No. 323.

General Sickles to Mr. Fish

No. 167.]

Sir: The following cable telegram has been dispatched from this legation, via Lisbon and Valencia Bay:

Fish, Secretary of State, Washington:

Minister of state replies to my note of twenty-sixth July that Spanish government will agree to appointment of arbitrators to estimate damages and fix indemnity to be paid, when certain preliminary conditions shall have been complied with, if it shall then appear that any American citizen has been aggrieved.

These conditions are:

First. The claimants must prove their citizenship before the Spanish authorities.

Second. Their respective claims must be separately presented, in due form, with particulars.

Third. It must appear that the claimants respectively have personally presented their reclamations to a Spanish court, or that the United States consul has intervened in their behalf, without result.

The answer is long, evasive, and dilatory. Will forward copy by mail with my reply.

SICKLES.

Madrid, September 29.

A duplicate copy was forwarded by mail to the United States minister in London for retransmission by telegraph from that place.

I am, &c.,

D. E. SICKLES.