Relations with Spain. The Secretary of State to Don Louis de Onis. WASHINGTON, August 24, 1818. SIR: I have received your letters of the 27th ultimo and of the 5th instant, with their respective enclosures, all of which have been laid before the President. With regard to the two vessels alleged to have been equipped at New York for the purpose of cruising under the flag of Buenos Ayres against Spanish subjects, the result of the examination which has taken place before a judge of the Supreme Court of the United States has doubtless convinced you that no prosecution commenced by the Government of the United States against the persons charged with a violation of their laws and their neutrality could have been necessary or useful to you, no transgression of the law having been proved against them. the sacred duties of her compact as it would be unfounded in point of fact. The letter from General Jackson to the Governor of Pensacola, a copy of which was transmitted to you in mine of the 23d ultimo, and its answer, were written, not as you allege, at the turbulent period of the late war between the United States and Great Britain, but, as their dates will show, more than a year after the conclusion of the peace. The fort had been built upon Spanish territory, under the sufferance of Spanish authorities, by British officers, during the war, for annoyance against the United States. After the peace it remained the stronghold of fugitive negro and Indian robbers and murderers, which the Governor of Pensacola, when summoned by General Jackson to destroy, alleged his inability to do it without reinforcement and further orders, which, as the event proved, were never received. I have the honor to inform you that orders have already been forwarded to the commanding officers at Pensacola and St. Marks to deliver up those places, conformably to the notice in my letter to you of the 23d ultimo, to the former Governor of Pensacola and commandant of St. Marks, respectively, or to any person duly authorized from you or from the Governor General of the Havana to receive them. I am further instructed by the President to assure you of the satisfaction with which he has seen, in the last paragraph of your letter, your expectation of being speedily enabled to make proposals containing the basis of a treaty which may adjust, to mutual satisfaction, all the existing differences between our two nations, and his earnest hope that this expectation, in the fulfilment of which this Government have confided, and adopted measures corresponding with it, may be realized at an early day. I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your very humble and obedient servant, JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. It would be equally superfluous and unreasonable to pursue the discussion with you relative to the proceedings of the American Commanderin-Chief in entering Florida, and his conduct there, and to the misconduct of the Governor of Pensacola and of the commandant of St. Marks in aiding and abetting the savage enemies of the United States, whom Spain had, by solemn treaty, bound herself to restrain by force from committing hostilities against them. But you will permit me to observe that the obligation of Spain was positive and unqualified, and that an attempt to evade its force by the allegation that Spain could not carry it into effect until she knew what hostilities they had committed, and the possible causes of or provocations to them, would be equally unwarranted by the express terms of the article, and by the intentions of the contracting parties to the treaty. The stipulation of Spain was, not to punish her Indians for murders committed upon the aged and the infirm, the women and children of the United States, but to restrain them by force from committing them; and the insinuation that the Indians themselves had been provoked to such atrocious acts would be as disingenuous on the part of Spain to escape from | his monarchy and the honor of his Crown. Don Luis de Onis to the Secretary of State. SIR: I have received your official note of the 24th of August last, in reply to mine of the 5th of that month and 27th of July preceding; and I coincide with you in opinion that it is superfluous to continue the discussion on the conduct of the American General in the invasion of Florida, since the simple knowledge of acts of this description and notoriety sufficiently indicates that justice which I am persuaded cannot be dissembled in the view of unprejudiced reason. I shall, therefore, not dwell further on the well-founded arguments and documents I have produced in my notes on this subject; but, merely referring to them, I have to insist on, and demand of the Government of the United States that most just satisfaction which I have already required of them, in the name of my Sovereign. and is imperiously claimed by the integrity of Relations with Spain. I immediately communicated to my Govern- Hijuelos, in the twenty-sixth degree of latitude, ment the determination which you did me the following the left bank up to its source, drawing