The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1849-10-18
From the Netc York Tribune.
nIOsauitO IL Co.

The Pattsburg Mercury writes at length
in response to our brief notice of its first
demonstration on the Mosquito question,
taking for granted that we proposed tc
bride somebody or other, because we said
the Mosquito pretensions of Great Britain
tended to impose on us necessity for SC
doing. Let US state, once for all, the views
we take Of the Mosquito difficulty, if diff
Guilty there shall prove to be. We hold,
then,
l. That, SO far as foreign powers are
concerned, there is no such nation as the
Mosquitoes, but only tribe of savages,
residing within the geographical limits Of
| the Central American State of Nicaragua.
just as the Seminoles reside within the
State of Florida. However perfect and
absolute their right to the lands held by
them, foreign powers have no right TO in.
| terfere between them and the State of Mic.
aragua, under whose sovereignty, accord
ing to public law recognised and acted OF
by Great Britain, they reside.
2. That the Mosquito Indians, even il
absolutely independent of Nicaragua ano
nation, have no authority over the Sar
Juan river, its navigation and improvement
their territory not extending to that river
3. That the copper-colored tool Of Grea
Britain in this business is not king of the
| Mosquitoes, but mere straw efigy Of &
monarch, set up by certain British specu
lators to subserve their own ends. The
| tribe does not know him as king, nor re,
cognise any king at all. He is not so much
King of Mosquito as Sam Jones or Billy
Bowlegs is King of Florida--not half Sc
much.
A.. That the only power having any
rightful control whatever over the river
San Juan is the State OF Nicaragua, which
has granted to company OF our citizens
charter, with full power to effect navi
gable water-communication between the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which they
are about to do, nobody having a color Of
right to interfere with them.
5. That the ship canal will be benefit
to all nations, and especially to the mos
commercial and manufacturing among
| them, Great Britain, which will do her,
| self great harm and incense other nation,
if she lends herself 10 the spectators whC
are playing off this King Mosquito farce
in order TO compel our San Juan company
to buy them off and get rid of the annoy
ance they have occasioned.
Such is the whole case, as we see 1t
and if the Mercury still thinks best to bast
our action on the cool assumption that ouI
country sis supreme arbiter on this cont
nenf," we must regret IFS intatuatlon, (a'
ii seems TO u.s. but cannot change oul
own course. We wish TO keep the con
troversy Of there is to be controversy,
on grounds which will insure US the sym.
pathies of the civilized world, which mus
be with US If we are contending for lib
erty to connect the two oceans, but vii
surely be against US if we struggle for ou
alleged right TO act as ''supreme arbiter'
in all dispute. affecting this continent
How much Mr.. Monroe meant by hi,
proclamation OF our resistance to the fu
ture colonization of America by Europe
ans, we need not determine, since nothing
of the sort is material to our case, no
could it be introduced without peril anC
damage thereto. That he did not NEAR
to claim for our country the position o
"supreme arbiter on this continent is L
us very evident.
If the Mercury sees in our derision o
the King Mosquito farce, or our mode o
resisting the distractions indirectly inter
posed by the British to our making shiJ
canal through Nicaragua, any "indifer
ences" to British aggression or royals
propagandism on this continent, we regre
our inability to speak intelligibly, but mus
90 on in our own way.