tory. But the partisan writers who take this view entirely forget, or willfully overlook the important fact, that in 1814, Great Britain, by a new treaty with Spain, revived and re-enacted all the provisions of the treaty of 1786. They forget, also, that the British government, until possibly within a few years, never pretended to any rights acquired in virtue of this successful defense; for, as late as 1817-19, the acts of Parliament relating to Belize always refer to it as "a settlement for certain purposes, in the possession and under the protection of his majesty, etc." The "certain purposes" here referred to are clearly those set forth in the treaty of 1786, and revived in 1814. But this is not all; after the independence of the Spanish American provinces, Great Britain, not knowing within which new republic the territory of Belize might fall, sought to secure her rights there by incorporating the provisions of the treaty of 1786 in all of her treaties with the new states. It was, in fact, incorporated in her treaty of 1826 with Mexico; was included in the project of a treaty which she submitted to Señor Zebadua, the representative of the Republic of Central America in London, in 1831,† but which failed from the want of ade

* June 27, 1817, the Parliament of Great Britain passed an act, which received the royal sanction and became a law, entitled,

"An Act for the more effectual punishment of murders and manslaughters committed in places not within his majesty's dominions."

Its enacting clause is as follows:

“Whereas grievous murders and manslaughters have been committed at the settlement in the Bay of Honduras, the same being a settlement for certain purposes, and under the protection of his majesty, but NOT within the territory and dominions of his majesty," etc., etc.

This act was amended in 1819, and is still in force. (See 57 George III., p. 183.)

+ "En el tratado que yo tenia sobre la carpeta del ministro Ingles, esperando los poderes de mi gobierno, cuando se me obligó á venirme trayendome el archivo de la legacion, se habia introducido un articulo por el qual se deberian conservar á los subditos Ingleses las concesiones que estaban hechos por el tratado

quate powers to negotiate on the part of that representative; and was incorporated also in the project of a treaty submitted to New Granada in 1825, from which it was omitted by New Granada, as relating to territory beyond and never within her jurisdiction. Great Britain, therefore, is without any legitimate rights in Belize beyond those conveyed by the treaties. already quoted, which define with the greatest precision the area within which these qualified rights may be exercised. But it appears from a dispatch of Sir George Gray, Colonial Secretary, dated in 1836, that pretensions had been then set up to an additional wide extent of territory, including the entire coast as far south as the River Sarstoon, and inland to the meridian of Garbutt's Falls, on the River Belize.* No pretext has yet been put forward to justify this new assumption, whereby the territory of Belize was more than doubled, and it stands as a simple arbitrary act of power against a weak and unresisting state. Still, the British crown hesitates to constitute Belize as a colony, nor will it guarantee titles to lands within the limits so positively set forth. Politically, Belize is still "a settlement for certain purposes, under the protection, but not within the dominion of the British crown." It is called "an establishment," and is governed by a superintendent and local assembly, dependent on the Governor of Ja

de 1783 y Convencion de 1786, segun los quales solamente se les permitia el uso del terreno, y se fixaban los limites á que el establecimiento debia circunscribirse. Por este medio, la Inglaterra quedaba sujeta en virtud de un convenio expreso con Centro-America, á guardarle las estipulaciones del tratado y Convencion referida, y se dejaba abierta la puerta para ulteriores negociaciones respecto del mismo establecimiento. El gobierno Ingles estaba conforme en este punto peculiar á sus intereses con este pais, y nada mas se exigia de mi en ningun concepto."—Manifestacion publica del ciudadano Marcial Zebadua, sobre su Mision Diplomatica cerca de su Magestad Británica. Guatemala, 1832, p. 40.

* This dispatch, addressed to Samuel Coxe, Esq., and dated November 23d, 1836, is given in full in the chapter on "The Bay Islands."

maica. This anomalous state of things has no doubt seriously interfered with the material prosperity of Belize; and while it must be insisted that Great Britain has no technical rights of sovereignty over the territory, yet it can not be denied that the enterprise of her subjects has rescued a desolate coast from the savage dominion of nature, and carried industry, laws, and a qualified civilization where none existed before, and where, if left to the control of the Spanish race, none would have existed to this day. In the interest of civilization and humanity, there can be no doubt that the occupation of Belize by the English is a fact not to be regretted; and the sooner that occupation takes a definite form, the better for the establishment and the world. It was probably these considerations which induced Mr. Clayton, American Secretary of State, to consent to the exclusion of Belize from the operation of the Convention of July 5th, 1850, between the United States and Great Britain, whereby both powers bound themselves "not to occupy, fortify, or colonize any part of Central America."*

Taking the limits of Belize as laid down by Sir George Gray, and as extending from the Rio Hondo on the north to the Rio Sarstoon on the south, and inland to the meridian of Garbutt's Falls on the River Belize, we have a territory about 160 miles long by not far from 60 miles wide at its broadest part, equal to an area of 9600 square miles.

