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apprehension that it may become " a second bt . Domingo" by being " Africanised , " and thus threaten the United States with a similar danger . The despatch remarks : " The inhabitants of Cuba are now suffering under the worst of all possible governments—that of absolute despotism delegated by a distant power to'irresponsible agents , -who are changed at short intervals , and who are tempted to improve the brief opportunity thus afforded to accumulate fortunes by the basest means . As long as this system shall endure , humanity may in vain demand the suppression of the African slave-trade in the island . This is rendered impossible whilst that infamous traffic remains an irresistible temptation and a source of immense profit" to needy and avaricious officials , who , to attain their ends , scruple not to trample the most sacred principles under foot . "
The writers add that , if the Cubans should rise in revolt , " no human power could prevent the citizens of the United States from rushing to their assistance . It is not improbable , therefore , that Cuba may be wrested from Spain by a successful revolution . Messrs . Buchanan , Mason , and Soule , however , prefer acquiring it by purchase ; and they assert that the money which America would be inclined to pay would be of the utmost benefit to Spain , and , by enabling her to create railways , would greatly add to her prosperity . They then remark : —
" After we shall have offered Spain a pr ice for Cuba , far beyond its present value , and this shall have been refused , it will then be time to consider the question—Does Cuba , in the possession of Spain , ser iously endanger our internal peace and the existence of our cherished Union ? Should this question be answered in . the affirmative , then , by every law , human and divine , we shall be justified in wresting it from Spain if we possess the power ; and this upon the very same principle that would justify an individual in tearing down the burning house of his neighbour , if there were no other means of preventing the flames from destroying his own home . "
Mr . Secretary Marcy , in his reply , addressed to Mr . tfoule , directs that minister to ascertain whether official and influential men in Spain are in favour of the project or averse to it . In the latter case , "it will be too evident that the time for opening , or attempting to open , such a negotiation has not arrived . JMr . Marcy , though desiring the cession of the island , does not think that a refusal on the part of Spain would be attended by those dangers to which Mr =-Soule had referred ; and he concludes as follows , referring tojthe case of the Black Warrior and other alleged injuries to the citizens of the United States :
"If the feelings of Spain towards this country are such as she professes—if she desires to perpetuate the relations of peace with the United States—she will yield to our first demands on this subject . Direct diplomatic intercourse , by an agent of the United States with the Captain-General of Cuba , for the mere purpose of presenting grievances , -will not meet the exigencies of the case . The Captain-General must be under an efficient -responsibility . to redress . the wrongs to pur . citizens , committed by his subordinates , when brought to his notice . I have indicated what ought to be accomplished by such an arrangement . Should there be no hope of opening a negotiation for the acquisition of Cuba , you will then present to the Government of Spain the importance of some arrangement for future security in regard
to our trade and intercourse with Cuba , and state to her the object to be secured by it . If she professes a willingness to make such an arrangement , a plan in detail will be forwarded to you for the purpose of being laid before her Government . In resuming negotiations with Spain you will in a firm but respectful manner impress upon the Ministry , that it is the determination of the President to have all the matters in controversy between her and the United States speedily adjusted . He is desirous to have it done by negotiation , and would exceedingly regret that a failure to reach the end he has in view in this peaceful way should devolve upon him the duty of recommending a resort to coercive measures to vindicate our national rights and redress the wrongs of our citizens . "
In consequence of this communication , Mr . Soule " has resigned , as he saw no prospect for his diplomacy but that of " continuing to linger in languid impotence . "
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THE EARTHQUAKE AT CONSTANTINOPLE . The earthquake which has broken in upon the apathy of our Turkish nllies in the midst of their capital , has been moro alarming than serious . Several successive shocks were felt , the first being at five minutes past three in the afternoon of February 28 . " This lasted about half a minute . The motion is described as " a sharp , rapid trembling . " Between three and five o'clock no , less than six chocks were counted ; two followed between seven and eight o ' clock in the evening , and one a little before midnight . All these shocks were alight , with thd exception of the ono which occurred at'ten minutes past seven , and which produced the utmost consternation and some damage .
