In thus opening the ports of Mexico to the commerce of the world you
will present to all nations with whom we are at peace the best evidence
of your desire to maintain with them our friendly relations, to render
the war to them productive of as little injury as possible, and even to
advance their interests, so far as it safely can be done, by affording
to them in common with ourselves the advantages of a liberal commerce
with Mexico. To extend this commerce, you will have unsealed the ports
of Mexico, repealed their interior transit duties, which obstruct the
passage of merchandise to and from the coast; you will have annulled the
Government duty on coin and bullion and abolished the heavy export
duties on the precious metals, so as to permit them to flow out freely
for the benefit of mankind; you will have expunged the long list of
their prohibited articles and reduced more than one-half their duties on
imports, whilst the freest scope would be left for the mining of the
precious metals. These are great advantages which would be secured to
friendly nations, especially when compared with the exclusion of their
commerce by rigorous blockades.
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