There is nothing that would please the writer more than to describe the international atmosphere in which the Opium Conference convened and proceeded to its deliberations and conclusions. That, however, must reside in memory for the present.

The first United States minister to Mexico was Joel R. Poinsett. To the ordinary mind, however, his chief title to fame does not rest on his filling this or a number of other official posts; but on the fact that he made known to the world the beautiful Christmas flower which in honor of him was named “poinsettia.” But even this discovery was a result of his diplomatic appointment; for it was while on his mission to Mexico that he observed it and brought it to the attention of botanists. It is the purpose of this article to study only the minister’s personal conduct while in Mexico and his relations with the government and people, explaining the grounds for the charges made against him of meddling in the internal affairs of the country.

It is a truism that the science of law proper – the science dealing with the United States or the law of Great Britain, one finds the whole science based on the fact of the existence of a political society known as the United States or Great Britain, which formulates, applies and enforces the law which governs these nations in their internal relations. When one enters upon the study of what is called international law, one finds himself expected to accept as a fundamental proposition that there is no political society which formulates, applies and enforces the law which he is told governs all nations in their external relations, and that this law is formulated, applied and enforced among or between the nations. This difference in fundamentals leads to corresponding differences in the derivative notions. Practitioners of law proper take little or no interest in what is called international law. From their point of view, that which is called international law is only a collection of the rules of a highly interesting game, success in which depends largely upon “face ” and personality; nor can it be denied that there is much to justify this opinion. Students of law reflect the attitude of mind of the practitioner, and the great majority of students end their legal education when they finish the courses in national domestic law, giving no consideration to the law which governs the actions and relations of the nations.