The New York Herald Newspaper, May 20, 1866, Page 8

i ; ¥ 8 NEW YORK HERALD, SUNDAY, MAY 20, 1866.—TRIPLE SHEET. “THE SPANISH WAR. Motives for the Aggressions of the ‘paniards in South America: tion of the Causes Leading to the War with Peru. Right and Justice on the Side of the Latter. YMPORTANT DIPLOMATIC CIRCULAR. de, &e. de. @ireular of the Peruvian Secretary of Foreign Affairs to the Diplomatic Agents of Peru. Laima, April 21, 1866. By this mail I send your Excelleuey a pamphlet which contains the documents relative to the Spaniel yaestion. The coliection embraces three series The tirst refers to the treaty of 27th January, 1865; the ‘ond to the o <urrences of Sth February of the same year, and the third to the negotiations between the Spanish Government snd Mr. Valle Riestra, ‘The printing of these documents has been delayed for reasons beyond the control of the government, His Ex eellency the Supreme Chief being desirous that every- thing should be published which could contribute to make manifest the nature of every act and negotia tion, without omitting any, not even those which might per- haps lend themselves to unfavorable interpretations for Peru, it has required much labor to arrange papers which Jc disorder, in consequence of the oceur- of 6: of November at the palace, and great pains ch as Were missing. Unforttnately, it has been ind all, but we are sure that we have prtant, In spite of these and many s, the printing was about finished at the very t ption at Lima of tho xpreches delivered op the 9th of March, in the Spanish Seuate, by Messrs, Liorenteand Bermudez de Castro. It wonid Suillee, therefore, to cail the attention of all goy- ernments and ations to the documents that have just been published, in order that, by comparing them with the aforesaid speeches, and especially with Mr. Bermudex de Castro's, it may be'seen that the government of Peru neither migstated nor calumuiate Spain or her statesmen fn tor exposition of the motives which Pera had tor declaring war against the Spanish overnment. wl certainly was to be prosumed that the aforosaid st had been written in view of olficical documents, and that the government of Peru could not be so forget- ful of its own dignity as to deceive all other nations and governments, and thus fail in the respect due to both, and more than all to itself. The official statement of a government cannot be destroyed by vague assertions and incomplete documents, and snuch jes ought anything so unreliable be made the basis of a bitter censure. 1t is proper, nevertl that I should carefully examine some of the ideas expressed in the =panish Senate, in order to place once more clearly to view the justice and right with which the Peruvian nation and government acted in repudiating the treaty of January 27, 18 in declaring war against the government of Spain, and in making common cause with the republic of Chile. Perchance it may not be as briet as I would have de- sired, notwithstanding that in many cases I shall con- tent myself by simply referring to the documents. 1 must here explain that tle speeches which I have bad before me, are those tound in the Diario de lis Sesiones de Cortes; and I make this explanation owing the dif- ferences observed between that version and those pub- Jighed in other papers, including la Gacela de Madrid. Mr. Liorente, referring to a statement attributed to Mr. Bermudez de Castro, in the beforementioned mani- feat, adduces as a reason for not crediting it, that the ‘Minister of State, whose ability and prudence are so well known, could not have commi(ted the serious error of making such astatement, which placed the question, not in a light favorable to Spain, but in one which Peru might desire, and because that declaration destroyed the unity which should always exist, in the acts of succes- sive ministries with regard to engagements already con- tracted. Mr. Llorente, therefore, inquires of the Minister of State whether there 1s avy truth in the assertions of the Peruvian manifest, especially with regard to altera- tions having been made during the negotiation in-the ‘basis established by the treaty of 27h January, and as to the question of “revindication”” having been re- vived. hie Oh aor 3 In order to answer this inquiry, Mr. Bermudez de Cas- ‘tro recalls an interview had by him’ with the Charge @ Affaires of the United States of America, at the com- mencement of the question with Chile, It is necessary to Dear this circumstance in mind, for as your Excellen ‘will see,jfurther on, the ideas and opinions of the Span! government—the wishes of Mr. Liorente to the con- trary, notwithstandine—have not been the same at all times and under al! circumstances, According to Mr. Bermudez de Castro, the American diplomatist having asked him whether ‘“‘revindication’’ was contemplated, Mr. Bermudez replied that he disapproved the word, an that he had never thought of it; adding, to prove his as- sertions, that such was the determination of the govern- ‘ment of her Majesty, and so decided its policy as to what ia for the interest of Spain in her relations with the re- Publics of America, that, were it possible (as it moet certainly was not), that the Chincha islands, oF any other part of the territory of the republic of Peru, should be presented to her she would not accept them, not even as a gift. Mr. Bermudee de Castro relies upon this to ask what grounds the government of Peru could have for as- serting, doubtless with the view of exciting the fears of its own subjects and mistrust in foreign countries, that the Spanish Minister of State had spoken of ‘revindica- tion,’ and rejected the treaty of 27th January; and Mr. Bermudez de Castro thinks he is entitled to presence of the Senate, to his country, to to America, that all is false, all is calumniatory, and to challenge the Peruvian government to present a single {proof in confirmation of ite assertion! It is due to truth to state that in the latter part of Fovember Mr. Bermudez de Castro made a statement to Mr. Valle Riestra analagous to that made by him to the United States Charge d'Affairs. In a despatch dated 13th ‘or December (page 124), in giving an account of acon- ference which he had bad with the Minister of State, Mr. Valle Riestra says that the former had gone so far ax to assure bit that were Peru to cede the Chincha Isiands to Spain gratujtously the latter would not hesi Yate vo refuse them. This took place when Mr. Bermudez Castro had already decided to adopt atone and manner very different from the arrogance displayed by hire in the ‘earlier confereucer (despatch of 26th November, 6 120), and when the prospects of the negotiat hose in the first half of becember, changed in a fa able and satisfactory manner for us’ (despatch of 12th December, page 122). But Mr. Bermudez de Castro, when delivering bis speceh, forgot or did not choose Lo mention the position aesumed by hitn at the earher conferences m June and July, before the commencemfent of the question with Chile, and when the advices received at Madrid were favorable to the government at Lima and adverse to the revolution. On the 27th of June Mr. Valle Riestra {pace 61) roported his first interview with Mr. Bermudez de Castro, He said:—“‘Although he bas made protesta- tions of friendship and maniested bis best desires for the cetablishment of close relations with Peru, it bas not been dificult for me to perceive that be is ‘much less favorabie to us than were Mesers. Benavides and Arr: cory Mr. Bermudez de Castro ¢ of Mazarredo to Per chiefly in Mr. Valle Riestra’s opinion, unded, in order to blame the cond who sent the Commissioner (Comsario). A month Jater, that is, on the 26th of July, Mr. Vaile Riestra gave an accont of his conferences with the Spanish Minister ‘Of Beate in the following language (page $1) :— “The new Minister of State has evinced much dili gonce in the matter of the treaty. Extensive observa- tions as to my draft of « treaty have been sent to me, and, in addition, @ counter draft. | sent Excel be articles relating to the debt, which h two are, in us, humiliating omy a copy of are held to be indispensable, and of whi fy opinion, in the main, unjust, one and dillerent from those asrecd to upon the by nearly all the American re- contrary to the preliminary treaty and (ructions, and consequently inadmissible. Tt prevended that ‘the republic shall pay the salaries, os, subsidies, &e., &e., whieh served Spain Against the republic; avd that this immense ll be entitied to all the privileges of any which or may hereafter be the most favored, and with Las to time for presenting claim, &e. 1 have « able to obtain nothing in the various and long, co: hevs whieh T