reof. While the
representative character of the Diet was recognized by my predecessor
and has been confirmed during my Administration by receiving its
accredited envoy and granting exequaturs to consuls commissioned under
its authority, that recognition was qualified by the distinct
understanding that the responsibility of each of the component sovereign
Republics toward the United States remained wholly unaffected.

This proviso was needful inasmuch as the compact of the three
Republics was at the outset an association whereby certain
representative functions were delegated to a tripartite commission
rather than a federation possessing centralized powers of government
and administration. In this view of their relation and of the
relation of the United States to the several Republics, a change
in the representation of this country in Central America was neither
recommended by the Executive nor initiated by Congress, thus leaving one
of our envoys accredited, as heretofore, separately to two States of the
Greater Republic, Nicaragua and Salvador, and to a third State, Costa
Rica, which was not a party to the compact, while our other envoy was
similarly accredited to a union State, Honduras, and a nonunion State,
Guatemala. The result has been that the one has presented credentials
only to the President of Costa Rica, the other having been received only
by the Government of Guatemala.

Subsequently the three associated Republics entered into negotiations
for taking the steps forecast in the original compact. A convention of
their delegates framed for them a federal constitution under the name of
the United States of Central America, and provided for a central federal
government and legislature. Upon ratification by the constituent States,
the 1st of November last was fixed for the new system to go into
operation. Within a few weeks thereafter the plan was severely tested
by revolutionary movements arising, with a consequent demand for unity
of action on the part of the military power of the federal States to
suppress them. Under this strain the new union seems to have been
weakened through the withdrawal of its more important members. This
Government was not officially advised of the installation of the
federation and has maintained an attitude of friendly expectancy, while
in no wise relinquishing the position held from the outset that the
responsibilities of the several States toward us remained unaltered by
their ten