Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-01-31
BLAINE ON ARTHUR.
Tie E1-Seeretary, interviewed ON the
Subject of the Correspondence Re-
Iating 10 Chilli and Peru,
Denies that HIS Instructions TO Treseott
were Given without the knowledge
of the President.

| WASHINGTON, ID. c., January 30.-Th
Post to-day had an interview with Ex-Secre
| tary Blaine upon the subject of the diplo
4 matte correspondence relating to Chill anC
! Peru The secretary says the Statement
| published that instructions TO Mr.. Prescott
| signed by MIN, had been drafted and com
mitted to Prescott without the knowledge Of
the President, has absolutely no founda
ton in truth. The instructions were moi
| only talked over fully with the President
but, when written, were twice read to him
for criticism and change. 81 have the orig
inal draft in my possession, with the modi6-
cations desired by the President clearly
noted. 1t is inconceivable that an extraordi-
nary mission, important enough to be men,
toned in a message to Congress, could be
allowed to leave the country without the
Presidents knowing the instructions by
which its action should be governed. No
friend of the President could possibly make
that suggestiop, and on his behalf / repel
it. The President specially referred in his
message to the instructions given Mr.. Tres
colt, and besides, what possible interest
could have myself in sending an instruc-
ton without the full knowledge of the Pres
ident? / was to leave the department in a
fortnight, and | would naturally take care
not to send an instruction merely to have it
revoked. Ia addition to all other consider
ations, had no desire to send Mr.. Prescott
on FOOLS Grand"
Ques.-How do you account for the change
of policy? Ans.-That is none of my bust
ness. 1t is the undoubted right of the pres
ident, as il is of private citizen, to oh ange
his mind. Either President Garfield or
President Arthur saw every dispatch of i'm
portance that was sent, and no step was taken
without the full concurrence and approval of
the executive. During the late presidents
illness. no dispatch of any special moment
was sent, either to Peru or Chill; the dates
will show that. / have seen no reason to
change my mind as to the wisdom of the
course marked out. Time, rejection and the
development OF events have all the more
strongly confirmed it, and fear that one result
of the change will be the utter destruction of
the commercial interests of the United
States on the South Pacific coast.
The ex-secretary was asked what he meant
by the expression "a FOOLS errand," and he an
swered: al meant that there seems no posi-
BILE need of Mr.. Prescott being in Chill, ii he
is simply there to be helpless witness of the
utter spoliation of Peru; that could have
taken place without the presence of special
envoy of the United States who, forbidden
10 protest, actually appears as aiding and
abetting spoliation. What mean by spolia-
ton appears plainly enough from Trescott's
original dispatch, published in the Sunday
morning papers. He says Chill demands the
absolute rC=eSlOu Oh tue enilfe province OIL
Tarapaca, and, besides that $4,000, 900 in
money, payable in sixteen years, during
which time africa is to be occupied by Chilli;
and if the $50, goo, 600 are not paid, africa is
TO be absolutely annexed TO Chill. Besides
all this, Chill appropriates the guano de-
posits OF the Lobos islands. Mr.. Trescott
adds that if Peru refuses these conditions
Chill will then decline further mediation of
the United States. In other words, Chilli is
willing and glad to accept the mediation of
the United States, if that mediation can
be used to induce Peru to submit
quietly to destruction; but if the
United States special envoy cannot be
used for that end, Chilli will have no more to
do with him, and he can pack up and come
home in the meek and lowly frame of mind
that would befit such a returning Journey
The demand of Chill is equivalent to the
destruction of Peru, for the reason that it
takes from the latter country the great body
of her g1ano and all her nitrate beds, and
thus deprives her of her sources of revenue
What Chill is taking from Peru is, relatively,
a far greater loss to Peru than the loss of the
eleven seeding States would have been to
the American Union; far greater than that
greater, indeed, than If the Pacific coast had
Joined the rebellion and gone out forever.
That would have taken all the cotton lands,
all the sugar lands and all the precious min
eral lands from the United States, and would
have destroyed our power and our very ex-
isteDce. Precisely that fate is to re inflicted
on Peru, and Chilli now permits the United
States to mediate only on condition that she
will promote this wholesale destruction of
friendly republic-a destruction as complete
and as cruel as the partition of Poland"