ment. Meantime in various
parts of the Republic instances have been numerous of the murder,
imprisonment, and plunder of our citizens by different parties claiming
and exercising a local jurisdiction; but the central Government,
although repeatedly urged thereto, have made no effort either to
punish the authors of these outrages or to prevent their recurrence.
No American citizen can now visit Mexico on lawful business without
imminent danger to his person and property. There is no adequate
protection to either, and in this respect our treaty with that Republic
is almost a dead letter.

This state of affairs was brought to a crisis in May last by the
promulgation of a decree levying a contribution _pro rata_ upon all the
capital in the Republic between certain specified amounts, whether held
by Mexicans or foreigners. Mr. Forsyth, regarding this decree in the
light of a "forced loan," formally protested against its application
to his countrymen and advised them not to pay the contribution, but to
suffer it to be forcibly exacted. Acting upon this advice, an American
citizen refused to pay the contribution, and his property was seized by
armed men to satisfy the amount. Not content with this, the Government
proceeded still further and issued a decree banishing him from the
country. Our minister immediately notified them that if this decree
should be carried into execution he would feel it to be his duty
to adopt "the most decided measures that belong to the powers and
obligations of the representative office." Notwithstanding this warning,
the banishment was enforced, and Mr. Forsyth promptly announced to the
Government the suspension of the political relations of his legation
with them until the pleasure of his own Government should be
ascertained.

This Government did not regard the contribution imposed by the decree
of the 15th May last to be in strictness a "forced loan," and as such
prohibited by the tenth article of the treaty of 1826 between Great
Britain and Mexico, to the benefits of which American citizens are
entitled by treaty; yet the imposition of the contribution upon
foreigners was considered an unjust and oppressive measure. Besides,
internal factions in other parts of the Republic were at the same
time levying similar exactions upon the property of our citizens and
interrupting their commerce. There had been an entire failure on the
part of our minister to secure redress for the wrongs which our citiz