have had with the Minister of State. e has maintained that bis demands liminary treaty, and ith Spain by the otber He has deciared to me king him for the necessary ninent & decision upon ® steamer, was blies, especially Botivs (he #imple fact of my ib which 1 would alent toa violation of the ty treaty, and © restorauen of thine to the state in whieh they fore the making th of, that | might consult or do whatever I saw fit. and that the spanish government & tas might be for ite interests ; that, in bis epin- Won, At wae necessary that the Spanish squadron It not Foave the waiere of Pera, so long as the vaty was pot con uded, and he let it be understood {Spain wonld claim poyment. for the expenses ; that mudez de Castro's sincerity in stigmatizing the assertions contained in the Peruvia@o manifest as false and caiumus- avory. ‘The situation ‘efestea by the declarations of Mr. Ber- mudez de Castro was, in the opinion of Mr. Vaile Riestra, as it would have been in that of all who might have been informed thereof, so serious that he did not hesitate in taking a step, excusable only from the gravity of the cir- cumstances, Which was to send his own Secretary to Lima, that he migbt inform the government minutely of all tbat was taking place in Madrid, and ask for new iv- structions. As might be presumed, the ditticulties grew to such a point by the renewal of the Spanish Minister's demands that Mr, Valle Riestra adopted the of absenting himself ‘rom Madrid, in order to give time for the arrival of the instructions he had asked. Tneed say no more on this point, for I believe what has been stated will suffice w show that the Peruvian government bas not acted lightly nor made charges not sustained by authentic documents. In the question relative to the debt Mr. Bermudez de Castro enters into long dissertations for the purpose of making cleor the justice and moderation with which be had acted. Mr. Llorente read a raph from, the manifest in which the demands of the Spanish govern- ment were repeated, The speaker believed that said paragraph was an extract from some despatch of Mr. Valle Riestra; and your Excellency will observe that it was nothing but ‘a textual reproduction of an article from the counter draft of @ treaty presented by the Minister of state. (Page 72 of the colleotion). wr. Valle Kiestra referred very particularly and express- ly tothe same in the note addressed by him on the 9th of August to Mr. Bermudez de'Castro (pace 84), dwelling upon the latitude which the Spanish negotiator desired to give to certain phrases, from which, still later, would » deduced new and more extravagant pretensions, and ling attention to the studied omission of the mention ‘of avy term within Which claims should be presented, Mr Bermudez de Castro, in answering on the 17th of Auguet (page $9), did not’ refute the allegations of Mr, Vaile Riestra as to the main question; he consequently accepted them just as they were made in the note of 7th Avgast; nor could he fail to admit them, since they were found in the counter drait prepared by the Minister of State. The extraordinary eagerness of Mr. Bermudez de Cas- ro to deduce from the fifth article of the treaty of the , th January’an obligation on the part of Mr. Vaile Ries. tra to subscribe to the demands of the Spanish govern- ment, the denunciatory terms, full of threatening arro- gance, used in his verbal conferences and in his written communications, are, without doubt, very far from the moderation and circumspection of which be boasts in his speech, and prove that ihe Spanish government was not very profoundty convinced of the juatice of its pre- tensions when it did not even wish to give room to be consulted thereupon. The two notes of Mr. Bermudez de Castro above re- ferred to merit particular attention. In them, as in his speech, the force of his argument is based’ upon the obligation which, according to him, rested upon the Peruvian negotiator to include in the treaty a clause re- ferring tothe debt. Mr. Valle Riestra agreed to this; but he denied that this clause ought to be what the Spanish negotiator proposed. Mr. Valle Riestra examined the real bearing of the question, while Mr. Bermudez de Castro adhered to the question, of form, to prove there- from the failure on the part of the Peruvian negotiator to carry out the treaty of the 27th of January. There is no other signification to all the reasonimgs presented by M1 Bermudez de Castro, for the purpose of demonsirat- img that various nauions in America had agreed with Spain upon certain rules for the recognition of their debt. And it is no less surprising that the treaty with Chile, which had been designated in the first place, and by name, as the one to be followed in making the treaty with Peru, should have been, although indirectly rejected on repeated occasions by the Spanish Minister, who alleged that no mention of the adjcstment of the debt was made therein, because it had been recognized and liquidated prior to'the celebration of the treaty, when in fact in said treaty there were three articles telative to that matter, as remarked by Mr. Valle Riestra in bis note of 9th of August to the Minister of State. I quote tho language of Mr. Valle Riestra upon that point, which is all the more worthy of being repeated, as it ix found, not ina despatch addressed to his own government, but in a note to the Spansh Minister of State (page 86):— ‘‘A simple comparison of what is proposed to Pera in the matter of the debt with what has been agreed to by the other republics reveals that all that is most onerous m each of Ul the other Spanish-American treaties has been included in the ministerial proposition. In the conterence the honorable minister expressed the opinion, and his proposition proves it, that he could ties, and !t'seems that some of these credits do not be- tong-$o-prinaie, individuals, either can the part of the manifest, which refers to the clause relative to ition, read also by Mr. Livrente, be false, since it is to be found in the counter. drait of the Spanish Ministry (page 69) with justificatory reasons 0D the margim, and since Mr. Bermodez de Cus- tro is eased, , iB his tosesh we show tit, be had sue- ceeded in having Vv fir. Vaile Riestra, And, with regard thereto, I must gay that although Mr. Ber- mudez de Castro may have found @ justiticatory reason for the insertion of that clause in the fact that similar clauses been inserted in the other treaties with American republics, the case was neither identical nor analogous, inastauch ag there already existed a prior treaty between Peru and ‘pain, and in both countries their respective ries bad been received., If these two facts did not amount to a solemn recognition of the ety of Peru on the part of Spain, it fol- Jows that most authentic facis prove nothing, and, if they did amount to such recognit.on, the compulsory in- sertion of the new clause had no other object than to impose a new humiliation upon Peru, Mr, Bermudez de Castro supposes that the Peruvian government has carried its desire of concealing the truth of the Lacts Lo sueh @ point as to present in the manifest the occurrences of 5th February, 1865, as an evi- po ae Il ly le charged wi when, according to the Minister of State’ version, the sailors who on that day landed in perfect contidence were the innocent vic- tums of an un*xpected attack. Mr, Bermudez de Castro states that on the Sth of Febrvary General Pareja gave leave to a part of the officers and men of his vessels to go ashore, and that at the moment when they were landing, select irom the compacts made by Spain with all the other American nations whatever he might deem most convenvent, interpreting thus the fourth article of the preliminary treaty, wherein Peru agrees to enter into a treaty similar to that made with Chile or other republics. ‘And this js one of the points of divergence, not only be- cause according to the rules of just interpretation it is impossible that the most unfavorable clauses (which form & true exception to what was covenanted by nearly all the republics) sbould be selected, but also, and principally, because the only republic mentioned by name being Chile the treaty with her is the one to which that negotiated with Peru should bear the closest simi- larity im order to carry out the letter and spit of the preliminary treaty. For this reason his Excellency as- serts that he invited the undersigned to select any one of the treaties with the peel ess that the latter named that with Chile; that his Excellency made him note that said republic had spontaneously adopted her law of in- debtedness, which was not the cave with Pera; that for this reason Chyle dia not take the