THE CRISIS IN CUBA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIX, Issue 11541, 30 March 1898, Page 4

THE CRISIS IN CUBA.

Humanitarian grounds will be the pretext for American intervention in Cuba, should such take place, but the real casus belli will undoubtedly be the destruction of the United States warship Maine in the harbour of Havana, when soma hundreds of men were killed and others seriously injured. The inquiry into that tragic occurrence has proved that a mine was exploded underneath the Maine, and although nothing has been discovered as to who was responsible for the diabolical outrage, it cannot be doubted that it was the work of Spaniards, and there is every reason to believe that only those occupying an official position —in other words, Spanish officers-—could have laid the mine and exploded it. These convictions, operating upon the American people, are certain to intensify the demand for intervention in Cuba. The element of revenge for the deliberate assassination of hundreds of American bluejackets is likely to play an important partin the matter; and though Congress is at present said to be anti-bellicose in its feeling, it can hardly resist the pressure of public opinion. The Spanish Government would appear to be genuinely alarmed, as its representative is doing all he can to reassure the authorities at Washington, and to delay American intervention until the proposals of Spain are made known. A circumstance that makes for peace is the fact of the Spanish elections having given the Liberal Government a stronger hold of office than it formerly possessed; but Americans are far from being satisfied with the denials by Spain of the reports of destitution and starvation existing in Cuba. President M’Kinley’s message to Congress asking for half a million dollars for the relief of distress among the Cubans is a further step in the humanitarian programme, and amounts to a grave indictment of Spain. , That programme was laid down. in the President’s message at the opening of Congress, when he said of the war in Cuba: —“It is not civilised warfare, it is extermination, and against this abuse of the rights of war the President has felt constrained to protest repeatedly, firmly aud earnestly.” Forcible annexation of Cuba to the United States, the President went on to say, would be a “ criminal aggression,” and he added that Spain’s efforts to introduce reforms were reasons against intervention on humanitarian grounds. It was laid down, however, that these reforms must be effected “within a reasonable time,” and it may he argued that the delay in pacifying Cuba and relieving the terrible sufferings of her people has been unreasonable and cruel. “ Millions for defence, but not a penny for relief,” seems to be the motto of the Spanish Government. It is now some months since the United States Senate passed a resolution recognising the Cubans ao belligerents, but that; resolution is inoperative because it has not been endorsed by the President aud House of .Representatives. The reasons urged against the recognition of belligerency are that it would confer a status ou neither side, while it would weigh heavily on Spain’s behalf in giving her the right of search on the high seas, and thus of extending her maritime rights to the margin of American territorial waters. President M’Kinley is also personally averse to an “ unholy war,” and he will deserve well of mankind if he should prove able to relieve the Cubans and wring reforms from Spain without the use of force. But there is a point at which peaceful submission to wrong becomes an evil and when war ceases to be “unholy.” In the opinion of many people that point has been reached in the case of Cuba; and on humanitarian grounds it would have been preferable to have had a decisive war between Spain and the United States over a year ago, rather than that the Cubans should have suffered the fearful miseries and cruel atrocities of the war of extermination waged against them. Humanitarian sentiment seems ludicrously out of place when dealing with a Power like Spain; at any rate; in so far as it operates as a deterrent against armed intervention on behalf of her victims. The United States would have the moral sympathy and support of Great Britain and of every civilized nation in a campaign that should once and for all put an end to Spanish iniquities in Cuba.