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FOKEIG. PDLICYw-CUBA. 
 
 S P E E C H 
 
 HON. E. C. MARSHALL, OF CALIFORNIA, 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JANUARY 6, 1853, , 
 
 III the Commit tec of the Whole on the state of the Union, on the randticl of the present 
 .hiministraiion in regard to Cuba, and our Foreign j)olicij generally. 
 
 Mr. MARSHALL saul: 
 
 Mr. CH.MKMA^Wriiiul not wisKed or infpndpd to 
 
 rlaim the attention of the cominiltee to the remarks 
 1 propose to make to-day. I hud intended, and 
 still intend (unless tlie duty is discharged by some 
 one who can bring before the House the authority 
 of a greater name) to oftera resolution to this elTect: 
 That the Committee on Ways and Means be di- 
 rected to report a bill placing at the disposal of the 
 President of the United States the sum of five 
 or ten millions'of money in the Treasury, and not 
 otherwise appropriated, to meet any exigencies 
 which may arise before the meeting of the next 
 Congress in our foreign relations. [ wished to 
 have presented some such resolution in the House, 
 not only that it might give rise to discu.ssion of 
 matters of a jiractical and important bearing on the 
 interests of the country, but liiat such discussion ' 
 might be followed by some action on the part of 
 this House which would have significance before 
 the people. I had hoped, and still hope, that a 
 vote of the House, giving unequivocal expression 
 of opinion upon practical questions will be taken, 
 and I entertain the fullest confidence that that vote 
 will have the happiest effect at home and abroad. 
 The expression herein committee of abstract opin- 
 ions on questions which may never arise, and 
 ■which certainly will only arise in the remote future, 
 i.s no part of my purpose to-day. 
 
 There are nfl'.iirs now pending in regard to which ; 
 the action of the Executive, so far as any action ; 
 has been had, has been, as I think, and as I shall 
 endeavor to prove, j-uihous to the interests and \ 
 filial to the honor of the nation. Fortunately, our ' 
 foreign policy may yet be changed, or rather, a 
 foreign policy may be establi.sned consistently ' 
 with the faitli of treaties and all our obligations, ' 
 while the public interests are protected and the 
 national honor redeemed. The resolution which 
 I propose to introduce will announce to the incom- 
 ing Administration our perfect confidence in it, as 
 th<» popular vote in the late election has done on J 
 the part of the people themselves. It is ofl^ered not 
 as a war measure, but simply implies that a change 
 of policy is de.sired, and that the Executive will 
 havetjie support, the earnest and effectual support 
 of Corfgtess. A vote of confidence of this charac- 
 ter is not vithout precedent in our history; and it 
 is also established firmly in the Government from 
 which many of our usages and laws are derived. 
 I shall urge this measure upon the Democratic , 
 
 Ij party as a peace measure, and one which slrikes 
 il mc no the moot important ujion which we nhnll 
 have to act, in its effects upon our national char- 
 acter and national interests. The suiijeci of our 
 Il foreign relations has been introduced by gentlemen 
 in committee, and questions have been delated 
 I which, although not identical with tho.se which I 
 think render neces.sary the vote of confidence of 
 which I have spoken, are yet cognate questions; 
 I and as the points to which I attach the greatest 
 importance nave been almost neglected and doc- 
 trines inculcated of the worst inlluence upon the 
 State which I represent, in part, I have determined 
 to give my own views of those f|uestions at this 
 time, although I think the subject would have come 
 L up with more, propriety and eff'ect upon a re.solu- 
 I tion before the House. I shall call the attention 
 of the committee to the diplomacy of this Govern- 
 ' ment in the Island of Hayti and the Republic of 
 , Nicaragua, because there We have incurred the 
 deepest shame and sustained the greatest loss, and 
 ' because these evils are not without ea«y remedy; 
 and for the further reason that the State whicli I 
 represent in part ha.s a special and local interest in 
 the policy of the Government a.s regards tlie Gulf 
 of Mexico, its islands and shores. 
 
 It is true, as a general principle, that in a Con- 
 , federacy like ours, the more remote members are, 
 and ought to be, more jealous of the honor, and 
 ; more sen.«itive to every indication of weakness of 
 ;] the Union, than those nearer the political and geo- 
 graphical center. Civis sum .'liiuricamfi is uttered 
 with more pride on the shores of the Pacific than 
 the Potomac. 
 
 We lean upon the General Government for sup- 
 port; and nowhere within the ample boundaries 
 of the Union does there exist the same sentiment 
 of confiding de|jendence that we feel. At the 
 same time there are none of the States which have 
 fe^t with such poignant shame the sacrifice of honor 
 and principle, and the deep humiliation, brought 
 on us as a people by the present Administration. 
 
 We believe, we know, that there fs strength 
 enough in the Government, under a manly and 
 patriotic Administration, to jfrotect all its parts in 
 all their rights. The eagle's wing is strong cnotigh 
 to bear its flight over the continent, and its beak 
 and talons sharp enough to guard its charge, even 
 though the lion of England should array himself 
 against it in his acknowledge*] power. 
 
 The interest so universally felt in the subject of 
 

 inter-oceanic communication, and much of that felt 
 in regard to the islands and shores of the Gulf of 
 Mexico, has arisen since, and depends on the ac- 
 quisition of California. Commercial necessity 
 forces us to transmit, monthly, nearly three mil- 
 lions of specie through an independent republic, 
 and under the very guns of fortresses which have 
 only to hold us in the contempt we have merited 
 to become hostile; and the inestimable rights of 
 every kind of our citizens are exposed through 
 the same causes, and to the same dangers. 1 feel 
 obliged, therefore, even on occasions not pecu- 
 liarly appropriate, even when the effort will not be 
 productive of immediate action, to assert tlie doc- 
 trines I hold, and to expose the imbecility and 
 corruption, from which even now we are suffering. 
 The Island of Cuba, and the possibility and prob- 
 ability of its annexation to tlie Union, and the 
 policy of the Administration toward the Govern- 
 ment on which it is dependent, have produced 
 much debate. The danger of collision between 
 Spain and ourselves seems to me to have passed 
 for the present, and, right or wrong, the questions 
 between us are settled. I do not think that in 
 good faith the next Adrtiinistration con, or that it 
 •will, assert any claim or principle likely to renew 
 the late difficulties, or to change materially our 
 relations with Spain or Cuba. I cannot see that 
 any immediate necessity exists for a change in our 
 policy, or that any practical question is likely to 
 arise. Neither the next Administration, nor the 
 present generation, will be called on to act in re- 
 gard to it, and I am willing to leave it to the wis- 
 dom and courage and patriotism of those who 
 will, by the course of events, and in the fullness 
 of time, have to meet it. I cannot but allude to 
 one significant fact, of which I have seen no ex- 
 planation, which goes to prove that the Adminis- 
 tration is by no means confident of the propriety 
 of its course in the most exciting and threatening 
 of the Cuban difficulties. The American Consul 
 in Havana, who had pursued precisely the course 
 consistent with the expressed views and instruc- 
 tions of the Government, who carried out with a 
 tameness and cowardice, which should have made 
 him Secretary of State, the will of the Executive, 
 was by that very Executive dismissed with dis- 
 honor, and given over to the execrations of the 
 whole unanimous people, without oiie ward of ex- 
 planation or defense. ^ > . ]. '■, ;., , •'! / 
 
 The gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. Ven- 
 ABLF.,] who introduced this discussion, did notcon- 
 f.ne himself to an examination of the policy of the 
 Administration in respect to Cuba, but went on to 
 the assertion of general principles, which I was 
 surprised to hear from him, and in which I by no 
 means concur. That gentleman also indulged 
 liim.self in a general reprobation of the doctrines 
 of progress, and the plans of filibusters, and 
 seemed to intimate a belief that some political par- 
 ty, or section of a party, were desirous of lawless 
 conquest, and in favor of predatory incursions 
 upon neighboring Powers, especially if those Pow- 
 ers were weaker than ourselves. Now, sir, let me 
 say in behalf of Young America, and the pro- 
 gressives, with whose opinions I sympathize, that 
 we desire to do no one thing which is not consist- 
 ent with the sound principles of public law, and 
 the rights of all our neighbors. That we do not 
 desire war for conquest, or any purpose; that we 
 regard it as the greatest evil, except dishonor. 
 And further, that we advocate no measure of for- 
 eign policy which ought, or which we believe will, 
 lead to war. We contend for no new doctrine; 
 
 we merely insist upon the strict observance of 
 principles well established by authority, and ne- 
 cessary for our own peace and safety. I shall, in 
 another cnnnection, state the doctrines to which I 
 allude, while I now consider some of the leading 
 propositions of the gentleman, [iVlr. Venable,] 
 which I believe constitute a faith common to the 
 gentleman and the more conservative portion of 
 the Whig party. 
 
 If I understood the gentleman, he was opposed 
 to the annexation of Cuba at any time, and in any 
 way, on the ground that the Union could not with 
 safety embrace any additional territory. 1 will 
 also state what I believe is the real operative rea- 
 son of the objection of that gentleman. It is a 
 conviction, now nearly universal, that the progress 
 of slavery in American territory is arrested. That 
 in all future acquisitions, irom the operation of 
 many active causes, the institution of slavery will 
 not exist. It is clear that whatever' the reason as- 
 signed, the ground of opposition to the accjuisition 
 of a country so manifestly advantageous to the 
 South as Cuba would be, either as a free or slave 
 State, is jealousy of the North. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, the time is pn.st when the ques- 
 tion of slavery in any territory about to be ac- 
 quired, can produce the agitation and danger which 
 has arisen from it. The principle is settled by the 
 compromise, that the citizens of such territory, at 
 the time, shall determine for themselves this ques- 
 tion; and if the North should, by its greater ener- 
 gy and aptitude for emigration, acquire the popular 
 power, and the right under the rule so settled by 
 the compromise, to declare any territory seeking 
 admission into the Union, free, the South could 
 not, if it would, under the Constitution and laws, 
 and would not if it could, resist a measure benefi- 
 cial to the whole nation. The South should be 
 satisfied with the guarantees of the Constitution 
 and the laws, for their peculiar institution; and 
 even if it be receding, if the conditions of human 
 society, and the progress of free States militate 
 against it; if with the protection thrown round it 
 by the organic law of the land, it be yet in its own 
 nature temporary and evanescent, and about to 
 disappear before the democratic energies and the 
 laws of political economy, there is neither the 
 wisdom of a statesman, nor the generous patriot- 
 ism of a good citizen, m seeking to impede thead- 
 vance, and check the development of States where 
 no such institvuion obtains. 
 
 1 believe myself, and I speak only for myself, 
 that there will be no more slave territory annexed 
 to the United States. The history of the country, 
 and especially of California, establishes the fact, 
 and illustrates the principle which governs ths 
 .case. Look at California. If slavery could ever 
 ' progress, it would have obtained there. Slavery 
 IS only advantageous to the slaveholder in coun- 
 tries where the largest amount of labor can be be- 
 stowed on the smallest surface, and where it pays 
 the heaviest profit. Now, sir, since man first left 
 the Garden of Eden, there has been no place dis- 
 covered where these conditions. are so wonderfully 
 met, as in California — and yet I tell gentlemen that 
 there never was a time when slavery could have 
 been introduced there, nor is such a time coming. 
 We approved the compromise; but the chamcter 
 of our State was fixed without it. Labor was im- 
 posed as a curse, (and it is awful in my private 
 opinion,) and free citizens will not submit to have 
 it made dishonorable, as well as disagreeable, by 
 I slave competition. Free men will be the first em- 
 ' igrants, and they have, and will protect their ojis- 
 
locracy of labor from the action of organized capital, i 
 in the shape of slavery. j 
 
 But as regards the proposition now Ijejjiniiing 
 to be ursred in tlie most unexpected rpiHrter, tiiiit 
 any extension of territory i» dangerous to tlie 
 Uiiion, I shall say only a few woids. Tlie directly 
 opposite proposition would seem true upon its 
 mere statement — cirl'iinly cvcryndilition ot' terri- 
 tory, voluntarily connectiiii; itself with an cxiat- , 
 ing government, increases the physical loi-ce and [ 
 resources of every kind, at the dis^Ktsition of the 
 constituted authorities of the whole. 
 
 It is true that a pme democracy can only exist 
 within narrow territorial limits, and with a very 
 small population, for the oljvious reason that 
 where the people assemble and pass laws directly, 
 that ordy a very few can meet or act in concert. 
 Our own observation and experience proves that 
 such democracy should consist of fewer citizens 
 than compose this House, if prompt and eflicienl 
 legislation is the thitiir desired. Llut thaidifiiculty, 
 which is as old aa the formation of society, was 
 obviated by the system of responsible representa- 
 tivpsnf tlif peoplelhpniselves. Plie other objection, 
 that a le5;islature asseml)led from vast distances, 
 could not wisely provide for tlie local wants of re- 
 gions remote, and to the jjreat majority of its com- 
 ponent members, whoily unknown, has been met 
 only conclusively in the history of the world by 
 our own system, partly national and partly federal. 
 The establishment of the doctrine of State rights, 
 as a security for elHcicnt local le£jislation,nnd a Fed- 
 eral Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary, for the 
 arrangement of foreign relations and of domestic 
 affairs, throwing its guardian arm over all, is per- 
 fect in theory and in ]irnctice. it a[^pears to give ' 
 the only absolute security against the prevalence 
 of dangerous faction, by placing always, in the 
 hands of the National Government, the force of 
 more than half of the Confederacy; and against ; 
 foreign invasion it is a self-evident security — and 
 these internal factions and foreign wars exclude 
 flll the perils which can menace a nation. I con- 
 fess that 1 can see only one limit to the safe ex- 
 tension of territory, and that is in a distance 
 so great that the constituent citizens would be 
 unable to holtl the representative to the rigid re- 
 sponsibility which is the basis of the whole sys- ' 
 tern. 
 
 Such, a Government seems to me to grow stronger 
 with each accession of territory, and like a well- 
 constructed arch, to acquire greater firmness from ; 
 increased pressure and accumulated weight. But 
 suppose the worst did happen, from the annexa- 
 tion of Cuba, or any other jirovince — suppose the , 
 worst to have come — that the parts could no longer 
 hold toirether, hut must dissolve: what then? 
 1 say, still, that the experiment is worth frying, ' 
 and that good would result even from the tempo- 
 rary union. We would have introduced new ' 
 ideas: we would have taught the lesson of self- \ 
 government, of resistance to oppression, of free- ' 
 dom, of the equality of men in the eye of the law, ' 
 of the dignity of the individual, without which i 
 teachings, man had better not be. I 
 
 We would have made converts to the faith of , 
 human liberty, and given their true value to a na- 
 tion; and whether we continued to exist in one | 
 Union, or broke into fifty free republics, the world 
 would be improved by the tiiffusion of that know!- , 
 edge, which alone makes life toleralile. The great 
 Union so broken, would be like a fractured dia- 
 mond, less valuable certainly in its fragmentary 
 state, but still the same precious material, reflect- ' 
 
 ing from each brillimii part the light or American 
 civilization, intelligence, and liberty. 
 
