Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 4, 1876

No. 248.
Mr. Adee to Mr. Fish.

Legation of the United States,
Madrid, September 28, 1876. (Received October 17.)

No. 305.]

Sir: Among the matters set aside for translation and report to you, but which have got overslaughed by the pressing business of the last few weeks, is the interesting and instructive report of the prosecuting officer in the matter of the assassination of General Prim. The interest felt in the United States in all that concerns the fate of Prim, together with the many allusions made by Mr. Cushing to this case as illustration of the law’s delays in Spain, lead me, however, to venture to transmit it to you as it stands, with a few explanatory remarks.

The assassination of Prim, as you will remember, was effected under circumstances of peculiar publicity on the evening of the 27th of December, 1870. There was a thick coat of snow on the ground and it was still falling; a cab was stationed to block the mouth of the narrow street through which General Prim’s carriage would have to pass on its way home from the Cortes. When the carriage stopped, several groups of men advanced from the two sides of the street and discharged repeated shots from old-fashioned blunderbusses, concealed beneath their long cloaks, point-blank through the carriage-windows, and all made their escape.

The evidence piled up in this case now fills some 12,000 pages of foolscap. Some dozen or two of persons were arrested on suspicion, while proceedings par contumace were had against other suspected persons to the number of about a hundred. And after nearly six years of investigation, the case now passes to its second stage, d plenario, as it is called.

The fiscal reports that all efforts have failed to disclose the authors of the crime; that the complicity, at least, is demonstrated of José Maria Pastor and Rafael Porcel y Blanca; that others to the number of five are liable to process as “authors of attempted assassination;” that nobody is shown to be criminally responsible for the wounding of General Prim’s aid-de-camp; that proceedings against all the others, arrested or suspected, are to be abandoned; and that the cause may now proceed to the stage of the formal trial of those whom he denounces as accomplices.

The reasons for abandoning the prosecution of the parties suspected are given at some length in the case of each, and form the body of the document.

It would seem, therefore, that this mysterious crime, which public opinion has laid at the door of all the opposing parties in Spain, one after the other, without even plausibly fixing its paternity on any one of them, is destined to remain shrouded in more impenetrable mystery than ever.

I have, &c.,

A. AUGUSTUS ADEE.

[Inclosure.—Translation.]

Report of the prosecuting attorney on the proceedings had in respect to the assassination of General Prim.

[From El Imparcial, Madrid, September 13, 1876.]

The case of the assassination of the illustrious General Prim, in which eighteen judges have taken part, having now reached its second stage, the report of the prosecuting officer has just been made public. We give it below, copied from the Gaceta del Ministerio Fiscal. It is as follows:

The prosecuting attorney, having performed the task assigned, reports: That he has examined this interesting case with all the care that it demands and deserves, and that from said examination it appears that on the night of the 27th of December, 1870, between 7 and 8 o’clock in the evening, his excellency Don Juan Prim, then president of the council of ministers, was proceeding in a coach from the hall of deputies to his residence, which was then at the ministry of war, accompanied by his two adjutants, Don Angel Gonzalez Naudin and Don Juan Francisco Moya; in the street called del Turco, however, near its end where it enters Alcalá street, several groups of men fired several times, from both sides, at the coach in which General Prim and his aforesaid adjutants were, the result of which was that the aforesaid general and one of his adjutants, Don Angel Gonzalez Naudin, were severely wounded, the wounds of the former being of so severe a character that in three days they caused his death.

As soon as the court called “de guardia” received information of the crime which had been committed, it commenced a preliminary examination at the house of Don Juan Prim; and at the same time and with the same object, the university court convened. Both of these courts remained in session for three days, at the close of which the result of the examination held by the two aforesaid courts was transmitted to this-court, which was the one having jurisdiction of the case.

