the opinion that the chances of a successful negotiation would be better with one more hostile, but possessing greater energy. The country, torn by conflicting factions, is in a state of perfect anarchy, its finances in a condition utterly desperate.

* * *

"A refusal to treat with, or even receive me at all, in the only capacity in which I am authorized to act, under pretexts more or less plausible, is a possible (I ought perhaps to say a probable) event. This is a contingency which could not have been anticipated, and for which your instructions have consequently not provided. It will place me in a novel, awkward, and almost embarrassing position, and impose upon me a grave responsibility. Should it occur, I shall endeavor so to conduct myself as to throw the whole odium of the failure of the negotiation upon this government; point out, in the most temperate manner, the inevitable consequences of so unheardof a violation of all the usages which govern the intercourse between civilized nations; and declare my intention to remain here until I can receive instructions adapted to the exigencies of the case."

Mr. Slidell sent to Mr. Buchanan the files of the “Amigo del Puebla," the leading opposition journal. "It breathes," says he, "the fiercest hostility against the United States, denounces the proposed negotiations as treason; and in the last number, openly calls upon the troops and the people to put down the government by force."

* * *

"P. S. December 18, 1845. At the moment I was about to close this, I obtained the dictamen of the council of government, published in the 'Siglo.' I send you the paper."

It should be remembered that this was the letter received by our government on the 12th of January, 1846, and which gave rise to the order to General Taylor on the 13th-the following day.

MEXICO REFUSES TO FULFIL ITS ENGAGEMENTS OF

OCTOBER, 15, 1845.

Mr. Peña y Peña to Mr. Slidell, December 20, 1845. "The undersigned having submitted the whole to his excellency, the president of the Republic, and having also considered attentively the note addressed to him by the secretary of state of the United States, relative to the mission of Mr. Slidell, regrets to inform him that, although the supreme government of the Republic is animated by the pacific and conciliatory intentions which the undersigned manifested to the consul of the United States in his confidential note of the 14th of October last, it does not conceive that, in order to fulfil the object proposed by the said consul, in the name of the American government, and accepted by the undersigned, it should admit his excellency Mr. Slidell in the character with which he is invested, of envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary residing in the Republic."

Mr. Slidell to Mr. Buchanan, December 27, 1845.

"On the 21st instant, I received from Mr. Peña y Peña his promised reply, (from which the above is an extract,) conveying the formal and unqualified refusal of the Mexican government to receive me in the character for which I am commissioned. Of this most extraordinary document I send a copy. To this I replied, under the date of the 24th instant, disproving the unfounded assertions of Mr. Peña y Peña, and refuting the arguments upon which the refusal to receive me was based."

As the reply of Mr. Slidell to Mr. Peña y Peña, alluded to above, embraces a variety of information of interest to all who desire to understand what were the true relations existing at that time between the two countries, we have placed it in the Appendix.* We would give a place to the letter of Mr.

*See Appendix N.

Peña y Peña, also, to which this is a reply, if we had not determined to insert, for several reasons which will appear, his communication of December 11, 1845, addressed to the coun、 cil. This communication embraces essentially and briefly his views, which are elaborately given in his letter.*

FOLLY OF MEXICO PRUDENCE AND PATIENCE ADVISED BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Slidell, January 20, 1846.

"Should the Mexican government, by finally refusing to receive you, consummate the act of folly and bad faith of which they have afforded such strong indications, nothing will then remain for this government but to take the redress of the wrongs of its citizens into its own hands.

case.

"In the event of such a refusal, the course which you have determined to pursue is the proper one. You ought, in your own language, so to conduct yourself, as to throw the whole odium of the failure of the negotiation upon the Mexican government; — point out, in the most temperate manner, the immediate consequences of so unheard-of a violation of all the usages which govern the intercourse between civilized nations; and declare your intention to remain in Mexico until you can receive instructions adapted to the exigencies of the This sojourn will afford you an honorable opportunity to watch the course of events, and avail yourself of any favorable circumstances, which, in the mean time, may occur. Should a revolution have taken place before the 1st of January, the day appointed for the meeting of Congress, (an event which you deemed probable,) or should a change of ministry have been effected, which you considered almost certain, this delay will enable you to ascertain the views and wishes of the new government or administration. The desire of the presi dent is, that you should conduct yourself with such wisdom and firmness in the crisis, that the voice of the American peo*See Appendix O.

ple shall be unanimous in favor of redressing the wrongs of our much injured and long suffering claimants.

"It would seem to be the desire of the Mexican government to evade the redress of the real injuries of our citizens, by confining the negotiation to the adjustment of a pecuniary indemnity for its imaginary rights over Texas. This cannot be tolerated. The two subjects must proceed hand in hand; they can never be separated. It is evidently with the view of thus limiting the negotiation that the Mexican authorities have been quibbling about the mere form of your credentials, without ever asking whether you had instructions and full powers to adjust the Texan boundary. The advice of the council of the government seems to have been dictated by the same spirit."

[Advice of Order to General Taylor.]

"In the mean time, the president, in anticipation of the final refusal of the Mexican government to receive you, has ordered the army of Texas to advance and take position on the left bank of the Rio Grande, and has directed that a strong fleet shall be immediately assembled in the Gulf of Mexico. He will thus be prepared to act with vigor and promptitude the moment that Congress shall give him the authority.”

HONORABLE EFFORT AND PERSEVERANCE ADVISED BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Slidell, January 28, 1846.

“After a careful and critical examination of the contents, [of your despatches,] the president entirely approves your conduct. The exposure contained in your reply to the Mexican minister of foreign affairs,* of the evasions and subterfuges of his government in excuse of their refusal to recognize you as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the

*See Appendix N.

United States, is so complete as to leave me nothing to add upon the subject. It is now, however, morally certain that the insurrection of Paredes has proved successful, and that a new administration of some kind or other at this moment controls that unfortunate country.

"The question arises, therefore, what course you should pursue in this contingency. In my despatch on the 20th instant, I have already anticipated nearly all that is necessary to say in answer to this question. The president is sincerely desirous to preserve peace with Mexico. Both inclination and policy dictate this course. Should the Mexican government, however, finally refuse to receive you, the cup of forbearance will then have been exhausted. Nothing can remain but to take the redress of the injuries to our citizens, and the insults to our government, into our own hands. In view of this serious alternative, every honorable effort should be made before a final rupture. You should wait patiently for a final decision on the question of your reception, unless it should be unreasonably protracted, or you should clearly discover that they are trifling with this government. It is impossible for any person not upon the spot, and conversant with the motives and movements of the revolutionary government now most probably existing in Mexico, to give you precise instructions how long your forbearance ought to continue. Much must necessarily be left to your own discretion. In general terms, I may say that you should take care to act with such prudence and firmness, that it may appear manifest to the people of the United States and to the world, that a rupture could not be honorably avoided. After this, should the Mexican government finally refuse to receive you, then demand passports from the proper authority, and return to the United States. It will then become the duty of the president to submit the whole case to Congress, and call upon the nation to assert its just rights, and avenge its injured honor."