292 AVES ISLAND. 



lency to consider tlie serious and new complication and difficulty whicli 

 would follow, if the agent of the company, who was then present, should, 

 through a refusal of Venezuela, find himself in the impossibility, after 

 so many efforts made by him, even with the help of the good offices of 

 the legation of the United States, to come to some friendly arrange- 

 ment with the view of protecting the rights and interests which he was 

 representing. That it was the duty of the undersigned to submit, with 

 deepest respect, to his excellency that, in the judgment of the govern- 

 ment of the United States, this guano question is one of great and 

 public interest, involving not only important rights and considerable 

 interests, but also a great question of good faith, the settlement of 

 which, according to the circumstances under which it had arisen, could 

 not but have its effect on the relations of both countries ; and that the 

 undersigned, whilst carefully avoiding any expression which might, 

 perhaps, be construed into an unfriendly or threatening sense, or one 

 not thoroughly compatible with the most perfect consideration for the 

 dignity of the government of Venezuela, deemed himself, notwith- 

 standing, obliged frankly to inform his excellency that the people and 

 the government of the United States, alike, took a deep interest in this 

 matter, and that they would, with extreme pain and regret, witness 

 any proceeding, now had by Venezuela, which might result in loss or 

 injustice to those of our citizens interested in the said contract. On 

 the other hand, the undersigned did not hesitate to say that, in his 

 judgment, an opposite course, in accordance with which Venezuela 

 should recognize and restore in a satisfactory manner the rights of those 

 citizens, would produce an excellent effect on the relations of both 

 governments, not only as an act of good faith in itself, but also because 

 it would leave, on its own character and circumstances, the considera- 

 tion and settlement of the very serious question, which had previously 

 arisen between the two governments, as to the violent occupation of 

 Aves Island by Venezuela, without the new aggravation and compli- 

 cation which must result from the persistence of Venezuela in a policy 

 productive of great loss and injury to other citizens of the United States 

 interested in "Wallace's contract. The undersigned, in continuation, 

 submitted to his excellency some observations going to show that the 

 undersigned concurred in the justice and the reasonableness of the 

 conditions under which the agent of the company was disposed to enter 

 into a new contract, in lieu of that which had been made with Wal- 

 lace ; and with these words the statement of the undersigned closed. 

 The undersigned experienced great satisfaction at hearing his excel- 

 lency the President state, in answer, that, moved by the desire of 

 manifesting his deep interest in the full maintenance of the good faith 

 of the Venezuelan government, and especially his ardent wish of culti- 

 vating the most friendly relations with the government and the people 

 of the United States, he had resolved that a satisfactory arrangement 

 should be made ; and that the government would immediately turn its 

 attention to it through the action of its ministers." 



Although this memorandum, extended by Mr. Eames himself, 

 has softened the harsher expressions which he used in that con- 

 ference, and which rung from the President this exclamation: 

 ''What! threats, Mr. Eames!" still it may be clearly enough -per- 



