stipulation released from all obligation to pay them ! The sura thus abandoned, added to the sura rejected by the arbitrators and umpire, makes the very respectable amount of $8,774, 439. But this amount is yet to be greatly en- larged. The unliquidated claims are those preferred at the eleventh hour, when the government was striving to ex- aggerate the sufferings of our citizens, for the purpose of bullying Mexico out of ten-ifcory, and when it was hoped that the greater the amount of claims, the more ready would the nation be for war. The best clairas were undoubtedly those first presented. We here find that of those which were investigated fice-sevenths were found spurious. On the very unreasonable supposition that the remaining claims are not more worthless than the frrst, less than two milhons will remain to be paid for by the government. In all human probability, one million will be more than suffi- cient to meet every equitable demand ; and thus of the 14 millions of claims about 11 will have proved in the> end to be fictitious. Of this base currency Mr. Slidell, as we have seen, took 6 milhons with him to Mexico. The use he was to make of it, is thus specified in his instructions " Fortunately the joint resolution of Congress for an- nexing Texas to the United States, presents the means of satisfying these claims, in perfect consistency with the in- terests as well as the honor of both repubhcs. It has reserved to this government the adjustment of all ques- tions of boundary that may arise with other governments.
This question of boundary may therefore be adjusted in such a manner between the two republics as to cast the burden of debt due to American claimants .on their own Government, while it will do no injury to Mexico."* * The instructions to Mr. Slidell were called for by the Hoxise of Representatives ; but the President refused to communicate them. A copy, however, was surreptitiously obtained, and was published in the newspapers : its authenticity has never been questioned.