The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-12-24
Under the advice of chat great man"
New York, December %, lS45

New York, December %, ls45.
In the "Times" London,) notice the follow
ing
AT the present time England adheres to the
principle of the treaty of $780, that neither pary
exclusive claim to the country but she declares her
resolution to resist any exclusive claim hostile to
her concurrent rights and she urges the Ameri-
can government to commute those esAcurrent and
now conflicting claims to the whole country into an
undisputed title to moiety of the territory Tir.
tuaiiy the american government has recognised the
stenCe Of This concurrent right by offering TO duide the
district By the 49h parallel Of latitude. That proposal
reduced the question from of right to of ex-
pedlency and amount"
NJ GailIardet, in the last "t'ourrier deS Eiais
Unis," remarks:
''For it is certain that for nearly half century
England and America have been disputing about
Oregon and that they have agreed by treaty to a
Joint occupation. Hence results an incontestabc
proof that the rights of America are on some points
questionable, and that there is ground for lin
itation, some division"
The Paris "Siecle" af the Both ut. says:
"The question Of the Oregon is no longer new
question. America has recognised the rights Of
England to part Of the disputed territory, and Eng
land in return acknowledges the rights Of the Uni
ted States. The entire globe has witnessed these
reciprocal engagements. Neither of these t,oo po,pers
haze right to violate them. Let them negotiate,
therefore, treaty of partition, or let them refer the
question to arbitrator; for that nation Of the two
which would draw the sword in order to set at
naught diplomatic compromise which has endured
more than half century, WILL independent of the
danger may incur incur the censure of all civil
lied nations" ."s
Now, in the present unsettled state Of our foreign
relations, it is important for us to have the common
sense and fair judgment of the civilized world upon
our side of the dispute about Oregon. The publ
cation of the correspondence" has brought the
question for decision before the people of this coui-
try, and, in fact, of the world, in committee OF
the whole upon the state of the Union" What
verdict will the committee renderi What does the
common sense OF the people say' In view of this
question, | submitted the following queries to a
legal gentleman of this city:
|. Does mere occupation confer upon the occu-
pant any right in fee to the soil
9. Does lapse Of time an element of occupa-
ton, generate any right in fee to the solls
3. Does the offer Of consideration to buy peace
generate for an occupant any right in fee to the
soil?
A. What Is the effect of such offers, and how are
they regarded in common law in the question of
originating rights IN fee'
To these questions he answers as follows--which
take to be an embodiment of the common sense
of the civilized world:
l. and =, and 3. The mere occupation of the soil
for any number of years does not give an exclusive
right to the fee, unless the same is held in adverse
possession So that when lands are held by party
under agreement to occupy, the party occupying
can never acquire right to the fee by such occupa-
ton.
a. Fin the course of litigaed proceedings an offer
of compromise is made by either party to the other,
by way of bringing the whole matter in dispute to
termination, and such offer be rejected the party
to whom the offer is made cannot take advantage of
it, and afterwards hold the party making the offer
to the performance, but both parties fall back to the
thnx, holI hafn tl,n IF
promise; and such offer Of compromise cannot be
resorted to for the purpose of establishing claim to
the extent of such offer; neither can it be given
in evidence.
The Times asks, at the close of the following para
graph, a significant question:
SAT no distant period, therefore, we augur that
the system of joint occupation will be terminated;
and as ourselves have extended the jurisdiction
Of the British courts Of justice of Canada to
settlements on the Columbia, readily admit
that tho Americans free TO establish their uris
dicon The southern bank Of that rirsr, wherever
their settlements formed. In these two measures
there is nothing to render war inevitable; and when
ever they have been carried, we shall be glad to
learn hop MIR. Polk proposes 10 take possession " a
country ohich the agents Of the Hudson Bay Company
haze already occupied, and perfectly able 10 de-
tnd"
The answer il, we submit the question to "com-
mttee Of the whole" for decision. If this give
verdict, and establish our right in fee to the SOIL
then we propose to take possession of our farm in
the usual way and manner by law provided in cases
similar. The people only desire 10 know their
rights how to maintain them is very subordi-
nate question. IL our government is IN possession
Of any further light in any way affecting the rights
and titles of either of the ligant parties, respect
fully submit that the people should, at the earliest
moment, be put in possession Of it, especially if
England has any additional ground of title other
than what appears in the correspondence" can
you that the people hereabouts have made up
their verdict from the evidence thus far submitted
the committee that we have the right TO Oregon in
fee from AZ deg. TO 81 deg. 40 min.
Yours truly,
ESBE.