1855, the company claimed $935,000; a supporting statement of a committee of the company, with some affidavits, is in serial 938, pp. 65-88. For the history of this claim, its details, and the merits thereof, see the devastating opinion of Commissioner Cave Johnson, dated August 10, 1860, adverse to the claim in its entirety, in Moore, op. cit., II, 1502-38.

These paragraphs on relations with Paraguay were included in President Buchanan's first annual message to Congress, of December 8, 1857 (Richardson, V, 436-63, at p. 449):

I regret to inform you that the President of Paraguay has refused to ratify the treaty between the United States and that State as amended by the Senate, the signature of which was mentioned in the message of my predecessor to Congress at the opening of its session in December, 1853. The reasons assigned for this refusal will appear in the correspondence herewith submitted.

It being desirable to ascertain the fitness of the river La Plata and its tributaries for navigation by steam, the United States steamer Water Witch was sent thither for that purpose in 1853. This enterprise was successfully carried on until February, 1855, when, whilst in the peaceful prosecution of her voyage up the Parana River, the steamer was fired upon by a Paraguayan fort. The fire was returned, but as the Water Witch was of small force and not designed for offensive operations, she retired from the conflict. The pretext upon which the attack was made was a decree of the President of Paraguay of October, 1854, prohibiting foreign vessels of war from navigating the rivers of that State. As Paraguay, however, was the owner of but one bank of the river of that name, the other belonging to Corientes, a State of the Argentine Confederation, the right of its Government to expect that such a decree would be obeyed can not be acknowledged. But the Water Witch was not, properly speaking, a vessel of war. She was a small steamer engaged in a scientific enterprise intended for the advantage of commercial states generally. Under these circumstances I am constrained to consider the attack upon her as unjustifiable and as calling for satisfaction from the Paraguayan Government.

Citizens of the United States also who were established in business in Paraguay have had their property seized and taken from them, and have otherwise been treated by the authorities in an insulting and arbitrary manner, which requires redress.

A demand for these purposes will be made in a firm but conciliatory spirit. This will the more probably be granted if the Executive shall have authority to use other means in the event of a refusal. This is accordingly recommended.

The request of Buchanan for authority to use force was granted by Congress; the joint resolution approved June 2, 1858, provided (11 Statutes at Large, 370)—

That for the purpose of adjusting the differences between the United States and the republic of Paraguay, in connexion with the attack on the United States steamer Water Witch, and with other matters referred to in the annual message of the President, he be, and is hereby, authorized to adopt such measures and use such force as, in his judgment, may be necessary and advisable, in the event of a refusal of just satisfaction by the government of Paraguay.

By section 4 of the Naval Appropriation Act of June 12, 1858 (ibid., 314-19), the sum of $10,000 was appropriated for expenses and compensation of a Commissioner to Paraguay in execution of the joint resolution of June 2, 1858.

1 The report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, proposing the joint resolution, is in serial 938, pp. 1-5.

INSTRUCTIONS

In an instruction of August 5, 1856, Marcy wrote to Special Commissioner Fitzpatrick regarding the claim of United States and Paraguay Navigation Company in these terms, not mentioning at all the incident of the firing on the Water Witch on February 1, 1855 (D.S., 15 Instructions, Argentina, 99-103, excerpt; one paragraph here omitted is in Manning, op. cit., X, 37; the instruction of August 6, 1856, cited above, dealt only with exchange of ratifications of the unperfected treaty of March 4, 1853):

A number of citizens of the United States, attracted by the advantages promised by the Government of Paraguay to foreign merchants, mechanics and agriculturists who might settle in that country and place steam boats on its rivers formed an association and obtained a charter from the State of Rhode Island in 1853 with the title of the United States and Paraguayan Navigation Company. This Company sent an expedition thither in 1853 under the guidance and control of Mr. Edward A. Hopkins, who was appointed United States Consul for Paraguay. The arrival of the expedition at Asuncion [was] retarded by some disasters, but soon after it reached there the company purchased certain landed property and engaged with energy and success in business of different kinds, but principally in the manufacture of cigars. In the course of the next year while Mr. Clement S. Hopkins the brother of the Consul was riding with a companion in the neighborhood of Asuncion, they met a soldier driving cattle in the opposite direction who, because they did not deviate from the path as he desired, struck Mr. Hopkins with the flat of his sword. This incident led to a long and angry correspondence between the Consul and the Paraguayan government, which resulted in the withdrawal of the Exequatur of that functionary, his expulsion from the country, the confiscation of the property of the company, and the breaking up of their business. They have consequently addressed to the President the Memorial,' a copy of which is herewith enclosed, setting forth their grievances and asking the interposition of the government for the purpose of obtaining redress. The amount of damages alleged in the memorial to have been sustained having been considered as somewhat exorbitant, the Company has presented an account of particulars which you will herewith receive and by which the sum claimed is much reduced. No doubt is entertained that injustice was done to the Company and that, under the condition of things in Paraguay, the government of that country is accountable therefor. You will, accordingly, at a proper time and in a proper manner, make known the views of this government on the subject. Before adverting to it, however, it is deemed advisable that you should propose an exchange of the ratifications of the Treaty with Paraguay which was concluded on the 4- March '53.

