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 THE EOUNDAM QUESTION 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 NEW Gf ANADA AND COSTA RIGA. 
 
 , -e^3^§\§cip^,g\§\=^o 
 
 BY 
 
 («?" 
 
 Charg-e d' Affaires of New Granada 
 
 near the Ciovominent of the United States, 
 
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 Printed by Nio. Mu-llrr, 48 lieekiaaii-Street, 
 
 18 5 5. 
 
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THE COAST OF MOSQUITO 
 
 AND 
 
 THE BOUNDARY QUESTION 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 The general interest manifested by the press in the 
 questions relating- to the Mosquito Coast, and the want 
 of information on the subject, displayed by some of those 
 who have written on it, when at the same time various 
 suggestions have been made, to deprive the States to 
 which they belong, of those territories, show the neces- 
 sity ofelucidating the affair in a serious and conscientious 
 manner, so that public opinion may become enlightened 
 and exercise its beneficial influence. It is for this end 
 that the following rapid sketch of the facts referring to the 
 possession and dominion of the above mentioned Coast 
 has been written, and it is hoped that these observations 
 may contribute somewhat towards the formation of a just 
 and impartial judgement on the matter; and as this 
 question is connected with that of the boundaries be- 
 tween New Granada and Costa Rica, they will also be- 
 come the object of a brief review. 
 
 It has been said that the Govermnent of the United 
 States has suggested and supports certain projects 
 pointed out by the press, of usurpation on the Mosquito 
 Coast ; and as it might be thought that these pages have 
 been written in consequence of those asseverations, their 
 
LA COSTA DE MOSQUITOS 
 
 I 
 
 LA CUESTION DE LIMITES 
 
 ENTRE 
 
 If W1E¥A imAHAlDA IT ^m^A M(BA. 
 
 La jeneralidad con que la prensa se ha ocupado de 
 las cuestiones relacionadas con la Costa de Mosquitos, 
 i el poco conociniiento que algunos de los que escriben 
 manifiestan sobre ellas, en circunstancias de haberse 
 hecho diversas sujestiones para arrebatar aquellos ter- 
 ritorios a los Estados a que pertenecen, son motivos que 
 persuaden la necesidad que hai de dilucidar el asunto 
 de una manera seria i concienzuda, para hacer que la 
 opinion se ilustre i ejerza asl su benefico influjo. Con tal 
 fin, pues, se publica esta rapida ojeada acerca de los he- 
 chos referentes a la posesion i dominio de la menciona- 
 da Costa, esperando que estos apuntamientos contribui- 
 ran alg-un tanto a formar un juicio recto e imparcial en 
 la materia. I como esta se halle conexionada con la de 
 limites enti'e Nueva Granada i Costa Rica, tambien este 
 ultimo asunto sera objeto de una breve resena. 
 
 Hase dicho que el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos 
 sujiere i apoya alg-unos proyectos que se han indicado 
 por la prensa, sobre usurpacion de la Costa de Mos- 
 quitos; i como acaso podria creerse que este escri- 
 to tendia a ocuparse de semejante aseveracion, el autor 
 
author deems it his duty to declare, that he has not been 
 induced to take the pen by any such rumors, and that 
 his sole object in doing- so, has been to place in theirproper 
 lisfht those risfhts of New Granada which are connected 
 with the questions before mentioned, and with the preten- 
 sions of other Governments. Such absurd proceeding's 
 could not be imputed to the Government of the United 
 States without the most flagrant injustice, not only 
 because she can be reproached by no precedents of the 
 sort, but also because it would be impossible to admit 
 the idea that this nation would sacrifice her honor, and 
 the g-reat mission she has been called to fulfil, merely 
 for the pleasure of trampling- upon the rig-hts of other 
 States, and of displaying- that strength and power which 
 should be nobly employed in the cause of order, of liber- 
 ty, of peace and of humanity, for on her repose the hopes 
 of all mankind. In fact, the United States can neither 
 be a conquering- nor an usurping- nation, because to be so 
 would be to sin mortally against both the spirit and 
 letter of her institutions, objects of her g-reatest respect 
 and sources of her present and future prosperity, it 
 would be to give herself a death wound before develo- 
 ping- herself or attaining- to maturity, it would be to des- 
 troy that immense moral force, with which she has 
 commenced to control benifically a great portion of the 
 new societies, it would be, in fact, to estrange from her- 
 self that sympathy which she has hitherto inspired, es- 
 pecially to all the nations of America, which as they are 
 still young and flexible and now free from the corruption 
 of despotism, try to imitate her institutions and to follow 
 her example, as the least imperfect models that have 
 been recorded in the history of the world. From the 
 
— 2 — 
 
 de el estima de su deber declarar, que no son tales di- 
 ceres los que le han niovido a tomar la pluma, sino lini- 
 camente el interes de poner en claro los derechos dela 
 Nueva Granada que se rozan con las cuestiones arriba- 
 enunciadas, i con las pretensiones de otros g-obiernos. 
 Al de los Estados Unidos no se le pueden imputar tan 
 absurdos procedimientos, sin cometer la mas flagrante 
 injusticia, ya por que no se le pueden enrostrar prece- 
 dentes de esta especie, ya porque no es posible consen- 
 tir en la idea de que esta gran nacion sacrificara su ho- 
 nor i la sublime mision que esta llamada a desempe- 
 iiar, por solo el placer de conculcar los derechos de los 
 demas pueblos, i de ostentar una faerza i un poder que 
 deben emplearse noblemente en bien del orden, de la li- 
 bertad, de la paz, de la humanidad, - de la humanidad en- 
 tera, que tiene fincada en ella toda su esperanza. En 
 suma, los Estados Unidos no pueden ser conquistadores 
 ni usurpadores, por que eso seria pecar mortalmente 
 contra el espiritu i letra de los dog-mas fundamentales 
 de sus instituciones, objetos de su mayor respeto, i fuen- 
 tes de su prosperidad presente i futura, - seria suicidarse 
 aun antes de consumar su propio desarrollo i de lleg-ar a su 
 madurez,-seria destruir esa inmensa fuerza moral con que 
 han empezado a dominar beneficamente g-ran parte de las 
 nuevas sociedades,- seria en fin, enajenarse las muchas 
 simpatias que han inspirado hasta ahora, particularmente 
 ^vtodas las naciones americanas, que por ser nuevas i fle- 
 xibles, i estar yaexentas de las corruptelas del despotis- 
 mo, procuran imitar las instituciones i seguir los ejem- 
 plos de los Estados Unidos, como los modelos menos 
 imperfectos que rejistra la historia de todos los pue- 
 blos del mundo. Desde que los Estados Unidos ab- 
 
moment in which the United States were to abjure herV 
 noble principles and enter into that career of depre- 
 dation, conquest and usurpation, with which other na- 
 tions have stained themselves, she would lose her autho- 
 rity over men's minds , and the respect they render 
 her, - she w ould become weak and exposed sooner or later 
 to suffer those reprisals consequent upon a political 
 system as old and worn out as it is abhorrent and ini- 
 quitous. Agg"ressions of this nature eng-ender perpetual 
 irritations and are never committed w ith impunity ; but in 
 order to remove all fears on this subject, it is but neces- 
 sarj^ to remember the unanimous indig-nation expressed by 
 the press and the most prominent men of the United 
 States when the pretended King of the Mosquitos ap- 
 peared on the scene. 
 
 It is strang-e, indeed, that in the nineteenth century, 
 in the midst of a civilization so justly lauded, a question so 
 subversive of rig-ht and order as that respecting- this ima- 
 ginary king-, could have arisen ; but the facts are, that it 
 orig-inated a few years since among-st a band of smug-glers, 
 adventurers and refug-ees, who finding it impossible to 
 carry on any longer their nefarious trade on account of 
 the persecution declared against them, and careless of the 
 means they adopted in order to extricate themselves 
 from their miserable situation, resorted to a number of 
 intrigues and suggestions to the British Government, 
 amongst others, that of supposing the existence of the 
 said king, hoping thereby to appropriate to themselves 
 an immense territory which had always been in the pos- 
 session and under the dominion of the Spanish Crow^n, 
 and afterwards belonged to the States that substituded it 
 in right, in virtue of the independence they obtained . This 
 
— 3 — 
 
 /uraseii sus bellos principios para entrar en la via de las 
 depredaciones, conquistas i usiirpaciones con que se 
 ban manchado otros pueblos, quedarian desautorizados, 
 desprestijiados, faltos de fuerza, i espuestos, mas 6 ms- 
 nos tarde, a sufrir las represalias consig-uientes a un 
 sistema de politica tan vetusto como aborrecible e ini- 
 cuo. Las ag-resiones de estejenero irritan siempre, i 
 nunca se verifican impunemente. For ultimo, para aca- 
 bar de alejar todo temor de parte de la Union, en esta 
 materia, bastaria recordar la indig-nacion con que se pro- 
 nunciaron los bombres mas prominentes i la prensa del 
 pais, cuando aparecio de improviso en la palestra el pre- 
 tendido Rei de Mosquitos. 
 
 Es mui estrano que a la mitad del sig-lo XIX, en 
 medio de la civilizacion de que con tanta justicia se hace 
 alarde, haya podido surjir una cuestion tan subversiva 
 del orden i del derecho, como la^eaquelimajinario Rei; 
 pero el hecho es, que ella fue suscitada no ha muchos 
 alios, por algunos aventureros contrabandist as i refu- 
 jiados, quienes viendose en la imposibilidad de continuar 
 en estas industrias, por la persecucion que se les declare, 
 i no reparando en los medios que debian adoptar para 
 salir de su miserable situacion, apelaron al de bacer una 
 muchedumbre de sujestiones a! Gobierno Britanico, 
 entre otras la de suponer la existencia de diclio Rei, con 
 el fin de alzarse con un inmenso territorio que pertenecio 
 siempre al dominio i posesion de la corona de Espaiia, 
 i que lueg-o ha pertenecido a los Estados que la susti- 
 tuyeron, en virtud de la independencia que alcanzaron ; 
 en cuyos precisos terminos ban sido reconocidos, ya por 
 
— 4 — 
 
 rig-ht has been acknowledg-ed in precise terms, not only 
 by the principal nations of Europe and America, but 
 also by Spain herself. The above is a candid summary 
 of the Mosquito question, and constitutes the whole of 
 the serious and historical part of it ; the comic part of the 
 affair consists of the appearance and pretensions of His 
 most sacred Majesty the August King- of the Mosquitos. 
 Fortunately, it is this second part which is most general- 
 ly known, and therefore the repetition of the ridiculous 
 episodes of which it is composed, is superfluous. We will 
 speak, therefore, but of the former part, which will be 
 sufficient to establish the facts alluded to, and the rights 
 of New Granada. 
 
 Various corsairs or pirates sailed out of Jamaica 
 soon after that island fell into the hands of the English, 
 employed themselves for some time in various piratical 
 enterprises along the coasts of Honduras, Mosquitos, 
 Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Tierra Firme, until the Span- 
 ish Government Aveary of their depredations and having 
 concluded her war with England, found herself able to at- 
 tack them with success and to free these coasts from their 
 hostilities. Those who survived this persecution, which 
 took place at the close of the 17th century joined them- 
 selves with other adventurers of different nations and took 
 refuge in the Gulf of Honduras with the object of conti- 
 nuing their criminal career under the pretext of cutting 
 woods, which operation they indeed undertook clandes- 
 tinally, extending it to the Coast of Mosquito. At length, 
 after a series of claims and dissentions between Spain 
 and Great Britain, by the treaty of 1763 the latter ob- 
 tained for her subjects the right of cutting logwood, on 
 condition of erecting no fortifications, and of destroying/ 
 
aquella manera. En 1824 se espidieron por el Gobierno 
 de Colombia otros actos sobre este particular, entre los 
 cuales fig-ura el decreto de 5 de jiilio de aquel aiio, con- 
 tra los proyectos de colonizacion de la Costa de Mos- 
 quitos poi' varios aventureros estranjeros, cuyo decreto 
 sostenido por los cruceros 6 guardacostas, desbarato 
 enteramente las empresas que se proyectaban ; i para 
 aseg-iirar mas eficazmente su observancia, fue publicado 
 en Inoflaterra, en los Estados Unidos i en otros muchos 
 palses a donde se comunico, sin que en ning-una parte 
 se suscitara la menor duda acerca del perfecto dominio 
 que la Repiiblica ejercia en la precitada costa. 
 
 El Almirante ingles Sir Lorenzo Halstead reco- 
 mendo a la consideracion del Gobierno Colombiano, un 
 memorial de los comerciantes de Jamaica, quienes en 
 vista de la orden de 9 de marzo de 1822, estableciendo 
 reg-las contra el trafico clandestino que se hacia con las 
 costas de la Goajira, Darien i Mosquitos, solicitaban su 
 revocatoria por parecerles demasiado g-ravosa. El Go- 
 bierno contesto que no creia justo ni necesario suspen- 
 der diclia orden, pero que se modificaria alg-un tanto, 
 siempre que se solicitase por la via diplomatica compe- 
 tente, despues que se liubiese reconocido la independen- 
 cia de Colombia por la Gran Bretana, i que de la discu- 
 sion resultase la conveniencia de tal modificacion. Con 
 esta respuesta termino el asunto, i los siibditos britani- 
 cos se sometieron punctualmente a las reg-las i preven- 
 ciones de la orden en cuestion ; hasta que en 1824 se 
 renovo la solicitud por el Ajente britanico residente en- 
 tonces en Bog"ota, el cual, atendidas varias dificultades 
 que presentaba aquella orden, pedia que se revocase, 6 
 que por lo menos se modificase. Por la respectiva Se- 
 
— 9 — 
 
 fication. The answer returned throug-h the proper de- 
 partment Avas, that the Executive Power could no long-er 
 do any thmg- in the matter, as it had heen submitted to 
 the consideration of Cong-ress. The British Ag-ent 
 then hastened to indicate, by a note of 16 th Novem- 
 ber 1825, as a means proper to conciliate the inter- 
 ests of both countries that, in order that all diffi' 
 culties should he removed and all motives for complaint 
 should disappear, the Cong-ress should dispose, that 
 all british ships should be empowered to trade with 
 those coasts directly and freely, provided they obtained 
 a certificate from the Colombian Consul or commercial 
 Ag-ent, residing- in the port from which they sailed, testi- 
 fying", that no part of their carg-o consisted of articles 
 commonly denominated contraband of war. And ag-ain 
 on the 18th of April 1826, the British Charg-e d' Af- 
 faires in the name of his Government expressed the 
 desire, that the session of Congress for that year should 
 not rise without placing- upon a permanent, ag-reeable 
 and satisfactory footing- the commerce with the Colom- 
 bian Coasts of Goajira, Darien and Mosquitos, and in 
 consequence of this request the law of 1st May 1826 
 was passed, which is still in force, by which the Execu- 
 tive was empowered to employ the means most condu- 
 cive to the complete civilization of the aborig-inal tribes 
 of Mosquitos and other indians, and to arrang-e in a 
 convenient manner their commerce with the interior and 
 with foreign countries: for this purpose a hundred 
 thousand dollars annually were assig-ned, and as a corol- 
 lary to this law, was issued- the decree of reg-ulations 
 in accordance to the desires of the British Government. 
 When Columbia and Great Britain celebrated the 
 
— 9 — 
 
 cretaria se le contesto, que ya nada podia hacer el Po- 
 der Ejecutivo sobre el particular, a causa de haberse 
 sometido el punto al conocimiento del Cong-reso. En- 
 tonces se contrajo a indicar por nota de 16 de noviem- 
 bre de 1825, como niedida propia para conciliar los in- 
 tereses de los dos paises, que : para que quedase remo- 
 vida toda dificiiltad, i para que desapareciera cualquier 
 motivo de queja contra las ordenanzas vijentes, el 
 Cong-reso dispusiese que todos los buques britanicos 
 pudiesen traficar con aquellas costas, directa i libre- 
 mente, con tal de que obtuviesen un certificado del Con- 
 sul 6 Ajente comercial Colombian© residente en el puerto 
 de su despacho, para hacer constar que ning-una parte 
 de su carg-a consistia en articulos jeneralmente denomi- 
 nados contrahando de guerra. I lueg-o, en 18 de abril 
 de 1826, volvio el Encarg-ado de Neg-ocios britanico a 
 espresar en nombre de su Gobierno, el deseo que este 
 tenia de que no terminaran las sesiones del Cong-reso 
 de aquel aiio sin que el comercio con las costas colom- 
 bianas de la Goajira, Darien i Mosquitos quedase bajo 
 un pie permanentemente ag"radable i satisfactorio ; i en 
 virtud de esta nueva insinuacion se espidio la lei de 1° 
 de Mayo de 1826, vijente lioi todavia, por la cual se fa- 
 culto al Poder Ejecutivo para tomar todas las medidas 
 conducentes a la completa civilizacion de las tribus de 
 indijenas de Mosquitos i otras, i para arreg-lar de una 
 manera conveniente su comercio con el interior i con los 
 estranjeros, a cwyo fin se asig-naron cien mil pesos anua- 
 les ; i como corolario de esta lei, se espidio el decreto 
 reg-lamentario, de acuerdo con los deseos del Gobierno 
 britanico. 
 
 Cuando Colombia i la Gran Bretaiia celebraron el 
 
— 10 — 
 
 treaty of 1825, by which the Republic of Colombia was 
 recog-nized as the substitute of Spain in her territorial 
 rig-hts, the observations made by the british neg-otiators, 
 as proved by the protocols of the conferences, were not 
 certainly intended to raise doubts as to the dominion of 
 Colombia over the Coast of Mosquito, which had never 
 been questioned, but with the sole object of securing- 
 the rig-ht, held by Great Britain, of cutting- woods in the 
 district of Belize. With this view those neg-otiators 
 proposed an article which they afterwards withdrew, 
 because the Colombian neg-otiators made them observe, 
 that the treaty oug-ht not to refer to territories which 
 did not belong- to Colombia, w hose coast only extended 
 as far as the Cape Gracias a Dios. 
 
 The catalog-ue of facts proving- the constant recog- 
 nition made by Great Britain of the rig-hts of Colombia, 
 and consequently of New Granada, to the sovereig-nity 
 of the Coast of Mosquito, would be inexhaustible, and it 
 could not be otherwise, since no doubts or controversies 
 have ever arisen as to the treaty of 1786, still in force, 
 which arrang-ed definitely the disputes that had existed 
 on the subject : for the arg-ument that has lately been 
 brought forward, that no Government has exercised 
 dominion in the Coast of Mosquito, is entirely false. 
 
 Christopher Columbus in his fourth and last voyag*e, 
 in 1502, discovered and took formal possession of all 
 the Coast of Honduras, Mosquito, Nicaragua, Costa 
 Rica and Veraguas, as far as Portobelo, and gave the 
 names, which are still retained by the principal places 
 
— 10 — 
 
 tratado de 1825, por el cual se recoiiocio a la Repiiblica 
 como sustituta de la Espaiia en los dereehos territoria- 
 les de esta, las observaciones que se hicieron por los 
 neg-ociadores britanicos, seg-un consta de los protocolos 
 de las conferencias, no fiieron, ciertamente, para poner 
 en duda el dominio de Colombia sobre la Costa de Mos- 
 quitos, que jamas le fue disputado, sino con el objeto 
 de asegurar linicamente el derecho que la Gran Bretana 
 tenia al corte de maderas en el distrito de Belize, con 
 cuyo fin presentaron dichos neg-ociadores un articulo, 
 que lueg-o retiraron por que los negociadores colombia- 
 nos les hicieron observar que el tratado no debia versar 
 sobre territorios que no correspondian al dominio de 
 Colombia, cuyo litoral solo alcanzaba liasta el cabo de 
 Gracias a Dios. 
 
 Inag-otable seria el catalog"o de los hechos que de- 
 nauestran el constante reconocimiento que hizo la Gran 
 Bretaiia, de los dereehos de Colombia, i en su caso, de 
 Nueva Granada, al dominio i soberania de la Costa de 
 Mosquitos ; i no podia ser de otro modo, pues que nunca 
 se suscitaron dudas 6 controversias acerca del tratado aun 
 vijente, de 1786, que arreg-16 definitivamente las desave- 
 nencias que habian existido a este respecto, i pues que 
 es de todo punto inexacto el arg-umento que en estos 
 liltimos tiempos ha solido hacerse sobre que en la costa 
 i territorios de Mosquitos no ha ejercido dominio 6 so- 
 berania ningun Gobierno. 
 
 Cristobal Colon en su 4° i ultimo viaje, en 1502, 
 descubrio i tomo formal posesian de toda la Costa de 
 Honduras, Mosquitos, Nicarag-ua, Costa Rica i Vera- 
 g-uas, hasta Portobelo, i dio el nombre que hoi conser- 
 van casi todos los puntos principales de aquel litoral. 
 
— li- 
 on those coasts. It was then also (thoug-h this is a 
 digression) that he penetrated as far as Las Bocas del 
 Toro hy the Bay, which owes to this event the name of 
 the "Admiral's Bay," and entering- towards the west, 
 founded the first colony; g'iving- to the country he had 
 discovered, the name still retained b}^ the province, of 
 Verag-uas. The two provinces of Tag-uzg-alpa andTolo- 
 g-alpa, formed from the ancient province of Comayagua, 
 whose coasts were afterwards called Mosquito, were 
 entirely conquered, and populated, as far as circums- 
 tances permitted, as the number of inhabitants contai- 
 ned in the 94 villag-es founded there, divided into 25 
 parishes, reached 60,000. Hernan Cortes and some of 
 his officers were the first who subdued the province of 
 Comayag-ua, which was also called Honduras, and af- 
 terwards the Spanish dominion was completely secured 
 by means of the enormous expenses and efforts made to 
 christianize the Indians and reduce them to a social life. 
 For this purpose missions were established in Guate- 
 mala and in the Viceroyalty of Santa Fe, villag-es were 
 founded, parishes were established, and g-arrisons were 
 maintained, so that not even the seabord was neg-lected; 
 in which there remained but few Indians unsubdued, and 
 that, on account of their inhabiting- the most unhealthy 
 and inaccessible parts of the coast ; and even these 
 savages became reduced to an insig-nificant number upon 
 the establishment of several villag-es and stations, such 
 as Gualan, San Fernando de Omoa, Trujillo, Gracias a 
 Dios (where a Royal Audience was established), San 
 Gil de Buenavista &c., as in consequence of these nucli 
 of civilization, of the arrival of various detachments of 
 missionaries, and of the frequent communication estab- 
 
— 11 — 
 
 Fue tambien entonces, permitase la digresion, que pe- 
 netro en las Bocas del Toro por la bahia, que debe a 
 esta circunstancia el llamarse del Ahnirante, e inter- 
 nandose hacia el Occidente, fundo la primera colonia, 
 dando al pais que descubrio el nombre que hoi lleva to- 
 davia, de provinciade Verag-uas.-Las dos provincias de 
 Tag-uzg-alpa i Tolog-alpa, que se formaron de la antigua de 
 Comayag-ua, cuyas costas se llamaron lueg-o de Mosqui- 
 tos, fueron conquistadas enteramente, i pobladas hasta 
 donde las circumstancias lo permitieron, llegandose a con- 
 tar en ellas cerca de sesenta mil habitantes, coniprendi- 
 dos en los 25 curatos en que estaban distribuidos los 94 
 pueblos que se fandaron alii. Hernan Cortes i muclios 
 de sus tenientes, fueron los primeros que sometieron la 
 provincia de Comayag-ua, que tambien se llamo de Hon- 
 duras ; i despues fue completamente asegurado el do- 
 minio espaiiol por medio de injentes g-astos i esfuerzos 
 para reducir a los indios al cristianismo i a la vida so- 
 cial, a cuyo efecto se establecieron misiones en Guate- 
 mala i en el Vireinato de Santa Fe, se fundaron pueblos, 
 se erijieron curatos, se sostuvieron g-uarniciones &c. 
 Por manera que, no se desatendio ni ami el litoral, en 
 donde fueron raros los indios que dejaron de someterse, 
 i eso por que habitaban los puntos mas insalubres e in- 
 accesibles: i con todo, estos salvajes quedaron reduci- 
 dos a un niimero insig-nificante lueg-o que se fundaron 
 en dicha costa varios pueblos, como Gaalan, San Fer- 
 nando de Omoa, Trujillo, Gracias a Dios (en donde es- 
 tuvo establecida una Real Audiencia), San Jil de Bue- 
 navista &;c. Con estos micleos de civilizacion, con el 
 envio que tambien se hizo alii de alg-unos destacamen- 
 tos i de misioneros, i con las frecuentes comunicaciones 
 
— 12 — 
 
 lished between Carthag-ena and that part of the coast, 
 so many abandoned their savag-e life, that those who 
 retained their wandering- habits, according- to the most 
 reliable accounts, did not reach the number often thou- 
 sand. 
 
