No. 4.

General Zaragoza to the French commander-in-chief.

ARMY OF THE EAST-GENERAL-IN-CHIEF.

GENERAL HEADQUARTERS AT Ingenio,

April 17, 1862.

Although the French commissioners have been the first to break the prelimnaries of peace agreed to at La Soledad on the 19th of February last, as a mere duty of humanity I allow the sick of the army of that power to remain in the hospital; but they are safe under the protection and loyalty of the Mexican army; therefore there is no need they should be guarded by any forces of their own nation. I hope, then, that his excellency the general-in-chief of the French troops residing in Cordoba will order the escort to which I refer to retire, protesting to him the assurances of my personal consideration. Liberty and reform. J. ZARAGOZA.

His Excellency the GENERAL-IN-Chief

of the French Army, Cordoba.

This is a true copy.

ACULZINGO, April 22, 1862.

LAZARO GARZA AYALA, Secretary.

No. 5.

La Gravière to the commander-in-chief of the army of the east.

CORDOBA, April 17, 1862.

The undersigned, plenipotentiary of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, has the honor to inform the general-in-chief of the eastern army that in virtue of orders received from his Majesty the Emperor he has given up the command of the expeditionary body to General Count de Lorencez, who remains in the exclusive charge of the military operations. Consequently, the note that was brought last night by a messenger from the general-in-chief of the eastern army has been transmitted to that general officer.

I avail myself of this present occasion to renew to the general-in-chief of the eastern army the assurances of my distinguished consideration.

No. 6.

General Lorencez to General Zaragoza.

BODY OF EXPEDITION TO MEXICO-CABINET OF THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF.

CORDOBA, April 19, 1862.

In answer to the letter that Mr. Zaragoza has written to the French plenipotentiaries, under date of April 18, the general-in-chief of the expeditionary body to Mexico affirms that no guards have been left with the sick in Orizaba, nor any man in good health, (valide,) unless it be some few nurses to take care of them. The general-in-chief of the French expeditionary body begs General Zaragoza to accept the assurances of his distinguished consideration.

This is a copy.

GENERAL COUNT DE LORENCEZ.

ACULZINGO, April 22, 1862.

LAZARO GARZA AYALA, Secretary.

No. 7.

PROCLAMATION OF GENERAL ALMONTE.

General Juan N. Almonte to all Mexicans:

FELLOW-CITIZENS: I have desired for some days to address myself to you, in order to inform you of the object of my coming to the republic; but the fact of the existence of an armistice, and that of finding myself under the protection of French arms, did not permit me to speak, and I have been waiting for an opportunity to do so, Now that the representatives of France, taking upon themselves the whole charge of the situation, manifest the true wishes of the allied governments, I think it my duty to break the silence which, against my will, I had preserved, and which gave a pretext to the enemies of order to take advantage of it by publishing apocryphal proclamations. Upon returning, then, to the bosom of my country, I tell you that I come animated by no other sentiment than that of contributing to the pacification of the republic, and that of cooperating in the establishment of a national government-one of true morality and order-that may put a stop forever to anarchy, and that may give sufficient guarantees for life and property as well to foreigners as to those of the nation. A stranger to the bloody struggle which for so many years has lacerated our beautiful country, scandalizing the whole world to that degree as to call forth the serious attention of the great eastern powers of Europe, my efforts will always be to procure the reconciliation of our brothers and to banish from among them hatred and discord. Fortunately, in order to attain so noble an object I have neither personal revenge to gratify nor rewards to demand.

Having been sufficiently repaid by the nation for the services which it was my duty to lend it before and after its independence, my sole desire at present is to offer it the last and most important one before descending into the sepulchre, and that is to secure to it that peace which it has been so long in want of. On the other hand, having reason to know, as I do know, the wishes of the allied powers, and especially those of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, which are no others than to see the establishment in our unfortunate country (and by our own selves) of a firm government of order and morality, in order that the pillage and vandalism which now reign in every part of the republic may dis

appear, and that the mercantile world may profit by the immense advantages which our most fruitful country offers it, by the native riches she possesses, and by her geographical situation, I have thought it necessary to hasten to it to explain to you these good intentions, which also embrace the philanthropic idea of establishing forever the independence, nationality, and integrity of the Mexican territory!

For the assuring, then, of a new order of things, you should confide in the efficacious co-operation of France, whose illustrious sovereign makes his beneficial influence felt in every place where a just and civilizing cause is required. Mexicans! If my honorable antecedents-if my services rendered to my country, as well in the glorious struggle of our independence as in the direction of her policy in the epochs in which I have formed part of her cabinet and represented the nation in foreign lands-if all this, I repeat, make me worthy of your confidence, unite your efforts to mine, and be assured that very soon we will see the establishment of a government such as suits our character, necessities, and religious belief.

This is the assurance of your best friend and fellow-citizen,

CORDOBA, April 16, 1862.

JUAN N. ALMONTE.

The French commissioners to the minister of foreign relations.

CORDOBA, April 16, 1862.

The undersigned, plenipotentiaries of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, have the honor to acknowledge to the minister of foreign relations receipt of the collective note, without date, which has been delivered to them by their colleagues, the representatives of her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and of her Catholic Majesty, as well as of the note, also without date, which has been addressed to them particularly and directly by Mr. Doblado.

