r blood for the agonized mother country.

For this, Cuba received the title of "The Ever Faithful Isle," by which
it has been known ever since.

A very pretty compliment truly! But let us see in what other and more
substantial ways was Cuba's magnificent fidelity rewarded.

The answer is as brief as it is true. In no way whatever.

Many promises were made at the time by the Provisional Government at
Seville, chief among them being that all Spanish subjects everywhere
should have equal rights. But not one of these promises was ever kept.

On the contrary, it was not long before the oppression became greater
than ever. There were deprivation of political, civil and religious
liberty, an exclusion of the islanders from all public offices, and a
heavy and iniquitous taxation to maintain the standing army and navy.

Clothed as they were with the powers of an Oriental despot, most of the
captain-generals from Spain covered themselves with infamy, the office
as a rule having been sought (and this was distinctly realized by the
Spanish government) only as an end and means to acquire a personal
fortune.

To realize the practically absolute authority given to the
captain-generals, it is only necessary to read the royal decree
promulgated after Joseph Bonaparte had been deposed and the Bourbon
king, Ferdinand, restored to the throne.

A portion of this amazing document is as follows:

"His majesty, the king our Lord, desiring to obviate the inconveniences
that might, in extraordinary cases, result from a division of command,
and from the interferences and prerogatives of the respective officers:
for the important end of preserving in that precious island his
legitimate sovereign authority and the public tranquility, through
proper means, has resolved, in accordance with the opinion of his
council of ministers, to give to your excellency the fullest authority,
bestowing upon you all the powers which by the royal ordinances are
granted to the governors of besieged cities. In consequence of this his
majesty gives to your excellency the most ample and unbounded power, not
only to send away from the island any persons in office, whatever their
occupation, rank, class or condition, whose continuance therein your
excellency may deem injurious, or whose conduct, public or private, may
alarm you, replacing them with persons faithful to his majesty, and
deserving of all the confidence of your excellency; but also to suspend
the ex