 No one cnn have lt8H nympatliy tlinn myaelf 
 with the wild exceHHeH into whut; ducirincii lit>ernl, 
 but at the same time iiafc and prudent, have been 
 HometimeH curried. I would by no ineaiiii drfend 
 the vngaricH of Annilmr.-m Cloolt, or amh arcta 
 an he re[)reMen(e<l. I nunn to be never the ad- 
 vocate of wild uiul Nelforttrifjciug propngnndmni; 
 but 1 prefer it nuich, i^i iia worai form, to the ex- 
 treme of conRervatimu— that runiu-rvntiiim which 
 would, ill terror and HnM|iicion, withdraw from all 
 foreign inieicouiHeintoJai.niie^eHolitude; that con- 
 servatism which, in dreud of cntungling aliinn'-ea, 
 would refii.se to declare n prinnpU. .,f public law, 
 or in the maintenance of Ktri<t ncuiraliiy iirglrct lo 
 , defend il^ citizens, |diindtrid by bmh belligerenu; 
 that conservatism whi<h instrucis tiie rcrpreaent- 
 atives of a great llepublic to avoid in monarchical 
 courts the expression of the sentiment of the coun- 
 try they represent, or the inculcniion abroad of 
 the free principles which alone give value to gor- 
 ernment; that conservatism which has already made 
 our own diplomatic corps mere evidence.-) of the 
 power, mere trappings and circumBtanies to swell 
 the pomp and flatter the insolence of those j>oitn- 
 tates to whom their very presence shr)uld be a sol- 
 emn v.'arning; that conservatism which dnrea not 
 interpose in friendly mediation between its own 
 neighbors, without callim: in the crownetl heads 
 of Europe to destroy its Induence, and laugh at its 
 folly. Liberal opinions and bold policy niay run 
 into inconsiderate rashness; but ]>rudenlcon9ervn- 
 tism may also degenemte into Cfiwardly imbecility. 
 The notions of an hundred years past are not ne- 
 cessarily or generally suitable or safe at this date. 
 
 The conservatism of the present day is a mere 
 eddy in the rushing and resistless tide of human 
 development and progress. The position of our 
 continent, its mere geographical position, makes 
 impftssible the policy of conservatism. Placed be- 
 tween the civilization of the Orientals, which the 
 maturity of despotism has well-nigh destroyed, 
 and the nations of Europe still fresh and vigorous 
 even under the curse of monarchical and aristo- 
 cratic institutions, commercial necessity, like the 
 attraction of gravitation, forces contact with both. 
 Commerce must have its agents, must be protect- 
 ed. Representatives of the Government, with 
 political character higher than the mere consul, 
 and hedged round by the sacred jus po.^//tminii, in- 
 troduce the very atmosphere of the re(«ublic to the 
 court of the monarch — opinions are diflused, sym- 
 pathies are created, interests spring up, which 
 may be aflected by the terms of treaties to which 
 we are not parties; wars and jiacif^atjons, trans- 
 fers of territories by which our rights and privi- 
 leges may be sacrificed, so blendeJ become tlie 
 interests of commercial nations that an injury to 
 one is an injury to the other. The United States 
 must either adopt a Japanese seclusion, or she 
 will be forced into entangling alliances, and will 
 become the involuntary propagandist of the hide- 
 ous principle of republican liberty. Conservatism 
 is impossible: we must go backward or forward. 
 We must decline into worse than colonial feeble- 
 ness, or we must accomplish a mission of world- 
 widebeneficence. Fogyism itself would look hope- 
 fully forward from one of our California prom- 
 Oiitories, around which break, unchecked in their 
 wild play for six thousand miles, the giant waves 
 of the Pacific ocean. (Plenipotentiaries from Chin.i 
 otVering unrestricted intercourse) — Fogyism itself 
 wouW become a convert to progress, and fancy 
 
p 
 
 the very coiitinent a vast ship voyaging triiimph- 
 Riiily into tliat future, which opens bright but 
 boundless around humanity. 
 
 I have said, Mr. Chairman, tlint the subject to 
 which I should ask the attention of the comViiittee, 
 was of a practical character. In the investigation 
 of the policy of the Administration in the island 
 of Hayti, I shall attempt to prove th.at the doc- 
 trine of Mr. Monroe, and the principles of na- 
 tional law, and the dictate^ of humanity, and the 
 impulses of universal manhood, that all the settled 
 and necessary rules of conduct peculiar to the 
 United States, as between it and the Powers of 
 Eurojie, in the adjustment of the allairs of thia 
 continent, and the instruction and all-pervading 
 sense of dignity and personal con-sequence which 
 " regulates t!ie deportment of man to man, have 
 been openly and absurdly violated. That the 
 rights and 'interests of the United States, the 
 rights and interests of a sister Republic, have been 
 continually and wantonly sacrificed. These are 
 strong terms, but I shall endeavor to establish the 
 title of the Administration to yet stronger epi- 
 thets. And here, sir, in advance of the argu- 
 ment, and assuming, for a moment, what I pro- 
 pose to prove, I must express my astonishment 
 and mortification at the course of thecentral Dem- 
 ocratic journal, (The Union,) in regard to this 
 affair. This journal, which should be the organ 
 of the part)' — which should exert an immense in- 
 fluence in the formation of public opinion — which 
 should gather, with patient labor, correct informa- 
 tion for general diftusion; this paper v/hich should 
 be a vigilant sentinel over the doings of the Ad- 
 ministration, has selected this disgraceful negotia- 
 tion for its approbation. The Union has exhibited 
 the last degree of ignorance and thoughtlessness 
 in its article upon this subject, and has not only 
 failed to throw any light upon it, but has not even 
 reflected truly the conclusions or reasoning of 
 even the most careless observers of passing events. 
 We want beyond everything a party organ which 
 shall be conducted, not as a commercial specula- 
 tion, not solely or principally with a view to pecu- 
 niary advantage, but a periodical which shall be 
 the jealous guardian of the rights of the people 
 and the honor of the nation; which shall speak 
 with the boldness of conscious knowledge on all 
 subjects of public importance. U|)on this ques- 
 tion of Hayti, the Republic copies the article ©f 
 the Union as hdng perfectly in accordance xcitli the 
 rieics of the Mministration. Did not the Union 
 know, had its editor never heard, that the Demo- 
 cratic party, so far as it had expressed, by the 
 press or otherwise, its opinions on this point, had 
 visited, with the deepest reprobation, the course of 
 the Administration .' — but the article itself contains 
 (what every one in the country knows, and noth-' 
 ing more) enough to convict itself of absurdity, 
 and the Executive of weakness and disregard of 
 one of the fundamental principles of American 
 policy. It says: 
 
 "In (;ener;il, the foreign policy of Prcfiilent Fillmore's 
 adniiiiislralion liax not been in accordance with our notion 
 of wlKit the foreisn pulley of this country shoulil be, and we 
 havr li-iii constraiiiiil in some instances to express an ein- 
 jiliatii- (li-a|)()ro!)alJi>ii hI' rii!;otiations wliioli seeirted to us 
 to eoni|ir(>inisc the diiinity and to surrender therishts of the 
 United States. For this reason, any instances of an ener- 
 getic or wise administration of the foreiijn alfairs of the 
 country by an Kxecutivc whose (jenerai policy we have been 
 constrained to condemn, will the mori' readily enniniand 
 our warmest commendation. Snch an iiislance of wise 
 diploniaey do we regard the efl'orls of this (lovcriunent, in 
 conjunction with Great liritain and France, to arrest the 
 eani;uiriary design* of the negro Emperor ol llaytijigainst 
 the republic of Uoiuituca. ^ 
 
 " By some means, publicity has been piven to the corre- 
 spondence between the State Department and Mr. Robert 
 M. Walsh, its aaent in the negotiation for the |incififation 
 of Hayti. In the various papers which eonsiitutc this cor- 
 respondence, the motives and purposes of tiie Administra- 
 tion in proflerini; its yood offices in behalf of the Dominican 
 republic, are frankly and clearly set forth. 
 
 " fn 1821, the Spanish portion of the Island of St Do- 
 mingo voluntarily subjected itself to the government of 
 Hayti, then presided over by Boyer. On the expi!l>ioti of 
 Hoyer, and on account of the wrongs and grievances which 
 they had emlured, with a repetition of which they were 
 menaced, the Dominicans threw oflthe subjection of negro 
 government and established an independent republic. To 
 this step the .Spanish inhabitants of St. Domingo were driven 
 by the necessity of self-preservation. Not only were their 
 political rights and their liberty invad('<l and trampled upon 
 by the black barbarians of Hayti, but the doom of indis- 
 criminate slaughter and extermination was incessantly held 
 before them in the threats of the Macaya and Dcssalines. 
 
 " By the inost im[ierious necessity, then, were the Do- 
 minicans impelled to set up an independent government. 
 Nevertheless, their act of separation was regarded as a re- 
 volt by the negroes of Hayti, who prepared to reduce the 
 rebel whites to subjection by the strong arm of force. All 
 the eflbrfs of the Haytian government were unequal, how- 
 ever, to the reconquest of Dominica. The ."Spaniards de- 
 fended themselves with valor and energy, and, despite the 
 disparity of numbers, successfully repelled ilie invasions of 
 their foes. They achieved and estaWfeshed their independ- 
 ence. France formally recognized tin; republic of Domi- 
 nica. England and the United States recognized it by their 
 acts. Still Soulouque refused to acknowledge the inde- 
 pendence of the Dominicans, and persisted in his efforts to 
 reduce them to subjection. In this juncture, under the 
 apprehension of a very formidable attack by Soulouque, the 
 Dominican government solicited the mediation of the (Jni- 
 ted States, Great Britain, and France, to restore, if possible, 
 peaceable relations with its savage neighbors. Great Britain 
 and France promptly acceded to the proposition., impelled 
 thereto by every consideration of justice and humanity. 
 Without reluctance, the United States followed their exam- 
 ple. The Government dispatched Mr. Walsh to the Hay- 
 tian cou.'t, to co<iperate with the representatives of Great 
 Britain and France in the humane endeavor to persuade 
 the Emperor Soulotique to abandon his hostile designs 
 against the Dominicans. 
 
 " Persuasion could not appease his ferocious wrath, nor 
 could threats drive him from his bloody purposes. He per- 
 sisted in his designs against Dominica, and would in no 
 manner acknowledge its independence. The utmost the 
 mediating Powers could eifect was the prolongation of an 
 existing truce. 
 
 " And this was the issue of a negotiation for which the 
 Administration deserves credit. It originated in an impulse 
 of humanity, and sought to protect a civilized community 
 from the oppression and ferocity of a blood-thirsty savage. 
 The mission of Mr. Walsh was a mission of peace and true 
 philanthropy." 
 
 Even in the imperfect history of the Island of 
 Hayti here given, it is clear that the Dominicans 
 were entitled to their independence in the judg- 
 ment both of the Union and the Administration; 
 that being so entitled, and in fact being independ- 
 ent, they invited the United States to protect then* 
 against a savage whose power wtrs originally 
 founded on murder, and continued and sustained 
 by lawless outrage. The Union indorses this par- 
 agraph from the instructions of Mr. Webster to 
 Mr. Walsh, the agent who conducted the nego- 
 tiation: 
 
 " You will then, conjointly with your colleagues, require 
 the Emperor to conclude a permanent peace with the Do- 
 minican government upon the basis which you may jointly 
 prescribe to him, or to consent to a truce with that govern- 
 ment of not less than ten years. 
 
 " The Emperor should be made properly aware of the 
 dangers which he and his country may encounter, it; he 
 should be unfortunately advised to reject reasonable terms 
 of pacilication; but you will stop at remonstrance until 
 further notice." 
 
 Now, if this means anythitig, it means that the 
 United States assert a right to intervene forcibly, 
 if necessary, in the affairs of the island, and that 
 that intervention has been made in a way' that calls 
 for " the warmest commendations" from the 
 Union. Tiiose warmest commendations are be- 
 stowed upon the total failure *' to appease his 
 
(Sonlouque's) ferocious wrath," or *' drive )iiin 
 from his bloody pnrj)o.<)e." if tlie Union desired 
 to defend or explain this conteniptihle fiiikire, it 
 would have hcen f^enerous to the AdininiHtrntion; 
 bill to bestow tlie wnrmesl coniniendiuionN upon 
 it for perniittiiiii; ii Moody siivn^e — not acknowl- 
 edged by the vei'y Administration itself as one of 
 the recof^iii/.ed Powers of tlie eariii — to mock and 
 defy it, while he does the very thin» about whioh 
 the issue has iicen made, is self-evi(fent nonsense. 
 This is tiie plain sialement: The United States 
 says to Soulonqne, Vou shall not make war on 
 the republic of Dominirft; Soulouqne says, I wdl 
 make war on the repiil)lic of iJontinica; and the 
 United States don't say anytiiing more — but tiie 
 Union says, it is "an enerjjetic and wise admin- 
 istration of the foreifjn alVairs of the country. 
 
 Oh, shade of Do-^bernj .' rejoice, that at ieoi^th 
 tliv profound teachinijs are appreciated by a Whig 
 Administration and a Democratic editor: 
 
 " XJosftcrri/. You shall CDiuprcliciKl all vacrom men; you 
 are to bid any iiiiiii — SiiiikI, in llii- iiriiK'c's name. 
 " ll'uti liman. llow if In- will iiol hlaiul .' 
 " Do^lii'Tiy. Wiiy Ilirn, Inki' lio Miile of liiai, but let 
 liim (;o; ami piisclitly call llie ii'>l of Uic watcli logetlier, 
 and liiaiik Uoci you are ritl ofa knave.'' 
 
 But, sir, the Union seems wholly unconscious 
 that the Administration has not been content to 
 render itself simply ridiculous, and contemptible; 
 but that to do so etfectually, it iu\s violated a prin- 
 ciple, the very clearest and least liable to dis|uite 
 in our entire foreign policy. I allude to the doc- 
 trine of Monroe. The Union makes itself respon- ' 
 sible for the joint mediation of France and Eng- 
 land, accepted by the Administration in direct and 
 apparently intentional, gratuitous, am) wanton vio- 
 lation of the policy which is essential alike to our 
 safety and our honor. In another connection, I 
 will state the doctrine, and what I conceive to be 
 its meaning and effect; but for the present pur- 
 pose, I would only direct the attenti(Mi of the 
 Union to the National Intelligencer of December 
 23d, where " noninterference on the part of Euro- 
 j)ean Poirers icilli the inilepenuent Gov(nwients of the 
 JVev fFurld," is stated as an admitted principle of j 
 all parlies — apparently in the same ha|i]iy oblivion 
 of tlie course of ihe Administration in this and 
 Other transactions, as tlie Union. 
 
 But leaving the Democratic organ to the conso- 
 lation to be derived from the symjiathy of the 
 Rei u'llic, I will examine the course of the Admin- 
 istration in regard to Hayti, by the light of its 
 own oftii-ial correspondence, and other reliable 
 sources of information. The momentous import- 
 ance of thi.s island to the United Suites in a com- 
 mercial point of view, and its still greater im- 
 portance as a naval depot, has been strangely 
 overlooked. I do not speak of the policy of its 
 annexation, nor do I contemplate its acquisition 
 by the United States; nor do I believe that il-.e 
 course of the next Administration ouijht to be or 
 will be shaiied with any such jnirpose; but this 1 
 do say is obvious from a single glance, that its in- ' 
 dependence of Europe is of more moment to us 
 than that of Cuija; and that the protection of the 
 white republic, which embraces two thirds of its 
 surface, against the negro empire whicii holds and 
 ruins while it holds the other tliird, is at once our 
 duty and our interest, and that sucli interference 
 should be without the cooperation of any Euro- 
 pean Power; but that in that island, more than 
 elsewhere, the interference of Europe, whether as 
 joint mediators, or in any other way, should be 
 effectually prevented. The deoendexicf of Cuba 
 
 on Spnin in the r " ■" , , and 
 
 dlinculticH Wlui-I MOD. 
 
