The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-06-19

to ascertain whether United State:
ships were available to transport Mr.
Hurlbut from Panama to CallaO and
Mr.. TreScott from Panama to VaIpa
raiSo.
But themost serious charges against
Mr.. Blaine, growing out of his brief
career as secretary of state, were
those made by j. r. Shepherd, the
chief promoter of the Peruvian CON-
pany and the proprietor of the Cochet
claim. The company claimed to have
bought from the heirs of Cochet the
right to One-third of the guano depoS-
its of Peru, and Shipherd alleged that
Blaine had used his official position as
secretary of state to advance the in
terestS of the Peruvian company, and
had gone so far as to be priYy to an
offer of a bribe to Minister Hurlbut.
Shipherd produced a dispatch, which
he said was the product of an agree
ment between him and Blaine, which
instructed Minister Hurlbut that "No
treaty of peace between Chilli and Pc
I'll shall be made unless there is recog-
milton of the LandIeau claim
us prior lien upon any territory
that Peru may be required to cede to
on foreign affairs was investigating
the transac. ion, Shipherd presented
mass of testimony alleging interviews
with Blaine, and promises of help in
getting the Cochet claim recognized.
In one of these interviews Shipherd
averred that Blaine said to him, refer
ring to the men who were pushing
the claim of the Credit Industrial,
'Sh1nhpr1 frnaf thAcn
fellows in twenty-four hours. You
have got exactly what they have not
got and what they absolutely need
an American basis, on which you have
the right to ask for interference by
the American government" Shiph-
erd also exposed the connection of |
Senator Blair with the affair, as his |
counsel and go-between in the ne
gctiations between himself and |
Blaine.
Mr.. Blaine denied emphatically the
upon his character and the |
lntlmatlon that he had proposed to
risk war with Peru in order to uphold |
a private claim of speculative COM
pany. He characterized Shipherd as
"a man with whom lying is an en-
ployment, and perjury is pastime."
1AO ctOOl OOOCo OllC LUZ
hour and half and got into person
al contest with Hon. Perry Belmont,
who croSS-questioned him sharply
about the transactions. The scene
between the youthful legislator and
the gray-haired, but vigorous eX-sec-
tary, was very dramatic. Mr.. Blaine
had made the boast that he could
metaphorically spank the young
democrat and teach him a lesson.
But at the close of the
Mr.. Belmont appeared
to have not only held his
own, but to have seriously rufflled the
feathers of the Plumed Knight. Mr..
Blaine tried to bully Mr.. Belmont, but
could not escape the merciless ques-
tioning of his young antagonist,
which constantly excited his irrita-
lion and bad temper when he was
pressed on sensitive points. Mr.. Bel
mont compelled him to admit that Pc
ruvian courts could not or would not
adjud1cate the claims in question, and
that the only chance for their success
was such outside pressure as his di-
Dlomatic plan proposed. Mr.. Bel
mont also drew from him the admis-
sion that the Landreau claim which
ne pushed was owned partly by
Frenchman for whose benefit his di-
plomatic pyrotechnics had been dis
played.
IN the course of his testimony Ship
nerd told story to show why it was
hat Blaine was able to concoct de-
iensive theory on the basis of his own
letters. The point of the story which
Shiphard said Blaine told him was
hat in the reign of George ". the
Duke of York wrote some mastery
dispatches apparently directing an
English admiral not to fight, but ad-
led in pencil on the margin of the
dispatch: "that is all right, but give
hem H." and the result was that
,he admiral fought a winning battle
formal declaration of war.
Shipherd says Blaine wrote on the
margin of one of the letters to Minis
;er Hurlbut: "Go it, Stevew