The Sun.
London, England, 1845-04-05 00:00:00

,tn'arat,ort of eert-in parties f7om the finit,.-d States. In
,11,ce, that i>-tor, ai y tong tiro, OIL!

RP!'

ould hr, exten,W 10 rilt
fotm a i:art of the

federal union. was time this subjeet that. he wished, after
the appeal of the President to the people of the United
States, to call the attention of the !louse.—(Near.)
H !shed to show hoe tar the Pres.idetet of the United States
was justified in declaring his intender], wiihout the sanction of
any trieey or eenvention, of occupying tl.is territory. In a
sr s ter „f •bes- kind it. was necessity to ireplire taro the usage
3• 'sleet' a right to env territory hells.' te unfixed and un-
el.em st was claimed With reesrd to an uninhabited ce, ',try
there night be a tlfe 113' i,10•0 111 t, list ever,, by treaty or eon-
veetierr, or :knotty by se, ni n! and oceueatien. Now what
wry the riebi iif the Unit/eV:stet. e, as he eathered it from re-
l. r?, made er Loss neer as 1•.'.5 snd ISs.6. by a Committee of
tee Fleuse Beres-tonsil es ? rseard to ancieot dis-
covers the Un'ted saes e!l the rielos that. were de-
r semi Spanish discovery. but he would not much regard
a discovery at t..e end of the 16,11 century. which consisted of a
landing of a few hours on the coast, witheut any attempt made
to p, reeet it hy occupation. But even on tire point of prior dis-
cover, he would. hs ready to meet the Presitteet ot the United
-,eiat•-•, and weld eonteret for the discovery of Sir Francis
Drs:.•e as compared with the discor, ry of the Spanish
navieetur in 1592. l hew with regard to the question of
treety ; but before he went into that he would state what was
the oesition of what was called the Oregon Territory.
It might be couseiered RS the territory lsing between the
Runty mountains and the Pacific, from vas's to west, and be-
t wren latitude 4tl 1r 42 and 59 from north to seuth. Now, as
far as hr could ascertain, that large 5.. rritory did not ap-pear to
have been the •übj ct ot stipuletiens between the countries of
Europe till late in the last century. It was said by America
that the treaty .if Utrecht referred to that territory, but he
maul! not find any reference to it in that treaty, and there did
not appear to him to be any claim on that ground. It was
said again t •at the treaty of 1763, the treaty of Paris, gave to
France or Spain. or to one or other, all the territory to the
wear of the Mississippi. it so happened that on a late occa-
sion he found it necessary to read the negotiations which had
taken place with regard to the treaty of Paris, and had con-
sulted the various dispatches which passed between the Duke
of Bedford arid the French Minister, and it was clear from
those documents that the racily question between France
and England at that moment was as to the set-
tlement between Canada and Louisiana.—( Hear, hear.)
By the treaty Canada was ceded to England, and Louisiana to
France, with the exception of some parts to the east of the
Mississippi. They must then consider whether Louisiana, as
it was then held by France, comprehended any portion to the
west of the Rocky Mountains, and upon this a very excellent
pamphlet had been published by Mr. Faulkener.—(Hear,
hear.) It appeared. from the instructions sent by Louis XI V.
to M. Croissade, who was at that time at the bead of the Go-
vernment of Louisiana, that he did not consider Loui-
siana extended so far as the Rocky Mountains. It would
appear that it was corisidered to extend to the country
westward of the Missouri and the Mississippi. There
was nothing, therefore, in the treaty of 1763, from
which it could be inferred eves by implication that any title
was created to the territory beyond the Rocky Mountains.
Next they came to the claims which it was said arose from the
discoveries of navigators, and the settlements made on the
coases. In the year 1785, the question arose with regard to
Nootka Sound. That settlement was attacked and destroyed
by the Spaniards. The Enolish Government demanded re-
dress from the Spanish Government, that iedress was given to
them, and terms were agreed on with re,rard to the future oc-
cueation of the country. Those terms showed that the country
was censidereci as one to which no valid claim of sovereignty
could ts • established by °title Party. it appeared that neither
the English nor the Spanish Geveroments had formed such
settlements there as to give a valid tole to the territory. He
could refer the Haute to the Convention agreed on at the
Escurial, in relatten to this subject. witch would be formed in
" Hertsist's Cermeer cial Treaties." fis the Sir article '.l that
Convention, it was agreed that the subjects ef either ceutory
should have f-ee access to the tern o• y to carry on iheet
kdo v% h .ut nit festal ion from the o' le r. It was agreed that
al pars ot the e.t.a) if the spanili settlements should he open
to the -uojecis of both countries, but that neither Spain nor
England shoule timothy settle there for the purp•-ose of assuming
tire ,ot.Trunty ot the country. Now it did not appear that
spent bad any serf.emeets tro tire nerth of laei'ude 40. At all
even-s. she had Lone s , far north as the mouth of the Co-
leo hie River. By the treaty, it NAai open either to Great
lb to n or 'r Spain to perfect the di -ouster), of the corietry,
and to e_talnish aed make sertlemente in consequence of such
dise iveries. Captain Vancouver, after that convention had
tieen elm red into, sac nett by the British G .veroment to make
(1 a °err ies, and to tak • pes,essimi, io the name of the King of
Gr, at ieetair. of ush ter ritori.-s as he might discover. He
now came to smeller part of the claim of the United statee—
viz., :cat ohieh was founded on alreged priority ot discover's'.
I! atepsated that a merceant yes' 't, called the Coalmine. tem-
