I would here urge on the department the necessity of having a consul
here commissioned. As matters stand I cannot act, and there are now
several cases requiring the attention of the government. Eight
Americans—three white and five colored men—are held to service in
the army; their time is expired, as they say, and they are held
contrary to all law and justice, and in the absence of my commission
as consul I am, of course, unable to aid them.
Hoping these matters will receive your attention, I am yours,
respectfully,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, United
States.
Petition of American citizens.
Sir: We, the undersigned, citizens of
the United States resident and doing business in the city of
Monterey, Mexico, take this means of calling the attention of
our government to our situation as regards “forced loans,” (prestamos,) now being levied on us by the
liberal authorities, for the purpose of raising money for their
officials and soldiers, contrary to the stipulations of the
treaty between the two countries, without any regular system of
taxation, and merely subject, as to amount and frequency, to the
will of the chief who may temporarily be in power. That these
“prestamos” are, in almost every
case, levied upon merchants alone, and thus fall inevitably on
American residents, they, mostly, being in commercial
business.
That Americans, in common with all foreigners, suffer severely,
as, in every case, distinctions are made between the amounts
required from the native or foreign merchants in the favor of
the former. We would also represent that on a recent occasion,
since the departure of the French from Matamoras, a loan was
ordered from the commerce of that city, which afterwards was
made exceptional as to Americans, owing to the pressure brought
to bear from the American side of the Rio Grande, which
furnishes conclusive evidence that where these people can be
operated on by a direct application of the power of our
government, they will respect our rights and their treaty
obligations. In view of this and the fact of our distance from
any body of the United States forces, we respectfully ask that
some steps be taken by our government to save us from utter
ruin, in the shape of a constant drain of our means, especially
now, when we have every reason to look for constant changes
among the leaders here, each one of whom, as usual, on entering
upon his career, considers the mercantile portion of the
community as the only proper subjects for his exactions. During
the French occupancy, under a despotic tyranny which regarded
the rights of no one, unrecognized as it was by our government,
we had nothing to hope for, and submitted, but now, with the
advent of the liberals, we are led to think that we can have at
least the protection of our own government, having nothing to
hope from any consideration these people will have for their
treaty obligations, or gratitude for services or sympathy
received from the United States, unless forced to do so, as in
the instance recited above. So, we ask you to demand for us
rights refused us as individuals; to do this, not by
correspondence merely, as that will be of no avail, but by
sending a special agent, a man of character and firmness, who
can settle the matter at once and forever, and thus furnish a
precedent here in Monterey which may be followed over the whole
republic. The party sent must come with full powers to enforce
his wishes, as, otherwise, his visit will be useless. These
people will not listen to consuls or agents resident here, as
they are well aware how little attention is paid to reports from
such officials; but a special agent on the subject of “prestamos,” (and all the better if his
name is identified with our army,) will command their attention.
We ask this, as we know it to be the only means of redressing
these constant outrages, and we hope our government will think
the matter of sufficient importance to receive attention,
involving, as it does, the ruin of American citizens who are
compelled by their business position to remain in this country,
where their property is thus insecure, merely from the neglect
on the part of their government heretofore to protect them. The
absolute necessity of this protection will be evident, when we
inform you that the penalty attached to a refusal to pay
promptly these “prestamos” is
confiscation of property, imprisonment, or banishment from the
country. We have, therefore, no alternative, in the absence of a
thorough understanding between the two governments, in relation
to the matter, but to yield to their exactions, or to subject
ourselves to the penalties above named.
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State of the United
States.
