Mr. Geofroy to Mr. Seward.—Received May 27, 1864
It seems that Brownsville, on the Rio Grande, is the very active centre of a traffic in articles contraband of war, a traffic which is carried on for account of the agents of Mr. Juarez, and that the federal authorities, who are accused of deriving large profits from it, favor, in place of hindering it; that General Herron, who commands at Brownsville, is on the best terms with Mr. Cortinas, whom he aids with all his power, by furnishing him arms, munitions, and even recruits, and that he loudly avows his sympathies with the pretended government which he still represents at Matamoras. The collector of the federal customs at Brownsville must be also, as it is given out, in connivance with Mr. Cortinas.
It seems that at this moment a ship is being laden near Boston, which is to carry to Mexico one or two batteries of artillery, carbines, swords, and bayonets. Contracts for these articles, contraband of war, have been made already, some weeks since, and the vessel which will carry them will, to turn aside suspicion, be cleared from some small port in New England. She will be given Brazos as her destination, which is at a short distance from the mouth of the Rio Grande, and from that locality the cargo will be sent on its way to a point occupied by the agents of Mr. Juarez.