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i      Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Most Serene and Most Potent Princess Anne,

     by the Grace of God, Queen of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c.

     and the Most Serene and Most Potent Prince Philip the Fifth, the Catholic King of Spain,

     concluded at Utrecht the 2/13 Day of July, 1713.  

      Article VIII  

                That there be a free use of navigation and commerce between the subjects of each kingdom, as it was heretofore, in time of peace, and before the declaration of this late war, in the reign of Charles the Second, of glorious memory, Catholic King of Spain, according to the treaties of friendship, confederation, and commerce, which were formerly made between both nations, according to ancient customs, letters patents, cedulas, and other particular acts; and also according to the treaty or treaties of commerce which are now, or will forthwith be made at Madrid.

                And whereas, among other conditions of the general peace, it is by common consent established as a chief and fundamental rule, that the exercise of navigation and commerce to the Spanish West Indies should remain in the same state it was in the time of the aforesaid King Charles the Second; that therefore this rule may hereafter be observed with inviolable faith, and in a manner never to be broken, and thereby all causes of distrust and suspicion concerning that matter may be prevented and removed, it is especially agreed and concluded, that no licence; nor any permission at all; shall at any time be given, either to the French, or to any nation whatever, in any name, or under any pretence, directly or indirectly, to sail, to traffic in, or introduce negroes, goods, merchandizes, or any things whatsoever, into the dominions subject to the crown of Spain in America, except what may be agreed by the treaty or treaties of commerce abovesaid, and the rights and privileges granted in a certain convention, commonly called El Assiento de Negros, whereof mention is made in the twelfth article; except also whatsoever the said Catholic King, or his heirs or successors, shall promise by any contract or contracts for the introduction of negroes into the Spanish West Indies, to be made after that the convention or the Assiento de Negros above-mentioned shall be determined.

                And, that more strong and full precautions may be taken on all sides, as abovesaid, concerning the navigation and commerce to the West Indies, it is hereby further agreed and concluded, that neither the Catholic King, nor any of his heirs and successors whatsoever, shall sell, yield, pawn, transfer, or by any means, or under any name, alienate from them and the crown of Spain, to the French, or to any other nations whatever, any lands, dominions, or territories, or any part thereof, belonging to Spain in America. On the contrary, that the Spanish dominions in the West Indies may be preserved whole and entire, the Queen of Great Britain engages, that she will endeavour, and give assistance to the Spaniards, that the ancient limits of their dominions in the West Indies be restored, and settled as they flood in the time of the above-said Catholic King Charles the Second, if it shall appear that they have in any manner, or under any pretence, been broken into, and lessened in any part, since the death of the aforesaid Catholic King Charles the Second.

ii     Decree, Buenos Ayres, 5 th January, 1828

                The Government,

•                 taking into consideration the great benefit the Country will derive by populating the Island, the ownership of which is solicited, and that, besides the increase of commerce, which naturally must result, with other Nations, new channels will be opened to national prosperity by encouraging the important branch of Fishery, the benefit of which would flow to the Inhabitants of the Republic, which hitherto have fallen into the hands of Foreigners,
•                 -that, in the present War with the Emperor of the Brazils, and in any other in which the Republic may some future day see itself engaged, nothing can be more convenient than to find among those Islands a point of support for maritime operations, which will furnish to the Privateers safe Harbours to convey their prizes to;
•                 that toward the settling and extension of Territory on the Southern Coasts the settlement on these Islands is a great step;
•                 and lastly, that the great expenses required to put into execution a scheme of this nature, can by no means be compensated, but by the ownership of lands, which, if not granted, an opportunity of doing a great national good would be lost, and even the right of Sovereignty over them;

                doth in conformity to the spirit of the Law of 22 nd October, 1821, cede to Mr. Lewis Vernet, Resident and Merchant of this place, the Island of Statenland, and all the lands of the Island of Soledad, excepting those that were ceded to Dn. Jorge Pacheco, by a Decree dated 13 th December 1823, and which has been ratified by a Decree of this day; and excepting moreover an extent of 10 square leagues in the Bay of San Carlos, which the Government reserves for itself; with the object, and under the express condition, that, within 3 years of the date hereof, a Colony shall be established, and that at the end of that time the Government shall be informed of its state; in order to determine what it may consider convenient for the interior or exterior administration of the same.

                And further, the Government, wishing to contribute as much as possible to the encouragement and prosperity of the Colony, has further determined:

                First , That the Colony shall be free from every description of contribution, excepting what may be necessary for the maintenance of the local   Authorities that may be established, from excise, tolls, and export duties, as also free from import duties on such merchandize as shall be introduces for the use of the Colony, which privileges are granted for 20 yaers, exclusive of the 3 years fixed for the establishment of the Colony.

                Secondly , That for the same term of 20 years, the Colony shall be at liberty to carry on the Fishery, free of duties at the 2 Islands whose property is ceded, in all the Islands of Malvinas, and on the Coast of the Continent south of Rio Negro of Patagonia.

                Thirdly , That, in case of the population extending to the other Islands, within the period of the 3 years allowed for the establishment of the Colony, the Director of the same shall be under the obligation of informing the Government of such further Population, in order to determine what may be convenient.

                The Notary of the Government is hereby authorized to furnish the Petitioner with as many Copies hereof as he may require.

                BALCARCE (Minister)

            A VISIT TO THE FALKLAND ISLANDS.

      The United Services Journal and Naval and Military Magazine, 1832 part III, republished in The Museum of Foreign Literature, Science and Art, vol.22, Eliakim Littell 1833

                [The dispute respecting these islands, between the United States and Buenos Ayres, having brought them into immediate notice, the following account of them, from the notes of a recent visitor, will, doubtless, be interesting to our readers.]

                The Falkland Islands, situated between latitude 51 and 52 S., and longitude 58 and 61J W., are about ninety leagues from the coast of Patagonia; they are said to have been discovered by Americus Vespucins, in 1502. Beauchene Gouin anchored on 1 eastern shore, in 1770. A low island a little farther south bears this navigator's name.

                The first settlement ever formed here took place in 1763, by the French, under De Bougainville, an experienced navigator, it appears that he arrived there on the 3d of February in that year, taking with him colonists, nineteen men, five women, and three children.

                After remaining about fourteen months on the island, De Bougainville sailed for France; but returned to the island in January 1765, and was much pleased at find; _ the colony well and contented.

                In the latter end of 1764, the Spanish government having their jealousy roused r. the idea of any other nation possessing country so nearly adjacent to their own South American possessions, sent to the French government a demand for the immediate surrender of the islands to their forces. This demand was acceded to, and De Bougainville, by their order, abandoned these lands to the above claimants on the 27th of April, 1765, having had possession of them rather better than two years. The French, it is supposed, were settled during the whole of the time at Port Louis, the place of the present settlement; and when De Bougainville left, it is probable that he took away the French colonists with him.

                In the year 1765, Commodore Byron touched at the western of these islands, and in the following year the English government formed a settlement at Port Egmont on the northern coast of the west Falkland

                The Spaniards dispossessed the English, and settled at Port Louis, in or about the year 1766, and remained there about eleven years.

                Of the proceedings of the Spaniard whilst there, little or nothing is known, except what appears from the remains of then buildings, and their excavations of peat, fo; domestic uses, no wood growing on the islands. Who their governor was, and whether, on leaving the colony, any account was published in Spain of their proceeding do not know, but it would be interesting to discover if any such document exits.

                Since their abandonment by the Spaniards, these islands remained unoccupied until the year 1825, when Don Louis Vernet, a German by birth, resident in America from his youth upwards, was induced to visit and inspect them with a view of settling on them. Having matured his plans, he returned, and made application to the neighbouring republic of Buenos Ayres (who then claimed their possession) for a grant of them to him. It appears that certain military officers in the Buenos Ayres army, relations of Don Vernet by marriage, having claims on that government for services in the late wars, agreed to receive from him certain sums of money, cancelling in part the debt due by the government of Buenos Ayres to them; the said government in consideration of such sums paid by Don Vernet to these officers, made over to him the eastern Falkland Island, as his property for ever, with entire and sole right to all its soil, cattle, horses, hogs, fisheries, &c. &c, as also the adjacent island of Staten Land, likewise his property for ever; for the supplying wood to the first named island, and either he or his brother immediately formed a settlement on the eastern Falkland.

                Lieutenant Langdon, R. N., on his voyage in 1827, from Van Diemcn's Land to England, being becalmed for five weeks off Cape Horn, and having only one cask of  water left on board, put into Berkely Sound, and anchored about two miles up; watered easily, and procured some fine beef at two pence per pound, from Don Vernet's brother (then there,) who sent it down in a whaleboat from the settlement, and with it a letter warning that officer not to kill any of the cattle or wild pigs.

                On the 22d of October, 1831, the "Thomas Lawrie," Captain Langdon, made the land of Malvina, (the French name of the eastern Falkland island.) The day was very foggy, with heavy rain, and after anxiously beating up the eastern coast all the morning, it was with feelings of great satisfaction to all on board, that about four P. M., the vessel safely entered Berkely Sound; the mist and rain clearing off at the moment, exposed to view, at about half a mile's distance, on either side, a succession of hills, partially covered with grass to the summits. Proceeding about four miles up the Sound, the anchor was dropped within a stone's throw of the shore to larboard. In about two hours a whale-boat manned with six hands was observed pulling towards the ship from the bottom of the Sound; and on its arrival we were informed of the situation of the settlement.

                On the following morning early, the writer (a passenger in the Lawrie) returned with the whale-boat, and found the settlement securely situated along the edges of a small bay, which has a narrow entrance into it out of the Sound; this entrance in the time of the Spaniards was commanded by two forts, both now lying in ruins; the only use made of one being to confine the wild cattle in its circular wall, when newly brought in from the interior. Having landed, I immediately paid a visit to the governor, Don Vernet, who received mc with much cordiality. His features are prepossessing, and his address gentlemanly and pleasing. He possesses much information, and speaks fluently several languages. The house is long and low, of one story, and has very thick walls of stone. In the sitting room I found a good library of Spanish, German, and English works. Having, at his request, sent an invitation to Captain Langdon and his family to come and remain on shore, they accordingly arrived about sunset. A lively conversation passed at dinner; the party consisting of Don Vernet and his lady, Captain Langdon and his family, a Captain Brisbane, and two American gentlemen belonging to a scaling schooner detained at the island by Don Vernet; in the evening we had music and dancing. In the room was one of Stoddart's pianofortes, and Donna Vernet, a Spanish lady, favoured us with some excellent singing—it sounding not a little strange to listen to "Di Tanti Palpiti," &c, well executed, at the Falkland Isles, where we had only expected to find a few fishermen.

                On the following day I was conducted round the settlement, and shown the "lions." The buildings (except some dry grass lints) were all originally constructed by the Spaniards; they are remarkable for their extremely thick walls (of stone,) some being three feet in solidity. They are very straggling, covering a space of half a mile in length, and a quarter of a mile in breadth.

