The Kalida venture. [volume] (Kalida, Ohio) 1841-1865, 1845-05-16
1,he Oregon Questl0n.


The Oregon Question.
The present question is one OF territory,
thousands Of miles from the United States;
of land in which we have no agreeable asso-
Citations, in which we have no interest as
nation, and with which there can be little
connected TO create pride Of attachment Ii
was not supposed that it could ever become
enc of the States of the Union. Mr.. Jeffet-
son, and hundreds of others since his time,
believed that the most that could be done
for, or with Oregon territory, was to assist in
settling it with republicans, Supplying it with
republican laws, and then aiding il in beco-
ming an independent republic. The idea Of
annexng that as part of a government,
whose centre should be Washington, would
be an idea which could acquire no addition
al prepSsterousncss from an attempt 10 an
mex Ireland on The other side-U s. Ga
zette. s@
This presents one view Of the question;
but it is view not. very well calculated 10
relieve the difficulty, The Gazette says,
that Oregon is land in which we have no
interests as nation" The British Minister
declares, at the same time, in Parliament,
that this territory is necessary to them, 10
make passage from their Norlhs American
TO their Indian possessions. How happens it,
that Great Britain has need of this passage
way, and we have none? How Happens il
that, nation The other sde1 of the At
antic Ocean can have such deep interest in
tbs Valley of.the Columbis, and We who
live here have none? A
The Gszstte assumes that Washington
City must be forever the Seat Of Govern
ment. 1t might just as well assume, that The
Mississippi river should be tho dividing line
of this Union.
1t also speaks of Oregon as of as l&le
consequence to us as Ireland. The same
was thought, not many years since, by thous-
ands Of people of the whole western coua-
try. A pamphlet was written to show that
Ohio was one vast mudpudde, and fever and
ague the perpetual complaint of every mar,
woman and child, who entered it, This may
have been the foundation of Mr. Seldsn's
recent philosophy, that marsh miasm had
caused the degeneracy ofthe American peo-
pie! The Buckeye lasses, howevsr, are
blooming race, in spite of fever and aguc;
and the Buckeye boys have ou!lvsd The
mlasm, TO sdern their native State with the
fruits of industry and the achievements of
enterprise. So it may be with Oregon. II
is within the limits of possibility that people
might live and flourish there. II is within
the scope of Imagination, that they might
soon have railreal from the goodIy city Of
Philadelphia 10 the Rocky Mountains. Z
The view Of the U. s. Gazette is eihsr
very short sighted, or we have already com
mitted profound blunders, and should make
haste to repent The peace Of 1883 found
us with the thirteen States, who had fought
the Revolutionary War They were scatter
ed almost entirely along the Atlantic strip,
betweeen the Oregon and the Alleghaaies.
Why did they not confine themselves to that!
Where was the necessity tG the stability and
harmony of the Union, that the inhabi-
tants should plunge over the mountains, and
embosom themselves in the forests and
marches of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana or Hi
nois? Virginia nobly granted 10 the Unisa
this North Western Territory, and the first
step was TO receive five new States. Next.
we purchased Louisiana, enough probably
for eight or ten States Then we bought
Florida, &c, &c. In fine, we hsve much
more than doubled the territory of the Ams-
rican Union. Why did we do all this? Not
one step in the whole process was at all ne
cessagy. II might have been decided, that
the original thirteen States should be tho
Republic, and no more. 1t may now be de-
cided, that the new Territory we acquire
shall be governed as Territories, and not ss
States But the argument against extension
was just as good half century ago, as it is
now 1t is at all times question of cxpe-
dIency only, to be determined by the sound
sense OF the people.-Cin. Chronicle.