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Show Doc. No. 49. lfith of Julv last, winch was connnunJcalf'-d to the H ou~e of Representa· 11ves bv the President, with his message of that date. . All which ~~ re:-.pectfnlly ~uhmtltedDANir:; L WEBSTER. To the PR~:~ IIH:I"T of the Unitrd Slates. Li.st of popers rrccompu.n.'liltg the rtporl of lht Seuetul-y of Stott'. to lht Prrsidwt, of the 17111 .Jonuury, 18·12. :\lr. Webster to 1\Jr . .b!lis, 3d Janu;u~·, 1842. The same to the same. 6th .Janua ry, 1842. The same to i\Jr. Peytou, same date-Extract.!-. " The same to the (·o!lectM of the f'Ustoms. New Orledns, 6th J anua ry, 1 6-1 ~l\ Ir. Alvarez to 1\lr. Webster, 15th Decembnr, 184 1. f\lr. Elhs to the s;u llt', 16th Decem her, 18 1 I. Jlr. lf'ebster /IJ IIJ,·, Rills. No 36. lf ra.y/linglon, .!~t~wary 3, 184 ~- SrR : The fnends of i\fr. Fraukhu Colllb.s, son of General Leslie C?mb!:., of Kentucky, have applied for the interposition. of th is Go~~rn~1ent Ill b~ half of that youug gentleman, who accompa111Cd the late l exmu expedl·llon to Santa Fe, in l\lcxico, and is supposed to h.ave been captur~d, and, 1f ali ve, to be held 111 bondage in that conutry, ':v1th the other surv1vors of the expedition. It has been ruprcseutcd to tins De~artment th.at young r.:ombs ha~ never been a citizen of T exas; that he did not repair to that country with any intention of relinquishing his allegia.ncc t~ this Government, or of remaining iu T cxa:"'; but that he went thither 111 the autm.nn of L840, upon private business of his l~ltl~cr, all(\ for th~ bene~t wh1ch he was assured his feeble health would denve from the Jllilder wmter chmato of that region. He was, how11ver, detained there by ~tl.1 causes until about the time when the expedition referred to set out. flus he determined to accompany, merely for the object of confinning his health, and gra tifying a cmiosity, both liberal and natura),. in regard to the unknown lands through which the course or the expedllwn lay. . . . As there is no reason to donbt the correctness of tins mfor~natlou, you will, accordingly, forthwith make .the n~cessary representations to th: Mexican Goverument upon the subject, w1th a vtew to avert from youno Comb.s, if he shoHid be alive, the dangers to which he may ~e. or may ha,·e been exposed. You will state that, from the :espectabi.hty of hts family and fOr other reasons, the re ca.n be no ground for t~e beltef that he would 1have accompanied the expedition for any other .objects than th~se meutioned · and tha t if he had been aware that the vtcws of the Textan Gow~rnme/1 t, in despatching it, had been hosti\c or predatory, rather than friendly and commercial, as tl~ey .were understoo~ to h~v? been ~t the time, he would not have gone 111 lis company. If to tins 1t be obJected •• ( a , ' ])oc. No. 4 9. 3 that the expedition was militarr in its array, and must therefore be pre· sumed to have had warlike designs against the Mexican authorities, it may be an:owered that the avowed motive of the members of the expedition, in bearing arms, was to ward off the attacks of hostile Indians, and especially of the Camanchcs, who, it is well known, roam in great force along and across the track which was to have been pursued. This objection would apply with much less, if with any force to young Combs, as he was no soldier, and had never been one; and, if found with arms, there could in his case be no better ground for I he opinion that ther were to have been nsed for purposes of a ttack, and not for those of defence, than if he had accompanied one of the caravans from Missouri to Santa Fe, by means of which, as is well known, an extensive trad<> is carried on between this country and Mexico, to the mutual advantage of the parties. Although young Combs is the only Amencan citizen who accompanied the expedition for whom the interference of this Government has been asked, it is understood that there was :mother who ~s little deserves to be subjected to any penal proceedings 011 the part of the .!\Iexican Government. This is Mr. George W. Kendall, of New Orleans. You will press this case with the utmost earn c~IJH'ss on the Mexicau Goverument, as the Government of the United States feels itsdf bouud to interfere, and to signify its confident t::xpectation tl~at the li,·es of Am~rica n. citizens will not be sacrificC'd . who have not intcntwnally done any thmg of a hostile character against 1\'lexico. Even if the condnct of youns; Combs was indiscreet and ill-jndged, yet this Government cannot suppose that thf> Government of 1\lexico would treat him as an :.Hmrd combntnut found amone: its enemies. YoU will spare no pains to impress the l\lexican authori1 ies with !he feelings which would be excited in this country, if any harsh proceedmg should be adopted towards th is youth. You will avail yourself of the opportunity of making to that Government the communication, to sngc:esl that, while this Government is well disposed to maintain with strict fideli ty amicable relations with the Mexican Republic, and will not attempt 10 screen from merited punishment any of o ur citizens. who may be guilty of an infraction of the Ia ws intended ~o preserve those rdations, yet that summary, sanguinaq' , or undue pmushment of either Te xians or citiz('ns of the United States, in :Mexico, inevitably tends to excite and foment in thi~ <'Olllltry an ucl:'rhity of ferling a gainst Mexico whirh will be lllnch more ilpt to defeat thr> ~up posed objects of those punishments than if the offenders were to have a fa ir trial , and, if then COII\'Jcted, were to bP punished in somr proport ion to their offences. You. wil~ , however, make this :::uge-ostiotl i11 a concilia tory tone, without allowm~ 11 to be supposNI thai this Governmc11t h:ts any iuten ti011 to dictate the poho.!y t.o be adopted by that of the 1\lexic:w Hepublic, upon this or any other subJect ; but, supposing their disposition towards the Uuited States to he a m.icable, om wish is merely to point a way by which, it seems to us, that reciprocal disposition as wC'Il as the inter:rritv of the !\lexican territor}' may be more etfecumlly m::~in1ained. A. cct~stoined, ourselves, to regular judicial proceedings, fair a11d full trials, and mild pnni~hm euts, the opposites of thest>, if exercised hy oTher Go\'l'rnmcuTs, always ~ervt: to check the g ro\vth of amity and go~'cl will. Any reasonable cxpcn~e~ which may be necessary lo defray the .c l~arge of a special messC'nger from the Mexican capital to the place or capttvlty of |