                There are the remains of a building, formerly used as a cathedral, (now uninhabited and in ruins,) a hospital, a general store warehouse, a large oven (in which at present resides a family of five people,) a parade-ground, trenches, several small forts, and the remains of a very thick, straight, stone bridge, lying quite in ruins, in the erection of which, report said, the Spaniards expended twenty-five thousand dollars, the stream which it crossed being, even in rainy weather, never too deep to pass over it by the help of common stepping-stones.

                About a mile from the "Town," is the place where the Spaniards excavated their peat, now presenting to the eye a number of tanks of various sizes filled with water, and many of them from fifteen to twenty feet in depth. On the edge of the cliff, before the house, a piece of ordnance was placed, and near the ruined fort at the entrance of the bay, four or five more.

                Close to the entrance of the bay, but in the Sound, a small schooner was lying at anchor. It appears that about three months previous to the arrival of the "Thomas Lawrie," three schooners from the United States were sealing amongst the islands; one escaped, but the other two Don Vernet took, and detained the captains and crews in custody: a short time after he suffered one of these two to depart, leaving a cargo Of seal-skins as a deposit. The other was still detained, out of which he took stores of all kinds, and sold them by auction, and was about to sail in her to Buenos Ayres, for the purpose of attending the trial as to her and her companion's condemnation.

                Don Vernet's domestic establishment consisted of about fifteen slaves, bought by him from the Buenos Ayrean government, on the condition of learning them some useful employment, and having their services for a certain number of years, after which, by the provisions of the Slave Trade Act, they were free. They seemed generally to be from fifteen to twenty years of age, and appeared quite contented and happy.

                The number of persons altogether on the island consisted of about one hundred, including twenty-five gauchos and five charruas, Indians. There are a few Dutch families, the women of which milk the cows, and make the butter. Two or three Englishmen, a German family, and the remainder made up of Spaniards and Portuguese, pretending to follow some trade, but doing little or nothing. The gauchos are chiefly Spaniards: their captain or "the Chief of the Gauchos" is a Frenchman. These men throw the lasso after the manner practised in the great bull-fights of Spain. A fierce bull was caught in my presence by the captain, who, after galloping for some time in pursuit of him up and down the hills, dexterously threw the lasso across his horns, the horse, as if instinctively, throwing himself on his haunches, and firmly planting his fore-feet on the ground, held him fast; and at the same moment another gauchos threw a lasso with heavy metal balls attached to it, round his hind-legs, thus effectually preventing his escape; they then hamstrung him. When in the interior, these men lie down to sleep on the ground, wrapped in their saddle-cloths and cloaks, regardless of wet or cold. They are very fond of their horses. The rowels of their spurs arc about two inches long, and their stirrups only admit the toes. When in camp they gamble very deeply. Their game is with dib-bones; the art being to throw them in a particular manner. I have seen notes (of the country) to the amount of two or three hundred dollars on the ground at one time. One gauchos was worth fifteen hundred dollars, and an Irishman who had been a gauchos, and had come to the island in Don Vernet's debt, had not only paid it off, but had been enabled to give him seven hundred and fifty dollars for a building which he had converted into a store. On the day I first landed, it being Sunday (with them,—Saturday with ourselves,) I walked down to this store, where I found all the gauchos assembled over a cask of a beverage made of molasses and dried apples, and tasting not unlike beer. They drank it freely, relating tales and singing, performing slight-of-hand tricks upon each other, and occasionally bursting into the most dissonant laughter; but before I loft, their knives were drawn, and with furious and impassioned gestures, and wild cries, they aimed blows at each other, and blood was brought in two or three instances. With their huge cloaks, slouched hats, car and nose-rings, thick, curly, bushy hair hanging down to their shoulders, and their daggers in their girdles, seen too by the dim light of a large lamp hanging from the ceiling, they formed altogether a group such as is described in the old Italian romances, as reveling in the deep caverns of the Alpine mountains, after a desperate but prosperous adventure.

                These men obtain two dollars a head for all the cattle they bring in; and they in fact keep the greater proportion of the inhabitants, for the females wash for them, mend their clothes, &c. &c., and so obtain sufficient to keep their husbands in tobacco and idleness.

                No greater proof of the miserable laziness of the men generally need be adduced than the following:—Very good potatoes are grown by Don Vernet, and sooner than raise them themselves (though offered them by him for seed gratis) they pay him ten pence per pound for them.

                The five Indians are very powerfully made men, from the country to the north of the Monte Video side of the river La Plate. Being at war with a neighbouring nation in amity with the Buenos Ayrean government, they were made prisoners and sent to Buenos Ayres. Don Vernet seeing them there, applied to the government for them as gauchos, who gave them the option of remaining in prison, or going to the Falkland Islands, which latter alternative they chose. They were employed making lassos for the gauchos. I went into their hut and heard one of them play upon an instrument, which produced sounds far from unmusical, made of a hollow piece of wood, with an incision in it, and two strings of gut tied across it, which he beat upon with a slick, and at the same time chanted a low and rather sweet song.

                It is of course only from those who have resided for any length of time in it, that true description of any country can be obtained, and it is impossible for a mere passer-on to do more than to collect the best information he can from such persons, making his own observations as time will allow.

                A work written by the first settler, M. de Bougainville, appears to me to give a faithful description of these islands; and in this opinion I am borne out by the testimony of Don Vernet.

                The following are the remarks which I was enabled to make during my stay at Port Louis, my researches extending to a few miles in every direction round the settlement.

                I tried the soil in different places, and found it generally (except on those hills near the coast, consisting mostly of rock and grass to the summit) to consist of a mixture of the roots of different small shrubs, and below them, at the depth of from eight to fourteen inches, a black mould. In some places a firm peat goes down several feet in depth.

                In a garden near Don Vcrnet's house, the spot chosen indiscriminately, much exposed to the west and north winds, and the soil not artificially manured, I found growing cabbages, lettuces, onions, peas, beans, potatoes, (some of the latter accidentally left in the ground in the fall, produced the next Tear more abundant than those planted in the spring following,) turnips, and carrots, a species of birch from Staten Land, which appeared to have taken root, also a currant tree from thence, quite flourishing, and precisely similar in taste and smell to the English currant-tree! How it made its way to Staten Land is a query. It should be recollected that it was now just the end of winter.

                Don Vernet showed me -some fine specimens of flax which he had raised—and wheat he was about to try the approaching spring.

                The winds from the west and north would be the only cause, in my opinion, of suspending the regular labour of the agriculturist. These winds, more or less, during the summer months, blow with great violence from soon after sunrise till sunset. I have been almost unable to stand against their force, and with difficulty made myself heard by a person at no very great distance from me. I am here, however, speaking of rather elevated ground near a large open sound, whilst in the interior are said to be plains of| the richest soil sheltered by mountains, over which the force of these winds is probably not so severely felt, and where under the immediate cover of the hills many acres might always be throwing up a produce; and the increase of vegetation, and the growth of timber would, no doubt, in time much soften their effect. Of water there is plenty everywhere and of the best quality. The island is indeed indented on every side in an extraordinary manner by inlets and bays ending in rivers, many of them of fresh water.

                As to the climate, all accounts speak of it as temperate. The first day I landed was sunshiny and pleasant, neither hot nor cold; each of the following days was attended, from sunrise to sunset, with the wind violent from the west and northwest; and on one day there was a continual fall of snow and hail, but which had entirely disappeared the following morning. The nights were beautifully starlight and very still.

                The thermometer, Don Vernet informed me, in winter has not been lower than 26°, and generally above the freezing point. The snow seldom lies three days on the ground. In summer the thermometer seldom rises above 75°. The whole of the inhabitants were in the finest slate of health.

                The gum plant I met with in great abundance : on breaking short the flower from the root I perceived a thick glutinous matter, which adhered to my fingers, but I had neither time nor opportunity to make experiments on this plant. I also found wild celery, scurvy-grass, sorrel, rosemary, the tea and the beer plant in great plenty. The former is chiefly found amongst the cliffs growing in crevices and niches; the rosemary is met with on the rising grounds, and the tea and beer plant everywhere.

                Don Vernet informed me, that on a spot twelve feet square, chosen indiscriminately on the hills in the interior, when journeying through the country with his brother, he had counted as many as twenty-seven different plants.

                A German, into whose hut I went, gave me a quantity of the infusion of the tea plant to taste; I found it not unpleasant, and having a slight flavour of the common black tea used in England. None of the persons I conversed with appeared to know any thing of the properties of the beer plant. Different heaths, grasses, and weeds seem to abound. In summer they collect a great quantity of a fruit called lucet, and eat it with milk. I met with many little yellow flowers, and one white, smelling like the rose, and I saw also a flower similar to a violet.

                On ranging along the beach, 1 broke with a hammer large pieces of stone, which upon dividing presented to the eye the most perfect impressions of shells, leaves, and a species of worms, some of which I brought with me to England. I found but few shells, and those of a common kind. Quartz was scattered over the surface of many hills, and granite in detached rounded masses; but sandstone seems to be the prevailing feature.

                On the opposite side of the sound, and some few miles in the interior, natural curiosities arc met with in the shape of huge amphitheatres, large caverns, &c., from which some beautiful specimens of stalactites were shown, and which sufficiently proves the presence of lime in the country.

                No reptiles have ever been found, and the only quadruped is an animal between the fox and the wolf, very destructive to the birds. I saw the skin of one which was about three feet long. Of birds, I observed some precisely similar to the plover and the sparrow of England; a little yellow bird very common; a great number of small hawks, and a beautiful bird of the gull kind, very common, of a soft slate colour, with red beak and red feet. Captain Langdon and myself took an excursion across the hills to a rabbit ground, (of which animals' there are an immense number,) and we returned in a short time, having obtained three or four couples, two large upland geese, a kind of curlew, (having eyes like rubies with a white rim round them;) a very handsome bird of the diver kind, and two or three kinds of teal and snipe. In the season an immense number of excellent eggs of all kinds are to be obtained with ease; and nothing can exceed the richness of the penguin or mollymawk's egg beat up with coffee.

                I collected some pearls from a very large mussel common there, which were inferior; but I was informed by Captain Brisbane, that he had collected as many as would fill a wine-glass, in a very short time at a particular season, nearly the bigness of a pea, and colourless.

                As respects the resources of the island, its exports, &c, I found that, as near as Don Vernet can calculate, he supposes there to be about twenty thousand head of horned cattle, three thousand horses, and a great number of wild pigs and rabbits on the island.

                A kind of mullet prevails from the month of October until April, so numerous that not only a sufficiency could be obtained to nourish thousands of inhabitants, but also to become a considerable article of exportation.