honor to state to me, that orders had been given a line from Lake Macao, and then descending to the American commanding officers to deliver up the posts of Pensacola and St. Marks to such Spanish authorities as might be duly appointed to receive them, that it may, on a knowledge of that fact, adopt the measures requisite to the case. along the road from the river St. John to the Lake Valdes, crossing another line from the ex treme north of said lake to the source of the river Amurama, following its right bank as far as its mouth, in the twenty-eighth and twenty-fifth coast, with all the adjacent islands, up to the mouth of the river Hijuelos. Anxiously desirous to see the basis of a treaty degrees of latitude, and running along the sea established to the satisfaction of both Governments, I await the result of the negotiation pending, as you know, at Madrid, (information of which must soon be received here,) that we may proceed in conformity to it; and, it being fully evinced that the King, my master, has the most earnest wish to do what may be agreeable to this Republic, even to the diminution of his own interests, as far as is compatible with his honor and dignity, I doubt not that, in one shape or another, we may attain the most equitable mode of effecting a settlement on terms mutually satisfactory. I reiterate the assurances of my distinguished consideration, and pray God to preserve you many years. LUIS DE ONIS. Extract of a letter from Mr. Erving to Mr. Adams, MADRID, February 26, 1818. The King has lately made large grants of land in the Floridas to several of his favorite servants. The enclosed papers (A and B) have been furnished to me as extracts from the deeds to the principal grantees the Duke of Alagon, captain of the body guards, and the Count of Punon Rostro, one of the chamberlains. Mr. Vargas, treasurer of the household, has another grant. In fine, I am led to believe that His Majesty has given away the whole of the lands in that quarter which had not been previously granted. B. To the Count of Punon Rostro. All the uncultivated land not ceded in Florida, comprehended between the river Perdido to the west of the Gulf of Mexico, and the rivers Amaruja and St. John, from Popa, until they empty themselves into the sea on the eastern side; by the north, the line of demarcation with the United States; and on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, including the desert islands on the coast. Extract of a letter from Mr. Erving to Mr. Adams, dated MADRID, April 5, 1818. In my despatch No. 60, [of February 26,] I mentioned the grants of land in Florida lately made by the King of Spain to several of his courtiers, and enclosed extracts from those in favor of the Duke of Alagon and the Count of Punon Rostro. I have just now obtained a copy of that in favor of Don Pedro de Vargas, treasurer of the household, and it is herewith transmitted. I hope soon to be able to obtain full copies of the grants to Alagon and Punon Rostro. THE KING: My Governor and Captain General of the island of Cuba and its district, Don Pedro de Vargas, under date of the 25th of January last, manifested to me as follows: "SIRE: Don Pedro de Vargas, knight of the royal military order of Alcantara, treasurer general of the royal house and patrimony of your Majesty, with the most profound respect, at your royal feet exposes: That there is a a quantity quan of vacant and unpeopled land in the Territory of the Floridas, and desiring that if your Majesty shall deign to reward his passable services, and the proofs which he has given of his loyalty, it may be without the least burden on the public treasury, or in the prejudice of any third person, as may be done at present by some lauds of that country, he beseeches your Majesty that, by effect of your sovereign goodness, you would deign to grant to him the property of the land which lies comprised within the following limits: that is to say, from the mouth of the river Perdido, and its bay in the Gulf of Mexico, following the seacoast, and ascending by the bays of Buen Socorro and of Mobile, continuing along the Mobile till it touches the northern line of the United States, and descending by that in a Relations with Spain. right line to the source of the river Perdido, and MADRID, April 26, 1818. I perceive that Mr. Pizarro would be very glad to terminate it (the negotiation] here. In the meantime, I shall continue to work with him, to the end that his communications to Mr. Onis may be made as favorable as possible to a prompt adjustment of it at Washington. In this view, I asked him yesterday what had been said respecting Florida. He answered vaguely; but I perceived that there was some question of passing it to the United States in compensation for the claims. I therefore begged him to prepare, in his instructions to Mr. Onis, for a difficulty which must certainly arise if any "transaction" of that kind should be proposed; that the claims in question would probably be liquidated by the United States, in such form, by commission or otherwise, as might be most convenient