The North-Carolina standard., 1845-04-16

Ibian which name u now behf II his river wa
Hers Oregon Fhe law ofnptons gi ives, The nation
discovering river the country watered blythe prln
cipal stream and its tributaFies sssgz zzssaass5
The first actual exploration ,of, the country is,
supposed TO have been that made by Lewis and
Clark in 1904 AS early as. 1908 the Missouri
! Fur company established trading poisson IesVis
|rixer ;-aitlSfS 40the Pacific FHr company was
formed under the auspices Of John Jacob Aston of
New Y ork, and IN 1917, Astoria was established
near the fnSlithiof Colhinb bia Riveri DIang the
last war, this post being, sunablegto defend IssH
was car captu red by the BrhishinISl3 hremajn,
ed in possession ofthem tiIll 1913, When5Sn was
restored to IhesUnse1 States in conformity with
precision inahe treaty Of fahent Stipulation sEthat
sail territory pkees and EposscssShss whatever
taken by.eiLherparty from the aother aduing tf1e
war;, with certain exceptions,J y Should be TeI
stored without delay By third prGcie 6fthe
convention between the United States and Great
Britain signed October &C. I8I6--oa a saiKed
i -:atIt is2 agreed that any country that may be
claimed BY either party on the northwest coast Of
America westward Of lie Stony NJ odntains." {now
caled RoekT pountains,) shall, togfther with lis
harbofs bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all
rivers within the same, be free and open for The
term Of ten years from the date of the signature of
the present convention 10 the vessels citizeps and
subjects Of The powers; being weifpndetstoed
that This agreements not to be conslTped TO the
4 prejudice Of any claim which either Of the Two
high contracting parties may have to any part Of
said country, shall il be taken 40 affect the
claims Of any other power or State to any part Of
SAID conntryS 4heE only object offhe high cohract
ing parties in that respect being 70 Prevent disputes
and differences amongst themselves" - nav
! Subsequently, in l819,a as before stated, the
United States purchased the title of Spain to this
territory, by which her title if before doubtful, be-
came full and complete The joint occupancy
under the convention of 1913 remained in force
till 1t renewed by the treaty of August 6, 1927,
L-ssIz &c 70 =
ued without any limit as 10 time, but with the
agreement that either party should have power at
any time to abrogate the treaty upon giving the
other one years notice of their intention This
treaty is now in force and thus the matter stands
at the presenlIime. The question has long been
subject of negotiation between the two countries,
and it is perhaps to be regretted that it has not
since been adjusted 80.
Oregon is bounded on the west by the Pacific
ocean, and on the east by the Rocky mountains
Its lengthis estimated at from 80oto 1000 miles
and It's average width at from 500 te GOO miles
1t is at this time difficult 10 ascertain the value of
this territory. That portion of it which borders
on The mountains is high and cold, and is no doubt
of little value, except its watcrpower, lis pdstur-
age, and perhaps for its minerals. In the middle
part the climate is delightful, and it is said to con-
tain large bodies of valuable land. AS you leave
the Columbia river the country breaks into beauti
tious grass, which lasts all the year. The Wal
amette valley is represented to be about $50 miles
wide and is remarkably healthy. A writer who
visited that country says: e. "...:> ..-'..'
"For producing hides talow and beef il is su-
perior 10 any part of North America ..-.--
That part Of the country which borders on the
ocean is said to produce wheat rye, cotton. tobac-
co, and potatoes; and also oranges, lemons, figs,
and other fruits The climate is very mild.
Speaking of this country, writer says;
SIN beauty OF scenery, fertility Of soil, and other
natural advantages, portion Of country surpass-
es that which IS found on The Willamette. The
valleys of the Columbia and its tributaries are es-
timated TO contain $50 600 square miles, ~.
The British government has number Of posts
in Oregon. 1t is represented that she is colonz-
ing her subjects there, and extending her laws
and jurisdiction over the territory and making
military preparations 10 maintain its possession
Believing that Oregon belongs to the United
States, and~knowing that my constituents were
not willing TO see their territory surrendered 10
crafty the British ambition, voted for the bill
to extend the territorial Jurisdiction of1he United
States over Oregon, and TO conclude its Joint oc-
cupancy after giving the notice required by the
existing treaty. =
An act was passed to reduce the rates Of post
age, and to change the post, office laws in otheri
respects. 1t goes into operation Or the 1st July I
next The rates of postage are reduced to cents,
for every letter not exceeding. half an ounce in |
weight for any distance not exceeding 800 miles;
and to 10 cents for all distances over 800 miles
1t restricts the franking privilege Of postmasers.
They are permitted TO charge the department, in /
the settlement their accounts, with the postage
of such letters as they receiUe on TIE bmsiness of
their office, upon a veri6cation oath of their ac-
count for the same. and the transmission of the
letters charged as vouchers" Postnastcrs may |.
frank letters sent by themselves which relate sex-
cusivey othe business OF their respective Offices" |
and the postmaster is required to endorse on such
letter, over his signature, the words, /" Post of.
fee business" For every such endorsement
falsely made, the postmaster making it forfes
three hundred dollars. The franking privilege
is taken away from the, officers of government,
and the postage charged on the, correspondence
of their Offices is to be paid by the government |.
In cases where the commissions of postmaster
do not exceed twenty five dollars per annum, the
Postmaster General may INCREASE the eommis- I
sions, provided they do not exceed so per cent.
on letter postage. Newspapers may be sent
through the mail to any point within thirty miles |
ofthe place where published, free OF postage.
There is provision in the act to prevent private
expresses but in my opinion, it will prove mad
equate to the object There is also clause maxi
ing an appropriation out of the treasury to supply
the deficit in the post office revenue which will be
caused by the reduction CT postage. These are
some of the details of the act l voted against
II