People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 March 1894 — TERMS REFUSED. [ARTICLE]

TERMS REFUSED.

Peixoto Declines to Accept Da Gama's Conditional Surrender. He Opens Fire on the Insurgent# at the Appointed Time—Fears in Washington as the Butchering of the Rebels. THE SITUATION FULL OF PERIL. Washington, March 15.—The crisis has been reached at Rio de Janeiro, and the two cablegrams that were received in Washington Tuesday mark the beginning of the saddest and bloodiest chapter of the long and stub-bornly-contested insurrection in Brazil. The first news came from Admiral Benham in a cablegram addressed to Secretary Herbert, and read as follows: "Rio, March 13—Notice has been given by this government that the bombardment of the insurgent ships and forts from the city will commence at noon. The Insurgent admiral, it Is reported, has taken refuge on a Portuguese man-of-war. On inquiry I find he is not on board vet Benham ” Despite Benham's dispatch the secretary of state and the secretary of the navy hoped that there might be a peaceful solution of the trouble at Rio, and it was surmised that Admiral Benham had merely reported the formal notice issued Monday without knowledge of the effort of Da Gama to make a conditional surrender. The dispatches received Monday night seemed to warrant such an assumption. But these hopes were extinguished when late in the afternoon United States Minister Thompson was heard from as follows: “Rio, March 14. Secretary of State, Washington: The local forts commenced firing today. The fire was not returned by the insurgents. The terms ot Da Gama have been refused by the government, which will open fire upon him from the city batteries this afternoon at 3 o'clock. The city is nearly abandoned and deserted. Thompson.” The receipt of this dispatch gave rise to much uneasiness to the department officials,which was undoubtedly shared by the president, to whom it was communicated.

Monday night there was every reason to believe that a peaceful outcome had been reached in the disastrous warfare that had been waged at Rio. and no one doubted that President Peixoto would concede the apparently reasonable and honorable terms of capitulation asked by Da Gama. The rebel admiral had offered to expatriate himself and his officers to become exiles in a foreign land on condition that the lives of his soldiers and sailors should be spared. Such terms are freely accorded in any honorable warfare in civilized lands, yet to the surprise of the administration they had been refused by Peixoto. In spite of its best efforts to be exactly fair and neutral in the contest in Brazil our government, in its desire to protect American interests and uphold the glory of republican institutions, has given color to the belief that its moral sympathy lay with the Peixoto government So the news that the rules of civilized warfare had been disregarded and that brave but defeated insurgents, hemmed in on all sides, are to be refused the chance to surrender on honorable terms and forced to throw themselves upon the mercy of the government without any guaranty of their lives falls with disagreeable force upon every official in the government here who has had to do with the trouble in any capacity. Undoubtedly the moral sympathy of the United States has been a valuable and considerable aid to the Brazilian government since 1892, when the first symptoms of the rebellion were manifested in the southern provinces, but if Peixoto is determined to maintain Ijis present unrelenting and vindictive attitude, for such it is freely denominated by naval and diplomatic officers here, that .measure of support is certain to be withdrawn from him.

Rio de Janeiro, March 15. —The war is practically over and the cause of the insurgents is a lost one. There is much rejoicing in this city at the culmination of the struggle which has continued so many months, with no object seemingly but to hamper business and destroy property. The rebel forces have surrendered, unconditionally, almost without firing a shot. The officers of the insurgent fleet have taken refuge on board French and Portuguese warships. One French vessel has put to sea with many of the rebel officers on board. It is said that Admiral da Gama is on board the British warship Sirius. When the fact became known that Da Gama had offered to capitulate the government fleet entered the harbor quietly. As the vessels made their way up the bay they were saluted by the various government batteries. ~ The greatest excitement prevails in the city. The streets are crowded and everywhere can be heard the cry of “Viva Peixoto!” The reply of President Peixoto to the terms of surrender offered by Admiral da Gama was made known Tuesday afternoon. The president refused to accept other terms than those of an unconditional surrender of all the rebel ships and forts in and about the bay of Rio de Janeiro. At the expiration of forty-eight hours’ notice given by President Peixoto the government forts, as previously arranged, opened fire on the rebel fleet The insurgents- did not reply. The insurgent warship Aquidaban is not. in this harbor. Admiral de Mello was false to the emperor and to President Fonseca and President Peixoto. He now proves false to Admiral da Gama. Where he and his vessel are is not known.