 The coast ^of Comayag-ua or of Tag-uzg-alpa and 
 
 Tolog-alpa, or of Mosquito, as it was afterwards called, 
 did not extend farther than the river and Lagoon of Las 
 Perlas, as it is only lately, and for a particular purpose, 
 that the name has been extended as far as Punta Gorda. 
 More recently, with views whose qualification it is bet- 
 ter to omit, it appeared very convenient to comprehend 
 under the same name, the port of the river San Juan, 
 and that which is most to be admired is, that, these en- 
 croachments having- met with little or no resistance, 
 the attempt was made to convert into Mosquito Coast, 
 the Atlantic sea board of Nicarag-ua and Costa Rica, 
 and even a part of the province of Verag-uas. 
 
 The frequent dissensions in which Spain and Great 
 Britain were eng-ag-ed for more than a century, g-ave rise 
 to various piratical irruptions of the Eng-lish on the coasts 
 of Mosquito, Darien, Panama, Carthagena &c. These 
 attacks were nearly always directed by the authorities 
 of Jamica, with the principal object, as it would seem by 
 the results, of obtaining- afterwards in time of peace, 
 some advantag-es for the commerce of that island. And 
 it was therefore but under some such circumstances, 
 that a species of incoative rule in the Mosquito Coast 
 may have been exercised by british ag-ents. But the 
 British Government repeatedly desisted from these pre- 
 tensions, simply abandoning and g-iving- them up, and 
 recognizing- the sovereignity of Spain and her incon- 
 
— 12 — 
 
 que se entablaron con Cartajena, salieron aquellos indios 
 de su salvajez, sin que quedaran sino rarisimas parcia- 
 lid^des noHiades, que segun las mas fidedig-nas relacio- 
 nes, no alcanzaban a constituir diez mil individuos. 
 
 Las costas de Comayag-ua, 6 sean de Tag-uzgalpa 
 i Tolog-alpa, 6 de Mosquitos, como se Uamaron despues, 
 no se estendian mas alia del rio i lag-una de las Perlas ; 
 no siendo sino en tiempos modernos i con fines particu- 
 lares que se las llamo asi hasta Punta Gorda. Mas re- 
 cientemente, ya con miras cuya calificacion sera mejor 
 omitir aqui, parecio mui comodo comprender bajo la 
 misma denominacion, el puerto del rio San Juan : i lo 
 mas gracioso de todo, es, que habiendose hallado poca 
 6 ning-una resistencia en estos avances, se pretendio con- 
 vertir en Costa de Mosquitos todo el litoral Atlantic© 
 de Nicarag-ua i Costa Rica, i aun abrazar una parte del 
 de la provincia de Verag-uas. 
 
 Las disensiones en que se vieron frecuentemente 
 empeiiadas la Espana i la Gran Bretaiia, por mas de un 
 sig-lo, dieron lugar a varias irrupciones de corsarios in- 
 g-leses en las Costas de Mosquitos, Darien, Panama, 
 Cartajena &c.; irrupciones hostiles, casi siempre diri- 
 jidas por las autoridades de Jamaica, que llevaban por 
 principal objeto, seg-un se infiere de los resultados, reca- 
 bar lueg-o en la paz algunas ventajas para el comercio 
 de aquella isla. Asi, pues, no fue sino en circunstan- 
 cias tales, que por via de hostilidad 6 represalias, se 
 pudo ejercer ocasionalmente T,ma especie de derecho in- 
 coativo en la Costa de Mosquitos, por los Ajentes brita- 
 nicos ; mas, de estos derechos 6 pretensiones desistio 
 repetidas veces el Gobierno britanico, abandonandolos 
 
— 13 — 
 
 trovertible rig-lits over that coast, as may be seen by the 
 treaties referred to, and especially by the last of 1786, 
 which has never been modified in the least particular, 
 but on the contrary implicitly ratified by Great Britain, 
 Colombia and New Granada, which two last nations con- 
 tinued to exercise their rule and sovereig-nity on said 
 sea board, until suddenly sprang- up from nothing-, 
 towards the year 1837, that most celebrated question of 
 the existence of the soi-disant King- of Mosquito. 
 
 From the foreg-oing- must be deduced the con- 
 clusion, that the British Government could not patronize 
 the pretensions of the adventurers who took refug-e on 
 the Mosquito Coast, without openly violating- existing- 
 treaties. And in order to excuse these proceeding-s, it 
 is not sufficient to assert, that those people are consid- 
 ered as eng-lish subjects, which assertion, we here will 
 observe, is false, as nearly all the inhabitants of those 
 coasts are mestizoes, indians, zambos or mulattos, born 
 there, descended from fathers and g-randfathers who were 
 subj^ts of the King- of Spain. Besides, the sovereig-n- 
 ty of Spain over those territories having- been always 
 recog-nized, as well as that exercised by Colombia and 
 New Granada, as her substitute, according- to treaties 
 still in force, the British Government oug-ht, not only 
 to have rejected the sug-g-estions of those adventurers who 
 desired to usurp the above, mentioned territories, because 
 she had especially bound herself to do so, but also from 
 other motives of dignity, g-ood faith and respect to inter- 
 national rig-hts, she ought to have abstained from even 
 
— 13 — 
 
 6 cediendolos solemnemente, i reconociendo la sobera- 
 nia de la Espana i los incontrovertihles derechos de 
 esta sobre aquella costa, como se piiede ver en los tra- 
 dados mencionados, i con especialidad en el ultimo de 
 1786, que no lia sido ni tenido por que ser modificado 
 despues, sino antes bien, implicitamente ratificado por 
 la Gran Bretaiia, Colombia i Nueva Granada, cuyas 
 dos ultimas naciones continuaron ejerciendo su dominio 
 i soberania en dicho litoral, hasta que inopinadamente 
 surjio de la nada, hacia el aiio de 1839, la celeberrima 
 cuestion sobre la existencia de un soi-disant Rei de 
 Mosquitos. 
 
 Dediicese de todo lo espuesto, que el Gobierno bri- 
 tanico no ha podido patrocinar las pretensiones de los 
 aventureros que se lian refug-iado en la Costa de Mos- 
 quitos, sin quebrantar abiertamente los tratados exis- 
 tentes; no bastando para cohonestar semej ante procedi- 
 miento, el que se dig-a que tales jentes pasan por siibdi- 
 tos ingieses, cosa que, sea dicho de paso, no es exacta, 
 pues casi todos los habitantes de aquella costa son mes- 
 tizos, indios i zambos 6 mulatos, nacidos alii de padres 
 i abuelos que fueron subditos del Rei de Espaiia. A 
 mas de que, reconocida la soberania de Espana, como lo 
 estuvo siempre, en aquellos territorios, i la ejercida por 
 Colombia i Nueva Granada, como subrog-antes de ella, 
 segun tratados tambien vijentes, no solo ha debido el 
 Gobierno britanico desechar las sujestiones de los aven- 
 tureros que pretendian alzarse con los referidos territo- 
 rios, por estar esplicitamente^ comprometido a ello, sino 
 que, por la misma razon, i por otras de dig-nidad i buena 
 fe, i de respeto al derecho internacional, ha debido abs- 
 t6nerse de dar el menor asidero a la idea de consti- 
 
— 14 — 
 
 harboring" the idea of constituting- herself the ally and 
 protector of the pretended Mosquito King. 
 
 It is painful to speak of such a respectable Go- 
 vernment in so plain and direct a manner, but it is im- 
 possible to find words, that will express the same ideas 
 in a milder and more corteous terms. 
 
 It was in order to palliate the circumstances 
 already indicated, that it was alleged that, neither the 
 Spanish Government nor those which substituted her, 
 had ever exercised any sovereignty or dominion what- 
 ever, in the Mosquito territory. Such an assertion can 
 never be seriously made without offending the truth and 
 without denying the multiplied and notorious facts 
 that prove the contrary in the most evident manner. We 
 have already said, by whom and when those countries 
 were discovered, conquered and populated, as may be cir- 
 cumstantially seen m various histories and authentic do- 
 cuments and particularly in the Memoirs of the Vice-Roys 
 of Santa Fe de Bogota and of the Capitania General 
 and Gobernaciones of all those provinces which cons- 
 titute Central America. And if it is true that the 
 Governments of Spain, Colombia and New Granada, were 
 able to take but few of the necessary steps, in order to 
 foment the population and prosperity of those coasts, 
 notwithstanding their constant desire to do so, it is 
 also certain, that they were constant in their endeavour 
 to attain that end, and that no other Government had the 
 right to interfere Avith the motives which prevented their 
 using greater efficiency and activity in their own con- 
 cerns and interests. Still less would that inactivity 
 g-ive any other nation the right of possessing* themselves, 
 either more or less openly, of the territories in question. 
 
— 14 — 
 
 tuirse aliado i protector del imajinario Rei de Mosqui- 
 tos. 
 
 Sensible es hablar de un Gobierno tan respetable, 
 en frases tan rotundas i categ-oricas ; mas no es posible 
 hallar otras qne espresen las mismas ideas de una ma- 
 nera mas suave i comedida. 
 
 Para paliar los procedimientos indicados, fue que 
 se aleg"6, que ni el Gobierno espaiiol, ni los que lo ban 
 snstituido, ban ejercido dominio 6 soberania de ninguna 
 especie en el territorio de Mosquitos. Semejante ase- 
 veracion jamas podria bacerse seriamente sin faltar a la 
 verdad i sin neg-ar los multiplicados hecbos notorios que 
 prueban de una manera evidente lo contrario. Ya se 
 ha dicbo por quienes i desde cuando fueron descubier- 
 tos, conquistados i poblados aquellos paises, lo cual se 
 puede ver detalladamente en diferentes liistorias i docu- 
 mentos autenticos, i con particularidad en muchas de 
 las Memorias de los Vireyes de Santa Ye de Bog-ota i de 
 la Capitania Jeneral i Gobernaciones de todas las pro- 
 vincias que constituian a Centro America. I si es ver- 
 dad que los Gobiernos de Espaiia, Colombia i Nueva 
 Granada, no pudieron tomar sino mui pocas de las me- 
 didas que eran necesarias para fomentar la poblacion i 
 contribuir a la prosperidad de aquellas costas, como lo 
 desearon siempre, tambien es cierto que fueron con- 
 stantes en su empeiio de hacer lo posible por conse- 
 guir aquel fin, i que ningun otro Gobierno tenia el de- 
 recho de ing-erirse en los motivos que asistieran a aque- 
 llos para no emplear mayor actividad 6 eficacia en sus 
 propios neg-ocios e intereses, ni menos tendria el de- 
 recho de aduenarse simuladamente de los territorios 
 en cuestion. 
 
— 15 — 
 
 In order that a country should belong- in property 
 and dominion to the nation that discovers it, it is but 
 necessary, according" to the law of nations received on 
 this subject, that such nation should manifest ostensibly 
 her desire and intention of cultivating" or populating" the 
 discovered country. And the Government of Spain not 
 only discovered, explored and conquered the country in 
 question, with evident intention of cultivating- and popu- 
 lating- it, but also, notwithstanding" a thousand obstacles 
 and impediments arising" from the insalubrity of those 
 reg"ions, the hostility of the Indians, and the many pomts 
 that claimed her attention over the whole continent, 
 made^great sacrifices with the object of supplying" the 
 first necessities of the country, and laid the foundations 
 of her civilization and prosperity, org-anizing- popula- 
 tions, establishing" parishes, missions, g"arrissons &c. 
 It is certain that, though all these operations suffered 
 interruptions and were limited by the amount of means 
 possessed, wherewith to attend simultaneously to the 
 wants of the vast reg"ions conquered by Spain, yet, no 
 other nation has presented better or equal titles than 
 she has done, to the rig"ht of securing" and exercising" her 
 dominion over such countries. And let it not be said 
 because there exist, (as is still the case in those terri- 
 tories) some tribes of wild indians, that those hordes can 
 be considered as sovereig-n and independent nations, for 
 such an absurdity could not be maintained without in- 
 troducing- complete anarchy into the law of nations, and 
 Avithout destroying" or annuling" all the rights, compacts 
 and treaties now in force upon the acquisition of the 
 diff"erent regions of America. With respect to these, 
 the European powers have reg"ulated in such a manner 
 
— 15 
 
 Para que un pais pertenezca en dominio i propie- 
 dad a la nacion que lo descubre, una vez aceptados 
 como estan, los principios consagrados por el derecho 
 de jentes sobre este particular, solo necesita que sea 
 ostensible su deseo 6 intencion de beneficiarlo 6 poblarlo. 
 Mas el Gobierno espaiiol, no solamente descubrio, es- 
 ploro i conquisto el pais de que se trata, con la inten- 
 cion manifiesta de beneficiarlo i poblarlo, sino que a pe- 
 sar de mil remoras i complicaciones provenientes, ya 
 de la insalubridad de aquellas rejiones, ya de la hostili- 
 dad de los indios, ora de los muchos puntos a que era 
 preciso atender en todo el continente, hizo injentes sa- 
 crificios con el objeto de ocurrir a las primeras necesi- 
 dades del pais, i echo los fundamentos de su civilizacion 
 1 prosperidad, org-anizando poblaciones, estableciendo cu- 
 ras, misiones, g-uarniciones &c. I en verdad que, aunque 
 todo esto tenia que sufrir alg-unas interrupciones i limi- 
 tarse a los medios con que era preciso atender simultanea- 
 mente a las vastas comarcas cuya conquista emprendio 
 la Espaiia; sin embarg-o, ning-una nacion ha presentado 
 mejores niig-uales titulos que ella,para aseg-urar i ejercer 
 surespectiva soberania en paises como el de que se habla. 
 I no se dig-a que por que en tales paises existian, como aun 
 existen todavia, alg-unas tribus de indios no reducidos, 
 estas parcialidades pueden considerarse como naciones 
 soberanas independientes, pues semejante absurdo no 
 podria sostenerse sin anarquizar completamente el de- 
 recho de jentes, i sin destruir 6 anular todos los de- 
 rechos, pactos i tratados vijentes sobre la adquisicion 
 de las diferentes rejiones de America, respecto de las 
 cuales han re^ularizado de tal modo los poderes euro- 
 peos el principio arriba indicado, sobre derecho de do- 
 
— 16 - 
 
 the above mentioned principle of the rig-ht of dominion 
 and sovereignty, that now to deny those principles 
 would be equal to annuling the rig-ht these same powers 
 possess upon many colonies and reg-ions on this conti- 
 nent, since the sovereig-nty they exercise over most of 
 these has no other origin or foundation than the 
 above cited. If the savag-e tribes, existing- in a newly 
 discovered or conquered country, could be recognized 
 as sovereign nations without any dependence upon the 
 nation that takes possession of the whole territory in 
 which they are found, j what then should have been and 
 still should be the fate of Canada, of Oregon, of New 
 Mexico, of the Guayanas, of Florida and a hundred 
 other regions in which such tribes abound, and which 
 for a length of time have been, in accordance to the re- 
 ceived principles of the right of nations, under the rule 
 and dominion of dijfferent European nations, and into 
 which (at least into many of them) Christianity and ci- 
 vilization have either not penetrated at all, or have now 
 but begun to penetrate? Many of these countries have 
 been alienated, transferred or ceded several times, 
 without even having been formally explored or con- 
 quered, and no one has even pretended to call in ques- 
 tion the right of sovereignty held by the nations that 
 have possessed them, on the pretext, that there existed 
 in them considerable hordes of aborigines. Conse- 
 quently, under every point of view, the pretext of con- 
 sidering the few wandering Indians of Mosquito as a 
 sovereign and independent nation, is untenable, what- 
 ever may be the object sought for in attempting to 
 seduce them from their legitimate dependence. By 
 allowing so pernicious an example to pass unnoticed, it 
 
— 16 — 
 
 minio i soberania, que el querer ahora desconocer dicho 
 principio, equivaldria a anular todos los derechos que 
 esas potenciias tienen sobre muchas colonias i comarcas 
 de este continente, pues la soberania que ejercen en 
 casi todas ellas, no tiene otros fundamentos ni otro ori- 
 jen que los indicados. Si las parcialidades salvajes 
 que existen en un pais descubierto i conquistado, pu- 
 diesen reconocerse como naciones soberanas, sin nin- 
 g-una dependencia de la que ha tornado posesion de todo 
 el territorio en que se Kalian I cual deberia haber sido 
 i seria aun la suerte del Canada, del Oreg-on, del Nuevo. 
 Mejico, de las Guayanas, de la Florida, i de cien rejio- 
 nes mas, en donde pululan aquellas tribus, i que por 
 largo tienipo ban estado, de acuerdo con los principios 
 reconocidos del derecho de jentes, bajo el dominio i so- 
 berania de diferentes naciones europeas, i en donde 
 (por lo menos en gran parte de ellas) la civilizacion i 
 el cristianismo, 6 no ban penetrado por primera vez, 6 
 apenas empiezan aliora a penetrar? Mucbos de esos 
 paises ban sido enajenados, traspasados 6 cedidos dife- 
 rentes veces, sin siquiera haber sido esplorados ni con- 
 quistados formalmente ; i a nadie le ha occurrido dis- 
 putar el ejercicio de la soberania en ellos, a las respec- 
 tivas naciones que los obtienen, so pretesto de que 
 existen alii considerables parcialidades de indios abori- 
 jenes. Es por consiguiente inaceptable bajo todos 
 aspectos la pretension de considerar a los pocos indios 
 nomades 6 estantes de Mosquitos, como nacion sobe- 
 rana e independiente, sea cual fuere el fin que se tenga 
 al sustraerlos de su lejitima dependencia. Al dejar pa- 
 sar tan pernicioso ejemplo, facil seria subvertir comple- 
 tamente el orden en todas las naciones de la America, 
 
— 17 — 
 
 would be easy completely to subvert the order of all the 
 nations of America, by enticing the many hordes, tribes 
 and parties of Indians, that exist in them to aspire to 
 the character of sovereig-n and independent nations, and 
 rebel ag-ainst the Governments beneath whose auspices 
 they oug-ht to live. 
 
 Reflecting- upon the poAverful and incontestible rea- 
 sons upon which the rig-hts of New Granada to the 
 peaceful possession of the Mosquito Coast, as far as the 
 Cape of Gracias a Dios, are founded, and casting- a retro- 
 spective g-lance upon the events which have taken place 
 within the last few years, in order to contest these rig-hts 
 by means of an automatum chosen among-st indians 
 and mestizoes, who wander about, accompanied by a few 
 marauding- adventurers, it becomes evident that this plan 
 of action has been pursued, not because those rig-hts 
 were not understood, but from the conviction, that such 
 injuries could be committed with impunity, because the 
 nations on which they were inflicted, possessed no fleets 
 wherewith to measure their streng-th ag-ainst powerful 
 ag-g-ressors. This sad and painful truth oug-ht to open 
 the eyes of the Governments of South America, and 
 rouse them from the letharg-y, in which they are sunk, 
 in order to undertake ardently and effectually the hono- 
 rable and brilliant task of possessing- themselves (as is 
 not difficult) of all the necessary means of defending- 
 their nationality, and making- it respected by all foreig-n 
 powers. And to obtain this end, it is but necessary to 
 resolve to bring- it to bear with a strong- and determin- 
 ed will, as shall be demonstrated in another place. 
 
 New Granada, m her repeated protests ag-ainst the 
 violence with which attempts have been made to deprive 
 
— 17 — 
 
 sonsacando la muchedumbre de hordas, tribus 6 parcia- 
 lidades de indios que cnentan en sii seno, para que ha- 
 g-an el papel de naciones soberanas e independieiites, i 
 se rebelen contra el Gobierno bajo cuyos auspicios de- 
 ben viAdr- 
 
 Al reflexionar sobre las poderosas e incontestables 
 razones en que se fundan los derechos de la Nueva Gra- 
 nada a la pacifica posesion de la Costa de Mosquitos 
 hasta el cabo Gracias a Dios, i al dar una mirada re- 
 trospectiva sobre los acontecimientos que ban tenido 
 lug"ar de pocos anos a esta parte, con el objeto de con- 
 trovertir esos derechos por medio de un automata esco- 
 jido entre unos pocos indios 6 mestizos que vag-an acom- 
 paiiados de algunos merodistas advenedizos, se viene 
 en cuenta de que no se obra asi por que se desconozcan 
 los derechos, sino por el corivencimiento de que pueden 
 irrog-arse impunemente semejantes ag-ravios, por cuanto 
 las naciones que los sufren earecen de escuadras para 
 medir sus fuerzas en los mares contra poderosos agre- 
 sores, Esta triste i abrumadora verdad, debiera abrir 
 los ojos de todos los Gobiernos Sur-Americanos i sa- 
 carlos de la letargia en que «e hallan sumidos, para en- 
 tregarse eon actividad i eficacia a la digna i brillante 
 tarea de procurarse, como es mui posible, todos los me- 
 dios necesarios para defender su nacionalidad i hacerla 
 respetar de todo poder estrangero. Esto es asequible 
 con solo querer Uevarlo a cabo con voluntad firme i 
 decidida, como podra demostrarse palpablemente en 
 otro lugar. 
 
 La Nueva Granada, al protestar repetidas veces 
 contra la violencia con que se ha pretendido despojarla 
 
— 18 — 
 
 her of the Coast of Mosquito, has not certainly been 
 animated by the desire of retaining- for herself those terri- 
 tories which would be burdensome and perhaps useless 
 to her but hy the feeling- that she oug-ht not to allow 
 her&elf to be despoiled of her rig-hts, - rig-hts which 
 she desires to concede with dig-nity by means of appro- 
 priate treaties to the States of Central America, with 
 the exception perhaps of Costa Rica, as they would be 
 prejudicial to her, according- to the opinion of Mr. Fe- 
 lipe Molina, who, if we are to jud^e by a Memoir pub- 
 lished by him in the year 1852, - appears rather to de- 
 sire that coast to belong- to the pseudo petty King- of 
 Mosquito, than to New Granada, and as this Memoir is 
 a complete compilation of all the arg-uments made use 
 of by Costa Rica within the last few years in favor of 
 the frontier to which she pretends, while Mr. Molina 
 has streng-thened them with a g-reat number of quota- 
 tions, it will not be out of place to dedicate here a few 
 parag-raphs to the refutations of her allegations. 
 
 In order to avoid circumlocutions it is necessary 
 to beg-in by declaring- a truth well known to all who are 
 in the least acquainted with the matters, namely: that 
 Central America never made any pretensions to the 
 territory of New Granada, and that Costa Rica alone, on 
 finding- herself without a port on the Atlantic, aspired to 
 the possession of a part, if not of the whole Archipel- 
 ag-o of Bocas del Toro, or at least to a port in the 
 Bahia del Almirante. This ambition in itself mig-ht be 
 deemed praiseworthy, if in order to carry it out, she had 
 
— 18 — . 
 
 de la Costa de Mosquitos, no ha obrado, ciertamente, 
 por el interes de conservar para si aquellos territorios, 
 que le serian embarazosos, i que tal vez no le convienen, 
 sino por que no debe consentir en que se le arrebaten 
 sus dereclioSj-dereclios que desea ceder dignamente i me- 
 diante los tratados del caso, a los Estados de Centro 
 America, exceptuando tal vez el de Costa Rica, por 
 serle perjudicial, seg-un la opinion del Sor. Felipe Mo- 
 lina, quien, si se lia de juzg-ar por una Memoria que 
 publico el ario de 1852, parece mas contento de que 
 aquella costa pertenezca al Reg-ulo de Mosquitos que a 
 la Nueva Granada. I como esta Memoria sea una com- 
 pleta recopilacion de cuantos arg-umentos ha hecho 
 Costa Rica, de pocos aiios a esta parte, en favor de sus 
 pretendidas fronteras, al paso que el Sor. Molina, los ha 
 reforzado con gran cumulo de citaciones, no sera fuera 
 de proposito consag-rar aqui alg-unos parrafos a la refu- 
 tacion de sus aleg-atos. 
 
 Desde lueg-o es menester enunciar sin ambajes una 
 verdad, aunque bien reconocida ya por todos los que se 
 han orientado mas 6 menos en esta cuestion ; a saber : 
 que Centro America nunca tuvo pretensiones al terri- 
 torio granadino, i que no ha sido sino Costa Rica la que 
 al verse sin puertos en el Atiantico, i solo por esto, ha 
 manifestado la insolita aspiracion, ya que no a todo el 
 archipielag-o de las Bocas del Toro, por lo menos a una 
 parte de el, o siquiera a im puerto en la Bahia del Al- 
 mirante. Semejante aspiracion en si, podria ser dig-na 
 
— 19 — 
 
 availed herself of the means usually employed for 
 making- such acquisitions by all just nations who respect 
 the rights and property of others ; but it becomes very 
 censurable when we observe, that in order to satisfy it, 
 she descends to chicanery and makes use of futile argu- 
 ments or of such as would really prove the contrary ,when 
 we see quotations mutilated and facts alleg-ed and 
 disfig-ured with that species of dog-matism veiled with 
 the appearance of sincerity that some authors think 
 so fit to captivate the minds of their readers. In the 
 course of the following", these truths will be proved 
 without the necessity of particularizing- them. 
 
 The Government of Costa Rica after having- sear- 
 ched her archives in vain for any documents, wherewith 
 to oppose the rig-hts of New Granada, sent a Minister 
 to Spain, with nearly the sole object of searching- the archi- 
 ves of Madrid and Seville for somethmg- to exhibit, and 
 having" found absolutely nothing-, contented herself by 
 making- copies of the permissions g"ranted in the first 
 years after the conquest to a certain Gutierrez and 
 Artieda Chirinos to discover, populate and pacify the 
 province of Carthag"o or Costa Rica, as far as the limits 
 of the province of Verag-uas. Numberless are the ob- 
 servations that sug-g-est themselves in order to prove the 
 insig-nificance of such documents, but it will suflSce 
 to indicate a few in order to show how little they merit 
 the importance attempted to be conferred upon them. 
 
