The New era. [volume] ([Portsmouth, Va.]) 1845-1847, 1845-11-15
From the Daily Union.
CLAMoR FOR GREAT BRITAIN

the Oregon question: What foundation is there
for such a CHARGE just This and no mnre. The
President declared. nine months ago, " Our riph,
Ia Oregon is clear and unquestionable." We
put II Ia every man of candor, has The admins
iratinn-or, It they please. The Uninn"-done
or said anything more9 Not one deed-nol one
word. On the question of automatically sta
ted-the administration has taken its position.
This is all.
And now we ask. is that position me,u or old ?
Is il. MS ii has heen freely called, a ne,o step, or a
cioicnt step, or a reckless step. or a step of eaas
perdtion? IL is none If these. This nation as
a natl"n-this government as a government-has
never known any other dnctrine Of 0ur right in
Oregon than that very doctrine which the Presi.
dent Promulgated in his inaugural. and which we
have endeavored, and shall endeavnr, unlinch-
Ingly to sustain. We quoted This d~nctrine yes
lrTday, as stated IN the strongest and broadcast
terms by Henry Clay in 1896, when he. as Sec
retary of State, sr Ike ON this subject for The ad
uiIniS'ra'Ion ut MIR. Adams. This is Mr.. Claws
language .Nor IS IL conceiued that Great
Britain has, or can, make ont eren q coiorable
lille 10 any portion Of the northwest coast"
This most emphatic assertion of our rights by
Mr.. Clay is The more remarkable, because il was
given IN the same despatch in which MIR Galla,in
wasl Instructed To compromise our claim by the
line uf the 49ih parallel.
We are prepared 10 show that this same doc.
trlne has been reiterated over and over AGAIN in
every variety OF form. by administration after adj
minISlralion-ln messages. i'm dispatches. in ma
Jnrity reports on the floor Of Congress. But we
will not take the trouble to do this. The work
is needless.
we take a shorter course. We defy our oppo
nenis on this question. one and all, 10 pro9mce
arg state paper claiming To speaks The SEMI.
me"is IF Ihe american gouernmenL al ann lime
IN "h'ch the docfri"e Of OUR RIGHT TO THE
WHOLE OF OREGoN has been cOntradict.d or
dbdndoned. Let them show us one adminis,r,-
ton IN This country that has ever said, or in,ima-
led, or allowed. in any terms. or any nccasion
that The United States did not Of right o,cn The
Suit of Oregon up To 81" 40.
Over aud over again. indeed. onr government
has offered To COMPROMISE this our rightful
cIaIn-lo compromise it at the line of the 49rh
parallel. Failing In do this, our government has
twice postponed the decision of the questinn by a
stipulation of =" joint "ccnpancy,' carefully re
serving in that stipulation its ,rhoIe riphf and
claim "nimpnired. But whai adminisir ration has
ever narrowrd the ground Of our alleged righf
one inch? What one state paper has done this,
I'm The name at the government? We defy the
anti Oregon press to produce one such document,
or any trace of one.
Till they do this. what right have they to ac-
cnse this administration of new and reckless viz
lence What is their mon ground in This mat
~ '"iu my d me Jhlnl Occupation con
lime as ii standS-Great Britain meanwhile ex-
tending her laws all over the region, and dortinp
II every where with her fortified posts. and strip
ping lis best timber land. and chnnsing ali its
most eligible sites. and m"nupnlizing hy the agen.
cy Of her Hudson Bay Company all the hest re-.
sources and occupations of the land ? Is M,t so
mt or wise, or Just or honorable. or Profitable or
sale a state ot things, that we should wish 10 con-
time it? We say nothing now of the acts of
viplpncp DprnpiTa tod hv tho sor,..,. "
pany on the Americans in Oregon though of this
we may speak hereafter. Would our opponents
have the administration and the next CnnUress
leave our American fpllnw-citizens in Oregon
wholly nnrPcognisPd and unprotected there anv
longer-pIaced side by side as they are with =
smaller BRUSH population fnsIered by England TO
The ntm"sif Doubtless they wonld have the adj
mlniSifatIon negotiate. And what nnwilIinpness
has this administrator ever shown 10 enter upon
negotiation. provided only that in snch neeociaiion
our clear rights are not TO perish, and onr plain
duty ut protection TO our citizens and our soil is
not to he abandoned And are not these pr,vi
soes wise and just?
We think Congress and the country will sav
they are. We think, too, that Congress and the
country Will say that this administration COMING
out upon the Oregon question honestly. and with
manly frankness, and standing on The ancient and
sOitd grO"nd ot our clear ard understandable RIGHT
as it has sluod, and now stands, and means Ia
stand, has taken the only position whicI. states.
men truo 10 their trust ahd mindful of their
great duties could take. The United States
own Oregon. When England shall EXPRESS her
determination to occupy and ue and enjoy Ore.
gon as 1t 1t was hers, and shall denounce war
against us if we put a stop to such use and &c
cnpatIon there may be tOo paths of policy for this
nation to pursue. But we can see only one.
We seek no war with England, or with any
other foreign power. On the contrary, we wish
for peace with England as with all the world
But The great blessing and worth of peace. is
that In peace our rights are protected and our
soil is safe. Snch a peace we shall he slow TO
disturb, for such a peace brings with it no dis.
honor.
Before we close this article. we must correc,
an error IN respect 10 a matter merely personal
into which we perceive that The Norfolk Herald
AMI two or three other j,urnals have fallen. The
Herald states that oar article of Thursday eve
ming last appeared during The absence FROM Wash
ington OF iie responsible editor of this journal.
This is a mistake. He was hack at his post on
the evening before the publication Of the article
in question.
A PoRTRA1r OF THE ASSISTANT EDIroR.-
II chanced dnring The last Summer. that a coun.
Try EIiior tell Of a fever. Ihe fact was an.
uuuucPd to his readers. alpnu with the nutice Il,