No. 395.
General Sickles to Mr. Fish.
Madrid, March 11, 1873. (Received April 4.)
Sir: On the receipt of your instruction transmitted by cable on the 12th ultimo, I communicated its purport to the minister of state, and informed him that, being duly authorized, I was prepared, on behalf of my Government, to recognize the executive authority of the Spanish Republic. [Page 927] His excellency expressed great satisfaction with this intelligence, remarking that it was characteristic of a great and generous nation and of its enlightened rulers.
I then asked the minister when it would be agreeable to the President, Mr. Figueras, to receive me, in my official character, in public audience. Mr. Castelar replied that the cabinet would desire to be present, and, in order that the occasion might be marked with proper ceremony in other accessories, he preferred to confer with his colleagues before designating the day, of which, however, he would promptly notify me.
Pursuant to an intimation subsequently received, the secretary-general of the President came to the legation on Saturday, the 15th ultimo, with two state-coaches; in the first of which he accompanied me to the official residence of the executive, the other following with the secretary of this legation. I wore the uniform of my rank in the Army. Two battalions of troops in line received me with military honors at the Presidency, the band playing American national airs. A very numerous assemblage, filling the wide street, saluted me with cordiality.
Escorted to the ante-room by the aides-de-camp of the secretary of war, I was met by the Viscount del Cerro, first introducer of embassadors, who conducted me to the reception-chamber, where I was awaited by the President and cabinet. Announced by the Viscount, I read the following address, a copy of which had been placed in the hands of the minister of state the day before.
The English version of my remarks will be found in Appendix B.
The President, Mr. Figueras, then read the reply, of which the following is a translation:
Mr. Minister: A grave responsibility accompanies the trust confided to me by the sovereignty of the assembly, and which has been recognized by the adhesion of the nation—a responsibility sufficient of itself to overwhelm me if there were not moments of consolation and support like these, when your most eloquent words bear to my ears the mighty voice of the American people, hailing with their benediction the advent of the republic in this our own Spain, attained by her moderation and energy, and which she will preserve and maintain by consummate prudence.
As the faithful and sensitive interpreter of the sentiments that animate your race, you have reminded us of the gratitude your people feel toward our people, because the daring of our explorers discovered, the valor of our heroes conquered, and the faith of our missionaries evangelized a great portion of the vast domain lit by the shining stars of your glorious commonwealth. But even had the memory of those deeds not recurred to you and to us, who are of the stock that achieved those great conquests, and even did they not possess such a glorious character, they would acquire it to-day, because they form a bond of union between Spain, which carried to your shores the germs of civilization, and America, which now gives us by her example the fruits of liberty and of democracy.
You are grateful to our people for these immortal and historic deeds, but how much more gratitude do we not owe—we whose lives have been devoted to the hard problem of uniting democracy and liberty—to the noble Pilgrims, the founders of your institutions, who, inspired by their own serene belief, sought beyond the seas a temple for their unfettered conscience and founded in the New World a new order of society, which, organized and perfected by the republican spirit of the eighteenth century, has united in perfect equilibrium the authority of society with the inherent rights of man, the restless vigor of democracy with the firm stability of power, the free outgrowth of all the aspirations of the human soul with respect for the interests of others and for the laws—a worthy example not to be forgotten in the new era of our country.
Mr. Minister, the Spanish Republic will ever count among its greatest privileges the opportunities given to it by its character and origin to strengthen the ties of friendship between Spain and the United States. We possess in the New World a considerable and integral part of our national territory, which must ever serve, under the shadow of the Spanish flag, as a bond of relationship between the two continents. In order that our Islands may fulfill this high mission, and that they may be preserved for this civilizing purpose under our own nationality, we count upon the energy of all Spaniards, upon the virtue of our new institutions, upon the fruition yet to spring from the abandonment of the errors of the past, and upon public opinion in the United States, whose influence throughout the whole American continent is so great and so justly merited.
[Page 928]These hopes are strengthened by the illustrious name won by the President of the United States, and by the credit and sympathy possessed among us by his representative in Madrid. If the most pleasing of all your duties has been the recognition of my authority, my most pleasing task will be to aid you in all the means by which you may contribute to promote the fraternal policy that should exist between the republic of the United States and the republic of Spain.
The Spanish text of this speech is contained in Appendix C.
I was then presented by His Excellency the President to the ministers, with each of whom felicitations were exchanged, and in turn I presented the secretary of legation, Mr. Adee.
Retiring with the same formalities observed in my reception, I paid a brief visit to the President in his private apartments.
A number of ladies and gentlemen witnessed the ceremony from the balconies and adjacent corridors.
I then proceeded, with the introducer of embassadors, to the palace, and made the usual visit in state to the foreign office. Mr. Castelar welcomed me with great cordiality, and said that in view of the sovereign attributes of the national assembly, the president of that body, Mr. Martos, would receive me the same afternoon at the palace of the Cortes.
Accompanied by the Viscount del Cerro, I accordingly repaired thither, and was met outside at the steps of the principal entrance, formerly the royal portico, by the mace-bearers of the assembly, and the secretaries, Senators Balart and Benot. Preceded by them, I was led to the presence of the presiding officer of the Cortes. His excellency, assisted by the vice-presidents and secretaries, the minister of state, Mr. Castelar, being present, received me in the salon of the presidency.
I addressed his excellency briefly, in Spanish, expressing my satisfaction in offering, in the name of my government, its respectful and fraternal salutations to the sovereign assembly of Spain, represented in the person of his excellency. Mr. Martos replied at some length, as you will see in his report of the reception, made to the assembly, which is annexed in Appendix D.
Subsequently, on the same day, the minister of state made a communication to the assembly, announcing that the government of the United States had formally recognized the republic of Spain. His excellency read my address, and the reply of President Figueras, which were received by the assembly with marked satisfaction. A report of this incident will be found in Appendix D.
On the following day the President of the republic and the minister of state visited me officially at the legation.
I am, &c.,