 Hayti hntt for in .. . , . in. 
 
 dependent of nil Eui' I .uid 
 
 containo about thirty i Of 
 
 this area, about one iliiiJ of i;* .^ i« in 
 
 poHscHsion of .Soulouquc, and ih. (wo 
 
 third.s constitnie the territory oi of 
 
 DoininicA. Il in blcMKiJ witli n • aoat 
 
 delighiful, and a Huil llie niont tu ' lic« 
 
 to the windward of Culm, and holdit it, in fnci, a 
 mere |>ri.simcr in itH handn if m ihr ptiu«-<iai»ii n( 
 any naval or military power. Uy 
 po.sitioi), it IH the true key to tlic i . 
 
 and to both oceaiiH llic natural U. 
 
 titles. It has upon iio norlheaiit aide a bay railed 
 Samaiui, perhapH the finest in the world, and 
 whicli is said at this lime tu be orcupird liy France; 
 a bay of which a Frnich oolitical writer of emi- 
 nence speaks in these worus: 
 
 "Tlieru are llirof ;>oinl>i in Itin Allnnlic whirli aaaurr (1m 
 inaritiini' iiripujiclcrnnco to ihv ure«t |i"Hi r «lii. Ii Imll p*. 
 inl.li^ti il-flf tin ••llln-rmii of llKin -III' .(lit. 
 
 T)if.ni:i-. Ill)- Mdir of Si. Nlrhola-, on I liuj 
 
 of Saiiifin.i. St. Tlioiiinii, (it |ir«'«i'iil ili' ■ mn- 
 
 tiiiie reiiler of llial |mrlM| the wurlit, Ik iioii.n.i.' i' il i> l>.irrrn 
 rock, to wliioti <-vi'i\iliuiz— even worxl niiil wniii -h«« to 
 be l>roii|!bt l>«nn ntiroad: ninl ln'^idci, it I . I ■ •_•. i-. Dni- 
 niark. The Mole of Si. \iclio|a« U -n ■ om- 
 
 uinnilod by n roni|mrt nretiit of hifb » lilch 
 
 circiiinstance miiiirpn ihr inilitaryocen,' ^t- 
 
 li-nsive territory; it Ih'Iohb", uionov.-r, i<i i 
 There reinains Siiiiian&. Of all llic l>.i\i> in il 
 Itay of Sainanfi is at oiioi- Un> in"-! v;i-i. !h«- i. 
 anil the best dcfcnited on l! 
 while all Ibr riehi-Koftlie in 
 from L'old to eoal, from -i 
 
 arc fuiind aecuniulaied in inc |>iiini~u..i »i.i'ii ;;i\< » it m 
 name." 
 
 • *••••• 
 
 " \Vlier*>, thcn.slinii wefcarch fortheserrrt of ibr b<><ila- 
 lion, wliicli iiothini: wiiIkmii orwilliin can i-\<ii..- ' I* iiin 
 the lilranue illii>ion of one of oiir ln»i .Mim«t< r« of Koidgn 
 .Ml'nirs. who, in reply to one that wan repreM niiiif lo bun 
 the danger of the oreiipation of Saiiianti by Uic Unilr<l 
 Slates, said : ' rorliinntely the Kn::li«h are >et in Jainaira;' 
 so, too, were llic r.ii(>liph in ( ircgoii .■"' • • • 
 " Vo, it lies, I fear, in Ihe ImdilionnI mnxim of t!i^ bureau : 
 ' It is none of nur business.' None of our bti'iiieaw '. Hap- 
 py, indi-ed, is that eounlry which can net < i >■ ...:.. in.« ■ 
 
 Dili are We in thai eondiiion .' When I': 
 enlari^nc Ilic distance which ihe year I' 
 her and us," * * • .1 
 
 Stales are covering lh« Atlantic and Pn t ait- 
 
 ncialionist Coriitirt ; do we not. by rem ■ < onr 
 
 little corner, inciirthe ri»k of awakin: - ^ nrtcrl 
 
 and powerless .' ( )iir blli.ircy is here nil • u'a- 
 
 ble. iiiasmiieh as there areno poliiical •" ' \r[ei 
 
 for an excuse ; that in onler to see our i, . • r Iho 
 
 lViiiii.'>ii!a of ."Janiani, we should not have . ■. . i, :)■•' ir<>ut>l« 
 of carry i lie it tbilher ; [i|iiere .') ilial, in order to conqnrr 
 
 the (iiieslniariliine at.il I'rni "III .'i .;i ■mi \. « WtM. 
 
 lUv I ftr ,lr }>oul oft 
 
 |).".t of the two hill 
 
 would only require ■■ 
 
 nod of theliead. l;ii: w In .-.n t luuii. wiU 
 
 object |o nil', flood dxl '. to in re what til 
 
 tlie world, except «ur^elves, kni v. 
 
 These considerations no wise people will over- 
 look. It is true, that at present, while the re- 
 sources of both divisions of the island are ex- 
 hausted by wars and prepamtiona for war.i a^init 
 each other, the comtnerce of the I.>;!.ind seems 
 comparatively unimportant. The export* of the 
 Dominican republic are about one uiiiiion annual- 
 ly, and Hayti about three millionK; the jx^pula- 
 liition of Dominica being about one hundred and 
 •wenty-five thousand, of which only fifteen thou- 
 sand are pure blacks, thiriv tlmu.snnd whiles, and 
 the balance blancos, or nuxed, and Hayti about 
 seven hundred thou.sand. This commerce has been 
 declining, as ha.'^ the actual produce of the island, 
 steadily since its occupation by the French, in 
 
1787, 1788, and 1789. In those years, the exports 
 from Hayti alone, one third of the island — and 
 with R population, all told, of five hundred and 
 thirty-five thousand — was §8,783,000; the conse- 
 quence is, tlmt Dominica, which has a soil equally 
 productive, and twice as extensive, would, if hihe 
 were sullered to, equal the condition of Hayti 
 under the French in 1787, 1788, and 1789, sustain 
 a pojiulation of more than a million, and export 
 over fifty millions. This is an estimate infinitely 
 lower than the facts justify, but it is sufficient to 
 show that the interest of the United Slates consists 
 with its duty; that all the motives, pecuniary ad- 
 vantage, security for our trade in the Gulf, and 
 the dictates of humanity, should impel us to the 
 effectual protection of the Dominicans. 
 
 But no motive of interest would be sufficient to 
 direct national policy as against the public senti- 
 ment of civilized and enlightened nations or the 
 plain dictates of morality and justice. 
 
 Has the United States a right to interfere? The 
 Administration has not only settled that question 
 as against itself by an actual interference, but it 
 has published satisfactory reasons for its interven- 
 tion. In addition to the instructions given to Mr. 
 Walsh, quoted before, the following extract from 
 a letter addressed by the representatives of the 
 three Powers, Great Britain, France, and the 
 United Slates, to the Haytian Minister of Foreign 
 Relations, expresses the views of the Administra- 
 tion, and takes the true ground: 
 
 " In tlic eyes nf the three Powers, the independence of the 
 Dominicans reposes upon a right as ssicred, afundament.il 
 compact as respectable, a fact as consummate, as tlioso 
 wliicli secure the independence of Kayti itself. In their 
 eyes, that peoplr; is jti legitimate possession of all the titles 
 which consiiiute nationaliiies the most incontestable ; a 
 regular administration, a legislation protectins equally the 
 persons and property of all, a military organization Doth on 
 land and sea, a tla'.' enjoying the honors due to that of a free 
 country, international relations through accredited agents, 
 and even a solemn treaty of recognition and commerce with 
 one of the chief nations of the earth." 
 
 And from the same document: 
 
 '• Reduced to the alternative of renouncing those advan- 
 tages, or of perpetually fighting to retain them, the Domi- 
 nicans have been compelled to request the intervention of 
 the Powers with whom they are connected by the aforesaid 
 international relations, in order to free themselves from a 
 position .so deplorable. 
 
 " That intervention they justly obtained, because a few 
 words inserted in the often-modified constitution of Hayti, 
 are by no means sulRcient to create for that country a right 
 of perpetual possession of tlie territory of its neighbor — a 
 possession entirely fictitious at the time when that consti 
 tution was formed, continuing so during eighteen subse- 
 quent years, and again becoming so after the lapse of seven, 
 and of which the temporary existence only demonstrated 
 the radical impossibility of blending two races of different 
 origin, customs, manners, and language." 
 
 And again: 
 
 " 'I'he only thing for foreign nations to consider was the 
 sitnple fint that the Republic of St. Domingo is positively 
 independent, and entitled to be treated as such, whatever 
 may Jiavc been the original rights or pretensions of Hayti." 
 
 Nothing could be more distinct and satisfactory 
 than this. Upon the same subject, and to show to 
 the Department at home the propriety and neces- 
 sity of intervention, Mr. Walsh writes to Mr. 
 Webster in these words — this is official: 
 
 "The contrast between the picture which is nowpre- 
 pented by iliisirountry, and Hiat wlihdi it exhibited when 
 under the dominion of the I'rench, affords a melancholy 
 conlirmation of what I have said. It was then indeed an 
 'exulting and abounding' land— a land literallv llowirig 
 with milk and honey ; now, it might be alhrnied, withonl 
 extravagance, that where it is not an arid and desolate 
 waPte, it is Hooded wilhthe waters of bitterness, or covered 
 with noisome and poisonous weedn. ' When I arrived 
 here,' ii, <|M<j|e (he words of an intelligent foreigner who 
 liaa been in Ilayii bIucc Uie epoch of il3 iiideptndencc, 
 
 I ' there was abVndance of everything — now there is a want 
 of everything. ' 'J'he cultivation of .sugar, which was once 
 the main fountain of wealth, is now entirely abandoned, 
 except for the production of an intoxicating drink ; and that 
 of coffee has so much decreased, that it would not in the 
 least be a matter of surprise if ere long the supply of that 
 indisp(!nsable article for Haytian commerce, were to be 
 insullieient for the ordinary consumption of the inhabitants 
 themselves. 
 
 " The government, in spite of it.«! constitutional forms, is 
 a despotism of the most ignorant, corrupt, and vicious de- 
 .scription, with a military establishment so enormous that, 
 while it absorbs the largest portion of the revenue for its 
 support, it dries iip the very sources of national prosperity, 
 by depriving the fields of their necessary laborers to till 
 the town with pestilent hordes of depraved and irreclaim- 
 able idlers." 
 
 And in further proof of the strong position taken 
 by Mr. Walsh, with the approbation of the De- 
 partment, witness this extract from an official 
 letter: 
 
 " I thought I might then try the effect of an argument 
 which I took care to represent as wholly unofficial and pri- 
 vate, my Government having no kno\vledge of it whatever, 
 't'he day before I left Norlblk I was told by a friend that he 
 had been offered a command in an expedition which waa 
 I contemplated to go to St. Domingo and assist its inhabit- 
 [ ants against the Hajtians. This fact I communicated to 
 , the Minister with all plausible emphasis, dwelling upon the 
 ! perilous probability that should such an expedition ever 
 land upon the island, all the miseries and horrors with 
 which the Emperor was now threatening the Dominicans 
 would be brought to his own door; that the desperadoes 
 composing it would never rest until they had exhausted 
 every effort to overwhelm the empire, and that even if they 
 should fail in destroying it, the evils they would suffer 
 would be almost equivalent to ruin. The only sure way, 
 I added, to arrest the danger was to conclude a peace, and 
 by thus de|)riving the expedition of the lawful motive of 
 lending aid to a people whose independence was wrong- 
 I fully assailed, it would become the duty of the United States 
 j to prevent it from leaving their shores. 
 
 "Tlie chord was one which seemed to vibrate more 
 I strongly than any other, for the Government has been in 
 I great dread of such an expedition ever since the attack 
 upon Cuba." 
 
 And again, from Mr. Walsh, as to the right to 
 menace or use force: 
 
 "The truth is, the big ship in the harbor is not a pleasant 
 spectacle to his eyes, and the sending such a one just now, 
 is a ceremony of which he would much prefer the breach 
 to the observance. It is a pity the commodore cannot pro- 
 tract his stay here, as the presence of the steamer would 
 materially assist our negotiations, the logic of force being, I 
 am afraid, the only kind which his government tlioroughly 
 comprehends, or at least is disposed to respect." 
 
 But as to the views of the Department of State 
 of the national character of Hayti and the gov- 
 ernment of Soulouque, the following to Mr. 
 Walsh, from Mr. Webster, is conclusive: 
 
 " It is presumed, however, that in process of time — and 
 perhaps before long — if the Haytian government shall 
 abandon its ambitious projects of foreign conijuest, shall 
 devote its attention to the improvement of its own people, 
 and shall succeed in that object, so as to command the re- 
 spect of dispassionate and impartial men, no nation whose 
 interests may dictate the measure will b(^■iitate to semi con- 
 suls 10 their ports or to recognize Haytian consuls in their 
 ports." 
 
 Could anything be clearer.' The Government 
 itself asserts the right to coerce the Haytian out- 
 law, and refuses to recognize the absurd and mon- 
 strous empire as one of the Powers of the earth, 
 entitled to the respect or countenance of the civil- 
 ized world. One other extract from Mr. Walsh's 
 report, and the diplomatic history of this affair, as 
 furnished by the Government, is finished. In it 
 
 i is confessed the failure of the whole mission, and 
 
 ; the only honorable and nrianly course indicated. 
 
 j It hits been, however, wholly disregarded: 
 
 "That result can (udy be accomplished by coercing tlie 
 Haytian government. All persuasion and argument are 
 thrown away upmi it, all sense of duty and justice and 
 right is merged by.it in sanguinary ambition and ferocious 
 
 I vindictiveness. The Dominicans will listen to no terms 
 
wliicti do not establish their nulionnl (ovpreiRiily, which ' 
 
 tlii'V have so \ong and no »iiccesHriilly dfffiidcd. 
 
 " Tliev woiiUI prcler mini (■xlrniiiiiatiiiii, a^ tlicy dt-rlnre 
 and us their coikIuci dt'iiionstraWH, to falhni; auaiii iiiidrr 
 ihe alroeioun drsixitism which lliry hnvo ntiaki-ii urt ; And 
 every considoiiitinrior iiitrrcsi, iit' jll^lll■u, of hiiiiiantly do 
 ninnds tlint llicir IndriicMdciiru nhould bu pliicvd uii u gecurc 
 and pcTiiiaiiont basiH." 
 
