At this time the boundaries between the provinces of Carolina and Florida were neither clearly marked nor well understood, as they had never been settled by any public agreement or treaty between England and Spain. To prevent negroes escaping to the Spanish territories, and overawe the Indians under the Spanish juridiction, the Carolineans had built a fort on the forks of the river Alatamaha, and supported a small garrison in it. This gave umbrage to the governor of Augustine, who complained of it to the court of Madrid, representing it as an encroachment on the dominions of Spain, and intended to seduce the Indians from their allegiance to his Catholic Majesty. The Spanish ambassador at London lodged the complaint before the court of Britain, and demanded that orders be sent out to Carolina immediately to demolish the fort. To prevent any interruption of the good correspondence then subsisting between the two courts, it was agreed to send orders to both governors in America to meet in an amicable manner, and settle the respective boundaries between the British and Spanish dominions in that quarter. Accordingly soon after Don Francisco Menandez, and Don Joseph de Rabiero, came to Charlestown, to hold a conference with the president and council of Carolina about this matter. At their meeting, Mr. Middleton shewed those deputies, that this fort was built within the bounds of the charter granted to the Proprietors, and that the pretensions of Spain to such lands were vain and groundless. At the same time he told them, that the fort on the river Alatamaha was erected for defending themselves and their property against the depredations of Indians living under the jurisdiction of Spain. Then he begged to know from them their reasons for protecting felons and debtors that fled from Carolina to them, and for encouraging negroes to leave their masters and take refuge at Augustine, while peace subsisted between the two crowns? The deputies replied, That the governor of Florida would deliver up all felons and debtors; but had express orders for twenty years past, to detain all slaves who should fly to Augustine for liberty and protection. Middleton declared he looked on such injurious orders as a breach of national honour and faith, especially as negroes were real property, such as houses and lands, in Carolina. The deputies answered, That the design of the King of Spain was not to injure private men, having ordered compensation to be made to the masters of such slaves in money; but that his humanity and religion enjoined him to issue such orders for the sake of converting slaves to the Christian faith. In short, the conference ended to the satisfaction of neither party, and matters remained as they were; but soon after, the English fort, built of wood, was burned to the ground, and the southern frontiers of Carolina were again left naked and defenceless. [Sidenote] Colonel Palmer makes reprisals on the Spaniards.