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Origin and Conduct of Cuban Wars: Island--the

Spain chose to selfishly use Cuba--to govern the Island through swarms of office holders, to arbitrarily order the course of her industries, and get the advantage of the products of the Island in the promotion of her own manufactories and commerce. She crushes manufactories in the Island that the sugar and tobacco money may go for the Spanish manufactures and the extension of the commerce of Cadiz and Barcelona.

Here are two capital mistakes, one political, the other economical, and between them is immense in justice and intolerable oppression. The favored culture of sugar and tobacco has also been fruitful of difficulties that first appeared in comparatively mild forms of disorder, until at last the question arises in the present state of the country, whether the liberty denied to petition, remonstrance, argument--to warfare within the lines of civilization--can be won by carrying fire with the sword, and rearing the edifice of independence upon a smoking desert. This is a great matter--whether the tree of liberty will thrive and bloom growing in bloody ashes; and the stories of personal outrages and the romantic fictions, that are given to the world in the official reports of the Spanish Government, and in the gossip of the Cubans, that though full of true incidents is yet distorted and discolored, until the weariness of misunderstanding overcomes the faculties of perseverance and discrimination, and so much is said that little is known--should cease to be of the highest interest.

The present war in Cuba is the second and enlarged edition of that which raged from 1868 to 1878, originating in the same grievances of the Cubans and the same abuses of government by the Spaniards. The ten years' war was of like character with this, in the conduct of hostilities, and the leading men on both sides in the two wars are the same. There were the roving bands of insurgents and pursuing columns of Spaniards a quarter of a century ago as now; the same strong Spanish lines across the Island--the same deadly skirmishing and deadlier fevers--the same deplorable incidents, exasperation and exhaustion.

Martinez Campos and Maximo Gomez were the great figures at the close of that war as at the beginning of this, but there is the change always to be considered that the area of strife is extended, and the destruction of life and property has been vastly augmented. Then but three of the six provinces were partially laid waste, now the whole extent of the Island is devastated. There is about the same proportion of forces now as then. Both armies have in numbers been multiplied by three, and the insurgents have gained in confidence, and in the freedom with which they apply the torch. Then they were comparatively conservative in dealing with the plantations that they occupied--now, when they have traversed the lands that are the sources of wealth, they have become destroyers, until we may assume--indeed we cannot do otherwise--that the sugar and tobacco crops are at an end while the war lasts, and the whole country is frightfully impoverished, and seems falling into an abyss.

When we consider how intense were the sufferings in the ten years' war, how numerous the losses, and compare what was done then with what is going on now, we cannot fail to see that this war is so destructive, so consumes men and money, and annihilates industry, that it cannot endure--that one year now is equal in extirpation of civilization and the consumption of all the resources engaged, to five of the long war; and upon this basis of calculation we come to the conclusion that in some way the war has but about one year to run. Recently a Cuban sympathizer presented in a brief communication the corner--stone of the substantial Cuban grievances, as follows: Should the Cubans allow the grinding of cane and gathering of tobacco, it would mean the exporting of that merchandise, amounting to, approximately, $80,000,000. It is well known to those who are engaged in the Cuban trade that about every dollar's worth of merchandise that Cuba exports finds its way back again in other merchandise from all parts of the world. This means that fully $80,000,000 of goods would go through the custom houses inwardly, leaving with the Spanish treasury the usual custom house dues on the same, which, for ten years previous to the present trouble, yielded $20,000,000 per annum. Here is just where the shoe pinches the Spanish foot. The destruction of the sugar crop, etc., thus means to the Spanish treasury a loss of between $20,000,000 and $25,000,000 instead of this paltry $450,000, as the Spanish minister would have the people of this country believe.

A Cuban lecturer declares that Spain derives from Cuba from $50,000,000 to $60,000,000 annually, which is rather vague for business, and yet all the profit she gets is indirect, through the personal government carried on by transitory favorites, often both corrupt and incompetent, and if able and anxious to do well, subjected to a system of selfish extortion, far in excess of the resisting forces of individual integrity.