The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-19 00:00:00

COURT CIRCULAR.

WINDSOR, SUNDAY.—The Queen did not walk out
yesterday morning, owing to the unfavourable state
of the weather.

Prince Albert went out shooting yesterday fore-
noon, attended by the Marquis of Ormonde and
Colonel Bouverie.

'the Royal Family were all taken an airing for a
short time yesterday in the Castle precincts.
The following illustrious visitors took leave of her
Majesty and Prince Albert yesterday morning, and
afteiwards left the Castle :—His Serene Highness
Prince Edward of Saxe Weitnar, Field-Marshal the
Duke of Wellington, and the Earl and Countess of
Dalhousie.

Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited
her Majesty and the Royal Family in the course of
the afternoon.

Her Majesty and her Royal Consort promenaded
for some time in the pleasure-grounds and Home
Park yesterday afternoon.
There was no addition to the royal dinner circle last
evening. _

Thi; morning, the Queen, Prince Albert, the
Duchess of Kent, the ladies and gentlemen of the
Court, with the domestic household, attended Divine
service in the private chapel of the Castle. The
Honourable and Rev. Charles Leslie Courtenay
officiated.

Lady Fanny Howard was in attendance on her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent.

The Duke of Cambridge attended divine service
yesterday morning in Grosvenor Chapel, South
Audley-street. Major Stephens was in waiting on his
Royal Highness.
His Serene Highness Prince Edward of Saxe
Weimar returned to Marlborough House on Satur-
day from Windsor Castle.
The Duke of Cambridge visited her Royal High-
ness the Duchess of Gloucester yesterday at Glou-
cester House.
A Cabinet Council was held at half-past three
o'clock on Saturday afternoon at the Foreign-office.
The Ministers present were Sir Robert Peel, the
Duke of Wellington, the Lord Chancellor, the Duke
of Buccleuch, the Earl of Haddington, the Earl of
Aberdeen, Sir James Graham, the Right Hon. W. E.
Gladstone, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Earl
of Ellenborough, the Earl of Ripon, Lord Granville
Somerset, the Earl of Lincoln, the Earl of Dalhousie,
the Earl St. Germans, and the Right Hon. Sidney
Herbert.

The Duke of Wellington returned to town in the
morning from Windsor Castle, and the Earl of Had-
dington, arrived in town to attend the Council, from
a visit to Mr. Drummond, at Albury Park, Guildford.
The Council sat two hours and a half.
The Earl and Countess of Dalhousie returned to
town on Saturday-from Windsor Castle.
Dispatches were received on Saturday aft ernor at
the Colonial-office, from the Governor of Gibraltar,
The Duke of Wellington and Sir Frederic
Trench attended the early service yestere,,y in the
Chapel Royal, St. James's. Prayers were read by
the Rev. Dr. Wesley, and the sermon was preached
by the Rev. Sir John Seymour. The Duke of
Cleveland, the Marquis of Angle,- jey, the Bishop of
aulet, G. Paget, and
Ely, Lords Bandon, Talbot, G. P
Norreys, attended the daily gervicein the Chapel
Royal, St. James's. Prayer,s were read by the Rev.
J. V. Povah, and the less, jns by the Rev. G. Repton.
The sermon was preach'.
d by the Rev. Sir John Sey-
mour. The anthem, was
" In then
, rd." Mr
Turle presided
tat f,,he organ.
Al T-

IDDLEI TY
AMPLE, JAN.rT.—The after-mentianed
nail called
this evening,the bvtzr.o,llTFheldesay,Wanhdeepleurb,lisEhsged., icr).if
gentlemen ye
dm
to
the dining-
St. John'. s College,
Giori.,, William
lCambridge, and, Messrs. William Morris,
J.AtDMISSION 0;1' George Sweet Carr, and Thomas Garfit.
SOLICITORS.—The number of per-
scale applying for admission as solicitors, &c., in the present
term, as shown by the list exhibited at Westminster Hall, is
166. ;The number applying for admission pursuant to
judges' orders is four; and the number of applications for
renewal of certificates on the last day of term is 28.
AMENDMENT TO THB ADDRESS.—In a letter to
the electors of Norfolk, Mr. Edmond Wodehouse, one
of the Members for that county, says—" I beg leave to
make known to you that it is my intention to submit the
consideration of the following proposition, by way of amend-
ment to the Address, on the opening of Parliament, on the
22d inst., should circumstances seem to reqifire it, viz.
'To assure her Majesty that, though we believe that the in-
dications of an approaching scarcity have been grossly exag-
gerated, if not wholly without foundation, we do neverthe-
less acknowledge that the mitigation of anything like a real
scarcity ought at all times, and under all circumstances, to
be the paramount matter of interest, so as to weigh doNN n
every other consideration ; and therefore it is that we feel it
to be our bounden duty to declare, that we will most &Jeer-
fully accede to the adoption of any measures which the Exe-
cutive Government may initiate, as measures either of pre-
caution or relief, and as applicable either to Ireland, or to
any other part of the empire, which shall sot in any way
compromise the broad principle of protection to the native
soil, from the heart of which the great mass of the popula-
tion have hitherto, under God's blessing, trough strange
vicissitudes, been abundantly supplied, and rom the decay
of which they may be-hereafter , thrown into wretchedness,
want, and rum.' "
n
ACCIDENT BY A THRASHING MACHINE.. t
Wednesday last, a poor woman of the name of FoLed,iolniNg'iinngg
toa
Glemsford, was assisting at a thrashing
ei edr
thatfeot
Mr. Morley, of the same parish, and b)o•
slipped between the beaters, and was I:mcl'anucchirnneeacninsshl
amputation was resorted to the same *evening. The 1.) oman
ism her 67th year. 'Kerala

THE CITY POLICE.
Mr. D. W. Harvey transmitted the following report to
the Lord Mayor on Saturday:—
" City Police. office, Old Jewry, Jan. 16, 1846.
"My Lord,---I have the honour to enclose a statistical re-
turn for the year ending the 31st of December, 1845, of the
working of the City Police.
" It is with great satisfaction that I direct your Lord-
ship's attention to the comparatively insignificant value of
the property stolen during the past year, amounting, as it
does, to the sum of 5,674/. Is. 11d. only, of which 1,7431.
were recovered, leaving an average of something snore than
101. a day. The success of our vigilancei is the more re-
markable, when your Lordship s informed that our in-
quiries and observations confirm the fact, that upwards of
1,000 persons of loose propensities enter the City daily, for
the sole purpose of committing depredations, and who have
as the prey of their skilful criminality some hundreds of
thousands of persons, many of whomappear in the City for
the first time, careless and unsuspicious, while not a few
seem indifferent to the admonitions of experience. And
when to this state of things is added that of 1,252 houses
and warehouses reported as insecure-568 of these houses
and warehouses crowded for the most part with valua-
ble and portable conamoditieos were found to be en-
tirely untenanted by night—l flatter myself, my Lord, I
may claim for the Officers and constables of the City police
force the merit of doing their duty. It is not unworthy of
remark that even their exemplary conduct greatly adds to my
respnsibility ; for I find the force under my command rather
a nursery for other services than a permanent body, upon
whose staid experience I might rely. During the pest year,
of 96 men who have left the force, 53 have so done to as-
sume superior situations, to which a certificate of service has
been their passport. Of the remaining number five have died,
nine have left on account of ill-health, and 16 were found un-
fit fur the service at% or a month's probation. The remaining
13 were dismissed.

