F 
 
 1783 
 
 D74a 
 
 DOS PASSOS 
 
 ARGUMENT OF JOHN R. DOS 
 PASSOS, ESQ. OF NEW YORK 
 IN FAVOR OF RECOGNITION 
 OF CUBA BY THE UNITED 
 STATES
 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 
 *JJ&>.
 
 ii? 
 
 ARGUMENT 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN R. DOS PASSOS, ESQ. 
 
 OK 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 IN 
 
 FAVOR OF RECOGNITION OF CUBA 
 
 r.Y THF. 
 
 UNITED STATES
 
 ,. 

 
 ARGUMENT OF 
 
 JOHN R. Dos PASSOS, ESQ. 
 
 OF NEW YORK 
 
 IN 
 
 FAVOR OF RECOGNITION OF CUBA BY THE 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 The subject of Cuba has been discussed in this 
 country in a desultory but prolific manner for 
 almost 70 years. While it has from time to time 
 received the attention of statesmen, philosophers, 
 politicians, financiers and business men, and hardly 
 any aspect of the question has escaped attention, it 
 has never been presented to the people of the United 
 States in such a form that they could earnestly and 
 intelligently act upon it. 
 
 Three propositions, however, have been evolved 
 from the discussion around which all of the history, 
 politics, morals and law of the subject cluster : 
 
 First, whether the United States should not buy 
 the island ; second, whether she should not assist 
 the Cubans by according to them belligerent rights 
 in their attempts to procure freedom from Spain ; 
 or, third, whether this government should not 
 forcibly intervene in favor of Cuba and insist upon 
 the latter' s complete and absolute independence. 
 
 There have been several distinct revolutions in 
 that island since 1824, each of which has been 
 accompanied by great bloodshed, sacrifice of rights,
 
 loss of property, and derangement and prostration 
 of commercial interests. 
 
 Another revolution has now been inaugurated, and 
 the circumstances surrounding it are such as to 
 most impressively call the attention of the citizens 
 of this country to the struggle. 
 
 The situation all around has completely changed 
 since the close of the last Cuban War in 1878. 
 Almost every Spanish-speaking nation on this 
 continent is now a Republic ; and irrespective of 
 the present revolution, or of the participation of 
 the United States therein, it is simply a question 
 of time when they will all exist under that system 
 of Government. 
 
 Mexico has constituted a firm and indissoluble 
 union of her people ; and she now has twenty-eight 
 states and two territories in her Republic. The 
 tendency of the other Republics of South and 
 Central America is to follow her wise example. 
 Consolidation is the tendency of the age in public 
 and private matters. 
 
 The condition of Spain is politically, morally, 
 commercially and financially so weak that she 
 stands constantly on the brink of revolution, which 
 threatens to destroy her existing monarchical 
 government. It is a matter of wonder that Cuba 
 has thrived at all under the heavy burdens which 
 she has suffered from Spanish rule. That her 
 material, moral, commercial and intellectual prog- 
 ress have been affected by this influence goes by 
 the mere saying. Her present development indi- 
 cates the wealth of her resources. If Spain suc- 
 ceeds in conquering Cuba again, there is no ques- 
 tion but that it will prove a heavy blow to her, 
 because it means that she will be loaded with an
 
 additional debt, and that new forms of despotic 
 power will be applied to keep her in future subjec- 
 tion. 
 
 The United States has cultivated a large trade 
 with Cuba, amounting to many millions of dollars ; 
 and the interests of her citizens are now so inter- 
 woven with Cuban property, commerce and busi- 
 ness, that they are inseparably connected. 
 
 Quite aside from the question, whether the United 
 States should not have long since intervened in the 
 affairs of Cuba, it is evident that the present situa- 
 tion most emphatically demands that she should 
 temporize and dally with the subject no longer. 
 The time seems to have at last arrived when she 
 must finally and forever decide the Cuban question 
 and speak out without equivocation. 
 
 It is perfectly manifest that Spain and Cuba must 
 forever part. The two nations are out of all har- 
 mony with each other ; and added to this, nature 
 has separated them so widely, that a political 
 division sooner or later is inevitable. 
 
 There seems to be no basis for compromise or 
 half-way measures this time. The Cubans announce 
 that they mean war to the knife. It is a fight of 
 extermination; and to leave no doubt upon the 
 subject, the Cubans have pledged themselves, in 
 their Constitution, that they will accept nothing but 
 absolute independence and freedom. Justice and 
 humanity alike appeal to the civilized world to end 
 this bloody struggle ; and other considerations more 
 peculiarly dictate to the United States that she 
 should lead the way to the end. 
 
 But this is a question which must be thoughtfully 
 and carefully reasoned out. If we conclude that 
 neither policy, self-interest, nor justice demand that
 
 we should intervene or meddle in this strife, we 
 should boldly and in unmistakable language, say it 
 to the world. If that is to be our conclusion, let 
 us give no further aid or comfort to the insurgents, 
 or encourage the wistful glances which they now 
 cast towards this country for countenance and 
 support. 
 
 The pertinent questions, therefore, to be con- 
 sidered are, the relations of the United States to 
 Cuba, and the course or policy which those rela- 
 tions dictate that she should follow. 
 
 It is to be regretted that Mr. Cleveland did not 
 feel called upon to more fully express his views 
 upon this important subject in his message. While 
 he agrees that an insurrection exists in the Island 
 " more active than the last preceding revolt," and 
 concludes with the hope that the "devastation of 
 armed conflict may speedily be stayed," the whole 
 point of his views is concentrated upon the ques- 
 tion of maintaining the neutrality laws. 
 
 What his opinion is upon the subject of the con- 
 flict ; what his views are as to the policy of the 
 government on the subject of the recognition of the 
 insurgents, are left untouched. 
 
 What he says about the neutrality laws being 
 enforced, is just as applicable to the condition of 
 affairs existing after belligerency is accorded, as 
 before that time. 
 
 There is a word which is much in vogue in this 
 country at present, and especially applied in the 
 discussion of international questions. I mean the 
 word " Jingo." In the regular dictionaries this 
 word is given as an expletive, a vulgar oath (if 
 there are any oaths that are not vulgar) ; but in 
 the sense in which it is now used, I take it that it
 
 is intended to mean "swagger," " froth," "dema- 
 gogic," that it is expressly applicable to individu- 
 als who constantly advocate foreign wars and 
 aggressive policies without regard to the inherent 
 truth or justice of the questions involved. 
 
