Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1845-12-13
(A.)-.american Statemeatby Mr.. Calhoun.

/
WAsHIssToS, Sd SEPTEMBER, 1914.
The undersigned, American Penpotentiary, declines the
proposal Of the British Plenpotentay the ground that
would have the effect Of restricting the Of the Uni
ted States to limits far ccumscbed than their claims
clearly ene them 1t proposes to limit their northern
boundary by line drawn from the Rocky Mountains along
the 40h parallel of latitude the noheasternmost branch
the Columbia ver and thence down the middle of that
to the sea-gving Great Britain all the country NORTH and
the United States all south Of that ne except detached
territory extending the Pacific and the Straits Of Fuca,
from Bunchs harbor to Hoods canal To which it pro-
posed addition to make free to the United States any port
which the United States Government might desire, either
the land Vancouves island south Of latitude 49o
By turning to the map hereto annexed and which the
proposed boundary marked in pencil will be that
assigns Great Britain almost the entire region on its north
sde drained by the Columbia river lying its northern
bank II is deemed necessary large the claims
Of the United States this territory, and the grounds
they rest in order to make good the assertion that it restricts
the possessions of the United States within bounds
than they clearly entitled to- II will be sufficient for this
purpose to show that they fairly entitled to the entire
drained by the river and to the establishment of this
point the undersigned proposes accordingly limit his remarks
| at present.
Columbia river may be divided into those have
proper right and those have derived from France and Spain
We ground The former against Great Britain priority
OF discovery and priority exploration and settlement We
rest claim to discovery against her. that Of Captain
Gray, citizen Of the United States who the ship Colum
ba, of Boston, passed its bar and anchored in the ve
miles above its mouth, the lh of May, 1892 and who
afterwards sailed up the river twelve fifteen miles, and left
1t on the goth of the same month, calling it Columbia
after his ship, which name it still retains.
On these facts claim to the discovery and into
the river rests They too well atesed to be controvered
But they have been opposed by the alleged discoveries Of
Meares and Vancouver. II is that the former explored
portion Of the coast through which the Columbia flows into
the ocean, in 1885, Give years before Captain Gray crossed
the bar and anchored in the river in order ascertain whe
Their the river laid down the Spanish charts and called
The hutifi Iy he
not discover it. On the contrary he expressly declares
In his account of the voyage the result of his observations
that zoe safely assert that there such
that ST. Roc, laid do,On The Spanish charts; ? and,
if perpetuate his disappointment he called the pomon-
lying north Of the inlet where he expected discover it
Cape Disappointment, and the inlet itself Deception bay
also true that Vancouver in April 1892 explored the
but less that he failed discover the river
OF which his journal furnishes the conclusive ev
dence well his strong conviction that such
sed So strong it, indeed that when he fell in with
Captain Gray shortly afterwards, and informed by him
that he had been off the mouth of in latitude 46o 10y,
outlet was so strong prevent his entering he
manned still ncredulous and strongly expressed himself to that
effect in his journal Ii shortly after this interview that
Capt Gray again visited its mouth crossed its BAR and sailed
up the river has been stated After he left IT. he visited
Nooa Sound where he communicated his discoveries Qua
da, the Spanish commandan at that place, and gave him
chart and description of the mouth of the river After his de-
parture Vancouver arrived there in September when he
informed of the discoveries Of Captain Gray and obtained from
Quadra copies Of the chart he had Left with him. In
quence of the information thus obtained he induced
as s The @ OF he @ Sn s i. THAT
From these facts it is manifest that the alleged discoveries
Of Meaes and Vancouver in the slightest degree shake
the claim Of Captain Gray to priority of discovery Indeed
conclusive the evidence his favor that has attempt
ed to evade claim the novel and wholly untenabe
ground that his discovery made national but pri
vae vessel Such and nconestabe is the evidence of
our claim against Great Bnanrom priority Of discovery
TO the mouth of the ve crossing its bar entering H. .nd
of
without taking into consideration the prior discovery Of the
Spanish navigator, Hecea, which will be particularly
referred TO hereafter
Nor is the evidence the priority of our discovery of the
head branches of the and IFS exploration less conclusive
Before the treaty ratified by which acquired Louisiana
in lsO3 an expedition was panneda the head Of which
were placed Meriwether Lewis and William Carke-to
pore the river Missouri and its principal branches their
sources and then to seek and trace its termination the
Pacific stream, "pheher the Columbia, the Oregon
the Colorado, any other ,chich might ofer The most d.
rect andpraccabe the continent
the purpose of commerce." The party began to ascend the
Missouri in May, 1904, and in the Of 1905 reached
the headwae of the Columbia river After crossing MANY
Of the falling into it, they reached the Kooskooskee
in latitude 43o 3F-descended that the principal northern
branch which they called Lewis s-oowed that to its Juno
ton with the great northern branch, which they called Clarke
and thence descended the mouth of the river where they
landed and encamped the north side on Cape Disap-
pointment, and winered. The next spring thew comenc-
ed their return and continued their exploration up the rve
noting its various branches and tracing Of the pnc
pal and finally arrived at st. Louis in September 1906
after absence Of two years and four months.
1t this important expedition which brought the know.
ledge Of the world this great verhe greatest by far the
western side of this contnenwith its branches
and the regions through which flows above the points
to which Gray and Vancouver had assembled 1t took place
many years before visited and explored by any subject
Of Great Britain Of any other civilized nation
informed II clearly entities us to the claim of
priority Of discovery its head branches and the expo
ration Of the river and region through which passes the
voyages Of Captain Gray and the Spanish navigator Hecea
entitled us to priority in reference mouth and the en-
trance into its channel
Nor is priority Of settlement less certain Establish
mens formed by American citizens the Columbia
early 1909 and 1870 In the latter year company
formed In New York, al the head of which John jacob
Astor, wealthy merchant Of that city, the object which
was TO form regular chain Of establishments the Cou-
ba river and the contiguous coasts Of the Pacific for
mercia purposes. Early in the spring Of 1911 they made
their first establishment the south side of the river
miles above Point George where they were visited in July
following by Mr.. Thompson, surveyor and astronomer Of
the Northwest Company, and his party They had been
sent by that company foesta the American company
in occupying the mouth Of the river but found themselves
eated in their object The American company formed two
other connected establishments higher up the river
the confluence Of the Okenegan with the north branch Of the
Columbia about six hundred miles above mouth and the
other the Spokan, falling the north branch
some fifty miles above.
These posts passed into the possession Of Great Britain dur
ing the war which declared the year but it
provided by the first article Of the treaty Of Gbent which ter
minated IT. that cal territories places, and possessions
ohafeUer taken by either party from the other during the
oar or ,chieh may be taken after The signing The eat
ereepng The islands hereafter mentioned Bay Of Fun
dy) shall be restored ,cio delay" Under this provision
which embraces all the establishments Of the American
Actor