                His exports consist at present of cattle hides, for which he has an establishment, and for salting, about sixty miles to the southward, where are large bulls of that size, that he informed me the skins alone had weighed eighty pounds, and so heavy that the gauchos cannot drive them across the marshes to the north side. Rabbit-skins, of dark iron-gray, and particularly close, thick, and soft in their texture; and dried mullet, of which in one season, from one fishery-ground only, he has exported eighty tons, which sold in South America for twenty-five shillings a hundred weight

                All agricultural produce fetches the highest prices in the Brazils. The island affords every prospect to the picked up on the coast at different whalebone to the value of at least four hundred pounds, according to its present price. Whaling in boats alone about the coast would be sure of being successful. The harbours all round the island are of the best kind, mostly formed by bays, well sheltered by small islands, and possessing inlets navigable far up, and intersecting the country in every direction. The immense quantity of kelp would not only assist in manuring the ground, but also make excellent potash. Plenty of materials for making pottery abound in the island.

                Don Vernet has divided the island into eleven sections: one he has colonized, and another he has sold to Lieutenant Langdon, to whom he has given a deed of grant, authorizing him to let other portions of the land to persons willing to emigrate to the country. This tract consists of about ten square miles, of six hundred and fort; English acres each, as his property for ever, with a proviso that he, or some person appointed by him, shall settle on it within a given time. He has also empowered lieutenant Langdon to distribute, gratis, among ten families willing to emigrate, certain portions of the land.

                The above deed sets forth the condition under which emigrants will be received, and also Don Vemet's ideas on the subject of colonization. He engages to provide the settlers with cattle and horses sufficiently tame for use, at certain low prices, a freedom from taxes, contributions, and imposts of any kind whatsoever, during twenty years, from the 5th of January, 1831; a free use of the fisheries; and to provide them upon arrival with beef at the rate of two pence per pound. He proposes that settlers should transport themselves there in a whaling or sealing vessel, which after landing them could go direct to Staten land for a cargo of timber, and then either remain sealing and whaling about the islands, or take to the Brazils any produce which the settlers might have raised in the meantime.

                The settler on the Falkland Islands need not fear the many disappointments and almost insurmountable difficulties experienced by the hundreds who embarked their all in the Swan River scheme. He need not dread, on his return home from a journey, to find his wife and children murdered by the ferocious and blood-thirsty savage, as has lately been the case in Van Diemen's Land—neither need he fear to hear the war-whoop of the Indian burst upon his ear, as he is assembled round his domestic hearth with his family, as was, not long ago, the case in the back settlements of America—he need not fear, as in the African settlements, the murderous attack of the Caffres—neither has to reside amongst a number of slaves, against whose rising he has not one single moment's real protection. He has only steadily to pursue his aim, certain of never being in want, and with every prospect of acquiring wealth.

                In one point of view these islands present to the English a most important feature. It has hitherto been the custom for almost all vessels returning home from the colonies of| New South Wales and Van Dieinen's Land to put into the Brazils for refreshments. This takes them out of their direct track, is a great loss of time, and is only done by in incurring such expenses as very materially lessen the value to the owners of the ships' cargoes.

                The population of the above colonies is fast increasing; their trade is becoming very great; and their shipping is doubling itself. Now, as it is absolutely necessary, that vessels returning to England from either should put into some port for refreshments, no one presents itself so conveniently circumstanced as the Eastern Falkland island, which lies in the direct track of every ship after she has doubled Cape Horn. It possesses a beautiful harbour, of easy access, where can be obtained excellent water, fine beef, good vegetables, and, in case of the illness of seamen, plenty of the finest antiscorbutic grasses.

                Of the Western Falkland Island, the following account is extracted from a letter written by Mr. (afterwards Admiral) Gower, to which himself and crew had been conveyed, after being wrecked in a sloop of war on the coast of Patagonia.

                "The country abounds with long sedgy grass. Our food consisted of geese, ducks, widgeons, teal, &c., tame enough to be knocked down with sticks. Foxes were the only native quadruped. We brought many pigs and rabbits to the island, which increased much. Many beautiful pebbles were found upon the beach, some quite transparent, making handsome seals. The mountains produced fine crystals, which, after being in the hands of our workmen, were, to all appearance, little inferior to precious stones.

                "The cluster of islands called Falkland are all extremely high, and may be seen in fine weather filly miles off. The tops are entire rock, the lower parts very rich, on which any thing that is sown will grow. They contain fine lagoons, abounding in wild fowl. There are likewise many rivulets, where water-cresses, wild celery, and scurvy-grass, are to be met with in plenty, and the banks produce excellent turf for tires. We caught but few fish."

iv      Edward Livingston, Secretary of State of the United States,

     to Francis Baylies,

     United States Charge d' Affaires at Buenos Aires 1832

                No. 2 WASHINGTON, January 26, 1832.

                SIR: Having, by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, been appointed Charge d 'Affaires to the Republic of Buenos Ayres, you will embark as speedily as possible for the place of your destination, in the United States' sloop of war, the Peacock, now lying at Boston.                  

                On the ordinary duties you will have to perform as charged with the political interests of your Government, and the protection of your fellow citizens in their lawful intercourse with the country to which you are sent you need no particular instructions: Your general knowledge of the subject, the 'perusal of the instructions to your predecessors, and their correspondence with the Government, will be sufficient guides in that part of your duties.                  

                There are, however, subjects in the relations between the two countries, in which it is necessary to put you more particularly in possession of the views of your Government some of which subjects, for your negotiations, will require the exercise of that discretion, industry, and talent you are known to possess, and which led to your selection for the present mission.                  

                The first of these to which it is necessary to call your attention, are the acts and pretensions of an individual at the Falkland Islands, pretending to, or really possessing authority under the Government to which you are sent.                  

                A certain Lewis Vernet, who appears to have formed an establishment at Soledad, one of the Falkland Islands, has, within a few months past, capured three American vessels, the Breakwater, the Harriet of Stonington, and the Superior of New York, under pretence that they had infringed some unknown laws of the Republic of Buenos Ayres, for the protection of the

                fisheries. By the affidavit of William Mitchel, copy of which is annexed,it appears that two of the vessels so captured, have, without any form of trial, been appropriated to the use of Vernet, and fitted out with the avowed design of making them the instruments of further aggressions on the property of citizens of the United States pursuing their lawful commerce and business in those seas.                  

                A copy of Vernet's circular to the masters of vessels arriving at the Falkland Islands, with a copy of the decree, real or pretended, under which he professed to act, has also been forwarded to the Department, by a person in Philadelphia, (L. Krumbhaar,) supposed to be the partner, but certainly the correspondent, of Vernet. His letter, with Vernet's circular, and copy of the decree, are also annexed for your information.                  

                The lawless and piratical nature of these acts, could not permit the President for a moment to believe that they were authorized by a friendly power, this persuasion was strengthened by the circumstance, that, at the date of the alleged decree put forth by Vernet as his authority, we had an accredited agent at the Republic of Buenos Ayres, who was, at the time, in active correspondence with that Government, and with this Department, whose despatches bearing date within a few days after that of the pretended decree, are entirely silent on the subject.                  

                There are other reasons for doubting the authenticity of this paper. At the time it bears date, the Government was engaged in a perilous civil war, with an enemy in the immediate vicinity of the city, which was terminated only a few days after by a revolution changing their form of Government, as no copies of any of the documents, said to have been enclosed with this instruction, are with the Department's file copy of it. This statement will apply to practically all instructions, especially during the period covered by the present publication.                  

                The decree is in the name of a Governor Delegate, appointed during the absence of the regular Chief, without the assistance of the Council of Government.                  

                At this time, (the 11 June, 1829,) we were on the most friendly terms with the Government of Buenos Ayres. It was known there, that, from the earliest period of our political existence, our citizens engaged in the fisheries had resorted to the Falkland Islands for shelter, for such necessaries as it afforded, and for the purpose of carrying on their business on its shores, and in its harbors, and bays; and it is entirely inconsistent with this knowledge and those friendly dispositions, that powers should have been given to an individual, and that individual not a citizen of the country, to interrupt this trade at his pleasure, and even making it his interest so to do at the same time that the decree was kept secret from the Agent of our Government who was on the spot.                  

                With these reasons for believing the pretence of a decree a mere color for piratical acts, the President has directed the Secretary of the Navy to send all the force he could command to those seas, with the orders of which a copy is annexed to these instructions: And he also communicated the representations he had received, and the measures he had adopted in consequence of them to Congress by a Message, copy of which is also annexed .                  

                This statement of facts puts you in possession of the position of this important affair, at this period.                  

                While the Executive takes measures for the immediate protection and relief of our fellow-citizens, it will be your duty, first, to justify these measures to the Government of Buenos Ayres in case you should find, on your arrival, that the authority set up by Vernet has really been given to him, and is avowed by the Government and afterwards to place our claim to the

                fisheries in a proper point of view, and secure it from future interruption, by a formal acknowledgement of our right, and by procuring proper stipulations guarantying its undisturbed exercise hereafter.                  

                The directions from the Navy Department, dated 29^ November, 1831,are general "to afford protection to our citizens engaged in the fisheries, and in their lawful commerce, and particularly if they are molested in their usual pursuits and trade."                  

                The orders given on the 4th January are in answer to a request by the commander of the squadron for more particular instructions. The circumstances of the case are there stated, and the orders given in consequence of them, are infinitely more moderate than those circumstances would have justified. The Commander is to inquire whether the acts have been done under the allegation of authority from the Government; and, in that case, he is merely directed to prevent our ships from capture, to retake those that have fallen into the hands of Vernet, and keep them until the return of a despatch vessel he is ordered to send to you for instructions. The most suppose unauthorized. But the more moderate and friendly course has been pursued. There was a possibility that Vernet might, under false pretences, have obtained from the Delegate Governor, the decree which he sets up as his authority, and being vested ostensibly with a national character, we thought it right before proceeding further, to ask for a disavowal of the acts in which we must suppose he has exceeded his powers. You will not fail to cause the friendly spirit which dictated this course to be perceived, and duly appreciated, before you proceed to demand a disavowal of the acts of Vernet, and restoration, with indemnity of the property he has seized. This you are to do on the following grounds :                  

                First: That without entering here into the question of right, which will be hereafter discussed, the seizure of our vessels cannot be justified under the decree from which Vernet pretends to derive his authority because, at the period he was so appointed, we were in actual use of the shores, bays, and harbors, of those Islands for the purposes of shelter and fishery. We had been in such use for more than fifty years undisturbed when there were settlements on the Island unmolested when there were none. We had, in consequence of this undisturbed use, increased our capital employed in the fisheries, and had good reason to believe that whatever right any nation might have to interfere with a use so extensively important to us, and so long enjoyed, that we should specially be informed of such conflicting claim more especially if the claim were set up by a friendly nation with whom we were then connected in the usual diplomatic intercourse, and who, not being ignorant that we had made this use of the shores they claimed, had suffered us uninterruptedly, and without asking any permission, to enjoy it as a common right. To give the first notice of such interfering claim by a seizure and confiscation of our vessels unsuspectingly engaged in what they deemed a lawful occupation, partakes more of a hostile act than of the assertion of a

                right as used among civilized nations.                  

                Still stronger would be the reasoning if the act is considered not as one emanating from the immediate authority of the Nation for the assertion of a public right claimed by them, but as the delegation of an authority to an individual to exercise that national right at his own discretion, and for his own benefit, in the manner claimed by the person who has, as we think, abused the authority if any, and whatever it may be, that has been vested in him.                  

