Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-11-25
TIE UNITED STATES AND CHILE AND
PERU.

1 lille COu4hi AiiesJ N-~ "
Chile. The danger seems to have grown
out of the extremely unsettled condition
of the relations between Chile and Peru,
aggravated by the peculiar diplomacy of
General Hurlbut. our Minister to Peru,
and General kirkpatrick, our Minister to
Chile. 1t. is of course by no means easy
for friendly power to keep up diplomatic
relations with a country which either has
ceased to possess any stable government,
or has acquired three or four governments.
This has been the case of Peru since the
collapse of her forces in the field. The
| attempt to govern the country has been
made by half dozen men. Pierola,
Calderon, Montero, and several others
have claimed to represent the republic
officially, and Secretary Blaine may well
be excused if he did not know which one
to recognize. The Calderon Government
seemed for time TO promise stability, but
when President Calderon refused to
make peace with Admiral Lynch, the
Chilean Commander, on the terms which
Chile demanded, Lynch overthrow his
Government, and has now clapped Calde-
ron on board man. of-war, and, as re-
port says, taken him to Santiago. 1t might
have been possible to tide over the Peruvi-
an interregnum in some way, however, but
for the fact that the American Ministers to
Peru and Chile happened to be ardent par.
tisans of the countries to which they were
respectively accredited. General Hurlbut
stood up for Peru, and General Kirkpatrick
took the side OF Chile. General Huribut
began by undertaking the remarkable feat
of debating the terms which he thought
Chile ought to accept, and talking mean
while as though the United States contem-
plated some kind of intervention. On
what principles of international law he was
acting it has been impossible to discover,
and recent events have made it even doubt.
full whether he represents anything beyond
his personal opinions.
For having published a very extraordin-
airy letter to Admiral Lynch, in which he
almost committed the United States to a
novel policy of Intervention or arbitration,
General kirkpatrick sprang into the arena,
and proclaimed his belief that his col
league was not obeying the instructions
of the State Department, which in his own
case demanded the most rigid abstinence
from intermeddling of any kind. Kirk
patrick expressed his belief that General
Hurlbut's instructions from Secretary
Blaine must have been identical with
his OVID, and ne ventured to assure the
Chilenians that they had nothing to APP
prehend from the United States in the way
of unjustifable interference. General
Hurlbut, upon hearing what his colleague
had said, became very angry, and asserted
pointedly that he was obeying his instruc-
tons faithfully, and as it is known that his
instructions were delivered much later
than General Kirkpatrick, there is evil
IDENTIFY plenty of room for perplexity as to
which of the ministers is right, or as to
whether either of them is wrong.
Presuming that they are both intelligent
and conscientious men, the suspicion arises
that the State Department may have given
them such different instructions as to pro-
duce the present appearance of confusion.
General Kirk trick's haste in making pub.
lie the instructions of his Government,
which according ito all the rules OF d.
plomacy it was his duty to keep to himself,
may have had much to do with the subse.
quent events. Admiral Lynch certainly
seems to have reached the conclusion that
he can safely ignore the remonstrances and
representations of General Hurlbut, and
so he has seized Calderon and sent him out
of the way, alleging in justification that
the Montero Government is the genuine
one, and that Calderon was only delaying
the negotiations for peace. And though
Chile is undoubtedly fully aware of the
naval weakness of the United States, her
rulers cannot be ignorant of the fact that
such weakness may be repaired in very
short time by wealthy nation, should the
necessity arise. It cannot therefore be as
sumed that the arrest and removal of Cal. |
deron was intended as an insult to the
United States, for it is not at all clear that |
General Hurlbut is at present representing
this country in Lima. OF this we cannot |
be sure until his instructions are made |
public, but it will evidently become neces-
sary to publish them in order to vindicate !
the State Department from the charge
either of duplicity or middle headedness.
The whole situation is difficult one |
Chile, OF course, wishes to make Peru pay
an indemnity for the war. She can hardly |
desire to annex Peru, for the reason that
the latter has very heavy debt, which,
in the event of annexation, would have to
be assumed by the conqueror. England
has the heaviest interests in Peru, but it
appears that American capital is also in
vested there to considerable extent, and
therefore Chile will understand that she
cannot be allowed to make the annexation
and repudiate the Peruvian debt. The
creditors of Peru would unquestionably
look to her g heirs, administrators and
assigns" for payment, and if Chile had to
shoulder the Peruvian debt she would find
that the conquest was calamity for her.
How Peru is to guarantee any war In
demnity, however, is puzzle. All
her main sources of revenue, namely
the guano deposits and the nitrate
mines, are already hyposhecated to
her European creditors, and Chile
cannot venture to override these
prior claims without bringing down upon
herself the wrath of the most formidable
naval power in the world. How she is to
oStain the compensation, or the security for
future compensation, which she requires,
is therefore not at all easily determined,
and it is plain that out of all these compli.
cations may easily grow. quarrels, more
or less serious, both with the United
T.