" May I be allowed to express my personal gratification
that you are giving your energetic attention, and I trust
eventually with success, to a subject which well deserves it,
viz., the unsatisfactory provision for deserted infancy, and
the aged cl,,stitute within the City. I have, upon many oc-
casions, enlarged upon this interesting and distressing sub-
ject, and I should be delighted to give my humble services
to a cause, whose neglect degrades humanity, inflicts
grievous wrong upon the innocent, while it gives counten-
ance to skilful vagrancy and deriding erime.—l have the
honour to be, my Lord, your obedient servant,
" D. W. HARVEY.
" The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor."
SUMMARY OF THE CITY POLICF,IiETURNS FOR THE TEAR 1845.
Total number of persons taken to the various stations:—
Men, 9,763; women, 4,000; children, 209. Total, 13,972.
Summonses--1,804, of which there were convicted and
fitted, 1,336.

MLSCELLANEOUS.
Number of houses and warehouses found insecure (1,252
occupiers living on premises, 80 untenanted, 568 no nightly
residence)-1,900.
Fires discovered by the police, 158.
Children found (226 restored to their friends, and 602 sent
to the workhouse)-828.
Lives saved by the police, 23.
Robberies (6 burglaries, 785 in dwelling-houses, 854 from
the person, and 150 in the streets)-1,295.
Value of property stolen, 5,674/. ls. 11d.
Recovered, 1,7431.35. sd.
Found on drunken persons, and restored on their departure
from the station, 1,0561. 16s. 2d.

THE OMNIBUS SERVICE.—A number of improve-
ments are about to be introduced into the construction of
the Parisian omnibuses, and, in mentioning them, it is urged
on the consideration of the Prefect of Police the sad situa-
tion of the drivers, conductors, and subaltern officers of the
omnibus service in general. These remarks are equally ap-
plicable to the London omnibus service. Would you know
the life of an omnibus cad? Every day he must rise at three
in the morning, and must not go to bed till the return to the
depot of the last omnibus, that is, an hour and a half after
midnight. Now what is the salary of such a servant ?
Forty-five sous a day. A driver, for remaining nailed to his
seat from seven in the morning till midnight, gets 3f. 50c.
A conductor, for getting on and off his toot-board one thou-
sand times a day, and in the intervals standing erect like a
parrot on his perch, exposed to all the jerks of the vehicle,
to all the inclemencies of the weather, and to all the ca-
prices of every goer and corner—for all these an unhappy
conductor gets but 24f. 50c. (11.) per week. If it be de-
manded what is the possible duration of the service of such
servants, go to the office of any omnibus company whatever,
and not four of these servants will be found the date of whose
service begins at the foundation of these carriages ; that is,
in 1828. £he omnibus service is murderous.
On Saturday, at one o'clock, the family of Mr.
Andrews, of Grosvenor-place, Camberwell, was greatly
alarmed by hearing the report of a pistol which proceeded
from the room of a Mr. Barrell (an inmate and cousin of the
family). It was immediately discovered that the unhappy
gentleman, who was lying on his bed, had shot himself
through the left breast. Surgical aid was promptly obtained,
but all assistance was unavailing. In half an hour life was
extinct. It is said that losses arising from railway specula-
tions caused a temporary delirium.

