The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-02-24


upon her flag not TO be borne, and the demanded o
Spain that reParation be made by placing things al
near as might be in the sidtu quo ante faetn, with
concession 10 Great Britain of right of fishery
OF trade with the natives-and Of settlements for
those purposes IN certain portions Of the northwest
coast What these portions were, it was designed
should be fixed and defined" by the convention OF
Nootka.
The h'lh article of the convention assigns the
limits within which the Joint rights were to be
csed IL says, "as well in the places that are TO be
restored TO the British subjects" mot the British
gopsrr'ntnD "by virtue of the first article as in all
other parts Of the northwestern coasts Of America
or of the islands ad accent situate TO the north of Tie
parts Of said coast ALREADY OCCUPIED ny SPAIN, where
ever the subjects of either of two the powers shall
have settlements since the month of April, 1889 or
shall hereafter make any," (of course north of that
Pont) "the subjects Of the other shall have free
cess, and shall carry on their trade without any
disturbance or molestation."
While, however this article limits the right to
territory north Of the parts ALREADY OCCUPIED By
SPAM," It enlarges IL there TO a right Of "iree &C
cess" 10 "earry their trade" TO oil the settlements
made by either power at any time thereafter, or
even before, provided they were made "since the
month Of April, l7S9." Settlements made to be
made AFTER that time were thus specially exempted
from the restrictions made upon British subjects by
the 4th article, which prohibited them from nayi.
gazing or hShng within ten sea leagues Of any Span
Sh settlement.
| II, then, we can ascertain what was the north
eTnmost part already occupied by Spain" at the date
Of the convention, (l790,) we shall thereby "fx and
define" the sOuthornmost boundary Of the British
right OF occupancy under its provisions. That this
point reached latitude at least as high as Nootka
sound, can hardly be questioned; il 1t 49, can be
most incontesably established, and by testimony
mainly derived from British sources. Thus John
Mearos, (the very person aggrieved by SPANS az
gresslons, and not likely % have been in humor
10 set down aught beyond the very truth IN her ex
tenuauon, represented in u memorial TO the British
Parliament that he had reached Noo,ka on a trad
ing voyage in l7SS; that he had there purchased
from Maquinna, the native chief, spot If ground
wherein he had built a house for his occasional
residence; that he afterwards proceeded to China
and in 1889 sent two vessels 10 the northwest coast;
that these had been seized IN the Of the Span
lsh king by Don Martinez, ieho had previously made
Spanish settlement there; that their crews had been
| sent usurpers to Spanish prison, and that The
flag Of Spain had been hoised the lands belonging
! 10 the memorlalist." What the word previously"
referS to-whether he meant that the settlement was
made previous TO Meares's arrival in 1885, or only
previous to he.seizure of the vcSsel-may possibly
admit Of some doubt; though certainly as it
point OF importance 10 show that his occupancy of
the "spot of ground" preceded SPANS settlement
1t is hardly conceivable that he would not have
plcilly said so had such been the fact. But il il
enough that that settlement was made previously
to the Nooka convention, and such "occu-
pied" by Spain at that time. This hardly he
denied, since II of the objects of the con-
ventIon to dires Spain of that portion of Nootka
which she OCCUPIED" after the expulsion Of Meares.
When the convention was laid before Parliament
1t received its Interpretation there. The Duke OF
Montrose moved the vote of thanks in the House
of Lords lie said 1--WE are not only restored To
Noodka, but we may participate in more northern
| settlement" In the House of Commons Mr.. Fox
said "Where admitted right of settlement on the
northwest coast commenced, was completely unde.
fined Ifa said al Nooka, did not kno,o tia.
-Nooikd irould be restored"
He here refers evidently to the contested interpre-
taton upon the LIST article Of the convention TO
the restoration being limited tn the "spot fground"
from which Meares expelled, 70 the niho.e of
Nootka; but II in plain that he had dosht az all
but that Great Brh xGiuded from all the ter
ritory TO the southcard Of Nootka; and yet it is
significant fact, though Mr. Pitt replied him, he
in no wise controversial The limitation Of rights
which Mr.. Fox had assigned under his readings of
the convention.
Well, indeed, did Mr.. Fox say, eve did not
kno,o that Nooka would be restored" for it was
never restored for years after the Spanish fort and
the Spanish flag and soldiery remained there as
they were before the conventions; and the highest
British authority attests that the flag never
struck. The British captain, Vancouver-who was
sent gu, as the envoy to effect the restorauon-as
well as Belsham, in his History of Great Britain,
| abundanty attest this. Indeed Vanconver's jour
| nal presents with cut giving view of the
Spanish establishment at Friendly Cove, on Nootka
sound, from sketch taken on the spot by one of
Vancouver's party IN 1872 and 1t exhibits ten
| rooted buildings, &c.
| Well, Nootka sound lies entirely between the
parallels of ago and 500 of north latitude, and no
where touches the 49th degree. BY what au-
| thority, then, can Great Britain claim under The
Nootka convention, To have and exercise "rghts Of
occupancy" south of that parallel Certain it is that
Spain did not authorize sanction any such con-
strucon of its PROVISIONS but protested against 1t
from the first. When Vancouver applied to her
envoy (Don Quadra) at Nootka for the surrender Of
that place, he Indignantly refused to do so; and
Vancouver in his journal, reports him to have said
on the occasion, that "Nootka ought to be the last
or most northwardly Spanish settlement that there
the dividing line should be fixed; and that from
thence 10 the north'card should be freq for entrance
use, and commerce, to both parties, conformaby
with the 5th article Of the convcn ion"
Again: Vancouvcr's journal makes known that
in 1892, 1.-TWO years after the Nootka conventon,)
having obtained from Quadra copy OF the chart OF
the American Captain Gray of the Columbia, show
ing his courses in entering the Columbia river, he
despatched Lieutenant Broughton to explore that
river, and TO- take possession thereof Of its Tributaries
! and valleys in the name Of the British king; and
that he did so! Now there no provision OF
the convention which authorized either Of the par
ties to to make discoveries and plorntions ,cthn
the prescribed bounds oferory, and still less, 10 take
possession upon separate account. Such proceedings
were manfesty in doroga,ion of, and wholly repug-
nant to that convention. And hence one of two re-
suits is nevi,able-ether that, under British inter
probation at the time, the Nootka convention dad not
extend south the waters and valleys of the Co
umba or else that the act done was an open breach
of faith against that convention and It's provisions
The conduct of Vancouver and his lieutenant has
=, had the sanction of the British government, and
/ casts upon it the utmost discredit upon any Other
supposion than that the provisions of that conven
t ton did not extend southwark beyond the 49h par
f. ael. But even then, the affirmative pregnant with
d the new affirmative, that Great Britain, IN making
that convention admitted SPANS title south OF tina
T., parallel has scarcely less force than solemn stipu
d ia,on to that effect If SPANS title north of tina
l. parallel was good and meet for Great Britain's &C
C ceptance, and to hold under, how could she be JUS
tilted in treating a nudity title to territory soutl
of that line Of equal strength and validity, and dc
C rived from the very same source And how, in any
event. arc all these things to be reconced with tn
declarations of the British commissioners (Messrs
Husksson and Addington) to ours in 1876, that tn
&c right aod all the rights of Great Britain to the Orc
I, ron territory " WE'RE FIXED AND DEFINED BY TIL