bancos or shoals, of the Rio Grande has been arranged by friendly compromise. The Pious Funds dispute was taken to the Hague for settlement and the Chamizal controversy was turned over to arbitrators. Other instances might be cited. The old disputes have passed. They have all gone the same way. The new ones must follow them.
There are few in either country who realize the importance of Mexican-American relations to both countries. American relations will always be the chief element in Mexican foreign policy. That is a fundamental fact, no matter how unwelcome to certain classes in Mexico. Circumstances beyond the control of any government, the geographical position of the country, and the character of its natural resources make it so.
The necessary interrelations of the two countries have made the more timid among the Mexican population feel that geographical unity and unity of economic interest carried with them the danger that political unity might be forced upon the weaker state. They are obsessed by the belief that the United States wants to annex Mexico. They are confident that only the favorable opportunity is lacking. It would astonish them to know how small a part of the people of the United States have any but the vaguest of ideas about the republic and its people and how few of even these would consider annexation a thing to be desired. Those Mexicans who believe that an advance southward will be made as soon as an excuse can be found cannot know the history of their own country. Occasions for action there have been in great number.
