Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/329

Rh home. Secretary Forsyth was a fit agent and Ellis was a fit instrument for the occasion. The latter was a Mississippian and a slave-holder. He wanted war and he wanted Texas; and he fulfilled his instructions to the letter.

Some of the acts complained of had been committed, before Mexico became an independent nation, by the Spanish authorities. Payment was demanded, on the mere assertions of claimants, for supplies said to have been furnished in furtherance of Mexican independence, and for goods confiscated in violation of the Mexican revenue laws. Events that never occurred were asserted to have taken place, for the purpose of trumping up claims. There appeared in the list complaints against acts of the national navy, and even against proceedings of the courts of justice, many of them unaccompanied with evidence to substantiate them. The number of such claims accompanying the secretary's instructions was fifteen; and as important issues grew out of them, I give the merits of each in a note.