The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-02-24

| own government, from the year 1915 10 1870 AN
whilst | would scorn TO become the advocate OF IN
pIetensons of Great Britain against my own Couh
try, | shall briefly but frankly slate mem
| Sir. in that gallant cid State OF which | am tn
lhumblest of repTeseDtatyes-a Stale so much mis-
| understood so much maligned IN tiIs hail-ou
standard of patriotism teaches US, in any cOnies
with her foes right o. wrong, TO stand oy our couh
Itry, But whist no CaTolipian will ever desert tn
standard of his country even wheA wrong II Is I'M
duty of a patriot to counsel her 10 be right.
Our lille, MIR. Chairman, to the valley OF III
| Columbia river, derived from discovery, explore
| ton, and settlement, was asserted IN 1918, during
the administration Of MIR. Monroe, before we haG
acquired the right of Spain TO the country west o
| the Rocky mountains. IL was maintained by Mr.
Calhoun in an argument, whilst Secretary Of State
the force and clearness Of which our present dIsn
guished Secretary has said he would not impair 10y
| repeating it. Mr. Buchanan, in his late correspon
dence with the British minister, speaks Of this utlt
as existing prior to the treaty Of Florida, IN 1919
aud independently Of it's provisions HE insists
that It was perfect and complete independently oI
the Spanish rights which acquired by that tTea-
ty. ! think so, sir. But our distinguished SecTe-
ary Of State content with apsrcct and complete
title, Gays: Our acquisition Of the rights oil spain,
then, under the Florida treaty whilst II cannot al
feet the prior tide of the United States to the valley
OF the COLUMBIA, has rendered It more clear ana un-
questionable before the world" Now, sir, II our
title was ''perfect and complete" before we acquired
the rights of Spain, and has been rendered more
clear and unquestionable" by our treaty with Spain,
j, surely is good title, and We ought not to sur
render it.
What does he say OF our title to the country
north Of the f1rty-nnth degree Of latitude Why,
sir that is recorded in The Florida treaty; that Spain
acquired it by discovery, by the landing on the coast
of her navgators from the 4lst to the 57th degree
of latitude, ION all Of which occasions they took
Of the country in the name Of their spV-
ereign according TO prescribed regulation; ceie-
bBlinG mass, reading declarations asserting the
right Of Spain 10 the territory and erecting crosses
with inscriptions 10 commemorate the event" This,
SIR 10 a very fair statement Of the Spanish title
Spain undoubtedly made very early explorations OF
the coast Of the Pacific ocean, and asserted ute to
The country on that coast. And II discovery alone,
without settlement, could confer title, should think
we acquired by the Florida treaty right to this ter
ritory, which we ought never TO have consented 10
surrender to Great Britain or any other power.
Ii will not be denied, Mr.. Chairman, that from
Cooks voyage in ITS to the convention Of Moot
ka in $780, Great Britain steadily and earnestly con-
troyered the exclusive claim Of Spain TO the coun-
try the northwest coast. She maintained that it
was vacant country in which no nation had exclu-
sive rights or exclusive privileges. In 1890 Mr..
Pitt pronounced tho pretcnsion Of Spain to exciu-
srve sovereignty "the most absurd and exorblant
that could well be imagined" 1t is matter Of his.
tory that Great Britain in 1890 was prepared
to resort to war in resisting the prctenslOns
Of Spain. This conflict of preiensions led TO the
convention of Nootka in 1890 BY this convention
Spain yielded every demand-admitted every right
which Great Britain had asserted. She yielded the
right To land on the coast, 10 navigate the waters
to make settlements, and TO trade with the inhah
tans. How did these concessions consist with the
claim of exclusive sovereignty which Spain for more
than two centuries had set up to this territory
But, sir, did our government, beg to inquire, re-
spect this ancient claim of Spain which we now so
gravely assertI Let the grounds on which we
based our title to the valley of the Columbia in
1918, and on which we now distinctly and emphan-
cally rest that title, answer We then held 1t IN
contempt, and put it at defiance. What was our
appreciation of this Spanish title in 1929, when we
had held it since 1919; Why, sir, we surrendered
to the demands of the Emperor of Russia the ceun-
try between 81 degrees Of latitude, and 81 degrees
and 10 minutes which coyered-eyery rood Of
!t--hy this Spanish claim.
What, Mr.. Chairman, had Spain done from 1890
TO 1919, when she transferred to the United States
her pretensions to this territory, to give to them
defnitencss and validity So far from making set.
Elements she had actually abandoned every trading
factory north of the 49th degree of latitude prior to
the year 1900 From that period to the ceSsion to
the United States not an act was done by SPAN to
consummate her claims assert her sovert lgnty
proceed Mr. Chairman, to inquire whether our
government has not, by the most solemn and expl-
cit declarations and acts, recognised the rights
which Great Britain had asserted against Spain, not
only before, but since acquired the rights Of
Spain to this territory In 1918, before the treaty
Of Florida, by which we acquired whatever rights
Spain possessed, We proposed to make the forty
ninth parallel of latitude the boundary between the
territory claimed by the United States and that
claimed by Great Britain west Of the Rocky noun.
talns. Great Britain contested our exclusive claim
to the valley of the Columbia river, which we had
urged, and declined to accede to our proposition.
he of tha ofth fla rms al
attempt to agree upon boundary. What was that
convention? The gentleman from Massachusetts,
Mr. ADAMS the other day denied that il was a
treaty of joint occupancy. But if am not greatly
mistaken, that gentleman at the last session, char
acterzed it a treaty of joint occupancy. We then
heard nothing Of the hypercridcism Of the chair
man of Foreign Relations, Mr.. c. J. NIGER
soLL,l who now concurs with the gentleman
from Massachusetts,. Although that conven-
ton is treated in all our negotiations one Of join,
occupancy, the material inquiry is, What does II
concede to Great Britain Are not its stipuationa
mutual and reciprocal Is there solitary right re-
served to the United States that is not reserved to
Great Britain? Is there privilege guaranteed to
one party, which is not conferred the other? Is
there protest as TO the title of one which does
apply to the title of the other This convention was
adopted for the period Of ten years, during which
the respective claims Of the two governments were
suspended.
In 1919, we acquired all the rights which SPAR
then had to this territory; and from 1923 to 1927
held negotiations with Great Britain, the sole OBJ
ject and purpose of which the adjustment of tn,
boundary. What, sir, have our negotiators ant
statesmen said of the convention of 1913? Mr.
Clay, Secretary of State during the administration
of MIR Adams in his letter to Mr.. Galotln, th
minister to England, on the 10Th Of June, 1926
says at is true that The third article Of the convcn
ton Of 1918 recognises that Great Britain then hat
claims the northwest coast but it neither define
nor settles them, nor specifics where they had thei
origin" Mr.. GaIlatin, in his despatch to MIR. Clay
of the 25th of November, 1896, recltins hsconfer
ence with the British pcniPotentiarIes, says; "Bu
our never having refused to agree to a line of dc
markation with Great Britain, was a suffcier
| proof that we admitted that She also had claim
which deserved, and to which we paid due consider
alton" Claiming themselves by right Of discover
and settlement, they allowed what WINS due to Gree
| Britain on the same account and all that she cow
Justly claim under the Nooka convention, according,
its true construction" In his letter to Mr. Clay,
the 27th June, 1927, Mr.. GAlatIn, speaking Of tht
contemplated renewal of the convention OF ISIS
said, sit was altogether a matter of mutuul concern
There was No other object for it THAI that of pre-
| scryinr pence until permanent boundary could