Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-05-11
Don Francisco S0lanO Lopez, President
OF Phra9uav

Dispatches received from various eonrces
announce the death of Lopez, the unhapp
President of Paraguay, who for five wear
has been fighting the countries about him
and gaining nothing thereby The dis
patches state that his army was surround
| ed, and he, refusing to surrender. was XIII
ed by Brazilian lancer We have man,
times before been told that Lopez wa
dead, but generally in dispatches from Lis
/ bon, which have invariably been promptl,
contradicted by kilograms # m othe
quarters. But this time receiving th,
news as we do, we must conclude that tn,
truth is for once told about this man.
Don Francisco Solano Lopez was The
eldest son OF Don Carlos Antonio Lopez
the first President of Paraguay, who ruled
from 1914 to the time of his death HI
was born IN 1927, and was early sent tt
Europe where, he received thorough ed
ucation In 1853 he entered upon public
| life, being sent by his father to ratify tn.
treaties of commerce which had been con
eluded by Paraguay with England, France
and Sardinia. This done, he retired tc
Paraguay and led an easy life until his
| fathers death in September, 1862 A month
later he was unanimously proclaimed
President of the Republic of Paraguay
| and installed with much pomp and cere
mony; and from that time until the present
his career was stormy and eventful He
found Paraguay when he assumed the
Presidency, or the Dictatorship" as MANY
term the head of the government, com.
paratively prosperous and with splendid
prospects, and he has left it desolate. al.
most, if not quite ruined country.
It would seem that at first he was dis.
posed to continue the work of his fathre,
for he directed his attention principally to
the encouragement of great extension of
the cultivation of cotton. But he vas led
from this very soon to less peaceful pur
suits by conspiracies against his power
which were concocted by the priesthood
and younger brother, and by difficulties
in which he became involved with the sur
rounding countries. Siding with Aguirre,
the lawful President of Uruguay, who had
been driven from power by Flores, the
leader of the Colorado or "Red Party, -
with the assistance of Brazil, and being
convinced by Aguirre that as soon as the
Brazilian party had absorbed Uruguay
they would advance upon Paraguay, Lopez,
in September, 1864, through his Minister
of Foreign Affairs, protested against the
course of Brazil towards the Uruguayan
President and himself. In November fol-
L
Brazilian mail steamer, without previous
declaration of war, and declared its passen-
gers to be prisoners of war, and the next
day Lopez formally notified the Brazilian
Minister at Asuncion, the capital of Para
quay, that the flag of his country was re-
garded as hostile, and the Paraguay River
would henceforth be closed to all Brazilian
vessels. The Brazilian Minister of once
started for home to communicate the state
of affairs to his Government, and month
later, without the slightest warming, Par
aguayan army entered the Brazilian Prov
ince Of Matto Crosse with which the
Brazilian Government had no channel of
communication save the blockaded river
First a Brazilian port, then seve raj towns,
and finally on April 10, 1865, the capital of
the Province, Cuiaba, we're captured.
In the meantime Flores had deserted
Lopez He had again become sole ruler
in Uruguay, and had concluded an alliance
ON the 22d of February, 1866 with Bra
zil against Paraguay. Learning of this
Lopez let Brazil alone for while, and,
suspecting that the Government of the
gentine Republic intended to enter this air
lance against him, turned his attention in
that direction, and, as before in the case of
Brazil, anticipating o formal declaration of
in the Prraguayan River at Asuncion, and
a few days later, marched an army into the
Argentine Confederation, and captured the
City of Corrientes Thereupon that Gov
ernment declared war against Paraguay,
and thus the three surrounding countries
were arrayed against it. -.f-...
Recognizing the necessity for desperate
conflict, the allied Governments entered in
to secret treaty, which was not made pub
lie for some time after, in which they
solemnly bound themselves not to lay down
their arms unless by common consent nor
until they had overturned the actual Gov
ernment of Paraguay, and furthermore,
not to enter into any separate treaties OF
peace, truce or armistice, except by mutual
consent. And then followed the destruc-
tive warfare which has waged without inter-
ruption to the present time. Lopez proved
himself a brave, 'fplucky" soldier, and
match for the allied armies. His vital
ity and endurance were wonderful =
Many times he was driven to the very brink
of the ''last ditch, and then, to the utter
CONSERVATION of his foes, he gathered
strength, and turning upon them brought
the allied commanders almost to despair.
So unsatisfactory was the progress made
by the allies in overthrowing the power of
Lopez, to which they were pledged that in
both Brazil and the Argentine Confedera-
ton, that decided opposition to the contin-
uation of the war was ultimately developed,
the anti-war party in Brazil especially hav-
ing become of late a very formidable one.
But in resources of every kind the Allies
had the advantage, and step by step they
drove the Dictator from one fastness to an
other, until at last he was. pent up in an ex-
tremely contracted space Recently it was
reported that Lopez had fed from the
country, and had attempted to make his
way with few followers into Bolivia; but
the latest war news was the old story-that
he had turned suddenly upon his pursuers,
and the end was not yet.
The difficulties encountered by Mr.. Wash
burn during his late ministry to Paraguay,
and the results of Gen. McMahons subse-
quent mission and enthusiastic espousal of
the cause of Lopez, are still fresh in the
public mind; consequently nothing more
than this passing allusion need be given.
Lopez was generally regarded by the peo-
pie of this country as a merciless tyrant,
although he had no small party of believers.
Many stories of his cruelties are related,
and, and on the other hand much has been
said of his bravery and the devotion of his
followers. It has been stated that even the
women went into the bitches and fought in
his c.. use and that his men were ready to
Sc c1 fee everything for him. Surely the
complete, true story of this mans life will
be an interesting narrative.-N 7. Times,
WHAT ONE WOMAN HAS DONE Mrs. Isa-
b3l1a Hooker said in ane of her addresses
on the subject of woman's position: "In
the St.ta of New York there lives to-day a
finely cultivated and educated woman,
who, with one fellow-worker of her own
SEX has obtained an entire alteration of
the laws of the state with regard to the
rights OF married women to their property
and their children, securing to them in
great part that justice which is still withheld
in most of the states of the Union. But
who has ever counted the cost to her OF
| this so great gain to all her sex, or drt an
ed of the self renunciations by the way!
To be counted fa coarse obstreperous wo.
man, with whom sensible wives and moth
ers can have no sympathy, and to be pub
licly stigmatized by press and pulpit has
| been the least of her trials; that her child
ren to whom she has ALWAYS been a most