TnE \VEST-KENT MILITIA.—The regiment con-
sists of 1 colonel, I lieutenant-colonel, 2 majors, 2 captains,
12 lieutenants, 8 ensigns, 1 adjutant, 1 quartermaster, 1 pay-
master, 1 surgeon, 1 assistant-surgeon. The staff consists of
1 sergeant-major, 13 sergeants, and 896 privates. The
standard is 5 feet 4i inches. All persons are liable to be
drawn who are between the ages of 18 and 45, excepting ap-
prentices, seamen, &c. The militia was called out for 28
days in 1825, and also in 1831. The West-Kent militia have
been twice in Ireland, and it is supposed that if troops are re-
quired in Ireland, the East Kent militia will go this time.—
Dover Telegraph.
DEATH FROM DRUNKENNESS.—On Saturday, Mr.
Wakley, M.P., held an inquest at the Cross Keys, -Endell-
street, Long-acre, on the body of Josiah Higham, aged sixty-
three, formerly a pawnbroker. The wretched man lived at
No. 28, Short's-gardens, and had a monthly allowance from
his brother, a tradesman living en the Surrey side of the
water. The moment he received his allowance he spent it
in rum, of which to the value of 10s. or 12s. he would drink
in one day. He had been an excessively hard drinker for
the last twenty years. His wife had left him in consequence
of his intemperate habits. On Saturday, the 10th inst., he
received a present of money, and straightway began to dtssi •
pate it in the usual way; in fact, he was drunk from that
day until Thursday night, when he became collapsed; was
placed in bed, attended to by Dr. Bennett, the parish sur-
geon, but he never rallied, and died about noon on Wednes-
day, from, the medical attendant said, the effects of intoxi-
cating liquors. A dispute arose between the Coroner and
one of the jury, who said this was not a case in which an
inquest need have been held; but the Coroner told the juror
it was not his business to make such remarks. The jury
were about to return a verdict of " Death from natural
causes," when the Coroner said that such a verdict would not
be dissimilar to one he saw the other day in a Sussex paper,
viz., that a child had died from drinking too much of its
mother's milk. The jury re-considered, and returned the
following verdict :—" That he died from drinking excessively
of alcoholic liquors."
THE RAILWAY KING AT NORTHAMPTON..-011
Saturday last we were honoured with a visit by Mr. Hudson,
Mr. W. E. Peel, Mr. Villiers, and several other directors of
different railways, :who met the commmissionem of the Nen
Navigation, of whom were present Earl Spencer, the Marquis
of Northampton, E. Bouverie, Esq., and many other gentle-
men of the county.—Northampton Herald
INJURY BY THE KICK OF A HORSE.—Yesterday
morning, between eleven and twelvo o'clock, a serious acci-
dent occurred to Mr. Richard Ackett, of Wimpole-street,
Cavendish-square, who, having occasion to give his groom
some directions, had gone to the stable for that purpose,when
a horse kicked out violently with both hind legs. Mr. Ackett
received the full force of the kick upon his chest and ribs,
and he was dashed against the opposite wall. He was im-
mediately conveyed to his residence, and surgical assistance
obtained, four of his ribs being broken on the right side.
A GANG OF MURDERERS AND ROBEERS.—OOIII-
- to Nenagh gaol, by Mr. John G. Jones, R.M., Philip
Maher, for the murder of Thomas Shanahan, process-server,
near Borrisoleigh, on the 21st of October, 1844 ; also for the
robbery of Quinlan and Cormack, tear Annameadle ; Mi-
chael Meares, of Pentane, and Philip Maher, for the attack on
Hogan, near Bawn, when John Hogan was severely injured
from a gun-shot *wound ; Edmund R3Pan, John Conway,
Thomas Dwyer, and John Kennedy, of Bawn, the latter a
respectable farmer's son, and the person who brought the
party to Hogan's house. This gang was connected with
several other persons who were engaged to go in all direc-
tions in the North Riding of Tipperary committing outrage
and murder. Since their arrest several bad characters have
absconded. There is most satisfactoryevidence against the
is
thaerucoguld
persons arrested, and, the breaking up oefreenntsch
looked on as one o;' the most important
gangto rs hasof turned
all
the
have occurred to this coun
thatty.
approver, and it is thought
will be shortly brought to justice.—
Noueengtraghescinae•..rainnis
nri.ding On
teheofpetrpheetra
ARE-AvAs. AND DEPARTURE OF' MAILS.—SOUTH-
AmPT'JR, JAN. la.—The Peninsular Company's steam-packet
the, Queen, Captain Russell, arrived here yesterday morning,
94id landed the Gibraltar and other mails, which were for-
warded to London by the nine o'clock A.M. train. The Queen
left Gibraltar on the 6th inst. ; Cadiz, Bth ; Lisbon, 9th ;
pua
full
ladfi
nraEifruit
eaCoruna,narsgoi e. lftT3 tahhte.3eapSm.hich;assms
yesterday,
lyvy,es,
steamer Oportopassengers,a nßdo Royal
lga orre,alvr,letrhyc;af
without mails for Gibraltar, Cadiz, 'Lisbon, esc„. also forty
passengers, and a cargo of bale goods. The Royal West
India Mail packet the Medway, Captain Andrews, left the
river yesterday with the West India mails, thirty-eight pas-
sengers, and a cargo of stores, for the Company's ships at the
different islands. The Dee is expected from the West Indies
on Tuesday. The Great Liverpool will leave for Alexandria,
with the East India and China mails, on Tuesday.
THE LATE SIR HERBERT COMPTON.—This dis-
tinguished man, whose death took place a few days since,
was no ordinary character, and raised himself by his own
exertions to the important offices which he successively filled,
with honour to himself and advantage to the country. Sir
Herbert Compton embraced the military profession very early
in life, and served with his regiment for some time in India i
but, returning to India, he entered on the study of the law,
which he sedulously pursued. Having completed his legal
studies, he revisited India, and joined the bar at Fort St.
George, where he soon became distinguished. His zeal,
ability, and untiring assiduity obtliined for him the lucrative
Government appointment of Advocate-General successively
at Madras and Calcutta ; and subsequently the distinguished
post of Chief Judge of Bombay. At various periods of his
career he received public testimonials for his official services
from both Europeans and natives, the last testimonial being a
valuable service of plate, presented by the native inhabitants
of Bombay, with their grateful acknowledgments of his worths
and the high estimation in which his services were held.
It has lately been asserted in the Canterbury press,
that it is the intention of the Belgian Government to remove
the mail packet service from Dover to Ramsgate. We are
happy to have it in our power to state that this report is eenn-t
tirely without foundation, and that the Belgian Gov_e_reomw...
have three new fast steamers nearly completed, wnhti. he '!'
convethe Belgian Mails from Ostend to ter-
mination Dover, on
of the contract with the South-Easter Co
Dover Telegraph.
h about 15 years
SOUTHAMPTON ON FRIDAY LAST.--
ed as an engine- cleaner,
James Bull, emPloY
FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE RAILWAY
yeut TERMINUS AT
of age, named
r poor i I , nbootgi
could in g tgheet
want of caution in four men who
unfortunately killed by the
himoafwrot
aenusrep ora, ns. , teihar imme-
diatelyey.
while cleaning the wheels of a tender upon a side rail, was
usual signal of ? kße e°fno rae c the
erdofitthteoape waggone
Saturday,
Hotel.e
Tc a
aui
when,iegl
dbh
body
adyc
were pushing a wagtoonuosf.,co,
headtaken to
h. .
do faiid the
Ii way,
terai iii‘hleasodoblueas‘ff.h.es
Raiiw
searching investigation,
a verdictof
"Accidental Death" was
returned, and the four men called into the room, when they
George Code Esq., coroner, for
quest summoned,w which met on
yin not looking Lead before moving
weretheir swt raoustgel
of due
censuredcaution by
the waggon. The terminus at Southampton has been open
now several years, yet by the carefal carrying out of the
company's regulations by their officers and servants, not a
single accident has occurred prior to the unfortunate one of
Friday last, although engines are moving about the premises
upwards of fifty times a day.

common origiti, religion, language, and literature, which, not-
withstanding that separation, continue to unite us to the
parent country. I could not eontemplate these relations
without wishing that they might still form the basis of a
friendly understanding between us, for our mutual benefit,
and for the common benefit of the civilised world. I desired
most ardently that these friendly relations should be strength-
ened, believing that Great Britain and the United States
were the two countries on the face of the globe capable of
doing to each other the greatest good in peace and the
greatest harm in war. For this reason also I rejoice to add,
without trenching on ground forbidden in this company, and
especially to me, that notwithstanding the somewhat critical
state to which the controversy between the two Governments
has arrived, I believe it still capable of a friendly settle-
ment, on terms equally honourable to both parties?'
There is no truth in the statement that Mr. Pakenham
has been recalled, or that such an intention was entertained
by the British Cabinet, so far as authentic advices have been
received in this country—and, if such a purpose had been
considered, the publication of the correspondence between
him and Mr. Buchanan, and the existing relations with Eng-
land, would have forbidden its execution at this juncture.—
Washington Paper.
A private communication from Washington says :—" The
British Minister gave a very magnificent entertainment,
within the last week—at which several of the Senators and
Members, of both political parties, attended—showing, at
least, that the social negotiations are not in the desperate
condition represented by those who are disposed to make
mountains of mole-hills. Indeed, Mr. Pakenham, in his
whole intercourse at Washington, has evinced a spirit of hos-
pitality that has not been surpassed by any of the Foreign
Legations, and equalled by none but that of the Russian—
which,awarded to
more
from its uniform courtesy and kindness, has established
domesticatt
has everachmen
perma-
nenta sort
andof
repre-
sentative of any Foreign Government."

