the other its intention of terminating it. XXVIII. The present Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at London as soon as possible within 6 months from this date. In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto their respective seals. Done at Managua, this 11th day of February, in the year of our Lord, 1860. su intencion de terminarle. XXVIII. El presente Tratado de Amistad, Comercio, y Navegacion, será ratificado, y las ratificaciones cangeadas en Londres, tan pronto como sea posible dentro de 6 meses de esta fecha. En testimonio de lo cual, los respectivos Plenipotenciarios le han firmado, y sellado con sus respectivos sellos. Hecho en Managua, el 11 de Febrero, del año N.s. 1860. (L.S.) CHARLES LENNOX WYKE. CORRESPONDENCE between Great Britain and The United States, respecting Central America.-1858-1860. [Continued from Vol. XLVIII. Page 630.]* No. 131.-Lord Napier to the Earl of Malmesbury.-(Rec. Jan. 17.) MY LORD, Washington, January 2, 1859. GENERAL CASS informed me this morning, at the President's reception, that your Lordship's despatch of the 8th ultimo, relative to the eventual objects of Sir William Ouseley's mission, had been read in the Cabinet, and had given very great satisfaction to the Ministers. The Postmaster-General, at a later hour, took occasion to express. to me how highly he appreciated the sentiments and intentions of Her Majesty's Government. I have, &c. The Earl of Malmesbury. NAPIER. No.132.-Mr. Wyke to the Earl of Malmesbury.-(Rec. Jan. 19,1859.), (Extract.) Guatemala, November 23, 1858. DON PEDRO DE AYCIMENA, the Guatemala Minister for Foreign Affairs, showed me, yesterday, copy of your Lordship's despatch of the 11th ultimo, addressed to their Representative in England, by * Laid before Parliament, 1860. which that functionary is informed that Her Majesty's vessels-ofwar stationed at Greytown will interfere to prevent the landing at that port of any fresh hostile expeditions against Nicaragua, should the Government of that Republic request the Commanders of such vessels so to interfere. This intelligence has caused great satisfaction here. These Governments have always considered that such interference on our part was directly called for by the stipulations of the BulwerClayton Treaty. The Earl of Malmesbury. C. LENNOX WYKE. P.S-Since writing the above, I find that the letter alluded to was addressed to Don José Marcoleta, and not to Señor San Martin, as I had at first supposed. No. 133.-Sir W. G. Ouseley to the Earl of Malmesbury. (Received February 2, 1859.) MY LORD, Leon, December 28, 1858. I ARRIVED at Realejo, on board Her Majesty's sloop Vixen, on the 16th instant. I had been informed that the President, General Martinez, was to be there, as his Excellency has annually to make a progress through the country, and visit all the different departments. It happened, fortunately, that immediately after I landed General Martinez arrived. I took the opportunity of being introduced to him-of course, privately. We proceeded, the same day, to Chinandega, whence I wrote officially to ask an audience at an early day, in order to present my credentials, and forwarding a copy of the Queen's letter. The answer of the Nicaraguan Minister was to the effect that I was to be received at a public audience at Leon, as soon after the arrival there of the President and myself as possible. The day before yesterday I had the honour of presenting my credential letter. The Government did all in their power to show respect and goodwill to Her Majesty's Mission; sent a carriage for me, and testified much gratification that Her Majesty had been pleased to accredit me as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, and in general terms expressed a readiness to meet the wishes of Her Majesty's Government in every particular. I am still extremely weak, having been attacked by the fever of the country, and only left my bed to present my credentials; and I am obliged to defer any further report for the next opportunity, as this mail will go to-day. I can only add, that the day after my audience, the President and all his Ministers called on me, and used very flattering and friendly language. I have the honour to transmit a copy of the remarks that I addressed to the President on presenting my letter. The Earl of Malmesbury. I have, &c. W. G. OUSELEY. (Inclosure.)-Sir W. G. Ouseley's Speech on delivering Her Majesty's Letter to the President of Nicaragua. THE Queen, my august Sovereign, has been graciously pleased to entrust to me the gratifying task of cementing the good understanding, and evincing the feelings of friendly interest that have ever animated Great Britain towards the State over which your Excellency so ably presides, by concluding a Treaty calculated to produce the best effects. It would have been to me at any time a pleasing duty to contribute to such an object; but my efforts will be the more gladly employed at a moment when the interests of humanity and policy call for decided action on the part of civilized and commercial nations, to defend this and neighbouring Republics from the piratical attacks of lawless men, the effects of whose ruthless barbarism it is lamentable to witness. The acts of those misguided adventurers have excited just indignation in the breasts of enlightened rulers of the most powerful maritime nations on both sides of the Atlantic, who have resolved that such enormities shall no longer be tolerated. All civilized nations have an interest in keeping uninterrupted the free passage so liberally granted by Nicaragua and the neighbouring States across the territories which Providence has placed under their independent and lawful sovereignty. It is for the advantage of all that this independence should be maintained, and that Nicaragua should become one of the great links between the two hemispheres. But no nation has a more direct interest in the security and neutrality of the transit than Great Britain. The Queen's dominions on the Atlantic bring Her Majesty's subjects in closer contact with Central, America than the inhabitants of any other maritime country; while Her Majesty's valuable possessions in the Pacific, and the vast British interests in Asia, make it a duty, if not a necessity, for Her Majesty's Government to secure undisturbed passage across these territories. The ready participation of Nicaragua in this great object will call for the efficient protection of these routes, and, indeed, will merit the co-operation of all commercial nations in their defence from such outrages as those which have hitherto rendered unavailable these much desired lines of transit. I esteem myself fortunate in finding among the members of the present Administration of this country, so many men of distinguished merit, and especially in having to treat with a Government at the head of which is your Excellency. SIR, No. 134.