the measure is proposed under a thorough conviction that it is in strict accord with the law of natio! In reality, it created the law, so far as its action went, and its legality was recognized by no European power. ‘ Nevertheless, Monroe's act, which extin- guished the last hopes of the Holy Alliance in America, produced the deepest sensation among European conservatives, and gave to the United States extraordinary consid- eration. England used it as a weapon at the congress of Verona to threaten the other powers when they decided on inter- vention in Spain. Slowly Canning came wholly over to the side of Monroe,; as France and Austria forced his hands’ in Spain. : 4 ‘The principle thus avowed by Canning added little to the European law of inter- vention, but the principles avowed by Mon- roe created an entire body of American ju- risprudence. As an isolated act it meant little; but in Monroe's view it was not’an isolated act; it w part of a system alto- gether new, and wholly American. Monroe lost no time in doubts or hesitations. In his annual message of December, 182%, he announced the principle (the Monroe doc- trine) that the new nations which his act alone had recognized as independent were by that act placed outside of the European system, and that the United States would regard any attempt to extend that system among them as unfriendly to the United States. From that day to this the Ameri- can people have always, and unanimously, supported and approved the Monroe doc- urine. They needed no reasoning to prove that it was vital to their safety. Within chat range, President Monroe at- tempted to build up an American system. He disclaimed the right or the intention to Interfere with actual European possessions in America, so tong as these communities were contented to remain European; but he claimed and exercised, under the broad- est principle, the right to intervene in favor of communities that plainly displayed their wish and their power to be American; and, what was vital to the exercise of his claim, he asserted and used in its fullest extent the right to judge, for himself, and finally, both as to “time and mode'’—both when and how—any particular community proved its will and its right to claim admission into the American system. Against the op- position of all Europe, and at the risk of many and serious embarrassments, Mon- roe took and successfully held ground which his successors have struggled, with varying fortune, to maintain. The Recognition of Texas. In the case of the recognition of Texas the report quotes from a report made by Mr. Clay, from the Senate committee on foreign relations, which says: “The recognition of Texas as an inde- pendent power may be made by the United States in various ways: First, by treaty; second, by the passage of a law regulating commercial intercourse between the two powers; third, by sending a diplomatic agent to Texas with the usual credentials; or, lastly, by the executive receiving and accrediting a _ diplomatic representative from Texas, which would be a recognition as far as the executive only is competent to make it. In the first and third modes the concurrence of the Senate in its executive character would be necessary, and in the second in its legislative character. “The Senate alone, without the co-opera- tion of some other branch of the govern- ment, {s not competent to recognize the ex- igtence of any power. “The President of the United States, by the Constitution, has the charge of their foreign intercourse. Regularly he ought to take the initiative in the acknowledgment of the independence of any new power, but in this case he has not yet done it, for rea- sons which he, without doubt, deems suffi- cient. If in any instance the President should be tardy, he may be quickened in the exercise of his power by the expres- sion of the opinion, or by other acts, of une or both branches of Congress, as was done in relation to the republics formed cut of Spanish America. But the committee do not think that on this occasion any tardi- ness is justly imputable to the executive. About three months only have clapsed since the establishment of an independent government in Texas, and it is not un- reasonable to wait a short time to sce what its operation will be, and especially whether it will afford those guarantees which for- eign powers have a right to expect before they institute relations with it. “Taking this view of the whole matter, the committee conclude by recommending to the Senate the adoption of the following resolution: “Resolved, That the independence of Texas ought to be acknowledged by the United States whenever satisfactory in- formation shall be received that it has in successful operation a’ civil government, a of performing the duties and ful- filling the obligations of an independent pbwer.”” President