Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, December 12, 1896, Page 6

Che Herald. BY E. C. KILEY. GRAND RAPIDS, - MINNESOTA —EeSSS55°q0RqR. ‘A woman wants to change her name. She has been married, and wants her maiden name again. She might have let it alone in the first place. After reading the report of the latest sensational divorce suit in English high society, one feels like relaxing a little on the late Oscar Wilde. France is watching the powers that are recetving Mr. and Mrs. Duke of Orleans as crowned heads. The royal waiting room at the Brussels depot was closed against them. ‘A man died in New York from “nasal hemorrhage.” It Jooked like a case of old-fashioned nose-bleed, but the physi- cian’s charge was fixed on a “nasal hemorrhage” basis. The Louisville man who sold his mother’s grave “has conferred upon Kentucky the unenviable distinction of having the meanest man that has been unearthed up to this time. His name ts Harper. A legislator named Timberlake, in Georgia wants to make the wearing of bloomers a misdemeanor. A photo- graph of Mr. Timberlake’s mind would probably disclose a good many things more shocking than bloomers. Chicago has one building, known as the Greer Tree Inn, which has reached the venerable age, for Chicago, of six- ty-three years. ‘The local historical so- ciety has been advised to buy and pre- serve the interesting relic of antiquity. The Glasgow Sabbath School union has, during the last ten years, become a very powerful body, aud now counts in its membership over 10,000 Sunday school teachers. At its annual meeting the other day over 4,000 persons were present. M. Combes, vicar-rector of the Paris Faculty of Science and a chemist of note, recently dropped dead from his bicycle while coasting down the Ave- aue Malakoff. The doctors attribute bis death to augina pectoris. Prussia’s high executioner, Herr Rein- del, being about to retire, hundreds of applicants for his position have ap- peared. He gets $37 for each execu- tion and his traveling expenses. A doctor in the highlands of Scot- land, whose patients are scattered over a wide district, takes carrier pigeons with him on his rounds, and sends his prescriptions by them to the apothe- cary. He leaves pigeons, too, with dis- tant families, to be let loose when his services are needed. A man who committed suicide in Chicago by taking laudanum, started out to record his sensations for the benefit of medical science, but failed to accomplish much, as, after a short time, his record becaine an illegible scrawl. He succeeded in taking his life, but medical science is in no way benefitted by the experiment. American football players in the Cu- ban army are reported to be carrying everything before them, and are win- ning golden opinions from the Cubans. As training schools for war, our col- leges may be building better than they know. A football player in full rega- lia looks much more dangerous than a dynamite gun. Moritz Rosenthal, the brilliant young pianist, wore no underflannels in Bos- ton, and nearly died of influenza in consequence. If this is an adyertise- ment, we advise the young Hungarian to try a less heroic one next time, espe- cially as his having made a tour of the country some years ago deprives him of the excuse of not knowing that our winter climate is loaded. An immense rink of artificial ice was opened to skaters the other day in Lon- don. It is the property of the Princess club, one of the most aristocratic clubs in England, and will be used only by the members and their friends. Ad- miral Moxse, the president of the club, who is said to be the originator of the scheme, has taken for his model the Pole Nord of Paris. Dr. Heber Robarts of St. Louis, who has been experimenting upon the blind with the X rays, has succeeded in caus- ing a man whose eyeballs are entirely gone ,to notice a light and to detect the movement of a shadow. Dr. Robarts says: “The retina is not essential to sight. The X ray has pierced to the sight-center, and the latter is respond- ing to the sensatior.’ * It is pleasant to hear that the joint congressional library committee has absolved Librarian Spofford from all moral blame in cornection with the tangled condition of the accounts in his department. The complication has jbeen straightened out, and trouble will ‘be prevented in future by providing ihim with additional bookkeeping serv- lice. A registrar of copyright will no » doubt be appointed. PITH vl THE NEWS. —_ EVENTs JF THE PAST WEEK IN A ‘ CONDENSED FORM. A General Resume of the Most Im- portant News of the Week, From all Parts of the Globe, Boiled Down and Arranged in Con- venient Form for Rapid Per- usal by Busy People. Washington Talk. Consul Ridgely at Geneva in a re- port to the state department saye there is a small demand in Geneva for Amer- ican tin plate, more especially for@he raw material packed in boxes, also for block sheets packed in