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 Copy 1 
 
 Affairs of Cuba 
 
 «s. 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF • -y^ 
 
 •r 
 
 OF MARYLAND, 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
 
 JUNE 14, 1870. 
 
 The House having under consideration the joint resolution reported by the 
 Committee on Foreign Affairs in relation to Cuba — 
 
 Mr. SWANN said: 
 
 Mr. Speaker : I regret to find myself separated from my honorable friend 
 from Indiana [Mr. Orth] and the gentlemeu who have united with him in the 
 minority report. It is a source of congratulation, however, to me that we are 
 agreed upon one point ; and that is that something must be done for the suffer- 
 ing people of Cuba. I feel dso gratified that I am spared the labor which would 
 otherwise have been imposed upon me by the position in which I find myself by 
 the able and exhaustive argument of the honorable gentleman from Massachu- 
 setts, [Mr. Banks.] He has relieved me of the necessity in presenting the 
 Anew which I propose to take of this most important question, of going into 
 many of the details which I would have felt bound to exhibit to the House in 
 illustration and defence of the position I have assumed. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, for months past the Committee on Foreign Affairs have had 
 under consideration various important memorials which have been referred to 
 them concerning the rights of American citizenship and the duties of this Gov- 
 ernment in maintaining its relations with foreign power?. Among these was 
 the recognition of neutral rights in Cuba, upon which an elaborate report had 
 been prepared by the honorable chairman of that committee, [Mr. Ranks,] and 
 a day appointed for its discussion •in this House. It was not without profound 
 astonishment and regret, on the eve of that discussion, thatd witnessed the 
 proceedings of yesterday. The President of the United Statesffbrgetting what 
 was due to the committee and to the dignity of this House, but with a view to 
 anticipate its action, came before us with a message which I will venture to say 
 is without precedent in our past legislative history. It was a deliberate attempt 
 to influence the action of this House ; it was an insult to its members and to 
 the country. It was an announcement that the American Congress was incap- 
 able of forming a judgment of its own. upon great questions of public policy 
 without the advisory aid of the Executive. This message, evidently the work 
 of counsel, contains no new fact which would bring it within the province of 
 the Executive in communicating information to this House. It discloses no- 
 thing that was not as well known to the committee as to the President. It was 
 gratuitous and uncalled. for in the discharge of any official duty imposed upon 
 him. 
 
 The report of the chairman of the committee on the affairs of Cuba having 
 gone forth to the public, it became necessary, in the absence of the requisite 
 intelligence on the part of this House, to break the effect which it was so well 
 calculated to produce ; and the President of the United States, taking his posi- 
 tion at the Clerk's desk as the advocate of Spain, pours out his budget of as- 
 
* / 
 
 Burned facts, illogical inferences, and undigested absurdities upon the patriot 
 cause of Cuba. Did General Grant mean by this novel exhibition to divert 
 public attention from the weakness and imbecility of his past management of 
 our foreign policy? Does he think that the people have forgotten it, or will 
 ever forgive him for it ? He tells you that the Spaniards and the insurgents 
 are all barbarians alike, but does he give you any evidence of this beyond the 
 fact that the latter have been driven to the lex talionis and a mode of warfare 
 wholly beyond their control as a sheer measure of self-protection ? He tells 
 you that the insurgents have no established government ; but does he get this 
 from any other than Spanish sources, in whose interest he is speaking ? He 
 tells you that there is no formidable opposition to the authority of Spain, and 
 yet he admits that wiih eighty thousand men and a navy equal to our own, 
 Spain had»*made no progress up to this time in putting down the rebellion. Is 
 not this evidence of a state of war ? He tells you that outrages have been per- 
 petrated upon our citizens. Does he propose any plan of relief in the future 
 beyond the miserable protests and remonstrances of which he speaks, which 
 have emboldened Spain and made him ridiculous? He tells you 'with a shrug 
 that the patriot government has issued bonds to be used in achieving its inde- 
 pendence. Does he not know that the American people did the same thing in 
 •their struggle for liberty ? He tells you that the declaration of neutrality 
 would entitle Spain to enlarged powers, under the treaty of 1795, and would 
 revive the right of search ; but he does not know that that treaty was nego- 
 tiated to secure freedom from the right of search, and has been so interpreted 
 by the. highest judicial tribunal in the country ? But apart from this, does he 
 seriously believe that an attempt will ever be made to revive this right, aud 
 least of all by a contemptible power like Spain ? 
 
