| Show THE FIRST VICTORY the complete victory of the american squadron over the spanish naval forces at manila cannot but have fax far reachie effects with the spanish bips demolished and the capital of the philippines captured the united states is supreme in the pacific our ships engaged in that battle were the flagship olympia 6 one of the best cruisers afloat captain C V gridley rear george dewey commander in 14 chief the cruiser baltimore captain H X M dyer the cruiser boston captain frank Wil diez the cruiser concord comander asa walker the cruiser raleigh captain J B coghlin the gunboat petrel commander E P wood the steamer revenue cutter mcculloch the ships were the following the cruiser reins reina Christ inathe cruiser castilla Cast llla the cruiser velasco the cruiser don juan de austria don antonio de ulloa the gunboat el cano the gunboat gen lezo the gunboat marquez quez del duero and some smaller boats the details of the engagement are am as yet necessarily mea gerand the full account cannot be had until later but it is quite evident from spanish dispatches that the victory was a glorious one and that the losses of the otna in ships and men were terrible this first defeat in the combat spain SO 80 recklessly has engaged in should open the eyes of the people to the situation it if they have been kept ignorant as to the relative strength of the two nations there Is no longer any excuse for such ignorance it if the sagasta government is not totally blind they will regard th the e annihilation of the asiatic squadron as an omen of what is to follow they will seize the opportunity unity of retreating from cuba with port such good grace as they may be able to command and probably be sustained by the best element in spain in view of the utter weakness of the count rys fighting forces if nat further disaster will befall them and a revolution at home sweep them from positions they now occupy another the such defeat and signor Cri forecast as to the end of spain will come true this Is all the abre more probable because the victory oft off manila la is almost certain bertal n to turn the sympathy of europe away from spain as the ignominious defeat of greece in the late war did for that country cause is weak anyhow and her only chance to strengthen it would be the display to uphold it of the necessary power without that power she will hav havea no friends 9 no allies there is a lesson tor for SIP spain an in the recent history of china when japan had demonstrated the weakness of the chinese empire the sympathy of europe was unless the madrid government gone heed the warning of the omen the fall of manila may be the finis his |
