orth
and south the gratifying news of our regeneration and thereby contribute
to dispel unfounded suspicions regarding yourselves.

These good results are the forerunners of greater benefits in the
future, and of the effect of the cooperation of the agents of your
government in the progress of the country in general, of their friendly
and timely advice, and of their decided moral support whenever there has
been need thereof.

I will profit by this opportunity to convey to you the gratitude of the
government and people of Panama for the special consideration which has
been extended to them by the government of your country. This has been
evidenced principally by the diplomatic staff sent to us, from the very
able Honorable William I. Buchanan, your first minister plenipotentiary,
to the popular Honorable Charles E. Magoon, who can hardly be replaced,
and whose separation from the post he occupies with general
satisfaction has caused great regret in the country; and later you sent
us, doing us an unmerited honor, in the first place, by special order of
your very noble President, your Secretary of War, Honorable William H.
Taft, who established the relations between our two countries on the
happy basis of mutual cordiality and justice, on which they are now
established; and now, Mr. Secretary, you do us the great honor of coming
yourself on a visit, placing us on a level with the powerful Brazil,
Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay; and, furthermore, which appears to
be the extreme limit of what is possible, you allow us to look forward
to the coming visit of your great President, the most distinguished of
existing rulers--a special honor which has not been vouchsafed even to
the most powerful nations of the world. Panama, overwhelmed with so many
marks of appreciation, will preserve them as an everlasting remembrance
of gratitude toward your noble country; and in return, though it be but
partial, we will follow your advice, we will cooperate without reserve
and with enthusiasm in the great work of the interoceanic canal, which
is bound to be the most magnificent monument of the grandeur of your
people; and we will likewise support you in the mission of American
brotherhood which you have undertaken, founding a nation which shall
distinguish itself by its love of work, of honor, of order, and of
justice.

REPLY OF MR. ROOT

I thank you for your kind welcome to me and for the friendship to my
country expressed in tha