Page:The rise and fall of the Emperor Maximilian.djvu/240

224 French, by which the latter has engaged to withdraw his military forces from Mexico in three detachments: the first of these will leave Mexico next November, the second in the March following, and the third in November, 1867: that when the evacuation is accomplished, the French government will immediately adopt towards Mexico a policy of non-intervention similar to that which is practised by the United States. Doubts have been conceived and expressed in certain circles as to the good faith in which the French government will carry out this measure. Doubts of this kind have not been entertained by the president, who has received reiterated and even recent assurances that the complete evacuation of Mexico by the French will be concluded at the dates agreed on, or even sooner, as military and other arrangements may permit. There are grounds for supposing that two incidental questions have already engaged the attention of the French government, namely, in the first place, whether the departure of the prince Maximilian for Austria ought not to take place before the French expedition leaves; secondly, whether it would not be preferable, on account of questions relating to the climate and to military and other matters, to withdraw all the expeditionary forces at one time, instead of withdrawing them in three detachments at different periods.

Nevertheless, the Emperor Napoleon has not made any formal communication on this subject to the government of the United States. When the question was incidentally brought forward, the state department replied, by order of the president, that the United States were awaiting the execution of the agreement for the evacuation at the times fixed by the French government, and that they would rejoice to see this evacuation carried out even more promptly than had been agreed upon. Under these circumstances the president expects that, in the course of the next month (November), a part at least of the expeditionary French force will leave Mexico; and he thinks that it is not improbable that the main body of the expeditionary force may retire at the same time, or almost the same time.

An event like this cannot fail to produce a crisis of great political interest. It is of importance that you should be present, either on the republican territory or in the immediate