Mr. Bayard to Mr. Romero.

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 12th instant, accompanied by an extract from an unofficial letter from General Ignacio Garfias touching the projected dam at Paso del Norte, against the construction of which the city of El Paso, Texas, has made complaint to this Department.

As explained to you by Mr. Adee during your visit to the Department this morning, I have communicated to Mr. Whitehouse, the charge d’affaires ad interim of this Government to the city of Mexico, the substance of the complaint of the Texan authorities, and suggested that, as this Government has requested the Secretary of War to detail a competent Federal engineer officer to proceed to El Paso and investigate fully and impartially the work in question, the Mexican Government adopt a similar course, to the end that a speedy and just determination of the rights of each Government may be thereby obtained and that a friendly co-operation on the part of the officers selected by the two Governments might be assured.

I am now happy to inform you that I have just received a telegram from Mr. Whitehouse, dated the 15th instant, saying that the Mexican [Page 617] Government was willing to cooperate with the United States touching the complaint in question and that you had been instructed by telegraph to confer with me upon the subject which was the intention of my personal note to you of yesterday.

Accept, etc.,

T. F. Bayard.