238. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 314-5. Davis, Autobiog., 246. =224=Letter
from C. to Scott, Nov. 14, 1847. Instrucciones Otorgadas. Wilhelm,
Eighth Infantry, i, 299. Moreno, Cantón, 378, 380, 382. Quitman, order,
Oct. 6, 1847, in Papeles Varios. Defensa de Iriarte. McSherry, El
Puchero, 163. =358=Williams to father, Feb. 22, 1848. V. Cruz _American
Eagle_, May 22; Apr. 3, 1847. Ayuntamiento archives, Jalapa, Córdoba,
Orizaba, Puebla, Mexico, Tampico, Saltillo. =92=Quitman, proclam., Oct.
6, 1847. =366=_Id._, poster, Sept. 16. =95=Worth to Puebla ayunt., May
31, 1847; to alcalde, May 17, 1847; reply; proclam., May 22, 1847; to
alcalde, May 22. =303=_Id._, orders 34. _Nacional_, Jan. 28, 1848.
=13=Doyle, No. 5, 1848. Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 251, 549. _Diario_, May
14, 1847. Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 1047 (Scott). =65=Bankhead, orders, Feb.
16, 1848. =61=Hamtramck to McDowell, Jan. 20, 1848. Lawton, Artillery
Officer, 17, 39, 40, 194, 208. =63=Marcy to Davenport, Aug. 6; Dec.
14, 1847. Brackett, Lane's Brigade, 165. =69=Gov. Jalapa to alcalde,
Nov. 26; Dec. 13, 1847; Jan. 17; Mar. 15, 1848; orders 352; to ayunt.,
Feb. 28, 1848. =69=Gates, orders 26, 35. =65=Wilson, orders 116, 142,
1847. =65=Twiggs, orders 11. =65=Kearny, orders 172. =65=Wool, orders,
July 9; Dec. 14, 1847; Jan. 26, 1848. =65=Butler, orders 43, 1848.
=61=McDowell to alcalde, Dec. 30, 1847. Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 205 (Trist).
_Picayune_, Jan. 2; Mar. 19; Dec. 19, 23, 1847. _Republicano_, June
14, 1847. Kenly, Md. Vol., 380. =61=Worth to Bliss, Sept. 28, 1846.
México á través, iv, 703-4, 711. Rivera, Jalapa, iii, 900, 902; iv,
28-34. =69=Worth to commrs., Nov. 23, 1846; orders 61, 1846. =69=Scott
to Hughes, Jan. 28, 1848. =61=Shields, Jan. 19, 1847; orders, Dec. 26,
1846; Jan. 1, 2, 6, 1847. =61=Worth, orders 2, Mar. 30, 1847. =76=Worth
to E. González, Nov. 23, 28, 1846. =76=S. Anna, Jan. 4, 1847, with
docs. =76=Garay, Jan. 22, 1847, and docs. =76=Worth, proclam., Nov. 30,
1846. =76=Morgan to Martinez, Jan. 18, 1847. =76=Aldrete to Mejía, Aug.
30, 1846. For taxes, etc., see chap. xxxiii. =76=Mora, Feb. 18; Mar. 8,
1848. =76=Many others.
31.47. An English soldier in our army said with reference to the
better class at Tampico: they were shy of "the strange, wild-looking,
hairy-faced savages of the half-horse and half-alligator breed, who
galloped about the streets and plazas mounted on mules and Mexican
ponies, and armed with sabres, bowies, and revolvers, and in every
uncouth variety of costume peculiar to the American backwoodsman";
adding that the Mexicans addressed them as "Gentlemen," but in their
absence spoke of them with intense bitterness as "cursed volunteers"
(Ballentine, Eng. Sold., i, 276-7).
31.48. The foreigners residing at Mexico generally received the
American army well.
31.49. In a soldier's written vocabulary occurred these words: weaves
(for _huevos_), chickketer (_chiquita_), sennereters (_señoritas_),
irrancus (_naranjas_), onerpas (_un peso_), leavero (_libro_). There
were cases in which women went long distances to give information to
officers they had never seen. After the battle of Cerro Gordo ladies
at Mexico wore their hair loose "à la Scott," and were rebuked by the
press.
31.50. _Social relations._ Scott, Mems., ii, 580. Grant, Mems., i, 118.
Meade, Letters, i, 86, 180, 185. =148=Chamberlain, recolls. Bullock,
Six Months (1825 ed.), i, 55-6. _Flag of Freedom_, i, no. 5. =257=G.
