Señor Peralta to Mr.
Gresham.
[Translation.]
Legation of
Costa Rica,
Washington, April 20, 1893.
(Received April 21.)
Sir: I have been advised that the Government of the
Republic of Colombia has informed the Government of the United States of
America that it ought to be considered an interested party, with a right to
intervene, in all international arrangements whatever relative to the
projected Nicaraguan Canal, by virtue of the rights which, according to the
said Government of Colombia, are conferred on it by the royal order of San
Lorenzo of November 30, 1803, and the Government of Costa Rica being
concerned in the Nicaraguan Canal and in every interoceanic route by way of
the river San Juan, not only by virtue of its former territorial rights, but
likewise by those conferred on it by the treaty of San Jose of April 15,
1858, the validity of which was recognized by award, as arbitrator, of the
President of the United States of America, given at Washington March 22,
1888, in the name of the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica, I have
the honor to set forth the most solemn and formal protest against the rights
that Colombia claims or alleges to have in the projected Nicaraguan Canal or
in all interoceanic routes through the territories of Costa Rica and
Nicaragua by way of the river San Juan.
The Government of Costa Rica has never admitted the validity of the title
invoked by Colombia, and maintains and offers to prove, and in due time to
demonstrate, that the royal order of San Lorenzo of November 30, 1803, never
had the scope claimed for it by the Government of Colombia, and although it
might have had it, it lost all its value and force by having been annulled
by various royal ordinances, decrees by the Cortes, and royal letters patent
of the Spanish Government subsequent to the year 1803.
A former minister of foreign relations of New Granada (Colombia) has said
that the royal order of November 30, 1803, is of no value, that it is a
title of so anomalous and indefinite a character that it may be reduced to
the duty of giving to the Mosquito coast the maritime protection it needs to
guard it from foreign aggressions.*
So states Señor Fernandez Madrid in a report made at the request of his
Government, notwithstanding that this celebrated public man of Colombia did
not know and could not account for the titles of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Not one of the governments with which the republics of Costa Rica,
Nicaragua, and Colombia are allied by treaties of friendship has ever
admitted the claims of Colombia, and the first instance that can be cited is
the Government of the United States itself, which recognizes that the
territory of Colombia terminates with the isthmus of Panama on the frontier
of Costa Rica.
Neither were the claims of Colombia ever admitted by the Government of Her
Britannic Majesty, which, through the medium of Lord Palmerston, then
principal secretary of state for foreign relations, refused to discuss them,
as proved by his note of May 4, 1848, to Señor Mosquera, minister of New
Granada at London. (Inclosure No. 2.)
In consequence of this refusal of the United States and Great Britain to
entertain the claims of Colombia when the Clayton-Bulwer
[Page 282]
treaty was concluded, 19th of April, 1850, and
later when the Crampton-Webster treaty was signed, April 30, 1852, which
stipulates expressly in regard to the river San Juan and the Nicaraguan
Canal, the name of Colombia does not appear, and it speaks only of Costa
Rica and Nicaragua as sole sovereigns of the territory watered by the lake
and by the river San Juan.
In virtue of that Crampton-Webster convention, and later of the treaty of
Managua of 1860, Great Britain renounced the Mosquito protectorate, and it
is well known that that renunciation was made in favor of Nicaragua.
Further still, the Government of His Catholic Majesty, former legitimate and
common sovereign of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and vice-royalty of New Granada,
recognized Costa Rica and Nicaragua, respectively, in legitimate and
incontestable possession and sovereignty of the Mosquito coast, of the river
San Juan, and of all the territories that formerly constituted the provinces
of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, situated between the Atlantic and the Pacific,
with the adjacent islands, as clearly appears in the treaties of Madrid of
1850 with Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
Considering that by arbitration only has to be decided the question of
boundaries pending between Costa Rica and Colombia, the Government of the
former, not being able to establish itself as judge and party at the same
time, consented that Colombia should present as the extreme limit of its
claims Cape Gracias a Dios; but it consented, as is consented in a lawsuit,
that adverse party may say what he thinks proper on condition that the judge
pass sentence by virtue of the proofs and rights of the litigants. While no
decision by arbitration intervenes, the Government of Costa Rica sees
itself, therefore, obliged to protest in the most formal and solemn manner
against all intervention of the Government of Colombia in the Atlantic
coasts of Costa Rica, in the river San Juan, and in any interoceanic route
that may follow the course of this river, because it considers null and void
the abrogated royal order of 1803, never fulfilled in what relates to the
Mosquito coast.