 Taking this to be the meaning of the word, it is 
 absolutely true that this subject should not be con- 
 sidered in any Jingo sense. The United States is 
 too great a nation ; the American people ought to 
 be too honorable, proud and just to do the slightest 
 wrong to any nation, especially one in the weak 
 position in which Spain now finds herself. 
 
 In the consideration of this question, therefore, 
 " Jingoism " must be excluded; and we must go 
 to the very marrow of the subject before taking 
 any decisive step. Approaching it in this spirit, 
 1 find that the relations of the United States to 
 Cuba are threefold : Natural or geographical, 
 moral or political, and commercial. 
 
 The natural or geographical relations arise from 
 the proximity of the island to our continent. 
 Divided from the State of Florida by a channel not 
 more than 65 miles wide, the Island of Cuba, as 
 Mr. Adams said in 1823, is a natural appendage to 
 the North American Continent, and almost inside 
 of our shores. Cuba commands the main entrance 
 to the Gulf of Mexico, and the possession of the 
 island constitutes a powerful menace to the Re- 
 publics of Mexico, Central America and the nor- 
 thern part of South America. 
 
 In the event of trouble between the United 
 States and any of those Republics, the possession 
 of Cuba would be one of incontestable value to our 
 Government. 
 
 In the event of war with European countries, it
 
 6 
 
 is equally important. It has harbors which can 
 be made impregnable on both ends of the island 
 and near the centre on both coasts fronting a long 
 line of our shores destitute of the same advantages. 
 
 I do not need to claim or argue, that the fact 
 that Cuba possesses these natural and geographical 
 advantages to the United States, entitles or justi- 
 fies this Government in intervening in the present 
 struggle in connection with other matters which 
 I will advert to farther on, they undoubtedly do 
 sanction such action but I do assert that had 
 England, boasting to be the most civilized of Euro- 
 pean nations, occupied the geographical position 
 which we do to Cuba, that island would have been 
 a part of English territory 50 years ago, by pur- 
 chase, perhaps, if not, by conquest. 
 
 And I assert that the fact that we have not 
 before annexed Cuba to our Union illustrates the 
 prudence, the caution, the honesty and the friend- 
 ship which this people have exhibited in dealing 
 with a question which has been, is and will be, as 
 at present constituted, a perpetual source of trouble 
 and annoyance to us, publicly and privately. 
 
 The question of self-protection, or self-interest, 
 present or future, to a nation, has always been re- 
 garded by diplomatists and writers, as a most im- 
 portant motive to the acquisition of territory, or in 
 shaping its foreign policy. Modern history can be 
 appealed to and will furnish bountiful illustrations 
 to confirm this statement. 
 
 In point of view of wealth, or proximity and 
 commerce, Cuba is much more important to the 
 United States than many of the present States of 
 the Union. 
 
 Politically and morally the United States is
 
 deeply interested in Cuba. The sympathies of the 
 American people are undoubtedly with her in her 
 struggle for freedom. There is a genuine sentiment 
 or belief prevailing among us that a Republican 
 form of government closely carried out, and de- 
 veloped upon the lines laid down in our Constitu- 
 tion and early history of this country, is the best 
 form of government under which people can live. 
 It is natural for us to sympathize with a community 
 even more remotely situated from us than Cuba, in 
 its efforts to throw off a government of despotism 
 for one of democracy. 
 
 As I have said, it is a matter of time when Cuba 
 will be free, whether the United States assists or 
 not. But we do assist. We are assisting Cuba 
 now in every conceivable manner ; and it is one of 
 the just causes of complaint that Spain formulates 
 against us, that we are secretly giving aid, and 
 material support, to her colony which is in a state 
 of insurrection. Indeed, the whole country seems 
 to be aroused in favor of this colony. If we have 
 no right to aid Cuba, these demonstrations should 
 be stopped. 
 
 This sympathy which is so lavishly and univers- 
 ally bestowed upon Cuba at the present time is not 
 the result of a covetous desire on the part of the 
 people of this country to acquire new territory. It 
 arises mainly from the fact that we believe, the 
 inhabitants, of that beautiful and wealthy isle, are 
 under the domination of a despotism, that deprives 
 the people of those natural and unalienable rights 
 which humanity is everywhere entitled to enjoy. 
 Nor is this conclusion based upon a study of any 
 isolated portion, or epoch, in Cuban history, but it
 
 8 
 
 results from a review of her whole government for 
 70 years. 
 
 But beyond this, Cuba occupies a phenomenal 
 position to the United States, under the Monroe 
 doctrine, which receives renewed vigor and life 
 from Mr. Cleveland's earnest reiteration of it. 
 While we admit that Cuba is a lawfully con- 
 stituted colony of Spain, we do not admit that she 
 could be ceded, or transferred, to any European 
 power. The ownership of Spain of the Island is 
 not absolute, it is united and controlled by the 
 doctrine of Monroe, which clearly distinguishes 
 the case from one where the mother country pos- 
 sessed an absolute power of ownership and control. 
 
 The Monroe doctrine gives the people of this 
 country, irrespective of other claims, a deep in- 
 terest in the present and future destinies of the 
 island. 
 
 As the natural or geographical relation of one 
 country to another may not, per se, justify its 
 seizure by the stronger power, the same conclusion 
 can be admitted in regard to political and moral 
 relations. 
 
 The bare fact that Cuba is owned and controlled 
 by monarchical Spain, and that her people are not 
 enjoying as full a share of political liberty as the 
 people of the United States, would not justify 
 our government in liberating the former, or ex- 
 tending aid to a revolution, against the mother 
 country, with whom we are at peace. But when, 
 added to geographical or natural, political and 
 moral, considerations, we feel, and know, that the 
 Cubans are determined to separate from the mother 
 country, when we know that the people are living 
 under the influences of almost absolute despotic
 
 9 
 
 power, and they directly appeal to us for aid, then 
 singly and together these facts justify us in helping 
 the insurgents in their struggle ; and the principles 
 of international law will thoroughly support us, in 
 extending assistance to them. 
 
 Then lastly, the United States has relations with 
 Cuba of a most extensive commercial character. Our 
 citizens are owners of property in Cuba to an enor- 
 mous extent ; and the business interests of the two 
 countries are so complicated and involved that they 
 are practically inseparable. The merchants here feel 
 every pulsation of the war. and their property, 
 business and rights are constantly jeopardized and 
 in juried by it. There is a universal belief in 
 mercantile circles that the separation of Spain from 
 Cuba would most materially increase the general 
 business between the two countries ; and that Cuba, 
 so prolific and fertile in her soil and productions, 
 would be enabled to develop her resources more 
 than ten-fold over her present trade. 
 
