Group 42-Sells Out! - The Information Archive/Group 42 Sells Out (Group 42) (1996).iso/misc/spain1.txt

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                                      1819

                         AMERICAN HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS

                               TREATY WITH SPAIN

  TREATY OF AMITY, SETTLEMENT, AND LIMITS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA AND HIS CATHOLIC MAJESTY, CONCLUDED AT WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY
22, 1819; RATIFICATION ADVISED BY SENATE, FEBRUARY 24, 1819;
RATIFIED BY PRESIDENT; RATIFIED BY THE KING OF SPAIN, OCTOBER 24,
1820; RATIFICATION AGAIN ADVISED BY SENATE, FEBRUARY 19, 1821;
RATIFIED BY PRESIDENT, FEBRUARY 22, 1821; RATIFICATIONS EXCHANGED AT
WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 22, 1821; PROCLAIMED, FEBRUARY 22, 1821.
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  The United States of America and His Catholic Majesty, desiring to
consolidate, on a permanent basis, the friendship and good
correspondence which happily prevails between the two parties have
determined to settle and terminate all their differences and
pretensions, by a treaty, which shall designate, with precision, the
limits of their respective bordering territories in North America.
  With this intention, the President of the United States, has
furnished with their full powers, John Quincy Adams, Secretary of
State of the said United States; and His Catholic Majesty has
appointed the Most Excellent Lord Don Luis De Onis, Gonzales, Lopez
y Vara, Lord of the town of Rayaces, Perpetual Regidor of the
Corporation of the city of Salamanca, Knight Grand Cross of the
Royal American Order of Isabella the Catholic, decorated with the
Lys of La Vendee, Knight Pensioner of the Royal and Distinguished
Spanish Order of Charles the Third, Member of the Supreme Assembly
of the said Royal Order; of the Council of His Majesty; His Secretary,
with Exercise of Decrees, and His Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary near the United States of America;
   And the said Plenipotentiaries, after having exchanged their
powers, have agreed upon and concluded the following articles:
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  ARTICLE I. There shall be a firm and inviolable peace and sincere
friendship between the United States and their citizens and His
Catholic Majesty, his successors and subjects, without exception of
persons or places.
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  ARTICLE II. His Catholic Majesty cedes to the United States, in full
property and sovereignty, all the territories which belong to him,
situated to the eastward of the Mississippi, known by the name of East
and West Florida. The adjacent islands dependent on said provinces,
all public lots and squares, vacant lands, public edifices,
fortifications, barracks, and other buildings, which are not private
property, archives and documents, which relate directly to the
property and sovereignty of said provinces, are included in this
article. The said archives and documents shall be left in possession
of the commissaries or officers of the United States, duly
authorized to receive them.
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  ARTICLE III.  The boundary line between the two countries, west of
the Mississippi, shall begin on the Gulph of Mexico, at the mouth of
the river Sabine, in the sea, continuing north, along the western bank
of that river, to the 32d degree of latitude; thence, by a line due
north, to the degree of latitude where it strikes the Rio Roxo of
Nachitoches, or Red River; then following the course of the Rio Roxo
westward, to the degree of longitude 100 west from London and 23
from Washington; then, crossing the said Red River, and running by a
line due north, to the river Arkansas; thence, following course of the
southern bank of the Arkansas, to its source, in latitude 42 north;
and thence, by that parallel of latitude, to the South Sea. The
whole being as laid down in Melish's map of the United States,
published at Philadelphia, improved to the first of January, 1818. But
if the source of the Arkansas River shall be found to fall north or
south of latitude 42, then the line shall run from the said source due
south or north, as the case may be, till it meets the said parallel of
latitude 42, and thence, along the said parallel, to the South Sea:
All the islands in the Sabine, and the said Red and Arkansas Rivers,
throughout the course thus described, to belong to the United
States; but the use of the waters, and the navigation of the Sabine to
the sea, and of the said rivers Roxo and Arkansas, throughout the
extent of the said boundary, on their respective banks, shall be
common to the respective inhabitants of both nations.
  The two high contracting parties agree to cede and renounce all
their rights, claims, and pretensions, to the territories described by
the said line, that is to say: The United States hereby to His
Catholic Majesty, and renounce forever, all their rights, claims and
pretensions, to the territories lying west and south of the
above-described line; and, in like manner, His Catholic Majesty
cedes to the said United States all his rights, claims, and
pretensions to any territories east and north of the said line, and
for himself, his heirs, and successors, renounces all claim to the
said territories forever.
