The Republican journal., 1892-01-28
Chilli Must Apologize.

Chilli Must Apologize.
DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WILL BE SEVER
ED AT ONCE UNLESS MATTA's INSULT
ING NOTE is WITHDRAWN. PRESIDENT
HARRIsoN's S MESSAGE TO CONGRESS.
The Chilian correspondence, including
the offensive note to Chilian Ministers
abroad, was sent to Congress Tuesday. In
the accompanying message President Har-
rison declares that he will terminate di-
| plomatic relations at once unless Matta's
| offensive note, which directly charges the
President of the United States with un-
truthfulness and insincerity, is withdrawn.
| The message says:
''ln my annual message, delivered to
congress at the beginning of the present
session. after a brief statement of the facts
! then in the possession of this government
| touching the assault in the streets OF Val
! paraiso, Chilli upon the sailors of the L.
$. ship Baltimore, on the evening of the
9th of October last, | said This govern
mcnt is now awaiting the result OF an in
vestigation which has been conducted by
the criminal court at Valparaiso. 1t is
reported unotticially that the investigation
| is about completed. and it is expected
| that the result will soon be communicated
| to this government together with some
adequate and satisfactory response to the
note by which the attention of Chilli was
| called to this incident. II these Just eN-
pectationS should he disappointed, or fur
| ther needless delay intervene. will by a
special message bring this matter again to
the attention of congress for such action
as may be necessary.
| "A brief restatement of the internation-
al questions involved and of the reasons
why the responses of the Gillian govern
ment are unsatisfactory is all that deem
| necessary
| The President praises Minister Egan,
SAYING, ale has. | think. ON the whole,
borne himself, in very trying circum-
stances, with dignity. discretion and
courage, and has conducted the CORE
spondence with ability. courtesy and fair
ness. 1t is worth while also at the begin
ming to say that the right of Mr. Egan TO
| give shelter in the legation to certain adj
| herents of the Balmaceda government
| who applied to him for asylum has not
been denied by the Chilian authorities,
nor has any demand been made for the
surrender of these refugees" The Presi-
dent also maintains that Mr.. Egan was
right i'll contending that "a safe conduct
| to neutral territory was a necessary and
acknowledged incident of the asylum He
then complains of 1.-THE disrespect mani
Tested toward this government by the
| close and offensive police surveillance of
i the legation premises, which was main
| tanned during the most of the period OF
! the stay of the refugees therein. and
! adds: "This breach of the right OF a min
| lister to freedom from police espionage
and restraint seems to have been SO fla
grant that the Argentine minister, who
| was dean of the diplomatic corps having
observed it, felt called upon to protest
against it to the Chiian minister of for
eign affairs.
| THE ATTACK UPON THE SAILORS OF TIE
| BALTIMORE.
But the most serious incident disclos-
| ed by the correspondence is that of
| the attack upon the sailors of the Balti-
more in the streets of Valparaiso on the
| 18th of October last. In my annual mes
sage, speaking upon the information then
in my possession. ! said: so far as |
| have yet been able to learn. no explana-
ton of this bloody work has been suggest
ed, than that it had its origin in hostility
| to these men as sailors of the United
States, wearing the uniform, of their gov
ernment, and not in any individual act or
| personal animosity.''
| government an abstract of the conclusions
OF the tscal-general upon the testimony
taken by the Judge of crimes in AN inves-
| tigatiun, which was made to extend over
nearly three months | very much regret
| to be compelled to say that this report
does not enable me to modify the conclu-
sion announced i'll my annual message. L
am still of the opinion that our soldiers
were assaulted, beaten, stabbed and killed
not for anything they OF any of them had
done, but for what the government of the
| United States had done or was charged
with having done, by its civil officers and
naval commanders. If that be the true
aspect of the case. the injury was to the
| government of the United States, not to
these poor sailors who Were assaulted in a
manner 50 brutal and so cowardly"
| The President here reviews at length
the premeiitated attack of the Chilians
upon the sailors of the Baltimore, and
concludes:
| ''The communications Of the Gillian
| government, in relation to this cruel and
| disastrous attack upon our men. as will
appear from the correspondence. have not
in any degree taken the form of manly
and satisfactory expression of regret,
much less OF apology The event was of
so serious character that, if the in uries
suffered by our men had been wholly the
result of an accident in a Chilan port. the
incident was grave enough to have called
for some public expression of sympathy
and regret from the local authorities. 1t
is not enough to say that the affair was
lamentable. for humanity would require
that expression, even if the beating and
killing OF our men had been justitable 1t
is not enough to say that the incident is
regretted coupled with the statement that
| the affair was not of an unusual rllarac-
ter in ports where foreign sailors are ac-
| cllStomed to meet. 1t is not for gener-
| Gus and sincere government to seek for
words of small or equivo al meaning in
which to convey to friendly power an
apology for an offence so atrucious as
this -
The course of Mr.. Webster in the case
of the assault of a mob in New Orleans.
upon the Spanish Consulates in 1851. is
| cited i'll contrast with the action of the
| Chilan authorities.
TIE DELAY WAS BAD ENoUGIl
| ''ln our note of Oct. % last which ap-
! pears in the correspondence, after receiv-
ing the report of the board of officers APP
pointed by Capt. Schley to investigate the
affair, the Chilian government was advis-
ed of the aspect which it then assumed