Page:McClure's Magazine volume 10.djvu/502

TROPICAL COUNTRY SCENERY ON THE UPPER SAN JUAN RIVER, BACK OF MATANZAS.

the treaty rights of American citizens, and, therefore, after viewing this dead body, went to my office and, finding that there was an American named Scott who had been arrested and was already "incomunicado" a much longer time than the prescribed limit of seventy-two hours, I demanded that he be released from "incomunicado," and at the end of three days he was released, and since the hour I made the issue no American citizens have been thrown into "incomunicado" cells, and all Americans who were arrested afterwards for supposed offenses or captured in the insurgent ranks were invariably turned over to me, and I sent them to the United States.

THE FAILURE OF AUTONOMY.

During all this period the war, if the conflict going on in the island could be so dignified, was dragging its slow length along. So slow was the progress to suppress the insurrection, that at last the Spanish authorities in Madrid began to despair of terminating it successfully. For this reason, and in my opinion this reason alone, the Canovas Ministry decided upon a new Cuban policy, and proclaimed that they would put into operation certain reforms which would give the Cuban people more power to regulate their domestic concerns. After a great deal had been written and said on the subject, the proposed reforms at last were sent to General Weyler, who was obliged to appear favorable to the action of the Spanish Ministry, though it was well known he was not in favor of terminating the war except at the sword's point. Early it became manifest that the Cubans, with or without arms, did not propose to accept such reforms. In the first place, they had no confidence that they would ever be put into practical operation after their firearms had been stacked, and in the next, they considered it too late to adopt any such measures. Six months ago the Canovas reforms were buried in the same grave with the murdered statesman. A new ministry, under the leadership of Sagasta, was formed, who, finding that the reforms had not served the contemplated purpose, decided to go through the form of granting to the Cubans a still more liberal measure, which they called "Autonomy." It was an elaborate system of "Home Rule" with a string to almost every sentence; so that I soon became satisfied that, if the insurrection against the Spanish throne on the island ceased, the condition of the Cubans would speedily be the same as it was at the commencement of the war. I gave the reasons therefor in a paper now on file in the State Department which clearly proved that the Spaniards could easily control one of the legislative chambers, and that behind any joint action on the part of both was the veto of the Governor General, whose appointment was made from the throne in Madrid.

This system of autonomy, however, was gravely proceeded with. An autonomistic cabinet was seriously formed, composed in part of Cubans who, though at one time in favor of a government of the island free from Spanish control, had given satisfactory intimations that, if they were appointed to cabinet offices, their former opinions could be modified to suit existing circumstances.