 Our exports to Cuba are between eighteen and 
 twenty-five millions of dollars a year (they were 
 twenty-five millions in 1893); while the imports 
 are from sixty-five to seventy-five millions, reach- 
 ing the latter figure in 1893. There is no question 
 but that the domination of Spain over Cuba ma- 
 terially retards the latter 's prosperity ; and while 
 a revenue of nearly twenty-six millions is collected 
 yearly from her by Spain, there was a deficit in 
 her budget account of from six to eight millions 
 the year before the war commenced. 
 
 The expectation of increasing our trade, and de- 
 veloping the resources of that wonderful isle, to 
 their full extent, is a great temptation to our mer- 
 chants to advocate separation ; and we must, in
 
 10 
 
 considering the question, be very careful not to per- 
 mit these mercenary motives to overcome our judg- 
 ment and to interfere with the duties which we 
 owe the mother country. 
 
 Just here, however, the history of this continent 
 for the past 70 years, comes in with irresistible 
 force in favor of the separation. Say what we will, 
 argue as we please, the inexorable facts teach us 
 that the powers of Europe must soon forever relax 
 their grip upon this hemisphere ; and that the inevi- 
 table result is the absolute independence of each 
 individual State. 
 
 Here then, briefly stated, are the grounds upon 
 which the interests of the United States in this 
 struggle are built. Is she justified? Need we go 
 any further in the discussion? Did any nation ever 
 show stronger grounds for intervention? 
 
 Geographically and naturally Cuba belongs to 
 us that is, by what is known as the law of vicinage 
 (a doctrine strongly supported by Mr. Webster), 
 and we would be justified in encouraging the revo- 
 lutionists. Politically and morally she ought to, 
 and will, be a Republic ; and commercially our in- 
 terests in the island are so great that the best 
 writers upon international law justify us, upon the 
 doctrine of self preservation, in intervening to save 
 and protect the property and rights, and advance 
 the interests and commerce of our own citizens. 
 
 But there might exist cases in which even a com- 
 bination of geographical or natural, political or 
 moral, and commercial interests, would not justify 
 the intervention of one nation in the quarrels of 
 another. It will be well to rest the justification of the 
 United States Government in intervening upon even 
 broader grounds than these referred to. We must
 
 11 
 
 then institute an inquiry into the relations existing 
 between Spain and Cuba, to endeavor to ascertain 
 the causes which led to the present outbreak, to 
 see if we can find in this history anything that adds 
 strength to the conclusion already reached. 
 
 Political revolutions, like physical disorders, do 
 not frequently break out without cause. There 
 must be some lurking, dangerous disease, which 
 lies at the bottom of these upheavals, and which 
 periodically affects a land so attractive and rich as 
 is this isle. 
 
 If a nation at any time intervenes in a neighbor's 
 quarrel with her colony it is refreshing at least to 
 know that the latter has right upon her side. 
 
 To comprehend the causes of these uprisings in 
 Cuba, it is essential to have a knowledge of the sys- 
 tem of government which prevails there. Are these 
 uprisings the mere result of passions, excited by 
 socialism, by anarchy, by crime? Are they un- 
 founded and unjust attempts, upon the part of the 
 people of that island, to overthrow a free, liberal 
 and stable government? Or does the fault lie on 
 the part of Spain? Are the people uprising to 
 overturn an oppressive and tyrannical govern- 
 ment? Is it, on the part of the people, a battle 
 for freedom, for fundamental rights? This is the 
 issue. Unfortunately for Spain, every question 
 must be decided against her. 
 
 Since 1825 Cuba has been ruled, off and on, by 
 a pure despotism ; and the people have been gov- 
 erned by the sole and sovereign will of the Captains- 
 General, unchecked by constitution or laws. This 
 tyrannical authority has not been usurped by these 
 officials, but extraordinarily to relate, it has been 
 thrust upon them. They have been officially and
 
 12 
 
 regularly invested with despotic prerogatives, and' 
 are now acting under a royal decree, solemnly pro- 
 mulgated by the Spanish King and confirmed by 
 the Government. This decree confers upon these 
 officials powers which are not possessed by any 
 recognized monarch, Czar, Sultan or potentate in 
 the civilized or uncivilized world. 
 
 If a constitution, such as Cuba has lived under 
 since 1825, were proposed to-day as a rule of gov- 
 ernment in any barbaric country in the world, it 
 would produce a revolution. 
 
 This royal decree, the most extraordinary politi- 
 cal document extant, was issued on the 28th of 
 March, 1825, by Ferdinand VII., an open and pro- 
 found hater of all constitutional law, and it stands 
 to-day unrevoked and unrecalled. I give it in full : 
 
 ' ' His Majesty, the King, our lord, desiring to 
 obviate the inconveniences which might result in 
 extraordinary cases from a division of command, 
 and from the interference of powers and preroga- 
 tives of the respective officers ; for the important 
 end of preserving in that precious island his legiti- 
 mate sovereign authority and public tranquillity 
 through proper means, has resolved, in accord- 
 ance with the opinion of his Council of Ministers, 
 to give to your Excellency the fullest authority, 
 bestowing upon you all the powers which by the 
 Royal ordinances are granted to the governors of 
 besieged cities. In consequence of this his Majesty 
 gives to your Excellency the most complete and un- 
 bounded power, not only to send away from the 
 island any persons in office, whatever be their occu- 
 pation, rank, class or condition, whose continuance 
 therein your Excellency may deem injurious, or 
 whose conduct, public or private, may alarm you,
 
 13 
 
 replacing them with persons faithful to his Majesty, 
 and deserving of all the confidence of your Ex- 
 cellency, but also to suspend the execution of any 
 order whatsoever, or any general provision made 
 concerning any breach of the administration as 
 your Excellency may think most suitable to the 
 royal service. 
 
 For the purpose of obviating "inconveniences" 
 which might result from a " division of command " 
 for the important end of preserving, in that pre- 
 cious island, his legitimate sovereign authority and 
 public tranquillity, through proper means, the 
 King of Spain bestows " all the powers which by 
 the royal ordinances are granted to the governors 
 of besieged cities." 
 