[Hughes] to Frank [Markoe], Dec. 13, 1847. =242=Kingsbury to mother,
Oct. 14, 1846. =8=Anon. diary. Oswandel, Notes, 211, 433. Jamieson,
Campaign, 48. Semmes, Service, 173, 205, 215, 263. Biog. de Alamán,
40. =221=Hill, diary. Brackett, Lane's Brigade, 131, 136, 138. Rivera,
Jalapa, iii, 912. _Picayune_, May 28, 1847. Kenly, Md. Vol., 368.
=69=Hughes to Scott, Jan. 5, 1848. =349=Pattridge to Miss W., May
22, 1848. Apuntes, 363. Wilhelm, Eighth Infantry, i, 430. Sedgwick,
Corresp., i, 145. Ballentine, English Soldier, i, 276-7. _Spirit of the
Times_, July 4, 1846. Perry, Indiana, 141. =76=Document sent by Garay,
Dec. 30, 1846. =335=Belton to Hitchcock, Aug. 23, 1847.
31.51. This money had a powerful influence in keeping the people quiet.
31.52. Scott, Mems., ii, 396, 580. Grant, Mems., i, 102. Gutiérrez de
Estrada, Méx. en 1840. =110=Barbour, diary. =95=Belton, proclam., July
16, 1847. =13=Doyle, no. 1, 1848. _Delta_, Jan. 19, 1847. Rodríguez,
Breve Reseña, 1848. Lawton, Artillery Officer, 24. New London _Morning
News_, Dec. 10, 1846. Apuntes, 368. =350=Weber, recolls. _Cong. Globe_,
45, 3, pp. 1627-8 (Shields). _Picayune_, Sept. 14, 1847.
XXXII. PEACE
32.1. =52=Trist, nos. 16, confid., 17, confid., 18, 22-3. (Trist's
despatches, as printed in Sen. 52; 30, 1, are not in all cases
complete.) Sierra, Evolution i, 223. (Outrages) _Arco Iris_, Nov. 9,
1847. _Razonador_ in _Nacional_, Jan. 5, 1848. _Nacional_, Jan. 19,
1848. =80=Almonte to Olaguíbel, Sept. 16, 1847. =335=Thornton to Trist,
Dec. 5, 1847. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 308-9, 315. Calhoun Corresp.,
1163, 1166. =349=Partridge to Miss W., May 22, 1848. =125=Bonham to
mother, Dec. 7, 1847. Ills. State Hist. Soc. Trans., 1912, pp. 17-23.
Lawton, Artill. Officer, 327, 331. Wash. _Union_, May 22, 1847. =291=P.
F. Smith to Pierce, undated. _Monitor Repub._, Dec. 3, 14, 1847.
_Picayune_, Dec. 23, 1847; Jan. 7, 8, 1848. =13=Doyle, no. 18, 1848.
(Damages) =76=Circular, Oct. 3, 1847.
32.2. Sierra, Evol., i, 223. =13=Thornton, no. 6, 1847. Roa Bárcena,
Recuerdos, 571. =52=Trist, nos. 18, 22-3. _Picayune_, Nov. 30, 1847;
Feb. 20, 1848. Protesta de la Diputación. Tributo á la Verdad, 58.
_Nacional_, Jan. 8, 19, 1848. =80=Olaguíbel, proclam., Dec. 9, 1847.
=335=Thornton to Trist, Dec. 5, 1847. Rivera, Jalapa, iv, 23, 40,
45, 74. _Correo Nacional_, Feb. 7, 19; Mar. 21, 1848. (Aguas Cal.)
=76=Guerra to Relaciones, Jan. 24, 1848. =76=Olaguíbel, Nov. 29.
=76=Gov. Oaxaca to Relaciones, Dec. 27. _Monitor Repub._, Nov. 15,
27, 29; Dec. 29, 1847. =366=Correspondence between gov. S. L. Potosí
and A. O. de Parada. =335=Trist, memo, of second conference. =256=J.
Parrott to Marcy, Dec. 20, private, 27 private, 28, private, 1847. _No.
American_ (Mexico), Dec. 14, 1847. =169=Taylor to Crittenden, Nov. 1,
1847. =304=Duncan to Quitman, Nov. 27, 1847. Webster, Letters, 343.
=61=Scott, Sept. 18. (Bankhead) =132=Cushing to Buchanan, Oct. 31,
1847. =125=Bonham to mother, Dec. 7, 1817; Jan. 12, 1848. Gallatin,
War Expenses. =345=Poinsett to Van Buren, June 4, 1847; Mar. 9, 1848.
