Mr. Webb to Mr. Seward
Sir: On the 29th of April I received from the minister of foreign affairs a despatch, of which the enclosure, marked A, is a copy. The mail from the river Plata, which arrived on the 22d, brought the official replies of the Argentine and Paraguayan governments to the notes of Messrs. Asboth and Washburn, our ministers resident, urging the acceptance of our offer of mediation. How far it was wise to address letters to the belligerents, urging in very pressing terms the acceptance of our proposition, is not for me to determine, except so far as my own conduct was controlled by my judgment in the premises. Brazil is the soul of the alliance between her, the Argentine and Uruguay, and she is expected to furnish the money, the men, and the materials of war, with which to carry on the campaign against Paraguay, and of course it is for Brazil to say when and how the war shall cease.
But this is not all. It is virtually Brazil’s quarrel. Brazil and Uruguay, after a protracted diplomatic controversey, went to war. Pending the negotiations, and before war was declared, Lopez threatened to declare war against Brazil, if she invaded Uruguay. Brazil and Uruguay did go to war; Brazil did invade Uruguay, and after a struggle of some months, Brazil conquered a peace honorable to both parties. Brazil then had it in her power so to adjust her southern boundry by taking to herself the narrow strip of territory bordering on the province of Rio Grande de Sul, and inhabited exclusively by Brazilians, speaking the Portuguese, and not the Spanish language, as would have effectually guarded against the recurrence of war from the same causes which had produced the one then pending. So important to Brazil, in my judgment, was this small strip of worthless territory, in order to guard against future complications between the two countries and the establishment of a permanent peace, that I did not hesitate to advise the Emperor to retain it, as it was really of no practical value to Uruguay and would be cheerfully ceded to Brazil, much to the satisfaction of its inhabitants, who, as I have said, are all Portuguese, while the Uruguayans are Spaniards. But the Emperor, who is not only the ablest but probably the purest of all the public men in Brazil, said no! He had declared that he waged not a war of conquest; and desirable as was the small strip of territory alluded to, occupied by Brazilians, he could not with honor accept it from Uruguay at the termination of a war in which his arms had been victorious. So a peace was concluded just and honorable alike to both parties.
During the continuance of this war, Paraguay remained neutral, notwithstanding her threats to the contrary before the war commenced, and at the close of the war, or pending its being waged, a minister resident was accredited to Paraguay by Brazil, who was courteously received by Lopez, and took with him from me a letter of introduction to our minister resident, Mr. Washburn.
Some time after the conclusion of the peace with Uruguay, a change of ministry took place here, and Carneiro de Campos became minister of fazenda, [treasury,] and his brother was appointed governor of Matto Grosso. On reference [Page 249] to a map of Brazil, you will perceive that the very extensive, but sparsely inhabited province of Matto Grosso extends from latitude 8 to 20 south, 12°, and from longitude 50 to 65 west, embracing 15° and covering quite one-half of the territory of Brazil in its greatest width. It is bounded on the west by Bolivia and the river Paraguay, on the south by the republic of Paraguay, and on the east by the river Parana and the Brazilian provinces of Parana, St. Paulo, Minas Geraes, &c, &c. To reach its capital by land is only practicable over a mule-track of more than a thousand miles, while steamers of a large class may, at nearly all stages of the river, ascend the Paraguay to the city of Curumba, in latitude 18 south; and north of it Rio de Janerio is in 23 south, and a steamer destined for Matto Grosso runs down the Atlantic coast 12° to the river Plata, in latitude 35; thence up the Plata to the junction of the Parana and Paraguay; thence up the Paraguay, and through the territory of that republic, passing its capital, Asuncion, until it reaches Bolivia lying on one bank of the river and Matto Grosso on the other, thus passing through 29° of latitude and 23° of longitude.
