1 the wreck, although it was established that the after part of the ship was practically intact and sank in that condition a very few minutes after the destruction of the forward part. 4. The following facts in regard to the forward part of the ship are, however, established by the testimony: That portion of the port side of the protective deck which extends from about frame 30 to about frame 41 was blown up aft, and over to port, the main deck from about frame 30 to about frame 41 was blown up aft, and slightly over to starboard, folding the forward part of the middle superstructure over and on top of the after part. This was, in the opinion of the court, caused by the partial explosion of two or more of the forward magazines of the Maine. 5. At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship, from a point eleven and onehalf feet from the middle line of the ship and six feet above the keel when in its normal position, has been forced up so as to be now about four feet above the surface of the water, therefore, about thirty-four feet above where it would be had the ship sunk uninjured. The outside bottom plating is bent into a reversed V-shape, the after wing of which, about fifteen feet broad and thirty-two feet in length (from frame 17 to frame 25) is doubled back upon itself against the continuation of the same plating extending forward. At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two and the flat keel bent into an angle similar to the angle formed by the outside bottom plating. This break is now about six feet below the surface of the water and about thirty feet above its normal position. The Officers of the Maine Exonerated. In the opinion of the court this effect could have been produced only by the explosion of a mine situated under the bottom of the ship at about frame 18, and somewhat on the port side of the ship. 6. The court finds that the loss of the Maine on the occasion named was not in any respect due to fault or negligence on the part of the officers or men of the crew of said vessel. 7. In the opinion of the court the Maine was destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of two of her forward magazines. 8. The court has been unable to obtain evidence fixing the responsibility for the destruction of the Maine upon any person or persons. W. T. SAMPSON, Captain U. S. N., President. A. MARIX, Lieutenant-Commander U. S. N., Judge Advocate. PATIENCE AT THE VANISHING POINT. Our Former Troubles with Spain Recalled-The Verdict of the PeopleSpanish Rule a Blot on Civilization-The Attitude of Other NationsThe Necessity for Delay-The Message to Congress-"The War in Cuba Must Stop!" The American people did not wait for the report of the Naval Board to form an opinion as to the cause of the tragedy. The masses think in events, and not in syllogisms, and this was an event. This event provoked suspicions in the public mind. The thought of the whole nation was instantly directed to Cuba. The fate of the sailors on the Virginius, twenty-five years ago, was recalled. The public curiosity about everything Cuban and Spanish became intense. The Weyler method of warfare became more generally known. The story of our long diplomatic trouble with Spain was recalled. Diplomacy was obliged to proceed with doors less securely shut. The country watched for news from Washington and from Madrid with eagerness. It happened to be a singularly quiet and even dull time in our own political life-a time favorable for the concentration of public attention on any subject that prominently presented itself. Leslie's Weekly voiced the popular sentiment in its issue of April 14 in the following language: "If the report of the board of inquiry is accepted as final, then the destruction of the Maine was an act of war. The Maine was in a Spanish harbor on a peaceful errand. Its location was fixed by the Spanish authorities, and if a mine was planted in the harbor, it could only have been planted by the Spaniards. To think otherwise is to discredit the official report. The verdict may be challenged by the Spanish government. Spain may insist on the raising of the wreck and upon an expert examination. If such an examination is made, and if the weight of evidence controverts the verdict, our position will be humiliating. We take it, therefore, that our government is entirely satisfied with the examination, and that it accepts the verdict of the court of inquiry as final and without appeal. This verdiet makes Spain responsible for the From Photo. Copyright 1891 by H. G. Peabody, Boston, Mass. THE UNITED STATES PROTECTED CRUISER "BOSTON" loss of the Maine, the sacrifice of the lives of 266 heroes, and for all the consequences involved. The indictment must be answered. Any other nation than this would have demanded an immediate answer. We can wait. On the answer made by Spain the issues of the future must depend. No policy of evasion such as Spain has pursued in all her dealings with us will enable her to escape. She is at the bar of judgment with bloody fingers, and must plead guilty. No other plea can be accepted. And the punishment must fit the crime." Causes Leading to Strife. The better the condition of Cuba was understood, the more deplorable it was seen to be; the more the government of the island was examined, the wider seemed the divergence between Spain's methods and our own; the more the diplomatic history of the case was considered, the plainer became Spain's purpose to brook no interference, whether in the name of humanity or in the name of friendly commercial interests. The calm report of the naval court of inquiry on the blowing up of the Maine and Senator Proctor's report on the condition of Cuba put the whole people in a serious mood. These and more made their contributions to the rapidly rising excitement. But all these together could not have driven us to war if we had not been willing to be driven-if the conviction had not become firm in the minds of the people that Spanish rule in Cuba was a blot on civilization that had now begun to bring reproach to us; and when the President, who favored peace, declared it intolerable, the people were ready to accept his judgment. Congress, it is true, in quiet times, is likely to represent the shallows and the passing excitement of our life rather than its deeper moods, but there is among the members of Congress a considerable body of conservative men; and the demand for war was practically unanimous, and public opinion sustained it. Among the people during the period when war seemed inevitable, but had not yet been declared—a period during which the powers of Europe found time and mind to express a hope for peace-hardly a peace meeting was held by influential men. The President and his Cabinet were known to wish longer to try diplomatic means of averting war, but no organized peace party came into existence. Except expressions of the hope of peace made by commercial and ecclesiastical organizations, no protest was heard against the approaching action of Congress. Many thought that war could be post |