 Mr. GARFIELD, of Ohio. On what ground does the gentleman say that the 
 President had no right to make a communication of this sort ? 
 
 Mr. SWA NX. I said that pending the discussion of a great question of this 
 sort in the House of Representatives it was unbecoming in the President, of the 
 United States to intrude himself into this House for the purpose of controlling 
 its deliberations. 
 
 Mr. GARFIELD, of Ohio. I understood the gentleman to deny his right. 
 
 Mr. SWANN. I do not deny the right, but I deny the propriety of such a 
 movement on the part of the President of the United States. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, this effort of General Grant to intrude himself into the delibera- 
 tion of this House, and to influence and forestall its legislation to the detriment 
 of a people struggling for liberty, or for any other purpose, is a precedent too 
 dangerous to be viewed without alarm. It should receive an indignant rebuke 
 at the hands of this House. The co-ordinate branches of this Government must 
 be kept distinct and separate. General Grant has no business to appear before 
 us in any such partisan character. He has* no right to interfere. No one 
 knows better than he does the condition of things in Cuba, and the insults to 
 which we have been subjected ; and to claim that we have no right to correct 
 these evils, even by the application of force, if necessary, is below the standard 
 of American statesmanship and degrading to a nation like this. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, this message of the President indicates no fixed polic3 7 for the 
 future but that of inactivity and non-interference. He wants the struggling Cu- 
 bans to lay down their arms and submit to the despotism which is attempted to 
 be fastened upon them. It is no more, than we had a right. to expect.' Our in- 
 stitutions are to continue to be outraged, our commercial relations with Cuba 
 interrupted, and our citizens murdered in cold blood, to say nothing of the war 
 upon humanity which has been going on with such revolting cruelty for months 
 past. No American citizen will be safe in Cuba after this policy has been an- 
 nounced, if we fold our arms in quiet submission, as General Grant recom- 
 mends, to await the tardy development of events, extending maternal aid and 
 sympathy to Spain in the mean time, as we are doingm>i|f we shall fall beneath 
 the dignity of the weakest power with which we hold intercourse to-day. I had 
 hoped, sir, that we had reached a period when we could stand above the devices 
 which are sometimes resorted to to intimidate weak governments ; but the bug- 
 bear of a war with Spain, so prominent a feature in General Grant's message, 
 
 10 JAr\*-^ 
 
% 
 
 has caused that high officer to tremble at the very idea of intervention, ov the 
 \ passage of any resolution by this House, and to forget the power and greatness 
 
 of the nation over which he presides. The American people will sink appalled 
 4 at the degrading picture which it presents. 
 
 The joint resolutions reported by the majority of the Committee on Foreign 
 ■< Affairs, which I hold in my hand, are in the following words : 
 
 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Stales of America in Congress 
 assembled, That the President of the, llniced States be, ami hereby is, authorized and instructed 
 to declare and maintain a strictly impartial neutrality on the part of the Government of the 
 United States in the contest now existing between the people of Cuba and the Government of 
 the kingdom of Spain. 
 
 Sec. 2. And be it further resolved. That all provisions of the statute approved 20th of April, ISIS, 
 entitled "An act in addition to the act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United 
 States, and to repeal the acts therein mentioned," shall be construed to apply equally to each 
 of the parties in the existing contest between the people of Cuba and the Government of 
 Spain. 
 
