Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-12-16


cape the penalty and preserve its life.
The existence of banks and the circulation o
bank paper are so Identical with the habits o
our people, that they cannot at this day be sud
denly abolished without much immediate injury
to the country. If we could con6ne them t.
their appropriate sphere, and prevent them from
administering to the spirit of wild and reckless
speculation by extravagant loans and losses, they
might be continued with advantage to the pub
lie.
But this, | say, after long and much reflection
if experience shall prove it to be impossible II
enjoy the facilities which wel-regulated banks
might afford, without at the same time suffering
the calamities which the excesses OF the banks
have hitherto inflicted upon the country, it woult
then be far the lesser evil to deprive them alto
gether of the power to issue paper currency
and confne them to the functions of banks OF de
posite and discount.
: Our relations with foreign governments are
upon the whole, in satisfactory condition.
The diplomatic difficulties which existed be
tween the government of the United States anC
that of Great Britain at the adjournment of las
Congress have been happily terminated by tht
appointment of British minister to this coun
try. who has been cordially received.
Whilst it is greatly to the interest, as l an
convinced it is the sincere desire, of the govern
ment and people of the two countries to be OF
terms of intimate friendship with each other, tha
been our misfortune almost always to have some
irritating if not dangerous, outstanding question
with Great Britain.
Since the origin of the government we have
been employed in negotiating treaties with tha
power. and afterwards in discussing their true
intent and meaning. In this respect, the con
vention of April 10, 1850, commonly called the
Clayton and Bulwer treaty, has been the mos
unfortunate of all; because the two governments
place directly opposite and contradictory con
structions upon its first and most Important ar
tiele, Whilst, in the United States, we believed
that this treaty would place both powers upon
an exact equality by the stipulation that neither
will ever 'occupy, or fortify, or coonlze, or as.
sumo or exercise any dominion over, any part
of Central America it is oontended by the BRIT
ish government that the true construction OF this
language has left them in the righttul possession
of all that portion of Central America which was
in their occupancy at the date of the treaty; in
fact, that the treaty is virtual recognition on
the part of the United States ofthe right of Great
Britain, either as owner or protector, to the
whole extensive coast of Central America, sweep.
ing round from the Rio Hondo to the port and
harbor of San Juan de Nicaragua, together with
the adjacent Bay Islands, except the compare.
lively small portion Of this between the sars,
toon and Cape Honduras. According to their
construction, the treaty does no more than simply
prohibit them from extending their possessions
in Central America beyond the present limits
1t is not too much to assert, that if in the Uni.
ted States the treaty had been considered suscep-
tible of such construction, it never would have
been negotiated under the authority of the Pres.
ident, nor would it haYe received the appVba.
tion of the Senate. The universal conyictlon,
the United States was, that when our govern
ment consented to violate its traditional anu
time honored policy, and to stipulate with for
eign government never to occupy or acquire ter
ritory in the Central American portion of our
own continent, the consideration for this sacri-
fee was that Great Britain should, in this res
pect at least, be placed in the same position with
ourselves Whilst we have no right to doubt
the sincerity of the British government in their
construction of the treaty, it is at the same time
my deliberate conviction that this construction
is in opposition both to its letter and its spirit.
Under the late administration negotiations
were instituted between the two governments
for the purpose, if possible, of removing these
difficulties and treaty having this laudable OBJ
ject in view was signed at London on the 18th
October, 1856; and was submitted by the Pres
ident to the Senate on the following 10th of De-
cember. Whether this treaty, either in its orig
inal or amended form, would have accomplished
the object intended without giving birth to new
and embarrassing complications between the
two governments, may perhaps be well question
ed. Certain it is, however, it was rendered much
less Objectionable by the different amendments
made to it by the Senate. The treaty, as amend
ed, was ratified by me on the 18th of March,
1857, and was transmitted to London for ratiti-
cation by the British government. That gov
ernment expressed its willingness to concur in
all the amendments made by the Senate with the
single exception of the clause relating to Ruatan
and the other islands in the Bay of Honduras.
The article in the original treaty, as submitted
to the Senate after recting that these islands and
their inhabitants, shaving been by convention
bearing date the 9th day of August, 1866, be-.
tween her Britannia Majesty and the republic OF
Honduras, constituted and declared free ter
ritory under the sovereignty of the said repuo-
lie of Honduras" stipulating that ''the two con-
tracing parties do hereby mutually engage to
recognise and respect in all future time the inde-
nendence and rights of the said free territory as
q part of the republic of Honduras"
Upon an examination of this convention be-
tween Great Britain and Honduras the 9th OF
August, 1856, it was found that, whilst declar-
ing the Bay Islands to be "a free territory under
the sovereignty of the republic of Honduras, 1t
deprived that republic ofrights without which its
could scarcely be said to exist, 1t di-
yided them from the remainder of Honduras,
and gave to their inhabitants a separate govern
ment of their own, with legislative, executive,
and judicial officers, elected bv themselves. 1t
deprived the government OF Honduras OF the TAX,
ing power in every form, and exempted the peo'
pie of the islands from the performance OF MILL
tary duty except for their own exclusive defence
1t also prohibited that republic from erecting
Notifications upon them for their protection
TINS leaving them open to invasion from any
quarter; and, finally, it provided that slavery
shall not any time hereafter be permitted to al
exist therein"
Had Honduras ratified this convention, she
would have ratified the establishment OF a State
Independent within her own limits
and State at all times subject to British intiu.
ence and control. Moreover, had the United
States ratified the treaty with Great Britain in
its original form, we should have been bound
"to recognise aud respect in all future time
these stipulations to the prejudice of Honduras
Being in direct opposition to the spirit and mean
ing Of the Clayton and Bulwer treaty as under
stood in the United States, the Senate rejected
the entire clause, and substituted in its stead q
simple recognition of the sovereign right of Hon.
duras to these islands in the following language
"The two contracting parties do hereby mutu-
ally engage to recognize and respect the islands
of Ruatan, Bonaco, Utia, Barbaretta, Helena
and Morat, situate in the Bay of Honduras, and
off the coast of the republic of Honduras, as un-
der the sovereignty and as part of the said re-
public of Honduras"
Great Britain rejected this amendment, as.
signing as the only reason, that the rati6cations
OF the convention of the 9th August, 1856, be-