No. 358.
Mr. Settle to Mr. Fish.
Lima, Peru, October 12, 1871. (Received October 30.)
Sir: I had the honor to inform you by the last mail that President Balta had taken steps to induce the three most prominent candidates for the presidency to come to some arrangement, by which the country might be saved from the disgraceful scenes which usually attend elections in Peru.
I regret that I now have to inform you that his negotiations served no useful purpose, other than merely quieting the public mind for a few weeks, and that there is now a very general belief that the election which takes place on Sunday, the 15th instant, will be conducted in a very riotous manner. The system of opening the polls seems to me to be the best-devised scheme to provoke a riot that could be imagined.
[Page 470]The judges of the previous elections open the polls for a short time, (half an hour, I understand,) and then a count is made, and the friends of the successful candidate at the primary election become the judges of the general election. Of course not one in fifty of the voters can deposit their ballots in half an hour, and as each party deems it of the utmost importance to secure judges favorable to its own views, there is a great rush for the tables at these primary elections, which, naturally enough and usually, results in a general street fight. At present I apprehend nothing more than street-fighting between the supporters of the different candidates. I do not believe there is any disposition to revolutionize the government while President Balta’s term continues. But there is evidently great excitement, and all parties are well armed with revolvers; and if the military should be called in to quell a riot, it may be denounced as an interference in the election, and even lead to a revolution in the government. I shall be most agreeably disappointed if the next week passes without serious trouble.
I have, &c,