At the time when the act which gave rise to this case was committed, preliminary proceedings were had at the court of audiencia and at this, which proceedings constituted two distinct processes, and both for the crime of attempted assassination, but as soon as the crime was committed on the aforesaid night of December 27, 1870, the case which was pending at the court of the audiencia became an assassination case; and the other of attempted crime, which at that time was undergoing examination before the court, and which was continued independently until the liberation of the accused party, Cayetano Dominguez, continued afterward joined with this. This court, from the moment when it took charge of this case, has worked constantly and with the special interest demanded both by the criminal act which gave rise to it, in view of the horrible circumstances attending it, and because it was committed upon the person who then occupied the important position of president of the council of ministers, and at the same time that of minister of war; and from the mass of testimony taken, (which now fills more than 12,000 pages,) it appears that of the persons placed under arrest the following have been prosecuted: José Lopez Perez, Rafael Porcel y Blanco, Estéban Saez Leza, Martin Arnedo Fernandez, José Genovés Brugués, Manuel Rodriguez Garcia del Campo, José Maria Pastor, Jaime Alsina Xaran, Cipriano Gonzalez, and Pedro Acevedo; that the following have died in prison: Ruperto Merino Alcalde, José Roca Martinez, Clement Escobar y Perez, and the following have died without being arrested: Tomas Garcia Lafuente, José Anselmo Clavé, and Manuel Torregrosa.

The following have been examined and set at liberty: Tomas Carratalá Gloren, Don Felipe de Solis y Compuzano, Angel Galan Flores, Manuel Garcia Llanos, Benito Perez Cantarero, Juan Garcia Aguado, Joaquin Fernandez Marcote, Cayetano Dominguez, Maximo San Pedro Gonzalez, Lorenzo de No y Ferrer, Francisco Parrondo y Fernandez, Clemente Miramon del Rio, Juan Antonio Rodriguez Frio, José Alba y Mas, Felipe Rubio Calvo, Juan Rico Mareira, Fermin Dávila, Timoteo Saenz Tejada, Lucio Ruano Oliva, Bernardo Rochet Juan, Diego Lopez Santiso, Angel Teruel Blasco, Joaquin Hernandez Garcia, Francisco Pancorvo Solarve, Antonio Pacheco Moya, Angel Gonzalez Guerrero, Juan Martin Torres, Federico Onis y Onis, Eugenio Zurita Arroyo, Julian Palomar, Benito Roderiguez Fernandez, Fermin Soto Alamar, Felipe Fernandez Mayo Florentino Ricarte Marzo, Manuel Angulo Ayasti, Claudio Alvarez Escarpizo, Juan’ Batllori y Rodriguez, Manuel Gomez Henares, and Casimiro Hernando Goricia. The following have been declared rebels, and the papers in their case placed on file: José Paul y Angulo and Enrique Sostrada.

The following are fugitives, and their whereabouts is unknown: Antonio Garcia Lorero, Francisco Luis Rivera, Miguel Gomez Cruz, Andrés Valencia Trapero, Andrés San Pedro Gonzalez, Pedro Lopez Garcia, Bartolomé Benavide Campuzano, Andrés Castro y Pliego, José Mendez Fernandez, Vicente Alvarez Nieto, Rafael Vasave y Cos, Manuel Romero Rubio, Demetrio Lafuente Larra, Roumaldo Lafuente Pardo, Cristóbal Rubio Fuentes, Urbano Rojas Ortiz, Francisco Córdbva y Lopez, Mariano Peco y Cano, Enrique Diez Gomez, José Antonio Andreu, Miguel Pastor Casaño, Luis Sperandio Colauque, Mariano Gonzalez San Martin, Ramon Cala y Barca, Roque Bárcia y Ferraces,. Estéban Nicolas Eduarte, Pedro Moreno Ibarrola, José Navarro Rubio, Antonio Serrate Arias, Ramon Gonzalez Pelaez, Francisco Lorences Castro, Angeles Barroso Sierra, N. Gravina Fernando Costa Herranz, José Perez Guillén, Santiago Gonzalez Pié, Mateo Ventura Santi, Antonio Gremandes y Botella, José Maria Angulo, Manuel Gomez Fuentes, Baldomero Vivanco y Valencia, Enrique Pato Saenz, Francisco Montenegro del Rey, José Muñoz Morente, Joaquin Tenellosa y Segura, Francisco Huerta, Bautista Galiano. And finally, the deposition of Don Antonio de Orleans, Duke of Montpensier, not made under oath.

