The enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1804-1815, 1804-09-29
Fros THE AURORA.
SPANISH AceREssIoNs-N No. ".

The fecond rrcpoGtion OF the letter from, Madrid.
tina, Spain conquered the country ea of the NlAi,r-
pi iii ESQ and confirmed in the po!iciiicu by ina
peace of 1888, may Be admitted IN fuieit lattuts
bu, what does this prove; does this conque froo. e
Birth (by the bye with the aid of the Ar.r..aIs)
NEW that the French did not pre,iouiiy roi=s tat
country does it prove WHAT were OF what were not
the boundaries o. Louiiiana urder the French in
word Goes It prove any one fac UPON whici te que-
ton OF tie limits OF I.ouGana at al depsnds
| The iiniple amount of this proportion Is thar IA
thoie countries before 17l", al called Fic;dc
mat Crozat gave the OF IouiGana to rar. ~
the country, The limits Of which never have been ac
cefately defined to this hour. That Frahce roi,C,l
the countries of louifana and Florida until the nr
convention OF Pardo, OF November, l762 when i,,,
conveyed 20 Spain part of tlioe countries a. bo,b
iides of the Mlipp & tia, therem;r6eT was BY n.
9TH article OF the treaty of 1868 cejed to Great Bril-
tam and that Spanih force combined wish an ~
merican force, exptlicd the Britiih in 1880.
! This is the whole value of the proposition, it re-
ther ietes limits defines tie extert at one or anc-
ther territory if it could amount to any tlirg it
would amount TO more thar pretended TO be- alSed
for while the Britiih poi,ed the Floridas during our
revolution, they did cor.inc tiemfe.ves to the
provincial boundaries which they had originally fixed
IN 1863 but extended their rule over the country as
lar as Natohez, and called that Wei Flori,i. wl.h
had before been known by the of Fiord. III COM
mon with Louiiiana, and by the name OF LouiGana,
alter 1t had been granted to Crozat and iett.ed by
him.
The quction then wholly depends UPON correq
examiratoc OF the import and value OF TIE third rro-
petition Of the Madrid leter--whch is TO be found
more fully expreiied III this paragraph
In 1850, we (Span) conquered from Great Brita;a
all the country ear Of the Mi1iiippi, then divided IN
to Eat and Weh Florida, which conquels were con-
rned to us b. the denitve treaty peace OF I7G3 II
Is here tobe obieved that Ell Florda has ever ince
retained that III ~
as originally ceded By France Spain hu: having been
conquered by the latter remained ieparate governs
ment as when under the dominion of England and M
dependent Of LouGana in poicion of governor APP
pointed by the crown, who in certain decree ls
well as the governor of Louiiana dependant on the
government OF Havana.
This article merits dilculTion. And the fri quefi.
on to be examined is-whethcr the incidents of war,
the capture OF country temporary retention, and
1uoiequent exPuifon, OF any power can Sve valilty
to the acts Of the invader after his expuliiou The
import of the third propo(on derenis upon the air.
NATIVE. But what the real merits : Britain had
taken polleIon of the country of Florida, with view
to the annoyance of Spain, newly embarked in the
war of our revolution, and to create luch dverion
OF our force the iouth would weaken cur reit-
ance towards the of the union. Spain hal with
us then common interet; ihe had Cuba and her
part of 81 Domingo to protect agaihG the crliers of
the Britiih which lowered in the bays of Apalachee &
Mobile; fhe had to protect her frontier of Mexico
from Brth ambition and we had to Cooperate in
felf defence with ally become of foe Importance
to us from the hotity which fhe had experienced
from our common enemy. By common efforts we
iuccseded, and it longer became confederation
whether the convenience which had dictated tie
peace of l765, and the fecret cefion of 1902 fill
prevailed not it for the of the coun-
try but its poeflion the outing Of the Britilh was
made; and that the country fhoud during the re-
mainder OF the war do no than adopt the fyitem
of government praailed by their predeceiors was in
the ordinary nature Of things 70 un!eulsd.
hat the peace OF 1888 transferred the Foridas to
Spain, apprehend does alter the nature of the
cafe, which does no; all depend even upon the
peace OF 1863, nor upon any meaure event fuble-
quent thereto. The convenience Of the bellgerent
powers might adopt new limits or benow new nafnee
at drcretion on territories uninhabted by civilized
man, but theie new and temporary regulations, all
ways iubJect TO the mutation Of fortune cannot be
urged againit definite principle elabliihed upon
pre-exitEg Hate OF thoie countries; and which thoi
iubiequent changes never conlant nor confident in
themelves could neither alter nor abrogate
SPaln by the JOINT operation Of her own force and
ours came into poeifion of the whole of Florida and
Louiiiana according 20 its ancient limits AS parties
m the war. France and the United States conCeted 10
her Poieiion Of thofe territories but that content
neither altered the pre-exhng fas with relation to
the original Poaeion by France; nor did it preveut
Spain from re-confoiidating Florida it'll Louiliapa,
had Spain chofen 70 to have done.
lheie considerations then lead back to the tru.
ground or that upon which the cefion of Louiiiapa
was made by Spain TO France the terms of which are
- the colony or province of Louifana with the
" fame extent that it actually has in the hands of
" Spain, that it bad 7cLea France bag-Gcd it," Thefe
words, 1t ihoud be particularly remembered are the
words OF the treaty of ST. Hdefonfo of III OGober,
1900, concluded between Spain and France, which
was confirmed and enforced by another treaty of the
zlt March, 1901 and under the operation .of thelc
treaties 1t was that France transferred the foveregn-
ty oil LoEana to us, and in the exprefs words Loui-
llana with the fame bad zUbe5 France pof
ieed it, it is our right to claim, and to maintain il
which by the help of Cod we truh our govern
ment determined to do
The queition then would leem to be, what was the
extent oil Louiiana when France faG.gdhF
A flight knowledge only of the enmities and lea
ouiies which prevailed for 80 years before our revo-
luton, between the rival powers of France and Eng
land, is required to be able arrive at correct OPT
Mon on this iubjee. The French had formed very
iPlendd Project Of empire which was to embrace the
whole range of wetern lakes from Canada 10 the
MhiiPPi. The Birth perpetually cavilled at the
french Inroads on their territory and their diputes
and itraagems to circumvent each other were iocel
FAINT until the conquet Of Canada by the Britii an
initiated the hopes of France in tha quarter only to
leave their iuccefors in purlut of the Go7s which
| France had RATED to caTtiy4te their ambition.
The French deCcribod their boundary OF Canada by
| line drawn along the yye1eru waters thro,oh the