bundles. Good effects from the recent elec- tions in the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indian Nations in Indian Territory, which resulted favorably to the friends of allotment, are predicted in the an- nual report made to the Indian bureau by Agent Wisdon, in charge of the Union agen People in Print. It is said that President Cleveland ay become a dean in Princeton uni- versity. Rey. J. Morganwell of the First Bap- tist church died at Fort Worth, Tex., of apoplex, He was one of the lead- ing ministers of Texas. George Y. Coffin, who made a reputa-* tion as one of the best of American cartoonists, through his work n the Washington Post, is dead. Henry E. Abbey, the New York ope- ratie manager, left a personal estate of $200 and no real estate, according to a petition his widow filed asking for letters of administration. Her applica- tion was granted. Joseph H. Choate is a candidate for the United States senate. His ffiends have made him so, and he has said to them that he will not repudiate any honorable efforts made in his behalf, even if success should not crown them. G. W. Emery, secretary of the Re- publican county committee, is in a critical condition at Hancock, Mich., with diphtheria. There are several adults who have died with the disease in Hancock. Thirteen signed letters from George Washington to Arthur Young, the agri- culturist, dated from 1786 to 1798, on farms in America, were sold at auction at Rothebys, Eng. After some smart bidding the documents were sold for £470 ($2,350). Mrs. M. C. Pruett of Kinmundy, Il., has received notice that by the recent death of her grandfather, Jeremiah Dual, at New York city, she’ has fallen heir to his entire estate, valued at $40,000. Accidental Happenings. John Barker of New Orleans while out hunting overturned his skiff and being wet froze to death. Zenas Varney’s carriage factory at St. Louis was destroyed by fire. Loss, $100,000. John Opie, part owner of the Puzzler mine, on Straub mountain, Colorado, was killed by falling down the shaft 120 feet. Four persons were killed at Nanterre, France, as the result of a boiler ex- plosion in a carbon factory. The dam- age was about $100,000. The British steamer Mayfield, Capt. Fargher, from Penarth, Nov. 10, for Galveston, in ballast, ran ashore on El- bow reef, Key West, Fla. Engineer Bennett and Driver Walter Stevens of the fire department of Evy- erett, Mass., were killed while respond- ing to an alarm of fire. The fire en- gine was struck by a locomotive. News reached Perry, Okla., of a de- structive cyclone at Ralston, a small town on the Arkansas river, fifty miles from Perry. A woman and two chil dren were killed. Fire which originated from a lamp explosion entirely destroyed Works No. 2 of the Variety Iron company,’ Cleve- land, Ohio. The loss will be between $40,000 and $50,000. East -bound train No. 4, Chesapeake &° UOhio, caught a buggy at the first street crossing at Concord, Ky., atid instantly killed Al Pollock, a young lawyer, and Misses Lulu and Lizzie Lind, daughters of the proprietor o: the Lind hotel. : Two men were killed and two others seriously injured by the giving way of a dump cart at the extension of the wheel pit tunnel. The men were pre- cipitated down the hole. This makes five deaths inside of two weeks on this piece of work. Fire in the four-story building at 747 Broadway. New York, did $100,000 worth of damage to the structure and its contents. The fire started in the basement, which, with the ground floor, is occupied by the R. Rothschilds’ Sons company, manufacturers of bar fixtures and billiard tables. At South Haven, Mich., the steamer City of Kalamazoo, owned by the H. W. Williams Transfer company, took fire and is almost a total loss. Robert Van Ostrander of this place and Joseph Land of Covert, who were on the boat. were overcome by smoke and burned to death. William and Patrick Barry, farmers, residing six miles south of Harvard, IIL, in the absence of their mother, de- cided to cook flour gravy. They found a saucer that contained ficur, and used it, not knowing that strychnine had been mixed with it b ytheir mother to kill rate. Two hired men and a neph- ew joined them at dinner. Shortly af- terward all were taken violently ill, ane ae probable that three of the five will die. Crimes and Criminals. Edward T. Burke, mayor of Raw- lins, Wyo., has been arrested for pass- ing worthless checks. Henry Powers, the insane farmer of Marion, Ohio, shot his wife through the head ard then killed himself. Edward Armbruster, aged sixty-five, an old soldier, until recently in the Dayton, Ohio, soldiers’ home, commit- ted suicide with Paris green. Horace L, Stearns, ex-mayor of Per- rysville, Ohio, and very highly respect- ed, was murdered by Elias Keyster, who had quarreled with him. Expert cracksmen blew the big safe open in the jewelry store of H. Hirsch- burg in Omaha recently ed got away with $5,000 in diamonds