PREFATORY NOTE.

SINCE the following pages were written, we have witnessed a series of startling events, which must, in a forcible manner, direct the attention of the United States to the subject of aggressions of British agents in Central America. Having as early as January, 1848, seized upon the port of San Juan de Nicaragua, the only practicable eastern terminus of the proposed grand inter-oceanic canal, the agent of the British Government, upon the paltriest pretexts, has now assumed to take possession of the magnificent Bay or Gulf of Fonseca, second only to San Francisco, and commanding the entire Pacific coast from Panama to San Diego. The subjoined account of this bay, written some months ago, will not be uninteresting in this connection:

"The Bay of Fonseca, or Conchagua, may be described as a grand harbor, in which all the navies of the whole world might ride with entire security. It much resembles that of San Francisco in position and form; the entrance from the sea is, however, broader. Its entire length, within the land, is not far from 100 miles, by from 50 to 70 in breadth. The three states of San Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, have ports upon it. In respect to trade, the principal port, on the main land, is that of La Union in San Salvador. All the islands of this bay, and the adjacent coasts are of unbounded fertility, and furnish an abundant supply of timber. The sides of the volcano of San Miguel, in particular, are covered with white oak and pine, suitable for building or repairing ships. The bay embraces several large islands of great beauty, surrounded by water of such depth as to enable vessels of the largest size to approach close in shore. The most important of these, from the circumstances of its size, and the fact that it commands and is the key of the entire bay, is the Island of Tigre, belonging to Honduras. This island was the head quarters and depot of Drake, during his operations in the South Sea. It is about forty miles in

circumference, level near the shore, but rising gradually in the centre, so as to form a regular cone-thus affording almost every variety of air and climate desirable. Upon this island is situated the free port of Amapala.

"The English have long had covetous eyes upon this island, particularly since the project of a canal across the isthmus of Nicaragua has been seriously entertained, and since the United States has acquired so large and impor tant territories on the Pacific. The alleged debts due to Great Britain, or rather British subjects, will furnish pretexts for collisions, which in turn will lead to the occupation of this island by the English. This will be but another step of the same policy which led to the seizure of the island of Roatan and the port of San Juan, and which has for its ultimate object the control of the passengers across the isthmus, and the prevention of American preponderance in the Pacific. Our vessels, merchandize and citizens passing around Cape Horn, across the isthmus of Panama, or through the proposed ship canal in Nicaragua, would be completely within the power of Great Britain, and might easily be intercepted from this commanding position, should she succeed in possessing herself of it. Besides, in this event the three states of San Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, with their great mineral wealth and unlimited agricultural resources, would soon be reduced to the condition of dependencies of Great Britain, and ultimately be absorbed by her."

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When the above was written, it was not supposed that the designs of the agents of Great Britain were so nearly ripe for execution. Upon the 16th of October, the British war steamer Gorgon," having on board H. B. M's. Charg d'Affaires in Guatemala, arrived in the bay of Fonseca, and proceeded at once to take possession of the island of Tigre, "in the name of the Queen." As the particulars of this and the subsequent occurrences have been made known through the medium of the daily press, it is un necessary to say more, than that this act was followed by the seizure of the other

islands of the bay, and the absolute possession of that important position by Great Britain. As the United States had previously acquired important rights and privileges in these islands, through the legitimate means of treaty, by which means, and for important objects connected with the proposed canal, a provis

ional cession of the island had been made to the United States,-under these circumstances, and apart from an observance of those grand principles hitherto proclaimed and acted upon by the United States, it becomes our duty to interpose efficaciously against these outrages upon the feeble Republics of Central America. This is demanded by a regard to the freedom and security of the important routes of communication already established, and about to be established, across the continent at this and neighboring points. The pretext for these seizures are paltry claims amounting to about $30,000 against Honduras, and $80,000 against San Salvador, made up of items, not one-fourth of which would be entertained, for a moment, in our courts of law: and of the validity of which England assumes to be the sole judge

and executor.

BRITISH POLICY-THE CANAL OF NICARAGUA, &C.

THE "King of the Mosquitos" and the sovereign of the "Tongo Islands," who figure so conspicuously in the sea-canticles, if not considered identical, fall, in the estimation of most persons, within the same category of dog-eating potentates, with about equal regal pretensions, and holding sway over regions equally indefi

nite.

The mention of the "King of the Mosquitos," in a mixed assemblage, rarely fails to elicit a smile or a joke, with some allusion to phlebotomy, and the bloody propensities and wide diffusion of his subjects.