                The decree in question, supposing it to be authentic, is dated the 10th of June, 1829. Mr. Forbes, our Charge d' Affaires, was then in Buenos Ayres. Had the decree been communicated to him had he been told that the Islands could no longer be made use of in the accustomed manner, under the penalty of confiscation of the vessels resorting there, he would have communicated the information to his Government, and measures would have been taken to inquire into the right, and, if it were acknowledged, to warn our citizens that it ought to be respected. Nothing of this kind was done, and our ships are seized and confiscated for the violation of a right, (supposing it to be one,) of which our Government had no notice, and our citizens no warning.                  

                Should it be said, in answer to this branch of the argument that the decree in question was published in the gazette of the day, at Buenos Ayres, (which is not, however, believed, as Mr. Forbes, very minute in his general correspondence, takes no notice of it,) and should this prove to be the fact, the reply is easy: First the communication ought to have been special. It interfered with an existing and most extensive use, and, therefore, not only a friendly disposition, but absolute justice, required that express notice should be given of an intent to interfere with this use. Secondly the communication of the decree, supposing the publication a sufficient notice, would not inform us of the interpretation that was practically to be put upon it. The preamble asserts a possession by Spain on the lo*. 11 May, 1810, of the Falkland Islands, and of all the others near Cape Horn, including that of Terra del Fuego, and derives the right in the Republic to them, as forming part of the Vice Royalty of the Rio de la Plata by the effect of the revolution. It then erects those Islands into a military and civil Government directs that the residence of the Governor shall be on the Island of Soledad, on which a battery is to be erected under the flag of the Republic, and directs him (the Governor) to enforce the laws of the Republic on the inhabitants, "and to see to the execution of the regulations of the fishery on all the coasts of the same." What those regulations are, is not even hinted at: Did they apply to the inhabitants only? Such would be the natural construction. Did they exclude foreigners from the right of fishery? If so, some notice, some motive for inquiry, ought to have been given. The law of Nations founded in the principles of justice, requires that a right enjoyed for more than half a century, even if only by tacit permission, be not withdrawn without notice, much less ought any penalty to be enforced for the exercise of it before such notice. Thus, even supposing the right of the Buenos Ayrean Government to be uncontroverted, we have a just cause to complain of the seizure of our vessels, and to demand restoration and indemnity. But our cause of complaint is rendered more apparent from the manner in which their officer, supposing him to be such, has executed this pretended right of seizure and confiscation. Without trial, without evidence, he has imprisoned the crews, and converted the vessels and cargoes to his own use. He has done this after enticing them into his port by the offer of supplies and assistance, and as far as appears, without any allegation of a breach of their fishery laws.                  

                Without any precise information on that subject, your instructions must be hypothetical; to remonstrate against them, should they be found to contravene rights which we think ourselves entitled to by the laws of Nations. These will be briefly explained as applicable to the subject, and to the circumstances of the two Nations.                  

                The right of fishery, considered as to the place in which it is to be exercised, is that which is carried on solely on the high seas out of the jurisdiction of any nation That which is carried on the high seas, but within the distance of the shore belonging to another nation which gives to it a customary jurisdiction within bays of the sea included by an ideal line

                drawn from one headland to another none of which require the use of the shores for the drying or preparing of the animals taken from the sea and, finally, those fisheries which require the use of the shore for some of the operations necessary for the fishery, either to haul the seines, or to prepare,or dry the fish.                  

                The ocean fishery is a natural right which all nations may enjoy, in common. Every interference with it by a foreign power is a national wrong. When it is carried on within the marine league of the coast which has been designated as the extent of national jurisdiction, reason seems to dictate a restriction, if, under pretext of carrying on the fishery an evasion of the revenue laws of the country may reasonably be apprehended, or any other serious injury to the Sovereign of the coast, he has a right to prohibit it; but as such prohibition derogates from a natural right, the evil to be apprehended ought to be a real, not an imaginary one. No such evil can be apprehended on a desert and uninhabited coast therefore such coasts form no exception to the common right of fishery in the seas adjoining them. All the reasoning on the subject of the ocean, applies to the large bays the entrances to which cannot be defended.                  

                As to the use of the shores for purposes necessary to the fishery, that depends on other principles. When the right of exclusive dominion is undisputed, the sovereign may, with propriety, forbid the use of them to any foreign Nation: provided such use interferes with any that his subjects may make of them; but where the shore is unsettled and deserted, and the use of it, of course, interferes with no right of the subjects of the power to which it belongs, there it would be an infringement of the right to the common use of the shores, as well as of the ocean itself, which all nations enjoy by the laws of Nature, and which is restricted only by the paramount right which the sovereign of the soil has to its exclusive use, where the convenience or interest of his subjects require it, or when he wishes to apply it to public purposes. It is true that he is the judge of this interest of his subjects, and of the necessity of using it for his public purposes, but justice requires that where no such pretension can be made, the shores as well as the body of the ocean, ought to be left common to all.                  

                These principles seem to have dictated the articles in the treaties between the United States and England. The third article of the treaty of peace of 1782, declares that the people of the United States shall continue to enjoy, unmolested, the right to take fish on the Grand Bank, &c. and to dry and cure their fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbors, and creeks of Nova Scotia, Magdalen Islands, and Labrador, so long as the same shall remain unsettled; but that when settlements are made, then they cannot enjoy the right without a previous agreement with the inhabitants, or possessors of the soil. In the treaty of Utrecht, too, France is allowed the use of the unsettled shores, for the purpose of drying fish, by certain metes and bounds. But the most remarkable treaty on this subject, is that entered into between Great Britain and Spain in 1790, by which the latter power stipulates not to make any settlements on either the Pacific or the Atlantic shores of America further south than those which were then made. A copy of this treaty, taken from a book printed in Spain in the year 1801, by authority, entitled " Coleccidn delos Tratados," &c. is herewith delivered to you. This stipulation is clearly founded on the right to use the unsettled shores for the purpose of fishery,and to insure its continuance.                  

                But where the unsettled shore, although under the nominal sovereignty of one nation, is in fact possessed by independent uncivilized tribes, the right to exclude other nations from the use of the shores, stands on a much less stable footing. This is the case with all the continent of South America to its extremity, from the Rio Negro or Rio Saules, in latitude 41, and also

                with the adjacent islands of Terra del Fuego and Staten land. On the Pacific side, the Arancaunians [Araucanians], and on the Atlantic the Puelches, Patagonians, and other tribes, are perfectly independent. To the common use of these shores, therefore, there can be no reasonable objection.                  

                How far the present Government of Buenos Ayres is entitled to the extent of territory necessary to establish a right over these fisheries, even supposing them to be attached to the Sovereignty of the country, is another important question to which your attention must be turned, and which we have not the means of determining here. The Vice Royalty of Buenos Ayres under the Spanish Government comprehended several provinces on both sides of the La Plata, these now form separate Governments as far as their unsettled state will allow us to judge of their condition: But that Patagonia was ever included in the Province of Buenos Ayres proper, is not believed. A project was formed by the Spaniards in 1778 of forming settlements there, but although the settlers came out to Monte Video, the project was abandoned, and the whole of the continent, and Islands of Terra del Fuego and Staten land remain as unsettled and desert now as they were found at the time of their discovery.                  

                From the foregoing facts, and principles applicable to them, you are instructed to press, in the negotiation you are authorized to open on the occasion,                  

                1. The perfect right of the United States to the free use of the fishery on the ocean, in every part of it, and on the bays, arms of the sea, gulfs, and other inlets, which are incapable of being fortified.                  

                2. To the same perfect right on the ocean within a marine league of the shore, when the approach cannot be injurious to the sovereign of the country, as it cannot be on the shores which are possessed by savage tribes, or are totally deserted, as they are to the south of the Rio Negro.                  

                3. To the same use of the shores when in the situation above described.                  

                4. That even where a settlement is made, and other circumstances would deprive us of the right, that a constant and uninterrupted use will give it to us.                  

                It cannot be denied that the United States, since the beginning of their independent political existence, and even while they were colonies, were, in common with other nations, in the undisturbed enjoyment of the whale and seal fishery, with the knowledge of Spain and this, it is believed, applies particularly to the Falkland Islands and at times when there were settlements on them as well as when they were deserted.                

                The object of establishing these points is to embody them into a treaty which you have herewith a full power to negotiate and conclude. The articles on this subject must acknowledge our right to the fisheries on the shores while they remain unsettled, and you may fix a certain extent from each settlement, not to exceed ten leagues each way.                  

                With respect to the vessels seized by Vernet, if his acts are avowed, you are to justify their recapture, (if they have been taken by our squadron,) and demand their restitution if they have not, on the grounds herein before stated to show the irregularity of his proceedings, and if his acts are disavowed, you are to give orders to the commander of the squadron to break up the settlement and bring him to Buenos Ayres for trial.                  

                You will, in your demands on the subject of the fisheries, use firm but not irritating language. The President is fully sensible of the difficult situations in which the internal troubles of the Republic have placed its Government, and he does not attribute to an unfriendly disposition, acts that, in ordinary times, might wear such an aspect but he expects, from the similarity of our republican forms, and from a recollection of our early recognition of their independence, and our uniformly amicable disposition since, that, on consideration of our complaints, full justice will be done to our citizens, and that measures will be taken to meet the disposition he feels, for a strict commercial union on principles of perfect reciprocity.                  

                At several periods, Mr Forbes was invited by that Government to form such a treaty, as you will find from a perusal of his correspondence with the Department. It is hoped that the same disposition still continues, and, if such be the case, you are to proceed, without delay, to the formation of a treaty of amity and commerce, of which the basis is to be perfect reciprocity

                between the contracting parties no advantage asked or conceded with respect to third parties the freedom of commerce in time of war, as contained in the treaties we have concluded with other American Republics: that with Central America you may take as your model.     

                There are several claims of American citizens against the Government of Buenos Ayres, some of which are unsettled others, although liquidated, are unpaid. You will find all of them referred to in the correspondence of the Department with Mr. Forbes, or Mr. Rodney, and you are instructed to press for the liquidation and payment of these demands, with earnestness.

                If the finances of the Republic will not admit of immediate payment, the settlement of such as are unliquidated should be made, and secure funds provided for their payment at a future day.                  

                One of these claims, that of M T . Halsey, stands on a different ground from all the rest, and its peculiar circumstances, as well as the magnitude of the sum, its importance to him, and the great expense, vexation, and loss of time, he has incurred in prosecuting it, call for particular attention to it. In addition to the papers in the archives relating to this claim, his own explanations of its circumstances to you, personally, have put you in possession of all its particulars, and you will urge its satisfaction, as a matter which justice, as well as the amicable relations of the two countries require. You are more particularly referred, in this case, to despatch N? 16, from this Department, a copy of which is herewith transmitted for your guidance.

                cf. Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States Latin American Affairs 1831 – 1860 Vol 1

v                  Observations on the Forcible Occupation of the Malvinas,

            or Falkland Islands,

            by the British Government in 1833.

