The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-12-17
THE PERU-CHILI MIDDLE

from lne CaDlncl Oh lTcsIueUt Arthur Ou Moi
day, got permission to publish his instruction
to Ministers Iurlbut and Fitzpatrick, whom
IN June last he had sent respectively 10 Chill
and Peru. 1t will be remembered that whe
Commander Lynch, Of the CHILEAN navy
showed disposition to treat the Peruvian g
vernment of Calderon with contempt, and in
timated a purpose on the part OF Chill to in
demnify herself for war expenses by appropri
atlng Peruvian territory, Minister liurlbu
wrote him a long lecture, protesting agains
the treatment of Peru by Chill as ungenerous
and intlmating that he was instructed by The
government at Washington not only 10 insis
on the recognition of Calderon rs the lega
head of the Peruvian government, but also t6
advise Chill That his government would moi
allow Chilli to indemnify herself by appropr
ating Peruvian territory. At the same time
Minister Fitzpatrick at the capital of Chill, in
formed that government, that in pursuance OF
the same instructions which Minitaer Huribul
claimed to have from Washington, he was au
thorized to say TO Chill that the United States
government claimed no right and entertained
no purpose to interfere IN any way in the con
troversy between Chill and Peru beyond a ten
der of its good offices for the restoration Of
peace, DC.
The purpose Of Mr.. Blame, IN giving publ.
city to his instructions to the ministers respec.
lively, is of course to show that their language
was not such as to justify this contradictory
Interpretation and action on the part of the
two Ministers.
The papers Of Mr.. Blaine, however, rather
fail to present the matter IN Is clear and can
did light as could be wished Giving them
the most charitable Interpretation, their sub.
stance is, that, as Washington scribber ex.
presses 1t, they instructed the ministers ito hit
If it is deer and to miss il 1t is calf" To Gen
Hurlbut he intmates that the Caldcron go.
vernment of Peru having been recognized BY
Chill itself as well as by the United States, he
Is to encourage its firm establishment by Chi.
Ian assent and assistance; and rs to the an.
nexatlon of Peruvian territory by Chill, he is
to consent that that question may be the sub.
ject of negotiation after the Peruvian govern.
ment has been re-established, but not that it
shall be condition precedent to negotiation,
To Fitzpatrick he says, the africa confer.
ence having indicated that the offer of arbi,ra.
ton by the United States is not acceptable 10
Chill, he is MOTTO offer officially any unsough-
advice to either side, but is to govern his con
duct in accordance with the general tenor of
Mr.. Blaine's ideas as expressed in the nstruc.
tons to himself as well as in his instructions
to Gen. liurlbut, of which he encloses copy
Taking the somewhat delphic language into
account, in connection with the fact that Hurl-
but went to Peru with a strong partisan feel
ing In favor of that country and OF the recog.
milton OF The Calderon government; and that
Fitzpatrick, who had married Chlian wife,
was strong partisan of that country, and 1t is
very easy to see how the two, reading substan.
tally the same instructions, should come to
such opposite conclusions. No doubt Hurl.
but came nearest to the mark and made the
best mentioned shot he could at the deer ;
while poor Fitzpatrick before his death no
doubt was quite content not to shoot at what
he was persuaded was only calf
The muddle, however, may lead to un.
told complications. The Chllian navel com.
mander, to show his contempt tor Hurlbuts
impcrtiuent lecture and imperious language,
proceeded at once to arrest Calderon, dispense
his congress and wipe out his government
and his government promptly backed HIM up
by ordering the provisional seizure of Peruvi
an territory and sending very defiant intlma.
ton to the United States that she was ready to
hear what Blame proposed to do about it,
The answer of our government has been to
send Mr.. Prescott and young Blame both to
Peru and Chilli with new instructions, the
purport Of which has not been made public
but which 1t Is hoped will unravel the present
awkward complications and be conducive to
the highly desirable restoration of peace be
tween Chill and Peru, as well as of a good un
Outstanding between both and the United
States.