File No. 817.00/1586.

The American Minister to the Secretary of State.

[Extract]
No. 38.]

Sir: I have the honor to report that conditions here continue quiet throughout the country.

On Sunday, April 16, the first day of the elections, Gen. Emiliano Chamorro left Corinto for San Salvador. He called at the legation [Page 660] before he left and told me he was very sorry that I had not seen it to be my duty to support him in demanding that President Estrada accept the constitution as prepared by the former assembly and that he felt sure that in time I would discover that I had made a serious mistake, but that he, Chamorro, felt no resentment, being satisfied that I thought I was pursuing the proper course.

By the time this dispatch reaches the Department the new assembly will have convened and this Government will be in the best condition in which it ever will be to close all matters, and I would most respectfully but most earnestly urge that there be as little delay as possible in arranging all pending questions.

I have, etc.,

Elliott Northcott.

[Extract]

No. 41.]

Sir: I have the honor to report that the newly elected Assembly convened here on Monday last arid organized by electing Dr. Ignacio Suarez president of that body * * *. The president has asked of the assembly the authority to proceed with negotiations for a loan through or by the aid of the Government of the United States; his object is to get the Assembly committed to the policy of the loan so that there will be no question of its approval afterward by the same body * * *. The financial condition of the public is deplorable and unless relief is given from some source will become critical in a very short time. Legitimate demands on the Government, growing out of the revolution and coming from other sources, are becoming very pressing. The Nicaraguan member of the Cartago court has not been paid for about a year. I am, however, more than ever convinced that the natural riches of the country is such that with the proper assistance financially, and the proper government, a comparative short period of peace will show a progress that will be little short of miraculous.

I have, etc.,

Elliott Northcott.