debt into consid- in lett of Riggers ‘ and i ins undoubt hig wecoun' ironty) it Bea Boen stipulated Ril ane bases liquidation and acknowledgment of the debt ghould be fixed inthe treaty of friendship. The recollections of the undersigned as to that conference are that the honorable Minister proposed to select tt treaty with Bolivia; that the undersigned named the one with Chile, and ‘that his Excellency said he would accopt it, provided one of the articles of the pee nary treaty relative to the debt were suppresaed. The un reigned uaturally replied that it could not be sup- reased,’”” " Mr. Valle Riestra had already before this reminded the Minit of State that at their first interview Mr. Bermu- dez de Castro ap to the Peruvian Jaw of 26th ‘August, 1831; but that im their last interview his Excel lency manifested that he had nothing to do with the aforementioned law. By a careful perusal of the notes and the ch of Mr, Bermudez de Castro the play of words will be easily discovered by which he sought to compel Mr. Valle Riestra to assent to all his pretensions, Article fourth of the treaty of 27th January prescribed that tbe Peru- vian Plenipotentiary should negotiate and conclude in Madrid a treaty of peace, friendship, navigation aud commerce, sitnilar to that le with Chile or other American republics. It certainly was very possible, as was observed by the Spanish Minister, that in the treaty which ~— be selected there would be no stipulations as to the debt, and for that purpose article fifth said that, in the treaty to. be made under such con- ditions, the bas s would be established for the liquidation, recognition and payment of sums due by Peru to Span- ish subject, it follows from this, as a logical conse. quence, that the treaty which was to be negotiated should be similar tothe one celebrated with Chile or some other American republic onty in the part relative to peace, friendship, commerce and navigation; but it might differ from it in everything concerning the debt. Mr. Bermudez de Castro thug ex) it when he offered objections to the adoption of the treaty with Chile; but, deducing therefrom a perfectly illogical con- seq ence, he claimed that in order to establish said bases and to determine the amount debt which, on various accounts, would remain against Peru, there should be adopted as a rule and guide what had been agreed upon that point by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Keuador, cially Bolivia, whose situation was anal us to that of Peru, This is not what the treaty said, and in order that the two stipulations of articles fourth and fifth should have tho meaning which Mr. Bermudez de Castro, by blending them, wished to give them, it would have been necessary that both should have been embraced in one sole articie, and that the one referring to the debt should have ceded the words used in speaking of the treaty to be taken fas a model. By a skilful of words it was atte tne ie sequlred nov penetration, but simple coms. ie that it required no com. Fon sense, to iccorer ie absurdiey and to deveat Moreover, what article fifth, january 27, stipulated was that in'the new treaty the for the liquidation, recognition and ent of the debt should be estab’ lished, and something more than tho bases was contained in the counter draft of a treaty ynted by the Mivister of State; and putting aside the fact that the treaty of January 27 only required that the Peravian Minister should receive full powers to negotiate the new eae, although Mr. Bermudez de Castro claimed that those fui! powers demanded, as complemental requ! full and ample instructions to accede to everything and to definitely conclude the treaty without new consultations, it might still be argued even wpon that ground that those full powers only referred to the part of the treaty — to peace, friendship, navigation and commerce. But I do not wish to give ‘this jument more importance than it already has, That teh results from the tenor of the trenty is that ail the government of Lima bound itself to do was to accredit a representative with full powers, aud, although it i8 presumed that it would also farnish him with ra there conld ne net ep ae “ro as I © Mimister of State desired, inasmuch as it was simply im- «ible to know beforehand all 2 nto be ——— the Spanish government. Mr. Bermudez de Castro, ad will be seen by his own notes and in his speech, pre: sented the question ma surprising ‘and unusual manner, maintaining that the fact of Mr. Valle Riestra's being in vested with full powers placed him in the forcible pe cessity of concluding the treaty, in which a clause re. jating to the debt should be inserted similar to thore contained in the treaties with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Bolivia avd Kouador, and that the refusal of the Peru. negotiator for lack of instructions was equivalent to jation of the treaty of 27th ary. Nothing can be more decided than the following sentence * in the epeech of the honorable Minister of State :— But in the second note which I addressed to him on the same subject, I Look care to state ina few words the Re nt of difference, I said to Mr. Valle Riestwra, if you 1ave not power to treat, Peru has violated article fifth of the treaty of Callao, im which said republic bound tteelf to send a plenipotentiary clothed with ample powers; if, ‘on the contrary, you do not choose to make use of the fy (tie Spaveo Minister) had disapproved the action of | powers which you bave, it Is you who violate the treaty ; be g * vi », and the preliminary | at ai) events, the reepansibility Of that infraction cannot " nd thot im General Pareja's place. he would | rest opon tho Spanish goverument, , e vocuted dhe land, inasmuch as the He is evident, therefore, that Mr. Bermuder de Castro dept, at Veret, bad on ~ occasion | ma alained @bat Mr, Valle Rieetra’s fall powers ought to Mr Lomeyps (ao the latvor bad reporied) that he | anthorize him to consent blindly to whatever might be moni a {nko negobations with Spain, because’ | demanded of him, and that if be did not desire to make i Vnvon's squadron had left Per were, notwithstanding be might lack in- ' nuenee of Pera was not re plated the treaty, Mr, Bermudes de ne- ’ Vind eation’ existed, alth true what Was siaied in the manitest upon ht for Spain to tnake use thereof; he announced to tie diaengsion Was suspended, and offered to ppears fo me enperfiuons to stop to eomsider the ob ‘communication, which the bation should se, | vervation of Mr. Hermodex de Castro as to the proprigg whol, bearing in mut all hts words, must be of | ship of the debt, in which heexplaing that it ie nota Hows import. Lpromiced him to reply thereto in suet | debt of govermuent to government, but of the Pore ‘roe as will justify my government rhment 1 Spanish subject, The ¢ Mr. Vaile Riestra ba enough to judge from sueb mportance to the main question. It ie the enter Warr eprnion ae Contre Hiheult, of not imposs.ble, ble reeult, more experiaity when othe emiited on rondry occasions by Mr. Bermudes were, perchance, more alan han th by blewers. Pinzon and Mazarredo pe of cupation of the ean nor of Mr. Vate tf fen will undoubied!y nica ber vernmeys which claima the debt, whetber IC be for iteett or foita subjects: considering Use ques. on as a bole, itis Spain whieh ie to reap the benetit Pera which if to -uffer the lors. Ttenurwhile " Hd not We forgotten (hat in the Spanish counter-draft aginen( was claimed for pensions, s@laviee, Aneee, forced jounm, Ae, which originated dew of Wes Rane government of it author, unarmed, defenceless and quiet, they were assaulted by the populace—by agents in disguise—who followed and ill-treated them, Mr. Bermudez de Castro undoubtedly accepted General Pareja’s not unprejudiced version of these occurrences; but irom the oficial documents of Peru it appeat Ist—That although the Supermtendent of Police 01 ‘on the day after the affair, to state positively whether the provocation had been given bi the Spanish sailors or by the people of the town, it was generally said that the former were armed, aud pro- voked a fight on the second block of the ‘Peligro,” which ied to all the disorder, (page 188 of the Collec- tion.) 2d—That fram and after the day subsequent to the simultaneous salute by the Spanish war vessels and the port of Caliao, boats had come off every morning and at various’ hours of the day iilled with peopie belonging to the Spanish war ships, to procure provisions and for other purposes, and also that some of the commanders and officers of the squadron landed and pass d into some of the streets, and that neither these nor the others had occasion to complain of the behavior of tho townspeople (page 136). Had the events in ques- tion taken place as depicted by Mr, Bermudez de Castro, 48 it not true that it is more probablo they wduld have oc- curred. on the first day on which the Spaniards came ashore? Some in¢iting cause was needed to move the people of Callao to do on the 6th of February what they had not done on the preceding days; and that cause was hone other than the aggression of the =panish sailors. What the Callao Superintendent of Police was unable to assert at once, in a positive manner, although it was the general. voice, was afterwards fully proved in the proceedings instituted for the purpose of ascertaining the true causes of the occurrences. In the collection of documents (page 137), your Excellency will find the declarations of six witnesses, which clearly show that the provocation came from the =paniards, and that the first victim was a child. It seems superfluous for me to note to your Excellency that those de- clarations are corroborated by more than twenty others, upon the same point, contained in the record (proces). In the tumult which ensued, the weapons used by the people were stones, while the Spaniards were seen now attacking and then defending themselves with daggers ahd revolvers. The truth of the case, then, in- stead of being concealed, was presented fully,'and as it appears in the only documents worthy of belief. Mr. Bermudez de Castro has also occupied himself with that part of the manifest in which are demonstrated the Jegal and judicial rights which the Peravian nation and government had te reluse to recoguize the validity of the treaty of 27th’ January, Mr. Bermudez de Castro believes that he ought not to condescend to maintain the most trivial princ.ples of common law and the law of nations in order to refute the assertions of the manifest, and to prove that a solemn treaty should always be re: spected, more especially when the greater part of its uses have already been fulfilled; that all the premises, all the consequences set down in the manifest, would be good for s protest against the government which made and ratified the treaty, in case said government should what course did there romain to the Peru- Vian nation so soon as it had overtura-d the government of ex-General Pezet? According to Mr. Bermudez de Castro, if the treaty was pot for the interests of Peru what it should have done was to address the govern- ment of her Catholic Majesty ae, the reasons for the course of or asking tor a ification of what bad been agreed upon. In order to adopt such a course it would have been necessary that the recollection of the occurrences in Aumerica since the expe- dition to Mexico and for the conquest of St. Domingo, | Should have been completely blotted out of our memory ; ‘that the documents now published revealing the inten- tions and purposes of the Spanish government, and e3- peciatly of tts Munister of State, should nat have existed in the arehives of this office; and finally, that that same government of ~pain should not have just furnished us with su eloquent proof of the manner in which she pr: Posed: ind oem modifications to compacts which were ‘not satisfactory to her. Mr. Tavira had effected an arrangement as honorable for Spain as at was for Chile, whereby all questions were finally settled which the Spanish government, influenced not so much by a spirit of justice as by asentiment of exaggerated susceptibility, if with no other views, had stirred up against said republic. If that arrangement did not suit Spain, could not tue government of Madrid address that of Santiago, explaining the reasons for her conduct, or asking for a moditication of what had been agreed Upon? And this was not a question of simple convenience to the Spanish government; it would have been, before all, the carrylug out of a solemn engage. ment under the treaty, which had for a long time existed between Chile and Spain. The whole world knows how the Spanish government and iis agent, General Pareja, acted in this affair, And he who acts in that manner certainly has no right to ask, as does Mr. Bermudez de Castro, in speaking of the Peruvian government, what was the motive which ied it to prefer war to those natu- ral steps, But it has been said in the manifest, and I must repeat it here, that even if Peru had no grievances to redr ss nor siaiuswn its honor to efface, she would always have been found by the side of Chile, because ner duty thus demanded and because she knew full weil that in de- fending the cause of Chile she defended her own. This means that, even if the treaty of 27th January had been legaily and duly ratified, neither the nation nor the gov- ould have besitated to violate it; for, before the engagement contracted with Spain by a disloyal gov- ernment, under the pressure of force and at the cost of its dishonor, stood tie duties of Peru as an American re- public, and because the Spanish government had placed itself Gutside of the pale of law, and in its repeated and iniquitous aggressions against’ America had trampled under foot every principle of law and justice. And with regard to this I must repel certain suggestions contained in Mr, Bermudez de Castro's speech, and made for a purpose easily understood. The Minister of State as- seris that the declaration of war by Peru owes its origin to the engagements entered into with Chile in payment of the aid received for the purpose of over- throwing the government of General Pezet. The respect which I owe to the government and to my own position forbids that I should characterize this asser- tion as it deserves, not even by using some of the many terms which abound in Mr. Bermudez de . astro’s dis- course, It is enovgh, nevertheless, for me to declare for the honor of the governments of both republics, and for the information of your Excellency, that the engage- ments entered into by the Peruvian governinent with that of Chile havenot been in payment for services not rendered by the government of Chile. ‘ Your Excellency will have observed that, to complete his vindication, the Minister of State of her Catholic Ma- jesty read several documents, and among others a letter from Mr. Valle Riestra, Mr. Bermudez de Castro has imagined that he found therem the justification of his conduct and a proof of the moderation with which he has always proceeded; but this was neither what Mr, Valle Riestra said nor could haye said. After referring to the interview which Mr. Valle Riestra had had with him (the Min'ster of State) some days before, and to the verbal statements which he had made to the former, Mr. Bermudez de Castro adds that Mr. Valle Riestra ex- pressed the profound regret with which be retired, more particularly ag he bore in mind the good dispositions which he had observed in Mr, Bermudez de Castro in their last negotiations. Mr. Valle Riestra docs not speak of all the negotiations, but only of their last, And these werp those initiated in the month of Novem- ber, on the return of Mr, Valle Riestra from ‘Biarritz, after the question with Chile had been raised, and when WEST INDIES. JAMAICA. Some of the Effects of the Late Rebcl- Mon—The Crops in the Other Islancs, ke, de. Our files from the West Indies are dated at Kingston, Jamaica, to the 7th of May. We have aiso later advices from some of the other British colonial islands. From Jamaica comes intelligence of the suicide of Colonel Hobbs, of the British army, one of the officers who commanded the troops engaged in the suppression of the recent disturbances in that island. It appears that his mind had dwelt 80 much upon the accurrences of the outbreak among the blacks, and the censures which the part he took in them had called forth in the English press, that he broke down in health, and became the subject of a mania, which led to the fatal act by which he put an end to his existence. Having been invalided in consequence of his derangement, he left Jamaica for England by the mail steamer of the 21st of April last, at- tended by an officer and two soldiers, who were ap- pointed to watch over him during the voyage. On the day after the departure of the steamer, duting the break- fast hour, he went on the | romenade deck, attended by one of the soldiers, and, watching his opportunity, he knocked the man down, jumped overboard aud’ was never seen again, His father was a Waterloo oilicer. He was the eldest of five brothers, who all mado choice of the army as their profession, He had seen active ser- vice in the Crimea during the latter part of the Russian war, where he was engaged with the ‘Twenty first Fusi- leers in their attack on the Redan, and had three medals awarded him. He. was only thirty-seven years old, ‘The Bishop