The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-01-28

as such vague report alluded TO by AN undistn =
guished navigator that one foot OF land IN that
Sound ever was surrendered by Spain TO England
A Captain Broughlon, In his voyage TO the Pact
hc," IN 1856, tells US, that in March 1885, he
made the harbor Of Noo,ka; and he adds:
II sent officer Into the for intelligence who re-
turned at boon and reported there were no vessels IN =.
| stooa TdS n0w oceuPfd BY az Indian rW0ss."-poyasf
He then goes on To say;
Maquinns the chief Of Nootka paid visit herei and
he and Cupanutch another chief brought several ls
tiers dated March $780, which inforned that Ca plain
for Englsnd and that the spanisrds had delivered up the
port Of Nooks no. to Lieutenant Pierce OF the Marines
courts letter from tho spanss oheer Bgader Alavs,
informed me OF their sailing IN March l795 from hence
Several letters" Captain Broughton says, from
whom we are not even Informed; and SoiOr AaVa
| mentions nothing Of the surrender, but only that
| the Spaniards had left the place.
A recent English historical work Of reputation,
with the name Of the Queen and most Of the nobility
on It's list OF subscribers, varies this story, thus
81" may be mentioned here that, in 1870, this territory
British navy snd received Che name OF King GeOrgas
sound "-sidoiPhas' RsisH q GsoTss Ill., col p Sos
Nothing about surrender, here. IL was for
maly taken possession Of and named very easy
thing for u Lieutenant Pierce, or any one else 10 do
| after the Spaniards had vacated the settlement.
Whence this Lieutenant Pierce Of the Marines"
spTang, all OF sudden, does not appear. Vaneou-
yer says not word, IN his voyage, OflesyiDg any
Que al Nootka And on the face of It, IL is thing
most unlikely, that England should entrust the ult-
mate settlement OF dispute that cost her millions,
and had baihed the diplomacy Of Vancouver, TO
simple Lieutenant of Marines.
But, further, conceding all these glsring i'm
probabilities, we neither know what amount OF land
restored, nor under what conditions or limita-
tons tho surrender is alleged TO have boen made
Nor could the simple surrender OF any buildings
and tracts Of land" there, alter the fact that Nootka
was, in October $780, "already occupied by Spain;"
nor the express stipulation Of the Convention, that
north OF that point Of occupation only, the
coast to be free for the settlement 10 both powers.
Yet even this is not the entire case Two histo-
rians-the only two have found whose works date
within a few years Of this uansaction-one a
French authority the other British--agree in deny
ing that there was any restitution whatever. Sc
CUR the Elder, French ambassador SUCCESSFULLY at
the courts Of St. Petersburgh, Berlin aud Vienna,
writing, IN 1901, political picture OF Europe from
1856 to 1885," says:
"Engand under the aimsy Preence OF retaining some
conaband ships taken by the spanaTds the west coast
Of North America, threatened to declare against
spain France. after q short hesitation, notwith
Standing the disorder finer finances determined to support
spain against the English And the cabinet Of London in
Inundated by this energetic and unexpected resolution
postponed its ambitious projects soHtsnisd d''y Vih The
.%SS a: Es s'' %st ss 4sS S.fs ;SVt%.S and
Ssgm'S RSsH Of Fred William, roL p. los and ILL
The motive may be incorrectly inferred; but to
the fact, we can hardly suppose It unknown TO one
Of the most noted dIpomatlsts Of the day.
The testimony Of The British historian Besham
writing in 1906 but years after the date of the
affair, Is still more distinct. In summing up the
history the Nootka affair, he says
so in.isnidcsn, va. the oess "a sss',,, tbs, no one
snrT ~ or oI SS' 81 r;" o. :, sppsa Sa
| really been made Ina thu me- ~ the treaty or
| not, II Is certain nsysTtb" go sufhsH'iC IHl
| ssgIsnt IN formation, that a hythE Of the fort
| and settlement OF Nooha GO, and that the
whole territory has beua 7-slhgaish-d By Great
Britain B,l;han' H,'L y A. 90 ''LsP Ssi-S
And again, in the appendix To the same volume,
after giving the Official documents connected with
| the dispute, he adds:
But though England the expense Of three millions
extortsd from the sPaniards promise Of restoration and
question restored by spain. the spanish
Moo SS S4 ssSnS S that mo .s
| the Californian oossL"-.9pPtadiI, Pp l04l.
| The Edinburgh Review of July last takes nearly
| the same view OF the facts It's words are:
Vancouver lett Nootka Sound in the possession of the
spanards and there is considerable doubt whether any
lands restored TO Meara whether there
any to restore All we know T. that IN ,ss all parties
| it has not been reoccupied '-Rerfeu, p 2o6, ao7
And, finally, corroborating evidence Of the
| strongest and most authentic kind, in proof, that
Nootta never surrendered to Great Britain by
Spain, and that Spain regarded her exclusive right
| south of Nootka as admitted, is TO be found in
very curious original Spanish manuscript, preserved
| in the Library of Congress, and entitled "Conf-
| dental Instructions for the Kingdom of New
| Spain," drawn up by Count GIgedo, former Vice
row. and addressed to his successor, the Marquis
| Branciforte, dated June 80, 1884
In these instructions, given, 1t ought to be borne
in mind, strictly as matter of confidential business
and not, by possibility, for the sake of effect, the
ex-viceroy says, in paragraph I'll:
Moreover will always be necessary that there be- in
one ports either in that of San francisco .or Blu
carey thai Of Nooha t'e in pursuance Of the The stand
ing agreement Nth The gorernment Of England vessels
attachments
| of the sovereign, &C.
| We can hardly have any thing more conclusive.
And equally to the point is portion of paragraph
7l3; in which, after giving it his opinion, that il
was advisable contract the Spanish limits far
as the straits of Fuca," Gigedo adds
"Your Excelency already knows how much the past dis.
sentons have cost, standing the good treatment
which gave the English prisoners and the compe
ordered to be made to them all their losses which
have, great degree, soomthed the difficulties Aroyal
dete minaton conformity with these principles has
have in consequence OF the death OF the former commits
coun Of the incidents which might supervene and the
cautions given the CouI to observe the conduct of the
| English Comm issioner"
Such are the facts Of the And they would
be equally conclusive OF our title, even if Gray had
never discovered the Columbia, and if Lewis and
| Clark had never explored it.
They are facts, too, pray you to observe, almost
exclusively derived from British authorities. 1t is
the who Is the sculptor, not the lion. And
YET adopting their own version Vi inc STORY, as
Stunning as now in force the document put
forth by England the sole authentic bill
of territorial rights on the Northwest coast,
and interpreting its provisions by the light
of the debates ensuing thereon IN her own
Parliament, | do not see how any candid man can
resist the conclusion, that England has no more
right to foot of soil south Of forty-nne and half
than has the Emperor Of Morocco; and that the on
ly portion Of territory in regard TO which she may
talk ofa compromising division at all, is the tract
from Nootka to the Russian Boundary; about FIVE
degrees of atituae of which tract the centre line is
about rrrrT-Two; leaving US, if we suppose that
compromise made, the whole of Vancouver's is
land and the coast beyond far north as the
southern point of Washington or Queen Charlotte's
| island.
| And now, let those who accuse our Government
Of graspng ambition and reckless contempt Of right
stand forth and answer me Has our Government
claimed more than its own las it offered no sac
rihces for the, sake Of peace' By the text of
| British claimed documents by the showing of Brit