 I will, however, Mr. Chairman, take a more 
 comprehensive view of this i|iie8tioi). Has the 
 United States a rii;ht to intervene for the jirotec- 
 tion of Doniiiiii'a against Soulouqiie? The facts 
 and princi])les which are necessary to prove tills 
 riifht, are ol'ieii identical, and always connected 
 with those which eslahlish the olilig;ation of the 
 Goveniiiient to fori)id, anil at any hazard to pre- 
 vent, tlie interference of any Kuropean Power, es- 
 pecially France or EiiL'land, in tiie atfair. 
 . Tlie concUision as to the policy of the Govern- 
 Dient, wliich has conlenintil)ly failed in the asser- 
 tion of the right, and which has, without any jus- 
 tification or necessity, or any ^ood result, in fact 
 violated the oMiyalion, is incvital)le. Ilefore go- 
 ing into these facts, hefore j^ivini; a lirief account 
 of the relations of the Island of Hayti to Europe 
 and to ourselves, and its different parts to each 
 other, and of the submission by this Ciovernment 
 to the interference of France and Enir'aiid, it is 
 v/ell to recur to and carry with us disiincily the 
 rule of foreign policy, ami its reasons, which is 
 called the Monroe doctrine. In the seventh mes- 
 sage of Air. Monroe, thi.s clear and luminous ex- 
 position of llie doctrine occurs: 
 
 " It was stated at the cDmnionceinent of the last session , 
 lliat a sri-at clTurt was ilien niaUiiii,' in Spain and Portuiial 
 to improve tlie condition of tilt; people of Ihosc countries, 
 and tiiat it appeared to be conducted with exiraordinary 
 moderation. It neeil scarcely lie n.'iuarked that the re-uft 
 has been, so far, very diflerenl from what was then antici- 
 pated. Of Pvenis in that qiiarterof the globe, with which 
 we have so much intercourse, and from which we derive our 
 otijjiii. we have always been anxious and interested specta- 
 tors. The citizens of the Unite*! .Slates cherish senii merits the 
 most friendly in favor of the liberty ami happiness of their 
 fellow-men on that side of the Atlantic. In the wars of the 
 European Powers, in matters relatine to themselves, we 
 have never t.tkeii any part, nor does it comport with our 
 policy so 10 ilo. It is only when our rijrhts ure invaded or 
 serioiisly menaced, that we resent injuries or make prepa- 
 ration for our defense. With the movernenls in this hemis- 
 phere we are ol nece.<sily mop' immediately connected, and 
 by causes which must be obvious to all enlislileiied and Im- 
 partial observers. The poliii<-al .system of the allied Pow- 
 ers is essentially dilTereiit in this respect from that of .Vineri- 
 ca. This diiVcrenee proceeds from that wliich exists in 
 tJieir respective tjfivernments. Audio the defense of our 
 own, wliK-h has been achieved by tin; loss of.-o much blood 
 and tre:isure, and inatiin-d by the wisdom of their most eii- 
 li<;hlened eitizcns, and under which we have piijoved un- 
 exampled felicity, this whole nation is devoted. We owe 
 it, tlierelbre, to candor, and to Ihe amicable relalion.s exislinc 
 hetween llie Uiiiled Slates and those Powers, to declare that 
 we should con-ider any altenipt on their part to extend their 
 system to any portion of this heinisphere as dancerons to 
 our peace and safety. With the exi^tini? colonies and de- 
 pendencies of any European Power we have not iiitert'ered 
 and .-hall not interfere. Hut with the povernmento who 
 have (h'clari'd their independence and mainiained it, and 
 whose iMileppiidence we have, on great considerations and 
 on just priiiciples,acknowledeed, we could not view any in- 
 terposition for the purpose of oppressinj them, or control- 
 linj^ ill any other manner their destiny, by a European Power 
 in any other li^ht than as the manifestation of an iinlViendly 
 disposition towards the ITiiiled Stales. In the war between 
 those new coverninenls and .Sp.iiii, we declared our neu- 
 trality at the time of their recocnition, and to this we have 
 adhered, and siiall continue to adhere, provided no chaiiac 
 shall occur, which, in the jud!.nnent of llie competent au- 
 thorities of this Uoverumeiit. shall make a eorrespondiiii: 
 Change, on the part of the United Slates, indispcnsal'lc to 
 their security. 
 
 "The late events in Spain and Poitiieal show that Europe 
 is still unsettled. <"lf this important fact no stronser proof 
 can he adilueed than that tlie allied Powers should have 
 thoii<;ht it proper, on any principle satisfactory to ihcin--elves, 
 to Ija've interposed by I'orce iullieiuternalcouccrnsof Spaiu. 
 
 ' To Whn' •••• ■■■•'■ '-• ■■• -: r '■- -1 ' — "-^ 
 
 naini- 
 
 Pnw.f 
 
 even II 
 
 I'lilird Slalan. < m, 
 adnpied HI nn enils 
 nulliilrdlhiil iiuartri 
 (•nine, which la, iioi 
 ony of lit I'liwrrii ; • 
 
 Ihe letUlinale (iiiv. 
 
 Ititloiiii Willi II, anil t 
 
 llriii, and inniily ih.I< ' 
 
 claiinii of every I'mv . 
 
 lint, in regaril |o Iho.e ••. , ,„,. 
 
 neiilly and con>,picuoii>lv . ih«| 
 
 the allied Power^Bliiiiild ei: ,t>v 
 
 portion of either continent wiile.. 
 
 and linppinegH : nor eiin tiny oie- ' 
 
 brethren, if left in tliniliM'|\r<, u 
 
 accord. It is ecju-illy tnipo«i,|li|i'. 
 
 Iiifhold Hiirh iiiterpoaition, in an. 
 
 If wi- hiok to the eompnralive ^u 
 
 Spain mid tlio.,e in'W governiiicult, an.l : 
 
 each iillier, II mUKt be obMnim ||inl i>h< 
 
 them. 1 1 IS still the true jHilicyof the t'r 
 
 the partu s to themselveM, in the hope that utliLr I'uv. <.it » ul 
 
 piiriiiie the KameeourHe," 
 
 In the Muhseqiient or eii^hth nnnual mtninxgt of 
 the same PreKidenl, (Mr. Monme,) he n<;'tm al> 
 ludcd to the conteat between .Spain niid her colo- 
 nies; said that the latter had fully achieved their in- 
 dependence, and that said independence had been 
 reco2;iii/.ed by the Fiiited States. He then ad- 
 ' verted to the European I^iwei^^said tlini it wa« 
 , " the interest of the United .StntM to pre-^erve the 
 I ' most friendly relaiiuna with them, but that with 
 I •regard to our neischbors, the republic* of South 
 
 • America, our situation was different. It waa 
 ! ' impossible for llie European Ciovernrnenla to in- 
 
 * terfere in their concerns without aiVeciinK us. 
 I ' Indeed, the motive which might induce hucK id- 
 I ' terference would appear to be equally applicable to 
 
 ' us;" and he added tli.it " it was gruiifying to 
 ' know that some of the Powers with whom we en- 
 'jo\ed a very tViendly intercourse, and to whom 
 ' these views had been communicated, had ap- 
 
 i ' peared to acquiesce in them." 
 
 I In this statement it will be observed that all in- 
 tervention between the Governments of this hemis- 
 
 ' phere by the Powers of Europe, for whatever 
 purpose, whether " i/yi;>nr5siii^ llirm or controllinic 
 in any oliitr munntr their lUstinu," is dedartd to be 
 •'//le mnii(/f3/n/ion of nn unjiitnJly dispctition to- 
 
 , irarJs tlie Uniled Slates." The purpose for which 
 the intervention mi;:ht be made does not rhnnKe 
 the dansjeroiis and hoetile character of the act ; and 
 the reason is obvious, and our late ex[«rience 
 gives it additional force. If once they are permitted 
 to interfere, protectorates, and coneequent ucqaisi- 
 tions and fortifications of strontj points, for the 
 elfectual proiecjion of such wards, would render 
 the State so pr()tectcd and occupied, the mere crea- 
 ture and victim of the stronger power, ajid would 
 lead by a thousand pretexts which everybiMly but 
 Mr. Fillmore can see at once, to the inlroduelion 
 of the European system into the continent, vhich 
 is inconsistent with our safety. How ' "- ■' 
 every infraction of this principle is, t. 
 by tlie late overtures fir a irip.irtite tr> . ^ ' 
 would have l)ound us in ell time from tlie uc.iuibi- 
 tion of Cuba, and which has even awnkeneJ the 
 Executive. This fifler, so promptly rejec i« d, was, 
 however, a coroll.iry, a necessary con.tequence of 
 the tripartite mediation in Hayti, and the admis- 
 sion in Honduras, and along ilie Mosquito coast, 
 of the claims of England. 
 
 The offer on the part of France and Rneiand to 
 make a treaty stipulatioff for the eternal separation 
 
 . of Cuba from the United Slates does not equtil m 
 
r- 
 
 8 
 
 insolence either of the two encroachments which 
 we have not only submitted to but invited. To 
 what depth of degradation — to what sacrifice of 
 pride, honor, and power — to what extreme of hu- 
 mihating subserviency to Europe we would have 
 insensibly gone, I forbear to conjecture. We have 
 gone far enough, however, to prove that the only 
 safety is in the rigid observance of the Monroe 
 doctrine which is contained in one line: Non-in- 
 terference on the part of European Powers with 
 the independent governments of the New World. 
 That tliis doctrine should have been enforced with 
 jealous precision against France and England in 
 the Island of Hayti by the United States is made 
 more apparent by the fact that each of these Pow- 
 ers has guarded against interference by the other, 
 and that the United States alone has been indiller- 
 ent to the progress of either in the island. The 
 joint mediation met the views of both those Pow- , 
 ers, as it gave to them a controlling majority in any ' 
 negotiations which might be entered into. And 
 that there could have existed no adequate motive 
 for accepting or tolerating the joint interference of 
 those Powers is demonstrated by the fact, that that 
 connection with us did not influence Soulouque in 
 any degree, but that the joint mediation was as 
 ludicrously impotent as our sole attempt could by i 
 possibility have been. ! 
 
 By the treaty of Ryswick, 1697, Spain ceded to [ 
 France the western one third of the Island of San i 
 Domingo, retaining the eastern two thirds. The i 
 black population of the western or French portion 1 
 of the island in 1790 massacred the whites, and 
 became independent of France. The blacks of 
 the east or Spanish division did not join in this re- 
 bellion. In the same year the Spanish part of the \ 
 island was ceded by Spain to France, and remained ; 
 in her possession till 1808, when the English aided 
 the Creoles to throw off the control of France, and 
 the territory was confirmed to Spain in 1815 by 
 the treaty of Paris, and was governed as a Spanish 
 province till 1821 . In 1822, Dominica, with a view 
 to connect herself with the Colombian republic, 
 revolted from Spain. This jiurpose was never 
 carried into effect; but Spain was unable to attempt 
 even its subjugation, and has never to this day re- 
 asserted her claim. On the contrary, she has 
 openly acknowledged their independence by de- 
 manding, in 18.30, from Hayti an indemnity for its 
 loss, and also by receiving and treating with the 
 Dominican commissioner in 1847 for the acknowl- 
 edgment of the republic then established in the 
 east. 
 
 In February, 1822, Boyer, the chief of the west 
 or negro part of the island, the now Empire of 
 Hayti, invaded the east with a force which was 
 iiTesistihle by the Dominicans. The provisional 
 authorities were compelled to submit, and the ter- 
 ritory was incorporated with the Haytinn repub- 
 lic. It is not necessary to my present ]iurpose to 
 recount all the atrocities practiced by Boyer on 
 the Dominicans. It is enough that his adminis- 
 tration was so intolerable, not only to the Domi- 
 nicans, but to the Ilaytians, that he was driven 
 from power and from the country in the year 184.']. 
 Riviere, who overthrew and succeeded Boyer, was 
 more ferocious toward the Dominicans than his 
 predecessor. It is true that Dominica sent her 
 representative to the conventiim held at Port au 
 Prince, in 184.'!, to remodel (he constitution. In 
 the first business before the convenli(jn, the diffi- 
 culty arose which led to the establishment of a 
 separate republic in Dominion. This was the 
 basis on which the union (if any union was to be 
 
 between the west and the east) should be estab- 
 lished. The Dominican delegates insisted, as a 
 fundamental provision, upon the protection and 
 encouragement of white immigration. It was re- 
 fused by the Haytian representatives. Upon this 
 the Dominicans declared themselves independent 
 of Hayti, in a manifesto published IClh of Janu- 
 ary, 1844. In the war which immediately fol- 
 lowed, the Dominicans beat the Haytians in sev- 
 eral actions, and have maintained themselves in 
 this inde[)endence ever since. In November, 
 1844, the constitution, modeled after our own, 
 was proclaimed. 
 
 The two successors of Riviere — Guerrier and 
 Richc — made no serious attempt against Dominica. 
 But Soulouque who succeeded , has exhausted every 
 means in his power to annoy or to reconquer the 
 country, and has publicly declared his intention to 
 exterminate the whites from the island. Shortly 
 after the establishment of the Dominican republic, 
 commissioners were sent to this place to aslc its rec- 
 ognition. Had they not aright to ask it? No claim 
 to sovereignty had been advanced by any Euro- 
 pean Power for more than twenty years. They 
 had, driven by a tyranny unexampled, thrown off 
 the connection, forced in the first place with Hayti, 
 and were in fact and of right independent. The 
 leading ground of difference between them and 
 Hayti, white immigration, should have command- 
 ed our sympathies; and the doom of extermination 
 pronounced against them, gave them a right to 
 protection on the grounds of common humanity. 
 On the arrival of these commissioners, Mr. Calhoun 
 was in the Department of State. The large and 
 comprehensive mind of that great statesman, ap- 
 preciated at once the importance of the interests 
 involved, and he sent out a special agent to exam- 
 ine carefully and report on the affairs of the island. 
 Before the report was made, or at least before it 
 was acted on, Mr. Calhoun retired from the De- 
 partment of State. Mr. Buchanan, who succeeded 
 Mr. Calhoun, sent another special agent. Lieuten- 
 ant Porter, who made a long, and I think, an able 
 report, which was never acted upon, owing to the 
 excitement and absorbing interest of the Mexican 
 war, which was just then being commenced, and 
 the events which followed it. This is, however, 
 but an imperfect excuse for a most serious fault. 
 
 In 1849, just at the accession of General Taylor, 
 Soulouque made the most formidable attack upon 
 Dominica which it had sustained. Fie reached 
 within two days' march of Santo Domingo city, 
 and with a force apparently irresistible. The in- 
 difference and neglect of the United States had ex- 
 tinguished all hope of interposition on our part, 
 and in despair the Dominicans ajiiilied for a French 
 protectorate. This would have been accepted by 
 France at once, and the Bay of Sanian;i (a point 
 of more importance than Flavana, and which, it is 
 rumored, she has at last taken possession of) ceded 
 to her — the island, in fact, would have become her 
 property, but for the interference of the British 
 Minister, whogavenotice that Great Britain would 
 not consent to it. The correspondence on this 
 subject, cojiied from the archives in Santo Do- 
 mingo, is now in this city, and in possession of 
 the gentleman afterwards sent out by Mr. Clayton 
 as special agent to Dominica. Whether this would 
 have been submitted to or not by the United States, 
 it is iinjiossible to say; but it was by no action on 
 the part of our representative at home or abroad 
 that it was prevented. 
 
 After the invasion of Soulouque, which was 
 defeated _by the exertions of the Dominicans, 
 
thoufifh made more fonnidalileby domeHiu- ir<i\«(>n 
 anil foreign iiUriijiif, Mr. Clayimi, then Se<-ri'inry 
 of Stale, .sent, ns had grown to be n lialjit, i\ itpe- 
 cial agent to Dominica. I liave had acresa to the 
 reports ntxi papers of tliis gentleman, «i> fnr b8 
 they could with propriety he communirated. 
 Upon lii.s arrival petitions and addre.sses from all 
 parts of the Rcpulijic. came ti> General Santa 
 Anna and the President of the Repul>lir, urging a 
 retraction of the oilers to France and opposing 
 the French connection, and advocating annexa- 
 tion to or protection from the United Stales. An 
 application ^as made to the agent, and hy liim 
 forwarded to the Government here, praying for 
 inferveiilioii by the United States for the pacifica- 
 tion of the country. This a[iplicalion was for- 
 warded by him along with a report, which set 
 forth additional reasons, of the most conclusive 
 character, why it .should be favorai)ly considered, 
 njid then, if not before, the authorities here should 
 have become fully aware <if the intrigues which 
 both France and England (the jnint meiliators) 
 had kept on foot for the acquisition of some hold 
 in the island, and o<" the most fatal ellect upon our 
 interest. I shall give a short synopsis of the re- 
 pcrt, and then a short history of the diplomacy 
 of those i"'owera in Hayti. And I think it must 
 be clear to every mind, that whatever might have 
 been decided as to our own intervention, or the 
 extent and character of it, nothing but criminal 
 carelessness or infatuated ami predestinated stu- , 
 pidity could fail to recognize the necessity for ex- 
 cluding France and England from any share in 
 the matter or any the least control over our free 
 action. i 
 
