DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE AND FOREIGN RELA'I 



230 



citizen* of the United States, in violation of the pro- 



- <>f tho Treaty of 1705 between the Government. 



..; tin' 1'nited States uml (lie (iovurninont of Spain. 



ill ul so find a furtiuT i imunication on the 



wuine subject in regard to a claim which was presented 



Department subsequent to the transmission of 



to of the 9th instant. K;ie!i of the oases mon- 



. in the former of these notes had previously 



10 siibieet of instruction to the eonsul-genoral 



of the United States at Havana, to bo brought to the 



attention of the authorities of the Island of Cuba, and 



Mimd for redress. 



You will observe that those notes were sent to Mr. 

 Lopez Roberts under the supposition that the ex- 

 traordinary powers as to Cuba, which were conferred 

 upon him by his government last year, were still 

 i in him, and that they were broad enough to 

 authorize him to arrest these infractions of the rights 

 secured by the treaty, and to obtain the restoration 

 of their properties to the citizens of the United States. 



I um informed, however, by Mr. Roberts that these 

 ;>ouvrs a -e no longer efficient, and that he can do 

 nothing in the premises. 



I have, therefore, to instruct you to bring this 

 whole subject to the notice of the Spanish Govern- 

 ment, and to say that the President hopes that imme- 

 diate steps will be taken for the release of all the 

 citizens of the United States who may be held in cus- 

 tody in Cuba in violation of the provisions of the 

 Treaty of 1795, or for the immediate trial under guar- 

 antees, and with the rights secured by the treaty. 



You are also instructed to ask for the restoration to 

 the citizens of the United States of their properties 

 and estates, so far as the same have been arbitrarily 

 embargoed in violation of the provisions of the treaty. 



You will also endeavor to secure some mode for 

 the early and equitable indemnification and satisfac- 

 tion, to the several parties whose rights have been 

 violated, of the amounts which, should rightfully 

 come to each claimant for the illegal detention of his 

 property or his person. You .will say that this sug- 

 gestion is made in the interest of peace, of justice, 

 and of good-will, in order to secure a measure or 

 damages in each case, which shall be just as between 

 the two governments. 



You will also say that it is extremely desirable to 

 have the investigation conducted in this country. It 

 cannot be done in Spain without subjecting the claim- 

 ants to unnecessary expense. It cannot be done in 

 Cuba at present without subjecting many of them to 

 personal danger. In this connection I must again, 

 on behalf of this government, express, in the interest 

 of good-will and the continued good understanding 

 which we desire to maintain with Spain, the strong 

 desire of the President that the government at Madrid 

 will confer fresh powers upon Mr. Lopez Roberts (or 

 upon such other person on this side of the Atlantic 

 as may be selected for that purpose) to arrange all 

 such questions with this government. 



The Spanish authorities in Cuba seem to be clothed 

 with absolute power for the commission of such acts 

 as are now complained of, but, when redress is sought, 

 we are referred to the distant Cabinet at Madrid, 

 where it is often found necessary to refer again to 

 Cuba for information, and the case is thus suspended 

 and delayed, to the grievous injury of the parties and 

 at the hazard of irritation from the delay, of which 

 the necessity is not apparent to the impatient suffer- 

 ers or to the public. 



The President has respected the Spanish claim of 

 sovereignty over the Island of Cuba during the pres- 

 ent contest against a strong sympathetic pressure 

 from without. Spain owes it to the United States, as 

 well as to her own traditional sense of justice, that 

 her sovereignty shall not be used for the oppression 

 and injury of the citizens of this republic. You will 

 urge this point in every way that your good judgment 

 may suggest. I am, general, yours, etc., 



HAMILTON FISH. 

 Major-General DANIEL . SICKLES, etc., etc. 



The fifth group of decrees relates to the 

 iimritiinu jurisdiction of Spain. 



Tho first, dated March 24, 1809, and promul- 

 gated by Domingo Dulce, declares the disposi- 

 tion of the political authorities in Culm to 

 1 iv:it the crews of suspected vessels captured 

 in tho vicinity of the island as pirates, and 

 further provides for the immediate execution 

 of all persons so captured. 



Tho cruel murder of Speakman and Wyeth 

 was one of tho lamentable results of this bar- 

 barous decreeo. 



In the second decree, dated July 7, 1869, 

 Captain-General do Rodas finds it convenient 

 to unite and amplify several previous di- 

 tiona, and among others that of the 24th of 

 March above described : 



[Translation.] 



riRST SECTION GENERAL SUPERIOR OFFICES SUPERIOR 

 POLITICAL GOVERNMENT OF THE PROVINCE OF CUBA. 



HAVANA, July 7, 1869. 



The custody and vigilance of the coasts of this 

 island, adjacent keys, and territorial waters, being 

 of the utmost importance in order to put an end to 

 the parties of insurgents, which have been sustained 

 by exterior aid, determined to give a vigorous im- 

 pulse to their prosecution, and in order to explain 

 certain doubts which have occurred to our cruisers as 

 to the genuine interpretation of the decrees pub- 

 lished by this superior political government under 

 date of the 9th of November, 1868, and 18th and 26th 

 of February, and 24th of March, of the present year, I 

 have determined to unite and amplify in this all of 

 the said dispositions, which therefore remain substi- 

 tuted by the present, and, making use of the faculties 

 with which I am invested by the government of the 

 nation, I decree : 



ARTICLE 1. There shall continue closed to import 

 and export trade, as well for vessels in foreign com- 

 merce as also those in the coasting-trade, all the 

 ports situated from Cayo Bahia de Cadiz to Punta 

 Mayso, on the north, and from Punta Mayso to Cien- 

 fuegos, on the south, with the exception of those of 

 Sagua le Grande, Caibarien, Nuevitas, Gibara, Bara- 

 coa, Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Manzanillo, 

 Santa Cruz, Zara, Casildo, or Trinidad, and Cienfue- 

 gos, in which there are established custom-houses or 

 collection-offices. 



Those who attempt to enter the closed ports or to 

 hold communication with the coast shall be pursued, 

 and, on being apprehended, prosecuted as iufractors 

 of the laws. 



ART. 2. In accordance with the same there shall 

 also be prosecuted vessels carrying powder, arms, or 

 military supplies. 



ART. 8. The transportation of individuals for the 

 service of tho insurrection is much more grave than 

 that of contraband, and will be considered as an act de- 

 cidedly hostile, being proceeded against in such case 

 as an enemy, the vessel and its crew. 



ART. 4. If the individuals to which the preceding 

 article refers come armed, thcv will afford proof in 

 fact of their intentions, and will be tried as pirates 

 the same as the crew of the vessel. 



ART. 5. There shall also be held to be pirates, in 

 conformity with law, vessels which mnv be seized 

 bearing a flag not recognized, whether tne same be 

 armed or not as vessels-of-war. 



ART. 6. On the high-seas contiguous to tho of 

 this island the cruisers shall confine themselves to 

 exercise over such vessels as may be denounced, or 

 those that by their proceedings excite suspicion, the 

 rights stipulated in the treaty signed by Spain with 

 tho United States in 1795, with Great Britain in 1885, 

 and with other nations subsequently ; and if in tho 



