It will be seen by the copy of the judgment of the Mexican court inclosed
that Consul Sutter has been fully exonerated from any violation of Mexican
law, and acquitted by the court of any fault; so that, by the action of the
judicial authority, the arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of the consul by
General Jimenez were unjustifiable and illegal.
The question of reparation of damages for Mr. Sutter’s imprisonment still
remains unadjusted, as also the injuries and losses sustained by Mr. Kastan
on account of the seizure and confiscation of his property. I am awaiting
documentary evidence and other facts to more fully establish these damages,
when I will present these matters to the Mexican Government, and urge an
early adjustment.
In my No. 534 I sent you a translation of a note from the minister of foreign
affairs, in which he informed me that General Jimeuez, military governor of
Guerrero, on account of his failure to obey the orders of the federal
government in regard to the consul’s arrest and the seizure of Kastan’s
property, and for other acts of insubordination, had been deposed from his
office.
It appears, however, that before the federal government carried out the order
of deposition, the people of the State of Guerrero, under the leadership of
the former governor, General Alvarez, revolted against the arbitrary measure
of Jimenez, and drove him by force of arms from the State, tad he recently
arrived in this capital. His reception in this city was announced by the
official journal of the government, the Diario Oficial, of the 1st instant,
in the following language: [Page 407]
If the government has taken any step to call him to account for his conduct
in Acapulco it has not yet been made public.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 543.]
Mr. Sutter to Mr.
Skilton.
United
States Consulate, Acapulco, May 13, 1877.
No. 49.]
Dear Sir: Confirming to you my respects to 46,
of April 26 ultimo, with press copies, and a communication from
Mazatlan, and my private letter of April 30, with inclosure for Mr.
Bonilla, I now beg to advise you that Admiral Alexander Murray arrived
here in the Pensacola on the 1st instant, and that the United States
steamer Lackawanna arrived on the 2d instant. The Mexican gunboat Mexico
arrived from the port of Papanoa with Commissioner Zenteno and General
Rafael Jimenez, the son of General Vicente Jimenez, on board.
When the admiral inquired into my affairs, in an unofficial visit he paid
to the authorities here, he was told that I was free; that they had
nothing against me; that Mr. Kastan had never been molested much; that
only a little grass had been taken away from him, for which they were
willing to pay, &c.
The admiral thought they were very polite and kind, and on the 5th, at
their request, sent the band on shore and assisted unofficially, not in
uniform, at their celebration of the anniversary of the battle of
Peubla. But as soon as they complained to him that the consulate was
closed, and that I had hoisted no flag in honor of the day, the admiral
then told them that they must at once settle my case, and, for the
insult offered to the consulate, fire on the day following, in front of
the consulate, a salute of seven guns.
It appears that they at once acceded to this request, with the condition
that I should hoist the flag for the rest of the day.
The admiral advised me of the arrangement, and in compliance therewith I
at once (2 p.m.) hoisted the flag. On the 6th the military commander
offered to fire the salute at 9 a.m., but I sent him word that I could
not accept it as long as the case before the court was not decided, and
as long as I actually was a prisoner, merely released with bond on a
surgeon’s certificate of ill-health.
Another interview then took place on board the Pensacola between the
admiral and the authorities of Acapulco, at which I assisted, and, after
many subterfuges and evasive replies on their part, they again promised
that my case, which after the delivery of my defense to the judge still
remained in statu quo, should be decided and
sentence pronounced on the day following, and that then, after this, the
salute should be fired.
On the 7th, Mr. Zenteno, the commissioner from Mexico, called on me early
in the day, trying to arrange matters, overwhelmingly polite, and
assured me that he would do all he could in an officious manner to
prevail upon the judge to render a just sentence, which no doubt would
be favorable to me, and that, also, he was willing to have an interview
with Mr. Kastan at once, and commence the preliminaries for a settlement
of damages suffered by Mr. Kastan at the hands of Jimenez, throwing the
blame of all the unpleasant occurrence at Acapulco, and in the State of
Guerrero in general, on Mr. Condes de la Torre, &c.
