Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 7, 1874
No. 106.
Mr. Williamson to Mr. Fish.
Guatemala, May 15, 1874. (Received June 18.)
Sir: I have the honor to inclose you two copies of a small pamphlet issued by the government of Guatemala, embodying the correspondence [Page 161] with the British chargé d’affaires in regard to the outrage upon Mr. John Magee, the British vice-consul at San José, of which I gave you a full account in my No. 146 bis.
As it might be inferred, from the statement made in the last paragraph of page 5, that I might be somewhat responsible for the wounding of Commandante Gonzalez when he attempted to go on board the Arizona, I send you the original of my telegram, which has been returned to me by Mr. A. D. Moncrieff, agent of Pacific Mail Steamship Company at San José, as undelivered, and also original of his letter inclosing it to me.
I have, &c.,
Sefior Soto to Mr. Scholfield.
Guatemala, April 25, 1874.
Sir: Yesterday, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, you were pleased to call upon me at the ministry of foreign relations for the purpose of laying before me a telegram which you had just received, and in which it was stated that Mr. John Magee, vice-consul of Her Britannic Majesty, had been arrested by order of the commandante of the port of San José, a Spaniard in the service of the government, José Gonzalez by name.
I took you at once before the president of the republic, who, after having heard your statement, instructed the minister of war to direct General Gregorio Solares, who was at Escuintla, to repair at once to San José and set Mr. Magee at liberty, ordering Commandante Gonzalez, at the same time, to appear before the government and give an account of his conduct, and, in case of his having cut the telegraph-line, to bring him, securely guarded, to this capital.
This order was given to General Solares, because the inspector of telegraphs reported that the telegraph-line to the port of San José was not working, for the reason, as was suspected, that the office had been closed by Commandante Gonzalez himself.
If the telegraph had been in working order as far as the port, the order for the release of Mr. Magee would have been sent directly.
At about half past five in the afternoon the telegraph was again in working order, and the news was then received that Commandante Gonzalez had ordered Mr. John Magee, vice-consul of Her Britannic Majesty, to be flogged.
As soon as the government was informed of this outrage, it ordered, as you are aware, the political chief of Escuintla to go, with the garrison of that place, to the port of San José, to the end that General Solares might be the better enabled to arrest the delinquents and other persons implicated in so criminal an act. Moreover, to prevent the guilty parties from escaping, strict orders were given to the frontier authorities of Salvador and Mexico, in order that the crime to which I refer might in no case remain unpunished.
Later in the evening the President, not being content with the prompt measures already taken, went to the telegraph-office, accompanied by the minister of war, where he remained until after midnight, dictating orders that the life of Vice-Consul Magee should be saved by all means, since the distance did not permit him to act more efficiently.
The measures adopted resulted in protecting Mr. Magee from further outrages and in saving his life, which was in imminent danger from the rage of the Spaniard Gonzalez, who, on the arrival of General Solares, put off in a boat to the North American steamer Arizona, intending to seek refuge on board of that vessel.
The government, on learning this, requested the minister of the United States to order the commander of said steamer by no means to allow the fugitive Gonzalez to take refuge on board. The minister gave the order, as requested, and not only was admission on board of the steamer denied Gonzalez, but, as is known, he received a shot from the vessel, the particulars of which circumstance have not yet been received by the government. This occurrence caused Gonzalez to return to land, where he was at once captured by General Solares, together with the persons who appear to have been his accomplices.
The unjustifiable act to which I have been referring renders it incumbent upon me to address you, before any complaint is made, assuring you that this irregular and culpable proceeding has filled my government with great pain and indignation, and that, [Page 162] fully realizing the gravity of the occurrence, my government, as soon as informed thereof, acted with all the energy and zeal demanded by the friendly relations which have existed and do exist between the governments of Her Britannic Majesty and that of Guatemala. You have been a witness of the earnest solicitude of my government and of the manner in which it has deplored the outrage done to the consular agent of Her Britannic Majesty.
My government, sir, which sincerely desires to cultivate the most friendly relations with foreign powers, and especially with Great Britain, is ready, in view of this unfortunate occurrence, to give a further proof of this desire, and also of its determination that no foreigner coming to this republic shall be injured either in person or property, but that, on the contrary, all shall enjoy the hospitality of this country, with all the guarantees and securities that are furnished by the most civilized nations of the world. You may rest assured that the parties who have been guilty of the criminal act in question will be punished to the full extent of the law; also, that my government will give the fullest satisfaction to that of Her Britannic Majesty, and that it will make due reparation when the investigation which it has ordered shall be closed.
I have the honor to reiterate to you, sir, the assurances of my high consideration, and to subscribe myself,
Your obedient servant,
- MARCO A. SOTO.
- Mr. Henry Scholfield,
Chargé d’Affaires of Her Britannic Majesty in Central America.
