The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1843-11-18
OREGON TERRITORY.
Mr.. BRowNE's LECTURE, 3rd CONTINUED


former colonies on the Atlantic side o
North America. and that the United States
having by the treaty Of peace of 1888
taken transfer of the English title to the
colonies, are forever precluded from dis
putting The tile Of Great Britain to Ore
gon.
Now, leave is taken to deny both these
premises and the conclusion. The title
under which Great Britain held her for.
mer Atlantic colonies in North America
was founded upon the prior discoveries Of
Giovanni Gabato, in the employ of Hem
ny VII, in 1897, and her actual settlements
made of them from 1920 TO 1851. But
she can show no discovery of Oregon
prior TO those Of Spain, under whom we
claim, or to those made of the Columbia
River by the United States. The title OF
England, therefore. to Oregon does NOT
depend upon the same principles as the
title to her former Atlantic colonies; and
the premises Of our NJ. z fall to the
ground. But even if England had an
imperfect title to her former Atlantic CO.
lonies and the United States accepted that
title, quanitm ralcbat, how could this &C
ceptauce affect, one way or the other, the
title to Oregon? The United States were
in possession of the soil, and were the
owners, de tacto; England claimed to have
the tile to The sovereignty, de jme; where
then was the improperly OF accepting
such an instrument, which might act, at
least, as RELEASE.
The next ground upon which that M.
P. places the title of England to the SOW
ereignty of Oregon is what he calls the
general principles, which at the time Of
the western discovery aud settlement. were
universally admitted to regulate the prac-
lice of the European powers in America.
Gin approprlaling to themselves (says the
NJ. P } the newly discovered conline.fA
there was one common rule which they
were TAclrly and mutually PLEDGED 10
observe" st was regarded from the
very fist as fixed prlncple-that pos
session OF the Atlantic coast conferred
pom the possessor the right to the inland
coun,ry-strelching indefinitely west-
oard"
That there never was any such "prin,.
ciple," or common rule" to which the
European. powers who discovered and
settled America were either iacUIy or eX-
pressly pledged, will now be proven.
In 1883 Mr. De la Sale, Frenchman,
naviga'ed the Mississippi River from Can
ada 10 its mouth; in virtue whereof France
claimed the sovereignty of Louisiana, on
both sides OF the liver, from the Gulf Of
Mexico, in north latitude about 30 deg,
to the head waters, in 49lh deg. Of lat
Now. this region of country lies we tward
of the British Atlantic plonles in North
America, which, as before shown, had
been previously discovered and settled
from Georgia, in 81 deg, to Maine, in as
deg. II, therefore, England, by this dis
covery and settlement OF the Atlantic coast,
had conferred upon themselves "ihe iu-
land country, stretching indefinitely west
ward," they were entitled to Louisiana,
which lay between these attitudes, on the
'stre,ch" towards the west But this IL
tie of France was acknowledged by Great
Britain III the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1913.
anu VI Ncl eailles. III ifoo Hliu u iiis
rule oil stretching indefinitely to the wes'-
ward was the "princlple," or "common
rule" why did not England, by virtue
thereof, claim all the rest of the Spanish
possessions on lie n orth American Con-
tinent. which lie between the parallels of
latitude OF their Atlantic colonies? Why
did they not lay claim to all that part OF
California which lies between 81 deg. and
AZ deg, which could have been done with
equal justice, if any such principle or com
mon rule had been pledged? And why
has our Nj. p, almost in TIE same breath
that he claims the right of stretching
westward indefinitely, told us that "the &C
knowIedged boundary of Spain extends
TO AZ deg?
Again, when, in 1890, England had the
dispute with Spain, with regard to her pre-
tended right of trode and traGc a, Moot
ka Sound, why did the learned Pitt put
an end to that dispute in minute, by
saying that Nootka Sound lay between
45 deg. and 81 deg, and that England, by
stretching indefinitely westward the lines
of latitude of her colonies, was entitled to
claim, not righ, of ''lrade" and "lrailic,'
but the sovereignty Of Nootka Sound?
Had any such 'princIple," or ''common
rule" such as the NJ. P. has now nsis-
ted on. existed, it would scarcely have es-
capped the acute observation of the re
nowned Pitt; and therefore the Inference
is allowable that this is an thought
seized upon, as dernier argument, in
support of hopeless claim
Moreover, if this rule of stretching
westward to the Pacific Ocean was COM
mon rule, as the NJ p. has asserted, why
does not Great Britain, in virtue of hel
possession on the eastern side of the con-
tnent between north latitude "a deg. 4O
min. and G5 deg 50 min. claim all the