The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-01-29

investigation which had been Initiated
without delay, and which was pushed
forward as speedily as was compatible
with the provisions of the law, with the
obligation of collecting all the elements
of proof that it was possible to collect
in order to throw fulllight upon the mat
ter, and the necessity Of
Promptly Furnishing the Perpetrators
of the offenses which had been commit
tod, and which had been in part suffered
by persons in the service of friendly
nation.
1t was the desire and the duty of the
government of Chill to discover the
truth in order to make it's future proceed
ings conform thereto, and in order that
the United States government might be
satisfied that nothing was neglected in
order to do full justice. You were
pleased, with your high sense of recti
tude, to remark to me that this proceed
ing of the government of Chill was cor
rect, and although you desired the jul
dicial investigation might be brought to
a close with as little delay as possible,
you understood that it was necessary
that the ordinary legal proceedings
(which were not as rapid in Chill as in
the United States) should be held. have
taken occasion at sundry times to inform
you of what the Chilian authorities were
doing to bring the investigation to a
close.
In the criminal trial held at valparai-
so not only have landsmen been heard,
but also the seamen of the Baltimore;
both have been confronted with each
other, the reports of physicians and ex-
perts have been called for, the opinion of
the surgeon of the cruiser has likewise
been invoked, and in a word, nothing
has been neglected that could tend to
bring the whole truth to light.
The seamen of the Baltimore made
their statements with the
assistance of an interpreter designated
by themselves, who was an officer of the
cruiser, so that the oath taken by the
witnesses, their conformation with each
other, the reports of the experts con-
cerning the cause and nature Of the
wounds, and the hearing granted to both
Chilians and Americans, so that all might
present the claims and charges, and be
heard their own justification, give in
contestable authority to the trial held at
Valparaiso.
In the course of our conferences we
sometimes considered the case in which
the government of the United States and
that of Chill should fail to agree, when
the investigation should be terminated
and the two governments should have
formed their final opinion, and we agreed
that arbitration was the best means of
settling the difficulty; and, advancing
farther in this conciliatory spirit. we
even formally agreed that the differences
that might arise should be submitted to
arbitration. This agreement to accept
arbitration has been the basis of several
of our conferences, especially that of
the 18th inst, and no antecedent or fact
interfering herewith has come to my
knowledge. On the contrary, took oc-
casion to inform you, on the 1st
of January, that my govern
ment authorized me to conclude an
Agreement Looking to Arbitration,
and my government subsequently APP
proved the agreement concluded by me
with you, of which, also informed you.
AS the criminal trial initiated at Val
paraiso has not yet come to an end, my
go vernm ent has not yet been able to
reply to the demands made by that of
the United States. The various docu-
ments and antecedents to which have
called your attention in my foregoing
communications were designed to in
form the United States government of
the progress. of the judicial investigation
and of the facts thereby elected; they
do not, however, constitute reply,
which can only be given when the facts
are definitely brought to light by the
sentence which must by pronounced by
the courts.
The testimony which the government
of the United States has caused to be
taken in California from the crew of the
Baltimore cannot take the place of the
trial which is being held at Valparaiso,
where the offences were committed.
This testimony may be useful for dis
cjplinary OF administrative purposes in
the United States, but it cannot serve as
the basis of a judicial sentence, either in
Chill or in the United States.
The copy which have toda y had the
honor to send you of the statement
made by one of the seamen of the Balti-
more at Valparaiso shows that
That Seaman Made No Charge
against the police. The charges which
he makes here, in the absence of the ac-
cused parties, in contradiction OF his
first statement, can have no value either
in law or in your enlightened opinion. 1t
is to be observed, moreover, that the
statement made by this seaman at Val
paraiso is attested by the judge, by the
signature of the seaman himself, and by
that of the interpreter, who was an offic-
er of the Baltimore who had been ap-
pointed for the expeess purpose of in
spiring the deponents with confidence:
You were pleased to state, in your in
struction to Mr.. Egan, that the under
signed has not communicated to the Unit
ed States Government the note that was
addressed to him by Mr.. Malta on the 11th
of December last. The first time that
the Honorable Secretary of State saw fit
to call my attention to the, aforesaid
note of Mi. Malta, told him that that
note contained instructions addressed to
me by Mr.. Malta, and that as I
I L11 L.