No. 73.
Mr. Gresham
to Mr. Baker.
Department
of State,
Washington, July 12,
1894.
Sir: Since your dispatch of May 30, 1894, was
answered by my instruction of the 13th ultimo, I have received yours of June
9, in further relation to your allegation that an “agreement” between
yourself and Senor Madriz for the evacuation of Bluefields by Nicaraguan
troops had been violated by Commissioner Lacayo.
Señor Madriz’s, note of June 2, as transmitted by you in translation, appears
to recognize the “personal agreement” of May 5 and admits its violation.
Owing to an inaccuracy in translating the third paragraph of Senor Madriz’s
note, you seem to have misapprehended the import of his reply. That sentence
should read:
“Certainly if, departing from what my instructions contemplated, Senor Lacayo
has again brought soldiers to Bluefields, he has not fulfilled the orders
which I commuuicated to him, and must answer to the Government for his acts.
A full report on the subject has consequently been asked for.”
This seems to make the issue wholly between the Nicaraguan Government and its
agent, and this view is strengthened by the remainder of the minister’s uote
to you, which it is observed you have omitted to send here.
In a recent conference with Dr. Guzman, he had occasion to show me copies of
correspondence lately exchanged between you and Senor Madriz. On reading
Senor Madriz’s note to you of June 2, Iremarked that instead of terminating
with the passage above quoted it went on to narrate in detail the
circumstances under which Senor Madriz had deemed it advisable to station
the troops at the bluff, and controverts the supposed agreement to which you
appealed. His Excellency explicitly says that “the Government of Nicaragua
could not permit its right to be questioned to occupy that region (the
Mosquito Reservation) with its troops whenever, in its judgment, such a
thing was desirable in order to guarantee the internal or external safety of
the State.”
Dr. Guzman having kindly furnished me with a full copy of the paper in
question, I send you a transcript thereof. The translation is the
minister’s.
It is proper to advert to the necessity of the Department being fully and
accurately advised, without delay, of all correspondence of this nature, in
order that it may intelligently consider the facts with full knowledge of
all the details, and I shall be pleased to have your explanation of the
important omission to which I have referred.
I am, etc.,
[Page 122]
Mr. Madriz to Mr.
Baker.
I have had the honor to receive your excellency’s polite communication of
the 29th ultimo, whereby you were pleased to call my attention to a
letter which had been addressed to the legation under your worthy charge
by an American citizen of Bluefields, and which had reference to the
arrival of an armed force in said city, and to the continuation of the
military toques (drum calls?) therein, which had been suspended in
pursuance of an order issued by me in my capacity as commissioner of the
supreme Government.
Your excellency says that this is contrary to the agreement which we
personally concluded on the 5th of May, and you refer to the act of the
commissioner as an act of decided bad faith.
Certainly if, departing from what my instructions contemplated, Mr.
Lacayo has again brought soldiers to Bluefields, he has not fulfilled
the orders which I communicated to him, and must answer to the
Government for his acts. A full report on the subject has consequently
been asked for.
Let me be permitted to make a brief statement with regard to the
circumstances which led to the removal of the Nicaraguan soldiers to the
bluff, in pursuance of my order.
Before the arrival of the force I told Captain Clarke, of the British
ship Magicienne, that the said force, in case it
should arrive as was announced, would be stationed where the Government
should order it to be stationed, either at the bluff, at Bluefields, or
at some other place on the reservation or on the coast, because the
Government of Nicaragua could not permit its right to be questioned to
occupy that region with its troops whenever, in its judgment, such a
thing was desirable in order to guarantee the internal or external
safety of the State; that, however, if that force did not come for the
purpose of being stationed, at any particular point, I would order it to
remain at the bluff, where it would give less cause of disquiet to the
inhabitants of Bluefields, in whose tranquility I was interested.
Captain Clarke politely told me that he did not dispute Nicaragua’s
right to occupy the region with troops, but that he merely confined
himself to recommending that I should adhere to my determination to keep
the force at-the bluff.
A few days afterwards I received a call at my office from Captain Watson,
in command of the North American vessel San
Francisco, and as, in the talk that we had, my conversation
with Captain Clarke was referred to, I repeated to Captain Watson the
same words that I had used before, and received from him an expression
of about the same opinion that I had received from the other.
On the day on which I had the honor to accompany your excellency on your
journey to Rama, we conversed in a private and friendly way concerning
the soldiers who were at the comisaría, you remarking that the residents
complained of the military toques (drum calls?), to which they were not
accustomed. I stated to your excellency in reply that those troops were
at the comisaria because the commanding general had so ordered, but
that, as soon as I should receive a reply to a telegram which I had sent
to Managua in relation to the matter, I would order the removal of the
troops to the bluff.
I then understood, as I now understand, that your excellency’s
observation
[Page 123]
was a purely
friendly one and, as I considered your advice as being well founded, I
had no hesitation in declaring that I was willing to follow it,
especially since that had been my intention ever since the coming of the
men was announced.
Having received such a reply from Managua as I desired, I felt very glad
and took great pleasure in informing your excellency, in our interview
of the 5th (you being a friend of the Government and my own personal
friend), that I had issued orders for the removal of the troops from
Bluefields. The measure had already been adopted 5 my notification was
given subsequently to the order. Your excellency politely signified your
gratification.
The foregoing statement has been made on account of my desire that your
excellency should not regard the act of Commissioner Lacayo (if anything
wrong has really been done by him) as anything more than an act of
disobedience for which he will be required to answer, and not as the
violation of an engagement, for, apart from what I have stated, he had
no knowledge whatever of what was said in our farewell conversation. He
received an order from me without any explanation.
The order to remove the troops to the bluff has been reiterated to him,
because the Government thought proper that this should be done; and with
regard to his past action he has been directed to make a report.
Special instructions have been sent him, moreover, touching the course
which lie is to pursue in future.
With the highest respect and consideration, etc.,