Andrew Jackson, in his Texas message of December 21, 1836, said: “In the preamble to the resolution of the House of itatives it is distinctly In- timated that the expediency of recognizing the independence of Texas should be left to the decision of Congress. In this view, on the ground of expediency, I am di to concur, and do not, therefore, consi: epee necessary to express any opinion ax to the strict constitutional right of the executive, either apart from or in conjunction with the Senate over the subject. It 1s to be presumed that on no future occasion will a ‘apprehend so grave a consequence, would vertainly afford the fullest satisfaction to ‘| oir own country, and a perfect guarantee to all other nations of the justice and pru- Gence of the measures which might be adopted.” The initiative thus asserted by Congress and conceded by President Jackson to Con- gress in the case of the recognition of Texas was followed in the case of Hungary by President Taylor, which authorized his agent to invite the’ revolutionary govern- ment of Hungary to send to the United States a diplomatic representative, since the President entertained no doubt that, in Such case, at the next meeting of Congress, “her independence would be speedily recog- nized by that enlightened body.” Until now no further question has been raised in regard to the powers of Congress. So much space has been taken by this historical summary that the case of Texas must be passed over without further notice, and the cases of Haiti and Santo Domingo may be set aside as governed by peculiar influences. The re shows that in every instance. except Poland, down to 1850. where any people has claimed independence by right of revolt, the right of interyention has been exercised against the will of one or the other party to the dispute. In every instance the only question that has dis- turbed the intervening powers has regarded neither th> right nor the policy so much as the “time and mode” of action. The only difference between the European and Amer- {can practice was that the United States aimed at moderating or restricting the ex- treme license of European intervention, and this was the difference which brought the United States nearly into collision with Europe in 1881 and 1862. Lords Palmerston and Russell, as well as Emperor Napoleon ard his ministers, entertained no doubt of their right to intervene even before our civil war had actually commenced, and, ac- cordingly, recognized the insurgent states as belligerents in May, 1861, although no legal question had yet been raised requiring such a decision. The United States govern- ment never ceased to protest with the ut- mcst energy against the act as premature and unjust, and this last and most serious case of interference, in which the United States were concerned as an object of Eu- ropean intervention, revealed the vital ne- ceesity of thelr American system at the same time that it revealed the imminent dangcr of its déstruction. The report then gives the circumstances under which the southern confederacy was recognized, tracing in detail the diplomatic ecrrespondence. Cuba. Into this American system, thus created by Monroe in 1822-3, and embracing then, besides the United States, only Buenos Ayres, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, various other communities have since claimed, and in most cases have received admission, until it now includes all South America, except the Gutanas; all Central America, except the British coiony of Honduras, and the two black republics of Spanish Santo Do- mingo and Haiti in the Antilles. 3 No serious question was again raised with any European power in regard to the tn- surrection or independence of their Ameri- can possessions until in 1869 a rebellion broke out in Cuba, and the insurgents, after organizing a government and declaring their independence, claimed recognition frem the United States. The government of the Unitéd States had always regarded Cuba as within the sphere of its most active and serious interests. As early as 1825, when the newly recognized states of Colombia and Mexico were sup- posed to be preparing an expedition to revo- lutionize Cuba and Porto Rico, the United States government interposed its. friendly offices with those governments to request thelr forbearance. The actual condition ot Spain seemed to make her retention of Cuba tn-pessible, in which case the United States would ‘have been obliged, for their own safety, to prevent the island from fall- Ing Into the -hands of-a stronger power in Europe. That this emergency did net occur may’ have been partly due to the right energy with which Monroe announced “our right ard power to prevent it,” and his de- termination to use all the means within his competency “to ghand against and. fore- fend it.” ss This right of Intervention