 The report urges that the duty and interest of! 
 the United States was to intervene, for the reasons 
 which I have before given, and which were, sub- 
 sequently assigned as the causes of the join? me- 
 diation, and goes on to urge further, that the war 
 was one of extermination and for conquest, and 
 that it involved the very existence of the white 
 race in the island; that the Haytian con.«titution 
 declared as a first principle " that no white of any 
 nation should place his foot upon the soil with the 
 title of proprietor," and that the Dominicans in- 
 vited white immigration by erants of land and the 
 privileges of citizenship; that our commerce suf- 
 fered from the war, and that our citizens were en- 
 dangered, and our property lawlessly seized by 
 the barbarians of Hayti in the prosecution of the 
 war; that acts of plunder and piracy to the amount 
 of many hundreds of thousands of dollars had 
 been committed against our citizens, as is proven 
 by Mr. Webster's Report, House Doc, m Sess. 
 '2~i\i Coiieress. The report further ursed the fact 
 upon our Government, that England and France 
 coveted Samana, and that the Dominicans would 
 be forced to cede it to one or the other, in consid- 
 eration of protection which they had vainly sought 
 from us. it was urged that France had never re- 
 linqui.^hed her designs to recover the island, and 
 that Enirland had always been, and was then, 
 engocred in eflorts to acquire the control of the 
 island. The Government was by this report put 
 in the possession of this additional fact — that the 
 Consul General and Minister Plenipotentiary, 
 Sir R. Schnmburgh, as soon as lie discovered that 
 an applic;ition was made for the mediation of the 
 United States, had ofl'ered and urged the media- 
 tion of England, which was not accepted. The 
 Dominicans did not trust the English Government, 
 but better informed, and conseauently more pru- 
 dent than the United States, reared the known 
 
 policy of Ort-nt Rritnin on ihi- n lie- 
 
 tweni the rncpM, nnd did ih.i • ah* 
 
 w<Mild Hiipport them in f" I ■ ' r 
 
 doulile rljtim of Soulouqur ' , 
 
 negro and an eniprror. Di.i., 
 
 by many yentB of obmrvntioii, thai il \ t 
 
 of the policy of (irpiii llriinin lo ■.( 
 white republic i.i •' ' ' , ' ■ " > 
 
 were to acquire : 
 
 The mtdiuimn "I I ... , j 
 
 by Schomburpli wilh nurh enrr 
 DominicunHdnreil noJongfrrefVi ■ 
 and iheAmcriaui n:;eiii wnii roi 
 thorities on the subject. Thr 1 1 ; 
 
 not, however, agree to it, unlrxN n ,* 
 understood that the United StBi«^ <■■ 
 were to be joint me<iintor«, nnd with 
 distinct avowal thai tlie rail for jouit ii.F<ii.tUoii 
 was in the alternative, nnd nhouM be innde onljr 
 on condition that the I'tiiied Sta'. ' ' ■.) in- 
 tervene alone. This report, ai. ' •< rtti 
 the part of Domiiiirn, were met I ;. ' ■ I'ny- 
 lor's ndministralion, so fnr nn lo imtiruri their 
 agent to give notice to Soulouque thn) iliia frnvern- 
 nient would not view with indilfi i • :re«- 
 sion on Dominica, at least whih wna 
 
 indebted to the United Stales. 1 l had 
 
 the efl'ect to suspend for a iim« an invanion which 
 Soulouque was preparing in 1850. 
 
 Mr. Hulwer now gave notice of the rendnifiwi of 
 his Government to enter into the joint metli ition, 
 and the Administration replied, tlmt upon the re- 
 turn of their special agent, they would give a de- 
 finitive answer. Tlie reputation of Mr. ("Inyioo 
 is, however, free from the stain of this dis^frace. 
 Nothing was, in fact, done by him. General 
 Taylordied while the alT/»ir was j^ending, nnd Mr. 
 Webster took charge of the De(>nr!uieut of State. 
 It is worth remark, and should be borne in mind, 
 that after the departure of this special agent from 
 Santo Domint;o, no treaty being ronchided for the 
 safety of Dominica, but everylhine left an it haj 
 always been, and still is, open nnd uii'<f'.t!ed, the 
 agents of France, and also of Ei>"' "■' • • '"rsed 
 the propositions of Soulouque to th . and 
 
 endeavored to induce its authoriti> • . his 
 
 demands. This is conclu.iive eviden t iluu neither 
 of those Powers were acting in good faith with ua, 
 or Dominica, and, taken in con.iection with «he 
 fact that the mediation wholly and sliiineftilly 
 failed of its purpose, and that the ihrea;s of 1I10 
 three greatest Powers of the earth did not alarm 
 a barbarian who wa« unable to have r*>«ii«t«Hl, for 
 one moment, the attack of either "' ' ' 
 
 those threats were not carried out 
 him, when he met fully the ver\- 
 which they were uttered — it is mo; 
 incredible, on any principleof hui^ ; 
 
 the majfirity of them could have betn i ' 1 .; in 
 jond faith. This Administration, however, repliej 
 to Mr. Hulwer, by tlieap|H)ii)lment of .Mr. NS'aUh; 
 the joint mediation wa.s entered intb. I';\ < rythini; 
 which our interest nnd dutydictnt<d tailed, and 
 the two Powers had the triumpli of leavm;; mntters 
 open for their future action, with this in'-alruhibl* 
 advantnire gained, an admission by the United 
 States of the right of Eurojieiui I'owers lo interfere 
 in tlie atTiiirs of independent Govermnents in ihiM 
 hemispliere, and a thorough and well uieriiid con- 
 tempt felt for us and our arms and diplomacy in 
 those Governments, which should trust us ns im- 
 plicitly ns they should profiuindly respect us. I 
 shall leave this branch of the subiect, wilh thia 
 extract from the official ofgan of the Dominican 
 
10 
 
 governnieMt. I take it from the New York Her- 
 ald, February 26th, which translates from the 
 Gaceta do Gobierno, of January 25lh: 
 
 '' We were surprised," says llie Doiiiiiiicnii official or- 
 gRn, " when we read, in the message of the President of 
 Uie United States to Congress, of the settlement ot" peace 
 between the Doiiiinicnn republic and thai part of the west 
 called Uie Haytian empire. Tlii^ false report, communica- 
 ted to that Government by an unfaithful persr)ii, precisely 
 when SoiilMU<|ue was callinjr under arms a numerous army 
 atJuana Mendez, in order to invade our territory, isiiiiihly 
 alarmin-;, for these falsehoods can afleet us in oilier coun- 
 tries which are iriendly to our republic. They wish to di- 
 vert llie attention of other nations from the uiiri^'hteous 
 umchinalioris against our independence. For that reason, 
 we positively repeat, that till now the Powers who wished 
 to settle that ([uestion, with the desire of avoidins blood- 
 shed in a disastrous war, have not agreed on the atl'air." 
 
 Tlie same spirit which lias conducted our nego- 
 tiations in Hnyti has guided our policy in Nicara- 
 gua, and to the same or even worse results. The 
 state of things existing at the present moment, 
 produced l>y the sagacity and courage of this Ad- 
 ministration, and the one which immediately pre- 
 ceded, may be stated in a few words. The terri- 
 torial rights of the republic of Nicaragua are in 
 fact sacrificed by the construction of the treaty 
 made to protect those very rights, and this Ad- 
 ministration has become a party to the dismem- 
 bennenl of that republic. The aboriginal tribe 
 of jMosquitos are recognized as having the sov- 
 ereignty over an indefinite extent of territory 
 which has belonged to Spain since tiie discovery i 
 of the continent, or to tlie States which have been ' 
 formed from her colonies. Islands in the Bay of 
 Honduras, which belonged to that republic, have 
 passed, without protest or objection, into the ab- 
 solute possession of Great Britain, in direct viola- 
 tion of treaty stipulations, and the principle which [ 
 binds us to the protection froin European aggres- 
 sion of all the independent States of this conti- 
 nent. All this has happened, too, in violation of 
 repeated pledges made by this Government. It is 
 not necessary to trace minutely the history of our 
 relations with Central Jlmtrica — political Central 
 America-— before the year 1848. In that year, the 
 stibject of inter-oceanic communication becarne of 
 vital and immediate importance; and from that 
 time the series of measures which have tenninated 
 in the disgrace of the American name began. 
 Much earlier, however, as early as 1825, the sub- 
 ject was agitated, and correspondence was had be- 
 tween the governments of Central America and : 
 the United Slates on the subject, which is instruct- ■ 
 ive. The Minister of that' Government wrote to 
 Henry Clay, then Secretary of State, asking the , 
 cooperation of the United States in a treaty for the , 
 secure establishment of a transit route, and giving 
 the United States preference over other Powers, on 
 the gi-ound that its "noble conduct had been a 
 model and protection to all the Americas." In- 
 structions were accordingly given to our Chai-ge 
 d'Affaires to assure the Government of our deep 
 interest in the subject, and to investigate the matter | 
 and report upofl it. This was not done; but the 
 same eflbrts were renewed in many instances by j 
 Central America, and afterwards by the separate 
 States which had composed it. 
 
 I shall pass, however, over all that, and come 
 as hastily as possible to the negotiations which 
 immediately preceded the Clayton and Bulwer 
 treaty, and which are necessary to a full compre- 
 hension of the iiresente!-tai)Iished policy. In 1847, 
 tlie refiublic of Nicaragua, feeling itself eiidanj,^ered 
 by the aggressions of the British, and alarmed at 
 the fatal doctrines a.sserted by that Government 
 in regard to the rights (ff the Moscjuito kingdom, 
 
 I appealed to the United States for protection, on 
 these grounds: 
 
 [ " The United States is the natural protector of all the re- 
 publican States of the continent, the center of the liopes of 
 the American cause. Nicaragua, who derived its first im- 
 pulses from you, and is animated by your example, doubts 
 not that her representations will be received on a subject 
 which threatens her institutions and independence, iind 
 alfects the interests of all the American iei)ublic3." 
 
 Mr. Buchanan, to whom this letter was ad- 
 dressed, did not reply to it at all; but subsequently, 
 after the same application was repeated, and the 
 English had actually seized the port of San Juan, 
 he sent out Mr. Hise to negotiate. Mr. Rise did 
 not return till after General Taylor was inaugu- 
 rated, when he came with a treaty, the leading 
 features of which I shall give by extracting its 
 most important provisions. 
 
 The instructions of Mr. Buchanan to Mr. Hise 
 assert in boli and true terms the rights of the 
 United States and the motives of England; and 
 for their most lame and impotent conclusion, I 
 confess myself at a loss to account. I give those 
 clauses which contain the substance and meaning 
 of the whole. He says: 
 
 "The object of Great Britain in this seizure is evident 
 iVoni the policy which she has uniformly pursued through- 
 out her history, of seizing upon every valuable commercial 
 point in the world, whenever circumstances have placed it 
 in her power. Her purpose, probably, is to obtain the con- 
 trol of the route for a railroad and canal between the Atlantic 
 and Pacific oceans by way of Lake Nicaragua." 
 
 He also insists on the policy " of excluding all 
 interference on the part of European governments 
 in the domestic affairsof the American repuljlics." 
 He asserts the wrong of Britain, and denies their 
 claims, but says, in conclusion, that "the Govern- 
 ment of the United States has not yet determined 
 what course it will pursue in regard to the en- 
 croachments of the British Government." So 
 instrficted, Mr. Hise, not perhaps pursuant to 
 instructions, but under the impulse of genuine 
 American feelings, and impressed with the dan- 
 gerous character of the intrigues of the agents and 
 representatives of Great Britain, particularly at 
 and about San Juan, concluded a convention with 
 Commissioners of Nicaragua, with the following 
 provisions: 
 
 1st. That the United States should enjoy the 
 perpetual right of way through the territories of 
 Nicaragua by any means of conveyance then 
 existing, or which thereafter might be devised. 
 
 2d. That the United States, or a company char- 
 tered by it, might construct a railroad or canal 
 from one ocean to the other, and occupy such 
 lands, and use such natural materials and prod- 
 ucts of the cwuntry as might be necessary for the 
 purpose. 
 
 3d. That the United States should have the 
 right to erect such forts on the line or at the ex- 
 tremities of the proposed work as might be deemed 
 necessary or proper for its protection. 
 
 4th. That the vessels and citizens of all nations 
 at peace with both contracting Powers might pass 
 freely through the canal. 
 
 5ih. Tliat a section of land two leagues square 
 at either termination should be set apart to serve 
 as the sites of two free cities under the protection 
 of both Governments, the inhabitants of which 
 should enjoy complete municipal and religious 
 freedom, trial by jury, exemption from all mili- 
 tary duty, and from taxation, &c., &r. 
 
 In consideration of these privileges the United 
 States were to be bound to defend and protect the 
 territorial rights of Nicaragua, to preserve the 
 peace and neutrality of her coasts, and some other 
 
11 
 
 provisions not relevfint to the mntter in lumd. Be- 
 fore Mr. Hise lind (•(inclwilcd tliis convciiliuii the 
 Administration wliicli sciii him had tcone out, and 
 General Tnylor was iiiaug;uruted. Mr. Mi.se wa.s 
 recalled, and Mr. >S(|iiier sent in hi.s Htead, with 
 instructions from Mr. Clayton, whi<-li I .sliall lay 
 before the committee. Tlii.s treaty of Mr. Ili.se, 
 which certainly contains matter worth coriNider- 
 ation, was suiipressed hy the Taylor ndminisiru- 
 tion, on the f;ri>niid th.it it was completed after the 
 date of his letter of recall, and that it exceeded his 
 instructions. The verv truth is, it was siijipressed 
 becausf it toidc the American •jtoiind, and would 
 have brought us by possibility in contact with 
 England, which was then asserting new and most 
 extraordinary projiositions. We will see wimt 
 those propositions were, and how tlicy were met 
 by Mr. Clayton, and by his successor. Mr. Man- 
 ning, Vice Consul at Niairagua, writes to Lord 
 
 Palmerston in April, 1849: 
 
 " My opiiiinii, il'your lorilship will allow mo to express it, ' 
 as rP!;;ir(U tlii.s coimiry, Iit tlin |ire.--riit is, tliat it xvill tn: 
 overrun My .\incrii-iui iuivonliirers, und (•(nisciiiifiiily lirlii:; 
 on her Miiji-sty's Uuverniiiciit dis.igreeiilili' coiniaunicii' 
 lions Willi tlie United Slates, wtiicli possibly niiulit tic 
 avoided by an iiniiiediate nogoiiiition witti .Mr. On.<lflloii for 
 a protectorate and transit Invorabli; to British int'-ri.'st.-'. 
 The wi-ll'are ol" my country, and the desire ol" its nhtainiiii; 
 the control of so desirable a spot in the coMiinercinI world, 
 and free it from the ciiiiipclitioii of so ndvenlnrous a race lu 
 tlie North .Americans, induce me to address your lordship 
 with such freedom." 
 
 And Lord Palmerston, in a letter addressed to I 
 all the British agents in Central America, asking 
 information as to the boundaries of the Mosquito 
 kingdom, says: "You will also report what in ' 
 ' your opinion is the line of boundary which her 
 ' Majesty 's Government should iiisi's/ ujwn as abso- 
 ' luiely essential for the security and well-being of 
 ' the Mosquito shore;" and without waiting for a 
 reply, says, in a circular letter to the representa- 
 tives of his Government, that "the right of the 
 ' King of Mosquito should be maintained as ex- 
 ' tending tVom Cape Honduras down to the mouth 
 ' of the river San Juan." The answer of Chat- 
 field, the English /(ic.'o/itfii in Central America, im- 
 proves on Lord Palmerston 's e.xagijerated claim, 
 and says that the Mosquito boundary should pass 
 the river San Juan and reach even to Chagres; be- 
 cause, he says, " looking to the probable desti- j 
 ' nies of these countries, consideraole advantages 
 ' might accrue in after times by reserving the rights 
 ' of Mosquito beyond the river San Juan," and 
 suggests, as Manning liad done, an " early asser- 
 tion" of these claims. 
 
