Mexicans. The Mexican Government, taught wisdom by the result of Texan colonization, made an order expelling American citizens from California.
Our Minister protested ; and the ordinance was so modi- fied as to include all foreigners deemed dangerous to the public peace. But against this Mr. Calhoun, then Secre- tary of State, ordered a new protest.
Let us now attend to the confessions of our Minister, Mr. Thompson: "Near the end of December, 1843, I received information that the Government of Mexico had issued an order expelling all natives of the United States from the department of California and the adjoining de- partments. No attempt, however, had been made up to that time to execute the order. A similar order had been issued a few years before, including not only citizens of the United States, but British subjects also ; and this order had been actually executed to the great damage and, in some instances, ruin of the persons removed. All the efforts of the English and American Ministers to procure a recision of this order were ineffectual for six months. I had the good fortune, however, after a some- what angry correspondence, to have the order rescinded, not, however, until I resorted to the ultima ratio of diplo- macy, AND DEMANDED MY PASSPORTS—a measure which a minister is rarely justified in resorting to without the orders of his government. I confess I was very much afraid that the passports would have been sent ; but I thought that the step was justified by the circumstances, and that it would cut short a long discussion. The result showed that in this calculation I was right. The order was re- scinded, and expresses sent to all the departments, the distance of some of which was two thousand miles. I confess that in taking the high ground I did, upon the order expelHng our people from California, I felt some compunctious visitings ; for I had been informed that a plot had been arranged, and was about being developed hy the Americans and other foreigners in that dejMrtment, to re-enact the scenes of Texas.'" * Mr. Thompson, in describing Cahfornia, says : " Sugar, rice, and cotton, find there their own congenial clime "