 Sico. 3. That the President is hereby authorized and requested to lemonstrate against the 
 barbarous manner in which the war in Cuba has been conducted, and, if he shall deem it expe- 
 dient, to solicit the co-operation of other governments in such measures as lit- may deem neces- 
 sary to secure from both contending parties an observance of the laws of war recognized by all 
 civilized nations. 
 
 The substitute proposed b} r the minority comprises the following provisions : 
 
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress 
 assembled, That if any person shall, within the limits of the United States, lit out, arm, or equip, 
 or attempt to tit out, arm, or equip, or procure to be fitted out, armed, or equipped, or shall 
 knowingly be concerned in the fitting out, arming, or equipping, of any ship or vessel, with intent 
 that such ship or vessel shall be employed in the service of any European prince or State, for the 
 purpose of subduing American colonists claiming independence, or shall issue or deliver a com- 
 mission within the territory of the United States for any ship or vessel with the intent that she 
 may be employed as aforesaid, every person so offending shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, 
 upon conviction thereof, shall be flued in any sum not exceeding rive thousand dollars, and be 
 imprisoned for a period not exceeding two years nor less than six months ; and every such ship 
 or vessel, With her tackle, apparel, and furniture, together with all materials, arms, ammunition, 
 and stores, which may have been procured for the building and equipment thereof, shall be for- 
 feited, one-half to the use of the informer and the other half to the United States. 
 
 Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That in every case where a ship or vessel Shall be fitted out, 
 armed, or equipped, or attempted to be fitted out, armed, or equipped, contrary to the provisions 
 of this act, it shall be lawful .for the President of the United States, or such person as he shall 
 have empowered for that purpose, to employ the land or naval forces, or the militia of the 
 United States, or any part thereof, for the purpose of taking possession of and detaining any such 
 ship or vessel. 
 
 Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, T! at the provisions of the act approved April 20, 1818, entitled 
 "An act in addition to the act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States, 
 and to repeal the acts therein mentioned," shall be held to apply and be in force as to all at- 
 tempts of American colonies, or parts thereof, to assert their independence; and the words 
 "colonies, districts, or peoples" in such act shall be held to apply to and include all such Ameri- 
 can colonists claiming independence, as described in the first section of this act. 
 
 The leading resolution reported by the majority, in which I cordially concur, 
 proposes to recognize the existence of a state of war in Cuba, and to pledge this 
 Government to a strict neutrality as between the contending powers. In' invit- 
 ing attention to this subject I am quite aware of the responsibility which it im- 
 poses upon the committee and upon the House in any action they may deem it 
 their duty to recommend. I have risen with no purpose, therefore, to make a 
 sensation speech. I would alla3 r rather than increase the excitement which the 
 introduction of this subject produced a few days ago upon this floor among 
 gentlemen of both political parties. It cannot have escaped notice that for 
 months past the country has been watching with intense interest every phase 
 in the revolution now going forward in Cuba ; and it cannot be doubted for a 
 moment that the sympathies of the American people are with the patriot cause in 
 that abused and oppressed land. 
 
 When Spain threw off the j^oke of that corrupt dynasty which had brought 
 her government to the verge of ruin, the people of Cuba, sympathizing with 
 the revolution, indulged the hope that with the freedom of the home govern- 
 ment a more auspicious future awaited them in the reconstruction which was 
 expected to follow. They had suffered under the rigor of an exacting and ab- 
 solute despotism, with no voice in the administration of their own affairs ; their 
 property held by uncertain tenures, their dearest rights trampled upon and dis- 
 regarded, and with no appeal from the tyrant sway which had been exercised 
 over them, and which had reduced them almost to the condition of abject 
 slavery. Situated so near our borders, they had caught the inspiration of our 
 free institutions, and had become restless under the disappointments which had 
 attended all their previous efforts at reform. But this dream of a new era in 
 their political condition was, I regret to say, of short duration. The Spanish 
 people had not been educated to understand the value of freedom. It became 
 
necessary that they should decide upon the form of government which was to 
 liberalize their institutions and take the place of that which had been overturned 
 by their efforts. It was a period of intense interest to Cuba. Up to this mo- 
 ment, strange as it would seem, no definite action has been taken ; but enough 
 had transpired to justify the inference that Spain has fallen back into her nor- 
 mal condition, and that the prospects of Cuba to-day are even worse than before 
 the revolution took place. 
 
