tioned; but, in either case, this recognition by Great Britain is equally conclusive. And here it may be appropriate to observe, that Great Britain still continues in possession, not only of the district between the Rio Hondo and the Sibun, within which the king of Spain, under the convention of 1786, had granted her a license to cut mahogany and other woods, but the British settlers have extended this possession south to the river Sarstoon, one degree and a half of latitude beyond "the limits described and laid down" by the convention. It is presumed that the encroachments of these settlers south of the Sibun have been made without the authority or sanction of the British crown, and that no difficulty will exist in their removal. Yet, in view of all these antecedents, the island of Ruatan, belonging to the State of Honduras, and within sight of its shores, was captured in 1841 by Colonel McDonald, then her Britannic majesty's superintendent at Belize, and the flag of Honduras was hauled down and that of Great Britain was hoisted in its place. This small State, incapable of making any effectual resistance, was compelled to submit, and the island has ever since been under British control. What makes this event more remarkable is, that it is believed a similar act of violence had been committed on Ruatan by the superintendent of Belize in 1835; but, on complaint by the federal government of the Central American States, then still in existence, the act was formally disavowed by the British government, and the island was restored to the authorities of the republic. No question can exist but that Ruatan was one of the "islands adjacent to the American continent, which had been restored by Great Britain to Spain under the treaties of 1783 and 1786. Indeed, the most approved British gazetteers and geographers, up till the present date, have borne testimony to this fact, apparently without information from that hitherto but little known portion of the world, that the island had again been seized by her majesty's superintendent at Belize, and was now a possession claimed by Great Britain. When Great Britain determined to resume her dominion over the Mosquito shore, in the name of a protectorate, is not known with any degree of certainty in the United States. The first information on the subject, in the Department of State at Washington, was contained in a despatch of the 20th January, 1842, from William S. Murphy, esq., special agent of the American government to Guatemala, in which he states that in a conversation with Colonel McDonald at Belize, the latter had informed him he had discovered and sent documents to England, which caused the British government to revive their claim to the Mosquito territory. According to Bonnycastle, the Mosquito shore "lies along part of the northern and eastern shore of Honduras," and, by the map which accompanies his work, extends no further south than the mouth of the river Segovia, in about 12° north latitude. This respectable author certainly never could have imagined that it extended south of San Juan de Nicaragua, because he describes this as the principal seaport of Nicaragua on the Caribbean sea; says there are "three portages" between the lake and the mouth of the river, and "these carrying-places are defended, and at one of them is the fort, San Juan, (called also the castle of Nuestra Señora,) on a rock, and very strong; it has thirty-six guns mounted, with a small battery, whose platform is level with the water; and the whole is enclosed on the land side by a ditch and rampart. Its garrison is generally kept up at a hundred infantry, sixteen artillerymen, with about sixty of the militia, and is provided with batteaux, which row guard every night up and down the stream." Thus it appears that the Spaniards were justly sensible of the importance of defending this outlet from the lake of Nicaragua to the ocean, because, as Captain Bonnycastle observes: "This port (San Juan) is looked upon as the key of the Americas; and with the possession of it and Realejo on the other side of the lake, the Spanish colonies might be paralyzed, by the enemy being then master of the ports of both oceans." He might have added, that nearly sixty years ago, on the 26th February, 1796, the port of San Juan de Nicaragua was established as a port of entry of the second class by the king of Spain. Captain Bonnycastle, as well as the Spaniards, would have been greatly surprised had they been informed that this port was a part of the dominions of his majesty the king of the Mosquitos, and that the cities and cultivated territories of Nicaragua surrounding the lakes Nicaragua and Managua had no outlet to the Caribbean sea, except by his gracious permission. It was therefore with profound surprise and regret the government and people of the United States. learned that a British force, on the 1st of January, 1848, had expelled the State of Nicaragua from San Juan, had hauled down the Nicaraguan flag, and had raised the Mosquito flag in its place. The ancient name of the town, San Juan de Nicaragua, which had identified it in all former time as belonging to Nicaragua, was on this occasion changed, and thereafter it became Greytown. These proceedings gave birth to serious apprehensions throughout the United States, that Great Britain intended to monopolize for herself the control over the different routes between the Atlantic and the Pacific, which, since the acquisition of California, had become of vital importance to the United States. Under this impression, it was impossible that the American government could any longer remain silent and acquiescing spectators of what was passing in Central America. Mr. Monroe, one of our wisest and most discreet Presidents, announced in a public message to Congress, in December, 1823, that "the American continents, by the free and independent condition. which they have assumed and maintained, are henceforth not to be considered subjects for future colonization by any European powers. This declaration has since been known throughout the world as the "Monroe doctrine," and has received the public and official sanction of subsequent Presidents, as well as of a very large majority of the American people. Whilst this doctrine will be maintained, whenever in the opinion of Congress the peace and safety of the United States shall render this necessary, yet, to have acted upon it in Central America might have brought us into collision with Great Britain-an event always to be deprecated, and, if possible, avoided. We can do each other the most good and the most harm of any two nations in the world; and therefore it is our strong mutual interest, as it ought to be our strong mutual desire, to remain the best friends. To settle these dangerous questions, both parties wisely resorted to friendly negotiations, which resulted in the convention of April, 1850. May this prove to be instrumental in finally adjusting all questions of difficulty between the parties in Central America, and in perpetuating their peace and friendship! Surely, the Mosquito Indians ought not to prove an obstacle to so happy a consummation. Even if these savages had never been actually subdued by Spain, this would give them no title to rank as an independent state, without violating the principle and the practice of every European nation, without