The approach to the coast is through cays and coral reefs, and the channels for ships are intricate and dangerous. For nearly sixty miles vessels wind among

* "The treaty was not understood to include the British settlement commonly called British Honduras, nor the small islands in the neighborhood of that settlement, which may be known as its dependencies."-J.M. Clayton, Secre tary of State, to Sir Henry L. Bulwer, July 4th, 1850.

innumerable islets, some mere walls of rock, covered with sand, and others loaded with verdure to the water's edge. Between these and the main land is a broad belt of still water, deep, but so clear that the eye can nearly every where penetrate to the bottom, and watch the various forms of marine life which flourish there. The coast itself for some miles inland is low and swampy, thickly covered with forests of mangroves and tropical jungle. But as we ascend the river the land rises, and assumes an entirely different character, spreading out in what, in the Western States, are called "bottoms," of rich alluvial earth, varying in width from fifty yards to a mile. Beyond these, and parallel to the rivers, are vast tracts of sandy, arid land, covered with forests of red pine, called "pine ridges," the favorite abodes of the cougar, peccary, and other wild animals. Still further inland, ascending the rivers, the pine ridges give place to others of a dif ferent character, called "cahoon ridges." These have a deep, rich soil, and are covered with myriads of palmtrees, known as "cahoon palms," of which the arching branches form cool, beautiful vistas, scarcely penetrated by the rays of the sun. Succeeding these are broad savannas, studded with clumps of trees, through which the streams which descend from the mountains wind in every direction. The mountains themselves rise in a succession of ridges, parallel to the coast, the first of which, called the Manati Hills, are from 800

* "The whole coast of British Honduras, for two or three miles inland, is low, flat, and swampy. But in making use of the word swamp I do not mean bog or morass, but simply, in consequence of its being frequently overflowed with water, a soft, moist, and spongy soil. But the soil itself is a rich black loam, admirably adapted to the cultivation of rice, and, by drainage, capable of being made equal to any soil in the world. In ascending the rivers the land gradually rises and assumes a totally different character, becoming a stiff clay."Temple.

to 1000 feet above the level of the sea. Beyond these are the Cockscomb Mountains, estimated to be at least 4000 feet high. From these mountains descend numerous streams, through wild, picturesque valleys, forming many cataracts, and in some places subterranean passages through the rocky barriers which interpose between them and the sea.* Not less than sixteen of these streams, sufficiently large to be called rivers, enter the ocean, between the Hondo and the Sarstoon. †

The climate of Belize is hot and damp, but favorably influenced by the full exposure of the country to the ventilation of the trade winds. The average mean temperature for the year 1848 was 79° Fahr.; the

* "On a branch of the River Sibun, named Indian Creek, are situated the caves ; these are subterranean passages, which have been formed at the base of three or four mountains of very considerable height, no doubt by the force of the current of water, which probably for many centuries has forced its way through them. The largest of these passages is somewhat more than a quarter of a mile in length, though in this country it has a greater extent given to it. It would certainly require no common powers of description to delineate with fidelity the exquisite beauties connected with the largest of the caves. The entrance to it from Indian Creek, after many windings, bursts suddenly on the sight, and resembles very closely the aperture of an oven, and is thickly overhung with rocks and trees of the grandest but wildest workmanship. When this is passed a wide and spacious lake immediately commences, the water of which is silent and deep, being scarcely heard to murmur but during the most tempestuous floods. The lofty roof is arched with the most exact proportion, and is profusely studded with glittering crystallizations. Torch-light affords the visitor the only means of advantageously viewing this sublime piece of scenery; for if, in one or two places, an occasional beam of the sun, bursting with inconceivable lustre through the clefts of the mountain, be withdrawn, entire darkness pervades the whole, and the smallest sound made in passing being quickly loudly reverberated, is forcibly calculated to strike the ear with a feeling of solemn grandeur.”—Henderson's Honduras, p. 44.

"They are the Hondo, the New River, Northern River, the Belize River, the Sibun, the Manati, Mullins River, Sittee River, Monkey River, Deep River, Middle River, Rio Grande, Golden Stream, Moho River, the River Termash, and the River Sarstoon. Many of these rivers run a great distance before they fall into the sea. The Sibun, without taking into consideration its numerous windings, runs in a direct line about sixty miles; the Belize River about ninety, and the River Hondo about one hundred and thirty. Of the Belize River there are not less than five great branches."-Temple.