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PERU AND SPAIN, 
 
 BEING 
 
 A NARRATIVE OF THE EVENTS 
 
 PRECEDING AND FOLLOWING THE 
 
 SIZURE OF THE CHINCHA ISLANDS, 
 
 WITH 
 
 AN ANALYSIS OF THE DESPATCH 
 
 OF 
 
 SENOR SALAZAR Y MAZABBEDO, 
 
 HER CATHOLIC MAJESTY'S "SPECIAL COMMISSARY" TO PERU, 
 AND MINISTER TO BOLIVIA, 
 
 DETAILING 
 
 HIS ADVENTUROUS VOYAGE HOMEWARDS. 
 
 BY CAPTAIN F. E. CERRUTI, 
 
 EX-PRIVATE SECRETARY TO H.C.M.'s "SPECIAL COMMISSARY.' 
 
 WILLIAMS AND NORGATE 
 
 14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, ' 
 
 AHD 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. ' 
 1864. 
 
 The right of Translation is reserved. 
 
PERU AND SPAIN, 
 
 BEING 
 
 A NARRATIVE OF THE EVENTS 
 
 PRECEDING AND FOLLOWING THE 
 
 SEIZURE OF THE CHINOHA ISLANDS, 
 
 WITH 
 
 AN ANALYSIS OF THE DESPATCH 
 
 OE 
 
 SENOE SALAZAE Y MAZAEBEDO, 
 
 HER CATHOLIC MAJESTY'S "SPECIAL COMMISSARY" TO PERU, 
 AND MINISTER TO BOLIVIA, 
 
 DETAILING 
 
 HIS ADVENTUROUS VOYAGE HOMEWAKDS. 
 
 BY CAPTAIN F. E. CERRUTI. 
 
 '/ 
 
 EX-PRIVATE SECRETARY TO H.C.M.'s "SPECIAL COMMISSARY." 
 
 WILLIAMS AND NORGATE, 
 
 14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON; 
 AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. 
 
 1864. 
 
 The right of Translation is reserved. 
 
I- "3 M- 4 
 
 mf inst. 
 chk. done 
 
_ncroft Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 WITHDRAWN 
 
 CONTENTS, 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 DEDICATORY LETTER . . . . 1 
 
 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS .... 3 
 
 PART FIRST: ..... 5 
 
 THE ORIGIN or THE DIFFICULTY BETWEEN PERU AND 
 
 SPAIN. 
 
 THE CAPTURE OF THE CHINCHA ISLANDS. 
 OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 PART SECOND : . . . . . .38 
 
 THE VOYAGE HOME. PERSONAL ADYENTURES. 
 
 ANALYSIS OF SEIIOR SALAZAR Y MAZARREDO'S DE- 
 SPATCH. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT . . . . . . .57 
 
 APPENDIX ...... 61 
 
 I. EXTRACT OF CIRCULAR OF SEHOH PACHECO, AC- 
 
 COMPANYING THE DESPATCH OF SEHOR SALAZAR 
 
 Y MAZARREDO . . . . .61 
 
 II. COPIES OF CIRCULARS FROM THE SOUTH AMERI- 
 
 CAN REPUBLICS, ON RECEIPT OF INTELLIGENCE OF 
 THE SEIZURE OF THE CHINCHA ISLANDS . 63 
 
 III. BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE CHINCHAS AND OTHER 
 
 " GUANO" ISLANDS . 71 
 
DEDICATORY LETTER. 
 
 London, \st September, 1864 
 To the Senores Caballeros 
 
 Luis DE CEPEDA T GBANADOS, 
 ANTONIO CENCIO T BOMERO, 
 MELCHOB OBDOHEZ T ORTEGA, 
 FEBNANDO OBDOUEZ T ORTEGA. 
 
 ESTEEMED FRIENDS, 
 
 I am so greatly indebted to you for innumerable acts of 
 kindness shown to me during the many months we were together, 
 that I feel a singular pleasure in thus connecting your names 
 with a production of my pen. I might have hesitated to do so in 
 respect of a more imposing work, but I am confident that the 
 liberty I take will be easily pardoned me on this occasion, when 1 
 assure you that the present pamphlet is written with a view to 
 facilitate the return to a better understanding between Peru and 
 Spain, by explaining away the chief causes of the hostile attitude 
 assumed by the latter country towards one of her fairest 
 daughters. 
 
 I know you to be all brave and generous. I know you would 
 freely sacrifice your lives for the good of your glorious land ; but 
 I fear to see you fall in what, I cannot but think an unworthy 
 cause, if you should become the victims of a war generated from 
 ignoble motives, and fanned into flame by unscrupulous instru- 
 ments. 
 
 Understand me rightly. I do not by the latter term allude to 
 the Admiral now *n command of your country's squadron in the 
 Pacific. I believe him to be an upright gentleman and gallant 
 officer, who, incapable of meanness himself, is too apt to believe in 
 the honour of others. I refer more especially to the man, who, 
 having it in his power to conciliate differences which he was 
 
2 
 
 actually commissioned to settle, has cliosen rather to increase 
 them, and who, to soothe his wounded self-love or gratify some 
 malignant feeling, has not hesitated to resort to measures which 
 will, I sincerely hope, be yet turned against their author. 
 
 Trusting in all sincerity that under the leadership of the gallant 
 Pinzon, you will acquire that noble fame to which your aspirations 
 tend, 
 
 I respectfully subscribe myself, 
 
 Esteemed Friends, 
 
 Tour hearty well-wisher, 
 
 F. E. C. 
 
 41, Museum Street, 
 Bloomslury '. 
 
PERU AND SPAIN. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 
 
 A CAREFUL examination of the Circular addressed on the 24th 
 June last by H. E. Serior J. F. Pacheco, Minister of State of Her 
 Catholic Majesty to the representatives of Spain abroad, and by 
 them laid before the Governments to which they are respectively 
 accredited, has led me to believe that if the true history of the 
 Spanish- Peruvian difficulty were better known in Spain and else- 
 where, it would go far towards preventing the having recourse to 
 hostilities. 
 
 Moved by this conviction and possessed of an intimate know- 
 ledge of the events preceding and following the seizure of the 
 Chincha Islands ; being also fully aware of the degree of credit to 
 be given to the "Special Commissary's" despatch, which is ap- 
 pended to Senor Pachecb's Circular, I propose to lay before my 
 readers a true and impartial statement of the events which led to 
 the rupture between the two Governments, in the hope that it 
 may do something towards the prevention of a war, which, once 
 begun, would extend to a great part of the South American Con- 
 tinent, for there is little doubt but that the other Bepublics would 
 make common cause with Peru, if Spain should be so ill-advised 
 as to prosecute this quarrel to its threatened end. 
 
 As Serior Pacheco intimates that peace is impossible unless the 
 Peruvian Government shall, "by satisfactory explanations and 
 protestations of innocence," remove from herself the suspicious 
 cast upon her by Serior Salazar's despatch, as he considers that the 
 grievances therein detailed " eclipse all others which Spain con- 
 ceives that she has against Peru," I intend (having in my capacity 
 of Senor Salazar's private Secretary, been his fellow-traveller from 
 Callao to Southampton), to place in a proper light the grave accu- 
 sations which the Spanish Special Commissary has brought against 
 the Peruvian Government. I am prompted to do this, not only 
 as a friend of peace, but as one revolting against the perversion of 
 honest truth, and from that feeling which, when gratuitous insult 
 is added to injury, " makes every man of spirit a partisan." While 
 doing so, however, I am conscious that an adherence to the strict- 
 est truth will be my solemn duty, and that by such a course I 
 shall be most likely to succeed in smothering that unholy feeling 
 
4 
 
 which the artful despatch of Senor Salazar has excited, and which is 
 now smouldering in the breasts of two kindred nations ; creating at 
 present the chief obstacle to a settlement of their differences. 
 
 In dealing with this document as I propose to do, paragraph 
 by paragraph, I shall give it translated into English, with such 
 comments as in my character of an eye-witness, I am in a posi- 
 tion to append. I consider it my duty to dwell thus, at length, 
 upon this production of Senor Salazar y Mazarredo, because the 
 charges which he brings against Peru are of such a nature as to 
 preclude the probability that a Government acknowledged by 
 Senor Pacheco to be an enlightened one will deign to exonerate 
 itself of calumnies which redound, not to the disadvantage of the 
 accused, but to the shame and confusion of the unscrupulous ac- 
 cuser. It remains, therefore, for those whose knowledge gives 
 them a right to speak upon the subject, freely to place in posses- 
 sion of the public the necessary data to form an opinion. 
 
 Having thus denned my position and the motives which have 
 induced me to come forward at this juncture, I shall, with the 
 reader's permission, proceed to my self-allotted task. 
 
PART FIRST. 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF THE DIFFICULTY BETWEEN PERU AND 
 SPAIN. THE SEIZURE OF THE CHINCH A ISLANDS. 
 
 I?r the month of November, 1863, there arrived at Panama the 
 " Bolivia," one of the Steamers of the Pacific Mail Steam Naviga- 
 tion Company, bringing the news of a conflict which had taken 
 place at Talambo, an insignificant Peruvian hamlet, wherein some 
 Spaniards had lost their lives, and others had been seriously 
 wounded. 
 
 On the receipt of this intelligence, Admiral Pinzon, in command 
 of the Spanish force in the Pacific, and then at Panama, resolved 
 to forego an intended cruise to Guayaquil and sail at once for 
 Callao, with the object of inquiring into the matter. 
 
 Propelled by steam, the " Eesolucion," (the Spanish flag-ship), 
 reached that port on the 14th December, and on the following 
 day the Admiral, having hired a residence at Lima, entered into 
 communication with the Peruvian authorities for the purpose of 
 obtaining the punishment of the guilty parties in the affair of 
 Talambo. 
 
 For the information of my readers, I must here digress to in- 
 form them that Talambo is little more than a large farm in the 
 northern part of Peru, the exclusive property of Senor Manuel 
 Salcedo, a wealthy and educated gentleman, who, desiring to im- 
 prove the immense tracts of land which had for ages remained 
 un tilled, owing to the want of hands, sent agents to Spain to 
 invite over a large number of colonists for the purpose of culti- 
 vating cotton on his estates. On the arrival of Senor Salcedo's 
 envoys in the old country, they engaged some seventy families 
 who agreed to emigrate, providing their expenses were paid -a 
 condition which was faithfully performed. 
 
 While the preparations for the departure of the future colonists 
 were making, the matter came to the ears of the Spanish Govern- 
 ment who, to the emigrants' astonishment, opposed their departure 
 presumably on the ground that it was derogatory to the lofty 
 character of the nation, that her subjects should be hired as 
 colonists. This opposition, however, served no other end than to 
 induce the emigrants to seek a foreign port of departure, which 
 they found in France, whence, with French passports, they em-- 
 
 B 2 
 
6 
 
 barked for Callao, on board a vessel chartered by Senor Salcedo, who 
 not only defrayed the expenses of the passage but advanced 
 moneys to several of the colonists to provide them with a proper 
 outfit. 
 
 On arriving at Callao, some of these men broke faith with their 
 employer, and engaged themselves and families to other parties 
 without so much as an attempt to reimburse the sums advanced 
 on their behalf. The greater part, however, proceeded to Ta- 
 lainbo, where by their assiduity to labour and general good con- 
 duct they secured the esteem of their master and gathered com- 
 forts about their homes. 
 
 Things went on thus prosperously till the 4th August 1863, 
 when, a dispute having arisen between some of the Peruvian 
 labourers and a number of the Spanish colonists, one of the latter 
 was killed and four were wounded : the casualties on the other 
 side being one man killed and five wounded. The total number of 
 persons engaged in this affair did not exceed forty, and the asser- 
 tion of Sefior Salazar, that seventy armed Peruvians fell upon 
 eighteen unarmed Spaniards, is perfectly unfounded, nor can a 
 single declaration of a reliable person be brought forward to sub- 
 stantiate it. Nor can the assertion of Senor Salazar that the 
 affair was a premeditated one, having for object the extirpation of 
 the Spanish colonists, and that the authorities were not only 
 parties to it but actually sent some of their menials to assist in 
 the unholy work, be regarded as worthy of credence ; for if this 
 were the fact, what was there to prevent the colonists being 
 slaughtered to a man ? Surely not the eighteen unarmed Spaniards 
 treacherously taken unawares by seventy blood-thirsty assassins ! 
 But it is useless to argue such a point. I repeat, and intelligent 
 persons will surely coincide with me, that the riot was purely 
 accidental, and that the parties engaged in it were about equally 
 divided, as the casualties will prove; but that in no case can the 
 Government of Peru be responsible for an event which was just 
 as likely to arise in the old world as the new ; under the oldest as 
 the youngest dynasties. That the Government was not, however, 
 indifferent to the matter is shown by the course taken by the 
 authorities, who no sooner heard of the affair than they took all 
 constitutional means to bring the guilty parties to justice. 
 
 It may be, that the energy with which the matter was taken up 
 was not due to a sense of justice only. It is possible that a desire 
 to maintain a good understanding with Spain and to prevent this 
 untoward affair being used, by unscrupulous men in that country, 
 as a pretext for fresh charges and accusations against Peru, had 
 its weight in inducing the Government to exert itself towards 
 obtaining a prompt and impartial administration of the laws. 
 But, however great might be the wish of the authorities to bring 
 the matter to a speedy and favourable issue, they could do no more 
 than compel the attendance of witnesses and employ able counsel 
 in the case ; the rest remained with the Tribunal itself j and it 
 
was while the cause was still pending in the Court to whose juris- 
 diction it was submitted that the events occurred which we shall 
 describe hereafter. 
 
 This Talambo brawl, for it deserves no higher title, is put 
 forward by Senor Salazar as a casus lelli. So important in his 
 eyes is this squabble between a handful of irresponsible persons 
 that he uses it as an excuse to kidnap various civil and military 
 officers of a State \vith which his country is at peace, to confiscate 
 its treasures, and what is even perhaps more unpardonable still, 
 to brand the entire nation with perfidy, and declare their 
 judges wholly unfit to administer justice. 
 
 I now return to Admiral Pinzon, who, on his arrival at Lima, 
 was received with all the honours due to so distinguished a guest. 
 His reception at the capital was in fact a brilliant one, and during 
 his stay a round of entertainments indicated the desire of the people 
 to maintain friendly relations with the country he represented. 
 The same demonstrations followed him to the coast, and not to 
 be behindhand in civility, the Admiral, on his return to Callao, 
 gave a banquet and ball on board of the flag-ship, which were 
 graced by the presence of many noble ladies and the elite of 
 Peruvian society. 
 
 There is no doubt that, prior to his coming in contact with 
 Senor Salazar, Admiral Pinzoii acted with good faith towards the 
 Peruvians. He had come to inquire into the affair of Talambo. 
 He had presumably received satisfactory explanations. These 
 entertainments mutually given and accepted are proof of this 
 position, and a further evidence of such a view is afforded by the 
 fact, that when he left Callao in March of the present year, he 
 had resolved to take his fleet to Spain. 
 
 I say resolved advisedly, although such intention was not com- 
 municated to me in words. My conclusions were drawn from 
 what I there saw passing beneath my eyes. As thus: At Val- 
 paraiso, where the vessels made some stay, I observed officers and 
 sailors purchasing winter clothing, which would be of little use to 
 them if remaining in Peru, although indispensable in a passage 
 round Cape Horn. I remarked that the old sails were removed 
 and new ones bent ; a customary precaution even among merchant 
 vessels, when about to leave those latitudes for the more stormy 
 ones of the Cape. And I noticed that the vessels were thoroughly 
 overhauled and caulked, as if to prepare them for a long and 
 trying voyage. 
 
 If further evidence were necessary of the intended destination 
 of the fleet, it would be found in the great surprise felt and 
 expressed by all on board, when, on the 29th of March, orders 
 were given to remove the new sails and replace the old ones ; a 
 surprise that grew into astonishment, when it became known that 
 the Admiral had received instructions to take in a full complement 
 of powder, and return immediately to Callao. 
 
 As these instructions reached Valparaiso on the 29th of March, 
 
8 
 
 or probably the day before, it is reasonable to suppose that it was 
 written before the 20th of that month ; and if this be so, it 
 becomes unnecessary to assert that the intentions of Senor Sala- 
 zar y Mazarredo were hostile, when he arrived at Lima. It is 
 therefore very presumable, that if Senor Ribeyro, the Peruvian 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs, had admitted him to his council, 
 so far from any good result being obtained, the pretensions of 
 the envoy would rather have increased the existing difficulties. 
 
 The fleet being thus prepared for all contingencies, the Admiral 
 sailed from Valparaiso on the 7th of April, on board the " Eeso- 
 lucion;" the frigate " Triunfo" following close behind. 
 
 On the 14th of April, at 10'30 A.M. the fleet being at the time 
 within some six miles of the Chincha Islands, we sighted the 
 Spanish sloop of w r ar " Covadonga," having on board Senor Sala- 
 zar y Mazarredo. On drawing nearer, a boat was lowered from 
 the latter vessel into which the envoy descended, and who was 
 so childishly anxious to communicate the intelligence with which 
 he was bursting, that he stood up in the gig as it approached the 
 flag-ship, and shouted out to those on board to go and tell the 
 Admiral that " they had refused to receive him." Two minutes 
 afterwards, he came up the side and in an excited manner explained 
 to the Admiral that the Peruvians had refused to grant him an 
 audience. The result of their conversation was an order to have 
 the vessels prepared for action ! 
 
 Everything being in readiness, the vessels stood in shore, and 
 with almost as little delay as it takes to write it, the Governor 
 was summoned to surrender the Islands, and a like peremptory 
 message was conveyed to the Commander of the " Iquique," a 
 Peruvian vessel of war, lying at anchor in the roadstead. 
 
 The hurried nature of these most extraordinary proceedings, 
 may be gathered from the following letters, exchanged between 
 Admiral Pinzon and Ramon Valle-Riestra, the Governor of the 
 Chincha Islands, and which, incredible as it may seem, formed 
 the only correspondence that preceded an act, as barefaced and 
 unscrupulous as any of those perpetrated by Spanish commanders 
 in the same seas, centuries before. 
 
 Admiral Pinzon to the Governor of the Ghincha Islands. 
 
 " Anchorage of the Chinchas, April 14th, 1864. 
 
 " Being determined to take possession of the Chincha Islands 
 by means of the force under my command, I communicate this to 
 you, that you may deliver them up to me ; if you do not I shall 
 take them by main force. 
 
 God preserve, &c. 
 
 (signed) Luiz H. 
 
9 
 
 Reply of the Governor of the Chincha Islands to the 
 Vice-Admiral of the Spanish squadron. 
 
 " Administration of the Chincha Islands, April 14th, 1864. 
 
 " I have received the note of this day's date, which the Ad- 
 miral has been pleased to address to me, in which he calls upon 
 me to place these Islands at his disposal, and says that in case of 
 my not doing so he will take possession of them by force. I now 
 have to inform the Admiral in reply, that I have no instructions 
 from my Government on this matter, and, therefore, not being 
 able to act in an affair of such importance, I will ask for the 
 necessary instructions, hoping that the Admiral will be pleased to 
 allow me the time necessary to receive them. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 (signed) EAMON VALLE-EIESTEA. 
 
 Admiral Pinzon to the Governor of the Chincha Islands. 
 
 " Anchorage of the Chinchas, April 14th, 1864. 
 
 " In reply to your polite note which I have just received, I inform 
 you that the Naval Ensign who brings this communication carries 
 a Spanish flag, which he will substitute for that of the Eepublic of 
 Peru within fifteen minutes without delay. If this be not done, he 
 will immediately open fire without any further consideration, and 
 you will be responsible for the blood which may be shed and the 
 property destroyed. 
 
 God preserve, &c. 
 
 (signed) LTJIZ H PINZON." 
 
 Reply of the Governor of the Ghincha Islands to the Vice- Admiral 
 of the Spanish squadron. 
 
 " Administration of the Chincha Islands, April 14th, 1864. 
 
 " SIR, 
 
 "I have in my hands the Admiral's" second note of this day's 
 date, in which he refuses to give me the time necessary for receiv- 
 ing instructions from my Government upon the notice which he 
 has sent to me to deliver up these islands to him and he repeats 
 that notice. I reply to that note by saying to the Admiral, that 
 being without instructions, as I have stated, it is not in my power 
 to surrender them ; but if the Admiral, making use of the large 
 force under his .command, shall carry into effect the act which he 
 proposes, I shall protest, as I do now protest, in the name of the 
 Supreme Government of the Eepublic, against the violence which 
 the Spanish vessels, now at anchor in the port, exercise against 
 Peru, and that the Admiral will be responsible for the conse- 
 quences which his act may draw upon the people, as also for the 
 
10 
 
 damage that may be caused to foreign vessels which are now 
 loading. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 (signed) EAMON YALLE-EIESTEA.' T 
 
 On the receipt of this last letter, the Admiral perceived that it 
 was necessary to employ force to obtain possession of the coveted 
 prize, and he therefore ordered troops to be landed under the com- 
 mand of Seiior Don Jose Caudenes, a naval ensign of great deter- 
 mination, who fulfilled to the letter the commission intrusted to 
 him. 
 
 Although I was a spectator of the entire occurrence I prefer 
 giving a description of the event in the words of Mr. John Dart- 
 nell, Her Britannic Majesty's Vice-Consul at Pisco, who, from 
 the fact of his being a disinterested spectator of the proceedings, 
 may perhaps be listened to with more complete confidence than 
 a person whom circumstances compelled to take an active share 
 in the scenes he describes. 
 
 Vice Consul Dartnell to Mr. Jcminc/fiam. 
 
 "Chincha Islands, April 13M, 18G4. 
 
 " SIB, 
 
 Yesterday, about 10 or 11 o'clock a.m., a Spanish steamer of 
 war hove in sight from the north, and presently she was seen to be 
 signalising with two vessels from the south, that eventually proved 
 to be Spanish steam-frigates of war. Shortly afterwards an 
 officer from the Admiral's ship came on shore with despatches for 
 the Governor of these islands, and in a few minutes he retired, 
 when it became known that the possession of these islands was 
 demanded within the space of a few hours. 
 
 The Governor, in answer to the demands of the Spanish autho- 
 rities, refused to deliver up the islands or haul down the Peruvian 
 flag without orders from his Government ; but not having a suffi- 
 cient force to defend the place, and attend to the security of the 
 large number of convicts here at work in the guano, and also being 
 desirous of avoiding useless bloodshed, he had to allow the Spanish 
 force to come unmolested on shore, and proceed as their judgment 
 advised. He, the Governor, being powerless, had only to protest 
 in the most formal manner. 
 
