general of Cuba. This order is still in force. You will observe that by its terms Cuba for nearly half a century has been treated as a territory in a state of siege, in which military authority has been supreme, the commanding officer having absolute power over the persons and property of the inhabitants, and the right, besides, to suspend the execution of any command or instruction emanating from the supreme government. I have repeatedly suggested to successive cabinets in Madrid that as long as the Cuban administration is thus allowed to be independent of the Spanish government, it is in vain to look for obedience to its laws or respect for the rights and interests of American citizens in that island. In view of the delay in the execution of the orders issued in the cases of Santa Rosa and Kryké, I renewed these representations to the govern ment of the republic. Mr. Sorni replied that in these cases even the royal order of Ferdinand VII afforded no justification to the captain-general. He had not suspended the execution of the orders by virtue of extraordinary powers vested in him; he had reported that he had obeyed them, and they were not executed. The government would therefore hold him strictly responsible for immediate compliance with his duty in the premises. It is proper to add that the anomalous relation between dependent and superior authority created by this royal order is not confined to Cuba. The same practice has long existed in Spain, although I am not aware that it has been here formally recognized and sanctioned by the govern ment. Se obedece pero no se cumple is an ancient formula of Spanish viceroys and governors. The authority is respected, but the order is not executed, and thus a supposed conflict between duty and necessity is reconciled. I am, &c., D. E. SICKLES. [Appendix.-Translation.] Extraordinary powers conferred upon the captain-general of Cuba by royal order of May 28, 1825. (Still in force.) ROYAL ORDER. His Majesty being fully persuaded that at no time and under no circumstances whatever is there any possibility of weakening the principles of rectitude and of love to his royal person which characterize your excellency, and His Majesty being desirons at the same time to guard against the inconveniences which might arise in extraordinary cases from a division of commands, and from the complexity of powers and attributions in the respective public posts, and with the important object of maintaining in your most precious island his legitimate sovereign authority and public tranquillity, has been graciously pleased in conformity with the advice of his council of ministers to give your excellency full authorization, conferring upon you all the powers which by the royal ordinances are granted to the governors of cities in a state of siege, (plazas sitiados.) In consequence of this His Majesty gives your excellency ample and unlimited authorization, not merely to dismiss from the island and send to the peninsula any public functionaries, whatever may be their office, rank, class, or condition. whose stay in the island may be prejudicial, or whose public or private conduct may arouse your suspicion, replacing them temporarily by the faithful servitors of His Majesty who may merit all your excellency's confidence, but also to suspend the execu tion of any orders or general instructions whatever emanating from any of the branches of the administration in such degree as your excellency may deem expedient for the royal service, such suspensions being in all cases provisional, and your excellency being required to give account thereof to His Majesty. In extending to your excellency this signal proof of his royal appreciation and of the high confidence he reposes in your well-known loyalty, His Majesty hopes that in worthy justification of this confidence you will use the greatest prudence and circumspection, joined to untiring activity, and trusts that your excellency, being by this present act of his royal bounty placed under a most rigid responsibility, you will redouble your vigilance to cause the laws to be observed, justice to be administered, the faithful vassals of His Majesty to be protected and rewarded, and to secure the punishment without hesitation or dissimulation the misdoings of those who, forgetful of their obligations and of what they owe to the best and most beneficent of sovereigns, contravene their duties and give free rein to their sinister machinations in infraction of the laws and of the governmental prescriptions issued in virtue thereof. By royal order I communicate this to your excellency for your information. The CAPTAIN-GENERAL of the Island of Cuba. AYMERICH. No. 628.1 No. 409. General Sickles to Mr. Fish. UNITED STATES LEGATION IN SPAIN. Madrid, June 12, 1873. (Received July 1.) SIR: I have the honor to forward herewith the translation of a decree, dated June 2, 1873, abolishing the hereditary office of grand chancellor of the Indies. This office, created July 27, 1623, by Philip IV, and conferred upon the