Mr. Dupuy de Lôme to Mr. Sherman.
Washington , June 1, 1897 .
Mr. Secretary: In addition to what I had the honor to state to your excellency in my note of yesterday, in reply to that which you wrote me about the incident which occurred at Guantanamo in regard to the steamer Valencia, I have to state to you that the admiral commandant general of the Havana naval station, desiring to have exact knowledge of the facts, as he always does when anything abnormal takes place, has commissioned an officer of the navy and a judge-advocate of the same arm to proceed to Santiago de Cuba and inform themselves of what took place.
As I had the honor to state to your excellency yesterday, and according to confirmation by later intelligence which has been communicated to me for my information by the minister of state, the shots were not fired at an American vessel, but at an unknown vessel without a flag; the second shot was the consequence of the first one not having been heeded, and as soon as she hoisted her flag she was allowed to continue on her voyage without molestation and without even exercising the right of search, which all nations have in their jurisdictional waters.
I avail myself, etc.,