and cash. Heziah Christ, a pioneer of Pettis county, Missouri, committed suicide by shooting himself through the head with a revolver. Clara Fisher, a beautiful novice in a conyent, tempororily at home in Hamburg, Ohio, convalescing from an attack of typhoid fever, which had unbalanced her mind, hanged herself. P. J. Kelly, a San Jose, Cal., jeweler, locked his wife and children into a room and attempted to kill them. He succeeded in fatally wounding himself and his wife. At Cincinnati, Ohio, 2 charge of mur- der has been placed against William YFurre}l and Pat Muldoon, who claimed to have discovered Thomas Joy at Muldoon’s door, just after ie had been fatally shot. Deputy United States Marshal Mc- Glynchy of New Mexico has had a fight with Black Jack’s bandits, killing the notorious Bab Hayes and wounding George Musgrove, alias Jeff Davis, who escaped. ‘Thomas Joy, known as “Tonfe” Joy, and well known in sporting circles, died at the hospital in Cincinnati. He was murdered. Some one shot him during the night, but Joy never re- gained consciousness. Burglars entered the national bank at Belleville, Kan., and blew off the heavy front door of the vault with dy- namite, but failed to get into the mon- ey safe. Quite a sum of money and di- amonds belonging to private parties were taken from outside drawers. Henry Lawrence, alias Lemmen, has finished a six-months’ term in the cen- tral prison at Toronto, Ont., but was immediately rearrested at the request of the police officials of Detroit, Mich., for robbing a jewelry store in that city. Ed Mosely, who has been in the peni- tentiary thirteen years for murder, has been pardoned by Gov. Morrill of Kan- sas. Mosely and his mother, Mrs. Mar- tin, were convicted in Lyon county of murdering an old woman, Mrs. Lucin- da Welsh, in 1883 for her money. Mrs. Martin died soon after being taken to prison. From Foreign Shores. The body of the late President Bal- maceda was buried in the cemetery at Santiago, Chile. Advices received from Bolivia con- firm the report that a hitch has oc- curred between Bolivia and the Argen- tine limit commission. Hon. A. G. Blair, the Canadian min- ister of railroads, will visit the British Columbia mining regions in the inter- est of a proposed railroad. - The authorities have arrested fifty persons in connection with the social- ist demonstration and rioting of yes- terday at Carmeaux. In spite of official denials there are persistent rumors circulating in the Spanish capital of the existence of a cabinet crisis. Owing to lack of work several ware- house companies at Hamburg have been obliged to suspend operations. ‘There are now 13,000 men out on a strike. At a meeting of the royal society at’ London, medals were presented to Prof. Roentgen, for his ray discoveries, and to Prof. Moissau for his discovery of the isolation of the element fluorine. Gen. Diaz took the oath of office as chief magistrate of Mexico in the hall of the chamber of deputies in the pres- ence of a great assemblage of notable people. The French army committee, in spite of the opposition of the government has resolved to adhere to its decision placing the French colonial forces un- der control of the minister of war. Count Finckenstein, an intimate friend of Emperor-~William, has been found mortally wounded in the woods on his estate at Malitz near Briesen. The count is supposed to have been killed by poachers. The burgomaster and sheriffs of Brussels have resigned owing to the adoption by the communal council of a proposal fixing the minimum wage of communal employes at 3 frances per day. In the Italian chamber of deputies the premier, the Marquis di Rudini, in presenting a bill providing for a grant of 20,000,000 lire to the Prince of Na- ples, the heir apparent, who had just been married to the Princess Helene of Montenegro, said that King Humbert had decided to reimburse the treasury an equal amount from the civil list. This announcement was greeted with loud cheering. Otherwise. St. Louis citizens have appointed a Cuban relief committee. The Bethlehem Steel company got a large contract for finishing steel gun forgings. The Ohio Steel company at Youngs- twon, Ohio, started its large plant to- day ,and it is expected it will run steadily until the holidays. ie Mrs. Rosa Gerson, who conducts one of the largest retail millinery stores in Philadelphia, confessed judgment amounting to $89,000. United States Circuit Judge Gilbert of Portland, Or., yesterday granted the petition of A. F. Burleigh for his dis- charge as receiver of the Northern Pacific railroad . The First regiment, Illinois national guards, will march in the inaugural parade on March 4. Their place in the procession will be near the presi- dent’s personal escort. Packer colltery No. 5 at Park Place, Pa., owned by the Lehigh Coal com- pany, close down to-day for an in- definite period, presumably for repaizs. Fight hundred men and’ boys are thus