No. 120.
Mr. Beach
to Mr. Porter.
Guayaquil, Ecuador, July 31, 1885. (Received August 15.)
Sir: I had nothing new from any source in regard to the Santos matter until the 29th instant, when the following was received:
Beach, Consul-General, Guayaquil:
Has Santos been released? Delay inexplicable.
BAYARD.
I immediately went in search of information. I had no doubt that the President would keep his promise to release Mr. Santos, especially as several persons who had been prisoners at Guayaquil were released on the 22d under the terms of the amnesty bill. I supposed that Mr. Santos would arrive here on the 26th, and, if not, that I would hear from him by the weekly mail coming later. I was disappointed in both respects. In searching for information I found a relative of Mr. Santos, who had received a letter from a relative at Portoviejo (where Mr. Santos was imprisoned), in which it was stated that Mr. Santos was released on the 22d, arrived at the coast on the 24th, and proceeded at once toward Bahia, the place where he had been engaged in business. While I deemed it exceedingly surprising that Mr. Santos had not informed me of his liberation, I believed the statement to be true, and replied to Secretary Bayard by cable as follows:
Guayaquil, July 30.
Secretary Bayard, Washington:
Santos’s cousin here received letter yesterday from relative saying Santos released 22d. Think statement reliable.
BEACH.
I am, &c.,
Consul-General.