No. 390.
Mr. Valera to Mr. Frelinghuysen.
Washington, May 19, 1884. (Received May 20.)
The undersigned, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of Spain, has the honor to state to the honorable Secretary of State of the United States that he has received his note of the 17th instant, informing him that the rumor which had been spread that a mob was about to arise and was on the point of committing violent acts against the consul of Spain at Key West, had been exaggerated.
The undersigned has received this information with satisfaction, and is thankful for the offer which, in the name of the Government of the United States, has been made to him by the Hon. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, to protect the security of the consul with a military guard, but, it not being possible for him to know the situation in Key West, he cannot advise, as the Secretary of State asks him to do, whether the guard which the consul has declined should be set. That officer is the sole judge in the matter, and in the fulfillment, of his duty he exposes himself to the risk of some evil disposed persons taking his life, as has so often occurred in past times, without the dignity of Kings or of Presidents being sufficient to save them.
The undersigned knows very well that all the good will of the Government [Page 515] of the United States could not prevent such a thing from happening, but what he believes should be prevented, perhaps, is the occurrence of that which the laws of the United States do not tolerate, and which every cultured people seeks to prevent, however ample and universal may be the liberty which its citizens enjoy, and that is that daily and hourly in the street, in cafes and taverns, in newspapers and broadsides, a functionary of a friendly nation should be threatened, insulted, and disparaged, whether those who proffer such threats, insults, and outrages be drunken or not.
In Key West, as the undersigned opines, the object is now not to prevent but suppress and punish constant infractions of the laws, and he believes that if the zeal of the judicial officers of the United States, freshly invoked by the Federal Government, could succeed in imposing the punishment which is merited upon a few of the many criminals there sheltered, much would be accomplished towards calming the alarm which exists, and towards removing the opportunity for events which both Governments would regret.
The undersigned improves, &c.,