[Translation.]
Mr. Romero to Mr. Seward
Washington,
February 26, 1866.
My Dear Sir: I have the honor to transmit
to you a translation into English of the official documents relating
to the affairs of Mexico, which were published by the French
government on the opening of the sessions of the legislative body
thereof, in what is called, in Paris, the “Yellow Book.”
Desirous that this collection may be of some use to the department
under your worthy charge, I transmit it to you, and avail myself of
the occasion to repeat myself
Your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, &c., &c., &c.
The Yellow Book.
The Yellow Book, containing the diplomatic documents communicated
to the Chambers, came out yesterday. These documents relate to
the affairs of Italy and Rome; to the visits of the French and
English squadrons; to the navigation of the Danube; to the
Lebanon question; to the affair of Greece; to the United States;
to the affair of Chili; to the affairs of the Plate; to the
negotiations with Japan; to the extradition treaty between
France and England; to commercial affairs—Sweden, Norway,
Zollverein, Netherlands, Spain; to an international sanitary
conference; in fine, to the United States correspondence
relative to the affairs of Mexico.
Underneath this summary table we find the following note:
‘‘As the publication of the correspondence on the subject of
Mexico at this time might present some inconveniences on account
of pending negotiations, the government of the Emperor reserves
it for subsequent communication to the grand state bodies.”
[Page 690]
Further on, at the head of the correspondence relative to Mexican
affairs, we find another note of this tenor:
“In postponing the publication of the papers relating to Mexico,
the intention of the government of the Emperor was also to defer
that of the United States upon the same question; but it is now
thought unnecessary to delay the communication of that
correspondence any longer, as publicity has been given in
America to the documents presented to Congress.”
It appears from this note that there are other documents relative
to Mexico remaining to be published; in other words, the
correspondence already published does not embrace all the
Mexican documents, but only those documents relative to the
reclamations of the United States.
