No. 502.
Mr. Foster
to Mr. Frelinghuysen.
Madrid, August 1, 1883. (Received August 18.)
Sir: Since I advised you of the presentation of the various claims arising out of the embargo of Cuban estates, in my numbers 14 to 23 of the 12th ultimo, the subject has been referred to in several of the interviews which I have had with the minister and subsecretary of state.
On the 19th ultimo, in the last conference which I had with the Mar quis de la Vega de Armijo before he left the capital, I expressed my regret that he was to be so long absent from the ministry, for the reason that I had hoped to be able at an early day to take up with him the consideration of these cases, concerning the settlement of which I had received such urgent instructions.
The marquis replied that he had been so occupied with the sessions of the Cortes and other urgent matters that he had not had the time to examine them, nor had there as yet been an opportunity to do so, as my notes were still in the hands of the translator. His impression had been that all questions of claims growing out of the insurrection in Cuba had been settled by the late claims commission. If it was considered by my Government important that an answer be given without delay, he would give instructions to have one prepared, but he thought there was no occasion for haste.
I said that I did not desire a hasty answer, but that, as I understood he was to be absent for two or three months, my object in bringing the subject to his attention was to have the cases advanced as much as possible in that interval, as I supposed the antecedents of the cases would be asked of the minister of ultramar, and, possibly, from Cuba. I then briefly sought to correct his impression that these claims had been settled by the commission. The minister, in reply, stated that it would be impossible for him to give any examination to the matter before his departure, but ho said he would call the attention of the subsecretary to it, and he asked me to confer with that gentleman.
Since the date of the conference above referred to I have had several conversations with the subsecretary in regard to these embargoed estate claims, and he has manifested a decided disinclination to take them upplacing his objection on the ground that he expected to leave the ministry within a few days, that there was not time for him to examine the questions involved, and that any opinion he might give would be of little consequence, as it would not bind either his successor or the minister of state.
He, however, promised to examine my note of July 2, presenting the general subject of the responsibility of the Spanish Government, and to-day, by appointment, I had a conference with him to hear his views. As he expressly desired that no official importance should be attached to his declarations, it is hardly necessary to give an abstract of our conversation.
He assumed the same position as the minister of state, that all the claims growing out of the insurrection in Cuba were to be settled by the late claims commission, and that Spain cannot now be called upon to consider any cases of that character. In addition to the original [Page 789] argument of 1871, he refers to the protocol (Article VIII) of 1881, prolonging the time of the commission in support of this view.
Mr. Menedez de Vigo said that before the subject could be fully examined and decided by the ministry of state it would be necessary to ask the ministry of ultramar for all the data and information existing in that department or in the records of Cuba, respecting the claims presented in my notes, and he promised me that this should be done with as little delay as possible.
* * * * * * *
I am, &c.,