Minister Dawson to the Secretary of State.

No. 198.]

Sir: I have the honor to report that Emiliano Tejera has been named minister of foreign affairs and taken charge of the portfolio. I inclose a copy and translation of his note informing me.

The appointment is an excellent one, in my judgment, and insures the continuance of the good relations which have existed between this legation and the Dominican foreign office. The new minister is the intellectual leader of the Horacista party, is universally respected for his rigid personal and political honesty, and is the strongest conservative force in the Republic. He regrets the necessity for foreign financial intervention, but, having recognized it, is and has been for the last year the most powerful and influential advocate of a ratification of the convention. He is a wealthy man, without personal ambition; he dislikes politics, and accepts the position only because he believes his country and party need his services at this time. He will exercise a wholesome restraining influence on the violently disposed and do much to maintain the accord between Morales and Caceres.

I have, etc.,

T. C. Dawson.