During the course of these proceedings other acts have been examined which were supposed to be more or less intimately connected with the principal act of this case, referring to the abstraction of papers or documents from one of the persons on trial, fraudulent substitution of others, and finally there have been separate proceedings on account of the abstraction of a piece of card which was joined to the papers of this case. For the first of these acts, Cipriano Gonzalez, who appears among the parties arrested for the act which now occupies us, has been brought to trial; for the second of the acts mentioned, Don Maximo Rodriguez Ocaña was brought to trial, and is now at liberty; and for the last of the aforesaid acts, that is to say, the abstraction of the piece of card, no one appeared responsible, and proceedings were discontinued.

From all the foregoing, there appears sufficient ground for this ministry to form the following conclusions:

1st. That the acts investigated in this case constitute the crime of assassination of his excellency Don Juan Prim, president of the council of ministers; that of severely wounding Don Antonio Gonzalez Naudin; that of attempted assassination, the examination of which was commenced in the court of the audiencia; that of abstraction of documents and fraudulent substitution of others, with regard to which two acts the prosecuting officer will make proper requests at the proper time, doing the same with respect to the case of attempted assassination, which was separately examined in this court, and which became the present case on account of its probable relation with the principal crime.

2d. That, notwithstanding the incessant labors of this court in order to discover who were the perpetrators of the assassination, whatever may be the private convictions of the court, there is not sufficient evidence to designate the perpetrators among all the parties placed on trial. One thing has at least been demonstrated, namely, the complicity in this act of José Maria Pastor and Rafael Porcel y Blanca, which makes them criminally responsible. The following are likewise responsible as criminals for the crime of attempted assassination: José Lopez Perez, Estéban Saez Loza, Martin Arnedo Fernandez, José Genovés Brugués, Pedro Acebedo, and Don Felipe Solis y Campuzano; while proceedings must be abandoned definitively, on account of their death, with relation to this case as regards Ruperto Moreno Alcalde, Clemente Escobar, Tomás Garcia Lafuente, and provisionally with respect to Tomás Carratalá That there appears no person who can be held responsible for the crime of severely wounding Don Antonio Gonzalez Naudin. That it is proper to discontinue proceedings against Cayetano Dominquez for the crime of attempted assassination; and in relation to the other acts, at the proper time the proper requests will be made.

3d. That there appears to be no person who can be held to a civil subsidiary responsibility.

4th. That the preliminary proceedings being at an end, it is proper to bring this case to its second stage.

5th. That the prosecuting officer renounces the proof and ratification of the witnesses.

The conditions of the preliminary examination being laid down, and the prosecuting attorney, obeying the instructions which he has received, will state, although briefly, the grounds on which he bases his claim to a provisional discontinuance of proceedings as regards the accused parties already mentioned, giving greater latitude to his views in cases in which the importance of the charge made so requires, and treating cursorily those in which, by their simple enunciation, it is clearly demonstrated that an excessive zeal and unpremeditated activity, or a secret purpose, without the motives which gave entrance in this proceeding to many persons, to the great hinderance of this important and celebrated process, and to the discredit of the upright and prompt administration of justice. According to the purpose above indicated, the case of each one of the parties against whom proceedings had been had will be treated, observing the proper separation, or else grouping them together in cases in which there were several persons against whom the same charge was brought.

In the first place it is proper to discontinue proceedings against Ruperto Merino Alcalde, José Roca Martinez, Clemente Escobar y Perez, Tomás Garcéa Lafuente, José Anselmo Clavé, and Manuel Torregrosa, sufficient evidence having been furnished of their deaths.

A provisional discontinuance of proceedings is proper, in the opinion of the undersigned attorney, in the case of the parties who will be mentioned below, because sufficient evidence was not furnished of the charges brought against them on the preliminary examination; and, following the order in which they have been placed in giving their names, it is proper to begin with Tomás Carratalá y Lloren. This person, charged with the crime of attempted assassination in the court of the audiencia, appears concerned in it, according to the statements given in folios 1 and 3, and the official entry on folio 7, but the investigations having commenced, the result was, according to the declarations of the criminals themselves, and from what is deduced from their examinations, (folios 23 and 123 of the proceedings had in the audiencia, and from its amplification to the case of assassination, folios 4,258, 4,284, and 4,873,) that this person, although he was even connected by kinship with one of the perpetrators of this crime, had no participation in it.