 Somewhere about half past 3 p.m. an armed force in several 
 boats was seen to proceed from the Spanish fleet on board the 
 Peruvian vessel of war "Iquique," when presently her flag was 
 hauled down and the Spanish ensign hoisted at the peak. 
 
 Immediately afterwards the same body of men (about 400, more 
 or less) proceeded on shore, and straightway took possession of 
 
11 
 
 the Government House, and hoisted the Spanish flag, when a 
 salute of twenty-one guns was fired by the before- mentioned 
 vessels of war. 
 
 Soon after this I was honoured with a visit from Senor Salazar 
 y Mazarredo, the Spanish Commissary or Minister, who assured 
 me that both he and Admiral Pinzon would guarantee the 
 security of all property, both foreign and Peruvian, on the islands, 
 and that in no way should the loading of the vessels be interfered 
 with, and that after loading they could proceed to Callao as usual. 
 
 On the retiring from the islands of the Admiral, Senor Mazar- 
 redo, and the Spanish troops, the Governor, Senor Captain Don 
 Eamori Valle-Kiestra, the Captain of the Port, Senor Captain 
 Don Diego de la Haza, and the Commander of the " Iquique," 
 Senor Captain Don Augustin Ariolo, were taken on board the 
 flag-ship in character of prisoners ; and up to the present none of 
 these gentlemen have returned on shore, so I suppose they must 
 have proceeded on to Callao in the fleet. 
 
 The officers and crew of the " Iquique" have also been taken 
 away, and only some ten or twelve men from the Spanish men-of- 
 war left on board, with, it is said, orders not to communicate with 
 the islands. 
 
 On shore we are completely abandoned, for not a single Peru- 
 vian soldier was left here, the " guarnicion," together with the con- 
 victs, having been taken off the islands, and sent, I believe, to 
 Pisco in a Peruvian vessel of commerce which sailed last night. 
 
 Owing to the state of abandon in which this place has been left, 
 the greatest alarm was felt last night and still continues to be felt ; 
 but owing to the exertions of some persons here, headed and en- 
 couraged by the Cargador, Seiior Calderon, a guard has been 
 formed, and the streets during the night are to be patrolled. 
 Nevertheless, as this population is formed of some of the worst 
 kind of characters, and as the British Vice- Consulate is actually 
 the deposit of considerable money and property belonging to several 
 persons here, I do not feel altogether at ease, and should really, as 
 well as others here, wish to see the flag of even the smallest 
 British vessel of war in our harbour. 
 
 When, Sir, you consider that at this moment there is not one 
 single employe of the Peruvian Government, much less of the 
 Spanish, on these islands, I hope that you will take into consideration 
 my position, and, if possible, send a vessel of war here, so that the 
 minds of the British subjects here be set at rest, and that in case 
 of a riot we may know where and how to apply for protection. 
 
 Thinking it my duty to apprize you as quickly as possible of 
 what has taken place here, 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 JOHN DARTKELL." 
 
12 
 
 Thus runs the official account of this notable transaction. There 
 are minor points of interest which that statement naturally does 
 not touch (but that are still useful to make the picture complete), 
 and I therefore supply them for the information of my readers. 
 
 Prior to the arrival of the steam-frigates " Resolucion " and 
 " Triunfo," the "Covadonga" (with Sefior Salazar on board) 
 commanded by Sefior Luis Fery, had been behaving herself in a 
 way which proved pretty clearly the disposition that was felt to 
 conduct matters with a high hand. 
 
 After ordering an English merchant vessel bound for Callao to 
 heave to, and forbidding her master to proceed on his voyage 
 without permission, she captured three small schooners engaged 
 in carrying provisions to the Islands, and would have held them 
 as lawful prizes, but for the interposition of Captain Emanuel de 
 la liigada, the worthy commander of the " Resolucion," who, de- 
 claring them to be seized contrary to the established usages of 
 civilized warfare, ordered them to be at once set free. 
 
 With regard to the sloop " Iquique," captured in the way 
 narrated by Mr. Dartnell, I may mention that she is nothing 
 more than a small schooner, barque-rigged, of about 200 tons 
 burthen, whose full complement of sailors, officers, and soldiers 
 does not exceed sixty men, all told. My attention was more par- 
 ticularly called to her by a remark made by the chief mate of a 
 vessel that was loading guano, on board of which I happened to 
 be some few days after the events above narrated. 
 
 "Do the Spaniards now, mean to do what's right in Peru ?" 
 inquired the man. 
 
 " Oh, yes ; I should hope so," was my answer. 
 
 "Well; I'm glad of that any how/' he rejoined. "There's 
 nothing like a good beginning at all events. Everything that's 
 begun well, ends well : so you can tell the Admiral he may 
 return me the 'Iquique.' The Peruvians took her from me 
 because they caught me stealing guano. It is my opinion she'll 
 never bring any luck to her owners. She hasn't thus far, at all 
 events ; for she's only gone from the hands of one thief into those 
 of another." 
 
 I could not withhold a laugh at the cool impudence of the speaker; 
 but I felt too little confidence in the motives which had actuated 
 the leaders in the transactions that had just transpired to hazard 
 any observation in reply, so turned upon my heel. 
 
 As Mr. Dartnell, in his note to Mr. Jerningham, only briefly 
 alludes to the march of the invaders to the Government House, 
 it may not be amiss to mention the manner of the Governor's 
 capture, which occurred as follows : On the refusal of Captain 
 Ramon Yalle-Eiestra to surrender the place, between three and 
 four hundred men were disembarked from the fleet in ten large 
 boats, four of them armed with artillery, and on reaching the 
 shore, they proceeded in martial order, a band of music playing 
 and colours flying, to the Governor's house. 
 
13 
 
 When the heads of the party were introduced into the -presence 
 of the Governor, Admiral Pinzon, with all the urbanity of manner 
 inherent to his nature, desired that gentleman to surrender his 
 sword ; which request being complied with, the Admiral began 
 politely to converse with the discomfited official, and put him, as 
 far as circumstances would allow, at his ease. Not so Salazar, 
 the prime mover of this audacious enterprize, who, although silent 
 throughout the interview, betrayed by his look and demeanour a 
 degree of irritability that he had much ado to restrain. 
 
 A close observer of Senor Salazar's behaviour on this occasion, 
 attributes his ill-humour to the following incident : 
 
 "While, with an assumption of nonchalance, he cast his eyes 
 about the room, his attention was caught by a picture hanging on 
 the wall, which, on examination, he found to bear this inscription : 
 
 " Illmo Senor Tern pus breve est, et debemus sitere ante Tri- 
 bunal Domini, ut redeamus rationem omnibua operibus nostris, 
 et in speciali de injusticiis adversus proximos nostros." 
 
 If our " Special Commissary " had not become quite callous, it 
 is possible that such a very home-thrust did awaken some uncom- 
 fortable reflections in his mind. 
 
 The capture of the Chinchas being thus effected, it will not be 
 out of place to examine a little into the circumstances which im- 
 mediately led to it, for my readers must not be left to imagine 
 that such a high-handed measure was the result of the Talambo 
 riot. Oh, no ; the recovery of the Guano Islands was undertaken 
 and brought to the issue we have described in order to avenge an 
 offence of far deeper dye. It was determined on for the purpose 
 of punishing the Peruvian nation for their want of courtesy to- 
 wards Sefior Don Eusebio Salazar y Mazarredo, Special Com- 
 missary of Her Catholic Majesty, Queen Isabella II. 
 
 The official correspondence, which I annex, puts this matter in 
 a clear light, and I shall content myself with simply adding to it, 
 as I go on, a few remarks where explanations may appear neces- 
 sary. 
 
 Her Britannic Majesty's Charge d' Affaires, writing to Earl 
 Russell from Lima on the 13th April, 1864, respecting this Peru- 
 vian question, makes the following statement : 
 
 " Senor Salazar, having presented his credentials to the Peruvian 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs, the latter returned for answer, ac- 
 cording to the document, copy of which I beg to annex, that the 
 Peruvian Government would be happy to receive him, and give 
 him those facilities and means which the law allows for the ac- 
 complishment of his mission, and that as the letter of the 18th of 
 January accredited Senor Salazar y Mazarredo in purely a confi- 
 dential character, they accept him as invested with such : but that, 
 at the same time, they cannot agree to the denomination of Com- 
 missary, as this would be at variance with the diplomatic rules 
 and usages, and give rise to embarrassments in the course of ne- 
 gotiations, concluding that if Senor Salazar agreed to this under- 
 
14 
 
 standing, the Peruvian Minister informs him that he might com- 
 mence his mission when he thought proper." 
 
 After alluding to the puerile and discourteous reply of Senor 
 Salazar, the honourable gentleman concludes with the following 
 remarks, which show very clearly the bent of his opinion : 
 
 " This is the unforeseen termination of Senor Mazarredo's mis- 
 sion; and I think it is the more to be regretted, as, up to the time 
 of the Talambo difficulty, there has not been in this Republic any 
 general or real animosity against Spaniards or Spain ; in proof of 
 which there are many rich and influential Spaniards resident in 
 Peru who have made fortunes here, and who have not met, ap- 
 parently, I should imagine, with impediments and vexations either 
 in their commercial or social careers, on account of their nation- 
 ality. 
 
 (signed) WM. STAFFOBD 
 
 The extracts I have just quoted show conclusively that Senor 
 Salazar was met with all courtesy by the authorities of Peru, who 
 at once expressed their readiness to open negotiations with him 
 on a footing which should be intelligible, and which his very title 
 defined. The mendacity of Senor Salazar, in stating that he was 
 refused admission, is on a par with the arrogance which has marked 
 his conduct throughout the whole of these disgraceful proceed- 
 ings. 
 
 It is difficult to conceive the motive of Senor Salazar' s refusal 
 of the Peruvian Minister's proposal to accept him in the capacity 
 of a confidential agent, unless it is explained by a pre-determina- 
 tion not to carry out the mission of peace with which he was pre- 
 sumably entrusted. 
 
 That Senor Ribeyro was justified in viewing Senor Salazar in a 
 confidential capacity, will be shown by the wording of his creden- 
 tials, which I transcribe ; and the temperate and gentlemanly 
 communications of Senor Eibeyro which I likewise annex will 
 prove that the Peruvian Minister was animated with the best 
 desire to have a proper understanding with the government of the 
 mother-country. 
 
 Seiior Arrazola, Chief Secretary of State of H. C. M. to Senor 
 Ribeyro, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru. 
 
 "Madrid, January 18, 1864. 
 
 " SIB, 
 
 " Thinking it conducive to the interests of Spain in her rela- 
 tions with Peru, to send to that Republic a Special Commissary, 
 who by his experience and personal qualities, should be able to 
 draw closer the* ties which ought to unite the two. States, and the 
 
15 
 
 requisite conditions being found united in Don Eusebio de Sala- 
 zar y Mazarredo, Deputy to the Cortes, and late Political Sub- 
 Director in the Ministry of State, I request that your Excellency 
 will be pleased to acknowledge him as such Special Commissary, 
 and to pay attention to him in regard to the business with which 
 he is charged. 
 
 " At the same time, I beg that your Excellency will be pleased 
 to receive the Caballero de Salazar y Mazarredo favourably, and 
 in the meanwhile, I avail, &c. 
 
 (signed) LOKENZO AEBAZOLA." 
 
 Senor JRibeyro to Senor Salazar y Mazarredo. 
 
 " Lima, April 1, 1864. 
 
 " The Government of Peru, faithful interpreter of the public 
 feeling, is always ready to distinguish itself in its international 
 relations by acts of loyalty and goodwill. Guided by the principles 
 of this frank policy, it will receive Senor de Salazar y Mazarredo, 
 deputed to this Ministry by his Excellency the President of the 
 Council and Chief Secretary of State to Her Catholic Majesty, 
 with the most lively cordiality, giving him those facilities, and 
 conceding to him all those privileges which the law recognizes, 
 and which are necessary for the faithful discharge of his commis- 
 sion. 
 
 " As the communication of the 18th of January of the present 
 year, accredits Senor de Salazar in a purely confidential character, 
 to judge from its context, the Cabinet of the undersigned Min- 
 ister of Foreign Affairs, accepts him at once as such Agent of the 
 Cabinet of Madrid, because the denomination of Commissary, on 
 account of its not being in conformity with diplomatic rules and 
 usages, might lead perhaps to embarrassments in the course of 
 the negotiations, which, for the good of both Governments, ought 
 to be prevented at any cost. If Senor Salazar admits, as it is to 
 be hoped he will, this preliminary and necessary explanation, he 
 can enter upon his mission whenever he may think fit, secure of 
 meeting, on the part of Peru and its Administration, with the 
 most happy dispositions to come to a good understanding with 
 the Representative of the enlightened Spanish nation. 
 
 " With sentiments, &c. 
 (signed) JUAN ANTO. EIBETRO." 
 
 The foregoing letter needs little comment. It is urbane even 
 friendly. The Peruvian Minister, construing the title of " Special 
 Commissary," as that of a " Confidential Agent," frankly admits 
 him in that character, and assures him that whilst he can com- 
 mence his mission without delay, he shall receive every facility 
 and courtesy in carrying it out. 
 
16 
 
 Twelve clays elapsed from its receipt, before the Special Com- 
 missary made any sign, and when he at last did so, it was to fling 
 back one of the most extraordinary communications ever emana- 
 ting from a diplomatic personage. He seems himself to have 
 feared the consequences of his coarse and insulting epistle, for no 
 sooner was it despatched, than the " Covadonga," upon which he 
 had embarked, stood out to sea. 
 
 The singular effusion to which I have alluded, is thus conceived : 
 
 Senor Salazar y Mazarredo to Scnor Ribeyro. 
 
 " Lima, April 12th, 1864 
 
 "The undersigned, Special Commissary Extraordinary of Her 
 Catholic Majesty, has had the honour to receive the note which 
 his Excellency the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru has been 
 pleased to address to him, under date of the 1st instant. In it 
 the Government impugns the title of Special Commissary, on 
 account of its not being in conformity with diplomatic rules and 
 usages. The memorandum which the undersigned has addressed 
 to the Eepresentatives of the allied nations, and of which a copy 
 is annexed, will explain to his Excellency the Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs the significance that will be attached by Her Majesty's 
 Government to the proceeding of that of the Eepublic under these 
 critical circumstances. 
 
 "At one of the late sittings of the permanent Commission of the 
 Congress, it was stated that the present Administration enter- 
 tained the idea of contracting a loan of 70,000,000 dollars, which, 
 from being so vastly beyond the requirements of the treasury, is, 
 according to the opinions of influential politicians, for the purpose 
 of obtaining means to oppose the just demands of Spain. 
 
 " The Peruvian Government will do what it thinks best, but 
 the undersigned hopes that during his absence from Lima, the 
 Queen's subjects will be treated with respect in the territory of 
 the Republic, whatever may be the eventualities of the future. 
 The moderation of the Government, of the authorities, and of the 
 country in general, will give to that of Her Majesty the measure 
 of the conduct which is to be followed hereafter ; and if, unfortu- 
 nately, excesses shall be committed, the reprisals will be prompt, 
 energetic, and decisive, for modern Spain is firmly resolved not to 
 acquiesce in the ill-treatment of her sons, or in insult to her flag. 
 " The undersigned, &c., 
 
 EUSEBIO DE SALAZAE T MAZABEEDO." 
 
 The " Special Commissary" would seem, after all, to think there 
 was some force in the objection of the Peruvian Minister to his 
 title, for in the remarkable production I have just quoted he adds 
 to it the denomination of " Extraordinary," which does not cer- 
 tainly appear in the letter of his superior, who accredited him to 
 
17 
 
 Peru. If by extraordinary he meant it to be understood that 
 what he did and intended to do should be out of the ordinary 
 course, he may have been right in assuming the cognomen, for it 
 prepared people, as it were, to expect something eccentric and 
 marvellous. The reader cannot fail also to remark the coolness 
 with which this " extraordinary " individual reads a lecture on 
 diplomacy to a foreign minister grown grey in the service of his 
 country. The financial measures of the country are next brought 
 under review, and because Peru is about to contract a loan for a 
 larger amount than Senor Salazar in his wisdom deems necessary 
 for the Bepublic, that sagacious personage arrives, with certain 
 brother politicians, at the conclusion, that it is destined for a 
 crusade against Spain. The impertinence of the concluding para- 
 graph of his epistle, a mixture of inane pomposity and silly threats, 
 would alone stamp the measure of the man. If language such as 
 this had emanated from a person totally ignorant of Peru, it would 
 have been a trifle more excusable, but Senor Salazar, who knew 
 full well that his countrymen had always found protection and 
 favour on Peruvian soil, lays himself open, by using it, to the 
 greater censure, as he uttered calumnies well knowing at the time 
 that they were nothing else. My readers, who have already 
 perused the impartial communication of Mr. Jerningham, will 
 nave been enabled to form their own opinions of the manner in 
 which Spaniards were treated in Peru, and for their further en- 
 lightenment I transcribe another letter from that gentleman, as 
 fully worthy of praise as the former for its clearness, temperate- 
 ness, and impartiality. 
 
 Mr. Jerningham to Earl Russell. 
 
 ' Lima, April 28, 1864, 
 " MY LOED, 
 
 " Since forwarding my despatch of the 13th instant by lastmail, 
 in which I transmitted to your Lordship copies of a correspondence 
 which had taken place between the Peruvian Minister for Foreign 
 Affairs and Senor Salazar y Mazarredo, who came here claiming to 
 be received as a special and extraordinary Commissary from the 
 Spanish Government to that of Peru, as well as of a memorandum 
 addressed by Senor Mazarredo to the allied powers, I have re- 
 ceived from the Peruvian G-overnment through the official gazette, 
 " El Peruano,"copy of a note, herein inclosed, addressed by Senor 
 Eibeyro to the Minister of State of Her Catholic Majesty, with 
 reference to the proceedings of Senor Mazarredo and Admiral 
 Pinzon since their advent to Peru. 
 
 " But I now regret to have to report that an event has occurred 
 which has taken every one by surprise, viz., the forcible occupation 
 of the Chincha Islands by the Spanish squadron under Admiral 
 
18 
 
 Pinzon, in conjunction with M. Mazarredo, by which Peru is sud- 
 denly deprived of the chief source of her revenue. 
 
 " This occurrence has caused in Lima, the greatest possible irrita- 
 tion and dismay, as well as much trouble and astonishment amongst 
 the foreign commercial body, especially the British members of it, 
 who have much capital engaged in Peruvian trade, and who anti- 
 cipate that much inconvenience and loss must ensue from this 
 strange proceeding of the Spanish squadron. 
 
 " To give your Lordship exact information how this occupation 
 was carried into effect, I beg to have the honour to forward copy of 
 a letter received from Mr. John Dartnell, British Vice-Consul at 
 Pisco, who happened to be at the time in the Chincha Islands. 
 
 " The day I received the copy of the memorandum (which I 
 transmitted to your Lordship), M. Mazarredo left Lima, and I was 
 told it was not known whither he had proceeded; but it now 
 appears that he then repaired to Callao, went on board the Spa- 
 nish war sloop " Covadonga," and feigning to sail for the north, 
 proceeded afterwards in search of Admiral Pinzon's squadron, 
 when he and the Admiral having met, they w r ent to seize the 
 Chincha Huano Islands (Chinchas). The Governor was then 
 summoned to surrender, and menaced even with force, if he refused. 
 He had not sufficient force to resist, and, therefore, was made 
 prisoner; the Spanish flag was immediately substituted for the 
 Peruvian ensign and hoisted in the islands, whilst the 150 Peru- 
 vians who had been left there to guard the wealth of the Eepublic, 
 were, after a parley, allowed to depart to the mainland. The 
 convicts were also dispatched to the coast, and the Peruvian sloop 
 " Iquique," captured there by the Spaniards, was alone left with 
 a complement of ten men to guard the spoils which had been so 
 secretly and unceremoniously taken possession of by Admiral 
 Pinzon and Commissary Salazar y Mazarredo. 
 
 " After the consummation of this act, the legality of \vhich, no 
 doubt, Her Majesty's Government and other civilized nations will 
 discuss and decide upon, the Spanish squadron made their appear- 
 ance off Callao in the morning of Saturday the 16th instant, when 
 a note, without date, was despatched by Admiral Pinzon, accom- 
 panied by a declaration signed by him and M. Mazarredo of the 
 14th April, 1864, to Senor Eibeyro, the Peruvian Minister, copies 
 of which are hereto annexed. 
 
 " On the same day Senor Eibeyro replied to the Admiral, copy 
 herein inclosed, and his Excellency likewise addressed a circular 
 to the Diplomatic Body, copy of which I also forward to your 
 Lordship, together with my answer. 
 
 " I beg also to draw your Lordship's attention to the inclosure, 
 giving the official correspondence between Admiral Pinzon and the 
 Governor of the Chincha Islands, Senor Valle-Eiestra. 
 
 " On the advent of the Spanish Admiral to Callao on the 16th 
 inst., copies of this declaration were dispatched to the several 
 members of the foreign Diplomatic Body residing in Lima. 
 
19 
 
 " I was, however, first made acquainted with it that day by Capt. 
 Douglas, of Her Majesty's ship "Shearwater," stationed at Callao, 
 to whom M. Mazarredo had given a copy, which I have since learnt 
 was intended for me. 
 
 " A few days ago the Members of the Diplomatic Body assembled 
 at the house of the Dean, the United States Minister, Mr. Kobin- 
 son, to take cognizance of the documents which had been for- 
 warded to them individually, and after some consideration it was 
 decided to issue a collective manifesto, copy of which 1 beg to 
 inclose (and also of Senor Eibeyro's rejoinder), and as the mem- 
 bers of the body signed it, I likewise came to the determination 
 to append my name. This is, as stated in the paper, only ad 
 interim, awaiting the instructions which our respective Govern- 
 ments may resolve on. 
 
 " The Erench Charge d' Affaires for certain reasons did not sign 
 the declaration of the Diplomatic Body, probably because M. 
 Lesseps holds a double character here, being likewise charged with 
 the protection of the Spanish subjects in Peru, and also because 
 he may have imagined that in case he has hereafter to mediate, 
 signing this paper might render his position less acceptable to the 
 Spaniards. 
 
 " I also entertained the same idea ; but as the United States 
 Minister signed it, I did likewise. If I had refused, the British 
 public in Peru, as well as the natives, would certainly have viewed 
 my silence in a very objectionable light. 
 
 " The situation of Peru, owing to the event I have just mentioned, 
 is of the gravest nature. At first there existed a strong feeling 
 against the Government, and even a large assemblage of citizens 
 thronged one evening the chief square of Lima, and crowded round 
 the Palace, when the President, Pezet, was induced to appear at 
 the window and address them. 
 
