Mobile register and journal., 1845-05-12
From the Albany Argus. nIfR CLAIM Tn fADEEnN

Great Britain claims, without reservation, all the territory north of lhe Colnmbia river, aud with an equal '9h 10 navigate that river. IL s said that she
 has offered to make that river ie boundary between the two governments. This claim, if allow ed by the United States, would take full one half of the Ore eon--perhaps more. To this, our country W ill ney er acccde, During ihe discussions in the rapers and
 in Congress title to ihe 49th parallel was con. sidered yalid and unquesiionable
 The Amercan iille rests upon the strong snd ac {, knowledged right of discovery Captain GIay, of Boson, in the year li92, the ship CouHbIa, en- | tered for the first lime the great river of Oregon | which he named after his ship, the Colua,ba and to 1 his day it bears that and no other name. This is
 of some moment, as there IS n law of nations which
 reads thus: 'Fhe nation W hch discovers and enters the mouth of a river, by implication discovers the
 whole country waered by it In virtue of Ihis dis
 covery, the Columbia valley belongs to the United
 States agains England As If 10 perfect our ti- tie, il is not denied that the Lewis and Clark and Wallamette rivers, it's tributaries, which spread through all Oregon, first explored by Ameri- cans by the expedition sent out by he American Congress at the suggestion of Jefferson, under | Captain Lewis and Clark. There was a minute
 ness aud Il uIlness in their discoveries which give
 the highest authenticity to titte founded upon prior 1 discovery
 | Oregon is also ours by purchase Gin lSl9) from Spain, uudeniaby the first discoverer and occupant
 oi Ihe coast, even far north the 55lh parallel.
 In 1919, Spain. for cons iteration of 5 000 GOO ied iD the United States lorida, and also all her rights, tile aud claim 10 all territory on the Pacific coast north of the i2d parallel of latitude. The only circumstance calculated to weaken the perfecness of the United Sates' title, is the well known No0tka Sound contest Q769) which termi- naIed in a convention between England and Span, Ill ,he year l790, some twenty yeais before the pur- chase from Spain, and with which conditions ii-
 tie IS undoubtedly clogged. The terms of that l vrntion have been the source of infinite dispnte.-
 fer an examination of the terms of the treat,-the Lebates in the English Pai liamrnt when the treaty ihat RnufR
 ton in relation to the surrender of the English pos
 sessions on Noolka Sound, which had been seized by Spain-whch surrender by the way. Eng fish historian, Besham, insists never made-,he whole convention seems to he resolved into ioint occupancy ihe part of Englishmen and Spaniards
 for commercial purposes. Such one now exists and
 has existed Tor twenty y-seVen years between Great
 Bri ritaIn and the United States in relation the very
 same territory Yet we doubt whether any Amer- considers that we yielded in the least our uIt-
 mate title to the Oregon, by that joint occupancy Applying the same principle 10 the convention be- tween Englan and Span, and the conviction will
 arise that the tile left in abeyance to be deter
 mined by subsequent agreement The following is
 a clear summary of the American tiile: l. Discovery of the mouth of Columbia river by
 Capt. Gray, of Boston, giving the of his vessel | to the river.
 | 2. The discovery of the head of the same river by
 Lewis and Clark, under the authority Of the United | States.
 3. The settlement of Astoria under the auspices of l Mr. Astor, an American naturalized citizen. | 4. The treaty of 1903 with the French republic. 5. The treaty of Spain of 1919. acquiring all
 rights of Spain to land north of 42 deg beyond the | Rocky mountains.
 6. The Nooika Sound contest t17s9) between En-
 gland and Spain.
 2. The treaty of Utrecht (l763) between France
 and England, settling boundaries-lhs settlement
 becoming ours, as the successor of France in that | part of her dominions.
 | g. The treaty oi Client (18l5) restoring Astoria
 to the U. States as American property. | 3 American citizens once in sole possession
 of the Columbia river Ieglon.
 Even should lhe Nooka Sound convention be con
 sidered cession of title and sovereignty Eng land
 m ihe part of Span, it only applies to the places | named the en and those are situate north of the
 18Th parallel of latitude. It is we'll remarked, 'Not
 an inch of soil in the valley of lhe Columbia and it's
 tributaries included in the provi, ions of the
 convention of 1790." South of Nootka Sound all
 parties in this country that title is ''clear
 and unquestionable' And there IS not the remoteat
 probability that our people will ever consent render acre.
 Though this question is evidently surrounded will, complicated difficulties and enbarrassments, growing
 too, in no small degree out of the joint occupancy,
 we have the hope thai il will be settled peacoably, honoraby and sal siactoriy, under the auspices of our President and his able Secretary of State.