Miguel Rodriguez Garcéa del Campo, arrested in this case, the accusation against whom is, that when the crime of assassination was committed, there was at the time standing in the street called del Turco a cab, which is supposed to have been intentionally placed so as to impede the passage of the carriage in which were General Prim and his adjutants. There were suspicions that the driver of this carriage, entered under No. 96, was Manuel Rodriguez. Proceedings were had against him, but nothing can be established, save in what refers to his presence at that place, both as regards the services rendered with his carriage on that day, which do not accord with the register belonging to the carriage which he drove; and it having been impossible to establish any particulars determining his guilt, although he is arrested, it cannot be doubted that proceedings against this individual should be discontinued.

Jaimne Alsina Xaran, arrested also for this cause, was detained at Motbuy on the supposition that he was one of the assassins of General Prim, it being charged that he had so stated, and that he had received considerable sums of money in payment for taking part in said assassination, as shown more at length, (folio 2, 731;) but the matter having been properly investigated it was impossible to establish this statement, and only possible to prove his bad antecedents which have no relation with the present case.

Angel Golan Flores, porter of the house No. 1 in the street called del Turco, and Manuel Garcia Llanos, keeper of an inn situated in the same building, were included in this charge, it being supposed that they had concealed the criminals who committed the crime in their house, but on full investigation of the facts nothing could be shown in confirmation of this.

Benito Berez Canterero was denounced by two sergeants who thought they had heard him say that he had taken part in the act under consideration. They were, however, not able to establish their declarations, and therefore the importance of the charge against him disappears.

Juan Garcéa Aguado was considered as being a suspicious character on account of his well-known republican opinions, and on account of occupying intimate relations of friendship with Francisco Huerta and other persons of similar opinions, and on account of having been seen by several persons on the day of the event near the hall of congress, and because public opinion considers that this crime was committed by persons entertaining these ideas, both this person, and others who will be mentioned hereafter, were subjected to this proceeding without a really well-defined charge, but on account of their well-known political opinions, joined, in some of them, to unfavorable antecedents; the responsibility of this party, however, has not been established.

Joaquin Fernandez Marcote, placed on trial for the same reasons as the persons last mentioned, was submitted to this proceeding without the obtainment of any result showing his criminality; but when it appeared that the participation imputed to him lacked proof, an incident which requires a somewhat lengthy explanation arose to complicate his situation, the supposition being that the charge originated by the prosecution of Roque Bárcia, (which charge may be found on folio 2,435 et seq.,) and with regard to which charge a brief review must be made, it being doubtless of some importance. In the city of Valencia, a person whose name is shrouded in the most profound mystery, found a letter addressed to Don Roque Bárcia, and without opening it, and therefore not being aware of its contents, he supposed that under that envelope something serious was contained which ought to be made known to the government; and full of this idea, he delivered it to one of the persons connected with the government of the state, but rigorously maintained the secrecy which he had proposed to observe as regarded his name. The government having obtained possession of this document, the necessary steps were at once taken to find out if it was of any importance; this delicate mission being confided to a police officer named Santa Maria, (of very questionable character,) who proposed to the aforesaid Roque Bárcia, in order to ascertain whether the document was of any importance, to sell it to him for a pretty large sum of money, which, after various efforts resulting in nothing, the aforesaid letter was opened, and it was found that it was a document in cipher, the key of which was discovered without difficulty; and having been translated, although not with perfect accuracy, the aforesaid Roque Bárcia appeared implicated in the crime under investigation, and this incidentally increased the suspicions against this person on account of its references to a party arrested for this cause, whose name commenced with Mar—which charge, if true, could refer to no other than Joaquin Fernandez Marcote. This document, however, lost all force so far as regards the principals in the case, and much more as regards the person whose case is now under consideration, who suffered the consequences of the intemperate acts of Bárcia, who doubtless brought suspicion upon him by means of a well-woven plot for the purpose of obtaining revenge for some grievance. The matters which we have just stated being of no importance so far as Bárcia is concerned, are equally without importance as regard’s Fernandez Marcote.