 " At Callao crowds appeared in the streets, and " Vivas" for 
 " Castilla !" (meaning the former President of that name) were 
 heard, and even an attempt at upsetting the Government was 
 anticipated by people who argued that by mismanagement they 
 had brought affairs to the present crisis. 
 
 " However, the Government have not been idle in endeavouring 
 to instil confidence, and the Peruvians, friends, or oppositionists 
 to the Government, feel the necessity in the present state of 
 affairs of uniting together to resist what they consider a most 
 serious aggression ; for taking the Chincha Islands is, in fact, tanta- 
 mount to seizing the chief wealth of Peru, for most of the trea- 
 sures this land contains are still hidden in the mountains, or are 
 to be sought for in the distant and thinly populated trans-Audine 
 districts. 
 
 " If the Islands are to remain in the hands of the Spaniards, 
 the detriment to trade and British capital circulating in Peru, 
 reckoned at a rough estimate at nearly 100,000,000 dollars, will be 
 most serious. 
 
 c 
 
20 
 
 u The annual exportation of guano by the Peruvians is about 
 from 16,000,000 to 18,000,000 dollars, and their expenditure 
 about 23,000,000 dollars ; consequently, unless they impose taxes 
 and make loans, they remain with only 5,000,000 dollars to carry 
 them through the financial year. 
 
 " The Spanish Declaration gives out that money contracts made 
 hitherto with Peru by foreign companies will be respected ; but 
 what security have the British bondholders in this assertion, when 
 Spain has not yet met her engagements with regard to part of her 
 debt, and her paper, I am told, is not even admitted in the London 
 Exchange. 
 
 " If the Islands are to be kept by Spain, this is a very serious 
 affair for the Peruvians, but it is also a blow to British interests 
 involved in Peruvian trade. 
 
 " What has likewise stung the Peruvian mind, especially in the 
 seizure of the Chinchas, is the assertion contained in the Declara- 
 tion, that the Spanish Admiral and Commissary have resolved to 
 "revindicar" (retake or reconquer) the Islands, as if they still 
 belonged to Spain, and were not, after the lapse of nearly forty 
 years, an integral part of an independent State, which had been 
 recognized as such by most of the civilized world. 
 
 " But what has been the reason assigned for the occupation of 
 the Chinchas ? Is it the attitude assumed by Peru with regard to 
 Spain and her Agent ? 
 
 "The Peruvian Government have apparently only declined to 
 receive M. Mazarredo as Commissary, respecting which term they 
 required explanations ; but according to M. Ribeyro's note (inclosed 
 in my last dispatch of the 13tb instant), this Government con- 
 sented willingly to receive him as a confidential Agent. 
 
 "Respecting the term " Commissary" I will not offer to under- 
 take any remark ; but, supposing the Peruvian Government has 
 not found it advisable to receive M. Mazarredo in that character, 
 surely some other might have been devised which could not have 
 been objected to, and which might have prevented such an abrupt 
 and regrettable termination of a mission, -which reasonable persons 
 might have supposed could have solved all difficulties and led to 
 permanent friendship. 
 
 " The Memorandum sent home, contains a list of various 
 grievances, &c., such as the ill-treatment of Spanish subjects; but 
 even if all these turn out to be correct, surely the occupation of 
 the Chinchas, which may be considered as impounding the Trea- 
 sury of Peru, can hardly be considered in the light of a just 
 material guarantee for enforcing redress. 
 
 " Unwilling to believe that the Spanish Government can entertain 
 a permanent retention of the guano islands, I am led to look for 
 a reason for this sudden and secret occupation, in the idea that 
 the Spanish authorities may have effected it, as a means of pres- 
 sure for causing Peru to give satisfaction for certain grievances. 
 
 " By this coup de main, Peru has been reduced for the moment 
 
21 
 
 /to a helpless condition. Her squadron consists of one frigate and ' 
 several steamers, but these, especially the frigate, are not in a state 
 to resist or cope with the Spaniards, and although enthusiasm has 
 been kindled to the highest pitch, they are unable to attack the 
 Spanish squadron with any prospect of success. They have forti- 
 fied Callao, in a sort of a way, and the war vessels they possess are 
 placed under the protection of the Castle guns ; besides, I am 
 told they are going to plate some of their war steamers with iron 
 rails, fashioned for the above purpose ; but all this will take some 
 time before it can be accomplished. 
 
 " The President has applied to the Congress for resources, and 
 has been authorised to contract a loan of 50,000,000 dollars, and 
 to raise the army to 30,000 men. A private loan has also been 
 set on foot. 
 
 " The great Chilean capitalist Candamo has lent the Government 
 1,000,000 dollars, and the native commercial body is contributing 
 towards it. G-eneral Castilla, who is in the south of Peru, has 
 been sent for, probably to take the command of the army, and give 
 his experienced counsel to Government. 
 
 " It is thought by some, although I have no reason to partici- 
 pate in the belief, that this affair has been concocted previously 
 in the Spanish Peninsula ; and if so, the tenacity of the Spaniards 
 will probably cause them to keep their hold on the Chinchas until 
 obliged to relinquish them by the friendly mediation of the great 
 Powers, or till they are driven away by a sufficient force, which the 
 Peruvians may eventually be able to collect in the course of time. 
 
 "The Spanish Admiral has retained as hostages the Governor and 
 several officers of the Chinchas ; but there appears no desire to 
 injure or persecute the Spanish residents in Lima. They have even 
 addressed a letter to that effect, and stating that retaining the 
 above-mentioned officers as hostages is unnecessary. 
 
 " Since writing the above I hear that Admiral Pinzon has set at 
 liberty all the Peruvians he took, and Senor Valle-Riestra, &c. are 
 now in Lima. 
 
 " There has been a great show of patriotism, as far as offers of 
 services go, both moral and physical : the Archbishop and Canons 
 of the Cathedral and some of the clergy, the legal and other 
 bodies, and numerous private citizens, have placed their services 
 at the disposition of their country, so as to make use of them 
 for the just rights of the Republic as may be deemed most fib. 
 
 " The Memorandum to which I have constantly alluded has now 
 been printed in " Ei Peruano," and likewise Senor Hibeyro's 
 answer to it, both of which I have the honour officially to 
 forward to your Lordship. 
 
 " I have received from the French Charge d' Affaires, M. de Les- 
 seps, a copy, which I suppose is authentic (although not signed by 
 any one to that effect), of Admiral Pinzon's answer to Senor Ei- 
 beyro's note of the 16th instant, which I now inclose to your 
 Lordship. 
 
 c 2 
 
22 
 
 " I have the honour also to inclose copy of a circular addressed to 
 the Poreign Governments by Seiior Bibeyro, dated the 26th instant, 
 and published in the official Gazette "El Peruano" of this day, 
 regarding the unfortunate incidents that have just taken place 
 between the Peruvian Government and the Spanish authorities on 
 this coast. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 
 (signed) WM. STAFFOBD JEKKENGHAM." 
 
 The despatch I have transcribed, joined to the other evidence 
 adduced, amply prove that Seiior Ribeyro did his best to main- 
 tain a friendly understanding with the impracticable man with 
 whom he had to deal. Discovering at last that it was the vainest 
 of hopes to conceive that the Spanish Commissary would listen to 
 reason, he on the 13th of April addressed a despatch to the Minis- 
 ter of State of Her Catholic Majesty, to which, notwithstanding its 
 length, I would beg my readers' careful attention. Its tone and 
 style cannot but be considered calm and dignified, even when per- 
 used at this distance of time and far removed from the turmoil 
 amid which it was indited ; but it must be held as infinitely more 
 praiseworthy, when we reflect that it was written at a period when 
 the very existence of the Government was threatened, when mobs 
 were parading -the streets, and every class of Peruvian society, as 
 described in Mr. Jerningham's letter, was shaken to its very 
 centre. 
 
 From Senor Ribeyro, to the Minister of State of Her Catholic 
 BLajesty. 
 
 " Lima, April 13, 1864. 
 
 " EXCELLENT SIB, Peru has long entertained a strong desire 
 to re-establish her relations with Spain, a nation to which she is 
 united by the bonds of affinity ; but this often-expressed desire 
 has been foiled by difficulties not easily to be set aside. The 
 time has now come for the Government, as faithful interpreter of 
 the wishes of the people whose destinies they govern, to address 
 themselves directly to the Madrid Cabinet, in order to remove all 
 the difficulties which have hitherto prevented the reconciliation of 
 the two States so called upon by their origin and interests to live 
 in perfect peace and harmony. 
 
 " The war was scarcely over in America, when independent 
 nations were formed, which, in the exercise of their right, endea- 
 voured by every means to attain to prosperity, and initiate them- 
 selves into the paths of industry and commerce. Peru made no 
 exception to this enlightened policy. Her ports, fields, and 
 cities, without any exception, were thrown open to all laborious 
 foreigners ; and Spaniards, although without any previous agree- 
 
23 
 
 ment, and as members of our Association, enjoyed and still enjoy 
 the same freedom, respect and prerogatives as our own people. 
 An enumeration of these facts, which are evident to all competent 
 and impartial persons who have visited our country, might be 
 made so as to prove them in a most victorious manner ; but Her 
 Catholic Majesty's Government, who so well know the proverbial 
 mildness of the Peruvian character, the excellence of our laws and 
 of our administrative organization, will no doubt not require such 
 a work to be made, as it would not increase the useful knowledge 
 possessed by them of all the regions of the continent. 
 
 " The benevolence of the Peruvian nation has been falsely in- 
 terpreted by passionate functionaries and private persons, who, 
 having found themselves deceived in their expectations, became 
 gratuitous enemies of the country which had given them hospi- 
 tality; but it was never believed that such statements would 
 loosen the bonds which unite nations for their mutual good. In 
 order to obviate and prevent fresh difficulties, which would per- 
 haps relax existing ties and endanger peace, the undersigned, 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru, has the honour to address 
 the Spanish Minister of State, in order to give him some explana- 
 tions, which, by their sincerity and frankness, cannot fail to in- 
 duce the two Governments to come to an understanding, and to 
 treat in a proper, frank, and harmonious manner. 
 
 " It has been observed, not without great sorrow, that for the 
 last four years the Press of Spain publishes articles against Peru, 
 which one person in the former country, in correspondence with 
 another resident in this capital, is careful officiously to prepare. 
 There is no imposture they do not assert, nor even which they 
 do not transfigure, stating that the nation is without laws, cus- 
 toms, and morality, and that all the inhabitants are abandoned to 
 the frenzy of a repugnant licentiousness, and that the G-overn- 
 ment is responsible for all these excesses. Lower in the scale 
 than a barbarous nation, Peru is considered to be a den of bandits, 
 where no right is respected, and where life is continually exposed. 
 These calumnies, systematically spread abroad, may have pro- 
 duced a bad feeling in some persons, and have no doubt given 
 rise to that dislike of the Peruvian authorities which has created 
 difficulties to the prompt settlement of questions between the two 
 countries. 
 
 " Let it be said, in passing, the motives for this conduct are to 
 be found in ignoble passion, which is the more inveterate as it has 
 no grounds whatsoever to justify it. 
 
 " When the Spanish squadron destined for the Pacific arrived at 
 Callao, the Government extended that generous hospitality to it 
 with which they receive their friends, and notwithstanding the 
 alarm created by the motives attributed to that naval expedition, 
 circumspection and common sense gained the victory over vague 
 and malicious reports. Neither the most rigorous rules of eti- 
 quette, nor civilities of all sorts, nor a marked deference were 
 
24 
 
 omitted on the arrival of the sailors of the Peninsula, with whom 
 the sons of Peru felt they had ties of blood which were formed in 
 the most remote times. But this most refined politeness has not 
 been properly met, nor the most insignificant demonstration made 
 Buch as our society had a right to expect. The Admiral, chief of 
 the squadron, to whom all, from the Government down to the 
 private citizen, showed every sort of attention, used, from the 
 first, a disdainful tone both with the authorities and private 
 persons, and instead of studying our people and public men in 
 order better to carry out the intentions of his Government, he 
 avoided them, and accused them unjustly, surrounding himself by 
 a special circle, which made his stay amongst us every day more 
 intolerable. Anywhere else such acts would have led to fatal dis- 
 agreements. Fortunately, notwithstanding this, the Peruvian 
 Government were not wanting in the politeness necessary to dis- 
 sipate fears and disturbances which would have retarded the good 
 understanding between Peru and Spain. 
 
 " An unforeseen event, but a very ordinary one in every part of 
 the world, however civilized, gave greater extension to the Admi- 
 ral's already very extensive demands, and to those of the persons 
 who were desirous of a conflict. A riot unfortunately broke out 
 at a farm called Talambo, situated in the north, between some 
 Spanish colonists and the natives, in which a Spaniard and a Peru- 
 vian were killed, and some others wounded. 
 
 " As soon as the Supreme Administration heard of the event, 
 they cast aside their important occupations, and ordered their 
 delegates to do their duty by apprehending the culprits, and in- 
 vestigating the matter in order to punish the guilty. They were 
 not compelled to do this, but were stimulated by a desire to see 
 justice properly executed. 
 
 " The matter has been set on foot, and although not quite termi- 
 nated, measures are being taken to clear up the facts, and demon- 
 strate clearly who are the real authors of the crime. 
 
 " So far there has been no denial of justice nor culpable delay, 
 the only cases which, according to international right, authorize 
 diplomatic reclamations. The affair of Talambo has, however, 
 been painted in such colours that, to judge by these narrations, 
 Peru would be the last of nations. But, fortunately, unquestion- 
 able testimony and documents prove sufficiently that our criminal 
 statistics bear no proportion to our population, and that fewer 
 crimes are committed in the nation thus harshly treated than in 
 others more advanced in civilization. 
 
 " The enemies of the country for those that give absurd infor- 
 mation must be considered as such availed themselves of the 
 Talambo affair ; and M. Pinzon, lending an ear to passionate 
 assertions, has, it is affirmed, stated to Her Catholic Majesty's 
 Government that it is a most hideous event, that the authorities 
 have not moved in the matter, and pointed out the risks which are 
 always run by Spanish subjects. It is not strange that persons 
 
25 
 
 ignorant of our institutions, or badly affected towards the -G overn- 
 inent, should judge in this manner; but it is strange, and in no 
 slight degree, that an authorized Chief, charged with a civilizing 
 and friendly mission, should disappoint, or tend to disappoint good 
 feelings engendered on both sides. 
 
 " The Talambo affair has been the cause of continual censure, as 
 has also the circumspect conduct of the Tribunals, not excepting 
 the Supreme Court of Justice, so worthy of veneration for its 
 wisdom, prestige, and traditional purity. The Spanish Consul, 
 to whom this Department communicated the state of the case, 
 although he has no diplomatic character, and it was only done out 
 of deference and to preserve good harmony between the two 
 nations, allowed himself, in a note dated the 25th of February 
 last, to make offensive allusions to a body which is the safeguard 
 of all right, the deposit of all judicial science, and which enjoys 
 the confidence of both the Government and the people. He also 
 made a protest, which being only a matter of pure form, did not 
 affect the case. This happened just as the sentences of the first 
 tribunal of the Republic were being hailed with public applause, 
 owing to their impartiality and justice. 
 
 " It is necessary to dwell a little over these points, not with a 
 view of provoking replies and engendering fresh differences, which 
 this Cabinet wishes to terminate irrevocably, but in order to call 
 attention to certain incidents which throw more than sufficient 
 light to bear witness to the uprightness and loyalty with which 
 Peru always deals with the other nations of the earth. 
 
 " Nor is it to be expected that in this country, where so many 
 Spaniards and foreigners of all classes and conditions live quietly 
 and easily at work without let or hindrance, many possessed of 
 the blessings of fortune, that these should be exposed to frequent 
 danger, as some have wished to make out, or should continually 
 run risks from ill-nature. If it were so there would be neither 
 that spontaneous emigration which flows to our country, nor 
 would those large capitals be amassed which we find in the hands 
 of those who are not Peruvians, nor those frank acknowledgments 
 of content be made, by which more than once strangers have testi- 
 fied to the honour of justice ; acknowledgments which have 
 fully vindicated the honour of the Republic, which is wounded with 
 so little consideration. We have a proof of this in the speech 
 made by a distinguished Spaniard on board the frigate " Resolu- 
 cion," when, in the" name and presence of a great number of his 
 fellow-countrymen, he congratulated Admiral Pinzon on his fortu- 
 nate arrival in these waters. 
 
 " The Government of Peru, as well as all the society, was very 
 far from admitting that a common act of naturalization should 
 serve as a pretext for inventing absurd stories against a country 
 which prides itself, amongst other things, on its character for hos- 
 pitality. The Peruvian people greet all their guests with marks of 
 candour, and offer to all their riches, without reserve ; but they 
 
26 
 
 naturally show themselves more demonstrative with Spaniards, 
 whom they look on as members of their own family, and whom 
 they distinguish by especial marks of preference, as well in their 
 domestic and social dealings as in the laws themselves, which give 
 them concessions with open-handed liberality. So far from enmity 
 to Spain and her sons, being exhibited here, so far even from mere 
 quiet intercourse, our people display towards them great tolerance, 
 much affection and vast generosity. 
 
 " When Senor Salazar appeared in this capital, various and con- 
 tradictory accounts were given of his mission, but the Cabinet 
 waited for his official presentation to judge with certainty, and 
 proceeded with the circumspection which they are accustomed to 
 use towards the Representatives of friendly nations, since such 
 they consider Spain, in spite of its not having been defined at all 
 explicitly in what position the two nations are placed on account 
 of events which we will not now speak of. 
 
 "As Peru never has wished for, nor wishes for, anything more sin- 
 cerely than a good understanding with that nation which formerly 
 was her mother-country, she hoped, not without sufficient reason, 
 that the mission of Senor Mazarredo, in spite of its special charac- 
 ter, might clear a path for a formal, definitive and explicit recon- 
 ciliation. The Grovernment, far from raising obstacles that might 
 retard the conclusion of this important result, was disposed to offer 
 every facility for coming to an understanding with the Envoy ; and 
 when the latter presented himself in order to deliver his creden- 
 tials to the Undersigned, he assured him that his intentions were 
 disinterested and noble, and that he was nothing more than the 
 faithful organ of the views of the country and the administration. 
 This act of marked courtesy, as well as others even more signifi- 
 cant, was, indeed, not returned in the same manner, because Senor 
 Mazarredo turned his attention to the consideration of certain ques- 
 tions and certain persons in the country, which, had they con- 
 tinued, might perhaps have led us to a fatal result. The tinder- 
 signed accepted the explanation which this gentleman made upon 
 the matter, when he called his attention to it, and begged him 
 to avoid discussions which might be left for another opportunity. 
 Thus ended the only interview with Senor Mazarredo. 
 
 " His credentials, contained in the dispatch of his Excellency the 
 President of the Council and Principal Secretary of State of Her 
 Catholic Majesty, were read without passion and without any 
 ulterior view ; but the Cabinet, without ceasing to accept Senor 
 Mazarredo in that character, made an observation which, rightly 
 interpreted, would have left the parties completely satisfied. It 
 told him, with the greatest moderation, that his mission being 
 purely confidential, they would receive him as a confidential agent 
 of Spain, because, in the course of negociations, the title of Com- 
 missary might offer embarrassments which, in the common interest, 
 it was necessary to avoid at any cost. It was not proposed that 
 he should change the title, because this was not in his power, but 
 
27 
 
 in that of his Government, but then he should receive the explana- 
 tion that was made to him to be considered, even without attention 
 to the name given to his mission, only as a confidential agent : 
 this step was necessary, because before this Senor Tavira had 
 come accredited in this character, in order to satisfy a desire 
 generally expressed, and because in reality, the title of Commis- 
 sary was not the most fit to enter upon certain superior negotia- 
 tions of this nature. If the answer had been that the question 
 was of little moment, since, under one name or another, the aim 
 of the Spanish Government was to come to an understanding by 
 the means of a confidential agent, every thing would have become 
 smooth, and affairs would haply have taken a different course. 
 That your Excellency may perceive the sincerity of the Peruvian 
 Government, a copy of the note addressed to Senor Mazarredo is 
 enclosed, in which there is not a single phrase which is not deco- 
 rous and worthy, and in which the purest cordiality is revealed. 
 
 " Nevertheless, Senor Salazar y Mazarredo addressed to the un- 
 dersigned a note dated yesterday, accompanied by a memorandum 
 which he affirms he has sent to the allied nations, in which he 
 recapitulates a number of events and considerations, political as 
 well as historical, to prove the constant enmity which the Govern- 
 ments of Peru, during the forty years of its independence, has 
 manifested against Spain. As both of these documents were sent 
 to this office late in the day, and under the circumstance of Senor 
 Mazarredo having left this capital and embarked at Callao on 
 board the " Covadonga," it was not possible to answer them pro- 
 perly, especially the second, because the shortness of the time, as 
 the mail starts for Europe to day, does not allow of a discussion, 
 which could not but be conclusive for Peru, which has from every 
 point of view justice on her side. The undersigned will not omit, 
 however, to make some reflections to show that Senor Mazarredo, 
 taking for truth simple conjectures and isolated sayings utterly 
 destitute of anything like truth, by lavishing abuse upon the 
 nation and its authorities, which they certainly do not deserve, 
 betrays the prejudiced mind of a diplomatist to whom has been 
 attributed for some time the publication of certain articles in the 
 Madrid newspapers, highly offensive to the dignity of a country 
 whose culture has fortunately not been surpassed. The Govern- 
 ment of Peru, neither to resist the demands of the Government of 
 the Peninsula, nor for any other purpose, has had the idea of 
 raising a loan of 70,000,000 dollars. The same Deputy who pre- 
 sented a motion on this account to the Legislative Commission 
 withdrew it immediately, convinced of the inexactness and false- 
 ness of the rumour which had been maliciously spread. The ne- 
 gotiation of a loan for so large an amount as that referred to, is 
 of such a nature that it cannot be effected silently or clandestinely. 
 Whatever might have been the precautions adopted to keep it 
 secret, it must necessarily reveal itself, and become public pro- 
 perty. 
 
28 
 
 " Senor Mazarredo's assertion has not the support of a single 
 fact, nor even of the slightest indication to show that the Govern- 
 ment had entertained such an idea. Time will prove the falseness 
 of a proposition which Senor Mazarredo should have examined 
 previously in order not to fall into a mistake which compromises 
 his prudence and outrages a Government, which up to this time 
 has not given reason to raise a doubt as to its loyalty. 
 
