The government of the Queen is assured that our expedition even having sallied out alone in order to station itself before Vera Cruz, the result of its operations will have corresponded to the valor and enthusiasm of the forces of the army and navy. United, then, as it is to be hoped, the friendly forces before Vera Cruz, every step taken shall bear the seal of indispensable union, and, meanwhile, your excellency will execute them as it is expressed in the name and by the representation of the three governments.

The Spanish government to General Prim, the plenipotentiary and commanderin-chief of the expeditionary troops of her Majesty in the Mexican republic.

MADRID, December 15, 1861.

EXCELLENT SIR: The representative of Great Britain at this court has made known to me a communication received from his government, in which is shown forth the state of the reclamations brought forward in the month of September last by the minister plenipotentiary of England in Mexico, to obtain the payment of English claims pendant against the republic.

From the notices contained in the said document, it results that, the English claims accepted by the government of the republic and a plan of arrangement agreed upon, some difficulty arose in the negotiation owing to the resistance which the government of Mexico opposed to recognizing the sum which had been subtracted by the force of the British legation, and by its repugnance to allow of the nomination of interventors in its maritime custom-houses, which measure, in its opinion, would be considered by the people as a national humiliation.

As to these difficulties might be added the impossibility, alleged by the Mexican government, of finding resources with which to satisfy the claims in question, the representative of the United States intervened, who offered (and his offer was accepted by Mexico) to negotiate a treaty, in virtue of which the cabinet of Washington should take upon itself the payment of the interest of the debt of Mexico with England for a period of five years, in, exchange for some material guarantees and under determinate conditions of reintegration.

This offer was accepted and the plan of agreement was formed, the stipulations of which were not to be put in action until the 1st of January, 1862, the representative of Great Britain having judged that until that date the funds promised by the United States would not arrive; but, doubting the accomplishment of the promise, the treaty not being yet signed, Sir Charles Wyke solicited the presence of naval forces in Vera Cruz, and the authorization of recurring to force in case of necessity.

On the other hand, the government of Mexico, yielding to the efforts of the representative of her Britannic Majesty, had also offered to do all in its power to satisfy the reclamations of the French legation, occasioned by the suspension of the payment of the interests accruing, according to the terms of the treaty entered into with this last power. In presence of such events, and although the advantages obtained by Sir Charles Wyke satisfy Great Britain, the government of this power does not believe that the new stipulation projected will be more faithfully complied with than so many others formerly contracted. Such security, if, indeed, it can be obtained, the cabinet at London finds only in the treaty just signed between France and Spain.

The only advantage, then, to be derived from the consent of the Mexican government to the exigencies of the representative of Great Britain, is in the precision with which England has fixed the limit of its reclamations which will facilitate the future joint demands of the three powers.

At the same time that Sir John Crampton has made me acquainted with these events, the minister plenipotentiary of the United States at Madrid made me proposals analogous, in the name of his government, as far as relates to the Spanish claims; that is to say, that the government of the United States would bind itself, by means of a treaty, to pay, for a definite number of years, the interest of the bills of Spain against Mexico, by virtue of corresponding guarantees on the side of the republic.

I replied to Mr. Schurz in suitable terms, and with the proper reserve, in order that he might understand that Spain, France, and England brought to an agreement to act in concert with the view of obtaining from the republic of Mexico, by means of a combined movement, those reparations and satisfactions which they had a right to exact for the grievances which they had sustained, no basis whatever of arrangement could be accepted without the consent of the three powers interested. It will contribute, without doubt, to establish the necessary union in all the actions and claims, and to the prompt satisfactory termination of our differences with this republic, that the representatives of France and England in Mexico know exactly the nature of our grievances and the extent of the reparations which Spain exacts of the republic, and the neces sary conditions and guarantees not only in order to avoid their repetition, but also to secure to the subjects of the Queen the security and protection they require in the exercise of their labors and professions, and in the employment of their capitals.

Included in the instructions communicated to your excellency, upon leaving this court, the claims to be presented in the name of Spain. When the proper moment arrives, to open the negotiations for an arrangement, your excellency will be pleased to make them known to your colleagues of France and England, in order that in all the efforts your excellency may make use of, with the representatives of the said powers, may preside unity of aim and action, which is the best guarantee for the furtherance of the important mission which the government of the Queen has confided to the zeal and loyalty of your excellency in the Mexican republic.

By royal order, I communicate this to you for your knowledge and govern

ment.

God, etc.

