The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1856-01-05
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.


President to make no communication Of n
public character to the Senate and House Of
REPRESENTATIVES until advised of the readi.
ness to receive it. | have deferred to this
usage until the close of the first month OF
the session, but my convictions of duty will
not permit Inc longer to postpone. the dis
charge Of the obligation cnioined upon the
President by the constitution Of giving to
Congress information upon the state OF the
Union, and recommending to their consider
ton such measures as he shall judge necess.
AIRY and cXpedicnt. ..
1t is matter OF congratuation that the
republic is tranquility advancing in career
of prosperity and peace.
Whilst relations of amity continue to cX-
list between the United States and all for.
eign powers, with some Of them grave ques.
tons are depending, which may require the
consideration Of Congress. OF such qucs.
tons, the most important is that which has
arson out of the negotiations with Great
Britain in reference to Central America
BY the convention concluded between the
two governments on the 10th Of April, 1850
both parties aycrcd that neither will ever
occupy, or iortify or colonize, or assume,
or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua,
Costa Rica, the Mosquito Coast, or any part
OF Central America. II was the undcrstan'
ding of the United States, in making this
treaty that all the present States, OF the
former republic of Central America, and the
entire territory Of each, would thcncc!orth
enjoy complete independence, and that both
contracting parties engaged equally, and to
the same extent for the present and for the
future, that if either Of them had any claim
of right in Central America, such claim. and
all occupation and authority under it, were
unreservedly relinQuished Icy the stipulta,
lions OF the convention, and that no domin.
ion was thereafter to be cxcrtcd or assumed
an any part OF Central America by Great
Britain or the United States This Govern.
ment consented to restrictions in regard to
region of country whern we had specific
and peculiar interests, only upon the con
yiction that the like restrictions were in the
same scnce obligatory on Great Britain
But for this understanding Of the force and
effect of the convention, it would never
have been concluded by us. So clear was
this understanding on the part of the United
States, that, in correspondence contempora-
neous with the ratification Of the cOnyen.
ton, it was distinctly expressed that TIE
not intended to apply TO the British estab.
lishmcnt at the Balizc. This qualification
is to be ascrbed to the fact that, in the
course of successive treaties with previous
soycrcigns Of the country, Great Britain had
obtained concession of the right to cut ma
hogany or dye woods at the Baiizc, but with
positive exclusion Of all domain or sovcr-
eighty and thus it confirms the natural
construction and understood import of the
treaty as to all the rest Of the region to
which the stipulation applied. 1t, however,
became apparent, at an early day after en-.
tering upon the discharge Of my present
functions, that Great Britain still continued
in the exercise of large authority in all that
part Of Central America commonly call
the Mosquito Coast, and covering tie IN.
tire length Of the State of Nicaragua and n
part Of Costa Rica; that she REGARDED the
Balize as her absolute d5ua!n. was gralu.
ally extending its limits ut The expense Of
the State of Honduras; and that She had
formally coloni.cd n considerable insular
group, known as the Bay Islands, and be-
longing of right to that State.
All these acts or pretcnsiors OF Great Bri.
tain being contrary to the rights Of the states
of Central America and to the manifest te.
nor Ct her stipulations with the United States
as understood by this government, have been
made the subject Of negotiations through the
American minister in London. transmit
herewith the instructions to him on the sub.
Ject, and the correspondence between him
and the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs,
by which you will perceive that the govern.
ments diiler widely and irreconcably as to
fha nuf a.; % /, ~.
effects on their respective relations to Central
America. Great Britain SO CONSTITUTES the
convention rs to maintain unchanged all her
previous prctensionS over the Mosquito coast,
and in different parts Of Central America.
These prctcnSions as to the Mosquito coast
are founded ON the assumption Of political
relations between Great Britain and the rem.
nant Of tribe of Indians on that coast, en-.
tered into at a time when the whole country
was a colonial possession of Spain. 1t can
not bc successfully controvcrtcd that, by the
public law of America, no possible act OF
such Indians or their predecessors could con.
fer on Great Britain any political rights.
Great Britain does not allcgc the assent of
Spain as the origin of her claims on the Mos.
quito coast. She has, on the contrary, BY
repeated and successive treaties, renowned
and relinqushcd all prctensions of her own,
and recognized the full and sovereign right
of Spain in the most unrquiyocal terms vet
these pretenSions, without solid foundation
in the beginning, and thus repeatedly abjur.
ell, were alta recent period renewed by Great
Britain against the Central American States
the legitimate successors to the ancient ju-
risdistion of Spain in that region. They
were first applied only to Il defined part of
the coast OF Nicaragua; afterwards to the
whole OF the Atlantic coast; and lastly, TO a
part Of the coast OF Costa Rica and they are
nov rc-assertcd to this extent, notwithstand-
ing engagements to the United States. On
the eastern coast of Nicaragua and Costa Ri.
ca, the interference Of Great Britain, though
cXcrted at one time in the form Of military
occupation of the port Of San Juan del Norte
then in the peaceful possession OF the ap-
propriatc authorities in the Central American
states-is now presented byhcr as the right,
full exercise offs prOtectorship over the Mos
quito tribe of Indians. But the establish.
mcnt at the Balizc, now reaching far beyonu
its treaty, coming into the state of Honduras,
and that of the Bay Islands, appcrtaiuiug OF
right to the same state, are as distinctly a CO.
lonial government as that Of Jamaica or Ca
naua, ana therefore contrary 10 the letter as
well as the spirit of the convention with the
United States, as it was at the time of ratin.
cation and now is understood by this govern
ment. The Interpretation which the British
Government thus, in assertion and act, per.
sists in ascribing to the convention, entirely
changes its character. While it held US to
all our obligations, it, in a great measure, re-
leased Great Britain from those which con.
stituted the consideration Of this government
for entering into. the convention. 1t is i'm.
possible, in my Judgment for the United
States to acqucscc in such construction of
the respective relations of the two govern.
ments to Central Ameiica.--Toa call by this
Government upon Great Britain to abide by
and carry into effect the stpu'ations of the
convention according to its obvious import,
by withdrawing from the position Of coloni.
zing portions OF the Central American States
of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rca, the
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