thrown out of employment. Isaac Swope & Co., manufacturers of watch movements and jewelry, New York, confessed judgment for $7,390. The total liabilities are estimated at $75,000; nominal assets of $50,000. The firm has a branch house in St. Louis. Elias Hartzle, one of the wealthiest and most respected farmers of Le Grange, Ind., was found dead in a small corn crib at the rear end of his farm. Mr. Hartzle was a very eccen- tric old man and lived alone in a very small hovse. | TALKS TO CONGRESS. PRESIDENT CLEVELAND SENDS IN HIS LAST ANNUAL MESSAGE, The Affairs of the®Government and the Workings of the Various De- partments Reviewed—The Cuban Question Discussed at Length—Reforms in the Financial System Are Urged. Are Washington, Dec. 7.—The Message to the Congress of the United States: As repre- sentatives of the people in the legislative branch of their government, you have as- sembled at a time when the strength and excellence of our free institutions and the fitness of our citizens to enjoy popular rule have been again made manifest. A polit- ical contest involving momentous conse- quences, fraught with feverish apprehen- sion, and creating aggressiveness so in- tense as to approach bitterness has been waged throughout our land and determined by the decree of free and independent suffrage, without disturbance of our tran- quility of the least sign of weakness in our national structure. When we consider these incidents and con- template the peaceful obedience and manly submission which have succeeded a heated clash of political opinions, we discover abundant evidence of a determination on the part of our countrymen to abide by evvery verdict of the popular will, and to be controlled at all times by an abiding faith in the agencies established for the direction of the affairs of their government, Thus our people exhibit a patriotic disposi- tion which entitles them to demand of those who undertake to make and execute their laws such faithful and unselfish scrv- ice m their behalf as can only be prompted by a serious appreciation of the trust and confidence which the acceptance of public duty invites. TURKEY ON TOAST. The Massacre of Armenians is De- nounced in no Uncertain Terms. In obedience to a constitutional require- ment I hereby submit to the congress cer- tain information concerning national affairs with the suggestion of such legislation as in my judgment is necessary and expedient. To secure brevity and avoid tiresome nara- tion I shall omit many details concerning matters within federal control which by no means unimportant are more profitably discussed in department reports. I shall also further curtail this communication by omitting a mitute recital of many minor incidents connected with our foreign rela- tions which have heretofore found a place in executive messages but ure not contained in a report of the treasury of state which is herewith subinitted. At the outset of a reference to the more mportant matters not effecting our relations with foreign powers, it would afford me satisfaction if I could assure the congress that the disturbed condition in Asiatic Turkey had during the past year assumed & Jess hideous and bloody aspect, and that cither as a consequence of the awakening of the Turkish government to the demand of humane civilization, or as the result of decisive action on the part of the great nations having the right by treaty to inter- fere for the protection of those exposed to the rage of mad bigotry and cruel fanati- cism, the shocking features of the situation had been mitigated. Instead, however, of welcoming a softened disposition or pro- tective intervention, we have been af- flicted by continued and not infrequent re- ports of the wanton destruction of homes and the bloody butchery of men, women and children, made martyrs to their pro- fession of Christian faith. Several naval vessels are stationed in the Mediterranean aos a measure of caution and to furnish all possible relief and refuge in case of emergency. We have made claims against the Turkish government for the pillage and destruction of missionary prop- erty at Harpoot and Marash during up- risings at those places. ‘Thus far the valid- ity of these demands has not been ad- mitted, though our minister, prior to such rages and in anticipation of danger, de- manded protection for the persons and property of our missionary citizens in the localities mentioned, and notwithstanding that strong evidence exists of actual com- plicity of Turkish troops in the work of destruction ond robbery. The facts as they now appear do not permit to doubt the justice of these claims and nothing will be omitted to bring about their prompt, set- tlement. I do not believe that the present sombre prospect in Turkey will be long permitted to offend the sight of christendom. It so mars the humene and enlightened clviliza- tion that belongs-to the close of the nine- teenth century that