=304=Duncan to Quitman, Nov. 27. _No. American_ (Mex.), Dec. 14. P. F.
Smith, _supra_. _Eco del Comercio_, May 9, 1848. _Correspondant_, Nov.
15, 1847. _Times_, Jan. 15, 1848.
The substantial war elements were the Eventualists, Monarchists and
Santannistas. The =76=archives for this time are full of reports of
political disturbances.
32.3. Polk, Diary, Nov. 20, 23, 30; Dec. 4, 18, 1847. =132=Donelson
to Buchanan, May 15, 1847, private. Ho. 60; 30, 1, 1037 (Marcy).
=52=Trist, no. 22. P. F. Smith: note 1. Richardson, Messages, iv,
537-46. See chap. xxix, p. 183. Had the war continued it would not
have been against Paredes or Santa Anna and the military class. It
would have seemed to be a war of conquest directed against the Mexican
nation, and even the peace party would have had to turn against us.
32.4. Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 585. =13=Thornton, nos. 6, 7, 1847.
=52=Trist, nos. 16, confid., 18-20. =335=_Id._ to Rosa, Oct. 20, 1847.
_Monitor Repub._, Nov. 8, 10, 13; Dec. 29. Ho. 69; 30, 1, p. 58 (Rosa).
Richardson, Messages, iv, 572. Rivera, Jalapa, iv, 22-3. México á
través, iv, 704-5. Exposición ó Programa. Negrete, Invasión, iii, app.,
483, 516.
Trist reopened the negotiations naturally by forwarding to Luis de la
Rosa, the minister of relations, a letter (dated Sept. 7) written by
him as a reply to the note and counter-projet of the Mexican peace
commissioners dated Sept. 6. In this he argued that Texas possessed
good grounds for rebelling, and became independent; that, having been
rightfully annexed by the United States, she had to be protected
against invasion; that any previously existing boundary between her
and Mexico had been obliterated by the revolutionary war, and she had
a right to _claim_ the Rio Grande as the boundary; that as Mexico
would not negotiate on the subject, Polk was compelled to accept that
delimitation; that in the resulting war the United States had occupied
Mexican territory and now justly held it by right of conquest, yet
not by the odious title of conquest resulting from war without good
cause--not from a mere desire of obtaining territory (Sen. 20; 30, 1,
p. 21). This letter and a brief accompanying note, which stated that
his powers had not been withdrawn and expressed a desire to resume
the negotiations, were transmitted by Thornton, now acting (in the
absence of Bankhead and Doyle) as British chargé, who strongly urged
upon Rosa the renewal of the negotiations (=52=Trist, no. 19). Rosa
replied favorably, but said he was too busy just then, and needed
certain documents. Later Peña explained the delay as resulting from the
provisional character of his administration (=52=to Trist, Nov. 22). In
reality the government desired to ascertain and influence public and
Congressional sentiment before acting (Exposición dirigida). Rosa's
reply to Trist said there appeared to be little hope of peace, but this
was for self-defence (Trist, no. 20).
32.5. =52=Trist, nos. 19, 23. Sen. 52; 30, 1, p. 239. Rivera, Jalapa,
iv, 23. _Monitor Repub._, Nov. 17, 18, 23, 27; Dec. 26. (Deserters)
_Nat. Intellig._, June 24, 1848. =76=Rosa to govs., Oct. 20. =75=Report
of the meeting of governors. México á través, iv, 706. =335=Thornton
to Trist, Nov. 25, 1847. Dublán, Legislación, v, 305. Roa Bárcena,
Recuerdos, 567-8, 571-6. =335=Davidson to Thornton, Nov. 23.
_Picayune_, Nov. 30.]
At the meeting Puebla, Querétaro, Michoacán, Guanajuato and S. L.
Potosí states were represented by their governors, Zacatecas by her
vice governor, and Jalisco by a commissioner. The President and the
ministers were present. The meeting was advisory and confidential. The
government took the ground that the war could not be continued and
that Mexico should endeavor to obtain, not an honorable peace, but one
as little humiliating as possible, and one that would save Mexican
nationality; but it preferred war and promised to carry it on if given
the necessary men and supplies. The governors naturally showed their
repugnance to peace on such a basis, but could not offer adequate
resources, and the one rational conclusion was inevitable. A report of
the discussions may be found in the Gobernación archives, Mexico. The
sessions began on Nov. 19 and concluded on Nov. 27. The insurrection
came to a head on Dec. 19. News of Trist's recall helped to quiet the
war party (=52=Trist, no. 22).
