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 execution of any order whatsoever, or any general provision made concerning any branch of the administration as your excellency may think most suitable to the royal service."

For over one hundred and seventy years these orders have received little or no change, and they still remain practically the supreme law of Cuba.

This was the way that magnanimous, grateful, chivalrous Spain began to reward "The Ever Faithful Isle" for its unparalleled loyalty and devotion.

And Heaven save the mark! this was only the beginning.

"That precious island," says the royal decree. Precious! There was never a truer word spoken. For Spain has always loved Cuba with a fanatical, gloating passion, as the fox loves the goose, as Midas loved gold, and as in the case of Midas, this love has eventually led to her destruction.

CHAPTER III.

CUBA'S EARLY STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY.

It was in 1813 that the Bonapartist regime came to an end in Spain, and Ferdinand VII. reascended the throne. In the very beginning he paid no attention to the Constitution; he dissolved the Cortes and did his best to make his monarchy an absolute one.

Again, as has been said, Cuba felt the yoke of his despotism, all previous promises, when the aid of the island was to his advantage, being as completely ignored as if they had never been made.

In Spanish America, revolutionary movements had been begun some three years before, and after stubborn warfare, Buenos Ayres, Venezuela and Peru finally succeeded in obtaining complete independence from Spanish authority.

From all these countries, swarms of Spanish loyalists made their way to Cuba, and were ordered to be maintained at the expense of the island.

Spain also desired to make of Cuba a military station, whence she could direct operations in her efforts to reconquer the new republic. This plan was vehemently opposed by the Cubans.

Discontent rapidly fomented and increased throughout the island. Numerous secret political societies were formed, and there arose two great opposing factions, the one insisting that the liberal constitution granted by the Provisional Government of Seville at the time the Bourbon king was deposed should be the fundamental law of Cuba, while the other proclaimed its partisanship of rigid colonial control.

In 1821, Hayti declared its independence of Spain, and in the same year Florida passed into the possession of the United States.

Both these events increased the feeling of unrest and discontent in Cuba, and this was further augmented by the establishment of a permanent military commission, which took cognizance of even ordinary offenses, but particularly of all offenses against disloyalty.

An attempt at revolution, the purpose being the establishment of a republic, was made in 1823 by the "Soles de Bolivar" association. It was arranged that uprisings should take place simultaneously in several of the Cuban cities, but the plans became known to the government and the intended revolution was nipped in the bud, all the leaders being arrested and imprisoned the very day on which it had been arranged to declare independence.

In 1826 Cuban refugees in Mexico and in some of the South American republics planned an invasion of Cuba to be led by Simon Bolivar, the great liberator of Colombia, but it came to nothing, owing to the impossibility of securing adequate support both of men and money.

A year or two later these same men attempted another uprising in the interests of greater privileges and freedom. A secret society, known as the "Black Eagle" was organized, with headquarters at Mexico, but with a branch office and recruiting stations in the United States.

This invasion, however, also proved abortive, owing chiefly to the determined opposition displayed by the slave-holders both in the United States and Cuba. The ringleaders were captured and severely punished by the Spanish authorities.

The struggles for freedom had attracted the attention of the people of the United States and were viewed by them with ever-increasing interest and sympathy.

After the acquisition of Florida, the future of the island of Cuba became of more or less importance to the people of the United States and has remained so to the present day. As President Cleveland said in his message of December, 1896: "It is so near to us as to be hardly separated from our own territory." The truth of this is apparent when it is remembered that the straits of Florida can be crossed by steamer in five hours.

It began to be feared that Cuba might fall into the hands of England or France and the governments of those countries as well as that of Spain were informed that such a disposition of it would never be consented to. Its position at the entrance of the gulf of Mexico could not be disregarded. The American government declared its willingness that it should remain a Spanish colony, but stated it would never permit it to become the colony of another country.

In 1825 Spain made a proposition that, in consideration of certain commercial concessions the United States should guarantee to her the possession of Cuba; but this proposition was declined on the ground that such a thing would be contrary to the established policy of the United States.

One of the most important consequences of Spain's efforts to regain possession of the South American republics, the independence of which had been recognized by the United States, was the formulation of what has since been known as the "Monroe Doctrine." In his message of December 2, 1823, President Monroe promulgated the policy of neither entangling ourselves in the broils of Europe, nor suffering the powers of the old world to interfere with the affairs of the new. He further declared that any attempt on the part of the European powers "to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere" would be regarded by the United States as "dangerous to our peace and safety," and would accordingly be opposed.

Although since then there has been more or less friction with England over the Monroe doctrine, at that time she greatly aided in its becoming established as a feature of international law, and strengthened the position of the United States, by her recognition of the South American republics.

The Spanish slave code, by which the slave trade, which had formerly been a monopoly, was made free, had given a great stimulus to the importation of slaves. It was almost brought to an end, however, by the energetic efforts of Captain-General Valdez. But the increased consumption of sugar in Great Britain, owing to reduction of duty and the placing of foreign and British sugars on the same basis gave a new stimulus to the traffic; and, in their own pecuniary interest, ever more prominent with them than any question of humanity, the Spanish relaxed their efforts, and the slave trade attained greater dimensions than ever before.

In 1844 there occurred an uprising which was more serious than any which had preceded it. The slaves on the sugar plantations in the neighborhood of Matanzas were suspected of being about to revolt. There was no real proof of this, and in order to obtain evidence a large number of slaves were tortured. It was evident that Spain was still ready, if in her opinion occasion required it, to have recourse to the barbarities of the old Inquisitorial days. By evidence manufactured by such outrageous methods, one thousand three hundred and forty-six persons were tried and convicted, of whom seventy-eight were shot, and the others punished with more or less severity. Of those declared guilty, fourteen were white, one thousand two hundred and