The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-12-16

IN proper conuiuon LOT eHcctiVc ocicnco.
Il was thought OF that time we were TO have a
war with FraDce He now asked the 5enate and
the country to look back through the legislation Of
Congress since 1885 and 1886. and tell them (tbe
Senate) what had been done by the party parties
in POWER When all men admitted that the coun-
try was in defepceless condition, and that we
should be placed in condition to meet foreign
enemy, what was done' Nothing; and now sim
i'arly situated as to national defence as now
Mr.. G. spoke of the defenceless condition of
Delaware bay, and said that the whole country was
entirely unprotected; for this he was In favor
of the resolutions, whether were to have war or
not but he did not wish TO be understood by his
vote that the country was going to war. Assuming
that the country was remain at peace for years to
come-as a sensible man, he could not expect to re-
main at peace forever-and therefore IT was their
imperative duty to prepare for war hereafter
The senator from Connecticut Mr. NiLEsl re-
marked that the best of preserving peace, was
to prepare for war; and in the course Of the remarks
of the senator from Ohio, [Mr. ALLEs,l that gen.
tleman took occasion to say, that one of the most
important modes of preparing the country for war
and selfdefence, was to prepare the hearts OF the
people for the war. The great motive of the dis
cussion, from this remark, he (Mr. CLAYToN)
thought, was that the hearts of the people might be
prepared by the discussion for the war.
Mr.. ALLEN asked leave to explain He made
the remark with reference to what was said by the
senator from Massachusetts,, MIR. WEBSTER, that
there were two modes Of preparations; one ofwhch
was to prepare quietly, and the other was oprepare
publicly.
Mr.. WEBSTER replied, that the senator was
quite mistaken He said there were two ways for
government to proceed. The one was to create an
apprehension that war must ensue, and make no
provision for it, and the other not TO create an
apprehension, and 60 on and make effectual prepar-
atoms to meet war, if war should come.
Mr.. ALLEN responded, and In the course OF
L.. .t.-A- th.t kA d,atnr tlxy
denounced unnecessary alarm, and endeavored TO
show the utter impossibility Of preparing for war
without exciting apprehension and he maintained
that was proper the people should be prepared for
war, if II were inevitable, that they might not be
taken by surprise, and be found not united. This
was what he meant to say.
Mr.. CLAYTON resumed his remarks; and in
conclusion, said he would vote for the resolutions,
but did not consider himself, in doing SO, as ex-
pressing an opinion whether there was to be war or
not
Mr.. BREESE said that it was not his purpose to
participate in the discussion Of the various matters
which had sprung up out of the resolutions under
consideration and il seemed to him somewhat re-
markable that go much should have been said rea
tive to propositions on which both sides OF the
House were agreed. He had no doubt, from the
opinions expressed, that the resolutions would be
unanimously adopted; and he thought 1t not an
appropriate time to open up the discussion OF our
relation therefor nor did he think it necessary for
him to express an opinion as to what would be the
result of the action upon the resolutions, or upon the
notice to terminate the joint occupancy OF that terri
tory, should it be given, and which he sincerely
hoped uo,ld be given. These resolutions were mere
y resolutions of inquiry, not calculated to elicit de-
bate.
Mr.. B. said that he had merely risen for the pur-
pose of correcting an error into which the Senator
from Georgia [Mr. BERRIEN had fallen and which
had been adopted by the Senator from Delaware,
[Mr. CLAYroN,] who had just taken his seat. They
both seemed to think, and so argued, that the only
matter in dispute between this country and Great
Britain was the free navigation of the Columbia
river and that that matter was not worthy OF contest
Mr. B. did not so understand the question: the cor
respondence upon this subject showed clearly that
questions of far greater Importance than the mere
navigation of river were involved IN the present
issue. As he Mr. B } understood it, the proposition
by Great Britain, was made by Stratford Canning
to Mr.. Rush, our minister in London, in 1926, to
extend the parallel Of 49o to that northeastern
branch of the Columbia, called McGilionay's river,
to its conjunction with the main stream, and thence
down the middle of the channel of that river TO the
ocean, the navigation Of the river being in common
between the two nations.
This, as he understood it. was THE last British
proposition. What did Lord John Russell say upon
this subject in the British Parliament, no longer ago
than last Apr' Did he not say that no more fa-
his government This, them places all the country
north Of AGO 49,, the mouth of the Columbia river,
following the coast, in controversy; and if the joint
occupancy is terminated, the whole territory even
domn to 400 is in dispute This proposition, if ac-
cepted, gives up the whole country to Great Britain,
and the best part of it even if the parallel Of 400
should be accepted; for in the region north Of that
parallel are all the best harbors, timber, and soil,
and with most delightful and salubrious climate
The territory in question is not the narrow,
worthless country, that some Of the gentlemen seem
to suppose it to be. 1t is not barren desert, but
advantages to the Atlantic slope and if it had been
the fortune of forefathers, the. pilgrims in the
little "May flower" to have landed the fail bark on
that coast, instead of upon the bleak and desolae
shore of the Atlantic the human imagination can
scarcely conceive the height of grandeur, wealth,
and power, to which il would now have attained,
possessing, it does, in degree SO much superior,
all the elements of human happiness, and every at
tribute essential to the prosperity of man.
In conclusion, Mr.. B. said that he rose simply
for the purpose of correcting the error Of the gen.
temen from Georgia and Delaware. When our
policy in regard to Oregon should come properly be-
fore the Senate for discussion, he would endeavor
to show the advantages, to and to our race, of the
hols Of that territory; and for his part he would
not give, by compromise or otherwise, any portion
oft to Great Britain. With his consent, that pow
er should never have position on that coast.
Mr. WOODBhlDGE salu tndt the RESOLUTIONS III
troduced by his honorable colleague were plain,
simple, and affirmed no principle which had been
denied or questioned in the Senate. They were
founded upon that emphatic and imperative duty
which is devolved upon the Congress ofthe United
States to provide for the public defences. The
ure was one of peace, not of war since all will adj
nit, and none better knew, than those who had i'm.
posed this duty upon Congress, that there can
be better guarantee for the preservation of peace,
than preparedness, and manifest capacity to re-
pei aggression whenever it comes. Uninfuenced,
then, by what had been said in support of those
resolutions, or against them-uninfuence even by
whatsoever may seem peculiar or imposing in our
relations with Great Britain-but looking at the
bearing and intrinsic merits Of the resolutions alone,
he could not see that they were in anywise obnox-
ious to objection, but from the first they
had seemed to him eminently proper and right.
Gentlemen had spoken Of the Notifications along
the Atlantic frontier inadequate and Ineffective;
of that Mr.. w. did not hold himself competent,
from personal observation, to judge; did he know
what might be the force or adequacy Of the home
squadron, nor the number and strength of our