 By this extraordinary edict, Cuba was proclaimed 
 to be under perpetual martial law, and the auto- 
 cratic powers of a military commander were be- 
 stowed upon the Captains-General. It abolished 
 all rules and principles of law, and all forms of 
 procedure. It created a despotism pure and simple. 
 The lives, the liberties and the property of the peo- 
 ple of Cuba were placed in the hands of this offi- 
 cially decorated despot. The King of Spain, with 
 one dash of his pen, ordained this tyranny and 
 blotted out all possible freedom in Cuba. 
 
 There was no exceptional situation which author- 
 ized the promulgation of this phenomenal decree. 
 Ferdinand VII. had been deposed, and a constitu- 
 tional government substituted in place of a pure 
 monarchy. Recovering his throne by the aid of 
 100,000 French soldiers, acting under the orders of 
 a French King, Ferdinand believed that the only 
 way to hold Cuba was to enslave her, and to keep
 
 14 
 
 her under the influence of a despotism. The policy 
 then inaugurated has been consistently continued. 
 
 It is almost impossible to use temperate language 
 in discussing this document ; it is not aimed at 
 any individual or individuals. It does not seek to 
 curtail or restrict the rights or property of specified 
 persons ; it is a chart by which the Captains-Gen- 
 eral are to govern all of the citizens of Cuba ; it 
 is a grant of wholesale, despotic, powers; it was a 
 plenary decree against liberty and justice. 
 
 If there had been anything in the history of 
 Cuba, at that time, to temporarily justify the issu- 
 ance of such a measure, certainly it should have 
 been recalled, or revoked, after peace and tran- 
 quility had been restored. But it has remained 
 in vigore, unrevoked and unrecalled, in whole or 
 part. It has been a perpetual menace to the in- 
 habitants of Cuba. It is a reservoir of tyrannical 
 power from which the Captains-General from time 
 to time could draw authority to support and jus- 
 tify any despotic acts, against life, liberty or prop- 
 erty, which they chose to commit. There is not 
 one word in this remarkable document which cur- 
 tailed the power of the Captains-General, nor any 
 reservation in favor of the rights or privileges of 
 the citizens of Cuba. Not one syllable which im- 
 presses upon the Captain General the necessity of 
 not infringing the liberties of the people. But a 
 general, unlimited and unrestricted, power of attor- 
 ney, a carte blanche to this official, to do anything, 
 which "His Excellency may think most suitable 
 to the royal service." 
 
 Now, there are certain principles which under- 
 lie all human society, which are called the absolute 
 rights of individuals. I mean those undisputed
 
 15 
 
 and inherent privileges which every man can right- 
 fully claim from a government. Those sacred 
 rights which are born with him, and which are as 
 necessary to his existence as the faculties of eating, 
 of sleeping, and of breathing; and which, if they 
 are denied to him, give him according to every re- 
 sponsible authority the right of rebellion ; renders 
 him the just object of sympathy to all lovers of 
 truth and freedom ; and justifies any nation in suc- 
 coring and supporting him in his efforts for lib- 
 erty. 
 
 The basis of all social compacts rests upon an 
 implied, but perfectly defined, contract. The king, 
 or state, or sovereign power, agrees on his, or its 
 part, to furnish protection to the subject, to his 
 person, rights and property. The subject agrees 
 to furnish loyalty, to obey the laws, to support the 
 state. The contract is not unilateral, it is recip- 
 rocal. 
 
 The rights of the subject are equally as impor- 
 tant as those of the sovereign. The rights of the 
 subject, and the prerogative of the sovereign, must 
 always be clearly defined and understood, else con- 
 fusion and disorder will creep into, and eventually 
 overthrow, any government. 
 
 I mean to assert this as a principle of universal 
 natural law : That where the subjects of any 
 country are deprived of the unalienable and abso- 
 lute rights of individuals, that such people are jus- 
 tified by rebellion, force, or any other means, in 
 rescuing themselves from the power that holds 
 them in subjection ; and that any outside civilized 
 nation has the right, and it is its duty, to acknowl- 
 edge the belligerency of such people ; nay to suc- 
 cor and support them in their attempt to liberate
 
 16 
 
 themselves. And most impressively does the rule 
 apply to a case where the relations, geographical, 
 natural, political, moral and commercial, are such 
 as exist between Cuba and the United States. 
 
 As allegiance is the tie, or ligament, which binds 
 the subject to the king, in return for that protec- 
 tion which the king affords the subject, it follows 
 logically, naturally and morally, that when the 
 king ceases to protect, the tie is dissolved, and the 
 subject relieved from allegiance or loyalty. 
 
 I will cite two illustrious precedents for this 
 proposition, which no one can dispute, because 
 they constitute the corner stones of two of the 
 greatest governments in the world the United 
 States and France. 
 
 The declaration of the United States on the eve 
 of her separation from England is this : 
 
 " We hold these truths to be self evident, that 
 all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by 
 their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that 
 among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
 happiness. That to secure these rights, govern- 
 ments are instituted among men, deriving their 
 just powers from the consent of the governed, 
 that whenever any form of government becomes de- 
 structive of these ends, it is the right of the people 
 to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new govern- 
 ment, laying its foundation on such principles and 
 organizing its powers in such form as to them shall 
 seem most likely to effect their safety and happi- 
 ness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that govern- 
 ments long established, should not be changed for 
 light and transient causes ; and accordingly all ex- 
 perience hath shown, that mankind are more dis- 
 posed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to
 
 17 
 
 right themselves by abolishing the forms to which 
 they are accustomed. But when a long train of 
 abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the 
 same object, evinces a design to reduce them under 
 absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their 
 duty, to throw off such government, and to pro- 
 vide new guards for their future security." 
 
 And the French people reiterated this declara- 
 tion of the rights of men in 1793 : 
 
 "'The object of society is the general welfare. 
 Government is instituted to secure to man the free 
 use of his unalienable rights. These rights are 
 liberty, equality, security, property. 
 
 " When government violates the rights of the 
 people, insurrection .of the people, and of every 
 single part of it, is the most sacred of its rights and 
 the highest of its duties." 
 
 (Declaration of the Rights of Man by the 
 French People, 1793.) 
 
 Now, what are the absolute rights of individuals 
 of which I am speaking? They are threefold: 
 First, the right of personal security ; second, the 
 right of personal liberty ; and, third, the right of 
 private property. 
 
