Show 11 I THE PERU PLOT Es ex secretary blaino blaine clears his conduct in tho the Shi phera case by W U V to tl tho e herald k A april april 20 23 blaino said to the committee this morning that lie had examined the diary of the late pre president aident in which ho lie had been in the habit for years of keeping a minute in ikuto account of his daily transactions and found nor hurlbut hurlbut colliet claims or peruvian company men mentioned tinned neither doea does hig his private secretary remember over ever to havo have heard him mention them nono none of these south american dispatches patches were prepared during the presidents residents sic sickness knem blaino blaine mentioned the fact of certain dispatches which worn were blocked blocke d out before the president was shot but which remained in au QUO until after the succession of ta president arthur in explaining president Gar garfielda fields views upon the subject blaine eaid 11 president garfield in conversation with me said mr lincoln directed secretary seward to bring all foreign di dispatches pat clies to him and not to t tho lie cabinet unless ho eo so desired continued blaino blaine from that time t I m e forward for wa rd I never submitted anything to tho the cabinet w which aich indol involved 17 ed the tile permanent policy or a change of policy polity and no stop which would involve a change of policy on the part of this government was ever taken by me without first sub submitting mittin it to tho the president and receiving his cn en tiro tire app approval roaland and direction blaino blaine alluded to the effects which had been made to fi us upon hi him biarne BI ine aine the responsibility tor for a certain policy towards the south american states which was concluded to involve this country seriously and continued I dont desiro to assume that president arthur is responsible for any such effort I acquit him entirely but I desiro desire nil all this time to place this mis matter before the committee correctly blaino blaine then produced an original draft of the instructions which were given to trescott Tr cscott which he read and pointed pointed out the corrections which had been cen made by the president some of f them at liis his c commented ommen ted upon them tho tile corrections and their merits and derne demerits rits he ile added I do not by any means find fault with the president for changing his mind but as to this original draft of the tb instructional instruct iona to which h ich president arthur gave hip his us pent sent and which following precedent I kept I desire to elate state most solemnly that the assumption that I ever interpolated terpo a line or syllable in the dispatch after it was a arced reed to by the president is as false a lie as that which was circulated over the country that I was during durine the presidents sickness blocking out a foreign policy of my own at this point belmont proceeded to propound a series of questions thee these were mainly directed to an inquiry into the policy c of the department part ment in chili the peruvian trouble and the instruct instructions ins given to trescott Tr cscott in reply to a qu question eion stated that lie had lever made an examination of the merits of the cochet and landreau claims lie ile had never considered the landreau claim as adjusted belmont then propounded a series series of questions in regard to the terms good offices or officially and a somewhat lively tilt ensued between the examiner and the witness which was suddenly brought to a climax by blaines remarking with some emphasis I hope mr belmont you will be bo a gentleman I shall be one and will treat you as such I am not in a police court to be b badgered I must answer my questions in in my own syn way and you must not undertake to correct me belmont disclaimed any lack of courtesy or desire to badger he ile entertained the tightest hiah high test respect c t for the witness the examination for some time pursued the direction of repartee and retorts the examiner persi persisting atin in putting his owa own construction u upon the tenor of blaines Bla inea dispatches w while ili A i e the latter persistently insisted upon their meaning as written blaine addressing the chairman said I must confess this scorns seems to me a very extraordinary examination the witness then explained at atelmo some length just what instructions were given civen to hurlbut in relation to landreau that he lie should simply use his good offices to secure a hearing hea I r i for andreau landreau au in the courts in r peru li lu foll I was venturesome enough added blaine to ask a foreign government to give an american a hearing in its courts the casa case was most fairly arbitrated and the property has I gone one tho the way of the old world enlind england has gobbled the guano and a million tons of it are now advertised in london worth probably OKI blaine continued with much earnestness es the english bondholders bond holders ra put up a job of war on peru peni and it was for loot and booty they make a speak of this war as a chilian war it was an en english lish war on peru and andi I take the responsibility to BO so put it and I dared to ask that a hearing bo be given to a humble citizen of a government that hardly dares to bo be out over night and im my y foreign policy to quote the expression I would have driven this country into war with chili had it not been thwarted why it is believed all over chili that the united states got out in time to save a thrashing that her ber hair bair brained secretary of of state was just about to involve her bor in war when she was saved by his removal and wo are laughed at and cartooned cartoon ed in in their papers A little gathering of people cople on the west nest coast ef of south h america merica would have given us a terrible thrashing S so o wo we let the dismemberment mem berment of f pern erti go on and al to bag e spoils and adding with much emphasis his bis tory will hold the united states responsible for it the examination proceeded for some time and lapsed into a con continuous ti tin rattle of r rep partie arteo and counter retort which frequently convulsed tho the spectators with laughter and left it a matter of doubt which was the examiner and which the witness blaine asserted that neither the Lari landreau dreau cau nor tho the cochet claim had anything n more to do with tho the policy of or tins this government toward the south american republics than did the barnacle on the bottom of the ship which boro bore hurlbut to lima belmont had not concluded his examination when the committee ad journea till tomorrow to morrow |