150 | FOREIGN RELATIONS.

unavoidable, made a reality, war between two administrations, which a short time
before had hoisted the same standard in the sight of Central America; = =
The passion of my enemies has made them say, more than once, that I have been un-

grateful to the former President to whom I refer. They pitifully confound that which

he did for his own preservation, and the noble sacrifices which the generous Hondu-

ran population dedicated to the liberty of Salvador, with the private benefits which

I should have acknowledged in my simple condition of man, if [ would have received

If General Medina has compelled in any way my gratitude in public life, I have had
to be ungrateful to him in order to be grateful to this people and to the Hondurans,
and consequently to the principles, in which I have made a very sincere and very high
profession of faith, = | a |

When the cabinet of Comayagua condemned the use which was here made of the
public liberties, as they formed the safeguards of Honduras, it committed a grave of-
fense against this republic, and against the unfortunatesister who so many times has

‘poured out her blood fer the practice of those same liberties, notwithstanding it was.
from her bosom, and attacking objects to me so sacred. That cabinet also attacked the
democratic institutions, which, as I have already. said, are of much more value,in my
judgment, than the most conspicuous and extraordinary man in the world. or

In consequence of this I was led to the direful extremity of war, which was declared
against Salvador, and which I accepted without irresolution, in order to discharge with
firmness my duty as a soldier and as a President. oO OS

In the supreme hour of this crisis to which I am referring, in the beginning of the
strugele undertaken from the motives which I have already assigned, when. the fate-
of all these people hung upon the hazard of a conflict, the licentiate Don Celeo Arias
presented himself in this capital, not as’ a proscribed person, or an emigrant revolu-
tionist for the redemption of his country, but as a man ready to enter the most favor-
able current of events. re a | .

Sefior Arias had not the good fortune to consecrate to the assistance of Honduras
the sacrifice of a dear interest, the effective work of a patriot in action, or useful or
generous thought for the press, and notwithstanding this, he was appointed from this
place to succeed General Medina in the chief magistracy, which at that time was
vacant. 7 . a

And Sefior Arias was appointed for such purpose by some of his fellow-countrymen,
who at that period represented in this place Honduran patriotism, for I invited
them to select a person who, transitorily, might be as.a national type as a representa-
tive of the opinion which was agitated by the neighboring people on the occasion of
the change of the personnel of the government. = : | pe

I knew very well that afew persons, though they may be important ones, cannot
constitute the autonomy of an independent state, and that, consequently, the election of
Seftor Arias for provisional President of Honduras, made in Salvador by a small minor-
ity of that country, is a political step which was taken very far from the will of the
people, which democratic revolutions require for their legitimacy and justification. _

But, under the circumstances to which [ refer, no other thing could ba done. I did
not wish to go to battle against the new chief of the reaction, presenting myself .in the
field as a conqueror who proposes to make his will felt over. the destinies of a people.

I did not wish—I did not even think—to give this or. that chief to the Honduranian
society, but I judged then, and I think still, that the authors of the first act ‘of the
drama in which Sefior Arias suddenly appears with applause, on account of the na-
tionality to which they belong, on account of. their political and civil condition, and:
the ideas which they sustained to the end, could very well, if not found a provisional
government, clothed in competent authority, serve as a guarantee, and a homogeneous.
element, so that the majority of their fellow-citizens could give it their support and
full assent. | Oo Oo :

The principal actors of that episode of the drama which is still being unfolded know
perfectly well that I tell the truth without coloring or alteration. I tell it clearly and
fully, for it so comports with my dignity and character. Thus it accords with history,
thus it is necessary for me, inorder to demonstrate my fidelity to the doctrines which
I proclaim, and to make plain in relief, and not as.a sketch, the firmness with which I
have proposed to proceed in the high office which I occupy. oe oe

For the motives and under the auspices which I have expressed, the war of 1872 was.

entered into, Seftor Arias being carried under the protection of the Salvadoran files,
to the end that he should be proclaimed provisional President of his country, and that
he might make a call upon the national opinion in order to proclaim the foundations |

of peace and of law, driven from the Honduran borders.

As a guarantee that to this alone his endeavors were directed, this same Sefior
Arias pledged himself to me in the city of Gracias to procure quickly the reconstruc-
tion of the republic, and to give all of his moral support to the candidacy of Sefior Don
Ponciano Leiva, who for some time past enjoyed in his country more popularity than
any other public man. —_ oe PGS