32.6. Pillow, address in Chicago _Daily Democrat_, Sept. 15, 1857.
Polk, Diary, Oct. 4, 5, 20-3, 25; Dec. 30, 1847; Jan. 2, 1848. =52=Sec.
state to Trist, Oct. 6, 25. Richardson, Messages, iv, 541. =335=Memo.
of Trist on despatch of Oct. 6. Sen. Rep. 261; 41, 2. Ho. 69; 30, 1,
pp. 59-61 (Trist).
A private =335=note (Oct. 24) from Buchanan to Trist, taken in
connection with Polk's Diary, suggests a suspicion on the part of
the administration that, in intimating that the United States might
possibly not insist upon the Rio Grande line, Trist had purposely
played into the hands of the Whigs, who were now asserting that the
intermediate region did not belong to us. This suspicion and the idea
that Trist was helping Scott to injure the President's friends in the
army would explain a great deal of wrath. Another personal =335=note
(Oct. 24) from Buchanan shows that the terms offered by Trist in
September were now regarded as too moderate to be popular, and gives
one the feeling that, especially since Trist had shown a disposition
to weaken them, the prestige of the administration demanded his
recall. Oct. 25 Buchanan said Trist had offered to give up a part of
California, but Trist denied this (=335=memo.). Oct. 6 Marcy directed
Scott to inform the Mexican authorities of Trist's recall (Ho. 60;
30, 1, p. 1008). Trist's patriotism and sense of duty do not seem to
have been affected by his recall. Nov. 27 he wrote to Buchanan that a
commission should be sent to take up his work on the spot (Sen. 52;
30, 1, p. 230); and the next day, through Mrs. Trist, he =335=adjured
Buchanan to lose "_not a minute_" about this, proposing Scott and
Butler. Dec. 31 Polk received indirectly a similar recommendation from
Gen. Twiggs, and Sen. Davis (the Col. Davis of Monterey and Buena
Vista) pointed out to him that, should Mexican commissioners go to
Washington, probably their government would be overthrown during their
absence, and they might be shot as traitors on their return (Diary,
Dec. 31). Polk therefore virtually decided that Butler should take
Trist's place as well as Scott's (_ibid._, Dec. 31; Jan. 2). Pillow
(Address) attributed to his letter the recall of Trist.
32.7. Sen. Report 261; 41, 2. Ho. 69; 30, 1, pp. 59-66 (Trist). Sen.
60; 30, 1, p. 61 (Peña). =52=Trist, nos. 21, 23. =13=Thornton, nos. 11,
14, 1847. =335=_Id._ to Trist, Nov. 22, confid.; Nov. 22, private; Nov.
25. Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 583, 585. =335=Trist to Thornton, Nov. 24,
confid., Nov. 25, private. =75=Peña at meeting of govs. =52=Peña to
Trist, Nov. 22. Trist's departure had to be delayed by the necessity of
testifying at Pillow's trial.
32.8. (Traitorous) London _Times_, Mar. 15, 1848. Sen. 52; 30, 1, pp.
140, 144 (Scott). =256=Marcy to Wetmore, Jan. 28, 1848. Scott, Mems.,
ii, 576. =13=Thornton, no. 21, confid. _Id._ to Trist: note 7. Sen.
Rep. 261; 41, 2. Trist, no. 22. =13=_Id._ to Thornton, Dec. 4, 1847.
=335=_Id._ to _Id._, Nov. 24. =335=_Id._ to wife, Dec. 4.
It has been said that Trist's decision was due to Scott, but Trist was
not under Scott's control. Scott tried without success to dissuade
him from breaking with Polk (=335=statement by Trist in his papers).
Trist =335=wrote to his wife, Dec. 4, "_Knowing_ it to be the very last
chance, and impressed with the dreadful consequences to our country
which cannot fail to attend the loss of that chance," I decided to-day
at noon to attempt to make a treaty; the decision is altogether my own.
Sen. Rep. 261, the basis of which was evidently supplied by Trist,
says that Freaner, the correspondent of the New Orleans _Delta_, was
"the only man who had been in any way instrumental in determining Mr.
