No. 97.
Mr. Williamson to Mr. Fish.
United
States Legation in Central America,
Guatemala, October 13, 1874.
(Received Nov. 17.)
No. 261.]
Sir: Referring to my No. 242,* dated September 19,
1874, and to your instruction No. 108,* dated August 24, 1874, both on the
subject of the satisfaction demanded from the government of Honduras in
February last, as reported in my No. 107†, for the outrage upon our consulate at Omoa in
July, 1873, I have the honor to state:
My No. 242 was written and dispatched several weeks in advance of the receipt
of your instruction No. 108. Since the receipt of that instruction I have
hesitated whether to renew the demand for satisfaction, or await your answer
to my said No. 242. It seems to me, after having carefully considered the
instruction, that you intended me to renew the demand reported in my No.
107, of the 19th of February, written from Comayagua.
I now have the honor to inclose you a copy of my note of the 10th instant,
addressed to the minister of foreign affairs of Honduras, in which his
attention is called to our previous correspondence on the subject of the
outrage, and satisfaction demanded. The note also contains a renewal of the
demand previously made.
Although I hope to receive a satisfactory and prompt reply, I cannot but
apprehend continued procrastination.
I have, &c.,
[Page 139]
[Inclosure in No. 261.]
Mr. Williamson to
Mr. Zuniga.
United
States Legation in Central America,
Guatemala, October 10, 1874.
Sir: I have the honor to call your attention to
our correspondence on the subject of the outrage upon the consulate of
the United States at Omoa, in July of 1873, by the troops of Honduras
under the command of General Straeber, and to say, up to this time,
nothing further has been received from your government on the
subject.
Your attention is called to the date of the correspondence as a
justification for the expression of the belief that the government of
Honduras has had ample time to make the investigations which it proposed
to make into the occurrences attending the outrage, and to be prepared
either to render the satisfaction demanded or to show that it was based
upon errors of fact.
Your excellency’s government has been so much occupied in the patriotic
work of re-organization that this matter has not been pressed upon you
from this legation.
So much time has elapsed without any communication from the government of
Honduras upon this subject, that it is deemed advisable to renew the
demand, with the expression of the cordial hope your excellency’s
government will feel able to render to my Government promptly and fully
the satisfaction to which it is entitled, the nature of which was
intimated in my conversation with His Excellency President Leiva on the
occasion of my having the honor of being presented to him officially in
Comayagua, on the 19th of February last.
Renewing to your excellency the assurance of my distinguished
consideration, I have the honor to be, &c., &c.,
His Excellency Señor Licenciado Don Adolfo
Zuniga,
Minister of Foreign Affairs
of Honduras, Comayagua.
