is abrogated. It specifically provides that the United States alone shall do the work of building and assume the responsibility of safeguarding the canal and shall regulate its neutral use by all nations on terms of equality without the guaranty or interference of any outside nation from any quarter. The signed treaty will at once be laid before the Senate, and if approved the Congress can then proceed to give effect to the advantages it secures us by providing for the building of the canal."

Resolution of

Second International American Conference

President Roosevelt, annual message, Dec. 3, 1901. (For. Rel, 1901, p. xxxv.) The second international conference of American states, held at the city of Mexico in 1901-02, unanimously adopted a resolution applauding the purpose of the United States to construct an interoceanic canal, and declaring that this work not only would be "worthy of the greatness of the American people," but would also be "in the highest sense a work of civilization and to the greatest degree beneficial to the development of commerce between the American states and the other countries of the world.”

Second Int. Conf. of Am. States, S. Doc. 330, 57 Cong. 1 sess. 20, 173.

Instructions Mr. Fish, 1873.

of

15. MOSQUITO QUESTION, SINCE 1860.

§ 367.

"The purposes of that Government were in the main accomplished. On the 28th of January, 1860, a treaty between Great Britain and Nicaragua was signed at Managua. Though this instrument restored to that republic the nominal sovereignty over that part of its territory which had previously been claimed as belonging to the kingdom of the Mosquitos, it assigned boundaries to the Mosquito Reservation probably beyond the limits which any member of that tribe had ever seen, even when in chase of wild animals. Worst of all, however, it confirmed the grants of land previously made in Mosquito territory. The similar stipulation on this subject in the Dallas-Clarendon treaty was perhaps the most objectionable of any, as it violated the cardinal rule of all European colonists in America, including Great Britain herself, that the aborigines had no title to the soil which they could confer upon individuals.

"It is supposed that the expedition of Walker to Nicaragua made such an unfavorable impression on public opinion there, in respect to this country, as to prepare the way for the treaty with Great Britain. A rumor was current in that quarter, and was by many believed to be true, that Walker was an agent of this Government, which, it was supposed, had covertly sent him thither to obtain control of the country. This, however, was so far from the truth that everything within its

power was done by this Government towards preventing the departure of Walker.

"Besides the treaty with Nicaragua, just adverted to, there was a treaty between Great Britain and Honduras, signed on the 28th November, 1859, the main object of which was the restitution to the latter of the Bay Islands, which had for some time before been converted into a British colony.

"This treaty also contained stipulations in regard to Mosquito Indians in Honduras territory similar to that in the treaty with Nicaragua.

"On the 30th of April, 1859, a treaty between Great Britain and Guatemala was also signed, by which the boundaries of the British settlement at Belize, so called, were extended to the Sarstoon River. This instrument contained provisions for the appointment of commissioners to mark the boundaries, and for the construction of a road from Guatemala to the fittest place on the Atlantic coast near Belize. By

a supplementary convention between the parties, of the 5th of August, 1863, Great Britain agreed, upon certain conditions, to contribute fifty thousand pounds sterling towards the construction of the road referred to.

"From the note of the 4th of December last, addressed to this Department by Mr. Dardon, the minister of Guatemala here, a copy of which is inclosed, it appears that when the joint commission for running the boundary line reached the Sarstoon River the British commissioner, finding that his countrymen were trespassing beyond that limit, refused to proceed, and the stipulation on the subject, if not virtually canceled, has at least been suspended.

"The supplementary convention not having been ratified by Guatemala in season, it is stated that the British Government has notified that of Guatemala that it would regard the stipulation on the subject of the road contained in the treaty of 1859 as at an end.

"Other important information on these subjects is contained in the letter and its accompaniments of Mr. Henry Savage, to this Department of the 16th of October last, a copy of which is inclosed. He is a native of this country and at one time was consul at Guatemala.

"He has frequently, in the absence of a diplomatic agent of the United States in that quarter, furnished this Department with valuable information in regard to Central American affairs.

"Mr. Dardon says that his Government also regards its treaty of 1859 with Great Britain at an end, and requests on its behalf the cooperation and support of this Government toward preventing further encroachments by British subjects on the territory of Guatemala. It is believed that if such encroachments are authorized or countenanced by that Government it will be tantamount to a breach of its engagement not to occupy any part of Central America. Before, however, officially mentioning the subject to Earl Granville, it would be advis

able to ascertain the correctness of the representation of Mr. Dardon, as to the cause of the discontinuance of the demarkation of the boundary.