SPIRIT of the AMERICAN PRESS.
(From Papers received by the Acadia.)
The Washington correspondent of the Boston Atlas says:
—" It must be manifest to the reflecting observer, that the
Oregon portion of the Message was framed to suit the in-
flamed state of opinion at the west, in order to attach the
support of that section to the President: and it is equally
clear no hostilities were designed, no matter how much are
proclaimed, or else Mr. Polk is even more incompetent to his
station than the common consent of the intelligence of the
country had already considered him; for here is a war docu-
ment in all its features, if the repommendations are enacted,
urging the overthrow of the tariff, the source of revenue and
support of Goverament, silent as to a suitable increase of the
navy for such an emergency, and without one paragraph in
favour of army preparations, for a crisis so probable, in such
a contingency. His sails were spread to catch the popular
breeze, and his prescriptions were regulated according to the
pulse of the west."
Ailistinguished democratic senator, high in the confidence
of the Administration, and entirely familiar with the whole
train of the negotiations in regard to Oregon, stated yester-
da7 that he believed "war inevitable, if the notice to ter-
minate the joint occupancy was given by Congress." Of
this, however, I apprehend but little danger. A Bill to that
effect will be heedlessly rushed through the House, and com-
mand almost a full party majority—but it is destined to a
most summary expulsion from the doors of the Senate. An
organisation of Mr. Calhoun's friends is now maturing
against all these fiery proceedings, and nothing but his pre-
sence (which will take,place in a few days) is wanting to
complete it.
So far as Congress is concerned, Mr. Calhoun holds the
Atte of a war measure in his own hands. There is. every rea-
son to believe he will exercise this high power arid responsi-
bility with prudence and patriotism ; and the splendid spec-
tacle will be• presented of himself and Webster standing
' shoulder to shoulder, for the preservation of peace and na-
tional honour. On a full ballot, without the Texas Senators,
the democratic majority is six. Of these, Mr. Calhoun can
carry pn this question, Mr. M‘Duffie, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Bagby,
Mr: Wescott, which, with the Whig vote, would defeat any
proposition. In addition, there is a prospect of securing
Colquitt, Levy, and Dix. So that, in no reasonable contin-
gency, do I consider war as probable, if the American Con-
gress is to declare it.
A Bill, extending our laws and protection over American
citizens in Oregon, will undoubtedly, and very properly pass
both Houses ; and no Whig, in either branch, will hesitate in
demanding the last inch of our ascertained rights—and, if
necessary, at the point of the bayonet; but if that extremity,
lamentable in whatever aspect it may be presented, is to
come, let us " first be sure we're right, then go ahead."
FROM THE OREGON* EMIGRANTS.—The Chicago Democrat
of the 2d inst., publishes the following letter, brought by Dr.
White, Indian Agent, who, with three gentlemen, recently
returned from Oregon :
" We are now fifteen miles below Fort Boise, camped for
the night, and all in good health and spirits. We have
travelled from Platte river in companies of from four to fif-
teen, in perfect safety. We have now made both crossings
of Snake River, and find ourselves within about three hun
dred miles of the valley of Wallamett. Doctor White says
the people below will meet us at the Dalles with plenty of
boats and provisions to take us down, and that there is no
danger from the Indians, if we go in companies of ten waggons,
although we had been told at Forts Hall and Boise, by the
clerks of the Hudson's Bay Company, that it was not only
an almost impassable road, but that the Indians were de-
termined to oppose us—all of which is untrue. There ap •
pears to be a great anxiety on the part of the Hudson's Bay
C4onpany, to turn as many of the Oregon people to Cali-
fcenie as possible ; and for that purpose they have employed
some 01' the worst rascals in the mountains, to intercept the
emigrants at Fort Hall;and turn as many to California as
they can, by telling them there is no grase, wood, nor water
(except Snake River) on the Oregon road—that it is utterly
impassable on account of rocks and mountains, and that
'Snake River never has or can be forded with waggons; all of
which we all know is false. On the other hand, they re-
ported that the road to'Californiaei4 either up or down river
bottom of one eternal pasture. But, in Oregon, they say,
the people would starve, were it not for the cattle driven
from California. And for all this, it is certain they are paid
a premium, for all that go, by the company, and demand also
1,25 d:211. per head of the emigants themselves, for pilot money.
In this way, 52 waggons, belonging to the more timid and
fickle-minded of the people, have been led off' on that road
;his season.—Your obedient servant,
• "A. 11. THOMPSON.
a p,S. Let emigrants leave Independence by the 20th of
April, and not in companies of more than fifteen waggons, and
ten ii St:11 better."
The Ai:llia/mitt
(Ohio) Sentinel has a long letter from Ore-
gon city, weitten iii April last. It is from one of the settlers
to his father, residing in Ohio. ,Speaking of Dr. McLaugh-
lin, the writer 43y5 :—" He has shown much hospitality to
the 'emigrants by relieving the distressed, crediting and
lending assistance neeeseart, to their eettlement. There is a
settlement' of emigrants, from Red River, Cinada, and. Dr.
MeLeughlin has recently sent :for three .hundred additional
settlers. The Hudson's Bay Company have now in their
employ a hundred natives from the Sandwich Islands; some
of them have been here for twenty years.'c
We copy the following from the &stow Atlas of the 22c1
'December : : I
e‘ Me. WINTnitOVS COMPROMISE RESOLUTIONS.—In . the
Howie of Representatives, on Friday last, the llon. Robert
C. ',Visttliorp offered the following resolutions, and gave
noflee that he intended to support their adoption :
" itesoired,—That the differences between the United
States end Great Bi itain on the subject of the Oregon ter-
ritory are still a fit subject for negotiation and compromise;
that
no has not yet been afforded
and that siti..'ractorYlOR OF O REG
no compromise which the United States ought to accept can
TIIE INTER
CAPABILITIES and PROS OPECTS.N—ITS
be effected.
" Resolved,—That it would be a dishonoineto the age in e [The following account of Oregon, compiled from the
which we live, aud id the highest degree discreditable to notes of a r cent traveller in the country, contains the
both the nations concerned, If they should suffer themselves best description of that "bone of contention" which we
to be driven into a war, upon a question of no imm diate or
practical interest to either of them. have met with. To persons contemplating emigration,
6. Resolved,—That if no other mode for the amicable ad- and, indeed, at the present juncture, to all classes, the
justment of this question remains, it is due to the principles information it contains must be very valuable ; and it is
.of civilisation and Christianity that a resort to arbitration such as has hitherto been only attainable by wading
should ha hid; and that this Government cannot relieve through bulky reports andlengthy statistical documents.]
itself from all responsibility which may follow the failure to Ravine', resided nearly three years in Oregon, Ifr
e-
settle the controversy, while this resort is still untried. vently travelled over come of the best portions of it,
,' Resolved,—That arbitration does not necessarily involve having,,.. .pas.sed
.over. all the tributaries of the Snake
..,,
a ntetence to crowned heads, and that if a jealousy of such a
, isaver wnich enters it on its southern bank, from its
sees:vice is entertained in any quarter, a commission of able
sourceill the mountains to its junction with the Columbia,
and- d:spassionate citizens, either from the two countries
and having also travelled by water from a point 500
concerned, or from the world at large, offers itself as an
obvious and unobjectionable alternative." miles distant from the ocean, down the Kaskaskia, Snake,
Mr. Douglass, of Illinois, on the other hand, offered the and Columbia to its mouth, and witnessed the character
following, which he gave notice he should call up, whenever of the banks during the whole of this distance, lam able
Mr. Winthrop's ware considered, and should move them as a to speak from personal observation respecting that por-
,substitute:— tion of the country:
" Resolved—That the tide of the United States to the The interior 'country,' as has been stated, is divided
territory of Oregon, up to 54 deg. 40 min., is nut a subject from the trait lying ou the sea coast by a range of
of comprorniv.... mountains, stretching parallel with the coast at a dis-
" elesolvcd—That the question of title ought not to be
ranee of 150 miles from the ocean. Between the ocean
submiti.ed to arbitration." ,
The Ifouse adjourned without any definite action in refer- and this range of mountains the Walharnet country is
eases to these resetetione. We have, it is true, but faint situated, and in soil and climate differs much from the
hopes thret a majority of the House can be induced to take interior region of country. The atmosphere of the in-
the same hi-0;1.1 and :statesmanlike view of the Oregon con- terior is exceedingly dry, while that of the region along
erevversy that is presented in the admirable resolutions of our the coast is unusually damp.
faithful repreeinetative. We rejoice, however, that the effort But as I cannot speak of the Walhamet from personal
has been made; and we hope that it will be pressed upon observation I will confine my remarks to the valley of
Congress with a reolute. determination to leave no honour- the Columbia and Snake rivers.
able means untried to induce the adoption of a wiser, a more
The banks of the Columbia, from the mouth to the
prudent and rational policy. , Let the party-ridden majority Cascades,
is timbered. Here, in proceeding up
, of the House be at least' mado to hear the vo'ceof reason
and of common sense; and if Congress still persists in listen- the river, we enter the gorge which the river has cut
ing only to the mad and frantic promptings of wicked and through the mountain range. Above the Cascades the
