On the 9th of March, "Uncle Joe" Cannon, the watchdog of the Treasury, introduced a bill appropriating fifty million dollars to be used for national defense at the discretion of the President.

No doubt remained in the public mind that war would result unless the withdrawal of Spanish authority from Cuba could be arranged peaceably and immediately.
Even in this final stage of the negotiations it is sufficiently obvious that the United States Government was particularly desirous of preserving peace.

There is also little doubt that the Spanish Government in good faith had the same desire.

The intelligent classes in Spain realized that the days of Spanish rule in Cuba were practically over.
The Liberals believed that, under the circumstances, war with the United States would be a misfortune.

Many of the Conservatives, however, believed that a war, even if unsuccessful, was the only way of saving the dynasty, and that the dynasty was worth saving.