"If the statement of that gentleman should prove to be correct, you will then formally remonstrate against any trespass by British subjects, with the connivance of their Government, upon the territory of Guatemala, as an infringement of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, which will be very unacceptable in this country."

Mr. Fish, Sec. of State, to Mr. Schenck, min. to England, April 26, 1873, Correspondence in relation to the Proposed Interoceanic Canal (Washington, 1885), 16, 310.

See, on the same subject, Mr. F. W. Seward, Act. Sec. of State, to Mr. Pierrepont, min. to England, Sept. 11, 1877, MS. Inst. Gr. Br. XXV. 6, enclosing copy of a note from Mr. Montufar, Guatemalan Min. of For. Aff., to Mr. Evarts, Sec. of State, July 23, 1877, and Mr. Evarts' reply of Sept. 13, 1877. It is stated by Mr. Seward that General Schenck acknowledged the receipt of Mr. Fish's instruction of April 26, 1873, but decided not to carry it into effect, until he had conferred with the minister of Guatemala at London. It can not be ascertained that he afterwards officially mentioned the subject."

It appears, however, that General Schenck reported that the British Government afterwards disclaimed “any purpose or policy . . . inconsistent with the stipulations with Nicaragua." (Mr. Fish, Sec. of State, to Mr. Williamson, min. to Costa Rica, May 3, 1875, MS. Inst. Costa Rica, XVII. 242, enclosing copy of Gen. Schenck's No. 737, of April 17, 1875.) Aug. 16, 1875, Mr. Cadwalader, Acting Sec. of State, enclosed to Mr. Williamson copy of a confidential note from Sir Edward Thornton, of Aug. 12, 1875, transmitting certain correspondence touching the relations between Nicaragua and the Mosquito territory. (MS. Inst. Costa Rica, XVII. 256.)

March 25, 1876, Mr. Fish informed Sir Edward Thornton that no objection was seen to the appointment of Her Majesty's consul at Greytown as the agent of the Mosquito Indians to receive from . . . Nicaragua and Honduras the sums due to that tribe pursuant to treaties between those Republics and Great Britain." (MS. Notes to Gr. Br. XVII. 115.)

Award of Emperor of Austria, 1881.

It has been seen that the treaty between Great Britain and Nicaragua, signed at Managua, Jan. 28, 1860, was accepted as a satisfactory settlement of the Mosquito question, on the assumption that it put an end to the British protectorate. Differences between Great Britain and Nicaragua, however, afterwards arose as to the effect of certain provisions of the treaty. Those differences were ultimately submitted to the Emperor of Austria, who, on July 2, 1881, rendered the following award:

"ARTICLE I. The sovereignty of the Republic of Nicaragua, which was recognized by Articles I. and II. of the Treaty of Managua of the 28th January 1860, is not full and unlimited with regard to the territory assigned to the Mosquito Indians, but is limited by the selfgovernment conceded to the Mosquito Indians in Article III. of this treaty.

"ARTICLE II. The Republic of Nicaragua, as a mark of its sovereignty, is entitled to hoist the flag of the Republic throughout the territory assigned to the Mosquito Indians.

"ARTICLE III. The Republic of Nicaragua is entitled to appoint a commissioner for the protection of its sovereign rights throughout the territory assigned to the Mosquito Indians.

"ARTICLE IV. The Mosquito Indians are also to be allowed to hoist their flag henceforward, but they must at the same time attach to it some emblem of the sovereignty of the Republic of Nicaragua.

"ARTICLE V. The Republic of Nicaragua is not entitled to grant concessions for the acquisition of natural products in the territory assigned to the Mosquito Indians. That right belongs to the Mosquito Government.

"ARTICLE VI. The Republic of Nicaragua is not entitled to regulate the trade of the Mosquito Indians, or to levy duties on goods imported into or exported from the territory reserved to the Mosquito Indians. That right belongs to the Mosquito Indians.

"ARTICLE VII. The Republic of Nicaragua is bound to pay over to the Mosquito Indians the arrears of the yearly sums assured to them by Article V. of the Treaty of Managua, which arrears now amount to 30,859 dol. 3 c. For this purpose the sum of 30,859 dol. 3 c., deposited in the Bank of England, together with the interest accruing thereto in the meantime, is to be handed over to the British Government. The Republic of Nicaragua is not bound to pay back-interest (Verzugszinsen') on the sums in arrear.

