78 [PRIVATE.] 



Vb this river must, from the evident views of the parties at the 

 time, from (H^) their supposed relations to each Other, and from their 

 known relations to a third (119) power, as to this river, have been con- 

 sidered of mutual and equal advantage, and furnished no subject 

 for compensation or adjustment in any other provision of that treaty. 

 Both parties beheved that this river touched the territories of 

 both, and that, of course, both had a right to its navigation. As 

 Spain possessed both banks of this river, to a considerable distance 

 from its mouth, and one of its banks nearly throughout its whole 

 extent, both parties had an interest in uniting to prevent that power 

 from obstructing its navigation. Had not the article been intended 

 to engage the parties in relation to Spain, they (li^O) would, probably, 

 have limited it to the navigation of the river (121) as far as their own 

 territories extended on it, and not have stipulated for this naviga- 

 tion to the ocean, which necessarily carried it through the exclusive 

 territories of Spain. 



If the circumstances had been, in fact, such as the parties at the 

 time believed them to be, and with a view to which tljey acted ; or 

 had these circumstances subsequently experienced no radical 

 change ; Great Britain would have gained now no more than she 

 would have granted by the (122) revival of the article in relation to 

 (123) the Mississippi, and would not, any more than in 17G3, have ac- 

 knowledged any equivalent to be conferred by it for our libert} 

 relative to the fisheries. The circumstances, however, assumed 

 by the parties, at the tim-e, in. relation to Great Britain, and from 

 which her rights were deduced, have not only, in part, been disco- 

 vered not to have existed, but those which did exist have been en- 

 tirely changed by subsequent events. It has (124) been ascertained 

 that the territories assigned to Great Britain, no where, in fact, 

 reached the Mississippi ; and the acquisition of Louisiana by the 

 United States (125) has forever removed the Spanish jurisdictioa 

 that river. 



The whole consideration, therefore, on the part of Great Britain, 

 whether derived from her territorial'rights, or from her part of the 

 reciprocal obligations relative to Spain, having entirely failed, our 

 engagements, entered into on account of that consideration, may be 

 fairly construed to have terminated with it. 



In this view of the subject, Great Britain could have had no title 

 to the navigation of the Mississippi, even if a war had not taken 

 place between the parties. To renew, therefore, the claims of 

 Great Britain, under that article, subject to this construction, would 

 be granting her nothing ; and to renew that article, independent of 

 this construction, and without any reference to the circumstances 

 that attended its origin, in 1783, or to the events which have since 

 occurred in relation to it, would be granting her advantages not 

 only entirely ■(126)uni-lateral, as it relates to the article itself, but, 

 (127) as I believe, of much greater importance than any which we 

 could derive from the libertv relative to the fisheries. 



