Mr. Hovey to Señor Canseco.
General: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 10th instant, informing me that, “in consequence of the triumph of the constitutional cause at Arequipa, and the events which have lately taken place in this city and Callao, his excellency General Pedro Diez Canseco governs the entire republic, according to the constitution of 1860. The circumstance of his excellency’s absence and your desire to inform me of the sentiments held by the new administration lead you to communicate to me the fact of your being encharged by the President with the command of the departments of the center of the republic, with the character of political and military chief of the same. You also inform me that the government which you represent will cultivate and strengthen the friendship which happily exists between our respective countries.”
Without assenting to or denying the positions stated in the communication referred to, but in view of the great and very important changes and consequences which must necessarily flow from the disturbed condition of Peru, I deem it to be my duty to place all the facts before my government, and await its commands.
The archives of Peru will show that I pursued this same course with Colonel Prado [Page 844] when he assumed dictatorial power, on entering the city of Lima, and that my government declined to acknowledge his authority for more than ten months thereafter. This arose from no personal feeling, but from the ardent desire of my government to see the principles of republican institutions firmly established in Peru. America should be the land of free institutions, and the government I represent would be jealous of any movement that would bring either anarchy or monarchy to the people of this country.
It is useless for me to say to you, general, that I shall leave nothing undone that may tend to strengthen the bonds of friendship now existing between our respective governments, and that may aid the advancement of republican institutions.
Trusting that the future may bring a brighter dawn upon your country, I have the honor to be, general, your obedient servant,
General Francisco Diez Canseco, &c., &c., &c. Lima.