I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of the circular letter on the
subject addressed by Señor Galvez, minister of foreign relations for
Peru, to the representatives of foreign powers in Peru (inclosure No.
1); also a printed copy of Señor Calderon’s lengthy reply to Admiral
Lynch (No. 2); also a correspondence and comments of an American paper
(No. 3).
Your excellency will observe that the government of Señor Calderon
protests against the arbitrary act of the Chilian admiral, and that the
President and his cabinet have the firm decision of continuing in their
posts, and exercising their functions at all times, under all
circumstances, and at any place where they may be.
Your excellency will notice the solid and dignified arguments of Señor
Calderon, proving in how many ways the Chilian Government and officials
have recognized his government, showing that it has been recognized by
various foreign nations, and that it was increasing daily in popularity.
To this I repeat what I have previously stated in my letter of 21st
instant, that by a cable from Lima of 12th October the army of the south
in Arequipa and Puno also have recognized it; and now I add that in an
extraordinary session of the Peruvian Congress, held in Lima on 29th
September, Admiral Montero (who has been commanding some force and
influence in the north of Peru) has been elected Vice-President of
Peru), to act in conjunction with Señor Calderon.
I am desirous to be able to send to your excellency a translation of
Señor Calderon’s admirable letter, and hope to do so shortly. My long
letter of 21st October to your excellency, which I confirm, makes it
unnecessary for me to trouble your excellency with another long letter
at present.
It is proved that it is because Señor Calderon cannot and will not accede
to Chili’s imperious demand of a cession of Peruvian territory, as a
preliminary condition to commencing negotiations of peace, that Chili
pretends to destroy his government, which your excellency’s government
recognized for such noble reasons.
I anxiously await your excellency’s judgment upon this iniquitous
proceeding of Chili, which tends to make all government impossible in
Peru, and renders also the conclusion of a peace impossible; and I await
with equal anxiety the reply of your excellency’s government to my
petition of the intervention of the United States, which will unite the
Peruvian people, reconstruct constitutional government in Peru, and
re-establish peace in South America.
I hope also to be able to explain to your excellency, verbally, other
circumstances in connection with the state of affairs in South America
which make the present situation most exceptional and the action of the
United States most opportune.
I have the honor to renew to your excellency the assurances of my highest
and most distinguished consideration.
[Inclosure in Señor Elmore’s note of
October 27, 1881.—Translation.]
President García Calderon’s reply to the letter
of Admiral Lynch, Chilian commander-in-chief, communicating his
order suspending the exercise of all civil authorities not
appointed by the Chilian headquarters.
Lima, September 29,
1881.
Señor Patricio Lynch: Yesterday I received
your letter of the same date, in which you inform me that in
pursuance of the proclamation, of which you have sent me a copy, you
have put an end to my government, and asking me for a statement of
the papers, archives, and other effects which the officials who have
served under my orders may hold.
If I was not in possession of other facts besides your letter, I
would have but few words to say in reply to it, because neither the
letter nor the proclamation express the real motive of your
order.
But the facts which have developed since the disarmament of my troops
at Magdalena; the conferences held toward the settlement of peace
between Peru and Chili; the taking possession of the treasury
offices under my administration; and the publications, both in the
Chilian press and the Lima newspaper La Situacion, explain the
motives of your proceedings, and make perfectly clear that as soon
as the Government of Chili became convinced that I am not and have
never been disposed to sacrifice the territory of Peru in a treaty
of peace, it began to take measures hostile to me, which have been
carried on to the extreme of declaring my government abolished.
So explained, your proclamation has not the character of a simple
military measure within the action of martial law, and on this
account my reply cannot be short. It is necessary that the serious
and momentous measure contained in the proclamation should be
analyzed in detail, and for this reason I must occupy your attention
for some time.
Although, according to the rules of law and custom (which you have
hitherto followed yourself, addressing always your letters to my
minister of foreign relations), I should never communicate
officially with anybody but through the various departments, I wish
on this occasion to depart from those rules and myself reply to your
letter and deal with the question at issue.