mended to, Captain Grey, 1- all di cevered an inlet, which Capt.
Grey surer:cal io se th.• islet to some laver. 'Tins was in the
mar hof May. 1792. After remaining at anchor in that inlet
ter some rime, .net serebnes out boats for the purpose of ascer-
tainieg the limits of the bay, and ascer tearing that it was not.
the inlet of any river, the vessel sailed cut 4110 the Pacific
Ocean. This was clear from the statemerit made by Captain
Gres, for he said, that after sonic days having found what they
thought was the channel of a river. they discovered their mis-
take, for what they had discovered was clearly no channel, and
they returned. Shortly aftsr, Captain Vancouver arrived, and
he not only entered she inlet, hut he sent his fist-lieutenant,
Liaut- tiant lirou.hton, in his boat, to go d.,wo th; river.
Lieutenant Broughton was mere successful than Captain Grey
had been, for he not only &seers/erect the eetrance to the Columbia
river, but he proceeded up that river to a considerable distance.
Captain Vancouver took possession of it arid Nootka Sound in
the name of the King of England, and this was a valid pos-
ses.ion. He sailed up its course for some days in a boat, to a
distance of ninety or one hundred miles from the mouth, and
discovered much of the territories surrounding it. It was
agreed that the river should be called the Columbia ; and
Lieutenant Broughton returned to the ship. But Captain
Vancouver took possession of the river and the coast ad-
jacent to Nootkha Sound, in the name of his Majesty the
King of England. Here, then, was indeed someth,ng
like a regular and weil-foundul title, the taking pos-
session. red, by the commander of a merchant vessel, but by
an officer in the uniform of the King of Etigland, for the
purpose of occupation and settlement. --(Much cheering.)
These wee the most important diplomatic transactions that
had taken place in relation to this subject. But there are
other transactions on which the Committee of the House
of Representatives had attempted to found some claim, and
which, I think, will not he found to sustain that claim.
In 1803, France surrendered to the United States all its
rights with respect to Louisiana; and, in 1819, Spain ceded
to the United States all its rights in connexion with
Florida. But, unless it appears that the territories of France
and Spain, arising from the possession of these countries, ex-
tended to the west of the Rocky Mountains, it is manifest
that no treaty made by them could convey to another party
a title to countries to which they themselves had no title.
It bad been stated in an American pamphlet, which
he held in his hand, that the district of Louisiana included all
the land on the east side of the Mississippi and the Rocky
Mountains—that district included between the land claimed by
Spain on the one side, and by Great Britain on the other ;
but wiless Louisiana was included in that part ot the territory
vrest of the Rocky Mountains, it ought not to have been in-
clu!'ed in the convention. The words of the treaty, too, were
worthy of oleservation. They did not ray the territory belonging
to or ackeowledged to belong to. but the territory " claimed
by" Great Britain.—( hear.) With regard to the cession by
Spain. the only ces-ion they had aria right to Rinke was under
the convention with Great 116, ain relative to Nootka Sound.
There was a convention bstween Span on one side, and Gres,
Britain on the other. The two Powers afterwards went to
war, and it was used a, an argument, Our the part of the Unites
States, th.it in eons.-
pence of that Great. Britain had lest ail
tVe flier) it claixed teeter the converitien. The fact
was, that the cent:omen wis very' wed by an htid.t;nnal article
in the .r,-at' between this ceuntry avid Spain in 1814, then -
fore they could onls su•areed to sueh tine es Spain held in 1814.
It was a role to settle arid trs de in that ti rritory. Thee he woulel
imerne 10 the third cursetion, shies was the ITIs st important of
all the mires title—re meant the title by
occusancy sit -tern nt. The quo stem new for them to
e.qi•ider was, weether !here 'c-,4 whit the Preedent of tie-
Uni ed states cailed a tide, real and unquestienahle, to be
made out of necup.ocy and seetlement, He had etre-arty stated
that thsre w.a a sett' neut. in Neotke Sound, and that
ths•re was aiso a settle-iient to de by the ilutson's Bay Com.
pney in the Orsgum territery. II 1:311, as wit stied
ha
Washieter..n Irene!, Mr. Ast, n mede a settirtineet In Colour.
his. Sherri% afterwards there was a war, arid the question
W,R who shou take possession if tee osinnien territory. The
settlers, in the me .ctime. agreed old) a company, called the
No-th NVestern Company. for this sale of t'-at c luny. Thai
sale was effscied but under the tr. ate of Ghent, in 1815.
cwilig to some misaeprr•heneron on the part it the English Go
ver nment, Loot liathurst th,eght it right to restore the settle-
ment under the lint artless. of the treats, whit`-: provided that
all possessions previously belonging to either of the two Powers.
Aryl r aptured by erthsr(arty during the war, should be re-
cto -ed to their former p .sseesors. It, was urged on tits
pin of this ceunrry that the covenant of restitution
did not apply to It,:toria, for that settlement had not been cap-
tursd, but regularly sold by private purchase. The transaction,
however, tank place ; but though this was :so, and though tire
settlement was given up to an agent ot the United States,
the Americans, in point of fact, did not re-establish any
sietthenent in Astoria_ —( Cries of "hear, hear.")
A few years afiersvarde, the Hudson's Bay Cele-
pany and the North West Company united, and were
joined into one company by Act of Parliament. The company
oceutried the rettlermmt, and called it Fort George, and Air.

