BRITISH HONDURAS. 



raids upon the mahogany works and stores ; while it has been 

 reserved to the United States to regard the existence of this 

 British Colony, " which was in existence more than a century 

 before the Great Eepublic was dreamt of, as an infringement of 

 the ex poste facto doctrine, associated with the name of President 

 Monroe." Happily, however, Spain has wholly ceded her rights ; 

 Guatemala, by the treaty of 1859, has agreed to the main 

 boundary line of the interior ; Mexico, by a treaty of 1816, and 

 a further recognition in 1852, has accepted the status quo; 

 while the Clayton-Bulwer treaty of 1859 has fairly exempted 

 the Colony of British Honduras from all operations of the 

 Monroe doctrine. 



To give a brief historical sketch, it may be added that 

 Honduras was discovered in 1502 by Columbus, and in 1518 

 Grijalva landed on the Island of Cozumel, and named the 

 country New Spain. In 1638, a few British subjects first 

 inhabited Honduras, having been wrecked on the coast ; and 

 in 1642 the English took possession of the Island of Euatan. 

 Campeachy was attacked and taken by a few English sailors in 

 1659. Logwood cutters settled in 1662 at Cape Catoche. The 

 Treaty of Madrid, 1667, stipulated that six months' notice should 

 be given by either party, in case of war, to give time to parties 

 to remove their merchandise and effects. In July, 1670, Spain 

 ceded, in perpetuity to Great Britain, by treaty, with plenary 

 right of sovereignty, all lands in the West Indies, or in any part 

 of America held by the English at the time (Art. vii). Logwood 

 establishments increased rapidly from this date, the population 

 of the settlement amounted to 700 white settlers, among whom 

 was the famous Admiral Benbow, and a creek on which he 

 worked bears his name to this day. 



Commissioners for the Government of Honduras were first 

 appointed 31st July, 1745. 



