“The following bases, which shall serve for framing a definitive treaty between the United States and the Dominican Republic, have been reduced to writing and agreed upon by General Orville E. Babcock, Aide-de-Camp to his Excellency, General Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, and his special agent to the Dominican Republic, and Mr. Manuel Maria Gautier, Secretary of State of the Departments of the Interior and of Police, charged with the foreign relations of the said Dominican Republic.”[261] Here you see how this young officer, undertaking to represent the United States of America, entitles himself “Aide-de-Camp to his Excellency, General Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States of America, and his special agent to the Dominican Republic.” Sir, you have experience in the Government of this country; your post is high, and I ask you, Do you know any such officer in our Government as “Aide-de-Camp to his Excellency, the President of the United States”? Does such designation appear in the Constitution, in any statute, or in the history of this Republic anywhere? If it does, your information, Sir, is much beyond mine. I have never before met any such instance. This young officer stands alone in using the lofty title. I believe, still further, that he stands alone in the history of free governments. I doubt whether you can find a diplomatic paper anywhere in which any person undertaking to represent his Government has entitled himself Aide-de-Camp of the chief of the State. The two duties are incompatible, according to all the experience of history. No aide-de-camp would be appointed commissioner; and the assumption of this exalted and exceptional character by this young officer shows at least his inexperience in diplomacy, if not his ambition to play a great part. Doubtless it had an effect with Baez, Cazneau, and Fabens, the three confederates. They were pleased with the eminence of the agent. It helped on the plan they were engineering. The young aide-de-camp then proceeds to pledge the President as follows:-- “I. His Excellency, General Grant, President of the United States, promises, _privately_, to use all his influence, in order that the idea of annexing the Dominican Republic to the United States may acquire such a degree of popularity among members of Congress as will be necessary for its accomplishment.” Shall I read the rest of the document? It is of somewhat the same tenor. There are questions of money in it, cash down, all of which must have been particularly agreeable to the three confederates. It finally winds up as follows:-- “Done in duplicate, _in good faith_, in the City of San Domingo, the 4th day of the month of September, A. D. 1869. “ORVILLE E. BABCOCK. “MANUEL MARIA GAUTIER.” “In good faith,” if you please, Sir.