Cayetano Dominguez. This person was brought to trial on account of a charge preferred before the court called “del congreso,” to the effect that he, with another, proposed to assassinate General Prim, on account of a conversation heard at the riding-school of one Ballester; the case having been examined, however, nothing was elicited in confirmation of this suspicion.

Maximo San Pedro Gonzalez, Lorenzo de No Ferrer, Francisco Parrondo Fernandez, Clemente Miramon del Rio, Juan Antonio Rodriguez Trio, and José Alba y Mas appear implicated, in consequence of their opinions, and on account of their connection with certain associations, as is detailed more at length in the charges preferred against each respectively, (folios 71, 72, 149, and 300;) but in the course of the examination their participation in this crime could not be shown.

Felipe Rubio Calvo was imprisoned at Saragossa, and sent for examination to this court, on suspicion of being one of the perpetrators of the crime under consideration, (folio 314,) but no foundation for the charge could be shown.

Juan Rico Moreira, accused by the police, (folio 535,) Fermin Dávila, Timoteo Saeuz Tejada, (folio 638 for both,) were included in this process on a charge brought by the police, (stated on the folio aforesaid,) in which they are presented as suspicious persons in view of their well-known republican opinions; but, with respect to these persons, as to several others whom it is not necessary to mention no determinate charge was made, and, therefore, the result was the same, since it was impossible to prove any participation, direct or indirect, as was supposed by the police officers.

Luis Ruano Oliva was held by the alcalde of Loeches, and placed at the disposal of this court, on account of being considered likewise suspicious, (folio 338.) These suspicions, however, did not become even remotely probable, and, therefore, the foundation for the charge disappeared.

Bernardo Rochet, Juan and Diego Lopez Santiso, according to an accusation of the police, (folios 535 and 590,) are likewise designated as presumptive perpetrators, their prominence in the republican party being doubtless considered; and, in view of this circumstance, it was thought that they must be concerned in the assassination in question, the only foundation therefor doubtless being that, it being the work of a party, all of the most prominent members of said party must have contributed in some manner to the accomplishment of its purposes; but, as the supposition is neither well-founded nor rational, the consequence cannot be admitted in the case with the persons under consideration.

Angel Teruel Blasco, as appears, (folio 496,) was detained by the alcalde of Narva-morcuende, on account of being considered a suspicious person, and on account of his being a fugitive from this capital through fear of the responsibility to which he might be held on account of complicity in this case; and it is necessary to admit that the zeal of the aforesaid alcalde on this occasion was followed by as good results as the efforts of the police in those above referred to and some others, which must occupy our attention hereafter.

On folios 677 and 679 appear, designated by a denunciation of the police, Antonio Pacheco, Joaquin Hernandez Garcéa, and Francisco Pancorbo Solarve, as presumptive perpetrators, likewise on the same grounds, for similar reasons, and with remarkable success, like the foregoing.

Angel Gonzalez Guerrero, the charge against whom is found on folio 658, was imprisoned on two occasions, in view of the relations which undoubtedly existed between him and José Maria Pastor, for whom he received various letters from prominent criminals, as was well known; although, notwithstanding all the steps taken to elicit the truth, no appreciable result was gained, legally, although the existence of an understanding between these persons became morally certain.

Juan Marti y Torres appears (on folio 880) to have been a constant companion of Anselmo Clavé, likewise placed on trial in this case, on account of which intimate relation it is supposed that he must have taken part in the affair. As it was impossible, however, to show any grounds for the charge, that is to say, of the participation of Clavé, the consequences which from this fact might be deduced against the accused lose all force.

