Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-01-13

naces moi already occupied, LOT ine Fuip q
carving On their commerce win lhe ,i"'.' ~
the country. or Of making settlements 'ne'.' ne
whole s,hiect nevertheless 10 the rrslrlcli' =
o;s.a - ~ ,hree following articles" The mate
rial one NJ which is: sArticle 5. AS wen III nc
nlaces which are 10 be restored 10 the BRUSH SUI
ecls BY virtue OF The first article as III az -.
naris of the Northwestern coasts ol iNoi'h al. ~
rica or Of the islands adjacent, situate 10 ule
North Of the parts OF The said coast ALREADY "
MED BIZ Spain, wherever the subjects OF eilhe: =.
Inc TWO powers shall have made sciticlheh 81"
The month OF April 7a9 or slali hH FREE &C.
any. tie subjects OF The other shall nave ilse a..
cess and shall carry on their trade WITHOUT any
disturbance or molestallon ,,..;ob
J,mav he observed, as striking fact, whicn
must have an important bearing ssaihs. ~.
claim of Great Britain, that this ConVcnuon,
which was dictated by her 10 Spain, contains ~
provision implirins The ultimate soVeleiSn ras
which that power had asserted lor nearly ,n'I
centuries over the whole western sac u 49, ~;
America as far North as The olsl oeslee VI ."..
indie and which had never been seriously w.
,ioned nv any European nation. This rish' hau
heen maintained by Spain with the most visi'an'
,ealnusv ever since The discovery OF the Amer,
can continent and had been acquiesced ID oy di,
Enronssn Governments. Ii had been admh'ea
oren hsyond the latitude of 81 deg. 40 min. Norm,
| hy pnssia then The only power having claims
,.b;ch could come in collision with Spalh anu
that 100 under sovereign peculiarly tenacious ~,
of The territorial rights OF her empire: ms WIN
apnear from the letter OF Counl as reihd"
nez, the Spanish ambassador al fars. " 49, m.u.
! Montmorn the Secretary of The Foreign depart
menr of France, dated Paris, June 10Th, NV
From this letter. il seems that complaints had
bpen made BY Spain 10 the court OF Russia
aeans, Russian subjects Tor violating me spa
nish territory on the Northwest COAST OF hnlei..
"a South Of The 6lsi degree OF North latitude, Y"
! consequence of which, that court, without ue'dy'
assured Inc king OF Spain that il was extremely
sorry that The repeated orders issued 70 prevent
The subjects of Russia from violating, IN the
smallest degree the territory belonging ~ d"o-
| lher power, should have been disoncyeu.
This convention ofl790 recognizes no f,sn' ~
Great Britain, either present OF PiosPec''e'
nlan, peTmanenl colonies on The northwest coasl
nj America or 10 exercise such exclusive Juris-
d;c,ion over any portion Of il as is essential 10
sovereignty. Great Britain obtained from SPAN
all She Then deSirei-a mere engagement mat her
| snhiec,s should "not br disturbed or molested
ain landing on The coasts OF those seas IN places
mol already occupied, for The purpose OF carrying
IN ,bcir commerce with the natives OF Tue coln-
try. or Of making settlements there" Whatkind
OF 'setIemenls3' This is not spccitiedi ou sure
! ~ their character and duration are iiniied - lne
object which the contracting rlTlies had VI VIEW.
rbev mus! have been such only as were neces-
safv and proper "for the purpose OF carrying On
commerce with the natives oi The country. =
Were these settlements intended 10 expand into
colonies, 10 expel the natives, 10 deprive SPAN OF
her sovereign rights and 10 confer The exclusive
Jurisdiction over the whole territory ON Greal brl-
tain1 Surely, Spain never designed any snch
results; and il Great Britain has obtained these
concessions by the Nooiaa Sound convenli"n, II
has been by he most extraordinary CONSTRUCTION
ever imposed upon human language. bul ms
convention also STIMULATES tia, 10 these set
dement's which might be made by the one
party che subjects Of The other snail nave
tree access, and shall carry on their trace
without any disturbance OF moiesta'ioh'
What trade Certainly that with The ma
lives of The country" as prescribed in the
third article; and this, from the very nature oi
things could continue only whilst tie country
should remain in the possession oil ihe INDIANS.
