Accordingly,  our  Minister  to  Mexico,  Mr.  Letcher,
was  instructed  to  make  overtures  for  a  treaty  giving
joint  protection  to  the  work.  The  American  proposals
were  favorably  received  by  the  Mexican  President  and
his  Cabinet,  and  a  treaty  was  put  in  form  by  them,
subject  to  ratification  by  the  Senates  of  the  respective
countries.  This  provisional  treaty  also  contained  a
clause,  slightly  modifying  the  terms  of  the  Garay  grant,
to  the  effect  that  tolls  were  to  be  regulated  by  joint
control  of  the  two  governments, — not  by  the  grantees
alone,  and  to  this  modification,  of  course,  the  consent
of  the  grantees  was  to  be  obtained  before  the  ratifica
tion.
When  this  draft  treaty  reached  Washington,  the
representatives  of  the  Tehuantepec  Company  were  in
vited  to  examine  it,  and  found  that,  though  the  general
tenor  of  the  document  was  entirely  satisfactory,  there
were  certain  ambiguities,  to  remove  which  they  pro-


128  JUDAH  P.  BENJAMIN

posed  some  amendments.  The  treaty  then  went  back
to  Mexico,  where  it  was  again  favorably  received — by
a  brand  new  President  and  Cabinet — and  returned  to
Washington  with  the  changes  desired  by  the  Te-
huantepee  Company.  So  far,  all  had  gone  as  well
as  could  be  wished.  Both  governments  seemed  of  one
mind  in  the  determination  to  assist  in  the  great  proj  -
ect.  And  even  the  most  suspicious  of  the  local  papers
sheathed  their  rapiers  and  smiled  on  Benjamin,  while
they  indulged  in  fantastic  predictions  of  the  gain  to
New  Orleans  when  the  canal  or  railway  should  be
completed.  The  friendly  journals  even  sent  special  cor
respondents  with  the  Barnard  surveying  party,  from
whom  we  find  long  letters  from  time  to  time.
