SPAIN. 



8TAIIR, ADOLF W. T. 



733 



not mastered, had confined and weakened, the 

 insurrection. The note traced the history of 

 the revolt, which began in 1868. The insur- 

 gents at that time not proclaiming indepen- 

 dence, but applauding Prim and the Revolution, 

 several Spaniards joined the movement, os- 

 tensibly of fraternization, but leaders hostile 

 to Spain soon gave it a separatist character. 

 Some of the Creole youth sympathized with it, 

 supposing a white republican government could 

 be established in a country where negro slaves 

 formed the majority. Political and adminis- 

 trative reforms were first demanded, but, though 

 Spain had made more concessions than any 

 European government had given its colonies, 

 the insurgents did not disarm, but increased 

 in numbers. At the outset, property was re- 

 spected ; but all the leaders had fallen in the 

 struggle and had been succeeded by foreigners, 

 while the insurgents constituted a motley 

 horde, of whom the Cuban whites in arms 

 did not exceed 800. The revolt had become a 

 war of race. The insurgents burned and laid 

 waste all they could find. Their triumph 

 would be a blow to civilization ; and the Cu- 

 bans abroad, who sympathized with them, 

 could not constitute a government. The tri- 

 umph of Spain would speedily lead to the 

 abolition of slavery, as had been done in Porto 

 Rico. In spite of the revolt, a third of the slaves 

 had been already emancipated. Since King 

 Alfonso's accession, a year before, Spain had 

 sent 24,445 soldiers to Cuba, and, Carlism once 

 suppressed, the army would be considerably 

 reenforced. It now consisted of 273 superior 

 officers, 3,054 subalterns, 68,115 privates, 8,478 

 horses, 462 mules, and 42 guns, besides 10,370 

 men since dispatched. The naval force com- 

 prised 45 vessels, with 132 guns and 2,426 

 men, and the local volunteers numbered 50,000 ; 

 whereas the native insurgents were under 1,000, 

 while 40,000 natives are fighting for Spain. 

 The struggle was prolonged owing to the na- 

 ture of the country, and because the negroes 

 and mulattoes, semi-savages, with none of the 

 wants of regular troops, lived on plunder and 

 wild fruit and animals. The effects of the in- 

 surrection were doubtless deplorable ; neverthe- 

 less, the wealth of the island had not sensibly 

 diminished. This was due to the fact that the 

 insurgents had not been able to invade the 

 plantations of the western provinces. Even in 

 the eastern department the plantations around 

 Santiago had been preserved by the presence 

 of troops, and all the railways were working. 

 The property of several foreigners had been 

 confiscated on account of the insurrection ; but 

 the Spanish Government had never approved 

 this measure, and had ordered the sequestra- 

 tions to be immediately raised. 



In August a convention was concluded with 

 several Spanish capitalists for an advance of 

 from fifteen to twenty-five million piasters, to 

 be devoted to the expenses of the war in Cuba. 

 As cooler weather approached, large shipments 

 of troops were made to Cuba. In October 



General Martinez Campos was appointed com- 

 mander of the troops in the island, while Jo- 

 vellar, as Governor-General, was left in the 

 control of civil affairs. General Campos went 

 out accompanied by a force of 14,000 men and 

 a squadron of five vessels. One month later, 

 it was reported that 21,000 soldiers bad been 

 shipped to Havana. Late in December the 

 Cortes approved a loan for the suppression of 

 the Cuban rebellion. 



The relations of Spain and the United States, 

 which seemed threatening at the beginning of 

 the year, assumed at its close a peaceful and 

 even friendly character. In September Wil- 

 liam M. Tweed, a fugitive from justice from 

 the State of New York, and his cousin who 

 was traveling with him, were arrested at Vigo 

 and returned to the United States, although 

 there was no extradition treaty between the 

 countries. An extradition treaty was nego- 

 tiated during the later months of the year, 

 was ratified, and was published in January, 

 1877, which is more definite and satisfactory 

 in its provisions than any other existing treaty 

 of the kind. 



SPRAGUE, WILLIAM BCELL, an American 

 clergyman; died at Flushing, L. I., May 7, 

 1876. He was born in Andover, Conn., Oc- 

 tober 16, 1795. He graduated at Yale College 

 in 1815, studied in the Theological Seminary 

 at Princeton, and in August, 1819, was or- 

 dained pastor of the First Congregational 

 Church at West Springfield, Mass., as a col- 

 league of the Rev. Joseph Lathrop, whom he 

 succeeded as pastor in 1820. In 1829 he was 

 installed pastor of the Second Presbyterian 

 Church at Albany, N. Y. He resigned this 

 charge in 1869, and removed to Flushing, N. 

 Y. He made large collections of pamphlets 

 and autographs, the former of which he pre- 

 sented, in 1875, to the State Library at Albany. 

 He published "Letters to a Daughter" (1822), 

 republished under the title "The Daughter's 

 Own Book ; " " Letters from Europe " (1828) ; 

 " Lectures to Young People " (1830) ; " Lect- 

 ures on Revivals of Religion " (1832) ; "Hints 

 on Christian Intercourse " (1834) ; " Lectures 

 illustrating the Contrast between true Chris- 

 tianity and various other Systems" (1837); 

 " Life of E. D. Griffin " (1838) ; " Life of Tim- 

 othy Dwight, D. D., President of Yale Col- 

 lege," in Sparks's "American Biography" 

 (1845) ; " Letters to Young Men, founded on 

 the History of Joseph " (second edition, 1845) ; 

 " Aids to Early Religion " (1847); " Words to 

 a Young Man's Conscience " (1848) ; " Wom- 

 en of the Bible" (1850); "Visits to European 

 Celebrities" (1855); "Annals of the Ameri- 

 can Pulpit," a collection of biographies of 

 leading clergymen of all denominations (9 vols., 

 8vo, New York, 1856-'69) ; and " Memoirs of 

 Rev. John and W. A. McDowell, D. D." (1864). 



STAHR, ADOLF WILHELM THEODOR, a Ger- 

 man scholar, born October 22, 1805 ; died Oc- 

 tober 3, 1876. In 1826 he was appointed as- 

 sistant and two years later ordinary teacher in 