unprincipled demagogues, the blame will at least not rest timber diminishes in quantity and size till we reach the
upon the heads of those who have used every honourable Dells, at which point it ceases altogether.
means to avert the evil. Let the people, too, be made to The soil on the banks of the Columbia below the
know who among their representatives are willing to involve Cascades is susceptible of cultivation, though by no
the country in all the dangers of a needless, wasteful, and means of the best quality. It cannot properly bo deno-
werhaps ruinous war. irinated an alluvial soil, as the river, having its sources
It is said that the Duke of Wellington—who is just about in a volcanic region, and passing overdo its course no-
lo furious for war, in England, as General Ca.ss is in this
thing but beds of basalt and sterile sands, brings down
couletry—openly declares that, if there is a war with America,,
it shell be a short war. If his Grace will look back into the no deposit capable of forming a fertile soil. The over-
it
of the Government, of which he is a member, he will fidevings of the Columbia are thought to injure rather
find tha.h a person somewhat celebrated in English history, by than benefit the soil. At Vancouver, the fields that are
the name of P" Lord North," made a very similar declaration well cultivated and well manured produce good crops of
some seventy years ago. wheat and potatoes. But without manuring the crops
It might not he a bad plan, if the American and British tirre. very light. Indian earn does not succeed at all, and
Governments would so agree; lo submit the Oregon question
to the arbitrament of personal e,ombat—and let the Duke of ult trees decay prematurely. At Fort. George, or
cans..,.lsa eb Astoria,fewe9fmoarpea ny
the.
occupationacresT This
i sof
ilsa nsdiot
fuwtaehtreeed countrycloenaraend by the
elevatedt
he Hudson
uu a,
pdoes
ironi n-t
Wellington Med General Cass Fo put and do battle, as the
representatives of their respective ruetions. Such a fight, to
the e;ear and rattle-snake.
of land, about
us, would be much like that of-
the result of such a
acid may be considered a fair sample of the hill country
14 miles above the mouth of the river,
We shOuld not feel very solicitous as to .+i,.,,ged, or the stake
of the region. This could have been cleared only at an
contest, either in regard to combatants en
at issue. to be seriously immense expense of labour, on account of the heavy
It is altogether too preposterous au idea
entertained, that two great and prosperous ratio' ) like Eng- growth of timber. This is now partially overgrown
40
degrees of with a luxuriant crop of brushwood, but those parts
land and America, should go to war, for a few'
sterile territory, like that of Oregen. Any four able' ,states-_ which are Clear are covered with as fine a green or sward
men, of the two countries,, could bring the whole inatter to a of clover as can be found in the pastures of England.
speedy adjustment. Let 'our Government appoint Dalliesl Very good potatoes are found here without manuring.
Webster and John C. Calhoun, and the British Governmei:n .
appoint Lord Ashburton and Lord lilorpeth, as C " ' '
At the Dells cultivation has been attempted, but with
stoners, with fall authority to snake a final settlement9inni loSi sv...hat success I know not. Above this point the banks
the whole controversy, and the difficulty would all be set- 01• ,the Columbia present a barren and inhospitable ap-
tied in thirty days, witheat the loss of single life, or peas‘eice. Not a tree or shrub of any size is to be seen.
single dollar of money, except the expense of the- commissi a
n, N- 0thi.11,06" but sterile sands, with a very scanty vegetation,
on either side.
An enthusiastic' Oregonian was •• h • composted of prickly pears of very diminutive size, the
lie emently insisting upon bitter
sedCel so called in that country (genns artemisia,
a railroad to the Pacific, in order to secure a direct trade
rprobably) .
with China, when a wag remarked that a railroad to China end small. quantities of wild grass.
rile bluffs recce sometimes from one-fourth to one-
would undoubtedly have a Trail.-
re from the river, at other times
A letter from Washington, dated Dec. 20, says :—The New edose. They are composed some-
York Evening Post, after reviewing the ground in centre- thhaelyf
aapmpeialer ovrer4;*9
forming low, handsomely rounded
Terse, between Great Britain and the United States concern- times of earth entirefsve
formed of earth, tipped at the,
ing Oregon, and the strength of the claim of each, closes with hills. Again they are'
summit with a perpendie,l2
the following brief remark : ear well of basalt ; and again,
"We doubt very much whether Great Britain would engage in other places, they are fi:irmed of huge ledges of that
in a war, in which she did not expect an easy victory, for the material, standing up from tt;€ water on either side, and
sake of supporting a claim so manifestly groundless as this."
their lofty •n
WASHINGTON RUMOURS—OUR RELATIONS WITH MEXICO. opposing craggy ~ to each other in per-
post,
s we proceed up the Snake River;
petual de 'an *tit
--The Washington correspondent of the Baltimore Sun fur- s A il ce'
niches
more loft and ragged, .the bluffs become
rally nearer to
several interesting items He says that " conferences
and approach ill'
consist of re-
upon going, on between Me. Pakenhain and Mr. Buchananrock, standing up per
pon ttio subject of the measures now proposed to be taken by,
the river. In some '
aendicalarly
'finances the bluffs
Congress for the gular columns of trap
Oregon; for the protection of settlers in, and emigrants to
e.xatension of our jurisdiction over them and from the bank of the river, D aps, one
to a height of ' e.‘l
*be Indian tribes na for the establishment of a territorial hundred feet, while the ground at the basen is eN:2wed
,gevernment over
columns aeived by the Oregon. Also, that the dispatches re- with regularly formed fragments of fallen columns. ..ln
Governmentrefrodm Mexico are deemed to be of other places the trap formation is seen only at the .sureie
eetch importance
part
erfi
ce,,r necessary some immediate- mit of
as to
the bluffs, forming there a perpendicular wall,
movements on the
Congress. Measures will next
reek be recommended by the" while the subjacent portion of the bluff is
prosecutien of our just claims President, with a view to the • a steep de-
Also, that Bancroft, the Secretaryun Ifl.lexico to a speedy issue. charity covered with irregularly formed fragments of ba-
report on the subject of the navy,
wohietlie Navy, is preparing a salt, or beds of clinkers. Such are the banks of the
to Congress by the President next week, and
be communicated Snake River; for 100 miles above its junction, with
commend the immediate finishing and equipment
and. which will re , the Columbia. There the Kaskaskia empties in from
steamers. Also, that the downfall of Her
erqruaipment of war the north. The general character of the Snake River,
s , which is now so far
anticipated as certain, will break off all negoe .li
lation with as I was able to hear from others, continues the
Slidell, and his speedy return to the United rs'ta,tes may be. BMOC as far up as to the great cut, which it makes
expected." Further, that `•Coaanodore Stockton will reach' throogh the Blue Mountains.
the coast of California just, in ,time to carry out time views of , Thus far no timber is to be found on the Columbia
Snake or
the United States, in case of a war wit 'Diet lie rivers, and no soil for cultivation. Much of the
will have orders to' take possession of (certain ports isr elle way there is nothing but barren sands on which scarcely
California'. there is no doubt. The next question, will i.,e anything grews but the e d h• '
whether Great Britain will 'tamely submit to it. It me cora-- domestic animal will taste it. ge,s,v ich is so bitter that no
lectured that Admiral Sir Gearge Seyinatir has. orders in re- ,t :Tots suitable for cultivation There are
tivation in 1-w ' hoverer,
small
eeard to that matter, and will not be slow to execute them." _Nage rivers. They consist of smallalluvialvieinity of' these
And finally, " that Mr. Parrott has been appointed Secre- siess banks of the small tributaries, at a patches on
tarys of Legation to Kr. Slidell. in Mexico, Mr. Elliott, he of of o.le, two, or three miles from the distance, perhaps,
main river. The
;Ivo ' white bate tuts gone- to Mexico to prevent Mr. Slidell mouths of these tributaries are at great distances from
m buying California. Mr. Slidell is authorized, to offer each oti`ler, there being only r.
*CT-entY million .
including indemnities due to our citizens, within tio.flistance of two miles, and one of these enters
eie• a proper bls,
142,
Evizi, ~und.try." the cuiumiew nine miles below the mouth of the Snake
of the Pil _ ..ak„,rr ON Wart wrrn Exc ea o.—At the Festival
R-vr
Thr,,. .
,grs_ , held at Plymouth, in December
last, Mr. I '• " c ir I, 1.,
tt in the eeursei hojianks o, ,the ..ess—aseia resoluble somewhat those
my late office l of the speech, said—" In reference to ' • • •
. a canacitv t s•• k '
~... 4,n,0.e up/ et. in their general appearance and for-
so flattarnig, •f will •, o watei, you hare made an a:lusion 'Of I"' '-' * " t , are of basalt, steep and rugged,
first instance, sent tool.':'ly &'3', .t 1 at I felt that I was ti matioa. The blufl:
,in le e se , • , o • very near the river. There is,
test of my ability, .ngland t., do the public business to the t, pi I) 4,2caing usual,) 6
fidelity to my own and that after that was disc "te crossing this
one vein of .granl stream,
government •harged with however,
anything unofficially, to pro and count if I could do 100 miles from its ietnetion with the Snake River,
kind feeling between the two
hat a gooa understanding cl about
and another vein also eross'e.3
in the next degree. I felt thaTttl.liies, that also was adaunt • clk. short distance above the
relation between these two ere Fe is something in duty
mouth of the /Cask askia.
at kindred free d trees make their ap-
rent from anything which history records States (title- mouth of this stream, scatte_re
up the
,countries. That there is something Ofanytwo other pearance, increasing in number' As .we proceed
without precedent in
ralo growth, youthful maturity, and early the river. The banks also are More" re
*km , I,he colonial empire, and in the strong political separa- vered usually with grass. Still th, ire are are no tracts
sympathies of fit for culla t""-I 3 of small streams
on; eXeept at the moo -tk,

