doubt on the point, propose to you that we should discuss the affair in a friendly manner, and assure you, that if you present to me unquestionable Documents to prove that it belongs to you, I am ready to give it up. I ask you, dispassionately, if this proposition could be considered as inadmissible? I go further. I, who am anxious to accommodate you because you are my friend and a good neighbour, knowing that you desire to get part of my Territory to round out yours, and to facilitate the exportation of your produce, as there is a navigable River passing through it, carry my friendship and condescension so far as to say to you, that we will agree between ourselves, by a friendly investigation, what belongs to each; and, this being settled, I am ready to cede to you the lands you desire for an equivalent, founded in equity, justice, and reciprocal convenience, fixing the Limits between us in such a way, that our Servants should not engage us in quarrels and contests, as, it being our desire to live in the greatest harmony, we were equally interested in avoiding every subject of difference. Will you say to me that these friendly propositions are inadmissible? I believe not. Such, then, neither more nor less, are those which I have suggested to you in my former official Note, and renew to you by this, hoping that, taking them into serious consideration, you will view them as just, equitable, and even generous. You cannot but know that the Convention you propose, limited to the indemnification for injuries done to the American commerce by the Cruisers and Tribunals of Spain, and by the suppression of the Deposite at New Orleans, will not accomplish fully the object which the 2 Nations propose to themselves, of extinguishing all disagreements. Nevertheless, to give another proof of the deference of His Majesty to the wishes of this Republic, I agree to enter into Negotia. tion with you on these 2 points, and to conclude a Convention as to them, in which shall be embraced the just Reclamations which His Majesty shall produce against this Government, and the various arrangements he desires to place in it for the encouragement of the commerce between the 2 Nations, and to avoid injuries such as those, which, from the want of explicitness in the last Treaty, have been experienced by the respective Subjects of both. I will add more, and it is, that the first point to which you refer, being founded in the Treaty which exists between the 2 Nations, I will subscribe to it without difficulty; and as to the second, it is of so small an amount, that if I do not succeed in demonstrating to you that these injuries have not existed, or that they are much exaggerated, and that The United States have already admitted that they were satisfied for them, I will have no difficulty even as to them. I ought, likewise, to observe to you, that it will be easy to include in this same Convention or Treaty a provisional arrangement of Limits, without detaining us to fix them with exactitude. If The United States do not desire to make an essential change in the established Limits, fixed by the Treaties of 1763, 1764, 1783, 1795, and 1800, and that this arrangement should only apply to the uncultivated lands to the North of the Missouri, the Boundaries of which were never settled between France and Spain, this question might be left for Commissioners named by each Party, and their Decision might be considered as part of the Convention: But, in any case, the most efficient method of concluding these affairs will be, that you should have the goodness to say to me, with frankness, what are the real views of The United States,—what are the real and true compensations they are disposed to offer for the Country they desire to obtain from His Majesty. You may be assured that I will support, earnestly, proposals that are just and reciprocally convenient, and that, on the return of the Courier, I shall be able to sign, under the Powers I now have, a Treaty mutually satisfactory to both Parties, we, in the mean time, agreeing upon all the Articles of minor consideration. You cannot but know that the Instructions ought to be adapted to the greater or lesser Territory of His Majesty, which The United States may desire to add to their Dominions; and that if they desire none, little difficulty can occur on the subject of indemnities, between 2 Powers animated by conciliatory and just sentiments. I renew to you my respects, &c. The Hon. James Monroe. SIR, LUIS DE ONIS. No. 5.-The Secretary of State to the Chevalier de Onis. Department of State, 20th February, 1817. I HAVE had the honour to receive your Letter of the 10th Instant. From full consideration of the contents of this Letter, it appears that, although you expect Instructions at an early date, to negotiate and conclude a Treaty for the adjustment of all differences between The United States and Spain, which you manifest a desire to accomplish, you do not consider yourself authorized to do so on any one point at this time. I will thank you to state, whether I have understood correctly the idea which you intended to convey. In case I have, I have only to remark, that although the delay is particularly to be regretted, it is not perceived that any advantage can be derived from entering into the Negotiation, before you have received your Instructions. I have the honour to be, &c. H. E. The Chevalier de Onis. JAMES MONROE. No. 6.-The Chevalier de Onis to the Secretary of State.-(Translation.) In the Official Letter which you did me the honour to direct to me yesterday, you state that you had taken into consideration the contents of mine, of the 10th instant, and confining yourself to one point only out of many on which it touches, of the greatest importance, as I think, to the interests of both Nations, you say, that if you had correctly understood the meaning of my Letter, at the same time that I manifest a desire to conclude a Treaty for the adjustment of all the differences existing between Spain and The United States, I do not consider myself authorized to do so until I receive the Instructions from my Sovereign, of which I am in daily expectation. You ask me if this is the true idea which I had wished to give you, and add, that if it is, although we must both lament the delay, it is not perceived that any advantage can be derived from entering into the Negotiation until I receive my Instructions. In my Note above-mentioned, I made known to you, with the candour and sincerity which characterize me, the causes to which I attributed the delay in receiving the Instructions, consequent on the Powers which His Majesty had given to me; and I do not doubt that the President will have found them as just as the reasons I stated to you, demonstrating that a partial Negotiation, which