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122 the independence of all the revolted Spanish provinces.

So the information was dispatched with all speed to the Department of State. And with it Canning's formal proposal that England and the United States jointly announce in the "face of the world" that:

"We conceive the recoveries of the Colonies by Spain to be hopeless. * * * We aim not at the possession of any portion of them ourselves. We could not see any portion of them transferred to any other power with indifference."

This meant, of course, that such an action would be the signal for bloody war.

When James Monroe, President of the United States, received these dispatches he ceased to be interested in anything else. Obviously the action to be taken would have a paramount influence upon the future of the world. So he wrote to consult Thomas Jefferson, Nestor of America, in his retreat at Monticello, saying: