The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-12-07

gians, the King Of Spain and th,
President of the Argen tine Confed
GRAFTON: The King of the Belgianl
has declined to act, bat [ am not a
yet advised of the action of thu
King of Spain. AS we have certain
interests in the disputed territory
which are protected by our treaty
engagements with one Of the par.
ties, it is important that the arbitrs.
ton should not, without our con.
sent, affect our rights, and this
government has accordingly thought
proper to make its views known to
the parties to the agreement and to
intimate to them and to the Bel.
gian government that the questions
growing out Of the proposed inter
oceanic water way across the 18TH
mus OF Panama, are Of grave nation
al Importance. This government
has not been unmindful of the SOL
emn obligations imposed upon it by
its compact Of 1916 with Colombia,
as the independent and sovereign
mistress Of the territory crossed by
the canal, and has sought to render
them effective by fresh engagements
with the Colombian Republic, look
ing to their practical execution. The
negotiations to this end when they
had reached what appeared to
be a mutually satisfactory solu-
ton here, were met In Colombia
by a disavowal Of the powers which
its envoy had assumed, and by q
proposal for renewed negotiations on
a fortified basis. Meanwhile, this
government learned that Colombia
had proposed to the European
powers to Join in a guarantee of the
neutrality of the proposed Panama
canal, guarantee which would be
in direct contravention of our obli-
cations as the sole guarantee of the
integrity Of Colombian territory, land
of the neutrality of the canal itself.
My lamented predecessor felt it his
duty to place before the European
powers the reasons which made the
prior guarantee Of the United States
indispensable, and for which the in
terjection Of any foreign guarantee
might be regarded as a superfdous
and unfriendly act.
FOreseeing the probable reliance OF
the British Government on the pro-
visions of the Clayton-Bulwer
treaty of 1850, as awarding room for
share in the guarantees which the
United States covenanted with Co
lom bia four years before, have not
hesitated to supplement the action
Of my predecessor by proposing to
Her Majesty's government the
modification Of that instrument and
the abrogation of such clauses there.
of as do not comport with the obi
cations of the United States toward
Colombia or with the vital needs of
the two friendly parties to the COM
pact.
THE SOUTH AMERICAN REPUBLICS.
This government sees with great
concern the continuance of the hos
tile relations between Chill, Bolivia
and Peru. An early peace between
these republics ia much to be desir.
ed, not only that they may them
selves be spared further misery and
bloodshed, but because their con-
tinual antagonism threatens conse.
quences which are in my judgment
dangerous to the interests of repub-
lican government on this continent
and calculated to destroy the best
elements of our own free and power
full civilization. AS in the present
excited condition Of popular feeling
in these countries there has been Sc
rious misapprehension of the posi-
ton of the United States, and as Sc
parate diplomatic intercourse with
each through independent ministers
is sometimes subject, owing to the
want of prompt reciprocal commu-
nication, to temporary misunder-
standing, 1 have deemed it judicious
at the present time to send a special
envoy accredited to all and each of
them, furnished with general in
structions, which will, 1 trust, en-
able him to bring these powers into
friendly relations.
VENEZUELA.
The government of Venezuela
maintains its attitude Of warm
friendship and continues with great
regularity it's payment fthe month
" quota of the diplomatic debt.
Without suggesting the direction in
which Congress should act, [ ask at
tention TO the pending question af-
fecting the distribution Of the sums
thus far received. The relations
between Venezuela and France,
growing out of the same debt have
been for some time past in an IN
satisfactory state, and this govern
ment, as the neighbor and one OF
the largest of the creditors Of Vene'
zueIa, has interposed itself with the
French government with the view
of producing a friendly and honor
able adjustment.
BRAZIL.
I regret that the commercial in
terests between the United States
and Brazil from which great advan-
tages were hoped year ag", have
suffered from the withdrawal of the
American lines of communication
between Brazilian ports and our
own. Through the efforts of our min
lister resident at Buenos Ayres, and
the United States Minister at San
Diego, amity has been concluded be-
tween the Argentine Republic and