26 AVES ISLAND. 



month after the instruction on the subject had been forwarded from 

 the department to the minister resident of the United States. 



When, therefore, Mr. Eames, under that instruction, made an appli- 

 cation in your behalf, he was met at the first step by a reference to 

 this agreement, the original of which is in the hands of the Venezuelan 

 government. 



You cannot fail to perceive how the fact of the existence of this docu- 

 ment complicates the business. 



It is my duty, therefore, to inform you, that before proceeding 

 further, the department must be satisfied that this agreement was 

 made under duress; for, if that should not be the fact, your failure to 

 disavow or protest against the concessions and acknowledgment of 

 your agent will, at least, seriously impair your claim to indemnifi- 

 cation. 



I am, sir, &c., 



W. L. MAKCY. 



PniLO S. Shelton, Esq., 



Boston. 



Mr. Shelton to Mr. Marcy. 



Boston, June 20, 1855. 



Sir : We acknowledge the honor of having on the 18th instant re- 

 ceived your official communication^ dated the 14th instant. Before it 

 came to hand, we had written a communication to be sent to you, 

 soliciting a reply to the inquiries and requests made in ours of the 14th 

 May, which we withhold till we have answered yours, the receipt of 

 which is above noted. 



The terms of your letter seem to indicate suspicions entertained by 

 you that do us great injustice. If so, we can only attribute them to 

 misconceptions of facts on your part, or the misrepresentations of others 

 interested adversely to our claims and rights ; and also to the mistake 

 by you, quite apparent from your letter, of confounding together 

 matters essentially distinct and" difi'erent from each other ; as we are 

 quite confident you will be satisfied, after you have received our expla- 

 nation, and reexamined carefully i^e papers on file in your depart- 

 ment. 



In the first place, your letter intimates a suspicion, (and, indeed, it 

 well nigh assumes an accusation,) that in our two letters of the 15^7i 

 and 29th of January last, we purposely avoided or suppressed all refer- 

 ence or ''allusion" to a paper which we designate as the "Dias 

 license, 'permit, or notice," dated December 13, 1854. The motive for 

 such suppression or purposed concealment (as we conceive inferable 

 from your letter) was supposed by you to be apprehension by us that 

 this paper might injuriously affect our claims and rights. 



In reply to this we respectfully submit to you that, in order to sub- 

 ject us to such imputation, it is necessary that we should have had, at 



e time those letters ivere ivritten, some information of the existence of 