of ‘Kingston has published a letter en- dorsing (ne measures taken by Governor Eyre for the suppression of the insurrection, and condemning the action of the British governmentin suspending Mr. Eyre, and appointing the Commission ot Inquiry. ‘The mis- chief done by these steps’? he says “is great, and indeed, irreparable. It will not be obliterated until this genera- tion has passedaway, should Jama ca so long continue to be a possession of the British crown. The people believe that they have the sympathy and support of the Queen, government and p-ople of England. Some of ther beheve that her Majesty has from sympathy taken pod a W. Gordon and Mrs. Paul Bogle wo live with er.” Since the departure of the two gentlemen who were associated with Lim in the Commission of loquiry, sir Henry Storks has ben busily engaged in putting public matters in order, Among other things, he has addressed a letier to the Custodes of the several parishes urging upon them the necessity for magistrates being more observant of their dut.es, or resigning their commission, It is ramored in Jamaica that this gentleman will be contirmed as Governor, and that Mr, Eyre will be re- calied. It 1s proposed to present Governor Eyre with a “thou- sand guinea testimonial,” in acknowiedgment ot his ser- vices during the rebellion, Fears be.ng entertained that the rules of the English Colonial Office will prevent his acceptance of such testimonial,.it has been suxgested that the gift should be settled on Mrs. Eyre and their children in trust. With the exception of St. Thomas in the East, where the disturbances took place, the work upon the sugar es- tates was progressing favorably: In the coffee district the crops had nearly all been gathered in, and seasonable raina had brought out fine blossoms, giving promise of a heavy crop next year. The small settlers were doing well in the cultivation of coffee, some of them having realized sums varying from seven’ hundred and fifty dol- Jars to one thousand dollars for their prodace this season. Tn Barbados tho weather has been eminently favorable for sugarmaking, and the present crop will be the largest which has ever ben grown in the colony. On one estate four hogsheade per acre have been reported, and one acre of the same estate yielded four and a half hogsheads, The best understanding prevailed between the pianters and the laborers, and the latter are working with good will. The wharves at Bridgetown were crainmed with the news received in Madrid ‘from the Pacific promised a speedy solution to the Peruvian question, Thesecond of the foregoing circumstances has been marked by Mr. Bermudez de Castro himself, and it is, without doubt, have acted contrary to the constitution of the country; but that neither the Minister of state nor his government have anything to do with that; tor when General Pezet thought proper to make the treaty, to sanction and to ratify it, it did not belong to tho Spanish govern- ment to examine whether he was acting stricly within the constiwution of Pera; in fine, that the legality of the ratification and execution of the treaty ‘was a question of interval policy tor which the Peruvian government alone could be responsible, This doctrine of the Minister of State was confirmed by Mr. Llorente, ex- Ainister of the same rank, who, in bis peroration, char- terized as frivolous pretexts the reagona given im the manifest. Whatever importance may be ascribed in the Spavish Senate to the judgment of two statesmen versed in inter- national affairs, I cannot but be astonished that such men, before such a body and in the presence of Europe, should emit opinions 1 direct sition to the rules of common law and of that law Bations to which they have just appealed. 4 principle of common law that contracts made by incompetent persons of by any one who enters into an obligation in another's name without sufficient authority, : be of go effect iaborera bere itopsn ted only authorizes the party inte: inst whoever, m his naatay contractor the obligation, but also ips facto exempts him from the fultiiment thereof, That which applies to contracts between individuals also ap- plies to compacts between natjons. “Tt is imy it,” says Bello, in his Elements of In- ternational Law (part one, chaj ‘one, section four), “to determine exactly in what person or body this second kind of sovereignty (the transitory) resides wo the constitution of the State, for compacts entered into with any other authority are null. It is yer ne- cesseary that the acts of such sovereignty should not transcend the sphere of the powers conferred upon it by the constitution, for every contract in which they should be po nea led Wee ne ined ei oe bhid ced beri ee in speaking particularly of public treaties (chapter nine, section one), refers to the docirine above transcribed, maintaining’that treaties are null, among other causes, when the contracting parties are incompetent, and when the requirements of the constitution have been omitted, Kent in his Commentaries on American Laws, speak- ing of the ratification of treaties, saya (Part IL, Sec. xitl., note}, “When the concurrence of Congress is neces- to give effect to a treaty, it is mot the law of the Jand until that concurrence is given.” Kluber teaches that treaties can only be concluded in a valid manner by the anthority (which usually is the government) which represents the State towards fore'gn nations, either immediate! 7. self or through the agency of plenipotentiaries, but in a manner conformable to the constiational laws of the state, and he adds that the constitution may require the concurrence, mandate or ratification of a Diet, of a Senate, of an Assembly, of the people, of the representatives of a nation, &c. (Part Th, Ut. ii, see. 1, chap. 2.) ° Martens, in bis Surumary of the Law of Modern Nations in Europe (book 2, chap. 2, sec, 48), in speaking of the authority of the negotiators of a treaty, sets forth the following doctrine :—“'The validity of a treaty depending essentially on the mutual consent of both parties, it is ‘essary that he who signs a treaty in the name of the ‘tate shall have been sufficiently authorized by ‘the Ia- ter to make the contract in the manner in which he may bave concluded it. It belongs to the positive copstitu- tion of every State to determine bow fara sovereign in monarchies may, by himeelf, or such council in rio. lies, by itself, bind ® nation by treaties signed by them or Which they may authorize their subordinates to sign. Whatever inay be a. by the chief or his subordi- nate, outside of the limits of the authority conterred upon them, is nothing more than a simple (eponcio) which can only be obligatory upon the nat peeve ton subsequent cousent thereol, either expressed or implied.” Wheaton js still more explicit in his Elements of In- ternational Law. (Part 1i., chap, 2, sec, 6.) He states a6 follows:—“The municipal constitution ev par. ticular State determines in whom resides the authority to ratity treaties negotiated and concluded with fore! Powers, #0 a8 to render them obligatory upon the pati In sre Scypegmene na na the Leh ow of the sove- reign himself to confirm the act of his plenipotentiary ty hie final sancti In certain limived ‘or constitu. tional monarchies the consent of the legislative power of the nation is, in some cases, required for that aoe In some republic, ae in that of the United of America, the advice and consent of the Senate are essen- tial to enable the chief executive magistrate to pledge the national faith in this form. In all these cases it i#, conrequently, an implied condition in negotiating with foreign Powers, that the treaties concinded by the execu- Live government shall be subject to ratification ip the manner prescribed by the fundamental laws of the State. ‘He who contracts with anovhor,’ says Ulptan, ‘knows, or ought to know, his condition.’ Qui cum alio contrait tel ext vel debet ere non ignarus conditions qu. (1. 