" The lower animals , " says the Times Constantinople correspondent from whom we derive these facts , " seem to have had some feeling of what was about to happen for several seconds before it was felt by human beings . Horses , both in the streets and stables , stood still and trembling for some ti me before the shock was felt ; for some minutes after , they were hi great terror , and in certain cases they were also aware of the minor shocks which escaped the notice of human creatures . The motion was chiefly felt in the upper rooms of houses . Pera is situated on a hill , and the higher stories of some of its lofty buildings are at no small elevation above the level of the sea . In these rooms glasses were thrown off
the tables , and persons who were standing were obliged to sit down or to cling for support to some fixed object . The motion is described by one who happened to have mounted to the top of Galata Tower as that of a ship in a gale . No report has reached me of any serious destruction of property or loss of life , but the buildings which have been injured are not a few . The British Embassy is one of the most solid edifices in the country ; but , being constructed at the summit of the Pera-hill , it was exposed to the full violence of the shock . A stack of its massive chimneys was thrown down , and the large square sto nes of which the walls are constructed are said to have been , displaced in certain parts . Every bell in
the palace rang violently , and even in one or two churches the still larger masses of metal resounded dismally . A number of minarets in Stamboul and Pera have been thrown down—whether with any loss of life I have not learnt . The large iron chimney of the building where the French bread is baked was broken short off by the shock . The bazaars are said to have been cracked in several places . The motion increased in intensity during several seconds , and for a moment before its cessation it certainly seemed as if the house was coming down . The building seemed to be struck from without , and the feeling was as when two vessels come into collision . The motion then ceased
abruptly . The correspondent of the Daily News says that a manufactory was completely destroyed , and that a school , containing one hundred and fifty children , was thrown to the ground , burying the children in the ruins . ~ The lower classes were exceedingly frightened , and the Mahometans rushed out of their houses , and crouched down in their attitude of prayer . A letter from Broussa reports that the . ancient Greek cathedral was entirely overthrown ; that the cupola of the grand mosque is cracked ; that some Turkish buildings on . the edge of a cliff occupied by the citadel tumbled over , killing twenty-two or twentythree persons who were in it at the time , and-erushing several houses , with their inmates , situated beneath ; and that from the ruins a fire burst out at night , which destroyed five houses . The loss of life is supposed to amount to some hundreds .
Advices from Constantinople , up to March 12 th , published in a German paper , mention that shocks of earthquake still continued ; that the sulphurous springs at Broussa had been dried up ; and that Mount Olympus vomited ... smokeij ^ ke a yolcano .
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SPEECH OF CARDINAL WISEMAN ON THE WAR . Cardinal Wiseman delivered on Tuesday evening , at St . Martin's Hall , a Lecture " Qn the Future Historian ' s View of the Present War , " from which we derive the subjoined eloquent passages : — " The future historian might say that , during forty years of peaceful slumber , England had not thought of providing against the casualties of war—that she had sought only to improve the tranquillity of her restthat she had cultivated the arts of peace—that she had been anxious to improve the education of her peoplethat she had squandered her wealth in compensation to obtain the liberation of her slaves from bondage , and , instead of saving her revenues for war , that she had been trying the greatest experiment in commerce , and successfully too , that the Avorld had ever seen . QC / ieers . ') Instead of hoarding up her wealth against future necessities , she had been endeavouring to relieve the burdens . of her people , and looking upon the peace she enjoyed as the child , and not the parent , of war . . . . Having described the origin of the war , the historian might allude to Russia having extended her huge length across two quarters of the globe , that , whilst her head was surrounded with a diadem of icicles , ono side was deeply indented in the silken beds of China , and the other rested upon icebound regions unassailable and inaccessible , and that her only part which was at all vulnerable , like that
of Achilles , was her Crimean heel , which pressed upon the neck of Turkey , and that , too , encased not only in threefold , but tenfold , stoel . . . . To the historian , the question would naturally arise , What was the cause of the difference in the position of the French and English armies ? , If the historian , in his endeavours to discover tho cause of our misfortunes , wcro to look buck at tho history of other nations , ' ho could not fail to bo struck by tho fact that , in tho most brilliant periods of their oxistonco , they had been ruled by ono individual , and guided by ono head . Such was tho case with Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain , Charlea V . of Germany , Peter the Great ,