On the 8th nothing was done in my case. Mr. Kastan had an interview with
Mr. Zenteno, the result of which was an account for damages suffered,
made out by Mr. Kastan, and presented to Mr. Zenteno for his
perusal.
The claims made by Mr. Kastan are not exorbitant, and quite
reasonable.
On the 9th, finally, I was notified by the judge to appear with my
bondsman, and the final sentence, admitting I had acted only in
self-defense, and exonerating me from all blame, was communicated to me
and the bonds canceled. I inclose copy of the sentence. You will
perceive that it is dated April 18, but a note was made in the “causa”
that, on account of the present abnormal state of affairs, the sentence
was communicated to me only now. I should like to know what it has to do
with it.
After the sentence had been communicated to me, Mr. Zenteno paid me
another visit, congratulating me, &c., and asked me if they could
not fire the salute in the fort, alleging that their soldiers were so
ragged. I replied to him the admiral was the only person to decide the
matter, and that I would lay it before him at once. I repaired
immediately on board the Pensacola, and informed the admiral of what was
going on. [Page 408] (The admiral on
arrival had already saluted the Mexican flag, and the Mexicans had
returned his national salute of 21 guns with hut 15. They had been then
by me apprised they must fire another salute of 21 guns, and had to do
so.) The admiral resolved they must fire a consular salute of seven guns
in front of the consulate, or a national salute of 21 guns from the
fort; that at the first gun I must hoist the flag, and that he would run
up the Mexican colors j all of which I communicated to Mr. Zenteno, and
finally the salute was fired in front of the consulate on the 10th of
May at 4 p.m. Two Mexican officials appeared at the consulate; also the
Americans residing at Acapuleo, and some officers of the war-vessels in
port. Some wine was drank, and short toasts of the usual form were made,
and the matter closed.
Half an hour after, the admiral accompanied by Captain Irwin of the
Pensacola and Captain McCann of the Lackawanna, and his staff, all in
full uniform, came to the consulate, and then we paid a formal official
visit to General Rafael Jimenez. A short speech was made by the admiral,
and very politely replied to by General Jimenez.
On the 11th, at 11 a.m., General Jimenez, accompanied by Mexican naval
and army officers, and by me, called upon the admiral, who had ordered
the ship ready for inspection, and led the general all over the ship,
which really looked very fine, and must have impressed the visitors
quite favorably. A salute of thirteen guns was fired in honor of the
general, and the Mexican flag run up as he left the ship.
The admiral certainly deserves great credit for the polite, diplomatic,
but firm way by which he obtained the desired end.
The admiral left yesterday with his ship on his way to San Bias and
Mazatlan, leaving the Lackawanna, Captain McCann, here for our
protection. At the instance of Mr. Zenteno, Kastan agreed to have the
losses sustained by him, in connection with his ginning establishment,
agreed upon by arbitrators, One to be appointed by each party. The
arbitrators so appointed yesterday appraised said damages at $11,500.
The bills for “Hacienda de San Márcos,” “La Providencia,” and horned
cattle stolen will follow next week.
Still it appears that Mr. Zenteno does not show himself quite as willing
to arrange matters quick, since the admiral’s departure, but he might
find himself mistaken in Captain McCann, should he attempt to play
truant. As he says he has no authority to issue orders on the
custom-house for damages awarded, I shall have to apply to you and to
Mr. Foster for orders on the custom-house ac Acapuleo or Mazatlan and
Manzanillo.
