New-York daily tribune., 1845-05-27

and poor, yet IL is Deltel IMAM uohe' Doi '"S
ond Part, consisting Of Personal Narrative oil Inc
Journey to Oregon of the great Emigrating Par'y
of 1913, is the redeeming feature OF the WORK. ano,
though lamentably msagre and incomplete, as well
ar evidently dictated and colored by desire to de-
precia,e and smoothe over the difficulties and hard
ships of the route, is worthy ofh careful regard OF
all who are interested IN the settlement and destiny
Of Oregon We wish the name of the author OF this
narrative had been given, even though 1t had rem
dered necessary the omission of that which now
graces the title.psge. Mr.. Wilkes Is so judcious
OF so fortunate in that very great majority OF the
pages of his work which owe little to his own pen
and far less to his brain, tha, the reader is rresisa
bly reminded of the old epigram on similar gen.
ius and his production
The part you stole like the best:
Take courage then, and steal tho rest
The rapacity, the iniquty, the impudence oi
Great Britain, her pretensions and her agents, are
the unyarying theme of this new Paganini OF pat
riotism The British claim to part oi oregon Is
too absurd and frivolous to be sravely contested
but not to be opposed by pettlfoggery and SoPhis-
trv. Thus Mr. Wilkes, following In the wake OF
shrewder and better men, finds it necessary TO con-
tend that the Convention Of the Escurlal has lost
its validity, because, (toquote Mr.. Wllkes,)
"1n four years ster,ard broke out between the
two conending parties. which, BY the rus' c lntnasn
Loc annuAed all erisng drrdnoernsnh that haS no
nysbed limits and that depended for their continuance
upon state of perfect amy and Spain resumed at once
whatever she had resigned by the Hootka Treaty. she
had In reality resigned any thing at ALL
Let us examine these assertions in the light OF
history and of common sense: Great Britain and
Spain had asserted conflicting claims OF sovereign
ty over the North West Coast of America, founded
on various discoveries and acts OF taking possession
at intervals by the officers and subjects OF each
Neither had made any real settlement nor taken
any other than formal possession, North OF lat 400
But British subject named Meares, (thoush sail
ins uader Portuguese colors) made sort OF settle
ment at Nooka Sound, in lat. 49o 3O', In 1859,
which in the latter year was captured and bfoAen
I'D bv Martinez, Spanish commander from Mexi-
CO. Great Britain gave ear to the atrocloas exas-
gerations and pont-blank fasehoods of Mesres-
(who, apart from all considerations Of sovereignty
does not appear to have had any just title to redress
and whose property captured can hardly have been
worth twentieth part of the $3.50, 900 damages he
cIaimed)-and demanded of Spain prompt aad full
restitution at the peril of war. Spain at first pre-
pared to resist, but her finances were disordered,
and shc finally kauckled and by the Treaty of the
Escuria, $780, agreed, among other things, to make
full reparation to Meares, which she did In one
third of the sum he claimed, but to seven times the
value of his property. Here was complete sur
render BY Spain of her asserted sovereignty over
the North West Coast, now called Oregon for il
Eootka was part of her domnons, then Martinez
had done nothing wrong, and Meares had no claim
-. had heAn ont
pressy to discover and arrest ntruders on Spanish
territory. especially those in the Fur Trade.
az Meares VIGOROUSLY was.
BY this Convention Of the Escural, it was agreed
between the two Nations that the subjects of each
should thereafter have full liberty Of access 10 any
part OF the coast Of America North Of the parts
of said coast already occupied by Spain" and
(" shall not be disturbed or molested in landing on
the coast of the Pacific Ocean or South Seas, in
places not already occupied, for the purpose Of
carrying on their commerce with the natives ofthe
country, or Of making settlements there. &c &c.
Here we see the adjustment of a National centro-
versy, growing out of fconfictiag claims OF fdscovey
and sovereignty, which had brought two great Ma
tons to the very brink Of bloody war. They
finally agreed not to fight, but te throw the whole
coast, from Mexico to Russian America, open to
trade or settlement by the subjects of either when
ever and wherever they should see fit. Does any
upright, peaceloving man need citations from Vat
tel or Puffendorf Wheaton or Kent, TO convince
him that this adjustment in its nature coRllnu-
GUS, and not to be effected by subsequent rupures
and collisions between the parties! ltwould have
been perfectly proper, on the part of either Nation,
to propose different arrangement in any subse-
euent negotiation, but no such arrangement has
been made. Spain andaGreat Britain, being then
the only powers even pretending any right OF sove-
reignty over the Western Coast Of North America,
agreed in l190 that all Of said coast between 10 and
5adegreos of North latitude should be open andfree
to trade settlement, by the subjects of either with
out limitation Of time or circumstance. Spain never
avaed herself of the mutual liberty thus guaranteed
to establish single settlement North Of i2o, but
Great Britain did, taking precedence of all others.
The first internal exploration in Oregon was made
by Mackenzie. (British,) who traversed the region
of the Tacou,che or Fraser's River in 1885, eleven
years prior to our exploration under Lewis and
Clarke. The first settlement was made by British
subjects on Fraser's River (havins its mouth little
North Of lat 49s,) in 1865. Our first settlement
was Astoria, at the mouth Of the Columbia, In
1911. The British Fur Traders, who had posts at
the head waters Of this River, came down Its
course in that year, landing and taking posses
sion, along its banks, but failed in their pur-
pose OF anticipating the settlement of Astoria,
and returned as they went. In 1918, Astoria
was sold oat by its managers on the part Of
Mr. As,or's Pacific Fur Company" to the agents
Of the British "Nor!h- West Association" and It's
aag changed accordingly but 1t was ofcourse re-
stored captured post upon the return of peace.
But the Pacific Fur Company" did no; rsoccupy
1t, nor was any American post re-establshed there,
though Capt. Biddle ia the sloop of war Ontario
duly received the surrender of the post BY the Bri-
,ish, Oct. 9th, 1873 The British Fur Traders (now
Hudson's Bay Asocianon) soon rees,abished
post there. another at Vancouver, eighty miles
above, and so at intervals over mos, of the region
we call Oregon. On the srea, Southern branch Of
the Columbia, known as the Saptin, Snake or
Lewis River, we remember only two of these
Ferts-Fort Hall, near the Rocky Mountains, and