I think it proper to recall here that the Government of Costa Rica found
itself bound to protest to that of Colombia against the measurements made by
engineers of the Panama Canal Company on territory which is in the actual
possession or within the lawful limits of Costa Rica, though retained by
Colombia.
The Panama Canal Company, in virtue of a concession of 500,000 hectares of
ground of the public domain of Colombia (article 4 of the concession of
1878), thought fit to select nothing less than the territory which is the
principal subject of the boundary question, in order to solicit its
allotment as a dominion and ownership (of said company) from Colombia.
The Panama Canal Company had already measured, in the region washed by the
bay of Almirante and by the Lagoon Chiriqui a surface of nearly 280,000
hectares when the surveyor of said company encountered a Costa Rican guard,
who obliged him to desist from his measurements where the guard was
stationed; but in such vast and wild solitudes not only measurements of land
but acts of occupation may be effected without in a long time coming to the
knowledge of the legitimate sovereign.
As soon as the Government of Costa Rica had knowledge of said measurements it
made friendly representation to that of Colombia to the effect that so long
as the expected sentence of arbitration had not been
[Page 283]
pronounced, it should abstain from trespassing on the
jurisdiction of the arbitrator, and instructed the minister of Costa Rica at
Paris and at Madrid to protest before the suitable person and to solicit the
kindly mediation of the arbitrator (the Government of Spain) in order to
recommend to Colombia proper forbearance.
The minister of Costa Rica addressed a protest against the mentioned
measurement of lands and against their eventual adjudication to the
president of the Panama Canal Company, in a letter of December 18, 1888
(repeated 18th of January, 1888, Inclosure No. 3), and appealed to the good
offices of the minister of state of Spain in a note of the 19th of the same
January (Inclosure, No. 4).
The Government of Costa Rica has recently learned that before or during the
month of November, 1891, there was legally formed in the State of New Jersey
a company provided with a concession from the Government of Colombia to open
a road from Bocas del Toro as far as David, making besides a rich grant of
lands to said company.
As the concession is situated in a portion of the territory in litigation the
Government of Costa Rica has directed me to protest formally and solemnly
against the concessions made to the New Jersey company and against the
measurements of the Panama Canal Company, in order that it may be known and
understood that if it is disposed to respect truly and religiously the
rights acquired in virtue of the common laws and the public treaties
anterior to the arbitration treaty of 1880, it will not recognize the
validity of any concession later than the year 1880 if it had not been duly
executed and confirmed by it, in case of the said concession being situated
in the territory adjudged to Costa Rica by the decree of arbitration which
is to determine the boundary line of the Republics of Costa Rica and
Colombia.
This I have the honor to communicate to your excellency for the information
of your Government and of the citizens of the United States of America whom
it may interest.
I avail myself, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.—Translation.]
Señor Don Pedro Fernandez
Madrid to the minister of foreign
relations, of New Granada.
Bogata, November 29,
1852.
Our claim to the dominion of the Mosquito coast reduced to the onerous
right imposed upon us by the royal decree of November 30, 1803, is
worthless and of no use to us; we ought to rid ourselves of it, provided
doing so does not load us with grievances of another kind.