 Accepting- these documents without any contra- 
 diction, they would only prove that at the time of the 
 discovery and exploration of America , Artieda and 
 Gutierrez obtained a transitory permission, under cer- 
 
IF- 19 - 
 
 de elojio, si se emplearan para llevarla a efecto los me- 
 dics usuales reconocidos para estas adquisiciones por to- 
 dasjas naciones jiistas que respetan la propiedad i de- 
 rechos de las demas ; pero ella es mui censurable desde 
 que se observa que, para satisfacerla, se echa mano de 
 la chicana i de una fiitil arg-umentacion, a veces contra- 
 producente, - cuando se ve, en fin, que se escatiman 
 las citas i que se aseveran i des%uran los hechos con 
 aquel dog-matismo revestido de cierta especie de since- 
 ridad que tan adecuado parece a alg-unos para subyu- 
 g-ar el animo de los lectores. El curso de lo que se va 
 a esponer probara por si estas verdades, sin necesidad 
 de particularizarlas. 
 
 El Gobierno de Costa Rica, despues de haber bus- 
 cado en vano en sus archivos alg-unos documentos que 
 contraponer a los derechos de la Nueva Granada, envio, 
 casi exprofeso, un Ministro a Espaiia con el objeto de 
 rebuscar en los arcliivos de Madrid i de Sevilla alouna 
 cosa que exhibir, i no habiendo hallado nada absoluta- 
 mente, se contento con hacer copiar los permisos acor- 
 dados en los primeros aiios de la conquista, a un tal 
 Gutierrez i a un Artieda Chirinos, para que descubrie- 
 ran poblaran i pacificaran la provincia de Cartag-o 6 
 Costa Rica, hasta los limites de la de Verag-uas. Infi- 
 nitas son las observaciones que ocurren para probar 
 la insignificancia de tales documentos ; pero bastara iii- 
 dicar alg-unas para que se vea desaparecer el valor que 
 se les quiere dar. 
 
 Aceptando estos documentos, desnados de toda con- 
 tradiccion, ellos solo probarian que al tiempo del des- 
 cubrimiento i esploracion de la America, Artieda i Gu- 
 tierrez obtvieron un permiso transitorio bajo ciertas 
 
— 20 — 
 
 tain cojiditions to explore lands on the side of Costa 
 Rica, and even as far as the part, not then well known, 
 of the province of Veraguas, permission which in those 
 times was conceded to thousands of persons, as the ea- 
 siest and least costly method of subduing- those coun- 
 tries. Can this be made to imply then that by the limits 
 afterwards assigned to the province of Cartag-o or Costa 
 Rica, Verag-uas was dismembered ? that province selec- 
 ted and named by the immortal Columbus and confided 
 by him to his brother Bartholomow, in order that the 
 latter mig-ht there establish the first Colony on the Con- 
 tinent of America? and it is precisely to that part of 
 Verag-uas that Costa Rica lays claim, notwithstanding- 
 that province having- always preserved her integ-rity and 
 her name since it was bestowed upon her by Columbus 
 who also ordered a colony to be established there, when 
 in 1502, after having- reposed for some days in the archi- 
 pelago of the Bocas del Toro, he penetrated by the Bay 
 which from that time also was called of Vera^uas or 
 the AdmiraVs, and which lies at the northwest of the 
 Archipelago. Where then exists the decree by which 
 at any time the limits of the province have been alter- 
 ed ? And even if (of which we are by no means certain) 
 the province was explored by various parties, some 
 entering by the side of Costa Rica, some from other 
 regions, this proves nothing, because as all these lands 
 were reputed as belonging to the same lord and master, 
 there was no reason, why he should respect the limits 
 of his own possessions, in order to explore them and 
 reduce the Indians to obedience. On the contrary, he 
 frequently varied those, which were marked according 
 to the convenience of the local administration &c. Be- 
 
— 20 — 
 
 condiciones, para esplorar tierras por el lado de Costa 
 Rica, i si se quiere, por la parte aun no bien conocida 
 de la provincia de Verag-uas,-permisos que se concedian 
 entonces a millares de personas, como que era el medio 
 mas facil i menos costoso de hacer la conquista de aque- 
 llos paises l Quiere esto deeir, acaso, que en los limites 
 que sucesivamente se fueron seiialando a la provincia 
 de Cartag"o 6 Costa Rica, se segreg-6 la parte que esco- 
 jio i nombro provincia de Verdguas el inmortal Colon, 
 i encomendo a su hermano Bartolome para que fundara 
 la primera colonia del continente americano 1 Es pre- 
 cisamente esa parte la que Costa Rica pretende hoi 
 apropiarse, sin embarg-o de que dicha provincia de Ve- 
 ragrias ha conservado su nombre i su integridad desde 
 que Colon la llamo asi i la mando colonizar, cuando en 
 1502, despues de haber reposado por unos dias en el 
 archipielag-o de las Bocas del Toro, penetro por la Ba- 
 hla que desde entonces se llamo tambien de Verdguas 
 6 del Almirante, i que demora al noroeste del archipie- 
 lag-o. Donde esta, pues, la disposicion por la cual se 
 han variado alg-una vez los terminos de dicha provincia ? 
 El que hubiera, si es que los hubo, diferentes esplora- 
 dores de ella, ya internandose de la parte de Costa Rica, 
 ya viniendo de otras rejiones, nada prueba, por que re- 
 putandose todos aquellos paises como de un mismo dueiio 
 i seiior, este no tenia por que respetar los limites de sus 
 propias posesiones para el efecto de esplorarlas i de re- 
 ducir a los indios a su obediencia, antes bien, variaba 
 con frecuencia los que se solian marcar, seg-un convenia ' 
 a la administracion local &c. Por otra parte, los limi- 
 tes de las provincias nunca fueron determinados bajo el 
 Gobiemo espaiiol de una manera precisa, por que seme- 
 
— 21 — 
 
 to the convenience of the local administration &c. Be- 
 sides, the limits of the provinces were never decided 
 under the Spanish Government in a precise manner, be- 
 cause such precision was very difficult and not indispen- 
 sable. It is on this account that neither before nor after 
 the war of independence the provinces of those Spanish 
 American States that have constituted themselves into 
 Republics have known the boundary lines that separate 
 them from each other, a difficulty that has been en- 
 countered by the States themselves, as is the case between 
 New Granada and Costa Rica, for these Republics in 
 their inland frontier line contain vast, unpeopled terri- 
 tories still undivided, forming- that zone that in one of its 
 extremities embraces all the coast of Golfo Dulce and 
 a tract of many leag-ues more on the Northwest, and in 
 the other a nearly equal portion of the Atlantic coast, 
 commencing" on the river Culebras or Doraces and con- 
 tinuing' towards the Northwest. Besides, it is well 
 known, that it was customary with the civil, and in their 
 case, with the ecclesiastic authorities, to extend their 
 jurisdiction as far as they could exercise it, or which is 
 nearly the same, as far as the limits of population of the 
 conterminous parish of the respective territory. For 
 this reason all the intermediate unpopulated tracts were 
 not considered as belong-ing- to any of the territories or 
 provinces, but as they became populated, attached them- 
 selves g-enerally to the most inmediate or formed a 
 separate entity, and the same thing* takes place to day 
 and will continue' to take place until all those regions 
 become somewhat peopled, or until their perfect explo- 
 ration permits correct maps to be drawn of each terri- 
 tory. 
 
— 21 — 
 
 jante precision, sobre ser siempre dificil, no era indis- | 
 
 pensable : i es por eso que ni antes ni despues de la 
 
 g-uerra de independencia, han conocido las provincias 
 
 de los Estados Hispano-Americanos, que se han consti- 
 
 tuido en Republicas, los linderos que las separaban 
 
 Unas de otras ; dificultad con que han tropezado, aun 
 
 los mismos Estados entre si, como es el caso entre 
 
 Nueva Granada i Costa Rica, cuyas Republicas cuen- 
 
 tan en su linea fronteriza del interior, vastos territorios 
 
 despoblados, que estan proindiviso i son los que forman 
 
 la zona que por una de sus estremidades abraza toda la 
 
 Costa del Golfo Dulce i muchas leg-uas mas al Noroeste, 
 
 i por la otra, una parte casi ignal de la Costa del A- 
 
 tlantico, que empieza en el rio Culebras 6 Doraces i si- 
 
 g-ue tambien hacia el Noroeste. Es bien sabido, ademas, 
 
 que de ordinario las autoridades civiles, i en su caso, 
 
 las eclesiasticas, estendian su jurisdiccion hasta donde 
 
 alcanzaban a administrar, 6 lo que viene a ser casi lo 
 
 mismo, hasta donde alcanzaba la poblacion de la parro- 
 
 quia limltrofe de la respectiva comarca ; razon por la 
 
 cual todos aquellos espacios intermedios que se halla- 
 
 ban despoblados, no se consideraban adscritos a nin- 
 
 gnna de las comarcas 6 provincias ; i si se poblaban, 
 
 acrecian por lo comun a la mas inmediata 6 formaban 
 
 una entidad separada, que es lo que sucede hoi i conti- 
 
 nuara sucediendo hasta que todos aquellos territorios se 
 
 encuentren medianamente poblados, 6 hasta que la per- 
 
 fecta esploracion de ellos, permita levantar cartas exac- 
 
 tas de cada comarca. 
 
 Si la permision acordada a Artieda i a Gutierrez, 
 i lo que estos hicieran, pudiera ser un buen argnmento 
 para establecer los limites en cuestion, por ouanto 
 
— 22 — 
 
 If the permission granted toArtieda and Gutierrez, 
 and what they did could be received as a valid arg-u- 
 ment by which to establish the limits in question, be- 
 cause those individuals were amongst the first explo- 
 rers of those lands, even stronger titles might be alledg- 
 ed hy New Granada, on account of the priority of the 
 appointment given to Diego de Nicueza as Governor of 
 the district reaching from the Golfo de Uraba to the 
 Cape of Gracias a Dios, and which was afterwards ex- 
 tended as far as Cabo de la Vela, taking the name of 
 Tierra Firme instead of that of Castilla de Oro, until the 
 Captain Generalship and Audience of Guatemala were 
 established, at which time the whole Coast of Mosquito 
 was placed under the rule of the Intendente of Coma- 
 yagua. 
 
 There is no occasion therefore to recur to such 
 remote times in order to desinter those permissions, 
 which were issued by hundreds and which were reform- 
 ed and revoked every day without producing any result, 
 as happened with the lands assig-ned to Don Luis Colon 
 in the province of Veraguas, which afterwards were ced- 
 ed to the city of Nata. These proceedings were very na- 
 tural in the midst of the chaos presented by the first years 
 after the conquest, in which the only territories known 
 by the conquerors were those on which they trode, in 
 which the names of localities constantly changed, in 
 which one Governor or explorer would say to-day, that 
 such a province contained 60 leagues in leng-th and next 
 year another Governor would declare it only contained 
 20 or 25, as may be seen in all the memoirs and histo- 
 ries of that time. If to all these reasons we add that 
 which has been already indicated, namely, that the 
 
— 22 — 
 
 dichos individuos fueron de los primeros esploradores 
 de aquellas tierras, aun mejpres derechos podrian fun- 
 darse de parte de la Nueva Granada, por la prioridad 
 que g-ozo la Gobernacion acordada a Dieg"o de Niciieza 
 desde el Golfo de Uraba hasta el Cabo de Gracias a 
 Dios, i que despues se estendio hasta el Cabo de la 
 Vela, tomando el nombre de Tierra-firme, en lug-ar del 
 de Castilla de Oro, hasta que se establecio la Capita- 
 nia Jeneral i Audiencia de Guatemala, en cuyo tiempo 
 se puso toda la Costa de Mosquitos bajo la dependencia 
 del Intendente de Comayag-ua. 
 
 No hai, por tanto, para que ocurrir a tan remotos 
 tiempos con el objeto de desenterrar provisiones de 
 aquellas que se repartian por centenares i que se refor- 
 maban 6 revocaban todos los dias, sin que hubiesen 
 producido ningun resultado, como sucedio con los terre- 
 nos asig-nados a Don Luis Colon en la provincia de Ve- 
 ragnas, los cuales fueron poco despues cedidos a la ciu- 
 dad de Nata, - procedimientos que eran mui naturales 
 en medio del caos que presentaron los primeros aiios de 
 la conquista, en que no se conocia mas terreno que el 
 que se pisaba, en que los nombres de las localidades se 
 cambiaban diariamente, en que un Gobernador 6 esplo- 
 rador decia hoi que tal provincia tenia 60 leg-uas de 
 long-itud, i otro decia al ano sig-uiente 6 a los dos aiios, 
 que solo tenia 20 6 25, como se puede ver en todas las 
 memorias e historias de aquel tiempo. Si a este cu- 
 mulo de razones, se agreg-a lo que ya se ha indicado, 
 a saber, que los documentos exhibidos por el Sor. Mo- 
 
— 23 — 
 
 documents exhibited by Mr. Molina say nothing- that 
 would lead to the belief, that any part of the province 
 of Verag-uas had been separated from it in order to join 
 it to Costa Rica, it will be seen, that such quotations 
 oug-ht to have been ommitted as irrelevant and worth- 
 less, as it would now be entirely useless for the purpose 
 of defining- limits to quote the explorations and colo- 
 nizations &c. made in the territories above mentioned 
 and in the remainder af the provinces of Guatemala by 
 Don Pedro de Alvarado, Cristobal de Olid, Don An- 
 tonio de Arbelo, Alfonso de Arce, Gonzalez Davila, 
 Francisco de las Casas &c., whose works were conti- 
 nued and varied by many others without being- able to 
 obtain results , even tolerably correct from them, espe- 
 cially with respect to the chorog-raphy of their respective 
 commissions. 
 
 In order to discover the truth of that which Costa 
 Rica endeavours to controvert, it is necessary first to 
 enter on other questions, and then to refer to more 
 recent epochs. 
 
 Mr. Molina, speaking of the conquest of a territory 
 named Talamanca, whose limits were then, as they still 
 are, totally unltnown, refers to various reports of the 
 Governors of Costa Rica, in which an account is g-iven 
 of the existence of various tribes, naming- among- others 
 those who were found in the Bay of Bocas del Toro, and 
 in order to prove the inference he draws, that this part 
 of Tierra Firme belongs to Costa Rica, he says : "Go- 
 vernor Granda, writing to the Captain General of Gua- 
 temala from Boruca on the 20th of February 1710, says 
 the following:- Inform your Lordship that I have 
 written to the President of Panama requesting him to 
 
— 23 — 
 
 lina no dicen nada que induzca a creer que se hubiese 
 seg-reg-ado alg-una parte de la provincia de Verag-uas 
 para agreg-arla a la de Costa Rica, se vendra en cuenta 
 de que tales citas han debido escusarse como incong-ru- 
 entes i de ning-un valor, como serian inconducentes para 
 el efecto de senalar limites hoi, las esploraciones, colo- 
 nizaciones &c. hechas en los territorios mencionadosi en 
 los del resto de las provincias de Guatemala, por Don 
 Pedro de Alvarado, Cristobal de Olid, Don Antonio de 
 Arbelo, Alfonso de Arce, Gonzalez Davila, Francisco 
 de las Casas &c., cuyas empresas fueron continuadas i 
 variadas por otros muchos, sin que jamas Ueg-ara nin- 
 g-uno de ellos a dar resultados medianamente perfectos 
 de sus trabajos, i menos en lo relativo a la corografia 
 de sus repectivas encomiendas. 
 
 Para hallar la verdad de lo que se trata de contro- 
 vertir por parte de Costa Rica, se hace preciso entrar 
 primero en otras cuestiones i aproximarse lueg-o a epo- 
 cas mas recientes. 
 
 Hablando el Sor. Molina de la conquista de un 
 territorio llamado Talamanca, c^yos limites eran total- 
 mente desconocidos, como lo son hoi todavia, alude a 
 varios informes de los Gobernadores de Costa Rica, en 
 que se da cuenta de la existencia de alg-unas tribus, 
 nombrando, entre otras, las que se hallaban en la ba- 
 hia de las Bocas del Toro ; i para comprobar sus ila- 
 ciones sobre que esta parte de Tierra-firme pertenecia 
 a Costa Rica, dice : "Escribiendo el Gobernador Granda 
 al Capitan Jeneral de Guatemala, con fecha Boruca 28 
 de Febrero de 1710, dice entre otras cosas lo sig-uiente : - 
 Doi cuenta a V. S. de como escribo al Presidente de 
 
— 24 — 
 
 dispatch a french vessel towards the North, for the pur- 
 pose of taking the mouth of the island of Tojar in order 
 that I may be able to reduce them to surrender, and al- 
 so those of the Bocas del Toro. If the vessel comes, the 
 greatest service that has as yet been done in the Indias, 
 will be rendered to God and the King our master, for 
 the isle of Tojar contains three thousand zamboes and 
 from Bocas del Toro to Matina there are more than 
 ten thousand Indians belonging to the conquest of Ta- 
 lamanca." And further on he says ; "The missionary 
 Fathers of Christ College, Guatemala, sent to the 
 King of Spain in 1763 a circumstantial account of the 
 state of the mission of Talamanca and others which 
 had been placed under their care, entering into the 
 history of the former from its origin. In that account 
 it is stated, that the conquest of Talamanca embraced 
 a territory of 120 leagues from East to West, and 
 from. 30 to 40 from North to South" Then follow the 
 names of the 7 tribes of which the mission was com- 
 posed with the observation that three of them belonged 
 to Tierra Firme and the remainder to the Audience of 
 Guatemala. 
 
 Upon examining this part of the principal argu- 
 ments upon which the conclusions of the above mentioned 
 Memoir are based, it will be seen : 1st. that the request 
 made by Governor Granda to the President of Panama 
 to send a vessel to Bocas del Toro in order to aid in 
 subduing the zamboes proves, if it proves any thing, 
 that the said President held dominion and authority 
 over those Islands and that the Governor intended to 
 approach them in his persecution of the Indians in 
 virtue of a commission he held to that eifect, but does 
 
— 24 — 
 
 Panama, i le pido envie una nao francesa por la parte 
 del Norte, a tomar la boca de la isla de Tojar, para 
 que yo los pueda reducir a rendirse, i a los de la Boca 
 del |Toro tambien, que si viene se liara el mayor ser- 
 vicio a Dios i al Rei nuestro amo, que se habra hecho 
 hasta hoi en las Indias, por que son tres mil zambos 
 los de la isla Tojar, i desde las Bocas del Toro a Ma- 
 tina hai mas de diez mil indios que son de la conquista 
 de Talamanca." I mas adelante dice: "Los Padres 
 misioneros del colejio de Cristo de Guatemala, envia- 
 ron en 1763, al Rei de Espana, una relacion circunstan- 
 ciada del estado que tenian las misiones de Talamanca 
 i otras que les estaban encargadas, entrando en la histo- 
 ria de aquella desde su orig-en. Alii pues, se esplica, 
 que la conquista de Talamanca abrazaba un territorio 
 de 120 leguas de Oriente a Poitiente, i 30 a 40 de Norte 
 a Sur : " lueg-o sig-ue la denominacion de las 7 tribus 
 de que se componia, diciendose que tres de ellas perte- 
 necian a Tierra-firme i las otras a la Audiencia de Gua- 
 temala. 
 
 Si se examina esta parte de los principales alega- 
 tos en que se apoyan las conclusiones de la Memoria 
 mencionada, se vera: l" Que el hecho de pedir el Go- 
 bernador Granda al Presidente de Panama que envie 
 una nao a las Bocas del Toro para que ayude a some- 
 ter a los zambos, si alg-o prueba es, que dicho Presi- 
 dente tenia dominio 6 autoridad sobre aquellas isias, i 
 que el Gobernador pensaba aproximarse a ellas en per- 
 secucion de los indios, por comision que habria tenido 
 al efecto ; mas de ning-una manera se puede colejir, ni re- 
 
•Jo 
 
 not even remotely lead to the idea, that those Islands 
 belonjjfed to Costa Rica. 2d. That the missionaries 
 believed that what was termed Talamanca beg-an from 
 las Bocas del Toro, judg-ing- probably that the Audience 
 of Tierra Firme extended more or less to the northeas- 
 tern extremity of these islands. 3d. That all these 
 documents are vitiated by the complete ig-norance and 
 uncertainty manifested in their contents. One of the 
 simplest proofs of this assertion is the inconceivable 
 and stupendous carelessness with which it is asserted 
 that the province of Talamanca contains 120 leagues 
 from east to west and from 30 to 40 from north to south. 
 [Wlio that has formed the least idea of what is imder- 
 stood by the said province, by Costa Rica herself, and 
 of the width of the Isthmus on the side of which we 
 speak, but will understand that the reporters were enti- 
 rely ignorant of the principal points of the affair entrusted 
 to them ? Neither can it be said that they intended to 
 include the province of Veraguas in those limits, as they 
 could not be adapted to it. Nor was it possible that 
 they should be i^iorant of a remarkable and notorious 
 fact in the history of America, which is, that the name 
 of the province of Veraguas was given by Christopher 
 Columbus especially to the Bay and Islands of Bocas 
 del Toro and to the continent northwest of them, which 
 was the point, where he desembarked and where, as 
 already has been said, he ordered his first colony to be 
 founded. This name was never changed, there being" 
 no occasion for it and also because such a proceeding- 
 would have been looked upon as a profanation that 
 nothing could excuse. 
 
 Mr. Molina deplores that, "neither in the Code of 
 
— 25 — ' 
 
 motamente, que dichas islas correspondian a Costa Rica : 
 2° Que los misioneros creian que lo que se Uamaba 
 Talamanca, empezaba desde las Bocas del Toro, esti- 
 niando, probablementej que hasta la estremidad Noro- 
 este de estas alcanzaba, poco mas 6 menos, la Audien- 
 cia de Tierra-firme ; 3" en fin, que todos estos informes 
 estan viciados por una completa i^norancia 6 incerti- 
 dumbre de cuanto se emite en ellos, siendo una de las 
 mas sencillas pruebas de este aserto, la inconcebible i 
 estupenda inexactitud con que se asienta que la provin- 
 cia de Talamanca tiene 120 leguas de Oriente a Poni- 
 ente, i de 30 a 40 de Norte a Sur. l Quien que teng-a la 
 menor nocion de lo que se ha entendido por dicha pro- 
 vincia, de lo que es Costa Rica, i de la anchura del 
 Istmo por el lado de que se trata, no vendra en cuenta de 
 que los infonnantes ig-noraban, nada menos que la parte 
 principal del neg-ociado que se les habia encomendado ? 
 I no es creible que se pretendiese comprender en aquellas 
 dimensiones la provincia de Verag-uas, pues, ni se po- 
 dian adaptar a ella, ni era posible que tambien ig"nora- 
 rasen los informantes un hecho tan culminante i noto- 
 rio de la historia de America, cual es el nombre de pro- 
 vincia de Verag-uas, dado por Cristobal Colon, con es- 
 peciaiidad a la bahia e islas de las Bocas del Toro i a 
 la parte Noroeste de ellas, en el continente, que fue 
 donde desembarco i donde, como se ha dicho, mando 
 establecer su primera colonia: nombre que jamas se 
 vario, ya por que no hubo necesidad, ya porque tal pro- 
 cedimiento se habria mirado como una profanacion que 
 con nada podria cohonestarse. 
 
 Deplora iel seiior Molina que "ni en las leyes de In- 
 
— 26 — 
 
 laws for the Iiidias nor elsewhere is a law to be found 
 that finally determined the line that should separate the 
 jurisdiction belonging" to the Audience of Tierra Firme 
 from the jurisdiction belonging to Guatemala." This 
 is a fact, for the regulations then existing were limited 
 to declaring that the jurisdiction of Tierra Firme should 
 reach as far as the province of Veraguas inclusive, and 
 that, that of Guatemala should begin in the province of 
 Costa Rica, and it was this want of precision (which is 
 always observable on the subject of the limits and 
 boundaries of all the regions and provinces which be- 
 longed to Spain in America) that suggested to the 
 Government of Costa Rica the idea of laying claim to 
 the Archipelago and Bay of Bocas del Toro; but never- 
 theless this want cannot give weight to the pretensions 
 of Costa Rica, understanding as it must be understood, 
 because it is a self evident fact, that the province of 
 Veraguas has always belonged toTierra Firme; and if on 
 one side it is true that its extreme limits on the frontier of 
 Costa Rica are not clearly defined, because these limits 
 are lost and confounded in the midst of regions as yet 
 untrod by human foot, on the other side it is certain also 
 that the extreme limits of Costa Rica towards New 
 Granada are still more undefined and obscure on account 
 of its small frontier villages being at an immense dis- 
 tance from those yet imdivided deserts in which the 
 limits of New^ Granada are lost. 
 
