Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-03-28
lanraste1 f1telttgencer.
TUESDAY EVENING, MAscH 70. 1855
4 BunElIng DlpIe1nat.

TUESDAY EVENING. MARCH 20. iss2.
4 Bungling Dlplenat. A
1t is seldom that any public man comes
to grief SO promptly and so conspicu-
ously in his attempt to mislead the peo-
pie and to play the demagogue as has
happened to Mr.. Blaine, in his effort to
recommend to popular favor his diplo-
matte notions concerning our relations
with Chill and Peru. Whatever may be
thought of his lack Of taste in criticising
the policy of the administration and his
successor, through the medium of a
newspaper interview, there seems to be
no doubt that he has displayed an igno'
rance of the subject under discussion or
disposition to grossly misrepresent it,
which are alike unfortunate for his rep
utation and for the cause he espouses in
this matter. The New York Times, the
leading paper of Mr.. Blaine's party in
the country-albeit not favorably dis
posed to him-calls this expression OF
AlS SlcNS AOSC AuuIS1Ouo POA AoAA Ma
ance, in which disingenuousness, incon-
sistency, and downright ignorance are
about equally prominent" and 1t is no
table that none of Mr.. Blaine's editorial
defenders has ventured to gainsay the
facts which the Times marshals to sus-
tain this view of him. The disingenuous.
ness and inconsistency or Mr.. Blaine
consist in the fact that he attempts to
excite American indignation over the
exaction by Chilli and the English bond
holders OF $40 1000 900 in indemnity, a
single province and some guano islands
from Peru, while this Peruvian company
in whose behalf Blaine would have COM
mitted our government to his policy pro-
posed to virtually cOnfiscate Peru 10y ell
forcing a atrumped-up claim Of 81 900 ,0OO,-
600 against it. Moreover, the Chilians
and the English bondholders had some
right to dictate terms, the one as
conquerOrs in war and the other as un-
satisfied creditors, while the Peruvian
company is really basing its claims upon
a revamped demand, which so long ago
as 1861 had been examined and rejected
by mixed French and Peruvian COM
mission.
The Sun, too, convicts Blaine Of mex
cusable ignorance or duplicity when he
says the new protocol of Chill enlarges
Chili's demands somewhat beyond the
indemnities asked before Mr.. TrescOtt
arrived. She has added, / think, the
district of Tacna to her previous de-
mands, besides large strip Of territory
north of Tarapaca." The Sun points
out that " neither the area of territory
to be permanently ceded nor the amount
of money indemnity called for by the
new protocol is jOt larger than was de-
manded at africa in October, 1880, while
the area to be personally held by way Of
guarantee Is considerably less. Seven
teen months ago Chill insisted that the
districts of Tacna, africa and Moquegua
should be retained rs pledges for the
payment of SO, 1000, 900. Now she exacts
Tacna and africa only as security for
the same sum-" And as to Blaine's
talk abont the Chilians dividing Peru's
guano between themselves and the Brit
ish bOndholders, Peru owns no guanO :"
all its treasures in that line having long
since been turned over to its bondhold-
ers, being required to satisfy their
claims, which of course our government
could not righteOusly interfere with. So
far as he undertakes to excite prejudice
against these by appealing to the anti
British sentiment, he is again on the
wrong track, rs " a majority of Peru's
obligations, long rendered worthless by
the bad faith of the debter, but now,
through Chili's interposition, invested
with some value, is owned in france,
Belgium and the Netherlands"
Even the Tribune, always friendly to
Blaine, has shown how defenseless his
position on this question is by pointing
out that the territory which Chilli de-
mands of Peru as part of its war in
demnity constitutes altogether about
four per cent. of the entire territory of
Peru. 1t is an utter desert 80 far as the
absence of any vegetation can make one,
and valuable because it is desert; for
nitrate beds, as well as rich guano de-
posits, can only exist where it never
rains. 1t contained before the war
about thirty thousand inhabitants, two
thirds of whom were Chilians, for the
tropical 'lethargy of Peru leaves the
prizes of commerce on that coast to be
won by her alert and industrious rival.
Besides this, Tarapaca has always been
absolutely dependent upon Chill for its
food supply. Should Chill gain posses
sion of the entire coast from Camarones
to Cape Horn, she would still be much
smaller in territory and population than
either of the two countries, Peru and
Bolivia, which formed an alliance against
her. Her signal victory over both is the
triumph of higher civilization over Il
lower the victory which sound national
credit, stable government, industry and
pluck will always gain in the long run
when they come into collision with bad
faith. incapacity for self-rule and lazi-
ness"
But t,most conclusively Of all the Chilian
minister in Washington, in quiet but
intelligent interview, has shown that Mr..
Blaine is densely ignorant of the condi.
ton and relations of Chill and Peru
10. ar