* * * * * * *
But there is more beside; which is, that if on one hand the undertaking
of recovering the Mosquito coast is beyond our power, on the other the
claim we have to the dominion of that territory is so anomalous and
indefinite it might strictly be reduced to the duty of extending to it
the maritime protection it needs for defense against foreign
aggressions. It is true that, considering all the circumstances of the
case, this appears to have been the intention with which the Spanish
Government issued the orders of 1803, since by it no whole province nor
territory was then added to New Granada, but simply a portion of the
Mosquito coast; and by coast can not be
understood the districts of lands inside nor even the
shore settlements of Moin or Salt Creek, San Juan de Nicaragua or
Greytown, and Laguna de Perlas or Blewfield (Bluefield?), which always were, as they
continued to be after the issuance of that order under the exclusive
dependency of Central America. According to this
interpretation, which appears to be the only one well adapted to that
document, the dominion derived by us from Spain over that territory
would be reduced to the islands, which undoubtedly are comprehended in
the term coast, and to an extent of
[Page 284]
shore, beach, or seacoast,
excessively hard to define, and of which we have absolutely no need.
We ought, therefore, to hasten to cede it to the States of Central
America in exchange for obtaining in the interior of the
isthmus—availing ourselves of whatever favorable opportunity—a frontier
boundary, which would avoid all motive for doubt or dispute in the
future or would even define the Mosquito coast, fixing towards the
northwest of both oceans the limit of our territory at conspicuous
points and in an invariable and absolute manner, provided that this may
be effected without compromising any principle concerning our security
and without impairing directly or indirectly our right to the other
territories that belong to us.
(Repertorio Colombiano, Vol. viii, Bogotá,
June, 1882, pp. 472, 473.)
[Inclosure No. 2.]
Viscount Palmerston
to Mr. Mosquera.
Foreign
Office, London,
May 4, 1848.
The undersigned, etc., has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the
note addressed to him on the 29th of April by M. Mosquera, etc.,
renewing the representations already made by M. Mosquera respecting the
course pursued by the British government with regard to the Mosquito
territory.
The undersigned has the honor to state to M. Mosquera that the British
Government does not dispute the right which the people of New Granada,
or of any other of the American provinces of Spain, had to shake off the
yoke of the mother country, and to declare themselves free and
independent, and accordingly, as soon as the freedom and independence of
those provinces appeared to be firmly and finally established, they were
formally acknowledged by Great Britain as independent States. But the
British Government can not acknowledge that any of those revolted
provinces could by their successful revolt acquire any rights either
claimed by or possessed by Spain over other territories not inhabited
and possessed by the revolted population, and therefore, even if the Mosquito territory had been subject to any
just claim on the part of Spain, the revolt of the province of New
Granada could not have given to the people of New Granada any right
whatever over Mosquito, a territory which they did not possess or
occupy. But in point of fact, the territory of Mosquito has
been acknowledged by Great Britain as an independent state for two
hundred and twenty-five years and the King of that country has for
upwards of one hundred and eighty years been acknowledged as being under
the protection of the British Crown.
Her Majesty’s Government, therefore, do not consider
themselves under any obligation to discuss with the Government of
New Granada the rightful existence of the Mosquito State, which
existed in a separate and independent state nearly two centuries before
New Granada had ceased to be a dependent province of Spain.
With respect to the southern boundary of Mosquito, there are certainly
strong grounds upon which the King of Mosquito might claim the seacoast
as far as the spot called King Buppans Landing, which is opposite to the
island called Escudo de Veragua, but Her Majesty’s Government have
recommended the Mosquito Government to confine its claim in a southerly
direction to the southern branch of the river St. John; and one main
reason with Her Majesty’s Government for giving that recommendation was
that thereby all dispute between Mosquito and New Granada would, as they
trusted, be avoided.
The undersigned, etc.,
(Correspondence respecting the Mosquito territory presented to the
House of Commons July 3, 1848, etc., London.)
[Inclosure No.
3.—Translation.]
Mr. Peralta to the
president of the Universal Company of the
Interoceanic Panama Canal.
