circumstance made it incumbent, according to the usual custom in such cases on the Executive to investigate the subject, and act finally thereon; which he has done, and ordered her immediate release, and a replacement, from the Custom House at Galveston, of the Ship Stores that had been used. It seems that a part of the crew of the Eliza Russel were placed on our armed vessels, which have not yet arrived in Port, but are, however, daily expected.

How this can be excused in a satisfactory manner to the English Government I am unable to suggest and [it] is a subject on which you will have to exercise your discretion.

The circumstances under which the Secretary of the Navy left the seat of Government before your departure, and subsequently embarked on board one of the vessels while on furlough, are well known to you. He appears to have command of our vessels. He reported the capture of the Eliza Russel and appointed McKinney, Prize Agent His functions here have been suspended, by the appointment of an Acting Sec'y of the Navy, until his conduct can be fully investigated.

The President not having the power to stipulate with regard to demurrage and damages that may be claimed by Capt Russel, has ordered that his demand shall be submitted to Congress for settlement when it convenes; which will be on the 25th Septr. next.

It now devolves on you, as our representative near the Court of St James, to make a candid and explicit statement of this unpleasant affair, to that Government, and assure them, in the most positive terms, that this Government deeply regrets the occurance, and that the act was wholly unauthorized.

The Country is quiet and the harvest abundant.

The President is in fine health and spirits. Col. Bee, is appointed Sec'y of War, Doctr. Shepherd, Acting Sec'y of the Navy, and Col Wm. G. Cook, Commissioner for funding the publick debt. The armed steamer, I think will shortly arrive.

Respectfully

Your Obt Servt

R. A. IRION

Sec'y of State

Hon. J. P. HENDERSON

Agent and Minister plenipo'y
near the Court of St James

AGREEMENT BETWEEN BRITISH HOLDERS OF MEXICAN BONDS AND AGENTS

OF THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT."

September 15, 1837.

See Treat to Lamar, February 1, 1840, in Correspondence with

Mexico.

HENDERSON TO PALMERSTON."

PALMERSTON TO HENDERSON."

HENDERSON TO PALMERSTON.

HENDERSON TO SECRETARY OF STATE OF TEXAS [IRION].

I have the honor to inform you that I arrived in this city on the 9th. instant having been considerably delayed on my Journey hither by unavoidable occurrences, and understanding that Lord Palmerston who had been for some time absent from the city, had returned, I addressed him the following note

"Genl. J. Pinckney Henderson has the honor to inform the Right Honorable Lord Viscount Palmerston that he has arrived in Town with credentials as Agent of the Republic of Texas, and desires to be informed at what hour he may have the honor of paying his respects to his Lordship and delivering the same. He has the honor also to transmit to his Lordship a copy of the declaration of the Independence, and the Constitution of Texas, together with the several acts of Congress organizing the Judiciary of the Republic."

Longs Hotel New Bond St. October 11. 1837.

To this note on the succeeding day I received the following reply "Lord Palmerston presents his Compliments to General J. Pinckney Henderson and has the honor to acknowledge the Receipt of his note of yesterdays date. Lord Palmerston will be happy to receive General Henderson at this office tomorrow (the 13th. Instant) at 5 o'clock."

Foreign Office 12th. Octr. 1837.

To which I immediately replied as follows.

"Genl J. Pinckney Henderson has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Lord Palmerston's note of to day and will do himself the honor to wait on his Lordship at the time and place mentioned " Longs Hotel Octr. 12. 1837.

a October 11, 1837. See Henderson to Secretary of State [Irion], October 14, 1837. October 12, 1837. See Henderson to Secretary of State [Irion], October 14, 1837. L. S.

At the time appointed by his Lordship I repaired to his office and found him ready to receive me, when I approached and handed him my Credentials and observed "I have the honor to be the bearer of this letter from his Excellency the President of Texas to your Lordship, accrediting me as the Agent of that Republic to her Majesty's Government." He took the letter and read it carefully, and then asked me some questions concerning the route which I had traveled from Texas, which I understood to be designed to draw from me the fact, whether or not I had visited Washington City. I replied to this question distinctly that I had only passed by New Orleans, Charleston and Philadelphia to New York in order to sail in one of the New York and Liverpool packets, as the most expeditious route from N. Orleans to this place, with which he was evidently satisfied.