Trist to make the attempt." It has also been said that Scott and Trist
wished to make the treaty because Polk now wanted more of Mexico,
and they desired to "spite" him; but neither man was of such a type,
no suggestion of the scheme appears in Trist's official or personal
letters or in Thornton's reports to the Foreign Office, and public
considerations are quite enough to explain Trist's course. Sen. Rep.
261 says that on Dec. 4 occurred an incident "in itself of the most
casual, and trivial, and commonplace kind," which led to Trist's making
the treaty. This has been thought to mean the postponement of the train
with which he was to have gone down; but the above description does
not seem to fit this important occurrence, and the author is inclined
to believe that it refers to a chance meeting of Trist and Freaner,
while Trist's decision hung in the balance. Freaner was regarded by
Trist as an honest man of unusual sagacity, and he was a strong,
sympathetic character. Peña held that, since his peace commissioners
had been appointed, he could deal with the subject through them only,
and hence, as they were at a distance, he could not possibly send a
proposal to Mexico for Trist to carry home, as it was suggested to him
to do. Trist counted on one fact as lessening his responsibility: the
government could disavow his work without embarrassment (=52=no. 22).
See Napoleon's dictum (chap. xxvii, note 27.17, p. 398).
32.9. =13=Thornton, no. 21, confid., 1847. =13=Doyle, nos. 1, 3,
1847; 10, 1848. =52=Trist, nos. 23-5. =256=J. Parrott to Marcy,
Dec. 27, 1847, private. Sen. 60; 30, 1, pp. 61 (Peña), 62 (Trist).
(Rincón) México á través, iv, 705-7. =335=Memo. _re_ withdrawal of
notice. =335=Thornton to Trist, Nov. 24, priv.; Dec. 5, 11, confid.
Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 590. =335=Trist to Peña, Dec. 26, 1847. Lee,
Gen. Lee, 43. Noticias Muy Importantes. Richardson, Messages, iv, 545.
=335=Powers of the commrs. =335=Trist, minutes of meetings, etc.
Doyle arrived at Vera Cruz on Nov. 30, and soon received from the
Foreign Office a despatch (=13=no. 40) making clear its attitude of
benevolent neutrality (Doyle, no. 3). Polk's message encouraged the
Eventualists, because it showed that if they could defeat the present
negotiations, the war would continue, the peace party would fall from
power, and then the Eventualists would have American support in setting
up a government according to their ideas. Rincón pretended to be ill.
Associated with the ministry of Relaciones at this time as confidential
advisers were such men as Pedraza, Lafragua and Cuevas.
32.10. Sen. 20; 30, 1, p. 21. =335=Buchanan to Trist, Oct. 24,
personal. =335=---- to _Id._, Oct. 25. =335=Dimond to _Id._, Oct.
27. =73=Lozano, no. 3, res., 1847. =335=Trist, notes and memoranda.
=335=Notes of Trist and Couto. =335=Thornton's translation of Mexican
draft of treaty. =335=Notes from Doyle and Thornton. (Unreasonable)
México á través, iv, 706. Sierra, Evolution, i, 223. Roa Bárcena,
Recuerdos, 592, 596-7. =13=Doyle, nos. 10 (with memoranda), 29, 1848.
=13=Palmerston to Mora, June 20, 1848. =52=Trist, no. 27. Exposición
dirigida, 6. (Trist's conduct) Negrete, Invasión, iv, 324.
Trist relied for guidance on his original instructions (Ho. 69; 30,
1, pp. 43-7), the _projet_ of a treaty accompanying the instructions
(_ibid._, p. 47), =52=instructions of July 13 and 19, 1847, former
treaties of the United States, and our general principles and policy
(=52=Trist, no. 27). See also Polk's Diary, Apr. 13, 1847. In regard
to the western end of the boundary the instructions were faulty, and
Trist found it necessary to use his judgment (=52=enclosure in his no.
27). Greatly fearing the designs of the Monarchists, he desired to have
a secret article binding upon Mexico the constitution of 1824, and was
willing to promise in return that enough American troops to support the
government should remain five years; but the proposition was declined
(=13=Doyle, no. 10, 1848). There was a difficulty in doing anything
about Tehuantepec, for British interests were involved, and that matter
was dropped by Trist in order to facilitate the adjustment of the
boundary (Exposición, _supra_). It did not signify much now, for the
United States had its eye upon a better route (J. S. Reeves in _Amer.
Hist. Rev._, x, 323). The subject that consumed the most time was the
status of the people of the surrendered territory (Trist, no. 27). The
Mexicans asked that their civil law should continue to rule there until
the territory should be organized into states, but Trist (perhaps in
the interest of slavery) would not consent (=13=Doyle, no. 10).