1 de div. R. J., 0, 17.)"" No quotations were, nor should any have been, made in the manifest; but principles of common and interna- tional law were invoked, which, being, according to Mr. Bermudez de Castro, so very trivial, it was to be pre- sumed would be but too finiliar to the statesmen of Spain, The teachings of the writers on international law whieh I have just mentioned clearly show that a question which relates to the nature of the powers with which a government is clothed to pledge the national faith and to convert a compact between two States into a jaw, is not a kimple internal question to be discussed be- tween a nation and ite own government. That question comprehends the compact itseif; for if the formalities demanded by the funda 1 laws bave not been ful- tiled & annot be said that the compact bas been duly concluded and become a jaw obigatory upon the nation, is well known, the Spanish constitution requ! niispensable requisite, that certain treaties receive the legisiative approval before they can be rati- fled by the sovereign. It mht therelore be asked of Mr Bermudes de Castro whether he. ax Minteter of State, would care to form the royal ratification to such treaties without the previous legislative approval, even if aeeoming the responsibility which for act would ree, yO him; ard itm ght at the same time be asked of Mr, Lioremte whether he, as a Sevator of the kingdom, would judge that such a ratification Fert <4 # question of internal policy, and be of opinion that the ty thus ratified should aiways be considered as a la * State, obligatory upon the Span: Tf he who contracts with condition, according, certainly, to a prinefple of common law, the Spanish government ought to know that by the constitution of the State the Peruvian government had bo power to ratify & treaty without the previous ap. proval of Congress, and thet if it ratified one without © erential a formality the ratfoation war improper; it was areal usurpation ef powers by the government, the immediate eflecte of which mast have beon the nullification of the set. And that the Spanish govern- ment and it# nepo%intor in Callao were perteetiy well aware of iets \¢ & polst whieh admits of mo doubt, for neither of them were ignorant that the gov- ernment of ex-Generad Pezet rent the treaty to Congrese for the very purpose of obtaining the approval of that The a ty of the sreaty pf 27h of January omee the best key whereby to comprehend the conduct of the Spanish government. Before Mr. Bermudez de Castro had delivered his speech we already had the proof thercof in Mr. Valle Riestra’s communications, which your Excel lency will see in the collection, and published by us, in order to give thus another proof of the good faith with which the Peruvian government acts. But, even supposing that those communications had arrived prior to the de- claration of war, they would not have caused the govern- ment to alter its purposes, What confidence could be in- spired by the words and offers of a government which thug ‘suddenly | changed, impelled. by_ eircumstancss of its own creation ? Nhe delusion of the Spanish government reached the point of believing that the indi- cation of its readiness to accept Peru as arbiter in its conflict with Chile would be considered as sincere? The refusal of the islands as a present was coincident with * Pareja’s voyage to the Chilean coasts, and it was at that same time Mr. Bermudez de Castro changed his tone and manners towards Mr. Valle Riestra, and even mani- fested more moderation in his demands relative to the debt. In the treaty of 27th January Chile was styled a friendly pation, and soon after faction was de- manded from, and war carried to, that country, o1 account of matters which ought to have been considered finally settled by that very treaty of 27th January. And should we seek to find a new proof of the want of nobility (hidaiguia) with the Spanish government has we should find it in a document just read by Mr. Bermudez de Castro himself in the Senate. Said document is the despatch addressed by him, under date ‘26th September, to Mr. Al¥istur. Mr. Bermudez de commences this despatch by giving his opinion as to the advices received at Madrid of rang. the progress of the Peruvian revolution— vices which did not permit him to entertain the hope that General Pezet would defeat the insurrectionists and keep himself in command. This was already sufficient to make him show himself less obdurate Peru: for, in case of the realization of the fears of the Minister of State, there was the danger of one more enemy, which would increase difficulties already great with Chile alone. Mr. Bermudez de Castro then proceeds to instruct Mr. Albistur to negotiate in Lima the treaty, the ss of which had already been confided to Mr. Valle jestra, It is remarkable that Mr. Bermudez de Castro should not have said a singie word to Mr. Valle Riestra concern- ing the instructions sent to Mr. Albistur, Far from that, on the 30th of October, and before the use made by Mr. Albistur of those insiructions could have been known in Madrid, Mr. Bermudez de Castro addressed Mr. Valle Riestra the note read by the former in the Senate, in which he invited the latter very urgently to preceed with the negotiation, inciting him thereto in bis subsequent letter of 7th of November, for t! purpose of preventing the creation of any feeling, and th furnishing any occasion to hostilize General in the event of any new differences between the two gowern- ments. Neither did Mr. Albistur, on bis part, say a sin- le word relative to those instructions, which he must fave received on the 2d of November, to the government of ex-General Pezet, And even if it should be alleged that Mr. Albistur had no time for this, it must ever ap- pear strange that so profound a silence should have been observed toward Mir. Valle Riestra, who, we cannot doubt, first learned of thie preceeding on reading Mr. | ner ard de Castro’ fea weyed = by nahh J oe ernment, providing for the two contingencies tanich ioe note or ath of eptember refers, continued the negotiations with Mr. Valle Riestra in case of the triumph of General Pezet, and sent instrac- tions to Mr. Albistur to come to’ an understanding, pot with General Pezet, but with the new gov- erpment, should the revolution have succeeded? T leave it to the discernment of your Excellency to de- duce the consequences which must result from a compari- fon between the words of the Spanish government the acts which by its orders have been and are being trated within the Lies | of American republics, documents now publ by the government throw suf- ficient light upon the matter, and the event# which have in America within the last five years are un- eS ee juent than all the S 4 ‘Such are the proofs ee peek nobility LJ to us by a government which believes it has the Ar of the people and governments of America with haughty disdain and sovereign contempt. If such the solidarity which Mr. Liorente desires should be main- country, it may suit states: men; the nations of America, alt still in their ‘fancy, and although, as asserted by Mr. Liorente, their education in matters of international law is not yet com- leted, neither accept the doctrines of the Span Fore Office, nor do they think they err in asserting that those doctrines are far from being in striet con- formty with the most trivial ideas of common law and the law of nations. The contents of this despatch and the documents in- serted in the official publication, which I send to ir Excellency, clearly prove that the government Bi is Excellency the “Supreme Chief, in whose name spoke in the manifest of 16th Janvary last, bas not calumnniated rid, ‘and that the the government of had roupen @ to the word b ue ew of vat thentic and unanswerable proofa, Neither Peravian government any necessity for reso unworthy means of less supPpos tions, since it was frank eno to declare that, putting aside all the espe. cial reasons which Peru might have for waging war against the government o Spain, the unjust, s andalous and unwarrantable aggression against Chile was more than sufficient to induce Peru to take that be The Peruvian government is not to blame, if that of Spain has #0 frequently been guilty of fickleness and the strangest inconsistencies, giving reicerated proofs of the little regard which it pay# to ite most solemn declara- tious; neither 1s it the fault of Pera that the memory of Spanish statesmen should be so unfortunate that they forget in a brief period the opipions solemnly expressed at official conferences, Your Excellency may, if you deem proper, read this communication to the Minister of Foreign Allaire, and jeave him a copy of came, shoud he desire it. God preserve your Excellency. T. PACHECO, Deel i reme Couri=Cham bers, Before Judge Barnard. Mary 18.