If the undersigned did not wish to avoid useless recriminations, without dignity, nothing would be easier than to establish, by means of facts, that it is not the representatives of the Emperor who have endeavored, under a puerile pretext, to elude the negotiations, nor that they have come to Mexico to combat the ideas of reform, liberty, or national independence, but that the government is the one who has destroyed with its own hands the preliminaries of La Soledad, persisting, since the day following that upon which the convention was signed, and with double violence, in abandoning itself every day to the same culpable acts against the properties and persons of the subjects of his Imperial Majesty, and against the most sacred principles of the rights of men, that they had ended by obliging the allied powers to exact reparation by force.

The undersigned are sorry to add that other facts, entirely recent-such as the assassination of various French soldiers on the road to Vera Cruz, and even in the environs of Cordoba-furnish a new proof that the Mexican government has neither the will nor the power to comply with the obligations imposed upon all civilized governments. In such a state of things the undersigned, convinced of the inutility of recurring for a longer time to means of negotiations, can only refer to their note of the 9th of April; and they avail themselves of this occasion to renew to the minister of foreign relations the assurances of their distinguished consideration.

A. DE SALIGNY.
E. JURIEN.

His Excellency the MINISTER OF FOREIGN RELAtions.

Answer of the minister of foreign relations to the despatch of the French com

missioners.

The undersigned, charged ad interim with the ministry of foreign relations of the Mexican republic, has the honor to answer the note which, under date of the 16th of the present month, was directed to him from Cordoba by their excellencies the commissioners of the Emperor of the French.

The president, to whom I communicated the contents of said note, contradicts the imputation made therein of his having failed to comply with the preliminaries of La Soledad.

It is in every respect false that the property of any French subject has been attacked; and if by chance the assassinations said to be committed on the road from Vera Cruz to Cordoba-that is to say, in those points occupied by the allied forces-should be verified, the government has neither received notice of them, nor, consequently, has it been able to prosecute the criminals, as it would have done if their excellencies had made the matter known to him. Now that for the first time he hears of these crimes, he has given orders that the necessary investigations be made. As to the rest, a few days after the signing of the preliminaries the commissioners gave shelter to several criminals of the republic, of whom some came from Europe, others were in Vera Cruz, flying from their judges, and others had withdrawn from the rebel forces in which they were fighting, in order to concert together the overthrow of public order, as is proved by documents issued from this ministry.

The same criminals have repaired to different districts subject to the government, guarded by French forces, whose officers have prevented the local authorities from freely exercising their functions, as stipulated in the preliminaries. Other French officers have even gone so far as to imprison some of the Mexican authorities, threatening to have them shot under the most unjust and frivolous pretences.

If these facts, and the having failed in the stipulated conferences of the preliminaries, are or not an infraction of them, history will say, and the commissioners, officers. English and Spanish forces, before whose eyes it has taken place, will testify.

The undersigned has the honor to offer to the commissioners his distinguished consideration.

Liberty and reform! Mexico, April 20, 1862.

Their Excellencies the COMMISSIONERS

JESUS TERAN.

of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, Cordoba.

Protest against the treaty.

The undersigned, plenipotentiaries of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, have been informed that the cabinet of Mexico has concluded, some days since, or is on the point of concluding, with a foreign government, a treaty, by which it will sell, yield, transfer, or hypothecate in favor of this, a considerable portion of lands, properties, or rents belonging to the state, in exchange for a loan or advance of a certain sum of money.

The undersigned, without examining the greater or less foundation which the rumors spread abroad upon this subject may have, think it their duty solemnly to protest, as they do, in the name of the government of the Emperor, and for the interest of their compatriots, against any treaty or convention whatever

which may have for its object, on the part of Mexico, to sell, yield, transfer, or hypothecate, in favor of whomsoever it may be, all or any part of the lands, properties, or rents of the state, in order to form of these same lands, properties, and rents, the pledge upon which rest the claims held by France against Mexico. The undersigned avail themselves of this occasion to renew to his excellency the minister of foreign relations the assurances of their distinguished consideration.

CORDOBA, April, 16, 1862.

A. DE SALIGNY.

E. JURIEN.

His Excellency the MINISTER OF FOREIGN RELATIONS, Mexico.

Answer to the protest.

The undersigned, charged ad interim with the ministry of foreign relations of the Mexican republic, has the honor to answer the note of their excellencies the commissioners of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, dated Cordoba, April 16.

As the government of the republic recognizes no right in the commissioners to oppose themselves to the treaties which it may celebrate with any power whatever respecting the engagements it may have contracted with its legitimate creditors, the undersigned confines himself to acknowledging the receipt of the protest which in said note is made against any treaty which Mexico may have concluded, or may conclude, with any foreign government whatever, selling, yielding, transferring, or hypothecating the whole or part of the lands, properties, or rents of the nation.

The undersigned will add only, by order of the president, that the protest of the commissioners will not prevent him from celebrating the treaties or conventions alluded to whenever he judges it to be convenient and it be in his power, availing himself in this of that inherent right which belongs to the sovereignty and independence of the nation.

The undersigned has the honor to offer to the commissioners his distinguished consideration.

Liberty and reform! Mexico, April 20, 1862.

Their Excellencies the COMMISSIONERS

JESUS TERAN.

of his Majesty the Emperor of the French, Cordoba.

Mr. Seward to Mr. Corwin.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

No. 46.]

Washington, May 10, 1862.

SIR: War, it appears, has been actually begun between France and Mexico. It is possible that it may result in an overthrow of the existing government of the republic, and the inauguration, or attempt at inauguration, of some new system. It is not the interest of the United States to be hasty in recognizing the revolutionary changes which unhappily are so frequently occurring in Spanish America. It is not always safe to judge that a new government