 To this cause, Mr. Speaker, we are to attribute the antagonism which has 
 grown up among- the natives of that island against the provisional government- 
 of Spain, and which has enlisted to so great an extent the sympathies, not only 
 of our people, but of the civilized world. 
 
 I am free to confess, Mr. Speaker, that the foreign policy of this Government, 
 if indeed we have any, has not been such as to inspire confidence with any class 
 of our citizens. It has been vacillating, timid, and indecisive. The claims of 
 American citizenship have been lost sight of; war vessels have been fitted out 
 in our waters, under the very eye of the President, to deal unjustly by a people 
 struggling for freedom against despotism and oppression; our claims upon 
 Great Britain for depredations upon our commerce have been postponed without 
 a protest ; our citizens have been imprisoned and murdered in cold blood, and 
 we have been compelled to throw ourselves on a memorable occasion upon the 
 good offices of a foreign power to secure to us that protection which was the 
 right and privilege of American citizenship, and which our own Government 
 failed to extend to us. 
 
 It is in no spirit of party that I speak thus strongly, and I am happy to find 
 that I am Only reflecting the views of prominent gentlemen on the other side of 
 the House. I am not here to deal unjustly with General Grant. I accord to 
 him honesty of purpose, however lame and halting the policy which he has 
 thought proper to adopt. If he has not come up to the standard which the 
 people expected of him, it is a responsibility for which he will be held accoun- 
 table, and from which no effort of mine would shield him, if I was disposed to 
 act as his champion and defender. If his sympathies had been thrown with 
 the struggling people of Cuba in the early stages of the rebellion, instead of 
 being smothered by the unfriendly and uncalled-for rigor with which he execu- 
 ted the laws of neutrality, Cuba would have been free to-day, and her citizens 
 would have repaid the obligation by the establishment of a government in har- 
 mony with our own. 
 
 When this subject was before Congress at its last session I expressed my 
 views at large in regard to the proper action of the committee to whom it had 
 been referred from the then stand-point. I was prepared at that time to extend 
 to the people of Cuba the moral support of this Government by the expression 
 of our warmest sympathy in their struggles for freedom. Some of the South 
 American republics had promptly recognized their belligerent rights. It was 
 contended that there was no official evidence of any organized government or 
 any formidable power capable of maintaining itself against the provisional gov- 
 ernment of Spain, and without the existence of such a government and such a 
 power we had no right to interfere. To a certain extent this was true. Since 
 then, however, the war has gone on without abatement. The whole power of 
 Spain has been brought into requisition to crush the rebellion and restore her 
 relations with her people. Another j*ear has elapsed, and we find Cuba in the 
 same attitude of resistance, hold out against all efforts at subjugation, and 
 Spain, notwithstanding her protestations of triumph, and the pretended subsi- 
 dence of all organized resistence to her authority, increasing rather than dimin- 
 ishing her armies in that quarter. 
 
 It is a significant fact, to which I call the attention of the House, that up to 
 this time, in the face of the telegrams and sensation articles, which have be- 
 come so frequent of late, heralding the complete success of Spain over her rebel- 
 lious subjects, there has been no diminution of her force, notwithstanding the 
 enormous expense to which she is subjected from day to day, and which must 
 soon end in the bankruptcy of her treasury, if it has not reached that point 
 already. Spain seems to have gained no decided advantage in the conduct of 
 the war, and the fact is apparent that with the policy upon which the insurgents 
 
