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 The Black Warrior Affair 293 that he hoped that said powers would put no obstacles in the way of the annexation of the island. When the astute General Almonte, on the other hand, tried to convince Mr. Marcy that the modification of th^ article of the treaty just negotiated with Mexico, in which the United States engaged itself to employ its army and marine in the destruction of whatever filibustering expedition might take up arms against that republic, deprived Mexico of one of the most important bases of said treaty, he [Mr. Marcy] responded to him in these words: the concession would mean nothing to Your Excellency but would tie our hands in the question of Cuba; this in spite of the assurances given in the message of the President at the opening of the last Congress ! The minister of Mexico assured me yesterday that a person who was present when the President received the first news of the embargo placed on the Black Warrior told him that he [the President], rubbing his palms together, exclaimed: "Good, good. Here is a fine bit of political capital!" A note of jNIarch 20 continues the above '} The minister of France told me that he had had a long conference with the Minister of State, in which he had tried to convince the latter that the case of the Black Warrior was a purely commercial question and not a political question as they are trying to make it, reminding him that not long since the collector of customs of California, in contraven- tion of the laws of the United States, had detained and sold at public auction several English and from thirteen to seventeen French vessels, without this having altered the relations of France and England with this country. The Minister of State persisted in asserting that the alleged outrage had been committed with the express purpose of offending this republic and its government, and told the French minister that at any rate his instructions had already been issued and the message of the President transmitted to the House. The Count de Sartiges said to him then that he was certain that his government as well as that of Eng- land could not look with indifference upon any attack on the integrity of Cuba, and that they would maintain the principles advanced in theii project of the Tripartite Treaty. As it was rumored with some appear- ance of truth that this Congress of Representatives {sic' would vote the suspension with respect to ^ain of the laws of neutrality of 1818,* the minister resident of Bremen went to see Mr. Mann, Sub-secretary of State, and in confidence protested against that proposed measure, alleg- ing that not only our commerce but the commerce of all other nations, including his own, would suffer thereby. To this Mr. Mann replied that those who broke the law in its application to other countries would be punished, but that he believed that the government really wished to obtain this authorization from Congress. Then the minister resident pointed out the impossibility of punishing those acts of piracy, owing to the fact that it was impossible to bring forward witnesses against the offenders, as the vessels seized were sunk after being robbed. At the conclusion of his conference with Mr. Mann he came to inform me regarding it. Finally the present charge d'affaires of Russia, a friend and old comrade of mine, told me that he had found Mr. Marcy much ' Magallon to Pezuela (transmitting Magallon to the First Secretary of State of Spain, March 20. 1854), March 22, 1854. ^ See Viiilcd States Statutes at Large, III. 447-/'5o.