it seems hardly possible that the earnest demand of good people throughout the Christian world for its eor- rective treatment will remain unanswered. —o— AS TO CUBA. Should Spain Be Unable to Conquer, America May Act. ‘The insurrection in Cuba still continues, with all its perplexities. It is difficult to perceive that any progress has thus far been made toward the pacification of the island or that the situation of affairs as de- picted in my last annual message is In the least tmproved. If Spain still holds Hav- ana and the seaports, and all the considera- ble towns, the Insurgents still roam at will over two-thirds of the Inland country; if the determination of Spain to put down the Insurrection seems but to strengthen with the lapse of time, and is evinced by her unhesitating devotion of largely-in- creased military and naval forces to the task, there is much reason to believe that the insurgents have gained in point of numbers, character and resourees, and are none the less inflexible in their reselve not to succumb without practically securing the great ebjects for which they took up arms. If Spain has not yet re-established her au- thority, neither have the insurgents yet made good their title to be regarded as an independent state. Indeed, as the contest goes on, the pretense that civil government exists on the island, except so far as Spain is able to maintain It, has been practically abandoned. Spain does keep on foot such a government, more or less imperfectly, but, that exception. being made, the entire coun- try is either given over to anarchy or Is subject to the military occupation of one or the other party. It is reported, indeed, on reliable author- ity, that, at the demand of the commander- in-chief of the insurgent army, the putative Cuban government has now given up all at- tempt to exercise its functions, leaving the government confessedly (what there is the best reason for supposing it always to have been in fact) a government merely on pa- per. Were the Spanish armies able to mect their antagonists in the open or in pitched battle, prompt and decisive results might be looked for, and the immense superiority of the Spanish forces numbers, disci- pline and equipment could hardly fail to tell greatly to their advantage. But they are called upon to face a foe that shuns general , engagements, and that can choose, and does choose, its own ground, that, from the nature of the country is visible or invisible at pleasure, and that fights only from am- buscade and when all the advantages of po- sition and numbers are on its side. In @ country where all that is indispensible to life in the way of food, clothing and shel- ter is so easily obtainable, especially by those born and bred on the soil, it is obvi- ous that there is hardly a limit to the time during which hostilities of this sort may be prolonged. Meanwhile, as in all cases of protracted civil strife, the passions of the combatants grow more and more inflamed, and excess on both sides becomes more fre- quent and deplorable. They are also par- ticipated in by bands of marauders, who now in the name of one party and row in the name of the other, as may best suit the occasion, harry the country at will and plunder its wretched inhabitants for their own advantage. Such a condition of things would inevitably entail immense destruction of property, even if it were the policy of both parties to prevent it as far as prac- ticable. But, while such seems to be the original policy of the Spanish government, it has now, apparently, abandoned it, and is acting upon.the same theory as the in- surgents, namely, that the exigencies of the contest require the wholesale annihila- tion of property, that it may not prove of use and advantage to the enemy. It is to the same end, and in pursuance of general orders, that Spanish garrisons are now being withdrawn from planta- tions and the rural population required to concentrate itself in the towns. The sure result would seem to be that the industrial value of the island Is fast diminishing, and that, unless there is a speedy and radical change in existing conditions, it will soon disappear altogether. That value consists very largely, of course, in its capacity to produce sugar, a capacity already much re- duced by the interruptions to the tillage which have taken place during the last two years, It is reliably asserted that, should these interruptions continue during the current year, and practically extend, as is now threatened, to the entire sugar-produc- ing territory of the island, so much time and so much money will be required to re- store the island to its normal, productive- ness, that it is extremely doubtful if cap - tal can be induced to even make the + tempt. The spectacle of the utter ruin «! an adjoining country, by nature one of tl.: most fertile and charming on the glob. would engage the serious attention of th: government and the