File No. 723.2515/291.
The American Minister to Chile to the Secretary of State.
Santiago, April 29, 1913.
Sir: I have the honor to inform the Department that the negotiations with Peru are, and have been for over a month, at a standstill.
As outlined in my telegram of March 19th, negotiations were conducted through the Chilean Consul at Callao which are thought to have cleared up the misunderstanding arising from the secret message of the Peruvian President to his Congress, but there the matter is resting.
It seems that President Billinghurst communicated the Huneeus-Valera arrangement to the Peruvian Congress in a secret message. When the terms of this message became known in Chile the impression was created that President Billinghurst was either not playing fair with Chile or else was trying to deceive the Peruvian Congress, and this was the real cause of the halt reported in December. During an interview last month the Minister of Foreign Affairs showed me the telegrams he had exchanged with the Chilean Consul at Callao, by which it appeared that the Consul had communicated personally with President Billinghurst on the subject of his message and the adverse effect which his interpretation might have in the future if allowed to go unchallenged by Chile. The President explained his position in respect to the Peruvian Congress and reiterated his strong desire to reach a satisfactory settlement with Chile. [Page 1234] Mr. Villegas seemed satisfied with the explanations given. He said that he had wished to nullify the effect of the President’s secret message on the interpretation of any arrangement which might be reached and had insisted on clearing up this point before proceeding farther. He has subsequently informed me that, in his opinion, the next move should come from Peru; that the Chilean Government is unwilling to carry the negotiations further by means of telegrams, etc., which are unsatisfactory and give rise to misunderstandings; that he thinks Peru should appoint a confidential agent to come to Chile to arrange matters, President Billinghurst is, I believe, of the same opinion except that he thinks diplomatic relations should be reestablished and the negotiations carried on through regular channels; but Chile, after the failure of 1909, insists on having all points settled in advance of the formal resumption of diplomatic intercourse.
Another very important explanation of the present inactivity is found in the political situation both here and in Peru. The Conservative Party has practically passed sentence of death on the present Ministry, which must retire on June first unless the Conservatives shall have been placated meanwhile, and active negotiations are being carried on to arrive at some solution of the impending crisis. In this uncertain situation the Ministry feels too weak to proceed with the Peruvian negotiations, In Peru also the elections for Congress are being held this week and President Billinghurst’s policy is an important issue.
Nothing will be done, in any event, before June first, the date of the opening of Congress here, and the confused conditions make an intelligent forecast of the probable trend of events impossible.
I have [etc.]