The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1854-12-14


aided by the Mexican government itself
it having been deceived as to their req
object. The other, small in number, e
: luded the vigilance Of the magistrate a
San Francisco, and succeed in reachin!
, the Mexican territories; but the effectiv
! measures taken by this government com
!. pelled the abandonment Of the undeItak
ing.
The commission to establish the new
liue between the Uuited States and Mex
leo, according to the provisions of The
treaty of the Both of December last, hat
been organized, and the work is already
commenced.
i Our treaties With the Argentine Con
federation, and with the Republics of U
raguay and Paraguay, secure to Us the
free navigation of the river La Platte
and some ofits larger tributaries; but the
same success has not attended our efforts
to open the Amazon. The reasons in
fsvcr of the free use of that river had
occasion to present fully, in a former
message; and considering the cordial re-
lations which have long existed between
this government and Brazil, it may be
expected that pending negotiations will,
eventually, reach favorable result.
! Convenient means Of transit between
the several parts of country, are not
! only desirable for the objects Of CONNER
c;al and personal communication, but es
sential to its existence under one govern.
ment. Separated as are the Atlantic and
Pacific coasts of the United States BY
the whole breadth Of the continent, still
the inhabitants of each are closely bound
together by community of origin and in
stitutions. and by strong attachment to
! the Union. Hence the constant and in-
creasing intercourse, and vast inter
change of commercial productions, be-
tween these remote divisions of the Re
public. At the present. time, the most
practicable and only commOdious routes
for communication between them are by
the way of the I>thmus of Central Amer
lea. 1t is the duty Of the government to
secure these avenues against all danger
of interruption.
! In relation to Central America, per.
picking questions existed between the T.
nitcd States and Great Britain at the
! time of the cession of California These,
as we'll as questions which subsequently
arose concerning iDteroceanio communi-
cation across the Isthmus, were, as it was
supposed, adjusted by the treaty of April
10, 1850; but, unfortunately, they have
been reopened by serious miounderstand-
ing as to the import of some of its provis-
ions, readjustment of which is now un-
der consideration. Our minister at Lon
don made strenuous efforts to accomplish b
this desirable object, but has not yet
found it possible to bring the negotia-
tions to termination.
| As incidental to these questions, I deem
it proper to notice an occurance which
happened in Central America near the
close Of the last session of Congress. So
soon as the necessity was perceived Of
es ia blishing interoceanic communications
across the Isthmus, a company was organ
! lied, under authority of the State of Mic.
aragua but composed, for the mostPar t,
of citizens of the United States, for the
purpose of opening such transit way, by
the river San Juan and Lake Nicaragua,
which soon became an eligible and much
used route in the transportation of our
citizens and their property between the
Atlantic ard Pacific.
Meanwhile, and in anticipation Of the
completion and Importance of this transit
way, number of adVentGrers had taken
possession of the old Spanish port at the
mouth of the river San Juan, in open de-
fiance of the State or States of Central
America, upon their becoming independ
ent, had rightfully succeeded TO the local
sovereignty and jurisdiction of Spain
These adventurers undertook to change
the name of the place from San Juan del
Norte to Greytown. and though at first
pretending to act as the subjects OF the
fictitious sovereign of the Mosquito lndi.
ans, they are subsequently, repudiated the
control of any power whatever, assumed
to adopt a distinct political organization
and declared themselves an Independent
sovereign state.
If at the same time, faint hope was
entertained that they might become
stable and respectable community, that
hope soon vanished. They proceeded tc
assert unfounded claims to civil JurIsdlc'
ton over Punta Arenas, po5ltion Oh
the opposite side of the river San Juan
which was in possession, under title
wholly independent of them, of citizens
Of the United States, interested IN the
Nicaragua Transit Company, and which
was indispensably necessary to the pros
porous operation of that route across the
Isthmus. The Company resisted THEN
groundless claims; wherupon they pro
ceeded to destroy some of its buildings
and attempted violently to dispossess it
Alta later period they organized strong
force for the purpose of demolishing the
establishment at Punta Arenas, but this
mischievous design was defeated by the
iuterpositon of one of our ships OF war
at that time in the harbor of San Juan
Subsequently to this, in May last, body
of men from Greytown crossed over t1
Punta Arenas, arrogaling authority tt