are acting, and their fixed determination never to submit to the authority of the 
 mother country, they may hold out without limitation as to time. Are not these 
 facts sufficient to justify a more decided policy on the part of this Government ? 
 Is it not conclusive evidence of the state of belligerency for which the friends 
 of Cuba are contending ? What the exact condition of the insurgents may be 
 beyond the fact of their formidable numbers it will not be important to inquire. 
 General Jordan, who was before the committee, states upon bis honor as a man 
 of truth, that a bona fide government, republican in form, has been established 
 in Cuba by the patriots of that island, and is now in full operation ; and that 
 the people engaged in the rebellion constitute a very large element of their 
 population ; that they have been underrated from the fact that their policy has 
 been one of passive inaction ; not to meet the Spaniards in large numbers, or to 
 be drawn into a pitched battle, but to worry them out by a running or guerilla 
 warfare, which may be kept up so long as it may suit their purposes and allow 
 time for other and more formidable combinations. This they believe to be the 
 most effective mode of ultimately accomplishing their independence. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, the information which we have obtained heretofore through 
 Spanish sources has been entitled to little credit. ' Their interest has been to 
 blind and mislead the public mind in regard to the persistence with which Cuba 
 has held out and is still holding out against their immense power. The events 
 of the war have been a sealed letter, so far as they could control them. No 
 important information is permitted to leave the island except under the strictest 
 surveillance, and it is only from some patriot who had evaded the vigilance of 
 the authorities and made good his escape that we are kept posted in regard to 
 what is transpiring from time to time. I have no doubt, from what we know 
 already, that when the vail comes to be lifted Ave shall have presented to us a 
 picture of tyranny and oppression and human suffering Avhich will be without a 
 parallel in the world's history. 
 
 But what is the duty of this Government as the case stands before us to-day ? 
 Are we to continue to withhold all expression of sympatic with these strug- 
 gling people, in the face, too, of the unfriendly spirit which the armies of Spain 
 have -manifested toward this Government and the daily outrages upon our citi- 
 zens ? Are we to persevere in this policy of weakness and indecision, which, 
 while it has emboldened Spain to pi-esume upon our forbearance, has entailed 
 incalculable injury upon the patriot cause and the suffering people of Cuba ? I 
 am for passing this resolution. I am for proclaiming our strict neutrality as 
 between the belligerents on the island. Our right is indisputable, and my sym- 
 pathy for the insurgents prompts me to this action.. I see no reason why we 
 should help Spain in such a contest ; but I do see very great reason why we 
 should extend all the moral aid in our power to a people who are suffering under 
 the j^oke of oppression, who are friendly to free government, and desire to fol- 
 low the example which we have set them. If there is no contending element 
 presenting the proportions that we claim, as Spain would have us believe, our 
 action can do no harm; but if there is, the sympathies of the American people 
 are with Cuba and against Spain, and the sooner she is made to realize it the 
 better. 
 
 The outrages upon our citizens, to which I have referred, is a view of this 
 subject to which we cannot shut our eyes. The people of this country demand 
 that the rights of American citizenship shall be respected, not only in Cuba, but 
 throughout the world. Spain has not done this, as the report of the committee 
 abundantly shows. On the contrary, she has permitted or proved herself unable 
 to prevent insults and outrages which the people of this country will submit to 
 no longer. I do not propose to refer in detail to the facts stated in the report 
 of the chairman of the committee showing these acts of wanton insult to Ameri- 
 can citizens, but I point to them to show the necessity of some action on our 
 part to let Spain know that the American people are not indifferent spectators 
 of these unfriendly acts. 
 