On no other construction can this convention IS
cape fiom the absurdilies attributed 10 u "
British statesmen, when under discussion before
The House of Commons. "ln every place IN
which We might settle, (said Mir, afterwards Is Eal,
Grev.) access was left for the Span'aos; neie
We might foIm a settlement on one mr. ,ney
might erect a fort on anolheri anu d n'eic""i,
must run all the risks ef discovery, anu all
tho expenses OF an establishment, for property
which was liable 10 he the subject OF continual
dispute. and could never be placed upon peTma-
nent footing"
Mos, certainly This treaty was, in lis very ma
ture temporary; and The rights OF Great Britain
under il werd never intended 10 "be placed on
permanent footing" II was 10 endure no longer
Than the existence Of those peculiar causes which
called il into being. Scch treaty, creating br,-
lish and Spanish settlements :n,crm'HS'ed WIN
each other and dotted ever The whole surface OF
the territory, wherever British or Spanish me-
chant could find spot favorable Tor Trace "'sh
The Indians, never could have Teen in'endei
for permanent arrangement between civilized
nations.
But whatever may be the true construction oil
the Nooika Sound Convention, II mas, III the OPT
Mon OF the undersigned, long since ceased 10
exist.
The general rule OF national law is, that war
terminates all suhsstins Treaties between me sc,
licerent pawers. Great Britain has maintained
This rnle TO lis utmost extent Lord balhuis', ~
negotiating with Mr. Adams in 1878, says, mat
Great Britain knows Of no exception 10 Inc RUE,
that all treaties are put an end TO by subsequent
war between the same parties" Perhaps The on
" exception in this rule-if such II may be
styled is tia, Of treaty recognizing certain
SOVEREIGN rights as belonging 10 nation, Which
had previously existed independently OF any lrea-
" engagement These rights which The treaty
did not create, but merely acknowledged, cannon
be DESTROYED by war between The parties Such
was the acknowledgment OF the fact BY Great
Britain, under the dehnitive treaty OF lIS3, tna'
the United States were Stree, sovereign ana mag
pendent" II will scarcely be conended, tnat the
Noolka Sound convention belongs 10 THIS class oi
treaties. I, is difficult TO imagine any case IN
which treaty containing mutual engagements
sill remaining unexeculed, would mol he anroSa-
ted bv war. The Noolka Sound Convention IS
strictly Of this character. The dec'araI,on OF
war, therefore, by Spain against Gfedt brha'h,
in October 1896, annulled its provisions ana
| freed the parties from its obligations inns Whole
treaty consisted of mutual express engagements
| to be performed by the contracting parties us
mos, important article, Qhe third, IN reference 10
4 line present discussion, does moi even grant IN a.
| frma,ve terms, the right TO The contracting par
| lies 10 trade with The Indians and 10 make settle
ments. Ii merely engages, in negative terms,
that The subjects of the contracting parties "sha II
no, be disturbed or molested" in The exercise OF
these treaty privileges. Surely this is not such
an eaermcnt as will continue to exist in ces-
pi,e of war between The parties. il is gone for
ever, unless i, has been revived in express terms
bv the treaty OF peace. or some o'het treaty De-
tween the parties. Such is the principle OF pab-
lie law, and the practice Of civilized nations.
revived7 This depends entirely upon The true
construction Of the additional articles 10 the trea-
~ Of Madrid, which were signed on the 2Sth OF
| August, 1914 and contain the only agreement
between The parties since the war OF l19o, io'
the renewal Of engagements existing previously
TO the latter dale The first of The additional arti
cles TO this, treaty provides as follows: III is
agreed that pending the negotiation oil new
treaty Of commerce, Great Britain shall be adj
mitttd 10 trade with Spain upon line same condi
tions as those which existed previously 10 l196
all the treaties Of commerce which at that period
subsisled between the two nations being hereby
ratified and confirmed
The first observation 10 be made upon this ar.
ticle is, that i, is confined in terms 10 The trade
with Spain, and does moi embrace her colonies oil
remote territories These had always been
closed against foreign powers. Spain had never
conceded The privilege Of trading with her colo
MES to any nation, except in The single instance
of the Asienlo, which was abrogaled in l74G
nor did any OF The treaties of commerce which
were in force between the two nations previous