No. 115
Mr. Valderrama to Mr. Asta-Buruaga.

[Translation.]

Sir: Referring to the dispatch of this date, No. 29, I think it opportune to make mention of other facts connected with the strange attitude assumed by Mr. Christiancy during the preliminary negotiations which preceded the holding of the conference of Arica.

You know that in our country, as in Peru and Bolivia, the national sentiment is extremely susceptible, and is profoundly affected by any act or demonstration which is capable of being regarded’ as a disregard, even though involuntary, of the considerations due to the national dignity.

Knowing these sentiments, the Government of the United States endeavored with great delicacy to learn privately, and through the medium of its respective diplomatic agents, what would be the disposition of the belligerents respecting the acceptance of the mediation of the United States.

The spirit which led it to proceed in this manner was most obvious; on the one hand, a desire to be assured of the success of its conciliatory attempts, and, on the other hand, to find itself in a condition to make simultaneously to the belligerents the formal offer of its mediation. In this way it perfectly safe-guarded the natural delicacy of the three countries.

In the high character of mediator and common friend which the United States proposed to assume, it became an object of especial attention to treat the belligerents with identical consideration. It was therefore indispensable that the necessary precautions should be taken so that no one of them should appear as taking the first step toward asking or seeking for peace.

Mr. Osborn seconded most faithfully, in our judgment, the noble policy of his government. The 5th of August last, he began by inquiring privately, in an interview what would be the disposition of my government with respect to the mediation which the United States proposed to offer.

The reply given on the 10th of the same month informs Mr. Osborn that Chili would have no objection to accepting it, provided that it had the assurances of equal acceptance on the part of the allies.

Two months later, that is to say, on the 6th of October, Mr. Osborn, for the first time, offered to my government, as you may see by the accompanying copy No. 1, the formal mediation of the United States, and on the 7th, as appears in copy No. 2, he received the reply, in which the Government of Chili informed him that his offer of mediation was accepted on our part.

Meanwhile, in the time which elapsed between the conversation held with Mr. Osborn, in the early part of August, and the formal offer of mediation which was made in the beginning of October, Mr. Christiancy thought it proper to come from Lima to Santiago, where he remained several days, toward the end of August, in order to be able to return in safety to that capital. The unexpected appearance of Mr. Christiancy in Chili could not fail, however, to attract attention, causing [Page 156] the very general impression that the sudden voyage of the American minister was intimately related to the question of mediation.

The disquietude which was occasioned expressed itself in Congress, wherein my government was interpolated touching this matter, about the middle of September.

The government responded, stating what had theretofore occurred in the premises, that is to say, that there did not exist any formal proposal of mediation, since there had merely been exchanged with the minister of the United States, Mr. Osborn, certain views in a private form concerning the projected office of mediation.

A few days later the journals of Lima published a note from the foreign minister of Peru, dated the 14th September, and addressed to Mr. Christiancy. In this note occurred the following:

Informed by you concerning your voyage to Santiago de Chili, to which place you had gone with the object of proposing to the government of that republic the mediation of the United States of America, in order to negotiate a peace with Peru and Bolivia, a mediation which had been accepted by Chili, in virtue whereof you proposed it to my government, the latter resolved, after conferring with the minister plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bolivia, to accept the offered mediation, &c.

It is seen, therefore, by the paragraph I have quoted, that at the same time that my government declared, toward the middle of September, in the chamber of deputies, that up to that time the mediation in question had not been formally accepted, nor even officially offered, Mr. Christiancy was affirming, in his turn to the Government of Peru, that he had come to our country for the purpose of offering it to my government, and that in view of the acceptance given by this government, he made a like offer to the government of that republic.

The affirmations made by my government before one of the branches of the legislative body, and the affirmations of Mr. Christiancy to the Government of Peru, are altogether irreconcilable.

It does not appertain to me to qualify herein the motives which Mr. Christiancy may have obeyed in making such a declaration. My purpose is simply limited to setting upon record that the affirmations of my government rested faithfully upon the truth.

Mr. Christiancy did not present to my government credentials authorizing him to act either in respect of the projected mediation or in respect of any negotiation whatever. He was, therefore, in our country simply as a distinguished guest, and in no wise as the authorized organ of the government. If Mr. Christiancy had made, as he affirms, the offer of mediation, my government would have found itself under the painful necessity of rejecting such offer, because it did not conform to the usual practices between two nations; neither would it have been natural for the Government of the United States, which, with such delicate tact, had put forth its conciliatory efforts to have set aside its official representative in Chili, Mr. Osborn, in order to confide the continuation of this delicate business to a simple visitor, worthy of all respect, but lacking toward us the representative character.

