644 



MEXICO. 



From all which a writer iu the " National In- 

 telligencer," of Washington, draws the follow- 

 ing conclusions : 



1. The Monroe declaration of 1823, in both its 

 phases, had its origin in the changed relations and new 

 responsibilities imposed upon the several States of the 

 American Continents arising especially from the eman- 

 cipation of the Spanish Colonies. 



L'. The Monroe declaration, in so far as it related to 

 the threatened intervention of the Holy Alliance in the 

 concerns of the Spanish American States, was intended 

 to meet a particular contingency of events, and there- 

 fore passed away with the occasion which called it 



8. The Monroe doctrine, in so far as it relates to the 

 colonization of the American Continents by any Eu- 

 ropean Power, was not intended to bind the United 

 States to guard the territory of the New World from 

 such occupation by European States ; but was intend- 

 ed to indicate as an important principle of American 

 public policy, that " each State should guard by its own 

 means against the establishment of any future Eu- 

 ropean colony" within the jurisdiction of its flag. 

 That is, the American Continents were no longer held 

 open to colonization as derelict territory, capable of 

 occupation by right of discovery and settlement. 



4. The Monroe doctrine was not in any of its as- 

 pects a pledge committing the Government of the 

 United States to any line ot policy beyond that which 

 seemed expedient and necessary at the time of its an- 

 nouncement. As Mr. Van Buren well said, " no dec- 

 laration of the Executive could have this effect," and 

 none such was " intended " by Mr. Monroe. 



It was therefore denied .that the United 

 States Government was bound by traditional 

 policy, precedent or pledge, to demand the im- 

 mediate recall of the French troops from Mexi- 

 co, however earnestly public opinion might 

 pronounce in favor of such a course ; and it 

 was urged that to embarrass the Government 

 at the present time by the consideration of 

 questions of this kind, or to cause it to humili- 

 ate itself before the world by making a demand 

 which it had not the power to enforce, would 

 be factious and unreasonable. 



These may be taken to represent the opinions 

 publicly expressed as to the part to be taken 

 by the United States in the Mexican question. 

 The President in his message of December, 

 1863, made no allusion to the subject, and the 

 views of Government can be ascertained only 

 by referring to the diplomatic correspondence 

 of the year. 



In a despatch, dated June 26th, Mr. Corwin, 

 the United States minister in Mexico, announced 

 to Mr. Seward that the Government to which 

 he had been accredited had retired to San 

 Luis Potosi, and that under the circumstances 

 in which he found himself situated, he had de- 

 clined the invitation of Juarez to leave Mexico 

 and repair to that place. In reply, Mr. Seward 

 informed him, under dato of August 8th, that 

 his course met with the approbation of the 

 President, and observed that the most conve- 

 nient and favorable position for the American 

 legation, with reference to the protection of 

 American interests, must depend upon the con- 

 tingencies of war. " It is not perceived," he 

 added, " how you could effectually assert those 

 interests at the present moment by representa- 

 tions to the Government at San Luis, which is 



cut off from communication with the legation, 

 while, on the other hand, you will not be- ex- 

 pected to address yourself, under present cir- 

 cumstances, to the new provisional government 

 which bears sway in the capital." No subse- 

 quent communications between Mr. Corwin and 

 the department of State have been made public. 



On September 22d, Mr. Seward informed 

 Mr. Dayton, the American minister in Paris, 

 that he had received from "M. J. M. Arroyo, 

 who calls himself under Secretary of State and 

 Foreign Affairs of the Mexican Empire," a note 

 announcing the organization of the new Gov- 

 ernment in Mexico; and on the 26th he ad- 

 dressed to Mr. Dayton an elaborate despatch, 

 referring in part to the Mexican question, 

 which he authorized him, at his discretion, to 

 communicate to the French Minister of Foreign 

 Affairs. The United States, he observed, had 

 neither a right nor a disposition to intervene 

 by force in the internal affairs of Mexico, 

 whether to establish and maintain a republic, 

 or even a domestic government there, or to 

 overthrow an imperial or a foreign one, if Mex- 

 ico should choose to establish or accept it. In 

 like manner they had neither the right nor the 

 disposition to intervene by force on either side 

 in the existing war. The American Govern- 

 ment was well aware, however, that the normal 

 opinion of the Mexican people favored a gov- 

 ernment republican in form and domestic in its 

 organization, in preference to any monarchical 

 institutions to be imposed from abroad ; and 

 believed that foreign attempts to control Amer- 

 ican civilization would fail, and that its own 

 safety and happiness depended upon the culti- 

 vation of republican institutions on this conti- 

 nent ; whence he was induced to fear, that if 

 France should persist in her present course, 

 seeds of jealousy and distrust might be scat- 

 tered, which might ultimately ripen into colli- 

 sions. (See DIPLOMATIC COKRESPONDENCE.) 



Mr. Dayton replied on October 9th that he 

 had communicated the substance of this de- 

 spatch to M. Drouyn de 1'Huys, who informed 

 him that the vote of the whole Mexican people 

 would be taken on the question of establishing 

 the Empire ; also that the dangers of the gov- 

 ernment of the Archduke would come princi- 

 pally from the United States, and the sooner 

 the latter showed itself satisfied and willing to 

 enter into peaceful relations with that govern- 

 ment, the sooner would France be ready to 

 leave Mexico. But the French would not con- 

 sent to desert the Archduke before his govern- 

 ment was firmly established. The early ac- 

 knowledgment of that government by the 

 United States, he added, would tend to shorten, 

 or perhaps to end all the troublesome compli- 

 cations of France in Mexico, and the French 

 troops would thereupon retire. 



In reply to this despatch Mr. Seward wrote 

 to Mr. Dayton, on the 23d, that the United 

 States were still of the opinion, that the perma- 

 nent establishment of a foreign and monarchi- 

 cal government in Mexico would be found 