in matters re- lating to the external relations of Cuba, as- serted and exercised seventy years ago, has Leen asserted and exercised at every crisis in -wh:ch the island has been involved. When the Cuban |ingurgents, in 1869, ap- pealed to the United States for recognition, President Grant admitted the justice of the claim, and directed .the minister of the United States at Madrid to interpose our good offices with the Spanish government in order to obtain“by a friendly arrangement the indépendence ofthe island. The story of that intervention is familiar to every member of the Senate; and was made the ‘basis of its regotution last:session, request- ing the Presidefit once more: “‘to interpose his fr endly offices with the Spanish govern- ment for the recognition of the indepen- dence of Cuba.” es The resolution ‘then adopted by Congress was perfectly understood to carry. with it all the consequences which necessarily would follow the rejection by Spain of friendly offices. On this point, the situation needs no further comment. The .action taken by Congress, in the last session, was taken “on great consideration and on just principles,” on a right of intervention exer- clsed twenty-seven years ago, and after a patient delay unexampled in history. ‘The interval of nine months which has elapsed since that action of Congress. has proved the necessity of carrying it out to completion. In the words of the ‘Presi- dent’s annual message: F “The stability two years’ duration has given to the insurrection; the feasibility of its indefinite prolongation in the nature of things, and as shown by past experiences, the uiter ard imminent ruin of the island unless the present strife is speedily com- posed, are, in our opinion, conclusive evi- dence that “the inability of Spain to deal successfully with the insurrection has be- come manifest, and it is demonstrated that her sovereignty is extinct in Cuba for all purpose of its rightful existence; * * * * @ hopeless struggle for its re-establishment has degenerated into a strife which means nothing more than the useless sacrifice of human life, and the utter destruction of the very subject-matter of the confitct.” Although the President appears to have reached a different conclusion from ours, we believe this to be the actual situation of Cuba, and, being unable to see that further delay could lead to any other actior than that which the President anticipates, we agree with the conclusion of the message that, in such case, our obligations to the scvereignty of Spain are “superseded by higher obligations which we can hardly hesitate to recognize and discharge.” On the Basis of Independence. Follcwing closely the action of President Monroe in 1818, Congress has already de- clared in effect its opinion that there can be no rational interference except on the besis of independence. In 1822, as now, but with more force, it was objected, as we have shown, that the revolted states had ro governments to be recognized. Di- visions, and even civil war, existed among the insurgents themselves. ‘Among the Cu- bans no such difficulty is known to exist. In September, 1505, as we know by official documents Inted on the spot, the insur- gent gover nt was regularly organize: a constitution adopted; a president electe: and, in due course, the various branches of admiristration set in motion. Since then, so far as we are informed, this government has continued to perform its functions un- disturbed. On the military side, as we of- ficially know, they have organized, equip- ped and maintained in the field sufficient forces to baffle the+exertions of 200,000 Spanish soldiers. Om: the civil side, they have organized thetr system of administra- ton in every province, for, as we know officially, they “roamint will over at least two-thirds of the inland country.” Diplo- matically, they have’maintained a regular- ly accredited representative in the United States for the past gear, who has never to ask recdgmition and to offer all possible informattohi 8 There is no reason to suppose that airy ‘Bortion of the Cuban people would be aw: by our recog- nizing their representative in this country, or that they disagree’in the earnest wish for that recognitiowi« Fhe same thing could hardly be said of’™il {the countries recog- inzed by Monroe in* Greece had no such stability whén?f was recognized by England, Russia -ard:France. Belgium had nothing of the sort'when she was recog- nized by all the fowers in “1830. Of the ®y'the treaty of Berlin, 1878, we need hardly say more than that. tuated by an earnest wish to avoid the danger of seeming to provoke conflict. ‘The practice of Europe in regard to in- tervention, as in the instances cited, has been almost invariably harsh and oppres- sive. The practice of the United States has been almost invariably mild and