Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1857-05-22
From the Journal of Commerce
The Bay I1lands,

no clauSe IN Inc DallaS-ClafenuOn IeaCy, as
amended by the u s. Senate, declaring the sovereign
~ OF the Republic of Honduras the Bay Islands
to De absolute, and free from all Limitations con
dtons, generally supposed to be that portion of the
treaty to which the British Government have taken
exception, and which has caused its final rejection.
1t was certainly understood in this country, and it
was apparently the general impression in England,
that by the treaty negotiated last August between
ord Clarendon Don Victor Herran, special Envoy
OF Honduras, the Queen of Great Britain renounced
all right real supposed, to he islands of Ruatan,
Bonacca, Utilla, Barbarat, Helene and Moxat,-
known as the Bay Tslands-and formally ceded them
to the Republic of Honduras, the government of that
Stale agreeing 10 respect the rights and posses
Slons OF the British settlers and giving them the op-
tion to become citizens of Honduras, or to Onnue
British subjects under British protection; and that
the only return equivalent to be made by Hondu-
ras, WIS right of transit from to ocean guar
aneed 10 Great Britain and the United States, and
Undertaking to make free port at each terminus
of the proposed road.
This arrangement of the Central American contro.
versy, 50 far the Bay Islands were concerned, was
considered very satisfactory both in this country and
in Eng and According to the strict right of the
question, in the American view of the case, there
treaty necessary to restore to Honduras the islands
which belonged to her of right; which she had al
ways claimed TO he part of The territory ceded to her
in 1921, when Spain abandoned all claim to that
country, and which she lad never lost CT ceded to
necessary for Great Britain to abandon territory
which she had improperly seized and illegally held,
and by the colonization of which, in 1852-two years
after The conclusion of the Clayton Bulwer Treaty
she had manfesty violated the letter and spirit of
thai Convention. If, however, the Government of
Great Britain thought il more cons tent with the ma
tional dignity 10 satisfy claims without and direct
concession to US, by separate negotiation with Hon
duras, so long the end was accomplished, and the
islands restored 10 their proper owner, had no OBJ
lection 10 make, and only rejoiced that 80 honorable
and satisfactory means of djustng the difficulty
had been devised. The London papers at the time
were of the opinion, and thought that {" the
relinq qusbment of worthless islands," the title
of which than doubtful cheap price
to pay for the settlement of tangled and embarrass
ing dispute.
The claim that the Bay Islands were especially
exempted from the application of the Clayton Bulwer
Treaty, as being the Is small islands in the neighbor
hood of the Belize and known It's dependencies"
to which it agreed that the provisions of the
Convention should notexend is obviously not tenable
from the fact that the most Southern pat of the
Belize is more than 100 miles distant from the most
Northern part of the Bay Islands, and all doubt on
the subject was removed by despatch written by
Sir George Grey, then Colonial Secretary, in 1885, 10
MIR. Ccxe, Agent of the Eastern coast of Central
America Commercial and Agricultural Company"
in which the boundaries of The Belize are clearly de-
fined, and which not only do not include the Bay
Islands any of them, but do not come within sixty
miles of them IN any direction. 1t being thus mani
fest that the Bay Islands do not form any par of the
dependencies" Of the Belize settlement,-a limited
right to which for certain specified purposes
granted to Great Britain by the crown of Spain in
1888, and subsequently confirmed in 1886, as they
were not specifically ceded by Spain at any time, and
as Honduras has never conveyed them and has al
protested against the British pretensons to their
possession, it not unreasonable that the Govern
men of the United States shoull consider the Royal
Of he 0f
the Bay Islands, violation of the Treaty of July f.
1850, by which the United States and Great Britain
agreed to occupy, fortfy, colonize, or
assume exercise any dominion over Nicaragua,
Costa Rca, or the Mosquito Coast, or any part Of
Central Amer1ca"
To give the nominal sovereignty of the islands 10
Honduras while Great Britain protecting
power over the colony and dictates the nature of the
institutions which Honduras is to establish, amounts
practically to no cession at ell, and is open to the
same objections on the part of this country as the
pretended British sovereignty by virtue OF Colonel
MacDonad's seizure of the islands. If it be admit
ted that Honduras is EMIT ed the possession of the
islands-that they and always have been geo.
graphically and politically attached to Honduras
what possible right Great Britain have to make
her abandonment the lawful owner of that 10 which
she never had any right the ground for interfering
with the internal affairs of independent State, and
Debating how the restored territory should be gov
erned At all events, how Great Britain ex
pect 1ha, the United States will join in the interfer
ence and participate in The dictaton ? If Honduras
thinks proper to exclude negro slavery from iiuatan
and the other islands on her coast, we have no dis
position to dsapprove her decision, and no right to
interfere and if, on the other Lanl, she thinks il
conducive 10 her interests to establish negro servtude
neither the United States nor Great Britain has any
power TO prevent her. without an unvarrantabe vic.
laton of her independence as sovereign State
If the alleged cause of the jectOn of the Treaty
hU British Governmental rove be correct,
may regret that the controversy between the two
countries is still unsettled and that four years have
been spent in fruitless negotiation bul Govern
ment are flee from all reproach being in any way
accountable for the failure. either from want OF good
faith and sincere anxiety 20 adjust TIE difficulty in
a manner satisfactory to all parties, from too
unyieiding adherence TO their views and 0pn-
ions.
ROAD TO CALIFoRNIA.-A letter from Washington
to- The South gives the following information =
Zone of the remarkable enterprises OF our da' is
The construction of q wagon road to the California
frontier and the departure OF several expeditions Is
at this moment regarded with no little interest,"
From such information have OF the several pro-
osed routes there is little doubt but that that known
as the southern one, and with Fort fuma as Its ter
minus, will be adopted as the mail route, although
from lis great DETECTION it must increase the distance
from Washington to San Francisco some three or
four hundred miles that of the emgrant trail by
the way of Salt Lake and TIN ough the South Pass-
The great and only objection, however, TO this lat
ter route is the SHOWS in the winter season: There
is almost natural road the entire distance, over
which the wagons and light carriages of the Cali.
fornia emigrans have already passed; and but for
the dread of the SHOWS, comparison could he IN
stituted between this and any other route. 1t mas
been estimated TO me that the distance by this route
from the Mississippi to San Francisco might be made
in twelve days BY mail and passenger coaches moving
at the rae of six miles an hour. Over great parl
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