Hawke's Bay Herald. TUEBDAY, MAY 3, 1898. SOUTH AMERICA AND THE WAR.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10905, 3 May 1898, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. TUEBDAY, MAY 3, 1898. SOUTH AMERICA AND THE WAR.

Blood Is tiijoker than wster. Tha bbwb, therefore, that three ihonsend South Ametljane hove landed in the Sonth of Cab<j, ready to render asnlstanoe *Q the Spaniards, Is not other than might bave been expsoted. The average inhabltsnt of that wonderful and comparatively little know oontinent thirats for a little blood occasionally, and when there li no Internal reason for shedding U, he generally manages to satisfy his unholy desire in a civil broil. Things have been bs> I tremely dull In the South American republlos for qnlte a prolonged period. There ha. loarcely been one revolution within the laßt year or more, and only a oasual president or so deposed and shot, Those at present lv offioe mast be getting effete and haughty la consideration o' their long reign. These dictators have an opportunity of prolonging their term of offioe— and existenoa. The desire for gore ever surging up to the fiery halfbreed oan he satiated In the struggle with the Anglo-Saxon for the Independence of Cuba. The South Amerloan republics deolared reoently their e.rlob neutrality In the war batween Spain and the Slates, but it was of coursb quite apparent from the first that they could no more hold aloof from participation In the struggle than they could aooept a Battled system of government within their own borders. There are two antagonistic raoea throughout the extent of the Ametioas, thoas of Antjlo.Saxon extraction and predlleotions, and the descendants of the ardent Latin race. The line la drawn olearly between the two, and their Interests must be contlnnally olaahing. The Monroe dcotrlne was praotlo_lly an assertion on the part of the Statea of their right to Interfere in matters affecting the deallny of Amatlca, Indepßndent of any claim exerted, by the peoplea of Europe, In wsrrlng with Spsln Amerloa muab have been assured of the enmity of the South American States which owe thelt origin to Spanish oolonlsatlon. The South Amerloan has no love for Spain, as his siruKßles with her In tha past have proved, and when his sword or knife had been rusting In an inactivity extending over a period of so many months would

do battle with her on a slight pretext, but his hatred of the hereditary foe is still more emphatic, and the tlo of blood will nrge him to wreak hl> violent pasßlon on the raoa whloh has oontested with hia own the Bnpremaoy of the New World sinoe Ita dlsoovery, Despite their pledges of neutrality, the South Amerloan Sd&tes are bound to be the alllet— seoreb If not open-of Spain In the for the possession of Cuba, War and atrlfe are the elements of these Bouthem re-publlos, Life with them h oheap. or M ther a small prloe to pay for thrmtahouoii of having dealt a blow to the anemy. An armed confederation of Spain, the South American States, Austria, aad probably Italy, la a formld. able contingency for America to face, and there la not muoh doubt that she is In »eallt7 at war with them all, Experts predict (had the war will be of long duratlon, and there is little doubt, If it extend over any pro/craoted period, but that the States of South Amerioa will deolare war «n favor of Spain, The difficulty under whlsh Spain at preient labors it the double of obtaining ooal within any leasonable distance of the seat of war. An alliance with the South Amerloan States would get over thla difficulty, and there la little doubt the Spanish war vessels will be able to obtain supplies there at the present junoture, Under tbe circumstances there are oertaln to be breaohes of the neutrality laws, and Eng. land It bonnd to assert herself In Buoh a case. In a state of war it will be partlcnlarly exasperating fo< a Power to risk her chanoea owing to the lack of that whloh Is plentiful, but forbidden. What la required will be obtained somehow. There will besides be great temptation to the residents of British ports to evade the neutrality dictum, If famine prloes are offered for ooal the commercial Bpltlt of John Ball will assert Itself, even to the extent of transgressing his feelings o loyalty and Inborn patriotism,

When the Cuban trouble began and the possibility of a war between the States and Spain wan remote, It la not unlikely that a reoolleotlon of their own straggles for Independence might have urged the South Amerloan States to sympathise with the fasurganti The mutter now, however, has resolved Itself into one of race, and naturally the tie of blood will aisart Itself. Spain and her alienated oolonles are the very pooples to fight Bhonlder to »honlder In amiby, until their enda are gained, and then turn about and rend eaoh ofchor. The aamß spirit which Bhow« a delight in the brutalities of a bull-fight permeates the whole naturo of the Spaniard, and his joy In a oontlnual struggle, either with hio oompatrlota or the foreigner, Is an inheront quality which ends only with life. In war the Spaniard ia exerolelng his ruling quality, and onoe he has taken np the Rage he will contest it to the limit of being utterly orushed. A great military expert recently expressed the opinion that the taking of Havana was only the beginning of the war In Cuba, and there la bat little doubt Spain will contest every foot of the soil of that unhappy Island. The struggle Is pregnant with problems and possibilities, and not the least of them la the part that will be taken In lb by the South Amerioan States.