Cortes is a close bond of the nationality which is raised above all the unities which live in its bosom, now sought as one of the greatest political steps in advance of our day by the autonomous English colonies, which are anxious to take part in an Imperial Parliament in the supreme function of legislators and directors of the great British Empire.
This form, therefore, which is characteristic of the system now adopted by Spain, while it gives it its own meaning, signifies, if not a step in advance, such as those engendered by the present time, an advantage which circumstances offer us as a just compensation for the immense disasters which our colonial history recounts.
The Government frankly acknowledges that for the success of its work public discussion in Parliament would have been better, together with the analysis of public opinion in the press, on the lecture platform, and in books; but it is not its fault, as it was not that of the previous Government, if the pressure of circumstances compels it to do without this precious guaranty. Yet if the party which now serves the interests of the Crown and the country in the Government did not hesitate a moment to approve, in its day, the initiative taken by the conservative party, or in voting for the appropriation which it asked from the Cortes, it has a right, now that the weight of circumstances is still heavier than it was then, to hope that public opinion will approve to-day the course pursued by it, and that the Cortes will do so to-morrow.
For this reason it does not hesitate to face the responsibility, and it intends to put into immediate action and practice the solutions which are implied in the present decree with the same sincerity with which it has prepared it, thus removing the suspicion of any indecision in its course or of reservations in its promises. If the régime shall be found wanting in practice for lack of good faith in anybody it will never be—and we are proud to proclaim this—the fault of the men who are actuated above all things by the noble desire to pacify their country.
The Government thinks that it has thus said everything necessary to make known the genesis, the inspiration, and the character of the plan which, establishing in Cuba and Puerto Rico an autonomic régime, it now submits to Your Majesty.
To those who are familiar with the constitution of the Monarchy, the plan will certainly not present any great difficulties, for the Government has, as far as possible, taken for its guide the organic system of that instrument, the division of its titles, and even its wording. The modifications of the constitutional articles are accessory and circumstantial; the additions respond to its specialty and seek to secure the efficiency of its provisions and the facility of their execution.
Doubtless something will remain to be done, and some reforms will be needed; this will be shown simultaneously by the defense of its provisions and the criticisms made thereon, and gradually the good grounds upon which both are based will be ascertained; this will render it possible to incorporate what is good in the plan and to reject what does not harmonize with its fundamental ideas when the time comes for it to receive the sanction of the Cortes.
Let it be understood, nevertheless, that the Government will not eliminate from it, nor will it consent that anything be eliminated that goes to form colonial liberties, guarantees. and privileges, because being prepared to complete its work or to throw light upon doubts, it does net intend that when it presents its plan for parliamentary sanction the concessions made shall suffer any impairment, nor can it consent to do so if it has a majority in the chambers.
But though all that the Government considers necessary to explain in the general lines of the decree has been set forth in the foregoing, it still deems it indispensable, for reasons which will readily be understood, to fix the sense of the articles which refer to autonomy with regard to the tariff, and which refer to the debt which burdens the Cuban treasury.
The export trade from the Peninsula to Cuba, which amounts to about $30,000,000 per annum, and which, moreover, furnishes ground for important combinations for navigation on the high seas, has hitherto been subjected to an exceptional régime which is absolutely incompatible with the principle of colonial autonomy.
This implies the power to regulate the conditions of its import and export trade and to have free control of its custom-houses. To refuse these privileges to Cuba or Puerto Rico would be tantamount to nullifying the value of the principles laid down; to endeavor to defeat their object would be incompatible with the dignity of the nation. What it behooves the Government to do, after recognizing the principle in its entirety, is to endeavor to cause the transition to take place without violence or injury to the interests which have been developed under the old system, and for this purpose to pave the way to an understanding with the governments of the Antilles.
The most earnest advocates of autonomy have never denied the willingness of those countries to recognize, in behalf of genuinely national industry and commerce, a margin that should secure that market to them.
This assurance has always been given by their representatives in the Cortes, and is still given by their representatives in the Cortes, and is still given by all parties in the Island of Cuba, according to statements which the Government considers irrecusable,