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of any difficulties to the immediate execution of the public resolution passed by Congress and approved by the President of the United States, by which the manner of bringing to an end the claims of American cit izens against the Government of Venezuela has been fixed.

That very noble resolution, so worthy of this great nation and its enlightened Government, is the sole guide by which we all must be ruled, and its execution seems to be more than simple. Now that I have had the happiness in part to bring it about, it is my ardent desire to see it accomplished, and will spare no efforts to establish the most adequate means for maintaining cordial relations between the two countries

To this end, I respectfully beg your excellency to please designate the earliest day that may be convenient for me to call at the Department of State, and after the explanations, which I flatter myself I can give to your excellency, see if the effects of the before-mentioned resolution can be made practical.

But I deem it my duty at once to give your excellency one of the explanations, thus corresponding to your esteemed note of the 17th instant, and it is (beginning by the most material part of the business) that a grave error is made when it is affirmed that Venezuela has not paid so much as the interest of its debt; an error, because as yet the amount of that unliquidated debt is unknown, inasmuch as Congress and the Executive have ordered it revised; a greater error, inasmuch as Venezuela has paid 15 per cent. of the total of all the awards to claimants of every kind, besides which the Department of State has in its hands $534,285.83, which amount, believe me, your excellency, will more than suffice to meet the just claims.

This, if we consider as in force what was done by the Mixed Commission of Caracas; but things are to-day on a very different footing. Congress has ordered and the President has approved that the principal clauses of the treaty of 1866 be revived.

For three years, have I had the honor of laboring incessantly in the name of Venezuela for this purpose, and when Congress passed that sovereign resolution I made haste to manifest, as I had so many times before, to your excellency the decided adhesion of my Government to so just a course.

Consequently the will of both parties was in fact effectually expressed, and if it be necessary I now reiterate it to your excellency, and I have even had the honor of presenting to you a draft of the protocol which, subject to a better opinion than mine, should be adopted in order to make the aforementioned public resolution effective. Sanctioned as it has been by Congress, approved by the Executive, and accepted without any variation by Venezuela, that resolution constitutes itself and by itself alone the basis of a situation which only lacks being put into writing and signed.

And this situation, agreed upon by both sides who have decided to revive the treaty of 1866, is the same as where we stood on the day of the celebration of that treaty, that is to say there is no Mixed Commission, no awards, no certificates, no recognized debt, nor any that can be collected, no monthly payments to make, so long as there shall not be revived or in some other manner fixed in some of the articles of the revived convention the dates of payment.

Your excellency calls the resolution of Congress approved by the President a domestic act, which has not been officially notified to my Government; but as the act of Congress and its approval have been accepted by Venezuela, an official notification is superfluous since the 28th day of March last, on which your excellency had the goodness to

grant me an interview to exchange ideas, which we did, as to the manner of carrying into effect what Congress had ordered; that interview, in which both parties showed themselves in accord with that public resolution, is worth much more than any official note. A note, which is but a formula, could in no wise better the value of that discussion which is the accomplished fact.

So ardently do I desire to see the manner of carrying into effect the resolution of Congress formulated, that I do not hesitate to urge your excellency to grant my request to fix a day for the interview which I ask prior to my departure. The concurrence is perfect, and it seems to me it will be easy to reduce it to writing, to the great benefit of both. I believe that I need not furnish your excellency with proofs of the sincerity of my anxiety to bring this matter to a close; but if any more demonstrations be necessary, I beg you to observe that in this case it is the debtor who is urging the creditor to reach a point when payment may be made.

Aecept, sir, &c.,

SIMON CAMACHO.

The Congress of the United States of America, on the 4th day of March, 1883, having passed the joint resolution of which the following is a true, faithful, and complete copy:

JOINT RESOLUTION providing for a new Mixed Commission, in accordance with the treaty of April 25, 1866, with the United States of Venezuela.

Whereas, since the dissolution of the Mixed Commission appointed under the treaty of April 25, 1866, with the United States of Venezuela, serious charges impeaching the validity and integrity of its proceedings have been made by the Government of the United States of Venezuela, and also charges of a like character of divers citizens of the United States of America, who presented claims for adjudication before that tribunal; and whereas the evidence to be found in the record of the proceedings of said Commission, and in the testimony taken before committees of the House of Representatives in the matter, tends to show that such charges are not without foundation; and

Whereas it is desirable that the matter be finally disposed of in a manner that shall satisfy any just complaints against the validity and integrity of the first Commission, and provide a tribunal under said treaty constructed and conducted so as not to give cause for just suspicion; and

Whereas all evidence before said late Commission was presented in writing and is now in the archives of the State Department; and

Whereas the President of the United States has, in a recent communication to Congress, solicited its advisory action in this matter: Therefore,