32.11. =13=Doyle, nos. 10, 12, 13, 1848. Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 568,
579, 591, 602-3, 605-6. Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 1039 (Scott). =52=Trist,
nos. 25-7. México á través, iv, 706-8. =335=Trist to wife, Dec. 26,
1847; to Scott, Jan. 28, 1848; to commrs., Jan. 29, 1848. =13=Doyle to
commrs., Jan. 28-9. (S. L. P.) =83=Gov. S. L. P. to gov. Querétaro,
Feb. 5, 1848; =77=Relaciones, circular, Jan. 17; _Nacional_, Jan. 26
(plan); Feb. 2; Rivera, Jalapa, iv, 41, 43; México á través, iv, 706.
=256=Marcy to Wetmore, Jan. 28.
Peña became the chief executive again because the expiration of Anaya's
term (ordered by the Congress that elected him to occur on Jan. 8,
since it was expected that the new Congress would have assembled by
that date) left the country without a head, and the position devolved
upon him as chief of the supreme court. L. de la Rosa was then
appointed minister of relations. The plan of the S. L. P. governor was
that four states--S. L. P., Zacatecas, Guanajuato and Jalisco--should
combine, repudiate the national government, and continue the war,
expecting other states to join them; but public opinion, even in his
own state, failed to support him. Almonte was actively working against
peace at this time, basing his arguments particularly on the attitude
of the peace party in the United States and the poverty of the American
treasury. Jan. 30 he called attention to the Whig majority in our
House, said our Congress would probably refuse to send more troops to
Mexico, and urged the Mexican government to procrastinate. The reply
of the government was a mere acknowledgment of receipt. Feb. 14 he
argued that Walker's report showed we could not continue the war much
longer. On the other hand there seems to be some reason to believe
that personal relations and interests may have influenced the Mexican
commissioners in favor of making the treaty (Puga y Acal, Documentos,
letter no. 74). Marcy to Scott, Oct. 6, 1847: Your military operations
are not to be modified by Mexican proposals to negotiate (Sen. 52; 30,
1, p. 140).
32.12. =13=Thornton, no. 11, 1847. =13=Doyle, nos. 4, 1847; 13, 14
and 18, 1848. Sen. 60; 30, 1, p. 65 (Trist). Ho. 60; 30, 1, p. 1082
(Scott). Roa Bárcena, Recuerdos, 604-7. =13=Doyle to commrs., Jan. 28,
29; to Rosa, Jan. 29. Hitchcock, Fifty Years, 315-6. México á través,
iv, 706-8. =335=Memo. from Freaner.
The Mexican government naturally desired to keep all information about
the treaty from its enemies. The public came to believe, however, that
an important act had taken place on Feb. 2. Freaner carried the treaty
to Washington. For two weeks escorts had been waiting at the proper
points on the road to Vera Cruz. The Spanish representative, under
his instructions, took no part in these negotiations. The Prussian
minister, lacking both official authorization and personal influence,
was equally inactive. France had no minister on the scene.
Ripley (War with Mexico, ii, 557) says that "no man who so palpably
disobeys the direct instructions of his government" as did Trist, could
be fit to negotiate a treaty; suggests (p. 564) that it was improper to
let the British coöperate in the matter; and argues (pp. 582-4) that
Scott should have broken up the negotiations or else assumed the full
responsibility for them, withholding from the Mexican government the
fact of Trist's recall. All this and the rest are mere fault-finding,
and the critic could and would have been much more severe, had the
course he recommended been adopted. Of course he proves the obvious
facts that Scott and Trist, in the interest of two nations and to
accomplish what their government ardently desired, at great personal
risk disregarded mistaken instructions, accepted British assistance
without which they would probably have failed, and obtained a treaty
which Polk himself, though he hated both of them, felt constrained
to accept; but this was a truly glorious achievement. Scott had no
right to act as Ripley says he should have done. The armistice, a
military affair, was properly his concern, but negotiating a treaty
was diplomatic business. Mackintosh, says Ripley (p. 563), had a hand
in the negotiations, but this seems to be an error. Rives (U. S. and
Mexico, ii, 524-5) says "it might perhaps have been well to replace
Trist by a stronger man." But every possible man had been considered
(p. 126), and a stronger man would probably have tried to drive the
Mexicans and have failed. Trist they liked and trusted, yet could not
deceive or frighten.