-The Earl of Malmesbury to Sir W. G. Ouseley. Foreign Office, February 12, 1859. I RECEIVED on the 2nd instant your despatch of the 28th December, reporting your arrival at the capital of Nicaragua. The accounts which I received, together with that despatch, of the serious illness with which you had been visited, and of the general state of your health, occasioned me much regret; and I need scarcely assure you that nothing could be further from the wish of Her Majesty's Government than that you should prolong your stay in Central America, if your doing so should be likely to be injurious to you. Her Majesty's Government, indeed, feel convinced that with the strong impression that you must have of the importance of the negotiation with which you are entrusted being speedily concluded, you would not hesitate for a moment at delegating to Mr. Wyke the duty of continuing it in virtue of the authority conveyed to you in that respect by my despatch of the 16th of December last, if you should feel that the state of your health prevented you from giving your undivided attention to it, and from pushing it to its immediate completion. A variety of circumstances has caused a loss of time which it was most desirable to avoid, for the difficulty of adjusting these questions connected with Central America is liable to be increased from day to day by changes of feeling in the countries themselves and in The United States, and by events which human foresight cannot anticipate or control. You will, therefore, understand that my object in addressing to you my present despatch is to set you quite at ease in regard to transferring to Mr. Wyke the further conduct of the negotiation with Nicaragua and Costa Rica if the state of your health should make you feel yourself unequal to the task; and you may be assured that, if you do so, Her Majesty's Government will only attribute your conduct to a high sense of duty on your part which will have induced you to sacrifice your own personal feelings out of regard for the paramount interests of your country. &c. Sir W. G. Ouseley. I am, MALMESBURY. No. 135.-The Earl of Malmesbury to Lord Lyons. (Extract.) Foreign Office, February 15, 1859. As regards the questions more immediately bearing on the relations between this country and The United States, Her Majesty's [1859-60. L.] K Government are happy to think thet those arising out of the interpretations of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty are now in a fair way to be set at rest. You will find in the archives of your Mission ample details on this subject; and it is sufficient for my present purpose shortly to explain to you the footing on which the two countries stand in regard to these matters. After the refusal of the American Senate to ratify in such a shape as could be accepted by this country the Treaty concluded between the Earl of Clarendon and Mr. Dallas on the 17th of October, 1856, and the subsequent rejection by the President of the overture made by Her Majesty's late Government for further negotiation, it was felt that the only chance of obviating further irritating discussion in regard to the interpretation of the Treaty, was to attempt to settle the questions in which the Governments of England and that of The United States were at variance, not indirectly by negotiation between them, but by separate negotiations with the Powers on whose interests those questions were supposed to have direct bearing. Her Majesty's late and present advisers both concurred in this policy, and both entrusted to Sir William Ouseley the duty of giving effect to it; with this difference, however, that the former were disposed to deal with all the points at once, whereas it has appeared to the latter most advisable to deal with them separately. Sir William Ouseley is, accordingly, now engaged in negotiations with Nicaragua which, if successful will settle all the debateable points respecting the Mosquito Indians, as far as Nicaragua is concerned, and will contribute to place on a satisfactory footing the interoceanic communication through that country. When this is done, Her Majesty's Government will be prepared to deal in order with the other questions arising out of the ClaytonBulwer Treaty; but with these, as with the former, they will deal for themselves alone, and not in concert with the Government of Washington. Still, though compelled to adopt this course by the reluctance of The United States to co-operate with them in any course whatever, Her Majesty's Government have no desire to withhold from The United States a full, but confidential, knowledge of all the objects at which they aim. Such knowledge has been imparted to them in regard to our negotiations with Nicaragua, and such knowledge you will hereafter be enabled to convey to them in regard to any further negotiation with which Sir William Ouseley may be charged. It was, however, essential for the success of the negotiations with Nicaragua, perhaps even for the personal safety of the British Envoy to whom they were entrusted, that pending their progress no interruption should be offered by the renewal of attempts on the |
