The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-03-20

IL rc>utttu tutt ~ Was ro<rNtiul 10 01fulu
presentation. d-e ia he agsncyand gaardiaaship ef
fAe territory question" Towhat does that refer
Clearly 10 the whole " disputed terriiorys IN
Mr.. s. then referred 10 the Message IL Governor
Kent in January last, and 10 letter OF his to- the
President OF The United States In April, 1888 In
which he says: "Maine feels that The time for de-
cisive action has come-that she cannot be satisfied
To have the claim 10 absolute and exclusive jursdc
ton OF large part OF her territory longer tolerated
and aeqnssesa an" He also referred to the protest
OF the warden" AFTER notice was given that the
commissioners were going on TO explore, &c. against
" any act Implying sovereignty or jurisdiction on
the part OF any Government or State OF the ciii-
zens or subjects Of any Government or State exer-
cised within the territory in dispute, and known by
the name OF ns disputed TERRITORY, until The right to
that territory shall have been decided by negotiation
between the two Governments
Do not these documents show that i've or six wears
ago, at least, the Government Of New Brunswick
claimed the absolute and exclusive jurisdiction OF
the whole territory, and that warden was APP
pointed under The authority Of the British Govern
Inent, with supervisory power over the whoIe-not
the Madawaska settlement merely, but The fcAole--
and that this was made known to our Government
Let me not be misunderstood. My object is not 10
bring reproach on past administration or any of It's
officers. No; let this debate be free from ali party
faint But subject OF this vast importance ought 10
be fully examined and considered
AT the time OF the late movement there had been
no recent change OF circumstances. Nothing had
the close OF the last session Of Congress The late
movement on the part Of Maine has produced The
present crisis. Il is deeply TO be regretted; and
must fsarlessly say that, In my Judgment II was in
10 say the least OF IT, Might
not the consequences have been foreseenf Would
not different course have effected the object with
out risking such consequences
Sir John Harvey has the reputation OF being an
honorable as well as gallant officer; might there
rot safely have been a communication with him, or
with Government IN he Roth mar
Ties are to be considered Jointly interested In the
territory In dispute. The course taken proceeded,
have no doubt, from deep sense Of injury. Their
interests had been neglected: they have made COM
plants, and have given intimations Of the course
they should feel compelled TO pursue i Is stil pos
sibe, trust that the course taken will not lead 10
the consequences some apprehend; II may lead TO
settlement Of the boundary question Should that be
the case, il will be fortunate.
The first step was secret session of the Legisla-
ture and the passage OF the resolve which led TO the
expedition. ANY one knowing the state of feelings
on this subject both sides of the line, might well
apprehend what would follow. The people of Maine
have great spirit and courage-they will do what
they say-I know them we'll therefore, look at the
present state Of things with the greatest concern.
There was secret session-then posse Who ever
heard Of such posse before Il had the appearance
Of military expedition. They still remain at the
Aroostook, where they are entrenching themselves
Tor what! To disperse trespassers2
This course may embarrass the boundary question,
BY bringing forward, prominently, new and colate-
raj one, as stated by the gentleman from Pennsyl-
vania.
A great and new question Is now presented, whe-
Their an indscreet step of State shall involve this
nation in great and tremendous war; War be-
tween these two nations will be no child's play; all
say, that once begun II will be long-that it may be
Of ten years duration-ten years Of strife, Of suffer
ing, and Of bloodshed.
What, then, should this Government dol We
should do nothing which may have tendency to ex-
cite unnecessary Misunderstanding which may un-
tend to produce war. have fears Of
being reproached with want of spirit and courage.
Great Britain knows well with whom she Is 10 con-
tend; that We are of her own blood her own race,
who have not degenerated but who have taken
new start in the fresh soil Of this new world. Her
own experience, also, has taught her that it is not
from fear that we are inclined to pacific course
No; 1t is from other, from higher considerations;
from our adherence of war between these two
kindred nations, as great and terrible calamity
And at this time when we have been hoping that the
facilities Of intercourse between nations, and the i'm
provements Of our day, had produced more enlight-
ened views and better feelings on the subject Of war,
we had attered ourselves that there had been great
change great advance in true civilization and that
the history of the next two hundred years would not
be written in blood like that Of the preceding Who
would resort 10 war, except literally the last resort
IA war between two great nations, bound together
by the strongest mutual interest, as well by the in
dissoluble ties of common ancestry language litera-
ture, and religiona
Some things in this debate have surprised me. No
one, ! trust, desires war; why, then, connect this
with other subjects1 Why connect il with the dis
pute at the mouth Of the Columbia river, or any
difficulties And what reason is there to suppose
that Great Britain has sent armies into Canada or
the West Indies, or fleets 10 the Gulf of Mexico for
the purpose of military warfare against the United
States May It not have been thought wise TO guard
against the possible effects of abolition in the West
Indiesl And are not their 10000 or $4,000 troops
in Canada necessary to keep colonies from DIS
turbance? And has England discovered no conf
dence in this Government? Her whole Canadian
frontier has been in state Of alarm on account Of
incursons from our territory; and yet il has not dis
turbed the friendly relations of the two nations.
Think of the connection between these two nations,
our constant intercourse, our mutual commerce,
more than between any other nations on the globe,
our competition in the arts, commerce. and manu-
features Is surprising that there should arise oc-
casional causes Of difficulty and irriation2 Will
they not happen among the most honorable men in
the transactions of business2
But, Mr.. Chairman, the question now is, what
shall be done in the present emergency2 Shall we
leave Maine alone in this contest No; she must
be protected. Is it expedient to pass this bill
believe the provisions OF the act OF l795 are suff-
cient for the occasion. That authorizes the Pres-
dent to call out such part of the militia as he may
deem necessary TO resist invasion, or in case OF i'm
minenl danger Of invasion. know this imposes the
whole responsibility upon the President. am will
ling, therefore, to go urtherto go for The FIRST sec
VI LOT W lue odIIc cheet
hold that Maine is to be protected. Why Because
there has not been such explicit agreement or un-
derstanding as is asserted There is some n,isun-
derstanding Of the matter; and believe it will be
found either that Sir John Harvey has mistaken his
instructions, that they founded in msappre-
hension, and that the British Government will be
satisfied that there was no such agreement, express
or to be implied from the diplomatic intercourse be-
tween the two Governments.
From the Nc,o York Times.
We understand that Mr. Van Buren, attributes the
LII. L.