 It may be well to allude to the fact that Cuba to-day is virtually in the hands 
 of those who have been sent there to defend it. The volunteers who compose 
 the army are in undisputed possession of the island, hostile alike to Spain and 
 the United States. The Captain General has no recognized authority but to 
 
I 
 
 6 
 
 carry out their wishes and register their edicts. This does not diminish the 
 responsibility of the Spanish Government. These volunteers, composed of men 
 of the most despotic tendencies — desperate in their purposes and their fortunes, 
 and aspiring to the absolute possession of the island at no distant day — have 
 conducted this war in a manner revolting to humanity, and calling for interfer- 
 ence in the interest of humanity, if nothing else. But they have committed out- 
 rages upon our citizens which Spain, if she was disposed, is unable to prevent. 
 They are awaiting the termination of the war with the insurgents that they 
 may wage war upon Spain, who, powerless now, will be still more prostrate 
 when she finds this force arra} r ed against her. I refer to this fact to show the 
 complications that are daily assuming importance and which will have to be 
 dealt with in the future. 
 
 This Government can make no treaty with such an element, nor can she 
 quietly submit to the existence, at her own door, of a government beyond the 
 pale of civilization, hostile to her free institutions,, and a stumbling-block in the 
 way of moral and religious development. The report of the minority refers to 
 the Monroe doctrine and the propriety of its permanent re-enactment as the 
 settled policy of this country. In the main I have no fault to find with it. The 
 Monroe doctrine has answered well its day and generation. It was announced 
 as the policy of this Government when we were in the infancy of our growth. 
 I for one am opposed to any restrictions which that doctrine may impose at the 
 present advanced stage of our national progress. The American people expect 
 that this Government will take its stand among the nations of the earth; first, 
 because she is to-day the most powerful and commanding. She must stretch 
 forth her arm in vindication of the rights of man, whenever and wherever they 
 may be ruthlessly invaded, and lend its protection to suffering hunianhVy, from 
 whatever quarter the appeal may come. 
 
 I am not one of those who covet an extension of territory. I do not desire 
 the annexation of Cuba, or any other outlying colony. I am content with what 
 we have. But while I say this, I must say with equal emphasis that I would 
 permit no interference with the great mission upon which we have entered. If 
 Cuba, under the guardianship of Spain, stands in the way the consequences 
 will be with herself. If she persists in the oppression of her people, in the vio- 
 lation of the rights of American citizenship, in the disregard of the common 
 laws of humanity, she must be taught the example which this nation holds out 
 to her. She must recognize the laws of advanced civilization, or she cannot 
 exist long, whether as a province of Spain or an independent power in such close 
 proximity to the American people. Her soil will be invaded in the interest of 
 freedom, and the American flag will float over her in spite of the combined 
 powers of the world. 
 
 The report of the minority of the Committee on Foreign Affairs seems to me 
 to arrive at the same conclusion substantially as those reported by the chair- 
 man, [Mr. Banks,] with the single exception that the minority propose to report 
 a bill, general in its character, applying to any future conflict in any American 
 possessions of a European power. It presents, in my judgment, a distinction 
 without a material difference. Such a general law is not necessary to carry 
 out the object proposed by the minority, nor will such a form of law make the 
 action of the committee any more palatable to Spain, if the desire be to avoid 
 her displeasure. The whole object of the majority is the enforcement of the 
 strictest neutrality on the part of this ■ Government between the conflicting 
 powers. If similar cases arise hereafter with other European nations they will 
 be dealt with as circumstances may suggest, and it will be time enough to take 
 up such cases at thej r occur. 
 
 Besides, Mr. Speaker, in reference to other European powers, who have not 
 violated the laws of humanity or acted in an unfriendly spirit toward this Gov- 
 ernment, I am not disposed to take any present action whatever. I do not see 
 the propriety or advantage of any such general law, nor do I see that the con- 
 version into law of the Monroe doctrine is a matter in which we have any par- 
 ticular interest. The measures reported by both the majority and minority 
 look to neutrality; and this is all that the majority propose. The report of the 
 minority admits that Congress may exercisa this power. If Spain takes offence 
 
much more would other European powers take offence, where their relations 
 were friendly to this Government and no good reason existed for such action. 
 I can see no sufficient argument for any such general law. Spain can do as she 
 pleases. If she commits outrages upon humanity and the rights of American 
 citizenship, she can only blame herself for the special legislation which this 
 action proposes. 
 The minority say : 
 
 " We do not deem it necessary to raise any question as to the right of this Government to make 
 a general declaration of neutrality." 
 