OREGoDt AFkuts.--:We learn from the Washington cor-
respondence of the New York Courier, that the bill, intro-
duced by Mr. Douglas, " to protect the rights of American
settlers, in the territory of Oregon, until the termination
of the joint occupancy of the same," is not in the form in
which it was originally drawn up, after consultation with the
President, but was materially modified in Committee. The
original Bill provided for the extension of the laws and juris-
diction of lowa over our citizens within the territory of the
United States west of the Rocky Mountains, without de-
fining that territory; the Bill, as reported, extends that ju-
risdiction over the territory, including, by specific boundaries,
the whole of that region. The first could not have been
reasonably objected to by the British Government; the last
may, and probably will be, notwithstanding the proviso in
reference to the subjects of Great Britain. Neither did the
Bill, as originally drawn, contain the clause advising the
President to give the notice required by the treaty, but was
added against the wishes of the Chairman of the Committee.
From that it is inferable that the administration is itself not
willing that any thing should be done in violation of the
treaty, and is desirous of prolonging the joint occupancy;
but yet it may, nevertheless, be pushed from both these po-
sitions by the pressure of the democracy, as it would be,
should this Bill become a law.
The same writer says it is known that Mr. Pakenham has
expressed himself strongly and decidedly to the effect that
" the Bill, as reported, is unquestionably in violation of the
treaty, and will probably be so regarded by the British Go-
vernment." Mr. Pakenham, he adds—
" Objects specifically to that provision of the Bill which
authorises the erection of forts, as being an act of possession
not within the competency of either Government, and ,also
to the sending of the military force of the United States into
that territory. It was explained to him that such force
should only be to such an amount as should be reasonably
necessary to the protection of our citizens there, which pro-
tection is the duty of the Government, and perfectly con-
sistent with our obligations under the treaty ; but after a
somewhat long discussion upon the subject, his opinion as to
the offensive character of the Bill remained unchanged."
LATEST FRONT TIIE RIVER PLATE.—By the arrival at this
port, on Saturday, of the Winnipiac, from Buenos Ayres,
Oct. 12, we learn that the blockading squadrons of England
and France had extended the time allowed for the departure
of merchant vessels from Buenos Ayres to Oct. 24. The
blockade appears to be conducted with rigour, as the papers
state that the American schooner Sarah Ann, Captain
Walker, from Patagonia, with produce, arrived ff the port
on the 10th, and was not allowed to enter. Six vessels
bound to this port would obtain about 30,000 hides. It was
supposed by residents that not less than eighteen months
would elapse before the difficulties would be settled and trade
resumed.—Boston Advertiser.
There seems to be very little doubt now that Mr. Slidell's
mission to Mexico has for its object, in part, the acquisition
of California. Where will this lust of empire stop P Crescit
eun'lo. To tell Europe to-day that she shall have no more
land on this continent, and proceed to-morrow to carve out
a second huge slice for ourselves, is taking (excuse the pun)
not only a great deal of ground, but very high ground. The
" progressive democracy" have come to crave the food of
lofty pretensions; I only pray that their pride may have a
harmless fall.

