Mr. Asboth to Mr.
Seward
No. 21.]
Legation of the United States,
Buenos Ayres,
April 12, 1867.
Sir: I have the honor to forward the copy,
marked A, of a note just received from Senor de Elizalde, the Argentine
minister for foreign affairs, and of which the following is a
translation:
Office of Foreign Relations,
Buenos Ayres, April 11, 1867.
To his Excellency the Minister Resident of the United
States, General Alexander Asboth:
I have the honor to forward to your excellency the enclosed publication,
containing the memorandum addressed by this government to the diplomatic
agents of the republic, in consequence of the note addressed by the
government of Paraguay to Mr. Washburn, minister resident of the United
States in that republic.
While begging that your excellency may be pleased to bring this document
under the notice of your government, I am happy to renew the assurances
of my most high and distinguished consideration.
RUFINO DE ELIZALDE.
While forwarding, in accordance with Señor de Elizalde’s request, the
printed document in question, marked B,* which want of
time, as the mail steamer is leaving to-day, prevents my having
translated, I beg to transmit, under enclosure C,† in the original
Spanish, the note of Señor Don José Berges, the Paraguayan minister for
foreign affairs, to Mr. Washburn, dated 24th ultimo, and also, in an
extract marked D.‡ from the Standard newspaper, the
mediation notes published by the Argentine government, wherein is
included the translation of the above note of the Paraguayan
government.
In connection with these documents, I take occasion to state that the
publication of Señor Berges’ note to Mr. Washburn seems to have
exasperated the allies and rendered them, for the moment, inaccessible
to all arguments for a peaceful solution of the contest with Paraguay. I
am not, however, without hope that the present excitement may subside in
a few days, and that my last note to Señor de Elizalde, reported in my
despatch No. 20, of the 10th of this month, which is not yet published,
may assist in bringing the Argentine government back to more peaceful
views. Confident, as I am, that my worthy colleagues in Rio de Janeiro
and Asuncion will also continue within their respective missions to
persevere with moderation in furthering the humane views of our
government, I further hope that the negotiations for peace may still be
crowned with success.
As a proof how little the views of the allied governments meet with the
approval of the people at large in the river Plata, I bag to enclose in
addition an extract marked E, from the Siglo, a well-accredited paper
published in Montevideo, commenting upon the mediation notes, and
advocating peace and the withdrawal of the Uruguay republic from the
alliance.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient
servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
[Page 166]
[Translation.—From El Siglo, of
Montevideo.]
peace negotiations.
The allies have finally determined not to accept the mediation of the
United States of America, as will be seen in the reply of the
minister of foreign relations of the Argentine Republic, who
declares that the terms of peace which were proposed are
inadmissible.
We were the first to publish Mr. Berges’, the Paraguayan minister,
note in the Siglo. He rejects all offers of reconciliation that, are
not based on the stipulations of the treaty of alliance.
The men who thought they were carrying out a great policy by this
war, have involved themselves inextricably in a labyrinth; and we
must admit that we cannot see the good of our joining the empire, in
the effort to extricate Paraguay from ignorance and oppression, to
the great detriment of our own resources.
The Paraguayan minister is right when he says he cannot see why our
government entered the alliance to make war on his country, since
the contract gives every advantage to Brazil and none to
Uruguay.
The Argentine Republic was right to arm in her own defence against an
invading enemy, but the Oriental republic, just recovering from an
internal revolution, should have attended to her own reconstruction
instead of offering to aid Brazil in extending her territorial
limits southward.
Some may say it is to pay the empire for helping us in our last
revolution; but, admitting that, the destruction of Paysandu, one of
our finest towns, has more than paid the debt by rivers of blood on
that occasion.
It is very strange that the American minister does not mention us as
one of the belligerents in this war with Paraguay, though our
soldiers were the first to open the way to victory. This omission to
mention the Oriental republic cannot be due to its insignificance,
for the courage of her sons is known to Europe and America, and
Paraguay has recently experiencd it to her cost.
The true reason why we are not recognized as belligerents is our
anomalous situation, that does not give us due respectability
abroad.
Peace is impossible now. Say that the dictator of Paraguay is
humbled, what do we gain by the victory? The Oriental republic will
have lost a few thousands of her men and a few millions of her
money, and, what is far worse, will have helped Brazil to break down
the powerful barrier to her territorial aggrandizement.
We would not tie false prophets, nor waste our energies in
lamentations like Jeremiah, but, like Alexander, we would cut the
Gordian knot at once, and not waste our time in endeavors to untie
it.
The harm is done, but there remains a remedy: the Oriental
government, now free from all obligations, must sunder the fetters
that bind her, and declare her sovereignty and independence. She
must not play a second part in this mean alliance. when there was a
time for her to make an effort to elevate herself to the height of
other nations, to pay a debt of gratitude, she did it; but now that
the debt is paid, she must have the courage to withdraw prom the
alliance and attend to the pressing necessity of home affairs.
We have often said that war should only be waged in the interest of
the nation, and never prolonged beyond that time, especially when it
enriches a neighbor that may become dangerous.
We do not mean that Paraguay will conquer in this struggle, but we do
mean that we fear consequent complications from the cunning of
President Lopez and his agents, who have combated us more terribly
with their diplomacy than with their arms.
If peace were made to-morrow between Spain and the republics of the
Pacific, they would certainly join against Brazil, for their enmity
is too well known. And would we have to join an alliance against our
sister republics?
The Argentine Republic has seen the consequences of an erroneous
policy, and now feels intensely the evils of a reaction that it has
not yet had the power to resist.
As she has had the courage to fight and conquer on the field of
battle, she ought to have the magnanimity to break the chains that
now bind her, for her present alliance, under Whatever light it may
be considered, is completely destructive to the self-government of a
neighboring nation.
The enemy will respect the valor of our soldiers, and we will show
the world that, though We fought gloriously, we have no idea of
taking advantage of the results of victory, for they were what we
least expected at the time of the alliance.
Now, that the national honor is satisfied and our debt to Brazil is
paid, our task is finished, and we must turn our attention to the
good of our own country.
