Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY April 25, 1898.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXII, Issue 90, 25 April 1898, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY April 25, 1898.

All hope of peace being preserved between the United States and Spain is now at an end, War has been formally declared, and the first overt acts have already been per-, formed. Where or when the end will come Divine Providence alone knows. The conditions nnder which: the waris likely to be waged are outside the limitations of modern international Jaw, and hence there are certain to be confusion of issues, complications, and perhaps reprisals, uot only by a belligerent power willing enough to observe modern rules of war if met hKlf-way by the enemy, but also by neutral powers which will not suffer interference with tbeir oommeree on the plea that the contending nations have not signed tbe Declaration of Paris. A Bort of assurance has been given by A merica tbat she will not resort to privateering ; but how will it be possible for this rule to be observed if Spain harries Amerioan over sea trade withont regard to the flag which the carrying vessels display ? Already, if the cablegram published to-day is oorreot in Ub details, an American cargo of wheat from San Francisoo to Antwerp, being oonveyed on a vessel -which hoisted the British flag, has been seized by a Spanish warship, It is of course impossible to form any idea of the importance or insigoifioance of this early action till more details are to hand ; but under ordinary conditions oi modern warfare it would be sufficient for a vessel to show a neutral fl.g to be exempt from capture so long as she could provo that her cargo was not contraband oi war. It may be that the vessel seized by the Spaniards was so obviously an Amerioan trader that the hoisting of our flag was considered a mere ruse (though so far as we know, the Shenandoah is still a London registered vessel), Or , Or it may be an indication that, not being ona of the signatories to tho Declaration of Paris, Spain has no intention ol observing the rule ' which exempts from seizure an i enemy's goods not contraband of)' •war iv a vessel flying a neutral flag, j

In this respect Spain will have the ifoe best of America, for of aU the t] rest commerce which Spam onoe \ possessed very little indeed is now l loft. A fow vessels carry wine and * fruit, and some trade ia dono in a cereals, cotton textiles, aud copper. \ Bat there will be little need for Spain to seek registration wilh some neutral power, for her over-Bea trado ' is not worth it. She may bfe able c to protect her Mediterranean traffic, on which abe largely depends for i " cnrrent expenses ' by maintaining ( a homo squadron at Cadiz, and she ] will also be comparatively secure in | the knowledge that . it may not be | worth while for America to ' detach a fleet of vessels from the bace for tho purpose of , harassing this traffic — at least, till I the theatre of the wai* is removed 1 from Cuba to ■'■pain itself. Conse- ' quently, very little reliance can be placed on tbe asanrance, expressed , or implied, that the two belligerent nations wil! virtually respect the ; provisions of tho Declaration of Par's. One of the effects of the war will be felt almost immediately by smokers, at least by smokers of oigars. lhe supply from Havana has been arrested for som9 time owing to the rebellion ; but even the limited output of the presoni wi'l vow be stopped, not only by the blockade of Cuba, but also by the total abandonment of the industry till the war is over, It is (rue that most of the common or garden variety of Havana cigars are grown and made in Hamburg; but that will not prevent traders from taking all the advantage they can, as protectionist manufacturers do of prohibitive duties. A blockade of Manila, the other great cigar-pro-ducing centre, is also more than probable, and it is likely to be more effective than that of Cuba. Moreover, rebellion in the Philippines has also arrested production *to a marked extent, though the effect on the market has not manifested itself very markedly as yet Then again, the war will certainly reduce if it will not altogether arrest tho production of tobacco in America itself, and in the course of a few months, if (ho war lasts, the smoker of tobacco, even if he be independent of cigars, will feei the strain. It is an ill wind that blows no one any j good however, for if the MpanishAmerican war only lasts long enough an enormous fillip wilt be given to tobacco-growing in Australia, and perhaps in this colony too. Furthermore, the fine tobacco from whicft the " Burmah " cigar is made is grown for the most part in India. Hitherto the American, Cuban, and Philippine cigar has limited the market for the Indian product ; but it is now possible to bring both colonial and Indian tobacco- growing into commercial prominence. It is satisfactory to learn that America intends to observe, virtually, at least, tbe terms of the Declaration of Paris, relating to neutral^ flags, ar.d that the San Francisco mail service is not likely to be interfered with. 'ut if the Shenandoah, which has been captured by Spain, is really at present under British charter if does not seem as tf Spain will respect the neutrality of a flag if the enemy's goods are carried under it. The difficulty, as already explained, is that as Spain has no inter-ocean commerce worth mentioning, she has all to gain and nothing to lose by ignoring modern international law to which she has not submitted. | However, jt is too early yet to form any definite opinion. To-day's telegrams, though they do not contain any seemingly important news, convey a hint that is very significant. It is stated that the "Alphonso XJL," a Spanish vessel, with 1000 troops, has been captured by the American flagship New York in the vicinity of Havana. If it should happ9n that this refers to the Spanish warship " Alphonso XIU.," whioh is an important deck protected and partially protected cruiser owned by t'pain, the capture has been effected with ominous ease. It is hoped that the fighting, will be sharp and short, and that there will be as little bloodshed as possible. Spain mu9t surely yield in the long run, and if she is merely " showing fight " in order to be able to leave the citadel with " flags flying and the honours of war," Then a fow decisive engagements might decide tbe issue, and Spain may be induced to retire from Cuba without a prolonged struggle which haa in it elements likely to involve the whole world in the quarrel.