 They also make a distinction between the right and the duty to do it. Now 
 it occurs to me, Mr. Speaker, that there is too much special pleading and nice 
 refinement in the reasoning of the report of the minority. When they concede 
 " that the policy proposed by them in the present and future cases waives any 
 question of power, character, or prospects of the revolutionary party, that it 
 assumes the right of American countries to self-government, and declares the 
 policy of this Government as not inimical to the assertion of that right in any 
 case," they concede really all that the majority are contending for ; and whether 
 their action is in the shape of a general or special law, applying to one or all, 
 does not materially alter the case. 
 
 The right of a government to make a declaration of neutrality, as proposed 
 in the resolution of the majority, cannot be questioned for a moment. All the 
 writers upon international law have laid down the rule upon this subject, which 
 cannot well be mistaken. My colleagues in the minority refer to the authority 
 of Mr. Adams in support of the American doctrine. That distinguished publi- 
 cist says, in his correspondence with Earl Russell : 
 
 " If. after the lapse of a reasonable period, there be little prospect of a termination of the strug- 
 gle, especially it tins be carried on upon the ocean, a recognition of the parties as belligerents 
 appears to > oe justifiable, and at that time, so far as I can ascertain, such a step has never in fact 
 been objected io." 
 
 This is sound doctrine, and differs in nowise from the universally recognized 
 precedents upon this subject. The minority further refer to the language of Mr. 
 Dana, in his edition of Wheaton's International Law : 
 
 » The occasion for the accordance of belligerent rights arises when a civil conflict exists within 
 a loifign state. Ihe reason which requires and can alone justify this step by the government of 
 anoiner country is that its own rights and interests are so far affected as to require a definition of 
 its own relations to the parties." 
 
 The majority are perfectly willing to stand upon the doctrine as laid down in 
 both the extracts to which I have referred. This country has certainly waited 
 a " reasonable period » for the termination of this war in Cuba. That hostili- 
 ties are_ still going forward to such an extent, on the part of the insurgents, as 
 to require the whole power of the provisional government to hold it in check, is 
 also a fact- which cannot be disputed. If there is no formidable opposition to 
 the government assuming the proportions of war, if the rebellion is at an end, 
 why not at once dismiss the volunteers and send them back to Spain? Mr. 
 Dana's reasoning is equally to the point : " The rights and interests of this 
 Government have been so far affected as to require a definition of its own rela- 
 tions to the parties." The drift of events in Cuba can never be recognized as 
 in accordance with the " interests " of the American people, and the outrages 
 which have been perpetrated upon our own citizens can never receive the sanc- 
 tion of the civilized world. I see no reason, therefore, to object to either of the 
 authorities referred to in the minority report, and have to thank my colleagues 
 h>r the support they give to the action proposed to be taken by the majority of 
 the committee. 
 
 In drawing a distinction between the right of this Government to pass a reso- 
 lution of strict neutrality between Spain and her oppressed people and the duty 
 imposed upon us to maintain the honor of our flag, the minority of the commit- 
 tee seem to ignore all the facts, startling as they appear in the report of the 
 majority. Have these facts been questioned or denied ? What duty can be 
 more imperative than that which looks to the protection of our citizens ? Has 
 not this Government forborne long enough? Are our relations with Spain such 
 as to induce us to forego the exercise of any right which attaches under the law 
 of nations, especially when by so doing, in the case of Spain, we throw the 
 weight of our influence in uDholdini? the acts of inhumanity which have marked 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRE 
 
 the progress of the war ? Will any one deny that the strugg 1 015 999 813 
 potie and free government ? Nor am I less surprised that the minority smruiu: 
 refer to the " offense " which the adoption of this resolution may give to Spain. 
 In legislating upon questions affecting the great principles of free government 
 such arguments are humiliating to our national pride. In planting ourselves 
 upon right andjustice it is to he presumed that we are prepared to meet any 
 consequences which our action may provoke, and whether offensive to Spain or 
 any other European power, could hardly influence the action of the American 
 Congress. The minority seem to proceed upon the idea that we have no cause 
 of complaint against Spain to justify this declaration of neutrality, as the least 
 rigorous of all the modes of showing our displeasure at her past conduct. Our 
 duty to a suffering people, apart from the outrages to our own citizens, would 
 furnish sufficient ground for the most summary intervention, not only on our 
 part, but that of any civilized power. 
 
