The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-11-24

came to investigate the subject eight or nine years
ago, in Congress, discovered, TO my surprise, that
no evidence existed, in any work of history or any
diplomatic paper, that the line had ever been fixed
in the supposed, under the treaty of Utrecht
Following up this doubt, addressed to the keeper
OF the archives of France Through the French min.
isler) note ofinquiry the subject; and his reply
certifying to me that decision of this line is to be
discovered in the French archives, confirmed me in
the conviction that the current idea concerning il
was erroneous, and that Of course the United States
were under no obligation to stop at 49o as the north
ern limit of Louisiana.
This offer Of the American government, which has
been twice deliberately made, was, in my opinion,
extremely liberal, in all views of the case consider
ing that Great Britain admits that she has no tile
whatever In Oregon, and that every successive admin
israton of the federal government has maintained and
felt that we have good title to the whole of Oregon
Great Britain on the other hand admitting that
she has no title as proprietor to acre Of the cou
try yet has the extravaganza to pretend that shall
retire to the south of the Columbia giving to her the
absolute command Of that great liver, the military
| command Of the coast, and indeed of the whole
country of Oregon. Such pretension as this is no
| compromise, of course, and is wholly lnadmissibe;
and it is not fault therefore, if the controversy
| remains unsettled.
| Meanwhile, our government agreed, by the
convention Of 1918, as modified by that of 1927,
that Oregon should remain free and open to the
sels citizens and subjects Of the two powers, with
out prejudice to the ultimate rights Of either; this
| agreement subject to be terminated on a years
notice by either government.
In virtue Of this convention, settlers from the
United States, and also from Great Britain, have
entered Oregon. The Brions consist of the Hud-
sons Bay Company and its officers and agents
one of those monsters, like the East India Com
| pany, commercial corporation having powers of
sovereignty and, what is WORSE an illegal intruder
in Oregon; since, as we have seen, the charter of
the company confines il expressly to the country
this side Of the mountains. This company treats
with civty individual Americans in Oregon, but
takes care, by the lavish use of its capital to drive
out of II all Americans who seek to engage in the
furtrade or coast commerce, and, by Oft the
British government has planted its posts in every
part of Oregon. And the British government has,
by acts Of Parliament, in palpable violation Of
treaties, extended its laws over the whole Of
Oregon. $40
Now, therefore, the British government is be-
coming uneasy, because, witnessing the influx Of
emigrants into Oregon from the United States, il
sees that f events be left to themselves) they will
speedily overrun the whole country. And, the
American government is becoming uneasy, because
1t cannot permit the Hudson's Bay Company to
continue to usurp the jurisdiction and military pos
session of Oregon. This uneasiness, on both sides,
induces, of course, much socitude in the minds of
those, whether English or American, who deprecate
the caamities Of war at all times, and especially OF
war between the kindred nations OF England and
America. And the question arses--what, then,
shall be donc'
Many welLmeaning persons are in favor. of sub
hitting the question to some friendly power as
| arbitrator. ! not of this opinion, for two
reasons.
! In the first place, there is no way to enforce an
award between independent States. Arbitration be-
tween individuals in society is very well, for those
who like it; because the courts stand ready to
pei performance, il the award be valid in form. But
| i nthnr fba Of .aanfc. IN
which, as experience proves, arbitration only creates
new difficulty, by adding to the pre-exsting contro-
| yersy another in relation to the validity of the
award.
| In the second place, do not know any power in
| Europe which has not monarchical bases agains,
the American democracy; and if king could be
found who is perfectly impartial, we should have
no safety in submitting to his arbitration, because
the European kings do not transact the public bust
themselves; it is done by their ministers; and to
submit a question to European sovereign, is to
leave il to some secretary, chef de bureau, clerk
who, however upright his sovereign is, may be sub
ect to class bases to pecuniary influence fatal to
the integrity ofhis decision. In private affairs, we
can always find impartial arbitrators, and knoio
The men; which is impossible in its arbitration by a
| government.
What remains then, for the United States in this
important question: answer
| l. Time, the great regulator of all things in this
world. II nothing else occur TO dispose OF the Ore.
gon question, in time, the backwoodsmen Of the
and, if need be, their rifles. Emigrants from the
United States have land journey to Oregon, which
is, comparatively speaking, easy; for their horses
and cattle feed themselves the road carry or fur
nsh provisions for the emgrants, and carry the
utensils and constitute the capital with which the
settlers are to begin life in Oregon Emigrants from
Great Britain have much larger land journey to
make, besides a voyage of 5000 miles; or, in
the whole, sea voyage Of enormous length and ex
pense, if they 60 by the Cape of Good Hope OF
Cape Horn. Besides which, all British emigrant,
in America have great tendency to cease to be
Britons and to become Americans.
II 2. Negotiation it is deeply to be regretted
that, in the whole of this affair, the British
government has manifested SO little of the spirit
either of equity or Cancellation. The continuance
of this root of bitterness between the two nations
no fault, | repeat, of the United States. We have
stretched Cancellation and compromise to the utmos
verge Of honor in an effort of arrangement and IL
so long suffering the divided occupancy of territory
believed to be wholly our own. Or shall we, tht
United States tamely place ourselves in the attitude
of the degraded nations of Asia and Africa, anc
quietly permit England to leave Europe where sh'
belongs, and come over here to us in America, a.
she goes to Asia and Africa, to take any part Of the
continent she may please to fancyl Never
g. Wn, therefore, remains as possible al'erna
tive; but one which, in my opinion, there is not the
slightest present cause 10 hcHleinucT
war, to exist at all, must be aggressive o.
the part of Great Britain. She must come here L
seek it. We are not proposing to 60 to Europe
and to take from her Scotland half of Ireland b,
force. 1t is she who invades, and must assume al
the hazards Of invasion. Will she do this /, | d,
not believe it. Sir Robert Peel may talk largely
the subject, for the purpose Of carrying through
Parliament some critical domestic measure, or il
the vain hope to intmidate the United States. Blu
England is too dependent on America for cotton ant
corn to declare war against us lightly and shec anno
fail to remember how, in two wars with us already
f at time when we were much less powerful thar
, now, she gained nothing but defeat and dishonor
for thrice only in the history of modern times, ha
| it happened to Britain, among SO many brillian
achievements of hers in every region of the habit
, able globe-thrice only, in modern history, has
happened to Britain to see her armies capitulne
lay down their arms on the field Of battle; and eac
D Of these times it was to the stars of the Unite
States that the cross of st. George was lowered i
a humiliation and sorrow; whilst our ships Of war, il
like manner, dissolved the charm Of British irwin
! cibility on the ocean.
L. a. 7 a.. ~ Al