Farnham found established there a clerk of the Hudson's Bay
Company, who was called King of the Indians, exercising the
greatest influi nee over the natives, found no one else in power,
and who, in fact, was the only person having any influence or
authority, Mr. Farnham gives an account of a company
established in the United States, and called the Pacific
Fur Company, and he expresses his regret that this specula-
tion was a total failure. He relates, very fairly, that the reason
of this failure was not violence or ageression by British subjects,
but because the Hudson's Bay Company acted with a more en-
larged spirit of enterprise, understood the trade better, and took
a more accurate a- d comprehensive view of the best mode of oc-
caoation, the manner of dealing with the natives, and of
the safest and best way to conduct the trade in every respect.
They were obliged to sell their settlements to the Hudson's Bay
Company. It was taken, on good authority, that there were
20,000 people living in this part of the Oregon territory,
very few of whom were citizens of the United States, and
at the same time the Hudson's Bay Company had agents who
had made settlements throughout the country.—( Hear.
He liked to quite American authority, and was glad to find
another American citizen—a lieutenant in the American ser-
vice—hearine the highest testimony to the intelligence, the
integrity, and the benevolence with which the Company guides
its course in all its transactions with the natives.—( Hear
hear.) They all knew that dreadful story in the history of
American civilization which told of civilized people prevail-
leg with the unfortunate savages, by giving them intoxicating
drinks, to part un uniair terms with their furs and other goods
—of e,vilized men, thus brutalizng the wretched savages with
the rum and brandy they self them in exclia!,ge for the pro-
duce of their hunting excursions. Now the gentleman to
whom he had altoded—a lieutenant in the American service
—said that the Hudson's Bay Company did every thing to pre.
vent such transactions un the part of their agents. Ihe Com-
pany had large sores of rum, but this is not allowed to he sold
to the 13va. e 4, and a ship having latch arrived with a cargo of
inerie:, the Cempiny actually bought up the whole cargo,. to
prevent the degradation of the Indians eau,e't by that immode-
rate u-c of spirits which has been the ruin and de.truotion of so
en-ny of that peopl,. Sui-li was the high eli,atacter that the C im-
pany deservedly la,ro—sueli the eat, ut of their transactions and
the ii-it wherei, the!, I.:iri y them on. It was ohv:ous, seeing
the inerease of relations cahich must take pine,. be-
tw.,en this ettutery and our Indian. possessirins arid China,
it was of the very first importance to have the com-
mand of that part of the coast. 'There might be ports as good.
I or better, further to the rio,th, in the nen,hbouihri d of
Nen ka Sound, but th' torts were uoliproachabie. What
was the result of the stabeneet which he had endeavoured to
make to the Meese on this difficult subjeci ? Why, that with
regitet anr!ent tiiseoveries, Ernzland had a better claim than
the United St.tes. Welt respect to the treaties, the
tinted States 'had no (:round whatever to rest. Upon the
ground of tii,corery, ttten, as well as by treaty, the c'aims of
thi country were stronger to that disputed territory than those
of the United States.—( Hear, hear.) Enid sh 'subjects, for
the o,i part, occupied it. and English subjreis were now en-
gaged in carrying on a traffic of greet importance thane.
Hieing thug, in a mere manner, gated the ela of the re.