The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1849-08-25
From the Philadelphia Ledger.
The Musanito Kingdom.

The British Consul at New York, has
issued, by order of his government, a no.
tfcation thoroughly characteristic of Eng
lish politics. "The New York and New
Orleans Navigation Company. ."have made
a contract with the State of Nicaragua, to
establish a communication between the
Atlantic and Pacific, which contract is
founded, in part, upon the exclusive right
ofthat State to navigate the River st. John,
and which binds the company to build
publc store at St. John, at or near the
mouth of the river. The British Consul
informs the company that the British gov
eminent is bound to protect the rights Of
the King of Musquito; that the boundary
line of Musquito touches this river thirty
miles below Lake Nicaragua, and that the
jurisdiction of Musquito covers the river
from this point to its mouth, and also the
port of St. John, called Grey Town by the
English; and that, the State of Nicaragua
has thus made grants in territory where it
has no jurisdiction.
Truly this is compendious, explicit, and
quite English! If the Federal govern
ment do not meet it in style quite Amer
ican, every American citizen will have oc-
casion to blush. The British government
is bound to. protect the territorial rights Of
the King of Mosquito. Bound by what!
By treaty, conceived and prosecuted in
the full spirit Of English fraud and rapacity
by which the King of Musquito separates
from the State of Nicaragua and the Re-
public of Central America, and places
himself under British protection! The
British inducement to this treaty, which
the Mosquito King, youthful savage of
18, signed after being made drunk for the
purpose, is-the cession Of his territory to
the British government! Thus the British,
through their usual machinery of fraud,
gain a footing upon the Gulf coast of
Nicaragua, for the purpose OF ultimately
stretching it to the Pacific coast. and mon
opolizing the best line of communication
between the Gulf and the Pacific! Ahem!
We shall soon know the course which
our government will pursue in this affair.
OF course the New York and New Orleans
Steam Navigation Company, thus officially
notified, will lose no time in notifying the
President ofthe United States. The COM
pany, having right, under International
law, to contract with foreign State, and
restrained from it by no law of the United
States, took for granted that the foreign
State of Nicaragua was competent, under
the same broad cover of information law,
TO contract with foreign subjects. And the
company contracted with the State accord
;nolv Now the British nation steps be-
tween them, and claims the territory GOV.
cred by the contract. This at once Will
raise the question by what right does BIZ
tain claim jurisdiction over any portion OF
Nicaragua! We take for granted that our
government will promptly take two
grounds; the first that no European nation
must be permitted to establish jurisdiction
over any portion of the North American
Continent; the ground which President
Monroe took and maintained between the
Spanish American States and the "Holy
Alliance" and which President Tyler rep
rehensibly abandoned on the Northeast
ern Boundary" and President Polk still
more reprehensibly abandoned in North
ern Oregon. The second is that the Mus
quito King, and Indian Chief in the State
of Nicaragua, had no power to treat with
foreign government to the injury of that
State, or of the Federal Republic Of Cen
tral America. A third ground might well
be taken; which is that, even if this Mus
quito King had power to contract indepen-
dently with foreign State, yet the alleged
contract being fraudulent, in being obtain
ed from boy made drunk by the other par
ty for the very purpose Of being swindled,
cannot be urged against the legitimate
rights of Nicaragua and the United States.
The Steam Navigation Company, hav-
ing notified the President Of this insolent
interference with their rights by the British
government will probably be instructed to
proceed with their contract, without the
slightest regard to the British notification.
And the Executive will probably direct all
American Consuls in Central America,
and especially Nicaragua, and to notify
all British or other foreign functionarles
and subjects in that State or that confede-
racy, to abstain, at their peril, from all mo-
lestation of the Steam Navigation Com
pany in the prosecution of their contract
with Nicaragua. Such American consu.
lar notification in Central America, would
be suitable Rowland for the Oliver OF the
British consular notification at New York.
And what then? Will the British govern
ment 60 to war with the U. States about
the Musquito country! Not at all. A war
with us would ruin them. We hope that
the present Federal administration will
now exhibit as much spirit as did Mr..
Madison in 1919.
The Boundary Question.