The Government of the - United States has taken a course
which at the first blush appears to be inconsistent with itself. A pro- clamation is issued against a " filibustering " invasion of Cuba ; and at the same time it is understood that President Pierce contem- plates the mission of two special messengers to Madrid, to effect that settlement of the Cuban question in which Mr. Soule has failed. It is supposed that the Commissioners will demand the recall of the Governor, Peznela, and other concessions which Spain is not likely to grant. The American Government, therefore, is pressing forward in the same movement which it appears to be checking in the individual citizens : but perhaps the inconsist- ency is not so great as it appears. The proclamation against the invasion of Cuba is a confession that the invading movement had so far gained ground as to be imminent ; and although a multi- tude of the citizens might abstain from that movement, it evi- dently expresses the general desire in the Union. The Govern- ment, therefore, while striving to check a lawless proceeding that might embarrass it with foreign states, is at the same time yield- ing to the pressure of public opinion in urging the American de- mands on Spain.
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