Protocol of the conference held at the ministry of foreign relations of Guatemala, at 1 o’clock in the afternoon, May 1, 1874, between the licentiate Bon Marco A. Soto, minister of foreign relations of said republic, and Mr. Henry Scholfield, chargé d’affaires ad interim of Her Britannic Majesty, for the purpose of determining the satisfaction which is to be given by Guatemala to the English government, in view of the outrage done in the port of San José to Mr. John Magee, British vice-consul, by Commandante José Gonzalez, a Spaniard in the service of the republic.
- 1st.
- The aforesaid chargé d’affaires stated that being convinced of the desire of the government of Guatemala to settle this matter in a manner satisfactory to both governments, as declared in the letter of this ministry of the 25th of April last, in which he was informed that the parties guilty of the criminal act in question should be punished to the full extent of the law; that this government, moreover, would give the fullest satisfaction to that of Her Britannic Majesty, and would make due reparation when the investigation ordered by it should be finished; the chargé d’affaires, being convinced of this, said that, since the initiatory steps had already been taken, he desired that the final settlement of this matter should be explicitly agreed upon. The minister of foreign relations stated that his government, in accordance with what it had promised to Her Britannic Majesty’s chargé d’affaires, had already ordered, through the supreme court of justice, the offenders to be arraigned before the ordinary courts for trial and punishment, according to the laws of the country, since the outrage had been committed in the territory of the republic, the government of Guatemala thinking that by this step the best satisfaction would be given that, it could offer that of Her Britannic Majesty, in accordance with the practice of civilized nations. Mr. Scholfield declared himself satisfied with this action on the part of the government.
- 2d.
- In testimony of the desire of the government of Guatemala to preserve the most friendly relations with that of Her Britannic Majesty, and as a proof of the deep pain with which it has seen the outrage which has been done to Vice-Consul Magee, the government will order a salute of twenty-one guns to the British flag to be fired in the port of San José on such day as may be agreed upon with Her Britannic Majesty’s chargé d’affaires.
- 3d.
- Her Britannic Majesty’s chargé d’affaires also asked an indemnity for the outrage done to Vice-Consul Magee by Commandant Gonzalez. The minister of foreign relations stated that the government of Guatemala did not consider itself under obligations to pay such indemnity: first, because Mr. Magee, as was known to the chargé d’affaires, had officially declared that he did not wish his government to make any claim, and that he himself would make none; second, because the government of Guatemala did not think the case to be one demanding indemnity according to the general principles of justice and the special circumstances of the act giving rise to this claim.
- The government of Guatemala declares, however, that if that of Her Britannic Majesty, when it shall have full knowledge of the affair, of the conduct of the government of Guatemala in the matter, and of the manner in which it has deplored this occurrence, shall think proper to ask for indemnity, and shall insist upon it, notwithstanding the [Page 163] desire to the contrary expressed by Mr. Magee, then the government of Guatemala will enter into negotiations with that of Her Britannic Majesty for the settlement of that point.
- 4th.
- It was finally agreed that the subject of this protocol should be settled in these terms, and that the government of Her Britannic Majesty should make no claim on this ground in future, save such as might arise from the 3d point, on indemnification.
- MARCO A. SOTO,
Minister of Foreign Relations of Guatemala. - HENRY SCHOLFIELD,
Chargé d’Affaires of H. B. M.
Mr. Scholfield to Señor Soto.
Guatemala, April 30, 1874.
Sir: Last Sunday, when I had the honor and pleasure of visiting your excellency, you were kind enough to indicate to me that it would be advisable to put in writing the exact nature of the satisfaction for the outrage on Vice-Consul Magee that would be accepted by Her Britannic Majesty’s government.
With the view therefore of setting at rest this affair, the importance of which cannot be exaggerated, I have the honor of requesting an interview, at the hour that may be most convenient to you, so that we may agree upon a memorandum on the subject that shall be binding on our respective governments.
I avail myself of this opportunity to repeat to your excellency the assurance of my most cordial friendship.
His Excellency Don Marco A. Soto,
Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Scholfield to Señor Soto.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your excellency’s dispatch of April 25, informing me of the outrage on Vice-Consul Magee at San José, and of the steps taken by the government of the republic in connection therewith.
I cheerfully bear witness to the horror and indignation with which, not only all the members of your government, but all classes of society in Guatemala have reprobated this deplorable event; and I have seen with the greatest satisfaction the energy and good feeling that were displayed by the President and all the ministers, who by their thoughtfulness and promptitude have avoided what, at one time, threatened to become a catastrophe for the republic.
The frank and loyal explanations and apologies, so spontaneously tendered to my government, reflect the utmost honor on this administration, who have thus proved that they sincerely desire to protect with equal rights the native and the foreigner.
In congratulating myself on the settlement of this matter, I have to thank your excellency for the conciliatory and friendly manner in which the negotiations have been conducted.
I avail myself of this opportunity to repeat to your excellency the assurance of my most distinguished consideration.
His Excellency Don Marco A. Soto,
Minister for Foreign Affairs.