Mr. Kilpatrick to Mr. Seward
No. 38 bis.]
Legation of the United States,
Valparaiso, Chili,
February 2, 1867.
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that on the
10th ultimo I presented in public audience the letter of his Excellency
President Johnson congratulating President Perez on his re-election to
the chief magistracy of this republic.
I enclose you a copy of the remarks made by me on the occasion, (A,) and
also the reply of President Perez, (B.)
The audience chamber was filled on the occasion of the presentation, and
the
[Page 263]
letter of the President
was most enthusiastically received, and will be the means of cementing
yet more closely the already well-established friendship of the two
republics.
The extreme illness of Mr. Cooke, secretary of this legation, rendered it
impossible to forward you this account by the mail of the 17th
ultimo.
I have the honor to remain, with great respect, your obedient
servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
A.
Speech of Mr. Kilpatrick.
Mr. President: His Excellency Andrew
Johnson, President of the United States, has directed me to present
in person to your Excellency a letter of congratulation on your
re-election to the chief magistracy of the Republic of Chili.
Be pleased to know that my government could not have conferred on me
a more pleasant task.
The kind attention I have received from you and from the officers of
your government, in their official character, and the generous and
open hearted hospitality I have met with from the people of Chili,
have long made me desirous of an opportunity to publicly express my
thanks.
This letter from the President of the United States, who, speaking
for the American people, congratulates you on your reelection and
asks that the blessing of Heaven may rest upon you and your
endeavors to promote the well-being of Chili, gives me the
wished-for opportunity.
It is less than one year since I came to your capital, a stranger, to
you, your peopleand your language: yet in the short space of two
months, in spite of many adverse circumstances, and the deliberate
wicked endeavors of professed but insincere friends and common
enemies to destroy the long-established friendship between two
republics by institutions and by nature friends: in spite. I say, of
all this, that friendship has not only been preserved. but it has
been strengthened, and we, who were strangers a few months since,
are now firm, true friends.
The policy of the United States, which has been misunderstood and
misrepresented is now, I feel, well known to you and to the
republics of the world, and will soon, I have reason to believe, be
better understood by those nations who, during our recent great
struggle for national life, acted as if they were in total ignorance
of its existence.
That policy, sir, in relation to our sister republics, is all that
they can reasonably desire; if it were not so, with my great love
for republican institutions, I could not, I would not, be the
representative of my country abroad, no matter how great others
might consider the honor. In conclusion, sir, I desire to say, that
in the future, as in the past, I shall labor unceasingly to preserve
and strengthen the present well-established friendship and to
promote the best interests both of Chili and the United States.
I shall watch the progress of your war with Spain with all the
interest of a true friend, neglecting no opportunity to assist in
securing an honorable peace; and finally, honored sir, I shall never
forget to invoke for you and for your people the blessing of kind
Heaven, and for you, as the head of the young republic of Chili,
that God in His infinite goodness may give you health, strength, and
wisdom, that you may successfully fill the high position to which a
free people have for the second time called you.
B.
Speech of President
Perez..
Mr. Minister: The felicitations which the
President of the United States sends me on account of the honor
which the people of Chili have conferred upon me by calling me again
to the presidency of the republic, are to me so much more pleasing
and satisfactory because you are the agent for expressing them,
which you have just done in words full of cordiality and sympathy
for Chili.
The reception which this country has given you, the evidences of
appreciation, friendship and good will which you have received from
the people and government of Chili, are no more than a homage
corresponding to your noble character, your friendly and
conciliatory
[Page 264]
spirit, and
your laudable efforts which you have made to preserve intact the
good intelligence between this republic and the United States. You
can always, as up to now, safely count upon being seconded in these
attempts by my government, since I consider of the greatest
importance the reciprocal friendship of the two countries.
I acknowledge most cordially the felicitations with which the
President of the United States has favored me, and the sympathetic
invocations he has been pleased to make for Chili and for me
personally.
