Luis Cárlos Rico to Ernest Dichman, July 26, 1879

Señor Rico to Mr. Dichman.

The Government of the United States of Colombia, as your honor knows, resolved upon sending an extraordinary mission to the Republics of Peru, Bolivia, and Chili, with the special object of offering (interposing) its good offices and conciliatory and friendly mediation to the end of procuring, by these means, a termination of the war in which, unfortunately, these sister republics find themselves engaged.

Convinced of the elevated spirit of loyal American sentiment which predominates in the policy and the acts of the United States, whose worthy representative in this country your honor is, the citizen President of the Union, has charged me with the honorable task of divesting this present dispatch to you in order to request of you that you may be pleased to interest your government in the name of that of Colombia to contribute with the latter in the attainment of the laudable object of co-operating in the prompt re-establishment of peace between the said nations.

It is considered (and with abundant reason) by the national executive power, that the intervention of the government of your honor in this direction will be of the greatest influence and powerful efficacy in obtaining the most happy results from the proposed mediation, and on this account the national executive power trusts that the illustrious cabinet of Washington will not disregard the polite representation which, in fact, the cabinet of Colombia takes the liberty of addressing to it.

I entertain the well-founded hope that your honor will be pleased to support the idea thus put forward with anxious interest, and that your honor will recommend it on your part as a measure of humanity and fraternal sympathy towards the people of the Pacific, whose international relations are (find themselves) interrupted now by the disaster of war.

With sentiments of the most distinguished consideration,

I am, &c.,