Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1857-12-08


Central American portion Of our own continent the con-
sderaton for this sacrifice vas that Great Britain should
in this respect at least bd 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 th same time my deliberate con-
vcton that this construction is in opposition both to its
letter and its spirit.
Under the late administration negotiations were 1nstl-
tuted between the two governments for the purpose,
possible of removing thSe difficulties and treaty hav-
ing this laudabe object view was signed at London on
the 18th October 1856 ind was submitted by the Presi
dent to the Senate on tie following 10th of December
Whether this treaty ether in its original or amended
form would have accomplished the object intended with
out giving birth to and embarrassing complications
between the two governments may perhaps be we'll ques
tiotel Certain it is however, it was rendered much
less Objectionable By tc different amendments made to
it by the Senate The treaty. attended, was ratified by
me on the 18th Mard 1857, and was transmitted to
London for ratifcationby the British government That
government expressed its willingness to concur in all the
amendments made the Senate with the single excep
ton of the clause relating to Ruatan and the other islands
in tho Bay of Honduras The article in the original
treaty as submitted to the Senate, after reclg that
these islands and thdr inhabitants having been by
convention bearing date the 9th day of August 1885,
between her Britannia Majesty and the republic OF Hon
duras constituted and declared free territory under the
sovereignty of the said epubc of Honduras, stipulated
that 'the two contracting parties do hereby mutually
engage to recognise and respect in all future time the IN
dopeu,,c and rights the said free territory as part
of the republic of Honduras !, ,,
Inon an examination of this convention between GreaI
Britain and Honduras the 9th August, 1885, it was
found that whilst declaring the Bay Islands to be "a free
territory under the sovereignty of the republic OF HON
duras it deprived that republic of rights without
its sovereignty them could scarcely be SAID 10 exst
1t divided them from the remainder OF Honduras ana
gave to their inhabtns separate government OF their
lu6icia
elected by themselves 1t deprived the government OF
Honduras Of the taxing power in every form, and ex-
eu,rted the people OF the islands from the performance
of military duty except for theft owl exclusive defence
1t also prohibited that republic from erecting forhca-
tons upon them for their protection leaving tnem
omen to invasion from any quarter and finally, it pro-
vided that slavery shall not at any time hereafter be
permitted to exist therein p"
Had Honduras ratified this convention she would nave
ratified the establishment of State substantially nde-
pendent within her limits, and State al all times
subject to British influence and control moreover, mao
the United States ratified the treaty vita Great tan In
its original FORM we should have been bound o recog
Mise and respect in all future time these spula3ons to
the prejudice of Honduras Being in direct opposition to
the spirit and meaning of the Clayton and Bulwer Teay
as understood in the United States the Senate rcected
the entire clause and substituted in its stead SIMPLE
recognition of the sovereign right of Honduras to ese
islands in the following language "Ihe two contracting
parties do hereby mutually engage to recognise and e
spect the islands of Rutan, Bonaeo Utlla Barpaleta
Helena and Morat situate in the Bay OF Honduras, af
off the coast of the republic of Honduras as under IN
sovereignty and as part of the said republic of Hondu
ras.'
Great Britain rejected this amendment assigning rs tn
only reason that the ratifcatons of the convention
the 9th August 1856, between her and Honduras, ha
not been exchanged, owing to the hesitation OF Una
government Had this been done. it is stated that me
Majesty government would have had little difficulty Il
agreeing to the modification proposed by the Senate
which then would have had in effect the same sgnhca
ton as the original wording Whether this would nav
been the effect whether the mere circumstance OF Tn
exchange of the notifications 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 signfcation as the original word
ing - and thus have nullifed the amendment OF tn
Senate may well be doubted 1t is, perhaps fortunat
that the question has never arisen
The British government Immediately after rejecting tn
treaty as amended proposed to enter into new treat
with the United States, similar in all respects to tn
treaty which they had just refused to ratify If the Uni
te States would consent to add to the Senate clear
unqualified recognition of the sovereignty OF HonduIa
over the Bay Islands the following conditional stpua
tion sWhenever and so soon as the republic of Hon
duras shall have concluded and ratified treaty witt
Great Britain by which Great Britain shall have ceded
and the republic of Honduras shall have accepted the
islands, subject to the provisions and conditions contained
in such treaty"
This proposition was, of course rejected After tn
Senate had refused to recognise the British convention
With Honduras of the 9th August, 1856, with full
knowledge of its contents it was impossible for me- ne
cessarilv ignorant of the provisions and conditions
which might be contained in future convention betweel
the same parties, to sanction them in advance
The fact is that when two nations ike Great brltai
and the United States mutually desirous as they are
and trust ever may be- of maintaining the most friend
K relations with each other have unfortunately concu
ded treaty which they understand in senses directly op
posite the wsest is to abrogate such treaty
mutual consent and to commence anew Had this DeeI
done promptly all difficulties in Central America Woule
most probably ere this have been adjusted to the stisfac
ton of both PARTIES The time spent in discussing the
meaning of the Clayton and Bulwer treaty would have
been devoted to this paseworhy purpose and the task
would have been the more easily accomplished because
the interest of the two countries in Central America
Identical being confined to securing safe tlansltS over al
the routes across the Isthmus.
Wbst entertainne these sentiments, / shall neverthe
less not refuse to contribute to any reasonable
of the Central American questions whlch not pac.
cally inconsistent with the American Interpretation OF tn
treaty Overures for this purpose have been recently
made by the British government IN 1nendly splrlV
which cordially reciprocate but whether this renewed
effort will result in success not yet prepared TO ex
press an opinion brief period will determine. -.
With France our ancient relations OF friendship st
continue to exist The French government nave III sew
era recent instances which need not be enumerated
evnced spirit of good will and kindness towards oui
country which 1 heartily reciprocate 1t is, notwlth
standing much to be regretted that two nations whose
productions are of such character as to invite the most
extensive exchanges and eest commercial intercourse
should continue to enforce ancient and obsolete restrc
tons of trade against each other Our commercial treaty
with France is in this respect exception from our trea
ties with all other commercial nations jealousy leyles
discriminating duties both tonnage and on articles
the growth produce manufacture of the one country
when arriving in vessels belonging to she other.
More than forty years ago, on the Sd March, lolo,
Congress passed act offering to all nations 10 aom'
their vessels laden with their national productions INTO
the ports of the United States upon the same terms WIN
our own vessels provided they would recprocate to us
similar advantages This act confined the reciprocity to
the productions of the respective foreign nations who
mghtenter into the proposed arrangement with the Uni
ted States. The act of May "a, 1928, removed this