Federico Onis y Onis was considered as one of the principal concocters of the plan which resulted in the death of General Prim. Since it appears (folio 1125) that one of his servants, seeking to quiet his conscience, which had been somewhat disturbed in view of the horrible event which gave rise to this case, and of which he supposed his master had had previous knowledge on account of the proposal which he made to him to take part in the crime, which participation he had refused, denouncing the instigator, which circumstance could not be substantiated in any manner, it was impossible to demonstrate anything more than the existence of a desire for vengeance, or motives which it is not important to investigate for the case under consideration.

Eugenio Zurita Arroyo likewise appears (folio 1120) to have been held as liable to suspicion on account of participation in this crime by the authorities of San Sebastian, who placed him at the disposal of this court, without the obtainment of any practical result.

Julian Palomar (folio 2059) was likewise denounced by the police as guilty, without any substantiation of the charge made against him.

José Benito Rodriguez Fernandez, placed at the disposal of the court by a communication from the governor of the province (folio 3419) as a suspicious person, and for the same reasons as shown on folio 3680, was arrested several times, as were also Fermin Soto Alamar, of Valencia, and Felipe Fernandez, (folio 820.) These persons are under the same conditions of responsibility, originated only by their political opinions.

Florentino Ricarte, denounced by Ciprs, (folio 3592,) and Manuel Angelo, denounced by José Lopez, (folio 4143.) Both accusations referred to the participation of the accused in acts connected with the case, but which can in no wise cause them to be considered as perpetrators of the crime under consideration, for at most they can only have been participants in details of minor importance.

And finally, Claudio Alvarez Escarpizo, (folio 462,) Juan Batllori y Rodriguez, (folio 462,) Manuel Gomez Henares, (folio 4433,) and Casimiro Hernandez Gorcia, (folio 4819.) The charges made against all these parties seemed to be groundless, the result of want of skill on the part of the police. Thus it is necessary to discontinue proceedings in these cases also, as in the foregoing.

In conclusion, it is proper to say a few words with regard to the personality of the Duke of Montpensier, who was placed in an anomalous situation by this case, and which, in the judgment of the undersigned, should be denned, since it appears in the case that he made a deposition, not under oath. There likewise appeared in this ministry under date of June 12, 1872, some charges against the aforesaid duke, which, having been disregarded by this court and the superior court, the decision of the latter was that said gentleman should not be held as a witness, since it only confined itself to repairing the error committed by the attorney in considering that the charges which existed against the perpetrators of the crime of attempted assassination extended to the aforesaid duke, and that, in being disregarded, they involved a discontinuance of proceedings, which, not then having taken place, should now do so, the undersigned lamenting that his mistaken judgment may have given rise to discussions which, after all, could result in nothing but the blotting of a page of history.

Finally, with respect to the parties declared rebels, and ordering the case to be placed on file by order of December 2, 1874, which has already been mentioned in this document, the aforesaid decision must be considered as executed, or it must be again reproduced in order to have the proper effects in the case.

• First addition: As indicated elsewhere in this paper, in the course of this process proceedings have been instituted against the crime of abstraction of documents, on account of which act Cipriano Gonzalez has been placed on trial and is now under arrest, and that of fraudulent substitution of others, for which Máximo Rodriguez Ocaña appears responsible, the proceeding having been continued in this case in order to discover if it could be connected with the principal act which gives rise to it, but having been sufficiently investigated, and it appearing that they are independent and isolated facts, they must be followed up by themselves, the necessary documents being formed separately, with the necessary insertions which the attorney will designate, and the aforesaid testimony must be sent for substantiation to the competent courts.
• Second addition: Sufficient grounds of criminal responsibility not appearing against Manuel Rodriguez and Jaime Alsina, for whom this ministry solicits a discontinuance of proceedings, it is proper that they should be set at liberty, since justice requires this.
• Third addition: The attorney, considering the great confusion to which this case has given rise and the difficulty of proceeding to an examination of it in that which concerns each of the defenses, the accompanying statement is sent, which comprises the names of all against whom proceedings have been had in this case, and who have been considered as presumptive perpetrators of the different acts against which proceedings have been instituted, in order that it may serve for the proper preparation of the defenses by facilitating their examination.

DR. JOAQUIN VELLANDO.

Madrid, February 29, 1876.