The constant readers of the daily press have, in years past, seen occasional references to the "Mosquito Coast," and, of late years, to a personage called the " Mosquito King." But few, however, have known, or now know, anything of the region thus designated, or any thing of the potentate thus dignified, and fewer still care aught about either.

That a portion of the eastern shore of Central America, bordering on the Carrib

ean Sea, bears the geographical designation of the "Mosquito Shore," is a fact not unknown to geographical students and to map-makers. But the fact that Great Britain, in virtue of some equivocal relations with the savages of that region, has set up pretensions to semi-sovereignty over the entire coast, from Cape Honduras to Panama, is a fact only known to those who, instead of poring over the history that is past, mark well the history that is passing. Those, too, who have watched the developments of the grasping policy of that power which boasts that the sound of her evening gun circles the world, and that the sun never sets on her dominions, who have observed with what greediness and utter disregard of the rights of weaker nations she grasps at every commanding position on both continents, cementing the bulwarks of her greatness with the blood of her children at home,-those who have observed the feeling, half of jealousy and half of fear, with which she regards the growing greatness of our confederacy, and how eagerly she seizes upon every opportunity to thwart its legitimate designs and retard its prosperity, -those who have observed all this, and deem it a duty incumbent upon the United States to adhere firmly to the grand "American System" marked out by the fathers of the Republic, and to watch jealously and resist earnestly the encroachments which the corrupted and unscrupulous monarchies of Europe may attempt upon this continent, these wakeful sentinels, unfortunately few in number, know to well not only that Great Britain has seized upon this vast and valuable extent of territory, but has done so in disregard of the holiest principles of international right, and upon the flimsiest and most ambitious of pretexts. They know that this seizure has been made by force, with insult and defiance, and at the cost of innocent blood. They know, too, this has been done less for purposes of positive and immediate aggrandisement, than to prevent the United States from attaining that commercial ascendency and that preponderance in the Pacific, which would inevitably result from an easy and speedy communication with her territories upon that coast. It was for the last-named reason that a British force, upon the 17th of Feb., 1848, landed at the Port of San Juan de Nicaragua, ex

pelled the Nicaraguan authorities, and took possession of that important point, which they have since forcibly held and have proclaimed their intention of holding.

The Port of San Juan is situated at the mouth of the river of that name, communicating with the Lake of Nicaragua, and commands the well-known, long-talked-of, and only feasible route for a shipcanal across the American continent.

Apart from all questions of right involved in the matter, does Great Britain desire to control the important Isthmus of Nicaragua for the purpose of herself constructing the proposed great canal? Far from it! She now occupies a position, in respect to the great commercial centres of the Asiatic hemisphere, in distance 2000 miles, and in point of time 15 or 20 days nearer, than her only great commercial rival the United States. If that canal were built, these advantages would be reversed; the United States would be 3000 miles, and 20 days, nearer than England; and in communicating with the vast and, as yet, undeveloped empires of Asia, the net gain to the United States would be, in round numbers, 5000 miles in distance and 40 days in time. Under all her present advantages, it is all that England can do to maintain her ascendency in this commercial field against the superior energy, enterprise, and sagacity of America. Reverse the physical advantages which she possesses, and the result is easily predicted. Cooped in a narrow island, destitute of the internal resources of the United States, which, if developed, would make her independent of the world, England relies upon her commerce for her very existence. To sustain and promote this, may be said to be her controlling policy. From the day her predominance in this respect ceases-from that day she will date her rapid decline. It is her vital point, and a blow aimed there she more dreads than the descent of a hostile army on her coasts, or a thousand hostile cannon on the Thames.

The entire Pacific coast of the American continent has hitherto been in the possession of a sluggish race,-its resources undeveloped, and contributing little to the commerce of the world. But late events indicate, with unerring certainty, that this quiescent period is passed. It requires no extraordinary degree of prescience to

foresee there the speedy rise of a great and powerful State, occupied by a population unsurpassed for its industry and enterprise, and ready to seize upon every advantage which the resources of that vast coast or its commercial facilities may afford. Five years ago there was only a little cluster of Americans, a handful in a wilderness of savages, at the mouth of the Columbia river in Oregon, reached only by long and tedious voyages around Cape Horn, or by weary and perilous journeys, of months in duration, over land. Now we possess

