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IJ^thc year 1785, an application was made to government^ by fome merchants and traders of the city of London > for a licence to fail to the North- Weft coaft of America, and open a trade from thence to the Japanefe iflands, for the difpofal of a fuperior kind of fur, which capt. Cook defcribes as an article that obtained an extraordinary price in the Japanefe and Chi- nefe markets. They reprefented that this trade» if properly encouraged, would open a new channel for t\\€ difpofal of firitiih manu- fadures : that it would take off large quantities of damaged hardware, pottery', Gfr. which were unmarketable in this country : — that it would be the means of relieving the India company from the necefli^ of exporting annually im* menff quantitiea of dollars from Europe : •— and therefore they requef^ed, in the firft in- ftsuice, the fandtion and patronage j^ govern-^ A mcnt< o 27m , J ^.ipiMwiiwFWppfpr'^^'iiii^iii wm .mentfor an experimental voyage. Tley foli- cited for two fliips, named the George and ^Charlotte, to be licenfed for five years; to have an additional licence from the Ead-India and South-Sea (A>mp2lhies, to navigate within their refpedtiveliittits j and, above all, to have permifTion from the Eafl-India company to bring back a freight of teas. The miniftry approved the entcrprize. Great expectations were formed from it, and fmgular exertions made to carry it into immediate execution. The Board of, Controul had been newly efta- bliihed. An India-bill )i^d overturned one ad- miniftration. A fecond bill ' (which differed more in form than fubftancc from the former) was, at the period alluded to, the great objedt of miniflerial triumph and attention : and there* fore every thing which related to the company or the fupport of their affairs, every fcheme which promifed an improvement or relief to their finances, was afliduoufly and cheerfully adopted. Miniftry conceived, that, by counte- nancing thefe adventurers, the gold of Japan Vvould be made to pay for the company's purcha- fcs at Canton, while it increafed the exports of Great- Britain. Protedtionsweregiven. Theli- cenccs were granted. The fliips returned to Europe, after a three-years voyage, to the difap- , pointment *: |PM«!iii I "F^PPfi ( 3 ) pointment of the parties concerned. The trade was abahdoned in England, though dill prricd on from Calcutta. The fettlement" and fhips were feized by the Spaniards, and, in conf&r quence iof the infult, we armed. :., Let us now contemplate |br a moment the fubftanoe of his maje/ly*s mcfTage to both hou- fes. It. complains of the fei2urc of the (hips, the iniiilt offered to the Britifh flag, the im- prifonment of Britiih officers and feamen. It ftates that the am baiTador c^ the catholic king, by order of his court, had defired that hieafares might be taken for preventing his majefty's fubjedts from frequenting thofc coaAs : that complaints were likewife made of the fiflierics carried on by his majefty's fub- jedls in the feas adjoining to the Spanish con> tinent : but, above all, his majefty's mefTage fets forth that a diredt claim was afterted, by the court of Spain, to THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT of SOVEREIGNTY, NAVIGA- TION, and COMMERCE, in the territories and coafts in that part of the world and feas. 7 he minifter properly enforced the meffage : dwelt, with a becoming energy, upon the lead- ing points of it ; and, having fticwn the houfc the necelFity of the pioft vigorous exertions, emphatically added, his majesty's sERn. ^ ^ As VAliTS ( 4 ) % IVANTS^ILL NOT BE CONTENT WITHOVt THE MOST HONOURABLE REPARATION 0!f THE PART OF Spain: they wili. not, at THE SAME TIME, OMIT ANY THING, CON* 8ISTENT WITH THE HONOUR AND DIQ^ITV OF Great-Britain, that may leaix to a peaceable TERMINATION OF TUB ;pispuTE. At al;. hazard^, however^ THEY are determined TO ASSERT THE RIGHTS OF Englishmen, and tq maini TAIN, TO the last EXTREMITY, TH» pLORY pE THEIR COUNTRY. This was a language becoming the man ancf ^ minifter ; it