Legation of Costa Rica,
Madrid, December 18,
1888.
Mr. President: On the 2d October last I had the
honor to inform Mr. Charles de Lesseps verbally, that the territory
comprised between the island Eseudo de Veragua and the mouth of the
stream Sixaula (or Sixola, Telire or Tarire) erroneously designated by
the name of river Culebras or Dorados; or to be more exact, the
territory comprised between meridians 81° 35ʹ and 82° 35ʹ of longitude
west of Greenwich is in
[Page 285]
dispute, and as it were sub judice, the question
of knowing to whom belongs its sovereignty being submitted to
arbitration in virtue of a treaty actually in force between the
Republics of Costa Rica and Colombia.
In this territory the engineers of the company of the Interoceanic Panama
Canal have measured an extent of nearly 280,000 hectares with a view to
asking the adjudication of them, in its favor, to the Government of
Colombia.
As it might happen that the whole or any portion of this territory should
bo adjudged by the arbitration to the Republic of Costa Rica, I have
received from my Government the order to inform you that in such case it
will not recognize the validity of that adjudication in favor of the
company of the Panama Canal which can not claim any right from that
fact.
Accept, etc.,
[Inclosure No.
4.—Translation.]
Señor Paralta to
the minister of state of Spain.
Legation of Costa Rica,
Madrid, January 19,
1889.
The undersigned envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the
Republic of Costa Rica, referring to their conversation of the 16th
instant, has the honor to make known to his excellency the honorable
minister of state of His Catholic Majesty, the following:
The fourth article of the contract of concession of March 20, 1878,
between the Republic of Colombia and the company of the Interoceanic
Panama Canal authorizes the latter to take unto itself full sovereignity
over 500,000 hectares in the uncultivated lands of the State in the
places the company may think tit to designate, after measurement at its
expense, by intervention of commissioners of the Government of Colombia,
and pending direct adjudication by the national executive power.
In virtue of this article the Panama Canal Company has had measured
nearly 280,000 hectares, more or less, in the territory that Costa Rica
claims for its own, which was under its jurisdiction as a Spanish
province and as an independent state, which it colonized and possessed
uninterruptedly until the year 1835, at which date Colombia consummated
its first act of invasion.
As that territory, situated on the coast of the Carribean Sea between
meridians 81° 35ʹ and 82° 35ʹ, longitude west of Greenwich, is in
dispute, and as the question of knowing to whom it belongs is to be the
subject of the decree by arbitration of the Government of his Catholic
Majesty, the Government of Costa Rica has viewed with pain that that of
Colombia should not have conformed to the stipulations of the treaty of
December 25, 1880, and should have authorized or consented to the
performance in that territory of acts destined to effect a violation of
the statu quo, a new invasion of the territory of
Costa Rica, and an intrusion upon the jurisdiction of the
arbitrator.
It could not enter into the mind of the Government of Colombia to elude
the fulfillment of said stipulations, and the Government of Costa Rica
hopes it will not proceed to the adjudication of the lands measured by
the engineers of the company of the Panama canal, and believes that the
just remarks addressed by the minister of foreign affairs of Colombia
16th of November, 1888, will suffice to determine his abstention from
it.
Nevertheless, the Government of Costa Rica, convinced of the high and
beneficent influence of the government of His Catholic Majesty, of its
rectitude, no less than of its cordial friendship and good will for the
two republics, hopes, should it think fit, that it will kindly interpose
its good offices in the manner that his excellency the minister of state
deemed proper to state to the undersigned on the 16th instant, in order
that the Government of Colombia may not proceed to the adjudication of
lands nor to the concession of unconditional or definitive rights
whatever in favor of third parties in the territory situated to the west
of meridian 81° 35ʹ in the immediate neighborhood of Lake Chiriqui and
of the Bay of Almirante, and in the islands of said bay.
The undersigned avails himself, etc.,