               
____________________

                LONDON :

                PRINTED BY CHARLES WOOD AND SON, POPPIN’S COURT, FLEET STREET

                1833.

                OBSERVATIONS,
&c, &c.

                The international question respecting the sovereignty of these islands, between Great Britain and the provinces of Rio de la Plata, being again brought under discussion, it is of paramount importance that the public should have a clear, and as it were tangible account of them, as well as of the claims of the respective competitors to their permanent and unmolested possession.

               
The following observations, therefore, being address to no portion of the British people in particular, not to any political creed, but to all who glory in the name of Britain, and are solicitous of conferring additional lustre on her incommensurable influence and imperishable fame, will, it is confidently presumed, meet with that candour, and secure that attention, which the enlightened people of this country never fail to accord, especially where the subject, as in the present case, is momentous, and their honour in abeyance.

               
The islands constituting the subject of international litigation, are geographically situated between the fifty-first and fifty-third degrees of south latitude, and fifty-seventh and sixty-first degrees of west longitude.

               
No absolute certainty exists as to the circumnavigator by whom they were originally discovered, and the precise period of that event is equally problematical. Vespucci, Magalhaes, Loiza, Alcozaba, Villalobo, and others, in the Spanish service; Drake, Davies, and Hawkins in the English; and Sabal de Wert and Lemaire in the Dutch; are generally cited as the most probable; although the most plausible historic investigation balances in favour of either Vespucci or Magalhaes.

               
The first European settlement was, however, effected under the direction of Bougainville, with the sanction of Louis XV, in 1764, by the co-operation of a joint-stock company, incorporated at St. Malo, in Brittany, for that purpose; whence the denomination Iles Malouines, conferred on these islands, commemorative of that event.

               
But the Spanish government, which was ever tacitly considered as their legitimate proprietor, remonstrated, as might naturally have been anticipated, with the French court, against this extraneous establishment, on a part of its territory; and the French, with that perspicacity which is frequently observable in their public transactions, readily acquiescing in the validity of the anterior right vested in the Spanish nation, and in consideration of a pecuniary indemnity accorded by Spain to the colonists of St. Malo , abandoned that part of the insular territory they had temporarily occupied, and which was considered an appendage to the then vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres.

               
Subsequently to the establishment of the French colony, the British government, in the year 1766, directed the colonization of Puerto de la Cruzada, otherwise Port Egmont, to be effected; but after various altercations between the courts of London and Madrid, on the subject of this encroachment and occupancy by the British government, the latter relinquished by treaty, in 1774 ; thus manifestly and irrevocably corroborating the superior validity of the Spanish claims, as had likewise been signally done by the French in 1767.

               
These islands have thus been considered an integral part of the Spanish, and subsequently of the Buenos-Ayrean territory, from the year 1774 to the present time, both tacitly and publicly, not merely by Great Britain and France but indeed by every other European power; for, had it been otherwise, it is more than probable the Dutch, Danes, Russians, or other people, jealous of maritime importance, or imbued with the spirit of colonization, would have attempted a settlement on them, either antecedently or subsequently to the glorious and victorious struggle for political emancipation from Spanish domination, which for ever united these Buenos-Ayrean islands with the continental territory as their imprescriptible, indefeasible, and inalienable right.

               
The several northern people just adverted to, would naturally reflect, that the formal cession and public relinquishment of claim, on the part of the French and British governments, in favour of Spain, the aboriginal possessor, was a substantial and irrefragable argument against their temporary or permanent occupancy and subjugation by another power on any pretext whatever; for the universal opinion throughout Europe and America, and indeed every point of the civilized world is, that they not only belong to, but constitute an integral part of, the Argentine Republic.

               
Such are the principal facts and inferences connected with this question, in reference to occurrences prior to the long-relinquished and long-forgotten pretensions of the British government, renewed and supported by force of arms in the early part of the present year. Other episodes or appendages connected with these facts have been elsewhere reiterated, and bear upon the subject in a comparatively less degree; but all tend to strengthen the undoubted priority of claim in favour of those from whom the islands have been unjustly wrested.
Had the provinces of Rio de la Plata contained a population commensurate with their extent or exuberant territorial resources, or had the Malvinas – which constitute an integral part of the Buenos-Ayrean state, as before remarked – been adequately fortified, strongly garrisoned, numerously colonized, and consequently prepared to repel the attacks of foreign invaders, is it probable that the presumed agents of the British, or any other government, would have either laid claim to them, or assert that claim by the demonstration of physical force, at a period of profound peace? Or, again, in the event of its pretensions being considered inadmissible, and contested, would not the non-compliance be naturally followed up by the preliminary intimation of hostilities, from the British or other government similarly situated?

               
Such would have been the regular and universally-acknowledged mode of proceeding; and they who are still unacquainted with the deplorable circumstances attending this important transaction, will be surprised to learn, that, on the fifth of January, in the present year (1833), the second of British regeneration, and the eighteenth of Buenos-Ayrean independence, the crew of the British sloop-of-war Clio, commanded by Captain Onslow, by superior orders emanating from Admiral Baker, late commander-in-chief on the South American station, in compliance with instructions communicated to him from his government, unceremoniously and forcibly took possession of the Malvinas, tore down the glorious standard of liberty which floated on its rightful pinnacles, compelled the ship-of-war Sarandi, belonging to the republic, and stationed off the islands, to depart, and expelled the garrison and colonists; who arrived at Buenos Ayres on the fifteenth of the same month, to narrate this unprovoked and unexampled infringement of the rights of nations to their astonished and almost incredulous countrymen!

               
It is scarcely possible to imagine the degree of indignation that would be manifested by the people of England, should the French, in time of profound peace, and in the hour of political delirium , attempt the capture of the islands of Guernsey and Jersey; or the Spaniards operate a descent for the recovery of Gibraltar; or the Knights of Malta. aided by foreign potentates, surprise their lost island. For, however such attempts might be hailed with joy and congratulation by some individuals, still the general voice of disapprobation and execration would be raised against those who had thus infringed and violated every principle of recognized international law. Yet has the British ministry, or those whose authority was professedly delegated therefrom, been place in a similar category, both in a moral and political point of view, by this unprecedented and unprovoked aggression in the Malvinas.

               
If the possession of these islands is comparatively or absolutely unimportant, why risk reputation, and sacrifice national faith, to usurp and secure them? If, again, they are really profitable to British commerce, which the most competent judges pronounce to be very questionable, is not national integrity the best and surest foundation for general stability and individual prosperity? By what other talismanic charm is the famed fabric of British supremacy cemented, than its presumed incorruptibility? Is that adamantine basis, on which it is imagined to repose, any thing less that the hitherto-supposed political impeccability of it guardians and constructors? By this ever-to-be-deplored transaction, the heretofore glorious edifice is rendered insecure; its sentinels slumber, or are regardless of the object of their mission; its approaches are laid open and unprotected; its foundation-stones are loosened; its most admirable materials become pervious to the fury of the elements; the night-bird hovering around may shortly claim its tottering walls and shapeless fragments for its dilapidated habitation; and the goddess of Justice, who presided at its erection, for ever abandon it; whilst its premature annihilation will be unaccompanied with that heart-felt sympathy, which is the accustomed need of noble actions, unrequited worth, and undeserved misfortune !

               
Hasten, then, to revise your proceedings, and repair the deleterious effects of your precipitation ! – you, who have thus unwarily sounded the tocsin of alarm, now vibrating through the most distant regions, and announced to an astonished world the symptomatic decrepitude of Britannia, once so stately and so radiant !. If this ill-advised step has been precipitated – as its authors must unquestionably, on adequate reflection, acknowledge it to be – let them not procrastinate to accede to the wishes of the British public, by the unhesitating and instantaneous relinquishment of these islands, on the shoals of which the British character will otherwise be irrevocably wrecked !

               
As a question of geographical circumscription, the citizens of Rio de la Plata would have as available a title to the Isle of Man, or even to Ireland, as the government of Great Britain to the Malvinas, or any other integral portion of the Argentine territory.

               
As a question, again, of assumed right, no civilized sate could, conformably with well-defined and long-established international usage, enforce an imaginary or even apparently indisputable right, either by premature violence, or recur to artifice for its substantiation. Violence has, in the case before us, been resorted to; and it appears, from the declaration of the British Minister, regularly accredited and resident at Buenos Ayres, that even he has received no communication from his government on the subject of this memorable invasion of a vulnerable part of the territory of the republic; or, in other words, that he had no instructions, no official cognizance of it; which fact is as extraordinary as important; for a clear and unblemished title is very rarely attempted to be substantiated through indirect and tortuous channels; consequently the advisers of the British government, occult parties in the transaction, have demonstrated, in the most palpable and unequivocal manner, their internal conviction of the frangibility of their assumptions, and the complete invalidity of their claims at the bar of impartial justice, by the unwarrantable and antinational expedients they have resorted to, to enforce them.

               
Moreover, according to the laws of Great Britain, and of every nation professing even the primary germs of civilization, when one individual has obtained possession of an object asserted to be the property of another, the claimant is expected and required, for its recovery, to proceed by legal investigation, arbitration, or amicable adjustment, and by no other measures. It is on this principle of mutual security, that international law is framed, that negotiations are carried on, that mediation is practised; for, were it otherwise, the weak would be constantly exposed to the caprice of the powerful, and the insatiable voracity of ambition ever find a plausible pretext for the subversion and immolation of the unoffending.
But it is not the object of this document to impugn the moral intentions of the present ministry in this mysterious transaction; which, having a more gigantic and glorious task to fulfil, by the consolidation of indispensable ameliorations at home, than ever fell to the lot of the Executive at any preceding period, remitted that scrupulous indagation which the importance of the subject demanded, by prematurely and hastily acceding to the insinuations and suggestions of certain misinformed or interested individuals, who, upon erroneous premises, proposed an act of injustice, which no government could on mature reflection approve, but which it was unguardedly influenced to sanction.

               
Notwithstanding this political dilemma, the government most certainly will not permit its reputation to be thus tarnished, by withholding a territory which has been in the undisputed and undisturbed possession of the Spanish and Buenos-Ayrean governments during an uninterrupted period of fifty-nine years! This momentous circumstance cannot be disregarded even at the tribunal of power, which acts both as party and judge in its own interests, more especially when the vagueness and ambiguity of the original British claim is considered.

               
Again – it cannot be too often repeated – that, had not the pretensions been slender, they would most probably have been made available half a century ago. It is therefore presumable, that they have been resuscitated at this late period, rather in contemplation of some imaginary or real advantage inherent in the possession of the islands, than from any solid title to them. It must however, be acknowledged to be particularly sinister, that this direct outrage on the principles and moral spirit of the Reform Bill should have been committed at an epoch, when nations, as by universal consent, are beginning to feel and confess, that the manifestation of mutual forbearance, and generous sentiments is the most effectual means to allay animosity, secure reciprocal esteem, and engender permanent prosperity.

