The Sun.
London, England, 1865-01-07 00:00:00

he felt, nevertheless, that Kidderminster had, in
other respects, suffered severely from the operatiou
of the Revised Code.
The prizes were then distributed by th president,
who offered a prize of 5/. for next y r's compe-
tition in design.

A vote of thanks was passed to Sir John Paking-
ton for presiding, and the meeting terminated.

Working Men's Olubs and Institutes•

A meeting was held yesterday evening in the
Town-hall, Newbury, when the Rev. J. L. Randall,
the rector, presided ; and W. T. Marriott, Esq., a
member of the council, attended and delivered an
address as a deputation from the Union. The club
premises, which will be opened on the 10th instant,
contain very necessary accommodation, and it is
fully expected that the institution will accomplish
much good. Progress of the movement in the
North : During the last fortnight the Rev. H. Solly,
the secretary of the Central Union, has attended
and addressed meetings of an interesting character
at the following places :—On Monday, the 26th of
December, the Mayor of Salford presided at a
Christmas tea-meeting of the Pendleton's Working
People's Association, when speeches were delivered
by W. T. Blacklock, Esq., the president, J. H.
Raper, Esq., Briggs, Esq., Mr. Solly, and others.
This association consist principally of the work-
people belonging to the mills of Sir Elkanah Armi-
tage and Sons, who have exerted themselves very
generously in its establishment and maintenance, in
which they have been most efficiently assisted by J.
Sugden, Esq., the honorary secretary. On the 29th,
a meeting, principally composed of working men,
was held in the Tuckerman Institute, Toxteth-park,
Liverpool. A large and enthusiastic meeting, at-
tended by a considerable number of the most intel-
ligent operatives in the town, among whom were
many belonging to the new ship and waggon build-
ing companies, was held on the evening of Jan. 3,
in the Palatine-hall, Lancaster, under the pre-
sidency of E. M. Fenwick, Esq., M.P.,
one of the members for the bormigh. Mr. Solly
detailed the progress of the movement since his
departure from Lancaster, which elicited
hearty congratulations, and exhorted his hearers to
emulate the example of other places by availing
themselves to the utmost of the club and recreation
facilities offered by the committee of the Mechanics'
Institution. On the following evening Mr. Solly
spoke at a crowded soiree of the Liverpool Co-ope-
lrative Society, held in the Lord Nelson-street Con-
cert-hall. After dwelling upon the importance of
raising the whole tone of the tastes and habits of
working men, if co-operative, and similar societies
are to be successful, he announced that an impor-
tant meeting would be held in the course of two or
three weeks for the promotion of working men's
clubs and institutes in that town, and urged the
persons present to endeavour to secure as large and
influential meeting as he was addressing that even-
ing. On the following day Mr. Solly addressed a
meeting in the Mayor's parlour in the Town-hall of
Manchester, at which the Mayor presided. At the
close of Mr. Solly's address the Mayor expressed his
entire and hearty concurrence, and avowed his sa-
tisfaction with the Ancoats Club, of which he was
president, and which had been started by Mr. Solly
some months ago. The Rev. A. B. Clarke, rector
of St. Oswald's, moved, and Councillor Murray se-
conded; a resolution cordially approving of the
movement, and appointing a provisional committee
for carrying out the object in Manchester and the
neighbourhood. W. Romaine Callendar, Esq., who
was .mainly instrumental in calling the meeting,
has accepted the office of honorary secretary of the
provisional committee, in conjunction with Dr.
Watts, but was unavoidably prevented at the last
moment from being present. Among those who
attended, and who were placed on the committee in
addition to the above-named gentlemen, were
Councillors Townshend and Booth, the Revs. T. S.
Lee and S. A. Steinthal, and Messrs. T. Clegg
Pearson, W. Hey-wood, J. H. Raper, J. H. Barker,
Maclure and Shirley. The proceedings were of an
interesting character, and much benefit is expected
to accrue from them.