 To complete the first and principal summary of the 
 pretended rights of Costa Rica, the following indivi- 
 duals are cited as authorities, namely; Herrera, Na- 
 varro and Alcedo, and also Don Domingo Juarros, who 
 has been always looked upon as the Achilles of argu- 
 
— 26 — 
 
 ilias, ni en ninguna otra parte se encuentra una lei que 
 sefialase terminantemente la linca que debia separar la 
 jurisdiccion pertenecientealaAudiencia deTierra-firme, 
 de la jurisdiccion perteneciente a la Audiencia de Gua- 
 temala;" lo cual es exacto, por que las disposiciones 
 de entonces solo se limitaron a decir, que la de Tierra- 
 firme alcanzaria hasta la provincia de Veraguas inclu- 
 sive, i que la de Guatemala empezaria en la provincia 
 de Costa Rica : i fue esta falta de precision (que se ob- 
 servara siempre en punto a los limites 6 fronteras de to- 
 das las rejiones i provincias que pertenecieron a Espaiia 
 en America) lo que sujirio al Gobierno de Costa Rica 
 alg"o de que asirse para aleg-ar derechos al arcliipielago 
 i bahia de las Bocas del Toro. Mas ya se ve que este 
 vacio ho puede prestar asidero a la pretension de Costa 
 Rica, aceptando, como es preciso que se acepte, por que 
 es evidente, el hecho de que la provincia de Veraguas 
 siempre ha pertenecido a Tierra-firme ; i que si de una 
 parte es verdad que sus liltimos limites por el lado de 
 Costa Rica no estan bien determinados, por que se 
 pierden i confunden en medio de territorios no iiollados 
 todavia por la planta humana, de otra es cierto tambien, 
 que los liltimos limites de Costa Rica, por el lado de 
 Nueva Granada, son aun mas indeterminados i obscuros, 
 porestar sus pequeiias poblaciones limitrofes a una dis- 
 tancia inmensa de los mismos desiertos pro-indiviso 
 en que la Nueva Granada se pierde. 
 
 Para completar el primero i principal cuadro de los 
 pretendidos derechos de Costa Rica, se cita como auto- 
 ridad a an tal Herrera, a un Navarro, a Alcedo, i a Don 
 Domingo Juarros, quien siempre ha sido presentado 
 como el Aquiles de todas las argumentaciones ; termi" 
 
27 
 
 mentations, and finally reference is made to the follow- 
 ing- maps. 1st. That of Mexico published in Paris in 
 1650 by Sanson d' Abbeville. 2d. That of Mexico and 
 Florida, published by one d' Yoerville le Sueur in 1703, 
 and 3d that of the British Empire in America, published 
 in Amsterdam by one Gonvents and Cornelius Mortier. 
 The authorities of Navarro, Herrera and Alcedo 
 are so worthless on this point, that even in the short 
 phrase, in which reference is made to the boundaries of 
 Costa Rica, they express themselves with so much in- 
 decision and such manifest contradiction, that at the 
 first glance it is evident that they ag-ree in placing- the 
 boundary line on the side of the Bay of San Geronimo 
 or Caribaco, thoug-h distancing- 20 or 25 leag-ues one 
 from the other, because the line must be drawn some- 
 where and it appeared to them easiest to place it where 
 they fancied it oug-ht to be. So that even allowing-, as 
 we oug-ht, that the author of the precited Memoir is not 
 mistaken in what he says, he could g-ain nothing- by 
 this quotation. Besides, the reference to Alcedo seems 
 a little doubtful, if Don Antonio de Alcedo is meant, as 
 the maps published by him fix the boundary line be- 
 tween New Granada and Costa Rica on the Pacific side 
 in the centre of Golfo Dulce, ^nd on the Atlantic on the 
 river of Culebras or Doraces or Chang-uene. The 
 authority of Don Doming-o Juarros, champion of the 
 rig-hts of Costa Rica has been and will be rejected by 
 New Granada and by all who peruse his work on 
 account of the prejudice observable in it, as he was a 
 native of Guatemala and published his work during- the 
 heat of the war of independence : also because speaking- of 
 the limits in question he leans entirely on the assertions 
 
— 27 — 
 
 naiido por citar tambien los mapas sig-uientes : 1" el de 
 Mejico, pnblicado en Paris en 1656 por Sanson d" Abbe- 
 ville, - 2° el de Mejico i la Florida, publicado por un tal 
 d'Yoerville le Sueur en 1703, - i 3° el del Imperio Bri- 
 tanico en America, publicado en Amsterdam por los Ua- 
 mados John Gonvents i Cornelius Mortier. 
 
 La autoridad de Navarro, Herrera i Alcedo es tan 
 baladi a este respecto, cuanto que en la corta frase en 
 que se refieren a los limites de Costa Rica se espresan 
 con tanta incertidumbre i con tan manifiesta contradic- 
 cion, que a primera vista se conoce que terminaron la 
 linea divisoria por el lado de la baliia de san Geronimo 
 6 Caribaco, difiriendo en 20 a 25 leguas unos de otros, 
 porque debian cerrarla por alg-una parte, i les parecio 
 lo mas comodo hacerlo por donde se fig-uraban que po- 
 dria ser. De manera que aun dando por sentado, como es 
 debido, que el autor de la precitada Memoria no se haya 
 equivocado en lo que dice, nada podria adelantar con su 
 cita. Ademas, la relativa a Alcedo parece un poco du- 
 dosa, si se refiere a Don Antonio de Alcedo, pues los 
 mapas que este publico fijan la linea divisoria entre 
 Nueva Granada i Costa Rica, por la parte del Pacifico, 
 en el seno del Golfo Dulce, i por la del Atlantico, en el 
 rio de las Culebras 6 Doraces, 6 sea Chang-uene. La 
 autoridad de Don Doming-o Juarros, protag-onista de los 
 derecbos de Costa Rica, ha sido i sera, con sobra de 
 razon, rechazada por la Nueva Granada i por cuantos 
 lean su libro, ya por que se resiente de parcialidad, 
 como que el era g-uatemalteco i publico su obra en 
 medio de la conflag-racion de la g-uerra de independen- 
 cia, ya por que hablando de los limites en cuestion, se 
 refiere enteramente a las relaciones de un Ceballos de 
 
of one Ceballos of Costa Rica, an unknown pcrsonagCy 
 also because the numerous errors of which tlie i>-reatest 
 part of his work is composed, clearly show that it camiot 
 he admitted as an authority of any weig-ht or v alue. 
 
 Now reg-arding- the maps which are quoted, accord- 
 ing to the confession of Mr. Molina, their authors differ 
 more widely still as to the boundary line, than the ahove 
 named historians, which fact excludes them as authori- 
 ties, even without taking into consideration the obscu- 
 rity of their names. 
 
 JNew Granada has in her favor nearly all the histo- 
 rians, travellers, geographers and classic hydrographers 
 ancient or modern, and so numerous are they, that it 
 would be superfluous to quote them here, as it is enough 
 to invite all who have any interest in this question to 
 open whatever history or official map or maps of respec- 
 table parties they find on the subject, with the assu- 
 rance that they will always find the boundaries of jNew 
 Granada where she herself has declared them to be. 
 Nevertheless, by way of example the following works 
 may be quoted : those of Don Juan de la Cruz Cano, 
 d'Anville and Robert de Var Goudry, those of Fanden 
 and Jeflfery's, those of Don Jose Lopez Arpudia and 
 many others equally select who place said limits in the 
 centre of Golfo Dulce on the one Ocean and on the 
 river Culebras or Doraces on the other, and wMch 
 boundaries were constantly recognized by the Spanish 
 authorities in the past and present century. In accor- 
 dance witli these works is the chart drawn by order of the 
 Viceroy of the New Kingdom of Granada Don Jose de 
 Espeleta and several others which are to be found in 
 
— 28 — 
 
 Costa Rica, que no se sabe quien es, ya en fin, porque 
 los multiplicados errores de que se compone la mayor 
 parte de su diclio libro, manifiestan claramante que no 
 se puede aducir como autoridad de ningun peso ni 
 consecuencia. 
 
 Ahora, con referencia a los mapas que se citan, 
 seg-un confesion del mismo seiior Molina, difieren sus 
 autores en la linea de demarcacion, todavia mas que 
 los apellidados historiadores, lo cual los escluye como 
 autoridades, sin contar con la oscuridad de sus nombres. 
 
 La Nueva Granada cuenta en su favor casi todos 
 los historiadores, viajeros, g-eog-rafos e liidrog-rafos cla- 
 sicos, tanto antig-uos como modernos, i en tal abundan- 
 cia, que estaria por demas citarlos aqui, pues basta in- 
 vitar a todos los que teng-an interes en esta cuestion, a 
 que abran cuantas historias i mapas oficiales 6 de per- 
 sonas respetable« encuentren sobre la materia, seguros 
 de que siempre hallaran los terminos de la Nueva Gra- 
 nada donde esta los ha enunciado. Pueden citarse sin 
 enibargo, por via de muestra, las obras de Don Juan de 
 la Cruz Cano, las de D'Anville i Roberto de Van Gou- 
 dry, las de Fanden i de Jefferys, las de Don Jose Lopez 
 Arpudia i otras muchas ig-ualmente selectas, que seiia- 
 lan tales limites en el seno de Golfo Dulce por el un 
 Oceano, i el rio de las Culebras 6 Doraces por el otro, i 
 cuyas demarcaciones fueron seg-uidas constantemente 
 por las autoridades espaiiolas en el sig-lo pasado i en el 
 presente. De acuerdo con estos trabajos se halla tam- 
 bien la carta mandada levantar por orden del Virei del 
 Nuevo Reino de Granada, Don Jose de Espeleta, i otras 
 varias que se hallan en los archivos del Vireinato. A 
 
129 — 
 
 the archives of the Viceroyalty. To these may be added 
 those made in 1795 by Thomas Kitehin, hidrographer 
 to his Britanic Majesty, the Admiralty Chart by captain 
 Owens, Arrowsmith's map, the maps of Lawrise, of 
 Laurie and AVhittle, of Roberts, of Wyki, of Collins and 
 of Ulloa, the chart made by captain Barnett, the maps 
 and other works of Acosta, the maps of Colonel Codaz- 
 zi &c. &c. Many other works published and in manu- 
 script might l)e quoted, but as has already been observed, 
 this would be superfluous, especially when the observa- 
 tions that have been made are suflGicient to indicate the 
 path to those who desire to investig'ate this affair. 
 
 Perhaps it Avill not be out of place to termmate this 
 part of the subject by inserting' a paragraph extracted 
 and reasonably accepted by Mr. Molina from the works 
 of Don Antonio de Ulloa, as a very respectable autho- 
 rity. 
 
 "The city of Panama, he says, is not only the capi- 
 tal of its province, but of all the Kingdom of Tierra 
 Firme, which consists of the three provinces of Panama , 
 Darien and Verag-uas. The first is the head quarters 
 of all the Government Offices on account of being- 
 situated between the ether two, Darien on the East 
 and Veraguas on the West. The Kingdom of Tierra 
 Firme commences at the North in the riAcr of Darien, 
 and extending itself by Nombre de Dios, Bocas del 
 Toro and Bahia del Almirante, terminates in the West 
 in the river Dorados (Doraces) in the Northern sea ; and 
 in tiieSouthern sea, beginning- at the west, extends from 
 Punta Gorda in Costa Rica by the Punta de Moriatos 
 and Maria Puercos to the Gulf of Darien, from which 
 
estas pueden agTeg-arse las trabajadas en 1795 por To- 
 mas Kitchin, liidrografo de S. M. B., la carta del Almi- 
 rantazgo por el Capitan Owens, los mapas de Arrow- 
 smith, de Lawrise, de Laurie i Whittle, de Roberts, de 
 Wyld, de Collins, i de Ulloa, la carta levantada por el 
 capitan Barnett, los mapas i dcmas obras de Acosta, 
 las cartas del Coronel Codazzi &c. Ann podrian ci- 
 tarse otros muchos trabajos piiblicados 6 ineditos; mas 
 como se ha dicho, esta seria una molestia siiperflua, 
 maxime cnando las alusiones que quedan hechas bastan 
 para indicai el camino a los que deseen hacer investi- 
 jraciones sobre este asunto. 
 
 Acaso no sera fuera de lug-ar terniinar este punto 
 con la insercion de un parrafo tomado i aceptado con 
 razon por el Sor. Molina, de las obras de Don Antonio 
 de Ulloa, como de autoridad mui respetable. 
 
 "La ciudad de Panama, dice, es no solamente ca- 
 pital de su provincia, sino tambien de todo el Reino de 
 Tierra-firme, que consiste de las tres provincias de Pa- 
 nama, Darien, i Veraguas. La primera es el asiento de 
 todas las oficinas del Gobierno, por hallarse situada 
 entre las otras dos, el Darien quedando al Oriente i 
 Vera^ias al Occidente. El Reino de Tierra-firme co- 
 mienza per el lado del Norte en el rio de Darien, i esten- 
 diendose por el Nombre de Dios, Bocas del Toro i Ba- 
 hia del Almirante, termina por el Poniente, en el rio de 
 los Dorados (Doraces) en el mar del Norte ; i por el 
 mar del Sur, comenzando por el Poniente, se estiende 
 desde Punta Gorda en Costa Rica por la Punta de Mo- 
 riatos i Maria Puercos, hasta el Golfo de Darien, donde 
 continiia hacia el Sur, sigiiiendo la Costa por la Pnnta 
 
— 30 — 
 
 it stretches southward, following the coast by Punta de 
 Piiios and Maria Quemada to the Bay of Buenaventura." 
 New Granada has a perfect right to the frontier 
 which has been indicated on the Atlantic Coast, not 
 only for the reasons referred to, which doubtless are not 
 the strongest, but from various other titles, each one of 
 which completely destroys the weak allegations of Costa 
 Rica as will presently be seen. 
 
 Among-st these titles is to be numbered the Royal 
 Ordinance of 30th November 1803 by virtue of which 
 the Islands of San Andres and the Mosquito Coast 
 from Cabo Gracias a Dips inclusive to the river Chagres, 
 were separated from the Captain Generalship of Guate- 
 mala/ and reincorporated into the Viceroyalty of the pew 
 Kingdom of Granada. 
 
 Mr. Chatfield, British Agent in Guatemala, writes 
 to Viscount Palmerston in 1847 striving to depreciate 
 the v-alue of that Ordinance, as w^as natural according 
 to his views, amongst other things already related by 
 Mr. Molina, the following: 
 
 "In my opinion the line of boundary which Her 
 Majesty's Government should insist upon as absolutely 
 essential to the well being of the Mosquito state, is that 
 tract of sea-board situated between the right bank of the 
 river Roman, where several english mahogany works 
 are established (but which are much annoyed and 
 harrassed by the undue interference of the Honduras 
 Government), and the left hand of the river St. John, - 
 an extent of territory, it is asserted, that the Mosquito 
 Indians have, ever since the country was known to Eu- 
 
— 30 — 
 
 de Pinos i Maria Quemada, hasta la Bahia de Buena- 
 ventura. " 
 
 La Nueva Granada tiene derechos perfectos hasta 
 la frontera que se ha mdicado por la parte del Atlantico, 
 no como quiera por las razones referidas, que sin duda 
 no son las mas faertes, sino por otros diversos titulos 
 que aniquilan completamente, cada uno de por si, los 
 debiles aleg-atos de Costa Rica, como se vera mas ade- 
 lante. 
 
 Entre estos titulos cuenta el que le da la Real Ce- 
 dula de 30 de noviembre de 1803, por la cual se segre- 
 g-aron definitivamente de la Capitania Jeneral de Gua- 
 temala las islas de San Andres i la Costa de Mosqui- 
 tos, desde el Cabo Gracias a Dios inclusive, hacia el 
 rio Chag-res, i se reincorporaron alVireinato del Nuevo 
 Reino de Granada. 
 
 Mr. Chatfield, Ajente Britanico en Guatemala, 
 escribe al Vizconde Palmerston en 1847, tratando de 
 apocar el valor de aquella Cedula, como era natural a 
 sus miras, entre otras cosas relacionadas ya por el Sor. 
 Molina, lo siguiente: 
 
 "En mi opinion, la linea limitrofe en que el 
 
 Gobierno de S. M. debe insistir, como absolutamente 
 esencial al bien estar del Estado de Mosquito, es el 
 trecho de Costa situado entre la orilla derecha del rio 
 Roman, donde se ban establecido varias obras (works) 
 inglesas de caoba (pero que son molestadas e interrum- 
 pidas por la indebida intervencion del Gobierno de 
 Honduras), i la izquierda del rio San Juan, - cuya esten- 
 sion de territorio se asegura ban poseido i usado los in- 
 dios Mosquitos, sin que ning-un otro pueblo haya inter- 
 
— 31 — 
 
 ropeaiis, possessed and used without an\' otlier people 
 whatsoever interferinnf witli their native ri«fht of do- 
 ing so." 
 
 "Various reports upon the boundaries of the Mos- 
 quito shore, the condition of the people and the number 
 of the settlements exist, showing* the correctness of these 
 limits ; and the historian Juarros, Avhose testimony can- 
 not be doubted, in such a matter, describes two pro- 
 vinces peopled by uncivilized Indians, as lying- between 
 the provinces of Comayag-ua and Nicarag-ua, which, he 
 says extend along- the Atlantic Coast from the river 
 Ag-uan or Roman to that of St. John." 
 
 "The Government of New Granada, in soliciting- 
 Her Majesty's Government to entertain a discussion 
 w ith it upon the boundary of Mosquito, evidently aims 
 at obtaining- the powerful sanction of Great Britain to 
 territorial pretensions of considerable mag-nitude, embra- 
 cing- an extent of upw ards of eig-hty leag-ues of sea-board 
 from Cape Gracias a Dios to St. John's river, and envol- 
 ving- the suppression of the small State of Costa Rica 
 along- the entire Atlantic Coast, with a view to place 
 under the control of New Granada the navig-ation of the 
 river St. John, and consequently of the lakes of Nica- 
 rag-ua and the intended ship-canal, so as to render it im- 
 possible for any one at any time to undertake the con- 
 nexion of the two Oceans by means of the river St. John 
 and the Lake of Nicarag-ua, without its previous con- 
 currence and cooperation," 
 
 Mr. Chatfield had before stated that the ordinance 
 referred to was expedited as a purely military measure, 
 
— 31 — 
 
 venido en su derecho natural (native) de liacerlo asi, 
 desde que el pais fue conocido por Jos europeos." 
 
 "Existen varios datos sobre los limites de la Costa 
 de Mosquito, la condicion del pueblo i el niimero de los 
 establecimientos, que miiestran la exactitud de estos 
 limites; i el historiador Juarros, cuyo testimonio no 
 puede revocarse a duda en materia semejante, describe 
 dos prorincias pobladas por'indios salvajes, que que- 
 dan entre las provincias de Comayag-ua i Nicarag-ua, 
 las cuales, dice, se estienden a lo larg-o de la Costa del 
 Atlantico, desde el rio Ag-uan 6 Roman hasta el San 
 Juan. " 
 
 "El Gobierno de la Nueva Granada al solicitar del 
 Gobiemo de S. M. que teng-a con el una discusion sobre 
 los limites de Mosquito, evidentemente tiene en mira 
 obtener la sancion poderosa de la Gran Bretaiia a pre- 
 tensiones territoriales de una magnitud considerable, 
 abrazando una estension de mas de oclienta leg-uas de 
 Costa desde el Cabo de Gracias a Dios hasta el rio San 
 Juan, i envolviendo la supresion del pequeiio Estado de 
 Costa Rica a lo larg-o de toda la Costa del Atlantico, 
 con el objeto de colocar bajo el dominio de la Nueva 
 Granada la naveg-acion del rio San Juan, i por consi- 
 g-uiente los lag-os de Nicarag-ua i el proyectado canal, 
 de modo que se haga imposible el que lleg-ue jamas a 
 emprenderse la comunicacion de los dos oceanos por 
 medio del rio San Juan i del lag-o de Nicarag-ua, sin su 
 concurrencia i cooperacion previas." 
 
 Antes habia indicado Mr. Chatfield, que la citada 
 Cedula se liabia espedido como una medida puramente 
 
— 32 — 
 
 and Mr. Molina, wishing- to use this assertion in favor 
 of Costa Rica, presents it as a decisive and conclusive 
 arg-ument. In the same manner he leans upon other 
 opinions equally valueless, for they are weakened by in- 
 exactness and partiality, and dilate upon the expediency 
 of wresting- the Mosquito Coast from New Granada or 
 any other part that might be convenient for the ridicu- 
 lous plans of the improvised King- or automatum of the 
 Mosquitos. 
 
 Mr. Molina not satisfied with the injustice intended 
 towards New Granada in thus despoiling- her of her 
 rig-hts to that coast as far as Cape Gracias a Dios, insi- 
 nuates the idea that Mr. O'Leary, Charg-e d' Affaires of 
 the British Government in Bog-ota did not consider that 
 New Granada had any rig-ht to the possession of the 
 Lake of Chiriqui. If Mr. Molina had inserted all Mr. 
 O'Leary's note in Eng-lish, it would be perceived that 
 he did not even intend to make such an assertion, and 
 that notwithstanding- his venturesome asseveration that 
 New Granada had no possessory rig-hts beyond the 
 Lake of Chiriqui, he never attempted to deny that the 
 lake itself belong-ed to her, incidentally adding- that a 
 settlement had been formed there. 
 
 The note is as fellows ; 
 
 "Mr. O'Leary to Viscount Palmerston. 
 (Extract.) 
 
 " Bog-ota, June 29, 1847. 
 "With reference to your Lordship's despatch of 
 the 16"' of February last, and to my despatch of the 10"' 
 ultimo, both on the subject of the boundaries of the 
 
32 — 
 
 militar, i el Sor. Molina, queriendo esplotar en favor de 
 Costa Rica semejante indicacion, la presenta como una 
 cosa decisiva i concluyente, de la misma manera que 
 se apoya en otras igualmente rechazables, por estar vi- 
 ciadas de inexactitud i parcialidad, i que versaban sobre 
 la conveniencia de arrebatar los territories de la Costa 
 de Mosquitos a la Nueva Granada, i lo demas que 
 se estimase conducente a los incalificables planes 
 en que jug-aba el improvisado Rei 6 automata de Mos- 
 quitos. 
 
 I no contento el Sor. Molina con la injuria que se 
 irroo-aba a la Nueva Granada, queriendola despojar por 
 
 to 
 
 esos medios de sus derechos a aquella costa hasta el 
 cabo Gracias a Dios, pretende insinuar la idea de que 
 el Sor. O'Leary, Encargado de Neg-ocios del Gobierno 
 Britanico en Bogota, no consideraba a la Nueva Gra- 
 nada con derechos posesorios en la Lag-una de Chiri- 
 qui. Si el Sor. Molina hubiese insertado toda la nota 
 del Sor. O'Leary, en ing-les, se veria que este, ni siquiera 
 ha intentado decir tal cosa, i que no obstante su aven- 
 turada aseveracion sobre que la Nueva Granada no te- 
 nia derechos posesorios desde la Lag-una de Chiriqui, 
 no se atrevio a ne^arle que esta Laguna le pertenecia, 
 agreg-ando incidentalmente que en ella habia formado 
 un establecimiento. 
 
 La nota es como sigue: 
 
 "Mr. O'Leary al Vizconde Palmerston. 
 
 "Bogota, Junio 29 de 1847. 
 "Con referenda al despacho de su Senoria de 16 
 de febrero ultimo, i a mi nota del 10 ultimo, ambas so- 
 bre la cuestion de limites del territorio de Mosquito, 
 
— 33 — 
 
 1 
 
 Mosquito Territory, I have tlie honour to acquai t 
 your Lordship that I have endeavoured to obtain some 
 authentic information respecting- the boundaiy claimed 
 by the King- of Mosquito. Until lately, when a claim 
 was asserted by some civil and military servants of Her 
 Majesty, on behalf of the King- of Mosquito, to certain 
 portions of the coast to the south of the River San Juan, 
 I understand that the river was the southern boundary 
 of the King's territory. And as far as a title can be 
 acquired by a state of perfect independence, by long 
 and uninterrupted possession, and the cultivation of the 
 soil, by the absence of any Spanish establishment or 
 settlement whatever, and even by the recognition of that 
 independent State m former times by Spanish autho- 
 rities, the title of the King of Mosquito to the territory 
 between Cape Cameron and the River San Juan, cannot 
 be fairly disputed. 
 
