The North-Carolina standard., 1844-06-05

lection of Portugee papers, was the property-of q
Port1gee merchant, and had the flag Of Portugal
TAT her mast head.s Moreover, Meares was in
structed to seize all English vessels which should
seek to interrupt him. This is sufficient 10 show.
that the British Government had nothing to do with
the expedilion But, after all, Meares did not
discover The Colombia river; he bad heard that
there was such ariver, and endeayored to find il,
bat was unsuccessful as he himself states Ia his
Journal and he leftth coast in The frm consic-
ton that no such river existed Bur the writer.
ia his assertions goes beyond even the 6rmesl
supporters of British Tights,sin this country no
one, we believe has ever deniedsou right 10 all
the territory which we claim, VIZ that lying
between the parallels Of 42 & 54 deg.s4o m. N.
atitude Clay himself 6nce said that our right
to this tefriloywas as clear as it could well be bu
lhewri.er in bis eagerness to naintan the pretend
ed claims. Of England, has got beyond his depth.
We aresrery, much Obliged to 81 f." for his ex-
preston Of sorrow for US; but there was not the
least occasion for it; for we dare again, if there
was any daring in ii, to say the same thing which
called forth his feeling exposition of sorrow !;
namely that Mr.. Clay, in yielding or offering to
yield to England, part Of our territory, either
betrayed weakness andcowardice or total want
of regard for the interests and honor of his eoun
try. How can we otherwise interpret his conduct?
No one can, with truth, deny that he once asser-
ted that England had not the slightest claim to the
territory 6stween the parallels of AZ & 50 deg.
40 m. N. latitude, and that not many weeks after
this expression Of his opinion, he offered to give
up to her more than half of it. This Is the truth
of the matter and H." can make nothing more
of il. He knew that what we slated was true,
and ne therefore says" about this particular in
stance we have not taken the trouble to inquire"
Otherwise, thisis strange; man, who he under
takes to defend is charged with committing an
act of weakness and cowardice, and yet he does
not take the trouble to inquire about it. Although
he has not investigated the matter aud knows moth
ing about it, as he intimates, yet he fourshes off
into rodomontade concerning Clay's eloquence
in favor of unhappy Greece, and his frmness
Tswhen stout hearts quailed at the gIeamings of
sceptres and scymetars" and has also taken it up-
on himself to say that we in making this charge
against Clay, uttered faIsehood and showed
malignant heart-expressions which we would
scorn to return with little cause for it as he had
Fhc fact is, arguments were wanting to him and
he must needs resort to ungentlemanly expires.
siOns; and by so DOING exhibited his character,
both as man and writer
He next asks where our authority is for max
ing Oregon paradise. We did not represen, it
as paradise; on the contrary we stated that
some portions of it are so broken as not to be sus
ceptible Of cultivation ); but we also said, and we
say again, that some parts of it arc superior 10
the United States in fertility of soil and salubrty
of climate. C. The low country 1--WE quote from
Greenow's repor) is well calculated for wheat,
barley. oats. rye pease, apples potatoes, and all
the roots cultivated in the Northern States of the
Union. Horses and cattle, the winters being |
mild, are enabled to subsist upon the produce of
the open fields" "Thefe are prairies sufficiently
numerous and extensive for the cultivation of the
next century; which, being chiefly on the second
bottoms OF the rivers, are extremely fertile and
above inundation." 1t is also stated that Indian
corn, on the borders of the rivers, especially Of
Clark and Colombia, fourishes well. Willamette
valley, says Lieutenant Wilkes, yields from thir-
ty6ve to forty bushels to one sown, and that its
quality is superior to that produced in the United
States But Oregon is not valuable simply as an
agricultural country the fur trade, and the great
facilities for commerce which it would afford US
render its acquisition important" The writer next
saysS" the territory under dispute, lies between
The 49th deg. North latitude, and Mexico on the
South" This is not so; the country, now under
discussion, lies between AZ degrees and 81 degrees
40 m. north lat. Because Mr. Clay offered to sur
render to Great Britain all the rritory as far as
he 49th degree N. lat, this does not restrict our
claim to thetland farther North, that is, to 81 deg
10 m. /; for the offer was refused, and of course
'ur claim stands exactly it did before the offer
vas made. Instead of the Colombia affording the {
'nly good harbor the coast claimed by US. as he
ays; there are many good harbors between AZ
81 deg. 40 m. N. 81 In latitude 46 deg. SO m.
$ Gray's bay, which offers secureanchorage to
mall vessels, sheltered from the sea by sand. pits
md bars. The Umpqua also affords harbor to
'essels, drawing as much as eight feet water.
Post Discovery on-the strait of Fuca, lat 48 deg
ays Vancouver, ispefiectly safe and convenient
or ships of uny siSes defended from the violence
# the waves by Protection Island" A few miles