 "The savage and remorseless spirit in which the Spaniards seek to crush out the Cuban rebellion 
 has made friends for it of multitudes in this country who were indifferent to its success before. 
 When old men like General Goicouria a::d boys like the sons of President Cespedes; when non- 
 combatants, planters, officers of all ranks, privates by the score, are garroted or shot as soon as 
 they are made captive, it cannot be expected that hearts not made of iron can refuse to sympa- 
 thize. The cruel and murderous spirit of Spain seems invulnerable to all the humanizing influ- 
 ences of the age. It is indeed one of the few qualities of the Spaniard, that still remind men of 
 the nation which once disputed with the English race the empire of the Sew World, and which 
 has lost almost everything it ever had but the obstinate and merciless spirit which h*as driven all 
 its colonies into revolt, and compelled them all except one or two to achieve their independence. 
 As we have over and over said, our Government ought to remonstrate and protest sigainst the 
 barbarous and Woody doings of the Spaniards in Cuba, and without reference to anything else in 
 either the majority or minority report of the committee, we rejoice. that Mr. Banks makes such a 
 suggestion. There is no doubt, from what was said lqn'g ago in Parliament by a member of Mr. 
 Gladstone's administration, that the British Government would be glad to unite with, our own in 
 any measure that might be thought necessary for putting a stop to the atrocious and daily cruel- 
 ties of the Spaniards to their helpless Cuban captives."— Baltimore Sun, June 13. 
 
 This question of Cuba, Mr. Speaker, is one which has been exciting the coun- 
 try for months past, and should be disposed of upon some fair basis. Their 
 recognition as in a state of belligerency is all that is asked at our hands ; and 
 upon every principle of right and duty I do not see how we can longer withhold 
 it. The idea that such recognition can lead to a war with Spain is simply an 
 absurdity. It is the exercise of an undoubted' right, sanctioned by the usage of 
 nations in their relations with each other. But were it 'otherwise, I should not 
 be intimidated by the propability of any such contingency. The responsibility 
 would be with Spain, and the first gun fired in such a war would give her little 
 to trouble herself about in the future in her relations with that island, or it may 
 be her own continued existence as an independent power. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I do not propose to pursue this subject further. As a member 
 of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, I felt it due to myself that I should pre- 
 sent my views to this House for what they are worth. I am amazed at the utter 
 demoralization into which our foreign polic t y has fallen since the present admin- 
 istration came into power, when a petty despotism like Spain can insult our flag 
 and murder our citizens with impunity. Protection, sir, is the right of the citi- 
 zen. It stands at the very base of all government. What are your commerce 
 upon the seas and the immunity of your citizens abroad without it ? I have no 
 desire to provok£°war in any form or with any people. I deprecate war as the 
 greatest calamity that could befall a nation. But I am free to say that even 
 war, with all its sacrifices, has no terror for me when great principles are 
 involved. I would see this broad land ablaze with excitement from center to 
 circumference, and its great highways alive with moving armies, rather than that 
 the humblest of our citizens should suffer at the bauds of foreign arrogance and 
 presumption. We must be vigilant and exacting in demanding justice and 
 repelling insult, if we would retain the confidence of our people. No nation can 
 be great unless she places a proper estimate upon both her power and her obli- 
 gations of clutj-. 
 
 Published by the National Democratic Executive Resident Committee, Washington, D. C.