 "Nevertheless, both Central America and New 
 Granada assert a right to that portion of the coast 
 lying- between the Chiriqui Lagoon and Cape Gracias a 
 Dios. Both these Republics pretend to derive their 
 rights from the Kings of Spain. On a former occasion 
 I stated facts which in my opinion destroyed or impaired 
 those rights ; but assuming that the Spanish sovereig-ns 
 had a perfect right of dominion over the contested terri- 
 tory, it would appear that the right devolved upon New 
 Granada rather than upon Central America, for under 
 the colonial rule, the jurisdiction over the territory in 
 question, after being transferred with frequency from 
 the Viceroyalty of New Granada to the Captain- 
 Generalship of Guatemala (now Republic of Central 
 America) and vice versa, and at one time from that of 
 
— 33 — 
 
 teng"o el honor de poner en conocimiento de sii Senoria, 
 que he procurado obtener alg-unos informes autenticos 
 respecto de los limites reclamados por el rei de Mos- 
 quito. Hasta ahora poco, cuando se sostenia por al- 
 gfunos servidores civiles i militares de S.M. un derecho 
 en favor del rei de Mosquito a ciertas porciones de la 
 Costa al Sur del rio San Juan, entiendo que aquel rio 
 era el limite meridional del territorio del rei. I mientras 
 que se pueda adquirir un titulo fundado en un estado 
 de perfecta independencia i en una posesion de mucho 
 tiempo no interrumpida, en el cultivo del suelo, en la 
 ausencia de establecimiento espaiiol alg-uno, li otra co- 
 lonia cualquiera, i aun en el reconocimiento de aquel 
 Estado independiente, heclio en tiempos anteriores por 
 autoridades espanolas, el titulo del rei de Mosquito al 
 territorio que queda entre el cabo Cameron i el rio San 
 Juan, no puede disputarsele con justicia. 
 
 "No obstante, tanto Centro America como Nueva 
 Granada sostienen tener derecho a aquella porcion de 
 la costa que queda entre la lag-una de Chiriqui i el cabo 
 de Gracias a Dios. Estas dos repiiblicas pretenden de- 
 rivar sus derechos de los reyes de Espaiia. En otra 
 ocasion espuse hechos que en mi opinion destruian 6 
 debilitaban aquellos derechos ; pero suponiendo que los 
 soberanos espanoles hubiesen tenido un perfecto dere- 
 cho de dominio sobre el territorio disputado, apareceria 
 que aquel derecho debia recaer sobre Nueva Granada 
 mas bien que sobre Centro America, porque bajo el re- 
 jimen colonial la jurisdiccion sobre el territorio en cues- 
 tion, despues de haber sido trarisferida frecuentemente 
 del Vireinato de la Nueva Granada a la Capitania Je- 
 neral de Guatemala (ahora Repiiblica de Centro Ame- 
 
— 34 — 
 
 both these colonies to the Captain-Generalship of Cuba, 
 was finally restored to New Granada by^ Royal letters 
 patent, dated the 20th of November 180SL_ Therefore 
 if the rig-ht of the Spanish Sovereig-ns was valid, so also 
 is that of New Granada, and consequently the pretension 
 of Central America is arbitrary and null, and the insig-ni- 
 ficant establishment at the mouth of the River San Juan 
 and that at Matina or port of Cartag-o, are usurpations. 
 Therefore it is not necessary, and it may be prejudicial 
 to the object your Lordship has in view, to enter into 
 neg-ociations with Central America, which Republic 
 cannot confer rig-hts which do not belong- to her, at least 
 as far as regards the sea-board. 
 
 "The question, then, lies between the King- of Mos- 
 quito and New Granada. This Republic has no pos- 
 sessory rig-hts on the coast between the Chiriqui La- 
 goon, in the vicinity of which, at Boca del Toro, she 
 formed a settlement, and the River San Juan ; and I am 
 inclined to believe, that the Granadian Government would 
 gladly accept that river as the northwestern boundary 
 of the Republic. And looking at the map, the River 
 San Juan would seem to afford to the King of Mos- 
 quito a distinct and secure boundary line on that 
 frontier. 
 
 "But the extent and importance of the tract of coast 
 situated between the River San Juan and the Chiriqui 
 Lagoon cannot be overlooked in connection with the 
 interest of the King of Mosquito. If the pretensions of 
 the King to this portion of the coast could be maintai- 
 ned, the Chiriqui Lagoon, which affords safe anchorage, 
 would likewise form a secure frontier. 
 
— 34 — 
 
 rica) i viceversa, i una vez del de estas dos colonias a 
 la Capitania Jeneral de Cuba, fue finalmente restituida 
 a la Nueva Granada por una real Cedula fechada a 20 
 de Noviembre de 1803. Por tanto, si el derecho de los 
 soberanos espaiioles era valido, lo es tambien el de la 
 Nueva Granada, i por consig-uiente la pretension de 
 Centro America es arbitraria i nula, i el insig-nificante 
 establecimiento de la embocadura del rio San Juan, i 
 el de Matina 6 puerto de Cartag-o, son usurpaciones. 
 Asi,no es necesario, i puede ser perjudicial al objeto que 
 su Seiioria tiene en mira, entrar en neg-ociaciones con 
 Centro America, cuya repiiblica no puede conferir de- 
 rechos que no le pertenecen, a lo menos en cuanto res- 
 pecta a la costa del mar. 
 
 "La cuestion, pues, pendiente, esta entre el Rei de 
 Mosquito i Nueva Granada. Esta Repdblica no tiene 
 derechos de posesion sobre la costa que media entre la 
 Lag-una de Chiriqui, cerca de la cual, en Boca del Toro, 
 formo un establecimiento, - i el rio San Juan; i me in- 
 clino a creer que el Gobierno Granadino aceptaria de 
 buena g-ana aquel rio como el limite Noroeste de la Re- 
 piiblica. I consultando el mapa se vera que el rio San 
 Juan parece suministrar al Rei de Mosquito una linea 
 limitrofe distinta i seg-ura sobre aquella frontera. 
 
 "Pero la estension e importancia de la porcion de 
 costa situada entre el rio San Juan i la Lag-una de Chi- 
 riqui, no puede dejarse pasar por alto, en conexion con 
 los intereses del Rei de Mosquito. Si las pretensiones 
 del Rei a esta porcion de la costa pudieran sostenerse, 
 la Lag-una de Chiriqui, que ofrece un anclaje seg-uro, 
 formaria tambien una frontera segura. 
 
— 35 — 
 
 "I would therefore respectfully siig-g-est the expe- 
 diency of setting" the whole question at rest, by means 
 of a neg"otiation with New Granada. 
 
 „After effecting- an arrang-ement with New Granada, 
 it will not perhaps be difficult to obtain, should it be 
 deemed expedient, the concurrent consent of those pro- 
 vinces of Central America which are conterminous to 
 the Mosquito Territory. 
 
 "As I stated to your Lordship in my dispatch of the 
 10th ultimo, I have no means of ascertaining- the limits 
 claimed by the King of Mosquito or the Republics of 
 New Granada and Central America in the interior of 
 the disputed country. I have confined my observations 
 to the coast, and therefore only point out on the map 
 herewith inclosed (executed by Mr. Vice-Consul Mark), 
 by yellow lines, the tract to which New Granada and 
 Central America lay claim, remarking- at the same 
 time that it is very recently, that Costa Rica, a province 
 of the latter, has abandoned her pretensions to the 
 Chiriqui Lag-oon and the district between it and the 
 River Chag-res. The boundary proposed for the King- 
 of Mosquito is marked on the map by red lines." 
 
 It appears then, that, notwithstanding- the error or 
 doubt under which Mr. O'Leary labored reg-arding- 
 the rig-hts of New Granada to the Mosquito Coast, far 
 from denying- her those she has to the Lake of Chiri- 
 qui, he candidly acknowledg-es them, and allows it to be 
 understood that were it not decreed that there must be 
 a King- of Mosquito , the rig-hts of New Granada to the 
 said coast from the Granadian lake of Chiriqui as far 
 as Cape Gracias a Dios, would be indubitable in virtue 
 of the Ordinance of 1803. 
 
— 35 — 
 
 "Yo, pues, sujeriria respetuosamente la conveni- 
 encia de zanjar la ciiestion por medio de una neg"ociacion 
 con la Nueva Granada. 
 
 "Despues de efectnar un arreglo con la Nueva Gra- 
 nada, no sera tal vez dificil obtener, si se cree conve- 
 niente, el que concurran a prestar su consentimiento 
 aquellas provincias de Centro America limitrofes del 
 territorio de Mosquito. 
 
 "Como manifeste a Su Seiioria en mi despacho 
 del 10 ultimo, no teng-o medios de determinar los limi- 
 tes a que tiene derecho el rei de Mosquito, 6 las Repii- 
 blicas de Nueva Granada i Centro America en el inte- 
 rior del pais disputado. He limitado mis observaciones 
 a la costa, i asi solo seiialo sobre el mapa que incluyo 
 (ejecutado por el Sor. Vice-Consul Mark), con lineas 
 amarillas, el trecho a que Nueva Granada i Centro 
 America aleg-an derecho, observando al mismo tiempo 
 que es mui recientemente que Costa Rica, provincia de 
 la ultima, ha abandonado su pretension a la Lag-una de 
 Chiriqui i el distrito entre esta i el rio Chag-res. El 
 limite propuesto para el Rei de Mosquito esta marcado 
 en el mapa con lineas encarnadas." 
 
 Como se ve, pues, a pesar del error 6 duda en que 
 se encontraba el Sr. O'Leary respecto de los derecho s de 
 Nueva Granada a la Costa de Mosquitos, lejos de ne- 
 garle a aquella los que tiene a la Lag-una de Chiriqui, 
 los reconoce paladinamerite, i deja entrever que a no ser 
 por que estaba decretado que habia de haber Rei de 
 Mosquitos, los derechos de la Nueva Granada a dicha 
 costa, desde la laguna g-ranadina de Chiriqui hasta el 
 Cabo Gracias a Dios, serian indisputables en virtud de 
 la Cedula de 1803. 
 
— 36 — 
 
 Consequently, and this opinion being- in conformity 
 with that of other authorities accepted by Mr. Molina, 
 as will presently be seen, it is evident that if by a fata- 
 lity, the rig-hts of New Granada to the coast which 
 stretches from Cape Gracias a Dios to the mouth of the 
 river St. John were wrested from her, on the pretext 
 that they belong- to a certain King-, the remainder of 
 the said Coast as far as Rio Culebras, or even to. the 
 lake of Chiriqiil, would indisputably belong to New Gra- 
 nada, because the above mentioned authorities, (Walker 
 and Chatfield) thoug-ht proper to decide that the claim 
 of the said King- extended only as far as the St. John, 
 and that New Granada and not Costa Rica had the 
 rig-ht to the remainder of that coast, as the question 
 only arose between her and the Mosquito King-. It is 
 true that this declaration, frequently reiterated by the 
 British Government was afterwards modified by one of 
 its subaltern ag-ents who at the time of presenting- it in- 
 serted various phrases which, in a certain deg-ree altered 
 its meaning-, and which were allowed to remain to avoid 
 g-iving- umbrag-e to the said Agent. But these phrases 
 were in themselves insig-nificant, for which reason the 
 British Government took no further notice of them nor 
 could it, even if it wished, for never could it support 
 the idea that the Bocas del Toro or any other portion 
 of the ancient province of Verag-uas had ever belonged 
 to what has been called the Mosquito Coast, whose few 
 wandering- tribes were absolutely unknown to the inha- 
 bitants of that province, and besides, the boundaries of 
 the said coast are as w ell known as those of Great 
 Britain. 
 
— 36 — 
 
 Por consig-uiente, i estando esta opinion de acuerdo 
 con la de otras autoridades aceptadas por el Sor. Mo- 
 lina, como se puede demostrar, es claro que, si por 
 una fatalidad se le arrebatan a la Nueva Granada los 
 derechos que tiene a la parte de la costa que corre 
 desde Gracias a Dios liasta la desembocadura del rio 
 San Juan, por cuanto se quiere que pertenezcan a 
 cierto Rei; el remanente de dicha costa hasta el rio 
 Culebras, 6 sea liasta la Lag-una de Chiriqui, seria 
 indisputable mente de la Nueva Granada, puesto que 
 las autoridades indicadas (Walker i Chatfield) tuvie- 
 ron a bien decidir, que los derechos del tal Rei se 
 estendian solamente hasta el San Juan, i que la Nueva 
 Granada, i no Costa Rica, era la iinica que podia ale- 
 gar derechos al resto del litoral, como que la cuestion 
 solo tenia lug-ar entre ella i el Rei Mosquito. Ver- 
 dad es que esta declaratoria, hecha repetidas veces por 
 el Gobierno Britanico, fue lueg-o modificada por un 
 Ajente subalterno suyo, el cual le intercalo, al tiempo 
 de comunicarla, unas frases que la desnaturalizaban al- 
 g-un tanto, i que luego fueron conservadas como por no 
 causar desaire a dicho Ajente ; mas esas frases de suyo 
 eran insignificantes, por lo cual el Gobierno Britanico 
 no quiso volver a hacer caso de ellas, ni lo haria aun- 
 que quisiera, porque jamas lograria insinuar la idea de 
 que las Bocas del Toro 6 cualquiera otra parte de la 
 antig-ua provincia de Verag-uas, habian pertenecido al- 
 guna vez a lo que se ha llamado Costa de Mosquitos, 
 cuyas pocas hordas nomades eran absolutamente des- 
 conocidas a los habitantes de aquella provincia, i por 
 que los limites de dicha costa son tan conocidos como 
 los del Reino Unido de la Gran Bretaiia. 
 
— 37 — 
 
 In order to render clearer what has been summarily 
 observed in the above parag-raph, it appears proper to 
 insert the official notes which follow : 
 
 Viscount Palmerston to Mr. Chatfield. 
 
 "Foreig-n Office, June, 30th, 1847. 
 "Sir, 
 
 "The encroachments committed at various times 
 by the authorities of the Central American States of 
 Honduras and Nicarag-ua, upon the territories of the 
 King" of Mosquito, having- g-iven rise to a question as 
 to the extent of the Coast frontier of the King-dom of 
 Mosquito, Her Majesty's Government have carefully 
 examined the various documents and historical records 
 which exist relative to this subject; and they are of 
 opinion that the rig-ht of the King of Mosquito should 
 be maintained as extending from Cape Honduras down 
 to the mouth of the river San Juan. 
 
 "I have therefore to instruct you to inform the 
 authorities of the several States of Central America 
 bordering on the Kingdom of Mosquito, that this is the 
 extent of coast to which her Majesty's Government 
 consider the King of Mosquito to be entitled ; and you 
 willjinform them that Her Majesty's Government will 
 not view with indifference any attempt to encroach upon 
 the rights or territory of the King of Mosquito, who is 
 under the protection of the British Crown." 
 
 "I am &c. 
 (Signed) Palmerston, 
 
 "P. S. A similar instruction has been addressed to 
 Her Majesty's Charge d' Affaires at Bogota." 
 
— 37 - 
 
 Para mejor aclarar lo que se ha indicado somera- 
 mente en el parrafo anterior, parece del caso insertar 
 las notas que se veran a continuacion : 
 
 El Vizcdnde Palmerston a Mr. Chatfield. 
 "Oficina de Relaciones Esteriores Junio 30 de 1847. 
 "Senor: 
 
 "Habiendo dado motivo de disputa, en cuanto a la 
 estension de la frontera de la Costa del Reino de Mos- 
 quito, las usurpaciones cometidas en varias epocas por 
 las autoridades de los Estados Centro Americanos de 
 Honduras i Nicarag-ua sobre los territorios del Rei de 
 Mosquito, el Gobierno de Su Majestad ha examinado 
 cuidadosamente los diversos documentos i datos histo- 
 ricos que existen relativos a este asunto ; i es de opi- 
 nion que el derecho del Rei de Mosquito debiera soste- 
 nerse como estendiendose desde el cabo de Honduras 
 hasta la embocadura del Rio San Juan. 
 
 "Por tanto tengo que instruir a U., que informe a 
 las autoridades de los diferentes Estados de Centro 
 America que lindan con el Reino de Mosquito, que est a 
 €S la estension de la costa a que el Gobierno de S. M. 
 considera tiene derecho el Rei de Mosquito ; i U. les 
 informara que el Gobierno de S. M. no mirara con indi- 
 ferencia cualquiera tentativa de usurpacion de los dere- 
 chos 6 el territorio del Rei de Mosquito que esta bajo 
 la proteccion de la corona Britanica. 
 "Soi de Ud. &c. 
 (Firmado.) Palmerston. 
 
 "P. S. - Una instruccion semejante se ha dirijido al 
 Encarg-ado de Negocios de S. M. en Bog-ota." 
 
— 38 — 
 
 Viscount Palmerston to Mr. Walker. 
 
 "Foreign Office, June 30th, 1847. 
 "Sir, 
 "I transmit herewith, for your information and 
 guidance, copy of a dispatch, which I have addressed 
 to Her Majesty's Consul General at Guatemala, directing 
 him to state to the Governments bordering on the terri- 
 tories of the King of Mosquito, that Her Majesty's 
 Government maintain that the coast frontier of those 
 territories extends from Cape Honduras down to the 
 mouth of the river San Juan. 
 
 "I have addressed a similar instruction to Her 
 Majesty's Charge d' Affaires at Bogota. 
 
 "I am &c. 
 [Signed] Palmerston^'' 
 
 Mr. Chatfield to Viscount Palmerston. 
 
 "Guatemala, September 11th, 1847. 
 "My Lord, 
 
 "I have had the honor of receiving your Lordship's 
 despatch of the 30th of June last, instructing me to inform 
 the authorities of the states of Central America bordering 
 on the Kingdom of Mosquito, that the extent of coast to 
 which Her Majesty's Government consider the King of 
 Mosquito to be entitled, is that from Cape Honduras 
 down to the mouth of the river San Juan. 
 
 In communicating the opinion of Her Majesty's 
 Government to the^ States of Honduras and Nicara- 
 gua, I have taken the precaution of inserting the 
 words "without prejudice to the right of the Mosquito 
 King to any territory south of the River San Juan," 
 lest it might have been argued hereafter, that the 
 
— 38 — 
 
 El Vizconde Palmerston a Mr. Walker. 
 "Oficina de Relaciones Esteriores, 
 
 "Seiior: Junio 30 de 1847. 
 
 "Trasmito a U. inclusa para su conocimiento i 
 g-Tiia, copia de un despacho que lie dirijido al Consul 
 Jeneral de S. M. en Guatemala, ordenandole manifieste 
 a los Gobiernos que lindan con los territorios del Rei 
 de Mosquito, que el Gobierno de S. M. sostiene que la 
 costa fronteriza de aquellos territorios se estiende desde 
 el cabo de Honduras hasta la embocadura del Rio San 
 Juan. 
 
 "He dirijido una instruccion semejante al Encar- 
 g-ado de Neg-ocios de S. M. en Bog-ota. 
 "Soi de Ud. &a. 
 (Firmado.) Palmerston,''^ 
 
 Mr. Chatfield al Vizconde Palmerston. 
 
 (Recibida Nov' . 22.) 
 "Guatemala, Setiembre 11 de 1847. 
 "Mi Lord, 
 "He tenido el honor de recibir el despacho de Su 
 Seiioria del 30 de Junio ultimo, instruyendome para que 
 informe a las autoridades de los Estados de Centro 
 America, limitrofes del Reino de Mosquito, que la es- 
 tension de la costa a que el Gobierno de S. M. consi- 
 dera tiene titulos el Rei de Mosquito, es desde el cabo 
 de Honduras hasta la embocadura del Rio San Juan. 
 
 "Al comunicar a los Estados de Honduras i Nica- 
 ragua la opinion del Gobierno de S. M., he tornado la 
 precaucion de insertar las palabras "sin perjuicio al de- 
 recho del Rei Mosquito a cualquier territorio al Sur 
 del Rio San Juan," para que no se arguya luego, que 
 la asercion del derecho de Mosquito a la embocadura 
 
— 39 — 
 
 assertion for Mosquito of a rig-lit to the mouth of the river 
 San Juan is an abandonment of any rights he may have * 
 to exercise authority on the coast between San Juan and 
 Verag-ua. 
 
 "I have acted in this instance, partly on the views 
 communicated to me confidentially, in Lord Aberdeen's 
 despatch of the 23d of May, 1845, and partly on those 
 expressed in my despatch to Your Lordship, of the 15th 
 of April last. 
 
 I have, &c. 
 [Sig-ned] Fredk. Chatfield.^^ 
 
 Mr. Walker to Senor Rivas. 
 "Vixen', St. John's, January 3d, 1848. 
 "Sir, 
 
 "Assuming" for the sake of argument, that the 
 King's right could be disputed and that the Spanish So- 
 vereigns had a right of dominion, from absolute posses- 
 sion over the territory in question, it would appear that 
 that right devolved upon New Granada rather than upon 
 Central America, for under the colonial rule, the juris- 
 diction over this territory, after being transferred with 
 frequency from the Vice Royalty of New Granada to the 
 Captain-Generalship of Guatemala, (now or lately Re- 
 public of Central America), and vice versa, and at one 
 time from that of both these colonies to the Captain Ge- 
 neralship of Cuba, was finally restored to New Grana- 
 da by Royal letters patent dated 30th November, 1803. 
 
 "Therefore, if the right of the Spanish sovereigns 
 was valid, so also is that of New Granada; and conse- 
 
— 39 — 
 
 del Rio San Juan implica el abandono de cualesquiera 
 derechos que pueda tener para ejercer autoridad sobre 
 la costa que queda entre San Juan i Verag-uas. 
 
 "He obrado en esta ocasion, en parte movido por 
 las miras que se me comunicaron confidencialmente en 
 nota del Lord Aberdeen de 23 de mayo de 1845, i en 
 parte, por las espresadas en mi comunicacion a Su 
 Seiioria, de 15 de Abril ultimo. 
 
 "Tengo el honor &c. 
 (Firmado.) Fredk. Chatfield." 
 
 Mr. Walker al Sor. Rivas. 
 " Vixen," San Juan, Enero 3 de 18481 
 "Seiior : 
 
 " Suponiendo, por via de arg-umento, que el dere- 
 cho del Rei pudiera ser disputado, i que los soberanos 
 espaiioles tenian un derecho de dominio, procedente de 
 absoluta posesion sobre el territorio en cuestion, apare- 
 ceria que aquel derecho recaia sobre la Nueva Granada 
 mas bien que sobre Centro America, por que bajo el re- 
 jimen colonial la jurisdiccion sobre este territorio, des- 
 pues de ser trasferida con frecuencia del Vireinato de la 
 Nueva Granada a la Capitania Jeneral de Guatemala, 
 (ahora 6 liltimamente Repiiblica de Centro America), 
 i vice versa, i una vez de la de estas dos colonias a la 
 Capitania Jeneral de Cuba, fue finalmente restituida a 
 la Nueva Granada por Cedula real de 30 de noviembre 
 de 1803. 
 
 "Por tanto, si el derecho de los soberanos espaiio- 
 les era valido, tambien lo es del mismo modo el de 
 
— 40 — 
 
 quently the pretension of Central America is arbitrary 
 and null. 
 
 "I have &c. 
 (Sig-ned.) Path, Walker^ 
 
 Returning- now to the subject of the validity of the 
 Royal Ordinance of 1803, it is necessary to observe 
 that all who have denied it, have purposely made use 
 of such worthless arg"uments, that as they can only be 
 looked upon as pretexts to support an untenable cause, 
 it is natural to attribute them not to ignorance but to 
 bad faith. In fact, how is it possible to believe that 
 those who have attacked the said Ordinance should be 
 ignorant of the motives to which it owes its origin, 
 when they sustain that they are aware of all the cir- 
 cumstances relating to it? And if they were so aware, 
 how can they presume to assert that the measure was 
 purely military and temporary, when from the text of 
 the act itself it is evident that other motives of utility 
 were the principal reasons for issuing it? Besides, it 
 is not possible to believe that those who have sustained 
 such an absurdity, should be ignorant of the fact, that 
 none but the sovereign who sanctions such an act has 
 the power to interpret or vary it, and while that is not 
 done, the said act is to be understood and acted upon 
 according to its literal tenor and no other. 
 
 If the Ordinance was unwise and little to the pur- 
 pose, the King should have been petitioned to repeal or 
 reform it, and if, when it was issued, it was believed that 
 the King of Spain had no power to make the decree, a 
 protest should immediately have been entered, for it 
 appears that at that time the King of Mosquito had al- 
 ready been manufactured. 
 
— 40 — 
 
 Niieva Granada; i por consig-uiente la pretension de 
 Centro America es arbitraria i nula. 
 "Teng-o el honor &;a. 
 (Firmado.) Patk.Walker.^' 
 
 Volviendo ahora a la validez de la Real Cedula de 
 1803, se hace preciso decir, que todos los que la han 
 combatido, se han apoyado al intento en razones tan er- 
 roneas i debiles, que, no pudiendose tomarlas sino como 
 pretestos de arg-umentaciones en pro de una causa in- 
 sostenible, es natural atribuirlas, no a ig-norancia, que 
 no cabe, sino a mala fe. En efecto [ como es posible 
 creer que las personas que han atacado dicha Cedula 
 ignorasen los motivos que dieron orijen a ella, cuando 
 sostienen estar al corriente de todas las circunstancias 
 que la acompaiiaron ? I si lo estaban i como se atreven 
 a aseverar que ella fue espedida como una medida pu- 
 ramente militar i transitoria, siendo asi que la parte 
 motiva de tal acto espresa como principales, otras di- 
 versas razones de conveniencia ? A mas de esto, tam- 
 poco es posible creer que los que han sostenido seme- 
 jante absurdo, hayan ig-norado que nadie, sino el mismo 
 soberano que sanciona un acto como aquel, tiene la fa- 
 cultad de interpretarlo 6 variarlo, i que en tanto que 
 asi no lo hag-a, dicho acto se entiende i se ejecuta se- 
 g-un su tenor literal, i no de otro modo. 
 
