of the "treaty of Managua," in which it was provided, as was proper, that nothing should prevent, at any future time, the Mosquito Indians from carrying out the aforesaid incorporation and becoming subject to the laws and general regulations of the Republic, in place of being governed by their own customs and laws. This decision of the Mosquito delegates puts an end to the difficulties which existed in that portion of the Nicaraguan territory, and at the same time renders impossible, in future, any attempt to ignore the recognition of the absolute sovereignty of Nicaragua over the region formerly called "Mosquitia," seeing that, in view of the resolutions of the natives themselves, no pretext at all can be found for such a procedure. I take pleasure in assuring your excellency that Nicaragua highly appreciates the kind and opportune action of the Government of the United States during the difficulties to which I have referred, and that she recognizes how powerfully that action has contributed to the happy and final settlement of the question. On my own part, I desire to render to your excellency personally my most sincere thanks for the friendly interest which you have always been pleased to show me in the said matter, thus contributing in an efficient manner to bring the affair to a satisfactory conclusion. With all consideration, etc., H. GUZMAN. [Inclosure.-Translation.] The Mosquito convention. Whereas the change which took place on the 12th of February of the present year was due to the efforts of the Nicaraguan authorities to endeavor to free us from the slavery in which we were; Whereas we have agreed wholly to submit to the laws and authorities of Nicaragua for the purpose of forming part of their political and administrative organization; Whereas the lack of a respectable and legitimate government is always the cause of calamity to a people, in which condition we have been for so long a time; Whereas one of the reasons of the backward condition in which we live doubtless was the improper use of the revenues of the Mosquito territory, which were employed for purposes which had nothing to do with good administrative order; Whereas although the constitution of Nicaragua provides for all the necessities and aspirations of a free people, we, nevertheless, desire to retain special privileges in accord with our customs and our racial dis position. In virtue of all the foregoing, in the exercise of a natural right, and of our own free will, we hereby declare and DECREE. ART. 1. The constitution of Nicaragua and its laws shall be obeyed by the Mosquito people who shall be under the protection of the flag of the Republic. ART. 2. All revenues that may be produced by the Mosquito shore district shall be invested for the benefit of that district, and we reserve our own financial autonomy; but the said revenues shall be collected and administered by the officers of the treasury of the supreme Government. ART. 3. Natives shall be exempt from all military service in time of peace and war. ART. 4. No tax shall be levied upon the persons of Mosquitoes. ART. 5. The right of suffrage shall be enjoyed by both males and females who are more than eighteen years old. ART. 6. The native communities shall be under the immediate control of the inspecting chief and of the alcaldes and police officers in their respective localities. ART. 7. None but Mosquito Indians shall be elected to fill the said offices. ART. 8. Alcaldes and police officers shall hold their positions so long as they shall enjoy the confidence of the people, but they may be removed by order of the intendant or by popular motion. ART. 9. When the alcaldes and police officers enter upon the duties of their offices, the chief inspector shall administer the oath of office to them, for which purpose he shall make use of the following form: "Do you swear by God and the Bible to exert yourself in behalf of the happiness of the people that have elected you, and to obey and execute the laws of Nicaragua?" The person to whom this question is addressed shall reply, "Yes, I swear." ART. 10. The people shall promulgate their local regulations in assemblies over which the chief shall preside, and such regulations shall be submitted for approval to the superior authority of the national Government on the coast. ART. 11. In token of gratitude to General I. Santos Zelaya, the President of the Republic, to whose efforts we owe (enjoy) the privilege of enjoying our liberty, the district which has heretofore been known as the Mosquito Reservation shall henceforth be called the Department of Zelaya. Done in the hall of sessions of the Mosquito convention this 20th day of November, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-four. The signatures of the delegates follow with this authentication: "The undersigned hereby certify that they were present at the session of the Mosquito assembly in which the foregoing decree was adopted, which decree was promulgated by the unanimous consent of the representatives above named, who, being unable to write, have accepted our certificate. B. B. Seat, U. S. consular agent; J. Wienberger, alcalde of the city of Bluefields; Sam. Weill, mayor; A. Aubert, treasurergeneral." R. CABEZAS, Intendant-General of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. Before me, JOSÉ MARIA MONGRIO, Secretary of the Intendant's Office. Mr. Gresham to Mr. Bayard. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, December 31, 1894. SIR: I have received your dispatch of the 22d instant, confirming your telegraphic denial, on Lord Kimberley's explicit authority, of the rumors of intended British intervention in Nicaragua and the sup t ré liable proof was needed to sustain the specifications and that reference nust be had to the consul-general, I replied that the claim had been pending for sixteen years, that the note of the secretary was full acknowledgment of Spain's obligation and willingness to pay, and that the demand for other documents seemingly looked to a prolongation for another sixteen years. The secretaries protested against such a construction, stated that the note sent to me had been approved by Mr. Mores's colleagues, and, that there might be an adjustment of the matter, asked me to mention a sum which would be accepted in liquidation of the claim. I mentioned $1,800,000. We were informed that the proposition would be submitted to the minister and an early reply was promised. As yet we have no sign of acceptance or rejection. The old Romans in Carpe diem confirmed a Christian duty. Spaniards seem not to have learned that the present ever is; the future never is. I commit, during my needed vacation (for the experiences of the last few months have kept me in a strain of nervous inquietude and mental excitement) the further prosecution of this case, under the unequivocal promise made, to Mr. Strobel, with fullest confidence. It may become necessary, in order to leave no loop to hang a doubt upon, to apply to the Department for the original documents, or authenticated copies of them, on which instructions No. 3, May 3, 1883, were issued to this legation. I have, etc., [Inclosure 1, in No. 76.-Translation.] J. L. M. CURRY. Señor Moret to Mr. Curry. MINISTRY OF STATE, MY DEAR SIR: The claims which your legation has made against the Spanish Government relative to the embargoed property in the Island of Cuba of Messrs. Antonio Maximo Mora and D. José Maria Mora, have deserved for sometime the most friendly consideration from the Spanish Government. If the definite orders sent to the captain-general of Cuba for the return of the embargoed property have not been complied with until the present time, it is due to the peculiar occurrences that have taken place in that island, as well as to the legal difficulties that have appeared to prevent the return of the property. This combination of circumstances, and the time which has elapsed, make at this day the strict accomplishment of the order impossible; that is, the restoration of the property, but as the Spanish Government desires to give one proof more of its consideration for the Government of the United States, and for your excellency who so worthily represents it, it has not hesitated to propose the payment of a sum of money which will represent an equitable indemnity for the value of said property. If your excellency, therefore, accepts this proposition, we can by mutual agreement fix upon the amount of the indemnity in view of the data and facts which are shown in the documents of the case, after which the minister of the colonies can include in his budget the sum upon which we have agreed, if, from the analogous questions pending between both nations, there should not result some more expeditious means of immediate payment to the claimants, on the express condition that they shall renounce any further claim for the embargo of their property and for everything that bears any relation with it. I renew, etc., MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY OF THE UNITED STATES. S. MORET. [Inclosure 2 in No. 76.] Mr. Curry to Señor Moret. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, EXCELLENCY: I have the honor to acklowledge the receipt of your excellency's note of yesterday, informing me that as a result of events in the Island of Cuba, of legal difficulties that have arisen, and of the lapse of time since its embargo, it would be impossible for the Government of Spain to give effect to the order restoring the property of the American citizen Antonio Maximo Mora, but proposing the payment of a sum of money which will represent an equitable indemnity for the losses sustained by him. It gives me much pleasure to state that the Government of the United States accepts a proposition so in harmony with justice and to inform your excellency that I am ready, at any moment, to confer with your excellency upon the amount of the indemnity. In view of the exalted sense of justice and honor shown by the Government of Her Majesty in regard to this matter and the full data, referred to by your excellency, as existing in the documents of the case, I