Count-Duke of Olivares and his successors forever, has been enjoyed with brief interruptions in the same family for two centuries and a half. The last incumbent, the Duke of Alba, brother of the Empress Eugénie, discharged the duties of the place by a delegate named by himself. It is perhaps a misnomer to characterize as "duties" the functions of a sinecure which consisted in levying a charge for authenticating with the seal of the grand chancellor every document, commission, order, or decree of the government having relation to the Spanish possessions in America. Hitherto all attempts to abolish the office, although supported by the recommendation of the council of state, itself a bulwark of tradition, have failed. It is one of the forms for which it was necessary to await the advent of the republic. I am, &c., [Appendix A.-Translation.] D. E. SICKLES. MINISTRY OF THE COLONIES. Decree of June 2, 1873, abolishing the hereditary office of grand chancellor of the Indies. PREAMBLE. For the proper fulfillment of the mission of the government of the republic it is needful to remove those administrative obstacles which, originating in the abuses of royal power, and maintained in consequence of misunderstood toleration during the era of representative governments, hinder the realization of equality and justice, the indispensable basis of regularity and order in the management of public affairs. From the initiation of the constitutional system among us, it doubtless endeavored to extinguish the innumerable examples of gracious concessions and alienations of office wad functions of the state granted as an inheritance by the monarch, their retention being considered contrary to the fundamental code; but all of these were not suppressed by the measures adopted to that end, giving rise to the persistent exceptions by which, under a scheme of liberty based on the national sovereignty, a part of the functions of the public power were exercised as an inherent right by a private citizen raised by privilege above the delegates of that sovereignty. This is the case with the office of chief chancellor and registrar of all the Western Indies, conceded by the grace of King Philip the Fourth to Don Gasparde Guzman, Count-Duke of Olivares, July 27, 1623, for himself and his heirs forever, converted by the decree of November 3d of the same year into the title of "grand chancellor of the Indies,” with the duties of keeping the seal, and causing it to be impressed on all titles, warrants, and dispatches issued by the supreme power upon all matters relative to the colonies, receiving therefor the fees prescribed in the tariff, and with other prerogatives and distinctions equally unjustifiable and unreasonable, such as the enjoyment of all the wages, salaries, and presents casos de aposento, and all remaining emoluments assigned to the president or governor of the supreme council of the Indies, in which for some time, until 1794, the chancellor had a seat and vote. Notwithstanding the vicissitudes through which this privilege passed-incorporated with the crown on the 20th of December, 1776, restored to the family of Olivares on the 9th of February, 1794, and again incorporated on the 22d of February, 1-17, and restored anew on the 25th of April, 1826; notwithstanding the evident disparagement of the dignity of the government and the decorum of the nation, inseparable from the fact of subjecting the acts of the governmental power to the authorization of a private citizen; notwithstanding the obvions and irritating contradiction between the undue maintenance of the office and the principles which should control the course of business in a liberally-governed country, the office still exists, at least so far as relates to the keeping and impression of the seal and the registration of warrants, titles, and dispatches, the holder of the office exacting the tariff fees; and its functions, which are perfectly unnecessary, contrary to the right, embarrassing to public business, onerous to those interested therein, and offensive to the national dignity, are at present exercised by a delegate irregularly intruded and capriciously appointed by him who obtained the title of the Duke of Berwick and Alba, the holder of the office as the successor of the Count-Duke of Olivares. This state of things cannot and should not last. Already in past times, when the council of state was consulted, it made, in full session, a report favorable to the dis appearance of these functions, which are inconceivable in a well-regulated government separate from its own administrative centers, and public opinion has been eloquently enough manifested by identical tendencies conformable to reason and right principles. And, on the other hand, a gratuitous concession, as an act of grace, by one who, as chief administrator, retained the thing conceded, cannot be sanctioned in an era ot justice and strict observance of right. Relying upon these considerations, the undersigned minister submits to the government the accompanying