CHILI. 



157 



of-war Lerzundi was allowed to receive coal 

 and enlist men in Valparaiso, while coal was 

 refused to the Spanish vessels, because it had 

 been made contraband of war by the Govern- 

 ment of Chili. The fourth complaint relates 

 principally to the same subject as the preced- 

 ing one ; and lastly is cited the .case of a French 

 man-of-war allowed to receive coal, when at 

 war with the republic of Mexico, while the 

 ships of Spain were refused the same, because 

 supposed to be at war with Peru. 



The admiral goes on to say that he is in- 

 structed to demand that " satisfactory explana- 

 tions be given for each of these grievances ; 

 and, moreover, that one of the forts of the re- 

 public shall salute the Spanish ensign with a 

 salvo of twenty-one guns, which will be answer- 

 ed by one of an equal number to the Chilian 

 flag." In conclusion he states, that "if within 

 four days from the date of this communication 

 no answer to it shall be received, all diplomatic 

 relations will be considered at an end between 

 Spain and Chili, and the persons composing the 

 Spanish Legation will be received on board the 

 ship carrying his pennant ; and if the necessity 

 should occur to use the force under his com- 

 mand, which he should most sincerely regret, 

 he will consider himself bound to obtain in- 

 demnification for the losses suffered by the 

 Spanish squadron in consequence of the dis- 

 positions made by the Chilian Government ; 

 such indemnification not being now claimed by 

 the Government of Spain save in the possibility 

 of recurring to force of arms, when it will then 

 be held by the undersigned as a part of his 

 solemn duty." 



In reply to this, Sen or Alvaro Covarrubias, 

 the Chilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, first ac- 

 knowledges its receipt, under date of Septem- 

 ber 21st, and then goes on to review fully all 

 the complaints contained therein. With' re- 

 gard to the first charge, he asserts that the oc- 

 currences before the house of the Spanish Con- 

 sul involved no insult to the Spanish flag, as 

 had been acknowledged by Seiior Tavira, by the 

 Spanish Government, and by Admiral Pareja 

 himself. The language of the paper " San 

 Martin " had been publicly rebuked by the 

 President of the Republic in a much more em- 

 phatic manner than that suggested by the ad- 

 miral. As regards the third and fourth charges, 

 the decree concerning the coaling of the Peru- 

 vian steamer had been issued at a time v hen 

 no state of open hostilities was supposed to ex- 

 ist, while, on the contrary, such a state did 

 seem to the Chilian Government to exist at the 

 time when coal was refused to the Spanish ves- 

 sels. On these grounds, the note says, the 

 Chilian Government " cannot confess itself cul- 

 pable of imaginary insults against Spain, nor 

 accept the humiliating and disgraceful proposal 

 that the Spanish flag should be saluted by the 

 guns of the republic a proposition which is 

 peremptorily and firmly refused." 



To this note Pareja replied by a "second 

 ultimatum," dated " on board the Villa de Ma- 



drid, in the port of Valparaiso, September 22d," 

 in which he says, that obeying the orders of his 

 Government, he must make known, that if at six 

 o'clock on the morning of the 24th of September, 

 the Government of the republic should not have 

 acceded to his request, all diplomatic relations 

 existing between Spain and Chili would be at 

 an end, and he would be obliged, at the expira- 

 tion of that time, to seek to obtain with the 

 force at his command that satisfaction which 

 the Government of Santiago refused to give by 

 means of pacific measures, as he ardently de- 

 sired. 



The Minister of Foreign Affairs, in his reply 

 to this ultimatum (September 23d), defined the 

 position of his Government as follows : " The 

 Government of the republic henceforth refuses, 

 whatever future contingencies may arise, all de- 

 mands for indemnification arising from the em- 

 ployment of the forces at the command of the 

 Spanish Admiral. The entire and exclusive re- 

 sponsibility, incalculable evils which the coming 

 conflict will bring to Chili and her people, 

 foreign as well as native, must rest upon the op- 

 pressor, upon the Government of Spain and its 

 agents who wish to submit the republic to the 

 most distressing and injurious proceedings with- 

 out a shadow of justice, without even a plausible 

 pretext. Consequently, the Government of the 

 undersigned will reclaim from that of Spain the 

 amplest and most complete reparation for all 

 damages that may be sustained by Chili grow- 

 ing out of the present difficulties." 



The Government of Chili at once furnished 

 copies of the correspondence with Pareja to the 

 Diplomatic Corps resident in Santiago, and at 

 a meeting of that body, composed of the follow- 

 ing gentlemen, viz. : Thomas Nelson, Minister 

 of the United States, acting as President ; Wil- 

 liam Taylour Thompson, of Great Britain; F. 

 Cory, of France ; Antonio Ferro, Hermojenes 

 de Irisarri, and Levenhagen, representing the 

 kingdom of Prussia and the republics of Colom- 

 bia and Guatemala a very strong remonstrance 

 was addressed to the Spanish Admiral against 

 his precipitate action, but which elicited no 

 satisfactory reply. In the third and last note 

 of the ministers, dated September 28th, they say : 

 " The undersigned consider that the said note 

 does not destroy the observation and objections 

 which they permitted themselves to make to H. 

 E. in regard to the proceedings which he has 

 adopted in order to arrange the differences ex- 

 isting between the Government of her Catholic 

 Majesty and the Republic of Chili ; finding 

 themselves obliged, to their regret, to reiterate 

 and maintain the reserves and protests con- 

 tained in their communications of tho 22d and 

 24th of this month." 



As soon as Pareja's intentions were fully dis- 

 closed, and his determination to enforce the de- 

 mand of Spain by hostilities, notwithstanding 

 all efforts to the contrary, looked upon as set- 

 tled, the Congress of Chili, in both houses, 

 passed a declaration of war, as proposed, over 

 the signatures of the President and all the mem- 



