Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1845-03-08
from The hcw York Courier.
THE DISPUTED OREGON TERRITORY
AZ INTERESTING SKETCH

~ iFi thifHtit'f 'hii'Nf
We seem 10 be in imminent hazard Of
an immediate rupture g.b Great Britain
. Congress muullcsls disposition 10 take
summary possession Of the disputed ter.
rory known as Oregon, and to maintain
/ it by force OF arms. Great Britain, all
aonccde, will not reIuqush her preeN
ed title to it without u struggle. As he
matter is one Of intense interest, and on
which definite and authentic information
rs greatly to be desired, We shall present
as briefly as possible statement Of the
whole question, including The foundation
IoG the claims on either side, drawn al
most entirely from The forth coming book
of Mr. Greenhow, which is undoubtedly
much the best treatise hitherto published
on the subject,
/, The Dispute andhe Disputed Terri
tory. BY the Florida treaty OF 1919 be-
tween the United States and Spain, line
drawn along the 42j parallel Of latitude
from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific,
was fixed as the northern limit Of the
Spanish territory and the southern limit
Of the territory OF the United States in
| Western America; and when Mexico took
the place of Spain, The same boundary
line was preserved by new treaty.
B@ the convention Of 1924; between
the United States and Russia, the Rus
slams agreed 10 make no settlements south
Of the latitude Of 81 degrees 40 minutes =,
and the United States agreed to make no
settlement north o. that line,
By the convention of 1895 between
Russia and Great Britain, it was agreed
| that the British should occupy no place
nortt. of 81 degrees 40 minutes, and THAI
the Russians should make no sottlemen,
south oil that line; and further, that line
| from tia. parallel north ward, within 90
miles OF the sea, to its intersection with
the l4lst meridian of west longitude,
and thence along that meridian to the
Arctic Sea, should be the limit between
the Russian and British possessions. A
glance at any good map will show thai
this line passes through Mt ST Elias.
Here, then, are two lines of boundary
One north from the line Of Sd degrees
~ minutes latitude TO the Arctic Sea, be-
tween Great Britain and Russia; the 9th
er following the 42d parallel, marking
the limit between the United States and
Mexico, The intermediate region is heI
disputed territory Of OREGON The Amer
lcans claim north Of the 42d line, the
British South Of the line OF 81 degrees
40 minutes, each to an undefnei extent,
but each so lar as to embrace the country
drained by the Columbia River. These
claims were compromised by an arrange
Iment made in 1878, continued inde6nelte-
Y in 1927, and suII in force, by which
any territory in that section claimed by
either, shall be free and open to the ciii-
zens or subjects Of bolh--the government
%! each being at liberty to abrogate the
arrangement, after giving due notice OF
twelve mon his to that OF the other. This,
then, is the dispute, the ownership OF
this territory,
Oregon, The disputed territory, thus ex-
tends from the 42d parallel 10 the line of
"a deg. 40 min. It's natural boundaries
are, on the East, the Rocky Mountains
on the South, The Saowy Mountains; on
the west, the Pacific, from Cape Mendo-
elmo to Cape Flattrry; and on the North,
the Strait OF Fuca. about 1870 miles east |
ward, thence line running north east
along the highlands separating the wa
ters ofthe Columbia from these of Fra.
zier's river, to the Rocky Mountains.
This is the territory DIR lined by the Co
lumbia, and the extent Of It's surface is
about $4,000 square miles. This coun
Try is divided by its natural CONFORMATION,
into three great regions, which differ from
each other materially in soil, climate and
productive powers.
|. The first region, or lo,o country, lies
between the Pacific Coast and a chain of
mountains running near the sea This
chain has received number Of names,
tho California, md Klamel, the Cascade
and the President range, and its seven
highest peaks have been named after the
seven Presidents, from Washington to-
Jackson in succession. These mountains
are of considerable elevation, and those
who have travelled over them speak in {
rapturous terms Of the wide and magnii i
cent view what they present. The dis d
lance from the coast to the foot Of these
is in some places 100 miles, in I
others less. The intervening country is I
crossed by vnlics drained BY rivers Il W ;
ing into the Pacific and The Columbia. C
Of the Two which empty in the Columbia, {
he Cowilitz has been but partially ira !
ced. thek Southern, the Mu!tnomah or |.
WaIlamet has been traced 200 miles, q
though vally said to be the most de Il
ighliul and ferties part of Northern n
Amerca.-The climate Of this region is Il
more favorable TO agriculture than that il