"ARTICLE VIII. The Republic of Nicaragua is not entitled to impose either import or export duties on goods which are either imported into or exported from the territory of the free port of San Juan del Norte (Greytown).

"The Republic of Nicaragua is, however, entitled to impose import duties on goods on their conveyance from the territory of the free port of Greytown to the territory of the Republic, and export duties on their conveyance from the territory of the Republic to the free port of San Juan del Norte (Greytown).

Moore, Int. Arbitrations, V. 4954.

See Mr. Evarts, Sec. of State, to Mr. Kasson, min. to Aust.-Hungary, Aug. 1, Dec. 18, and Dec. 26, 1879, and June 4, 1880, MS. Inst. Austria, III. 55, 73, 78. 105.

The award of the Emperor of Austria was based on a legal opinion which accompanies it. The opinion refers to the ancient dispute as to the rightful sovereignty of the territory inhabited by the Mosquito Indians. This sovereignty, says the opinion, was claimed both by Spain and afterwards by the colonies which became independent of her. On the other hand, the Mosquito Indians were able to maintain their actual freedom as a separate community, and as such formed relations with England which reached back to the second half of the seventeenth century, led in 1720 to the treaty between the governor of Jamaica and the chieftain, styled H. Doc. 551—vol 3—15

"king," of the Mosquito Indians, and finally took the shape of a British protectorate, which was, however, contested both by the republics of Central America and by the United States. The threatened international complications, growing out of the seizure of Greytown by the Indians with the aid of England in 1848, led to the conclusion of the ClaytonBulwer treaty, which became the starting point for fresh disputes. In consequence of the failure of the Webster-Crampton arrangement of 1852 (because of the objections of Nicaragua) and of the Dallas-Clarendon convention of 1856, Great Britain adopted the course of direct negotiations with Nicaragua, which resulted in the conclusion of the treaty of Managua of January 28, 1860. By this treaty, says the opinion, the British protectorate over the Mosquito district was expressly given up; the sovereignty of Nicaragua was acknowledged under specified conditions and engagements; and a definite territory was reserved to the Indians within which they were to enjoy the right of self-government. This territory, the opinion declares, although it forms an integral and inseparable component of the aggregate territory of Nicaragua, is to be considered as primarily and immediately owned by the Indians as their own country, which they are indirectly prohibited from ceding to a foreign power or person. Within this territory the Mosquito Indians are, by the treaty of Managua, to enjoy the right of governing according to their own customs and regulations. This concession of selfgovernment comprehends, so the opinion affirms, the ideas of selflegislation and self-administration, as long as the Indians shall not, according to Article IV. of the treaty of Managua, agree to “absolute incorporation” into the republic and subject themselves to its general laws and regulations; it cannot extend to foreign affairs, since the Mosquito reserve forms a political and international whole with the Republic of Nicaragua. The connection of Nicaragua with the reserve may indeed, says the opinion, be shortly described in the phrase ** The republic rules, but does not govern." Nicaragua, however, is entitled to hoist her flag as a sign of dominion; nor did Great Britain oppose this claim, though it formed the subject of a complaint in the memorial submitted by the Mosquito chief to the arbitrator. Nicaragua also had the right to appoint a commissioner to see that the Mosquito government did not act beyond its powers; but this commissioner must not meddle with the internal affairs of the Indians or exercise any jurisdiction in their district. On the other hand, the Indians could not be forbidden to use their old flag, but they must place in it a sign of the sovereignty of Nicaragua. As to the particular matters to which the right of self-government extended, the opinion declared that the Mosquito government must possess the right of granting licenses for the acquisition of the natural products of its territory, and of levying duties on such products; and the right of carrying on trade according to its own regulations, including the levying of duties on goods imported into and exported from the district. These rights belonged to the Mosquito Indians exclusively. With regard to Nicaragua's claim that Great Britain had no right to interfere in affairs relating to the Mosquito Indians and to the free port of Greytown, or to come forward as a complainant in the pending case, since such a proceeding would involve a reassertion of her relinquished protectorate, the opinion pronounced the contention not to be well founded. England, said the opinion, had the right to insist that the provisions of the treaty of Managua, constituting Greytown a free port, should not be merely nominal, and, if

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