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  ARTICLE IV.  To fix this line with more precision, and to place
the landmarks which shall designate exactly the limits of both
nations, each of the contracting parties shall appoint a
Commissioner and a surveyor, who shall meet before the termination
of one year from the date of the ratification of this treaty at
Nachitoches, on the Red River, and proceed to run and mark the said
line, from the mouth of the Sabine to the Red River, and from the
Red River to the river Arkansas, and to ascertain the latitude of
the source of the said river Arkansas, in conformity to what is
above agreed upon and stipulated, and the line of latitude 42, to
the South Sea: they shall make out plans, and keep journals of their
proceedings, and the result agreed upon by them shall be considered as
part of this treaty, and shall have the same force as if it were
inserted therein. The two Governments will amicably agree respecting
the necessary articles to be furnished to those persons, and also as
to their respective escorts, should such be deemed necessary.
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  ARTICLE V. The inhabitants of the ceded territories shall be secured
in the free exercise of their religion, without any restriction; and
all those who may desire to remove to the Spanish dominions shall be
permitted to sell or export their effects, at any time whatever,
without being subject, in either case, to duties.
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  ARTICLE VI.  The inhabitants of the territories which His Catholic
Majesty cedes to the United States, by this treaty, shall be
incorporated in the Union of the United States, as soon as may be
consistent with the principles of the Federal Constitution, and
admitted to the enjoyment of all the privileges, rights, and
immunities of the citizens of the United States.
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  ARTICLE VII.  The officers and troops of His Catholic Majesty, in
the territories hereby ceded by him to the United States, shall be
withdrawn, and possession of the places occupied by them shall be
given within six months after the exchange of the ratifications of
this treaty, or sooner if possible, by the officers of His Catholic
Majesty to the commissioners or officers of the United States duly
appointed to receive them; and the United States shall furnish the
transports and escorts necessary to convey the Spanish officers and
troops and their baggage to the Havana.
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  ARTICLE VIII. All the grants of land made before the 24th of
January, 1818, by His Catholic Majesty, or by his lawful
authorities, in the said territories ceded by His Majesty to the
United States, shall be ratified and confirmed to the persons in
possession of the lands, to the same extent that the same grants would
be valid if the territories had remained under the dominion of His
Catholic Majesty. But the owners in possession of such lands, who,
by reason of the recent circumstances of the Spanish nation, and the
revolutions in Europe, have been prevented from fulfilling all the
conditions of their grants, shall complete them within the terms
limited in the same, respectively, from the date of this treaty; in
default of which the said grants shall be null and void. All grants
made since the said 24th of January, 1818, when the first proposal, on
the part of His Catholic Majesty, for the cession of the Floridas
was made, are hereby declared and agreed to be null and void.
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  ARTICLE IX.  The two high contracting parties, animated with the
most earnest desire of conciliation, and with the object of putting an
end to all the differences which have existed between them, and of
confirming the good understanding which they wish to be forever
maintained between them, reciprocally renounce all claims for
damages or injuries which they, themselves, as well as their
respective citizens and subjects, may have suffered until the time
of signing this treaty.
  The renunciation of the United States will extend to all the
injuries mentioned in the convention of the 11th of August, 1802.
  (2) To all claims on account of prizes made by French privateers,
and condemned by French Consuls, within the territory and jurisdiction
of Spain.
  (3) To all claims of indemnities on account of the suspension of the
right of deposit at New Orleans in 1802.
  (4) To all claims of citizens of the United States upon the
Government of Spain, arising from the unlawful seizures at sea, and in
the ports and territories of Spain, or the Spanish colonies.
  (5) To all claims of citizens of the United States upon the
Spanish Government, statements of which, soliciting the
interposition of the Government of the United States, have been
presented to the Department of State, or to the Minister of the United
States in Spain, since the date of the convention of 1802, and until
the signature of this treaty.
  The renunciation of His Catholic Majesty extends-
  (1) To all the infuries mentioned in the convention of the 11th of
August, 1802.
  (2) To the sums which His Catholic Majesty advanced for the return
of Captain Pike from the Provincias Internas.
  (3) To all injuries caused by the expedition of Miranda, that was
fitted out and equipped at New York.
  (4) To all claims of Spanish subjects upon the Government of the
United States arizing from unlawful seizures at sea, or within the
ports and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
  Finally, to all the claims of subjects of His Catholic Majesty
upon the Government of the United States in which the interposition of
his Catholic Majesty's Government has been solicited, before the
date of this treaty and since the date of the convention of 1802, or
which may have been made to the department of foreign affairs of His
Majesty, or to His Minister in the United States.
  And the high contracting parties, respectively, renounce all claim
to indemnities for any of the recent events or transactions of their
respective commanders and officers in the Floridas.
  The United States will cause satisfaction to be made for the
injuries, if any, which, by process of law, shall be established to
have been suffered by the Spanish officers, and individual Spanish
inhabitants, by the late operations of the American Army in Florida.
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  ARTICLE X. The convention entered into between the two
Governments, on the 11th of August, 1802, the ratifications of which
were exchanged the 21st December, 1818, is annulled.
