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TEX.\S ST.\TE LIBR.\RY
me the use of the lihrary, aud besides, a'll the newspapers which should come from Cadiz by cYery mail.- In the subseqnent days ·we treated of the following. I asked for aid and was told that they co11ld not give it to me because the United States was at peace with all nations. I answered that there were no difficulties for powerful nations, particularly in cases where not only the interests of t\,o powerful nations but also those of the whole civilized world were to be a.ssured; and I bei?an to demon- strate in this particular case the reasons for the necessity and interest which shonld oblige the United State'> of tl1e north to assist the )fexicans to win thrir inclepcndenc<' First, because by this means they conld be assured of a close frienJ~ ship. and through the industry and commerce they could acquire great wealth with which to make themselves very powerful; and they could do this with superior advantages to those of the European 1iations. Second, that, since ~rn trod a common soil, they should view our cause as their own. Third, that they should consider that if any of the belligerent nations, because of their ambit!ous views, should wish to take posses- sion of Mexico in the present crisis in which we find ourselves, in such a -case, we could with all propriety assure the approaching ru~n of, the United States. To these demonstrationll..__and others of. the same tenor entire ap- probation was given, and/I was led to understand that the United States would take our part. Their fiTst step was to write to all their .ambassadors in Europe to take an interest in the ) [exican indepen- dence, in any cases in which it would be expedient. I was asked ,vbat quantity of arms, that is of guns, I wanted to begin with. I asked for one hundred thousand. I was.assured that they would be gi,cn me, although not all of them would be of the same calibre. I accepted ·and agreed to pay for them at the rate of twenty pesos each, on condition they be delivered at one of our ports at the expense and risk of the sellers. They agreed to this and promised to facilitate matters more for me, telling me that it would not be necessary to give them the money at the present time, that a Jctt~r of credit from my government was enough. At this time I beard news from Europe to the effect that the En~lish government was interested in acti11g as mediator between the Spaniards and the l\Tcxicans, and ha\'ing been informed that the Eng- lish were cal'l'ying on secret diplomacy, I immediately succeeded fo ob- taining an interview with the ambassador of the English King and rebukcJ him in the name of my m1tion fo1· the wrong policy of his gov- ernment in wanting to impede the progress of 1\Icxican independence. I stated that if on the cohtrary, all nations attended to their best in- terests ns they should, they ought not only to aiJ ·us but to recognize us as a nation independent of Spain or any other nation; and, further- more, that he conld be certain that )fexico, on account of her geographical poi;ition as well as on account of her having in her bosom thousands of great men in a11 respects capable of electrifying millions of her sons with the holy fire of patriotism, could not possibly be conquered by any nation on C'arth; for although we may concede th~t they might gain possession of some po1·ts or cities, \TC would pcrnnt
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