S. CALDERON COLLANTES.

The minister of state to the ambassador of her Majesty in Paris, and to the minister plenipotentiary in London.

MADRID, December 20, 1861.

The Spanish expedition having been ready, at the Havana, to set sail, and the captain general of the island of Cuba not knowing whether the treaty between Spain, France, and England had been signed; being, consequently, ignorant of what would be the place appointed for the union of the three squadrons, and the maintaining the prolongation of an expedition ready to enter into campaign, occasioning enormous expenses, General Serrano has informed her Majesty's government, under date of November 26 last, that it was resolved to send out the Spanish expedition to Vera Cruz between the 29th of November and the 2d of December. The chief officer who should direct it was to carry orders to agree in everything with the squadrons of the two powers friendly and allied if they were already in Vera Cruz; otherwise, the city of Vera Cruz and the Castle of San Juan de Ulloa should be taken possession of and held by the three united powers until the arrival of the French and English squadrons, which must be acted upon by mutual consent.

Your excellency will please communicate the above to this government, showing forth the great considerations that have influenced the captain general of the island of Cuba to adopt the determination which I have already expressed. God, etc. S. CALDERON COLLANTES.

The minister of state to the representatives of her Majesty in Paris and London.

MADRID, December 25, 1861.

Your excellency is aware that the government of her Britannic Majesty proposed, upon the 7th of November last, that the squadrons of France and England should meet in the bay of Port Royal, belonging to Guadalupe, and that the Spanish should unite with them fifteen miles northeast of the Cape of San Antonio. Upon the 6th of the same, the Spanish government had declared that the meeting was to take place at the Havana, to which the French government acceded, but that that the news of the consent of England arrived at a later period, for which reason it was impossible to notify the captain general of Cuba of this agreement until the lieutenant general, Count of Reus, had already departed.

Owing to these facts, and the considerations alluded to, the French and English governments will be convinced that it was not in the power of her Majesty to prevent the departure of the expedition resolved upon by the captain general of the island of Cuba, on account of the impossibility of detaining it longer in the waters of Havana, and for fear of its arriving after the other two, which he considered derogatory to the honor and dignity of Spain.

The government of the Queen regrets extremely this occurrence, which, however, can in no way change the nature of the operations and the results to be expected from the presence of the allied forces on the coast of Mexico.

S. CALDERON COLLANTES.

No. 35 is the reply of our minister in London upon these facts to the ministry of state.

It is as follows:

The minister plenipotentiary of her Majesty to the excellent Señur first secretary of State.

No. 239.]

SPANISH LEGATION IN LONDON,
London, December 23, 1861.

EXCELLENT SIR: The telegram which your excellency did me the honor to address me with date of 20th, upon the probable departure of the Spanish expedition for Mexico, did not reach this capital until the night of Saturday, 21st.

Having informed myself of its contents I wished to see Count Russell immediately, but I learned that he was absent and would not return from Windsor until after the funeral of the prince consort. I was not sorry for this circumstance; on the contrary, I was glad to find myself obliged to write to him, as the communication I had to make is of that nature which it is best to consign to writing, and therefore, without further delay, I wrote and despatched the note the copy of which is here adjoined. In it I remind him that from the first I had warned him of the possibility of that which General Serrano now announces as about to take place, and I put before him the weighty reasons which have brought this about, concluding by declaring that if our troops have occupied Vera Cruz,

this occupation must be understood to be made in the name of the three allied nations.

The seasonableness of this communication is approved by the news received to-day from America, and which I have had the honor of transmitting to your excellency by telegraph. Upon the 29th the first division of our expeditionary forces left the Havana in the midst of the most extraordinary enthusiasm, and very soon the other two will follow it, so that by this time it is certain that they are before Vera Cruz and in possession of that city, and of the castle of San Juan de Ulloa.

God preserve your excellency many years.

The minister of state to the plenipotentiary, commander-in-chief of the Spanish expeditionary troops for Mexico.

MADRID, March 22, 1862.

EXCELLENT SIR: Her Majesty the Queen, our Lady, has made herself acquainted with all the interest the nature of the subject inspires, with your excelfency's communication of February 20, and with the documents accompanying it; and as your excellency will already have received royal orders which were conveyed to you by last mail, you will have easily understood the impression your tidings have produced upon the royal mind.

If the government of her Majesty desired to observe, with that of the Mexican republic, a system of moderation as ample and unrestrained as would permit the nature of the facts produced by the combined action of the three powers and the conditions of that same government, it did not consider it necessary to carry them so far as might create a doubt in the Mexicans themselves respecting the determination with which the claims, once established, would be prosecuted.