               
Let it not moreover be forgotten, that the most sacred and peculiar mission of the present age, is to unite the various nations of the universe in the bonds of amity ; to teach them to sympathize with and respect each other ; consequently, conduct of an opposite tendency will necessary encounter present disapprobation and ulterior discomfiture.

               
Independently of this, it is of the utmost importance to Great Britain to cultivate a good understanding with the Argentine Republic. International hatred, rancour, and distrust, are the natural concomitants of violence and injustice and may lead to deplorable results; inasmuch as the other South American governments, alarmed at the extraordinary occupation of the Malvinas, and regarding the unjustifiable manner in which it was effectuated with abhorrence, may be induced to impose such restriction on commercial intercourse, by future enactments, as will prove highly unfavourable to the development of British speculation.

               
It requires little perspicacity to foresee, and little political information to be convinced, that the states of South America may eventually prove the most advantageous and inexhaustible mart for British industry of any portion of the universe and therefore to have inflicted so profound a wound on one of the most important of these illustrious nations, is, independently of other considerations, the most impolitic measure ever adopted by an enlightened government.

               
This unpropitious event is still more to be deplored, when we consider that the people of South America, participating in, and inheriting the noblest qualities of the Spanish nation – as honour, and incorruptible integrity – either indigenous in, or transplanted to, a congenial soil, fertilized by a propitious clime, and animated by a brilliant sun, are naturally rendered more sensible to the shafts of injustice ; and are, at the same time, infinitely benevolent, disposed to excuse unmerited aggression, and illimitably generous in their friendships and sympathies, which are communicated in one of the noblest and most majestic idioms ever uttered in any age or by any nation.

               
But never let it be forgotten, that the illustrious South Americans have acquired the immortal glory of redeeming the honour of the human race, and establishing a renown far more transcendent than was ever conferred on the best exertions of the ancient or modern world ; for, whilst the puerilities and absurdities of Gothic barbarism are still held sacred in the nineteenth century in benighted Europe, enchained by prejudice and political superstition, the transatlantic freemen achieved those signal victories which forever secured their well-merited independence ! Their consummate and admirable prudence protected them from the substitution of one tyranny for another, as is almost invariably done by less talented people; but, on the contrary, the imprescriptible rights of humanity were made the eternal touchstone of their glorious political institutions ; and, consequently, one of the brightest pages in the history of man is reserved for those who have thus entitled themselves to the respect and esteem of the highly-minded and virtuous of every nation.

               
And surely the British Lion has not degenerated, as his triumphant struggle against domestic usurpation last year abundantly verified; his moral vigour has not relaxed, nor his magnanimity become questionable or diminished ; but, animated by that noble indignation against oppression, and by that inexhaustible generosity which has been his predominating characteristics in every age since he was called into existence, will spurn the unhallowed suggestions of those who would endeavour to implant an indelible stain upon his reputation, by the deliberate perpetration of injustice ; or should he unhappily, as in the present instance, be unwarily induced into error, will doubtless accelerate its reparation, by instantaneously restoring the Malvinas to their legitimate government ; thereby cementing that glorious union, which will henceforth irradiate the uninterrupted and reciprocally-advantageous intercourse between the population of both states.

vi                 Lord Palmerston's 1834 Reply to

            Manuel Moreno's Protest of 1833

                NB. This is the central section of Palmerston's letter.   For the sake of completeness, I repeat it here, and use the original French where appropriate.

                The EARL of ROCHFORD to JAMES HARRIS, Esq.

                "St. James's, 25th January 1771.

                "I enclose to you a copy of the declaration signed on Tuesday last by Prince Masserano, with that of my acceptance of it in his Majesty's name."

                SPANISH DECLARATION.

                "Sa Majesté Britannique s'étant plainte de la violence qui avoit été commise le 10 Juin de l'année 1770, à l'lle communément appelée la Grande Maloüine, et par les Anglais dite Falkland, en obligeant par la force le Commandant, et les sujets de sa Majesté Britannique, à évacuer le port par eux appelé Egmont, démarche offensante à l'honneur de sa Couronne, le Prince de Masseran, Ambassadeur Extraordinaire de sa Majesté Catholique, a reçu ordre de déclarer, et déclare, que sa Majesté Catholique, considérant l'amour dont elle est animée pour la paix, et pour le maintien de la bonne harmonie avec sa Majesté Britannique, et réfléchissant que cet évènement pourroit l'interrompre, a vu avec déplaisir cette expédition capable de la troubler; et dans la persuasion où elle est de la réciprocité de ses sentimens, et de son éloignement pour autoriser tout ce qui pourroit troubler la bonne intelligence entre les deux Cours, sa Majesté Catholique désavoue la susdite entreprise violente, et, en conséquence, le Prince de Masseran déclare, que sa Majesté Catholique s'engage à donner des ordres immédiats pour qu'on remette les choses dans la Grande Maloüine, au port dit Egmont, précisément dans l'état où elles étoient avant le 10 Juin 1770, auquel effet sa Majesté Catholique donnera ordre à un de ses officiers, de remettre à l'officier autorisé par sa Majesté Britannique, le fort et le port Egmont, avec toute l'artillerie, les munitions, et effets de sa Majesté Britannique et de ses sujets, qui s'y sont trouvés le jour ci-dessus nommé, conformément à l'inventaire qui en a été dressé.

                "Le Prince de Masseran déclare en même tems, au nom du Roi son Maitre, que l'engagement de sa dite Majesté Catholique, de restituer à sa Majesté Britannique la possession du port et fort dit Egmont, ne peut ni ne doit nullement affecter la question du droit antérieur de souveraineté des Iles Maloüines, autrement dites Falkland.

                "En foi de quoi, moi, le susdit Ambassadeur Extraordinaire, ai signé la présente Déclaration de ma signature ordinaire, et à icelle fait apposer le cachet de nos armes. A Londres, le 22 Janvier 1771.

                (L.S.) (Signé) "LE PRINCE DE MASSERAN."

                BRITISH COUNTER DECLARATION.

                "Sa Majesté Catholique ayant autorisé son Excellence le Prince de Masserano, son Ambassadeur Extraordinaire, à offrir, en son nom royal, au Roi de la Grande Bretagne, une satisfaction pour l'injure faite à sa Majesté Britannique, en la dépossédant du port et fort du port Egmont; et le dit ambassadeur ayant aujourd'hui signé une Déclaration, qu'il vient de me remettre, y exprimant, que sa Majesté Catholique, ayant le désir de rétablir la bonne harmonie et amitié que subsistoient ci-devant entre les deux couronnes, désavoue l'expédition contre le port Egmont, dans laquelle la force a été employée, contre les possessions, commandant, et sujets de sa Majesté Britannique, et s'engage aussi que toutes choses seront immédiatement remises dans la situation précise dans laquelle elles étoient avant le 10 Juin 1770; et que sa Majesté Catholique donnera des ordres en conséquence à un de ses officiers de remettre à l'officier, autorisé parsa Majesté Britannique, le port et fort du Port Egmont, comme aussi toute l'artillerie, les munitions, et effets de sa Majesté Britannique, et de ses sujets, selon l'inventaire qui en a été dressé; et le dit ambassadeur s'étant de plus engagé, au nom de sa Majesté Catholique, que le contenu de la dite déclaration sera effectué par sa Majesté Catholique, et que des duplicatas des ordres de sa dite Majesté Catholique à ses officiers seront remis entre les mains d'un des Principaux Secrétaires d'Etat de sa Majesté Britannique, dans l'espace de six semaines; sa dite Majesté Britannique, afin de faire voir les mêmes dispositions amicales de sa part, m'a autorisé à déclarer, qu'elle regardera la dite déclaration du Prince de Masserano, avec l'accomplissement entier du dit engagement de la part de sa Majesté Catholique, comme une satisfaction de l'injure faite à la Couronne de la Grande Bretagne. En foi de quoi, moi, soussigné, un des Principaux Secretaires d'Etat de sa Majesté Britannique, ai signé la présente de ma signature ordinaire, et à icelle fait apposer le cachet de nos armes. A Londres, ce 22 Janvier 1771.

                (L.S.) (Signé) "ROCHFORD."

                JAMES HARRIS, Esq. to the EARL OF ROCHFORD.

                " Madrid, 14th February 1771.

                "They keep the declaration here as secret as possible. I do not find any to whom they have shown it, except those to whom they are obliged to communicate it. They also report that we have given a verbal assurance to evacuate Falkland's Island in the space of two months."

                The EARL OF ROCHFORD to JAMES HARRIS, Esq.

                "St. James's, 8th March 1771.

                "His Majesty has been pleased to order the Juno frigate of thirty-two guns, the Hound sloop, and Florida store-ship, to be prepared to go to Port Egmont, in order to receive the possession from the Spanish commander there; and as I have spoken so fully to Prince Masserano on the manner of its being executed, it is needless for me to say any more to you upon it.

                "I think it right to acquaint you, that the Spanish ambassador pressed me to have some hopes given him of our agreeing to a mutual abandoning of Falkland's Islands, to which I replied, that it was impossible for me to enter on that subject with him, as the restitution must precede every discourse relating to those islands.

                "You will endeavour, on all occasions, to inculcate the absurdity of Spain having any apprehensions, from the state in which Port Egmont was before its capture, or the force now sent out, of his Majesty's intending to make use of it for the annoyance of their settlements in the South Sea, than which nothing can be farther from the King's inclination, who sincerely desires to preserve peace between the two nations."

                The EARL of ROCHFORD to the LORDS of the ADMIRALTY.

                "St. James's, 15th March 1771.

                "Your lordships having acquainted me that, in consequence of his Majesty's pleasure, signified in my letter of 22d last, you had ordered the Juno frigate, the Hound sloop, and Florida store-ship, to be prepared to proceed to Falkland's Islands, I am commanded to signify to your lordships his Majesty's pleasure, that you order the commander of the said frigate, as soon as those ships are ready for sea, to repair directly with them to Port Egmont, and presenting to Don Felipe Ruiz Puente, or a ny other Spanish officer he finds there, the duplicates of his Catholic Majesty's orders sent herewith, to receive, in proper form, the restitution of possession, and of the artillery, stores, and effects, agreeably to the said orders, and to the inventories signed by the Captains Farmer and Maltby (copies of which are annexed), and that you direct him to take an exact account of any deficiency which there may be of the things mentioned in the said inventories, in order that the same may be made good by his Catholic Majesty; giving a copy of the said account, signed by himself, to the Spanish officer, and desiring an acknowledgment under his hand of the same being a true account.

                "After the said restitution shall have been completed, it is the King's pleasure that Captain Stott should return immediately to England with the Juno frigate and the Florida store-ship, unless he find it necessary to leave the latter behind; and that the Hound sloop should remain stationed in the harbour till his Majesty's further orders.

