e
was no bloodshed. But on that same day four hundred new Colombian
troops were landed at Colon. Fortunately, the gunboat _Nashville_, under
Commander Hubbard, reached Colon almost immediately afterwards, and when
the commander of the Colombian forces threatened the lives and property
of the American citizens, including women and children, in Colon,
Commander Hubbard landed a few score sailors and marines to protect
them. By a mixture of firmness and tact he not only prevented any
assault on our citizens, but persuaded the Colombian commander to
reembark his troops for Cartagena. On the Pacific side a Colombian
gunboat shelled the City of Panama, with the result of killing one
Chinaman--the only life lost in the whole affair.

No one connected with the American Government had any part in preparing,
inciting, or encouraging the revolution, and except for the reports of
our military and naval officers, which I forwarded to Congress, no one
connected with the Government had any previous knowledge concerning the
proposed revolution, except such as was accessible to any person who
read the newspapers and kept abreast of current questions and current
affairs. By the unanimous action of its people, and without the firing
of a shot, the state of Panama declared themselves an independent
republic. The time for hesitation on our part had passed.

My belief then was, and the events that have occurred since have more
than justified it, that from the standpoint of the United States it
was imperative, not only for civil but for military reasons, that there
should be the immediate establishment of easy and speedy communication
by sea between the Atlantic and the Pacific. These reasons were not
of convenience only, but of vital necessity, and did not admit of
indefinite delay. The action of Colombia had shown not only that the
delay would be indefinite, but that she intended to confiscate the
property and rights of the French Panama Canal Company. The report of
the Panama Canal Committee of the Colombian Senate on October 14,
1903, on the proposed treaty with the United States, proposed that all
consideration of the matter should be postponed until October 31, 1904,
when the next Colombian Congress would have convened, because by that
time the new Congress would be in condition to determine whether through
lapse of time the French company had not forfeited its property and
rights. "When that time arrives," the report significantly dec