Mr. Taylor to Mr. Olney.
Madrid , February 11, 1897 . (Received Mar. 1.)
Sir: In further reply to your, No. 592, of October 21* last, relative to the arrest of Mr. del Villar, I have the honor to inform you of the receipt of a note from the minister of state, as follows:
From the documents sent by the Captain-General of the Great Antille it appears that said Suarez del Villar, a neighbor of Cienfuegos, was arrested on the 8th of September last in the act of delivering a sum of money in payment of certain arms which appeared to have been sold to the insurrection. Proceedings were begun which afterwards were raised to a criminal case, because the act in question constituted an offense of aid to the insurrection. By a protest of the consular agent of the United States at Cienfuegos, knowledge was had that Suarez del Villar was an American citizen, and in view of this, after legal proofs were exhibited in due form and the proceedings and necessary requisites were fulfilled, on the 5th of last January the case was turned over to the civil jurisdiction, and the proceedings were delivered to the judge of instruction of Cienfuegos.
It is therefore evident that this case, far from being an infringement of the protocol of 1877 and other international agreements in force, is another proof of the loyalty with which the same are fulfilled by the Spanish authorities in the Great Antille.
I am, etc.,