                "Your lordships will direct Captain Stott to behave with the greatest prudence and civility towards the Spanish commander and the subjects of his Catholic Majesty, carefully avoiding any thing that might give occasion to disputes or animosity, and strictly restraining the crews of the ships under his command in this respect; but if, at or after the restitution to be made, the Spanish commander should make any protest against his Majesty's right to Port Egmont, or Falkland's Islands, it is his Majesty's pleasure that the commander of his ships should answer the same by a counter-protest, in proper terms, of his Majesty's right to the whole of the said islands, and against the right of his Catholic Majesty to any part of the same.

                "In case, from any accident or otherwise, Captain Stott should not, on his arrival at Port Egmont, find any officer there on the part of the King of Spain, your lordships will direct him (supposing he should find it necessary to put any of his men on shore) to avoid setting up any marks of possession, or letting his Majesty's colours fly on shore, as it is for the King's honour that the possession should be formally restored by an officer of his Catholic Majesty; and for that reason it will be proper that the King's commanding officer should keep a good look-out, and, upon perceiving the approach of any vessel of his Catholic Majesty, should re-embark any of his men who may at that time be on shore, that the possession may be indisputably vacant.

                "If it should happen that after the King's ships shall have remained as late as all October, no Spanish officer should yet appear, your lordships will direct Captain Stott, in such case, either to proceed himself, or send an officer to Soledad, to deliver his Catholic Majesty's orders to the Spanish commander there, taking care not to salute the fort as a Spanish garrison, and making a protest, in civil terms, against that settlement of his Catholic Majesty's subjects in an island belonging to his Majesty.

                "If, within a reasonable time after the delivery of the said order to the Spanish commander, at Soledad, there still shall not arrive at Port Egmont any officer of his Catholic Majesty to make the restitution, it is the King's pleasure that the commanding officer of his ships should then draw up a protest of the in execution of his Catholic Majesty's late declaration, and should take formal possession, in his Majesty's name; hoisting his Majesty's colours on shore; and that, leaving there the Hound sloop, and Florida store-ship (if the latter is necessary), and sending a duplicate of his protest to the Spanish officer at Soledad, he should proceed to England to lay before your lordships, for his Majesty's information, his report of the manner in which he has executed his commission.

                "Your lordships will take care that a sufficient quantity of provisions and necessaries of all kinds may be sent out in the said three vessels; and will, at a convenient distance of time, despatch another store-ship for a further supply.

                "P.S. I also enclose to your Lordships the copy of his Catholic Majesty's order to Don Felipe Ruiz Puente, with its translation."

                ORDER of the KING of SPAIN.

                (Translation.)

                "It being agreed between the King and his Britannic Majesty, by a Convention signed in London on the 22d of January last past, by the Prince of Masserano and the Earl of Rochford, that the Great Malouine, called by the English Falkland, should be immediately replaced in the precise situation in which it was before it was evacuated by them on the 10th June last year; I signify to you, by the King's order, that, as soon as the person commissioned by the Court of London, shall present himself to you with this, you order the delivery of the Port de la Cruzada or Egmont, and its fort and dependencies, to be effected, as also of all the artillery, ammunition and effects, that were found there, belonging to his Britannic Majesty and his subjects, according to the inventories signed by George Farmer and William Maltby, Esqs., on the 11th July of the said year, at the time of their quitting the same, of which I send you the enclosed copies, authenticated under my hand; and that, as soon as the one and the other shall be effected with the due formalities, you cause to retire immediately the officer and other subjects of the King which may be there. God preserve you many years. Pardo, 7th February 1771.

                "The BALIO FRAY, DON JULIAN DE ARRIAGA.

                "To Don Felipe Ruiz Puente."

                CAPTAIN STOTT to the ADMIRALTY.

                "Juno, Plymouth, 9th December 1771.

                "I must beg leave to refer their lordships to the letter I had the honour of writing you from Rio de Janeiro, the 30th of July last, for the occurrences of my voyage to that time; from whence I sailed, with his Majesty's ships under my command, the next day, and arrived at Port Egmont the evening of the 13th of September following. The next morning, seeing Spanish colours flying, and troops on shore, at the settlement formerly held by the English, I sent a lieutenant to know if any officer was there on behalf of his Catholic Majesty, empowered to make restitution of possession to me, agreeably to the orders of his Court for that purpose, duplicates of which I had to deliver him: I was answered, that the commanding officer, Don Francisco de Orduna, a lieutenant of the royal artillery of Spain, was furnished with full powers, and ready to effect the restitution. He soon after came on board the Juno to me, when I delivered him his Catholic Majesty's orders. We then examined into the situation of the settlement and stores, adjusted the form of the restitution and reception of the possession—instruments for which were settled, executed, and reciprocally delivered (that which I received from the Spanish officer, and a copy of what I gave him, are here enclosed). On Monday, the 16th of September, I landed, followed by a party of marines, and was received by the Spanish officer, who formally restored me the possession; on which I caused his Majesty's colours to be hoisted and the marines to fire three volleys, and the Juno five guns, and was congratulated, as were the officers with me, by the Spanish officer, with great cordiality on the occasion. The next day Don Francisco, with all the troops and subjects of the King of Spain, departed in a schooner which they had with them. I have only to add, that this transaction was effected with the greatest appearance of good faith, without the least claim or reserve being made by the Spanish officer in behalf of his Court."

                LORD GRANTHAM to the EARL of ROCHFORD.

                " Madrid, 2nd January 1772.

                "I have received the honour of your lordship's despatch, containing the agreeable intelligence of the restitution of Port Egmont and its dependencies, with the due formalities. On receiving this notice I waited on the Marquis de Grimaldi, to assure him of his Majesty's satisfaction at the good faith and punctuality observed in this transaction. M. de Grimaldi seemed aware of the intention of my visit, and was almost beforehand with me in communicating notice of this event's being known in England. He seemed well pleased at the conclusion of this affair, but entered no further into conversation upon it."

                The LORDS of the ADMIRALTY to the EARL of ROCHFORD.

                "Admiralty Office, 15th February 1772.

                "Having received by the Florida store-ship, lately arrived at Spit-head, a letter from Captain Burr, of his Majesty's sloop the Hound, dated at Port Egmont, in Falkland's Islands, the 10th of November last, giving an account that, in the preceding month, two Spanish vessels had arrived there with the artillery, provisions, and stores, which had been taken from thence by the Spaniards, and that he had received the same from a c ommissary appointed by Don Philip Ruiz Puente, to deliver them up to him; we send your lordship herewith a copy of Captain Burr's said letter, together with a copy of the inventory of the artillery, provisions, and stores, which he had received as aforesaid, for his Majesty's information."

                The EARL of ROCHFORD to LORD GRANTHAM.

                "St. James's, 6th March 1772.

                "It may be of use to inform your Excellency, that his Majesty has determined to reduce the force employed at Falkland's Island to a small sloop with about fifty men, and twenty-five marines on shore, which will answer the end of keeping the possession: and, at the same time, ought to make the court of Spain very easy as to our having any intention of making it a settlement of annoyance to them."

                The EARL of ROCHFORD to LORD GRANTHAM.

                "St. James's, February 11th, 1774.

                "I think it proper to acquaint your Excellency that Lord North, in a speech some days ago in the House of Commons, on the subject of the Naval Establishment for this year, mentioned the intention of reducing the naval forces in the East Indies, as a material object of diminishing the number of seamen; and at the same time hinted, as a matter of small consequence, that, in order to avoid the expense of keeping any seamen or marines at Falkland's Island, they would be brought away, after leaving there the proper marks or signals of possession, and of its belonging to the Crown of Great Britain. As this measure was publicly declared in Parliament, it will naturally be reported to the Court of Spain; and though there is no necessity of your Excellency's communicating this notice officially to the Spanish ministers, since it is only a private regulation with regard to our own convenience; yet, as I am inclined to think, from what passed formerly upon this subject, that they will rather be pleased at this event, your Excellency may, if they mention it to you, freely avow it, without entering into any other reasonings thereon. It must strike your Excellency that this is likely to discourage them from suspecting designs, which they must now plainly see never entered into our minds. I hope they will not suspect, or suffer themselves to be made believe, that this was done at the request, or to gratify the most distant wish, of the French court; for the truth is, that it is neither more nor less than a small part of an economical naval regulation."

     Convention for re-establishing the

     perfect Relations of Friendship between

     Her Britannic Majesty and the Argentine Confederation .

                Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, and his Excellency the Governor and Captain-General of the Province of Buenos Ayres, charged with the foreign relations of the Argentine Confederation, being desirous of putting an end to the existing differences, and of restoring perfect relations of friendship, in accordance with the wishes manifested by both Governments; the Government of Her Britannic Majesty having declared that it has no separate or interested object in view, nor any other desire than to see securely established the peace and independence of the States of the River Plate, as recognized by Treaty; have named to that effect as their Plenipotentiaries, viz.:

                Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, Henry Southern, Esquire, Her Majesty's Minister Plenipotentiary accredited to the Court of Buenos Ayres;

                And his Excellency the Governor and Captain-General of the Province of Buenos Ayres, his Excellency the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Doctor Don Felipe Arana;

                Who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, and found them in good and due form, have agreed as follows:

                Art. I. The Government of Her Britannic Majesty, animated by the desire of putting an end to the differences which have interrupted the political and commercial relations between the 2 countries, having on the 15th of July, 1847, raised the blockade which it had established of the ports of the 2 Republics of the Plata, thereby giving a proof of its conciliatory sentiments, now hereby binds itself, in the same amicable spirit, definitively to evacuate the Island of Martin Garcia; to return the Argentine vessels of war which are in its possession, as far as possible in the same state as they were in when taken; and to salute the flag of the Argentine Confederation with 21 guns.

                II. By both Contracting Parties shall be delivered to their respective owners, all the merchant vessels, with their cargoes, taken by them during the blockade.

                III. The auxiliary Argentine divisions existing in the Oriental State, shall return across the Uruguay when the French Government disarms the Foreign Legion and all other foreigners who may be under arms, and form the garrison of the town of Montevideo, evacuates the territory of the 2 Republics of the Plata, abandons its hostile position, and celebrates a Treaty of Peace. Her Britannic Majesty's Government, in the event of its being necessary, offers to use its good offices in bringing about these objects, with its ally the French Republic.

                IV. Her Britannic Majesty's Government recognizes the navigation of the River Parana to be an inland navigation of the Argentine Confederation, and subject solely to its laws and regulations, in the same manner as that of the River Uruguay in common with the Oriental State.

                V. Her Britannic Majesty's Government having declared, " that it is freely acknowledged and admitted that the Argentine Republic is in the unquestioned enjoyment and exercise of every right, whether of peace or war, possessed by any independent nation ; and that if the course of events in the Oriental Republic has made it necessary for the Allied Powers to interrupt for a time the exercise of the belligerent rights of the Argentine Republic, it is fully admitted that the principles on which they have acted, would, under similar circumstances, have been applicable either to Great Britain or France," it is hereby agreed that the Argentine Government, with regard to this declaration, reserves its right to discuss it opportunely with the Government of Great Britain, in that part which relates to the application of the principle.

