It proved, however, to be Home Rule only in name. Spain was to keep control of the army, the navy, and the courts; the only privilege given to the Cubans was to be that of paying taxes to support the Government. This offer was not acceptable to Cuba, and nothing further came of it. When Mr. Taylor found that this was all the Home Rule Spain meant to offer the Cubans, he became discouraged, and concluded that Spain did not mean to do anything for Cuba, and that the offer was not sincerely made, but merely to gain time in the hope that the Cubans would run short of ammunition and be obliged to surrender. Mr. Taylor has been severely criticised for making these statements. The Government in Washington feared that serious trouble might result therefrom. What Mr. Taylor knew of the matter was learned while he was acting as an officer of the Government, and it has been thought that he should not have made his knowledge public. The most alarming rumors grew out of the disclosures. People feared that war would be the result, and for a few hours there was a war scare. Prices of stocks fell, and one enterprising paper got out a "special," stating that war had been declared, because Spain had claimed the right to search American vessels on the high seas for arms, or what is called contraband of war. The spread of the alarm was increased by a report that the Chamber of Commerce had once again issued a warning to the Government that the harbor defences of New York city were not strong enough, and had asked that they be strengthened. Twice before in the history of our country that body has warned Congress: once before the outbreak of the Revolution, and again just before the Civil War. As the members of the Chamber of Commerce had been right on both of the previous occasions, the people looked on them as prophets, and a war scare spread over the country, which caused the greatest uneasiness. The feelings of the people were, however, calmed by an announcement from Washington that there was not the slightest cause for alarm. The governments in Washington and Madrid understood each other perfectly, and President McKinley intended to allow the promised reforms time to take effect before he even considered the idea of interference. In the announcement it was added that the warning from the Chamber of Commerce would be taken into consideration, but that there was in it nothing to throw the country into a panic. The sudden fall in stocks was declared to be a trick on the part of some Wall Street speculators, and to mean nothing more serious than that a few sharp men had made money out of a good many foolish ones. In regard to the threatened searching of American vessels--an action which would certainly oblige us to declare war on Spain--it was stated by those in authority that Spain does not contemplate any such course.