 " Peru and its present Government had so much confidence in the 
 moderation of those persons who direct Spanish policy, that it did 
 not think even for a moment that affairs would have arrived at the 
 lamentable state in which they now are. In spite of the course 
 which they have taken, there are some people who comfort them- 
 selves in thinking that the fortunate occurrences which have lately 
 taken place since the arrival of Senor Mazarredo will be carefully 
 studied by the Spanish Government, who, no doubt, will see in all 
 the steps and wise measures of which the undersigned has made 
 use, the signs of good feeling in accordance with the national dig- 
 nity, rather than acts of enmity against the Spaniards. 
 
 " Senor Mazarredo, on leaving Lima, has left in his note a cause 
 of deep grief for the Government of Peru, attributing to it evil 
 dispositions in entering into an arrangement with the Government 
 of your Excellency ; and this regret becomes the greater as 
 there are certain allusions relative to the insecurity of Spanish 
 subjects resident in the Republic. They shall continue, as up to 
 the present, protected by the laws ; they shall always be the ob- 
 ject of a cordial and sincere hospitality ; they shall not be injured 
 either in person or property ; and they shall be left in the exercise 
 of their industry, and in the enjoyment of the many benefits of a 
 country happy in its climate, and happy in the conditions of its 
 enlightened policy. 
 
 " And these guarantees, granted without restriction of any sort, 
 are not the result of the terror which Senor Mazarredo attempted 
 to inspire, by making reprisals which shall never take effect, since 
 Peru will act in a sense of justice, and since Spain is not able 
 to cease paying, as she always has done, a homage to virtue, to 
 reason, and to right. 
 
 " The undersigned reserves to himself the reasons and arguments 
 of greater consideration until he shall reply to the memorandum, 
 which he will do, so soon as the affairs of the moment allow him ; 
 and he concludes the present communication in the hope that its 
 contents may be a further proof of his just and upright conduct. 
 If, unfortunately (which he cannot bring himself to believe), this 
 frank exposition is not attended to, Peru puts her faith in the jus- 
 tice of her cause, in the incontestable testimony of real facts 
 themselves, and the generous sentiments and opinions of civilized 
 and impartial people. 
 
 " With the sentiments, &c. 
 
 (signed) " JUAN ANTONIO B/IBEYKO." 
 
29 
 
 The course of events leads naturally to the conclusion, that if 
 the seizure of the Chinchas was not a step previously arranged in 
 the Peninsula, it was resolved upon by the Special Commissary 
 in order to make further friendly negociations impossible. The 
 unseemly haste which he used, may perhaps be attributed to his 
 apprehension that the voice of reason and common sense would 
 make itself heard by the Spanish Cabinet. 
 
 It is a subject of regret to very many persons that Admiral 
 Pinzon should have been made a party to the taking of the 
 Islands. All who know him cannot but believe he must have 
 acted in the matter under a misapprehension, for his brave and 
 generous nature, to which Mr. Jerningham in his letter to Earl 
 Bussell of the 13th May bears witness, would have scorned to 
 attack a defenceless place, without positive orders also from his 
 Queen, unless the whole affair had been grossly misrepresented. 
 It is therefore reasonable to suppose that when Senor Salazar 
 wrote to him at Valparaiso, he must have exaggerated both the 
 authority with which he was invested, aud the conduct of the 
 Peruvians with respect to him. 
 
 The Memorandum of the Special Commissary has been so often 
 alluded to, and it is indeed not only in a diplomatic point of view, 
 but in that of plain, common sense, so unique a production to 
 emanate from a Government Envoy, that, but for its great length, 
 I would have produced it in its entirety. As, however, my space 
 will not allow of such a step, I will transcribe literally those 
 portions to which my comments will be directed. Before doing 
 so, I may observe, that Senor Salazar y Mazarredo never made 
 known the precise object of his visit to Peru. As the foregoing 
 letter has explained, he had but one interview with the Peruvian 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs, during which, precisely as in his 
 writings, instead of argument he used invective, and had to be 
 reminded that the uttering tirades against private individuals was 
 not precisely the mode to open diplomatic negociations. His 
 truthfulness and temper may also be estimated from the fact that 
 he had no hesitation, when a point was raised as to the meaning 
 to be attached to his title of " Special Commissary" to call the 
 settlement of this necessary question, a refusal to receive Mm. 
 The very course taken by his vessel on quitting the roads of Callao 
 was a deception, for having, while in sight of the townspeople, 
 steered in one direction, he is afterwards found in a completely 
 opposite one; and the close of his "mission of peace," is dis- 
 tinguished by a proceeding which common-minded people style an 
 act of piracy, but which goes forth to the world under the grand 
 but unfortunate term of a " revindication." 
 
 Senor Salazar' s Memorandum was ably answered by Senor 
 Kibeyro on the 20th of April, but as that gentleman has mainly 
 contented himself with refuting the calumnies cast upon the 
 Peruvian Government, I will direct my remarks to the misrepre- 
 
sentation of facts in the affair of Talambo. I have already, on 
 former occasion, alluded to this occurrence, but I will now examine 
 it a little more in detail. 
 
 And first of all, I cannot help remarking that, taking their cue 
 from each other, Spaniards persist in depicting this Talambo riot 
 under false colours. They repeat the same story, with the usual 
 additions and exaggerations, but clearly show that they have not 
 taken the trouble to examine and judge for themselves. As I 
 fortunately have the whole of the debates, to which it gave rise, 
 before me, and have given them the most patient investigation, I 
 am enabled to speak upon the subject with a certain degree of 
 confidence. 
 
 The Memorandum says I quote the exact words : c< That on 
 the 4th of August, eighteen (Basques) being at the house of the 
 proprietor (Senor Salcedo) who had called them in to settle their 
 differences, on a sudden some seventy armed men entered into the 
 Court and rushed upon the defenceless Spaniards. One of them, 
 Ormazabal, fell dead ; and four others were wounded two so 
 seriously that they received extreme unction. The house of the 
 dead man was pillaged, and one woman, the wife of Eguren, and 
 her son, died in a few days. After this butchery was completed, 
 they placed the villains as sentinels to keep close watch over the 
 colonists, continuing to treat them inhumanly." 
 
 2. " That it is a public and notorious fact that Don Manuel 
 Salcedo observed the murderers from the balcony of his house ; 
 that his steward, Carmen Valdez, was the man who headed the 
 band ; that he distributed to them the rewards of this treachery 
 by order of his master, and that for many days they were lodged 
 and maintained at the cost of Salcedo." 
 
 3. " That the Basques, wounded and others, remained for 17 
 days, viz. : from the 4th to the 21st of August, guarded by these 
 same murderers." 
 
 4. " That a quarter of an hour before the catastrophe, the 
 Governor of Chepen, the chief place of the district, breakfasted 
 with Don Manuel Salcedo, and that on leaving the estate he met 
 the murderers without putting any obstacle in the way of their 
 plans." 
 
 5. "That Manuel Suarez, the Juez de Aguas of the estate, 
 and two servants of the Governor of Chepen, were among the 
 murderers." 
 
 G. " That when the Justice of the Peace of Chepen went to the 
 estate to investigate (or take evidence) he remained four days 
 without taking any proceedings." 
 
 7. " That when the Justice afterwards received the declarations 
 of the wounded colonists and their companions they were still in 
 the custody of the armed assassins." 
 
 8. " That the turn given to the affair at Talambo in the Supreme 
 Court of Justice has a tendency to put off indefinitely the punish- 
 
31 
 
 merit of the criminals, and has given rise to an energetic protest 
 from the Spanish Consul in Lima.'* 
 
 The eight charges here transcribed form the pith of the accusa- 
 tions contained in the Memorandum respecting the riot at Ta- 
 lambo, the main cause of the present hostile attitude of Spain. 
 
 The evidence is at variance with nearly all Senor Mazarredo's 
 so-called facts, which, from mere hearsay, and coloured to suit hia 
 own purpose, he has, with singular effrontery, set forth in a 
 document addressed to Foreign Powers as a justification for an act 
 of spoliation. 
 
 To begin, it is simply untrue that the 18 Basques who met on 
 the 4th of August at Senor Salcedo's house, had been summoned 
 there by him ; it is also untrue that when there, they were 
 attacked by 70 armed men. The evidence shows that the Spa- 
 niards were met together at the " Hacienda " at the request of 
 Miner (a Basque), who, a few hours previously, had assaulted Seiior 
 Salcedo himself, and, being turned out by that gentleman, was 
 trying to organize a conspiracy of his countrymen to take Senor 
 Salcedo's life. A proof of this is to be found in the fact that they 
 were armed, and not, as the "Special Commissary" asserts, " de- 
 fenceless ;" and that they used their arms is equally evident, for 
 on the approach of the Peruvians (labourers, be it observed, like 
 themselves), Fano (a Basque) fired upon them and shot Eosario 
 Salazar, one of the foremost, who instantly fell dead. 
 
 "What degree of credit then can be attached to the assertions of 
 a man, who will unscrupulously affirm that the Peruvians in this 
 case were the aggressors, when the first shot was fired by the 
 Spaniards, and the firsb victim to fall was a Peruvian ? "Why did 
 not the Commissary of Queen Isabella II. state this most impor- 
 tant circumstance ? Or did he in his wisdom think his case would 
 be all the better for its suppression ? 
 
 It is again untrue that the wounded Spaniards received extreme 
 unction. Their hurts were not of a nature to require the per- 
 formance of so serious a ceremony ; but more than that, there was 
 not a Catholic priest within miles of the locality I 
 
 The plundering of Ormazabal's house (the Spaniard shot in the 
 fray) has been proved to be simply false ; but the death of the 
 wife and son of Eguren is a statement almost ludicrous, in ita 
 employment of a fact with a view to draw from it false inferences. 
 The poor woman, it appears, died in childbirth ; her labour, per- 
 haps, hastened by the excitement occasioned by the disturbances. 
 Admitting, for the sake of argument, that it was so, is this a 
 charge to be brought against a Government, and to form with 
 others of a like trivial nature a casus belli ? Surely, after this, 
 we may cease to regard the voyage to Lilliput as a creation of the 
 brain ; we may safely adopt it as history, and think, that the 
 dispute about breaking an egg at the large or the small end was a 
 legitimate cause for war ! 
 
 With respect to the labourers of Senor Salcedo keeping guard 
 
32 
 
 over the Basques implicated in the riot, it is undoubtedly true f 
 but their surveillance only extended to a period of four and not 
 seventeen days, and the measure was rightly deemed a proper one 
 m the absence of a regular police, both in order to prevent fresh 
 disturbances and the escape of the guilty parties. 
 
 From the evidence it does not appear that Don Manuel Salcedo 
 was a witness to this unhappy disturbance. 
 
 The evidence does not show that rewards were distributed to 
 the rioters by order of Sefior Salcedo. 
 
 The assertion of Senor Salazar y Mazarredo that the Governor 
 of Chepen breakfasted with Senor Salcedo on the moraine* in 
 question, and that on leaving the ''Hacienda" he metthe 
 assassins without attempting to frustrate their diabolical plans, 
 rests upon the Special Commissary's word alone. None of the 
 witnesses examined hinted at such a matter ; and the circumstance 
 is so improbable that it may well be left to the judgment of the 
 impartial. 
 
 It is true that the Juez de Aguas and two of the servants of 
 the Governor were engaged in the affray; but as we have already 
 shown that the party of Peruvians were fired upon when pro- 
 ceeding to arrest the riotous Basques, the insinuation of Senor 
 Salazar only reacts upon himself and the cause he attempts to 
 uphold inasmuch as it proves that not even the presence of con- 
 stituted authorities was sufficient to restrain the Spaniards 
 
 Before quitting this ungrateful subject, I cannot refrain from 
 mentioning in reply to Sefior Salazar's assertions as to the general 
 ill-treatment of the ' peaceful Spanish labourers engaged by 
 benor Salcedo, and who, as I have elsewhere described, so unscru- 
 pulously broke their contract, that many of these men who landed 
 upon .Peruvian shores penniless and shoeless, are at this present 
 
 ame on the road to, if not actually in the possession of a decent 
 competency. Some of them are reputed possessors of capital 
 ranging from 2000 to 8000 dollars, and Sorazu, who was one of 
 the ringleaders of the riot, is in the enjoyment of a revenue of 
 )0 dollars per annum, paid him by the " Beneficencia," for his 
 services as steward of a hospital ! 
 
 m The seizure of the Chincha Islands,* without the slightest pre- 
 vious notice, has, it may well be imagined, caused serious injury 
 to the Peruvian Government, who, by the loss of four-fifths of 
 their revenue, are likely to fail in their engagements, through this 
 wanton act of spoliation. The mischief, however, does not stop 
 there. ^Ihe loss to many foreign merchants will be equally severe- 
 and it is no wonder that the event should excite amongst them 
 the very strongest feelings. 
 
 16 S.n? Maya meetin S w as called, and was presided 
 Mr. William de Courcy. Among the gentlemen present 
 
 respectin the value of these Clauds will be found in the 
 
33 
 
 I may mention Messrs. Higginson, Lewis, Seymour, O'Connor, 
 and seventy others, doing business in Peru. At this assembly 
 not only was warm sympathy expressed for the Peruvian Govern- 
 ment, but means were likewise devised to meet the difficulty by 
 force. 
 
 The Diplomatic Body residing in Lima, animated by the same 
 spirit, made a declaration on the 20th of April, which runs as 
 follows : 
 
 " The undersigned Foreign Ministers who compose the Diplo- 
 matic Body in Lima, being met together under the presidency of 
 their eldest member, the Honourable Mr. Eobinson, Envoy Ex- 
 traordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary for the United States ; 
 
 " Having taken into their serious consideration the declaration 
 issued on the 14th instant, in the anchorage of the Chincha 
 Islands by the Commissary of Her Catholic Majesty, and the 
 Commander-in- Chief of the squadron in the Pacific ; and bearing 
 in mind, 
 
 " That the Resolutions contained in that document were come 
 to without previous declaration of war, ultimatum, or other for- 
 malities which are dictated by the public right of nations ; 
 
 " That one of the reasons adduced for the occupation is the 
 right which the Commissary and General in command attribute 
 to their nation, to recover the islands belonging to Peru ; 
 
 " The undersigned, in the impossibility of receiving instructions 
 from their respective Governments in so short a time, 
 " Declare, 
 
 " 1st. That they deplore sincerely that the Commissary and 
 Commander-in- Chief should not have regulated their proceedings 
 by the rules prescribed by international law in such cases. 
 
 "2nd. That they do not admit the right of recovery which has 
 been invoked as one of the reasons for the occupation, but will 
 continue to consider the Chincha Islands as belonging to the 
 Peruvian Government until their respective Governments shall 
 decide what they consider right. 
 
 " Signed at Lima on the 20th April, 1864. 
 
 (signed) " CHRISTOPHER EOBINSON, Envoy Extra- 
 ordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary 
 of the TJnited States to Peru. 
 " J. DE LA CRUZ BENEVENTI, Minister 
 Plenipotentiary of Bolivia to Peru, 
 and named in the same character for 
 the American Congress. 
 " THOS. E. ELDRIDGE, Charge d'Affaires 
 and Consul- General of His Majesty 
 the King of Hawaii to Peru. 
 "WM. STAFFORD JERKTNGKKAM, Her 
 Britannic Majesty's Charge d' Affaires 
 and Consul-General to Peru. 
 " J, NICOLAS HURTADO, Charge d' Affaires 
 of Chili to Peru." 
 
34 
 
 The foregoing declaration was received at Lima with the warmest 
 demonstrations of delight and approval. The President, through 
 Sen or Eibeyro, expressed the gratitude of the nation in these 
 terms : 
 
 " Lima, April 21, 1864. 
 
 " The undersigned, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru, had 
 the honour to receive from the hands of the Charges d' Affaires of 
 His Majesty the King of Hawaii and of Chili, the declaration 
 which they were pleased to present to him in the names of their 
 Excellencies the foreign Diplomatic Body residing in Lima, in 
 which, after taking into serious consideration the declaration 
 which was sent on the 14th instant from the anchorage of the 
 Chincha Islands by the Commissary of Her Catholic Majesty 
 and the Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish squadron in the 
 Pacific, the said excellent and honourable Ministers have thought 
 proper to declare in a solemn manner 
 
 " 1. That they lament sincerely that the Commissary and the 
 Commander-in-Chief have not proceeded in accordance with what 
 is prescribed by international law for such cases ; and, 
 
 " That they do not accept the right of revindication which has 
 been appealed to as one of the foundations of the occupation ; 
 but that they shall continue to look upon the Chincha Islands as 
 belonging to the Peruvian Eepublic, until their respective Govern- 
 ments shall determine what they shall consider expedient. 
 
 " The Government of Peru, in protesting against the acts of 
 violence committed in the Eepublic by foreign naval forces, was 
 convinced that its procedure was founded on those just claims 
 which depend on imprescriptible and sacred rights. It was its 
 duty to maintain those rights, and if it be considered that they 
 are bound up with those of the independence and sovereignty of 
 Peru, the most excellent gentlemen to whom the undersigned has 
 the honour to address himself, will readily feel how satisfactory it 
 has been to his Government to see those rights recognized and 
 solemnly supported by the enlightened and most competent 
 opinion of the Diplomatic Body resident in Lima. 
 
 " The Peruvian Government, with such a favourable precedent, 
 cannot but feel its faith and confidence increased in the issue of 
 the great question which has brought out the above-mentioned 
 declaration, and also feels itself strengthened on finding this 
 honourable body on its side, in the maintenance of those saving 
 forms which have been trampled upon by the Spanish Commander 
 and Commissioner, and are prescribed by the law of nations as the 
 ultimate guarantee of international intercourse. 
 
 " The undersigned has very great pleasure in fulfilling the 
 grateful duty of making known those feelings which his Govern- 
 ment cherishes ; and by order of his Excellency the President of 
 the Eepublic, who highly estimates all that is favourable to the 
 interests of the Eepublic in yesterday's declaration, he inserts 
 them in this note, in order that those thanks may be public and 
 
35 
 
 manifest, which he has directed him to communicate to the Diplo- 
 matic Body, for the noble and spontaneous manner in which 
 this declaration was made. 
 
 " The undersigned requests his Excellency the Envoy Extraor- 
 dinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, the 
 Dean of the Diplomatic Body, to accept for himself this manifes- 
 tation of the gratitude of the Peruvian Government, and to 
 communicate the same to the representatives of the friendly 
 nations who signed the declaration with him. 
 
 (signed) " JTTAN ANTONIO EIBETEO." 
 
 Nothing of particular moment transpired from the date of the 
 protest of the Diplomatic Body, until the 7th of May, when the 
 British sloop " Shearwater" arrived at the Chincha Islands, having 
 on board the Ministers of Prance, England, and Chili. Those 
 gentlemen had come to the Islands with a view to effect, if pos- 
 sible, a settlement of the existing difficulties. Admiral Pinzon at 
 first received them with a little coolness, being under the im- 
 pression that the Peruvian Government had sent them to inter- 
 cede ; but on the assurance of M. de Lesseps that they had come 
 spontaneously, he changed his tone and entered into negociations. 
 As a proof of good feeling he gave up to them the " Iquique," 
 captured on the 14th of April, in order that it might be restored 
 to the Peruvians. The Spanish officials at the same time, by way 
 of explanation of such a proceeding, issued the following Memo- 
 randum : 
 
 " The events which took place on the Chincha Islands on the 
 14th April have been properly explained in the documents which 
 are before the Eepublic. 
 
 " The Eepresentatives of the Queen have always trusted that 
 the moderation of the Peruvian people, acknowledged in the 
 memorandum of the 12th of that month, together with the natural 
 calmness of their minds, will ultimately put the question on its 
 true footing. 
 
 " To-day that the Diplomatic Corps residing in Lima has been 
 pleased to depute to the Chincha Islands a Committee of its body, 
 composed of the Ministers of Great Britain, Prance, and Chili, to 
 confer upon the present situation, the undersigned declare again 
 of their own accord, that Spain has no pretensions to interfere 
 with the form of the Peruvian Government, and that the occupa- 
 tion of the Islands by way of reprisals, until her Majesty's Govern- 
 ment should decide, was, for especial reasons, preferable to other 
 acts of hostility, which, by causing bloodshed, would render the 
 settlement of the pending questions difficult. 
 
 " The Eepresentatives of the Queen have not in the smallest 
 degree prevented the traders of the Eepublic and of the Peruvian 
 dependencies from attending to their transactions, and discharging 
 their duties, as if the question were one of interest appertaining 
 to friendly nations ; and from, the first day they have decidedly 
 
36 
 
 forbidden the loading of any guano on boats which have not the 
 visa of the Callao authorities, who also, in accordance with the 
 existing instructions, legalize all the documents of the captains 
 previously to their departure for the places they are bound to. 
 
 " Being desirous to furnish a proof of their good wishes, the 
 undersigned request the Ministers of England, Prance, and Chili, 
 to be pleased likewise to make known to their colleagues 
 
 " That the " Iquique " has been restored ; 
 
 " That the Spanish squadron will keep on the defensive, if it be 
 not compelled to do otherwise, and that a term of forty-eight 
 hours will be given to the respective authorities, if there shall be 
 any necessity to bring hostilities against any part of the Eepublic. 
 
 " That Her Majesty's Government, as it was verbally stated on 
 the 16th of April to the chiefs of the foreign naval stations, will 
 not claim the payment of any debt of private persons which does 
 not possess the following conditions, namely, Spanish origin and 
 continuity and present existence of rights in Spanish subjects ; 
 
 " That the debts or claims of private persons which in any way 
 admit of doubts, shall be laid before a Mixed Commission ; 
 
 "And, lastly, that the reports which represent Spain to be 
 desirous of establishing European dynasties in Peru, or in any 
 other of the non-recognised Eepublics in America, are destitute of 
 any sort of foundation. 
 
 '' Anchorage of the Chincha Islands, on board the frigate 
 * Resolucion,' May 7, 1864. 
 
 (signed) " Luis H. PINZON. 
 
 EUSEBIO DE SALAZAE T MAZABEEDO." 
 
 Senor Eibeyro refused to receive back the little sloop " Iquique," 
 unless the Islands were likewise restored, and judging from the 
 subjoined letter of Mr. Jerningham to Earl Russell, the only 
 result obtained by, or likely to accrue from, the action of the 
 Diplomatic Body, was to receive from the parties in dispute the 
 customary polite thanks for their interference. 
 
 Mr. Jerningham to Earl Russell. 
 
 " Lima, May 13, 1864. 
 " MY LORD, 
 
 " Upon our return to Lima from the Chincha Islands, the 
 Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Mr. Robinson, with two of its mem- 
 bers, waited on his Excellency, Senor Kibeyro, at his private resi- 
 dence, to inform him that the Peruvian war-sloop " Iquique" had 
 been made over by Admiral Pinzon to the Diplomatic Body, and had 
 been brought to Callao, and that they consequently presented to 
 the Peruvian Government the vessel that had been restored. 
 