forbear- ing. Among the precedents which have been so numerously cited, there can be no doubt as to the choice. The most moderate is the best. Among these, the attitude taken by President Monroe in 1822 is the only attitude which can properly be re- garded as obligatory for a similar situation today. The course pursued by the United States in the recognition of Colombia is the only course which Congress can consistent- ly adopt. Mr. Morgan’s A@diti: A report presenting additional views on the Cuban question was presented to the Senate today by Senator Morgan of Ala- bama in behalf of himself and Senator Mills. It indorses Senator Cameron's views, and discusses the action of the committee on -foreign relations in 1859 on the bill to facilitate the acquisition of the Island of Cuba. The report reviews the alleged mis- government of Cuba and messages of for- mer Presiderts or the subject, then re- fers to President Cleveland’s attitude, whose message, it affirms, is in corrobora- tion of all former testimony on the sub- ject. The President, it continues, has laid the question before Congress without any recommendation, leaving to Congress the duty of making provision for the security and rights of United States citizens in Cuba and enforcing the right of indemnity in behalf of legal successors of those who have been killed there. It say: a but he has refrained from saying that d lay is required by our national honor or py the interests of humanity.” The report takes exception to the cha! acterization of Spain as the “mother coun- try of Cuba” in a former Senate report, but contends that on the contrary she :s “only a cruel stepmother, whose introduc- tion into the Cuban family has been the immediate cause of robbery of the step- children of their inheritance and their cruel pergecution to keep down revolt.” . He characterizes the present conflict as “a war of extermination” and says no limit can be anticipated to Spain’s “excessive and inhuman abuses of power.” Continuing the Senator argues that the President recognizes that the present war is for independence and not for the grati- fication of personal ambition. He says that Senor Estranda Palma, the accredited rep- resentative .of Cuba to the United States, 8r pears to have informally received for the purpcse of presenting Cuba’s claims to our government, and on the 7th of December, 1895, he sent an official note to the State Depertment explaining his mission, as- sertirg that the issue was that of “the in- dependence or the extermination of the Cvbars, and giving the reasons upon which the Cubans based their revolution.” Concluding, Senator Morgan says: “The message of Mr. Cleveland, who has no aversion to Spanish rule in Cuba, confirms in all important statements the truth of the charges made by Mr. Palma. The only difference in the situation in Cuba, as it i: described in the President's message of 1896, is that as time has progressed the wrongs of Cuba have been aggravated, and the means of repression employed by Spain have grown into a war against humanity, a war of annihilation of property and the extermination of the native population. “If the firm purpose of our predecessors to put an end to this condition of affairs in Cuba in the comparatively mild form of tyranny that existed fifty years ago had degenerated into doubts and misgivings as to our duty to our own people and the de- mands of Christian civilization, but the re- sponsibility for this lapse from the true spirit of American liberty and our love of home rule and independence rests where it justly belongs, and not upon the Deovie through the indifference to their will on the part of their Representatives in Congress.” ——_—__-e~. RACE WITH A BLACKSNAKE. A Story Told to Appreciative Groups at Snicker’s G: One day during the summer several natives, as well as a few “boardin’ men,” Were amusing themselves by telling tall stories in the post office at Snicker’s Gap. While so engaged Old Man Nubbins drop- ped in, chewing tobacco like a threshing machine, as usual. He listened awhile. and, finally, after copious expectorations, asked, “Ever hear about Busby's race with a black snake?” Now, Old Nubbins had a local reputation as a yarn-spinner to be upheid, and, al- though the story was familiar enough to some, there was a chorus of “No; tell us about it.” The patriarch chuckled at the reminis- cence, and went on: “Busby lived ‘bout five mile up the pike, and a good bit of is lard was along the foot of the mountain. He used to pastur his horses in a field right along there, which was separated from his house by two other fields, though he always druv the animals along the pike to ge: 'em in and out the pasturage. Well, str, he was the 'feardest man of a snake I cver hear of. Seems that he had a bad scare from one when he was a boy, and he never could git