to themselves; but that, finally, they must be paid out of the sale of the lands. Now, the King had lately given all those lands away, (as I had duly informed my would, therefore, be absolutely necessary that the whole of those grants should be cancelled. Mr. Pizarro here held me a long discourse about sovereignty, territorial property, &c. I told him distinctions, and the other matter connected with that we had no difference of opinion about those them, but that his error was in supposing we meant to pay for the sovereignty only. We did not estimate that so highly as he imagined. I enlarged very much upon whatever relates to these points, and brought him to consent that these grants might be cancelled, and indemnity given to the grantees in New Spain, or elsewhere. Considering the contents of this exposition, and attending to the merit of the individual, and his accredited zeal for my royal service, as also Government;) to complete the "transaction," it to the advantages to result to the State from peopling the said countries, I have thought proper to accede to the favor which he solicits, in as far as it be not opposed to the laws of these my dominions, and I communicated it to my Council of the Indies, for its fulfilment, in a royal order of the 2d of February last. Consequently, I command and charge you, by this my royal scroll, (cedula,) that, conforming to the laws which regulate in these affairs, and without prejudice to third persons, you efficaciously aid the execution of the said grant or favor, taking all the measures which may conduce to its due effect, as also to the augmentation of the population, agriculture, and commerce of the aforesaid possessions, giving account, from time to time, of the progress made; for this is my will, and that due notice shall be taken of this cedula in the Accountant General's Department of the Indies. Dated at the Palace, March 10, 1818. 1, THE KING. It is rubricated by order of our Lord the King: ESTEVAN VAREA. It is rubricated-fees two hundred and forty reals of plate. [Here follow four signatures.] To the GOVERNOR and CAPTAIN GENERAL of the island of Cuba and its district, that he may do what is suitable, to the end that the favor granted to Don Pedro de Vargas of various lands situated in the Floridas, and other things therein mentioned, may have effect. Registered: [Here follows a signature.] I say "brought him to consent"-I mean that he said enough to convince me that there will be no difficulty on this head. I am not so certain that I have induced him to send, by this courier, such instructions on it to Mr. Onis as may render another reference to his Government unnecessary; but I propose to see him again to-morrow, and to re-urge the matter. Extract of a letter from the same to the same, dated MADRID, May 14, 1818. In my last private letter (which was dated April 26) I related to you what passed between Mr. Pizarro and myself upon the subject of the grants of lands in the Floridas, lately made by the King, and I mentioned that I should see him the day following, and endeavor to press my opinion on that point in such way as, if possible, to obtain that he might in advance instruct Mr. Onis in conformity to it. I saw him on the 27th, as I proposed, before the departure of his courier; whether I produced the desired effect, or not, I cannot positively say; but, immediately after, he wrote to the Council of the Indies, in consequence of which the council sent orders to the Duke of Alagon and the Count de Punon Rostro, directing them not to make sales of the lands Relations with Spain. granted to them; this fact, which I had received through a private channel, I ascertained yester day in conversation with Mr. Pizarro. I cannot find that the council has written to the other grantee, Vargas, but Mr. Pizarro said that it should have done so. Be that as it may, all sales made by the grantees are, ab initio, void, by the laws of the Indies; there are obligations, also, of a very onerous kind, imposed by those laws on all grantees, calculated, in fine, to produce the objects which such grants have in view, viz. the population and cultivation of the territory-obligations bligations which grantees of large tracts (under a prohibition to make sale) cannot possibly fulfil; least of all such grantees as these, who, besides not having a cent, are overwhelmed with debt. Extract of a letter from the same to the same, dated He [Mr. Pizarro] then entered into the principal matters in question, and, first, spoke of the limits on the side of Florida. He concluded this subject by saying that though the King, with a desire to accommodate himself to the views of the United States, had concluded to make the cession, and to make it as valuable as possible to the United States, as I had seen in the promptitude with which he had acted on my suggestion, and given orders to the Council of Indies relative to the late grants, (as particularly communicated to you in my private letters of May 14,) yet His Majesty was fully aware that the value of the public lands in the territory to be ceded would be