These well-founded considerations led my government to think that perhaps the note of the foreign minister of Peru might not faithfully express the ideas of Mr. Christiancy, and it has awaited until now, but in vain, a correction on the part of that high functionary, which would re-establish the truth of the facts.

Subsequently there came to the hands of my government a note which the same Mr. Christiancy deemed it proper to address to Mr. Lynch, chief of the Chilian expedition operating upon the north of Peru, and that note has confirmed, to a certain extent, the ideas which the minister [Page 157] of Peru attributes to Mr. Christiancy with respect to the form in which the mediation was offered. I inclose herewith, in copies designated as numbers 3, 4, and 5, the note of the minister of Peru to which I have made reference, and also the dispatches exchanged between Mr. Christiancy and Mr. Lynch. It is not for the present a part of my purpose to take note of the proceeding employed by the minister of the United States in addressing himself to a military employé of Chili, for the purpose of making representations to him, which, from the high source from which they emanated, might induce the chief of our forces to deviate from the instructions of his government. My purpose at this time is simply to inform you with precision of the various steps which preceded the conference of Arica.

You will take an opportunity to express these facts to the Government of the United States in confidential form.

May God guard you.

MELQUIADES VALDERRAMA.
[Inclosure No. 1.—Translation.]

Mr. Osborn to Mr. Valderrama.

Sir: Your excellency is aware that on the 6th of August last I approached the honorable President of the Republic of Chili with a view of learning whether the Government of Chili was disposed to enter into a conference with the ministers of the other belligerent republics in the present war, in order to reach an honorable peace under the mediation in the shape of good offices of the United States. Your excellency was pleased to inform me, in our interview of the 10th of August, that the government of Chili would accept the good offices of the United States in the suggested form, if Peru and Bolivia signified on their part their acceptance of this idea.

The conditions indicated by your excellency in this interview having been complied with, I now have the honor to offer formally to the government of your excellency the mediation of the Government of the United States, in order that it may be exercised in the proposed manner.

The form which I suggested in the interview alluded to had in view the celebration of a conference of the ministers duly authorized of the three belligerent republics on board of an American vessel of war, at Arica, in the presence and with the friendly aid and assistance of the representatives of the United States near the belligerent government.

With sentiments of high consideration I have the honor to be, sir, your excellency’s most respectful and obedient servant,

THOMAS A. OSBORN.
[Inclosure No. 2.—Translation.]

Mr. Valderrama to Mr. Osborn.

Sir: I have received the note which you were pleased to address to me under date of yesterday. After recalling therein the steps you have taken with a view to ascertaining if my government were disposed to enter upon the peace conference with the other belligerents under the mediation in the form of good offices of the United States, and recalling, also, the favorable disposition shown by my government provided that those of Peru and Bolivia should accept on their part a like suggestion, you inform me that this condition having been already complied with, the time has come to offer formally to the Government of Chili, as you now do, the mediation of the United States.

His Excellency the President of the Republic, to whose knowledge I have brought [Page 158] your dispatch, has charged me to convey to you the expression of his gratitude for the noble interest with which the Government of the United States endeavors to bring about the restoration of peace between Chili and the allied republics.

My government accepts the mediation in the form of good offices which you offer to me in the name of the United States, likewise the proceeding which you suggest to carry it into effect.

I must, before all, repeat here, in order to avoid doubts and ambiguities, that this acceptance does not involve the suspension of all hostilities.

I improve this opportunity to renew to you the sentiments of high consideration with which I have the honor to subscribe myself.

MELQUIADES VALDERRAMA.
[Inclosure No. 3.—Translation.]

Mr. Barinaga to Mr. Christiancy.

Mr. Minister: Informed by your excellency respecting your voyage to Santiago de Chili, to which place you went for the purpose of proposing to the government of that republic the mediation of the United States of America, in order to negotiate peace with Peru and Bolivia, which mediation had been accepted by Chili, and in virtue of which you proposed the same to my government, the latter decided, after conferring with the minister plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bolivia, to accept the offered mediation solely in deference to the Government of the United States, and notwithstanding that the motives of the war declared by Chili, which took Peru by surprise, and the manner in which it has been conducted from the first had convinced us how far Chili was from the path of moderation and justice, the sole path in which peace is possible, as I had the honor to say to you in a verbal conference on this business.

