Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1842-12-08

sirable an objcct.'' In the enforcement
OF the laws aud treaty stpulations of
Great Britain, a practice had threatened
to grow up, on the part of its cruisers, Of
subjectlng to visitation ships sailing I'M
der the American flag, which, while it
seriously involved pur maritime rights,
would subject to vexation branch Of our
trade which WAS daily increasing, and
which required the fostering care of the
Government, And although Lord Ater-
deem, in his correspondence with the A
merlcan euyoys, at London, expressly
disclaimed all right to detain an Ameri4
can ship on the high seas, even if found
with cargo of slaves en- board, and re-
strlcted the British pretensiQn to a mere
claim to visit and inquire; yet it could
not well be discerned by the Executive
of the United States how such visit and
lnjuring could be made without detention
ON the voyage, and consequent Interrupt
ton to the trade. 1t was regarded as the
right OF search, presented only in a new
TORN, and expressed in different words
and therefore felt it to be my duty dis
tlaetly to declare, in my annual Message
to Congress, that no such concession
could be made, and that the United States
had both the will and the ability to en-
force their own laws, and to protect their
fiag from being used for purposes wholly
forbidden by those laws. and obnoxious
to the moral censure of the world. TAX
ing the message as his letter Of instruc-
tons, our then Minister at Paris felt
himself required 80 assume the same,
ground ia rem0nstrahce which he felt
1t to be his duty represent o'Mr. Guizot,
and, through him, to the king of the
French. against what has been called the
QuintupIe treaty; ard his conduct, liz
this respect, met with the approval of
this Government. la close conformity
with these views, the eighth article of
the treaty was framed, which provides
that ''each nation shall keep af1oat in the
African seas a force of not less than eigh-
ty guns, to act separately and apart, un-
der instructions from their respective
Governments, and for the enforcement
of their respective laws and obligations"
From this it will be seen that the ground
assumed in the Message has been fully
maintained, at the same time that the
stipulations of the treaty of Client are to
be carried out in good faith by the two
countries, and that all pretence is remov-
ed for interference with our commerce,
for any purpose whatever. by foreign
Government. While, therefore, the U.
States have been standing up for the free
dom of the seas. they have not thought
proper to make that pretcxt for avoid
ing ful6lment of their treaty stipula-
tons, or ground for giving countenance
to trade reprobated by our laws. A
similar arrangement by the other great
powers could not fail to sweep from the
ocean the slave-trade, without the inter-
polation of any new principle into the
maritime code. We may be permitted
to hope that the example. thus set will be
followed by some, 4hot all of them. We
thereby also afford suitable projections to
the fair trader in those seas, thus fulfill
ing at the same time the dictates of
sound policy, and complying with the
claims of justice and humanity.
1t would have furnished additional
cause for cougfatula ton. if the treaty
could have embraced ali subjects calcu-
lated in future to lead to misunderstood
| ing between the two Governments. The
territory of the United States, common
ly called the Oregon Territory, lying on
the Pacific ocean. north of the fprty-se-
cond degree of latitude, to IA portion of
which Great Britain lays claim. begins
to attract the attention of our fellow-ci!
tizens; and the tide Of population, which
has reclaimed what was so lately an un-
broken wilderness in more contiguous re-
gions, is preparing to fly over those vast
districts which stretch from, the Rocky
mountains to thei Pacific ocean. In ad-
vance Of the requirement Of individual
rights to these lands, sound policy die
tates that every effort should be resor!ed
TO by the two Governments to settle their
respective claims. 1t became manifest,
at an ea1!y hour Of the late negotiations,
that any attempt, Tor the time being, sa
tisiactoriiy to determine those rights,
1 would lead to protracted discussion,
which might embrace in its failure other
more pressing matters !; and the Execu-
! tive did not regard it as proper to waive
/ all the advantages of an honorable adjust
ment of other diffie ulties of great magni-
tude and importance, because this, not SO
immediately pressing, stood in the way.
Although the difficulty referred to may
not. for several years to come, involve
| the peace of the two countries, yet shall
not delay to urge on Great Britain the
importance Of its early settlement. Nor
will Other matters Ut commercial impor-
lance to the two con Titt.ieS he oyerlook ed !.
and have good reason to believe that it
will .comport with the policy If England /,
as IT does with that of the United States,
to seize upon this moment, when most of
the causes Of irritation have passed away.
70 cement the peace and amity Of the
two countries, by wisely removing all
grounds Of probable future collision.
! With the other powers of Europe our
relations continue 0n the most amicable