In February of the present year a respectable majority of this
capital and Callao, considering that the government of Señor Piérola
had come to an end for reasons of domestic politics, to which it is
not necessary to refer here, decided to form a new government, which
would satisfy the exigencies of the situation, and appointed me the
Provisional President of Peru.
Being in possession of this authority, strengthened by the will of
the people, I commenced to exercise my functions, and the most
important ones which I executed at the inauguration of my government
were the following two: The negotiations for the disoccupation by
the Chilian forces of the zone within which I was to exercise my
functions, and the payment of the war tax levied upon Lima and
Callao.
[Page 973]
If, on exercising those acts, I had thought that my powers did not
derive from the people who have intrusted them to me, but from the
Chilian authorities, I would certainly not have agreed to anything
nor made engagements of any kind, because I would have had no power
to enter into contracts.
But the Chilian plenipotentiaries and the commander-in-chief of the
army of occupation treated with me, recognizing the fullness of my
powers emanating from the popular will, and for that reason I
concluded agreements with them.
And it is in truth impossible to think otherwise, if we take into
consideration that, in order to realize the payment of the said war
tax, I practiced two of the most important acts of national
sovereignty, which are the issue of a loan contracted mostly with
foreigners resident in the country and the issue of treasury notes,
which are obligations which the Peruvian nation are bound to
pay.
The Chilian authorities, by the fact of accepting as a part payment
of the war tax the funds proceeding from the loan, and the not less
important fact of receiving treasury notes, recognize my authority
and my legitimate right to execute those two operations. The
Peruvian Government alone can bind Peru, and only from the Peruvian
Government can the Chilian authorities receive titles of Peruvian
credit in payment; because I, regarded as a simple citizen of this
country, cannot issue documents of credit which shall impose
obligations upon the republic.
If this were not so, one of two consequences would result; either the
Chilian authorities allowed themselves to be deceived by me, by
receiving in payment for the tax a paper issued privately and
without official value, or, in the belief that I was not the chief
executive, gave their consent in order that I might deceive those
foreign residents, borrowing money from them and issuing notes
without legal value.
The former of these suppositious would do very little honor to the
intelligence of Messieurs Vergara and Altimarano, and the latter
would constitute them accomplices in a fraudulent emission, made by
a person without authority to do so. Neither of the suppositions can
be admitted, and hence it must be acknowledged that the Chilians
recognized me from the beginning as the legitimate chief executive
of Peru.
This recognition has become afterwards (if it were possible) more
explicit, because Señor Joaquin Godoy, Chilian plenipotentiary, held
conferences with me in regard to peace, which were initiated by him;
because you have, after Señor Godoy’s departure, informed me,
through distinguished officials resident in this capital, that you
had asked of your government full powers to treat with me; and
because in the official communication addressed by you to Minister
Galvez, after the disarmament of my troops at Magdalena, stated that
the act was of a purely military nature, did not imply a change in
the relations existing with me, and was not intended to interrupt
the pending negotiations. It is then evident from the foregoing that
I have been regarded by the Chilian authorities as a person fully
authorized to conclude a treaty of peace, and, as I cannot execute
such an act in the capacity of a private citizen of Peru, it is
necessary to acknowledge that the Chilian Government has recognized
me as the chief of the ligitimate Government of Peru.
I am certain that you accept this logical deduction, because
otherwise we will be placed in another dilemma, viz, either the
public men of Chili have committed the error of believing me to be
the chief of the government without being so, or that, knowing I was
not such, they have resolved to treat with me, provided I was ready
to accept terms favorable to Chili.
Out of respect for men who occupy high positions, and the
considerations which governments should show each other, I do not
accept either of these conclusions; neither do I believe that Chili
accepts them, and therefore I repeat that my government is
recognized by yours.