people of the Uni'ed States under any circumstances. In point of fact, they have a concern with it which is by no means of 2 wholly sentimental or philanthropic character. It lies so near to us as to be hardly separated from our ter- ritory. Our actual pecuniary interest, in it is only second to that of the people and government of Spain. It Is reasonably estl- mated that at least from $30,000,000 to $50,000,000 of American capital are invested in plantations, and in railroad, mining and other business enterprises in the island. The volume of trade between the United States and Cuba, which in 1889 amounted to about $80,000,000, rose in 1898 to about $103,000,000, and in 1894, the year before the present insurrection broke out, amount- ed to nearly $96,000,000, Besides this large pecuniary stake in the fortunes of Cuba, the United States finds itself Inextricably Invoived in the present contest in other ways both vexatious and costly. Many Cubans reside in this country, and indirectly promote the insurrection throughout the press, by pub- lic meetings, by the purchase and shipmeat of arms, by the raising of funds, and by other means, which the spirit of our in- stitutions and the tenor of our laws do not permit to be made the subject of criminal prosecution, Some of them, though Cubans at heart and in all their feelings and inter- ests, have taken out papers of naturalized citizens of the United States, a proceeding resorted to with a view to possible protec- tion by this government, and not unnatur; ally regarded with much indignation by tre country of their origin. The insurgents are undoubtedly encouraged and supported by the widespread sympathy the people of this country always and instinctively felt for every struggle for better and freer govern- ment, and which in the case of the more adventurous and restless elements of our population leads in only too many instances to active participation in the contest. The result is that this government is constantly called upon to protect American citizens, to claim damages for injuries to persons and property now estimated at many mil- lions of dollars, and to ask explanations and apologies for the acts of Spanish of- ficials whose zeal for the repression of the rebellion sometimes blinds them to the im- munities belonging to the unoffending cit- izens of a friendly power. It follows from the same causes that the United States is compelled to actively police a long line of sea coast against unlawful expeditions, the escape of which the utmost vigilance will not always suffice to prevent. These invariable entanglements o% the United States with the rebellion in (ba, the large American property interests af- fected, and considerations of philanthrophy and humanity in general, have led to 2 vehement demand in various quarters, for some sort of positive intervention on the part of the United States. It was at first proposed that belligerent rights should be accorded to the insurgents—a proposition no longer urged because untimely and in practical operation clearly perilous and in- jurious to our own interest. It has since been and is now sometimes contended that the independence of the insurgents should be recognized. But imperfect and restricted as the Spanish government of the island may be, no other exist there—unless the will of the military officer in temporary com- mand of a particular district, can be dig- nified as a species of government. It is now also suggested that.the United States should buy the island—a suggestion possibly worthy of consideration if there were any evidence of a desire or willingness on the part of Spain to entertain such a proposal. It is urged, finally, that, all other methods fail. ing, the existing internectine strife in Cuba should be terminated by our intervention, even at the cost of a war between the United States and Spain—a war which its advocates confidently prophesy could be neither large in its proportions nor doubtful in its fasue. The correctness of this forecast need be neither affirmed nor denied. The United States has nevertheless a character to main- tain as a nation, which plainly dictates that right and not might shoe!d be the rule of its conduct. Further, though the United States is not a nation to which peace is a necessity, It is in truth the most pacific of powers, and desires nothing so much as to live in amity with all the world, Its own ample and di- versified domains satisfy all possible long- ings for territory, preclude all cre-ms of conquest, and prevent any casting of covet- ous eyes upon neighboring regions, how- ever attractive. That our conduct towards Spain and her dominions has constituted 10 exception to this national disposition is made manifest by the course of our govern- ment, not only thus far during the present insnrrectiou, but during tae ten years that followed the rising at Yara In 1868. No other great power, it may safely be