A large part of the President’s message is devoted to the discussion of
the subject of railways for Bolivia, and it is strongly recommended that
a thorough examination and study of the country and the several proposed
railway lines be made by competent railway engineers before definite
arrangements with respect to concessions or contracts for the
construction of any of said lines be given, the expenses for such
surveys and studies to be paid out of the interests accruing on the
£2,000,000 Brazilian indemnity, which indemnity fund, it is generally
agreed, shall be wholly employed in the development of railways in the
country.
[Inclosure.]
[Translation—Extracts.]
Honorable Senators, Honorable
Deputies:
The legal period of the mandate which confided the delegate functions
of the presidency to my person having matured, I have the honor to
present myself once more before the honorable Congress, to give an
account of the principal acts of the administration belonging to the
last year and to resign to the honorable Congress the functions of
the high office exercised.
In fulfilling this honorable duty I salute with respect the honorable
representatives of the nation here assembled on the date which
commemorates the foundation of the Republic for the highly important
object of the change of the personnel of the executive, conformable
to the vote expressed by the people in the last electoral
contest.
It is for me a cause of great satisfaction to finish my duties in the
midst of the tranquillity and confidence which come from the
preservation of public order in the interior. In this delicate task
I have been aided by the desires and the sentiments of the whole
nation.
* * * * * * *
My Government has developed invariably a policy of tolerance and of
justice, adapted to the social state of the country. The liberty of
the press, even in its greatest aberrations, has always met with
respect and tolerance; the rights and securities of the citizens
have been protected with solicitude, and the tendency has been
toward cementing internal peace in the absolute power of the
constitution to make it stable and fruitful.
* * * * * * *
Our international relations with the states of the continent and the
powers of Europe that honor us with their friendship have been
maintained and cultivated with preeminent attention. Their worthy
representatives have received from my Government the proofs of
courteous cordiality that can facilitate the discharge of the
diplomatic steps with which they were intrusted.
The demarcation of boundaries with the Argentine Republic will
continue in the current year, except as regards the question
relative to the territories next to the town of Yacuiba, by the
protocol of January 28 last.
With the advance of the works of the North Central Argentine Railway
the commercial relations of both countries must increase, by
consolidating the union of the two people upon the foundation of
sentiments as cordial and affectionate as they are spontaneous and
lasting.
Mr. José Maria Escalier, accredited as envoy extraordinary and
minister plenipotentiary on special mission to the Argentine
Government to procure, jointly with the minister of Peru, Mr. Osma y
Pardo, the acceptance of the arbitration juris stipulated with that
nation, communicates to us that he has obtained a satisfactory
termination, declaring officially the acceptance of the Argentine
Government as arbiter in our questions of boundaries with Peru.
* * * * * * *
In the fulfillment of the treaty of Petropolis the Government of
Brazil has placed at the disposition of that of Bolivia, through the
medium of the accredited firm, Rothschild, the sum of £1,000,000,
corresponding to the first installment of the fund of
indemnification. This sum remains at the disposition of the National
Government, earning the interest of 11 per cent per annum. The
honorable Congress will give, within the stipulations of the
agreement to which I have made reference, the application that it
may judge most pertinent and reproductive.
* * * * * * *
In execution of the agreement of November 17, 1903, and for the
effects of the arbitration stipulated upon the claims resulting from
the insurrections and the warlike state of Acre, the Government of
Brazil has designated to represent it the distinguished statesman,
Mr. Carlos Augasto de Carvalho. The stipulation of a prorogation at
the place of the reunion of the court until the 10th day of November
next has been authorized.
The organization of the committee of boundaries belongs to the
Government, in order that it may proceed to the execution of the
works of demarcation of frontiers with Brazil, in conformity with
the treaty of Petropolis.
* * * * * * * *
[Page 100]
Consistent with the programme adopted by my Government to settle
international differences by the peaceful means of diplomacy,
whenever the negotiations consult the mutual interests of the high
parties that meet for a solution of that nature, every effort has
been made to arrive at an agreement with the neighboring Republic of
Chile. Causes, independent of the will of our office of chancellor,
have deferred this solution, which the convenience of both countries
makes necessary. I earnestly desire that the preeminent labor of the
Government that has begun may be the prudent and successful
settlement of this business in harmony with the aspirations of the
Bolivian people under the peculiar idea of the present conditions of
the nation.
Mr. Ignacio Calderon, accredited envoy extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary of Bolivia to the Government of the United States of
North America, has been officially received by the President, Mr.
Roosevelt, on May 27 last.
Mr. Calderon is, besides, charged with promoting the formation of a
company of builders of railways, a task that he has undertaken with
activity and good results, transmitting the reports that will be
submitted to you by the office of the division.
The Government recognized under date of April 20 last the
independence of the new Republic of Panama, Mr. Ignacio Calderon
being charged with the personal presentation of this document on his
passage through the Isthmus. The opening of the canal is a thing
that must advantageously influence the commercial currents of the
Pacific.
* * * * * * * *
Pending the decision of the President of the Argentine Republic, the
arbitration juris stipulated with the Government of Peru, and the
acceptance, of the arbiter being officially declared, the
representatives of each one of the countries that are to be present
at the arbitral judgment should be at once established, presenting
their allegations of defense within the limits of a year. The
Government has a sufficient store of documents for the defense of
the rights of Bolivia in the archives of the office of foreign
relations, and some other means having been adopted for the
acquisition of other elements of defense which are able to reenforce
our perfect right over the territories comprised in the court of
Charcas.
* * * * * * * *
Conformable to the desires of the honorable House of Deputies, a
project of a commercial treaty has been subscribed with Mr. Joseph
Belin, chargé d’affaires of France, which yet does not have the
approval of the high parties contracting, to be submitted to your
consideration.
I am able to announce to you with the greatest satisfaction that our
diplomatic relations with the European powers are every day more
extended, the legations of Germany, Austria, Spain, England, and
Italy existing at present, accredited to the Government of the
nation, although without residence in the country.
