day of the present month informed that the Negotiation on that subject had hcen transferred to Washington City:- The Department of Foreign Affairs for i\'lexico, has changed hands three times since May last, and this created some confusion in the business of that Department. You are aware that my instructions for renewing the boundary Treaty arrived here in the beginning of June of the past year-and these instructions enjoined it on me to have the Treaty ratified before sending it home. A short Lime previous to receipt of these instructions, Gen Santa Anna had dissolved the Congress so that it was impossible to obtain the ratification, untill a new election could take place and the :Members Assemble. Immediately on receiving the Despatch I addressed a note to the Department of State advising the Secretary of my having been invested with powers to conclude a Treaty with Mexico for the establishment of the boundary between the two Nations; and upon a question from the Secretary whether it would be necessary to enter upon the subject immediately-I replied in the Negative informing him very frankly that on account of the delays such things suffered in Mexico, it was my design not to send home the Treaty untill it had been first ratified here;-and as there was no Congress, and would be none untill January, the subject might remain over for the present if he desired it- He expressed himself much pleased-saying that he expected very soon to lose the office-that he was very much engaged in closing every thing in which he had been concerned as far as practicable, and as the work of this Treaty would not be more than an hour, myself and some other gentleman his successor might conclude it just before Congress assembled- As this was all true, I felt dis- posed to let the question lie over, to gratify the Secretary:-As he had anticipated, he went out of office in a very few weeks; And I did not revive the subject with his successor officially untill the beginning of December when I directed his attention, to my offi- cial Note of June past lo this predecessor, and desired to know when it would be agrcable to the Mexican Government to com- mence the Negotiation- My Note remained unanswered untill Jan- uary, when just about the period of the meeting of Congress I addressed the Secretary a second Notc.-About this time it was rumored, that another change would shortly be made in the Dc- partmen l (a change in reality much wanted, as the incumbent was deficient both in talents and, honcsty),-and the report seemed to
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