THE CONDITION OF CUBA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXII, Issue 89, 23 April 1898, Page 2

THE CONDITION OF CUBA.

To the Editor of " The Evenino Mail." Dear Sir,— l cime across a copy of the Mail of September 23rd, 1897, with a leading artiole upon tho Cuban questionTlie facts stated are so pertinent to tbe oase at issue that I think tbo re-piiblio*-,-tion of them would tend to enlighten your readers very much.' The United States declared " that the civil war must be ended by the Ist of October last, after which tho United States would take aotion and f ecure the independence of Cuba."— One very important proposal must not be lost sight of amidst the clash of arms. The proposal made by the States for the release of Cuba from Spanish rule, or misruie, is that the Q-.sen Regent of Spain be paid £'20,000,000 in lands as compensation for llin loss of. Cuba. The United States Government will guarantee the bonds, which wonld be secured in the revenue of the Islar.d. It is a thousand pitirs that tho Spaniards did not accept tbe above terms. The Cubans have shown, by tbeir heroic defence against superior numbers, tliat they are entitled to the sympathy and support of all genuine lovers of liberty. I am, etc., FUGH 0 BULLACH. Nelson, 22/5,98. As requested, we publish beliw the article referred to, from the Mail of 23rd September last :— The matter of the independence of Cuba may be of remote and .abstract interest to us so dißtant ; but as a free people, enjoying the blessings of British rule and self-government, the efforts of tho islanders to release themselves from the • Spanish yoke must enlist onr sympathy. Moreover, in view of the commercial importance of Cuba, whence como to us many of the necessaries and luxuries of life, now part of ourselves, it is of moment that settled conditions should soon bo restored, in order that production may no longer be arrested. The Uriitod States of Amoricv, as a near neighbour and sympathiser, have helped the rebels (perhaps patriots is the better term) more or less secretly ; but it U obvious that though the native Cubans cannot be regarded as a fine and energetic race as we understand national attributes, they have fought long, bravely, persistently, against treraenous odds, and successfully, although all tbe resources of Spain have been arrayed against them. When the story of the Cuban revolt is told in detail there will be found much to admire, though at present great results cannot be hoped for from the material available in the building of a now nation. The experiences of the past in regard to the aequriring of independence by the South American peoples do not give warrant for optimism. The mixture of Latin, Indian, and negro blood has not • been a promising national product; but it is just probable that Cuba's nearness to the great Northern Republic may influence her destiny for good. It may bo assumed that tho now open interference in tbe affairs of the revolted Cubans by the United States will have an important bearing on the future of the nation, for, though the ' Yankees ' respect and display Bentircent, they liko to combine it with sound common sense and business prinbiples. A free, enlightened, progressive, and stably governed Cuba will be of incalculable value to the trade of the States. On tho other hand^ihe present condition of rebellion and arrested production is doubtless impeding seriously commerce in many of the most important products and manufactures the world uses. The robellion is of long standing, as its cause is deep-rooted. The Spaniard, whose colony Cuba is, has taken all the offices of emolument, all the privileges of residence and land ownership, and all the rights of trade. The Customs are regulated to suit the interests of Madrid, jußt as the Government and pnblio services are conducted solely to find places for tbe scions, moro or less worthless, of influential Spanish families. With modifications, the Cuban rebels are laying a parallel of history. Over 100 years ago, in Boston harbour, masked men threw overboard from the Britinh Bbips tea on wheih they declined to pay duty to King George j but the Custoniß tax was the mero symbol of a host of grievances which the American colonists had borne for a century, among them the nepotism and corruption of British bureaucrats and politicians, and the oppression of vested interests in the ruling Mother Country. The casting away of the tea chests at Boston was a declaration that the.colonists would be overborne no longer, not that they declined to pay duty on tea. Similarly, the Cubans, in the early stageß of their discontent, asked for bnt a little and were refused, and now they demand all or nothing. Too late, when the blood of the patriot Maceo had cemented the Cubans in a bond of vengeance and revolt, tbe Spanish Government offered a compromise, but the terms were promptly rejeoted. It must have been a picturesque and historio scene when General \\ eyler, ihe Spanish General — almost as unsuccessful in battle as Marshal Campos — made overtures in vain to Maximo Gomez, the rebel leader, on whom Maceo's mantle had fallen. Some day that incident will be immortalised on canvas, as it and tho death of the hero Maceo have already been immortalised in Cuban song. The concessions offered by General Woyler, in return for the rebels laying down their arms, included a general annesty, and home rule or autonomy. Bnt the Spanish CaptainGeneral of the island, reserved the right of veto over tbe Acts' of tho People's Assembly, which virtually left things as they are. General Weyler also stipulated that the cost of the war of ■ the rebellion should be paid by the rebels— which was equivalent to asking a cat which had half-eaten a sparrow to restore the feathers, the terms boing suggested by the sparrow. Thus, while thero is deadlock, and while Che rebels aro at least losing no ground and gaining an occasional victory, those on whom Spain has largely to depend — the financiers— desire an end to a situation which is detrimental to the interests of commerce, and which seems to have no chance of definite and early termination. The Hothschilds notified I Spain that they would jceaso advancing money for the Cuban war after the Ist July last, and thus ' already Spain has been left comparatively without means to continue the struggle. America has now stepped in openly, and declared that the Cuban war must be ended one way or another by Ist October, after which tho States will take aotion to secure the independence of Cuba. This may not be an ultimatum and a virtual declaration of war ; but if made to a Jmore powerful nation than Spain, and one more fitted to cope with America, it would be a casus belli without any equivocation. The proposal made by the States for the release of Cuba from Spanish rule is that the Queen Regent of Spain be paid 100,000,000 dollars (£20,000,000) in Cuban bonds as compensation for tho loss of Cuba. The United States Government will guarantee the bonds, whioh would be secured on the revenue ofcthe island. In view of the peculiar notions of monetary obligations for which South Americans are proverbial, the United States stipulate that the Cuban revenue shall be colleoted nnder the direotion of American officers, and applied to the extinction of the debt to Spain. By this plan Spain wonld get a goodronnd sum, equal to ready money, and American trade with Cuba would be resumed on its former basis. But the longer Spain delays acceptance of the proposal, the less ohance is thero of the Cuban revenue being available for years to meet the debt. The war of the rebellion iB desolating the country and arresting production, and in a year production is likely to cease absolutely. The sugar industry of the island, as important as ita manufacture of oigars, is alroady on tho verge of ruin, and in a very few months of existing conditions it will bo destroyed altogether. It will be seen tbat there is as much business as sentiment in America's peremptory demand for an immediate settlement of the Cuban question ; but it is hoped by all lovers of freedom that, whether as a matter of sentiment or of business, the Spanish grip on the Pearl of the Antilles will Boon be relaxed.