Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1845-12-12
WLNINGToN n: c. FRlDA cE,fBEI; IL 1915

result IS known, I forbear torecommend to
Congress such plteriors measures of redress
for the wrongs and injuries we have SO long
borne, as e would have been pfoper.to make,
had no such negotiation been Instituted.
/ Congress appTopFiated.sat the last session,
the sum oftwo hundred and sssenty-fse thou
sand dollars fot the payment of Ele:April and
July instruments Of the Mexican ihdemnities
foF the year lsAas - Provided Il shall be as
certained TO the satisfaction OF the A mericaa
government that said instalments havexb been
lpaid by the Mexican govsrnrent to the agent
tapPoInted by the United States to receive the
same, in such manner as to discharge aitclaim
on the Mexican government, and said agent to
be delinquent in RENTING the money 70 the
United States" IS .aasass. 80. essssz
The unsettled state of our relations with
Mexico has involved this ubject in much mys-
ttery. The first information, is in an authentic
form, from the agent of the u. States, appoint
ed under the administration of my predecessor.
was received at the State Department on the
ninth of November last. This is contained in
letter, dated the seventeenth cf October, ad-
| dressed by him to one of our citizens then in
Mexico, with the view of having it communi-
Gated to that department. From this it appears
that the agent on the twentieth of September,
1914, gave receipt to the treasury of Mexico
| for the amount of the April and July install
ments of the indemnity. In the same COM
municatio1, however, he asserts that he had
not received single dollar in cash; but that
he holds such securities as warranted him al
the time in giving the receipt, and entertAins
no doubt but that he will eventually obtain
the.money. As these instalments.appear ne
yer to have been actually paid by the govern
ment of Mexico to the agent, and as that 60
yernment has not therefore been released SO as
to discharge the claim, do not feel N.Y.
selfwarranted in directing payment to be made
to the claimants out of the treasury without
further legislation. Their case is, undonbted-
ly, one of much hardship; and it remains fol
Congress to decide whether any, and what,
relief ought to be granted 10 them. Our min
lister to Mexico has been instructed to ascer-
tain the facts of the case from the Mexican 90
vernment, in an authentic and official form,
and report the result with as little delay as
possible.
My attention was early directed to the ne
gotatIon, which, on the 4th of March last, i
found pend:.,g at Washington between the
United States and Great Britain. on the sub
ject of the Oregon territory. Three several
attempts had been previously made to settle
the question in dispute between the two coun-
tries, by negotiation, upon the principle OF
compromise; but each had proved unsuccess-
| full.
These negotiations took place at London, in
the years 1918; 1924, and 1926; the two first
under the administration of Mr.. Monroe. and
the last under that Of Mr.. Adams. The nego-
tiatlon Of 1918 having failed to accomplish its
II 81, c%l,o
tieth of October of that year. BY the third
article of that convention, it was 'sagreed, that
any country that may be claimed by either par
ty on the northwest coast of America, west.
ward of the Stony mountains, shall together
with its harbors, bays and creeks, and the nd
vlgation 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,
| to the vessels, citizens, and subjects Of the
two Powers; it being well understood that
this agreement is not to be construed to the
prejudice OF any claim which either of the two
high contracting parties may have to any part
of the said country, nor shall it be taken to af
| feet the claims of any other Power or State to
any part Of the said country; the only object
of the high contracting parties in that respect
being, to prevent disputes and differences
among themselves"
The negotiation Of 1924 was productive of
no result, and the convention of 1918 was left
unchanged.
The negotiation Of 1926, having also failed
to effect an adjustment by compromise, result
ed in the convention of August the sixth. 1927,
by which it was agreed to continue in force,
for an indefinite period, the provisions of the
third article of the convention of the twentieth
of October, 1918; and it was further 9rovid-
ed, that sit shall be competent, however, to
either of the contracting parties, in case either
should think fit, at any time after the twen-
tieth of October, 1928, on giving due notice oil
twelve months TO the other contracting party,
to annul and abrogate this convention; and it
shall in such case, be accor lingly annulled and
abrogated after the expiration of the said term
ofnotice." In these attempts to adjust the con.
troversy, the parallel of, the forty ninth de-
gee of north latitude had been offered by the
| United States to Great Britain, and in those
of 1918 and 1896, with further concession OF
the free navigation of the Columbia river south
of that latitude. The parallel Of the forty-ninth
degree, from the Rocky mountains to its in
tersection with the noftheasternmost branch OF
the Columbia, and thence down the channel
| of that river to the sea, had been offered by
Great Britain, with an addition of small de.
tached territory north of the Columbia. Each
of these propositions had been rejected by the
parties respectively.
| In October, l843, the Envoy Extraordinary
and Minister Plenlpotentiary of the United
States in London was authorised to make a
similar offer to those made in 1918 and 1926.
Thus stood the question, when the negotiation
was shortly afterwards transferred to WASH
ington; and on the twenty-third ofgAugust.
1874. was formally opened, under the direc-
ton of my immediate predecessor. Like all the
previous negotiations, it was based upon prin-
ciples of ''compromise;" and the avowed por-
pose of the parties was, ''to treat of the res
pective claims of the two countries TO the Or
egon territory, with the view to establish per-
manent boundary between them westward of
the Rocky mountains to the Pacific. ocean. =
Accnrdinnlu- ON The tuentv-sixth of Anoust.