The true Democrat., 1856-03-11
From the Washington Union Feb F The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty.

| It IS presumed that all those who have attcn- lively peruSed the correspondence between our minister 10 Great Britain and the British se- cretary ot foreign affairs, lately communicated to Congress by the President, will be convn- ced, by the arguments and authorities adduced by the former of the following facts
 | l. That the British government never had any right either by discovery, occupation, conquest, or cession, to any portion of Central America
 2. That, if it ever possessed any such right, 1t was completely relinquishcd in two separate treaties with Spain-one in 1783, the other in l|o6-ln language so clear and comprehensive as not be mistaken . 3. That the sole privilege reserved to Great Britain by these treaties was that of cutting logwood in portion of the bay of Honduras, reservng the full and entire sovereignty to the king of Spain.
 4, That this right of sovereignty has never been modified or eXtinguished by any subse- quent treaty with Spain, and that the States of Central America, having established their indc- pendence, and being recognized as independent by the United States, as we'll as all other christian powers, have, according to the law of nations, succeeded, to all the territorial rights of the mother country
 
 are established by quotations from treaties, by historical authorities, and by unanswerable de- ductions from notorious facts, we find Great Britain in possession of one of the finest ports i'll the bay of Honduras, with large tract of the adjacent country, the Bay of Islands, also atordlng excellent harbors, and claiming to exercise domlnlon under the mask of protec- ton, over e-third of the territory, always considered as part of the old vice-royaltv of Guatemala under the Spanish reginle and now as portion of the independent republic of Nicaragua.
 The question here presents itself how Great Britain acquired these possessions, and bv what right she continues to hold them. In dicussng these points with his usual clearness and ability Mir. Buchanan was necessarily governed by the rules of diplomatic courtesy, and restrained by policy as we'll as decOrum, to merely stating facts and drawing conclusions without animad- verting to the course of the British goyer ment in the rms we think 1t so justly merited. We propose to supply this deficiency by presenting a brief sketch of the rise and progress of these usurpatons, for such they are beyond doubt or contradiction.
 Her pretended right to the possession of the Belize (which, i'll the British maps, and of course their American copy st, Is called " Brit SL ltblNluI dS lS lOuiuCNt OH CbuCtSSiO OIiS rom Spain of the privilege of cutting logwood with in certain limits, by the traties of 1783 and 1186. Both these treates--to which Great Britain voluntarily became a party-ex pressly and emphaticaIly limit this privilege to that one single purpose, and reserve the territorial rights and sovereignty to the king of Span which are admitted as unquestiouable. Yet the British government taking advantage of the weakness of the State of Honduras which, when It became ndepcndeut succeeded to all the territorial ri 5hts of Spain in that quarter, has assumed and exercised the sovereignty over that very territory which was thus solemnly re- linquished. Nay, it has done more It has gradually extended, and still continues to ex- tend, these usurpations on the continent, and forcibly taken possession of group ol islands geographically appcrtaIning to the republic of Honduras and occupying a position which, n the hands of a leading maratime power, will enable it to command great portion of the commerce of the Carrbean sea as we'll as the Gulf of Mexico. All this was done without even the decency of prctext for such viola tions of the rights of independent States. | In another quarter she seized and held fOrci- ble possession of San Juan de Nicaragua, the only post of that State on the Atlantic and commanding the only outlet for a ship-canal across the continent, as is now almost univer- sally acknowledged. The plea in justification ot thls outrage Is certain point of honor which, 1t seems, obliges Great Britain to pro- tect the remnant of mongrel tribe consisting of few hundreds Cor, according to Lord Ca- renden, few thousands) of wandering saya- ges in the last stage of degradation and cor ruption. The origin of this point of honor which obliges Great Britain to assume the protectorate of the Mosquitoes, as they are cal led, Is somewhat curious and merits brief elucldation.
 Most of our readers are probably familiar with the name and exploits of "The old Buc- cancers of America "a band of pirates and outlaws, which though composed of many na- tiomS, generally sailed under the British flag, and had their headquarters in the island of Jamaica, then recently ceded by Spain to Great Britain. Though not recognized by Great Bri- tain, that government never took any steps to rclress or prevent their enormties and 1t can not be doubted that 1t winked at, if it did not encourage, these freebooters-we will Lot call them tillihusters, that name has been appro- prated by the London Times exclusively to the people of the United States
 These desperate ou.laws-among the most brave, enterprising, and blood thirsty on record in order to give some color to their nroads devastations, and massacres on what was then known as the Isthmus of Panama. assumed the protectorate of the Indians in that quarter. whom they called the true lords of the soil, and thuS under the mask since adopted by Great Britain, committed the most horrible outrages on the Spanish settlements To those who desire to have their blood chilled, and their hearts thrilled, by pictures of human ferocity and human suffering, we commend the perusal of "The History of the Buccaneers of Amer ica,'' which is still extant among the treasures of British literature
 These philanthropic freebooters, having thus assumed the protectorate of the Mosqutos, Gas a point of honor, 1t IS to be presumed) after Ipundering and burning the cities of Panama, New Grenada, and almost every town on the Spanish main, and massacreing all the Spaniards that fell in their way, at length gradually dis appeared, leaving nothing behing them but the record of their atrocities, and the point of honor of which my Lord Palmerston has, it seems become the residuary legatee. This is the sole foundation of the protectorate of the Mosquitos and we challenge his lordship to produce any other. Because a gang of outlaws, pirates, and freebooters, (never acknowledged however they may have been winked at by the British governmcn) in order to justify their outrages on the Spaniards, pretended to become the pro- tectors of the Indians, "the true lords of the soil," that government forsooth, is bound in honor to assume the same obligation. It comes forward as the representative of the ancient and honorable buccaneers; it has inherited all their rights, duties and obligations, not forget ting the point of honor, and is bound to sustain them at all hazards. This is the sole ground for the uujustfabe inroads committed on the territory of Nicaragua-a State with which Great Britain has never been at war, any more than with the neighboring republic of Hondu- ras, which she has in like manner despoiled of its possessions. The mere naked statement of such claim would seem sufficient to demon- strate its palpable absurdity, and preclude the necessity of all argument.
 Great Britain, then, at the time the Clayton Bulwer treaty was concluded had iu fact no legitimate right (unless forcible possession I [.