 The actual seizure witli armed force of the port 
 of San Juan, the only terminus of the inter-oceanic 
 communicaiion on the Atlantic side, under pretext 
 of the rii^htof the Mosquito King, and the knowl- 
 edge of liie schemes and designs revealed by tlie 
 above extracts, prompted Mr. Hise to make the 
 effort to conclude his proposed treaty. In the fear 
 of England, but under the pretexts of want of 
 authority, the administration of General Taylor 
 would not even submit the convention to the Sen- 
 ate, and withheld it from the Senate on a call lor it, 
 as appears from Senate Journal, February l.?th, 
 1850. However, General Taylor did what Mr. 
 Buchanan had so singularly omitted to do. He an- 
 swered to the applications which the Nicara^uan 
 republic had addressed to this for protection 
 against English encroachment, and says, after a 
 recognition of the correctness of the positions 
 taken by the Nicaraguan government, that " the 
 representations of Nicaragua had been received 
 with lively and painful interest," and that the 
 
 ' United State* would roSnernI* to " vindimle her 
 jiiHl territorial rif^hin, nnd ne.urc her pr i< p and 
 proHperuv." .'\iKurnn<:ej( to tiie Mime purpime 
 weremadeby .Mr.Clnylon. IIow hnvelhejr bctn 
 redienu-d by hiin or hiN nurceniior? 
 
 Mr.Sipiirrre. tived iimirurtiviiB frorii '.' ' 
 ton, from wlinli m.iy I'r gntliered hiN • 
 make n treaty with Ni.nrnguii, not wl 
 Niatent with nur iiitereMin nnd the pron. 
 
 ' made. Unfortuniitely, however, the ti. 
 pursuant to thoue inMiruciiona wim MU(ipft„»fd Ly 
 Mr. Webnter. And more unfortunntelv mill,. Mr. 
 Clayton made a treaty wuh Km-! ' ' , un- 
 
 der the conairuction given by III . sur- 
 
 rendered the very riglii« it wan in-. tect, 
 
 and was fatal to the treaty negotiated oy hia own 
 agent, under his own inHtruclioiiH. Mr. Clnylon 
 says, after a maHterly and conrluMive arsurnent 
 against the rigiit of the EnyliHh under the Mos- 
 quito King: 
 
 " It is manlf.-t, indcpd. Ihnt the righK rinlnipil lijr Great 
 llrilaiii iioiMirinlly in ln'hnlf of the .Nfi»r|iilif> K •nr. hm rfnllv 
 nn luT own, are luuiiilril ill reix-atnl i 
 U'liipnlioiis were rrp.-ntc.lly nnd miI, i 
 and r^lllll|Ui^hl■d by hi-r dnrinir iIm' ■[•■i- 
 tlii-.'\ni)Ticnni-oiiiini'nt. .<iiu'<' t: •'■ ' 
 those claims roiitil h:tvi-had no i... 
 tliun the siippOTil wcakni'<s or n 
 
 nu'lits iiivrstrd with Ihe rifflil* ol .•-,,,,,, ,,, i, i- ,, , ,. ,. _ 
 Inslriiitiou^ of John .V. Clr.yton, StcrrlaTi, o/ Hlole, to 
 Mr. Sijuier, Ex. hoc. 75, 3li( OoHg., Ut Sf»i. 
 
 And asjaiii, giving hia own viewi of the Clay- 
 ton and Biilwer treaty: 
 
 " We have never acknowledKcd, *kp tr.vrn r»r« *<:- 
 Kxowi.KDiiK the cxintmce of any cinini of »<>v<-r<'i|aly in 
 the .Mosquito Kinji, or any other Iiidinn in .\miTii-B. 7b 
 do !0 K-ould he to deny the title of th<- l.'nilrJ Sl.iln to Ker 
 own terrUorii. Having alwayn regaid' d the Indian tille a« 
 a mere right of occiipaney. we thn never agree ilmt nurh a 
 tille should ever be treated otherwise Ih.-in a« a tliii< to ht 
 c.rtiniuLhrd at tlic u-illof Ihe discocerer of the country. 
 Tpon Ihe raiiliealion of the treniy. (the C'la>l(in and Ilul- 
 wcr treaty,) (jreat Uritiiin will no longer have any ialrrrtl 
 to deiiv liiis principle, wliieli she has rreogiuzed in every 
 other ca.-e in common with us. Ilrr proteeior.ite will be 
 reduced to a shadow, ^^ Stat tiominis umhru," (»r the cun 
 luilli'-r occupy, fortify, or colonize, nor eierei'<e doniinloa 
 or rontrol in any part of the .Mosiimto ena«t, or Cenlral 
 America. To attempt to do ellherof thi-xe Ihingn, after the 
 exehniigc of rati.'icalions, would ineviial)ly (inxluce a rup- 
 ture with the Ciiitcd Slates. I!y the terins of the Irtair 
 neither parly can protect to orcupf, nor ">ccupy to protect.*' 
 
 Mr. Clayton further instructs Mr. Squier: 
 " We are willing to enter into treaty siipulationji with the 
 government of \ieiir:igiia that Imlh (lovernmeuts shall pro- 
 lert and defeiiil tlie prnprii'tors who may nuecred in rutting 
 llie canal, and oiMiiing water communicalions between llic 
 two oceans. .All appreheiision.s may, and will be reniored 
 by tlie solemn pledge of protection given by tli>- I'nited 
 States, and ispeoially \\1ien it is known tliit "ur .bjecl in 
 giving it. is not to ae>|uiri> tor oursrlv. \i- or 
 
 partial ailvanlage over oilirr natioim. \ Oc at 
 
 liberty to enUr into ihe uniiie treaty si i, nli any 
 
 other nation that maycUiiii to enjoy the moi!' L :i> Ills, and 
 wiltacTce to beliound ly the same conditioiu." 
 
 And yet again Mr. Clayton says as to bound- 
 aries — and in utter exclusion of the £nglis!i Mos- 
 quito claim: 
 
 " Against the aegrexsions on her territory, \i.nn::iia ha» 
 liiinly struggled — and prc)t.?|pd without e«a-iii.'. and the 
 feelings oflier people may bi' judged from \'.,<- ini;M«-ione4 
 language of (lie proelainalion of her .'^upreiin' Dn talor. No 
 veinber 1211), ISj.". Ttie iiiomi-nl [nays lie] ha-i arrived for 
 losing a eorintry with Ignominy, or for saeritiemg the 
 dearest treasures to pre.serve it. A« reg.iriN myseli', if the 
 power which nnnaees sets aside ju>iice, I am (irnily r"- 
 solved to be entombed in the rcioains of Nicaragua, rattier 
 than survive its ruin." 
 
 The eloquent appeal of the Minister of Nicar- 
 agua to his govewiment, is evidence not less stri- 
 king than impressive of the di.sposition of an in- 
 jured people to resist what they believe to be in- 
 justice and oppression. Will other nations inter- 
 
12 
 
 ested in a free passage to and from the Pacific ocean 
 by the way of the river San Juan and Lalce Nicar- 
 agua, tamely allow that interest to be thwarted by 
 such pretensions? Meaning of the Mosquito pro- 
 tectorate of Great Britain! ".'Is it regards the 
 United Stales, this question may be confidently an- 
 stcei-ed in the neglttive." 
 
 Now, if all this means anything;, it means to 
 say that Nicaragua has a right to the line of pro- 
 posed inter-oceanic communication, including the 
 port of San Juan; and that we will protectthis 
 right, if she gives us the right of way — every line. 
 The mere fact of treating with her about the matter, 
 acknowledges her right. The instructions to Mr. 
 Squier, provide that Nicaragua shall only "enter 
 into treaty stijjulations xcith other nations that may 
 claim to enjoy the samt benefit, and will agree to be 
 bound by the same conditions." 
 
 This very condition of the treaty with Nicar- 
 agua, forces England either "to be bound by the 
 same conditions," t\n acknowledgment of the right 
 of Nicaragua to the port of San Juan, or it cuts her 
 ofi' from the equal enjoyment " of the some benefits" 
 of the transit route. Pursuant to these instruc- 
 tions, Mr. Sqnier made a treaty with Nicaragua, 
 carrying out their spirit and intention, fully and 
 fairly. I cannot give the treaty in full, but the 
 following clause shows its character: 
 
 Akt. 38. "It is expressly stipulated that the citizens, 
 vessels, products, and manufactures of all naUoiis, shall be 
 pemiilted to pass upon the proposed canal, tludiisli the torri 
 tories of Nicaragua, subject to no other, nor hi^rlicr duties, 
 charges or taxes, than shall be imposed upon those of the 
 United States: Provided always, That such, nations shall 
 first enter into the same treaty stipulations and guarantees 
 re^jiectin; said canal, as may be entered into helwetii ilie 
 State of Nicaragua and tfie United States." 
 
 The same provision is made in the treaty of 
 commerce, negotiated at the same time. The 
 right of way was granted by Nicaragua to Amer- 
 ican citizens: and this treaty, as is obvious, would 
 bring all nations into league against England, if 
 she refused to make the same. Had this treaty 
 been adopted, Nicaragua would have been secured 
 according to her prayer to us, and our solemn 
 
 Jiledges to her, against the encroaclimfents of Eng- 
 and. 
 
 Of course England opposed this treaty in Nicar- 
 agua, by every art, which I have not space here to 
 expose. She failed; and as far as Nicaragua was 
 concerned, the treaty was made 23d September, 
 1849. It was sent home, approved by General 
 Taylor, and submitted to the Senate. It was 
 never acted upon. The death of General Taylor ! 
 placed our foreign relations in other hands than 
 those of Mr. Clayton, and gave the English Gov- 
 ernment the power it would probably not other- 
 wise have had, to turn against us those very acts 
 of Mr. Clayton, wliich, if unwise in the last de- 
 gree, wanted yet the action of Mr. Fillmore and 
 his Cabinet, to become altogether disgraceful. 
 
 Mr. Clayton, pending the negotiations above 
 alluded to with Nicaragua, and no doubt, as he 
 has often declared, for the purpose of concluding 
 forever the I)riti.sh claims, of whatever character"", 
 which came in conflict with the rights of Nicar- 
 agua, committed the fatal error of treating with 
 England in an affair in which she had no right. 
 He intended, by the very terms of the treaty, to 
 declare that she had no rights. Why, then, in 
 the name of common sense, should he have treated 
 about those rights as if they existed ? r>ut here j 
 i.s the article of the treaty on which all the out- ' 
 rageouH claims of England are based, and by 
 whicli, under the construction of this Administra- ' 
 
 I tion, we are made to yield the whole question ori- 
 [ginally in dispute, and to stultify ourselves before 
 the world: 
 
 "Art. 1. The Governments of the United States and 
 Great Britain In^rcby declare that neither the one nor the 
 other will ever obtain or maintain for itself anv exclusive 
 control over the said ship canal ; agreeing that neither will 
 ercr erect or maintain any fortifications coniinanilmu the 
 same, or in tlic vicinity thereof, or occupy or fortify, or col- 
 onize, or assume, or exercise any dominion over Nicar- 
 agua, Costa Rica, the Mosfpiito coast, or any part of Cen- 
 tral America; nor will cither make use of any protection 
 which either affords, or may afford, or any alliance wliicli 
 either has, or may have, to or with any State or people, for 
 the purpose of maintaining or erecting any such fortitica- 
 tions, or of occupying, fortifying, or colonizing Nicaragua, 
 (^osta Rica, the Mosfpiito coast, or any part of Central 
 America, or of assnining or exercising dominion over the 
 same ; nor will the United States or Great Britain talte ad- 
 vantage of any intinuicy, or use any alliance, connection, 
 or influence tliat either may possess with any State or Gov- 
 ernment through whose territory the said canal may pass, 
 for the purpose of acquiring or holding, directly or indi- 
 rectly, for the citizens or the subjects of the one, any rights 
 or advantages in regard to commerce or navigation fluougll 
 the said canal, which shall not be offered on the same terms 
 to llie citizens or the subjects of tlie other." 
 
 Now, no doubt this appeared clear to Mr. Clay- 
 ton, and no doubt he thought that by no greater 
 sacrifice than the great principle of " non inter- 
 vention by the Powers of^ Europe in the domestic 
 affairs of the independent States of this continent," 
 he had attained his object and avoided any collision 
 with England. On the contrary, England has so 
 construed the treaty as to make it an acknowl- 
 edgment of all her most extravagant demands. 
 Mr. Bulwer says, in a letter to Mr. Webster, that 
 the agreement was not designed to affect the position 
 of Great Britain as to the Mosquito kingdom — and 
 argues that the mere reference to protection con- 
 tained in the treaty recognizes the right and the 
 fact, and that England only meant to say that slie 
 would not exercise this protectorate so as to in- 
 terfere with the proposed canal. Under this con- 
 struction, England now occupies San Juan — now 
 oppresses Nicaragua, and now sustains the very 
 protectorate under which she had perpetrated all 
 the wrongs we have pledged ourselves to redress. 
 In further evidence of the construction put on this 
 treaty by England, and also her mode of dealing 
 with refractory republics, see this letter from the 
 representative of England in Central America to 
 thegovernment of Nicaragua, Ifjth August, 1850: 
 
 "Instead of insisting on its supposed riglu to the Mos- 
 quito shore, Nicaragua would best consult her interest by 
 at once making good terms with England — for resistance in 
 this matter will be of no further avail. It is impossible 
 that Nicaragua should be ignorant of her Urilaiuiic Majes- 
 ty's relation to the Mosquito question, as it has Ixibre it 
 the letter of Viscount Palmerston, of tlie date l.'iUi April 
 last, in which he declares, in the most clear and direct 
 terms, the utter impossibility of acceding to the preten- 
 sions of Nicaragua. On the other hand, the treaty of Messrs. 
 Clayton and fiuhver, about which you have so much to say, 
 anil in which you express so much confidence, expressly 
 recognizes the Mnsijuilo kingdom, and sets aside the rights 
 which you prctenil Niciua^ua has on that coast. The true 
 policy is for Nlcaraiina to inulcceive herself in this respect, 
 and to put no further conlideiice in the protestations and 
 assurances of pretended friends, (viz. Americans.) It 
 will be far l)etter for her to come to an understanding, with- 
 out delay, with Great Britain, on which nation depends 
 not only the welfare and commerce of Ihe State, hut also 
 the probability of accomplishing anything posiilve concern- 
 ing intiT- oceanic comnuuiication through her territories, ho- 
 canse it is only in Ijonilon that the necessary cni)ital for 
 such an enterprise can be Ibund." 
 
 I will not now argue the question if tliis be the 
 true consfriiction; it is or it is not. If it is, we 
 have surrendered the Monroe doctrine wholly; we 
 have violated our pledged word willfully, and we 
 have, by acknowledging the Mosriuito king, sub- 
 verted the very principle on whicli all territorial 
 
n 
 
 right in the New World rests, viz: that the abori- 
 gines hud only a poHseHSory risltt, nnd no sov- 
 erci^Miiy or eniiiienl doninin over iiny pnrt of it. 
 ll' it is not liie true construction, we are iierniitiin^ 
 England to violate iier treaty olilij^niinns with us 
 most injiniouHJy every day. and by this same vio- 
 lation of faith witii uh, to inllirl liie deepest wron*; 
 on the sister repiiljhr. whiih had ehiimed, nnd to 
 •whirh we iiad promised "ur protection. 
 
 This would lie our position if no further notion 
 had i)een taken Uy this Ailministration after Mr. 
 Clayton left the Dejiartment of State. Hut, sir, I 
 grieve to say that the niost intolerable part of the 
 record remain.s to be completed. And here, sir, 1 
 ■wish to brioi; a most sisi^nificant fact before the 
 committee nnd the country. On theijdth of Feb- 
 riinry, It^ol, tiie followins; letter was addressed by 
 the Ministerof Nicaragua to liie Secretary of State, 
 (Mr. Webster.) 1 give a. translation as literal ks 
 j)ossibIe: 
 
 Wamiiinoton, Feftni nry 01, 1 Ml. 
 