 Si la Cedula era poco acertada, - si era incondu- 
 cente &a., ha debido solicitarse del Rei su revocatoria 
 6 reforma : i si cuando se espidio se creia que el Rei 
 de Espaiia carecia de facultades para ello, debieron ha- 
 ber dirijido inmediatamente su raclamo, puesto que di- 
 cen que ya por aquel tiempo se habia fabricado el Rei 
 de Mosquitos. 
 
— 41 — 
 
 111 order to form a correct judg^ment on the subject, 
 it appears proper to insert the Report that preceeded the 
 Ordinance, adressed to the King- by the Committee of 
 Fortifications, and which, united to others, throws a per- 
 fect lig-ht on its motive. The Report is as follows: 
 
 "Madrid, September 20th, 1803. 
 "Sir, 
 "The Committee of Fortifications and Defence of the 
 Indies has carefully examined the representations made 
 by the Governor of the Islands of St. Andrew on the 
 5th of December last, and sent to this Committee by 
 Royal Order of the 26th of August. The tone of these 
 representations bears every mark of truth, candour 
 and sincerity, wherefore the Committee considers that 
 the Governor Tomas O'Neilli, who with laudable zeal, 
 has found means of improving-, without any drain on 
 the public treasury, the island, so that its products 
 this year have afforded 4000 quintals of cotton, is entit- 
 led not only to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, which he 
 solicits, but also to an increase of pay to 2000 dollars 
 a year, in reward of his praiseworthy disinterestedness 
 as the colonists declare, and because of the necessity 
 of providing- himself from Carthag-ena with even the 
 salt and other articles for his use. But it is expedient 
 to apprize him that for the present his continuance in 
 office is essential ; and that on another occasion the 
 year's leave he requests will be g-ranted in order that by 
 his stay now he may consolidate and arrange the muni- 
 cipal laws of the island, as may be most suitable to its 
 circumstances, and aid the endeavours of those loyal 
 vassals to cultivate not only cotton, but also the g-rains 
 and fruit necessary for their sustenance, contributing- 
 
— 41 — 
 
 Para qne se juzgue con imparcialidad acerca de 
 este punto, parece del caso insertar el Informe que pre- 
 cedio a la Cedilla, dirijido al Rei por la Junta de For- 
 tificaciones, i que unido a otros se ha Uamado parte 
 motiva de ella; el cual es como sig-ue: 
 
 "Madrid 20 de Setiembre de 1803. 
 " Seiior : 
 " Con atenta reflexion ha examinado la Junta de 
 Fortificaciones i Defensa de Indias las representacio- 
 nes del Gobernador de las Islas de San Andres i de sus 
 vecinos, de 5 de Diciembre ultimo, remitidas al examen 
 de esa Junta por Real Orden de 26 de Ag-osto proximo 
 pasado. El lenguaje de las expresadas representacio- 
 nes tiene todas las seiiales que caracterizan la verdad, 
 el candor i la rectitud, por lo que juzp^o la Junta que 
 aquel Gobernador Don Tomas O'Neilli, que a esfuerzos 
 de su laudable zelo ha sabido fomentar tanto aquella 
 isla, que sin dispendio alguno del real erario ascienden 
 ya sus cosechas en este aiio a 4000 quintales de alg-o- 
 don, es acreedor no solo al g-rado de Teniente Coronel 
 que solicita, sino tambien a que se Ic aumente el sueldo 
 hasta los 2000 pesos anuales por su recomendable des- 
 interes, seg-un manifiestan aquellos colonos, i por la 
 necesidad que tiene de proveerse de Cartag-ena hasta 
 de la sal i demas gastos que se ve precisado a hacer; 
 pero convendra que se le prevenga que por ahora es litil 
 su permanencia en aquel destino, i que mas adelante se 
 le concedera el aiio que solicita de licencia, para que 
 con su permanencia en la actualidad acabe de consoli- 
 dar i arreglar las leyes municipales de la Isla, que scan 
 mas analogas i adaptables a las circunstancias, i au-. 
 mentar el fomento de aquellos leales vasallos exitando- 
 
— 42 — 
 
 at tlie same time to the conversion to Catholicism, of 
 those neig-hbours who are so well inclined to embrace 
 it ; immediately appointing- the rector, with an assistant 
 curate, as O'Neilli urg-ently requests, but that one of 
 the two should be an Irishman, or conversant with the 
 Eng-lish lang-uag-e, to be able to communicate with those 
 people, with a salary of 30 dollars a month, as is usual 
 in similar appointments, subject to the bishop of 
 Carthag-ena, of whom the necessary ecclesiastical aid 
 may by easily obtained, especially for the construction 
 of a temple and its appropriate ornaments. 
 
 "Furtlier it is just that the Royal Finance Commi- 
 tee at Guatemala should repay instantly to O'Neilli 375 
 dollars, which he, while acting- Commandant of Trujillo 
 in the year 1800, paid with pious and efficacious zeal 
 for the purposes of redeeming- the sacred vases and 
 ornaments which the Mosquito Indians had carried off 
 in a surprise upon the river Tinto, and which O'Neilli 
 remitted to Guatemala ; it being- very strange that the 
 Junta should have been so remiss as to omit reimbursing- 
 a sum devoted to such a worthy purpose. 
 
 "It is equally interesting- and of a great importance 
 that a master of primary instruction should be sent to 
 Carthag-ena or elsewhere, that the natives should more 
 easily acquire and understand the Spanish lang-uag-e, 
 and that the children baptized or to be baptized there 
 have better opportunities of instruction in the dogmas 
 of our sacred religion. It being obvious how much the 
 diversity of languages may contribute (especially in a 
 
— 42 — 
 
 los al cultivo, no solo del alg-odon, sino tambien al de 
 los granos i semillas utiles para el alimento, contribu- 
 yendo ig-ualmente a la conversion al catolicismo, de 
 aquellos vecinos que tan dispuestos se hallan a abra- 
 zarlo, destinando para esto con la posible brevedad el 
 parroco i un Teniente cura que con tanta instancia i 
 justicia pide O'Neilli, pero que sea uno de ellos Irlan- 
 des 6 intelijente en el idionia ing-les para poderse enten- 
 der con aquellos liabitantes, con la dotacion correspon- 
 diente de treinta pesos mensuales acostumbrada en 
 otros destinos seniejantes, sujetandolos al Obispo de 
 Cartag-ena, de quien facilmente pueden recibir los auxi- 
 lios eclesiasticos que necesiten, especialraente para la 
 construccion del templo i correspondientes ornamentos. 
 
 " Tambien es justo que la Junta de Real Hacienda 
 de Guatemala reinteg-re cuanto antes a O'Neilli los 375 
 pesos, que hallandose comisionado de Comandante de 
 Trujillo en el aiio de 1800 desembolso con piadoso i efi- 
 caz zelo para rescatar los vasos sag-rados i ornamentos 
 que se llevaron los Indios Mosquitos en la sorpresa de 
 Rio Tinto i que remitio O'Neilli a Guatemala, siendo 
 bastante estraiio que haya andado tan omisa aquella 
 Junta en reinteg-rar esta cantidad invertida en tan dig^no 
 objeto. 
 
 "Es ig-ualmente interesante i de bastante conse-' 
 cuencia el que se envie a Cartagena u otra parte un 
 maestro de primeras letras, para que mas facil i breve- 
 mente se aprenda i entienda entre aquellos naturales el 
 idioma Espaiiol, i los niiios ^a bautizados, i que se va- 
 yan bautizando, teng-an mas proporcion de instruirse en 
 los dog-mas de nuestra sag-rada relig-ion. Por que es 
 bienpatente lo mucho que pnede influir la diversidad 
 
— 43 — 
 
 small, undefended island) to create a difference of equality 
 among- the vassals of your Majesty in the love, loyalty 
 and respect which they oug-ht to observe, which with 
 this measure and others already mentioned, it is very 
 probable, will more and more take root in their docile, 
 obedient and faithful hearts, of which several proofs 
 have already been afforded, as may be inferred from 
 their having- maintained themselves three whole years 
 unassisted, and during- the last war with England, when 
 the Commandant-General in Guatemala had kept on a 
 commission out of the island the Governor O'Neilli, who 
 from being- better informed than any other person, of the 
 ^ 1 osses and drawbacks which his long- absence and the 
 war have occasioned to those colonists, can report 
 respecting- the application which they make and the 
 time which in reason and justice they should continue 
 exempt from import and export duties, provided that 
 such do not apply to foreig-ners ; in order that with 
 this information, your Majesty may decide on what is 
 best, and extend the period of their exemption from du- 
 ties to what may appear just. And to avoid the long- 
 delay which they would incur in receiving- the reply if 
 it went by Guatemala, it would be proper to direct it by 
 Carthag-ena, from whence it may be more easily and 
 speedily received, owing- to the shorter distance at which 
 the island is placed from that port, and whither for this 
 reason the colonists send their produce. 
 
 "Althoug-h it may seem that the Committee, in dwell- 
 ing- so long- upon the points above mentioned, departs 
 from and loses sig-ht of its principal end, the considera- 
 tion of what concerns the defence, it does not so reg-ard 
 it ; but rather that in a nascent colony the g-ood arrang-e- 
 
— 43 — 
 
 de idiomas (i mas en una isla pequeiia e indefensa), 
 para no considerarse al nivel de los demas vasallos de 
 Vuestra Magestad en el amor, lealtad i respeto con que 
 deben conservarse ; el cual con esta dilijencia i las de- 
 mas prevenciones ya referidas, es mui probable que se 
 arraig-ue mas i mas en sus corazones dociles, obedien- 
 tes i fieles, de que ya tienen dadas alg-unas pruebas, 
 como se puede inferir de haberse sostenido por si solos 
 los tres alios que durante la ultima g-uerra con la log-la- 
 terra ha tenido el Comandante Jeneral de Guatemala 
 comisionado fuera de la isla al Gobernador O'Neilli, 
 quien poT estar mejor enterado que otro alg-uno de las 
 perdidas i atrazos que su larg-a ausencia i la g-uerra 
 hayan ocasionado a aquellos colonos, podra informar 
 sobre la solicitud que estos hacen del tiempo que en 
 razon i justicia pueden permanecer exentos de derechos 
 de importacion i exportacion, siempre que esta no sea 
 para los estrang-eros, para que con este conocimiento 
 pueda resolver Su Majestad lo que mas convenga, i 
 prorog-arles la excepcion de derecbos el tiempo que pa- 
 rezca justo. I para evitar el larg-o atrazo que habian 
 de esperimentar en recibir la respuesta si fuere por la 
 via de Guatemala, sera conveniente que dirija por la de 
 Cartag-ena, de donde mas facil i brevemente pueden re- 
 cibirla, por la menor distancia a que se halla situada la 
 isla, de aquel puerto, a donde por esta razon envian sus 
 efectos los colonos. 
 
 " Aunque parece que la Junta, deteniendose tan de 
 intento en tratar de los puntos ya espresados, se separa 
 i desentiende de su principal instituto en hablar de lo 
 correspondiente a la defensa, no lo juzg-a asi, i antes 
 bien coiisidera que en una colonia naciente, el buen ar- 
 
— 44 — 
 
 ment of all its branches contributes much to its defence, 
 by the indispensable connexion that must exist among-st 
 them all; and because without fosteriuj^ agriculture 
 and the arts, it is imposible that the population should 
 increase, while the colony, having- laws and reg-ulations 
 approved by the Viceroy of Santa Fe, unites its indivi- 
 dual inhabitants in pleasant and ag-reable community, 
 and affording- sufficient means for subsistance, will at 
 a future time supply hands to defend it, and revenues 
 wherewith to maintain them aiid to aug-ment the royal 
 treasury. 
 
 "The defence, then, and the advancement of the 
 Island of St,. Andrew, is of no little importance ; for 
 being- situated in 122° of north latitude, distant little 
 more than 100 leag-ues from Cartag-ena, and some 40 
 from the coast of the King-dom of Guatemala and from 
 the mouth of the River San Juan de Nicaragua, it 
 offers an excellent port of call and point d'appui to 
 protect and attend to the useful establishments on 
 the desert Coast of Mosquito, and to encourag-e 
 in due time those which the Commitee has proposed 
 anew to place in Cape Gracias a Dios and Bay of 
 Bluefields in the memorial which it presented to your 
 Majesty dated 5* August last; but that this should 
 have better and speedier effect, it is necessary that 
 those establishments as far as that of Cape Gracias 
 a Dios inclusive be made dependent on the Viceroyal- 
 ty of Santa Fe, the Viceroy of which should defend 
 in every respect as heretofore, the Islands of St. An- 
 drew, as much by reason of its greater proximity as 
 by the prompt maritime assistance which it mig-ht 
 receive; for which the Viceroy will give the necess- 
 
— 44 — 
 
 reg-lo de todos sus ramos contribuye inuclio a la defensa, 
 por el indispensable enlace que todos deben tener entre 
 si, i por que sin el fomento de la ag-ricultiira i artes, no 
 es posible que se aumente la poblacion, la cual teniendo 
 leyes i reg-lanientos aprobados por el Virei de Santa Fe, 
 que una sus individuos en gustosa i agradable sociedad, 
 i medios suficientes de que poder subsistir, suminis- 
 trara mas adelante brazos que la defiendan i rentas 
 con que sostenerlos, i aumentar las del real erario. 
 
 ^'La defensa, pues, e incremento de la Isla de San 
 Andres, es no poco importante, por que hallandose si- 
 tuada a los 12 grados i medio de latitud norte, distante 
 poco mas de cien leg-uas de Cartag-ena, i unas cuarenta 
 de las costas del Reino de Guatemala, i embocadura 
 del Rio de San Juan de Nicaragua, ofrece una exce- 
 lente escala i punto de apoyo para sostener i atender a 
 los utiles establecimientos de la desierta Costa de Mos- 
 quitos, i fomentar con el tiempo los que en ell a propuso 
 nuevamente la Junta en el Cabo de Gracias a Dios i 
 Bahia de Bluefields en la consulta que paso a Su Ma- 
 g-estad con fecha de 5 del proximo pasado Ag-osto. Pe- 
 ro para que esto tenga mejor i mas pronto efecto, con- 
 viene que estos establecimientos hasta el del Cabo de 
 Gracias a Dios inclusive, dependan del Vireinato de 
 Santa Fe, de cuyo Virei deben depender tambien en to- 
 dos sus ramos (como lo estaban antes) las Islas de San 
 Andres, tanto por su mayor inmediacion, como por los 
 prontos auxilios maritimos que pueden recibir, para lo 
 cual tendra el Virei las orUenes dadas al Comandante 
 del apostadero de Cartagena, cuyo Gobernador debera 
 
— 45 — 
 
 ary order to the commander of the station of Carthag-e- 
 na, whose Governor oug-ht likewise to receive instructions 
 and powers from the Viceroy to succour them as circum- 
 stances may require, and that the Governor of St. Andrew 
 may ask such assistance and treat directly with him. 
 It is hig-hly proper that the Governor of St. Andrew 
 should receive, ag-reeably to his solicitation, the 
 detachment of thirty men of known honour, with a 
 serg-eant and two or three corporals, and the correspond- 
 ing- ammunition; also a g-ood subaltern, acquainted, 
 if possible, with the Eng-lish languag-e, who should 
 imitate and learn the g-ood maxims of O'Neilli, whose 
 second he oug-ht to be, to command the islands in his 
 absence. And moreover it would be of the utmost 
 advantag-e that this detachment of picked men were 
 permanently established in the island, in which a soldier 
 marrying a respectable woman should receive his full 
 discharg-e, in order to increase the number of colonists, 
 his place being supplied by another from Carthag-ena» 
 Thus would the love for the military service be g-radu- 
 ally promoted among-st the natives ag-ainst the period 
 when a fitting militia might be formed on the spot ; 
 while the principal island containing some ten leagues 
 square, the number of inhabitants might amount in a few 
 years to upwards of 40000, although it be with the obstacle 
 that many of them would be negroes and mulattoes, from 
 the increased number of slaves which are now establish- 
 ed there, for whose due subjection the before-mentio- 
 ned detachment would also be useful. And if a soldier 
 should marry a woman who has no property, he may 
 continue his service for the period of his engagement ; 
 the regulation respecting the woman's being poor or 
 
— 45 — 
 
 tener igualmente instriiccion i facultades del Virei para 
 facilitarlos segim lo exijan las circunstancias i para que 
 pueda pedirselos i entenderse con el en derechura el Go- 
 bernador de San Andres, a quien es mui conducente 
 equ se le envie en los terminos que solicita, el destaca- 
 mento de los treinta liombres de acreditada honradez, 
 con un sarg"ento i dos 6 tres cabos i las correspondien- 
 tes municiones, i un buen subalterno que sepa, si es 
 posible, el idioma Ing-les i que imite i aprenda las bue- 
 nas maximas de O'Neilli, de quien ha de ser su se- 
 gundo, para mandar en falta suya las islas, i aun sera 
 de mayor ventaja si este destacamento de gente esco- 
 jida se establece fijo en la isla en donde al soldado que 
 se case con mug-er pudiente debe darsele sa licencia 
 absoluta para que aumente el numero de los colonos, 
 pidiendo en este caso su reemplazo a Cartagena, con lo 
 cual se ira fomentando en aquellos naturales el amor 
 al servicio militar para cuando Uegue el tiempo de que 
 puedan formarse unas proporcionadas milicias de su ve- 
 cindario, que constando la isla principal de unas diez 
 leguas cuadradas, podra Uegar a ascender en pocos 
 alios a mas de cuarenta mil habitantes ; bien que sera 
 con el padrastro, de que muclios de ellos scan negros i 
 mulatos, por el crecido numero de esclavos que ya hai 
 establecidos en el dia, por cuya sujecion en la debida 
 sumision, es tambien alll litil el indicado destacamento, 
 del cual si alguno se casa con muger que no tenga bie- 
 nes, podra continuar de soldado el tiempo de su empeiio ; 
 la cual regulacion de si la muger es pobre 6 rica, sera 
 asunto peculiar del Gobernador de la isla el determi- 
 narlo. 
 
— 46 — 
 
 ricli should be subject to tlie pleasure of tlic Governor 
 of the island. 
 
 "Even were the reasons above expressed and the 
 commercial relations of the inhabitants of St. Andrevtr 
 with Carthag-ena an insufficient reason for making- 
 those islands dependent on the Viceroyalty of Santa Fe, 
 their local position renders it impossible they should 
 depend on Guatemala, from whence they could not in 
 any case or circumstances receive succour, owing- to their 
 g-reat distance, the g-reater part by roads difficult of 
 transit. This was so evident, that the .Junta of Gua- 
 temala resolved in the year 1797,( being- unable to send 
 assistance to the island of St. Andrew, its Governor 
 O'Neilli should remain on the main land imtil the peace, 
 leaving- the Island entirely abandoned. It thus happens 
 that the uncertain and insecure communication between 
 St. Andrew and Guatemala occupies six or seven months, 
 whilst every week they mig-ht hold it with Carthag-ena. 
 The same reasons apply with little difference to what 
 respects the proposed establishments on the Mosquito 
 shore, and it is not likely they would progress if not 
 united to and dependent on the Viceroyalty of Santa 
 Fe ; it being- undoubted. Sir, that the multiplication of 
 these voluntary establishments is the most efficacious 
 and powerful means for domesticating- or exterminating- 
 the savag-e Indians, who, once separated from the coast, 
 would be annihilated by each other, or at least could 
 never join themselves to the Eng-lish. Nor would this 
 form any obstacle to the dependence on Guatemala of 
 the g-uard composed of a corporal and four other men at 
 the mouth of the river San Juan, that being- an advan- 
 ced post of the Castle of San Carlos, situated on the 
 same river near the entrance to the Lake of Nicaragua. 
 
46 — 
 
 "Aun cuando las razones expresadas i rclaciones 
 mercantiles que los vecinos de San Andres tienen con 
 los de Cartagena no fuesen suficientes para que aqnellas 
 islas sean dependientes del Vireinato de Santa Fe, su 
 situacion local las imposibilita que dependan de la Go- 
 bernacion de Guatemala, de donde no pueden en nino-un 
 caso ni circunstancias recibir socorro alg-uno por ser 
 mucha la distancia a que se hallan i la mayor parte de 
 ella tenerse que andar por caminos dificiles de transi- 
 tar, siendo esto tan evidente, que la Junta de Guate- 
 mala resolvio en el aiio de 97, que no pudiendose ausi- 
 liar la Isla de San Andres, quedase su Gobernador 
 O'Neilli en el continente hasta la paz, dejando la isla 
 enteramente abandonada; i asi es que para la corres- 
 pondencia incierta i poco seg-ura desde San Andres a 
 Guatemala se necesitan de seis a siete meses, cuando 
 todas las semanas pueden tenerla de Cartag-ena. Estas 
 mismas razones militan con corta diferencia, por lo que 
 respecta a los insinuados establecimientos de la Costa de 
 Mosquitos, i asi no es facil que prog-resen, no estando 
 unidos i dependientes al Vireinato de Santa Fe ; siendo, 
 Seiior, indudable que la multiplicacion de estos volun- 
 tarios establecimientos es el medio mas eficaz i pode- 
 roso de domesticar 6 exterminar a los Indios bravos que 
 Ueg-ados a separar de las costas se aniquilarian por si 
 mismos, 6 por lo menos no podrian jamas unirse con 
 los Ing"leses, sin que sirva de obstaculo que dependa 
 de Guatemala la vig-ia de un cabo i cuatro hombres en 
 la embocadura del Rio San Juan, por ser esta una avan- 
 zada del Castillo de San Carlos situado sobre este rio 
 antes de lleg-ar a la Lag-mia de Nicarag-ua. 
 
— 47 — 
 
 "Such is the opinion of the Committee on the above- 
 mentioned representations, looking- solely to the better 
 service of your Majesty, who will resolve according- to 
 your sovereig-n pleasure." 
 
 (Sig-ned) Dn. Francisco Gil. 
 
 Dn. Fernando Davis. 
 
 Dn. Jose Vasallo. 
 
 Dn. Francisco Requena. 
 
 Dn. Jose Beteg-on. 
 
 Dn. Pedro Cortes. 
 
 Dn. Geronimo de la Rocha i Figaieroa." 
 
 Under date of 21st October of the same year of 
 1803 the Committee of Fortifications issued another Re- 
 port explanatory of the former, in which they express 
 in still strong-er terms the necessity of annexing* the 
 Mosquito Coast to the Vice Royalty, basing- their argu- 
 ment upon the expediency of civilizing- the Indians, 
 colonizing- that territory and g-iving- its inhabitants spi- 
 ritual advantag-es &c., and this at a time when nothing 
 of the kind could be attempted on the part of Guate- 
 mala on account of the distance and above all, the diffi- 
 culty of communication. In consequence of the said 
 Reports the Ordinance referred to was issued and is as 
 follows : 
 
 "Royal Order by which the King of Spain resolves 
 that the Island of St. Andrew and the part of the 
 Mosquito shore from Cape Gracias a Dios inclusive 
 towards the river Chagres, shall be separated from the 
 Captaincy General of Guatemala, and annexed to the 
 Viceroyalty of Santa Fe, 
 
— 47 — 
 
 "Este es el modo de pensar de la Junta sobre las 
 indicadas representaciones, atendiendo unicamente en 
 cuanto expone, al mejor servicio de Sn Mag-estad, que 
 resolvera enun todo lo que fuere de su soberano agrado. 
 
 (Firmado.) Dn. Francisco Gil. 
 
 Dn. Fernando Davis. 
 
 Dn. Jose Vasallo. 
 
 Dn. Francisco Requena. 
 
 Dn. Jose Beteg-on. 
 
 Dn. Pedro Cortes. 
 
 Dn. Geronimo de la Rocha i Fig-ueroa." 
 
 Con fecha 21 de Octubre del mismo aiio de 1803 
 evacuo la Junta de Fortificaciones otro informe espla- 
 natorio del anterior, en el cual insiste aun mas esplici- 
 tamente en la necesidad de reincorporar la Costa de 
 Mosquitos al Vireinato, fundandose en la conveniencia 
 de civilizar los indios, de poblar aquel territorio, de 
 procurar a sus habitantes auxilios espirituales &;a., en 
 circunstancias de no poderse hacer nada de eso de la 
 parte de Guatemala, a causa de la distancia i sobre todo, 
 de las dificultades que habia para las comunicaciones. 
 A consecuencia de tales informes se expidio la referida 
 Cedula, que es como sig-ue : 
 
 "OrdenReal en queelRei deEspaiia resuelve que 
 la Isla de San Andrews, i la parte de la Costa de Mos- 
 quitos desde el Cabo de Gracias a Dios inclusive hacia 
 el Rio Chagres, queden segreg-adas de la Capitania Je- 
 neral de Guatemala i dependenties del Vireinato de San- 
 at Fe. 
 
