Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-01-15

all other States may share In the honor and
ing contributed TO work Of such general mp
herein contemplated And the contracting
parties likewise agree that each shall into treaty.
with Of the Central American States a. thsy
deem advisable for the purpose Of eectuay carrying
the great design Of this conventions namely thDs Of
structng and maintaining the said canal ship commune
cation between the two oceans for the benefit Of mankind
equal terms to ALL and Of protecting the same.
ART VII The Governments Of the United States and Great
Britain having only desired in entering convex
ton accomplish particular object but also establish
general principle they hereby agree extend potee
on by treaty stpuatons to any other practicable
nicaton whether by canal railway, the isthmus
which connects North and South America and especially -
the nterocean communications should the prove 10
be practicable whether by canal railway which now
proposed TO DO established by the way Tehuantepsc or Pa
nama---9 Stat (U. 81 at Large, 995.
On the 18th of June, 1850 Sir Henry L. Buwer gave
notice to Mr. Clayton that he was instructed to insist in
ratyng the convention, on an explanatory declaration
that the engagements as to neutral territory did apply
to her Maestys settlement at Honduras and its depen
denotes On the 4th Of July, 1850 John M CLAYTON re-
Piled that the United States also understood that those
engagements did not apply British Honduras and it's
dependencies; and with these mutual explanations the
convention was ratified and the Publications were ex
changed
The British settlement at Honduras and its dependen-
cies consist OF the town of Belize the coast of the Ca
rbbean Sea- with tract Of almost barren and unnhabit-
ed country stretching inward containing about ffty
thousand square miles, and, is alleged of certain
islands lying near by in that sea- named Ruatan Bonaoca
Uha, Barbarat, Helena and Morat which territory and
islands are Marked in all British maps colonies Of
Great Britain.
On the 18th Of July 1852 the British authorities at the
Belize issued proclamation announcing that the Queen
had constituted those islands distinct colony by the
name of the Bay of Islands
On the 9th ofJanuary 1853 the President of the Uni
ted States sent to the Senate previous call
for information and that contained the notes be-
tween the late Secretary Of State and the late British
Minister declaring the construction of the convenoa
which have mentioned
The hon1able Senator from Michigan thereupon said
AIonln vfranv 1srau Ca
that while its face and understood by the Sc
nate the convention included British Honduras and its
dependencies it without the knowledge or consent
Of the Senate explained by the negoiators the raoa-
ton to exclude them and that thus in derogaion of ne
rights of the Senate the construction Of the treaty was
changed in vital pont that in this transaction the Ex
ecutve Department of Gen. Taylors administration had
committed great error, unprecedented in diplomacy
And he protested that neither the Senate nor himself in
approving understood the convention thus shown
to have been understood by the negoators in raying
it, and that if it had been understood by the Senate
would not have received single vote and in this pro-
test he included the honorable Senator from Alabama
MR. KING) who at the time Eas chairman of the Com
mtee Foreign Relations land he alleged that that
gentleman had told him that he had supposed until that
day that the project Of accepting the Queen of En2ands
qualification of the construction of the treaty had been
abandoned and that the convention stood without such
qualification on its original provisions.
The honorable Senator from Louisiana Mr.. Dowxs).
said that he thought the whole object of the convention
was to get the British Of Central America and that
was only on assurances given by Mr. Clayton himself
that this was the effect Of the convention that he and
others, SO far as he knew voted for it,
The honorable Senator from Ohio Mr.. CHASE quoted
from geographical work the following description Of
Central America and affirmed that he and the Senate
understood that all the region thus described included
in the convention, viz:
Central America the long and comparatively
gon between latitude deg and % deg north and longitude
rs deg and "a deg connecting the continents of North
and South America and comprising, besides the Central
american Confederation Yucatan parts Of Mexico and New
Granada, Poya the Mosquito coast and British Honduras
The honorable Senator from California Mr.. WELLER)
declared that he astonshed hear the Senator from
Louisiana say that he surprised ut any thing how
stupid that be done by the late Secretary OF
State Mr. Clayton, and that he Mr. WELLER) had never
known Mr. Clayton have any connexion with any public
affair in which he did not show himself excessively stu
pid, to say the least.
Mr. President shall endeavor to show that these
sures are groundless, and Internationally unjust.
First. Granting, but only for the sake of argument,
that the facts stated true shall show that the
ton unprecedented diplomacy. The 9th article of
the treaty Of Guadalupe Hidago signed by the nego
tators, struck out by the Senate and another
substituted in its stead The Congress Of Mexico refused
to ratfy it. because it had thus been changed they
said, in vital part The Secretary Of State Mr. Buchan
an by direction Of the President Mr. Polk without the
consent knowledge of the Senate signed and delivered
protocol, declaring that the suppression and substu
ton not understood by the United States to diminish
what had been stipulated before and hereupon the trca
ty ratified, and the ratfcations exchanged.
do say here that that transaction wrong that
whether wrong right, it justified Mr. Clayton. All do
say is that, if Mr. Caytons misconduct has been
such is alleged it is nevertheless unprecedented in
diplomacy.
Secondly shall attempt to show that the memories Of
the complaining Senator'S fault and that neither
the whole the chief object Of the convention not
they suppose they then understood get The BrsA
out Of Central Ameicd The preamble declares its object
to be to set forth and fix the views and intentions of the
two nations with reference to any Of communics
ton by ship-canal which may be constructed between
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by way of the river San
Juan de Nicaragua and either both the lakes Of Nj
csragua Managua." This preamble, together with
the quotations from the convention before made, show
that described by the Senator's unless to suppose
that the United States had really in view partial
row. and selfish object while they held out the other
contracting party and to the world that they had in view
different broad, comprehensive and benefcent one;
which of course Is not TO be admitted
Thirdly think the memories OF the honorable Sena-
tors at fault again. and that hy did NOT h~ approx
ing the contention understand include az Central AMER
ca, they hare described Central AMERICA The region
about the Isthmus which divides North and South Ame-
RIGA is but hinly settled by Europeans and their de-
scendants and therefore yet very mperfecty known
recurring confusion Of Names is apt TO happen in such
cases. The name Of Central America employed in the
convention has double sense geographical and
political one, and these are widely different America
is divided geographically into North America South Anne
RIGA, and Central America Central America, geograph
ss is that part Of this great continent which lies be-
tween and connects North America and South America
together The name is applied in this sense in the de-
scption quoted by the Senator from Ohio and geo
graphical Central Amecs does include not only Honda
States but also the departments Of Daren and Pansma
and Paraguay, in New Granada and the whole par1
Of six Of the States OF the United States OF Mexico
Other geogrsPhers apply the name stll more broadly,