and the only evidence, with regard to those events, except the journal of Douglas, which can bear the test of strict examination, is contained in a letter addressed, three years afterwards, to the Spanish commandant of Nootka, by Gray, the captain of the Washington, and Ingraham, the mate of the Columbia.* Meares and Colnett endeavor to cast blame on the Americans for their conduct in these proceedings; their complaints, however, on examination, seem to rest entirely on the fact that the Washington and Columbia were undisturbed, while their own vessels were seized by the Spaniards. That Gray and Kendrick profited by the quarrels between the other two parties is probable, and no one can question their right to do so; but no evidence has been adduced that they, on any occasion, took an unfair advantage of either: though it is also probable that their feelings were rather in favor of the Spaniards, by whom they were always treated with courtesy and kindness, than of the British, to whom, if we are to judge by the expressions of Meares and Colnett, they were, from the commencement, the objects of hatred and ridicule.

In one of the above-mentioned trading excursions of the Washington, made in June, 1789, Gray explored the whole east coast of Queen Charlotte's Island, which had never before been visited by the people of any civilized nation, though Duncan, in the Princess Royal, had, in the preceding year, sailed through the sea separating it from the main land and other islands. The American, being ignorant of this fact, as also of the name bestowed on the territory by Dixon, called it Washington's Island; and thus it was, for a long period, always distinguished by the fur traders of the United States. Meares endeavors, in his narrative, to secure to Douglas, the captain of the Iphigenia, the merit of having first established the insulation of the territory; though Douglas, in his journal annexed to that narrative, expressly alludes to the previous visits of the Washington to many places on the east coast. The assertion of this claim for Douglas was one of the causes of the dispute between Meares and Dixon, in 1791, which will be hereafter mentioned more particularly.

In a subsequent excursion from Nootka, Gray entered the opening south-east of that place, between the 48th and 49th parallels of latitude, which had been found by Berkely in 1787, and was supposed to be the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Through

* See Proofs and Illustrations, under the letter D.

this opening Gray sailed, as he informed Vancouver in 1792, "fifty miles in an east-south-east direction, and found the passage five leagues wide." He then returned to the Pacific, and, on his way to Nootka, he met the Columbia, which had just quitted the sound, with the crew of the North-West America on board as passengers, for China; and it was agreed between the two captains that Kendrick should take command of the sloop, and remain on the coast, while Gray, in the Columbia, should carry to Canton all the furs which had been collected by both vessels. This was accordingly done; and Gray arrived, on the 6th of December, at Canton, where he sold his furs, and took in a cargo of tea, with which he entered Boston on the 10th of August, 1790, having carried the flag of the United States for the first time around the world. Kendrick, immediately on parting with the Columbia, proceeded in the Washington to the Strait of Fuca, through which he passed, in its whole length, as will be hereafter more fully shown.

The Argonaut, with Colnett and his men on board as prisoners, arrived, on the 16th of August, at San Blas, near which place they were kept prisoners until the arrival of the commandant of that department, Captain Bodega y Quadra, by whom Colnett was treated with great kindness, and soon after sent to the city of Mexico. There he remained several months, during which the examination of the cases of the seized vessels was in progress; and it was at length decided that, although Martinez had acted conformably with the general laws and regulations of Spain, forbidding all aliens from resorting to the Spanish American coasts, and the vessels might therefore be retained as lawful prizes, yet, in consideration of the apparent ignorance of their officers and owners with regard to the laws and rights of Spain, as also for the sake of peace with England, they should be released, with the understanding, however, that they were not again to enter any place on the Spanish American coasts, either for the purpose of settlement or of trade with the natives. In virtue of this decision, Colnett returned to San Blas, where he learned that several of his men had died of the fever endemic at that place, and his ship was much injured by the service to which she had been subjected; she was, nevertheless, refitted, and, with the remainder of her crew, he sailed in her for Nootka, to receive possession of the Princess Royal, for which he had an order. On arriving at the sound,

Colnett found the place deserted; and, not knowing where to seek

the sloop, he sailed for Macao, which he reached in the latter part of 1790. Thence he went, in the following year, to the Sandwich Islands, where the Princess Royal was restored to him, in March, by Lieutenant Quimper, the Spanish officer under whose command she had been employed for nearly two years.

