Doc. No. 75. 



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to the port of San Juan, in fulfilment of the 6th article of the armistice of 

 the 7th of March, 1848; and, full of the most flattering hopes with respect 

 to this negotiation, also trusted that those of Costa Rica would not be 

 any longer deferred, and that an equitable arrangement would at length 

 take place between the States. The appointment of the commissioner 

 who was to come to Nicaragua was already announced, and everything 

 foretold a happy future when I left Nicaragua; but all has changed aspect 

 since that period, and, unfortunately, the state of the affair is now more 

 difficult than ever. 



The commissioner from Costa Rica arrived at Nicaragua; Mr. Felipe 

 Molina was the gentleman appointed to execute it; and this still further 

 increased the confidence of that State, where Mr. Mohna was no less 

 known from his talents than from his ideas with regard to nationality, 

 he having been one of those who have labored for the re- establishment 

 of the federal union of the five districts of Central America. But 

 Mr. Molina had instructions to uphold the rights of Costa Rica, and 

 in the event of an arrangement becoming diflicult upon this basis, to 

 pass to this court to execute a treaty with the British government, wherein 

 the integrity of the territory which Costa Rica acknowledges as its 

 own in its new charter and government decrees should be guarantied. 

 Therefore, although, in point of fact, he proposed to the government of 

 Nicaragua various means of setding the question, one being to pay one 

 hundred thousand dollars by instalments, they were not accepted, as was 

 also the case v/ith those which were with the same object proposed to the 

 said minister by the Nicaragua commission on the 23d of September last 

 year, and which were as follows: 1st. To stipulate for the absolute liberty 

 and rights of traffic for Costa Rica by the rivers Serapique and San Juan. 

 2d . To declare that Nicaragua would consent to Costa Rica bein g perpetually 

 a surface occupier of such land as it might require for roads of communi- 

 cation, even when such roads should cross through the territory of Nica- 

 ragua within the limits which it contends for, and which ought to be de- 

 finitively assigned to it. 3d. To submit the decision of these questions 

 to an arbitration. Mr. Molina refusing these means, the Nicaraguan com- 

 mission placed in his hands a protest: Istly, against all the occupation 

 of the territory in question; 2dly, against the use of the waters of the 

 rivers Serapique and San Juan, blocking them and giving them a course 

 differf^nt to their natural one, it being understood that any occupation put 

 into effect with.out the consent of Nicaragua would be considered as a 

 violent one; 3dly, against the retention of the district of Nicoya; 4thly, 

 against foreign intervention, by which Costa Rica may propose to itself 

 the dismemberment of the territory of Central America, uniting it to its 

 own as a republic," independent and separate from the other States, to 

 which union it had belonged and slill ought to belong. This, however, 

 being no impediment to Nicaiagua's listening to the proposals which may 

 hereafter be made on the part of Costa Rica to come to a satisfactory ar- 

 rangement, Mr. Mclina replied with dicoimter protest to the contrary effect, 

 for the purpose of preserving the rights which his State deems that it 

 possesses over the said territory and rivers, and left for this court, where 

 he is at present. For my part, I have invited him to come to an arrange- 

 ment sperote; and he has rtifused, alleging my want of pov/ers. I 

 have invited him to inform me whether he was instructed to support the 

 claims of Nicaragua to the territory Avhich has been usurped to it, under 



