The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-02-18

Vancouver and Quadra, the Span ish commandsr'
Nooika, the former departed without receiving sDs
restitution of buildings or lands, and tho sabs9
was referred to their respective gosernffents T.
1896, Capt. Broughton arrived al Nootka. ,s5
found the place unoceupisd. (See his Voyage I'm"
coyery TO the north Pacific Ocean, page SOY N.
no where states that he was sent out with nsrus
tons TO adjust the difficulty. But he says he w..
informed by letters lefl with Maqunna, The Ind,'s
king, that "the Spaniards had delivered 90 A.
port Of Nootka, &c. 10 Lieutenant Pierce, Of m.
marines, agreeably 10 the moee OF restitution ~
tied between the two courts" But there IA !.
proof Of such restitution. The only authority ~
lied ON TO show such restitution, Is one rse,r,I,
produced by the London Times. | aliude 10 n,
Koch. lie says;
The execution Of the convention Of the ash oe,.A..
1890" THE HootkR eonventonl "experenesd dine,
ties which delayed II tn lTo5 They teFmnsts5a
a1a o. March Of that yer o. The re, .s ;! he
who exchanged declarations In the bay Of koOtls sa
which hs SPaHisA fort dssh0yss. hs spsniarss ~
baTksd and the Ensti flag planted Asrs IN ss ~,
SsssiSH."' ~
la opposition 10 this testimony Of a for,,,
writer, we have the assertion twice repeated of X.
British historian, Besham, that the Spanish aas
Nootka was never struck, and that the place ~,
virtually rehnquished by Great BIitain.t II any ~
titution was ever made, the evidence must {, \
the possession Of Great Britain. Why, then. h..
the "declaraIions' referred TO by DE Koch as h,,.
ing been exchanged, never been produced by h,
negouators Doubtless because, IL there ia A,
such evidence, IL must prove a conditional and =,
an absolute surrender--such a surrender as 81,
unwilling 10 shows surrender reseryng to Sosi,
her rights Of sovereignty. II there wssa rssnu.
lion, and she possesses the evidence Of IT, she pro-
ably secreles Il, she seereied the map Of a,
Northeastern territory, because IL would have b,,0
witness against Us. Such was tho practical ,r-
euion Of the first article Of the Nootka Sound COO
yention. One fact is undeniabls. Great Brian
never occupied Nootka. From 1876 to the prsssuI
day, no attempt has been made To reoecupy il B,
civilized men. Captain Bslchsr, British naval !!
feer, visited the place in 1887, while Masking yoy.
age round the world. In his narrative, page ia
vol. /. he says;
No yrsuge remains Of ths settlement noticed b, Va
eouysr could discern the site Of the spanish "a.
leTy hs slightest trace Of stones employed for bun1
The chiefs pointed out where thsr houses stood and A,
the potatoes grew but not rses remains Of Europs.
The third article, besides siipuaiing for an unmO.
Tested enjoyment OF the right Of navigating and ksA
ing in the Pacific and South and landing on Il,
coast, conceded IN express terms TO the subjects q
both nations the right TO form settlements in paes,
not already occupied; but this right was subIse q
the restrictions OF the three following ariel,, On,
Of which TO limit It's exercise TO the partl Of d.
coast, or the islands adjacent north Of the parts a.
ready occupied by Spain. IL had, by the isrms q
the compact, no application whatever to pars Of d,
coast, OF North America south Of the places oec.-
pied by Spain at the time the treaty WINS mad.
The important question arises, what was the mOs
northern point occupied by Spain in 1850 Tks
became a matter Of disagreement between the Spun
Ish and British authorities at very early day after
the Nootka Sound convention was formed Van
couver claimed not only the whole Of Nootka sound
but also Port Cox, south Of it; and he insisted, %
A -
spot on the Pacific coast Of America, occupied by
the Spuniards previous TO the month Of May, l1S
was the Presidio Of San Francisco, in latitude so
4S.n Now, il will be observed that an attempt Va,
made to give to the Nooika Sound convention
wholly unwarranted by its terms. Vancouver en-
deavored to fix the month Of April, 1859, as The
time when the question Of the most northern occu-
patton Of Spain was to be settled The lsngusss Of
the convention, in respect to the right of forming
settlements, s "north Of the parts Of the said coss
already occupied by Spain" fixing the time, accord
ing every just rule Of construction at the date Of
the treaty, the 25rh of October, 1890. This con
struction is strengthened by the fact that subsp
quent article comedies the right of forming tempora-
ry establishments on the coast Of South America
south Of parts ALREADY occupied" by Spain, and re-
ferring indispuably to the date Of the treaty The
words "already occupied" are the same in both ar
tclcs and they must be considered as referring 70 he
same period Of time. .s.#
The question, then, recurs, what was the moa
northery point occupied by Spain in October, 1880,
at the conclusion Of the treaty, A.
Martinez, as has been seen, took possession Of
Nae,ka snlnd nm thu fha eis ns Nay, i7eo and in
mediately landed materials and cannon for building
and arming a fort on a small island, a, the e..
trance of Friendly Cove. In November he re.
turned to ST. Bias, and in the spring of 1880
Captain Elisa took his place. The permanent
establishment commenced the previous year was
vessels were sent out on exploring
expeditions; and during the negotiations between
Vancouver and Quadra in 1792, the Spaniards
were in possession of houses and cultivated lands
Vancouver again found them in possession in 1883
under Senior Fidalgo, and in 1894, under Senior
Saayadra, and the post WINS maintained withoutin-
tcrruptIon until 1851 BY turning to page 1885,
volume 2, of Vancouver's Journal, a view of the
Spanish establishment at Friendly Cove, on Nooh
sound, will be seen, from a sketch taken on the
spot by one of Vancouvers party, in September or
October, 1884, and it exhibits ten rooted buildings
with several enclosures Of cultivated land Il also
exhibits, totally distinct from these lands and build
ings, cove adjoining, and reference to it stating
that 1t includes 'the territories which, in Septem-
ber 1899, were offered by Spain to be coded TO
Great Britain" This was the site ofthe hut occu-
pied by Meares, and the Spanish commander 70.
fused to make formal and absolute surrender to
Great Britain of any other land. ~ u .,..
mus is esabllshed by proof not TO be mpeached,
that the Spaniards were in the occupation of post
Nootka sound in 1880, when the convention was ne.
gotiated and concluded; and | submit, therefore,
whether this must not be regarded as the southern
limit of the region, within which the right of form
ing settlements, recognised or conceded by the con-
vention, was to. be exercised This point was
strenuously and perseveringly insisted on BY
Quadra in his negotiation with Vancouver, and
with obvious justice. To use Vancouver's own
language, page 342, I'd volume of his Journo.
Quadra observed that eNootka ought to be the
last or most northwardly Spanish settlement that
there the dividing line should be fixed, and that
from thence to the northward should be free for en-
trance, use, and commerce to both parties, conform
ably with the fifth article of the convention that es
adjustments should not be formed without permission
of the respective courts and that the English should
not pass TO the south Of Fuca" Such was Qua
dra's construction of the treaty, and he unformlyrs-
fused to make any formal surrender Of territory or
buildings, excepting the small cove referred TO.
Nootka sound is midway between the 49th and
5Oth parallels of latitude; and south Of this point,
If Quadra's position was well taken, Great Britain
-ses Historic Abregee de Traitcs dc Paix &c. par ~
de kock contiue, Sc par f. Schoel; vol iy. d. l26