draft of a decree. MADRID, June 2, 1873. DECREE. The Minister of the Colonies, In consideration of the reasons set forth by the minister of the colonies, and in accordance with a report of the council of state in full session, the government of the republic decrees: ARTICLE I. The functions of grand chancellor of the Indies, now exercised by the possession of the title of the Duke of Berwick and Alba, as the successor of Don Gaspar de Guzman, Count-Duke of Olivares, to whom that office was granted as an act of grace and to his heirs forever, by decrees of July 27 and November 3, 1623, are hers by abolished, from and after the publication of this decree in the Gazette of Madrid. ART. II. With respect to the dispatches, titles, warrants, and other documents hereafter issued, and which, in conformity with previous legislation, require to b stamped with the seal of the Indies, the signatures thereof shall be legalized by the seal of the ministry that issues them, without fees of any kind being exacted for sealing them. ART. III. The minister of the colonies shall prepare suitable regulations for the registration of warrants, titles, and dispatches, by the chancery of the department under his charge. ART. IV. All previous provisions contrary to the prescriptions of this decree are hereby revoked and annulled. Given in Madrid the second of June, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three. The President of the Government of the Republic, ESTANISLAO FIGUERAS. The Minister of the Colonies, No. 643.] No. 410. General Sickles to Mr. Fish. [Extract.] UNITED STATES LEGATION IN SPAIN, Madrid, July 5, 1873. (Received July 31.) SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy and translation of a memorial of the Spanish Emancipation Society, lately presented to the Cortes Constituyentes. The petitioners include a numberof the most influential members of the legislative body. The main facts and arguments, showing the expediency and necessity of the immediate abolition of slavery in Cuba, are stated with unusual brevity and force. The admirable results of the liberation of the slaves in Porto Rico have greatly encouraged the friends of emancipation. The slaveholders in Cuba are at a loss for pretexts for delay now that domestic servitude in the sister island has disappeared without any disturbance of public order or diminution of the sugar crop. The colonial minister, Mr. Suñer y Capedevila, has recently stated in the Cortes his purpose to bring forward in the name of the government a radical emancipation bill. In several conversations with me he has reaffirmed these declarations with an earnestness and warmth of expres sion leaving no room to doubt his zeal. It is simply a question whether the perpetual changes of ministers in this country may not interrupt the labor of Mr. Suñer, as has before happened to several of his predecessors. The president, Mr. Pi y Margall, is equally frank and emphatic in his avowed determination to put an end to slavery in Cuba. He does not propose to wait for the suppression of the rebellion, nor for the solution of the financial crisis in the island, nor for the restoration of tranquillity in Spain. On the contrary, he regards emancipation and other cognate reforms as the best means of restoring peace and prosperity to Cuba. He assures me he desires to see Cuba and Porto Rico admitted as states in the Spanish federal union. These are, likewise, the views of the colonial minister. Mr. Castelar, Mr. Dias Quintero, Mr. Salmeron, and other influential members of the committee appointed to draft the federal constitution, are understood to entertain similar views. * I am not without hope that the political administrative and social reforms we have so long urged upon this country in the government of its American possessions may be attained by means of suitable provisions embodied in the constitution of the republic. I am, &c., [Inclosure A.-Translation.] D. E. SICKLES. Petition of the Spanish Abolition Society to the Cortes Constituyentes, Madrid, June 1, 1873. To the Cortes Constituyentes: The undersigned, president, vice-president, active members, and secretaries of the Spanish Abolition Society, with the greatest respect show that, whereasFirst. The definitive law of abolition for Cuba has not yet been promulgated, although referred to the preparatory law of July 4, 1870, and solemnly and repeatedly promised by the Spanish government before Congress and the civilized world." Second. The preparatory law of 1870, notwithstanding its urgent character, remained in suspense, as far as its principal articles were concerned, until the appearance of the regulations published in the Madrid Gazette, August 18, 1873. Third. The regulations in question not only totally ignore the important inquiry of the captain-general of Cuba concerning the fulfillment of the fifth article of the preparatory law, but also, from the nature of many of their provisions, they render necessary a new set of explanatory regulations, at the same time creating