Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1857-12-17

ue"'y uoes no more than simply prohibit
them ttom extending their possessions in
central America beyond their present limits
1t Is not too much to assert that if in the
United otates the treaty had been considered
susceptible OF such u construction ii never
would have been negotiated under the an.
thority of the President, nor would it have
received the appreciation of the Senate The
universal conviction in the United States
was, that when our government consented to
violate It's traditional and time-honoreI poll.
| cy, anu to stIpGate with foreign govern
ment never to occupy or acquire territory in
! tue central American portion Of our own
continent, the consideration for this sacrifice
was that Great Britain should in this respect
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 let
ter and its spirit.
Under the late administration, negotia-
tons were instituted between the two gov.
ernmeats for the purpose, if possible, of re-
moving these difficulties and u treaty having
this laudable Obj CT in view was signed at
London on the 18th October, 1856, and was
submitted by the President to the Senate on
the following 10th of December. Whether
this treaty, either in its original or amended
form, would have accomplished &c objectin-
tended without giving birth to new and en-
barrassing complications between the twe
governments, may perhaps be well question:
ed. Certain it is, however, it was rendered
much less ohjectional by the different
amendments made to it by the Senate. The
treaty as amended, was ratified by NE on the
18th March, 1857, and was transmitted to
London for ratification by the British govern.
ment. That government expressed its viii
iingness 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 recitInS that these Islands
and their inhabitants having been by
convention bearing date the 9th day of
August, 1856, between her Britlnnc Majesty
and the Republic of Hnduras," stipulated
that " the two contracting parties do horeby
mutually engage to recognize and respect,
in all future time, the independence and
rights of the said free territory. rs Il part of
the Republic of Honduras"
Upon an examination of this convention
between Great Britain and Honduras of the
9th August 1856, it was found that, whilst
declaring the Bay Islands to be " II free ter
ritory under the sovereignty of the republic
Of Honduras" il deprived that republic of
rights without which its sovereignty over
them could scarcely be said to exist. 1t di-
vided them from the remainder of Hondu-
ras, and gave TO their inhabitants Il separate
government Of their own, with legislative,
executive, and judicial officers, elected by
themselves. II deprived the government of
af IA tny in
and exempted the people Of the islands from
the performance of military duty except for
their own exclusive defence. Ii also prohlb-
tied that that republic from erecting fortiti.
cations upon them for their protection-thus
leaving them open to invasion from any quar-
ter and, finally, it provided . that slavery
shall not at any time hereafter be permitted
To exist therein
Had Honduras ratified this convention,
she would have ratified the establishment of
a State substantially independent within her
own limits, and q State ut all times subject
to British influence and control. Moreover,
had the United States ratified that treaty with
Great Britain In its original form, we should
have been bound to recognize and respect
iu all future time" these stipulations to the
prejudice Of Honduras. Being in direct Op
position to the spirit and meaning of the
Clayton aad Bulwer treaty as understood IN
the United States, the Senate rejected the
entire clause, and substituted in its stead a
| simple recognition of the sovereign right OF
Honduras to these islands in the following g
language: - The two contracting parties do
hereby mutually engage to recognize and
respect the islands of Ruatan, Bonaco, UtIla,
Barbaretta, Helena, and Morat, situate in
the Bay of Honduras, and of the coast OF
tha lia of q
ereignty and as part of the said republic of
Honduras"
Great Britain rejected this amendment,
assigning as the only reason, that the ratih>
cations of the 9th August, 1856, between
her and Honduras, had not been exchanged
owing to the hesitation of that government"
Had this been done, it is stated that "her
Majesty's government would have had little
difficulty in agreeing to the modification pro>
posed by the Senate, which then would have
had in effect the same Specification as the
original wording" Whether this would have
been the effect whether the mere circum>
stance of the exchange of the ratlheations OF
the British convention with Honduras prior
in point Of time to the ratification of our
treaty with Great Britain would, "in effect"
| have had . the same Specification as the ori>
ginal wording" and thus nullifed the amend
ment Of the Senate, may well be doubted
1t is, perhaps, fortunate that the question
has never arisen.
The British government, Immediately af-
ter rejecting the treaty as amended, propos-
ed to enter into q new treaty with the United
States, similar in all respects to the treaty
which they had just refused to ratify, if the
United States would consent to the Senate's
clear and unqualified recognition of the SOW
ereighty of Honduras over the Bay Islands
the following conditional stipulation When
ever and so soon as the republic of Hondu'
ras shall have concluded and ratified iaeaty
with Great Britain, by which Great Britain
shall haue ceded, and the republic OF Hon
duras shall have accepted, the said islands,
subject to the provisions and condition CON
tanned in such treaty"
This proposition was, of course rejected