No. 432.
Mr. Duffie
to Mr. Davis.
Cadiz, August 5, 1873. (Received August 26.)
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that, yesterday at 1 o’clock a.m., the consular corps received a request from the comité of public safety to repair to their headquarters, situated in the custom-house of this city.
The consular corps acceded to their request, and on arrival were informed by the president, Mr. Salvochea, that the comité had resolved to resign their authority into the hands of the consular corps.
A conference among the consuls took place, after which it was decided to accept the transitory power with which the resignment of the comité invested them, chiefly for humanity’s sake and for stopping the shedding of blood, as at 2.30 o’clock a.m. firing commenced in the city between the artillery troops of the line and the volunteers, the former wishing to overthrow the comité, and which ceased as soon as it [Page 1063] was known by them that the comité had resigned their powers to the foreign consuls.
The reasons for the resignment of the comité, in my opinion, consisted in that about forty of our principal merchants having been shut up by them for twelve hours under the demand of $100,000, which they stoutly refused, (and who were liberated at the request of the consuls,) thus leaving them without funds to pay their volunteers and troops; that their troops having become entirely disorganized, the close approach of the government troops and the fleet of foreign vessels having been increased by three British ironclads, must have decided them to take that step.
During our temporary administration a military and civil governor as well as captain of the port were appointed, and all the naval officers liberated.
At 12 o’clock Admiral Lobo arrived at Cadiz, into whose hands the consular corps gave over the entire government of the city and retired; but before this Admiral Lobo addressed the foreign consuls in the most flattering terms, assuring them, in the name of the Spanish government, that the difficult commission they had for humanity sake taken charge of, was most highly appreciated, and that the city of Cadiz would never forget the great benefit received from them.
At about 2 o’clock p.m. the government troops, under the command of General Pavia, marched into the town without firing a shot; the volunteers were disarmed, and at present the city has recovered its former tranquillity, although commercial transactions are extremely dull, but which will improve as soon as it is seen that business can be transacted with safety.
General Pavia proceeds from this to Granada, where there exists another “comité of public safety,” and after the pacification of that city and its province, the whole province of Andalusia will be under the control of the established government.
I am, &c.,