infinitely beyond what the United States could demand under the head of indemnities; hence, it was reasonable to expect that the difference should be made up to him by concessions on the other side. Don Jose Pizarro to Mr. Erving. PALACE, July 8, 1818. The First Secretary of State has the honor of transmitting to the Minister of the United States the copy of a paragraph of a note of the 7th of February, 1803, (and propositions which accompanied it,) to Don Pedro Cevallos; and he avails himself of this occasion to repeat the assurance of his consideration. Copy of some paragraphs of a note directed to Don Pedro Cevallos, on the 7th February, 1803, by Mr. Charles Pinckney, Minister of the United States. To obtain this, they have authorized me to say that, should His Majesty be now inclined to sell to the United States his possessions on the east side of the Mississippi, or between that and the river Mobile, (agreeably to the propositions enclosed,) the United States will make to His Majesty, and I do now make, in their name, the important offer of guarantying to him and his successors his dominions beyond the Mississippi. sessions of His Catholic Majesty on the east side of the river Mississippi, for which they will pay dollars. 2d. They will purchase these possessions, for which they will pay dollars; and, moreover, guaranty to His Majesty and his successors his possessions beyond the Mississippi. 3d. They will purchase the country between the rivers Mississippi and Mobile, belonging to His Catholic Majesty, and also places of deposite near the mouths of the other navigable rivers passing from their territory through either of the Floridas, for which they will pay - dollars, or enter into other obligations which may be thought equivalent to the acquisition. 4th. If neither of these propositions can be acceded to, they will then purchase certain tracts of country on the banks of the Mississippi, and the other rivers passing from their territory into that of His Catholic Majesty, for which they will pay dollars, or enter into other obligations which may be thought equivalent to the acquisition. Mr. Erving to Don Jose Pizarro. MADRID, July 9, 1818. SIR: I have had the honor to receive your excellency's note of yesterday's date, enclosing a paragraph from a note addressed to this Government on the 7th of February, 1803, by Mr. Pinckney, at that time Minister of the United States at this Court, together with certain proposals of the same Minister, to which the paragraph cited refers. Though I find that these proposals are as explicit in their form as your excellency in conversation stated them to be, yet I also find, as I presumed, that they were not made or renewed by the special mission which treated with Mr. Cevallos in the year 1805, and that they do not affect and cannot receive any application to the great questions now under consideration. They, in fact, offer the United States as guarantee of His Majesty's possessions on the right bank of the Mississippi, in part consideration for cessions which he was to make of the whole of his then possessions, or certain districts of them to the eastward of that river; but posterior to this offer, namely, on the 30th April, 1803, the greater part of the territory thus proposed to be purchased, and the whole thus proposed to be guarantied, passed into the possession of, and now make part of the United States. Thus the state of possession in that quarter having been changed, the motive to guaranty on one side, and the necessity to receive a guaranty on the other having ceased, all that passed upon the subject heretofore is as though it were obliterated from the records. The only security which occurs to me as possible to be stipulated, under present circumstances, is that of the thirty leagues desert, which I mentioned in our two last conversations; and, in fact, this kind of material security in transactions between two great nations ought, according to my Propositions on the part of the United States. 1st. The United States will purchase the pos-apprehension, always to have the preference over 15th CON. 2d SESS.-59 Relations with Spain. the other kind of stipulations; for, though such stipulations should be most religiously observed, even in the extreme cases wherein, by the universal practice of nations, they are deviated from or altogether dispensed with, yet, in the still greater extremity of war, they cease to be binding, of course, and cannot be renewed but after the war, and then the inducement to renew them may have ceased; whereas the material security of which I speak always remains. War does not cultivate deserts, but it makes them. However, these and other important considerations belong ing to the subject will be duly deliberated on by His Majesty's Government. I can only say that, if my suggestion should be adopted, I shall be ready to put it into form, and with that I consider that the only great difficulty to a happy termination of our differences is removed. I renew to your excellency assurances of my very distinguished consideration. GEORGE W. ERVING. Don