Spa nish Diplomatic Circular upon the

Peruvian Question,

MADRID, Jan. 1.
The Epoca publishes the following Circular upon
the Peruvian question, addressed by Senor Liorente
to the representatives of Spain in Europe and
America :

"The consequences that may result within a longer or
shorter period from our difference with Peru render it
necessary in her Majesty's opinion that I should give to
your Excellency, in her name, fresh explanations relative
to her views and intentions, commencing by stating the
origin of the misunderstanding, and by explaining the pre-
sent state of our relations with that Republic.
" These relations have for a long time past been anoma-
lous and irregular, notwithstandingithe known and often
expressed good will of her Majesty's Government,altogether
foreign to any views or domination or reconquest in the
American continent, and disposed to enter into treaties of
peace with all the new States, as well as to recognise their
sovereignty and independence. An unequivocal proof of
this disposition was afforded by the treaty concluded between
Spain and Mexico on Dec. 28, 1836, which was followed at
different periods by similar conventions with various States
forming part of what was Spanish America. It was equally
resolved to recognise the Republic of Peru under another
arrangement of the same kind, and the negotiations were
so far advanced that, a Peruvian Plenipotentiary having
been nominated to that effect, a treaty was signed by both
parties in Madrid, which the Government of Lima however
refused to ratify. It must be stated that the latter did not
even think fit to fulfil the obligations of courtesy and
established usage by acquainting her Majesty's Govern-
ment with the motive of this resolution, either before or
after the term fixed for the exchange of the ratifications,
and her Majesty's Government was thus in ignorance upon
tho subject for a considerable_ time, and might have con-
tinued so except for having received intelligence thereof
through a completely unofficial source. It has appeared to
me opportune to revert to this diplomatic incident, which
shows how extraordinary are the proceedings of the Peru-
vian Government in its international policy, and makes it
clearly understood who is to be held responsible for the
state of our relations with that Republic.

" Under the influence of such circumstances and such
irregular relations, in a-state of things that was neither war,
that having terminated many years before, norpeace resting
upon definite and solemn bases, persons of Peruvian nation-
ality enjoyed in the Peninsula the uninterrupted and un-
failing protection of the laws and Government, while Spa-
nish subjects in Peru have suffered innumerable vexations,
without finding the protection due from the authorities ;
vexations which being known to your excellency I need
not enumerate, and which were subsequently lost sight of
before the general indignation produced in Spain and Ame-
rica by the sanguinary catastrophe of Talambo.
" At the same time this Government continued to be ac-
tuated towards Spain by a spirit of perpetual hostility, not
always concealed, but openly declared upon those occasions
when it could in any way thwart Spanish policy in matters
having no connection with the interests of Peru.
,6 With the establishment and reciprocal admission of
Consuls in both States it was thought the first step had
been taken towards a good understanding ; but these hopes
were frustrated as before, since under_frivolous pretexts
this Republic resolved to withdraw her agents from Spain.
An attempt was subsequently made to have recourse to ar-
bitration, only used under extreme circumstances, in order
to place Spanish subjects under the protection of the '
charge d'affaires at Lima, who would also undertake to
urge our just demands. Affording a fresh proof of its loyal
and friendly disposition the Imperialree Governmentsentative, bu but
this granted
inter-
vention
the required authority to
its
Government of Lima in the
strongest and most peremptory was rejected b
ythe representative,
terms ; the subjects of her
Catholic Majesty in those countries being thus deprived of
all hope of diplomatic support and protection.
"The news of this unjustifi able repulse an
mentioned horrible events of Talambo obligedda thethealready
Spanish
Government, having no other available
Peruvianoourse '
diplomatic agent to claim from theto ssend
a
Government,
on behalf of the victims of that and other previous attempts,
the justice denied or wrongfully retarded by the tribunals
of the Republic.
" Your Excellency is aware that this agent was not ad-
mittetl'
under Pretext that the character or title conferredby his credentials was not defined in strict accordance with
established custom, as if,
although it is not certain' sucheven did this irregularity exist,
for such accidentaldefects
was the case,heit wereallow-
ablesatisfaction
urgently demanded alike by .
t. to defer t
due between civilised nations, and arespect
ice and. the =du
referred to the Peruvian Government was
as if after the proceedings
ing itself so scrupulous and difficult in justified in show-
besides,bnelutters of diplomatic
form and usage. It would,
general usages of international policy weitthe speak of the
reference to
cases without precedent and relations of Bc. special a cha-
racter as those prevailing between Spain and Peru,
" I consider it unneceseary to refea to other su nt
injuries and offences, described and commented upon with
rigorous equity in the Circular dated the 24th Juno last,
addressed by senor Pacheco, my predecessor in the lii-

nistry for Foreign Affairs, to the representative of this Go-
vernment abroad. That document merits especial mention,
since in it are expressed the views of the Spanish Govern-
ment upon the events in Peru, as well as the limit and
foundation of its moderate demands.

" These were stated with still greater precision in the
project of arrangement dated June 25, presented by Senor
Pacheco to the Peruvian Government through Senor
Moreira, its Consul in Spain, of which I have the honour
to append a copy.

