208 



CONGRESS. (CUBAN AFFAIRS.) 



tors Lindsay, Sherman, Frye, Caffery, and others. 

 Senator Allen, of Nebraska, offered a substitute for 

 the pending resolution, as follows : 



" Resolved, etc., That the President of the United 

 States be, and he is hereby, authorized and request- 

 ed to issue a proclamation recognizing the Republic 

 of Cuba as it exists under the constitution and form 

 of government proclaimed at Jimaguaya, under 

 President Cisneros, in the month of May, A. D. 1895, 

 as a free and independent nation, and according the 

 envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 

 of said republic all the rights and privileges accord- 

 ed to the envoy extraordinary and minister pleni- 

 potentiary of the Government of Spain." 



In the course of his address on his resolution Sen- 

 ator Allen said : 



" Mr. President, I would go further in the inter- 

 ests of humanity than these resolutions propose to 

 go. I would not only recognize the belligerent 

 rights of Cuba, but I would establish her as one of 

 the republics of this earth. If need be, I would 

 muster every man in the United States and every 

 war vessel necessary to the accomplishment of the 

 task, and I would erect on the ashes and ruins of 

 Spain's control of that island a republic modeled 

 after the institutions of our own. Sir, I would not 

 only do that, but if I had it in my power, I would 

 admit the minister of the Republic of Cuba, feeble 

 as it may be, unimportant in the eyes of the world 

 as it may be, to the diplomatic circles at this capi- 

 tal on an equality with the minister from Spain." 



Senator White's amendment was laid on the table 

 by a vote of 57 yeas to 12 nays, 20 not voting, and 

 Senator Allen's "by a vote of 52 to 17, 20 not voting. 

 There was some discussion as to the propriety of 

 securing action by the President by making it a 

 joint instead of a concurrent resolution, but that 

 was not done. The concurrent resolution, with the 

 addition of an amendment submitted by Senator 

 Cameron and accepted by unanimous consent, was 

 passed Feb. 28. It was : 



"Resolved by the Senate (the House of Represen- 

 tatives concurring), That, in the opinion of Con- 

 gress, a condition of public war exists between the 

 Government of Spain and the Government pro- 

 claimed and for some time maintained by force of 

 arms by the people of Cuba ; and that the United 

 States of America should maintain a strict neutral- 

 ity between the contending powers, according to 

 each all the rights of belligerents in the ports and 

 territory 'of the United States. 



"Resolved further, That the friendly offices of the 

 United States should be offered by the President to 

 the Spanish Government for the recognition of the 

 independence of Cuba." 



The vote follows : 



YEAS Allen, Allison, Bacon, Baker, Bate, Berry, 

 Brown, Burrows, Butler, Call, Cameron, Cannon, 

 Carter, Chandler, Clark, Cockrell, Cullom, Daniel, 

 Davis, Dubois, Elkins, Faulkner, Frye, Gallinger, 

 Gear, Gibson, Gorman, Gray, Hawley, Hill, Irby, 

 Jones of Arkansas, Jones of Nevada, Kyle, Lindsay^ 

 Lodge, McBride, McMillan, Mantle, Martin, Mills,' 

 Mitchell of Oregon, Morgan, Nelson, Pasco, Peffer, 

 Perkins, Pritchard, Proctor, Quay, Roach, Sherman, 

 Shoup, Smith, Squire, Stewart, Teller, Thurston, 

 Turpie, Vest, Walthall, Warren, White. Wilson 64. 



NAYS Caffery, Chilton, George, Hal , Morrill, 

 Wetmore 6. 



NOT VOTING Aldrich, Blackburn, Blanchard. 

 Brice, Gordon, Hansbrough. Harris, Hoar, Mitchell 

 of Wisconsin, Murphy, Palmer, Pettigrew, Platt 

 Pugh, Sewell, Till man, Vilas, Voorhees, Walcott 



In the House, March 2, Mr. Hitt, of Illinois, 

 moved that the Committee on Foreign Affairs be 

 discharged from further consideration of Senate 



concurrent resolutions in regard to the relations be- 

 tween the United States and Cuba, and that the 

 House adopt as a substitute the following: 



"Resolved, That, in the opinion of Congress, a 

 state of public war exists in Cuba, the parties to 

 which are entitled to belligerent rights, and the 

 United States should observe a strict neutrality be- 

 tween the belligerents. 



"Resolved, That Congress deplores the destruc- 

 tion of life and property caused by the war now 

 waging in that island, and believing that the only 

 permanent solution of the contest, equally in the 

 interest of Spain, the people of Cuba, and other na- 

 tions, would be in the establishment of a govern- 

 ment by the choice of the people of Cuba, it is the 

 sense of Congress that the Government of the United 

 States should use its good offices and friendly influ- 

 ence to that end. 



" Resolved, That the United States has not inter- 

 vened in struggles between any European Govern- 

 ments and their colonies on this'continent ; but from 

 the very close relations between the people of the 

 United States and those of Cuba in consequence of 

 its proximity and the extent of the commerce be- 

 tween the two peoples, the present war is entailing 

 such losses upon the people of the United States 

 that Congress is of opinion that the Government 

 of the United States should be prepared to protect 

 the legitimate interests of our citizens by interven- 

 tion, if necessary." 



After debate by Mr. Hitt ; Mr. McCreary, of Ken- 

 tucky ; Mr. Adams, of Pennsylvania ; Mr. Sulzer, of 

 New York; Mr. Turner, of Georgia; Mr. Smith, of 

 Michigan ; Mr. Tucker, of Virginia ; Mr. McCall, 

 of Massachusetts; Mr. Thomas, of Michigan; Mr. 

 Bontelle, of Maine, and others, the resolutions sub- 

 mitted by Mr. Hitt were adopted by 362 yeas to 17 

 nays, 76 not voting. The following members voted 

 nay: Atwood, Black of Georgia, Boutelle, Cobb of 

 Alabama, Culberson, Elliott of South Carolina, Gil- 

 lett of Massachusetts, Grout, Harrison, McCall of 

 Massachusetts, Moody, Russell of Georgia, Simp- 

 kins, Tucker, Turner of Georgia, Walker of Vir- 

 ginia, Wright. 



The Senate and House agreed to a committee of 

 conference, which reported. March 5, as follows : 



The committee of conference on the disagreeing 

 votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the 

 House of Representatives to the concurrent resolu- 

 tion of the Senate (Con. Res. 19, part 5), having met, 

 after full and free conference have agreed to recom- 

 mend and do recommend to their respective houses 

 as follows : 



" That the Senate recede from its disagreement to 

 the amendments of the House, and agree to the 

 same. 



'JoHN SHERMAN, 

 ' JOHN T. MORGAN, 

 ' H. C. LODGE, 



" Managers on the part of the Senate. 

 ' ROBERT R. HITT, 

 'JAMES B. MCCREARY. 

 ' ROBERT ADAMS. JR. 

 " Managers on the part of the House." 

 The report was debated at great length in the 

 Senate March 9, 12, 16, 17, 19, and 20. In his argu- 

 ment against the resolutions, Senator Hale, of 

 Maine, said : 



' The insurgents have no government except on 

 paper. They have no legislature. It is not pre- 

 tended that they have. They have no courts to 

 administer justice. That is 'not claimed. They 

 hold no ports. Their power is seated, as Gen. 

 Grant described it in 1870, in the straggling bands 

 that occupy straggling camps, and to the present 

 day not only has the insurrection not won a battle, 

 but it has hardly fought what deserves the name of 