The acts which the Chilian forces have, notwithstanding, done at more than 100 leagues from our army, and from any objective military point, acts of pillage, incendiarism, devastation, and all manner of outrages against private property of natives and foreigners, especially after having accepted the mediation of the government of your excellency, if not compatible with the consideration which is due to the friendly mediator, cannot but confirm that presumption, awakening a spirit of indignation difficult to control. My government confines itself to expressing that sentiment, leaving to that of your excellency and to your excellency yourself the due appreciation of such conduct. My government thinks that if the love of peace and the consideration which it feels for the government and people of the United States can decide it, notwithstanding the evident justice of its cause and its complete confidence in the final result of the war, and the injuries and losses sustained, to enter upon negotiations for peace, it is natural that such motives should be entirely destroyed by the actual and melancholy evidence that we are contending with those who in such manner violate the laws of civilization and the respect which cultured people owe to themselves.

It is pleasing to me to avail myself of this opportunity to offer to your excellency my considerations of especial esteem.

MANUEL A. BARINAGA.
[Inclosure No. 4.—Translation.]

Mr. Christiancy to the commander of the Chilian forces.

Sir: I have just arrived from Santiago, where, in company with the American minister, Mr. Osborn, I had a full and free conference with the Government of Chili, which has accepted the mediation of the United States, in order to negotiate peace with Peru and Bolivia, I am now authorized to say that Peru accepts such mediation, and that the negotiations for peace will be immediately undertaken. When I conferred with the Government of Chili I was not authorized to say that Peru would accept the mediation of the United States, but now I am authorized to say that Peru accepts it and that the ambassadors of all the belligerents will meet for this purpose in the early days of the coming month of October.

I do not interfere, nor can I pretend to interfere, with the instructions which you [Page 159] may have from your government concerning the steps which you have been ordered to take, but I hope that you will appreciate my representations, and those of the government which I represent, which is equally the friend of all the belligerents, if I suggest to you that, in so far as your orders permit, it would be prudent and would contribute to obtain a speedy peace and avoid all destruction and causes of irritation which may not be rendered obligatory by the orders you have; and I permit myself to add that there is a very marked sentiment, as I know, among the ministers of the foreign governments, both here and in Santiago, against the destruction of purely private property which is not demanded by the military necessity of attacking the armed forces of the enemy and against accepting contributions from them, and especially because such destructions may be committed or such contributions imposed upon the private property which is known to belong to the citizens of friendly and neutral nations, and from which proceedings, as you will readily comprehend, may arise many complications and complaints. The government of Chili will be immediately informed that Peru has accepted the friendly mediation of the United States, and of its readiness to enter upon negotiation upon such auspices.

If I had been able, when I was in Santiago, to assure the Government of Chili of the readiness of Peru to enter upon negotiations in which Chili should take part, I would feel inclined to believe that if the Chilian expedition had been about to depart it would have been under orders somewhat modified and less severe than those which you now probably have, but I cannot ask you to adopt my opinion, and recognize entirely the fact that you must act in view of your own judgment of the circumstances and as the orders of your government demand.

Permit me to conclude by expressing to your excellency the respect and high consideration with which I subscribe myself your excellency’s friend and obedient servant,

I. P. CHRISTIANCY.
[Inclosure No. 5.—Translation.]

Mr. Lynch to Mr. Christiancy.

Sir: I have had the honor to receive your polite notes of the 13th and 14th instant, in which your excellency is pleased to bring to my knowledge the laudable efforts which have been made towards the belligerent governments for the purpose of bringing about an honorable peace between them, through the medium of the mediation of the Government of the United States, of which your excellency is the worthy representative at Lima.

Your excellency, in making known to me what has been done to that end, and what is hoped for from the good offices (of the United States) has been pleased to indicate to me the conduct, which, in your judgment, I should follow in the military operations which my government has confided to me, in view of the good will with which the belligerent governments have accepted the mediation of that of your excellency.

It would have been very gratifying to me, Mr. Minister, to accept your manner of thinking if I had not been informed to-day by the commanding officer of our squadron, that the Government of Peru is continuing its operations against the vessels of the Chilian navy.

The repetition of such insidious attempts on the part of that government, at the time when your excellency assures me of the desire it expresses to negotiate for peace, convinces me that its purpose is not genuine.

For this reason I see no well-founded motive for suspending the military operations which have been confided to me in the absence of a special instruction from my government.

So far as concerns respect for the property of neutrals, which your excellency is pleased to recommend to me in the notes, which I have the honor to answer, your excellency may rest assured that I will proceed in conformity with the prescriptions of international law.

In conclusion, I beg your excellency to accept the high esteem with which I subscribe myself your obedient servant,

PATRICIO LYNCH.