~-George G. M. Klum, &c., ve. Wm. Mareh, ko, —Order settled. Thomas R. Ladiow, receiver, va, George Knox. ‘Order settled. John B. Marie vs, Charles A. Wright, ¢ rettied. G Solomon Levi ve, Rachel Levi. —Keport of referee con- tary Btclubery vie Cxaar Seerborg. oR. port of ret lary Steluberg ve, Caemar Stemberg. of referee sonfirined and judgment of d.voreg frank hogsheads of sugar and molas es, and the bay crowded with shipping, TRINIDAD. Its Past and Present Condition—How it is Governed and Taxed—Population, Commerce and sources—American EnterprisemAnnexation to the United States the Hope of the People of ail the Antilles, &c. OUR TRINIDAD CORRESPONDENCE. Port or Svars, Tripp, April 24, 1866. With this island the chain of those superb Antilles ends. At almost a stone's throw, so near does it appear, the Venezuelan coast rears its rugged front. Draw a line across the mouth of the Gulf of Paria, and with one of your famous guns, the echoes from which have been heard, I am told, at Paris, planted on that line, you can throw a shot into the Province of Cumana. Last, then, but not by any means least, of these islands, comes Trinidad, the best regulated and most prosperous, next to Barbadoes, of England’s possessions in these waters. Books of travel tell us how much the English people boast of Trinidad, and in some respects the boast is ry proper one, inasmuch as nature has done as much for the island ascould be expected. We boast of the Falls of Niagara, and I suppose we have a right to boast of them; but we did not make them. They were there before the Mayflower reached Plymouth Rock, or before William Penn, the pious English Quaker, sold slaves t6 the planters of the Old Dominion. So it is with Trinidad and the British colonists. They have done very little, if anything, towards making the island one of the finest of Great Britain’s possessions, Trinidad 1 not more than fifty miles long by thirty to thirty-five wide, containing a superfice of two thousand and twelve miles, or one million two hundred and cighty- seven thousand six hundred acres, about one-third of which may be calculated as bemg under cultivation. Vegetation isexceedingly luxurious. Immense quanti- ties of the finest timber in the world are yet untouched. Water is, generally speaking, abundant; though there are occasional droughis. There is no finer harbor on the globe than the Gulf of Paria, if so large an expanse of water can be called a harbor. It is thirty-eight miles wide and about half as many from the town of Port of Spain to the entrance, The combined naval and commer- cial fleets of the world might meet here in concord, with room for all and some to spare. The climate is fine, as ip all the Autilles, and not extraordinarily bh sid that it is situated in latitude ten From November to May it is exceedingly o1 charming in the plains and valleys,¢while on the hulls it is cool and salubrious all the year round. From this very condensed and I think correct sketch, it may be understood that.nature has done a deal for idad. Now, let us see what man done toward making the island a useful member of society; and we shall with the Spaniards, who held it from the time of its Columbas’in July, 1498, til! its violent seizure by the ish in 1707—three hundred leas one. ae, Iaid out rome towns, wherein » ved, the principal one being this city o the plan of which 1s adm: Io regularity, rectangularity and rectilinear jety, its streets are nowhere exceeded. They of aw y width, well macadamised and well kept, the Spaniards, however, baving had nothing to do with these latter good qualities. The city is built on the gulf shore and is overlooked by the Lovantine ny My ich supply ito some extent with water, When English tool yeeors ago, the population was only one hundred ‘twenty-six whites, from which we may argue that the entire population of the have been very insignificant, and its value to Spain as near zero as possible. The lation of the city is pow close on to twenty thou ‘that of th tire island being between eighty-five aod ninety thou- sand. It 7, records exist of the extent to which the be ere cane was, at the time they were driven out, a very re- cent introduction, it is fair to conclude that the sparse lation cultivated ground enough to enable them to and no more. Just when the sugar cane began to the English came, At that time Exeter Hall did not exist, and Africans were plentiful cheap; yet considering all that might have been done which bas Rot been done, it ia quite likely the Spaniards would have done just as well they remained. With the ex the forts, which may or may not be Span- ish, all forts look so much alike, I cannot diseover a trace of spanish occupation. The few Spanish houses that were formerly here bave all disappeared. “Under English rule the city has grown and the island has certainl; |, thanks to the sugar cane; bat, as I said before, Iam inclined to believe the pantards would Lave done just as well as the great English people. Here, as in Jamaica, I fancy John Bull hasiaied Io fact,’ think the old feutleman a most “wretched colo nist, an oprvion whieh I did not entertain before visiting these islands, For instance, though the streets of Port of =pain are admirable, the houses are, for the most part, wreicved. Neglect and ruin meet the eye at every step, and an air of decided poverty hangs over the place, re: mind ng one very forcibly of Kingston, Jamaica. The supply of water from the rivers Maraval and St, An: would be much better if properiy managed. The Spar jards could hardly manage worse. The Cemetery ig a dreary place, perfectly neglected, rhe Botanic Garda might be kept much better; it is not pos tively in bad order, but the Visitor Who is, a most are, unacquainted with tropical plants, derives not a particle of inforima- Gon ina rambie through its well kept walka The sys tem appears to be reduced to a water.ng-pot and abroon, tbe one for the living, the other for the dead flowers and leaves that must fall, even here, when their time comes, In regard to popuiavion, rapid increase of which is regarded as a mark of prosperity, I do not think it can ve shown that Trinidad prospered. The jucrease from 1861 to 1861 is very close upon fifteen thousan only @ little, if anything, more than the number coo les who immigrated within thor? ten years. The census returns that I have seen are very imperfect, con sequentiy 1 ba ‘of ascertaming the relative proportions of whites, blacks and colored; but I should suppose the number of wh tes very #mall. Tiiave already stated that not more than one-third of the island is under cultivation. One cause of this is the want of A) while another 1 oe gape Men s rere, Tobacco wes formerly raised iderabl pe former times the Siparia cigars enjoyed He ive, quan in a reapnenabon tation; but the quant ty now cult.vated is very small. equal to the bert ( arolina, ured to oad Juxuriance, but its cultivation has been abandon: Cotton was formerly a staple product, but } te @o mo longer, ‘The same may be suid of indigo. The immense quantities of superb timber, which covers the isiand vp to the very summit of tie hills, remain une touched. There is ‘no enterprise w give these forest riches to the world, 1m short, everything is given up to the sugarcane, The only exceptions, perhaps, are the cocoa aud the cocoanut tree, which latter is cultivated ‘on & small seale for thesake of the oil. There is an os- tablishmont for making this oil, supplied with good steam imachinery, and capable of producing twenty-four thous- and gallons of oi] per annum, The cocoa, whieh is of a Very #.perior quality, is growing daily im importance as a staple, Within the last three or four years sugar has reached an average of forty thousand hogsheads, This year it is expected to reach as high a figure aa sixty thousand. Another product to which litue or no attention 13° pa'd ig asphalis, There is a lake of this substance covering an area of about one hundred acres; but iis regarded a more ornamental than useful—a mere natural curivsity,. in short, Now, in regard to government, I do not think there ix: much Wisdom exhibit-d. Officials are numerous and 1o- ceive high salaries, which are paid by the island. The Goy ernor receives three thousand five hundred pounds sier- Ing a year—over seventeen thousand dollars, The other salaries are in proportion, As a na.ural conseqnenee, in order to meet these absurd expenses, a heavy taxa ise resorted to. Everything produced on the tsiand payr on. its exportation an export tax, Sugar pays adollar and twenty cents a hogshead, eighty cents a tierce and. twenty cents a barrel; molasses, forty cents a pineheon, and rum eighty cenis a puncheon. Kum consumed vn the island pays a duty of one dollar a gallon. Cocua. pays an export duty of twenty-six cents on evry hundred pounds, Coflee, a very little of which is grown, pays twenty cents on every Liundred pounds, Everything imported pays an import duty, except. money, diamonds, poultry, books and provisions for Wo navy aud army. Every hundred pounds worth of ma- chinery pays three pounds ten shillings. The Spanish government of Cnba is more l.beral, since no duty is Charged there for improved sugar appuratus and various other kinds of agricultt' q machinery. ‘To sum up this policy und practice and present it iu an intelligible shape let us take (ho official figures for the: We find vor 1864 as a sample. alue of imports Value of exports, TOU... <0s-c0sroenee £1,986,451 The amount of revenue... £176, Lor —A result of nearly nine p year 1863, whieh is nore neat! ceding years, we hay e take the an average with py Value of imports. £710,972 Vaiue of exporis. TIO 8S7 + £1,427. 