Hot Springs Weekly Star

RECOGNIZES PANAMA.

UNITED STATES TREATS WITH THE NEW REPUBLIC.

American Consul Told to Enter Into Relations with New State--Colon Taken Without Bloodshed--Panama Now Independent.

The United States government on Friday instructed its envoys to recognize the new republic of Panama. The following telegram was sent by the State Department to Mr. Ehrman, the acting Consul General of the United States at Panama:

"The people of Panama have by an apparently unanimous movement dissolved their political relations with the republic of Colombia and assumed their independence. When you are satisfied that a de facto government, republican in form and without substantial opposition from its own people, has been established in the State of Panama, you will enter into relations with it as the responsible government of the territory and look to it for all due action to protect the persons and property of citizens of the United States, and to keep open the isthmian transit in accordance with the obligations of existing treaties governing the relations of the United States to that territory."

Immediately afterward an instruction was sent by telegram to Mr. Beaupre, the United States Minister at Bogota.

Colon Joins Panama.

The Colombian troops have evacuated Colon and the flag of the new republic of Panama is now flying over every part of the isthmus.

Col. Torres, the Colombian commander, after a conference with the revolutionary leaders, seeing that the situation was hopeless, agreed to embark his force on the royal mail steamer Orinoco for Cartagena. A special train from Panama brought Gen. Tovar, who also sailed on the Orinoco.

Half an hour after the sailing of the Orinoco the United States auxiliary cruiser Dixie, having on board a battalion of 450 marines, arrived in the harbor.

The people of Colon are jubilant. The flag of the new republic flies from the railway stations at Gatun and Bohio Soldado, near Colon. The municipal council of Colon has notified the provisional government at Panama of its adherence to the new republic.

Gen. H. O. Jeffries, a graduate of West Point, has been appointed commander of the Pacific flotilla by the provisional government.

It was arranged Wednesday that the government troops should withdraw to the outskirts of the town and they did so during the night. Thursday morning, however, Col. Torres marched the troops to the center of the town, which caused a landing of American bluejackets. The bluejackets were barricaded behind bales of cotton in front of the bank and the railroad building. The commander of the Nashville distributed about fifty rifles to private citizens, who with the bluejackets guarded the barricades.

Much anxiety prevailed all day until Col. Torres agreed to embark his troops for Cartagena. It was recognized that the crew of the Nashville would be quite inadequate to cope with the situation ashore should serious disturbances occur and the arrival of the Dixie was anxiously awaited.

As soon as he arrived Commander Delano landed an adequate force of marines from the Dixie and the bluejackets who landed from the Nashville re-embarked.

Recognizing Panama.

In deciding upon the course taken with regard to the new republic of Panama the president and his advisers are not without the guidance of historic precedents. The question of granting recognition to new nations created by insurrection and secession has come up several times, especially in connection with South and Central American affairs, and the principles followed in these cases are fairly well defined.

So long ago as 1819 Secretary Adams of the State Department laid down the general principle that a nation founded by revolution is entitled to recognition "when its independence is established as a matter of fact, so as to leave the chance of the opposite party to recover their dominion utterly desperate." The same principle has been elaborated by various American Secretaries of State, one of the clearest expressions on the subject being that of Secretary Livingston in 1833. "It has been the principle and the invariable practice of the United States," he wrote, "to recognize that as the legal government of another nation which by its establishment in the actual exercise of political power might be supposed to have received the express or implied assent of the people." Similarly, writing as to the recognition of Texas in 1837, Secretary Forsyth said: "The independence of other nations has always been regarded by the United States as a question of fact merely and that of every people has been invariably recognized by them whenever the actual enjoyment of it was accompanied by satisfactory evidence of their power and determination permanently and effectually to maintain it." Affirmations to the same effect may be found in the public documents of a considerable number of the Secretaries of State down to the time of Evarts, Blaine and Frelinghuysen.

The Panama insurgents have proclaimed a new government and are in possession in the cities of Panama and Colon. From the latter city the Colombian troops sailed away after a clash with the American marines landed from the Nashville had been narrowly averted. Apparently the revolutionists are now in full possession of the territory of the new republic. The Panama people seem to have set up an actual government, exercising powers of sovereignty with the consent of the people.