The Black U^ai'rior Affair 297 zens and in crowding- Spain with demands that the claims be im- mediately liquidated, the envoy had this to say:' I do not fear it [a discussion of these claims] at the present time. because, as Your Excellency very well knows, these claims have not been disinterred by reason of any value which any one of them may in itself have, but as a method of procuring pabulum for the execrable system of political popularity, which consists in exciting the public opinion in these states against the Spaniards by imaginary grievances. Mr. Soule, who shows himself such a stubborn promoter of this system, has lost so much of his diplomatic prestige that (I desire to state this in such .a manner as will leave no room for doubt) this government will not fol- low his lead in the matter of the claims referred to; at least, in these moments, when the majority of the American people, disgusted with the extraordinary demonstration accompanying the presentation of groundless claims, and with the incongruous plans of the government, and distrusting the latter not a little, are restraining the ebullition of anger which was produced in the beginning by the " Black Warrior " question. The internal strife reached such proportions and so engaged the public attention that the Spanish minister was able on the eighth of the next month to report that " all the questions promoted by the hostile policy of this government against us remain as if parklyzed ; the press is silenced, and the affair of the ' Black Warrior ' almost forgotten ".^ When Cueto in obedience to instructions from home sought an interview with Marcy and laid before the secretary the case of his government together with the detailed reports from Havana, the whole matter had passed into the hands of Congress ; and the De- partment of State was able only to transmit to that body such in- formation as it received. The conciliatory note of Calderon,' which Cueto placed before Marcy and Cushing^ in the original, made a deep impression upon the minds of the Cabinet members, who re- quested that they might have a copy of the communication. But the Spanish diplomat excused himself from this on the ground that he would first have to ask permission of his government before he could grant this request : for, as he writes to his superior, in the light of past experience he had reason to fear that the official note might be given out to the press with the " usual self-laudatory com- ments thereon prepared by the administration ". It was quite evi- dent from the attitude of the two secretaries that they would will- ingly, if they could, close up the whole matter. ' Cueto to Calderon, July 4, 1854.
- Estorch, Apuntes. p. s^-
' Calderon to Cueto. May y, 1854.
- When Cushing learned that Tyng in his petition acknowledged that " the
Captain had erred ", the attorney-general ejaculated impatiently, " Of that stamp are all merchants ". Ibid.