 " In this interview Admiral Eibeyro seems to have been rather 
 short, and refused on the spot to receive the " Iquique." 
 
 " She is at present in Callao, but I believe that it is determined 
 
37 
 
 by the Diplomatic Body to return her now to Admiral Pinzon, 
 which step will require a great deal of tact, as he may conceive 
 the non-acceptauce as an offence offered to himself, and perhaps 
 to the Diplomatic Body, and might, therefore, consider himself 
 released from his declaration of remaining at present on the 
 defensive. 
 
 " It is a great pity that when Admiral Pinzon has, by the act of 
 restoring the "Iquique," although without saluting the Peruvian 
 flag, made a sort of step towards an arrangement, that this 
 Government has not received the vessel under protest, and thus 
 not permitted a fresh difficulty to be added to the many others in 
 the road to reconciliation. 
 
 " The pressure from without has been the reason, and they fear 
 a revolution if they do anything which they apprehend may pos- 
 sibly be disapproved of by the public mind, which at present is in 
 a most excited state. 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 (signed) " WM. STAFPOKD JEKNINGHAM." 
 
 On the very day of the signature of the joint Memorandum 
 which accompanied the restoration of the " Iquique," viz., on the 
 7th of May, Senor Salazar y Mazarredo announced his resignation 
 of the post of "Special Commissary," by means of the following 
 note appended to the document alluded to : 
 
 "Senor Salazar y Mazarredo, Commissary of Her Catholic 
 Majesty in Peru, and her Minister in Bolivia, wishes it to be 
 publicly known that he has made the sacrifice of his amour propre 
 to the importance of the questions in debate between Spain and 
 Peru, having resigned by the last post the appointments which he 
 owed to the confidence of the Queen, because he is of opinion that 
 when serious conflicts take place, men who respect themselves 
 ought, in the nineteenth century, to place their Governments in a 
 position to conquer without embarrassment, and with a lofty spirit 
 of impartiality, all the difficulties which may offer themselves, 
 always unmindful of persons and dwelling only on principles." 
 
 On the following day, Senor Salazar quitted the "Resolueion" 
 and embarked on board the " Shearwater" for Callao. He reached 
 that place on the 9th, and shifted his quarters to the " Leander," 
 on board of which vessel he remained till the 13th of May, when 
 he began that eventful, nay miraculous journey, the narrative of 
 which it is now my purpose to examine. 
 
 D 2 
 
PART SECOND. 
 
 THE VOYAGE HOME. PERSONAL ADVENTURES. 
 
 The circular of 'Senor Don J. F. Pacheco to the Bepresentatives 
 of Her Catholic Majesty at Foreign Courts, dated Madrid, the 
 LMth of June, 1864, was, as I have elsewhere mentioned, accom- 
 panied by a despatch of Scnor Salazar y Mazarredo, giving an 
 account of Ins voyage home, and the perils he encountered 
 in the course of it. This is so singular a revelation that I propose 
 to examine it in detail, applying, as I go on, my personal know- 
 ledge of the events and scenes he describes by way of testino- their 
 accuracy. 
 
 His narrative commences thus: 
 
 " On the 8th of May I arrived at Callao with Senor Lora, a 
 midshipman (the bearer of despatches for the Island of Cuba), 'on 
 board her Britannic Majesty's corvette " Shearwater," commanded 
 by Mr. Gordon Douglas, in company of the Ministers of France, 
 Great Britain, and Chili, who had made a voyage to the Chincha 
 Islands for the purpose of a conference with General Pinzon and 
 myself. On the 9th I shifted my quarters to the British war 
 frigate " Leander," from whose Commander, Commodore Harvey, 
 I received, as I had already received from Mr. Douglas, the 
 politest attentions. I remained on board the latter vessel till the 
 13th the day for the starting of the Panama steamer, by which I 
 intended returning to Spain. 
 
 " On the 12th, I received private advices to the effect that I 
 must be cautious, as something was hatching against my person ; 
 and the Chancelier of the French Legation, Mr. Vion, confirmed 
 this intelligence, advising me among other things that I ought 
 not to go on board the packet at the spot, (near the Mole) 
 where she lay at anchor, and counselling me to beg the Captain 
 to take me from on board the " Leander " itself." 
 
 If the lines just quoted are intended by Senor Salazar to sub- 
 stantiate the charge which the Spanish Minister asserts, "eclipses 
 all the other charges ivhich Spain conceives that she has against 
 Peru'' I feel satisfied that all serious men will agree with me that 
 the vague suspicions thus set forth are not only insufficient to 
 support a grave accusation, but they strengthen the doubt as to 
 the goodness of the other causes which have led Spain to her 
 present hostile attitude towards Peru. It is not perhaps surprising 
 
39 
 
 that a man like Salazar, who, during the time that the events to 
 which he alludes were taking place, was labouring under a degree 
 of nervous excitement bordering on distraction, should exaggerate 
 the position and see danger and menace where they did not exist, 
 but it is astonishing that a Minister, in the calm retreat of his own 
 cabinet, should be found ready to endorse the accusations against 
 Peru, although founded upon the merest hearsay and conjecture. 
 
 Admitting, for the sake of argument, that Senor Salazar was 
 justified in believing that a plot was hatching against his person, 
 still it must be held as most strange that private individuals should 
 have been in possession of the secret days, nay weeks, before it 
 was to be realized ; and if such a plot were contemplated, what 
 right had he to infer that the Government of Peru was a party to 
 it ? For he does not allege that the parties who were so anxious 
 for his safety, informed him where the plot was hatching, or who 
 were the parties aiding or abetting it. 
 
 The only ground upon which Senor Salazar can base his charge 
 against the Peruvian authorities must be sought for in his own 
 notions of self-importance, which will not permit him to believe 
 that a private individual would dare to conspire against his life. 
 Although a little reflection might have taught him, that national 
 insults such as those which he had heaped upon the Peruvian 
 flag, had more than once met with condign punishment at the 
 hands of obscure enthusiasts, without endeavouring to instil into 
 Senor Pacheco's mind the idea that the "plot" was set on foot by 
 the Grovernment of Peru, and thus create a greater cause of com- 
 plaint against the Eepublic than any that had hitherto been 
 alleged against her. 
 
 The narrative thus proceeds : 
 
 "On the morning of the 13th, the English merchant ship 
 " Dauntless " cast anchor in the Bay, having on board Senor 
 Cerruti, Professor of Languages to the midshipmen of the frigate 
 " Resolucion," who, on the advice of General Pinzon, was to 
 accompany me to Europe in the capacity of private Secretary. As 
 soon as his arrival became known, the authorities at Callao en- 
 deavoured to get him into their power ; but the Commodore, who 
 had notice of the outrage contemplated upon the British flag, sent 
 an officer on to prevent it, who arrived so opportunely, that he 
 almost snatched him from the hands of the Peruvian soldiers." 
 
 This part of Senor Salazar' s letter is a mixture of truth and 
 misrepresentation. "When Lieutenant Henry Mclnroy came on 
 board the " Dauntless," he was courteously received by Senor 
 Jose Leon, the Deputy- Captain of the Port, who, on being in- 
 formed that Senor Cerruti had sent to the frigate " Leander " for 
 a boat to take him off, said at once, " Well, he may go ; but 
 I protest." Before leaving, the English Lieutenant, the Deputy, 
 an<} Senor Cerruti had a parting glass, which they drank to the 
 toast of " A speedy settlement to the existing difficulties." 
 
40 
 
 No " snatching" occurred, nor was there occasion for it. It is 
 true, that prior to the arrival of the authorities, certain parties on 
 board undertook to kidnap the private Secretary, but with what 
 justice or right can the Government of Peru be blamed for the 
 acts of private individuals? Moreover, even if Senor Salazar's 
 statement were the exact truth, I doubt the right of the Spanish 
 Cabinet to interfere in the matter, for the private Secretary is not 
 a Spaniard, nor did he travel with a Spanish passport, and as the 
 whole affair occurred on board of an English vessel, it would be 
 the province of the Government of Great Britain, and not that of 
 Spain, to interfere in the matter. 
 
 And here I cannot refrain from inquiring how it is that Senor 
 Salazar, who is so lavish in his praise of those who assisted him 
 either by word or deed, has no commendation left for Mr. William 
 Corwan, the Master of the " Dauntless," who broke the standing 
 rules of the Port of Callao for the purpose of befriending the 
 private Secretary of the Spanish Commissary, thus enabling that 
 gentleman to save the despatches which the Commissary asserts 
 were judged by the Peruvian Government of so high a value that 
 they were willing to give 22,000 dollars to emissaries in order to 
 induce them to steal the " coveted documents ?" And wherefore 
 is it, that Senor Salazar omits to mention that Captain Corwan, 
 on being offered the sum of 100 dollars for his trouble, flatly 
 refused it, and with a dignity well becoming a noble sailor, 
 asserted that gratitude and not gold was the motive which had 
 induced him to act as he had done towards Senor Cerruti ? And 
 again, why does Senor Salazar lay a certain stress on the fact that 
 Monsieur Eurange drank champagne with the Captain of the 
 Port of Paita, and not record the circumstance of the parting 
 glass and toast of his private Secretary, Lieutenant Mclnroy and 
 Senor Jose Leon at Callao ? The answer is obvious. Silence in 
 two of the cases and communicativeness in the third, answered 
 his purpose ; but that purpose, malignant as it is, is too trans- 
 parent to impose upon the serious and unprejudiced. 
 
 The narrative proceeds : 
 
 " A few hours before the departure of the " Talca," the Com- 
 modore observed on board a Peruvian vessel of war certain 
 suspicious movements, and as he apprehended that some outrage 
 might be attempted upon me, he offered me a guard of ten marines 
 to carry me to Panama, an offer which I did not accept for con- 
 siderations that your Excellency will easily appreciate. He then 
 proceeded to the house of Eear-Admiral Valle-Eiestra in com- 
 pany of the English Consul, when the latter declared in Spanish 
 to the chief of the naval forces of Peru, 011 the part of the 
 British naval authorities, that if any attempt were made against 
 me on board the "Talca" he would seize every vessel of war 
 belonging to the Eepublic, to which Senor Valle-Eiestra replied 
 by giving all kinds of assurances that nothing whatsoever should 
 be attempted against me." 
 
41 
 
 "With respect to the above, I beg leave to observe that Senor 
 Salazar's memory must be strangely defective if he indited the 
 foregoing lines in good faith. I will, for his own sake, presume 
 that his recollection is at fault, and, by a simple narration of facts, 
 point out how incorrect is his version of the affair. 
 
 On the very evening to which he alludes, viz., the 13th of May, 
 a little before sun-down, four persons on board H. B. Majesty's 
 steam frigate " Leander" were dining in the cabin of Commodore 
 Harvey. Those four persons were the Commodore himself, 
 Eusebio de Salazar, Cecilio de Lora, and the writer of these lines. 
 
 The dinner had scarcely commenced when the steamer "Tumbes," 
 under Peruvian colours, was seen entering the harbour of Callao, 
 but, being met by a boat from the Peruvian flag-ship " Amazonas," 
 she steamed out again. 
 
 The movements of this little vessel in an instant deprived Senor 
 Salazar of all his good humour. He started up from his chair, 
 turned pale, and after a few seconds reflection, addressing himself 
 to Commodore Harvey, exclaimed that he had received notice that 
 the steamer " Tumbes" was going to watch outside the harbour 
 for the mail packet, in order to kidnap his own precious person. 
 
 It is therefore clear that this third charge which Senor Salazar 
 raises against the Peruvian Government is totally incorrect. As 
 it stands it not only makes a strong case against the authorities, 
 but is an insinuation to the serious disadvantage of Commodore 
 Harvey, who, as representing a power with which Peru was at 
 peace, could have no right to interfere in matters that were 
 foreign to his duty. Of course, if any violation of the English 
 flag had taken place, the gallant Commodore could not, nor would 
 he have hesitated a moment to use the forces at his command ; 
 but he observed none of those "suspicious movements" referred 
 to " on board a Peruvian vessel of war;" the Peruvian fleet lay 
 quietly at anchor under the guns of the fort ; and the coming in 
 and going out of the "Tumbes" was a matter so insignificant as 
 to be almost unworthy of notice ; and I certainly should not have 
 alluded to it, had not the wording of the Commissary's charge 
 required the explanation. 
 
 "With respect to the visit which the Commodore paid to Bear- 
 Admiral Valle-Eiestra, I may explain, by way of correction of 
 Salazar's account of it, that Commodore Harvey considered it his 
 duty to call on the Peruvian Rear-Admiral to mention to him the 
 report which had thus reached his ears. That officer heard him 
 with amazement depicted in his features, and assured the Commo- 
 dore in reply that he was totally misinformed : that the mission 
 of the " Tumbes " was one of an ordinary, peaceful nature, and 
 that under no circumstances would the British flag be violated. 
 The Commodore, satisfied with this assurance, returned on board 
 the " Leander," and explained to Senor Salazar that he run no 
 risk whatsoever. Perceiving, however, that the Commissary still 
 had misgivings, he offered him an escort of marines to protect him 
 
42 
 
 in case of danger. This proposal was refused, for it was obvious 
 that if any mischief were intended on the part of a war steamer, a 
 handful of soldiers could offer no effectual resistance. 
 
 Resolving then, after all, to confide in the good faith and 
 plighted word of the Peruvian Rear- Admiral, Seiior Salazar and 
 suite embarked on board the " Talca " on the evening of the 13th 
 of May. 
 
 The story thus goes on : 
 
 " At seven precisely the said steamer weighed anchor, and 
 coming alongside the " Leander," I passed on board, together with 
 the gentlemen mentioned, Seiiores Lora and Cerruti. On the 
 14th I was advised by persons who were deserving of credit, to be 
 very careful about my living, and as these same warnings were 
 repeated on the 15th, I kept my cabin. One of the passengers, 
 Mr. E- , the brother-in-law of a naval officer residing in Callao, 
 endeavoured to gain my confidence, and I tried, through him, to 
 obtain such data as I possibly could, respecting the intentions of 
 the Peruvian Government regarding our squadron." 
 
 We find in the passage just quoted the same belief uppermost 
 in Seiior Salazar's mind, that not only was his life sought, but 
 that the conspirators had used so little caution, that even indifferent 
 persons were made acquainted with it. The supposition is so 
 childish and improbable that it may with safety be left to the 
 judgment of thinking men ; but we cannot help noticing that in 
 order to curry favour with the Minister to whom he addressed his 
 letter, he thus publicly confesses that he did his best to pump 
 from his casual acquaintance the secrets of the Peruvian authori- 
 ties. It was unfortunate for the Special Commissary that he 
 should on this occasion have made a confidant of a man who, not 
 perhaps out of malice, but from that simple love of fun, which dis- 
 tinguishes his countrymen, " fooled him to the very top of his 
 bent," and was only rejoiced at the opportunity thus offered to 
 while away the tedium of a sea voyage. 
 
 This gentleman, whom Seiior Salazar describes as Mr. R , 
 
 was a Captain Eugene Rurange, a French officer, who bore the 
 decoration of the Cross of the Legion of Honour for bravery in 
 the Crimean war, and could boast also of the possession of a large 
 silver medal, bestowed on him by the Congress of the United 
 States of America for his gallantry in rescuing the crew of an 
 American whaling ship in distress. It was a peculiarity of Seiior 
 Salazar's to leave out the handle to the names of persons against 
 whom he entertained any grudge, although he was diplomatically 
 careful to append them to those of his friends. 
 
 Information as to the intentions of the Peruvian Government 
 respecting the Spanish squadron or otherwise, he failed to obtain, 
 and it may be said, in passing, that if he had succeeded in getting 
 so-called " data," they could scarcely be considered reliable, view- 
 ing the quarter from whence they came. 
 
43 
 
 . I resume the narrative : 
 
 " On the morning of the 16th, Prank, the English steward who 
 waited on me, confirmed the suspicions which had been awakened 
 in my mind by other Spanish passengers (with whom he was not 
 acquainted) observing: ' Take absolutely nothing but what I bring 
 you, for one of the passengers,' and he pointed out a person who, 
 from the observation of Senors Lora and Cerruti, never ceased to 
 
 dog my footsteps, ' Senor L , a merchant, has just offered 
 
 nie 1000 dollars if I put a certain white powder into the cup of 
 tea you take in the morning, 500 down, and the remainder at a 
 later period ; he says, it is only to throw you into a slumber so as 
 to be able to get from you certain important papers you have got 
 in your trunk. To this I answered, that I was an Englishman, a 
 Christian, and an honest man, and that I would never lend myself 
 to so infamous a transaction/ It is very evident that this powder 
 was to do something more than merely send me to sleep, for as 
 my two travelling companions never quitted my side, it was im- 
 possible to catch me alone. At night-fall, as the warnings were 
 continued, we barricadoed ourselves in the cabin, piling our trunks 
 against the door, and between that time and midnight, when all 
 was perfectly dark, we heard some one trying the fastenings. 
 Senor Lora immediately got up and heard the footsteps of some 
 one gliding along the passage." 
 
 As regards this very romantic story I shall premise that not 
 having been present when this honest English Christian made the 
 foregoing revelation, I must pass it over in silence, but a little 
 explanation may perhaps throw some light upon it, as also upon 
 the other incidents of the narrative. 
 
 The attendant went to the Commissary's cabin on this occasion 
 under the following circumstances. I had surprised him in close 
 conversation with a gentleman who, as I fancied, was frequently 
 watching Stiior Salazar's movements. Calling him to me after 
 his conference was over, I said: "Tom," (not Frank) "if any- 
 thing happens to Mr. Salazar, I shall hold you responsible." He 
 was stammering out some explanation, when I stopped him with 
 the words : " If you have any declaration to make, go to the cabin 
 and speak with Mr. Salazar himself." 
 
 He did so, and I had almost forgotten the occurrence, when, on 
 arriving at Taboga, he told me that he had been offered a 
 thousand dollars if he consented to put some morphine into the 
 drink of his master. 
 
 This is all I know of the affair, and I therefore dismiss it, 
 without other remark than that it would be absurd indeed to 
 found on this reported revelation of a menial an accusation against 
 the Peruvian Government or against a private individual.^ 
 
 Any way, before giving credence to it, it would be advisable to 
 have the servant put upon his oath, and, in the presence of a 
 
44 
 
 magistrate, confronted with the merchant, Senor L . By this 
 
 means, one might perhaps arrive at the truth. 
 
 As to the passage of the story respecting the proposed abstrac- 
 tion of the papers and the barricading the cabin door at night, I 
 must explain, that throughout this voyage, Seiior Salazar was 
 under the fixed persuasion that his life was to be attempted, and 
 hence the singular precautions to which he alludes. It is true 
 that some one did try the door, but so far from our (his com- 
 panions) attaching any moment to the circumstance, we thought, 
 as was doubtless the case, that in the darkness some one had 
 made a mistake, and, on his discovering it, immediately moved 
 away. To believe otherwise, to believe that any single indi- 
 vidual would attempt anything in a cabin occupied by three 
 persons, two of them officers and armed, surpasses ordinary 
 credibility. 
 
 Senor Salazar continues : 
 
 " On the 1 6th we reached Paita ; on board the steamer were 
 various peasants and Peruvian officers who were to remain at that 
 port ; two of them (one a naval officer) had formed the project of 
 shooting me with their revolvers from a boat if I showed myself 
 on deck. But they had discussed their plans with so little pru- 
 dence that, through the passenger who occupied the adjoining 
 cabin, it came to the ears of the Spanish actress, Dona Matilde 
 Duclos, who was proceeding with her family to the Havana, so 
 that, warned by her, I did not appear on deck until leaving Paita. 
 This officer, by the peasants' statement, had said, ' If we get rid 
 of Mazarredo, we will give you a deal of money, and they will 
 promote me to the rank of Captain of Corvette.' " 
 
 I can readily conceive the astonishment which an Englishman, 
 who is accustomed in all matters of accusation to look for the 
 proofs with which they are supported, will feel at such loose 
 statements as the foregoing being uttered by a public diplomatic 
 official, and received by a Minister of State as good evidence 
 against the accused ! If we are to take as gospel all these 
 wondrous revelations, which crowd upon us more thickly than in 
 the tales that are dished up for the especial consumption of the 
 readers of some of the penny journals, we must believe that the 
 Peruvian G-overnment is so unscrupulous that it stops at no 
 measures to be rid of a disagreeable adversary, and that the 
 Peruvian people are so degraded that tools are to be found among 
 all classes ready to commit the basest of crimes. 
 
 "Would it not be thought the proper course for a gentleman in 
 Senor Salazar' s position to prove by means of affidavits, or other 
 binding forms, the serious charges which he brings, and openly 
 publishes to the world ? And, if he cannot so substantiate them, 
 to suppress them altogether ? Is it sufficient to thrust them thus 
 publicly forward upon the mere report of individuals, designated 
 
45 
 
 by initials ; and is he justified, even supposing his facts to be as 
 he states them, in laying these charges at the door of the au- 
 thorities of Peru, because, to use his own words, he left no private 
 enemies in the country ? 
 
 Comment on the foregoing passage of the narrative would seem 
 superfluous if the Spanish Minister, Senor Pacheco, had not 
 allowed it to pass muster, and were not apparently disposed to 
 support both that and kindred assertions with such powerful 
 arguments as iron-plated steamers and other paraphernalia of war. 
 
 Concluding, therefore, that the incidents alluded to must be of 
 greater worth than I should otherwise have attached to them, I 
 must express my regret that Senor Salazar has suppressed the 
 name of that gallant naval officer who aspired to be promoted to 
 the rank of " Captain of Corvette," if he were fortunate enough 
 to put an end to the career of the Special Commissary. For the 
 information of the public I can inform them that there was but 
 one Peruvian naval officer on board the "Talca" on the occasion 
 alluded to, and, if I am not mistaken, he was a deputy of the 
 Captain of the Port at Paita. 
 
 And will Senor Salazar or Mile. Duclos kindly inform us who 
 the passenger was whose cabin adjoined that of the conspirators, 
 and who overheard and reported their conversation ? 
 
 To resume : 
 
 " I thought that my adventures were to terminate here, and 
 scarce thought it necessary to observe the ordinary behaviour of 
 the passengers, but it really was but the beginning of them. 
 
 M. E feigned, when at Paita, no doubt with a view to 
 
 inspire me with confidence, that the Captain of the Port was 
 desirous of seizing him ; and then, after a scene where much talk 
 and insultiDg language were used, sat down quietly to drink 
 champagne with the authorities of the town ; a proceeding which 
 was not very calculated to induce me to fall into his nets." 
 
