The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-02-07


can construction is not the true one, then the
treaty is destitute of that mutually which is in
herent in all conventions, and avowed with pc
culiar earnestness and solemnity in this one.
The United States have not, either on the Mos
quito Coast or in any other part of Central Amer
lea, any colony, occupation, or dominion, OF any
form whatever. They stipulate that they will
never obtain or assume any such Great Britain
has all of these existing in the form of the Pro-
tectorate and that constitutes the obstacle to the
opening of the proposed ship canal, an object
desired by both parties. She agrees on her part
that she will not only not obtain or assume any new
colony, occupation, or dominion there, but she
will not hereafter maintain or exercise any such
that is now existing. AS she has heretofore
made use" of her Protectorate for the purpose
of maintaining and exercising such occupancy
and dominion, she agrees that she will make use
of that machinery for those purposes no longer.
But if the machinery is preserved at all, it must
constitute now, as heretofore, colony, an occu-
patton, a dominion and therefore the machinery
itself must cease. If the British construction is
right then Great Britain has conceded nothing
present and nothing future, while the United
States have conceded everything, equally present
and future, by excluding themselves henceforward
and forever from Central America.
One can scarcely maintain his gravity when
he finds Lord Clarendon, on the other hand, ar
guing that the British construction is based on
the principle of mutually. His sylogism is this:
Great Britain has colonies, occupations, and do
minions, in Central America the United States
have none. If Great Britain relinquish her colo
nies occupations, and dominions, she surrenders
advantages without receiving any equivalents.
But it is to be remembered that the United States
denied absolutely the British title to their colonies,
occupations, and dominions, in Central America
and, secondly, they had antagonistical rights to
establish colonies, occupations, and dominlons,
there by virtue of the contract and two treaties
extended to them by Nicaragua, whose title they
held to be paramount to that OF Great Britain
To avoid this conflict between themselves, the
parties agree to abandon Central America to the
States existing there, to whom it belongs.
Pressed by the American argument, Great
Britain comedies that the treaty limits and modi-
fies her Protectorate But she cannot stand on
that ground, because the treaty specifies no limit
ations or notifications; and the language which
confessedly works them out, equally works
complete discontinuance and abandonment of the
ProtectOrate herself
Lord Clarendon attempts to derive a contem-
poraneous exposition favorable to the British
construction from the conduct of Spain and the
United States previous to the treaty. Spain did
not indeed demonstrate against the ProtectOrate
during the last years of her power in America,
but she had abundant occupation in defending
them against her insurgent provinces. The United
tectorate before l849, although invited to do SO
by Central America and the States of Honduras,
Guatimala, and Nicaragua. But then they had
acquired title and no interest which would
authorize their intervention. When that title
and that interest were acquired, they promptly
and explicitly announced to Great Britain their
irreconcilable opposition to her maintenance of
the Protectorate.
have already given the Protest made by Mr..
Rives. | give now the language of Mr. Clayton,
as expressed by Mr.. Lawrence: ais Great Britain
eager willing that the question of her alleged
Protectorate should be tried at the bar of the
public opinion of the world? Does she believe
that she can obtain credit for having undertaken
it from conviction that the Mosquitoes were
competent to discharge the duties of sovereignty ;
or is she disposed to hazard the notoriety of the
fact that the visor of royalty which she would
fain place upon the pseudo monarch of that re-
giOn is too transparent to conceal the features of
the real sovereign Can Great Britain imagine
that the commercial nations of the world will
tacitly allow her, by means so invidious, to OBJ
tain substantial and exclusive control over the
right of way to the Pacific, by the port Of San
Juan and the river of that NAME or to wrest the
sovereignty over that region from the rightful
proprietor? In such pretensions, we trust that
the United States at least will never acquiesce"*
Lord Clarendon next resorts to a refinement of
criticism, quite extraordinary in such place
He refers to the stipulation by which the parties
agree to invite all Powers friendly to either of
them TO enter into stipulations, similar to those
contained in the treaty and argues that this
agreement would include the Central American
States, while, if they should accept the invita-
| ton and sign the treaty, they would thereby ac-
cording to the American construction, renounce
the territories in which they exist luz oct
cursory reading of the stipulation, with Its con-
| text shows that two classes OF States are col-
IsHslatfsd ed class, not those eHisung IN
enter into stipulations similar to the presented to
ty, and they are also invited to follow the examnl
of tho contracting parties and enter into especia
treaties with the second class, namely, the Cen
trail American States.
leave this controversy of words. and follow
ing the distinguished negotiators | rise TO III,
nelght OF the great argument. Mark, pray you
the manifest conflict of the British exnosit;or
| with itself
In his statement of the 18th of Septepbar
500, Lord Clarendon argues thus. If the treaty
nad been intended to act upon and terminate the
rrotectorate, 1T would have contained in sneci6c
terms remuneration, on the part of Great Brit
am, OF the possessions and ,,ghts which III to
the conclusion of the convention, she had claim
GU 10 MAINTAIN" Again, and on the same n.y.
PothesiS, ne writes, =" the treaty would then have
| imposed upon Great Britain the obligation to re-
nounce possessions and rights without any equiv
| aieht remuneration on the part of the United
| suites. Again, :" If the CONVENTION was intend
| eo 10 impose upon Great Britain an obligation to
Withdraw from portions Of territory occupied In it,
| theh the Government of the Central American
| states would, by the mere &C, of accession, sign
away their rights To the territories in which they
| were situated" Once more he writes, "tbe Brit
ish Government neither have the wish to extend
the t'as Of Their possessions or the sphere of their
| influence IN that quarter, nor would any British
interest be promoted by doing So But. the Brit
ism Government are not prepared to contract
| either the one or the other;
| You see at once that, in these branches of tbe
discussion the Protectorate is no unsubstantial
shadowy thing, but that, on the contrary il 10 a
political institution, having the elements Of nos
session. occupancy, and dominion
Listen now to his Lordship, while, with canal
| skill, ne plays upon a lower KEY In his state
ment OF May I'd, 1854, he writes II is nroner
that her Majesty's Government should Of once
state that her Majesty has nerer held ann Do,,e,.
s.o"s whdterer in the Mosquito country. But. AL
| Ihough "reat Britain held no possessions in the
'iosiui'o country, she undoubtedly exercised a
great ana extensive influence over il. as the nro
tecting ally of the Mosquito King" Again he
| writes, Mr. Buchanan confounds the two CON-
| oi'iohs OF sovereignty and protectorats and
uhder this error, treats the agreement not TO COL
onlze, or occupy, or fortify, nor assume nor eyer
| else DOMINION over, as agreement not TO pro-
tect' Mith respect to sovereignty, Great Britain
never claimed, and does not now claim or hold
any sovereignty oUr Mosquito" Here the British
frotectorate dissolves into faint and indistinct
shadow, and Mosquito Kingdom rises up be-
iore US as perfect In outline and majestic in pro-
portions as one of those graceful vet majestic
structures which delight us in the Arabian Nights
| Entertainments
take leave to say, that we treated not with a
mosquito hing and Mosquito Nation, but with
| her own Most Gracious Maiast,, al L. u.