No. 432.
Mr. Cayetano
Romero to Mr. Davis.
Washington , May 8, 1883. (Received May 9.)
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your polite note of yesterday, whereby, referring to that addressed by your Department to Don Matias Romero on the 24th of April last, relative to the modification [Page 695] of the convention now in force for the reciprocal crossing of the frontier by the troops of both countries in pursuit of savage Indians, you were pleased to transmit to me a copy of a telegram from General Crook, dated San Bernardino Springs, May 3, and to inform me that it appeared, from the information received by you from the War Department, that the object had in view by the Government of the United States is not so much duly to authorize the respective commanding officers on the frontier to deviate, to a certain extent, from the general stipulations of the agreement, but rather to permit them to continue the active operations already undertaken by them beyond the limit of the time fixed by the additional protocol of September 21, 1882, which result, you remark, may be secured by simply signing a similar protocol extending the time of the convention for one year. You therefore inform me of the desire of the President of the United States that such a protocol should be signed immediately, and inquire of me whether I am duly empowered for such a purpose, requesting me, if I am not, to solicit by telegraph suitable authority from my Government, inasmuch as the realization of the object had in view will thereby be greatly facilitated, which object, you do not doubt, will receive the same consideration from the Government of Mexico that it has from that of the United States.
You were likewise pleased to remark that, as the operations which have been undertaken against the Apaches will last more than six months, and as they are to be carried out in a region in which there is no telegraphic communication, the speedy settlement of this matter is desirable, in order that General Crook may be informed of the result, and that said operations may not be rendered fruitless.
You add, in conclusion, that if the approval of the Senate of Mexico is required in order to extend for a year the agreement concerning the crossing of troops, the fact that the session of said body will soon close is an additional reason why the authorization in question should be asked for without delay.
In reply I have the honor to inform you that not having been authorized to sign the protocol in question, I have requested my Government, by telegraph, to send me instructions, which I will communicate to you so soon as I shall have received them.
I avail, &c.,