This being so, and it being also proved by the foregoing facts and by
other facts of public notoriety that my government was established
by the popular will and not by order or consent of the Government of
Chili, I cannot accept your proclamation, which declares my
government abolished, as if it were one of the offices under your
orders. My authority derives from the people who elected me and from
the Peruvian Congress, who has confirmed and extended my powers, and
as long as these two authorities do not appoint another to occupy my
place, I am and shall continue to be the President of Peru, whatever
may be the contingencies to which I may be exposed.
My powers do not, consequently, owe their existence to the toleration
of the Chilian authorities, as you state, but they derive from a
fountain beyond the control of those authorities. The sovereignty of
Peru, which is the source of my powers, is not subject to the
authority of Chili, or, to speak more correctly, it has not
disappeared by the occupation of a part of the Peruvian territory,
nor will it disappear if the whole territory were occupied. The word
occupation itself expresses it clearly. On the other hand, there
would be toleration on the part of the forces who occupy the
territory if the establishment of a government in the occupied
territory were contrary to martial law. In such a case it could be
said with reason that its acts were tolerated (not having then the
right to practice any).
Martial law gives to the occupants the right to forbid all acts which
may make the
[Page 974]
occupation
insecure, and on this account they may forbid whatever may endanger
their safety. In accordance with this rule, established by
international law and by the practice of nations, you may oppose my
having troops and my practicing all acts of hostility. Acknowledging
this right when my troops at Magdalena were disarmed, I protested
against that act, not because I have the right to keep an army, but
because it violated our pre-existing engagements, and inasmuch as it
might imply a rupture of relations with me. But as you declared that
that measure was a purely military one, and dictated only by motives
of safety, I recognized the force of martial law, and I did not
insist on my reclamation. I continue, however, occupying without
troops the zone of Magdalena, Miraflores, and Chorillos, and the
authorities appointed by me are to this moment at those places,
which your troops have not again occupied.
This fact, apparently insignificant, proves that you and I are
perfectly in accord as regards the extent of martial law. I
understand that I cannot exercise in Lima any function which may
have the character of a public act or of an act of force, and I
abstain from practicing the same; and you must be convinced that you
cannot oppose any acts outside of that sphere, and for the same
reason you have not opposed my constituting offices in Lima,
transacting business in them, and practicing in general all
governmental acts which do not require a public manifestation as an
essential requisite for their validity.
According to these principles, you have had no right to take
possession of the treasury nor to sequestrate the funds which the
government possesses in the Bank of London, and which proceed from
loans made by the bank itself; nor to demand the surrender of the
other offices under my administration. Those establishments are not
of a warlike character, and I myself have no war powers,
consequently martial law cannot be invoked for such acts. Martial
law is not conquest; martial law does not transfer Peruvian
territory to the Chilian Government, and consequently in spite of
that law I can and must exercise my authority, with the limitations
indicated; and the offices under my administration should and must
continue in operation.
To these considerations must be added the fact that many foreign
nations have recognized my government as the legitimate government
of Peru; and in virtue of that recognition I have contracted with
foreigners residing in this country obligations which I must
fulfill. If those countries had believed that my government could
disappear by an order from the Chilian authorities, they would have
never recognized me. But they have thought that Peru has the right
to govern herself, and have established relations with me, and have
now the right to require the fulfillment of the contracts entered
into with their nationals.
I have, however, stated at the beginning of this letter that my
resolution not to cede any Peruvian territory as the basis of the
treaty of peace is the cause of the measures taken against me. Even
under this supposition it will be easy to show that what is now
required of me is not justifiable.
When my election took place, I received the mission to conclude a
treaty of peace with Chili: and from that moment I made efforts not
only to know the true opinions of the republic as regards the
treaty, but also to study the terms proposed at Arica, and to find
out if they were or not reasons strong enough to make them
advisable. It does not require a great effort to see that the
majority if not the whole of Peru is opposed to the cession of
territory, and, this being the fact, the treaty of peace in which
that cession were stipulated would produce as a result, not only the
overthrow of the government who were to sign it, but also the
necessity of undertaking another war.
