The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-01-30
BADGERING BLAINE.
TAE SOUTH AMERICAN pOLloY.
The r1.s.,rstAry Gives Po.ltI, Denial to I'll.
story that lnItruetlSsI to TrsIeOtt were
Seat without the Presidents EnOWl.
sdss-Int.r.,tins Interview.

/
Secretary Blaine upon the subject Of the
diplomatic correspondence relating tc
Chill and Peru. The Secretary says the
iatement published that the instructions
to Mr.. Trescott, signed by him, had been
drafted and committed to Trescott without
the knowledge Of the President, has obso.
lutely no foundation in truth.
The instructions were not only talked
over fully with the President, but when
written were twice read to him for criticism
and change. have the original draft in
my possession, with the notifications de.
sired by the President fully noted.
III not conceivable that the extraordi.
nary mission, important enough to be men.
toned in the annual message to Congress,
could be allowed to leave the country
without the President knowing the instruc.
tions by which its.action should bc gov.
erned. No friend Of the President could
possibly make that suggestion, and on his
behalf repel it,
The President specifically referred in
his message to the instructions given Mr.,
Trescott, and besides what possible inter.
est could / have myself in sending any in.
structions without the full knowledge OF
the President. l was to leave the depart
ment in q fortnight, and / would naturally
take care not to send an instruction merely
to have 1t revoked. In addition to ali
other considerations l had no desire to send
Rr. Trescott on FOOLS errand.
.Q.--How do you account for the change
Of policy?
A.-That Is none Of my business. II is
the undoubted right Of the President, as it
is Of the. private citizen, to change his
mind, Either President Garfield or presi.
dent Arthur saw every dispatch Of import
ance that was sent and no step was taker
without the full concurrence and approy,
OF the Executive. Daring the late Pre- :
dents illness no dispatch OF any special
moment was sent either to Peru or Chill,
the dates will show that. I have seen no
reason TO change my mird us TO the wis.
dom OF the course M: ed out. Time, re.
Election and the development. OF events
have ali the more strongly confirmed me,
and fear that one result OF the change
will be the utter destruction Of the COM
mercial interests Of the United States on
the South Pacific coast.
The eX.Secretlry wus asked what he
meant by the expression OF "fools errand." !"
and he answered: II meant that there
seems to be no possible need Of Mr.. Trcs-
colt being in Chill, il he is simply there to
be a helpless witness Of the utter spoilation
OF Peru. That could have taken place with
out the presence Of special envoy Of the
United States, who was forbidden to pro-
tect, actually appears as aiding and abet
ting the spoilation. What l mean by
spoilation, appears plainly enough from
Irescotts original dispatch published in
Saturday mornings papers"
He says Chill demands the absolute
ccssion OF the province OF Tarapaca, and
besides that twenty millions in money pay
able in sixteen years, during which time
Alica is TO be occupied by Chill, and il the
twenty millions is not paid africa is to be
absolutely annexed to Chill. Besides all
this, Chill appropriate1 the guano deposits
OF the Lobog Islands. Mr.. Trescott adds
that If Peru refuses there conditions, Chill
will then decline further mediation OF
the United States. In other words,
Chill is willing and glad to accept
the mediation OF tho United States
| il that mediation can be used 10
induce Peru to submit quietly to destruc-
ton. Bot il the United States special en-
voy cannot be used for that end, Chilli will
have no more to do with him, and he can
pack up and come home in a meek and
lowly frame Of mind that would befit such
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 guano and
all her nitro beds, and thus deprives her
o. her sources OF revenue. What Chill ia
liking from Peru is relatively far greater
o9 to PeiI than the loss OF
9 eleven lseceding Statcs would
ye been TO the American Union
lar greater than that; greater
indeed than II the Pacific Coast had Joined
nc rebellion and gone out forever. That
would have taken all the cotton lands, all
the sugar lands aud all the precious min.
eral lands from the United States and
would have destroyed our power and our
very existence. Precisely that fall Is to be
inflicted on Pc Il, and Chilli now permits
the United States 10 mediate only on con.
dition that she will promote this wholesale
destruction Of friendly republic, a dc
struction us complete and us cruel as the
partition OF Poland