Charles of Sweden , and , not to come to nearer times Louis XIV ., whom poets so far deified as to say that " he ruled without a Minister , and saw with his own eyes . " The principle here referred to had never , however existed in this country to any extent—there always having been an extreme jealousy of individual power . There was no point of government in which contest had risen so early as those which gave rise to the struggles with regard to who should have the control Of the army . Richard I . Henry III ., and the First Edwards , were surrounded by their guards , not , however , without exciting jealousy so it was with their successors , Edward III . and the Second Richard , with this difference , that bowmen were substituted for their mace-bearers . This was looked
upon with jealousy , and led to a protest from Parliament on the subject . During the time of the Stuarts , an essentially despotic race , no efforts were ma de on the part of the people to thwart their monarchs . As soon , however , as a difficulty arose between Parliament and Charles I ., from the wish of the Long Parliament to extend its power , then this jealousy again exhibited itself . This laid the foundation for the power of Cromwell , and even that was watched with jealousy ; for , when he had secured the person of Charles , he was called upon to disband his army to 5000 foot . He then , however , became involved in war , at the conclusion of which he was once more called upon , by the remnant of a Parliament that existed , to disband his army ; and this led to his declaring himself Protector . "
The Cardinal afterwards alluded to the want of businessmen in our army » which consists chiefly of nobles and of the lowest class ; and he spoke highly of the noble letters written home from the camp by rough and humble privates . He also alluded to the French army system , which gives a chance of promotion to every deserving man , and mentioned that it is no uncommon thing in France to meet the son of a nobleman in the uniform of a common soldier , the nobleman being well aware that his son will rise if he deserve to do so .
" They were told , and the experience of the past cam . paign had proved it , that the English had no commissariat service sufficiently amalgamated with the army , running side by side with it , as might be said—it being so ill-defined that no one appeared to know how it should co-operate with the action of the army , or by what method it might ' be best brought to bear to supply its wants . The French , on the contrary , had a well-defined ' intendant corps . ' This body was organised fully in the year 1843 , before any expectation could be entertained of the present war , and whilst the country was at peace . " . . . They had heard how the Government of this country had endeavoured to obtain surgical assistance , andhow the hospitals had been canvassed arid medical men entreated and implored to go to the seat of war . The question naturally arose why that want had not been foreseen , and why the medical staff had not been
properly organised during a time of peace . In France , it had been so as long since as 1836 , , and the most rigid and minute details had been laid down for the regulation of their hospital staff in war as well as in peace , those regulations being comprised in a thick octavo volume . of 500 pages . . . . . . . _ . It was to the introduction of the additional class—the middle , the business class—he thought they must look for a remedy ; and , in drawing a contrast between what had and what might have been done , the historian would refer to the progress made by the railway at Balaklava . . . . This was an iron age , because , iron had been made subservient to their wants , and hastened their speed to the end of their journey . There were , no doubt , those present who could call to mind tho being suddenly aroused from a deep and quiet slumber upon arriving by a train at the station of some neat town . At the first moment
all would appear confused and without form . Then , upon looking around , they would see piles of luggage which would not disgrace tho landing-place at Halaklava . They would hear loud exclamations from those seeking for places or endeavouring to find their luggngo . AH would appear confusion and misery . In tho next moment the word would be given , the train would be oil , the confusion would no longer bo apparent . On looking back , nothing would be left to view but the lights ol the station , still burning clear and distinct . As the lessened
distance increased , those lights would become and concealed , until thny gradually appeared ns one single light , and then mingled with tho stars of the heavens . So would the historian in future clays , when looking back upon tho scenes that had passed , sco Alma , Balaklava , and Inkorman , ns bright lights on tlio P" « ti of history—lights which would bo intercepted by others equally as brilliant , until they resolved themselves in ono single constellation , and seemed as a lixed star m tho firmament of England's glory .
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THE FAST DAY . This day of "Fust , Humiliation , and Prayer" has come and gone ; tho Privy Council huvc had their whim : Church and Sect have severally pointed out our national stris and tho infallible roads to rig hteousness ( roads lying very far apart from one iinotlier , and sometimes playing at terrible cross purposes ;; and , as a consequence , wo may consider ourselves » step ncurer Heaven—and tho conquest of bobastopoi .
2 H 2 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ^ ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 24, 1855, page 272, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2083/page/8/
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