The potential for a meaningful relationship with Britain was of great importance to the UNION and it was decided to impress the British delegation to the greatest extent possible. However the UNION had always sought to ensure that the strength, equipment and organisation of the army remained secret from the rest of TIAN. In addition the UNION was keen to ensure that UNION technology and industrial capabilities also remained unknown.The export of UNION products had long been banned even to Mexico. The British delegation's access to the infrastructure of the UNION would need to be carefully restricted. With this in mind it was decided to increase the strength of the UNION Marshal service. Until now the diplomatic department had only two functions, to provide security to UNION government ministers and the embassy in Mexico city. All Marshal service staff were drawn from either retired or transferred army personnel. Substantial numbers of new officers were recruited to enable the British to be fully managed. A special train was assembled to transport the British from Mexico city to Rio Deigo, the UNION capital.
The British delegation of six was picked up in the special train and the long journey to Rio Diego started. Only Marshal service personnel were on board together with low level state department staff. Discussions would only start on arrival in Rio Deigo. The train stopped only for refueling while the British watched the seemingly endless countryside fly by from their luxurious train. After six days the train finally arrived in Rio Deigo where the delegation was met by the UNION President and his ministers. A hotel had been arranged for the exclusive use of the British who were told they could only venture out of the hotel accompanied by Marshall service personnel. Negotiations started next day.
The British agenda included not only port facilities for maintenance and provisioning purposes but also R and R facilities for ships crews during the long voyages to and from Australia. The British also indicated they would be interested in making substantial timber purchases as well as establishing an embassy in Rio Deigo. The British also hoped to gain a better understanding of this dynamic new nation that had seemingly crushed so easily a power as formidable as China. The UNION was interested in the provision of port facilities but less so in either a British embassy or timber purchases. However the discussions went well and it was eventually agreed that Britain would provide the finance and expertise for the construction of port facilities while the UNION begrudgingly agreed to a British embassy in Rio Diego but under strict conditions.
The new British embassy would have a staff of only ten with other personnel needs being met by citizens of the UNION, all carefully vetted of course. British construction specialists would be allowed to land in Miami and the UNION would provide all materials and basic labour to construct facilities sufficient for several large ships to use at any one time. The UNION would also create R and R facilities adjacent to the port. The whole area would be carefully policed and secured to ensure no unauthorised access to the rest of the UNION. This would also apply to embassy staff who would only be allowed limited travel and always under supervision.
Construction duly started on the port in April 1874 with the British embassy opening in a UNION purchased building at the same time. In the very first formal meeting between the new British ambassador and the UNION Secretary of State the British shared some interesting news about the Federation and its relationship with France and Germany. It appeared that many in the Federation were looking across the border to the UNION and its great manufacturing and economic growth and wondering why their country was being kept in a undeveloped and backward state by their German and French masters. Apparently many were asking if they might have a better future as part of the UNION rather than a backwater colony and that full independence would be a good first step towards this ambition.
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