                VI. In virtue of the Argentine Government having declared that it would celebrate this Convention on condition that its ally, his Excellency the President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Brigadier Don Manuel Oribe, should previously agree to it,— this being for the Argentine Government an indispensable condition in any arrangement of the existing differences,— it proceeded to solicit the assent of its said ally, and having obtained it, the present Convention is hereby agreed upon and concluded.

                VII. Under this Convention perfect friendship between Her Britannic Majesty's Government and the Government of the Confederation, is restored to its former state of good understanding and cordiality.

                VIII. This Convention shall be ratified by the Argentine Government within 15 days after the ratification of Her Britannic Majesty's Government is presented, and the ratifications shall be exchanged.

                IX. In witness whereof the Plenipotentiaries sign this Convention, and affix the seals of their arms thereto.

                Done at Buenos Ayres on the 24th of November, in the year of our Lord, 1849.

                L.S.) HENRY SOUTHERN.
(L.S.) FELIPE ARANA

viii        Letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

            New York.

                21st October, 1946.

                SIR,

                I have the honour under instructions from His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to acknowledge Your Excellency's letter to him of 29th June, 1946, requesting information about the progress made by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom in giving effect to the Resolution on Non-Self-Governing Peoples adopted at the General Assembly of the United Nations in London on 9th February, 1946, and relating to the application of Article 73 (e) of the Charter.

                2. Your Excellency requested the views of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom regarding the factors to be taken into account in determining which territories are to be included within the scope of Chapter XI. In the view of H.M.G. it would be difficult to define in detail principles capable of general application, bearing in mind the great variety of conditions in the territories referred to in this Article and the number of different members of the United Nations who have responsibilities for such territories. The terms of Article 73 (e) appear to provide a sufficient and satisfactory guide in practice, and His Majesty's Government feel that the purposes of this Article can be adequately fulfilled without the necessity of any further interpretation. For their part, His Majesty's Government propose initially to supply information in accordance with Article 73 (e), in respect of the non-self-governing territories listed in Annex I.

                3. Your Excellency will appreciate that those territories in the Far East mentioned in Annex I have only recently been freed from Japanese occupation; and consequently His Majesty's Government regret that they are not in a position to supply information for those territories for 1945. Information will, however, he supplied for future years. Again, while His Majesty's Government are anxious to provide information about the British Solomon Islands Protectorate and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony, these territories were also occupied by the Japanese for a considerable time and it will not be possible at the outset to provide as much information as in the case of other territories.

                4. I have also the honour to enclose, as Annex II, a note of the headings under which His Majesty's Government propose to supply information for the year 1945. It will be appreciated that the preparation and publication of many reports and statistics normally produced by British Colonial Governments was necessarily suspended during the war, and the amount of material of this type dealing with recent years, is therefore much less than that which was previously available. As Your Excellency is aware, a large amount of material relating to British Colonial territories was normally supplied by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom to the Library of the League of Nations before the war. In 1940 this material was greatly reduced, but British Colonial territories were instructed to continue to forward it to Geneva as long as communications permitted. The archives of the League of Nations having been transferred to the United Nations, all this material is now the property of the United Nations. As a result of post-war conditions and of the many urgent tasks facing British Colonial Governments, it is not yet practicable to produce such reports and statistics as informatively and as accurately as before the war. Nevertheless His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom are anxious to fulfil their obligations under Article 73 (e) of the Charter to the greatest practicable extent, and they have asked Colonial Governments to compile statistical information in respect of the year 1945 under the headings shown in Annex II. This information will be forwarded to Your Excellency as soon as it is available. In respect of certain items and certain territories estimated figures only may be available for the first year, but His Majesty's Government hope that the information which will be supplied as a result of these enquiries will be satisfactory for the purposes referred to in your letter.

                I have, etc.,

                (Sgd.) A CADOGAN.

                ANNEX I.

                Non-self-governing territories in respect of which H.M.G. in the United Kingdom propose to supply information under. Article 73 (e) of the Charter.

                ·         Aden (Colony and Protectorate).

                ·         Bahamas.

                ·         Barbados.

                ·         Basutoland.

                ·         Bechuanaland Protectorate.

                ·         Bermuda.

                ·         British Guiana.

                ·         British Honduras.

                ·         British Somaliland Protectorate.

                ·         Brunei.

                ·         Cyprus.

                ·         Falkland Islands.

                ·         Fiji.

                ·         Gambia.

                ·         Gibraltar.

                ·         Gold Coast (Colony and Protectorate).

                ·         Hong Kong.

                ·         Jamaica.

                ·         Kenya (Colony and Protectorate).

                ·         Leeward Islands.

                ·         Malayan Union.

                ·         Malta.

                ·         Mauritius.

                ·         Nigeria (Colony and Protectorate).

                ·         North Borneo.

                ·         Northern Rhodesia.

                ·         Nyasaland.

                ·         St. Helena and Dependencies.

                ·         Sarawak.

                ·         Seychelles.

                ·         Sierra Leone.

                ·         Singapore.

                ·         Swaziland.

                ·         Trinidad and Tobago.

                ·         Uganda Protectorate.

                ·         Windward Islands.

                ·         Zanzibar Protectorate.

                ·         High Commission territories, Western Pacific:

                o    Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.

                o    British Solomon Islands Protectorate.

                o    Pitcairn Islands.

ix      UN Resolution 1514 (1960)

     Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples

      " The General Assembly,

                Mindful of the determination proclaimed by the peoples of the world in the Charter of the United Nations to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

                Conscious of the need for the creation of conditions of stability and well-being and peaceful and friendly relations based on respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of all peoples, and of universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion,

                Recognizing the passionate yearning for freedom in all dependent peoples and the decisive role of such peoples in the attainment of their independence.

                Aware of the increasing conflicts resulting from the denial of impediments in the way of the freedom of such peoples, which constitute a serious threat to world peace,

                Considering the important role of the United Nations in assisting the movement for independence in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories,

                Recognising that the peoples of the world ardently desire the end of colonialism in all its manifestations,

                Convinced that the continued existence of colonialism prevents the development of international economic co-operation,
impedes the social, cultural and economic development of dependent peoples and militates against the United Nations ideal of universal peace,

                Affirming that peoples may, for their own ends, freely dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any
obligations arising out of international economic co-operation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law,

                Believing that the process of liberation is irresistible and irreversible and that, in order to avoid serious crises, an end must be put to colonialism and all practices of Segregation and discrimination associated therewith,

                Welcoming the emergence in recent years of a large number of dependent territories into freedom and independence, and recognizing the increasingly powerful trends towards freedom in such territories which have not yet attained independence,

                Convinced that all peoples have an inalienable right to complete freedom, the exercise of their sovereignty and the integrity
of their national territory,

                Solemnly proclaims the necessity of bringing to a speedy and unconditional end colonialism in all its forms and manifestations;

                And to this end Declares that:

                1. The subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and is an impediment to the promotion of world peace and co-operation.

                2. All peoples have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.

                3. Inadequacy of political, economic, social or educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying independence.

                4. All armed action or repressive measures of all kinds directed against dependent peoples shall cease in order to enable them to exercise peacefully and freely their right to complete independence, and the integrity of their national territory shall be respected.

                5. Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all other territories which have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to the peoples of those territories, without any conditions or reservations, in accordance
with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom.

                6. Any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

      7. All States shall observe faithfully and strictly the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the present Declaration on the basis of equality, non- interference in the internal affairs of all States, and respect for the sovereign rights of all peoples and their territorial integrity.”

x     UN Resolution 2065 (1965)

                " The General Assembly,

                Having examined the question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas),

                Taking the chapters of the reports of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), and in particular the conclusions and recommendations adopted by the Committee with reference to that Territory,

                Considering that its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 was prompted by the cherished aim of bringing to an end everywhere colonialism in all its forms, one of which covers the case of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas),

                Noting the existence of a dispute between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning sovereignty over the said Islands,

                1. Invites the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to proceed without delay with the negotiations recommended by the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples with a view to finding a peaceful solution to the problem, bearing in mind the provisions and objectives of the Charter of the United Nations and of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and the interests of the population of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas);

      2. Requests the two Governments to report to the Special Committee and to the General Assembly at its twenty-first session on the results of the negotiations.

     UN Resolution 3160 (1973)

                " The General Assembly,

                Having considered the question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas),

                Recalling its resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples,

                Recalling also its resolution 2065 (XX) of 16 December 1965, in which it invited the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to proceed without delay with the negotiations recommended by the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples with a view to finding a peaceful solution to the problem of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), bearing in mind the provisions and objectives of the Charter of the United Nations and of resolution 1514 (XV) and the interests of the population of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas),

                Gravely concerned at the fact that eight years have elapsed since the adoption of resolution 2065 (XX) without any substantial progress having been made in the negotiations,

                Mindful that resolution 2065 (XX) indicates that the way to put an end to this colonial situation is the peaceful solution of the conflict of sovereignty between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom with regard to the aforementioned islands,

                Expressing its gratitude for the continuous efforts made by the Government of Argentina, in accordance with the relevant decisions of the General Assembly, to facilitate the process of decolonisation and to promote the well-being of the population of the islands,

                1. Approves the chapters of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and, in particular, the resolution adopted by the Special Committee on 21 August 1973 concerning the Territory;

                2. Declares the need to accelerate the negotiations between the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland called for in General Assembly resolution 2065 (XX) in order to arrive at a peaceful solution of the conflict of sovereignty between them concerning the Falkland Islands (Malvinas);

                3. Urges the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom, therefore, to proceed without delay with the negotiations, in
accordance with the provisions of the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, in order to put an end to the colonial situation;

      4. Requests both Government to report to the Secretary-General and to the General Assembly as soon as possible, and not later
than at its twenty-ninth session, on the results of the recommended negotiations.”

xii   UN Resolution 31/49 (XXXI) (1976)

                " The General Assembly,

                Having considered the question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas),

                Recalling its resolutions 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, 2065 (XX) of 16 December 1965 and 3160 (XXVIII) of 14 December 1973,

                Bearing in mind the paragraphs related to this question contained in the Political Declaration adopted by the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Lima from 25 to 30 August 1975, and in the Political Declaration adopted by the Fifth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Colombo from 16 to 19
August 1976,

                Having regard to the chapter of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and, in particular, the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Committee concerning the Territory,

                1. Approves the chapter of the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples relating to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and, in particular, the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Committee concerning the Territory;

                2. Expresses its gratitude for the continuous efforts made by the Government of Argentina, in accordance with the relevant decisions of the General Assembly, to facilitate the process of decolonisation and to promote the well-being of the populations of the islands;

                3. Requests the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to expedite the negotiations concerning the dispute over sovereignty, as requested in General Assembly resolutions 2065 (XX) and 3160 (XXVIII);

                4. Calls upon the two parties to refrain from taking decisions that would imply introducing unilateral modifications in the situation while the islands are going through the process recommended in the above-mentioned resolutions;

      5. Requests both Governments to report to the Secretary-General and to the General Assembly as soon as possible on the results of the negotiations.”

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