I then observed to his Lordship that the immediate object of my visit was to procure the recognition of the Independence of Texas by her Majesty's Government, and that I hoped to be able to satisfy her Majesty and her Cabinet, that the Government of Texas was capable of maintaining her declaration of Independence, and of performing all of the duties of an Independent Power, and to remove any other objections which might exist. He observed that it was an important matter and one that would require consideration and the action of the whole Cabinet; he then alluded to the treaties which now exist between England and Mexico. To which I replied that I was aware of the existence of friendly commercial Treaties between the two countries, but that I was not aware that those treaties contained any clause which would forbid England from pursuing the same course towards Texas which the law and practice of Nations sanctioned in all similar cases, and which she had acted upon in may instances, as in the case of Mexico herself and that I did not consider that England was in any manner bound either by the laws of Nations or by treaties with Mexico to withhold her recognition of the independence of Texas after she was satisfied that the power of Mexico no longer existed in Texas-that there was no rule of National Law, which could compel England or any other Government to deny to itself the opportunity of extending its commerce with Texas or reaping any other advantage which would arise from establishing friendly relations with her as an independent power, barely because a friendly treaty of commerce was in existence between her and Mexico from which Texas had seperated. All of which his Lordship agreed to and observed "That the Government of England has allways acted upon these principles and that Mexico herself had claimed and received the benefit of this Law-that England was governed very much by the same rules in such cases as the United States had adopted." To which I replied that I was aware of that fact and that the United States Government had, after viewing the contest closely

and critically in Texas, and sending a secret Agent to inquire into our situation etc formally acknowledged the independence of Texas; here his Lordship evidently discovered that he had committed himself and his Government, and either feigned or was really ignorant that the United States had formally acknowledged the independence of Texas; but I assured him that such was the fact, and that our Minister had been formally received at Washington

His Lordship then stated some nearly similar reasons to those I myself urged as above stated, showing how England and other powers might regard the claims of Texas to recognition, and why they might be induced to recognize he[r] immediately, but at the same time observed that these were bare suggestions of his mind, and should not be regarded as the convictions of her Majesty's Government. His Lordship then asked me what was the extent of the Territory of Texas-the size of her rivers-the description of her Harbours-Extent of her coast etc etc to all of which I replied in the most particular manner and referred to the Map of Texas which lay on his table. He then asked me what was the number of inhabitants in Texas and their description-to which I replied that I would estimate the number at one hundred and twenty or twenty five thousand, and that the rapidity with which it was now increasing had scarcely a parallel in the settlement of any country, and that they were generally young and enterprizing men, mostly able to bear arms, that in my estimate I did not include the families of our Citizens who had not yet been moved to the country. He then observed that he beleived Texas had made application to be admitted into the Union of the North American States. To this I replied that it was true that the people of Texas shortly after the invasion by Genl. Santa Anna and before they had time to view their true situation calmly-when they were much weaker in numbers than are at present and still apprehended danger from another invasion by Mexico, and before the present constitutional Government was organized and put in successful operation, had by a large majority expressed their opinion in favor of Annexation; but that the President of the United States had refused to entertain the proposition, which the Minister of Texas at that Court had made founded on the expression of public sentiment in Texas as above stated. He then observed that he supposed that the disposition of the People of Texas to be annexed to the United States decreased in proportion to their increased confidence in their own strength and ability to maintain their own independence-to which I readily assented and at the same time observed that the people of Texas were aware that they would possess many advantages as an independent Nation, which they could not enjoy as an integral part of the United States-that as an independent Nation, they would not be subject to be agitated by the local jealousies and strug

gle for political ascendency between the North and the South, which has so long disturbed the harmony of the States-that Texas never could be a manufacturing nor a commercial people, at least so far as the Carrying Trade was concerned, that it would be greatly to her interest to be able to open her ports to every nation, and invite the manufacturies of every country to equal competition in our markets, and exchange with us the manufactured article for the raw materiel, some of which we could supply in the greatest abundance,-that as an independent power, we would be free from the operation of the protective Tariff which had so long oppressed the Southern planting States of the Union, that England then could come into our markets on a perfect equality with the Northern States and that considering the low price of labor in this Country, they could drive from our markets the manufactured articles of all other countries and also engross the carrying trade of Texas,-that the great abundance of the best live oak in the world, which was to be found near the sea coast on all of our Rivers, would furnish increased facilities to any country which traded with us for ship building. To all of which his Lordship gave his most profound attention. He then enquired of me concerning the amount of cotton Lands in Texas-to which I answered that we had more good Cotton land, than was to be found in the whole United States and that in twenty years we could produce more Cotton and of a finer staple than was now raised in the United States. He then observed rather archly that he believed we had abolished slavery in Texas. To which I replied that such was not the case, and that notwithstanding Mexico had long since abolished slavery throughout her whole dominions on paper that it was nevertheless true, that that Government permitted it still to exist in Texas; and at least indirectly sanctioned the introduction of slaves into Texas from Africa through the Spanish West Indies, and that when Texas was compelled to separate from Mexico and assume the reins of Government she found herself in her present peculiar situation so far as slavery in that country was concerned that inasmuch as a portion of her citizens were found with slaves in their possession, some residing in the heart of the Republic, others near the Borders of the United States, on what was considered to be disputed territory and ready either to profess allegiance to Texas and assist in putting down the usurpations of Mexico, or to claim protection from the United States, it was deemed best to allow things to remain as they found them and not do any act which would weaken the strength of the revolutionary party-that the Government of Texas had remedied the evil as far as it safely could under the circumstances in which it found itself placed at the commencement of the Revolution,-that it had done away with the greatest evil which existed, whilst we were under the Government of Mexico in regard to