do not forget her connection with the
discovery of the Western Hemisphere, nor do they underestimate the
great qualities of the Spanish people nor fail to fully recognize their
splendid patriotism and their chivalrous devotion to the national honor.

They view with wonder and admiration the cheerful resolution with which
vast bodies of men are sent across thousands of miles of ocean and an
enormous debt accumulated that the costly possession of the gem of the
Antilles may still hold its place in the Spanish crown. And yet neither
the Government nor the people of the United States have shut their eyes
to the course of events in Cuba or have failed to realize the existence
of conceded grievances which have led to the present revolt from the
authority of Spain--grievances recognized by the Queen Regent and by
the Cortes, voiced by the most patriotic and enlightened of Spanish
statesmen, without regard to party, and demonstrated by reforms proposed
by the executive and approved by the legislative branch of the Spanish
Government. It is in the assumed temper and disposition of the Spanish
Government to remedy these grievances, fortified by indications of
influential public opinion in Spain, that this Government has hoped to
discover the most promising and effective means of composing the present
strife with honor and advantage to Spain and with the achievement of all
the reasonable objects of the insurrection.

It would seem that if Spain should offer to Cuba genuine autonomy--a
measure of home rule which, while preserving the sovereignty of Spain,
would satisfy all rational requirements of her Spanish subjects--there
should be no just reason why the pacification of the island might not
be effected on that basis. Such a result would appear to be in the true
interest of all concerned. It would at once stop the conflict which
is now consuming the resources of the island and making it worthless
for whichever party may ultimately prevail. It would keep intact the
possessions of Spain without touching her honor, which will be consulted
rather than impugned by the adequate redress of admitted grievances.
It would put the prosperity of the island and the fortunes of its
inhabitants within their own control without severing the natural and
ancient ties which bind them to the mother country, and would yet enable
them to test their capacity for self-government under the most favorable
conditions. It has been objected on the one side t