CANADA. FIFTEEN FEET OF SNONV AT QUEBEC. —The
Qsebec Gazette of the sth says, that for the previous eight
days the weather had been more severe to that city than it
was in the frightful climate of Moscow in 1812. The ther-
mometer was down to ten degrees below zero, and the snow
lies in heaps more than fifteen feet deep, and then falling so
thick that it was impossible to see at a distance of a few feet.
" The broad St. Lawrence is not only covered with floating
ice, but it is heaped one piece above another, rendering it
almost impossible even for the hardy canoemen of Point Levy
to gross."

;

entering the main stream, or where there may be springs I
of water issuing from the bluffs at a considerable eleva-
tion
above the bed of the river, and forming beneath
small beds of loam soil and vegetable deposits brought
down from the mountain sides.
Such, then, is the character of the soil on the large
streams of the interior of Oregon. We come now to
speak of the soil on the tributaries. My remarks will
be confined principally to those emptying into the Co-
lumbia and Snake rivers from the south, and to those
emptying into the Kaskaskia.
The valley of the Wallawalls, and its numerous
branches, is undoubtedly the best portion of the interior
country. This stream empties nine miles below the
mouth of the Snake river. The valley of the Yamatilla,
however, which empties into the Columbia below the
Wallawalla, is said to be equally as good as that of the
Wallawalla. Both these streams have their sources in
the Blue Mountaitis, and the banks are covered to some
extent with timber, mostly cotton wood and alder, until
we arrive within ten or twenty miles of the Columbia,
where timber ceases, and there is nothing but a stinted
growth of brushwood the remaining distance. The cha-
racter of this whole region occupied by these two streams
is much the same, and a description of the one may be
taken, as furnishing the general characteristics of the
other.
It has been said that " the upper country " (i.e. the
interior) "-has a fertile soil, especially on the tributaries
of the Columbia River." Now, this remark is true, but
to a very limited extent, and this is the qualification
necessary to give the right impression. The only soil
fit for cultivation consists of alluvial bottom, lying in
small tracts of five, ten, fifteen, and twenty acres or more
along the margin of these small streams. At the forks
of two or more of these small streams the largest tracts
are usually found. The Wallawalla, with its numerous
branches, drains a wide region of country, and along
these numerous streams there is a considerable amount
of good soil lying in small detached portions, yet the
whole amount, when compared with the whole region of
country drained by this river and its branches, is an ex-
ceedingly small fraction of the whole. These alluvial
patches form the lowest glade of land along
the streams above high-water mark. Portions that are
overflowed are usually deprived of the alluvial deposit
by the flood. These tracts usually lie at or about the
same elevation above the bed of the streams, rind on the
back giound are usually surrounded by a steep elevation
of .3
pr 4 feet to a higher glade. The soil of these bot-
toms is of fine quality. The surface in its wild state is
covered with a species of fine short grass, interspersed
with thorn bushes.
The higher glade just spoken of lies at an elevation of
perhaps six feet, more or less, above the alluvial beds,
and is entirely barren and useless, covered with sedge
and green wood, with little or no grass. This glade
also is frequently impregnated with noxious salts, which
prevent vegetation. On the Wallawalla there is a much
greater proportion of this barren glade than of the allu-
vial beds, it forming usually the entire back ground of
low land, and frequently running down to the very brink
of the stream, thus forming a circular rim for
these alluvial basins. These alluvial beds, indeed,
have all the appearance of having once been covered
with a sheet of water, which, at length subsided by the'
depression of the river channel, leaving their beds of
detritus and vegetable deposit to form the portions of
fertile soil which are now to be found on the banks of
these streams. Between the two glades of land already
mentioned, there seems to be an intermediate one par-
taking somewhat of the characteristics of both. This
intermediate glade always lies between the real alluvial
and the higher glade, and seems to have been originally
an alluvial bed, but has been covered over by a layer of
soil brought down from the higher glade which has de-
teriorated the alluvial soil. This portion is usually
covered with a species of coarse strongly rooted grass,
growing from two to six feet in height according to the
quality of the soil—it is most fertile along the borders of
the real alluvial, and its sterility increases as we
approach the higher glade, near which are fre-
quently spots , so impregnated with salts as to
be destitute entirely of vegetation. The best part
of this intermediate kind of soil pro :laces quite as well,
though not equal, to the real alluvial. But if portions
highly impregnated with the salts before mentioned are
ploughed up, the soil is soon covered with a white saline
deposite, and seeds if planted will not vegetate.
The greatest quantity of good soil and the hest quality
may be considered about mid. way between the base of
the Blue Mountains and the Columbia River. As we
proceed either way from the middle region, either to-
wards the mountains or the Columbia River, the'quan-
tity of the alluvial bott )n diminishes, and the quality be-
comes poorer. As we proceed towards the mountains
the banks of many of the small streams are low, the
channel changes from time to time, and the soil seems to
be all washed away, All these streams make their
entrance into the plain from dark, deep, and frightful
gorges of the Blue Mountains. The uplands lying
between the Wallawalla and the Yamatilla, and between
the several branches of the Waltman* are usually quite
low, lower than in any other part of that country, The
bluffs are very low, and present no ragged appearance,
but are usually formcd of earth, and rounded at the
summit. These upper plains are covered with a very
moderate growth of grass, though in many places, par-
ticularly as we approach the Columbia, they present a
very sterile appearance, and grass gives way to
the sedge e northern branch of the Wel-
lawalla., called the Tasha, which joins the Wallawalla,
twelve miles from its junction with the Colombia, forms
a pleasant valley, though the amount of alluvial bottom
is le-s than on the Wallawalla, and inferior to that in
quality; yet as a valley for grazing it is one of the finest
in the region.
In passing aloug the region in a north-easterly
direction, to strike the Snake river in the region of
Kaskaskia, we find the uplands more and more elevated as
we pass the Tasha. The next stream we come to
is the Takanan, which empties into the Snake River.
As we approach the stream we look into a dark and
frightful chaste, walled-up on either by rocky bluffs,
and one is struck by the feeling that he has come to the
jumping-off place, at the end of the world. But by
taking advantage of a small ravine which reaks through
the wall, he winds his zigzag way down the steep to the
bottom, when he finds himself in a narrow walled-up
channel, in the middle of which it regains an- elevation
at an angle of at least 450 to reach the summit on
either side by a straight line. The valley con-
tains a very few tracts of alluvial bottom, and
of very small extent. In proceeding onwards, one makes
his way up the steep on either side to an equal eleva-
tion ; and after a few miles down, he goes into the bed of
a small stream emptying itself into the former, the bluffs
Along which are less precipitous than those of the former.
This valley also contains but a small quantity of alluvial
bottom of an inferior quality. After proceeding up this
valley for some miles, we mount up again to a still greater
elevation, and at length descend to the bed of the Snake
River.