— 48 - 
 
 "San Lorenzo, November 30th, 1803. 
 "Most excellent Sir, 
 
 " Don Jose Antonio Caballero, in a letter of the 
 20th instant, informs me thus : - 
 
 "Most excellent Sir, 
 
 " The King- has resolved that the islands of Saint 
 Andrew and the part of the Mosquito shore from Cape 
 Gracias a Dios inclusive, towards the river Chag-res, 
 shall be separated from the Captaincy General of Guate- 
 mala, and annexed to the Vice-royalty of Santa Fe. 
 And His Majesty has been pleased to grant to the Go- 
 vernor of the said Islands, Don Tomas O'Neilli, a salary 
 of 2000 dollars 'a year, instead of the 1500, which he 
 at present enjoys. By royal order I acquaint Your 
 Excellency, that the Ministry in your charg-e should 
 take the necessary steps for the fulfillment of this so- 
 vereig-n mandate, all which I state to you by His 
 Majesty's command, for its due execution. 
 
 (Sig-ned) Soler. 
 
 "To the Vice Roy of Santa Fe." 
 
 The Ordinance once in force, every means was ta- 
 ken to fulfill the various ends proposed in it, thereby 
 g-iving" a fresh impulse to the settlement of Gra- 
 cias a Dios and sending- there and to other points on 
 the coast various missionaries as well as settlers, 
 establishing- a coast g-uard, and sending- a detachment 
 of soldiers to the Island of San Andrews to serve as a 
 g-arrison there and to the Islands of Santa Catalina, 
 Providencia and other smaller ones, which formed one 
 section : and thoug-h this order of thing-s was afterwards 
 disturbed in consequence of the breaking- out of the 
 
— 48 — 
 
 " San Lorenzo, 30 de Noviembre de 1803. 
 "Exmo. Seiior, 
 "El Sor. Don Jose Antonio Caballero me dice en 
 oficio de 20 del presente mes, lo sig-uente: - 
 "Exmo. Seiior, 
 "El Rei ha resuelto que las Islas de San Andres 
 i la parte de la Costa de Mosqnitos desde el Cabo de 
 Gracias a Dios inclusive, hacia el Rio Chag-res, queden 
 seg-reg-adas de la Capitania Jeneral de Guatemala i de- 
 pendientes del Vireinato de Santa Fe ; i se ha servido 
 Su Magestad conceder al Gobernador de las espresadas 
 isllis, Don Tomas O'Neilli el sueldo de 2000 pesos fuer- 
 tes, en lugar de los mil i quinientos que actualmente 
 disfruta. Lo aviso a Vuestra Excelencia de real orden, 
 a fin de que por el ministerio de su car^o se espidan 
 las que corresponden en cumplimiento de esta soberana 
 resolucion. La que traslado a Vuestra Excelencia, de 
 orden de Su Magestad, para su debido cumplimiento. 
 "Dios guarde &c. 
 (Firmado.) Soler. 
 
 " Senor Virei de Santa Fe." 
 Una vez en ejecucion esta Cedula, se tomaron to- 
 das las providencias necesarias para Uenar los diferen- 
 tes fines que ella se propuso, dandole nueva vida a la 
 poblacion de Gracias a Dios, euviando alii i a otros 
 puntos de la costa algunos misioneros i pobladores, es- 
 tableciendo cruceros 6 guarda-costas, i enviando algunos 
 piquetes a la isla de San Andres, para que sirviesen de 
 guarnicion en ella i en las de Santa Catalina, Provi- 
 dencia i otras mas pequeiias, que formaron una misma 
 seccion: i aunque luego fue turbado este orden de co- 
 sas a consecuencia de liaber estallado la guerra de la 
 
— 49 — 
 
 war of independence, the Spaniards as well as the Co- 
 lombians alternately took measures to supervise the 
 Mosquito Coast by means of the authorities of those 
 islands, which was done as far as was permitted by the 
 scanty resources on which the bellig-erent parties could 
 at that time depend. The legal authority, having been 
 at length overthrown on these Islands by some south- 
 american pirates, who took possession of them for two 
 or three years during the general confusion then exist- 
 ing, was again reestablished in the year 1822, and since 
 then they have never been disorganized, but always 
 governed in various ways, once as a canton, once as a 
 Territory under a Prefect and again as a canton exer- 
 cising the elective rights and subject in all things to the 
 laws of the Republic, and it was entrusted to the prin- 
 cipal authority there, to watch over the Mosquito Coast, 
 whilst a treaty was being celebrated with the Govern- 
 ment of Central America, to which country it was in- 
 tended to cede said coast on very moderate terms. 
 
 Before going farther, it will not be superfluous to 
 remark, that for many years the Mosquito Coast had 
 been a dependency of the Viceroyalty of New Granada, 
 and that it was only a short time anterior to the issuing 
 of the Ordinance of 1803, that it had placed itself under 
 the protection of Guatemala in consequence of the 
 suggestions of the Viceroys Flores and Gongora. These 
 coasts have also been in former times dependencies of 
 Cuba, and it was only after these various trials were 
 made that experience demonstrated that they ought to 
 be again and definitely annexed to the Viceroyalty. 
 
 As was before observed, the Spanish General Don 
 Pablo Morillo issued a decree in 1815, which was com- 
 
— 49 - 
 
 independencia, tanto los Espanoles como los Colombia- 
 nos tomaron altemativamente alg-unas providencias para 
 snpervijilar la Costa de Mosquitos por medio de las 
 autoridades de aquellas islas ; lo ciial se hacia en pro- 
 porcion a los pocos recursos con que contaban en ese 
 tiempo las partes belijerantes. Trastornada la aiitori- 
 dad en dichas islas por unos corsarios Sur-americanos 
 que se apostaron en ellas por dos 6 tres aiios, en medio 
 de la perturbacion jeneral que existia, fue lueg-o resta- 
 blecida el ario de 1822, i desde entonces, jamas han de- 
 jado de estar org-anizadas, ya en canton, ya en territo- 
 rio g-obernado por un Prefecto, ya otra vez en canton, 
 ejerciendo el derecho eleccionario, i sujetas en todo a 
 las leyes de la Repiiblica, i siempre encargada la pri- 
 mera autoridad de alii, de velar sobre la Costa de Mos- 
 quitos, mientras se celebraba un tratado con el Gobier- 
 no de Centro America, al cual se queria ceder dicha 
 costa bajo mui moderadas condiciones. 
 
 Antes de pasar adelante, no estara por demas re- 
 cordar que la Costa de Mosquitos habia dependido por 
 muchos anos del Vireinato del Nuevo Reino de Grana- 
 da, i que cuando se espidio la Cednla de 1803, no hacia 
 mucho tiempo que se habia puesto bajo la dependencia 
 de la Capitania Jeneral de Guatemala, a consecuencia 
 de informes de los Vireyes Flores i Gongora. Tambien 
 dependieron dichas costas en otro tiempo, de la Capita- 
 nia Jeneral de Cuba, i no fue sino despues de todos 
 estos ensayos, que la esperiencia demostro que debian 
 ag-reg-arse otra vez i definitivamente al Vireinato. 
 
 Como se indico en otro lugar, el Jeneral espanol 
 Dn. Pablo Morillo, espidio eft 1815 un decreto que fue 
 
— 50 — 
 
 miinicated to various Goverments and published in some 
 of the journals of Europe and the United States, declar- 
 ing- the coast of the New King-dom of Granada to be un- 
 der blockade as far as Cape Gracias a Dios. Colom- 
 bia, on her side, issued various decrees. Among-st the 
 most remarkable are those of 19th April and 22d No- 
 vember of the year 1822 and that of the 5th July 1824, 
 g"iven with the object of maintaining- her rule over the 
 Mosquito Coast, reg-ulating- its commerce and encou- 
 raging its settlement and civilization, to effect which, 
 new means of communication were established, the 
 Government of the before mentioned islands of St. An- 
 dres was reorg-anized on a better footing-, and the coast 
 g-uard was reestablished, and at lenght in 1826, when the 
 peace permitted, that decree was issued which g-ave the 
 President extended power on the matter and assig-ned 
 one hundred thousand dollars yearly for the purpose of 
 encourag-ing- the settlement of that coast. New Granada 
 in her turn followed in the steps of Colombia, and rati- 
 fying- that which was done, issued various acts tending- 
 to the same end, but the suspense in which she was held 
 on account of the treaty she wished to celebrate with 
 Central America, compelled her to suspend or defer any 
 action on the encourag-ement, the settlement and the 
 commerce of the said country. 
 
 All the official acts referred to and many others re- 
 lating- to the same subject were published and came to 
 the knowledg-e of the British Government and that of 
 Central America, without the idea sug-g-esting- itself to 
 either to make the least question of the rig-ht assumed 
 first by Colombia and afterwards by New Granada. On 
 the contrary, they were ever ready to comply with the 
 
— 50 — 
 
 comunicado a varios Gobiernos i publicado en diarios 
 de Eiiropa i de los Estados Unidos, declarando bloquea- 
 das ias costas del Nuevo Reino de Granada hasta el 
 Cabo de Gracias a Dios. Colombia, por su parte, espi- 
 dio varios decretos, entre los cuales ban sido notables 
 los de 19 de Abril i 22 de Noviembre del aiio de 1822, i 
 el de 5 de julio de 1824, que tenian por objeto mantener 
 la soberania de la Costa de Mosquitos, reg-ularizar su 
 comercio i fomentar su civilizacion i su poblacion, a 
 cuyo efecto se establecieron de nuevo alg-unas comuni- 
 caciones, se reorg-anizo bajo un pie reg-ular el Gobierno 
 de las precitadas islas de San Andres, 1 se restablecie- 
 ron los buques g-uarda-costas : i ya cuando la paz lo 
 permitio, se espidio en 1826 la lei que ensancliaba las 
 facultades del Poder Ejecutivo sobre la materia, i asig-- 
 naba cien mil pesos anuales con el objeto de dar im- 
 pulse a la poblacion de aquella costa. La Nueva Gra- 
 nada a su vez, sig-uio los pasos de Colombia, i ratificando 
 lo que estaba hecho, espidio varios actos conducentes al 
 mismo fin ; mas la espectativa en que la tenia el tra- 
 tado que deseaba celebrar con Centro America, la com- 
 pelio a suspender 6 diferir sus empresas sobre fomento, 
 poblacion i comercio del pais mencionado. 
 
 Todos los actos oficiales que quedan referidos i 
 otros muchos relatives al mismo asunto, fueron publi- 
 cados, i Ueg-aron al conocimiento del Gobierno Britanico 
 i delde Centro America, sin que aestos ni a otro alg-uno 
 les ocurriese el pensamiento de hacer la menor obser- 
 vacion sobre el derecho con que obraron, ya Colombia, 
 ya la Nueva Granada. Por el contrario, constantemente 
 
— 51 — 
 
 conditions imposed on tliem. Why did not Central 
 America reclaim against New Granada 1 Why was the 
 British Government silent even to the extent of allow- 
 ing- vessels which bore her flag- to be taken and their 
 crews arraigned and tried on account of their clandesti- 
 ne trafic with the Mosquito Coast or their non-compli- 
 ance with the existing" reg-ulations? The reason is that 
 Central America and Great Britain knew that Colom- 
 bia, and consequently New Granda, were in the rig-ht and 
 acting' in accordance with the Ordinance of 1803, whose 
 validity was never for a moment doubted. 
 
 Mr. Castellon, a prominent personag-e of Nicaragua, 
 has plainly declared in a Memoir quoted by Mr. Molina, 
 that according to the Ordinance in question, the Atlantic 
 coast of Costa Rica belonged to New Granada, from 
 which it is deduced that the rest of the coast as far as 
 Cape Gracias a Dios is also hers. The authority of 
 Mr. Castellon carries greater weight in as much as 
 it would be difficult to find a Nicaraguense more firm 
 and decided in maintaining the rights of his country. - 
 It is certain that the said gentleman may have had 
 in consideration the fact that the Government of New 
 Granada had manifested at different times her desire 
 to cede to the States of Central America her rights 
 to the Mosquito Coast on the completion of the res- 
 pective treaties, but it is also true that men of honor 
 and sincerity never desire unjust acquisitions even when 
 they can palliate them on the plea of the interest of their 
 country. 
 
 Turning" now to the treatv celebrated between Co- 
 
— 51 — 
 
 se prestaron a cumplir las disposiciones indicadas en 
 la parte que les tocaba. i Por que no reclamo Centre 
 America contra ellas I iPor que g-uardo silencio el Go- 
 bierno Britanico hasta el punto de permitir que buques 
 que llevaban su pabellon fuesen presos i sus tripulacio- 
 nes enjuiciadas a causa del trafico clandestino que ha- 
 cian con la Costa de Mosquitos, 6 de falta de cumpli- 
 miento a las diposiciones que existian? La razon es, 
 que Centre America i la Gran Bretaiia sabian que Co- 
 lombia, i en su caso Nueva Granada, estaban en su de- 
 recho obrando de acuerdo con la Cedula de 1803, cuya, 
 validez nunca fue puesta en duda por un momento. 
 
 El Sor. Castellon, notabilidad mui prominente de 
 Nicaragua, ha declarado de una manera implicita en 
 una Memoria citada por el Sor. Molina, que conforme a 
 la Cedula en cuestion, el litoral Atlantico de Costa Ri- 
 ca pertenecia a la Nueva Granada, de donde se deduce 
 que tambien pertenece a esta el resto de la costa hasta 
 Gracias a Dios. La autoridad del Sor. Castellon es de 
 tanto mayor peso, cuanto que seria raro hallar un Nica- 
 rag-iiense mas firme i decidido en el sostenimiento de 
 los derechos de su Patria. Es cierto que dicho Seiior 
 ha podido tener en cuenta la circunstancia de que el 
 Gobierno de la Nueva Granada ha manifestado diferen- 
 tes veces el anhelo que tiene de ceder a los Estados de 
 Centro America sus derechos a la Costa de Mosquitos, 
 mediante los respectivos tratados ; pero tambien es ver- 
 dad que los hombres integ-ros i sinceros, no estan en 
 ningun caso por adquisiciones indebidas, aunque se 
 quieran paliar con el interes de la Patria a que perte- 
 necen. 
 
 Pasando ahora al Tratado celebrado entre Colom- 
 
— 5-2 — 
 
 lombia and Central America in 1825, Mr. Molina de- 
 pends upon the 5tli, 7th, 8th and 9th articles thereof 
 to prove, that the Ordinance referred to, was virtually 
 annulled and consequently that the limits of Costa Rica 
 oug-ht to reach on the Atlantic side as far as Verag-uas, 
 (because Juarros had said so, relying- on the tales of one 
 Ceballos) and as far as Punta Burica on the Pacific. 
 
 In order to present this last question with the lu- 
 cid clearness which the importance of the subject under 
 consideration deserves, it becomes necessary to insert 
 the articles quoted from the treaty and some others. 
 The)^ are as follows: 
 
 "Art. 3d. In order to further the objects mention- 
 ed in the former articles, the Republic of Colombia un- 
 dertakes to assist the United Provinces of Central 
 America with her disposable forces by ^sea and land, 
 whose number or its equivalent will be fixed in the As- 
 sembly of Plenipotentiaries which will be spoken of 
 hereafter. 
 
 "Art. 4th. The United Provinces of Central America 
 will in the same manner assist with their disposable 
 land and sea forces the Republic of Colombia, whose 
 number or their equivalent will be also fixed in the said 
 Assembly. 
 
 "Art. 5th. Both contracting- parties mutually 
 guarantee the integ-rity of their respective territories 
 ag-ainst the attempts and invasions of the vassals of 
 the King- of Spain and his adherents, upon the same 
 footing- on which they were found before the present 
 war of Independence." 
 
 "Art. 6th. Consequently, in case of sudden invasion, 
 
— 52 — 
 
 bia i Centro America en 1825, en ciiyos articulos 5% 7° , 
 8% i 9° se apoya el Seiior Molina para demostrar que 
 la Cedula referida habia quedado virtualmente anulada, 
 i que por consig-uiente los limites de Costa Rica deben 
 lleg-ar por la parte del Atlantico hasta el Escudo de 
 Verag-uas, (por liaberlo dicho Juarros, refiriendose a 
 cuentos de un Ceballos) i hasta Punta Burica por la 
 parte del Pacifico. 
 
 A fin de presentar esta ultima cuestion con la cla- 
 ridad i limpieza que cumplen a la gravedad de la ma- 
 teria que se ventila, se hace preciso insertar los citados 
 articulos del Tratado, i alg-unos mas. Ellos dicen: 
 
 "Articulo 3°: A fin de concurrir a los objetos indi- 
 cados en los articulos anteriores, la Republica de Co- 
 lombia se compromete a ausiliar a las Provincias TJnidas 
 del Centro de America con sus fuerzas maritimns i 
 terrestres disponibles, cuyo niimero 6 su equivalente se 
 fijara en la asamblea de plenipotenciarios de que se 
 hablara despues. 
 
 "Articulo 4° : Las provincias Unidas del Centro de 
 r America ausiliaran del mismo modo a la Republica de 
 Colombia con sus fuerzas maritimas i terrestres dispo- 
 nibles, cuyo mimero 6 su equivalente se fijara tambien 
 en la espresada asamblea. 
 
 "Articulo 5° : Ambas partes contratantes se garan- 
 tizan miituamente la integridadde sus territorios respec- 
 tivos contra las tentativas e invasiones de los vasallos 
 del Rei de Espaiia i sus adlierentes, en el mismo pie en 
 que se hallaban antes de la presente guerra de inde- 
 pendencia. 
 
 "Articulo 6" : Por tanto, en caso de invasion re- 
 
— 53 — , . 
 
 both parties can act hostilely in each other's territory, 
 provided circumstances do not admit of a reference 
 to the Government of the invaded territory. But the 
 party who acts thus must comply and cause to be com- 
 plied with, the statutes, ordinances and laws of the re- 
 spective State as far as circumstances will permit, and 
 cause the Government to be respected and obeyed. The 
 expenses which may be incurred in these operations and 
 those which may be incurred in consequence of the 3d 
 and 4th articles shall be liquidated by separate ag-ree- 
 ments, and shall be paid one year after the conclusion 
 of the present war. 
 
 "Art. 7th. The Republic of Colombia and the Uni- 
 ted provinces of Central America oblig-e and bind them- 
 selves formally to respect their boundaries as they exist 
 at present, reserving- to themselves the fixing- in a 
 friendly spirit and by means of an especial convention, 
 the line dividing- one State from the other, as soon as 
 circumstances shall permit or as soon as one party 
 manifests to the other an inclination to enter into this 
 neg"otiation. 
 
 "Art. 8th. To facilitate the prog-ress and happy 
 termination of the boundary question, which was referred 
 to in the preceding- article, each of the contracting* parties 
 shall be at liberty to name commissioners, to examine 
 all the points and places on the frontiers and to make 
 charts according- as they thinli it convenient and neces- 
 sary for the establishment of the boundary line, and the 
 local authorities shall in no Avay molest them, but 
 rather g-ive them all protection and assistance for the 
 better performance of their task, it being- understood 
 
— 53 — 
 
 pentina, ambas partes podran obrar hostilmente en los 
 territorios de la dependencia de una li otra, siempre que 
 las circunstancias del momento no den lug-ar a ponerse 
 de acuerdo con el Gobierno a quien corresponda la so- 
 berania del territorio invadido. Pero la parte que asi 
 obrase, debera cumplir i hacer cumplir los estatutos, 
 ordenanzas i leyes del Estado respectivo, en cuanto lo 
 permitan las circunstancias, i hacer respetar i obedecer 
 su Gobierno. Los g-astos que se hubiesen impendido en 
 estas operaciones, i demas que se impendan en conse- 
 cuencia de los articulos 3° i 4° , se liquidaran por con- 
 venios separados, i se abonaran un aiio despues de la 
 conclusion de la presente g-uerra. 
 
 "Articulo 7°: La Repiiblica de Colombia i las 
 Provincias Unidas del Centro de America se oblig-an i 
 comprometen formalmente a respetar sus llmites como 
 estan al presente, reservandose el hacer amistosamente, 
 por medio de una convencion especial, la demarcacion 
 de la linea divisoria de uno i otro Estado, tan pronto 
 como lo permitan las circunstancias 6 lueg-o que una de 
 las partes manifieste a la otra estar dispuesta a entrar 
 en esta neg-ociacion. 
 
 "Articulo 8° : Para facilitar el prog-reso i termi- 
 nacion feliz de la neg-ociacion de limites, de que se ha 
 hablado en el articulo anterior, cada una de las partes 
 contratantes estara en libertad de nombrar comisiona- 
 dos, que recorran todos los puntos i lug-ares de las fron- 
 teras i levanten en ellas cartas, seg-un lo crean conve- 
 niente i necesario para establecer la linea divisoria, sin 
 que las autoridades locales puedan causarles la menor 
 molestia, sino antes bien prestarles toda proteccion i 
 ausilio para el mejor desempeiio de su encargo, con tal 
 
— 54 — 
 
 that they shall previously show the passport of the 
 respective Government authorizing- them to that effect. 
 
 "Art. 9th. Both contracting- parties wishing- in the 
 meanwhile to provide a remedy for the evils which 
 mio-ht be caused to one or the other by colonies of un- 
 authorized adventurers on that part of the Mosquito 
 Coast, from Cape Gracias a Dios inclusive to the river 
 Chag-res, bind and oblig-e themselves to employ their 
 sea and land forces ag-ainst any individual or individuals 
 who attempt to form establishments on the expressed 
 coasts, without having- first obtained the permission of 
 the Government, to which they belong-." 
 
 It would be in vain to strive to interpret these 
 articles in an interested or forced sense, being- as they 
 are so clear and simple. Nevertheless, Mr. Molina g-ives 
 it to be understood, that according- to the tenor of the 
 5th article, Colombia esteems as null and void the Ordi- 
 nance of 1803, because fourteen months after the ratifi- 
 cation of the treaty by the Government of Colombia, as 
 will be seen in the preinserted part, the Government of 
 Central America added on its own account and at its 
 own risk the adjective naturally after the word founds 
 as will be seen in the quoted article 5th. 
 
 Supposing- that Colombia accepted (which nowhere 
 appears) a similar intercalation, would that mean that 
 the Ordinance was considered without effect or value ? 
 Would it not be more natural to think, that no notice 
 had been taken of the word naturally, because it is 
 clearly a word without a determinate sense or significa- 
 tion in the place which it occupies, a word which in no 
 case alters the sense of the article in which it appears, 
 
— 54: — 
 
 que previamente les manifiesten el pasaporte del Go- 
 bierno respective autorizandoles al efecto. 
 
 "Articiilo 9° : Ambas partes contratantes, deseando 
 entre tanto prov^eer de remedio a los males que podrian 
 ocasionar a una i otra las colonizaciones de aventureros 
 desautorizados, en aquella parte de las costas de Mos- 
 quitos comprendida desde el Cabo Gracias a Dios in- 
 clusive, hasta el rio Chagres, se comprometen i oblig-an 
 a emplear sus fuerzas maritimas i terrestres contra 
 cualquiera individuo 6 individuos que intenten formar 
 ^stablecimientos en las espresadas costas, sin haber 
 obtenido antes el permiso del gobierno a quien corres- 
 ponden en dominio i propiedad." 
 
 En vano seria querer interpretar estos articulos en 
 un sentido acomodaticio i forzado, siendo tan sencillos 
 i claros como son. Sin embargo, el senor Molina da a 
 entender que Colombia, seg-un el tenor del 5° , estimo 
 €omo nula i sin valor la Cedula de 1803, por cuanto a 
 los 14 meses de ratificado el tratado por el Gobierno de 
 Colombia, asi como se ve en la parte preinserta, el Go- 
 bierno de Centro America le aiiadio de su propia cuenta 
 i riesgo el adjetivo naturalmente, despues de la palabra 
 hallaban, que se encuentra en el citado articulo 5° . 
 
 Suponiendo que Colombia aceptase (lo que no cons- 
 ta en ning-una parte) semejante intercalacion, querria 
 decir eso que consideraba la Cedula sin valor ni efecto ? 
 No seria mas natural pensar que no habia hecho caso 
 de la palabra naturalmente, por ser a todas luces una 
 palabra sin sentido ni sig-nificacion en el lug-ar que ocupa 
 alii, una palabra que de ning-un modo altera la esencia 
 del articulo en que fig'ura, pues el precisamente dice 
 
— 55 — 
 
 because it particularly says, that the contracting- par- 
 ties g-uarantee to each other their territory as they were 
 before the war of Independence, and Costa Rica 
 well knew, that her sea-board on theAtlantic belonsr- 
 ed to the New King-dom of Granada at the commence- 
 ment of the war in 1810. Now, it is not to be 
 denied, that Costa Rica would naturally be extending- 
 herself on the Pacific, around the Lake of Nicara- 
 gua, and even g-rasping- all the Isthmus of Panama. 
 But we have not yet found a reason for the necessity 
 of a sea-board on the Atlantic in order to be bounded 
 naturally. Were it thus, Chili, Ecuador, Peru &;c. &;c. 
 could complain of not being- naturally placed, and 
 exact from their neig-hbours on the Atlantic the cession 
 of that portion of the coast which they ought to have in 
 order to enjoy natural boundaries. In fact, if the word 
 in question has any meaning at all, the most reasonable 
 would be, that all the coast as far as Gracias a Dios 
 belonged to New Granada, and such has been the con- 
 viction to which the Spanish Government arrived after 
 repeated trials and changes as to what was most natu- 
 rally proper in order to govern, improve and give life 
 to that coast. 
 
