he has seen the whole Republic rise up against him. Notwithstanding this he wants to continue his work of ruin and desolation by an aimless war, surrounded by men well known for their robberies and assassinations, and the deepest-dyed in crime of any in the Republic. When such persons are captured it is not reasonable to suppose they could be considered as simple prisoners of war, for they are responsible to the law of nations and amenable to the laws of the Republic.
"The government, which has given numerous proofs of its humanitarian principles and of its sentiments of generosity, has also the obligation to consider, according to the circumstances of the case, what is required by the principles of justice and its duties to the Mexican people."
There were still other reasons that must have swayed the officers of the Mexican Republic. The journals of that country seemed to dwell with great pleasure upon any incident or circumstance that could be perverted into a proof that the government of the United States sought an undue influence over their administration. In this the papers but represented the feelings of a large class of Mexicans, and it may readily be apprehended that the danger of flying in the face of such apparently deep-rooted convictions was enough to turn the scale in the mind of even such a strong man as Benito Juarez. Such thoughts and expressions