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled, That the President be, and he hereby is, requested to open diplomatic correspondence with the Government of the United States of Venezuela, with a view to the revival of the general stipulations of the treaty of April 25, 1866, with said Government, and the appointment thereunder of a new Commission to sit in the city of Washington; which Commission shall be authorized to consider all the evidence presented before the former Commission in respect to claims brought before it, together with such other and further evidence as the claimants may offer; and from the awards that may be made to claimants, any moneys heretofore paid by the Department of State, upon certificates issued to them, respectively, upon awards made by the former Commission, shall be deducted, and such certificates deemed canceled; and the moneys now in the Department of State received from the Government of Venezuela on account of said awards, and all moneys that may hereafter be paid under said treaty, shall be distributed pro rata, in payment of such awards as may be made by the Commission to be appointed in accordance with this resolution.

The President of the United States of America having approved said joint resolution; and the Government of Venezuela having accepted the above proposal through its diplomatic representative in this capital;

We, Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Secretary of State of the United States of America, and Simon Camacho, minister resident of the United States of Venezuela, duly

empowered for this purpose, do proceed to carry into effect the aforesaid resolution, in the following articles:

ARTICLE I.

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The treaty concluded on April 25, 1866, between the United States of America and the Republic of Venezuela is hereby revived in all its clauses, articles, and compacts, except those which are not herein expressly mentioned, and with such unavoidable alterations as have been agreed upon to conform with the aforesaid joint resolution of Congress. In consequence thereof, and in accordance with the article first of the aforesaid treaty of April 25th, 1866:

All claims on the part of corporations, companies, or individuals, citizens of the United States, upon the Government of Venezuela, which may have been presented to their Government or to its legation in Caracas before the 25th day of April, 1866, shall be submitted for examination and decision to a Mixed Commission, consisting of two members, one of whom shall be appointed by the Government of the United States, and the other by that of Venezuela. In case of death, absence, resignation, or incapacity of either of the Commissioners, or in the event of either of them omitting or ceasing to act, the Government of the United States or that of Venezuela, respectively, or the minister of Venezuela in Washington, by authority of his Government, shall forthwith proceed to fill the vacancy.

The Commissioners so named shall meet in the city of Washington on the 1st day of September, 1883; and before proceeding to business, they shall make solemn oath that they will carefully examine and impartially decide, according to justice and in compliance with the provisions of this convention, all claims submitted to them, and such oath shall be entered on the record of their proceedings.

The Commissioners shall then proceed to appoint an umpire to decide upon any case or cases concerning which they may disagree, or upon any point of difference that may arise in the course of their proceedings; and if they cannot agree in the selection, the umpire shall be named by the diplomatic representative of Switzerland or of Russia in Washington, on the previous invitation of the high contracting parties.

ARTICLE II.

So soon as the umpire shall have been appointed, the Commissioners shall proceed, without delay, to examine the claims which may be presented to them under this convention; and they shall, if required, hear one person in behalf of each Government on every separate claim. Each Government shall furnish, on request of either Commissioner, all such documents and papers in its possession as may be deemed important to the just determination of any claim, and all those papers now existing in the Department of State.

In cases where they agree to award an indemnity they shall determine the amount to be paid and issue one certificate of the same.

In cases where the Commissioners cannot agree the points of difference shall be referred to the umpire, before whom each of the Commissioners may be heard, and whose decision shall be final.

The Commissioners shall make such decision as they shall deem, in reference to such claims, conformable to justice, even though such decision amount to an absolute denial of illegal pretensions, since the including of any such in this connection is not to be understood as working any prejudice in favor of any one, either as to principles of right or matters of fact.

ARTICLE III,

The Commissioners shall issue one certificate of the sum to be paid to each claimant, respectively, by virtue of their decisions or those of the umpire after having deducted from the award any moneys heretofore paid by the Department of State upon certificates issued to them, respectively, upon awards made by the former Commission, and such certificates shall be deemed canceled, and the aggregate amount of all sums awarded by the present Commissioners and of all sums accruing from awards made by the present umpire shall be paid to the Government of the United States. Payments of said sums shall be made in equal annual payments, to be completed within ten years from the date of the termination of the labor of the Commission, the first payment to be made within six months from same date. Semi-annual interest shall be paid on the several sums awarded at a rate of 5 per cent. per annum from the date of the termination of the labors of the Commission.

ARTICLE IV.

The Commission shall terminate its labors in twelve months from the date of its organization, except that thirty days' extension may be given to issue certificates, if necessary, on the decisions of the umpire in the case referred to in the following article. They shall keep a record of their proceedings, and may appoint a secretary

ARTICLE V.

The decisions of this Commission and those (in case there may be any) of the umpire shall be final and conclusive as to all pending claims at the date of April 25th. 1866; claims which shall not be presented within the twelve months herein prescribed will be disregarded by both Governments and considered invalid.