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  ARTICLE XI. The United States, exonerating Spain from all demands in
future, on account of the claims of their citizens to which the
renunciations herein contained extend, and considering them entirely
cancelled, undertake to make satisfaction for the same, to an amount
not exceeding five millions of dollars. To ascertain the full amount
and validity of those claims, a commission, to consist of three
Commissioners, citizens of the United States, shall be appointed by
the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, which
commission shall meet at the city of Washington, and, within the space
of three years from the time of their first meeting, shall receive,
examine, and decide upon the amount and validity of all the claims
included within the descriptions above mentioned. The said
Commissioners shall take an oath or affirmation, to be entered on
the record of their proceedings, for the faithful and diligent
discharge of their duties; and, in case of the death, sickness, or
necessary absence of any such Commissioner, his place may be
supplied by the appointment, as aforesaid, or by the President of
the United States, during the recess of the Senate, of another
Commissioner in his stead. The said Commissioners shall be
authorized to hear and examine, on oath, every question relative to
the said claims, and to, receive all suitable authentic testimony
concerning the same. And the Spanish Government shall furnish all such
documents and elucidations as may be in their possession, for the
adjustment of the said claims, according to the principles of justice,
the laws of nations, and the stipulations of the treaty between the
two parties of 27th October, 1795; the said documents to be specified,
when demanded, at the instance of the said Commissioners.
  The payment of such claims as may be admitted and adjusted by the
said Commissioners, or the major part of them, to an amount not
exceeding five millions of dollars, shall be made by the United
States, either immediately at their Treasury, or by the creation of
stock, bearing an interest of six per cent. per annum, payable from
the proceeds of sales of public lands within the territories hereby
ceded to the United States, or in such other manner as the Congress of
the United States may prescribe by law.
  The records of the proceedings of the said Commissioners, together
with the vouchers and documents produced before them, relative to
the claims to be adjusted and decided upon by them, shall, after the
close of their transactions, be deposited in the Department of State
of the United States; and copies of them, or any part of them, shall
be furnished to the Spanish Government, if required, at the demand
of the Spanish Minister in the United States.
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  ARTICLE XII. The treaty of limits and navigation, of 1795, remains
confirmed in all and each one of its articles excepting the 2, 3, 4,
21, and the second clause of the 22d article, which having been
altered by this treaty, or having received their entire execution, are
no longer valid.
  With respect to the 15th article of the same treaty of friendship,
limits, and navigation of 1795, in which it is stipulated that the
flag shall cover the property, the two high contracting parties
agree that this shall be so understood with respect to those Powers
who recognize this principle; but if either of the two contracting
parties shall be at war with a third party, and the other neutral, the
flag of the neutral shall cover the property of enemies whose
Government acknowledge this principle, and not of others.
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  ARTICLE XIII. Both contracting parties, wishing to favour their
mutual commerce, by affording in their ports every necessary
assistance to their respective merchant-vessels, have agreed that
the sailors who shall desert from their vessels in the ports of the
other, shall be arrested and delivered up, at the instance of the
Consul, who shall prove, nevertheless, that the deserters belonged
to the vessels that claimed-them, exhibiting the document that is
customary in their nation: that is to say, the American Consul in a
Spanish port shall exhibit the document known by the name of articles,
and the Spanish Consul in American ports the roll of the vessel; and
if the name of the deserter or deserters who are claimed shall
appear in the one or the other, they shall be arrested, held in
custody, and delivered to the vessel to which they shall belong.
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  ARTICLE XIV. The United States hereby certify that they have not
received any compensation from France for the injuries they suffered
from her privateers, Consuls, and tribunals on the coasts and in the
ports. Of Spain, for the satisfaction of which provision is made by
this treaty; and they will present an authentic statement of the
prizes made, and of their true value, that Spain may avail herself
of the same in such manner as she may deem just and proper.
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  ARTICLE XV. The United States, to give to His Catholic Majesty, a
proof of their desire to cement the relations of amity subsisting
between the two nations, and to favour the commerce of the subjects of
His Catholic Majesty, agree that Spanish vessels, coming laden only
with productions of Spanish growth or manufactures, directly from
the ports of Spain, or of her colonies, shall be admitted, for the
term of twelve years, to the ports of Pensacola and St. Augustine,
in the Floridas, without paying other or higher duties on their
cargoes, or of tonnage, than will be paid by the vessels of the United
States. During the said term no other nation shall enjoy the same
privileges within the ceded territories. The twelve years shall
commence three months after the exchange of the ratifications of
this treaty.
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  ARTICLE XVI. The present treaty shall be ratified in due form, by
the contracting parties, and the ratifications shall be exchanged in
six months from this time, or sooner if possible.
  In witness whereof we, the underwritten Plenipotentiaries of the
United States of America and of His Catholic Majesty, have signed,
by virtue of our powers, the present treaty of amity, settlement,
and limits, and have thereunto affixed our seals, respectively.
  Done at Washington this twenty-second day of February, one
thousand eight hundred and nineteen.
                                 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS     [L. S.]
                                 LUIS DE ONIS          [L. S.]