The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1861-01-31
The eighth article of the treaty was as

from its source to the ocean, shall forever
remain free and open to the subjects of
Great Britain and the citizens of the United
States"
Great Britain had previously the same
stipulation with France, when France
possessed the whole right bank of the
Mississippi, and jurisdiction over one-half of
the rivera stipulation, the obligations
of which passed to Spain, which had sue
ceeded to the dominion. Great Britain in
ceding her sovereignty to the United
States, stipulated for continuance of the
same privilege from the United States.
The United States also succeeded to the
rights OF England, derived from the treaty
of 1853 with France, to which Spain had
succeeded.
Between 1888 and 1895 this subject was
much contested by Spain and caused great
excitement in the Western country. Spain
denied the right of navigation-and soon af-
ter the treaty made regulations for the col
lection of heavy duties on imports-all the
way down the Mississippi river; and, es-
tablishing military posts and appointing Of
icers with Instructions, collected the duties
by military force. This was in furtherance
of a scheme of Spanish policy, to create
dissatisfaction with the Federal Govern
ment in the Western States, and detach
them from the Federal Union, then under
the government of the old Confederation
The intrigues for that subject form, how
ever, different branch of the subject from
that which we are considering. The claim
of Spain was denied very strenuously by
the Government; but Spain was unyield-
ing, and the agitation continued to the year
1895, when the treaty of Madrid was con-
cluded, under Washington's administration,
between the United States and Spain.
That treaty contains two provisions in re-
spect to the navigation of the Mississippi.
The second clause Of the fourth article
provides:
"His Catholic Majesty has likewise
agreed that the navigation of the said river
(the Mississippi), in its whole breadth, from
its source to the ocean, shall be free only to
his subjects and the citizens of the United
States, unless he should extend this privil-
ege to the subjects of other powers by spe-
cial convention"
By the twenty-second article, the right of
deposit is regulated thus:
" His Catholic Majesty will Lermit the
citizens of the United States, for the space
of three years from this time, to deposit
their merchandises and effects in the port of
New Orleans, and to export them from
thence without paying any other duty than
to pay fair price for the hire of the
stores, and his Majesty promises either to
continue this permission, if he finds that
during that time it is not prejudicial to the
interests of Spain, or if he should not agree
to continue it thus, he will assign to
them, on another part of the Mississippi, an
equivalent establishment"
By this treaty, the free navigation of the
river was again specially confirmed by
Spain to the States which had previously
succeeded to it, by their treaty, from En-
gland, which rested on her previous treaties
with France, by which Spain was also
bound.
The Western people were comparatively
quiet while that right of deposit con tinued,
but at the expiration of the three years, it
was not renewed, nor was another place
designated, and a new excitement was
created, and expeditions projected IN the
Western States for the seizure of New Or
leans The right was restored by the Span
ish Government in 1899, restored again in
1901, suspended again in 1902, and restored
in 1903, when the subject was finally put at
rest by the conclusion Of the treaty by
which Louisiana was purchased by the
United States, and the whole of the Missis-
sippi river, from it's source to its mouth, in
cuded within the Territorial limits of the
United States.
The purchase of Louisiana was made
from France in 1903. But it had remained
in the possession of Spain up to within a
few days of the transfer from France to the
United States. The treaty of transfer from
France to Spain was negotiated in 1900
By the convention of that year-between
Napoleon, First Consul of the French Re-
public, and the King of Spain-France OBJ
tanned a retrocessiOn of the province of
Louisiana, to be delivered six months after
the execution of certain conditions therein
named, the principal of which was the
transfer of the Kingdom of Etruia (the
present Tuscany in Italy, TO the Duke of
Parma, son-in-law- of the present King
The estimated value of the Italian terrific
res was 100, ,OOOf, which is the nominal
value placed on the whole territory. But
the delivery was not actually made until
the Goth of November, 1902, after the
signing of the treaty of transfer from
France to the United States. The French
flag continued to fly until the goth of De-
cember, when the territory was formally
surrendered to Messrs Claiborne and Wilk-
inson, commissioners of the United States.
One foreign privilege only existed on the
Mississippi after this date, which was the
right of the British to free navigation, un-
der the treaty of 1863, to the obligation, of
which the United States succeeded, as sue
cessors of Spain and France, as we'll as by
the treaty of 1888 between the United States
and Great Britain. The same privilege was
especially confirmed and enlarged by the
treaty Of 1894, between Great Britain and
the United States. +-s
The war with Great Britain put an end
to that, and renewal was refused by the
American Commissioners who negotiated
the peace of 1915.
These are all the treaties which have reg
ulated the Mississippi navigation for hun
dred years. By all of them the navigation
has been declared free to all inhabitants on
its banks, and moreover, through all that
time, the doctrine of the Americans, as col
onies and as States, has been that the free
dom Of navigation as natural right, for
which treaty stipulations are only matters
of convenient legislation.
RDsUEsS"ESTR.RT .H-0TECE.