MEXICO. 



513 



ment official organ, published the note of in- 

 structions sent by the Minister of War to 

 General Trevifio relative to the course he should 

 pursue with respect to General Ord and the 

 troops under his command. Indeed, the tenor 

 of General Ord's instructions from the War 

 Department, under date of June 1st, and es- 

 pecially the clause directing the American 

 commander to pursue Mexican marauders, if 

 necessary, across the Rio Grande, had pro- 

 voked, as soon as they became known, a univer- 

 sal outburst on the part of the Mexican press 

 at the capital, the instructions having been 

 variously construed as dictated in contempla- 

 tion either of annexation or of a movement in 

 favor of Ex-President Lerdo, and at all events 

 of a hostile invasion of Mexican territory. The 

 more important features of the dispatch to 

 General Trevifio were as follows : 



The United States War Department has issued an 

 order on the 1st instant, authorizing the troops of 

 that country to invade our national territory, with the 

 object of pursuing the evil-doers to which it refers, 

 to capture the same, punish them, and recover the 

 property stolen from tne United States citizens. Al- 

 though the Plenipotentiary * of Mexico at Washing- 

 ton, who protested against that order, on account of 

 the offense that it implies toward our country, assures 

 the Foreign Department, by telegraph, that he has 

 received friendly explanations from the American 

 Government, the President thinks that the honor of 

 the country will not be satisfied except with a modi- 

 fication of the said order, in such terms that it shall 

 not be in contradiction, as it now is, with the treaties 

 in force between Mexico and the United States, with 

 the rules of international law, and even with the 

 practice of civilized nations. 



Mexico has celebrated with the United States an 

 Extradition Treaty 2 which was published on May 20, 

 1862. This treaty is in full force, and you will sub- 

 ject your conduct to the same, whenever any crimi- 

 nals captured by your forces be claimed by the mili- 

 tary or civil authorities of the neighboring Republic, 

 and those that may have committed any of the of- 

 fenses stipulated in the said treaty. . . . You will 

 at once communicate to General Ord, or to the com- 

 mander-in-chief of the United States forces on the 

 frontier, these instructions, acquainting him at the 

 same time with such measures as you may resort to 

 in order to render them effective. You will also en- 

 deavor to confer with the said commander with re- 

 gard to the operations to be taken in combination 

 with him for the capture and suitable punishment of 

 evil-doers, giving him to understand tnat the desires 

 of the President on this point have- no other restric- 

 tions than those imposed upon him by international 

 law, the treaties now in force between the two coun- 

 tries, and the dignity of the Republic. And, as a 

 consequence of those restrictions, you will inform the 

 said commander that, as the Government of Mexico 

 cannot allow a foreign force to enter the national ter- 

 ritory without the consent of the Congress of the 

 Union, and much less that the said force shall come 

 to exercise such acts of jurisdiction as are expressed 

 in the order of the United States War Department, 

 you will repel force by force, should the invasion 

 take place. 



In dictating this extreme measure, the President 

 of the Republic believes that he faithfully interprets 

 the feelings of the Mexicans, if he accepts the situa- 

 tion in which he is placed rather than the humiliation 

 of an offense which would reduce Mexico to the con- 



* Sr. Marlscal, accredited as minister plenipotentiary 

 during the Lerdo administration, and consequently desti- 

 tute of any recognized official character in 1877. 



VOL. xvn. S3 A 



dition of a barbarous country, and beyond the com- 

 munion of international law. The President does not 

 wish, however, that the attitude assumed by the sol- 

 diers of the Republic, in front of troops trespassing 

 upon our territory, infringing international law be 

 reputed aa an act of hostility toward the United 

 States, but that it be considered as the exercise of 

 the legitimate right of self-defense. Our national 

 honor is herein interested, and it is therefore ex- 

 pected of your patriotism that you will act with the 

 prudence demanded by this serious question, in order 

 to_ avoid any cause of conflict between the two coun- 

 tries ; acting, however, with due energy, and repel- 

 ling with force the insult intended to \>e offered to 

 Mexico by the invasion of her territory. 



PEDRO OGAZON. 



The bitter attacks on the American Govern- 

 ment, elicited by the instructions to General 

 Ord, called forth, on June 23d, a memoran- 

 dum from the American Minister, the salient 

 points of which were to the effect that the 

 instructions to General Ord were not the an- 

 nouncement of a new measure on the part of 

 the United States. The depredations com- 

 mitted during the past four years were not 

 common to both sides of the frontier. Mexico 

 took no active, no vigorous measures to pre- 

 vent the depredations or punish the outlaws. 

 Mexico frequently acknowledged its inability 

 to discharge its duty regarding the preservation 

 of order on the Rio Grande frontier, giving as 

 a reason internal dissension. The instruc- 

 tions to General Ord were misinterpreted by 

 the Mexican Government. Therefore, the dec- 

 laration made by the Mexican Minister of War 

 was unwarranted in officially asserting that 

 the instructions to General Ord were in con- 

 travention of treaties between Mexico and the 

 United States. It might have been supposed 

 that, in the haste with which the order of the 

 Minister of War may have been written, there 

 was no premeditated intent to so grossly ques- 

 tion the motives which influenced the Govern- 

 ment of the United States ; but the intent of 

 the Executive would seem to be deliberate, 

 when, three days after the publication of the 

 order, the Mexican Government had inserted 

 in its official journal the statement that the 

 order of the President of the United States, 

 through the Secretary of War, was brought 

 about by the efforts of a private citizen of the 

 United States and Mr. Lerdo, through sinister 

 motives, and by a group of adventurers and 

 speculators. 



In a more recent note (July 27th), Minister 

 Foster renewed his affirmation of the responsi- 

 bility of the Mexican Government for the edi- 

 torial declarations of its official organ, that 

 the orders sent to the commander-in-cliief of 

 the United States troops in Texas " had been 

 issued by the President of the United States 

 through sinister and disreputable influences." 



I Miring an interview between Generals Ord 

 and Trevifio, at Piedras Negran, amicable nnd 

 satisfactory arrangements were mado for th 

 suppression of raids. General Bennvides was 

 commissioned by the Mexican Government to 



