196 AVES ISLAND. 



our attorney may not reacli Caraccas and procure tlie set- 

 tlement of said claim, being two years and two months, to 



the sum of |44,330 



(See depositions before referred to, and other proofs, with 

 our attorney in Venezuela.) 



Total claim of P. S. Shelton and Sampson & Tappan, now 



presented '. , 655,390 



Mr. Eames to 3Ir. Marcy, 



No. 35.] Legation of the United States, 



Caraccas, February 28, 1857. 



Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch 

 No. 42, under date of 3d ultimo, which was put into my hands by Mr. 

 Sanford on the 21st instant, and which then gave me the first informa- 

 tion I have ever had of the existence of your dispatch No. 37, of 14th 

 of August last, relative to the "Aves" claim, which, with important 

 accompanying papers, now appears to have been prepaid and forwarded 

 from the department at the very time when I, having nothing from 

 you respecting that claim later than your No. 30, of 25th April last, was 

 in great need and in confident expectation of a further communication 

 from the department on that subject. I waited impatiently till the 

 9th of October last, and then I wrote and sent my No. 22, stating my 

 need and my expectation of further papers from the department relating 

 to the " Aves" claim and the grounds of that expectation. 



Meantime, the department doubtless has already received my No. 

 26, of 5th December last, acknowledging your Nos. 39 and 40, and 

 stating that "your Nos. 37 and 38 are wanting, No. 36, under 

 date of 9th August last, being the last dispatch previously received by 

 me." This No. 36 is the dispatch in which you inform me that the 

 general treaty negotiated by me last spring and summer, and trans- 

 mitted to the department in July last, has been sent in to the Senate 

 for ratification. Before this date, also, the department will doubtless 

 have received my No. 30, of 7th January last, inclosing copy of my 

 note of 20th of December last to Mr, Gutierrez, continuing to urge 

 strongly the ''Aves" claim, and indicating a basis of settlement. By 

 my No. 30, the department will see that I wrote that note to Mr. 

 G-utierrez solely on the basis of Nos. 22, 27, and 30 from the depart- 

 ment, and in some perplexity at not receiving from you any thing later 

 on the subject. I hope confidently that the department will consider, 

 as I do, that in my note to Mr. Gutierrez of 20th December last, while 

 laboring under the disadvantage of failing to receive your important 

 No. 37, of 14th August last, with its inclosures, I have yet, to a con- 

 siderable extent, if not entirely, anticipated the views of the depart- 

 ment as therein set forth. If so, it is fortunate ; for Mr. Sanford has 

 brought with him and shown to me the proof sheets of the Senate doc- 

 ument, containing both your missing dispatch No. 37, of 14th August 