509° . core £176,876 —Result, a taxation ofAabout twelve and one-third por cent, Now, put the white population, or more properly the business population, at ten thousand—which ts a high digure. Take out of these ten thousand the women and children, aud we have, say, twenty-five hundred persons supplying this revenue, for the privilege of being governed by @ man who knows nothing about the co aA- try, whose interests are not in it, who saves bis euur- mous salary to spend out of it, aud whose stapidity, as in the latest instance on record, sometimes obliges Hin to retire. Is it any wonder, then, that the colonisiy of these islands should ery out/or annexation to the Unied States, They have no reverence for a system whirl costs them an eighth of ther incomes to suppert, which denies them the privilege of sending their produce to market free of charge, or 0. receiving tree of char, machinery which they may require for the improveme of their plantations, They xnow that as part of u United States they would be at liberty to elect their owa governor, a man who was porn aud raised ainong ther and who Wouid undersiand the interests of the country 3 & man, moreover, who would be satisfied with the honiur of governing a free people, aud whose salary would be a maiter not even of secoudary consideration, It is equally no wonder that there aré very few Americans in any or these islands. Why shouid any American con- sent to pay out the money he might make and sa: e elsewhere, in support of this absurd British gysteny Lo this island one American bas ventured to tavest some capil. He, or some one for lim, ‘ound traces of pe- troleum near the town of Fan Fernando; «company was formed, and the work of perforating goes om, but as Yok with no result, though a deptu of « hundred and thy feet has been reached. I Wish bim succes; thea bh it is feared that the deeper he digs Lis hole the per he will put bis foot in it, Should he succeed, it may be the commencement of a good deal of Amercan e in Trinidad. But the long and short of the mat that none of these islands can prosper ap they show under the present English system. To say nothing of their being already American soil, their immense r sources can never be given to the world till they are not only geographically, but politically, part of te United States. Nothing but American enterprise, energy and capital, encouraged by our political system, can properly develope these magnificent islands, They are already in a great measure dependent on the United States tor all the necessaries of life. If, in the event o a war with Great Britain, the intercourse between these is- lands and our ports should be interrapted for any lengilt of time, not only would great suffering be entailed om these possessions, but some would become entirely de populated and the people be compelled to leave, to avoid the alternation tarvati Whether annexation is even likely to happen is more than I can venture to predict, but that it is the hope of the great majority of the people of these Antilles T cam positively affirm. Some day or other such an event may happen, but not till then will the people of the SS American continent be in possession of the natural julwarks of their country on the Atlantic side. sT. THOMAS. japposed Peruvian Privateer=General ta Anna—Where its He Going:— American Trade With the Antilles, é&e., de. . OUR ST. THOMAS CORRESPONDENCE. Sr. Tuomas, Danis West Indies, May 2, 1866. The steamer Vicksburg, from Laguayra, touching at this port on her way to New York, is hourly expected, and will be the bearer of this communication. A SUPPOSED PERUVIAN PRIVATERR, 1 Ond in port the United States steamer Bienviile, and the steamers Georgia and Agnes from New York, both, Tunderstand, for sale. In regard to tho Geofgia there are two or three reports current, One that she has been purchased by General Santa Anna, and an- other that she has been purchased by the Peruvian government and is to become a privateer. 1 am a-sured there are four officers of the Peruvian navy here, mak ng purchases of the various articles needed for a steamer's outfit. At the same time I am equally assured that Santa Anna bought ang paid for the Georgia either yes- terday or this morning, giving the enormous sumo! a quarter of a million of dollars for her. What he von- templates doing with a steamer one can only conjcc: SANTA ANNA ABOUT TO LEAVE—SURMISES, ‘That he intends leaving St. Thomas appears to be cor- tain; at least 1am so informed by a gentleman worwy of credit. Where he intends going is a seeret which tho public have not yet discovered. Some pretend w know that bis destination is Mexico, whither he intends pro~ ceeding quietly on the steamer Georgia, if he has really purchased her, If all this ba not pufe fiction, the old gentleman may have made up his mind to try his nand at another revolution, in the hope of extinguishing im- perialism in his country and perhaps of elevating him- self once more to power. THR MEXICAN CELEBRITY, ALMONTE, with his son-in-law, General Herran, and General Br, court of the French army in Mexico, arrived here day before yesterday, and left next day in a French steanor of the St. Nazaire line for Europe. This vessel, a eplendid one in every respect, le ft this port with over twelve hua dred persons on board, about one-half of whom were troops returning from xico to France. The steamer of the same line, which touched here on Monday on her way to Vera ¢ had some troops on board, pine to Mexico. I was they were Austrians, but | do not think so, for certainly al! the officers [ saw were French. THE SUGAR CROP IN THR TBLAN! from Trindad up to St. Croix, or santa Cruz, ax it ie more generally called, will be ‘very large this year. have just come from a short visit to all of them and can report them in biooming condition. THR CHOLERA AT GUADALOUPE makes that unbappy island an exception, The ditease has nearly disappeared, but there is an occasional case bere and there, so that it can not yet be sad that all danger is at an end, It was a sad sight to see the town of La Basse Terre with its houses shut up and fte streets deserted, Not a soul was to be seen, ¢: on the grand aquare, where a dozen boatmen were 1. REIN, dejected and silent, at the steamer which they dare uot ree. td of the fort hung at half-mast, a sig- nal of distress death; but not a soldier was to be seen. One of the most melancholy objects in this ad = ‘was a fine, new French sohooner, bright and «iran, ing close in shore, abandoned. She has beev lyin there in that condition sines last November, unelai and untouched. No man dare go on board, and who her owners are no one to know, Ina week alter her arrival there, iu November, every sont om boar, frm captain to cabin boy, had hed, and it is seid somo died on board and were there. HOMEWARD FLIGHT OF CONSULS, el Whether the cholera bas had anything to do with tie disappearance of oor consuls from the island or nt T not say, bat there is not one to be found from st down to Trinidad. I found the office in. Port of Spain, Bridgetown, Barbadoes, st, Pierre, Martinique and this port of Bt Theras im the hands acting consul, The ydor rally cet scared as the hot weativer proaches aad. Tun of! to New York, where. the ¢ mometer runs up to a point never approached tn these Antilles, It is stinply & question of home be at home isto be safe nud happy. 1 do not bin ne them, AMERICAN. AITPPING. ‘The only port at whiet I found any decent number of American vesacls was Bridgetown, Barbadoes |) is probable that the principal American trade is done le that flourishing litte |siand; for flourishing it ae nr. 4 ied (or by the fact of tee ¢ in some others of the Fy islands, For tnstanee, American flour pays @ duty at Barbadoes of three and sixpence sterling, oF elgit) it cents per barrel, while in Trinidad it pays five sh Rice pay# only ten cents the hundred pounds former and two shillings, ot forty-eight conta, in wwe latter, and so on to the end of the capter, Then agein, a great many articles aro sdtnitted duty free into Bar- badoes, which are taxed elsewhere, Lucky Barbudoos’ No rivals are permitted. UNITED STATE Vows are not often met with. The Rhode Island, with Ad- Palmer on board, is now craig among tee Of rather was, titi she went to visit the conrt of and Venezueia She had been at Pert of Spam fi