e Cuban Senators and Deputies in the
Cortes at Madrid took like action.

Meantime the Spanish authorities in the island acted promptly and with
vigor. The Captain-General summoned a council of war on April 27, and
sent troops to the scene of revolt, and directed the fleet to exercise
renewed vigilance to prevent aid from reaching the insurgents from the
United States. The next day martial law was proclaimed throughout the
province of Santiago de Cuba, and four thousand troops, divided into
seven columns, were in hot pursuit of the revolutionists. The numbers of
the latter rapidly dwindled through desertions and in a couple of days
all had vanished save the two brothers and 29 of their followers. On May
2 these all surrendered, on promise of complete pardon, a promise which
was fulfilled, and on May 9 martial law was withdrawn and the abortive
revolt was ended.

This occurrence moved the Spanish government, however, to further
efforts to placate the Cubans, and in 1894 the Minister for the
Colonies, Senor Maura, proposed a bill for the reorganization of the
insular government. The six provincial councils were to be merged into a
single legislature. With this was to be combined an Executive Council,
or Board of Administration, to administer the laws; consisting of the
Governor-General as President, various high civil and military
functionaries, and nine additional members named by Royal decree. This
arrangement was strongly opposed and finally defeated, whereupon Senor
Maura resigned. Later in the same year the Cabinet was reorganized with
him as Minister of Justice and with Senor Abarzuza, a follower of Emilio
Castelar, the Spanish Republican leader, as Minister for the Colonies.
The Prime Minister was Praxedes Sagasta, the leader of the Spanish
Liberals, and a statesman of consummate ability. There was much
complaint by Conservatives that the Captain-General in Cuba, Emilio
Calleja, favored the native Autonomists over the Loyalists or Spanish
party. Despite this, Senor Abarzuza, after taking much counsel with the
Prime Minister and others, planned radical action in behalf of Cuban
autonomy, hoping to establish a new regime which, he fondly hoped, would
allay discontent, abate disaffection, and confirm Cuba in her
traditional status of the "Ever Faithful Isle." Accordingly he entered
into long and earnest consultation with the leaders of the various
political parties in Spain, including the Carlists and Radical
Republi