said, under circumstances of similear per- plexity would have manifested the same re- straint and the same patient endurance. It may also be said that this- persistent attitude of the United States towards Spain in connection with Cuba unquestion- ably evinces no slight respect and regard for Spain on the part of the American peo- ple. They, in truth, do not forget her connection with the discovery of the West- ern hemisphere, nor do they under esti- mate the great qualities of the Spanish peo- ple, nor fail to fully recognize their splendid patriotism and their chivalrous devotion to the national honor. They view wita wonder and admiration the cheerful resolution with which vast bodies of men are sent across thousands of miles of ocean and enormous debt accum- ulated that the costly possessions of the gem of the Atilles may still hold its place in the Spanish crown. And if neither the government nor the people of the United States have shut their eyes to the course of events in Cuba or have failed to real- ize the existence of conceded grievances which have led to the present revolt from the authority of Spain—grievances recog- nized by the queen regent and by the cor- tes, voiced by the most patriotic and en- lightened of Spanish statesmen, without re- gard to party and.demonstrated by reforms proposed by the executive and approved by the legislative branch of the Spanish government. It is in the assured temper and disposition of the Spanish government to remedy these grievances, fortified by indications of influential public opinion in Spain, that this government has hoped to discover the most promising and effective means of composing the present strife, with honcr and advantage to Spain, am@ wit ‘the achievement of all the reasonable ob- of the insurrection. iy seem that if Spain should oifer to Cuba genuine autonomy—a measure cf | home rule, which, while preserving the sov- Lereignity of Spain, would satisfy all ra- tional requirements of her Spanish sub- jects—there should be no just reason why the pacification of the island might not be effected on that basis. Such a result would appear to be in the true interest of all concerned, It would at once stop the conflict which is now consuming the re- sources of the island and making it worth- less for whichever party may, ultimately prevail. It would keep intact the posses- sions of Spain without touching her honor, which will be consulted rather than im- pugned by the adequate redress of ad- mitted grievances. It would put the pros~ perity of the island and the fortunes of its- inhabitants within their own control, with~ out severing the natural and ancient ties- which bind them to the mother country, and would yet enable them to test their capacity for self-government under the most favorable conditions. Offers of Intervention Ignored. It has been objected on the one side that Spain should not promise autonomy un- til her insurgent subjects lay down their arms; on the other side, that promised autonomy, however liberal and insufficient, because without assurance of the promise being fulfilled, but the reasonableness of a a requirement by Spain of uncondition; surrender on the part of the insurgent © Dans before their autonomy is conceded, is not altogether apparent. It ignores im- | portant features of the situation—the stabi ity two yeays duration has given to the in- surrection; the feasibility of its indefinite prolongation in the nature of things, and as shown by past experience; the utter and imminent ruin of the island, unless the pres ent strife is speedily composed; above all, the rank abuses which all parties in Spain, all branches of her governments and all her leading public :xen concede to exist and pro- fess a desire to remove. Facing such circumstances, to withhold the profer of needed reforms until the part- fes demanding them put themselves at mercy by throwing down their arms, has the appearance of neglecting the gravest peri and involving suspicion as to the sinceri of any professed willingness to grant re- forms. The objection on behalf of the in- surgents—that promised reforms cannot be relied upon—must be, of course, considered, though we have no right to assume and no reason for assuming that anything Spain un- dertakes to do for the relief of Cuba will not be done according to both the spirit and the letter of the undertaking. Nevertheless, realizing that suspicions and precautions on the part of the weaker of two combatants are always natural, and not always unjustifiable—being sincerely desir- ous in the interest of both as well as on its own account that the Cuban problem should be solved with the least possible delay—it was intimated by this government to the government of Spain some months ago that, if a satisfactory measure of home rule were tendered the Cuban insurgents, and would be accepted by them upon a guaranty of its execution, the United States would endeavor Jo