"The equity of these proposals exactly corresponding to
the spirit of the above-mentioned Circular has been recog-
nised by all, both in Spain and abroad. In Spain, never-
theless, there have not been wanting some who consider
that her Majesty's Government has shown itself by no
means rigorous in expressing its injuries, and excessively
indulgent in fixing the nature and limits of the satisfaction
it demands. There are those also who, animated by ardent
zeal for the national honour, reason that moderation should
not alone be kept in view, and that on similar occasions
Governments should prove themselves right by confining
themselves within the limits of strict justice, at the same
time preparing, as circumstances may require, for equitable
arrangement or vigorous resolutions if they become indis-
pensable.
"But with much less reason the proposals of the 24th
and 25th June have been received in a contrary sense by
Peru as a fresh and great affront to the dignity of the Re-
public. In a document signed by Senor Ribero, the Peru-
vian Minister for Foreign Affairs, it is affirmed that the
attempt of the 24th April was less grave—that is to say,
the sequestration of the Chinchas on the ground of revin-
dication.

"In another Circular of the 25th August last the same
Minister states that the proposals transmitted through
Senor Moreira " were a graver offence to Peru than that of
the violent usurpation of a portion of territory and the cap-
ture of a ship of war.'
" The insult consisted in having offered the restitution of
the islands occupied and the conclusion of a treaty, the first
base of which would have been the recognition of the in-
dependence of Peru on condition that this Government
gave the moderate satisfaction required.
• " Her Majesty's Government has gone to the extremes of
moderation and prudence ; explicitly disapproved the pro-
ceedings of the chief of the squadron and the diplomatic
agent in making use of the expression 'revindication' on
taking possession of the Chinchas Islands, not certainly as
the fundamental and exclusive motive, but as one of the
arguments serving as apology for their conduct in employ-
ing this coercive measure instead of others specified in
their instructions.
"The Government has frankly and expressly renounced
any views of aggrandizement and any project of reconquest
in the continent that some time formed part of the Spanish
Monarchy. Before the occupation of the Chinchas was
known in Europe, it had already protested on the 24th of
May, against any such design as that attributed to it of re-
covering forgotten rights, and immediately the news ar-
rived it reiterated its protests in the clearest and most im-

pressive manner.
" It further declared that Spain considered Peru as a n
independent,free, and sovereign nation, even though through
culpable discourtesy it had not been able to advance in the
regular measures leading to the solemn formula of recogni-
tion. By the language it employed, the forms of which it
made use, and the frankness of its declarations, her Ma-
jesty's Government displayed the most deferential respect
towards the Peruvian nation, not only in just demands, but
even in the most exaggerated scruples of courtesy.
"It did more, however, by waiving a long and compli-
cated series of complaints, the discussion and clearing up
of which would have infallibly contributed to the prolon-
gation of the conflict, and consented to reduce its demands
to the latest and most manifest grievances. In this man-
ner it was hoped that the difficulty had an easy termina-
tion, and that by obtaining satisfaction for the most recent
grievances the Spanish nation considered all former
offences atoned for. It is not only in the terms of its
' official documents and the form of its demands that the
Spanish Government has shown itself conciliatory and
equitable. It has been equally so in its arrangements and
acts. Your Excellency will not have forgotten that upon
taking possession of the Chinchas our agents declared that
the guano existing upon them would continue to serve as a
lien for the sums advanced to Peru by foreign subjects
under the guarantee of this security, provided that the
respective contracts had been previously approved and
published. .

" They likewise promised that the foreign companies in-
terested in the said contracts should continue to export the
guano, rendering an account to her Majesty's Government
of the number of tons embarked.

"With such scrupulous fidelity has this undertaking
been fulfilled that the guano trade has not experienced the

least obstacle, nor has the Spanish occupation given rise to
the slightest complaint on the part of those engaged therein,
or the creditors protected by this guarantee. This has been
stated in Madrid by the representatives of various foreign
nations, and is further attested by the silence maintained
upon the matter by the Peruvian Government, generally
little guarded in the expression of its complaints. Neither,
even, has any rigour been used up to the present in ascer-
taining whether exportations of guano were made solely
on account of contracts previously concluded or for very
different objects.
"The ambitious projects attributed to us at Lima are
thus reduced to these limits. Our sailors hold and guard
this species of rich factory, while those of Peru dispose of
the guano of the Chinchits, not only to satisfy previous ob-
ligations, but also according to trustworthytinformation, to
expend the proceeds thereof in preparation and armaments
against our squadron.
" However strange such condescension may appear, her
Majesty's Government does not consider it excessive, since
it now serves to prove the generosity of its conduct, and be-