 This is another of the numerous instances of misrepresentation 
 of facts to suit a purpose to which I have more than once had 
 occasion to allude as a distinguishing feature of Senor Salazar's 
 narrative. 
 
 The Captain of the Port did not merely feign to arrest M. E , 
 but did in fact arrest him and bring him on board the steamer bound 
 for Panama ; and he moreover put a guard over him to prevent 
 his returning to Callao. The motives which induced the Cap- 
 tain of the Port to take this step, would have justified him in 
 adopting still harsher ones ; and if I do not here reveal them, the 
 Special Commissary ought to feel grateful for my silence. 
 
 As to the champagne which was drunk on the occasion, I cannot 
 but admire Senor Salazar's ingenuity in thus wresting from a 
 simple incident a meaning of so significant a kind. 
 
 It happened that among the passengers was a kindly tempered 
 gentleman, by name Miro Quesada, who having a great dislike to 
 
46 
 
 squabbles, and wishing to obliterate from memory the disagreeable 
 scene of the arrest, invited the Captain of the Port, M. E , and 
 several of the passengers to take wine with him. They consented 
 and drank, and Senor Quesada paid the score. What comes then 
 of all this story of manoeuvres "to inspire confidence," and danger 
 to personal safety ? 
 
 The narrative continues : 
 
 "I learnt indirectly through this gentleman the contents of a 
 letter which I had written the day previous to Don Mariano 
 Prado, our Charge d'Affaires at Quito ; it was entrusted to the 
 Clerk of the steamer, and notwithstanding that it was in a double 
 envelope for the English Consul at Guayaquil, it was opened by 
 the Post Office authorities at Paita. Fortunately I had put 
 nothing in it that was of importance." 
 
 This charge is as serious as it is sweeping. It raises a doubt as 
 to the integrity of the Purser of the steamer (who was not a Pe- 
 ruvian), and openly attacks the Post Office officials at Paita, thus 
 raising a feeling of distrust throughout the community of South 
 America as to the safety of their correspondence ; for it must be 
 borne in mind that all the mails from Europe to Ecuador, Bolivia, 
 Chili, and Peru pass through the hands of the agents referred to. 
 But can this story be true ? Would one single quarter of an 
 hour, the time that the passengers remained on shore, suffice 
 for the contents of Senor Salazar's letter to be made known ? 
 
 The narrative runs on : 
 
 " There was on board the " Talca" a Frenchman, who, desirous 
 of paying but little for his passage, had offered himself, as was 
 frequently the case, to serve at the passengers' table. On the eve 
 of reaching Panama, he came to inform me that the said M. E 
 had desired lam to bring a small bottle of ale to his cabin, where 
 he said to him, 'I have remarked that Senor Salazar takes a bottle 
 just like this at his dinner ; if you give him this, after putting 
 into it a white powder (showing a paper packet), I will make you 
 a present of 300 dollars down.' The Frenchman, instead of 
 accepting the proposal, related the occurrence to several of the 
 passengers. Directly I heard of it, being unable to restrain my 
 anger, I called M. E , shut him up in his own cabin, and had 
 my suspicions confirmed by the mode in which he replied to the 
 unmeasured terms in which I accused him. He excused himself 
 in a miserable way, and with faltering aspect drank the contents 
 of the bottle before me to prove his innocence. I complained to 
 the Captain of the steamer, who corroborated the rumours which 
 had reached my ears as to the intentions of certain Peruvians, and 
 we were both of opinion that a formal plaint should be made 
 before the French Consul at Panama, as E had had plenty of 
 time to get rid of the evidence of his intended crime. I must 
 mention here that both the man Frank, and the Frenchman 
 alluded to, enjoy the beat reputation." 
 
47 
 
 Senor Salazar appears in the foregoing exciting incident, in 
 quite a novel character. Hitherto, we have observed him wonder- 
 fully careful of his person ; according to his own confession, very 
 unwilling to appear on deck as a mark for aspiring naval officers 
 to fire at, and barricading his cabin with portmanteaus to prevent 
 the entrance of midnight purloiners and assassins. But on this 
 occasion, we find him acting with an energy that is quite startling ; 
 shutting himself up alone in Captain Eurange's cabin, and 
 compelling that gentleman to go through a little private perform- 
 ance to prove his innocence, while he assails him in the most "un- 
 measured terms." 
 
 I can say nothing about the truth of a story which had but two 
 actors, one of them the narrator, and no spectators ; but I 
 refuse to give it credence, because I find one of the premises to be 
 false. The M. E alluded to had no cabin of his own, and there- 
 fore could not be shut up in it. His sleeping place was in the 
 after saloon, where he occupied a berth with Messrs. Galesi, a 
 Peruvian doctor, whose name has escaped me, and two others. 
 All those gentlemen had paid first-class fare and were therefore 
 entitled to cabins, but the steamer " Talca " being a small vessel, 
 several of the first-class passengers were compelled to sleep in the 
 dining saloon, and others, as I have stated, in the after saloon. 
 
 But what are we to think of the passage referring to Captain 
 Galloway, the gentleman in command of the steamer, who, respon- 
 sible as he is for the safety of his passengers, allowed rumours of 
 attempts to be made on Senor Saiazar's life without an effort to 
 inquire into or stay them ; and says not a word of their being 
 afloat, until the Special Commissary broaches the subject ? This 
 is a grave charge, and it behoves Captain Galloway to clear his 
 reputation of it, lest his silence be misconstrued. By coming for- 
 ward, either to corroborate or refute this declaration of Senor 
 Salazar, he will be doing a public service, and if I judge him cor- 
 rectly he will not fail to do so when this romantic story shall reach 
 his ears. 
 
 It is a singular fact that although the Special Commissary insists 
 upon accusing Peru, her government and people, of these con- 
 tinued attempts upon his life, and has induced his superior, Senor 
 Pacheco, to coincide with his views, he has, up to this point of his 
 narrative, brought upon the scene as the intended assassins, 
 Frenchmen, Englishmen, any countrymen but Peruvians. The 
 Senor L for instance is a Canadian ; M. E is a Frenchman ; 
 and the two men in attendance are English and French respec- 
 tively. Is it at all likely that the Peruvian Government, if bent 
 on taking Senor Salazar's life, should have used foreign agents for 
 such a purpose ? 
 
 "With respect to the Commissary's assurance that both the attend- 
 ant, Frank, and the Frenchman enjoyed the best reputation, I can 
 only say as regards the former, that if he did enjoy such reputation, 
 he did not deserve it. His honesty may be judged from the fact that 
 
48 
 
 he was paid at Taboga by Senor Emilio Galesi, the sum of four 
 dollars, partly in requital of his service and partly as prepayment 
 for the removal of the trunks of his (Sefior Galesi's) sick cousin. 
 Honest Prank pocketed the money with a Christian spirit of con- 
 tentment, but failed to perform the duty for which it was part 
 consideration. 
 
 The tale then proceeds as follows : 
 
 "We reached that port in the afternoon of the 20th, and I 
 walked about the town, accompanied by the French Consul, Mr 
 Zeltner, without meeting with any molestation. We fell in with 
 the Frenchman whom they had attempted to suborn to poison me 
 and he made a full declaration before the Consul. A short time 
 after we learnt that a Peruvian, an employe of the tailoring 
 establishment at Callao, in connection with the State Navy and 
 the travelling companion of M. E , had struck him before one 
 the hotels for having denounced his friend.. The Frenchman 
 came to make his complaint, and Mr. Zeltner summoned him for 
 the following day." 
 
 As I know most positively that the employe or clerk to whom 
 allusion is here made, is not a Peruvian but an European, I at 
 once call attention to the mistake, for it would ill-accord with the 
 Peruvians' repute for "mildness of character," to find them thus 
 on the slightest provocation, brawling in the public streets. Senor 
 balazar s account too of the quarrel, is not, as I am informed 
 quite the correct one. 
 
 It would appear that the Clerk, a Mr. L , had high words with 
 the Irench servant of excellent reputation, because, when at 
 
 Panama, he denied having said anything against M. E . Whilst 
 
 they were disputing, a certain Gomez, a diamond merchant, came 
 up, and positively declared that the Frenchman had accused 
 Jk E of intending to poison Senor Salazar, and asserted that he 
 had brought the charge in the expectation of reaping a good 
 reward. 
 
 This asseveration of Gomez' led, after some more words, to 
 
 blows, but the whole affair was over in a few minutes, none of 
 
 the parties receiving any serious hurt. 
 
 With regard to the summons for the following day, I can only 
 observe that if there were any intention to issue it, such resolve 
 was never carried out, for the simple reason that Mr. Zeltner left 
 Panama for Aspinwall at half-past four in the morning. But 
 suppose he had issued it, what result could it have led to, since' 
 as Senor Salazar assures the Minister, the assaulting party was a 
 Peruvian? What authority can the French Consul at Panama 
 exercise over Peruvian subjects ? 
 
 I transcribe Senor Salazar' s words in continuation : 
 
 " The seizure of the Islands, known twenty days previously, 
 had not occasioned any great stir at this place ; on the contrary* 
 when General Herran, who had emigrated to Peru, arrived by the 
 
49 
 
 previous packet, charged with a commission from the Government 
 of Lima to purchase munitions of war in the United States, the 
 authorities ordered the troops to be put under arms, directly they 
 heard of his coming, and opposed his crossing the Isthmus." 
 
 The reader will observe that the Spanish Special Commissary 
 thus complacently attributes to a feeling of consideration of the 
 people of Panama towards himself, the steps thus taken against 
 General Herran. Eut the motives of such measures were of a 
 perfectly different kind. General Herran was known to be op- 
 posed to the actual state of affairs, and it was also known that his 
 influence in New Granada, where he had held the post of Minister, 
 was so great, that his presence only was needed to light the torch 
 of civil war in that country. The whole statement is a garbled 
 one ; for General Herran was bound to California on this occasion, 
 and not to the United States ; and the authorities could not be 
 said to prevent his crossing the Isthmus when he had no intention 
 of doing so. 
 
 The story continues : 
 
 " At night-fall, General Iriarte, formerly Commandant General 
 of Panama, whose acquaintance I had made 011 board the " Eeso- 
 lucion" months before, came to inform me that he had learnt from 
 a safe quarter that something disagreeable was hatching against 
 me, and that he thought I had better push on to Colon. M. de 
 Zeltner and the English Consul, Mr. Henderson, called at once 
 upon the Governor of the State ; but his servant replied that he 
 was not at home. Commodore Harvey and Mr. Jerningham, the 
 English Minister at Lima, had given me letters of recommendation 
 from Mr. Petrie, the General Agent of the Pacific Steam Naviga- 
 tion Company to his private agent in Panama. This gentleman 
 transferred the recommendation to Mr. Nelson, Superintendent of 
 the Isthmus Eailway, who displayed his kindness, when he heard 
 what had passed, by lodging me in his own house, ' because,' he 
 said, * no one would believe that the Minister of Spain had taken 
 refuge in the dwelling of the representative of a North American 
 Company, when European Consuls placed their residences at his 
 disposal.' " 
 
 The above passage was doubtless written with the object of 
 contrasting the reception of General Herran with the one accorded 
 to himself; for as, in the one case } he describes nothing but hos- 
 tility and menace, in the other he brings forward the most puerile 
 details in order to exhibit the anxiety to render service. Myself 
 and others put a different construction upon General Iriarte's 
 attentions. Knowing full well the excitable nature of the Panama 
 populace, composed as it is of a most miscellaneous character, he 
 was apprehensive of so strong a " bone of contention " as Her 
 Catholic Majesty's Special Commissary making any stay in the 
 
50 
 
 place, and therefore used every means to get him speedily out of 
 the way. 
 
 The narrative proceeds : 
 
 '* In fact, at half-past ten at night there assembled before the 
 Trench Consulate from thirty to forty negroes, followed by as 
 many boys, who uttered the strangest cries, and made a horrible 
 noise with all sorts of implements. This uproar being over they 
 went away, but before twelve the negroes came back and called 
 out ' Death to Spain ! Death to the Queen ! Down with Prance ! 
 ~the Emperor ! General Pinzon and myself !' They then smashed 
 the windows of the Consulate ; they injured the Imperial Arms, 
 and would have torn down the flag which M. de Zeltner had 
 ordered to be put out when the tumult began, if a person who was 
 v\ iih them had not called out, ' No, no ; don't touch the flag,' when 
 they retired, contenting themselves with pelting it with dirt. I 
 was an ear-witness to these scenes from the house of Mr. Nelson ; 
 and when they were over, the French and English Consuls came 
 in, and it was resolved that M. de Zeltner, Seilor Lora and myself, 
 should leave at four in the morning for Paraiso, the name of a 
 station on the railway about eight miles distant from Panama." 
 
 Senor Salazar here endeavours to convert a paltry demonstra- 
 tion on the part of a ragged mob, who seemed as much moved by 
 fun as mischief, into one of political significance. lie says he 
 heard all that passed from Mr. Nelson's house ; but he describes 
 things which required also a little ocular demonstration to make 
 them valuable as evidence ; otherwise he must repeat them on 
 hearsay ; now I both saw and heard the whole affair, and I assert 
 that, to my knowledge, no windows were smashed and no injury 
 done to the Imperial arms of France. The mob, too, must ha ve 
 had long arms if they intended pulling down the flag, for it hap- 
 pened to be flying at the top of the house. There is some 
 inaccuracy, also, in the Commissary's record of the cries that 
 were uttered. I did not hear them shout " Death to the Em- 
 peror !" or " Death to General Pinzon !" But I did hear them 
 exclaim, " Long live Pinzon!" which I attributed to the fact that 
 during that gentleman's stay at Panama in the month of November 
 last year, he had endeared himself to the townspeople by many 
 acts of kindness. Senor Sulazar suppresses, and for obvious reasons, 
 the cry that was most predominant of all, viz., "Death to the 
 truce of 40 years !" The recording such a circumstance might 
 have read as an uncomfortable commentary on that principle of 
 " revindication" which was promulgated on the 14th of April, 
 with the seizure of the Chincha Islands ; and he therefore perhaps 
 deemed it most prudent to suppress it. 
 
 His story follows on thus : 
 
 " Mr. Nelson gave me the two annexed letters, numbered 1 and 
 2, for the chief official of the station at Panama, Senor Diaz, and 
 
51 
 
 for the station-master at Paraiso, Mr. Hughes ; but after mature 
 reflection, he preferred accompanying us himself in the vehicle 
 that was to convey us to the station. This was a hand-car, 
 uncovered, which, moved by two men by means of a species of 
 mechanism, can run upon rails at the rate of seven or eight miles 
 an hour. On reaching the station, Mr. Nelson said to me: 'I 
 will give you two confidential negroes who will accompany you to 
 Paraiso. You will there wait for the train which brings the 
 treasure from California (the specie train), and by this means 
 avoid all annoyance. I have the telegraph at my disposal, and 
 will give orders to prevent any suspicious message from being 
 transmitted.' Seiior Diaz added, that during the night several 
 negroes had gone along the line, and advised us to proceed with 
 great care. We got our pistols in readiness, and in little more 
 than an hour reached the appointed place, in the midst of a storm 
 which wetted us completely through, although it is not improbable 
 it may have saved us from something worse than a wetting." 
 
 The foregoing extract contains a good deal of matter of a per- 
 fectly indifferent character, and as it does not bear upon the 
 question at issue may be dismissed with a few passing words. 
 The party of travellers were of course justified in taking such 
 precautions for their personal safety as they considered the gravity 
 of their position required ; and not even Senor Salazar, who can 
 scent out a plot with almost as keen a nose as King Jamie him- 
 self, of glorious memory, will attempt to prove that the wetting 
 which he publicly records was specially designed by the Peruvian 
 G-overnment to make him uncomfortable. He however perhaps 
 holds that it was sent by a special Providence to guard him from 
 the machinations of his enemies, for he observes that " it is not 
 improbable it may have saved us from something worse than a 
 wetting." 
 
 But the words which Senor Salazar puts into the mouth of 
 Mr. Nelson, if correctly reported, make that gentleman liable to 
 a serious charge. The telegraph is a public institution, estab- 
 lished under certain conditions, it is for the use of the public, and 
 no official having it under his control, is justified in making it an 
 instrument for the exclusive advantage of any private individual. 
 The story is a doubtful one; but under any circumstances, the 
 freedom with which the Special Commissary compromises persons 
 in responsible positions in order to make out his own case, is 
 an ugly peculiarity which will not escape the attention of the 
 reader. 
 
 He then proceeds : 
 
 " At Paraiso I conceived the happy idea of continuing on instead 
 of stopping ; we changed our negroes, and resting every four 
 miles arrived at Colon (Aspinwall) at a quarter to one. Im- 
 mediately on my alighting, the station-master handed to me the 
 
 E 
 
52 
 
 annexed telegram, marked 3, to the effect that Mr. Nelson had 
 refused to allow several very suspicious messages from going 
 forward. Mr. Nelson was under the impression that we should 
 start from Paraiso by the specie train. By that train, the 
 employe of the tailoring establishment at Callao had in fact crossed 
 the Isthmus, and as I was informed afterwards, on board the 
 steamer by Mr. Madellan (the master of one of the intermediate 
 stations), he had exhibited the utmost surprise and annoyance 
 when he learnt that I must be already on board the " Solent." I 
 may here observe that the speed with which we traversed the 
 forty-eight miles freed us from other danger ; for as Mr. Nelson 
 was not aware of our having continued on by the hand carriage, 
 he had given no notice to the guard of the train, and it would 
 have been very easy for us to have been run down by the one 
 conveying the specie. 
 
 " The train that followed brought on M. K with a party of 
 
 negroes wretchedly attired, armed with chopping-knives and 
 revolvers. On reaching Paraiso, where they expected to fall in 
 with me, they sought for me in every direction. They then took 
 counsel and decided upon going on. They were seen in the train, 
 in one of the carriages (an American one, holding forty passen- 
 gers), by Sir Greville Smythe, Bart., Captain Paul,M. Daignoux, 
 one of the proprietors of the Hotel Aspinwall at Panama, M. Leon 
 Plaus de Couteret, M. Peyroux de Pontacq, Messieurs Pontanilly, 
 Eiembasc and others, foreigners and Spaniards. Of the latter I 
 shall subsequently speak. As to the foreigners, they assured me 
 that if the negroes had fallen in with me, there would have been a 
 terrible struggle, for all wero disposed to take up my defence." 
 
 Passing over, in my comments on the foregoing extract, the 
 mysterious re-appearance somewhere on the road, of the tailors' 
 clerk, who, according to Mr. Madellan, gave vent to his surprise 
 and annoyance at having missed the Special Commissary, 1 am 
 bound to express my sympathy at the awful danger run by Senor 
 Salazar of being crushed by a train which did not arrive at Aspin- 
 wall until Tie had been Jive hours at least on board the Solent ! My 
 feelings are modified by the reflection, that, as he had a nine hours' 
 start of the specie train, and as the distance to be run over was 
 only forty-eight miles, the peril he encountered was not very im- 
 minent after all. He is correct in stating that a suspicious party 
 of negroes came on by that train ; but not so in the assertion that 
 on reaching Paraiso they " sought about for him in every direc- 
 tion." The train only stopped about one or two minutes in that 
 place, and had any of the passengers wandered away, they would 
 most certainly have been left behind. Senor Salazar instances 
 certain persons who observed the negroes, but one among them 
 at least, M. Daignoux, could not have seen them. That gentle- 
 man was at Panarnd at the very time referred to, and did not 
 
53 
 
 arrive at Aspinwall till half-past seven that night, having come on 
 bj a slow train. 
 
 Senor Salazar then proceeds : 
 
 " The negroes and the two emissaries came up as far as the very 
 wharf where the steamer was moored. The Captain of the 
 "Solent," for whom the English Consul in Panama had given me 
 a letter, and his officers ordered them off; but the emissaries 
 managed to come on board. M. E even succeeded in speak- 
 ing to me, and begged that I would intercede with the French 
 Consul so as to prevent any further proceedings ; he said that the 
 Frenchman withdrew his charge and other things of a similar 
 kind ; to this I replied before Mr. Zeltner, ' The French Consul 
 will do what he may consider advisable.' " 
 
 Senor Salazar here asserts that the Captain of the " Solent," 
 together with his officers, drove away from the wharf the negroes 
 who, armed as he has described, had travelled from Panama to 
 Aspinwall for the purpose of taking his life. 
 
 Will the Captain of the "Solent" and his officers make an 
 affidavit to that effect, and declare that they did so because they 
 were of opinion that the ragged band meant mischief to the 
 Spanish Commissary's person ? If so, it will give a colour of 
 truth to this assertion. By Senor Salazar's own showing, they 
 could not keep out the ringleaders, for they actually forced their 
 way on board and had speech of the envoy. 
 
 And what are the proceedings to which he alludes ? None cer- 
 tainly had as yet been taken, and how could they be initiated or 
 gone on with in the absence of the prosecutor ? The whole is a 
 tissue of contradictions; for if the Frenchman alluded to had 
 retracted his supposititious charge there did not even remain a 
 witness against M. B . 
 
 Again, are Aspinwall and Panama French Colonies that the 
 Consul of the Empire is to do "what he may consider advisable" 
 in the matter ? Besides, had not Senor Salazar himself spoken to 
 the friendly feeling towards him of General Triarte and many 
 other parties in Panama, both officials and private individuals, 
 and were not they much more likely were they not indeed the 
 parties to take up the affair rather than the French Consul ? 
 
 But what becomes of the statement of the Special Commissary 
 when I assert, as I unhesitatingly do, that it was at Senor Sala- 
 zar's request, made to Messrs. B and L through me, his 
 
 private Secretary, that those gentlemen went on board the 
 I' Solent" to have an interview with him ? What passed at that 
 interview I cannot, of course, reveal ; but as the manner in which 
 it was brought about is incorrectly stated, no great value can be 
 attached to the Spanish envoy's revelation of what took place 
 at it. 
 
 He then goes on : 
 
 " On board the steamer, the North American Consul at Colon, 
 
 E 2 
 
54 
 
 Mr. Mac Eice, presented himself to me and offered his services 
 under these critical circumstances. 
 
 " A short time afterwards, the Callao employe approached the 
 Spanish bullfighter Marin, who was proceeding with us in order 
 to cross from St. Thomas to the Havana. Marin knew him to be 
 from Peru, assailed him in the strongest terms of abuse, and if I 
 had not interfered, he would have knocked him down on board the 
 
 steamer. Both he and E confessed to Marin that the scene 
 
 at Paita was a regular comedy, and that they had obtained some 
 dollars and had the promise of 20,000 more if they suc- 
 ceeded in getting possession of my papers. That is to say, that it 
 was the story of the steamer " Talca" continued. But were so 
 many armed negroes required for such a purpose ? Should I 
 have allowed my papers to be taken from me? And what 
 would have been the result of the struggle which must have 
 ensued?" 
 