am confident we can arrive at an immediate and satisfactory conclusion in time, as your excellency thoughtfully suggests, to include the amount in the budget of his excellency the minister of Ultramar. The amount of indemnity agreed upon and paid will be accepted by the Government of the United States as a full discharge of all demand against the Government of Spain as growing out of this claim. In this connection I can not withheld the expression of the high appreciation of this action of the Spanish Government as felt by myself, and that will be felt, as soon as I shall have the pleasure of communicating your official note, by the Government of the United States, a feeling produced, not only by the just decision of Her Majesty's Government, but also by the generous interest which your excellency has personally exhibited in the settlement of this wearisome question and of all contentions that interfere with the most perfect accord between our respective governments. I take advantage of this opportunity to renew to your excellency the assurances of my most distinguished consideration. J. L. M. CURRY. His Excellency S. MORET. No. 136.] Mr. Curry to Mr. Bayard. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Madrid, October 23, 1886. (Received November 6.) SIR: I have the honor to inclose a note which I addressed to the minister of state. In Mr. Strobel's 112, September 8, 1886, he reported ineffectual efforts to secure a fulfillment of a positive promise. In an unofficial note of 20th instant Mr. Moret says, "I am sorry to say the Mora case can not go further without the settlement of our commercial troubles. My colleague objects strongly to it." I have, etc., J. L. M. CURRY. [Inclosure 1 in No. 136.] Mr. Curry to Señor Moret. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, EXCELLENCY: On June 30 last you kindly sent me a note, saying "the Spanish Government" has not "hesitated," in the case of the claim of Antonio Maximo Mora, in proposing the delivery of an amount in cash which may represent an equitable indemnity of the value of that property. You further said if I accepted the proposition we shall be able to fix by mutual agreement the amount of the indemnity, in view of the facts and antecedents which already exist in the papers, after which the minister of the colonies shall be able to include in his budget the sum we may have agreed upon. Promptly, on the part of the Government of the United States, I accepted the proposition. More than three months have elapsed, and, so far as this legation has knowledge, no progress has been made in agreeing upon the "equitable indemnity," although the representative of the United States has, for that purpose, held himself entirely "at the disposition" of your excellency. For sixteen years the unfortunate citizen of the United States has suffered from the spoliation of his property. The weary years have dragged their slow length along, while he has been impoverished and crushed. As there is a limit to human patience, so it would seem there should be a limit to the negotiations connected with this claim. Every principle, essential and non-essential, involved in the claim has been adjudicated by the Government of Spain. Nothing remains except to agree on the equitable indemnity and to pay the money. May I not ask your excellency, in justice to a man whom the Government has repeatedly admitted that the Cuban authorities grossly wronged, to give this matter prompt and decisive attention? Receive, etc., J. L. M. CURRY. Mr. Curry to Mr. Bayard. [Telegram.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Madrid, November 30, 1886. This Government offers $1,500,000 in full settlement of the claim of Mora. Will be charged on Cuban budget of next year. Shall I accept with authority to arrange details of payment? CURRY. Mr. Curry to Mr. Bayard. [Telegram.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Madrid, December 2, 1886. Mr. Curry asks whether the amount mentioned in his telegram regarding the Mora claim is acceptable. If so, he thinks it important to bring the matter to an immediate close. Messrs. Shipman, Barlow, Larocque & Choate to Mr. Bayard. NEW YORK, December 3, 1886. SIR: We acknowledge with many thanks your telegram of the 1st instant, announcing the fact that "$1,500,000, to be charged, on Cuban budget of next year, offered in full settlement of Mora claim," which sum, while it is not equal to Mr. Mora's just claims against Spain, will be accepted by him most gratefully, if this offer is meant to carry with it the certainty of payment. But he informs us that in other similar cases the agreement to pay out of the Cuban budget has resulted in nothing beyond a liquidation of the amount due, and that payments have been long delayed or avoided. He therefore asks us to say that he will accept the proposition to fix the amount due to him at $1,500,000, but asks that this liquidated sum be paid in Washington. Again thanking you on behalf of Mr. Mora for the good offices of our Government so effectively rendered in his behalf, |