The balance as it is in the treaty.

No. 5.

Señor Camacho to Mr. Frelinghuysen.

NEW YORK, April 23, 1883.

MY DEAR SIR: I am so persuaded that by going to Caracas I can settle any difficulties which may arise in the fulfillment of the public resolution that I shall sail on the 7th of May for that purpose.

To do that it is necessary that I have some paper-say protocol—in which your views are expressed.

Will you kindly appoint a day on which I may go to Washington to see you about this subject.

Please excuse my sending you a draft and not a clean copy of the translation of a letter I wrote, published by order of the Government. My health is not at all encouraging; three doctors having pronounced my case one of cancer. I do not give up, however, and, please God, I will get well yet.

Very sincerely, yours,

SIMON CAMACHO.

Señor Camacho to his excellency Rafael Seijas.

[Translation.]

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES OF VENEZUELA,
Washington, March 9, 1883.

MOST EXCELLENT SIR: I have the honor to confirm the cablegram which I caused. to be sent on the 5th instant to the illustrious President of Venezuela. "President signed our law."

The triumphant joy with which I penned those four words crowning the trust confided to me by his excellency cannot be exaggerated.

A feeling of egotism told me that I had accomplished the work confided to me by his excellency, happily corresponding to his orders and his inspirations, and sharing in the tenacity with which he refused to accept aught less than a new Commission to revise the awards so iniquitously given against Venezuela. To our country there results great material and moral good; the latter because the justice which assisted us has been recognized, for it does not always suffice, sir, to have the right on one's side, and how many times it had been denied us, and in contempt of it, aforetime, had the funds of Venezuela been distributed among false claimants. They will not be distributed again but by virtue of an unbought award, and this is our material good. Finally, and unquestionably not least important, we have to admire and thank the magnanimity of a nation, which though armed with executive title, in conformity with law, puts it aside discerning through judicial technicalities favorable to itself a gross fraud, to take advantage of which would be unworthy of her national grandeur, and deems the equity of truth more powerful than the so-called justice of an apparently formal adjudication. In this point of view the post of honor is due to the first Secretary of State, Mr. F. T. Frelinghuysen, who disregarding all considerations of the so-called res judicata, and in spite of curialistic opinions, turning a deaf ear to the most urgent appeals presented by claimants with red titles, refused to consent to the distribution of the funds of Venezuela, and sent the records to Congress for that body, in its sovereignty, to provide a remedy for the injustice which legal forms forbade the Secretary's doing. All praise to the honesty and uprightness of his character.

Both houses of the National Congress approved nemine contradicente the report and recommendation of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, for, if there was one dissenting vote in the latter body, it was not against the justice of the measure but against the power of Congress to administer justice.

The President-General Arthur, who had by his signature authorized the submission of our matter to Congress, at once signed the resolution of the sovereign legislator. Behold, then, your excellency, if we have not cause for being grateful for such actions, and judge of the pride with which I see my name, insignificant though it be, figuring in these transactions.

I have the honor to be your excellency's obedient servant,

SIMON CAMACHO.

No. 6.

Mr. Frelinghuysen to Señor Camacho.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, April 28, 1883.

MY DEAR MR. CAMACHO: I received your personal letter of the 23d instant and was much pained to hear of the critical character of your disease. I trust, however, your anticipation of recovery may be soon realized.

In reference to your official note, let me say that the President cannot consent that Venezuela shall, without the concurrence of the United States, assume to set aside any of the obligations created by the treaty of 1866.

On the assurance that the monthly payments will be resumed and not suspended until the date of the exchange of ratifications, negotiations for a new convention will be proceeded with. If you give this assurance, your official note will, I presume, be withdrawn. I must frankly say that the assurance that the monthly payments will be resumed as stated is a necessary condition to the consideration of the subject.

As soon as I hear from you I will fix a day to meet you here.
Yours, truly,

FRED'K T. FRELINGHUYSEN.

No. 7.

Mr. Camacho to Mr. Frelinghuysen.

[Translation.]

LEGATION OF VENEZUELA,
New York, May 4, 1883.

My DEAR MR. FRELINGHUYSEN: I duly received your interesting note of April 28, marked personal, to which I reply at the first favorable moment, thanking you most sincerely for the desires therein expressed in behalf of the re-establishment of my health.

As to the matters of the resolution of Congress, I see that you require assurance that the monthly payments shall not be suspended until the date of the exchange of the ratifications of the negotiations for the new convention. This assurance, you inform me, is a necessary condition for the consideration of the matter. Unfortunately I have received no instructions on the subject, but as I sail on Tuesday next, the 8th instant, for Caracas, I shall very soon have them, and will, by God's help,

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