The newly-appointed governor of Matto Grosso, Senhor Campos, was directed to take the Brazilian steamer, The Marquez d’Olinda, and proceed to his government; and inasmuch as he must of necessity pass Assuncion, the capital of Paraguay, a government on terms of amity with Brazil, and where was residing one of her duly accredited ministers, he was entrusted by the Emperor of Brazil with an autograph letter to President Lopez, announcing in very friendly terms, and as an act of courtesy, the then intended marriage of the Princess Imperial and her sister, the Princess Leopoldina. Just such an announcement, in fact, as his Majesty made to the President of the United States, and to every government of the civilized world with which he entertained diplomatic relations. This letter Governor Campos was directed to deliver, in person, to President Lopez, and to proceed on his way to Matto Grosso.
Arrived at Asuncion, Governor Campos, through the Brazilian minister, demanded an audience of the President, Lopez, to deliver an autograph letter from Don Pedro the Second, Emperor of Brazil, to the President of Paraguay. The audience was promptly granted, and the letter duly received, accompanied with an appropriate speech. Judge, then, of the astonishment of all present, at President Lopez’s reply. He proceeded to remind Governor Campos that before the war with Uruguay (which had long previously happily terminated with honor to both parties) he (Lopez) had declared that if Brazil presumed to make war upon Uruguay he should declare war against Brazil. True, he had not done so at the time, but he was not unmindful of his threat, which Brazil had disregarded as if he was not a power in South America; and therefore he announced that from that moment war existed between Paraguay and Brazil, and that the steamer Marquez d’Olinda was seized as a prize, and Governor Campos and all on board would be held prisoners of war. The steamer was accordingly seized, and Governor Campos imprisoned and sent into the interior, and from that day until now, nearly three years, he has never been heard from, and his fate is unknown.
In consequence of this outrage, the Brazilian minister, as a matter of course, promptly demanded his passports. They were granted without delay, but at the same time an order was issued prohibiting under any circumstances, or on any plea whatever, any boat or vessel departing from the. port of Asuncion, either up or down the river. Thus De Lima, the Brazilian minister, as well as Governor Campos and the officers and crew of the Marquez d’Olinda, became prisoners of war.
Our minister, Mr. Washburn, very properly intervened in behalf of De Lima, and resented the insult offered to his diplomatic character in thus detaining him a prisoner in fact, though not in terms; and the result was permission for his return. * * * *
[Page 250]Lopez at once invaded the defenceless province of Matto Grosso, * * and next demanded permission of the Argentine Republic to march troops across its territory for the purpose of invading Uruguay, and through that government, Brazil. Permission was refused, and Lopez declared war against the Argentine and Uruguayan republics.
Then it was that Brazil, the Argentine and Uruguayan republics, entered into an offensive and defensive alliance, not against Paraguay, its institutions, its people, or the integrity of its territory, but against Lopez. * *
By the terms of the tri-partite treaty between the allies, the sole object of the war is declared to be the driving away of Lopez, and the restoration to the people of Paraguay of their right to elect their President. * * * *
Of the manner in which the pending war in Paraguay was brought about, there admits no doubt, and Lopez explained to Mr. Washburn that his object in declaring war against Brazil, Uruguay, and the Argentine, was to demonstrate that he, Lopez, was a power in South America. This, he said, had always been ignored, and his threat to make war upon Brazil if she invaded Uruguay was treated with contempt, utterly disregarded, and even unnoticed. He said he could readily bring 60,000 men into the field, who would cost him nothing, as he did not pay them, and he would make those whom he left at home furnish the cattle for their support. With this force he would prove to his enemies that he was a power to be respected, and that accomplished, he would make peace, and in the mean time he would be civilizing his people. He had ordered all the lazy, idle, and worthless hangers-on about the villages, and all who did not faithfully cultivate the number of acres designated in the manner prescribed, to be put in the army, where two or three years of military discipline would civilize them to a certain extent, and make them more valuable citizens. * * *
The allies, it must be remembered, do not aim to accomplish more than to drive away Lopez, and give freedom to the people of Paraguay. And, as the war is at and above the mouth of the Paraguay river, where Lopez is the only recognized merchant, the commerce of the world is in no wise injured or embarrassed by this war in the Plata. It is most onerous to Brazil, because seriously injuring her in the point where she is most vulnerable, her labor. And yet her honor and the cause of civilization demand that she should persevere in her effort to accomplish her purpose. Her people anxiously desire peace, but the most intelligent among them are prepared for any sacrifice sooner than come to terms with Lopez. And I am informed, upon authority which is entitled to consideration, that not only is the Emperor resolved to accomplish the work in hand, but it is said that the remark has fallen from him that if the people of Brazil are determined to have peace at any sacrifice, the duty of assenting to such a peace will necessarily devolve upon his daughter. In other words, that in such an event he will abdicate.