 Tlie (inilorsisned, Envoy i;xirnor<liimry and Sljnisipr 
 rieninotiMiti.Ty <it' llie rrnulili'' "i' MicnrnBun, liaH tlio 
 Honor lo adilrcss Mr. Daniel Weh.siiT, Sri-rctary oC ?tnle 
 of the .AnuTican Union, to Isubnilt lo him n tew ri'ninrkx 
 ooncerniiiy the interpretntioti tliat (.'rent lirilain lia.x bo- 
 lievctl n•■c(■.-■^iil^y to give to the treaty ronclmlid hi-twecn 
 tliis last Tower and tlie Government of the I'liilcd .'^lalrs, 
 the llUh April, 1850. It .is notorious to all Ihal Ilic said 
 treaty ha;< tor object lo pive the ino.-<t coiniili-te H'oiirily 
 lor the execution of the maritime canal llirouuh the Isili- 
 inus ot' Nicaragua and to puaranty the neutrality of this 
 important way of inter oceanic comniunicaiion. With 
 out any doubt to attain this object, and in order to avoid 
 dillicultii's of any kinil to the lawl'ul execution of tiaid 
 treaty, both Governments have IhouL'ht neces^;nry to insert 
 in ihe articles, the nomenclature of the Siati-s, districts, 
 nnd localities adjoining tin; place fhrouKh which the canal 
 is going to run, among others the coast and the Mosipiito 
 country which form nnd constitute, and that have constiiu 
 ted and formed an essential and integral pan always of the 
 republic of Nicaragua. 
 
 Hence arose that Great Britain, wishing to take ndvnn 
 tage of the same test and the clauses of the treaty, lias di 
 n.cted all her agents in Central .America, and principally in 
 Nicariiiua, new instructions nnd communications in wliicli 
 expri^sly is staled that Ihe Government of the .American 
 I'ninu recognizes the existence of the prelcmled Mosipiito 
 kiTiL'diim, and the usurpation of the port of San Juan, n?ul 
 lliat, far from deliilitaiitiL' the rights of the savage chief, the 
 treaty confirins ihi-ni in lull. 
 
 Thr undersigned, although fully persuaded of iho error 
 of the lirittsh Government, cannot help, on this account, to 
 address Mr. Daniel Webster, .Secretary of Stale, with the 
 view ot ascertaining if the Government of the Union really 
 intends lo recognize the existence of a territory separated, 
 coverin;:, and independent of the republic of .Xicaragua, 
 generally known under thenameof thecoasl and Mosquito 
 kingdom, nnd if the actual Administration which directs 
 the destinies of die American people so wisely and prii- 
 rtently, abounds in the ideas and principles expressed in the 
 dispatch of his honorable antecessor of the 7th of May. 1850, 
 directed to the Clinrgu d'.AlIaires of Ihe republic of Nicnra 
 pim. The undersigned avails himself of tliid opportunity, 
 
 X.C., &LC. , 
 
 To which letter no nn.'swer has yet been returned. , 
 Perhaps this silence, apparently unaccountable, 
 will be made intelligible by considering carefully 
 the i>r(ij(l of a convention signed liy the Secretary 
 of State for the United St;ites, nnd the I'ritish Min- 
 ister, (Mr. Crampton,) and presented to the gov- 
 ernment of Nicaragua. The projet should be in- • 
 seried entire, liut its length forbids. I give its 
 substance, under all the responsibilities for any 
 misrepresentation: 
 
 I. That the entire south'Tn bank of the river San Juan 
 and Lake Nicara^rua, including the depnrlment of \ieoya, 
 or Guanucastc, on the I'acitic, shall be detinitely conceded 
 to Costa Rica. 
 
 n. That the IVIosquilo kingdom shall comprise the ter- 
 ritory lying between the mouths of the rivers Kama and Sp. 
 govia, on the eastern coast of Central America, and shall 
 extend inward to the meridian of 83' 30' west longiiuile. || 
 
 in. That the port of San Juan de Nicaraiua fhall 4)e 
 "ceded" to Nicaragua by his august Majesty, subject to a ' 
 
 • ...f«U 
 
 M.>-.|iiiM :t ml- . ,H .1 111. .iiti. riil.c, |.,i ihfr. > . .i|>, of all 
 duiii'ii eollecii-d iliirr, •( a nie ol icn i»ri cruu aiinuallVt 
 III llilii niieU'l |M>li iilnt<>. 
 
 The .M.i.<|Uiii> li ■ ' ■ r 
 
 the lerninry heiri. 
 ern eonai ol Ceiiir i 
 bouiidid im follou 
 ribliean .«i-:i, nl lli< . 
 :M norlh laliliiilr, :t^ 
 line Wl ^l lo lite |ii. i... .u ■; - i ..., 
 
 Greenwich, iheiier dur n<iiiii on aalU n 
 Segovln, Ihenrr d'lWii vniil rivrr lo I 
 Ihenco riiullnrly almiK Ihr r)u>rf • 
 bcmnning, nnd nil ihe re»i nnJ ■ 
 and hiiidii lying Miiiihi-rly niiil «^ . 
 hereloforu oreupied or rlniiniil I,, i, 
 including tjreylown, lliey nball rrii 
 the republic of Nicuriigtin, l<igrihi-i u 
 over Ihe k«me, in eiinrldernlion '•' > ■ 
 years iroin nil dtilieii Icviid niic' 
 the rate of tun |ht cent, urf luli.i • 
 
 into llie Stan- — llic perlcMl of ilm , 
 
 Ihe day wlii'ii Niciirngn.i uliall ruiiiiiiii) iniii 
 and enter into the iH-ciipancy of uniil Ion n. i 
 
 receipt;* lo bu pnynble i|iinrlerly lu (Ueh mint a- „- ..,. 
 
 pointed to receive them. 
 
 KUtiragua li Tei/iilrnl not to molril or inlrrjcre rilk Uu 
 . Motquito Iniliani within thr trrrtUny rrttrrr/lo them. 
 
 The first thing which strikes one on rxnmining 
 this projcl is the recognition of the J^oMcpiito 
 kingdom. Thin it not «)nly dots exprrsiily hjr 
 setting forth it,s boundaries, but by Rti|iulating for 
 the cession (" cedtd" in the term u."<pd) of tlip port 
 of San Juan on certiiin oppressix-^ cuidiiiunH, by 
 the Mo.squitoes to Nicarngun. Now, nn to thia 
 Mosquito kingdom, in the extracts nirendy made 
 from Mr. Clayton's insiruciions to Mr. S|uier, the 
 argument asjoinst sny title in them is complete, 
 put 1 will add a few consideraltons nnd author- 
 ities to the same purpose: 
 
 "The ."Mosquito IndianK arc iiunk In the lnwr»| dale of 
 icnorance nnd barbarism. Their nuinbrr OvUi^'nc the 
 Woolwas, Itamns, 'I'owkn-e.nnd othiT« i 
 sovereiantv of the .Mo-cos) doi^s not e\. 
 -Mr. 7/nf, L'nitnl .S/uJm CharsiU'.r ■ 
 ancin, I'chruary, If-l'J. 
 
 " The Mo-i|uilos nre inferior lo the Indinnii of the I'Dlird 
 States in personal npjii-nrnnce, nnd intliiit.h I»l,.w lh>-in 
 
 '■■..■ he. 
 • Ihe 
 
 itrd, 
 idea 
 111 a 
 
 V the 
 
 ii 1 < .in not 
 
 ■ >• contrary, 
 
 . .1I1V intrf- 
 
 in the iiienlnl scale. They are luinnlid 
 yond description. From the lM>t of i 
 ' nation' docs not exci^-d one llioiH.ind ' 
 and it is not probable that one imth of i 
 of a national chnracler. |i should h.- 
 niinibcrof Indian lrilH>« in Ihe int'rir.r 
 English to be under ^locquilo y. 
 le.-irn that Ihey admit any unch a<f 
 they aclunlly pmbibit, under p' • 
 niixture wilii the .Mos<|iiitoii." — M, . > 
 Chami d\1jfuirct, to Mr. CVuytoii, Ju 
 
 "They do noinppcnrto linve any idea < • n ,-i;.' r,)p Be- 
 ing.'" — Ynitnf't Mattfuito Shore, p. "S. 
 
 " Cha-lity Is not considered a virtue ; polygamy ia cont- 
 inon nmoiigii them."— /A. p. 73. 
 
 " .A plurality of ml^treniieii h no dNgrnre, and ll i« nnc 
 nnconimon for n nmi^li i>uhjert |o Imvp one or more of 
 
 lhe»e unlive w( -n nl diirereiii pnttn of the cna<t. They 
 
 have nci|uired great influence lhroi||li Uiom." — Ma€grtg- 
 or's Hri>ort to hritiih Parliament. 
 
 "I have never known n marri • • • • ■ 
 them. The children nre, in gen- 
 tains of irnding vi-<Hels from Jnm i 
 
 emony with nnytliiue but rcveniK' on .m » 
 
 born during their absence. .Many of them are ii 
 them for more Ihnii liapiism. I could piinmi rale i 
 a dozen children of two of tbi-se caplnins. II 
 
 M .n|t»t 
 ap- 
 cer- 
 
 . i b.-en 
 ■bird In 
 re than 
 - Ilcen- 
 tiou- and immoral conduct, ihev have tdeniifini th< inM-lvr^ 
 with Ihe nalivei. Their nrnvnl i« hnile.l with joy, as the 
 senson of festivity, revelry, chrlMening, mid dii»auctiiTV."" 
 — RolcrVt Mofi/utto Short, p. 109. 
 
 And the Secretary of Stale of Nicaragua to 
 Lord Palmerston, says: 
 
 " You know, sir, very well, thai Ihe (>«tahli«hH pmeficr 
 for a society which coiisidi'rs itself c.Tpal' .-the 
 
 rank of a nation, to obtain itsrecosnilioi . ,o- 
 
 licit through its chief, hi« ministers, c ted 
 
 agents, tiic recogDitton of established i5uiii.s. i>ui iin.i rule 
 
14 
 
 iirintoriialional l;i\v has in no way hccn ooinpliRd with by 
 tlie pretenilfi! King of Mosquito, wtio, it is allfged, now as- 
 sumes to raise the question of boundary with Nirarasua. 
 Thisgovrrnnieiit has not rpeo>rnizp(l, and will neverri-eog- 
 ni/.e such a kin;;dorn as ' Mosquito,' much l<'<:s tlie territo- 
 rial prelpii-ions of wliich you sppak. No snoli king has ex- 
 isted, or now exists. It is preposterous, sir, that a few 
 savages, wandering in the forests and wastes on the coasts 
 o;' Honduras and Nicaragua, living by the chase and lishinc, 
 without hiiuses, without a known language, without writ- 
 ten characters, arts, laws, or relision, without any of the 
 elements which, according to received principles, are neces- 
 sary to a national existetioe — thai such a horde of savages 
 eliould profess to constitute a regular society, or what is 
 more, a kingdom !" 
 
 Cliief. Justice Marshall says — and tlie opinion 
 lias never been contradicted or questioned — in re- 
 gard to all Indian title: 
 
 '• Wliile the ditlerent nations of Europe respected the 
 rights ot the natives as occv}iants, they asserted the ulti- 
 mate dominion to be in themselves." 
 
 And again: 
 
 "The United States maintain, as all others liave main- 
 tained, that discovery gavii the exclusive right to extinguish 
 tilt! [ndian title to occupancy, either by purchase or^con- 
 quRst, apd also gave a right to such a degree of sovereignty, 
 as the circuiustaiices of the jieople would allow thein to 
 exercise." 
 
 But, sir, not only are the Mosquitos incapable 
 of the rights asserted for tiiem in this treaty, but 
 the republic of Nicara5;ua has a title to the port 
 of San .Tuan and the whole of the territory to be 
 " ceded " by tliis jirojd as clear and indisputable 
 as the United States to the District of Columbia. 
 In loOJ, Columbus sailed from Cape Honduras to j 
 the Isthmus of Panama, and took possession in i 
 the name of Spain. There are .o:rants made in 
 close and constant succession of dilferent parts of 
 this coast by Spain down to 1786. England had, j 
 however, attempted to exercise sovereignty over 
 
 Cart of the Mosquito shore in the mean time; but 
 y a treaty of the above date she recognizes the ! 
 title of Spain, and withdraws her protection from j 
 such of her subjects as may '^ be so daring" as to 
 settle on the territory belongine: to Spain. The ' 
 terms of this treaty are recoirnized and renewed by 
 the treaty of Madrid, dated August 28th, 1S14. I 
 The history of the time from 1814 to 1824 exhibits j 
 abundant proof of occupancy by Spain of this 
 coast; and when the confederation of Central I 
 America declared its independence, England her- 
 self recognized it with the boundaries settled in ( 
 the constitution as reaching from "sea to sea." 
 And on the dissolution of that confederation Eng- 
 land also recognized the boundary of the State of 
 Nicaragua, which was declared to run from sea to 
 .sea. By two treaties with Spain, one in 1836, the I 
 other in 1850, the title of Nicaragua is recognized [ 
 over the AlosquUo coast and "from sect lo r,ea. " The 
 
 Sort of San .Tuan, which this projct v.'ould make 
 ficaragua purchase from the Mosquitos, was for- ; 
 tilled by Spain as early as 1665, and tlie defenses 
 renewed in 17^7, and her occupation of it uninter- 
 rupted till 18:J4, when the troops of Nicaragua ex- 
 pelled the Spanish garrison. In 1842, and also in [ 
 1844, San Juan was blockaded by England as a [ 
 ]iort of Nicaragua, to recover claims brought 
 against Nicaragua. And England n'^ver in any j 
 way, till 1847, disputed the title of Nicaragua, at 
 least to this point; ancl never in any manner as- 
 flerted the Mosquito title south of Blewfield's Bay 
 l)efore that year, when, as I luive before shown, 
 filie determined to control the terminus of the 
 inter-oceanic communication, and luider this am- 
 bulatory Mosquito claim seized witli an armed 
 force liie (lort (jfSan Juan, driving out the troops 
 of Nicaragua, and holding it herself, as she still 
 
 i holds it, under the affectation of a Mosquito pro- 
 I tectorate. 
 
 The prr.jet also contemplates a robbery of Ni- 
 I' caragua in favor of Costa Rica, which is so clearly 
 I and concisely exposed in the following extract, 
 I that with it I may finisii this part of the subject: 
 
 "Upon the independence of Central America, tlie vari- 
 ous provinces of the old Captain Gcneralcy, corresponding 
 to our thirteen colonies, took the rank" of independent 
 States, and, as sucll, subsequently entered into the confed- 
 eration of Central America. Kacli State assumed the bound- 
 aries which it had possessed as a province. From this 
 arransement there was no dissent. As provinces, the 
 boundary between Costa Uica and Nicaragua had been re- 
 peatedly defined by royal decrees, by the historians of the 
 country, and by tlie omcial maps. This was a right line, 
 running from the lower or Colon-ndo moutli of the San Juan 
 ' river, to the mouth of the Rio Salto de Nicoya, or Alvarado, 
 on the racific. All the Spanish maps, from the earliest 
 periods to that of the disruption of the Spanish Empire in 
 America, all lay down this line as a boundary. Hut upon 
 this point the best evidence is that furnished by Costa Rica 
 hcMsclf. In her lirst constitution, (art. 15, chap, ii,) dated 
 January, 182.5, she defines her boundary on the north to be 
 precisely what we have stated, i. e., the mouth of tlie San 
 Juan on the Atlantic, and that of the Alvarado on the Pa- 
 cific. Were any further evidence necessary, it is amini<-.d 
 by the map attached to Thompson's Guatemala, which was 
 j furnished to the autliorof that work, orticially, by the Gov- 
 ! ernment of the republic of Central .Vmerica, of wliicli 
 j Costa Kica formed a part. There was neither niisunder- 
 1 standing nor dispute upon the sutiject." 
 I " So things remained up to the 9t'i of December, 1S93, 
 when the Federal Congress, from causes in no way con- 
 nected with any question of territorial right, [Kissed a decree 
 as follows: ' For Ihc present, a.nd until tlie boundaries of 
 'the several States shall he fixed in accordance with act 
 'seven of the constitution, the department of Nicoya (or 
 ■ 'Guanucaste) shall be separated from Nicaragua and at- 
 ' tachod to Costa Rica.' Although this decree was provis- 
 ional, Nicaragua did not submit to it without an earnest 
 protest, in which the inhabitants of the district also joined. 
 The Congress, however, never proceeded to define the 
 limits of the respective States, and in 1838, the confedera- 
 • tion was dissolved. By the dissolution, the original rights 
 ; of the States, territorial as well as all others, reverted to 
 them again in their sovereign capacity. 'J'he temporary 
 alienation of Nicoya ceased, and it reverted to its true pro- 
 prietor, whose rights, at the most, had only been suspended. 
 Yet, it is upon this temporary concession of the Federal 
 Congress that any claim of Costa Rica must rest; but no 
 claim thus founded can for a moment receive the sanction 
 of reason. 
 