The political discussions between the governments of Great Britain and Spain, which had meanwhile taken place, in consequence of the seizures at Nootka, will be related in the ensuing chapter.

26

202

CHAPTER IX.

1790.

Controversy between Great Britain and Spain respecting the North-West Coasts of America and the Navigation of the Pacific - The Owners of the Vessels seized at Nootka apply for Redress to the British Government, which demands Satisfaction for the alleged Outrages Spain resists the Demand, and calls on France for Aid, agreeably to the Family Compact - Proceedings in the National Assembly of France on the Subject - Spain engages to indemnify the British for the Property seized-Further Demands of Great Britain Designs of Pitt against Spanish America - Secret Mediation of France, through which the Dispute is settled - Convention of October, 1790, called the Nootka Treaty - Proceedings in Parliament, and Reflections on this Convention.

THE Columbia arrived at Macao from Nootka in December, 1789, bringing as passengers the officers and crew of the NorthWest America, who communicated the news of the capture of that vessel, and of the Argonaut and Princess Royal, by the Spaniards. The owners immediately determined to apply to the British government for redress; and Meares was accordingly despatched to London, where he arrived in April, 1790, provided with depositions, and other documents, in substantiation of their claims. While he was on his way, however, the circumstances on which his application was to be founded had already become the subject of a serious discussion between the courts of London and Madrid.

On the 10th of February, 1790, the Spanish ambassador at London presented to the British ministry a note, in which, after communicating the fact of the seizure of a British vessel (the Argonaut) at Nootka, he required, in the name of his government, that the parties who had planned the expedition should be punished, in order to deter other persons from making settlements on territories long occupied and frequented by the Spaniards; and he at the same time complained of the trade and fishery, by British subjects, in the seas adjoining the Spanish American continent on the west, as contrary to the rights of Spain, guarantied by Great Britain in the treaty of Utrecht, and respected by all European nations. To this the British ministers answered, on the 26th, that, although they had not received exact information as to the facts stated by the

ambassador, yet the act of violence against British subjects described in his note necessarily suspended all discussion of the claims advanced by him, until adequate atonement should have been made for the outrage. In the mean time, they demanded the immediate restoration of the vessel seized, reserving further proceedings on the subject until more complete details of the circumstances could be obtained.

This unexpected answer, with other circumstances, induced the Spanish cabinet to suspect that more was meant than had been openly declared by Great Britain; that this power was, in fact, only seeking an occasion to break the peace with Spain for some ulterior object and, under the influence of this suspicion, preparations for war were commenced in all the naval arsenals of the latter kingdom. The king of Spain being, however, anxious to prevent a rupture, if possible, his ambassador at London addressed another note to the British government in April, declaring that, although the Spanish crown had an indubitable right to the continent, islands, harbors, and coasts, of America on the Pacific, founded upon treaties and immemorial possession, yet, as the viceroy of Mexico had released the vessel seized at Nootka, his Catholic majesty regarded the affair as concluded, without entering into any disputes and discussions on the undoubted rights of Spain; and, desiring to give a proof of his friendship for Great Britain, he should rest satisfied, if her subjects were commanded to respect those rights in future.

This last communication was received about the time when Meares arrived in London from China; and the information brought by him was not calculated to render the British government inclined to accept the pacific overture of Spain. On the contrary, orders were issued for arming two large fleets, and the whole affair, which had been previously kept secret, was submitted to Parliament by a message from the king on the 5th of May.

In this message, his majesty states that two vessels, belonging to his subjects, and navigated under the British flag, and two others, of which the description was not then sufficiently ascertained, had been captured at Nootka Sound, by an officer commanding two Spanish ships of war; the cargoes of the two British vessels had been seized, and their crews had been sent as prisoners to a Spanish port; that, as soon as he had been informed of the capture of one of these vessels, he had ordered a demand to be made for her restitution, and for adequate satisfaction, previous to any other discussion; from the answer to which demand, it appeared that the

--