over his feelin’ of horror at th> sight of ‘em. An’ he always kep’ out their ‘way—when he could,” and the old man shook. with the laugh he couldn't keep down. “What happened to him, Mr. Nubbins?” asked the dude, much ‘nterested. After recourse to the spittvon, the nar- rator continued: “One Sunday evenin’ after supper he went over to the field .o gi: one of the team, as he was goin’ to the meetin’ some miles up further. The sun had got behind the Blue Ridge, and it was a sort of twilight where the horse was. After chas- in’ him about a bit, Busby was just guin’ to round him up, when he heard a rustle behind him. He giv’ a quick glance back, and there was a big black snake a-rearin® up and almost on him. Well, sir, Rusby let out a yell that most scared the old nag to death, and took out across the “eld like @ quarter horse. “Over the fence he fairly flew, and, as he made the jump, he saw out the corner of his eye that turrible snake right him. Gentlemen, Busby wasn’t a young man, but he burnt the wind, I tell you. He tuk the second fence with only one hand touchin’, and he went across this field only hittin’ the high places, and every time ne cut a quick glance behine him, there was Mr. Snake right with him. “Busby was praying as he made the last fence, and when he went over it he struck the groun’ a-runuin’, but the snake was still with him. Busby was beginnin’ to giv’ out, and he thought if he could unly reach the porch the pesky thing would leave him, but he stumbled and fell, and the last thing he see before hittin’ the groun’ was thar dig black snake, and he felt it fall across him —as big as a fence rail it seemed to him. Busby closed his eyes, broke out in a cold sweat, and held his breath, waiting for the bite, but, as he felt none, re cautiously opened his eyes and looked at the snake. ‘Then he-set up quick and began to beat at it like as if his arms was fiails, al) the time a-cussin’ most shameful.” Old Nubbins couldn't go on for laughing, or maybe he was slyly holding the denoue- ment just out of reach, in order to arouse his listeners to a fever heat. It did the last, anyway, and the dude asked eagerly, “Did he kill the snake, Mr. Nubbins?” “Naw,” chuckled the raconteur: “he called his boy to bring out the gun and shoot his fool head off, cause he had all the time bin runnin’ away from the bridle hang- ing on his shoulder.” ee “ Wagsish Lawyers, From the Hartford Times, One of our most popular and highly es- teemed judges was seated in a bootblack’s chair at the corner of Trumbull and Pratt streets a day or two ago when two mem- bers of the bar, who are as well known for their genial wit and brightness of repartee as they are for their acumen and effec- tiveness in cross-examination, approached the judge, whose shoes were taking on a icoky shine at, tne wie rota manne ee the shoeblac! “The judge is now on the bench that he adorns,” remarked the wag on whose shoul- ders the judicial ermine had once rested so fully to his companion. ‘ll repeat that to him when we get up,” remarked the other, showing his apprecia- Fine more ACCEPTABLE LEATHER. g Sterling Silver-mourted Cro Sticks os veseseeessee $1.50 UD Leather-mounted Flasks... 75¢- up Drinking Cups, in Leather Case. 50C. Up 25c. up ++ $2.75 up GOSSHS DDOSO SSS SOSOIVOHOSISOS DOWN FROM A BALLOON. A Parachatist Tells of His Daring Adventures. From the Cincinnat! Commercial Tribane. Edward Baltz of Buffalo is a famous parachutist. He is twenty-eight years oid, small of stature, weighs about 120 pounds, and appears to be a bunch of muscles and nerves. He talks very modestly of his aerial adventures, not at all boastingly or with vanity. His dangerous work brings him an income of $300 to $00 a week, and it is estimated that he has earned between $0,000 and $75,000 by his flights into cioudland. “The sensation of going up in a balloon,” he says, “is rather peculiar, and different from what most people imagine it to be, for instead of experiencing the sensation of being dragged through space, you feel that you are stationary, and that the earth itself is failing away from you. The earth appears to be floatir.g, the atmosphere be- comes lighter ard more exhilarating, the trees and other objects rapidly become specks; but about that time I haven't much time to make close observations of what the inhabitants look like at long range. “My sole thoughts then are about my balloon, parachute, and how to get back upon the earth without getting injured or killed. “For the first 500 or 1,000 feet up I im- agine the ascent must be at a velocity equal to a mile or two a minute. “My first parachute jump was in Ken- tucky, Baldwin tried it successfully. “One of the liveliest adventures I ever had was at Carolina Beach, about fifteen miles from Wilmington, N. C., a few years ago. There was a good breeze blowing up abcve, and