Sacramento daily record-union., 1883-10-24
THE AEsEXATfoE OF THE FLORIDA
PARISHES TO LOUISIANA.

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THE ANsBXATloE OF THE FLORIDA
PARISHES TO LOUISIANA.
The doctrine that the Mississippi river
should be controlled by the United States
was part of the political religion of our an
cestors. There was always large party
ready to fight for it, and steadily resolved
to drive other nations off. No sooner. was
Louisiana ceded to the United States by
France than assertions began to be made
that Louisiana was a large place. The ex-
travagsnce of the demands based on the
cession seems ridiculous now. SO late as
December ., 1917, President Monroe, in
his annual message to Congress, said I:
"a similar establishment was made, at
an earlier period, by persons of the same
description, in the Gulf of Mexico, at a
place called Galveston, within the limits of
the United States, as we contend under
the cession of Louisiana" None of these
wild pretensions were admitted by Spain,
which power, however, contented herself
with maintaining the existing order of
things, and made no aggression while
awaiting the diplomatic solution. Che
alleged outrages above Natchitoehes, such
as the cutting down of the United States
flag at Caddo village and the arrest of
three United States citizens found in the
vicinity of Herrera's command, and ac
cused of observing the movements of the
troops, were not serious, and not too strin.
gent to observe the status quo.
That our ancestors were ready to fight
for Louisiana and the Floridas is indispu-
table, Their desire of the Floridas rested
on the same ground as their desire of Lou
isiana. When the cession of the latter had
been secured they were not unwilling to
stretch it's bounds. The great Thomas JEFF
ferson himself, on January IL, 1903, indi-
Gated the strength of this feeling by com.
mencing a message to the Senate as follows
"The cession of the Spanish province of
Louisiana to France, and perhaps of the
Floridas," etc. Some time in the next six
weeks the Hon. James a. Bayard, of Del
aware, and the Hon. Joseph 81. Nicholson,
of Maryland, committee of the House,
carried into the Senate bill passed
by the House entitled can Act
making further provision for the expenses
attending the intercourse between the
United States and foreign nations" and
delivered also a message concerning it, in
which they said "This bill has been
passed by us in order to enable the Presi-
dent of the United States to commence,
with more effect, negotiation with the
French and Spanish Governments relative
to the purchase of the island of New Or
leans and the provinces of East and West
Florida. The nature and importance of
the measures contemplated have induced
US to act upon the subject with closed
doors. You will, of consequence, consider
this communication as confidential" The
Senate, in executive session, passed the
bill on its third reading, February %,
1903.
1t will be seen that Congress did not
contemplate the purchase of the vast pro.
vince of Louisiana out of which seven
States and four Territories have been
erected, having above 900, 600 square miles
of area and almost 5000, 900 population.
The genius of Jefferson seized on the op-
portunity, but the preliminsries looked
toward rounding out of the dominion of
the nation toward the south rather than
westward. The purpose was not fully at
tanned till 1919, but the United States
never abadoned it, and would probably
have taken Florida by war if it had been
found impossible to obtain it by treaty.
This predetermination is indicated by
the fsct-for it is a fact-that Congress
annexed the Florida parishes to the State
of Louisiana six years, ten months and
eight days before their cession by Spain to
the United States. The Act of Congress
provided "That in case the Legislature of
the State of louisiana shall consent
thereto, all that tract of country compre-
hended within the following bounds, to
wit (: beginning at the junction of the
Iberville with the river Mississippi, thence
along the middle of the Iberville, the river
Amite, and of the lakes Maurepas and
Pontchartrain, to the eastern mouth of the
Pearl river, thence up the eastern branch
of Pearl river to the thirty-irst degree of
north latitude, thence along the said degree
of latitude to the river Mississippi, thence
down the said river to the place of begin
ming, shall become and form part of the
said State of Louisiana, and be subject to
the Constitution and laws thereof in the
came manner, and for all intents and pur-
poses, as if it had been included within the
original boundaries of the said State.
There is no doubt about that act. 1t
Spain would not cede Florida, our fathers
meant to fight. II that power had not
been troubled by almost simultaneous re.
bellions of her American colonies, she
would have grati6ed our people by giving
us something to fight. 1t is quite certain
that Congress would never have receded
and such war, if it had been begun, must
almost of necessity have resulted in the
conquest of East and West Florida, Texas,
New Mexico and Old Mexico, and the es-
tablishment mere than half a century ago
of that great confederation which the Mex.
ican Railroad Ring, headed by General
Grant, will complete after General Disz is
again elected President Of Mexico. IL Ex-
change.