 One thing is certain, that when at the time of cele- 
 brating the treaty, the Colombian Plenipotentiary sug- 
 gested to the Plenipotentiary from Central America the 
 idea of fixing the limits of Colombia in the river San 
 Juan and Lake of Nicaragua, the latter replied that he 
 did not think his instructions empowered him to consent 
 to that arrangement. It is propable, that the Govern- 
 ment of Central America, aware of this part of the con- 
 ferences, which preceded the treaty, and fearful that Co- 
 
— 55 — 
 
 que las dos partes se g-arantizan sus territorios como 
 se hallaban antes de la g-uerra de independencia, i Costa 
 Rica sabia bien que su literal del lado del Atlantico 
 pertenecia al Nuevo Reino de Granada al empezar di- 
 cha g-uerra en 1810? Ahora, es innegable que Costa 
 Rica estaria naturalmente, ya estendiendose sobre el 
 Pacifico, ya al rededor del Lago de Nicaragua, ya 
 comprendiendo todo el Istmo de Panama : mas no se 
 alcanza a columbrar la razon por que le era preciso 
 tener costas en el Atlantico para tener limites natural- 
 mente. Si asi fuera, Chile, Ecuador, Peril &:a., podrian 
 quejarse de no estar naturalmente colocados, para exi- 
 jir de sus vecinos del Atlantico que les desocuparan las 
 costas que deberian tener por ese lado, para contar con 
 limites naturales. En suma, si la palabra en cuestion 
 liubiese de tener algun significado, el mas razonable 
 seria que toda la costa, hasta Gracias a Dios, pertene- 
 ciese a la Nueva Granada, que fue lo que, despues de 
 repetidas pruebas i ensayos, produjo en el Gobierno 
 Espaiiol la conviccion de que era lo que iiaturalmente 
 convenia hacer para poder gobernar, fomentar i dar vida 
 a aquella Costa. 
 
 Lo que hai de positivo en todo esto es, que habi- 
 endo el plenipotenciario Colombiano insinuado al Centro 
 Americano, al tiempo de celebrar el tratado, la idea de 
 fijar los limites de Colombia en el rio San Juan i lago 
 de Nicaragua, el ultimo manifesto que no se considera- 
 ba con instrucciones para convenir en ese punto. Pro- 
 bablemente el Gobierno de Centro America impuesto en 
 esta parte de las conferencias que precedieron al tra-ia- 
 do, i temeroso de que Colombia insistiese en aquella 
 
— 56 — 
 
 lombia should insist on her claim, wished to secure her- 
 self by means of the word referred to, from the fear 
 that her neig"libor should encroach upon tlie limits 
 assig-ned to her by the uti possidetis of 1810. But by 
 no means can it be supposed that she alluded to the 
 Atlantic coast, because it is positive, that the Minister 
 from Central America had in view during- the whole 
 course of the conferences, among-st many other docu- 
 ments, the Royal ordinance of 1803, and that it did 
 not occur to him on any occasion to make the least 
 observation ag-ainst its value and legitimacy, as may 
 be seen by the protocols that exist of those conferences. 
 Nothinsr could have been more natural than on that 
 solemn and appropriate occasion to have protested 
 ag-ainst that Ordinance, if there had been any thing- to 
 object therein. It is for this reason that the treaty with 
 Colombia is considered by New Granada as a proof 
 among-st others of the unjustifiableness of the attempts 
 of Costa Rica, to encroach upon her territory. 
 
 Mr. Molina also tries to find an arg-ument for his 
 purpose in the tenor of the 9th article. This article, as 
 well as the 6th, may be considered as extensions of the 
 two first articles that have been inserted, and as one 
 of the practical results of the union, leag-ue and confe- 
 deration, which is the object of the treaty; for both 
 Republics, being- threatened by a common foe, they oug-ht 
 not in consideration of the alliance into which they 
 enter with each other, to shrink from any sacrifice 
 that may be required for their mutual advantag-e, for 
 it is evident that the invasion of either would expose 
 as a consequence the other to a like misfortune. Central 
 America had besides a strong-er motive, that of pre- 
 
— 56 — 
 
 pretension, qui&o aseg-urarse por medio de la referida 
 palabra, de que su vecina no traspasaria los limites que 
 tenia, de aciierdo con el uti possidetis de 1810 ; mas de 
 ninguna manera ha podido aludir a la costa del Atlan- 
 tico, por que es un hecho, que el plenipotenciario Centro 
 Americano tuvo a la vista en todo el curso de las con- 
 ferencias, entre otros muclios documentos, la Cedula de 
 1803, i que nunca le ocurrio liacer la menor observacion 
 contra su valor i lejitimidad, como se puede ver en los 
 protocolos que existen de dichas conferencias. Nada 
 hubiera sido mas natural que haber impug-nado en esta 
 solemne i oportuna ocasion aquella real orden, si alg-o 
 hubiese ocurrido que objetar en contra de ella: i es por 
 eso que este Tratado se considera hoi por la Nueva 
 Granada como una de las pruebas de la temeridad con 
 que Costa Rica pretende aumentar sus territorios a 
 costa de ella. 
 
 Tambien se empeiia el Seiior Molina en querer sa- 
 car arg-umentos del tenor del articulo 9" . Este articulo, 
 asi como el 6" , pueden considerarse como un comple- 
 mento de los dos primeros que se han insertado, i como 
 uno de los resultados practicos de la union, lig-a i con- 
 federacion a que se contrae el tratado, pues que estan- 
 do ambas Repiiblicas amenazadas por un enemig"o co- 
 mun, no debian ellas, mediante la fraternidad en que 
 entraban, ahorrar ningun sacrificio en contra de el, 
 siendo claro que la invasion de la una, habria de traer 
 por consecuencia la facilidad de invadir a la otra. Cen- 
 tro America tenia ademas el doble interes de preservar 
 el interior, i esto no lo podia hacer sin impedir las agre- 
 
— 57 — 
 
 serving- her interior, and this she codld not do without 
 impeding the ag-g-ressions attempted ag-ainst the coast. 
 For this reason and also hecause she possessed no navy 
 wherewith to oppose Spain, whilst Colombia possessed 
 that advantag-e. Central America proposed the stipula- 
 tions contained in those articles. Notwithstanding- all 
 this, according- to the log-ic of the defenders of Costa 
 Rica, article 9th is broug-ht forward as an mianswerable 
 proof that Colombia looked upon the ordinance as null, 
 or in other words, made a g-ift of the whole coast to 
 Central America, as if a cessation of the hig-hest impor- 
 tance could be consummated without even a word being" 
 said on the matter ! But in truth, the meaning- of this 
 article is directly contrary to that which has been attri- 
 buted to it, for without in the least straining- the sense, 
 what follows may be inferred from it. 1st. That Central 
 America, being- without a navy, and fearing- the incur- 
 sions of Indians and marauders, who on other occasions 
 had entered from that coast, and therefore not conside- 
 ring- her interior safe, desired Colombia to undertake 
 the protection of the coast, to which desire Colombia 
 assented, not only for their mutual benefit, but because 
 it was her duty to defend that coast, since it belonged 
 to her. 2d. That the fact of stipulating- that both 
 parties should watch over the coast as far as the river 
 Chag-res confirms the preceding- conjecture and implies 
 the idea, that all the coast from Gracias a Dios was 
 considered as belonging- to Colombia, since no one can 
 imagine that she even doubted her rights over, and her 
 possession of Chagres and other coasts and towns of 
 Panama and Veraguas. 3d. That the circumstance of 
 the watch to be kept, extended only from the Cape of 
 
— 57 
 
 sioiies f|ue se intentaran contra la costa. Por eso, i por 
 que no contaba con marina que oponerle a la Espaiia, 
 al paso que Colombia si la tenia, recabo la estipulacion 
 contenida en dicbos articulos. Con todo, se^un la lojica 
 de los defensores de Costa Rica, el articulo 9° es pre- 
 sentado como una prueba incontestable de que Colom- 
 bia daba por nula la Cedula, 6 reg-alaba la costa a Cen- 
 tro America, jcomo si una cesion de tamana importancia 
 pudiese verificarse sin siquiera bacer la mas leve men- 
 cion de ella ! Cabalmente este mismo articulo indica 
 todo lo contrario de lo que se le quiere bacer decir ; 
 porque, sin violencia puede inferirse de el: 1° , que no 
 teniendo marina Centro America, i temiendo las irrup- 
 ciones de los indios i de los caballeros de industria que 
 acostumbraban meterse por alll, consideraba amenazado 
 el interior, i por eso quiso que Colombia se comprome- 
 tiese a supervijilar la costa, a lo cual accedio Colombia, 
 •v a por la mancomunidad de intereses, ora por que le 
 incumbia bacer algo en defensa de dicha costa, como 
 que le pertenecia: 2% que elhecho de estipular que am- 
 bas partes vijilasen la costa hasta el Rio Chagres, con- 
 firma la anterior conjetura, e implica la idea de que to- 
 da la Costa desde Gracias a Dios se consideraba como 
 perteneciente a Colombia, puesto que nadie podria fig-u- 
 rarse que esta ultima dudase de sus derecbos i de la 
 activa posesion que tenia sobre Chag-res i otras pobla- 
 ciones i costas de Panama i Veraguas ; i 3", que la cir- 
 cunstancia de baber convenido en aquella vijilancia solo 
 desde el Cabo de Gracias a Dios, i no de mas adelante, 
 manifiesta aun mas claro, que no se trataba sino de la 
 costa Colombiana. 
 
— 58 — 
 
 Gracias a Dios, and not farther, shows even more dis- 
 tinctly that the treaty referred to the coast of Colom- 
 hia only. 
 
 But laying" aside all those questions which have 
 been thus rapidly reviewed, it will be well to end this 
 short sketch by adding- a few more arg-uments to those 
 already g-iven upon the perfect rig-ht to dominion and 
 possession held by New Granada over the province of 
 Yerag-uas in the terms and according- to the hints alrea- 
 dy set forth. 
 
 Taking- for g-ranted the position that the Captain- 
 Generalship of Guatemala, of which the province of 
 Costa Rica formed apart, could never foiVnd villag-es or 
 establishments of any sort on the coast of the Atlantic 
 from Cape Gracias aDios towards the South, nor main- 
 tain any navy on that side, for which reason that coast 
 depended nearly continually on the Vice-royalty of 
 New Granada, - it is evident that reasons even far 
 more important existed for the like dependence on New 
 Granada, of that part of it belong-ing- to the province of 
 Verag-uas which is now claimed by Costa Rica, as that 
 is the part which more than any other required constant 
 and active supervision, as it was frequently necessary 
 to expel from the lake of Chiriqui and its Islands smug-- 
 g-lersand criminals of various nations, who sought refug-e 
 there from the persecution raised ag-ainst them at sea. 
 So, there does not exist the least record that ever Gua- 
 temala or Costa Rica in her turn exercised the least 
 jurisdiction either direct or indirect in he Islands of 
 Chiriqui or Bocas del Toro, whilst the archives of the 
 Vice-royalty are filled with documents and allusions to 
 the dominion and possession held by New Granada 
 
58 
 
 Prescindiendo ya de todas las ciiestiones que que- 
 daii rapidamente revisadas, convendra terminar este 
 opiisculo agregando alg-unas razones a las que ya se 
 lian espiiesto, sobre la parte relativa al perfecto derecho 
 de dominio i posesion que ha teiiido i tiene la Nueva 
 Granada a la provincia de Veraguas, en los terininos i 
 seg-nn los limites qne se han enunciado. 
 
 Partiendo del principio de que la Capitania Jene- 
 ral de Guatemala, de la cual era parte integrante la 
 provincia de Costa Rica, nunca pudo fundar pueblos 6 
 establecimientos sobre la costa del Atlantic©, desde el 
 Cabo Gracias a Dios hacia el Sur, ni mantener marina 
 alguna de ese lado, por cuyo motivo casi siempre de- 
 pendio dicha costa del Vireinato de Santa Fe ; es evi- 
 dente que con mayor razon debia depender de dicho 
 Vireinato la parte de ella correspondiente a la provin- 
 cia de Veraguas a que pretende aspirar hoi Costa Rica, 
 pues que ^ra esa parte precisamente la que exijia una 
 supervijilancia mas asidua i eficaz, como que con fre- 
 cuencia se hacia indispensable repel er de la Laguna de 
 Chiriqui i sus islas, a varios criminales i contrabandis- 
 tas de diferentes paises, que se refujiaban alii para es- 
 capar de la persecucion que se les hacia en el mar. Asi 
 que, no hai memoria de que jamas Guatemala ni Costa 
 Rica en su caso, hayan tenido la menor injerencia di- 
 recta 6 indirecta en las islas de Chiriqui 6 Bocas del 
 Toro, al paso que los archivos del Vireinato estan lle- 
 nos de documentos i alusiones sobre el dominio i pose- 
 sion que el Nuevo Reino de Granada tenia en esa sec- 
 
— 59 — 
 
 over ibis important part of Verag-uas. Don Antonio de 
 Medina in thj researches made by bim in tbis pro- 
 vince towards the middle of the last century by or- 
 ders of the Kmg", confined himself with much interest 
 especially to this part, as being- the most important of 
 the province. Later, on the 16th March 1787, Midship- 
 man Don Favian Avances sailed from Portobelo with 
 the sloop Santias^o and the brig- Amistad of the Royal 
 navy, by order of the Viceroy of the new King-dom of 
 Granada, with tiie double object of surveying- the Islands 
 of Bocas del Toro, examining- their coasts and anchorag-e 
 and investig-ating- the truth of a report that some foreig^- 
 ners bad g-one there to dive for pearls and catch turtles 
 ,in an illicit manner.^ This officer did in fact capture 
 in that arcbipelag-o the shooner Nancy, whose Captain 
 and crew, after declaring- they were eng-lisb and that 
 they were there catching- turtles, were taken to Cartha- 
 gena with their schooner and the turtles they had caug-bt 
 and were there tried. During- the cruise of that officer 
 amongst those islands, his written intimations to foreig-- 
 ners are remarkable : be directs that they shall not re- 
 turn to those places, under pain of being placed under 
 the jurisdiction of the Viceroy of Santa Fe. 
 
 With reference to the boundary line between Vera- 
 guas and Costa Rica on the Pacific side, Mr. Molina 
 has seen many of the maps, histories and relations quo- 
 ted in the course of tbis sketch, and is also possessor 
 of the ordinance issued by the king of Spain in favor of 
 the inhabitants of Veraguas on the side of Chiriqul, to 
 settle and cultivate the lands which stretch to the North 
 and Northwest of said province, that is, beyond Chiriqui, 
 which concessions were certainly not gratuitous, as it 
 
— 59 — 
 
 cion principal de Verdgtaus, Don Antonio cle Medina, 
 en las investig-aciones que de orden del Rei hizo en di- 
 cha provincia a mediados del liltimo sig-lo, se contrae 
 con mueho interes i especialidad a esa parte, conside- 
 randola como la mas importante de la provincia. Mas 
 tarde, en 16 de Marzo de 1787, el alferez de fragata 
 Don Favian Avances se dio a la vela desde Portobelo 
 en la balandra Santiago i el berg-antin Amistad, de la 
 Marina Real, por orden del Virei del Nuevo Reino de 
 Granada, con el doble objeto de recorrer las islas ele 
 las Bocas del Toro, examinando sus costas i fondeade- 
 ros, i de averig-uar el dermncio que se recibio de que 
 algunos estranjeros iban alii a pescar perlas i tortug-as 
 clandestinamente. Este oJficial apreso en efecto, en 
 aquel arcliipielag-o, la g-oleta Nancy, cuyo capitan i tri- 
 pulacion, despues de haber manifestado que eran ing-le- 
 ses i que estaban alii cogiendo tortug"as, fueron lleva- 
 dos a Cartagena junto con la g-oleta i las tortug-as que 
 habian pescado, en donde se les sig-uio la respectiva 
 causa. En la excursion que diclio oficial hizo por las 
 islas, se hacen notables las intimaciones escritas que 
 deja a los estranjeros para que no vuelvan a aquellos 
 lug-ares, si no quieren ser llevados a disposicion del 
 Virei de Santa Fe. 
 
 Con referenda a la iinea divisoria entre Verasruas 
 i Costa Rica, por el lado del Pacifico, el Sor. Molina ha 
 visto muchos de los mapas, historias i relaciones que 
 se han citado en el curs o de esta resena, i tambien tiene 
 en su poder copia de la Cedula espedida por el Rei de 
 Espaiia en favor de los habitantes de Veraguas, en la 
 parte de Chiriqui, para poblar i cultivar las tierras que 
 demoran hacia el Norte iNoroeste de dicha provincia, es 
 
60 — 
 
 appears tlio iiiiiabitaiits obtained them in consideration 
 of a certain sum of money. 
 
 But there are also in favor of this question reasons 
 and proofs of a superior order which cannot be com- 
 bated by any class of arg-uments, because they are 
 based on notorious and indisputable facts, one of these 
 being- the possession, nninterrupted and unquestioned 
 by any Government, that New Granada has had from 
 immemorial time of the territories which lose them- 
 selves in Golfo Dulce, of those upon the lake and archi- 
 pelago of Chiriqui or Bocas del Torp, and of lands 
 which stretch many leagues to the Northwest. The 
 ancient canton of Alanje, which constitutes at the pre- 
 sent time the principal part of the province of Chiriqui, 
 was always and is now composed of the old settlements 
 of David, Alanje, Bocachica, Boqueron, Bugaba, Calde- 
 ra, Dolega, Gualaca, Remedios, San Felix, San Loren- 
 zo and San Pablo, and of the villages which now 
 form the Canton of Bocas del Toro. None of these 
 settlements, which number nearly 18000 inhabitants, 
 have ceased for a single day to depend either on thi3 
 Viceroyalty, Colombia or New Granada. They have 
 always appeared in the statistics of the province of 
 Veraguas, - they have always contril^uted like the rest 
 of the towns of the Republic their quota of men to 
 the army, - they have contributed money and other 
 services imposed by the law on all citizens. Th^ settle- 
 ment of Bocas del Toro may be said to have maintain- 
 ed for ages past, communication with Alanje, » David 
 and with almost all the parishes and villages which 
 
— 60 — 
 
 decir, adelante de Chiriqui ; concesion que no fue por 
 cierto gratuita, pues consta que aquellos habitantes la 
 obtuvieron mediante el desembolso de cierta cantidad de 
 dinero. 
 
 Pero hai todavia en pro de esta cuestion, razones 
 i pruebas de un orden superior, que no se pueden com- 
 batir con arg-umentos de ninguna especie, por que se 
 basan en hechos mas solidos, notorios e indubitables. 
 Sea una de ellas la posesion, no interrumpida ni recla- 
 mada por ningun Gobierno, que la Nueva Granada ha 
 tenido desde tiempo inmemorial, ya sobre los territorios 
 que se pierden hacia el lado de Golfo Dulce, ya sobre 
 la lag-una i archipielag-o de Chiriqui 6 Bocas del Toro 
 i terrenos que sig-uen al Noroeste por muchas leguas. 
 El antig-uo canton de Alanje, que constituye hoi la ma- 
 yor parte de la provincia de Chiriqui, se compuso siem- 
 pre, i se compone hoi de las viejas poblaciones de Da- 
 vid, Alanje, Bocachica, Boqueron, Bugaba, Caldera, 
 Doleg-a, Gualaca, Remedios, San Felix, San Lorenzo, i 
 San Pablo, i de las aldeas que forman ahora el canton 
 de las Bocas del Toro. Todas estas poblaciones, en las 
 cuales se cuentan cerca de 18000 habitantes, nunca han 
 dejado de depender por un solo dia, ora del Vireinato, 
 ora de Colombia, ora de la Nueva Granada. Siempre 
 han fig-urado en la estadistica de la provincia de Vera- 
 g-uas, siempre han contribuido, como los demas pueblos 
 de la RepiibUca 6 del Vireinato con hombres para el 
 ejercito, con dinero i con los demas servicios impuestos 
 por las leyes a todos los habitantes. La poblacion de 
 las Bocas del Toro ha mantenido comunicaciones, pue- 
 de decirse, desde siglos atras, con Alanje i David, i con 
 casi todas las parroquias i aldeas que se han citado, - 
 
— 61 — 
 
 have been mentioned. These communications, thoug-h 
 neither easy or ag^reeable, were frequent, and it is well 
 known that from Alanje to the Bay of Almirante a road 
 has existed since the early days of the discovery, which 
 has been much frequented and which it is now wished 
 to convert into a wheelroad. 
 
 These are facts, which it would be vain for Costa 
 Rica to deny and which in themselves are sufficient to 
 annul her pretensions. 
 
 But further, in the exercise of her incontestable 
 rights, New Granada constantly sustained the measures 
 adopted by Colombia, and organized tolerably well since 
 1836 the territory of Bocas del Toro, whose govern- 
 ment had not been regulated in a satisfactory manner 
 until then, neither has it failed to improve as much as 
 was possible since that time, establishing a custom 
 house for the encouragement and convenience of trade 
 and causing the mail boat to touch there, which carries 
 the correspondence to the Islands of San Andres. 
 
 It is undeniable then, taking into consideration 
 all that has been said, that the pretensions of Costa 
 Rica are unjust and that, if there were such a law with 
 respect to nations as has existed in some countries con- 
 demning the unjust claimant to pay a fine equal to the 
 value of his claim, which is both just and moral, Costa 
 Rica would be obliged to resign a large portion of her 
 territory to New Granada ; but as this country requires 
 no more than what she possesses, and does not judge 
 it expedient to enlarge her domains, she only claims 
 from Costa Rica, that, relinquishing her exaggerated 
 pretensions, she will agree in recognizing as the line 
 
— 61 — 
 
 comunicaciones que, aunque no mui faciles i comodas, 
 eran freciientes ; i es sabido que de Alanje a la bahia 
 del Almirante ha existido, desde los primeros tiempos 
 del descubrimiento, un camino bastante frecuentado, 
 que es el mismo que se quiere hacer carretero actual- 
 mente. 
 
 Estos son hechos que, en vano se querrian contra- 
 decir por Costa Rica, i que solos, bastan para anona- 
 dar sus pretensiones. 
 
 Pero hai mas : en ejercicio de sus inconcusos dere- 
 chos, la Nueva Granada sostuvo constantemente las 
 medidas adoptadas por Colombia i organizo bastante 
 bien desde 1836 el territorio de las Bocas del Toro, cu- 
 ya administracion no se habia reo-ularizado de un modo 
 satisfactorio hasta entonces, asi como tampoco ha de- 
 jado de mejorarse en todo lo posible, de aquel tiempo 
 a esta parte, estableciendose una aduana por via de fo- 
 mento i comodidad, i haciendo que toque alii el buque 
 correo que conduce la correspondencia a las islas de 
 8 an Andres. 
 
 Es inneg-able, pues, habida consideracion a todo 
 lo que se ha espuesto, que la pretension de Costa Ri- 
 ca se resiente de temeridad, i que, si con respecto a 
 las naciones hubiera una lei como la que ha existido en 
 alg-unos paises, condenando al demandante temerario a 
 pag-ar una cantidad ig-ual al importe de la demanda, lo 
 cual parece ser mui justo i moral, - Costa Rica seria 
 oblig-ada a ceder g-ran parte de su territorio a la Nueva 
 Granada. Pero como esta no necesita mas del que 
 tiene, ni estima conveniente darle mayor ensanche, solo 
 exije de Costa Rica, que, dejando a un lado sus exaje- 
 radas pretensiones, conveng-a en fijar por linea de de- 
 
— 62 — 
 
 of demarcation, that which has been indicated above, 
 namely the Centre of Golfo Dulce on the Pacific sea- 
 board, and the river of Culebras or Doraces on the At- 
 lantic. In this manner mig-ht be peacefully terminated 
 the annoying- question, which has begun to disturb the 
 friendly feeling-s of two nations evidently called by many 
 weig-hty reasons, to an alliance and identification of in- 
 terests, by this means the bonds that should unite them 
 mig"ht be streng-thened into the most perfect friendship, 
 and Costa Rica would remain possessed of two thirds 
 of the desert and undivided territory which separates the 
 two Republics and even of the Atlantic coast from the 
 river Culebras as far as the St. John according-, to the 
 conditions of a treaty on the subject. 
 
— 62 — 
 
 a. 
 
 marcacion la que se ha indicado, a saber : el seno del 
 Golfo Dulce en el literal del Pacifico, i el rio de las 
 Culebras 6 Doraces en el del Atlantico. De esta mane- 
 ra terminaria en paz la enojosa cnestion que ha empe- 
 zado a indisponer el animo de dos paises, Uamados por 
 tantos titulos a fraternizar i a identificar su porvenir, 
 estrechando los lazos que deben unirlos en la mas per- 
 fecta amistad ; i Costa Rica quedaria dueiia de mas de 
 las dos terceras partes del territorio desierto que existe 
 pro-indiviso entre las dos Repiiblicas, i aun de la costa 
 del Atlantico desde el rio Culebras hasta el San Juan, 
 mediante las condiciones que se combinasen en el 
 respectivo tratado. 
 

 LB Mr '05