Office of the Historian

No. 89.
Mr. Reinberg to Mr. Davis.

United States Consulate-General,
Guayaquil, Ecuador, January 27, 1885. (Received February 17.)
No. 98.]

Sir: You will receive herewith copy of the answer of the governor at Guayaquil to my dispatches (marked B and C), forwarded on the 20th instant, also copy of my dispatch to the governor of Manabi, and copy of my letter to Mr. Julio Romano Santos.

I telegraphed you on the 21st as follows:

Authorities Guayaquil now refer me Government Quito or authorities Manta for particulars. President interviewed here. Refuses Santos’s release. Am writing Manta.

You will perceive by the tenor of the governor’s answer that there is a studied intention of delay in furnishing this office with the repeatedly requested information for the supposed or real charges against Mr. Santos.

As regards the governor’s statement that he ignores the arrest, &c., of Mr. Santos, it is to be doubted, from the fact that General Reynaldo [Page 228] Flores, the commander of the forces in the north of Ecuador, and the officer who ordered the arrest of Mr. Santos, has been in Guayaquil for nearly two weeks informing his brother-in-law, the President, of the events which have taken place during the insurrection of the northern provinces.

I am informed by the agents at this city of Messrs. Santos Hevia Hermanos that Mr. Julio Romano Santos has been removed from the prison at Manta to the one at Porto Viejo, capital of the province of Manabi, 50 miles distant from the coast.

It is supposed that his trial, if the authorities institute any, will take place at Porto Viejo whenever they see fit to begin it, unless the Department will take more effective measures to exact from the Ecuadorian Government the faithful pursuance of the treaty obligations with the United States.

Copies of all the correspondence referring to Mr. Santos’s case have been forwarded to Hon. Horatio N. Beach, consul-general, now at Quito, who will no doubt address the Department direct from there. In the mean time I shall await for the answer of the governor of Manabi, whom I hope will not fail to advise me of the charges preferred against Mr. Santos, and which shall be immediately transmitted to the Department.

I am, sir, yours, respectfully,

MARTIN REINBERG,
United States Vice-Consul-General.
[Inclosure 1 in No. 98.]
Republic of Ecuador,
Government of the Province of Guayas,
Guayaquil, January 20, 1885.

To the Consul-General of the United States of North America:

I hereby reply to your two favors of yesterday, by the one of which you inform this Government that Mr. Julio Romano Santos is an American citizen, having been naturalized July 6, 1874, and ask that he be set at liberty; and request, by the other, that the confiscation of the property owned by the said Mr. Santos in Bahia may not be allowed to take effect. I take pleas are in informing you, in reply, that this Government has no knowledge of the reasons for which Mr. Santos has been arrested, nor of the confiscation referred to, owing to the fact that the said gentleman was not arrested within the jurisdiction of the province of which I am governor. I can only tell you that you should hereafter address, in relation to this matter, either the Supreme Government or the government of the province in which the gentleman in puestion was arrested.

With sentiments of high consideration, and hoping that this matter will be settled with the cordiality which happily exists between this Republic and that of the United States, I sign myself, Mr. Consul,

Your very faithful and obedient servant,

J. A. GOMEZ.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 98.]
Consulate-General of the United States of America,
Guayaquil, January 22, 1885.

Col. José Antonio María Garcia,
Governor of the Province of Manabi, Puerto Viejo:

I have the honor to inform you that I received instructions, by telegraph, from my Government, on the 24th ultimo, to ask for a speedy and impartial trial of Mr. Julio Romano Santos, an American citizen, now under arrest in the port of Manta, in the jurisdiction of the province of Manabi, on the ground that he is believed to be implicated in the recent revolutionary movement which took place in that province.

As the northern ports were closed, at that time, to communications of all kinds, and as I did not know where Mr. Santos had been arrested, I sent an official communication to the governor of the province of Guayas, he being the nearest authority, transmitting [Page 229] to him the instructions which I had received from my Government. That officer was pleased to send me the following reply:

“I have to inform you, in reply to your communication, that this Government, after taking due inquiry, has ascertained that Mr. Julio Romana Santos is a citizen of Ecuador according to the constitution of the Republic, and therefore, until the contrary shall have been proved, I am compelled to decline to inform you of the reasons which the Government had for causing his arrest.”

I immediately transmitted this answer to my Government, and in reply it sent me the following instructions:

“Santos naturalized July 6, 1874. Is registered in this Department. Will send copies. Inform Government and ask for his release.”

I communicated these instructions to the aforesaid governor, asking, as I was instructed, for the release of Mr. Santos, making inquiry as to the cause of his arrest and the charges against him, and also requesting that his property might not be confiscated. To this the governor of the province of Guayas was pleased to reply, two days after my dispatch had been delivered to him, and after the departure of the steamer that carried the American mail as follows. (Here follows the letter of Governor Gomez, of January 25, 1885, which goes herewith.)

In virtue of the reference made, I hereby address you, asking for the release of Mr. Julio Santos, an American citizen, in the name of the Government which I have the honor to represent, begging you, at the same time, to inform me what were the causes which led to the arrest and imprisonment of this American citizen, and also to state the reasons which authorized the Ecuadorian authorities to confiscate the property of the American citizen, Mr. Julio Romano Santos.

Hoping that this matter will receive all the attention and care that is required for the continuation of the friendly relations which exist between the United States and Ecuador, I sign myself,

Your very respectful and obedient servant,

MARTIN REINBERG,
United States Vice-Consul-General.
Inclosure 3 in No. 98.]
United States Consulate-General.
Guayaquil, Ecuador, January 22, 1885.

Sir: I have received information from our Government at Washington of your arrest and incarceration by the Ecuadorian authorities of your district or place of residence; also, instructions to do all in my power in your behalf, that is, to request your speedy and fair trial, and latterly to request your release.

Although I have written to the consular agents at Bahia and Manta for information, I am as yet without any of the particulars of your case or the charges which the Ecuadorian Government exhibits against you.

Further, the Government officials here seem to know nothing about your arrest, as they have officially advised me, but refer me to address the authorities of Manabi on the subject, to whom I wrote to-day, and also request them to forward me whatever communication you might desire to send me.

If you have not already communicated with Mr. Goddard or Mr. L. E. Santos, acting consular agent at Manta, and have protested against the steps taken toward you, if you are innocent of the charges raised against you, you can send me by first opportunity a clear statement and declarations of the arbitrary acts which you may have suffered from the authorities, as our Government and I, in representation of same, will give you all the protection to which our citizens, in unjust cases, are entitled.

I am, sir, yours, faithfully,

  • MARTIN REINBERG,
    United States Vice-Consul-General.
  • Mr. Julio Romano Santos, Manto.