Jose Pizarro to Mr. Erving. PALACE, July 9, 1818. SIR: In several late conferences with you I have had the honor to manifest to you the regrets of His Majesty that it had not been possible yet to terminate the discussions depending between the two Governments, as His Majesty flattered himself might be done in consequence of the instructions given to his Minister Plenipotentiary, especially since, on the part of the King, there had not been, nor is there, any objection to carry into effect the arrangement of the indemnities reciprocally claimed by Spaniards and Americans; nor to proceed to the settlement of limits upon grounds conforming to the treaties and to continual and uninterrupted possession; nor for Spain to cede to the United States the two Floridas for a reasonable equivalent exchange in territory to the west of the Mississippi; nor, finally, in case of not being able to come to accord on all the pending questions, and especially those of limits, to refer to the arbitration or mediation of one, two, or more Powers, friends of both parties, without preventing, after the limit which should appear to be just should be settled by such arbitration or mediation, that we should proceed to effect, by means of the same mediation, or without it, if it should accommodate the United States, an exchange of the two Floridas for equivalent territory to the west of the Mississippi. The King thought of this arbitration as the most certain and prompt mean of terminating the discussion of limits, each party exposing before the arbitrating or mediating Powers the titles or grounds on which it rested its rights and pretensions; and he has not been able to change his opinion on seeing the answer given upon this point by the S Secretary of State of the United States to Don Luis de Onis; for, in the proposal made by that Minister Plenipotentiary, by express order of His Majesty, respecting said mediation or arbitration, there has not been, nor is there, question, as Mr. Adams seems to suppose, of inviting the United States to take part in relations or ramifications belonging to any interests of the European Powers, nor in what he calls the labyrinth of their politics, but merely that one or more impartial Governments, friendly to both parties, should take cognizance of the data of fact and right on which they found respectively the demarcation of limits which each pretends to substantiate; which measure is, in effect, the same as that which the United States adopted in its last treaty with Great Britain for adjustments of a similar kind, there being no other difference between the two cases but in the greater or less importance of the territories in dispute. In this state of hings, and His Majesty animated with the most efficacious desire to employ whatever means are in his power to terminate satisfactorily all and every one of the points in question, I represented to His Majesty that you and I, in our late conferences, had been of opinion that it might contribute to facilitate the arrangement of those points on which, hitherto, both Governments have not been able to come to accord, to carry forthwith into effect that on which they are already agreed; that is, the settlement of the reciprocal indemnities of Americans and Spaniards which were the object of the convention of 1802, for which only was wanting the ratification on the part of Spain, suspended for reasons and by circumstances which are notorious. The King instantly applauded this suggestion of mine and yours, and, desirous of giving to the United States efficient proofs of his desire of an arrangement on all the points, commanded me immediately to draw out a ratification of the said convention of August 11, 1802, to be sent to Don Luis de Onis, to the end that he may present the same, and exchange it for that of the United States; and I have the honor to enclose the adjoined copy for your due information. The termination of this point, already agreed on, in no respect ean embarrass the ulterior progress of the negot negotiation upon the others; and if Don Luis de Onis, pursuant to his first instructions, or to the explanations which subsequently on two occasions have been given to him, or because the Government of the United States has reduced its demands to terms more compatible with the rights of Spain, shall, on the arrival of said ratification, have already settled this point conjointly with the others, there will not therefore result any kind of embarrassment or contradiction, since the recognition of the reciprocal indemnities between Spaniards and Americans, and the mode of liquidating them, (the only objects comprehended by the convention of 1802,) will always have to enter in the new arrangement which may have been effected or may take place; and only in the manner of paying the debt which shall result from the liquidations made can there be or arise hereafter any altercation, in case the territorial arrrangements should be combined with the other indemnifications. His Majesty hopes that the United States will see in this measure a proof of his friendly dispo |