On Thursday, a second message was sent, in which the
President informed Congress that a Note bad been received from the Chilian Minister dated January 23rd, " but not delivered at the State Department until after 12 o'clock noon on the 25th," and not translated, or its receipt notified to the President, until late in the afternoon of that day. In this Note the Chilian Government withdraws, " with acceptable expressions of regret, the offensive Note of Seiior Matta of December 11th, and also the request for the recall of Mr. Egan." The President ends by assuring Congress that he is now convinced that the question can be settled satisfactorily "by the usual methods, and without special powers from Con- gress." It must be admitted that prima facie there is some- thing unsatisfactory in this explanation of the fact that the original message was sent after the receipt of a Note which rendered it unnecessary. An exceedingly ugly look is, however, given to the transaction if we are to believe the declaration of a New York Congressman, Mr. de Witt Warner, who declares that the Chilian Minister communi- cated the sense of the Chilian Note to the President before the despatch of the message, and implored him not to send it. We trust sincerely that there is no truth in this very discreditable story.
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