 So we find from this strange story, Messrs. L and E- , 
 
 those redoubted chieftains, at length coming out in their true' 
 colours, and, honest for once, actually confessing the part they 
 had taken in the foregoing persecution, and the reward they 
 were to receive if successful in it. But to whom do they make 
 the revelation ? Is it to some Father of the Church, who by the 
 ecclesiastical laws is a safe depositary of human secrets ? By no 
 means. The avowal is made to an erring mortal like themselves, 
 a Spanish Bullfighter ! Doubtless, it was the indignation caused 
 by this confession of their villainy which roused the Torero to 
 such a pitch as to almost knock them down on the deck of the 
 steamer, although Seiior Salazar reverses the order and makes 
 them quarrel first, and be boon companions afterwards j with a 
 man too of the lowest class, as his occupation betrays, and who 
 was indebted to Senor Salazar's own bounty for the very journey 
 he was taking. 
 
 Seriously, how comes it that I, who was on board the vessel, 
 and had the actors of the singular scenes thus described constantly 
 in sight, knew nothing of this quarrel until the appearance of 
 Senor Salazar's letter ? And yet, if Marin had been concerned in 
 it, and had carried it on to the point alluded to, where words, 
 namely, are about to give way to blows, I could scarcely have been 
 ignorant of the fact, or indeed any individual on board, for of all 
 the noisy fellows I ever fell in with, Master Marin was about 
 the most boisterous. 
 
 It is a thousand pities that the confession about the money 
 part of the transaction should be so meagre, for could Senor 
 Salazar have boldly asserted ^vho it was that advanced the 2000 
 dollars in cash, and was to advance the 20,000 more, it would 
 have saved a vast amount of conjecture, and prevented the sus- 
 picion being cast perhaps upon the wrong parties. It stands as 
 an isolated and doubtful assertion, and I shall greatly err, if 
 
55 
 
 thinking men will in its present shape attach the slightest weight 
 to it. 
 
 To resume the narrative : 
 
 " In spite of ^everything, the employe referred to did not con- 
 sider that his mission was at an end, and it came to our knowledge 
 that he intended to take a ticket for Southampton. M. Zeltner, 
 however, observed aloud, ' This man last night ill-treated a French 
 subject, and I shall resolutely oppose his embarkation/ As soon 
 as this threat reached ^ his ears, he quietly went off to join his 
 negroes, who kept within pistol-shot of the steamer ; not without, 
 however, previously exclaiming that if I came ashore, he would 
 blow my brains out. 
 
 " On board the steamer I received a letter from a Spanish mer- 
 chant established at Panama, advising me of the journey of the 
 negroes and their intentions. I cannot find it among my papers, 
 but Senor Garcia is very well known there. 
 
 " The authorities of the Isthmus did nothing to prevent their 
 excesses, and I have, upon this point, written likewise to the 
 Captain-general of the Island of Cuba. The head of the police 
 at Panama, when accused for his indifference, replied, ' that if he 
 quarrelled with those few negroes, there was reason to fear that 
 all the others would make common cause with them, and that the 
 result might be as fatal as the emeute which occurred a few years 
 back, and that cost many North Americans their lives,' " 
 
 Passing over in the foregoing extract the extraordinary autho* 
 rity with which M. Zeltner is invested by our Special Commissary, 
 I cannot help expressing my admiration at the boldness of the 
 man, who, in order to pleasure his protege, thus beards the ring- 
 leader of a band of negroes, armed as we have seen, and who were 
 within pistol shot of the steamer, ready to answer his call ! 
 
 "With respect to Senor Garcia, to whom he alludes, and whose 
 wonderful power of divination in penetrating the intentions of the 
 negroes is not obscurely hinted at, I cannot forget that Seilor 
 Salazar did not always speak of him so politely. The using his 
 name in the way in which it appears in this extract, is another 
 proof of how little the Spanish envoy is stayed by any scruples 
 when he has a purpose to serve. He is right in stating that 
 Garcia is well known at Panama : perhaps better known than 
 trusted. Does Senor Salazar forget how that worthy gentleman 
 charged him 540 reals, or 5. 10s. sterling, for merely forwarding 
 a small trunk and hat box from Panama to Aspinwall ? 
 
 The Spanish Commissary is unjustly severe upon the Chief of 
 the Police at Panama for his so-called indifference to the charivari 
 at that place, when we all passed through it. His reply, even as 
 reported by Senor Salazar, was by no means an unreasonable 
 one. That functionary had but thirty-two men at his disposal, 
 and as he saw the mob contenting itself with empty noise he very 
 wisely refrained from interference. If our Special Commissary 
 
56 
 
 had only possessed a little of the discretion displayed by the 
 Panama Police Officer, and which he is so ready to condemn, it is 
 just possible that the present hostile attitude between two kin- 
 dred nations might have been avoided. 
 
 "These are in simple form," observes Senor Salazar in conclu- 
 sion, " the facts of the case. From St. Thomas I wrote to the 
 Captain- General of Cuba to draw up an official account of the 
 affair. At the Havana, whither proceeded Senor Lora and various 
 Spaniards, viz. the actors Ortiz and Duclos, the bullfighter Marin, 
 a Banderillero (Hag carrier in bull fights) whose name I do not 
 remember, and others to the number of ten, proper declarations 
 will have been made by those parties." 
 
 It is to be hoped so. It is most desirable that proper declara- 
 tions should be made; but one would have thought that the 
 Minister of Spain would wait till some such documentary evidence 
 came forward before so readily endorsing a narrative whose pueri- 
 lities and reckless assertions are patent to every attentive reader. 
 
 The narrative of Senor Salazar winds up as follows : 
 
 " In view of the foregoing, it is evident that my life has been 
 saved by a miracle, and I believe that Her Majesty's Government 
 will be doing an act of justice by expressing its thanks to Com- 
 modore Harvey of the English Navy, to the Superintendent of 
 the Isthmus Eailway,Mr. Nelson, to the Consuls, Messrs. Zeltner, 
 Henderson, and MacEice, for the support given by them to ita 
 representative ; and such thanks are more especially due to the 
 Trench Consul, as he ran serious danger in performing the act of 
 abnegation of which I have made mention. 
 
 " I \\ill close this despatch with one simple reflection ; that I 
 have not left in Lima any personal enemies. The expense occa- 
 sioned by the wicked attempts referred to, must have been very 
 considerable, for the mere crossing of the Isthmus costs 500 reals 
 a head, and as it is scarcely to be supposed that patriotic enthusi- 
 asm against my humble person could assume such proportions, I 
 may be permitted to ask, * Who was interested in the committal 
 of such attempts ? And who, feeling such interest, could have 
 incurred so vast an outlay ?' ' 
 
 The conclusion at which Senor Salazar wishes us to arrive is 
 obvious. As he asserts that he had no personal enemies in Lima, 
 and yet his life was in imminent danger from poison, the bullet, 
 and the chopping knife, from the moment of his quitting it until 
 he stood beneath the flag of England bound for its shores, his 
 would-be assassins must be public ones, must in fact be emissaries 
 of the Peruvian Government, who alone, as he carefully insinu- 
 ates, could have borne the expense, 
 
 The reader must decide, after a perusal of the Spanish envoy's 
 letter (which I have, although in detached portions, transcribed 
 in its entirety) and the light which my personal knowledge has 
 
57 
 
 been able to throw upon it, what credence should be given to 
 these^ heavy charges against the authorities of Peru. 
 
 It is natural to suppose that a man whose insulting words had 
 wounded the pride of an entire nation, and whose unscrupulous 
 deed had just deprived the Republic of one of the main sources of 
 her revenue, would not meet with particular courtesy at the hands 
 of the Peruvians who happened to cross his path ; it is also not 
 improbable that some of the more unscrupulous among them would 
 have done him a mischief if they had found the opportunity ; but 
 it is base to endeavour by such assertions as I have exposed to 
 cast a stigma upon a whole people, and most wicked by such insi- 
 dious accusations to raise to a still higher pitch the angry feelings 
 already excited. 
 
 The more, however, one reflects upon the matter, the greater 
 becomes the hope of a pacific solution to the present difficulties. 
 It cannot be that the act of a man, capable of inditing such 
 a tissue of misrepresentations as is here set forth, will be permitted 
 to plunge whole nations into all the horrors of war. The idea is 
 too preposterous to be entertained ; common sense forbids it ; and 
 although in the course of this unhappy dispute, it is a commodity 
 that has been very sparingly used, I still believe, as I do most 
 fervently pray, that it will ultimately prevail. 
 
 POSTSCEIPT. Before closing these pages, I cannot refrain 
 from laying before my readers a letter which appeared on the 14th 
 of July in one of the official organs of Madrid; " El Eco del Pais," 
 to which Seiior Salazar y Mazarredo is a contributor. The effusion 
 will at least confirm what I have before stated, viz. the utter 
 recklessness with which assertions are made, when a purpose has 
 to be served or a spite to be vented. It is fortunate in produc- 
 tions like the present that the cunning with which they are com- 
 posed is inferior to the venom that they contain, and that their 
 very animus almost invariably betrays their worthlessness. 
 
 " Panama, 20th June, 1864. 
 
 " On the steamer ' Chile ' arriving off Pisco (Peru), there 
 came on board, requesting a passage to Panama, two officers of 
 the Spanish squadron in the Pacific ; their request was immedi- 
 ately complied with. 
 
 " Those passengers were Don Jose Oreyro, second commander 
 of the Spanish frigate '^Resolution,' and the other an officer also 
 of the Spanish navy. Seiior Oreyro at once, in presence of wit- 
 
58 
 
 nesses, and with the greatest solemnity possible in such cases 
 
 rM th f apt f U0f the Burner" Cliile,'' a well closed bag! 
 sealed with red wax, bearing a clear impress of the arms of France 
 the bag itself being addressed to the French Consul at Panama 
 
 H Offl f P 6 rmg thi 5 bagj . efi r re ? ro said thafc ifc contained 
 the Official Correspondence between France and Spain, that he 
 wished it to be put into the iron safe, so as to prevent any risk of 
 i being stolen, and kept and conveyed under his (the Captain's) 
 responsibility. Captain Sivell took the bag and had it scored in 
 the ron safe; in a word, the correspondence between Spain and 
 trance was deposited in the hands of an English Admiralty Agent 
 on board a ship of war of Great Britain 
 
 fWlS tb % af L ernoor i of the 19th of June, the steamer arrived in 
 the J3ay of Panama, and before any of the passengers landed 
 Senor Oreyro asked Captain Sivell for the bag containing tl'e cor! 
 respondent which he had consigned to his care in the Bay of 
 Pisco. The Captain ordered the Purser to deliver up the W 
 which he did at once, without the slightest remark ; but on 
 receiving it, Senor Oreyro observed that the seal had been broken 
 and half covered with common wax, the cord which closed the baz 
 USS. u? m ? V f dj the corres P<>ndence stolen and its place sup- 
 , M.v i^^ and envelopes, addressed to various parties 
 
 "The Captain, instead of preventing anyone from going ashore 
 
 Before reporting the matter to H. B. Majesty's Consul or to 
 
 ither of the Commanders of the two English war vessels which 
 
 were lying at anchor near him, allowed the passengers to land and 
 
 uiS? S ^> epS whatsoever to c] ear the honour of Great Britain. 
 
 11 Purser endeavours to exonerate himself by saying that 
 without doubt the theft was committed in Callao, but no one 
 believes this, not even the Purser himself. On board the < Chile' 
 there embarked at Callao and came on to Panama on the 19th 
 June two persons, worthy servants of Peru (judging them by 
 their deeds), and unfortunately well known to Seiior Don Eusebio 
 balazar y Mazarredo, against whom, as all the world knows, they 
 plotted at Panama and Colon, in the month of May. 
 
 " Those two individuals, Juan Noguier and Eugene Buveran 
 are French renegades. According to their confidential reports! 
 the assertions of their friends and private letters from Lima, they 
 are commissioned by the Peruvian Government, especially to Steal 
 official correspondence, to persecute diplomats wherever they may 
 tall m with them, and who knows what more ! 
 
 "In exclusion, the Purser of the ' Chile* 'is a Peruvian, and 
 Captain Sivell is married in Lima." 
 
 The writer of this precious epistle doubtless fancies that the 
 inference to be drawn from the concluding remark will be a 
 clincher ; but what must be the state of a cause which is attempted 
 to be bolstered up by silly letters such as these ? 
 
59 
 
 Any way, the composition is well worthy of its author, whether 
 it be written by Monsieur Zeltner, as the " Espiritu Publico" seems 
 to think, or by his whilom protege Senor Eusebio de Salazar. 
 
 Its origin, and the origin of many others published at the same 
 time, is clearly this. The famous despatch of the 20th June, 
 which we have recently taken occasion to analyse, required some 
 collateral support, and it is obtained by the insertion of this and 
 similar letters in the Spanish journals. 
 
 " Dans le pays des aveugles, les lorgnes sont rois /" says the old 
 proverb, and true it is, that the mass of readers must necessarily 
 be so ignorant of matters occurring at distant points of the globe 
 and of the localities where they are enacted, that it becomes com- 
 paratively easy for those who have but a trifling knowledge to 
 impose upon them. They cannot, however, deceive the initiated ; 
 and when I turn to the letter in question I find an error at the 
 very outset. Don Jose Oreyro was not second commander of the 
 " Resolucion ;" the gentleman who holds that position being Don 
 Pedro Ossa y Geraldo, an officer of distinction and promise. The 
 name of Oreyro nowhere appears upon the frigate's books, and no 
 officer of that name proceeding from the flag-ship of the Spanish 
 Pacific squadron could have embarked at Pisco. 
 
 Passing this over, however, I come upon a passage which 
 betrays the romance writer by profession. The circumstantiality 
 of the description and the solemn way in which the subject is 
 introduced and the reader prepared for something mysterious and 
 strange, are in their way not devoid of cleverness : 
 
 " Senor Oreyro at once, in presence of witnesses, and with the 
 greatest solemnity possible in such cases, delivered to the Captain 
 of the steamer ' Chile ' a well-closed bag, sealed with red wax, 
 bearing a clear impress of the arms of France ; the bag itself being 
 addressed to the French Consul at Panama." 
 
 But why the arms of France, since the bag was supposed to 
 contain the despatches of the Spanish authorities, and was being 
 conveyed by a Spanish official ? Scarcely do we learn that the 
 Imperial Arms were sacrilegiously defaced, and Frenchmen 
 thereby made to feel uneasy at the audacity of some party or 
 parties unknown, but pretty clearly hinted at a little farther on, 
 than England comes in for her share of insult, as thus : " The 
 correspondence of Spain and France was deposited in the hands 
 of an English Admiralty Agent on board a ship of war of Great 
 Britain." 
 
 Unfortunately for the veracity of the writer, every person who, 
 of late years, has travelled from Valparaiso to Panama, is aware 
 that there is no Admiralty Agent in the Pacific, and that under no 
 circumstances is a mail-bag transferred to an English vessel of 
 war. But what has the author of this tissue of calumnies and 
 absurdities to do with truth ? Is he not at least fully acquainted 
 with the correctness of the doctrine, " Throw plenty of mud, and 
 
60 
 
 some of it is sure to stick," and does he not thoroughly act up to 
 it ? His story goes on to say, that " when the steamer arrived in 
 the Bay of Panama, and before any of the passengers landed, 
 Senor Oreyro asked Captain Si veil for the bag, &c." In order to 
 understand what a wonderful feat this Senor Oreyro here per- 
 formed, it is necessary to know that the " Chile," on account of 
 her draught of water, or some other cause, does not go further 
 than Taboga ; on this occasion, however, most probably with a 
 view "to point a moral and adorn this tale," she is made to go 
 up to Panama ! 
 
 The authorship of the epistle peeps out in unmistakeable terms 
 in the concluding paragraphs, for not only the style of the com- 
 position, but the unscrupulous use of slanderous assertions, in- 
 dicates that the famous Despatch is own brother to the letter 
 under review. But why, I would ask, is our old acquaintance 
 
 M. E , and whom I have before described to bo Captain 
 
 Euverange, converted into Eugene Euveran? And why does 
 
 another old acquaintance, formerly introduced to us as M. L 
 
 now assume a different cognomen ? 
 
 But I am ashamed to continue the critical examination of a 
 document which would be beneath contempt if the malice which 
 dictated it and the great interests that it helps to imperil did not 
 give it and similar productions an undue weight. I have done 
 enough, however, to enable those who wish to judge with fairness 
 to form an unbiassed opinion ; and if I were to fill volumes with 
 commentaries I could scarcely hope to succeed in convincing 
 those whose minds are clouded by prejudice and passion. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE following extract of the circular of Seiior Pacheco, the 
 Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, to the Representatives of 
 Her Catholic Majesty at Foreign Courts, dated Madrid, the 24th 
 of June, 1 864, will be perused with interest, as being the docu- 
 ment which accompanied the despatch of Senor Salazar y Mazar- 
 redo, already analysed : 
 
 " I need not speak to your Excellency either of the agitation 
 which has been excited by the above-mentioned incidents, both in 
 Peru and in other parts of America, nor of the unsuccessful steps 
 taken by several of the diplomatic agents resident in Lima, in- 
 tended to bring that Government to an agreement with Senores 
 Pinzon and Salazar. "With regard to those steps, Her Majesty's 
 Government is grateful for them, although they have not produced 
 any effect ; with regard to the agitation, as it was chiefly caused 
 by the idea that it was to revindicate ancient rights, it was natural, 
 and it is natural, that it should have been calmed, or that it will 
 be calmed, so soon as it shall be known in America that Spain 
 and her Government did not admit, but rather had disapproved, 
 such revindication. 
 
 " But I have now to inform you of a matter still more unex- 
 pected by us than the rejection of our agent, and which I do not 
 intend to designate. I mean the voyage to Spain undertaken by 
 Senor Salazar, and I refer to the deplorable circumstances which 
 attended it, from the waters of Peru to the passage across the 
 Isthmus of Panama and the arrival at Colon. 
 
 "What occurred in the voyage to which I allude, your Excel- 
 lency will find related in extenso in the despatch of Senor Salazar 
 himself, copy of which I enclose. It would be useless to repeat 
 it, and I therefore confine myself to a recapitulation thereof in a 
 few words. 
 
 " In the port of Callao, an armed force, with orders from the 
 Peruvian authorities, endeavoured to take possession of the Secre- 
 tary of Senor Salazar, who was on board of an English vessel. 
 
 " From the very port of Callao to Paita (Peru) first, afterwards 
 to Panama, and lastly to Colon or Aspinwall, Senor Salazar was 
 accompanied and followed by certain Peruvians, who, now by 
 means of poison, and now by other modes, endeavoured to put an 
 end to his life. 
 
62 
 
 
 " Of the first of those two acts the attempted capture the 
 Peruvian Government, without any doubt, has the responsibility. 
 Of the second the attacks on the person of Senor Salazar I dare 
 not, I will not, I cannot accuse that Government, because it 
 appears to me impossible that any Government in the world 
 would do it ; but its being done by Peruvians, and appearing to 
 be a continuation of the other act which attaches to the said 
 Government of Peru, there is no doubt that there is reason to call 
 upon it to refute it on its part, and to declare its innocence by 
 giving satisfactory explanations thereupon. 
 
 " Thus it will be said by public opinion on hearing the details 
 of Senor Salazar ; thus it is said by the Spanish Government on 
 hearing the statement of its Eepresentative, which it cannot but 
 look upon as true. 
 
 " It is not possible to hide the importance of these events from 
 your Excellency's penetration and patriotism. They surpass those 
 which preceded them, and they supersede them, because questions 
 of honour take the first place amongst those nations who have a 
 sense of honour in their hearts. 
 
 " In such a state of things your Excellency will understand 
 what the conduct of Spain ought to be and must be who recog- 
 nizes the Eepublic of Peru as an independent, free, and sovereign 
 nation, but who cannot abandon without defence her citizens who 
 reside in that country, nor permit an outrage against her Eepre- 
 sentative. 
 
 " The Spanish Government has not revindicated the Chincha 
 Islands, nor does it think of holding them as a property belonging 
 to it. It declares that it retains them as belonging to Peru, and 
 that it will restore them to Peru. But it holds them now by an 
 act of force calculated to compel that nation to administer justice 
 to Spaniards ; and as the outrages against Senor Salazar have 
 taken place subsequently, it will not restore them until it has 
 received satisfaction for them, and until it is persuaded that such 
 justice will be administered. This appears to us now to be a clear 
 and indisputable right. 
 
 " "We do not wish to humiliate Peru, nor to take away from her 
 anything which is hers ; but, as I have said to your Excellency, 
 we have to place our honour in safety, and we cannot abandon 
 either the rights or the interests of the nation. "We have asked 
 for nothing, we shall ask for nothing, which should humble or 
 degrade that state. In disapproving the conduct of its agents 
 who endeavoured to capture the Secretary of the Spanish repre- 
 sentative, in declaring that it had nothing to do with the criminal 
 attempts made against the latter, and that it is ready to exact 
 punishment for them, in receiving a Commissioner charged to act 
 ("gestionar")for administering justice on the crimes of Talambo, 
 in nothing of this can there be any more than a fulfilment of the 
 obligations incumbent on all of us by reason and justice. That is 
 what we shall demand. "We, on our part, as soon as those satis- 
 
63 
 
 factions are given to us which are required by our rights and our 
 dignity, in that same instant we shall deliver up the Chincha 
 Islands to the Commissioner who shall be nominated by the 
 Government of Peru to receive them. 
 
 " We hope that this will put an end to a difference unpleasant to 
 us, which we have not sought, which we do not exaggerate, but in 
 which we cannot yield what our honour will not allow us to yield. 
 "We had a right to send a Eepresentative to Lima, and the* Go- 
 vernment there had no right to refuse to receive him. We have 
 a right to demand satisfaction for the attempts to which our Ee- 
 presentative was near falling a victim. In the error which that 
 [Representative and Admiral Pinzon committed, expressing ideas 
 which were not those of Her Majesty's Government, I have made 
 no hesitation to disapprove of them : before I knew they had taken 
 possession of the Chincha Islands I protested against the idea of 
 revindicating or of wishing to acquire territory ; after becoming 
 acquainted with their acts I made the same protest with equal 
 frankness, with equal precision. 
 
