New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-01-13
Sam Juan de Nicaragua.


San Juan de Nicaragua.
We have received from Mr.. {. II. Hal
sey, of Long Island, a more detailed ac-
count than we gave in our last of the treat
ment of American citizens at the port of
San Juan, by the British authorities at that
place. Mr.. Halsey seems anxious to make
as great a mountain out of molehill as
possible, but the substance of his statement
is that the Americans, coming down the
river in large numbers in the middle of
rainy night, were compelled to deliver up
their arms before they were permitted to
land. The Police stopped their landing
at all, but the Californians wouldn't be
stopped, so that they had to give it up, like
a Aoodwood militia captain when his
soldiers won't mind him. Such is the gist
of Mr.. Halsey's account, which he gar
nishes with observations that the British
officials at San Juan "subject Americans
to the control of negroes" &c.-as if it
would not be so under the rule of Nicaragua
as well. Color has little to do with COM
mand in that part of the world, contrary
to oar democratic usages. Mr.. Halsey
fails to inform us how he got away from
San Juan and how long he would probably
have staid there if there had been no Bril-
fish in that region.
The facts essential to an understand
ing of this matter are as follows:
The State of Nicaragua-that is, the in
habited territory so named-lies almost
wholly Westward of the Lake Nicaragua,
between it and the Pacific Ocean, though
it stretches some miles North of the Lake
The river San Juan drains the Lake, run
ming south-eastwardly into the Gulf of
Mexico, about $50 miles. North of the Riv-
er and East of the Mountains which APP
preach the Lake is the Mosquito Coast
so called, which Great Britain has long
ruled in the name of a succession of savage
Chiefs or pretended Chiefs whom she has
christened Kings of Mosquito. But neither
by the Nicaraguans nor the Mosquitoes and
their British masters has the valley of the
San Juan been peopled at any time within
the memory of man. 1t is a dense forest
or mass of luxuriant tropical vegetation,
filled with wild beasts but rarely penetra-
ted by man save in navigating the river
A small village (San Carlos) marks the
point of its departure from the Lake;
another collection of huts (San Juan de
Nicaragua, the British 'Greytown is
found at its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico,
and there may be half dozen huts, in
habited by negroes and demi-savages, at
two or three intermediate points where the
'piragua or 'bungo' navigation is inter-
rupted by rapids; all the rest is wilder
ness. San Juan (the port) belongs, we
say, to Nicaragua; but Great Britain
claims it as a part of Mosquito and has
held undisturbed possession Of it for
number Of years past, maintaining half
commercial, half military post there. In
her dispute with Nicaragua our Govern
ment has never meddled, but it became ne
cessary, in view of the strong probability
that a great Ship Canal connecting the
two Oceans would terminate at this port,
to provide that no interruption impeachment
or hazard to the enterprise should be en-
cOuntered at this point. This was one Of
the main objects Of the Nicaragua Ship
Canal Treaty negotiated last Summer by
Messrs. Clayton and Bulwer respectively,
and signed by Gen. Taylor among the last
acts OF his life. The first and most ma
terial section of that Treaty reads as fol-
lows:
ARTICLE The Governments OF the United States aud
Great Britain hereby declare that neither the the
other Will obtain maintain for itsef any eXcu-
sve control over The said ship canal agreeing thai neither
viii m1iR,ais any f0rScAiOns commanding
the IN the vicinity thereof accapy forfy
cclonize, exercise any dominica Ncara
qua COSTA kica the MusquiO coast OF Central
America VIII either make Of sny protection which
eahsr sfords may afford any alliance which either
has may have with any Stale people for the pur-
pose Of erecting maintaining such fOrhcAous Of
OcIttng, fuTuing, or c1sisiHg Nicaragua CcsIa Rca,
the Musquito coast part OF Central America or OF
assuming or es ercsng dominion the same will
the nised States Great BrGin take advantage Of
intimacy OF use any aSnce connection or ufaeace that
eher nav with State or Government through
whose territory the sad csna mag pass for he parpose Of
SECURING or no ding cecy Indirectly, toT the citizens
or subjects OF the Any rights ~ advantages In Tesad
10 commerce navigation through the SAID canal which
sa not be offered terms 70 the CITIZENS Or sub