The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1853-02-01
SPEECH OF WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
n Vindication Of Cen Taylor's Administration
D.,i,.,oa;, ,haIT sona,. Lar IO Ie52.

ton was signed at washington Dy John W.
Clayton, then Secretary of State for the Uni
ted States and Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, then
Minister here for Great Britain.
On the llth of July, 1852, tho British au-
thorities at the Balize issued proclamation
announcing that the Queen had constituted
those islands a distinct colony by the name OF
the Bay of Islands.
On tho 7th of Jan, 1853, the President OF
tho United States sent to the Senate an an
swer to previous call for information, and
that answer contained the notes between the
late Secretary of State and the late British
Minister, declaring the construction of the Con-
vention which have mentioned.
The Honorable Senator from Michigan
iheieupon said, that paper Disclosed very ex-
traordinary fac L tc N it: that while on its face
and as was understood by the Senate the Con-
vcniion was understood by the Senate the
Convention included British Tiondbras and its
dependencies, it was without the knowledge or
consent of The Senate, explained by the nego-
tators at the ratification, to exclude them and
that thus, in derogation of the rights OF the
! Senate, tn" construct on of the treaty was
changed in vital point. That in this sransae-
| tion the Executive Department of General
| Taylors Administration, had committed great
error, unprecedented in diplomacy. Add he
protested that neither the Senate nor himself
i'm approving understood the Convention as i,
was thus shown TO have been understood by
the nego,iaiors in ratifyng it: aud that IL i
had been so understood by the Senate, il wo'd
not have received single vote; and in this pro-
test he included the Honorable Senator from
Alabama, MIR. King who at the time was Chair.
man of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and
ALLEGED that this gentleman had told him that
he had supposed until that day, that the pro
ject of accepting the Queen of Englands quail.
| ificaton of the constitution Of this Treaty had
! boen abandoned, and that the Convention stood
witheu. such qualification on its original pro-
| visions.
The Hon. Senator from Louisiana. (Mr.
Downs) said he thought the whole object OF
the Cunvtntion was to get the British out o
Central America, and thot it wos only on assu'
RANGES given by Mr.. Clayton himself that tbi:
was the effect of the Convention. that he and
others 30 far as he knew, voted for 1t.
The Hon. Senator from Ohio, (Mr. Chase.
quoted from geographical work the follow
ing description IF Central America, and affirm
cd that he and the Senate understood that all
the region thus described was included in the
| Convention, viz:
Central America is u long and compare
tivoly narrow regiou between ! titudc deg
% min. North, and longitude 7S deg. 94 min.
West, connecting tho Continents OF North
aud South America, and comprising, besides
the Central American Confederation, Yucatan
parts of Mexico and New Grenada, Poyais
The Mosquito Coast and British Honduras
The Hon. Senator from California, (Mr
Weller) declared that he was astonished To
hear the Senator from Louisiana say, that he
was surprised at anything, however stupid, that
might be done 10y the late Secretary of State
(Mr Clayton to have any connection with any
public affair, i'm which he did not show himself
| excessively stupid, TO say the least.
Mr.. President,-I shall enc eayor to show
that these censures are groundless, and unin'
tenti'nally untrue.
First. Granting but only for the sake OF ar
gumcni, that the facts stated are true, shall
show that The Transaction is NOT unprecedented
in diplomacy,
Tie IXth Article of the Treaty of Guada-
loupe Hidalgo, as signed by the negoiiators was
struck out by the Senate, and another was sub.
strtuted in its stead. The Congre S Of Mexico
refused to ratify it, because it had thus beer
changed as they said in a vital point. The
Secretary of State, (Mr. Buchanan,) by direc'
ton of the President (Mr. Polk,) without the
consent or knowledge of the Senate, signed
and delivered protocol, declaring that che
suppression and substitution was not under
stood to diminish what had been stipulated be
1
and the ratfications were exchanged. dc
not say here that the transo ctions was wrong
or hat, whether wrong or right, it justified Mr.
Clayton, All l do say is, that even If Mr.
Clayton's misconduct has been such as is alleg
ed. il is nevertheless not unprecedented IL
diplomacy.
Secondiy-I shall attempt TO show that The
memories Of the complaining Senators are a
| fault. and that neither the whole nor the chic
object was, as they now suppose they then un
dcrstood, 10 get he British out Of Central a
merica The Preamble declares its object t
be to ''set forth and fix the views and. inten
tons of the two nations with referencoto any
means Of CT cmmunication by ship-canal which
may be constructed between the Atlantic anC
Pacific oceans, and either or both the lakes oi
Nicaragua and Managua This preamble to
gcther with the quotations from the Conven
! iion before made. shows that the United States
nd !cally in view, a partial, narrow and selfsl
j6ct, while they held out to the other con
tracing party and to the world, that they hat
in view different, broad, comprehensive ant
benefcent one, which OF course, is not TO be
admitted.
ThirdIy-Tthnk the memories Of the Hon
| Senators are at fault again, and that they dic
not, tcten approving the ConUent,on, understand
il to include oH Central .4merica as they har,
| noic described Central .dmeric0. The regioi
about the Isthmus which divides North anc
South America, is but thinly settled by Euro
peans and their descendants, and therefore a
Yet very impcrfectly known to Europe and t
the United States, and there is an ever recur
ring confusion of names, as-is apt TO happeI
in such cases. The name Central America
employed in the Convention, has double sens'
ta-a geographical and political one; and thes
| ara y;dalv different America is divided geop
raphically into North America. South America
and Central America. Central America, geog
raphicolly, is that part of this great Continen
which lies between and connects North Ame:
ica and South America together. The nam
is applied in this sense in the description quo
ted by the Senator from Ohio, and So geogra
phical Central America does include not onl
Honduras and the British Coast, with the fiv
Central American Staths, but also the Depart
ments of Darien, and Panama, and Veragua i
New Greuada. and the whole or parts of six Q
| Il g