File No. 312.115/174.

Vice Consul Davis to the Secretary of State.

No. 547.]

Sir: I have the honor to say that I am herewith enclosing a printed copy of Governor Medina’s decree No. 62,72 and to call your attention to the strictly American people and companies in the list thereto appended, marked with a cross, and to assure you that nearly all, if [Page 993] not all, the others in said list are foreign people and companies, at least representing exclusively foreign people and capital. The decree bears date March 1 but was not made public until the afternoon of the day after. I at once tried to inform the Department by telegraph. [Here follows a detailed statement of the eight telegrams presented by him for sending, six of which were suppressed by censorship and two partially transmitted.]

I had another interview with the Governor yesterday after receiving your March 9, and he conceded an armistice until next week, even after having begun to embargo business houses of French citizens. The credit of having these embargoes temporarily raised was due to Mr. Grosvenor, an English barrister here, whom the French have employed as their attorney. No Americans were molested, nor any other foreigners without representation on the part of their governments, for I have included all the latter under American protection.

I have [etc.]

W. B. Davis.
  1. Not printed.