While the United States was not a party to the Declaration of Paris, the government made known its intention to maintain its four cardinal principles: (1) Privateering abolished. (2) Neutral flags to exempt an enemy's goods from capture, except contraband of war. (3) Neutral goods under an enemy's flag not to be seized (4) Blockade to be binding must be effective. Spain, on her part, issued a decree recognizing the fact that a state of war existed, breaking off all treaties with the United States, and promising to observe the rules just given, except that she maintained her right to grant letters of marque to privateers. But this exception was modified by Spain's declaring her intention to send out only auxiliary cruisers taken from the mercantile marine and kept under naval control. One consideration which may have influenced this decision was the self-evident fact that the European Powers would certainly interfere, in the event that Spain attempted to carry on privateering under the old methods. THE WAR FEELING IN SPAIN. In Spain the war feeling was high. The Queen Regent, in her speech to the Cortes, declared "the unalterable resolution of my government to defend our rights, whatsoever sacrifices may be imposed upon us in accomplishing this task." She said further: "Thus identifying myself with the nation, I not only fulfil the oath I swore in accepting the regency, but I follow the dictates of a mother's heart, trusting to the Spanish people to gather behind my son's throne and to defend it until he is old enough to defend it himself, as well as trusting to the Spanish people to defend the honor and territory of the nation." THE POLICY OF THE ADMINISTRATION. The President and Congress undoubtedly acted on the lines of good policy in making a formal declaration of war. As Mr. McKinley said in his message to Congress, the trend of events compelled him to take measures of a hostile kind. A blockade had been established and Spanish vessels had been captured. While every civilized power on earth immediately learned the facts, there still remained the necessity of going through the formal act of notifying them of this government's intentions. In this instance, as in others in the nation's history, the actual hostilities were begun before it seemed necessary for the government to make a formal declaration. According to the authorities on international law, "a declaration may be necessary, but is not essential." In this case, when it became so evident that a general conflict was imminent, the administration did fairly by the commercial nations of the world in formally stating its position, and giving them all warning as to the consequences which might follow in the case of vessels attempting to enter Cuban waters. The resolutions were admirably brief and concise, merely declaring the existence of a state of war, and authorizing the President to do whatever he thought best with the army and the navy.