HIS PART IN THE CIVIL WAR 181 



have done is known to him and he has the authority to 

 use the information acquired for his own government, 

 provided he may be personally benefited thereby. The 

 restriction here is, that should you deem it worth while 

 to bring the subject before the Dutch government you 

 will first confer with Captain Jansen and shape your 

 course accordingly. Should you effect a negotiation 

 there, please turn over to him my share of the Dutch 

 grant. 4. I restrict you also as to Mexico. Leave that 

 to me. Should, however, any negotiation be entered 

 into with that government, I shall refer the authorities 

 to you for the articles such as wire, etc. required. 



"Such in substance is our verbal understanding. But 

 as I am about to leave England, it becomes proper, for 

 more reasons than one, that we should make a memoran- 

 dum of agreement in writing, to the end of making it 

 good in law and binding also upon our heirs and assigns. 

 With this view, this writing is drawn and the following 

 statement is added. The points upon which this system 

 hangs and which give special value to the information 

 imparted to you concerning it are mainly these: 1. A 

 plan for determining by cross bearings when the enemy 

 is in the torpedo field of destruction and for 'making 

 connections' among the torpedo wires in a certain way 

 and by which the concurrence of each of two operators 

 becomes necessary for the explosion of any one or more 

 torpedoes. This plan requires each operator to be so 

 placed or stationed that a line drawn straight from them 

 to the place of the torpedoes may intersect as nearly 

 as practicable at right angles. And it requires the con- 

 nection to be such that each operator may put his station 

 in or out of circuit at will. When the torpedoes are laid, 

 a range for each station is established for every torpedo 



