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52 consul that the Imperial government was practically at an end; Bureau admitted to both English and American consuls that that was the case, but said that to prevent anarchy, riot, and bloodshed he would not relinquish his position "until some one can come to relieve me of my command. "There was no Imperial, Austrian, or French officer that could do this, and the one person left was the Liberal commander, who was certain to relieve him by force before very long; with him he refused to treat. Warnings were sent to him that serious operations were to commence, and a passionate appeal was made to him to let all women and children leave the city. He refused to let them go, but offered as a refuge the castle of San Juan de Uloa, where people were already dying like sheep, of fever.

The secret of all this seemed to be that the revenues of the city and custom-house were passing into his pocket, and that, having a vessel ready in the harbor to take him and his officers away, he proposed to hold on to his lucrative position until driven out. There was no nationality predominant in the city; the Imperial flag of Maximilian's government was flown, but Imperial orders for custom-house money and revenues were dishonored by the Imperial Governor, who disavowed and ignored the Imperial sovereign and his orders. As put by Commander Roe, in a despatch to Commodore