Douglas, in 1857, in a debate in Congress upon a
"resolution of inquiry as to the present status of the treaty," said:
"I voted against the treaty, Mr. President, for the reason that I am
unwilling to enter into any stipulations with any European power, that
we would not do on this continent whatever we might think it our duty to
do, whenever a case should arise. I voted against it because by clause
1 of that treaty we are debarred from doing what it might be our duty to
do; but as it has been entered into, I desire to see it enforced. I am
not yet aware that that clause of the treaty has been carried into
effect. I have yet to learn that the British Government have withdrawn
their protectorate from the Mosquito Coast; I have yet to learn that
they have abandoned the possession of that territory which they held
under the Mosquito King."
From the day that treaty was ratified to the present, it has been a
fertile source of discord and misunderstanding between the two
governments; and from 1850 to 1858 its provisions were thrice made the
basis of a proposal to arbitrate as to their meaning: their modification
and abrogation have been alike contingently considered, and their
imperfect and vexatious character have been repeatedly recognized on
both sides.
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