Tho elevated regions are exposed to cold piercing
winds, and are covered with a very thin and stunted
growth of grass.
After passing up the Snake River several miles, we
cross over and pass over the Kaskaskia, a distance of 14
miles, when we come to the valley of a small stream,
called Lapwai. In this valley there is a moderate amount
of good productive alluvial bottom.
In passing on beyond this place up the Kaskasi, we
leave the river entirely, and pass over the elevated
plains, descending into deep and precipitous ravines till
we strike theKaskaskia again at Kamiah, about 100 miles
above its junction with the Snake River. On the way
we pass through the border of the timbered region con-
nected with the Blue Mountain range. These plains are
covered with a heavier growth of grass than those pre-
viously passed over, particularly in the vicinity of the
woodland. The timber is a species of pine. The soil, I
should judge from the appearance, if cultivated, might,
in places protected from the winds, be made to produce
moderate crops of some of the smaller grains.
At Kamiah and in that region there are a few small
tracts of very good soil, which produces well, but that
is in the vicinity of the mountainous region, where the
streams are shut up in narrow rocky channels, and land
tit for cultivation ceases to be found.
One remark I will make concerning this whole region.
It is more or less exposed to frost, in consequence of it-
lying in the vicinity of the mountains. It is also ex-
posed to drought, and in order to ensure good crops irri-
gation is necessary.
One more track of land of considerable interest I will
speak of. This le the Grande Ronde ; one finds him-
self in the midst of a beautiful circular plain of thirty
miles or more in diameter, with considerable indentas
tions, where the several streams enter the plain, and also
at the outlet. The Blue Mountains form a high cir-
cular wall around more than half of its circumference,
the remaining distance being shut up by a bluff several
hundred feet in height. Thus it is pent up on all sides,
having no outlet except a deep channel through the
mountains, where the waters flow off into the Snake
River.
This place is evidently an alluvial formation. It is
covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, and is suscepe
tible of cultivation, though, from its situation among
mountains, crops here might be ruined by frost.
This plain has the appearance of having been once the
bed of a lake, whose waters formerly filled its whole
basin, but by the wearing away of the channel at its out-
let its waters were drained off, leaving its present bed of
-11, tall soil. More remotely, however, it may have
b._ V.
been the 9-Ater of a great volcano, which might have
t a period immediately subsequent to the
a
throwing up of to •
been in ant"
ocean, ' part of the continent from the bed
of the o and tN: may account for its present form,
vferlls by which it is surrounded.
In proceeding fart.
and the character of '‘l,6! into the interior, along the
southern tributaries of snake• River, ihe country
tuns covered
becomes more barren at •
along. the small streams
with sedge, and the vent lig°
noatlOns also of more recent
diminishes. There are ant desolate, the Pi '
ur, and the recent
volcanic action. Hot spt ings of"- ' • •
banks are in some places fons
of scalding and hot water. Ibis may properly be
oom.deno-
minated a desert region, in whiph there are only
and teaming
sional oases. with enussm
as
Having now described the interior country 11r
re,
is necessary for the present purpose, it only now
mains to inquire into its copal ities and proip?cts.
It will be seen at once from b he above statements that
the interior of Oregon care neve' 7 become an agricultural
country, and consequently can never sustain a dense
population. It can be turned to account only by raising
flocks and herds, and in this v' yit is cepuble of sup-,
porting, a sparse population, and a sulilcient quantity or
alluvial bottom cen be forme"! in the best portions of it,
to furnish grain end wgetables . for such a pepuletion
residing there fur such purposes; It is necessary, hoer-
ever, to say in reference to the. grazing capabilities of
this region, that they are very lira from being superior.
There are considerable tracts orse este land, worth al.
most nothing at all, even for this nut pose. The amount
of grasp, also, which the uplands /4., fish is very small.
Its medium height I should judge to be twelve or four-
teen inches, diminishing on the highest - or more exposed
plains to six or eight inches, and iac, 'easing, particu-
larly in the vicinity of the woodlands"of the mountains,
where there is more moisture, to een or twenty