You will herewith receive a letter introducing you to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Paraguay. On presenting it and on other occasions when you may have intercourse with him and with other persons in authority there, you will endeavor to convey an impression of the strong desire of the President to maintain friendly relations with that country and of his hope that this disposition will be reciprocated. Your first business will be to propose an exchange of the ratifications of the Treaty for which you are authorized by the accompanying power from the President. If your proposition for this purpose should be objected to,

1 Klemente (or Clement) Eusebius Hopkins.

Of January 15, 1855, cited above.

Presumably the account dated June 25, 1855, the original of which is in D.S., Claims Papers, Paraguay, 1859, envelope 3.

Not printed. The record copy, dated August 5, 1856, is in D.S., 4 Credences, 145.

'Not printed. The record copy, dated July 30, 1856, is in ibid., 143.

you will endeavor to meet the objections. There is no information in this Department which enables it to anticipate what they may be or indeed, that there is any just cause for a rejection of the treaty. If, however, the exchange of the ratifications should ultimately be declined, you will then present the claim of the United States and Paraguayan Navigation Company. You will express the President's regret that the commercial intercourse between the two countries should have been suddenly interrupted in so unpleasant a manner so soon after it had been auspiciously commenced. You will also state that although this government has not attempted and will not attempt to justify all the conduct of Mr. Consul Hopkins, it conceives it had reason to expect that the consequences of his official or personal delinquencies would have been limited to himself and would not have been extended to those of his countrymen who had employed him as their business agent. So much time has elapsed since those events, that it is hoped all just irritation in regard to them may have subsided, and that the Paraguayan authorities will acknowledge that, in their proceedings in regard to the company, they violated the pledges which had been held out and incurred a just accountability therefor.

You will be allowed your necessary travelling expenses from your departure from this City until your return to the seat of government of the Argentine Confederation from Paraguay. You will also be allowed a compensation of eight dollars a day from the time when you may leave that place for Paraguay until your return thither. The sum of twelve hundred dollars is advanced to you for your expenses. Of these you will keep a strict account, which must be supported by vouchers in every instance where they can be obtained and the account with the vouchers, must be forwarded hither for adjustment at the close of your mission.

Fitzpatrick, however, did not, while at Asunción, present or even refer to the claim (see ibid., 173, Fitzpatrick to Vázquez, November 10, 1856), though Vázquez had written to him of "claims for millions of pesos, with which Hopkins meant to intimidate the Government of the Republic" (ibid., 171–72, November 8, 1856).

1

James B. Bowlin, of Missouri, was appointed Commissioner to Paraguay on September 9, 1858. In his annual message of the following December 6, Buchanan, after referring to the enactments of the previous June 2 and 12, wrote (Richardson, V, 497-529, at pp. 519-20):

In compliance with these enactments, I have appointed a commissioner, who has proceeded to Paraguay with full powers and instructions to settle these differences in an amicable and peaceful manner if this be practicable. His experience and discretion justify the hope that he may prove successful in convincing the Paraguayan Government that it is due both to honor and justice that they should voluntarily and promptly make atonement for the wrongs which they have committed against the United States and indemnify our injured citizens whom they have forcibly despoiled of their property.

Should our commissioner prove unsuccessful after a sincere and earnest effort to accomplish the object of his mission, then no alternative will remain but the employment of force to obtain "just satisfaction" from Paraguay. In view of this contingency, the Secretary of the Navy, under my direction, has fitted out and dispatched a naval force to rendezvous near Buenos Ayres, which, it is believed, will prove sufficient for the occasion. It is my earnest desire, however, that it may not be found necessary to resort to this last alternative.

1 The nomination of Bowlin as Commissioner was received in the Senate on December 21, with a message of December 17, 1858, and was confirmed on January 13, 1859 (Executive Journal, XI, 21, 37).

The naval force assembled to support the diplomacy of Bowlin was impressive, comprising 19 vessels with 200 guns and 2,500 men (Moore, International Arbitrations, II, 1493-94); the cost of the expedition was large, amounting, it was said, to as much as $3,000,000 (see ibid., 1538).

A very long instruction was written to Bowlin by Secretary of State Cass on October 6, 1858; statements of Hopkins and others on behalf of United States and Paraguay Navigation Company were implicitly relied on as justifying the claim thereof; the incident of the firing on the Water Witch and the law of river navigation were discussed; and the failure to exchange ratifications of the treaty of March 4, 1853, was reviewed. Bowlin was authorized to effect exchange of ratifications of that treaty or to sign a new one of similar tenor; he was directed to demand an apology for the attack on the Water Witch, for the manner in which the proposal of Commander Page for exchange of ratifications of the treaty of 1853 had been received, and for the rejection, upon the grounds alleged, of the proposal for exchange made by Fitzpatrick, and also to demand an indemnity of not less than $5,000 for the death of the seaman of the Water Witch. Regarding the claim of United States and Paraguay Navigation Company, Bowlin was instructed to demand indemnification of $500,000 or, if this was not obtainable, a reference to an impartial commission, liability of the Paraguayan Government being first acknowledged. In the final paragraph of the instruction it was made plain that if a favorable answer should not be received from the Paraguayan Government, force would be used by the American squadron under command of Commodore William Branford Shubrick, U.S.N.