Vindicated the chara^er of a gallant and intrepid nation. — Mr. Fox afTentecJ to the niinifter's motion. He however ob-* ierv.ed, that the value of the (hips and proper* ty feized was but a, Secondary objed, compare4 yrith that of obliging Spain to renounce her antiquated claim to the exclufiye right of {o* yercignty, navigation, and commerce, in thp fouthern ocean. For, added the honourable gentleman, if reparation be inade us in the i)refent cafe, if we have peace .to- morrow, we ean have no fecurity for a peace till Spain ia; compelled to abandpn this excluiiye claim. •— Mr* Pitt's anfwer was perfectly plain and pofi- tive : it amounted to thi; : That he had no. difficulty ^«p ^W" ( s ) ilifficuhy in declaring that he (hould cohAidef rv^ry concfffion inadequatt that did not Jinaify fut an end tojtmilardijpufes in future. Th« public conftrued this language in its literal fenfe j Spain, fatd they, has repeatedly injured and in** fulted the fubjedts of Great^Britain, by hep claim of excluiive right j (he neycr hitherto has been compelled to relinqui(h thi^ right ; but now we are to confider the prefent contcft as the laft that can ever happen upon this ^uef- tion ; for the minifter pledges hicifelf to par- liament and the nation that he will not confider any coficefilon ||^4i« adequate fatisfa^ion that does nut mm fium his etiholic majef^y the power of reviving this groqnd of difpute ii| future. We will now confider the CON VENflON ; how far it amounts to an honourable repara- tion I how far it afierts the rights of Englifh-r men ; how far it maintains the glory of the fountry ; and how far it tends to put an end to thofe contentions which have heretofore fo ^e? peatedly originated in that proud claim of an exclufive right of foyereignty, navigation, and commerce. It is allowed, by every maritime power inl Europe, that there are th*"*- diftindt grounda ^pon which the do<5^rine of right is to. b^ maintained : ""'^^P»I^PK^^"''"^^"PP*PP mmm ( 6 ) maintained : the right of conquefl, difcovery, and poiTeflion. The firft is upheld by force, the fecond is aflumed by enterprize, the thirp acquired by attention. A cpuntry difcovered, and abandoned, as foon as difcovered, for a length of time, perhaps a century or more, in the conflrudion of the law of nations, gives no right of poiTeliion : it muft be a folemn and a formal claim, an immediate affertion of right, an occupancy ibon after it is difcovered, .or it becomes a general right to the fubjedts of any* nation who may be fubfequently countenanced to aflumea fettlement. TheJ^rflDavigators who failed round 4)ie Cape •te«34fof» cer> tainly derived no right of poiTeilion from failing part the coafl of Patagonia. They faw the coaft, they left the coaft, and left it free to thofe who chofo to eftablifh themfelves upon it. Spain firft makes a fettlement in the cen- tre of South-America, and then arrogantly aflumes a right to the whole extent of territory bordering op the Southern Ocean, from, Cape Horn to the North pole. Every foot of land waflied by the Sputhern or Pacific Ocean, in virtue of a pope's decretal, granted in arbitrary and fuperflitious times, is copiidered by the ^paniOi court, at this day, as the abfolute property of Spain, ]>fo matter whether the territory • mmf "PWWRSi 'f^mm •VW^IF ( 7 ) territory was . difcovcred or not i lands known and unknown ; all that was defcribed or could uc defcribed, at the time the grant was made» was comprehended in the concef- fion ; and the Spanifh itr^^arch was con(lituted» by the fallible head of an i; fallible church, the fole and abfolute proprietor of every part of the coaft, from Terra dci Fuegc to the North pole. But did Great- Britain ever admit fuch right ? Mod afTuredly not. Has it not ever been con- lidered as a nominal a notional right ? a ridi- culous a contemptible right ? a theoretical right in every fenfe of the word ? At what period has a Britifh minifler acknowledged the right of Spain to this exclufive privilege? When was it difcufled ? How was it allowed ? Who defined it ? Who confirmed