Good has come out of evil.
The cruel death of the unfortunate Dr. Ruiz in Cuba has aroused and alarmed the government into looking more closely after our citizens there.
For one reason or another, Mr. Olney chose to disbelieve the stories from Cuba, and tried to throw discredit on General Lee, declaring that his action in the Ruiz matter had been hasty and unwarranted, and that things were not so bad in Cuba as he stated them to be.
Mr. Cleveland and the Senate refused to be satisfied with this statement, and demanded that all the papers relating to our citizens who are imprisoned in Cuba should be laid before them.
At the same time, Senator Morgan offered a joint resolution, demanding the immediate release of General Julio Sanguily.
General Sanguily, who was a famous Cuban general in the previous war against Spain, has been many months in Cuban prisons, and was at one time condemned to penal servitude at the Spanish settlement in South Africa.
Through the representations of our government a new trial was secured for him, and he was finally set free.
The manner of freeing him was very Spanish. Word was sent to him that if he would declare himself guilty of treason against Spain he would be given his liberty. This he refused to do. He had not very much faith in the Spaniards, and he was not sure that it might not be a trap which they were setting for him. He feared that if he declared himself guilty, they would make it a pretext for putting him to death.
Mr. Olney however, persuaded him to do as Spain wished, Minister de Lome having explained to him that Spain would graciously pardon General Sanguily if he acknowledged his guilt.