No. 408.
General Sickles to Mr. Fish.
United States
Legation,
Madrid,
June 12, 1873. (Rec’d July 1.)
No. 627.]
Sir: I have the honor to forward herewith a
translation of a royal order, dated May 28, 1825, conferring extraordinary
powers on the captain-general
[Page 1000]
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 government 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 government. 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.,
[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 desirous 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 execution 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
[Page 1001]
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.
May God preserve your excellency many years.
Madrid, May 28,
1825.
AYMERICH.
The Captain-General
of the Island of Cuba.