 I repeat, that any state, which deprives its citizens 
 of these fundamental prerogatives of man, is a des- 
 potism, and that the people are justified in revolu- 
 tion, and that it is not only the right, but it is 
 the duty, of every other civilized nation to assist 
 and support them in such a revolution. Irrespec- 
 tive of geographical or natural, political or moral, 
 and commercial reasons, or combined with each 
 and all of them, here is a safe and secure founda- 
 tion upon which the United States can rest her 
 right to intervene in the cause of Cuba, if it can be
 
 18 
 
 shown that these invaluable prerogatives of man are 
 denied to the inhabitants of that island. In this 
 secure harbor, the United States can safely rest, and 
 defy adverse criticisms of her conduct, in recogniz- 
 ing these insurgents. 
 
 Let us, therefore, proceed to discover what these 
 absolute rights are. The first and most important 
 is the great right of personal security, which means 
 that every individual is entitled to the rational and 
 legal enjoyment of life, limb, body, health and rep- 
 utation. It is not only enjoined upon us by Divine 
 command to grant this right to individuals, but 
 without its existence no government is entitled to 
 any respect or support, either from its own citizens 
 or from anybody else. This right means that a 
 man's life shall not be taken from him without 
 just cause, without trial, without ceremony. It 
 means that no being on the face of the earth, no 
 matter how powerful and great, can be invested 
 with the authority to destroy these invaluable priv- 
 ileges upon his mere notion, whim, caprice or ipse 
 dixit. The very thought of the existence of such 
 authority is shocking and revolting to every humane 
 and civilized instinct. Yet the Captain-General of 
 Cuba has this phenomenal and extensive power, 
 under the decree of 1825 ; and the lives, the limbs, 
 the bodies, the health and the reputations of the 
 subjects of Cuba are all placed in the palm of his 
 hand. He has the sole and absolute domination 
 over these people, without any redress and without 
 any appeal from a cruel or unjust exercise of his 
 power. 
 
 Defined offenses, regular accusations, open and 
 preliminary examinations, formal indictments, 
 trials by jury, regular convictions and sentences, a
 
 19 
 
 civilized system of criminal procedure all of these 
 things, so precious to the Anglo-Saxon race, so dear 
 to all nations, have been, and may be, substantially 
 wiped out in the government of Cuba under this 
 extraordinary regime. 
 
 Now, it may be said that, although this decree 
 of 1825 is unrepealed, it has lain dormant in the 
 hands of the Captains-General, and that it is prac- 
 tically a dead letter. This is not true, and there 
 are many living witnesses, and much historical evi- 
 dence, to show that the powers therein contained 
 have been, in numerous instances, cruelly and even 
 barbarously exercised. 
 
 It is true that there are courts in Cuba, and 
 judges, and all the formal machinery of a legal and 
 political system can there be found ; but behind 
 these forms stalks the ghost of despotism, fright- 
 ening order and justice from their seats. The forms 
 and machinery of the law have been sheer mock- 
 eries, travesties upon substantial justice. 
 
 It is uncontradicted history that the theory of 
 the Spanish kings in governing Cuba has been to 
 hold her in close subjection. The Spaniards have 
 believed that the only method of preventing the 
 independence of Cuba, and her separation from the 
 mother country, was, and is, to rule the Cubans 
 with a hand of iron ; and while the powers of the 
 Captains-General may have been latent, they were 
 ready to spring into actual life and use upon any 
 propitious occasion. 
 
 The next absolute right of individuals is that of 
 personal liberty, which means the free power of 
 locomotion, without illegal restraint or banishment. 
 This essential principle is also utterly rejected in 
 the government of Cuba. No subject of that
 
 20 
 
 country exercises or enjoys the right of personal 
 liberty. His movements are curtailed and guarded ; 
 he dwells under a constant system of espionage, 
 and he cannot move a single step, without being 
 subjected to explanation and arrest, at the will of 
 the Cuban authorities. The power of coming and 
 going as he pleases, subject only to proper, reason- 
 able and legal restraint, is denied to him. The 
 Captain- General can restrain him, or banish him, 
 according to his mighty pleasure. 
 
 Then, two striking and indispensable elements of 
 a progressive government are lacking in Cuba, a 
 free and unlicensed press, and the right of the 
 people to meet together to discuss public questions. 
 It is a pure waste of time and space to elaborate 
 the importance of these two primary rights. 
 
 If a free press, and the right of public discussion, 
 had existed in Cuba, an entirely different state of 
 affairs might have prevailed between the colony 
 and the mother country to-day ; but the Spaniards 
 have adhered strictly to one rule, namely, to govern 
 these people despotically, and although desultory 
 protests have been, from time to time, heard in 
 Spain and in Cuba against the system, they have 
 been without avail. Deputies said in the Cortes in 
 1872: "Cuba is sunk under an inundation of 
 abuses, and a plus ultra is impossible unless in- 
 deed the extermination of the whole island be de- 
 creed." " Cuba is groaning under the scourge of 
 arbitrary power ; there is no law, no code, no con- 
 stitution." " Send back the twelve thousand vul- 
 tures who are devouring Cuba." Froude says: 
 " The government is unimaginably corrupt and the 
 fiscal policy oppressive and ruinous." 
 
 Added to all these things is the excessive and
 
 21 
 
 monstrous taxation under which the Cuban people 
 have labored. 1,600,000 people have been taxed 
 $34,000,000 a year, $26,000,000 of which has 
 actually been returned as collected. This is pure 
 confiscation. It is a practical deprivation of the 
 right of private property ; that is, the right of en- 
 joying property without illegal restraint or 
 diminution. 
 
 Nothing illustrates the prodigious resources and 
 natural wealth of Cuba more than this striking fact : 
 that a population of 1,600,000 people are able to 
 pay $34,000,000 a year in taxation. It shows that 
 Cuba is a never-failing gold mine. The Cubans 
 fight for the control and management of their own 
 property ; and the Spaniards are desperately re- 
 solved not to let go such a rich prey. What Cuba 
 would be able to do as an independent state, with- 
 out the heavy hand of this foreign power upon its 
 neck, any ordinary imagination can readily con- 
 ceive. 
 
