greatly to the interest, as I am convinced it is the
sincere desire, of the Governments and people of the two countries to
be on terms of intimate friendship with each other, it has been our
misfortune almost always to have had some irritating, if not dangerous,
outstanding question with Great Britain.

Since the origin of the Government we have been employed in negotiating
treaties with that power, and afterwards in discussing their true intent
and meaning. In this respect the convention of April 19, 1850, commonly
called the Clayton and Bulwer treaty, has been the most unfortunate
of all, because the two Governments place directly opposite and
contradictory constructions upon its first and most important article.
Whilst in the United States we believed that this treaty would place
both powers upon an exact equality by the stipulation that neither will
ever "occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume, or exercise any
dominion" over any part of Central America, it is contended by the
British Government that the true construction of this language has left
them in the rightful possession of all that portion of Central America
which was in their occupancy at the date of the treaty; in fact, that
the treaty is a virtual recognition on the part of the United States of
the right of Great Britain, either as owner or protector, to the whole
extensive coast of Central America, sweeping round from the Rio Hondo to
the port and harbor of San Juan de Nicaragua, together with the adjacent
Bay Islands, except the comparatively small portion of this between the
Sarstoon and Cape Honduras. According to their construction, the treaty
does no more than simply prohibit them from extending their possessions
in Central America beyond the present limits. It is not too much to
assert that if in the United States the treaty had been considered
susceptible of such a construction it never would have been negotiated
under the authority of the President, nor would it have received the
approbation of the Senate. The universal conviction in the United States
was that when our Government consented to violate its traditional and
time-honored policy and to stipulate with a foreign government never to
occupy or acquire territory in the Central American portion of our own
continent, the consideration for this sacrifice was that Great Britain
should, in this respect at least, be placed in the same position with
ourselves. Whilst we have no right to doubt