Earl Russell to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty Foreign Office, May 8, 1862 My Lords, I stated to you in my letter of the 5th instant that in the event of Sir Charles Wyke's retirement, on account of his health, to Bermuda, Commodore Dunlop will be sole Commissioner under the Convention of October 31, 1861. Commodore Dunlop will concert with his French and Spanish colleagues the measures necessary for retaining military possession of Vera Cruz. In making these arrangements he will urge on his colleagues the obvious advantage of limiting as far as possible, for the sake of the health of the British seamen and marines, as well as for that of the French and Spanish troops, the number of men to be left in occupation of the forts of Vera Cruz. Commodore Dunlop will take no part in promoting any measure having for its object an interference in the internal affairs of Mexico. But if any opportunity should arise of carrying into effect the Convention of October 31, by obtaining satisfaction for the legitimate demands of Great Britain, France and Spain, Commodore Dunlop will be authorized to sign a Convention for that purpose, subject to the ratification of Her Majesty. By legitimate demands, I mean such as are confined to the losses and injuries sustained by British, French, and Spanish subjects, and for which reasonable compensation for the past, and adequate security for the future, are required by the allied Governments and their Representatives. (Signed) RUSSELL Back to Table of Contents: Booklet No. 8, Mexico 1861-67 Back to El Dorado List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by The South and Central Military Historians Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com