On November 12 Burges, under secretary for the foreign office, wrote to Auckland:
That you and our Dutch friends are satisfied with the conclusion of the Spanish business, I am not surprised. Even the opposition here, always ready enough to pick holes, as you know, whenever they can, seem to be dumfounded, and to have nothing to say against us except that we have asked and carried so much that it is impossible such a peace can last long.
Speaking of the credit given to Fitzherbert for his success in the negotiation and of the honor conferred upon him by his being raised to the peerage, the same letter continued:
Fitzherbert of course gains much glory, as all good ministers should who follow up their instructions, and I understand that he is forthwith to receive the high reward of an Irish peerage.[443]
These references are sufficient to show that the English ministry was highly pleased with the success of the negotiation. On November 24 the mayor, the aldermen, and the commons of the city of London, in common council assembled, assured the King of their gratitude for the continuance of peace with Spain, and congratulated him on the reconciliation.[444] On November 26 Parliament assembled. The King’s speech mentioned the successful termination of the negotiation and laid before the Houses copies of the declaration and counter declaration and the convention.[445] On the same day the House of Lords accorded enthusiastic thanks and congratulations.[446] Four days later the Commons, after an extended debate and some criticisms from the opposition, approved the address, and assured the King that provision would be made for the expenses of the armament.[447] A general discussion of the merits of the convention was made the order of the day for December 13 in the House of Lords. The debate was extended, and the criticism of the ministry by the opposition was very severe. The friends of the Government seemed confident of the results and did not exert themselves greatly to refute the arguments. The convention was approved.[448] On the same day the Commons debated a motion calling for all of the correspondence on the dispute. There were the same violent attacks by the opposition and the same apparent indifference on the part of the friends of the administration. The motion was defeated by an overwhelming majority. On the next day, December 14, the merits of the convention were discussed. The opposing sides manifested much the same spirit, and in the end the convention was approved by a large majority.[449]
The logical results of the convention were interfered with by England’s taking part in the war against France within a little more than two years after its signature. This absorbed her attention almost continuously for twenty-two years and prevented her, to a great extent, from taking advantage of the concessions gained. Before the end of that period the United States had entered the contest for controlling the Northwest Coast, and in a few years more purchased the Spanish claim. Thereby the whole matter was merged in the Oregon controversy. The immediate result for England was that she obtained free access to an extended coast, of which she has since come into full possession. For Spain, it was the first external evidence of the weakness of the reign of Charles IV, and was the beginning of the series of disasters which Spain successively suffered under that incompetent Monarch and his corrupt advisers. It was the first express renunciation of Spain’s ancient claim to exclusive sovereignty over the American shores of the Pacific Ocean and the South Seas. It marks the beginning of the collapse of the Spanish colonial system.[450]
Chapter XIV.
SUBSEQUENT NEGOTIATIONS AND FINAL SETTLEMENT OF THE NOOTKA SOUND DISPUTE.
Although the convention was concluded in 1790, yet the Nootka Sound affair was still far from settled. The first article of the convention, agreeing to restore to British subjects the buildings and lands which had been taken from them at Nootka, had to be carried out. The agreement of the Spanish declaration of July 24 to indemnify the parties concerned in the ships captured at Nootka was also still to be fulfilled. It required a long arbitration and two new conventions to accomplish these results, and in the meantime an intimate treaty of alliance had been entered into for mutual protection against the excesses of the French Revolution. It was more than four years before these matters were finally adjusted. The present chapter will review them briefly.