it ? Who fupported it ? VJho fubmitted to it ? Those who have submitted to the CONVENTION. ' Let us now read and contemplate the arti- cles of the Convention fairly, coolly, difpaf- fionately : not as Whigs or Tories j not as party-men of any defcription j but with a dif- pofition to regard the force of truth, and to attend to the obligations of reafon. "«'««iHp ( 9 ) we claimed the land. It don't fui^ us, at pre- icnt, to maintain the feizurcj therefore you are welcome to a re-poiTeilion, till fuch time as it may be more convenient for us to difpolTefs you of the fettlement again. No other con-- ilruftion can poffibly be put upon this article : for it is clear that conceilions originating in compulfion will one day evaporate in isfult. " Article H. . ** And further, that a juft reparation (hall be made, according to the nature of the cafe, for all adts of violence or hoftility which may have been committed, fubfequent to the month of April, 1789, by the fubjedts of either of the contrading parties, againft the fubjefts of the other j and that, in cafe any of the faid refpe<5live fubjefts (hall, (ince the fame period, have been forcibly difpo(refl*ed of their lands, buildings, vc(rels, merchan- dize, or other property whatever, on the faid continent, or on the feas or iOands adja- cent, they (hall be re-e(labli(hcd in the pof- felfion thereof, or a juft compenfation (hall be made to them for the loScs which they (liall have fuftained. " c< «r «< c< 41 t€ «« «< «< ** «< * €t S( << This article originates in Spani(h policy. Doubts and appreheniions had been enter- B rained. wmm mmi. mm i lO ) tained, by the Spanifh miriifter, from the commencement of our armament, that an ex- prefs had been forwarded over-land to India with inftrudions to make reprifals, for the de- predations committed at Nootka, by an ^attack upon the Manillas; and therefore, in order to defeat the mifchiefs, if any had enfued, the Spanifh minifter evidently contended for this provilional claufe, under the certain convic- tion, that, as noenterprizehad been undertaken by his own court, nothing but convenience :COuld refult from it. tioi <( ges handfomely, it qualifies meanly, it deferts its conditions infultingly. For what can be more offenfive to the refiedtiotis and the feeling of a liberal and generous people, what more infulting to their underftandings, than to be told, by the Spaniih monarch. We grant you an indulgence, when you never acknowledged our right. We allow you to fifii where yovi have uniformly denied our pow- 3 2 er ( I» ) cr to reftrain you. We perinit you to fail where you have always navigated at difcretion. We fufFer you to lahd under certain ftipular tions to which you never have been fubjedl before. We have been accuftomecf to claim an ckclufive right, but the government and the fubjedls of Great-Britain have ever treated it with derifion. We did not dare to maintain that right. --We did not dare to interrupt your fifli- crv. — We did not dare prevent your landing upon any part of the unoccupied coaft : you might have carried on your fifliery tp the end qS time, for we could not have reftraine4 you : — butyour minifter has wifely contended for the cftabliflimentof your right, and we have indulged him with a SPECIFIC RESTRIC- TION f* Aeticle IV. *.*. His Britannic majefty engages to take thci • moHeficdtual meafui'es to prevent the nayi£ tibn and fifhery of his fubjects, in the Pacific Ocean or in the South-Seas, from bcin§ made a pretext for illicit trade with the Spa- niih fettlements : and, with this view» it i^ moreover exprefsly ftipulated, that British fubjeds /hall not navigate or carry on their fifhery, in the faid iHas, within thefpaceof ten fea-lcagucs from any part of the eoafts ' already occupied by Spain." How « • c << ■ ► «< ¥f^m IC ( t3 ) How does this article agree with the tetter and the fpirit of the 9th of Anne ? There the right of navigation is given in the moft com<* prchenfive ternis. That aft trembles at no papal bulls : it (brinks before no nonfenfical decretals : it admits