 " Let not our ideas, then, be misrepresented ; let not our words 
 be forgotten ; let not the basis of our conduct be misunderstood. 
 What we demand is that which we ought to demand, that which, 
 with God's help, we are determined to maintain, that which we 
 cannot persuade ourselves that a civilized nation like Peru will 
 refuse to us. 
 
 " May this explanation serve your Excellency to enlighten your 
 judgment, as also to be a rule and a guide in your relations to the 
 Government of Her Britannic Majesty to which you are accre- 
 dited, to which you may give a copy of this despatch. 
 " God preserve, &c. 
 
 "J. F. PACHECO." 
 
 II. 
 
 In order that my readers may form, an idea of the effect pro- 
 duced among the South American Eepublics by the act committed 
 against Peru, and the motives put forward as a justification for 
 the seizure of the Chinchas by the Spanish Officials, I append a 
 few translations of circulars to which the occasion gave rise, and 
 which I arrange in the order of their date. 
 
 " Argentine Legation in Chili. 
 " Valparaiso, May 1, 1864. 
 
 " The Undersigned, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Argentine 
 Eepublic, accredited to the Eepublic of Peru, according to the 
 authentic copy of the credentials which he has the honour to in- 
 close, hastens to make his appointment known to his Excellency, 
 
64 
 
 induced by the serious nature of the circumstances, in order to 
 make his adhesion to the protest which the foreign Diplomatic body 
 drew up on the 21st April last, in consequence of the violent oc- 
 cupation of the Chincha Islands by Spanish forces, and the un- 
 usual principles upon which it is pretended to give fair appear- 
 ance to an act, the object and form of which are not in accordance 
 with the practice of civilized nations. 
 
 " The Eepublics of South America belong to the community of 
 Christian nations which governs itself by international law ; they 
 exist by their own right, which they themselves have conquered, 
 as proved by history, and secured by universal concurrence ; whilst 
 the people from whom they have severed themselves can in no 
 manner deny their existence, by urging the absence of Treaties or 
 of explicit acknowledgment after forty years renunciation of all 
 pretension of dominion, and a virtual approval of the Treaties of 
 Ayacucho, which put an end to the war between the metropolis 
 and its former colonies. 
 
 " The act consummated by Spanish forces at the Chincha Islands 
 without any of the formalities which precede a declaration of hos- 
 tilities between nations, endangers the peace of the greater part 
 of the South American States, by delivering them up to the un- 
 foreseen hazards which would arise from any toleration of that 
 ignorance of the principles of the law of nations, which the ser- 
 vants of the Crown of Spain proclaim with reference to a portion 
 of the Peruvian territory. 
 
 "The undersigned therefore, awaiting instructions for his 
 future conduct, for which he has applied to his Government, ful- 
 fils a duty belonging to his commission, and does himself honour 
 by inscribing the name of the Argentine Republic amongst those 
 of the States which, through their Ministers Plenipotentiary, 
 have protested against the unusual doctrines and unlawful acts 
 which make the armed occupation of the Chincha Islands by 
 Spanish forces a scandalous exception to those practices and laws 
 which govern the civilized world. At the same time, in his own 
 name, and in that of the Argentine people, the undersigned ac- 
 companies the Government of Peru in the just indignation pro- 
 duced by such unjustifiable proceedings. 
 
 " The undersigned, &c. 
 
 " (signed) D. F. SAKMIENTO. 
 
 " Legation of the United States of Colombia, 
 
 " Valparaiso, May 3rd, 1864. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " The undersigned was yesterday preparing to embark for 
 Lima, which city he had for a time quitted, when, by reason of 
 grave unforeseen events, he finds himself detained for 15 days 
 
65 
 
 more, and for a like period delayed the day for reassuming the 
 exercise of his functions as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
 Plenipotentiary of the United States of Colombia to the Govern- 
 ment of your Excellency. 
 
 " Above all, the undersigned was proposing immediately to adhere 
 to the Declaration^ made on the 20th of April last by the Diplo- 
 matic Body, to which he has the honour to belong, in consequence 
 of the unheard-of outrage committed by the Spanish squadron, 
 denominated " scientific commission," which is under the orders 
 of Admiral Pinzon and the Envoy Mazarredo, by occupying the 
 Chincha Islands, belonging to the Eepublic of Peru, without pre- 
 vious declaration of war, and not eyen as a security or pledge for 
 the payment of preferred claims. 
 
 "If we may judge by the Declaration of MM. Pinzon and Ma- 
 zarredo, in which they set forth the grounds for that act of depre- 
 dation, they proceed in virtue of the right of " revindication" of 
 a property belonging to the Crown of Spain, inasmuch as the war 
 between Spain and Peru was interrupted only by a de facto truce of 
 forty years, counting from the memorable 9th of December, 1824. 
 It is scarcely credible that the insane occupation of Peruvian 
 territory, and the still more insane ground upon which it is sus- 
 tained, can have been dictated by the Government of a nation 
 which calls itself civilized, and which not long ago claimed tt> 
 figure amongst nations of the first rank. But, on the other hand, 
 it is not less difficult to suppose that agents selected by the Spanish 
 Government for a special and important Commission, whatever it 
 be, would dare in so decided a manner to exceed their instruc- 
 tions. 
 
 " Until in possession of other data we must reason upon the 
 last supposition. 
 
 m " Spain invades Peru without previous declaration of war, as a 
 simple continuation of that which the world had looked upon as 
 concluded, and as recovery of property which all nations recognise 
 as belonging to the Peruvian Eepublic, to a Eepublic as indepen- 
 dent as any one of themselves. 
 
 " In such a manifestation one is at a loss which most to admire, 
 its audacity, or its imprudence. Any one might say that Spain 
 coolly and deliberately coofident in her power, and in a right 
 derived we know not whence, comes and knocks at the door of 
 each of its former colonies, now nations of long existence, to give 
 them notice, foolishly and stupidly, that she undertakes the re- 
 conquest of possessions which were, but which have for ever ceased 
 to be hers. 
 
 " Colombia, most excellent Sir, like Peru, is one of these Re- 
 publics, which by their own fault have not been recognised by 
 Spain, and to which with equal force may be applied the declara- 
 tion and argument of the Spanish agents. 
 
 " Nor has Colombia been willing to purchase an independence 
 which the arms and blood of its best sons have gained in innu- 
 
merable combats, and which the names of Torres and of Caldas, of 
 Jirardot, and of Kicaurte, of thousands and thousands more, defend 
 by their own virtue. 
 
 " Consequently, the undersigned has conceived it to be his duty, 
 not merely to adhere to the declaration made by his honourable 
 colleagues. He firmly believes that his Government, and the 
 noble people over which that Government presides, will consider 
 the cause of Peru to be its own in the present emergency, and in 
 every other one of the kind. He thinks, and in so thinking he 
 fears not to differ from that Government and from that people, 
 that the alarm of Spain at the Chinchas will not sound in vain for 
 Colombia ; that, heard throughout her mountains and valleys, it 
 will raise, armed for combat, the old and young, the rich and the 
 poor, all classes and all parties. 
 
 " Tor, if Spain, as it would seem, has learnt nothing during her 
 truce of forty years, America, her former slave, has raised herself 
 to the rank of Sovereign ; has cultivated relations with really 
 civilized nations ; has tasted, even amidst disturbances, the sweets 
 of liberty ; has drawn morality from sources purer than those 
 known to Cortes and to Pizarro, to Pinzon and to Mazarredo ; 
 has shaken off the absurd fanaticism of Philip II. and of Torque- 
 mada ; has acquired a true notion of political and social economy ; 
 has broken the chains of the slave ; and, finally, has learnt to 
 exist without her former master, whose obstinate and proud 
 moroseness has been a constant matter of amazement for hier 
 better instructed descendants. 
 
 "Although the Government of your Excellency cannot doubt the 
 sentiments and purposes of the Colombian Union in the crisis 
 which Peru is going through for her own glory, the undersigned 
 has been unable to resist the desire here to interpret them, in 
 like manner as he desires, very earnestly, that your Excellency 
 will accept, &c. 
 
 (signed) " JUSTO AROSEMENA." 
 
 CIRCULAR ADDRESSED BY THE CHILIAN MINISTER FOR FOREIGN 
 AFFAIRS, TO THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS. 
 
 " Santiago, May 4^, 1864. 
 
 " SIR, 
 
 "The occupation of the Chincha Islands by the naval 
 forces of Spain in the Pacific, has caused in the mind of the 
 Chilian Government the most profound and painful impression, 
 and awakened in all the Eepublic a lively alarm, which will be 
 equally felt from one extremity to the other of the American 
 continent. 
 
 " Her Catholic Majesty's Commissary and the Commander-in- 
 chief of the squadron in the Pacific, under whose personal 
 responsibility this act appears to have been perpetrated, are not 
 
67 
 
 unaware of its gravity, and they have endeavoured to justify it, 
 setting forth, in the declaration issued from the anchorage at the 
 Chincha Islands, the motives which had decided them to take that 
 resolution. 
 
 " If this measure be considered as reprisals, calculated to obtain 
 reparation for some injury or offence proffered to Spain by Peru, 
 it is necessary to inquire if the moment had arrived to appeal to 
 an almost extreme resource, when the pacific measures employed 
 by nations to avoid the calamities of war were not exhausted. 
 
 " The right which Sovereign States ascribe to themselves to 
 obtain justice, is marked by certain proceedings, which the constant 
 practice of nations has constituted as tutelary principles of the 
 peace and harmony upon which the common welfare of societies is 
 based. To deviate from them without a just motive is an offence, 
 which not only affects the interests of the State to which it is 
 proffered, but also involves a general deviation from those general 
 and obligatory rules, in the faithful observance of which all the 
 members of the great family of sovereign and independent nations 
 should interest themselves. 
 
 " The declaration set forth by the Commissary of Her Catholic 
 Majesty, and by the Commander-in-Chief of her squadron in the 
 Pacific, besides being liable to a just censure, viewed in the light 
 which has been indicated, is neither more nor less than the sanction 
 of principles which place in doubt the independence of Peru, and 
 provoke a conflict throughout all America. 
 
 "Thus, the Government of Chili cannot do otherwise than to 
 reprobate, as it does most explicitly, such doctrines, and to protest 
 against them, although confident that they will not be sanctioned 
 by the Government of Her Catholic Majesty. 
 
 (t The independence of Peru, and its existence as a free and 
 Sovereign State, is a fact not to be disputed, and even to doubt 
 this it would be necessary to obliterate the history of half-a-cen- 
 tury, converting into a simple truce what in reality has been a 
 durable and indefinite peace, universally accepted, and acknow- 
 ledged by Spain herself in a long series of public and official acts. 
 The Government of Her Catholic Majesty for many years has 
 invariably styled " Republic" that which formerly was her colony. 
 This is repeated in the credentials of the Commissary, which she 
 has just sent to Lima ; she has received the Consuls of the 
 [Republic and allowed its ships to frequent the ports of the 
 Peninsula, and between the two countries a reciprocal commerce 
 has been maintained without interruption; lastly, she has con- 
 sidered the Peruvians as foreigners in the Peninsula, in the same 
 manner as the Spaniards are looked upon as foreigners in Peru. 
 As a Sovereign State, Peru has negotiated Treaties of Peace, 
 Friendship and Commerce with nations of both Continents ; and 
 with these facts before us, known to the Government of Her 
 Catholic Majesty, can any force be attached, in the face of truth 
 
 F 
 
68 
 
 and the law of nations, to the want of a formal recognition, so as 
 to found upon this a state of truce ? 
 
 " A truce supposes no communication, and it may even be said 
 that this is its characteristic ; nor is a long and indefinite armis- 
 tice ended without a previous declaration of the intention to 
 renew hostilities, an essential formality set forth by the practice 
 of ancient and modern nations. 
 
 " According to the judgment of the Commissary of Her Catholic 
 Majesty and the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific, the Crown of 
 Castille is in a position to recover the dominion of the Chincha 
 Islands, and appears to derive this right as a logical consequence 
 of the supposed truce. A nation constituted for forty years, 
 exercising independently acts of sovereignty throughout all the 
 extension of its territory, is not, nor can be, subject to a demand, 
 of recovery. The taking possession of the Chiucha Islands by the 
 Spanish squadron becomes, in such a case, an act brought about 
 by force, and is destitute of all the requisites which constitute a 
 legitimate act ; the right of recovery would become a right of re- 
 conquest. 
 
 " The armies of Chili fought side by side with those of Peru in 
 the war of independence ; the two Republics were one and the 
 same in a common cause, as were also the other sections of 
 America. Hostilities being renewed, there having been only a 
 truce, what is the situation in which the old belligerents of all the 
 Continent and their Allies are forcibly placed ? 
 
 " In view of so grave an event, it is the rigorous duty of the 
 Government of Chili to reject, in the most public and solemn 
 manner, the principles which form the bases of the declaration, 
 and protest against the occupation of the Chiucha Islands by the 
 naval forces of Her Catholic Majesty, and it does not acknow- 
 ledge, nor will it acknowledge, as legitimate owner of those Islands, 
 any other Power than the Republic of Peru. 
 
 " It entertains, however, the conviction that the Government of 
 Her Catholic Majesty will not accept nor approve of the principles 
 proclaimed in that declaration, because, if the principle of recovery 
 were sanctioned, the Republics of America would find themselves 
 called upon by duty to combine their forces in order to maintain 
 the integrity of an independent sister Republic. 
 
 "It would be painful if the rapid and inevitable development of 
 events should bring about complications, either by retarding the 
 conclusion of an international question, to which the Government 
 of Peru is disposed to lend due attention in order to arrange in a 
 firm and permanent manner their differences with Spain, or by 
 preparing new difficulties which considerations of a superior order 
 would render necessary to be opportunely avoided by the Govern- 
 ment of America. 
 
 " The manifestation which I have now set forth, in compliance 
 with the orders which I have received from the President of the 
 
Eepublic, will be considered, I hope, by the Government of your 
 Excellency, as the faithful expression of the general sentiments of 
 all America. 
 
 " The Government of abounding in the same senti- 
 ments will, I doubt not, be pleased to learn the views of Chili, and 
 the disposition in which she finds herself to act in conjunction to 
 avoid a conflict which may disturb the peace of this Continent by 
 interrupting the friendly relations which happily she has culti- 
 vated, and desires to cultivate with the Spanish nation. 
 
 " I have, &c., 
 (signed) " MANUEL ANTO. TOCOENAL." 
 
 " Caracas, May 2&th, 1864. 
 " EXCELLENCY, 
 
 " The Government of the United States of Venezuela has atten- 
 tively read your Excellency's despatch of the 26th of April, 
 conveying the information of the unlocked for despoliation of the 
 Chincha Islands suffered by Peru, at the hands of the Spanish 
 squadron in the Pacific, without any previous declaration of war. 
 Your Excellency's note, that of the Venezuelan Plenipotentiary 
 resident in Lima, and the documents sent by that diplomatist, 
 have placed my Government in possession of all the necessary 
 antecedents to form a clear opinion of the events, and to enable it 
 to express its intentions relative to their future development. 
 
 rt Eirst of all, the Venezuelan Government sympathises with 
 that of Peru in the defence of her property seized so greatly in' 
 opposition to the civilization of the age ; for whatever be the mo- 
 tives of complaint which Spain entertains against your Excellency's 
 Government, the Representatives of Her Catholic Majesty could 
 not consider themselves exempted from the forms which the law 
 of nations has consecrated in favour of the world's peace, and of 
 the confraternity of its inhabitants, as a guarantee to the weak, 
 and a barrier to the powerful. 
 
 " No doubt it was to remove the universal condemnation of the 
 non-compliance with international usage, that the right of domi- 
 nion was appealed to by Spain over the Islands she has seized 
 under the pretence that no explicit recognition of the independence 
 of Peru existed on the part of the mother-country. But it cannot 
 be admitted that the right of dominion can be imprescriptible for 
 ever ; this is the opinion of my Government ; to admit such a 
 right would be equivalent to a deprivation of the right appertaining 
 to all the peoples of the world to assume their sovereignty, and to 
 inscribe their names amongst nations. 
 
 " In the case of Peru, forty years of independence undisputed 
 by Spain, her recognition by the Governments of Europe and 
 America, and the diplomatic and other intercourse carried on by 
 Spain herself with her former colony as between State and State, 
 
70 
 
 for a long interval of time, are sufficient to uphold that the inde- 
 pendence of the Peruvian nation is a positive fact, and consequently 
 to impugn the pretension put forward that the occupation of the 
 Chincha Islands, an integral part of the territory of that Republic, 
 is considered as a continuation of the war of independence in 
 America. In the opinion of the Venezuelan Government, that 
 war terminated de facto at the surrender of Callao in 1820, and 
 it also ended by right, since Spain admitted Peru in its relations 
 as a sovereign nation, recognising in this implicit manner that she 
 was irrevocably separated from the Peninsular dominion. 
 
 " From all these precedents, the necessary consequence to be 
 deduced is, that Serior Salazar y Mazarredo and Admiral Piuzon 
 have violated, without any justifiable reasons, the sovereignty of 
 Peru, and wounded the honour of America, the people and Govern- 
 ment of which are by the nature of their institutions, history, and 
 civilization, united in the preservation of their prerogatives. 
 
 " My Government, nevertheless, entertains the hope expressed 
 by your Excellency, that the r Government of Madrid will dis- 
 approve the conduct of their 'Commissary and of the Commander 
 of the Spanish squadron, and will renew their diplomatic inter- 
 course with Peru, so as to arrive at a pacific understanding 
 honourable to both Powers. But, if contrary to all expectation 
 and considerations of justice, our hopes should prove fallacious, 
 and the Government of Her Catholic Majesty should accept the 
 responsibility of the acts of their Representatives, Venezuela will 
 consider herself authorized to suspect, in view of such serious 
 facts, that the designs of dominion over America attributed to 
 certain European powers, are not an unfounded supposition, and 
 to believe that it is time to look out for her own independence, 
 declaring from the present moment, as my Government does 
 declare, that she will not sever the unity which binds her as an 
 American and Republican Government to the other Republics of 
 this Continent, for the defence which they may be called upon to 
 make of their autonomy and institutions. 
 
 " The President of the United States of Venezuela, in giving me 
 instructions to reply to your Excellency in the manner I have done, 
 has directed me also to state, that a copy of this note will be 
 transmitted to the Diplomatic agents of Venezuela accredited to 
 sundry Governments ; and directly to those of America where 
 there are no agents, so that the attitude assumed by the Vene- 
 zuelan nation in consequence of the violent despoliation suffered by 
 Peru, may be generally and officially known, and that it may serve 
 them as a guide in every instance when the nature of events does 
 not permit them to obtain special instructions. 
 
 " The Undersigned, &c. 
 
 (signed) " J. G. OCHOA." 
 
71 
 
 III. 
 
 THE OHINCHA ISLANDS. 
 
 THEIR IMPORTANCE TO PERU. 
 
 A few words respecting these Islands will not perhaps be deemed 
 superfluous. 
 
 They are situated in the Bay of Pisco, on the coast of Peru, in 
 Lat. 13 38' S. and Long. 76 12' W. and are about 120 miles to 
 the North of Lima. They consist of a group of three naked rocks, 
 lying in a line from North to South, each of about two miles cir- 
 cumference, presenting the form of flattened cones, and on the 
 eastern side a perpendicular wall of rock. From the craggy edge 
 of this wall, Huano or Guano, as it is indifferently called being 
 the accumulation of the excrement of millions of sea-birds, (pelicans, 
 gannets, mews, mutton birds, divers, gulls, penguins &c.) formed 
 during thousands of years, slopes towards the middle of each 
 Island, where a pinnacle of rock rises above the surface, whence 
 there is a gentle slope to the western shores, with Guano to 
 within a few feet of the water. 
 
 The ancient Peruvians, there is no doubt, used the Q-uano as a 
 manure, and under the Incas it would appear that very severe 
 laws secured the birds from being disturbed during the hatching 
 season at these Islands. "When the Spaniards took possession of 
 Peru, the Chinchas fell into desuetude, but although unused, it 
 cannot be ascertained whether the deposits of Guano have increased 
 during the subsequent 300 years. 
 
 These deposits of Guano have been formally declared the pro- 
 perty of the State, and the Peruvian Government authorities have, 
 since 1840, made them a source of revenue of yearly increasing 
 importance. 
 
 The revenue derived from them forms the security for the pay- 
 ment of interest and capital of the public debts which Peru has 
 contracted, more especially in England. In 1859, the revenue 
 derived from Guano, amounted to ... $15,875,352 
 
 From Customs, to . 3,391,342 
 
 And from all other sources, including a 
 balance of nearly a million from the pre- 
 vious year, only .... 1,688,097 
 
 Making together $20,954,791 
 
 To meet an expenditure of $20,387,756 
 
 This shows at a glance the importance of these Islands to Peru, 
 and, I may add, to her creditors. 
 
 From the beginning of 1841 to the end of 1860, that is to say, 
 in 20 years, Peru exported 3,220,939 tons register, equal to more 
 than 4,000,000 tons weight of Guano ; by which the Government 
 
72 
 
 is estimated to have realized net proceeds to the amount of above 
 20,000,000 sterling. 
 
 In September, 1853, the Government sent a Commission of 
 Engineers and Naturalists to the Chincha Inlands to ascertain as 
 accurately as the case admitted, the amount of G-uano still exist- 
 ing on the Chincha Islands. 
 
 The surveys of these gentlemen go to prove that the deposits, 
 On the Northern Island were about 4,189,477 effective tons. 
 On the Middle Island 2,505,948 
 
 On the Southern Island 5,680,695 
 
 Together, 12,376,100 tons. 
 
 The Chinchas are popularly called the Guano Islands, from the 
 circumstance of the Guano having been hitherto drawn from them ; 
 but Peru possesses some others further north, the Guano deposits 
 of which were surveyed and measured last year, with the folio wing 
 results, as published in " El Comercio" of Lima on the 13th June, 
 1863. 
 
 Tons. Estimated net proceeds. 
 
 Lobos Islands (two) 3,000,000, 1st class, 6 per ton ^618,000,000 
 1,000,000 2nd 4 4,000,000 
 
 Do. 1,000,000 2nd 4 
 
 Macabi Islands (two) 1,500,000 1 6 
 Guanapa Islands 2,500,000 1 ,,6 
 
 Not less than 8,000,000 tons. 
 
 Add the deposits of the Chincha Islands, 
 making an allowance for the exports be- 
 tween 1858 and 1863, six years, and reduc- 
 ing it to, say (11,000,000 tons) at 6. 
 
 And we obtain a total from this source of 
 
 9,000,000 
 15,000,000 
 
 46,000,000 
 
 66,000,000 
 36112,000,000 
 
 THE END. 
 
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