 What have the Cubans received from the Span- 
 ish government in return for the colossal sums of 
 money which they have poured into the Spanish 
 treasury? Out of this $26,000,000 collected from 
 them, about $11,000,000 has been applied to pay 
 the interest on a debt contracted by Spain in put- 
 ting down the last rebellion. Hardly a dollar of 
 this enormous revenue has been devoted to public 
 purposes. There are no primary schools sup- 
 ported and encouraged by the government; the 
 few there existing being the result of municipal 
 support. Great libraries, internal improvements, 
 and all those auxiliaries that are to be found in 
 modern states are absent in that island. 
 
 When we come to examine into the executive,
 
 22 
 
 administrative and judicial branches of the govern- 
 ment, the picture of the distress which exists in 
 Cuba is heightened and inflamed. The executive 
 power of Government is the Captain-General, who 
 exercises his privileges without restraint, control 
 or direction. The government of the island largely 
 depends upon the temperament, and character, of 
 the official who holds the office. If it -happens to 
 be filled by a faithless, dishonest and ignorant of- 
 ficial, the citizens must suffer. If it falls to the 
 lot of a man of judgment and character, they enjoy 
 a fuller share of liberty and happiness ; but let the 
 power be lodged in whosesoever hands it may, the 
 people of Cuba cannot enjoy the government which 
 they desire. 
 
 The Captain-General is not a Cuban. He is a 
 foreigner. In his appointment the Cuban people 
 have no voice or power, and the placing of such 
 phenomenal authority in the hands of a stranger is 
 contrary to all the modern ideas of government. 
 It is no answer to this assertion to say that the 
 Captain -General is of the same race and language. 
 The English were of the same race and language as 
 the Americans, but their officials were no less dis- 
 tasteful ; and as a matter of history, a contest be- 
 tween persons of the same race and language is 
 generally much more keen and bitter than one be- 
 tween strangers. 
 
 The governership of Cuba is to-day the fattest 
 and most coveted office in the gift of the Spanish 
 government. It is a notorious fact that their in- 
 come is made up largely from plunder, and when 
 their greed is satisfied they return to Spain and en- 
 joy their ill-gotten gains. Although the revenues 
 of the island of Cuba amount, as I have said, to
 
 23 
 
 nearly $26,000,000 a year, there is a deficiency of 
 $6,000,000 to $8,000,000 annually, although enough 
 is collected to pay the excessive demands of the 
 Spanish government, if the revenue was not stolen. 
 
 When we come to the administrative branch of 
 the government, we find an equally deplorable con- 
 dition prevailing. It includes all of the officers 
 engaged in the affairs of Cuba, except the executive 
 and judicial. The most important of these are the 
 agents who manage its customs and revenues, and 
 striking illustrations may be borrowed from these 
 sources of the deplorable inefficiency of the govern- 
 ment. The natives of Cuba are practically unrep- 
 resented in the administration of Cuban affairs. At 
 least ninety per cent, of all these officials are 
 Spaniards, and the natives are debarred from all 
 voice, control or participation in the government. 
 These Spaniards have no interest in Cuban affairs 
 which impels them to properly perform their duties, 
 beyond a motive of personal aggrandizement and 
 riches. Their main object is plunder, and the re- 
 sult is corruption in every branch of the adminis- 
 tration. It is stated upon the best authority that 
 duties are collected upon only 40 per cent, of the 
 goods imported, and that the other 60 per cent, of 
 dutiable merchandise is, by the connivance of the 
 officials, smuggled into Cuba free of duty, the 
 amount thereof being divided as follows : 40 per 
 cent, to the importers, 40 per cent, to the in- 
 spectors and collectors and 20 per cent, to minor 
 officials. 
 
 The judicial branch of the government is on a 
 par with the others. The most essential feature of 
 a judiciary in a monarchical form of government, 
 is its independence. The judges act as a barrier
 
 24 
 
 against the wrongful assaults of the crown. They 
 guard the rights of the subject from the injustice 
 of the ruler. Nothing is more striking in English 
 history than the fearlessness and independence of 
 the judges in times when the rights, liberties 
 and property of Englishmen were threatened or 
 assailed. Nothing has done more to build up the 
 free and liberal government, which there exists 
 than the continued assertion of the rights of the 
 people by the English judiciary. What is the 
 effect? In England you find an incorruptible and 
 faithful body of judges administering justice, not 
 infallibly, it is true, but fairly, honestly and im- 
 partially. In Cuba how different is the system. 
 Ninety per cent, of the judges are Spaniards, in- 
 fluenced by no consideration except to obey the 
 wishes of the crown and to enforce the illiberal 
 policy of the Spanish executive. Their tenure of 
 office rests upon the smiles of the Captain-General. 
 Why should the Cubans be excluded from these 
 positions? Why should not the Cubans be judged 
 by their own citizens ; by those born, raised and 
 domiciled in the island? 
 
 I have thus, by endeavoring to make a compari- 
 son between the government of Cuba and a govern- 
 ment where the inhabitants enjoy their absolute 
 rights, sought to show the present, political, finan- 
 cial and moral condition of that island. To sum 
 up the matter in a few words, the conceded facts 
 are: 
 
 FIRST. That the Cubans have no voice or control 
 in the government of their country ; 
 
 SECOND. They have no substantial represent- 
 ation in the Spanish Cortes, which directs and
 
 25 
 
 controls their destinies, their representation being 
 formal, indeed, grotesque. 
 
 THIRD. They have no free press ; 
 
 FOURTH. The right of meeting together to dis- 
 cuss public questions is denied them ; 
 
 FIFTH. There is no well regulated system of 
 public education in the island ; 
 
 SIXTH. They are taxed to a degree which results 
 in the confiscation of their property ; 
 
 SEVENTH. The prerogatives of the Spanish 
 crown in the government of Cuba are undefined, 
 and the result is that the Spanish policy, in its 
 management of the people of Cuba, is entirely dic- 
 tated by a desire to extort from them all the money 
 necessary to support that rotten and falling 
 dynasty ; 
 
 EIGHTH. The Spanish government has sent into 
 the island a horde of greedy and unconscionable 
 officials, who rob both the Spaniards and the 
 Cubans, and who have instituted and established in 
 the island a system of corruption which runs 
 through all the branches of the government. 
 