 " Still, admitting it tn its full extent, and admitting that 
 Congress not only had the right of separatina Nicoya from 
 Nicaragua, and supposins that it had exercised the power 
 with a view to permaHency,and that the whole transaction 
 had been concurred in by Nicaragua, yet, even then, Costa 
 Rica could not claim a f\)0t beyond {\\e actual limit of the 
 department of Nicoya, which constitutes less than one 
 tliird of the vast territory which Mr. Webster proposes to 
 surrender to her ! Nicoya is comprised between the south- 
 western shore of I.nUe Nicaragua and the IVicific, and em- 
 braces no portion olthe territory south of Lake Nicaragua, 
 and below the San Juan river, a territory over which 
 Nicaragua has always maintained jurisdiction, where she 
 has had forts for centuries, and which she still occupies. 
 As late as 1816, Costa Rica negotiated with Nicaragua for 
 the jnicilese of passin^^ throi:;;h tiiis territory, and in 1848 
 made overtures for the purchase of it." 
 
 ' This plan for the partition of Nicaragua was 
 presented to her Minister here. He resisted and 
 expostulated, but in vain; it was sent to Nicara- 
 gua, and, after being considered by the Govern- 
 iTient, was replied to by the following decree: 
 
 The Director of the Stnte of Xicnrafua to its Inhabitants: 
 Inasmuch as the Legislative Assembly has decreed the 
 
 following: 
 'I'lie Senate and <?liamber of Representatives of the State 
 
 of Nicaragu3,ln Assembly convoked — 
 
 nKCRKES: 
 
 Art. 1. The State of Nicaragua does not accept tlie pro- 
 ject of convention or recninmendatory basis, adjus'erl on 
 the IfOtli of April last, between his Excillency Daniel Web- 
 ster, Secretary of State of the United States, and his Ivxcel- 
 lencyj. F. Crainpton, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
 I'lenipotentiaiy of her Urit:iniiic Alajesty, in respect to the 
 ta»ritorial boundaries between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, 
 aiid tiic .separation of the Mosquito coast. 
 
15 
 
 Akt. 2. The Smte of Nicnragua la dlHpoted to bavo itic 
 
 3iit.-.siiuii 8tarlutl, in cimni'cliiiii wiih tlic poiiiU luiMitloia'd, 
 isciissed bHlliri' i[iipi.'rial arlntraiurH. 
 Akt. 3. Tlii; Slate (if Nicaramiu (irtiloKtH nolniiiily ai;aiTiHt 
 all foreign iiitfrlfriMioe in llie allairn ofitHijovrrnMMiil.aMd 
 a«;ainst Uie use of force to coerce iln will or violaw tta , 
 
 (Jiven in the Hall orScsMonn of tlia House ol UeiireDCnt- 
 atives, MiuKiuiia, Jiilv II, IKVJ. 
 
 Ai(;rSTIN \\\l.V/A, Hey. Prct't. 
 
 J..AQ.lsCtA„R*, {« 5,.,,,. 
 
 Makiam ItoHNOS, S 
 
 In tlir Kxoculivo Hall of lUe Senate, Mannsua, July IG, 
 
 MIOCKL R. MOKAJ-K3, S.-na<c iVcj'/. 
 
 T. lilKKRA, ) 
 
 ThiTCtori', let it lie exeonte.l. J. I.. PINEDA, 
 
 i>ii/»r.iii<- director of the Governmeiit oj Mcaragua, 
 MaNai:l A, Jutv 19, iav>. A true coiiy : 
 
 CASTILI.ON, Secretary of Foreign Jijfatri. 
 
 Tlie following decree hnd been passed before 
 (vi/.: in October, IHl'.t) by the stinie authorily: 
 
 ■'The I..;;i>lalive t'liainliiTs of the I!e|iulilic of Xlcara- 
 gua, in view nlpasl events and existing,' circninstnnol!!', in 
 confiiriiiilv with llie settled sphH'ophk <>i ilio poople which 
 • it reiireseiits, soii'iiini.r iieclare : 
 
 " 1. Their mlhcsion totlie principle ofthe total exclusion 
 of European interference from the domestlo and interna- 
 tional ai)Uir:< of the repuhlican AiiuTican Slates, as neces- 
 sary to ilii'ir peace and independence. 
 
 "2. That the extension of monarchical institutions hy 
 conquest, eoloni/ation, or by a sup|i<>rt of savasje chiefs to 
 sovereiunty, or savage tribes to national exisienee, or by 
 other means upon the American continent, is in opposition 
 to the interests of the republican American rimies, danjier- 
 ous to their peace and sat'ety, and an encroachment upon 
 
 they 
 
 Hiinken 
 
 ...,. IStit il 
 
 •renti»-ii,(froni 
 
 vi)hn for other 
 
 HonduraBin A ' . . I -.M . hlhv ihann ye»r'ifter 
 the treaty wii.s ciiii'-I(icle<l; 
 could luit liiive been " ('k- <' 
 of in the flt'iel oondiii'""" ' 
 i.s nerfectly dcnr that, tin • 
 which 1 have nlrenily r:i. i| i 
 purpoae.s,) in unlirnken stirieat iVum \~ti'.i to 1h14, 
 and now governini; the relfttionolieiwocti l',iii;hiiid 
 and Spain, and from lawn parsed l<y the Kii:;hi*h 
 Parliament, and now m force, that Kii:;h>nd had 
 no such rii;hleven in the Dith/eor Untiali Ilondu- 
 n\s, ns is a.sHerted over thene ifilniidfl. 
 
 Under these treaties, the Halr/e itself belong! to 
 the SUile of Guatemahi, and the islands now iti 
 di.spiite as clearly to Ilomlurn:!. I'v the seven- 
 ; teenlh article of the treaty of jieace, ol' ITfJ.'J, it wa« 
 I provided that " lli.s liritannic MajeHtyshnll cause 
 ' ' to be demoii.shed all the fortifications which his 
 ' snbjcct.s h.ive erected in the I5ay of Honduras, 
 'and other places of the territory of Sriain, in 
 ' that pari of the world, within four month.-!." 
 The Eni^lish did d-jmolish some of their forti, 
 ,' but retained some of their establinhments, which 
 violation of the treaty of 1763 led to another war. 
 This war was conoJuded by a treaty of peace in 
 ■ 17H3, by which the En^'liwh were allowed the priv- 
 ilege of cuitiiii; losrwood in the district •• lyin^' be- 
 • ' tween the rivers I loiulo and Balize, provided that 
 ' the stipulation shall not be considered as deropa- 
 ' ting in anywise from the ri?hta of sovereigiity 
 I ' of the King of Spain." Il also provides that all 
 ji English subjects, *' whether on the Spani.^h contt- 
 
 their individual and collective rights 
 
 And thus the aflair was .suspended; and nothing ' nent, or in" any of the islands whatever depend- 
 but ihe firmnes.s and decision of the Nirara- ' ent upon il," shall retire within the district above 
 guan government has saved us from the deep defined. As the conditions of this treaty were 
 euilt involved in the p-ojcf just discii.ssed. When ^ violated by the English, another was entered into, 
 It was discovered that this plan would be opposed ' in 1786. The first article of this treaty is this: 
 
 plan wouia be oppo 
 by tlie Minister of Nicaragua, application was 
 made to his government for his recall; this was 
 refused, as he was a long-tried and trusted repre- 
 sentative, and the reasons of the demand were 
 
 " His Rrilannie M.ijesly's subjects, and the other coloni«t, 
 who have enjuyeil the protection of Enslaiid, shall cvmcii- 
 ale the cniimry of the .Mosrjuitog, as well as the continent 
 in general, and the islands adjacent, wilhoul (•xceptioiii 
 itunted beyond Ihe line hcrealler dcsrribe<l as what ought 
 
 asked tor; ihev were nol given, but after the death H-.to be the frontier of the extent of territory Eranled by hi» 
 
 Catholic .Majesty to the English, for Ihe u^es specilied In 
 the third arlicle pf ihe present convention. 
 
 •'The English line, beainning from ihc sea, shall take 
 the center of the river Libun, or Jabou, niid enntinuc up to 
 the source of said river; from thence it chall cross in a 
 stiai^ht line the intermediate land till it inlej^sects Ihc river 
 Wallace, (Uali/.e,) and by Ihc center of the same river iha 
 line shall deseind to a point when- it will meet the line 
 .nlready settled and marked out by tlie commissaries of Uic 
 two Crowns in 17S3." 
 
 The third article provides that the English may 
 cut certain woods, and " gather such fruits of the 
 earth as are purely natural or uncultivated." And 
 I further: 
 
 ' " But it is expressly nsrreed that this stipiil.ilion is never 
 to be used as a pretext lor enlnblishim; in thai country any 
 plantation of HUt;ar, c<ill"ee, cocoa, or oiIht like arlicles, or 
 
 of llie then Secretary of State, as lately as the 
 30th of December, 1852, only the other day, the 
 present .Secretary of Slate addressed a note to the 
 Minister of Nicaragua, refusing to recognize him 
 in his oincial character; thus proving the persist- 
 ence of this Administration in the same policy 
 which had dictated the refusal to answer the in- 
 quiry contained in the letter to Mr. Webster, 
 inserted above, and making the present Secretary 
 of State a sort of administrator, de honis non, of 
 the uiie.vecuted vengeance of his predecessor. 
 
 The last point to which I shall ask the attention 
 of the committee, is the seizure by England of 
 the islands of Roatan, Bonacca, &c., Ac, in the 
 Bay of Honduras. This has been completed in 
 two acts; on thelOth of August, 1851, the super- any fabric or manulaclure by means of mills, or oiImt ma 
 
 •_. ,i„ ,, „»• ,i,„ o„i;.,« .„^i, r..^^„„„<,;„., ,r „„,l chines whatsover, (this rcslriclinn, however, does not re- 
 
 intendenl ot the Bal ze took possession ot, and p^^,, „,^. „^^ ^^ ^;^;. „,j„, lorcuthnsorother^visepreparing 
 attached these islands as a dependency ot the oie wood,) since nil the lands in question being indispuia- 
 Balize. bly acknowledged to belong to the Crown of Spain, no set- 
 
 In July 1852, they were rei^ularly oro^anized tlementoi ihai kind, or the population which would follow, 
 under the namVof the "Colony'of the Bay of Isl- '^^""''" l>« a"""''l-" 
 
 ands." Thai this is a manifest violation ofthe In this settlement of boundaries, it will be ob- 
 Clayton and Bulwer treaty, in the sense which it served that no islands are included; but m if to 
 bears on its face, does nol admit of contradiction, exclude all doubt upon that subject, the fourth ar- 
 But it is contended by the agents of England, that tide of the same treaty provides that the English 
 under the explanations and exceptions and con- shall use for certain purposes the island of Casina, 
 ditions between Mr. Clayton and Mr. Bulwer, ' of St. George's Key, but that " no fortifications 
 that British Honduras was not within the scope shall be erected, or troops established there." Ar- 
 of that treaty, or its dependencies. Now, admit- tide fifth also provides that some small islands, 
 ting this proposition, it is a fact known to every . (not, however, those now in dispute,) may b« 
 one that these islands were only held by the Eng- " used by the Enslish for the same purposes, and 
 lish themselves to be dependencies of British' with the same restrictions as St. George's Key. 
 
16 
 
 -?7 
 
 •' Spanish sovereignty over the country," and the 
 exclusion of any " system of government, either 
 miiitnry or civil," by any other Power, are ex- 
 pressly provided for in article sixth. Itisobvious, 
 therefore, that the British claim to the Balize is a 
 mere possessory right guarantied and limited by 
 treaty, and for certain specific purposes, and it is 
 equally obvious that tlie islands in dispute are not 
 under the treaties, or in any sense dependencies of 
 the Balize. ^ j 
 
 The limits laid down' for the English in the | 
 treaty of 17SG, were within the territory claimed ' 
 by and recognized by Spain, as belon;jing to Qua- i 
 tenuila, and that State has the undoubted right, de- j 
 rived direct froiM Spain, to sovereignty over it. 
 By the same title the islands in dispute belonged i 
 to the State of Honduras, and were acknowledired 
 as her territory by Great Britain herself in 1830. 
 when England disavowed in plain terms the act of 
 the superintendent of the Balize in seizing the t 
 island of Roatan. The treaty of 1614 refers to and 
 revives the treaty of 17SG with all the boundaries 
 and rights which it contained, and thai, treaty ia | 
 the law ot the case at the present day. And ; 
 England has so recognized it ^o be by acts of Par- 
 liatnent as late as 1819, and now in force, which 
 amends an act passed ia 1817, in which these ' 
 words occur : . | 
 
 " Wiierens, crievoiis murders and manslauahters have | 
 been coniiiiitted at the setlltment in tlie liay of" Honduras, ! 
 tlie same beinji a settlement for certain purposes in the 
 possessiiin, and under the protection of his Majesty, but 
 not within ttie territory and dominions of his Majesty," | 
 &c. " . _ _ 
 
 As to the part we should take in any dispute ; 
 between Guatemala and Great Britain, in regard ' 
 to the Balize, 1 have said enough before to indi- i 
 Gate my opinion; but upon the much clearer que^- 
 
 ! tion arising from the seizure of these islands, which 
 were notdependencies of the Balize, but of the State 
 I of Honduras, and which were not claimed as de- 
 I pendencies of Balize for a year after the Clayton 
 , and Bulwer treaty, and which therefore coulcl not 
 come within the doubtful reservations, secretly 
 made by Messrs. Clayton and Bulwer explana- 
 tory, I do not see how Americans can dilTer. The 
 i treaty of 1814 is plainly violated; the Clayton and 
 i Bulwer treaty is as openly broken in the clause 
 [ which provides, "that neither Great Britain nor 
 the United States shall occupy, fortify, or assume, 
 nor exercise dominion over any part of Central 
 America." 
 
 We should take such action as would enforce 
 the treaty, let the result be what it may. It would 
 be no war for conquest, but forthemaintanance of 
 national honor and good faith. It would result in 
 placing us in our natural position, as the protector 
 of those republics which have been created by the 
 force of our example, and which have a right to 
 look to us for aid in those emergencies in which 
 
 we ui-c tin deeply cumpiomiapj 30 they. I believe 
 
 such a war — even if there should be a v/i-r from 
 the assertion of our manifest rights — would ter- 
 minate v/itli extended territory, augmented power, 
 and increased influence in the world. If, in its re- 
 sults, tiie ties which would exist between ourselves 
 and the States of Central America, as guardian 
 and ward — if the sympathy of a common repub- 
 licanism should be drawn yet closer even to a po- 
 litical union — I can see nothing of evil augury in 
 the prospect. Not that I would desire to see war 
 for this or any other purpose, but to avert inr 
 jury and dis^^race; but I believe that such a war, 
 and for suclf a purpose, is as sound in policy as 
 risrht in morals. 
 
 Printed at the Congressional Globe Office, Washington. 
 
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