institutions of the efficiency of which there can be no doubt. Fourth. Notwithstanding the promulgation of the regulations in the Gaceta de Madrid nine months ago, not a single one of its provisions has yet been put into operation in Cuba. Fifth. On the contrary, the superior government of the island of Cuba has decided to modify a rule of the old slave regulations which was favorable to the negroes, and to declare henceforth-and for the purpose of constraining them-that the value of a slave shall be estimated according to his personal merits, thus interposing an obstacle to emancipation. Sixth. In Cuba the law of 1870 has been grossly misinterpreted, and the old emancipadors have been made to subscribe labor contracts for eight or ten years, under conditions sufficient to annul such contracts for substantial error and irregularity in conformity with the express text of the Spanish law of contracts. Seventh. In violation of our colonial laws and in derision of the provisions of the Porto Rican abolition law passed March 22d last, many slaves have been taken from the lesser Antilla and, as such, sold in Cuba, when their presence is a source of real danger; and, in fact, the owner of one of those unfortunate beings, has already met his death at the hands of a Porto Rican mulatto. Eighth. The insurrection in Cuba has caused the dispersion of more than 55,000 slaves who do not, in point of fact, appear enrolled in the census of 1871 in the di visions corresponding to the districts of Santiago de Cuba, Las Tunas, and Moron. Ninth. The partisans and upholders of the Cuban insurrection have renounced all the rights to their former slaves guaranteed to them under Spanish laws; this renunciation having been effected either indirectly, as in the case of the constitution proclaimed in the insurgent camp in April, 1869, in which (Art. 24) the absolute freedom of the negroes is declared, or else explicitly, as in the case of the rich planter, Don Miguel Aldama, who executed a full power, dated December 6, 1872, authorizing the abolition societies of Spain, Paris, and London to demand, either before the courts or from the Spanish government, the freedom granted by him to more than 1,100 slaves which had belonged to his plantations of Armonia, Santa Rosa, Concepcion, San José, and to Santo Domingo. Tenth. By various judgments of councils of war and some of the ordinary courts of Cuba, dated October and November of 1870 and 1871, the state has seized, either by means of confiscation or to attack the civil responsibility, that always accompanies criminal responsibility, more than 10,000 slaves belonging to the insurgents, while article 5, of the preparatory law of 1870, declares that "the state can hold no slaves." Eleventh. Nearly two-thirds of the negroes employed in field-labor (some 292,000, according to the census of 1862) are bozales-that is, slaves surreptitiously introduced in defiance of the treaties celebrated with England in 1817 and 1835, and in contravention of existing laws in Cuba, especially since 1845. Twelfth. It is notorious that the Havana journals continue to publish advertisements of the sale of negroes de nacion, a phrase which means that the slave in question is a bozal, or native African, and therefore that there is no legal right to his possession. Thirteenth. In like manner advertisements continually appear in the Cuban journals offering for sale children of from four to ten years, without father or mother, thus positively showing the contemptuous way in which the stringent provision of the law of 1870, relative to the union of slave families, is violated. Fourteenth. The colonial minister, notwithstanding that a national representative in the late Congress urged him to lay before the Cortes certain data relative to the exeention of the law of 1870, and, among these, in particular, a statement of the number of slaves emancipated in consequence of excessive cruelty (sericia) on the part of their owners, has not been able to communicate the data called for, because they are not in his possession. Fifteenth. Among the infamous inventions of some slave-holders is an instrument for the corporal punishment of their slaves, by which blows are inflicted without breaking the skin or leaving any outward mark. Full details of this have been received by the Abolition Society, and are offered as evidence of a new violation of the law of 1570. Sixteenth. It is a well-known fact circumstantially described by travellers who have recently visited the interior of Cuba, and recognized by even the bitterest enemies of abolition, that the bulk of the insurgent bands in Cuba consists of fugitive plantation negroes and Chinese run-aways, who prefer death rather than return to their former servitude. Seventeenth. The burning of plantations situated in the western department and in districts like Matanzas has been recently begun, and rumor attributes these acts to the Chinese and slaves. Eighteenth. The law of March 22, 1873, has begun to be put into operation in Porto |