no infulting ufurpations : it braves the Spanifh monarch and his arroga- ting claims in every line of it. It fays, to the South-Sea company, and to all who may be |icenfed by it. Go : go, freely, and in defiance of all foreign pretenfions. Go, navigate the' Southern Ocean ; difcover what you can j fet- tle where you like ; range from one extremity of the globe to the other j the Parliament of Great-Britain gives you this privilege, and it vrill fufFcr no power upon earth to controiil ' you. Your limits commence at Rio del Plata, extend to Cape Horn, and continue on the North- Weft fide of the continent to the extre- inity of the North pole. You are empowered to carry merchandize into, unto, and from, alf or any the kingdoms, lands, territories, iflands, cities, towns, forts, havens, creeks, and places, pf America, within the limits aforefaid. Yoi| are to hold, for your own ufe and benefit, all fettlements you may make ; and you ar^ to enr joy the benefit of all mines of gold, lilver, or iptliqr ore, which you may ooen, upon term^ Pf ■"^■^"^■ppwi*^ I J I ., min^ififiimmmfmmmmmmmmmtlllllfimimmtllfttgli ( 14 ) of foccage to the crown. -— We conceive it derogatory to our dignity and independence (faid the minifters of that day) to confult the Spanifli court in granting you a free charter. Wc make no humiliating ftipulations for the prevention of an illicit trade ; neither do we fubmit to a hovering-a<3:, to make you liable to feizure and confifcation. The Southern and Pacific Oceans are as free as the Atlantic ; as free as air j common to the (hips of all coun- tries. No ftate has or can have an exclufive right to the navigation of thoie feas. And, therefore, if the Spaniard dares to affert fuch ; right, we will fhcw him that we dare deny it, liere were no fears, no meannelTes, no ab- jed fubmiffions, no bafe degrading accom-* modations, — All was open, manly, pofitive, - The miniftry of that day paflcd a licenfing and declaratory ad:, which fet Spain and her terri- torial monopolies at defiance. They faid to the South- Sea company. Find and occupy ; dif- covcr Nootka and fettle there. We are alike indiflferent to the conftrudlions and refentments of Spain. Bcadivc, be enterprizingi be free. Not fuch, however, is the language of the Convention : for in that we contemplate a fupreme degree of the moft abjedt and mortify- ing humiliation. In a navigation pf 5000 mil^fi , 'c^f'i Pipip'''" ( «s ) miles in extent, from the kingdom of Chili to the extremities of New Mexico, we have con-^ fented that every veflcl found within 30 miles of the coaft (hall be liable to fcizure and confifcation: that miftakcs in diftances and bearings ihall be expoled to the penalties of intentional offence : and that the rights and properties of Britifh fubjeds, navigating thofe feas, (hall be liable to infult, plunder, and difputation, at the dif- cretion of thofe officers to whom the conduA of their guarda-codas (hall be committed. Would a wife rcfledting minifter have done this ? Could any minifler, jealous of the dig- nity of the crown, the hononr of the country, and the rights of the people, have afTented to fuch reflridtions, at this day, as never were at- tempted to be impofed upon us before ? Is it wife tv make a furrcnder of right ? Is it fpi- rited to be abj^^dl ? Is it a triumph to fubmit ? Is it honourable to be humbled? We have, 1 again and again, denied the Spanish claim of an excluiive privilege : yet we contentcdiy.allow it here. For the fair interpretation of the words of this article amounts. to this acknow- Jedgempnt, — The coait is yours, and thefca is yours,; but, if you will permit our (hips to pafs your doors, we will permit you, in return for (16) for your indulgence, to feize all tbat niay acci* dentally be found at lefs than 30 miles didance from the (hore. >' " Article V. ** It is agreed, that, as well in the places ** which are to be reftored to the British fub- " jedls, by virtue of the firft article, as in all ** other parts of the North- Weftern coafts of •• North-America, or of the iflands adjacent, " iituated to the North of the parts of the faid ** eoaft already occupied by Spain, wherever •• the fubjcfts of either of the two powers (hall " have made fettlements, fince the month of "April, 1789, or (hall hereafter make any^ ** the fubjedts of the other ihall have free ac* " cefs, and fhall carry on their trade, without " any diilurbance or moleflation. " While commenting on this article, let us revert to the firft difcovery of Nootka, by capt< Cook. The Spaniards knew of no fu^h place.