after I was up about a mile my balloon drifted out over the ocean. I fell into the ocean with my parachute, about a mile off the shore, near the fishing banks. Fortunately, lam a good swimmer, and as the sea was calm, I managed to swim ashore. “Some men came to my rescue in a boat, and I sent them after my balloon and para- chute, which were drifting out to sea. “Oh, I don’t know that it requires much nerve to drop with a parachute, but it does require a cool head and close attention. A number of fatalities have occurred which, in my judgment, were due to carelessness and lack of judgment. “Some parachutists Take a drink of whisky or wine to steady their nerves just before they go up, but I never do, nor do I take any stimulants of any kind for several hours before making a trip. I attribute a number of accidents to this bad practice of drinking before going up. “While I was at Celoron, N. Y., I had a little mishap which came near ending my career. I was over the lake, and my para- chute came down over the water, not a great distance from the shore. About ten feet above the water I left my seat on the trapeze bar on the descending parachute and jumped into the lake. The water was not much over my head, but I stuck in the mud at the bottom of the lake, and had a desperate struggle for my life. I was near- ly gone before help reached me, as in try- ing to extricate myself from the mud I swallowed a great deal of water and was pretty well exhausted. I thought my time had surely come. “When I cut loose I am firmly seated on the trapeze bar, and my arms are stretched out, my hands firmly grasping the ring atove. Then I release the cord, and away I go toward the earth at a frightful pace, but it gradually but quickly lessens till the parachute is widespread, and then the downward speed is rapid but regular, and the sensation of falling is lost. “A parachute like mine, which is about fifteen feet in diameter, reaches the earth at a speed equal to that of a jump of three feet. For instance, stand on a table and jump to the floor, and then you'll know the Lined of speed I acquire in getting back to ind. “In landing, I can best liken it to the feat of jumping from a car going at a mod- erate rate of speed. You've got to be lively on your feet, or you'll go rolling over and over. “I don’t care how strong the wind blows above, but when it blows heavy on land it is hard to inflate the balloon without ignit- ing it. I use a balloon 75 feet high and 50 feet in diameter, pear-shaped, and made of Irish linen, with strong seams and without the usual’ network of cords surrounding ordinary balloons, and am very careful about it. “Several times my balloon has caught fire from the blaze beneath it just as 1 cried ‘Let go!’ and I was forced to jump with the parachute at a short distance, but, of course, I'd go up far enough to insure the opening of the parachute before striking the earth. As a matter of fact, I have to my eyes on the balloon in going up, as | keep it might collapse befcre 1 could cut loose if I were not watching it. “Sometimes holes unexpectedly appear in the balloon, and then I’ve got to look out for a sudden collapse of my carrying agent. After I cut loose, the large balloon, owing to its being top-heavy, overturns and emits the hot air and then rapidly falls to the earth. On Thursday many people thought the falling balloon would strike my para- chute and destroy me, but in reality it passed more than 1,000 feet beyond me. If it should come dangerously close, I could shift the parachute gnd sail away from it. It seldom comes within 100 feet of me. “That day I landed on top of a tree, and I had to swing with one hand from the —- ring while I smashed the from the tree with the iron bar of my trapeze to allow the parachute to land.” - eee Prodigal Son. was that containing the parable of the Prodigal son. Uncle Moses set forth the career of the prodigal with interpolations of his own intended to press home the les- pees egg oy ep ge ony “Now, listen, ”" he said. “Here dis young man, afer havin’ spent all he owed and be didn’t have nuffin’ more to buy him @ plece of co’n bread, he went and et up dem husks dat de pigs done lef’. An’ he didn’t like um, an’ he went an’ sol’ his coat, — and sol’ his vest, an’ at in 1886, within a few weeks after | ie Leather Goods or Xmas Gifts. Were you to hunt the city over—you would not find anything more USEFUL—more TASTEFUL — than something in FINE We have innumerable NOV.ELTIES—for Ladies, Men and Boys—many of them out of the “ordinary” —which, you know, are always sought after. Here are a few suggestions: 50c. to $3.50 | Enelish Riding Bridies... Polished Steel Spurs, per pair... $1.25 up | "Every article is a BIG bargain—many others equally inviting—come before the choicest are sold. 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