[Inclosure.—Translation.]
Mr. Baralt to
Mr. Bowen.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Caracas, December 10,
1902.
Mr. Minister: The German and British war
ships riding at anchor now for some days in the port of La Guaira
yesterday committed an act of aggression against Venezuela contrary
to the most elementary usages of civilized nations, even in cases of
forewarned and announced compulsion. Nothing had occurred previously
to justify the supposition that an act of violence was to be
consummated, since the diplomatic representatives of both nations
had just addressed special notes to the Government regarding a
certain matter without fixing any time for the corresponding reply.
This reply having been prepared and already dispatched, although it
had not yet arrived at its destination, its contents and bearing
being consequently unknown, military action of a nature manifestly
hostile to Venezuela was taken. After some of the said war ships had
seized the national vessels anchored in the roadstead, with the
exception of one of them, which they could not tow out, and from
which they removed all the machinery and effects, the landing of
sundry bodies of armed soldiers was effected. Two of the steamers
thus suddenly and arbitrarily seized were sunk in the very waters of
Venezuela.
Such action, unprecedented and lacking any extenuating circumstances
even if regarded from the point of view of necessity, is yet more
serious and illegal in that it occurred at a time when political
relations between Venezuela and Great Britain and Germany were still
in force, and when the Government of the republic was occupied in
dispatching its reply to the communication that it had just received
from the representatives of the United Kingdom and the Empire.
The omission of every civilized formula, the neglect of all legal
practice, would justify the supposition in this case of a
preconcerted violation of what constitute certain international
duties or the open determination to depart from the paths
established between civilized peoples, even in questions subject to
the arbitrament of force.
It would seem unnecessary to here enumerate, in order to justify the
solemn protest made by the Government of the republic by reason of
such unusual action, the rules to be obligatively observed in cases
in which any act of compulsion is proposed or attempted against a
civilized people, but the Federal Executive deems it absolutely
necessary to point out the change that the agents of Great Britain
and Germany have wished to effect in the procedure hitherto adopted
by well-ordered countries to arrive at a situation in which all
regular intercourse is exchanged for the imposition of force. And as
among the irregularities mentioned that of the representatives of
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the two nations having
absented themselves from the capital to go on board, some hours
after having addressed sundry notes to the Government without
determining any time for the reply, is peculiarly noticeable, the
present protest must embrace in its effects, not only the aggressive
military action, but also the unusual diplomatic procedure that
preceded it.
I beg your excellency to communicate the text of this note to your
Government, together with the latter parts of the corresponding
“dossier”a
published to-day by official order, the better to enlighten public
opinion regarding a situation of extreme international offense owing
to the conduct of the military and diplomatic agents of two nations
whom they make appear as forgetful of what is due even to themselves
in civilized life.
Accept, etc.,