did not embrace all the points of disagreement between the 2 Nations, cannot accomplish the one or the other-which is to get clear of these disagreements, and to take care that they are not renewed in future. The Treaty in question ought to provide for the just Reclamations of the Subjects and Citizens of the respective Parties; in it, the limits between the 2 Powers should be fixed agreeably to their respective rights, to equality, to justice, and reciprocal convenience. Finally, it ought to comprehend different Stipulations, analogous to the new state of relations of intimacy which is about to be established between the 2 Governments, for the greater encouragement of their reciprocal commerce. You know that all these points have so intimate a connexion with each other, that it is not easy to separate them; and, on the other hand, they are of such importance, that I consider it necessary to wait the arrival of my Instructions before I conclude, definitively, a Treaty involving affairs of such magnitude. Nevertheless, as we cannot but feel this delay very sensibly, which most probably will be short, anxious on my part to lessen it so far as depended on me, I have suggested to you that we might begin to discuss the points of least importance, to the end of having the work in a state of forwardness when the Instructions should arrive; but since you prefer waiting for their arrival, I will agree to what you may resolve on; persuaded that you do not take less interest than I do in fixing the relations of amity between the 2 Countries on a footing the (C.)-Correspondence with the American Minister in SIR, No. 1.-The Secretary of State to George W. Erving. Department of State, 11th March, 1816. You will set out in discharge of the duties of your Mission to Spain as soon after the receipt of this Letter as circumstances will permit. Our relations with that Country are, from many causes, becoming daily more and more interesting. They will require your assiduous and zealous attention, as soon as you are recognized by the Spanish Government. The restoration of the diplomatic intercourse between the 2 Countries, long interrupted by causes well known to you, presents a favourable opportunity for the settlement of every difference with that Power. The President has already manifested his sincere desire to take advantage of it for that purpose, and hopes that the Spanish Government cherishes a similar disposition. The primary causes of difference proceeded from spoliations on their commerce, for which Spain is held responsible, and the justice of which she admitted by a Convention; and from the refusal of the Spanish Government to settle, on just principles, the Boundaries of Louisiana, and to compensate, on like principles, for the injuries arising from the suppression of the Deposite at New Orleans, in breach of the Treaty of 1795. The grounds of these differences have been so often discussed, and the justice of our Claims so completely established, in the Instructions heretofore given, and in Communications with the Spanish Government, that it is thought unnecessary to enter into them in this Letter. Other injuries have likewise been since received from Spain, particularly in the late War with Great Britain, to which it may be proper for you to advert. I shall transmit to you, herewith, such Papers relating to our Claims, in every instance, as will place their merits in a just light. In a conversation with Mr. Onis, shortly after the late Correspondence with him, he intimated that his Government was sincerely desirous of settling these differences, and that it might be willing to cede its Claim to Territory on the eastern side of the Mississippi, in satisfaction of Claims, and in exchange for Territory on the western side. He expressed also a desire that the Negotiation might take place at Madrid, rather than in this City. It was expected that he had been already furnished with Full Powers to negotiate such a Treaty, and it would be more agreeable to conclude it here if he had such Powers, or might soon procure them, provided there was any ground to hope an early termination of it. But from the experience we have already had, it may be fairly apprehended that a Negotiation bere would lead to very extraordinary delays, which it is wished to avoid. The President will soon decide on the whole subject; after which you shall be duly instructed of the course to be pursued, and of the measures to be taken. These Instructions shall be forwarded to you at Madrid, by Mr. Henry B. Smith. George W. Erving. JAMES MONROE. No. 2.-The Secretary of State to George W. Erving. (Extract.) Department of State, 30th May, 1816. To enable you to make the experiment on which the President has again decided, to settle our differences with Spain, I enclose a Letter of Instruction, which, being shown to the Spanish Government, will be your authority for the purpose. As the justice of the Claims of The United States, in every instance, has been fully established in former discussions, the Documents relating to which are in your possession, I shall not enter into the subject in that view. It can hardly be presumed that the Spanish Government, after what has passed, will be desirous of resuming this discussion. Should such a disposition be manifested, those Documents will enable you to place the subject in a proper light. I shall proceed, therefore, to state the Conditions on which the settlement may now be made. The United States complained, in 1805, of injuries from Spain: 1st. By spoliations on their Commerce; 2d. By the suppression of the Deposite at New-Orleans; and, 3d. By the refusal of the Spanish Government to settle the Boundaries of Louisiana on just principles. Of spoliations, there were 2 classes :-the 1st consisted of seizures made of American Vessels by Spanish Cruizers; the 2nd, of seizures of other of our Vessels by French Cruizers, who carried them into Spanish Ports, where they were condemned by French Consuls. For the 1st Class, provision was made by a Convention between the 2 Governments, at Madrid, bearing date on the 11th of August, 1802, which the Spanish Government afterwards refused to ratify. For the 2nd, no provision was ever made, though the Claim was specially reserved in that Convention. The suppression of the Deposite at New Orleans was in direct violation of an Article of the Treaty of 1795. By the Cession of Louisiana, The United States claim, (and, as they think, have proved by a clear title,) all the Territory lying between the Perdido, on the eastern side of the Mississippi, to the Rio Bravo, on the western. They well know that France would have claimed to the same extent, had she not made the Cession; though, as the French Government declined defining the Boundaries by the Treaty, |