The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-12-11

Spain, in 1892, discovered and sailed through the
strait now bearing his name, from its southern to
It's northern extremity, and thence returned by the
same passage, no longer admits Unreasonable Doubt
| An account Of this voyage was published IN Lon
| don in 1925, IN work called the Pilgrims, by
Samuel Purchas This account was received froal
the lips Of Fuca himself at Venice, in April 1896
by Michael Lock, highly respectable English
merchant.
During long period, this voyage was deemed
fabulous, because subsequent navgators had in
attempted TO hnd these straits Finally, after they
had been found, 1t discovered that the descrip
tons Of de Fuca corresponded SO accurately with
their geography, and the facts presented by nature
upon the ground, that IL no longer possible 10
consider his narration as fabulous IL is true that
\ the opening Of the straits from the south lies be-
tween the 46th and 10Th parallels Of latitude, and
not between the 47th and 4sth parallels, as he had
supposed; but this mistake may be easily explained
| by the inaccnracy So common throughout the SIX
tenth century in ascertaning tho Latitude of places
in newly discovered countries.
IL is also true that de Fuca after passing through
these straits, supposed he had reached the Atlantic
and had discovered the passage SO long and SO aux
lously sought after between the two octaAs; bet
from the total ignorance and msapprehension which
prevailed at that early day OF the geography of tl
portion of North America, il was natural for HIM
to believe that he had made this important dss-
covery.
Justice has at length been done to his memory.
future time, bear his name. Thus, the merit Of thu
discovery of the straits of Fuca, belongs Spain;
and this nearly centuries before they had been
entered by Captain Berkeley, under the Austrian
flag. = $3.50
Il is unnecessary to detail the discoveries of the
Spaniards, they regularly advanced to the north
from their settlements on the western coasts OF
North America, until we reach the voyage of Capt.
Juan Perez, in l774. That navigator was commits
stoned by the viceroy of Mexico to proceed, ~
fh.
latitude; and from that poin, to examine the coast
down to Mexico. He sailed from San Bias on the
25th January, l7I4 In the performance of this
commission he landed first the northwest coast
of Queen Charotte's island, near the 9th degree OF
north latitude; and thence proceeded SOUTH along the
shore of that island and of the great islands OF Qua
dra and Vancouver and then along the coast OF the
continent, until he reached Monterey. He went on
shore and held intercourse with the natives at
al place; and especially at the entrance of bay IN
latitude 40 degrees, which he called Port San Los
renzo-the same now known by the name of Nootka
Sound. In addition to the journalist OF this voyage,
which render the fact incontestable, have the
high authority of Baron Humboldt in its favor. That
distinguished traveller, who had access to the manu-
script documents In the city of Mexico states that
"Perez, and his pilot Estevan Martinez, efl the port
Of San Bias the Gath January, IVA On the
9Th August they anchored (the first of all European
navlgators) IN Nootka road, which they called tho
port Of San Lorenzo, and which the illisirious
sound"
In the next year, (i775,) the viceroy of Mexico
again fitted out the Santiago, under the command OF
Bruno Heceta, with Perez, her former commander,
as ensign, and also schooner, called the Sonora,
| commanded by Juan Francisco DC Ia Bodega
Quadra. These vessels were commissioned 20 ex-
| anime the northwestern coast of America far as
the 65,h degree of latitude, and sailed in company
from San Bias on the 18th March, IT'S.
IL is unnecessary TO enumeratc the different places
On faACA Thar
company separately. Suffice it to say, that they
landed at many places the coast from the 4lst
10 the 57th degree of latitude, on all of which oc
| casons they took possession of the country IN
the name of their sovereign, according to pre-
scribed regulations; celebrating mass, reading decla-
ra,ions asserting the right Of Spain the territory
and erecting crosses with inscriptions, to commem
crate the event. Some of these were after
wards found standing by British navigaiors. In re-
| lahon to these voyages, Baron Humboldt says: "ln
the following year, Otis, after that of Perez u
second expedition set out from San Bias, under the
command of Heceta, Ayaa, and Quadra. tece,a
discovered the mouth of the Rio Columbia, called it
the Enrada dc Heceta, the peak Of San .!ncin'o,
Mount Edgecomb.) near Norfolk bay nd the hns
port of BucareE. possess two very ous small
| maps, engraved in 1888, in the city Of Mexico,
which give the bearings of the coast from the %
to the 56th degree Of latitude, they were d.sco.-
cred in the expedition Of Qnadra''
In the face of these nconcsable facts, the Brit.
|
also be considered the discoverer Of Nnotka Sound,
IN consequence Of tho want of authenticity III tho
alleged previous discovery of that port by Perez
And yet Cook did not sail from England until
the 18th July, l776-neary two years after Perez
had made this discovery. The chief object Of Cooks
voyage was the discovery Of northwest passage;
and he never landed at any point of the continent
south of Nootka Sound. 1t is true that in coastng
along the continent before he reached this place,
he had observed Cape Flattery; but he was entirely
n WI flc he
straits of Fuca. In his journal he admits that he
had heard some account of the Spanish voyages OF
l774 and IT'S before he left England; and it IS be-
yond question that, before his departure, accounts
of the voyage Of Quadra had been published, both
in Madrid and London. From Nootka Sound,
Cook did not again see land until he reached the
57th degree of north latitude.
In 1887, il is alleged by the British plenipoten-
tiary that Captain Berkeley, British subject, dis
| covered the straits of Fuca but these straits had
been discovered by Juan de Fuca nearly two CEN
turtles before Besides if there had been any merit
in this discovery Of Captain Berkeley, it would have
belonged to Austria, in whose service he was, and
under whose colors he sailed, and cannot be appro-
priated by Great Britain.
And here it is worthy of remark, that these dis
coveries OF Cook and Berkeley, in l77S and l7S7,
all those OH which the British plenipotentiary
relies, previous TO the date of the Nootka Sound
convention in October, 1880, to defeat the ancient
Spanish title TO the northwest coast of America
The undersigned will now take position which
cannot, in his opinion, be successfully assailed; and
this is that no discovery, exploration, settlement
made by Great Britain on the northwest coast of
America, after the date Of the Nootka Sound con-
vention, and before it terminated by the war OF
1885, can be invoked by that power in favor OF her
own title, against the title of Spain. Even ac-
cording to the British construction Of that convel-
ton, the sovereignty over the territory WIS to
main in allegiance during its continuance, well ia
regard TO Great Britain to Spain IL would,
therefore, have been open violation ofaith the
part of Great Britain, after having secured the privi-
eges conferred upon her by the convention to turn
round against her partner and perform any cali
culated to divest Spain fher ultimate sovereignty
any portion of the country. The papablc
meaning Of the convention was, that during its con-
tnuance the rights of the respective parties, what
they may have been, should remain just as they
had existed at its commencement.
The government of Great Britain is not Justly