Lord Hawkesbury to Mr. King.

DOWNING STREET, May 7, 1802. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 21st ultimo.

It is impossible that so important an event as the cession of Louisiana by Spain to France should be regarded by the King in any other light than as highly interesting to His Majesty, and to the United States; and should render it more necessary than ever that there should subsist between the two Governments that spirit of confidence which is become so essential to the security of their respective territories and possessions.

With regard to the free navigation of the Mississippi, I conceive that it is perfectly clear, according to the law of nations, that, in the event of the district of Louisiana being ceded to France, that country would come into possession of it subject to all the engagements which appertained to it at the time of cession; and that the French Government could, consequently, allege no colorable pretext for excluding His Majesty's subjects, or the citizens of the United States, from the navigation of the river Mississippi.

With regard to the second question in your letter, I can have no difficulty in informing you that no communication whatever has been received by His Majesty from the Government of France or Spain, relative to any convention or treaty for the cession of Louisiana or the Floridas; and I can, at the same time, most truly assure you that His Majesty has not in any manner, directly or indirectly, acquiesced in or sanctioned this cession.

In making this communication to you, for the information of the Government of the United States, I think it right to acquaint you that His Majesty will be anxious to learn their sentiments on every part of this subject, and the line of policy which they will be inclined to adopt in the event of this arrangement being carried into effect.

I have the honor to be, with great respect, sir, your most obedient, humble servant,

HAWKESBURY.

James Madison, Secretary of State, to Charles Pinckney, Minister of

Spain.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, May 11, 1802. We are still without a line from you since your arrival at Madrid, and feel an increasing solicitude to hear from you on the subject of Louisiana. The latest information from Paris has confirmed the fact that it was ceded by a treaty prior to that of March, 1801; and, notwithstanding the virtual denial of the cession in the early conversations between Mr. Livingston and the Minister of Foreign Relations, a

refusal of any explanations at present seems to admit that the cession. has taken place. Still there are chances of obtaining a reversal of the transaction. The repugnance of the United States to it is, and will be, pressed in a manner that can not be without some effect: it is known that most of the French statesmen best informed on the subject, disapproved of it; the pecuniary difficulties of the French Government must, also, be felt as a check; whilst the prospect of a protracted and expensive war in St. Domingo; must form a very powerful obstacle to the execution of the project. The councils of England appear to have been torpid on this occasion. Whether it proceeded from an unwillingness to risk a fresh altercation with France, or from a hope that such a neighborhood between France and the United States would lead to collisions which might be turned to her advantage, is more than I can decide. The latter consideration might justly have great weight with her; but as her eyes may be more readily turned to the immediate and certain purposes to be answered to her rival, it is to be presumed that the policy of England will contribute to thwart the acquisition. What the intentions of Spain may be, we wait to learn from you. Verbal information from inofficial sources, has led us to infer that she disowns the instrument of cession, and will rigorously oppose it. Should the cession actually fail from this, or any other cause, and Spain retain New Orleans and the Floridas, I repeat to you the wish of the President, that every effort and address be employed to obtain the arrangement by which the territory on the east side of the Mississippi, including New Orleans, may be ceded to the United States, and the Mississippi made a common boundary, with a common use of its navigation for them and Spain. The inducements to be held out to Spain were intimated in your original instructions on this point. I am charged by the President now to add, that you may not only receive and transmit a proposition of guaranty of her territory beyond the Mississippi, as a condition of her ceding to the United States the territory, including New Orleans, on this side, but, in case it may be necessary, may make the proposition yourself, in the forms required. by our constitution. You will infer from this enlargement of authority, how much importance is attached to the object in question, as securing a precious acquisition to the United States, as well as a natural and quiet boundary with Spain; and will derive from this consideration additional motives to discharge, with a prudent zeal, the task committed to you.

your

[Extract.]

Mr. Livingston to the Secretary of State.

PARIS, May 20, 1802.

The same conduct was held (by the Minister of Exterior Relations) with respect to Louisiana. He would not acknowledge that the Gov

ernment had yet formed any specific plan with respect to it, or that any troops were going out; but assured me, in general terms, that nothing should be done that should give us any ground of complaint; on the contrary, their vicinity would promote our friendship.

I will not trouble you with the answers that obviously presented to this reasoning. It terminated, however, as all my conversations on the subject have done, in nothing.

I shall wait a few days in hopes of hearing from you, after having received a copy of my first note, when I shall act agreeably to your instructions, or, if you afford me none, send in a second, in which I shall press for a communication of the treaty with Spain, which, however, I am in hopes you may receive through Mr. Pinckney.

I believe that, for the present, the armament designed for Louisiana will be sent to Hispaniola, about which, I find, that much anxiety is entertained here.

Mr. Livingston to the Secretary of State.

PARIS, May 28, 1802.