The original of the instruction of October 6, 1858, is in D.S., Claims Papers, Paraguay, 1859, envelope 2; and among the papers in that envelope are what appear to be the copies of correspondence that are mentioned in the opening paragraph of the instruction as having been enclosed therewith. The original instruction is written in five different hands, with some pages having only a few lines at the top; the text of the instruction which here follows is from the record copy (D.S., 1 Instructions, Paraguay, 1-34); there are a few variances between the original and the record copy; only three of these, here footnoted, seem at all material:

1

You will herewith receive a copy of the President's Message to Congress at the opening of the last session, and of the documents which accompanied it relative to Paraguay. These will make known to you the general character of our complaints against the government of that country. The occasion was not deemed opportune for a more ample communication upon the subject. The accompanying copy of correspondence between Mr. Edward A. Hopkins the late Consul of the United States at Asuncion and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, between them and this Department and of the letters of Commander Page with the documents referred to, will put you in possession of the

2

1 Of December 8, 1857, quoted in part above.

The correspondence of Hopkins is in D.S., 1 Consular Despatches, Asunción; see particularly his despatches Nos. 7-13 inclusive, dated from August 22 to September 25, 1854, and their enclosures.

facts and statements on both sides of the questions involved. A copy of the Resolution of Congress is also enclosed, together with all other papers relating to the subject, in possession of the Department. Upon the death of Francia, the dictator of Paraguay, hopes were entertained by enlightened statesmen in all countries, that Lopez, his successor as the Executive head of that country, would adopt a more liberal policy, and especially would repeal the interdict by which foreigners were forbidden to repair thither for scientific or commercial purposes, or to gratify a liberal curiosity. A Decree of the 20th May, 1845, of Lopez, early in his administration, throwing open the country to foreigners and declaring that whoever should introduce any foreign invention, should have a patent for the same for from five to ten years, justified these hopes. It will appear, however, from the sequel, that, notwithstanding this decree, the Paraguayan government continued, as it had previously been, the principal merchant and manufacturer of the country. Its interests in those capacities, therefore, could not fail sooner or later to clash with those of foreigners who might repair there to engage in similar pursuits and especially with those of our own active and enterprising citizens. It might have been anticipated also that this must inevitably lead to the alternative, either of an abandonment by the government of the policy referred to, or the sacrifice of those foreigners, who might be more skilful in business than the agents employed by the government.

On the 10th. of June 1845, Mr. Edward A. Hopkins, who had previously visited countries in that quarter, was instructed to proceed to Paraguay as the Special Agent of this government for the purpose of examining and reporting upon its condition in order that the expediency of recognizing its independence might be taken into consideration. While engaged in this duty he became acquainted with the wants and resources of the Country and was satisfied that a profitable trade might be carried on between Paraguay and the United States. This opinion he so far impressed upon others, that the State of Rhode Island incorporated a company, styled "the United States and Paraguay Navigation Company". This Company, though mainly composed of citizens of that State, embraced citizens also of New York and Georgia, with an ample capital. It is understood that the President of the Company had himself visited Paraguay and had travelled extensively in South America. Mr. Hopkins was appointed the agent of the Company, and proceeded to Paraguay in a steamer belonging to them, laden, among other things, with machinery for saw mills, sugar mills, and cotton gins, and with various agricultural implements. He was also appointed United States Consul for that Country. After reaching Asuncion, landed property was bought in the name of the Company at San Antonio, about twelve miles below the capital. The site is represented to have been peculiarly advantageous for carrying on the proposed business of the Company, as it had a natural wharf of stone on the Paraguay river, was opposite the mouth of the great Pilcomayo, and had, on a stream running through it and emptying into the Paraguay, the only water power within many hundred miles. Sundry industrial enterprises were set on foot by the Company, such as a steam saw mill at San Antonio, and an extensive manufacture of cigars at Asuncion from the excellent tobacco of the country. For this purpose, cigar makers, natives of Cuba, were sent to Paraguay by the Company. Their business seemed, for a time, to be quite thriving. Inasmuch, however, as it was carried on in a much more economical way than similar business had previously been transacted there, and as the articles produced were of a superior quality, the jealousy of strangers which is a marked characteristic of the Spanish American race, and probably the jealousy of persons who had been or were pursuing similar

1 Of June 2, 1858, quoted above.

2 José Gaspar Rodríguez Francia, who died September 20, 1840. Carlos Antonio López.

A certified copy of this decree is in D.S., Claims Papers, Paraguay, 1859, envelope 1, No. 66; copy and translation thereof are in ibid., No. 5.

'This instruction is printed in Manning, op. cit., X, 29–32.

Samuel Greene Arnold, for an account of whose career, see Dictionary of American Biography, I, 372.