Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1818-04-07
Negotiation with Swain.
UocUn'eltS t1uIsmtted to Congress tn tie
President f'the United States.
No &
TRANvIAJION
D4a I.nis de- Onis 10 he Sccrtfory of Syo,


Louisiana and hope such incontroverlible.
decisive reasons cannot fail 10 bring Won fairly
to acknowledge, that Louisiana neither does
u3r can, include any rart ofW es, Florida. AS
nave NOT SetteceiVed your an er % the said
mote. 1t was my Intention to wait for it. and not
proceed to tue examination Of the second point
OF the QneStiOu Of boundaries before We had n
greed en- ana settled what relates TO the first,
IN order tn proceed methodicaily, and not to
ihTui'e or emharrasS the plain and expeditions
course OF tn.s investigation; but being dcsir-
oh> o. NOT i",'rg an III tani IN explaining every
io'ni relative to 50 lnpci iant mater, ] auti-
cipatt the eNa'a.rat;On of the western bountIa-
sic> Of Louisiana. which is the SECOND poiut uf
the so esiio1, thereby facilitating whatevermav
claim Nouraucnlion as to both, in theirIespe,i-
I'VE order, and Grabbing you TO comprehend tie
truth a once.
might contend, that tie United states ha
wing received the province of Louisiana from
france With no greater extent than IL had
when France received il from spain i'm Ism
and when Spain acquired il frcni France i'm
tI0i, that and no ether ought 10 he the extent
which properly belongs tn it, without the ne.
ces>lty OF recurring TO any other reasons or
grounds than those resulting from the trpatyof
81. iidel honsO since Spain having coded hack
10 france III 1880 only what size had received
from her in i!6i being that Inch France sold
l" the onited States, 1t l. easy To inv ti.aie
and establish what were, and in all thnt neriud
continues 10 be- the proper extent and limits
OF Louisiana bnt am willing tn admit that
FRANCE dld substitute the United States i'm all
the rights or professions she had or could have
AT another period, as to what regards the west
ern boundaries OF that COLONY when hers altho'
nethng to that effect is expressed or irsi,,uat-
ed IN the treaty between France and the Unit
ed States, by which Tie latter acquired it - and
that the contrary is evidently TO be Inferred
from the fact, that France inserted word for
word, III this treaty, the conclusive clauses of
that OF ST ildephousO which speak simply and
precisely OF the Tet"OceSsiOn OF Louisiana. adj
NIT ITO go on 10 a more copiouS and Irresistibie
demOustratiOu) that the United States have
succeeded To all the rights which, France may
nave had at another period; and [ call vour ar.
iention, sir, 10 the following observations be.
fore enter on the examination of the data or
grounds on which the United States rest their
claims of extending, in that quarter the bonn
haileS OF Louisiana To the Rio Bravo del
EOrte.
Its well known, that for ages before France
thought of forming establishments on the Mis-
siSSippi, and therefore long before she i,at made
any IN Canada, the crown o! Spain possessed the
whole territory around the Gulf of Mpxico
nom the peninsula Of Yucatan to the southern
cape OF Florida. 1.-THE eastern part of the said
GulF, as faras panncO, the whole of which was
then known under the extensive (.rnericol
name OF Florida, was lot actually peonIed nv
spanlardS, 1t Is no orious a1I indubita6ie. thai
u was discovered by them as early as The wear
1911, under the expedition of Juan Ponce dc
Leon lhatall the coast, from the present Flo.
rida to Panuco, was explored by Francisco de
Garay in 1918, and also by fernando de Soto
add continually by other Spanish comraDdars
until 1864, when il was ex lured and described
by Augel de Elliatane, and Jorge Cerun said
discoveries and description having been made
i'll pursuance ola royal order is,med for that
purpose, papers ftbat description being sill
eXtant; and il was confirmed that from those
remote periods, Spain was established as the
mistress and posseSsor OF ali that coast aud fer.
ritOry; and that she never permitted foreign
ers 10 enter the gulf OF Mexico, nor any of fbe
territories lying around il, having repeated the
royal orders toy which She then enforced the
roys and governors with the most Strict obsery
anCe oil the same.
The right and dominion OF tho crown If
SPAN o t'e northwest coast ofAmerca rs hi.h
up IA the Caliiornias, is not less certain aud
indisputable, the Spaniards having expIorsd ~
as tar as the iIth degree, in the expedition nm
der Jnan de fuca III 1892, aud in thatunder tl,e
admiral FOutc, 10 the 5jth degree. in 1910.
Tie dominion Of Spain in these vast regions
being thuS established, and her rights of disco.
very. conquest aud possession being never dis.
putcd, she could scarcely possess q prOpertv
founded or more respectable priuciuies, ,yhe
Their of law OF nations, ofpublic iaw. or any
Others which serve basis 10 such scauisi.
tiOns as all the independent kingdoms and rates
OF the earth consist of.
Con'nlng ourselves at present to the Mexi
ran Gulf, and To the Spanish provinces situated
To the westward OF Louisiana, VIC shall see i'm
what manner Spain extended her population
ana founded settlements IN different points of
the vast territory Of which she was the mis-
fV@9'"oN'8 q
world. Al the cOugtry EXTENDING from, the
Rio de los P"lnas to tic coniires Of pauuco.
~ latitude 81 degrees, was then Included mn
der the name of Florida, and crossed the Mis-
sissippi. FROM the time of the expedittous
undertaken TO explore it, in 1912 by .Juan
Ponce, in 1925 by Nasqucz de Ayllon, ia Jj.7
by PanillO de HaTVaez, and in 1888 bv fernando
&c Soto, the Spaniards were incessautlv en-.
gagged ia advancing ihcir discoveries and set
tlemeGiS IN this extensive country not oHly in
tie Tine OF l.Hs MOscOSo, ana Ot Pedro Me-
lendez, between the yeats 1852 and ISIS bnt |
they were constantly so ~ the time OF al their
successors. ~ tie time Of their first expeli
tons they landed IN the bays Of santa Rosa and |
Espintu SantO, or ST. Bernardo. surveyed the
Whole coast, aGd crossed the MissisSiopi. 49,
The! penetrated into the countries Of Hitrhi- |
qua. MOscosO, Umbdracnxi. Anrora. Ocali.
APaiache, hiidpaiia, Cola. Mobile. Chasauin.
IWSate, Uhanene, GnaChOJd. and OILERS,
when u would DO tedious TO euumerate The
same fernando de soto, after having in person
surveyed the coast ana interior Of tiir conn
tvs, crossed tie Mississippi, and penetrated
as iar as The Rio Negro, IN i542, died az Qua
Cho.a
no European nation had vet atfenufed TO |
dlsiHlb tire Spauiards ~ their Dnsse,s,ois iu |
tN' ntw world none had rrOd on any pOiui of
'hDse territories, aud tbe Splmiards continued
"Nichci0c their establishments. as ia. oulv
n'tnu which acquired the possession and the
property ot thai pau at the American conf
heut aud isiauds They gave rise 10 the new
nihg 90 ms OF Leon and SaniaBder. in the Year
t'vJ, ana 10 the province Of COhaauila fp !. 90
"ey lnuivieG tltit OF 'IcNss in iG5J, establish
ng nissions, htmiets, and posts. under the
'dmr ~ frtTdfos, srch as hose of Bahia dei
teluEiO, -. Ant0rIO, Espiritu Ssuto, 80. Juan
Naeogdoehss, Ayesss5 ard San Miguel ~ los |