catalog Auction info Buyers Premium of 20.00% added to each and every lot November 2010 Collectibles(#61) 11/06/2010 10:00 AM PDT CLOSED! Lot 319 of 739: Buchanan, James Click image to enlarge PreviousNext Lot closed - unsold (1 bid) Estimate: $1,200 - $1,500 Remove from watchlist Add to watchlist Tell a friendAsk a question November 2010 Collectibles(#61) 11/06/2010 10:00 AM PDT CLOSED! Description Description: Buchanan, James. Partly-printed Document Signed "James Buchanan" as President, one page, 10½ x 8 in., Washington, Feb. 21, 1860. Accomplished in manuscript. Ordering the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to "a Power authorizing Lewis Cass, Secretary of State, to exchange my ratification for that of the President of Paraguay to the Convention signed at Asuncion on the 4th February 1859…." A horizontal fold runs lightly through the large, bold signature, else fine.In February 1855, the U.S.S. Water Witch had been fired upon by Paraguayan forces when it sailed without authorization into Paraguay's waters. The pilot on the American ship was killed in the incident, and relations between the two nations were thereafter very strained. In 1858, Buchanan sent James B. Bowlin, a former Missouri congressmanan, with a Naval squadron to demand redress from Paraguay. After two weeks of negotiations with Paraguayan dictator Carlos Antonio López, the dispute was resolved peacefully. The family of the slain Water Witch crewman was indemnified, and the United States received an apology and an advantageous commercial treaty with Paraguay. Gunboat diplomacy at work! Estimated Value $1,200 - 1,500. Categories: