Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1879-01-04
/ HE SENTIN Ell.
THE CLaIM OF THE FLORLD4 PAR
ISHES

rights aud intents OF the people
among whom most o: on" lie has
been spent with many of whom 1t
is our privilege and pride to inter-
change sentiments and opinions
once week the whole year round.
Even at the risk Of latiguing tn EN-
with repetition, we recur 10 it,
because We have some views and
ideas in the premises suggested by
a perusal of Mr.. Skipwith's COM
prehensive and exact epitome of
our early history, which if not tor~
chile, are, to some extent at least,
original. While We regret that
his communication to the W. 0
Democrat OF Sunday, DeccmSer LIST,
failed to appear in our last number,
owing to the abstraction from our
file of the only New Orleans Daily
Democrat containing the communi
cation. we are ccnsoled by the re-
Election that it has already obtain.
&C large circulation.
After carefully weighing the
basis laid down in tie claim by Mr..
Skipwith, we adopt the following
core uuions:
lst. That the United States had
not shadow of right or plausibili-
ty Cor the gauzy pretence that this
Territory was included in the Lou
isiana purchase. For the reason,
that the United States had claimed
the same territory by the cession of
Great Britain in the Treaty of Par
is of 1888, to which treaty the Uni>
ted States, Great Britain, France
and Spain were all parties con-
tracing, and the United States,
after urging her claim by :ctive
negotiations, had finally acquiesceG
in SPANS construction of the treas
ty Of Paris. and ratified SPANS
claim under that treaty to all her
Florida possessions South Of the
3lst parallel oflatitude, by sending
Commissioners to act with the Com
,nissioners of Spain to run the line
on that parallel which is just nine
miles north of Clinton. Having
recognized the territory South of
that line 20 the Manchac in 1895
as part Of SPANS Florida posses
sions, it equires an unlimited ex-
crciso Of faith, to believe that the
United States was serious in con-
tending that it was embraced in
the sale of Louisiana by Spain to
France at St. Ildefonso in 1900 and
in the sale of Louisiana fl om France
to the United States.
And for the further reason that
our title to the domain would be
irrefragible, even IL it had been
conveyed to the United States in
1903 by specified metes and bounds,
because up to 1910 Spain refused
to deliver it and because tie Uni
ted States became possessors by
our act alone in driving the Span
iards out of the province.
End. Our claim to the domain
rests upon the broad basis of con-
quest and years of peaceaole pos
session. The same character Of
conquest and the Same character
of possession by which Texas holds
her domain to this day undiminish-
ed by any absorbing act of Congress.
And furthermore we hold by
precisely the same title by which
Spain held it, she having acquired
it by driving the English out OF
Baton Rouge in ITO, and we by
driving the Spaniards out of Baton
Rou,o in 1910. If the title of
Spain was good, ours was equally
as good!
3rd. Because in Mr.. Madlson's
Proclamation of Oct., 81 tn, 1910,
after rendering to the West Flor
ida people refuge and asylum un>
der the protecting egis Of the I'M
ion, a full and solemn assurance is