exception, which has acquired territory on the continent of America. They all mutually recognised the right of discovery, as well as the title of the discoverer, to a large extent of interior territory, though at the moment occupied by fierce and hostile tribes of Indians. On this principle the wars, the negotiations, the cessions, and the jurisprudence of these nations were founded. The ultimate dominion and absolute title belonged to themselves, although several of them, and especially Great Britain, conceded to the Indians a right of mere occupancy, which, however, could only be extinguished by the authority of the nation within whose dominions these Indians were found. sales or transfers of territory made by them to third parties were declared to be absolutely void; and this was a merciful rule even for the Indians themselves, because it prevented them from being defrauded by dishonest individuals. All No nation has ever acted more steadily upon these principles than Great Britain, and she has solemnly recognised them in her treaties with the King of Spain of 1783 and 1786, by admitting his sovereignty over the Mosquitos. Shall the Mosquito tribe of Indians constitute an exception from this hitherto universal rule? Is there anything in their character or in their civilization which would enable them to perform the duties and sustain the responsibilities of a sovereign State in the family of nations? Bonnycastle says of them that they "were formerly a very powerful and numerous race of people, but the ravages of rum and the smallpox have diminished their numbers very much." He represents them, on the authority of British settlers, as seeming "to have no other religion than the adoration of evil spirits." The same author also states that "the warriors of this tribe are accounted at fifteen hundred." This possibly may have been correct in 1818, when the book was published, but at present serious doubts are entertained whether they reach much more than half that number. The truth is, they are now a debased race, and are degraded even below the common Indian standard. They have acquired the worst vices of civilization from their intercourse with the basest class of the whites, without any of its redeeming virtues. The Mosquitos have been thus represented by a writer of authority who has recently enjoyed the best opportunities for personal observation. That they are totally incapable of maintaining an independent civilized government is beyond all question. Then, in regard to their so-called king, Lord Palmerston, in speaking of him to Mr. Rives, in September, 1851, says: "They had what was called a king, who, by the bye," he added in a tone of pleasantry, "was as much a king as I or you." And Lord John Russell, in his despatch to Mr. Crampton of the 19th January, 1853, denominates the Mosquito government as "a fiction," and speaks of the king as a person "whose title and power are, in truth, little better than nominal." The moment Great Britain shall withdraw from Bluefields, where she now exercises exclusive dominion over the Musquito shore, the former relations of the Mosquitos to Nicaragua and Honduras, as the successors of Spain, will naturally be restored. When this event shall occur, it is to be hoped that these States, in their conduct towards the Mosquitos and the other Indian tribes within their territories, will follow the example of Great Britain and the United States. Whilst neither of these has ever acknowledged, or permitted any other nation to acknowledge, any Indian tribe within their limits as an independent people, they have both recognised the qualified right of such tribes to occupy the soil, and, as the advance of the white settlements rendered this necessary, have acquired their title by a fair purchase. Certainly it cannot be desired that this extensive and valuable Central American coast, on the highway of nations between the Atlantic and the Pacific, should be appropriated to the use of three or four thousand wandering Indians as an independent state, who would use it for no other purpose than that of hunting and fishing and savage warfare. If such an event were possible, the coast would become a retreat for pirates and outlaws of every nation, from whence to infest and disturb the commerce of the world in its transit across the isthmus. And but little better would be its condition should a new independent state be established on the Mosquito shore. Besides, in either event, the Central American states would deeply feel the injustice which had been done them in depriving them of a portion of their territories. They would never cease in attempts to recover their rights, and thus strife and contention would be perpetuated in that quarter of the world where it is so much the interest, both of Great Britain and the United States, that all territorial questions shall be speedily, satisfactorily, and finally adjusted. LONDON, January 6, 1854. [No. 31.] JAMES BUCHANAN. Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Marcy. [Extract.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, London, May 5, 1854. SIR: Late on Tuesday evening last, I received the long promised and long delayed statement of Lord Clarendon on the Central Ameri can questions, dated on the 2d instant, a copy of which I have now the honor to transmit. Accompanying this statement, I also received a private note from his lordship, apologizing "for the further delay that has taken place, owing to the Easter holidays, and the necessity of consulting some of my [his] colleagues who were out of town." * * * * Yours, very respectfully, Hon. W. L. MARCY, Secretary of State. * * * * JAMES BUCHANAN. Mr. Lawrence to Lord Palmerston. UNITED STATES LEGATION, MY DEAR LORD: As I told you in our conversation this morning, I have been instructed by the President to inquire whether the British government intends to occupy or colonize Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Mosquito coast, (so called,) or any part of Central America. I have also been instructed to inquire whether the British government will unite with the United States in guaranteeing the neutrality of a shipcanal, railway, or other communication, to be open to the world and common to all nations. May I beg the favor of an answer to these inquiries, and to express the wish that I may receive it before two o'clock to-morrow, so as to send it out by this week's packet? 'I am aware that Nicaragua is in dispute with Costa Rica, on the one hand, about her boundary, and with the Mosquitos, on the other, about their sovereignty. I have no purpose now to enter upon those questions. I only desire to know the views of her majesty's government on the questions I have proposed. At the same time I cannot but think that Great Britain and the United States can heal these breaches by kind offices, and that the Indians can be provided for in a manner satisfactory to Nicaragua and Great Britain, and far better for them than the equivocal position they now occupy. I need not assure your lordship that the United States have no ulterior purposes in view. They frankly disclaim all intention of obtaining territory in Central America and I have no doubt would be willing to mutually agree with Great Britain neither to settle, annex, colonize, nor fortify that country. I am, &c., VISCOUNT PALMERSTON, &c. 3 |