% The right of poflcfiion derived from difcovery was peculiarly our own. Britifh (hips trade * there. Britifli merchants fettle cHere^ The Spaniards feize and difpoflefs them. W^refent fuch fcizurc. We armj w^ threaten; we fpend millions to aflert our right. We obtain mw^ w m mi ( 17 ) t ■; 4.' a quaJified conceffion. — You may go back to Nootka, fays the Spaniard, in hi$ Convention, provided that I go with you. You may even extend your' trade and fettlements, in a Nor- thern direiftion, provided I ami fufFered to attend you. Go where you ^ will, fettle where you will, but remember I demand the right of following^ of fharing in your trade, fuperin- tending your exertions, and participating in your profits. EreiSt forts, build barracks, 6f- tablifh factories. ' So will!. Barter your bau- bles or your, blankets for firs; my fubjefts fliall do the fame. — Yours be the enterpri'ze, the difcovcry, the troiible, and the expence, biit obfcrvie, that, by this article, I exprefsly ftipulate for a partnerlhip in all that fuch dii# ac- * cording to the mi/conceptions of adminiftrationy ' the day of their triumph is near at hand I ' I mud, however, be allowed to infill upon the term, mifconception ; becaufe nothing is ' more certain than that all thefe^iriews and ex-' pie^ations have been completely defeated by permitting the Spaniard to trade m all places' where we fettle, to watch every cargo we land, to fcrutinize into every movement we make, and, of courfe, to cut off every communication with the inhabitants of their Southern domi- nions. Had we claimed and obtained an eX" dufive privilege to trade, or an exclufive right to fettle at Nootka, the concefiion had- been invaluable -, but, as the article nowiland^, the C 2 ratification IP ratiHration of it is degrading to the fpirit and policy of the country, and a defertion of the digaity of the crown. ** Article VI. . •• It is further agreed, with rcfpedt to the ** Eaftern and Weftcrn coafts of South- Ameri- ** ca, and to the iflands adjacent, that no fetr ** tlcment fhall be forrricd hereafter, by the ** refpecftive fubjeds, in fuch parts of thofe •♦ coafts ag ar« lituated to the South of thofc « p^s of the fame coail, and of the ifland^ '•• adjacent, which are already occupied by ^* Spairt : provided th^t the faid refpcftive fub- M jedis fhaU retain the liberty of landing on ^rthe coafb and i0ands {o iituated for the purr •1 ppfefl of their fiflicry, and of ere<5ting thereo^^ f< huts, and other, temporary buildings, ferving V only for tifofc purpofes." Before the prefent Convention was agreed ti,port, it was always confidered that every part of the continent of South- America unoccupied by.Spuin was free for the fubjeds of any ftate that might think proper tp land and take pofr feflio|3. Jt was particularly the do As to the agreement for ratifying the arti- cles, in the courfe of fix wceks^ this rather appears a fuperfluous flipulation ; for, as this Country has gained nothing by the convention, ' no objedion caa pofilbly ariie to retard a rati- fication on the. part of Spain* ' In a fummary view, then, of all thefe arti- , cles, we difcover nothing but a fyllematic uni- , formity of concirfnon. — We were in the pof- , fefilon of the trade of Nootka four years ago* . ^^p now confent fo JhaN that trade with the * Spaniard. mmfimmmKim Spaniards — - As t6 the Southern fiflieiy, wc have gained nothing there; for that-has been carried on for many years. Forty fhips and vcflcls were employed in it in the years 1787 and 1788, till the market becameglutted with