ADDRESSES OF MAJOR LACEY 339 



With the recent experience we had had as to the French 

 and English neutrality in the War of the Rebellion, there 

 was no misunderstanding General Grant's purpose; and 

 General Steele quietly issued ammunition to the repub- 

 lican forces in Mexico, who crossed the Rio Grande for 

 that purpose. 



This sort of Monroe Doctrine from General Grant, 

 backed with forty thousand men, made that doctrine man- 

 ifest to the most unobserving. There is no argument so 

 convincing as an army. Our government requested 

 France to withdraw, and France withdrew. I have al- 

 ways felt that the Mexicans were too severe in their hour 

 of victory; that when Maximilian, Miramon, and Mejia 

 were shot by a file of soldiers at Queretero, that it would 

 have been better to have turned them loose as we did the 

 leaders of the Rebellion. But the Mexicans had much 

 to complain of, and they felt that the Monroe Doctrine 

 of non-interference in their country needed to be em- 

 phasized by such an example that no other European 

 prince would ever desire to wear an American crown; 

 and, perhaps, they were wiser after all, however much 

 we may sorrow for the empress, "Poor Carlotta. " 



We are constantly confronted with the Clayton-Bulwer 

 Treaty, in all attempts to connect the Atlantic with the 

 Pacific Ocean. When that treaty was made, the great 

 possibilities of California, Oregon, and Washington were 

 unknown. English capital proposed to embark jointly 

 with ours in the construction of a canal through Nicara- 

 gua. English diplomatists nave been proverbial for their 

 long insight into the future. Trained to diplomacy as a 

 profession they obtained in that celebrated treaty condi- 

 tions which have been very embarrassing to our govern- 

 ment. There seems to be no intent upon her part to ever 

 build the canal or help build it, but to hold that treaty 



