quito Nation knows no such Government; as he Sir Gregor M'Gregor has not fulfilled his stipulations with me: and any applications concerning the settlers or merchants must be made to the Poyais Government, or to the Grand Cazique. GEORGE FREDERIC. AUGUSTUS, To Colonel Hall. King of the Mosquito Nation. Should Colonel Hall wish to have an interview with me respecting any private business of his own, I am ready to grant it. SIR, I commit this letter (that you will receive per bearer) to your charge, which you will have the goodness to open in presence of all the settlers at Black River, when you arrive there. (Signed) GEORGE FREDERIC AUGUSTUS, King of the Mosquito Nation. Cape Gracias a Dios, April 5th. To Colonel Hall. George FredeRIC AUGUSTUS, King of the Mosquito Nation, to the Settlers at Black River. My will and pleasure is, I have guaranteed to you the possession of all the lands you may have purchased at Black River, within my kingdom, from General M'Gregor, that you may enjoy the property unmolested you have purchased from the aforesaid; after the deeds being countersigued by me, and the proprietor taking the oath of allegiance, which must be done by the 1st of January, 1824: no one will be permitted to remain, nor hold landed property in the kingdom unless the said stipulations are fulfilled, those that have not purchased land heretofore, shall have fifty acres at twenty-five cents per acre, to be paid to me within five years after the date of purchase, either in money, goods, or service: I shall appoint a commissioner to carry the same into effect. I do hereby furthermore command you to treat the inhabitants with civility and respect, and be cautious not to infringe upon public law, or private right, but make yourselves acquainted with their laws and customs, for any deviation from the same will end in their total alienation from the English (to whom otherwise they will be respectful), with the ruin of your property and probably your lives. I will give a constitution to the kingdom, as well for the benefit of the subject as the sovereign, founded upon justice to Christians of all persuasions, who may worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. All cases between man and man are to be decided between wise and honest arbitrators, for the present, until men of wisdom and integrity are appointed to fill up those places that their education and abilities entitle them to. No taxes shall be laid on for one year, commencing from the 1st of January last past, until the 1st of January 1824. All arms, ammunition, and military stores of all descriptions, are prohibited from being landed in my dominions without my orders; and any person or persons aiding or assisting (knowing the same to be military stores), that shall not give information to me, or my officers residing in or near the place, within twenty-four hours after the same shall be landed, shall be deemed as a traitor to this country, and suffer the sentence of the law. Done at Cape Gracias a Dios, in the Year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, (on the fifth day of April), and in the seventh Year of our Reign. (Signed) GEORGE FREDERIC AUGUSTUS, King of the Mosquito Nation. From all these circumstances united, I requested Mr. Bennett to convey sixty-six persons the most severely afflicted by sickness, to Belize: I also addressed a letter to Brigade Major Baldwin, entreating Major General Codd, to prevent the waste of life, would be pleased to remove the whole of the settlers to Belize. The letter is as follows: Black River, 7th May, 1823. TO THE MAJOR OF BRIGADE, Honduras. SIR, I have the honour to address you for information of Major General Codd, his Majesty's Superintendent and Commandant of the Troops at Honduras, and regret exceedingly, under circumstances of peculiar distress. A party of settlers, amounting in all to about two hundred persons, men, women, and children, arrived here some months ago, with a view of prosecuting agricultural and commercial pursuits, most of them having purchased land of Sir Gregor M'Gregor, who was understood to have obtained a grant of a considerable extent of territory from the King of the Mosquito Nation, but which grant his Majesty declines to confirm, and which, together with the insalubrity of the climate, and their having been thrown into a wilderness destitute of resource, have caused the most alarming indisposition, insomuch, that the greater part are languishing on beds of sickness. Wishing to preserve the lives of so many British subjects, I entreat you may be pleased to lay this matter before the Major General, who, I trust, with his accustomed humanity, will afford such relief as his wisdom may suggest. Should the Major General deem it expedient to send vessels for the removal of the passengers and stores from this inclement country, I am informed by Mr. Bennett, now here, that two vessels similar in size to the Mexican Eagle, would be sufficient for the transport of the settlers' provisions and stores; the latter considerable in quantity. I beg leave to add, that Captain Hedgcock, the master of the Honduras Packet, who carried a part of the passengers and goods to this country, has unlawfully appropriated to himself the greater part of the provisions and stores, intended for the use and comfort of the settlers, which has materially added to the present calamity. P. S. I enclose herewith a transcript of a statement this instant received from Mr. Douglas, the surgeon, on the subject of the above letter. H. HALL. To this letter, I received the following answer: SIR, Government House, Belize, Honduras, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 7th instant, which having laid, in compliance with your wish, before Major General Codd, he has commanded me to say in reply, that in consequence of your solicitation and distressing representation, confirmed by Marshal Bennett, Esq., a magistrate of this settlement, an eye-witness of the scene; together with the truly calamitous state in which that part of the sufferers saved by his humanity arrived, with |