Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 May 1895 — JOHN BULL ACCEPTS. [ARTICLE]

JOHN BULL ACCEPTS.

Nicarasuan Incident Considered Practically Settled—Ships to Sail Away. The understanding is that the British fleet will immediately withdraw from Gorinto. It is not known what guaranty Great Britain demands for the payment of the indemnity, but it is believed in official circles that the affair is practically settled. It is said in Washington that the guarantee of the payment by Nicaragua of the indemnity as required by Great Britain will be made in the amplest manner possible, so that there appears to be no further obstacle between the two countries as to a final adjustment. From the British standpoint the acceptance of tho compromise and the immediate evacuation of Corlnto establishes the good faith of Great Britain in her declaration that there was nd purpose of occupying territory. From the first the British authorities have assured Ambassador Bayard, and the latter has so advised Secretary Gresham, that there was no purpose of ,aggression, or of securing a foothold in Nicaragua. The only purpose, Earl Kimberley has said, was to collect a debt by such force as was necessary and then depart. Nicaragua, notwithstanding these assurances, has maintained that the collection of the $77,500 was merely a covert means of occupying her territory. This view has prevailed very widely in Washington, even in some official quarters, although the policy of tho Government has been to accept the good faith of Great Britain’s representatives.

The withdrawal of the troops from Corinto and the departure of the fleet would not only end all questions of British territorial extension in Nicaragua, but also put at rest the fears entertained that the control of the Nicaragua Canal route would be seriously affected by the proximity of British forces. The affair has cost Nicaragua more than the original $77,500. It was necessary to raise 3,000 extra troops at a cost of $3,000 a day. The abandonment of Corinto as a customs port has also resulted in much loss. The disturbance to business and commerce is a loss which cannot be measured in dollars.

Dr. Robert N. Keeley, Jr., of Philadelphia, who recently returned from Bluefields, says that he is well acquainted with pro-Consul Hatch, for whose expulsion from Nicaraguan territory Great Britain demanded smart money to the extent of $75,000, the enforced payment of which has led to international complications. Dr. Keeley asserts that Hatch, before his trouble, was the keeper of a saloon called ‘‘The Cactus” in Bluefields, and that his expulsion could not have caused him more than SSOO damage at the utmost.