fore long will perhaps ba useful to justify the necessity of
more'severe:and vigorous measures. In any case the profound
respect that it has professed, and will always profess, for
legitimately acquired rights and general commercial and ag-
ricultural interests of other nations, will be manifest.
"But the Peruvian Government as not desponded as was
expected to so many signal proofs of moderation and pru-
dence. To the conciliatory Circular of the 24th of June it
replied in documents of a style and character very different
from the proposals for an arrangement communicated through
Senor Moreira, Consul in Spain, and by the dismissal of
that functionary on the sole ground of having served as the
medium of our proposals for an understanding. This proves
once more that the Peruvian Government persists in the in-
tention which it has always manifested of closing every way
of negotiation and arrangement, first refusing to ratify the
treaty signed by its plenipotentiary, without even deigning
to state the reasons of its conduct, withdrawing its consuls
from Spain, and rejecting subsequently, on two distinct
occasions, the amicable intervention of France— a friendly
and impartial nation,the representative of which endeavoured
to extend his protection to the Spaniards resident in Peru.
It refused later to treat with the agent sent to Lima by tier
Majesty's Government, declaring its proposal for an amicable
arrangement injurious and insulting, instead of discussing
it and bringing forward another, and finally dismissed its
commercial agent in the Peninsula solely for having trans-
mitted the arrangement proposed by the Spanish Govern-
ment.

"The last act of which we have intelligence is a certain
resolution recently adopted by the Congress at Lima, by
virtue of which that Government will have to declare war
against Spain if the latter refuses to give satisfaction, which
certainly it is impossible for us to concede who have so
much right to demand it.
" Such a proceeding necessarily gives ground for un-
favourable interpretations. Grant that the Government of
Peru is very upright, and the nation too enlightened not to
listen to the dictates of reason and prudence, still it cannot
be ignored that in its relations with other States, and espe-
cially with Spain, the said Government makes use of un-
usual and irregular forms; and further, considering the
disorderly passions which surround it, may it not be sus-
pected that under the pressure of foreign influences there
has failed to preside at its resolutions and acts all the sere-
nity and independence required for the exercise of public
authority ?
" I speak exclusively of its acts in as far as they refer to
the course and direction of international affairs, the sole
aspect under which I have an interest, as well as right and
intention to pronounce upon them. It may, in like manner,
be apprehended that the Circular and proposals for an ar-
rangement, of the 24th and 25th of June, were wrongly in-
terpreted at Lima, the spirit of moderation and prudence by
which they were dictated being attributed to weakness and
vacillation, without reflecting that thd moderation of Go-
vernments on such occasions is usually, and was certainly
in this case, a sure indication and precursor of the firmness
of their intentions.
"Be this as it may, her Majesty's Government perse-
veres in the same desires and proposals for an understand-
ing, the change of Ministry in Spain forming no obstacle,
ip
osdheloniuctlyi
should
y;
opposet
aonf vd ieitwwsa,
I,pcneeeos
tds
speedy
certainlyr necessary
nfdor t the ei
since changes of this nature are quite reconcilable with the
satisfactorygui ourda nwciesahrrao ft
international]
gteamneynttli' anything
after reflection, the Peruvian Government now accepts the
,dseGmaovnedrenmd
einnttwhaotulddocleaveenpteberuiingpoobs:
basis laid down in the proposal of the 25th of June. The
tae
legitimateher reMeirajeeaslty
session of the Chincha Islands, and a treaty of peace might
shortly be concluded establishing
and regulating friendly
relations between both nations.
If, on the contrary, the Government of that Republic
persists in the determination it has manifested of refusing
to enter into terms of arrangement, and in declaring, as
hitherto, all complaints unfounded and all prciposals inad-
missible, the time willvery shortly arrive to renounce nego-
tiation and resort to the use of those measures only justifi-
able, as they certainly now are, when supported by right
and recommended and demanded by the most imperious
necessity. From June to the present time many months
have elapsed, but time has not allowed the voice of justice
to be heard in Peru, nor the most disinterested and friendly
counsels to obtain consideration.
"Meanwhile the prolonged stay in Pacific waters of the
Spanish
squadron, which it has been necessary to reinforce,
by occasioning expenses and material losses, is contrary to
the political views of this Government, inclined, without
doubt, to a conciliatory settlement, but resolved in any case
that the pending conflict shall be shortly teaminated.
" In view of the eventualities that may arise from this
determination her Majesty's Government has deemed it