I do not vouch for the truth of this rumor, but at the same time, from my knowledge of the Emperor’s character, I can readily believe it. Much, therefore, as one may desire peace, in all human probability the war will continue until Lopez is driven away. In the mean time, our people and our Congress should be officially enlightened in regard to the purpose of the war in the river Plata, and the character of the parties respectively engaged in it. The people of the Argentine Republic and of Uruguay are civilized, intelligent, enterprising, and by profession at least, moral and religious. A very large portion of them are Scotch, English, and American, embarked in commerce, and in raising sheep and cattle in the finest wool-growing region of the world, and where men count their sheep, cattle, and horses, by tens, and even by hundreds of thousands.
True, Brazil is in name a constitutional monarchy; but her constitution, her legislature, her judiciary, and all her commercial laws and regulations are based upon, and, in most cases, copied from us. Make her executive elective instead of hereditary, and her constitution is ours in spirit, if not in letter, and in some of [Page 251] its features even preferable to ours. In my judgment—and it has ever been the same—the greatest improvement of which our institutions are capable is to render far more permanent our elective executive, with ministers always directly responsible to the representatives of the people.
Brazil is, next to ourselves, the great power on the American continent, and in imitation of us she is considering the means of immediately commencing the gradual manumission of her slaves. She cannot determine upon a gradual prospective abolition of slavery too soon, and she cannot be too careful to make it the work of time, extending through a generation, at least, and thus avoid the rock of. “immediate abolition,” a far greater curse to both master and slave, as well as to the country, than slavery itself. No country can boast of better and wiser laws, and although there are great faults in their administration, every man of intelligence will bear witness to the truth of my observations, that each and every year evidences improvement in the administration of laws which are equally wise and just. Brazil is rich, powerful, and progressive, and it is only the ignorant and prejudiced who can find an excuse for their sympathy with Lopez because he calls Paraguay a “republic;” while one of the three powers which in the interest of civilization seeks to drive him out of the country is a constitutional monarchy based upon the principles of government recognized and elaborated in the Constitution of the United States. The Argentine and Uruguay are both free, prosperous, and progressive republics, boasting of a moral and religious people; and liberty in constitutional Brazil is as well guarded by wise laws, based upon those of the United States, as it is under the government of her allies.
* * * * * * * * *
By the last news from the river the commander of the allied forces is preparing for a combined movement upon Paraguay, which it is earnestly hoped may be successful. Assuredly the government of Brazil anticipates success, but I am bound to say the almost universal opinion is that another failure is at hand. This, however, is the result of past failures and the non-performance of promises heretofore made with quite as much confidence as at present; but, in my judgment, with means so lavishly placed at the command of the general-in-chief, there exists no earthly reason why he should fail in the coming fight. But in the event of a failure, what then? Can Brazil, in the present temper of the public mind, organize another army of 50,000 men composed of similar material, that is, of free whites and mulattoes? I think not, and if so she has but one of two courses to pursue: she must either abandon the attempt to drive out Lopez, or she must at once resort to her slave population to do the work for her. And why not? The only answer I have ever heard to this suggestion, when I have made it, is its expense. If that plea be adhered to, then this government richly merits defeat, and will have no sympathy in her misfortunes, or what she deems her dishonor.