Our situation here is very bad. General Jimenez (father), after having
met severe losses at the hands of General Alvarez in the encounters at
San Geronimo on April 28 and May 5, is now intrenched with some three
hundred men, the remainder of his troops, at a rancho called San
Bartolo, on the sea beach some five leagues from San Gerónirao,
surrounded by an overwhelming force of General Alvarez, who has again
control of the entire State, except Acapulco, and, as far as I can learn
from Jimenez and his officials, through his arbitrary and cruel acts
brought the entire State to exasperation and compelled the people to
defend their own against oppression. He will have to surrender or be
killed in the next attack, which now may take place any day. Acapulco is
held by about one hundred men only, (most having deserted), under
command of General Rafael Jimenez and Colonel Vicente Sanchez, protected
by the gunboat Mexico, to which the principal chiefs will have to retire
in case of an attack of the Alvarez troops, holding all of the roads as
far as the toll-gates, as well as the mountains around Acapulco, the
beaches in the eastern part of the bay, Marque’s Bay, without letting
any pass into town. Fresh provisions are getting very scarce, as very
little of anything was in town when the siege commenced. Should the
siege continue another week, no beef or corn, &c., will be in the
market. Fruit, fowls, eggs, &c., vegetables, we have not had for a
week. Should anything of importance take place before the departure of
Vicente Lopez, the bearer of the present, I shall not fail to acquaint
you with it.
Your obedient servant,
- JOHN A. SUTTER,
United States
Consul.
- Hon. Julius A. Skilton,
United States Consul-General,
Mexico.
P. S. Mr. Kastan this moment hands me a communication addressed to
him by General Vicente Jimenez, dated April 25, 1877, but given to
him to-day only, advising him that he had given orders to the proper
authorities to place him in possession of his property which had
been seized.
Without the presence of the admiral, and a gentle pressure on them by
him, nothing ever would have been done by them toward the settlement
of the matter.
[Inclosure 2 in No.
543.—Translation.]
Judgment of the court of Acapulco.
Acapulco, April 18, 1877.
[A seal which says: “Court of the first instance of Acapulco.”]
Having examined the case instituted against Mr. John A. Sutter, on
account of a wound inflicted on Francisco Ayon, the evening of the 4th
day of January, ultimo, by firing a pistol at him; and considering, 1st,
that according to the evidence of the trial, said Ayon, without any
legal right, went to the store called El Bazar del Pacifico, in search
of Mr. Sutter, speaking of him insultingly, and not finding him there
started to the consulate, arriving near the doors, armed with two
stones; 2d, the accused being in his office and seeing Ayon approach in
a threatening attitude and insulting him, endeavored to intimidate him
by showing him a whip which he held in his hand; Ayon, on account of
which becoming more animated, took no heed of that threat, advancing
with more violence towards him (the accused) in order to strike him with
a stone, as appeared from the demonstration he made at the time, on
which account the witness, Anselmo Camacho, who, being in the said
consulate (where for political reasons he was concealed), witnessed the
encounter, was going to shoot him with a pistol; 3d, that the said Mr.
Sutter attempted to avoid the encounter by the means he considered most
appropriate, as appeared from the proceedings; 4th and last, that the
aforesaid Mr. Sutter was unjustly attacked in his own office, and that
if he repelled his aggressor, he never had the intention to kill him,
nor was the pistol used sufficient to cause death at the distance which
Ayon was from him when he fired, and besides, the good reputation and
conduct of Mr. Sutter, are public and notorious, in view of which and
the groundlessness of the charge made by the representative of the
ministry of justice, the case should be considered as comprehended in
clauses 8 and 14 of article 34 of the penal code, and § 2, title 8, and
page 7, and § 1, title 21, book 12, of the Ninth Recapitulation.
In view of the foregoing, and it having been proven that Mr. Sutter acted
in self-defense in repelling an actual imminent, violent, and unlawful
aggression, which excludes criminal responsibility according to the
previously-cited article of the penal code, it ought to be decided, and
I do decide, first, Mr. John A. Sutter is absolved from all criminal
responsibility for the wound which he inflicted on Francisco Ayon, and
in consequence the civil responsibility remains without effect. Make
known and remit these proceedings to the superior tribunal for its
revision as soon as it is installed in the state. Thus the citizen-judge
of first instance rendered judgment and signed. I bear witness.
- JOSÉ MA. LLORENTE.
- L. CANTÚ.
- DANIEL H. LUZ.
A true copy of the original, to which I certify.
Acapulco, May 9, 1877.
- J. M. LLORENTE.
- L. CANTÚ.
- DANIEL H. LUZ