there an empire in respect to territory; the magic touch of the Anglo-American has unlocked the hidden treasures of the earth, and is followed by a flow of wealth unprecedented in the history of the world. A State, not yet twelve months old, knocks with all the sturdiness of manhood for admission into the Union. Cities spring up as by enchantment on the shores of San Francisco and the banks of the Sacramento. The sails of fleets laden with life and energy, whiten the Pacific seas; and giant steamers crush their way along the virgin shores of half a continent! It will not be long before a ring of iron shall wed the stormy Atlantic to the Pacific, affording new facilities to American enterprise, and pointing clearly to American ascendency in the Pacific. This England sees, but cannot prevent. She strove hard to acquire California, but her diplomatic arts were foiled. But she may retard that preponderance, and, as she hopes, retain her commercial ascendency in the great centres of oriental trade. She well knows that no mode of communication across the American continent can seriously affect that grand, and to her all important branch of commerce, except it be a canal sufficiently large to pass easily and speedily the largest vessels with their cargoes; and she knows equally well that the only feasible route for such an enterprise is the Isthmus and Lake of Nicaragua.

No sooner did the war with Mexico break out than she saw that it would only terminate with large accessions to the United States on the Pacific. She saw, too, that these accessions would give new and practical importance to the questions of inter-oceanic communication, and she knew American energy too well not to dread the result.

Hence the precipitate seizure of the Port of San Juan, when the probability of the speedy acquisition of California by the United States passed into a moral certainty.

Not that we would be understood as saying, that this important point would have escaped ultimate seizure had it not been for these circumstances. It has been, for many years, a primary object in British policy to relieve herself from all dependence on the United States, or any other nation, for those great staples, of which cotton is most valuable. Witness her exertions in the East Indies, her intrigues in Texas, and her efforts in the Antilles and South America! The fertile and comparatively salubrious coasts of Central America, adapted in a wonderful degree for the production of these staples, and occupying a position eminently favorable for purposes of communication, did not escape her attention, and the past fifteen years have witnessed a steady and silent series of encroachments, with the ultimate view of the acquisition of that territory. These encroachments have been conducted so quietly as almost entirely to escape the attention of the world; and it is only now, when she deems the success of her scheme complete, that Great Britain permits herself to speak of it above a whisper. In this stealthy policy, the British Government has been favored by a variety of circumstances. No equal portion of either continent, occupied in whole or part by a civilized population, has been so little known as Central America. Situated, for the most part, upon the Pacific slope of the Cordilleras, its people, apart from the reserve of Spanish character, have had but few opportunities of communicating with the rest of the world. The traders, in whose hands centered their commerce, were too fearful of rivalry and competition to make known the character and resources of the country. Besides, the constant distractions which commenced with the struggle of their independence and which have prevailed since that period, and since the world received that commercial impulse which, within the past twenty-five years, has worked such wonders in familiarizing us with all quarters of the globe, have had the effect to exclude travellers and to confuse the popular notion in respect to the

The

country, as well as to divert general at ten tion from the intrigues and encroachments which Great Britain has carried on. people, also, were so much engrossed in their disgraceful quarrels, that they neglected their frontier possessions, and failed to observe and properly repel the insidious approaches of an unscrupulous power. In fact, they allowed that power to influence and inflame their sectional and partisan animosities; and it is susceptible of proof, that to British intrigues and influence the dissolution of the confederacy (which alone could oppose a barrier to their designs), and many of the subsequent distractions, are attributable. It was British hate, and the personal enmity of British agents, which overthrew Morazan, the last pillar of the republic. It was British aid and influence which, united with the so-called “nobility" of Guatemala, who saw in the spread of liberal principles the destruction of their fictitious ascendency, that created a war of castes and raised up the monster Carrera, who has watered the soil of Guatemala with the blood of its best citizens. It was a British consul-general,-now promoted to a higher position,-who refused shelter in his house to the accomplished wife of the President of the republic when she sought the protection of his flag against a bloody and brutal soldiery! She was the wife of that President who alone had the sagacity to discover, and the energy to prevent, the nefarious schemes meditated by England. It was a British consul-general,

the one already indicated,-who gave up to the butchery of Carrera twenty-seven of the first officers of the republic, who, under his own implied, if not express, invitation, sought protection under his roof. His subordinate officer (a vice consul of England) sent a list of their names to the butcher, and he stood coldly by when they were shot down like dogs beneath the shadow of his portal! A word from his lips might have saved them.* But although having a direct bearing upon the subject of which we design to speak, we have not now the time

These facts, so disgraceful to humanity, are communicated by a British subject, and fell within his personal knowledge. Indeed, he was a guest in the consul's house at the time of the refusal to shelter the wife of Morazan, and indig-· nantly abandoned it in consequence.