OCR Text |
Show CUBA AND HER CAPTAIN GENERAL- 'flw Spaniah authorities at Havana nci;iu determined to complicate matters mat-ters with tho United States, and to judge from their frequent peculiar proo:cdiogs in which Amoriuan citi zens aro concerned they aro in a fair way to succeed. It is but a vary short time rsineo the urrest of Bidwoll as u "Bank cf .England" swindler, he claiming to be an American citizen, innocent of tho ohargo and deprived of liis liberty and personal property without with-out shadow of law, Cuba having no extradition treaty with Great Briuan; and our Tuesday's tolcgrams announce the purposed court martial trial at Havana of three Amorican seamen, on suspicion of attempting to join the insurrectionists; in which" trial U. S-uonsul S-uonsul Young signifies his intention to havo a word to say, tho captain general gener-al of Cuba to the contrary notwithstanding. notwith-standing. Tho late cry for "10,000 troops from Spain," which welled up from this samo captain general, shows that he is in no safe condition to wear high-heoled boots, boots with spurs, just at this date At the. time when ho counted tr.o insurgents 2,500 men, and proposed to i wind up their affairs in a couple of mouths, it might bo well enough to have used bravado. Ameri- can sympathy is known to be the greatest insptrer of hope in tho breasts i of tho struggling Cubans, and the notable captain general, calling for JO.OUOTnoops to crush tho rebellion, were wise to consent to como down to ignoro his o'erpowcring importance, scuii-occasionally, when treating with American citizens. Lie can illy afford to whistlo many now airs until a more propitious season. lu tho latter part of Doeembor, president CespedeB, of tho Cuban republic, re-public, said: "With a force of five thousand Americans wo could secure our independence in threo months. Tho moral ctfjet would bo to make every Cuban in the land rise to free his country and drivo tho Spaniards from tho sou. That Cespcucs knew whereof ho spoko is shown by the present uncertain tenor of the Spanish rule, even in Havana, a revolt being feared in that city, at any day; and by the late Cubau successes at Alarzanillo aud other poiuts. "Our first act was to declare all slaves free tho unity of blacks and whites on terms of equality," said Cespedes, three months ago. Again: "We aro worrying the Spaniard to death, and will continue in that lino if it should take twenty year;." Aad in reply t;pain answers, "No reforms will bo inaugurated in the government ol Cuba while a single insurgent remains in the ialuud." These are utterances of the past; but now tho changed tone of Spanish pronunciamintos is given tongue by the cry uf gcue.-al Ceballos I hat "a Urge body of troops is imperatively impera-tively needed in Havana, as a revolution jaay break out among tho Spaniards at any moment; and the slaves also are meditating revolt." Certainly, under tho present condition of affairs, the captain general of Cuba will ruako co capital out of persecution of American citizens, and his attempt to bluff oon-urd oon-urd Young in tho seauiun w urt martial trial can mt prove of great avail to tie t Htering cause. |