32 University of California Publications i History
they need not be returned nor their owners reimbursed by the
Spanish officials. In the second Spanish occupation (1783-1821)
the first governor, Vicente Manuel ZEspedes, frequently asked off-
cial opinion on the matter. One of his successors, Enrique White,
finally reached an agreementwith officials of the United States in
1797, on instructions from Spain, by which the fugitives were to
be returned.' But the agreement was irregularly observed and the
number of fugitives increased. More than half of the population
of East Florida in 1804 was listed as slaves,' but how many of
these were fugitives from the north, or how many of the escaped
Negroes eluded any census, it would be difficult to say.
 It has been shown in the first chapter that Monroe was one of
 the most active promoters of the United States' designs on the
 Floridas. Therefore it was natural that during his secretaryship
 of state another attempt should be made on them. He appears to
 have been involved in a clandestine plot to revolutionize East
 Florida by abetting the expedition led there by General George
 Mathews, former governor of Georgia. Congress in a secret act of
 January, 1811, had authorized occupation of the Floridas east of
 the Perdido River in the event the local authorities agreed, or in
 the event another Power threatened them.* The latter condition
 was made in view of the possibility of the use of the Gulf Coast
 by England in the war which was then threatening. In accordance
 with the first condition, Mathews had been sent to take over the
 section of West Florida included in the act, inasmuch as it had
 been offered to the United States by a harassed Spanish governor.
 But, in the meantime, that official, Vicente Folch, had changed his
 mind and he refused to deliver. Mathews then turned his interest
 to the eastern province. At the same time a detachment of riflemen
 and some ships of the navy gathered at the St. Mary's River, to be
 on hand if an opportunity came to carry out the Congressional
 authorization.
 Mathews hatched a scheme whereby he could conduct a mock
 revolution with the aid of the "Anglo-Americans" who were al-
 ready resident in the Spanish territory. Its leaders were to request
 occupation by the United States. He had already discussed these
 plans in Washington, in January, 1811, and had received instruc-
 tions in a letter written by Monroe on June 29 to take charge on
 the border with the troops already gathered there. Soon after that,