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Origin and Conduct of Cuban Wars: Cubans

The ten years' war in Cuba the more interested the United States because we had abolished slavery by the war process, and the same work was done in Cuba in the same way, only that the slaves were more active than with us, in the use of arms to secure their freedom. The Manifesto of the Cuban revolutionary party that has been most extensively circulated in the United States says that before the outbreak in 1868, the reform party, which included the most enlightened, wealthy and influential Cubans, exhausted all the resources within their reach to induce Spain to initiate a healthy change in her Cuban policy. The party started the publication of periodicals in Madrid and in the Island, addressed petitions, maintained a great agitation throughout the country, and "having succeeded in leading the Spanish Government to make inquiry into the economical, political and social condition of Cuba, they presented a complete plan of government which satisfied public requirements as well as the aspirations of the people. The Spanish Government disdainfully cast aside the proposition as useless, increased taxation, and proceeded to its exaction with extreme severity."

It is not unusual as the present war is discussed with Spaniards, for them to admit that the Cubans, in 1868, had real grievances, and fought well, as they say, to gain a true reformation. The same men now affirm there is nothing honest in the present war to fight about.

Mr. Clarence King says slavery was practically killed by the ten years' war, and "Campos only bound Spain to publish the death notice. The main concession for which the insurgents accepted peace was the promise of constitutional reform. As a matter of fact, there promptly followed four royal decrees as follows: June 9th, entitling Cuba to elect deputies to the Cortes, one for each 40,000 people; June 9th, dividing the Island into the present six provinces; June 21, instituting a system of provincial and municipal government, followed on August 16th by the necessary electoral regulations. But the system was immediately seen to be the shadow without the substance of self-government. The provincial Assembly could nominate only three candidates for presiding officer. It was the inevitable governor-general who had the power to appoint, not necessarily one of the three nominees, but any member of the Assembly he chose. But all this provincial machinery is in reality an empty form, since expressly by law the governor-general was given the power to prorogue the assemblies at will. The deputies have never been able to accomplish anything in the Cortes. Moreover, the crux of the whole financial oppression--tariff, taxes, and absolute control and expenditure of the revenue--remained with Spain."