No. 402.
Mr. Morgan
to Mr. Frelinghuysen.
Mexico, May 28, 1883. (Received June 14.)
Sir: Referring you to my telegram of the 25th instant, and to the report thereof contained in my dispatch No. 626, of the same date, it is proper I should explain the circumstance under which the telegram was sent.
In an interview which Señor Mariscal had requested of me for that day, he asked me whether I had received any instructions from you with reference to a continuing of and amendments to the agreement entered into by yourself and Señor Romero on the 29th July last, which provided for the reciprocal crossing of United States and Mexican troops when in pursuit of hostile Indians. I replied that I had not. He then went on to say that some correspondence had taken place between himself, Señor Romero, and yourself upon the subject, in which correspondence he had instructed Señor Romero to say that negotiations for continuing or amending the agreement should be conducted between himself and this legation. He informed me that Señor Romero had not communicated to you this portion of his instructions, and that he had repeated [Page 655] them to the gentlemen now in charge of the Mexican legation in Washington. He said that the President was willing to extend the time of the agreement, and to consider any propositions of changes therein, but that nothing could be done by him without the authorization of Congress, and that body would not be in session later than the 15th June next. He added that if the two Governments could come to an understanding upon the matter, the President would urge upon Congress the propriety of giving the consideration of the subject a preference, so that he would be enabled to act. But he said he would insist upon it that the negotiations should be conducted here; and this he wished me to inform you of by telegraph. This I declined to do, saying to him that you were, from his statement to me, informed of the views of his Government, and that if you had not instructed me upon the subject it was for reasons satisfactory to yourself. One entirely satisfactory reason, as it seemed to me, was that the original agreement having been entered into at Washington, any subsequent agreement should, upon the same subject, be made there.
Considering the importance of the question, however, I felt myself justified in informing you that my attention had been called to it, and to the fact that if you desire to do anything in the matter the time in which action could be taken was limited; hence my telegram.
I am, &c.,