Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2- Appendix): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

152 APPKNBIX. the Rio de la Plata, to the rights of Great Britain, as asserted in that protest ; but the Buenos Ayrean government persisted, notwithstand- ing the receipt of that protest, in exercising those acts of sovereignty against which the protest was specially directed. Tlie government of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata could not have expected, after the explicit declaration which had been so formally made of the right of the cro%vn of Great Britain to the islands in question, that his Majesty would sUently submit to such a course of proceeding ; nor could that government have been surprised at the step which his Majesty thought proper to take, in order to the resumption of rights which had never been abandoned, and which had only been permitted to he dormant, under circumstances which had been explained to the Buenos- Ayrean government. The claim of Great Britain to the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands having been unequivocally asserted and maintained, during those discussions with Spain, in 1770 and 1771, which nearly led to a war between the two countries, and Spain having deemed it pro- per to put an end to those discussions, by restoring to his Majesty the places from which British subjects had been expelled, the government of the United Provinces could not reasonably have anticipated that the British Government would permit any other state to exercise aright, as derived from Spain, which Great Britain had denied to Spain herself ; and this consideration alone would fuUy justify his Majesty's Government Lq declining to enter into any further explanation upon a question which, upwards of half a century ago, was so notoriously and decisively adjusted with another government more immediately concerned. But M. Moreno, in the note which he has addressed to the imder- signed, has endeavoured to shew that, at the termination of the memorable discussions referred to between Great Britain and Spain, a secret understanding existed between the two courts, in virtue of which Great Britain was pledged to restore the islands to Spain at a subsequent period, and that the evacuation of them, in 1774, by his Majesty, was the fulfilment of that pledge. The existence of such a secret understanding is alleged to be proved ; first, by the reservation, as to the former right of sovereignty over the islands, which was contained in the Spanish declaration, delivered at the time of the restoration of Port Egmont and its depen- dencies to his Majesty ; and, secondly, by the concurrent description