I 
APPENDIX. 
291 
him in the prosecution of the enterprise a company of citizens of Kew Or- 
leans. 
Before commencing their works, these American citizens were, however, 
desirous of ascertaining beyond a doubt the honest intention of Mexico to 
forward this great enterprise, and also of shielding themselves, under the 
protection of their own Government, against the dangers arising from the 
constant change of rulers and forms of government in that country. They 
therefore applied to their Government for this two-fold object, and met 
with every encouragement and assistance that a subject so deeply inter- 
esting to the nation was calculated to elicit. Mr. Letcher was instructed 
to inform the Mexican Government of the desire of the holders of the 
grant to commence their work by a thorough re-survey of the Isthmus, as 
full confidence was not reposed in that which had been made by the en- 
gineers employed in 1842 and 1843 ; and to make overtures for a treaty 
of joint protection of the work. The Mexican Government made not the 
slightest objection, did not suggest a doubt of the rights of the company, 
forwarded passports for their engineers and officers, and issued orders to 
the Departments of Oaxaca and Vera Cruz to avoid interposing any obsta- 
cles to their work, but, on the contrary, to afford them aid and hospitali- 
ty. This occurred in April, 1850. The engineers were -accordingly sent, 
the ports thrown open for their supplies, and more than one hundred thou- 
sand dollars have already been expended in the surveys, and in opening 
and cutting roads through the most broken parts of the country. 
On the application for a treaty, the Mexican President and Cabinet de- 
sired that a modification should be made in the terms of the grant, and 
especially that the company should give up its right to fix its own rates 
of toll for goods and passengers, and should consent to admit the joint 
control of the two Governments on that subject. They therefore intro- 
duced a clause to that effect in the treaty, and as it was perfectly under- 
stood that the rights of the grantees could not be affected without their 
own consent, another clause of the treaty provided " that the actual hold- 
ers of the grant should file their assent to the treaty before its ratification 
by the two Governments." And in this form the treaty was concluded 
in Mexico between Mr. Letcher and the Mexican President and Cabinet. 
It is difficult to conceive how, after such action as this, the Mexican 
Government can now pretend that there exists no grant ! that the con- 
cession is utterly null and void ! 
This is not all, however. On the arrival of the treaty in this country, 
the holders of the grant were invited, by the Secretary of State, to ex- 
amine it, in accordance with its terms, and to signify their approval or dis- 
