87277 A STUDY OF SUBJECTS AFFECTING THEIR POLITICAL, COMMERCIAL, AND SOCIAL RELATIONS, MADE WITH A VIEW TO THEIR PROMOTION BY MATIAS ROMERO VOLUME I. G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON 1898 COPYRIGHT, 1898 BY MATIAS ROMERO Entered at Stationers' Hall, London The Knickerbocker Press, New York PREFACE. At two different periods I have been in Washington as the official representative of Mexico in the United States. My first sojourn began on December 24, 1859, when I came as First Secretary of the Mexican Legation, continuing as such until August 14, 1860, the day on which Minister Mata left Washington on leave, and I became Chargé d'Affaires and continued in that capacity until October 29, 1863. On that day I presented to President Lincoln my credentials. as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Mexico, in which capacity I remained in Washington until July 16, 1868, when I took my departure for Mexico. I was therefore in Washington during nearly two years of Mr. Buchanan's administration, the whole of Mr. Lincoln's first and second administrations, and of his successor, Mr. Johnson. I, therefore, was fortunate enough to be in this capital during the most serious crises that this government ever passed through, that is, during the preparation for the secession of the Southern States, during the secession, the Civil War that it brought about, and the Reconstruction Period, as well as during the whole period of the French Intervention in Mexico, which was an incident closely connected with the Civil War in the United States. It was my fortune to meet the most prominent men of this country, both in political and social life, and to hold very friendly personal relations with many of them, such as Secretary Seward and General Grant.' The extent of the personal friendship with which Mr. Seward favored me, appears from the following official communication dated at Washington, October 7, 1867, in which he tendered me a public vessel of the United States to convey me and my friends from Charleston, South Carolina, to the port of Veracruz in Mexico, on my return home. Governor Morton, of Indiana, and General Banks had intended to go to Mexico with me, but could not leave when I started, and I only left with my family. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 1867. TO SEÑOR DON MATIAS ROMERO etc., etc., etc. SIR: You are aware of the intention of the Government to provide you with a passage to Mexico in a public vessel of the United States. I now have the honor to acquaint you that in a letter of this date, the Secretary of the Treasury informs me |