The lie which now caught the eye of the Commodore was, that Mexico had ceded California to Great Britain for $7,000,000 ! It so happened that three British armed vessels were at this time in the Pacific, and the watchful Commodore did not know their business, nor where they were going. The Mexican documents induced him to guess, that war had been declared between the United States and Mexico, and the rumor given from the New Orleans paper, led him to guess, that Great Britain had purchased California ; and as he had not been informed where the three British vessels were going, he guessed they had gone to take possession of the newh^ purchased territory. He accordingly left Callao on the '7th Sep- tember, 1842, "crowdinof all sail on the direct coast of Mexico" (Cahfornia). The next day he summoned a council of his officers, submitted to them his documents, at the same time expressing his behef that the British squadron was there on its way to Panama, " where it will be reinforced by troops, &c., from the West Indies (! !) destined for the occupation of California." Under these circumstances, he asked for the advice of his three cap- tains, as to the " employment of the small naval force (three vessels), at my disposal so as to best promote the interests and honor of our country, thus suddenly jeo- parded /" The three marine statesmen assembled in the cabin of the United States frigate, thus intrusted by the Commodore with the weighty question of peace and war, advised that the squadron, already " crowding all sail" for California, should continue its course ; and moreover an?
nounced, as the result of their deliberation, that, *' in case of war between the United States a"nd Mexico, it would be their (the officers) bounden duty to take possession of California," and that they " should consider the mili- tary occupation of the Californias by any European power, but more particularly by our great commercial rival Eng- land, and especially at this particular juncture, as a mea- sure so decidedly hostile to the true interests of the United States as not only to warrant, but to make it our duty, to forestall the designs of Admiral Thomas, if possible, by supplanting the Mexican flag with that of the United States at Monterey,