And State Papers 719 



oceanic canal, Colombia could not under existing 

 conditions refuse to enter into a proper arrange- 

 ment with the United States to that end, without 

 violating the spirit and substantially repudiating the 

 obligations of a treaty the full benefits of which 

 she had enjoyed for over fifty years. My intention 

 was to consult the Congress as to whether under 

 such circumstances it would not be proper to an- 

 nounce that the canal was to be dug forthwith; 

 that we would give the terms that we had offered 

 and no others; and that if such terms were not 

 agreed to we would enter into an arrangement with 

 Panama direct, or take what other steps were need- 

 ful in order to begin the enterprise. 



A third possibility was that the people of the 

 Isthmus, who had formerly constituted an independ- 

 ent state, and who until recently were united to 

 Colombia only by a loose tie of federal relationship, 

 might take the protection of their own vital interests 

 into their own hands, reassert their former rights, 

 declare their independence upon just grounds, and 

 establish a government competent and willing to do 

 its share in this great work for civilization. This 

 third possibility is what actually occurred. Every 

 one knew that it was a possibility, but it was not 

 until toward the end of October that it appeared to 

 be an imminent probability. Although the Admin- 

 istration, of course, had special means of knowledge, 

 no such means were necessary in order to appreciate 

 the possibility, and toward the end the likelihood, 

 of such a revolutionary outbreak and of its success. 



