Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1811-01-21
Gongrss Of the United States.
IN SENATE, DEG %.
DEBATE :
On the subject efthe Territory west q i"
Psrdido.
ru, ropsrY's SPEECH CONCLUDED,

have now ! believe sic, gwen 'u''t
and trust fair and correct statement OF
rhe evidences and facts relative TO inc
question of ,itle.--A few remarks VIII
Lose VIVA, [ have to say on this head -
The letter from the king of France to NJ
J,'Abb.die, is very important document
7, shews that the king Of France, under
whom we claim, ard by whose admissions
we are bound, SO long ago as 1864 treated
and considered the country on me west OF
,hr Mississippi as the vhsk OF Louisiana.
That so considering it, he ceded and de-
,;vrrea it TO Spain, tesetter With the ts1m
md island of Neuv Orleans, from which lat
ter words i, may be inferred, that even the
island and town of new Orleans were then
not considered a part Of Louisiana, In
1900 when Spain cedes back the colony ef
Louisiana to France, that country was on
" known on the West of the Mississippi.
TIE war OF SO and The treaties OF '62- s,
had fixed the line and obllterated forever
the name of Louisiana on the East or that
river.
The treaty ofS;. fldefonso, Of 1900 is
mere treaty OF r-uoccsslon. The transit
lion putporls to be treaty OF cess,o" u IS
true. but ACKNOWLEDGED on all sides to be
erroneous. The original treaty was 10 the
French language, and it is by that" are
10 be governed. The expression In the
original is, "Sa MAJ este cathotlque proHit
ct s'cncage de sen cote a retroceNer la
Republique Franchise" sc. A re'r"eeder
sjanityine to retrocrde, to restore, or to use
tim familiar in the state have tie honor
to represent, re convsy the colony OF Lou
;siana 20 F,ance, rs it was wnen France
coryev-d it to Spain. The honorable geo.
tleman from Kentucky, (Nr. Pope press
I'd BIZ this argument could rot get round 1t
BY ailrdgiue that the original treaty be-
tween France and Spain was dated in 1851
prior to the S, tiienrnt OF the line and tht
cessien to Great Britain. But untorsu
naseiv he could not produce one title OF
authentic evidence to establish this post
ton, a position absolutely negative by to-
official lo,err to NJ. L'Abbadie. But Ina
gentleman has further told us that from the
words = with the same extent it nov has
in the hands Of Spain, a TIA: il had when
Franc. rosscssed it, and such 10 it should
be E the treaties subs, qusn,ly' entered
into between other states" an intention
nav be made to includ Florida. | fully
subscribe to the gentleisan's rule, that we
must give such construction to the treaty
and particularly to the passage just refer
rcd to as will giva effect if possible to all
the parts; and this l apprehend may be
done without haying recourse to the fore.
ed construction cnntended for, Ia the first
place the two 6rst members Of the passage
may be reconci.ed and have effect by con-
sidrrinc them as twofold description of the
same territory. From abundant caution
it is not uncommon 10 give various de.
sc~ip.ions Of the same object. Some times the
nau.= il simply used, sometimes described
by metrs and bounds, aud sometimes by
the names g! the adjacent countries.--
Soeaelines a two and sometimes a three
leld drscription is given. And upon cri-
teal examination / think it will be found,
that this is the only construction the In
s,run,,nt will bear. IF you gire it the con
GfOClNN INC SSuScRtSN SOtItS1IuS ROE, 10
wit. that toe second member of the passage
is an extension OF the description given by
the arst, then the second Includes the first,
and of consequence the lrs. would be nj.
eatory and superGuous; which would be
doing viotencc TO The genteman's own rule
of construction. But if the gentleman will
insist on giving to the SECOND member an
eplsrged OF extended sense, it may be done
by sppiyiag it TO the zsrstera boundaries Of
L ouisiana. Il is said when France coded
Louisiana to Spain i'll go, the country ex-
tended on the west the river Sabine, and
that Spain prior to the treaty Of 1900. de.
,sched from Louisiana the territory south
Of the waters employing into the Red River
and erected it into 4 new province under
the name of the +" Province Of Texas" Sir.
the operations on the Sabine are memora.
Bile. (, i. well known how mys,eriously
,hev were suspended by 40 arrangement in
1906. by which 1t was agreed that the
Spaoisrds snou,d recross the Sabine, and
tia, the Amrrieaas should not extend their
sen.isments so tas as that river. And for
,..s,snt collision, M, - ID