reclamaciones que haya hecho ó hiciere él de los Estados Unidos del Norte, y para que en aquellas en que no puedan convenirse, sujete la decision al juicio de una Potencia amiga, conviniendo en esto los mismos Estados Unidos,") is consequently accepted, and I will be ready to enter with you into the negotiation of a convention, upon the bases of that article, for the purpose of arranging the particulars of the arbitration, whenever you shall present yourself clothed with competent powers. The posture of the relations between the two countries makes it proper that this should be done immediately, as the President will not feel himself authorized to recommend any suspension of the action of Congress to whom this whole subject has been referred, before a convention of arbitration has been concluded between the two Governments.

The President has seen with surprise that, in the absence of any new inducements to change the cardinal policy of this Government, assurances appear to be expected of continued neutrality by the United States in the war between Mexico and Texas. He directs me to refer your Government, for the security it desires in this respect, to those principles of rigid impartiality between foreign Powers at war, which the United States have always avowed, and which the Executive has endeavored to enforce by all the power which the laws confer for that purpose.

I embrace this opportunity to offer you renewed assurances of my great consideration.

Señor Don FRANCISCO PIZARRO MARTINEZ,

JOHN FORSYTH.

Envoy Extraordinary, &c.

Mr. Forsyth to Mr. Martinez.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, April 25, 1838.

SIR: Your note of the 27th of January last, enclosing a copy of a public notice addressed, on the 15th of December, by the commander of the sloop of war Natchez, to persons interested in the trade between New Orleans and Texas, was duly received. Although it did not appear to this Department that Commander Mervine's conduct in this instance justified a belief that he could have been actuated by any unfriendly feeling towards Mexico, or improper partiality to her adversary, it was thought just to afford him an opportunity to state explicitly his motives.

Your note was, accordingly, referred to the Secretary of the Navy, who wrote to Commander Mervine on the subject. A copy of his answer, which, it is presumed, will be satisfactory, is now enclosed.

I avail myself of the occasion to offer you renewed assurances of my distinguished consideration.

JOHN FORSYTH.

To Señor Don FRANCISCO PIZARRO MARTINEZ, &c.

** ||

[Enclosure in the preceding.]

Mr. Mervine to Mr. Dickerson.

U. S. SLOOP OF WAR NATCHEZ,

Pensacola Bay, April 10, 1838.

SIR: In reply to your communication dated 28th of February last, requesting to be informed "what were my motives for communicating to the merchants of New Orleans the intelligence received by me at the Braso de Santiago, on the 15th of December last, in relation to the movements of the Mexican army and navy," I have to state, in reply thereto, that I believed, from the information received, a combined movement was meditated against Texas, and, in the event of a sudden blockade being declared and maintained, as a previous one had been, that a large amount of property at that time belonging to merchants in New Orleans, destined for ports in Texas, would be in jeopardy before the information could be communicated through the proper channel, or measures adopted by the commander-in-chief to guard our commercial interests in that quarter.

I therefore deemed it my duty to communicate the information precisely as I received it, in order that those who did not feel disposed to risk their property might avail themselves of the information, if they considered it of any importance. Such, sir, were the motives by which I was governed, and which, I hope, will prove satisfactory to the honorable Secretary of State.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

Hon. MAHLON DICKERSON,

WM. MERVINE, Commander.

Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C.

25th CONGRESS, 2d Session.

[Doc. No. 351. ]

Ho. OF REPS.
Executive.

UNITED STATES AND MEXICO.

[To be annexed to document No. 351.]

The Select Committee appointed to select such portions of the documents accompanying the message of the President of the 4th instant, as they should consider material to be printed, report the following resolution:

Resolved, That the Clerk of the House deliver to the public printer, to be printed for the use of the House, all the papers transmitted with the message of the President of the 4th instant, except evidences of private claims, papers of a character merely formal, and papers in the Spanish language of which there are English translations.

MESSAGE

FROM THE

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

TRANSMITTING,

In further compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st of March, a Report of the Secretary of State upon the Existing Relations between the United States and Mexico.

JULY 4, 1838.

Ordered to lie on the table, and to be printed.

To the House of Representatives of the United States:

In further compliance with the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st of March last, requesting papers on the subject of the relations between the United States and Mexico, I transmit a report from the Secretary of State, to whom the resolution was referred, supplementary to the report of that officer, communicated with my message to the House of Representatives of the 27th of April last.

WASHINGTON, July 4, 1838.

M. VAN BUREN.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, July 3, 1838.

The Secretary of State, to whom was referred the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 21st of March last, requesting the President to transsmit to that House copies of all correspondence between the Government of the United States and the Government of Mexico, and of all instructions given to our ministers at the Court of Mexico, since the date of the Mexican treaty of 1828, not heretofore communicated to that House; and, also, requesting him to transmit copies of all correspondence since the date aforesaid, and not heretofore communicated to that House, between the Executive of the United States and our minister at the Court of Mexico; and, also, requesting the President to communicate to that House copies of all orders given to General Gaines, in relation to his command west of the Mississippi river, to the 5th day of December last, and of his reports thereon, not heretofore communicated to that House, has the honor to lay before the President

1. Copies of all unpublished instructions from this Department to the diplomatic agents of the United States at Mexico, subsequent to the 12th of January, 1828.

2. Copies of all unpublished communications from those agents within that period to this Department, and to the President of the United States, relating to public business transacted by them with the Mexican Government, and of all their unpublished correspondence with that Government within the same period.

3. Copies of all unpublished correspondence since the date before mentioned, between this Department and the diplomatic agents of Mexico. accredited to this Government.

No papers requested by the resolution have been withheld except a communication from Mr. Butler, the late chargé d'affaires of the United States to the Mexican republic, made to this Department during his visit to this city in the summer of 1835, the reply to which has been heretofore communicated to Congress; and all those parts of his despatches, and those of Mr. Poinsett and Mr. Ellis, which contain narratives of political events in Mexico, speculations upon them, and speculations and opinions concerning public characters in that country, none of which can now be made known compatibly with the public interest.

As the resolution referred does not call for information upon any particular point, but requests all unpromulgated correspondence between the two Governments within a period of upwards of ten years, numerous papers of little value when received, and now of no value, are necessarily included in an answer to it.

It has never been usual to translate, at this Department, unimportant documents in foreign languages, but the necessity of doing this, with regard to papers of that description called for by the resolution referred, since it has been received, and the extraordinary bulk of the transcripts required, have retarded this report.

A copy of a letter to this Department from the Department of War, accompanied by the papers in that Department requested by the resolution, is also presented.

All which is respectfully submitted.

To the PRESIDENT of the United States.

JOHN FORSYTH.