The government of her Majesty give their full value to the considerations expressed by your excellency, demonstrating the necessity of all the steps taken before the 20th of February last, and of the preliminaries adjusted with the minister of foreign relations of Juarez, but it still thinks that some of these may give rise, in the country itself, to interpretations productive of a more obstinate resistance than it would have opposed if the claims had been presented at first.

Examining attentively the preliminaries, it is seen, that by the first clause, the government of D. Benito Juarez acquires a moral force it did not possess, since, giving faith to his word that it has all the elements of strength and opinion necessary to its preservation, it enters at once into the ground of treaties or negotiations.

This might have been done, omitting the manifestation, and it would not have borne with it the inconveniences which present themselves at the first sight. The second clause indicates an idea which is not well understood, or cannot be realized, because the plenipotentiaries of the three governments cannot delegate the attributes they have received from the same. They alone hold the right and power to exercise them.

The fourth clause has excited the liveliest disapprobation on the part of the imperial cabinet, and the government of her Majesty would not approve it if the reflections of your excellency to justify it had no weight in her mind. In fact, that which is obtained by an arrangement is not to be maintained by force. The loyalty and valor of the allied forces, and the point of honor of the chiefs who command them, will be shocked at such an idea; but the Mexican government should have left to the noble decision of those the adoption of the measure necessary in case the negotiations had not succeeded, or rather, in that of not accepting the claims of the three allied governments.

This demonstration of good correspondence would not have been proper, when so many proofs of moderation and generosity were given by the allies. It will be, besides, extremely sensible, that, in case of having to withdraw the troops, the hospitals remain in the power of the enemy, even after having contracted the solemn promise to respect them, and when means have not been wanting to punish whatever action may be committed against them.

The last clause or condition of the preliminaries is that which it is most difficult to explain. The city of Vera Cruz and the castle of San Juan d'Ulua were occupied by the Spanish troops in the name of the three nations, not only as a basis and principle of operations, but also as a pledge and sure guarantee to oblige the Mexican government to satisfy the claims presented to it.

As long as this is not realized; as long as any idea or danger of breach existed, Vera Cruz and San Juan de Ulua, abandoned by the Mexican troops, cannot recognize, are under no other authority or power than that of the forces of the three allied nations; planting the Mexican flag by the side of the banners of these, it will be understood, supposing the fact to be realized that they have one sitnation in common, the same interests and identical rights; and as the signification of the event can be no other, it does not appear to be in agreement with the reality of matters.

Thus it is that the government of his Imperial Majesty has considered it of such importance that, united with the others, it has caused him to dictate the resolution of separating Admiral Julian de Lagravierè from the command of his forces.

The English cabinet has not viewed with the same eye all the actions and resolutions of the plenipotentiaries; but between those two governments and that of her Majesty an agreement must of force be made which may determine the ulterior course of the combined expedition. In the meanwhile the government of her Majesty assured that when your excellency receives this communication the negociations commenced will have come to an end; and, wishing to avoid the least want of concert or harmony in the resolutions of the three governments, has resolved, in the short space of time elapsed since yesterday when the mail was received until the hour when it is about to leave, to say to your excellency that, well penetrated with the spirit of the instructions which with her approval I formerly conveyed to you, you may proceed with the greatest promptness and energy, and in conformity with the plenipotentiaries and chiefs of the troops of the other nations, in case the conferences of Orizaba have not had a result entirely satisfactory.

Your excellency recognizes, with reason, that all imaginable means of conciliation being exhausted, the necessity of hostilities, whatever may be their consequences, will be demonstrated in the face of the world, and before the Mexican people themselves, that its confidence and support cannot be preserved, seeing that they cannot actually consent that a government deaf to the voice of justice should be animated and directed in all their actions, in the same mannor as a civilized government. This extremity having arrived, your excellency can count without doubt upon the active co-operation of all honorable men, and the three allied nations not only will obtain the satisfaction due to their numerous grievances, but also that of having contributed by the presence of their troops, and without injuring, favoring, on the contrary, the independence of the Mexican people, to give to it a government which may put a stop to its prolonged sufferings, and give pledges of security to all the natives' and foreigners' interests.

By royal order and by the approval of the council of ministers, I say this to your excellency, for your knowledge and consequent proceedings. S. CALDERON COLLANTES.

God, &c.,

By royal order a copy was given to the representatives of her Majesty in Paris, London, and Washington.