The first of these reasons, which belongs exclusively to the domestic
politics of Peru, does not in truth concern the Republic of Chili;
but the second reason is of serious import to Chili. To her and to
Peru it is of the highest importance that the peace concluded should
be such that it shall not be in future altered, and that hostilities
be not again renewed; and as this end cannot be attained by
accepting a condition of peace which the republic rejects, I ought
not and must not sign a treaty in which, under the name of peace, I
should make a legacy of perpetual wars to my country and to the
Republic of Chili.
The example of what passes in Europe cannot be alleged to destroy the
force of the preceding consideration. On the contrary, the extension
of frontiers among the nations of Europe has been from the remotest
time, and will continue to be in the future, the cause of formidable
wars which destroy millions of men. In spite of the exuberance of
population and wealth of the European nations, their large permanent
armies are the cause of immense evils, and these are the natural
consequence of the wars of frontiers, boundaries, and conquest. If
this system were to be introduced into America, it would produce
sooner or later the ruin of the continent. Our republics are not
rich in capital or in population, as is proved by the fact that all
are in need of immigration, and that the least commotion compels
them to raise new loans, and to issue paper money.
If, in consequence of her first war, Chili has been forced to have
recourse to the use of paper money, of which she was free, what will
happen when she shall be obliged to sustain two or three more wars,
or at least to keep up a considerable army to maintain
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the extension of her
frontiers? Listening only to the passions of the hour, some may say
that the future which I foresee will never he realized; but only
ordinary minds will think so, and neither you nor the statesmen of
Chili will agree with such.
Nations never perish; reactions easily operate in them, and
frequently their reconstruction is as surprising as their fall had
been unexpected.
Convinced as I am of all this, and longing for a lasting peace, I
cannot make up my mind to dismember the territory of Peru. I do not
wish that my name shall pass to posterity with the stigma of
reprobation with which the people of America will brand the man who
will legalize among them the fatal system of conquest; a high
feeling of American policy guides me in this case, and compels me
not to consent to the cession of territory.
I know very well that these ideas will not be agreeable to a
considerable portion of the Chilian people, because at all times
popular feeling has been intemperate. But I believe at the same time
that you and all other Chilian statesmen will think as I do, because
I have believed, and now believe, that your government will conclude
a treaty of peace without exacting territory. I accepted the office
I hold, and now continue to hold it, and have not resigned it,
because I have the same conviction, which has suffered no change;
although, as I have said, I judge the measures taken against me have
their origin in my refusal to give up Peruvian territory.
But I have thought also that nobler ideas will make their way
hereafter among Chilian statesmen, and then a treaty of peace will
be easily made, and we shall be able to conclude it in a way that it
will afford us securities in the future. We should be unable to
attain this end, if I could not pay to Chili the expenses of the
war, but I have the certainty and the means to pay a reasonable
indemnity, fixed by common accord, or by arbitration; and this is
another reason which compels me to oppose a cession of
territory.
As, therefore, the possibility exists of settling, within a short
time, the pending questions, and feeling as I do that no Peruvian
will cede a part of the territory of his country as a basis of
peace, the prolongation of the existing state of things, or what has
been called the indefinite occupation of the Peruvian territory,
offers, as all measures of the same nature, the inconvenience of
being a defective settlement.
This is neither a state of war nor a state of peace, and causing
serious injury to Peru, does also injure Chili. Instead of so
anomalous a situation which forces both countries to exhaust their
strength, and which will make wider and wider the separation caused
by the war, is it not nobler, more grand, and more American to
conclude a lasting peace that will secure a tranquil and glorious
future to our countries?
These are reasons of such weight that I do not doubt but that they
will influence your mind not only not to insist upon the closing of
my public offices, but also to decide you to turn over to me those
you have taken possession of. But if, as I presume, you act by order
of your government, you may at least suspend all subsequent
proceedings, transmitting to the Government of Chili the present
letter, which I am sure will become the basis of our future
understanding.
I am, &c.,
