742 



PERU, CHILI, AND THE UNITED STATES. 



ing a provisional government in Peru. You will, as 

 ' far as you con do so with propriety, and without offi- 

 cious intrusion, approve and encourage this disposi- 

 tion on the part of the Chilian Government, and this 

 department will be exceedingly gratified if your inllu- 

 enee, as the representative of tin- I nited States, ahull 

 be instrumental in inducing the Government, of Chili 

 to give its aid and support to the restoration of reg- 

 ular constitutional government in Peru, and to post- 

 pone the settlement of all questions of territorial 

 annexation to the diplomatic negotiations which can 

 then be resumed with the certainty of a just, friendly, 

 and satisfactory conclusion. 



In any representation which you may make you 

 will say that the hope of tin- United States is that the 

 negotiations for peace shall be conducted and the final 

 settlement between the two countries determined with- 

 out either side invoking the aid or intervention of any 

 European power. The Government of the United 

 seeks only to perform the office of a friend to 

 all the parties in this unhappy conflict between South 

 American republics, and it will regret to be compelled 

 to consider how far that feeling might be affected, and 

 a more active interposition forced upon it by any at- 

 tempted complication of this question with European 

 politics. If at any time you shall judge it expedient 

 and advantageous to read this dispatch to the Minister 

 of Foreign Affairs, you are authorized to do so. The 

 decision on thia point is left to your discretion. 



JAMES G. ELAINE. 



In his annual message to Congress, President 

 Arthur spoke of our relations with the west 

 coast republics in the following terms : 



Tliis Government sees, with great concern, the con- 

 tinuance of the hostile relations between Chili, Bo- 

 livia, and Peru. An early peace between these repub- 

 lics is much to be desired, not only that they them- 

 selves may be spared further misery and bloodshed, 

 but because their continued antagonism threatens con- 

 sequences which are, hi my judgment, dangerous to 

 the interests of republican government on this con- 

 tinent, and calculated to destroy the best elements of 

 our tree and peaceful civilization. As in the present 

 excited condition of popular feeling in these countries 

 there has been serious misapprehension of the position 

 of the United States, and as separate diplomatic inter- 

 course with each through independent ministers is 

 sometimes subject, owing to the want of prompt recip- 

 rocal communication, to temporary misunderstanding. 

 [ have deemed it judicious at the present time to send 

 a special envoy, accredited to all and each of them, 

 and furnished with general instructions, which will, I 

 trust, enable him touring these powers into friendly 

 relations. 



The special envoy alluded to by the Presi- . 

 dent was Mr. William H. Trescot, of South 

 Carolina, who sailed from New York for Pan- 

 ama on December 3d, accompanied by Mr. 

 Walker Elaine, son of the Secretary of State. 

 Reaching Lima in due time, they remained 

 there several days, and on Christmas-day sailed 

 from the neighboring port of Callao for San- 

 tiago. On December 12th the following dis- 

 patches from Secretary Elaine to our Ministers 

 at Lima and Santiago were given to the press: 

 I. 



DEPARTMENT or STATE, | 

 WASHINGTON, November 22, 1881. f 

 To Stephen A. Hurlbvt, Esq.. etc., Lima. 



SIR: Your dispatches to No. 23, inclusive, have 

 been received, and I learn with regret that a con- 

 struction has been put upon your language and con- 

 duct indicating a policy of active intervention on the 

 part of this Government beyond the scope of your in- 

 structions. As those instructions were clear and ex- 



plieit, and as this department is in the possession of 

 no information which would seem to require the with- 

 drawn! of the confidence reposed in you, I must con- 

 sider this interpretation or your words and acts as 

 the result of some strange and perhaps prejudiced 

 misconception. My only material for forming an 

 opinion consists of your memorandum to Admiral 

 Lynch, your letter to Senor Garcia, the secretary of 

 General Pierola, and the convention with President 

 Calderon, ceding a naval station to the United States. 

 I would have preferred that you should hold no com- 

 munication with Admiral Lynch on questions of a 

 diplomatic character. He was present as a military 

 commander of Chilian forces, and you were accredited 

 to Peru. Nor do I conceive that Admiral Lynch, as 

 the commander of the Chilian army of occupation, 

 had any right to ask or receive any formal assurance 

 from you as to the opinions of your Government. 



The United States was represented in Chili by a 

 properly accredited minister, and from his own Gov- 

 ernment the admiral could and ought to have re- 

 ceived any information which it was important for 

 him to have. It was to be expected, and even de- 

 sired, that frank and friendly relations should exist 

 between you ; but I can not consider such confiden- 

 tial communication as justifying a formal appeal to 

 your colleague in Chili for the correction or criticism 

 of your conduct. If there was anything in your pro- 

 ceedings in Peru to which the Government of Chili 

 could properly take exception, a direct representation 

 to this Government through the Chilian Minister here 

 was due both to the Government and to yourself. 



Having said this, I must add that the language of 

 the memorandum was capable of not unnatural mis- 

 construction. While you said nothing that may not 

 fairly be considered warranted by your instructions, 

 you omitted to say with equal emphasis some things 

 which your instructions supplied, and which would, 

 perhaps, have relieved the sensitive apprehensions of 

 the Chilian authorities. For, while the United States 

 would unquestionably "regard with disfavor" the 

 imperious annexation of Peruvian territory as the 

 right of conquest, you were distinctly informed that 

 this Government could not refuse to recognize that 

 such annexation might become a necessary condition 

 in a final treaty of peace. And the main purpose of 

 your effort was expected to bCj not so much a protest 

 against any possible annexation as an attempt by 

 friendly but unofficial communications with the Chi- 

 lian authorities (with whom you were daily associated) 

 to induce them to support the policy of giving to 

 Peru, without the imposition of narsn and absolute 

 conditions precedent, trie opportunity to show that the 

 rights and interests of Chin could be satisfied without 

 such annexation. There is enough in your memoran- 

 dum, if carefully considered, to indicate this purpose, 

 and I only regret that you did not state it with a dis- 

 tinctness and, if necessary, with a repetition which 

 would have made impossible anything but the most 

 willful misconception. 



As at present advised, I must express disapproval 

 of your letter to Senor Garcia, the secretary of Gen- 

 eral Pierola. I think that your proper course in ref- 

 erence to Garcia's communication would have been 

 cither entirely to ignore it as claiming an official char- 

 acter which you could not recognize, or, if you deemed 

 that courtesy required a reply, to state that you were 

 accredited to the Calderon Government, and could, 

 therefore, know no other, and that an.v communica- 

 tion which General Pidrola thought it his duty or in- 

 terest to make must be made directly to the Govern- 

 ment at Washington. You had no responsibility in 

 the matter, and it was injudicious to assume any. 

 The recognition of the Calderon Government had 

 been duly considered and decided by your own Gov- 

 ernment, and you were neither instructed nor ex- 

 pected to furnish General Pierola or the Peruvian 

 public with the reasons for that action. The follow- 

 ing language in your letter to Senor Garcia might be 

 misunderstood: "" Chili desires and asks for Tara- 



