Bartolome Mitre to Vice-President Paz, September 13, 1866

Letter from General Mitre to Vice-President Paz

The General-in-chief of the Allied Armies to D. Marcos Paz, Vice-President of the Republic:

I have the honor to enclose you the originals marked 1 to 4 of documents relative to the interview requested by Marshal Lopez, and accepted by me, as well as to the business thereupon treated of.

Having advised the allied generals of everything occurred, and conferred with the Brazilian envoy extraordinary (Octaviano) on the subject, we have come to the resolution to refer the matter to the decision of the respective governments, conformably as declared by me at said interview.

I must add for your information, and to enable your government the better to understand the nature and bearing of this incident, that in the course of our interview General Lopez declared himself ready to treat on all questions that may have led to the present war or may affect our tranquillity for the future, so as to satisfy (as he says) the legitimate demands of the allies, including a definitive arrangement of frontiers, but without accepting any imposition, and least of all his retirement from command in the republic of Paraguay. In this sense he manifested his readiness to arrange on bases, and even make a treaty, which, amounting to a negotiation not in harmony with the stipulations and objects of the triple alliance, I neither could nor ought to accept the same, but confined myself to hearing what he had to say, so as to communicate the same to the allies, as is expressed in the annexed memorandum.

For my part, during the conference I felt bound to be very explicit, declaring that, although we only made war for the sake of the present and future peace of these countries, I considered it very difficult, not to say impossible, to arrive at any arrangement unless based upon the conditions of the triple alliance treaty, since the antecedents of the quarrel induced the allied peoples to believe that no solid guarantees of future peace could be found outside of such conditions; that therefore we should part in the firm conviction that any arrangement was impossible, and that the war must continue without truce or armistice; and finally that neither the conference we had just held, nor the memorandum then drawn up, nor any subsequent deliberations, at all held us, even in a normal sense, or fettered in the least our liberty of action to prosecute hostilities with full vigor.

General Lopez, on his part, accepted my declarations, and added that it was in this sense he had taken the initiative of seeking an interview, to see if it was possible to make peace on the terms he deemed convenient, declaring that he was resolved to carry on the war to the last extremity, and that he would now do so with even greater vigor, seeing the impossibility of an immediate arrangement, since he could not paralyze his action by waiting for the deliberation of the allied governments, which must necessarily be slow. In reply to this, I repeated my remarks that he was at perfect liberty to carry on the war as he judged best, and that he might at once act accordingly, as I should also do in fulfilment of my duties as general. At the same time I pledged my word of honor and good faith to give him notice immediately of what we might resolve upon, as I now do under this date.

The tone that prevailed throughout the conference was most proper, and notwithstanding that some grave points were touched on, nothing of an indecorous nature occurred, and whatever may be the result this act will certainly contribute to moralize our warfare by giving a good example of refinement without enervating the valorous spirit of men like us who do our duty with arms in our hands.

May God preserve your excellencv.