322 
GUATEMALA. 
not improbable that Mexico may be included in the Cen¬ 
tral American Estados Unidos. It was the ambition of 
General Barrios to become emperor or president (the name 
matters little) of all Central America ; and he lost his life 
in the attempt. His death will not deter the politicians 
of the several States from attempting a revolution which 
may aggrandize their private fortunes in the general dis¬ 
turbance. If Mexico— a very inferior nation both in the 
character of her population and in natural resources — 
could be left out, it would seem very possible to unite 
again the fortunes of Guatemala, Honduras, San Salva¬ 
dor, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica; but such a confederacy 
would not attract foreign capital as readily as a treaty 
alliance between quite independent republics, owing to a 
widespread distrust of the permanency of any confed¬ 
eracy. If the laws of the United States stretched to 
the Isthmus of Darien, doubtless capital would eagerly 
■enter this rich field; but at present it is as safe under 
the laws of Guatemala as under those of any Central 
American country. 
As England and Germany always protect the interests 
■of their subjects wherever invested, and as the United 
States Government has neither the will nor the power to 
guard the interests of her people in foreign lands, it is 
not strange that Englishmen and Germans embark in 
profitable enterprises in the Central-American Republics 
while Americans hesitate. At present we have to trust 
for our commercial rights to the general laws of na¬ 
tions and the favorable inclinations of the existing 
Government. 