When we wanted to raise additional men to put down the rebellion, did our government or our people count the cost of doing so? Far from it. Our government, our States, our cities, our counties and our towns with one voice proclaimed, “If the rich and well-to-do will not shoulder their muskets and defend the Union, their money must be made to do it;” and we offered bounties to men who would enlist varying from $500 to $1,000 for every man enlisted, and what we did Brazil can, must, and I verily believe will do. She is considering the question of abolishing slavery. Let her begin the work by at once manumitting 50,000 of her able-bodied negroes. Let her, if need be, follow our example and buy them from their masters at our bounty rate of $1,000 per head, give them their freedom, and make them earn that freedom as soldiers and as freedmen. Even if the 50,000 able-bodied soldiers should cost $1,000 each, which they would not, the whole amount thus expended would be only $50,000,000, and thus Brazil could promptly accomplish her purpose in the most [Page 252] economical manner possible, and would at the same time be giving freedom to 50,000 slaves.
There can be no doubt that Brazil will get rid of slavery altogether within the next 30 years, and the very general conviction that slavery in Brazil is doomed would very probably enable the government to purchase the soldiers required at three-fourths the price named. But be this as it may, the imperial legislature meets to-day, and if another reverse should befall the Brazilian arms on the Paraguay I feel a well-settled conviction that the legislature will be called upon to act upon a suggestion somewhat similar to what I have foreshadowed. It is at once the only feasible and economical mode of promptly bringing the war to an end. If, as is possible, and in the estimation of the public probable, the new commander of the allied armies is destined to a fate similar to that of his predecessors, in that event the legislature of Brazil will, no doubt, make one great and last effort to drive out Lopez, but of course the war would necessarily be prolonged another year. But come what may, the Plata, the Uraguay, the Parana, and the Paraguay must, like the Amazon, be thrown open to the commerce of all nations; the fortifications on their banks must be destroyed, and the erection of others be forever prohibited. Brazil, in opening the Amazon in September next, has clearly indicated her policy in this regard, and the commercial nations of the world have only to exercise a little patience, not only to witness the restoration of peace in the highly favored regions of South America wherever war now rages, but the removal of the men and the causes to which that war is solely attributable. From the moment I became satisfied that Brazil would not, and indeed could not, accept our offer of mediation, and, assured as I am that we would not attempt to enforce that mediation upon her by an armed intervention, I deemed it unwise and incompatible with our national dignity publicly and earnestly to press upon her our good offices, with a certainty that they must be refused. Nothing could be gained by such a proceeding, although I have verbally urged the acceptance of our proposal and the great desire of all civilized nations to see this unduly protracted war brought to a close. In my heart, however, I confess that I am glad our friendly interposition in the mode suggested has been courteously rejected, because our offer of necessity makes a European ruler the final arbiter in a purely American question. Such, probably, was not your intention, but recent events render it a necessity. You propose that after agreeing upon a statement of their case by a congress at Washington, the protocol of their doings shall be submitted by the President of the United States to an umpire, to act as referee, whose decision shall be final. Now, it so happens that Peru, Chili, and Bolivia have disqualified themselves from acting by reason of their protest against the treaty of the allies. Mexico is not in a condition to act; and the questions at issue are of too great a magnitude to be submitted for final settlement to Central America, or the minor American powers. It follows, then, that the President would be compelled to refer the whole matter to the settlement by arbitration of a European power. The states engaged in this war would very much prefer that the President should himself become the final arbiter in the premises; whenever, in their judgment, events, now buried in the future, may render such reference either necessary or expedient.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
P. S.—I should have stated in the body of this despatch that the Emperor is the head and front, the very soul of the movement for the emancipation of all slaves within thirty years—the work to commence now, by immediate [Page 253] legislation. Of course, if he should abdicate, the movement ceases, and therefore the advocates of the slave interest would be well pleased to get rid of him on any terms. They’ll not succeed.
J. W. W.