oil. No merchant was ever difcouraged from failing to the Southern ocean under the appre^ heniibn of trefpafs. Neither will one (hip ex- traordinary be employed in confequence of the Convention. The fifhery, from its com- mencement, has ever been as free as that to Newfoundland. The only difference now is, that, before the Convention, we exercifed it as a right, whereas we are now to confidcr it as a courtefy^ Before the Convention, the Southern whalers knew of no reftridtion in landing or eredting 5 whereas now they ' are <:ompletely reftrained. Before the Conven- tion, the right of pofTeflion upon difcovery was abfolute^ but now it is a divifional right; the Spaniard is to have his fhare. Before the Convention, the navigation was u neon fined; but now our (hips are made fubjedt to confif- cation by a hovering^aft, though no line is drawn, no limits defcribed, to afcertain at what point the Spanifh fettlements commence or where they end. ' i,^. . Hqw di^erent is the^ letter of this C^nven^^ ^ D •* . tion, *■* ♦■ ^■■'•it'.-:'' * > ( »6 ) tion, from the fpirited tenof of the South-Sea compaay's charter 1 Th.'s charter fays, from the firft day of A'u* guil, i;ii> the copipany fliall be veiled fior-'' ever in tl:e fole trade ao4 traffick into^ utifio^ and fromi all kingdQms^ lands, countries, (Sc* Gff . from the river Oronoque, on the Eaft fide of South- America, to the extremity of Tcr-t, * ra»del Fuego, and from thence through ii» South-Seas to the. northernmoft part of Ame-* rica, including jU the ^aumtries, AJlauJs,%tid places, within the /aid limiu, which wire rC" futed to Uhng^to the crown of Spain, or which iliould hereaftf^r be FOUND OUT or DIS- COVERED within tbejaid limits^ not ex- ceeding 300 leagues from the continents A- gain, it goes on to fay, the members of the * (aid company, their heirs and fuccefloFS, ihall hold and enjoy, for their own ufe and benefit^ all and every the iflands;, cities, towns, forts^ and places, which they fhall difcover or find ^ 9ut, feize or poflefs, with all mines of goldi^ ^. &c, ^c, * .,^. '* It does not retrain fromi fettling on an un^ inhabited coail. It does not prohibit failing within y|ew of land. It does not coniimt that SpaisyOiall hav(^ a fhare of their diicoveriest ]^ot opif fflkble » to be found, from the be- V'' ' ,/ «r «^ ' |;inmng A IT m^ww T^ Tl ♦*. f finaing (•'t^cnd of it, which does n(l|[ !^^ •port that honour of St ct^o, and thi irii» tert(ls of the country. IJo |»lty ijfiiriflcft* ;« abafcment8«re to be diicpyeredliere : |he ^^$i^t was made widif d freedom and a'dign^ty hf<4 , froming the generofity of a^Aittih parliagien^ lupporting the rights, of a fpirited and siiiey . pendent p^pk. Thefe txpcn&H. pitVil^df ^ may have been fii£%red tp^e dotliidht; btit cl^ tain it is, that the faith and honour pf parlia- . pent ftand (lilV pledge4 to fopport thei^. — The rights o^fifhery^ navigation, tiade, and fettlement, a(f excluiively yefted in thi^ cor^ * poration} and, therefore, though tf^e inettiT bcrs of it may not wifli to interfere with tho general^nterefls of th^ (late, it furely become^ i confideration of great moment for evpry charr tered body m fhe kii^^di^^ t^difcufs. whether rights and privileges, "upequivocally; ttnli* mitedly, granted by parliament, can' be legally pr conilitutiQnally fettered by any fubfequent reftridtions. *. As to the mini^r's condud with ^efpqSt to Nootka, (the firft objedt in difpute, and the ^rft in poin^oracquifition,) in the ]fear 1785, % |he fettlement w^ considered of gt^al^o- ment, but, in the following yeir, it w^iiot ^eld by goveuunent in^tle minutei!: degree of , fftitnation^ A\ * # % -%. \ "*"' '1 lit, '■■ • jw •- • 4:^ % *« V ■ # »- r^ .. /** ^ #>^lWrd i^. callc^Jtli* Han ^l^t^M .ot^-|yin Qi^ce of 8;90|(1. Ac firi^ adycatlifcrs, cjt in WDCeqm^ of / i^lll »? »• .;* "V ^'l^'t^ '■ * f '.'7 i ». -f- c ^ •% if!K- * * * *■ *-€ '■ Y.t- M tm ^ ;*"' 4. ' ' ^i -.:♦> <%-i :*-*ir »^ ./■•M \^ ^ >'^ .* .* 7.- i* 'i "V'ifmi «i!^ >i i^f; ■ W .■f'f.'i'X # W9m «. , ' ■« m « of . ; » * ?■'* ■ * •-, > ' ^»„ ■*.-