817.812/810
The Minister in Costa Rica (Hornibrook) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 2.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s telegram No. 24 of May 22, 7 p.m., and to report as follows:
The Minister for Foreign Affairs was not in his office on the date of receipt of the same, but I obtained an appointment for Thursday. On this occasion the substance of the entire instruction was submitted point by point, but in accordance with instructions, no memorandum thereof was left with the Minister.
The Minister expressed himself as being highly gratified that the Government of the United States respected the rights of his country in the San Juan River and that President Roosevelt and Secretary Hull had been courteous enough to request me to confirm assurances on that point which had already been communicated to him by both cable and airmail by the Costa Rican Minister to Washington.
The Minister then stated that the information which I had imparted to him on various other phases of the situation coincided with the data which he had obtained through Mr. Castro Beeche. He added to the [Page 737] above statement that his Government at no time had the slightest doubt as to the position of our Government as to Costa Rican rights in the San Juan River and cited the award21 of President Cleveland on this question as a clear indication of the viewpoint of Washington.
He stated that Costa Rica looked with favor upon the canalization of the San Juan River and owing to the friendly relations actually existing between the Liberal Government of General Somoza and Costa Rica this Government did not believe that any difficulty would be encountered in reaching an agreement. He recognized the advantages that might be derived by Costa Rica should this project be undertaken but raised the following question: The Colorado delta is entirely on the Costa Rican side, he said, and should the projected canalization of the San Juan River be carried out in a manner that would adversely affect the delta, this might become the subject of a dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica which could possibly prolong or even defeat the negotiations. He added, however, that he did not believe it would 3tand in the way of an amicable arrangement between the two countries.
Respectfully yours,
- Foreign Relations, 1888, p. 456.↩