 These are the principle features which attract the 
 attention of an independent mind in investigating 
 the causes of the present rebellion. It is unneces- 
 sary to picture any of the subordinate or minor 
 evils which exist in that unhappy island. Stand- 
 ing out in bold relief is the policy of Spain to hold 
 Cuba merely for mercenary and selfish purposes. 
 No consideration of progress, of liberty, of justice, 
 of improvement, have been allowed to interfere 
 with this dominating passion. To carry out her 
 policy, she has endeavored to keep Cuba isolated 
 and aloof from the outside world, by denying her 
 the privileges of a liberal government, and closing
 
 26 
 
 all the doors through which the Cubans might pass 
 into a freer and more independent state. So jealous 
 has she been of the effects and influences of mod- 
 ern and liberal life, that she has interdicted the 
 people from even educating their sons in the 
 United States. 
 
 These are the plain, bald facts, which confront 
 the American people in their investigation of this 
 serious question ; and it only remains to inquire 
 whether, upon all of the facts, looking at the mat- 
 ter calmly and dispassionately, they are sufficient 
 to interest this government in the Cuban revolu- 
 tion ; whether they are sufficient, whether they are 
 adequate, under principles of international law, 
 to justify us in extending aid and encouragement 
 to the people engaged in seeking to throw off the 
 despotic government under which they are now 
 compelled to live. 
 
 Now, there are two courses open to this govern- 
 ment in her dealings with this question, if she 
 decides to become interested in the struggle. She 
 can either, first, recognize the Cuban insurgents as 
 belligerents ; or, second, she can intervene in the 
 quarrel and become an ally of Cuba and openly 
 espouse her cause. 
 
 First, the recognition of belligerency means sim- 
 ply that the United States is an indifferent specta- 
 tor to the struggle, but that she is prevailed upon 
 by existing conditions to recognize the revolution- 
 ists as a de facto government, an existing political 
 organization, and entitled to the rights of war. 
 
 The rule of international law, as laid down by 
 the best authorities upon the subject, is that until 
 the revolution is consummated, and whilst the civil 
 war involving a contest for the government con-
 
 27 
 
 tinues, other states may remain indifferent specta- 
 tors of the controversy, and still continue to treat 
 the ancient government as sovereign, and the gov- 
 ernment de facto as a society, entitled to the rights 
 of war against its enemy. 
 
 In this case, a foreign state fulfills all its obliga- 
 tions under the law of nations, and neither party 
 has any right to complain, provided it maintains 
 an impartial neutrality. 
 
 The effect of the recognition by this government 
 of the Cuban rebellion would be to place them upon 
 an entirely different footing from that which they 
 now occupy. 
 
 As long as there is an internal contest between 
 Spain and Cuba, and no recognition of belligerency 
 is accorded by foreign governments to the latter, 
 the struggle partakes of revolution. The Cubans 
 can be punished as traitors to the mother country, 
 if they are captured on land ; or, if they are taken 
 on the high seas, in a state of war against Spain, 
 they may be treated by that power as pirates. It 
 is nothing but a family quarrel between the mother 
 country and her colony, in which the former, if she 
 succeeds in putting down the rebellion, can apply 
 such punishment to her subjects, disputing her su- 
 premacy, as she deems proper ; but when the Cuban 
 insurgents are recognized by foreign governments 
 as belligerents, their status is completely changed, 
 and instead of being traitors and pirates, in the 
 estimation of the law of nations, they are simply 
 carrying on a war against Spain, and are entitled 
 to all the rights of war. 
 
 The most recent and illustrious example of the 
 effect of recognition of belligerency is to be drawn 
 from the late civil war, where, almost as soon as the
 
 28 
 
 Confederate States revolted from the parent gov- 
 ernment, and undertook to secede from the Union, 
 they were recognized as a belligerent power by Eng- 
 land and France. For, although the United States 
 Oovernment did everything in its power, by argu- 
 ment and protestation, both here and abroad, 
 through its ministers, to prevent such action, their 
 remonstrances were futile, and such recognition 
 was accorded by these two great powers of Europe 
 almost immediately upon, or very soon after, the 
 commencement of the Rebellion. 
 
 The United States had no just cause of complaint 
 against England and France for recognizing the 
 Confederate government as belligerents, because it 
 was a matter wholly within the discretion of each 
 of these sovereignties to decide that question for 
 themselves ; and they argued that the fact that the 
 Confederates had organized a government, had de- 
 clared a war, which was existing in its full extent, 
 and that they had endeavored to separate from the 
 Northern States by an organized movement, con- 
 stituted circumstances sufficient to justify such 
 recognition of belligerency. 
 
 There seems to be very little dispute, or difference 
 of opinion, between writers upon international law 
 upon the question as to when the right of recog- 
 nition of belligerency may be exercised. They all 
 agree that certain conditions must exist before 
 belligerent rights should be accorded to a revolting 
 colony. 
 
 A state of things, between the parent state and 
 the insurgents, must amount in fact to a war, in 
 the sense of international law. That is, powers 
 and rights of war must be in actual existence;
 
 otherwise the recognition is falsified, for the recog- 
 nition is of a fact. 
 
 The tests to determine the question are numer- 
 ous, but they necessarily vary according to the 
 peculiar circumstances of each case. It is agreed, 
 however, on all sides, that the following are essen- 
 tial: The existence of a de facto political organi- 
 zation of the insurgents, sufficient in character, 
 population and resources to constitute it, if left to 
 itself, a state among the nations of the world, 
 reasonably capable of discharging the duties of a 
 state; and the actual employment of military 
 forces on each side, with the rules and customs of 
 war. 
 
 These are very reasonable conditions to exact by 
 foreign powers as a precedent to recognition, 
 because they distinguish actual rebellion from 
 riotous and other petty disturbances, to which 
 every nation is more or less subjected. 
 
 Mr. Wheaton, one of the leading authorities on 
 this topic, argues that if all these elements exist, 
 the condition of things is undoubtedly war, and he 
 declares that it may be war before they are all 
 ripened into activity. 
 
 Another writer lays down the doctrine that in 
 deciding the question of according belligerent 
 rights, the foreign states are bound and entitled to 
 consider the preceding history of the parties. 
 
 Another principle is equally well settled; that 
 it is for the government according the recognition, 
 to decide for itself whether the circumstances sur- 
 rounding the revolution are of such a character as 
 entitle the insurgents to belligerent rights ; but if 
 it makes the recognition prematurely, it is liable
 
 30 
 
 to the suspicion of an unfriendly purpose to the 
 parent state. 
 