find a way not objectionable to Spuim or furnishing such guaranty. While no definite response to this intima- tion has yet been received from the Span- ish government, it is believed to be not altogether unwelcome, while, as already suggested, no reason is perceived why it should not be approved by the insurgents. Neither party can fail to see the importa of early action and both mast realize tha to prolong the present state of things for even a short period will add enormously to the time and labor and expenditure neces- sary to bring about the industrial recuper: tion of the island. It is therefore earnestly hoped on all grounds that earnest efforts for healing the breach between Spain and the insurgent Cubans upon the lines above indicated may be at once inaugurated and pushed to an immediate and successful is- sue. The friendly offices of the United States, either in the manner above outlined or in any other way consistent with our constitution and laws, will always be at the Gisposal of either party. Whatever circumstances may arise our policy and our Interests would constrain us to object to the acquisition of the island or any interference with its control by any other power. It should be added that it cannot be reasonably assumed that the hitherto expectant attitude of the United States will be indefinitely maintained. While we are anxious to accord all due re- spect to the sovereignty of Spain, we can- not view the pending conflict in all its features, and properly apprehend our in- evitably close relations to it and its possible results, without considering that by the course of events we may be drawn into such an unusual and unprecedented con- dition as will fix a limit to our patient waiting for Spain to end the contest, either alone and in her own way, or with our friendly co-operation. When the inability of Spain to deal successfully with the in- surrection has become manifest, and it is demonstrated that her sovcreignty is ex- tinct in Cuba for all purposes of its right- “ful existence, and when. a hopeless struggle for its re-establishment has degenerated into a strife which means nothing more tban the useless sacrifice of human life and the utter destruction of the very subject matter of the conflict, a situation will be presented in which our obligations to tne aovereignty of Spain will be superseded by higher obligations, which we can hardly. hesitate to recognize and discharge. Deferring the choice of ways and methods upntil the time for action arrives, we should make them depend upon the prec! conditions then existing; and they shou not be determined upon without giving careful heed to every consideration involv- ing our honor and interest, or the inter! national duty we owe to Spain. Until we face the contingency suggested, or the situ ation is by other incidents imperatively’ changed, we shouid continue in the line of conduct -hitherto pursued, thus in alk circumstances exhibiting our obedience to the requirements of public law and our regard for the duty enjoined upon as b; the position we occupy in the family o: nations. . A contémplation of emergencies that may arise should plainly lead us to ayoid thelt creation, either through a careless dis: gard of present duty or even an undw stimulation and illtimed expression of feel ing. But I have deemed it- not amiss. t remind the congress that a time may arise when a correct policy and care for our tg terests as well as a regard for the interest: of other nations and their citizens, joine by considerations of humanity an@ a desi to see a rich and fertile country intimatel, related to us, saved from complete devasta. tion, will constrain our government to such action as will subserve the interests th involved, and at the same time promise t Cuba and its inhabitants an opportunity t enjoy the blessings of peace. ‘ — VENEZUELA BOUNDARY. \ The Trouble Is Regarded as Practic- ally Settled. The Venezuelan boundary question had ceased to be a matter of difference bet petted rant and ane Yaitet States, their ive governments having a; uy the substantial provisions of fay to baal tween Great Britaiy and Venezuela, sub- mitting the whole controversy, to arbitra. tion. The provisions of the treaty are eminently fair and just that the assent of Venezuela thereto may confidently be an- ticipated. Negotiations for a treaty of gen. eral arbitration for all differences betwee: Great Britain and the United States are far advanced and promise to reach a suc! cessful confirmation at an early date. — We have during the last year labored faithfully and against unfavorable eondi- tions, to secure better preservation of life in the Bering sea. Both the Uni States and Great Britain have lately patched commissioners to these waters, td study the habits and condition of the seal herd and the causes of their rapid decre Upon the reports of these commissione! soon to be sobanittens and with the | a pereaes