SIR: Since my last I have acquired information which I can depend on, relative to the intentions of this Government with respect to Louisiana. Bernadotte is, as I told you, to command: Collot second in command. Adet is to be prefect: but the expedition is delayed till about September, on account (as Talleyrand expressed himself to Bernadotte) of some difficulty which he did not explain; but which, I have no doubt, has arisen from the different apprehensions of France and Spain relative to the meaning of the term Lousiana, which has been understood by France to include the Floridas, but probably by Spain to have been confined to the strict meaning of the term. This explains why I could never get an answer to my questions relative to the extent of the cessions; and upon which the French Government had probably no doubt till we started it. Believing, if this conjecture as to the cause of delay of the expedition was right, that no time should be lost in throwing obstructions in the way of its conclusion, I wrote the note of which the inclosed is a copy, with the double purpose of alarming Spain, and furnishing with arguments, arising from the good faith they owed us, against giving their cession the construction France would wish. I consider this as the more important, because I believe that every negotiation for this object will be carried on here. I shall, however, give the earliest and fullest information I can on this subject to Mr. Pinckney, who will enforce at Madrid the arguments I may use here to excite the alarm of the Court of Spain.

I wait impatiently some further instructions from you; those I have in some sort prohibiting such measures as may show any dissatisfac

tion on the subject, of which, however, I doubt the policy. The subject is so interesting as to induce us to risk something to defeat it.

If I do not hear from you soon I shall present a pointed memorial to this Government stating fully and candidly our objections to their taking possession of the Floridas, and demanding security for the rights we had originally, and by treaty with Spain.

I am, sir, etc.,

R. R. L.

Mr. Livingston, Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, to His Excellency Chevalier d'Azara, Ambassador of His Catholic Majesty.

PARIS, May 28, 1802.

SIR: The powerful interests that our respective Governments have, that the sincerest friendship and harmony should subsist between their territories in America, naturally leads to mutual confidence between their Ministers, and a full exposition of their sentiments upon subjects which may have a tendency to interrupt that union. I think it my duty, therefore, to open myself to you with freedom on one which is very important as it regards the good faith which, I trust, both your Government and mine will consider as the first of obligations, as it respects the great territorial interests of both Spain and the United States; and I flatter myself, sir, that with these objects in view, I shall meet with equal frankness and confidence on your part. It is generally understood that Spain has made a cession of Louisiana to France; and it might have been expected, considering the situation of this territory, and the friendly connection between both countries and the United States, that a communication would have been made of this treaty to their Government. Passing over this circumstance, probably owing rather to inattention than to a want of confidence, I proceed to make some observations on the treaty now in force between the Court of Madrid and the United States, and to inquire how far Spain has provided for the stipulations contained in that treaty, and secured thereby to the United States. The boundary between our respective Governments having been established, it is not to be doubted that the cession has confined itself to the same limits. But, sir, by the fourth article of that treaty, it is agreed that the midchannel of the Mississippi, where it divides the territories of Spain from those of the United States, shall be the boundary, and that the navigation of this river shall be confined to the subjects of Spain and the citizens of the United States, unless it shall be extended to others by special convention. I am solicitous to know, sir, in what manner the rights of the citizens of the United States in this river are preserved by the terms of the cession.

Where the river runs wholly within the territory of Spain, the

United States have, by the treaty, a qualified right of navigation of which they can not be divested. They have also the assurance of Spain that no other nation shall share this right unless by convention; by which I understand that Spain binds herself not to grant this right without some previous agreement on the subject with the United States: and this is rendered more evident from the words of the article not being confined to the river below the thirty-first degree of north latitude, but extending to the whole of the Mississippi, as well above as below: whereas, half the river above that boundary belonging to the United States, it could not have been intended that either of the contracting parties should have a right to grant, without the consent of the other, a right that was held in common. The word convention must, therefore, be intended to mean a convention between Spain and the United States; nor can any cession of the territory carry with it a right to admit other Powers to a participation of the advantages of the navigation of the Mississippi, unless by convention previously entered into between His Catholic Majesty and the United States. It is to be presumed that, in the cession which Spain has made, the Floridas are not included, because of the evident interest that she has in retaining them as security for her territories in South America, if unfortunate events should hereafter produce a rupture between France and Spain. In this case, the Floridas, by lying in the rear of the French colonies, would serve as an effectual check as well to them as to those turbulent spirits in the adjoining States who might, in spite of the efforts of their Government, incline to associate in the enterprises of France. Upon this subject, sir, however, I pray to have more explicit information, because you will observe that, by the existing treaty between our respective nations, there are special stipulations mutually agreed upon, and which the United States have a right to expect some security for, in any cession that Spain may make of that country.

By the fifth article it is agreed that Spain will restrain by force all hostilities on the part of the Indian nations living within their boundary, either on the citizens of the United States, or the Indians within their territory, &c. You will easily see, sir, that as this is a national obligation, it may be doubtful whether it will pass with the territory, and yet is of such a nature as to entitle the United States to look for its performance from the good faith of Spain, who can not, without the consent of the United States, place herself in a situation to render it of no effect. By the twenty-second article of the same treaty, Spain stipulates to permit the citizens of the United States to deposit their goods at New Orleans, and to export from thence free of duty; or, in case of withdrawing this permission, to assign them an establishment for this purpose on another part of the banks of the Mississippi. I take the liberty to ask, sir, (if the Floridas are included in the cession to France,) what stipulations the cession contains insuring to the