 It must be borne in mind, that quite naturally a 
 nation within whose borders a revolution is raging 
 always bitterly opposes the recognition of the in- 
 surgents, no matter how serious the revolution may 
 prove to be, or what its causes are ; and therefore 
 it is practically impossible in any case to accord 
 such recognition without exciting more or less feel- 
 ing. Hence the principle above adverted to, that 
 when recognition has been determined upon by a 
 foreign state, it furnishes no just cause of com- 
 plaint on the part of the mother country against 
 the foreign power according belligerent rights. If 
 it did, no recognition would ever be accorded, be- 
 cause it would always be to the interest of the 
 mother country to remonstrate against it, without 
 regard to actual conditions. 
 
 The question as to the time when such belligerent 
 rights can be accorded is also naturally left with 
 the foreign powers. That is a question which must 
 be decided by a consideration of all the circum- 
 stances, surrounding the revolution. In many in- 
 stances foreign powers accord immediate recogni- 
 tion, because some revolutions are accomplished 
 qnickly and without much bloodshed. 
 
 The dethronement of Dom Pedro in Brazil, at a 
 moment when all the world imagined that that 
 Emperor's reign was agreeable to all his subjects, 
 is a striking illustration. 
 
 The question, therefore, directly occurs, whether 
 the facts surrounding the present Cuban rebellion 
 are such as justify this government in taking 
 action without further delay. 
 
 I strongly urge that the facts which 1 now give
 
 31 
 
 fully answer that question in favor of recogni- 
 tion : 
 
 FIRST. A state of war exists between Spain and 
 her colony. It is a war of such great dimensions 
 that Spain could not depend upon her army and 
 navy, regularly stationed in Cuba and her waters, 
 aided by the civil power and her constabulary 
 forces, to suppress it. 
 
 The rebellion in Cuba is not a riot or disturb- 
 ance, which could be quelled by the ordinary civil 
 machinery of arrest and judicial trials. It is a 
 real, genuine war, and not a sporadic uprising of 
 a few discontented and unorganized people seeking 
 some temporary object. 
 
 So important and widespread is the war, that 
 Spain has been compelled to import a large army 
 into Cuba, which has so far operated most unsuc- 
 cessfully in its endeavor to quench the rebellious 
 fire which there rages. 
 
 SECOND. The insurgents have organized a de 
 facto government. They have adopted a constitu- 
 tion, assumed a name, have a Hag, and all the other 
 auxiliaries of a regularly constituted nation. 
 
 Neither the lack of money on the part of Cuba, 
 nor her ability to organize a powerful and com- 
 bined army, militates, in international law, against 
 her pretentious for recognition. 
 
 If these things were a necessary condition to the 
 accordance of belligerent rights, such recognition 
 would be useless, because if Cuba had an organized 
 army, more powerful than that of Spain, and ample 
 financial resources, she would soon oust Spain from 
 the control of Cuba, and would instantly take her 
 place among the nations of the world, and recogni- 
 tion would follow as a matter of course.
 
 32 
 
 The fact that Cuba has separate but small 
 bodies of troops operating in different parts of the 
 island is sufficient, if it is manifest, from the sur- 
 rounding circumstances, that these things produce 
 a state of actual war. 
 
 THIRD. But a more important circumstance than 
 either of the foregoing exists in the present in- 
 stance, namely, the preceding history of Cuba. 
 This throws a flood of light upon the rebellion there 
 existing, and enables foreign governments to de- 
 termine without much difficulty that the struggle 
 is one of importance and inaugurated for the estab- 
 lishment of some vital principle and fundamental 
 change. 
 
 This is not the first rebellion that Spain has been 
 compelled to combat. The last one existed nearly 
 ten years, and the insurgents only desisted from 
 the struggle upon receiving promises from Spain 
 that deep and fundamental reforms would be made 
 in the internal government of the island. These 
 promises were not fulfilled; these reforms were 
 never established ; and the Cubans have again in- 
 augurated a struggle, in which they boldly pro- 
 claim that there will be no compromise, but that 
 the fight shall proceed to extermination, and they 
 have incorporated into their constitution an article 
 which proclaims that their ultimatum is the in- 
 dependence of Cuba. 
 
 This is no mere sudden ebullition of the Cuban 
 people ; no passionate or riotous demonstration of 
 a mob. It is n the act of a people struggling for 
 freedom after repeated attempts to live under 
 Spanish despotism. 
 
 This government is bound to take cognizance of 
 these facts. It must not only look at the present
 
 33 
 
 rebellion, but it must study the history of Cuba for 
 the past seventy years, to judge of the character of 
 the struggle, or revolution, which is being enacted 
 there now. 
 
 FOURTH. Finally, the rights, property and in- 
 terests of the citizens of the United States are so 
 affected as to require and demand the recognition 
 of the Cubans by this country on the ground of 
 self-interest or preservation. 
 
 This is always put forward as an important ele- 
 ment, both in the question of recognition and of 
 actual interference. 
 
 What is meant by this proposition is this : That 
 Cuba has for years occupied most important com- 
 mercial relations to this country, which under or- 
 dinary conditions would be largely increased. It is 
 our interest to keep alive and extend these rela- 
 tions, the development of the resources of Cuba 
 being more important to our merchants than 
 those of many of our own States. Millions of dol- 
 lars of American money are invested there which 
 is imperiled, and the commerce between the coun- 
 tries has most materially fallen off. This govern- 
 ment has the clear right to protect this trade and 
 property, especially in view of our natural and 
 geographical relations to that island. For it must 
 be borne in mind that in determining these ques- 
 tions of international law, no isolated fact is con- 
 trolling. All of the circumstances surrounding the 
 subject must be considered, and while in some in- 
 stances the mere fact of self-interest might not be 
 sufficient of itself as a ground of recognition, yet 
 when taken with other matters, it would be a 
 strong reason to uphold such act.
 
 34 
 
 There is no good or substantial reason for delay 
 in this matter by our government. 
 
 The spontaneous uprisings of the people in every 
 part of the country attest the interest and reflect 
 the strong opinions of our citizens in favor of rec- 
 ognition. Every element of life is represented in 
 this popular demonstration. It arises from no 
 mawkish sympathy it is the result of study and 
 belief. 
 
 International law fixes no rule by which so many 
 ounces of blood must be spilled and so many vic- 
 tims die before recognition is accorded. 
 
 All of the influences which should affect any civil- 
 ized power are potent here self-interest, self-pro- 
 tection, geographical or natural, political or moral 
 and commercial causes, justice and right, the dic- 
 tates of Christianity and humanity, all alike cry 
 out in favor of the step.
 
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