Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-01-13
MfrtWroorD aaera tttrer4

Tn, The Rri,isb government itself had no idea
il 1918 thai The Noolka Sound conveEs'on , We
III, n in force, may be fairly inierfe6 i'o",
silence upon the subject during ihe Wn"ie TIL.
tion If Thai wear on the Oregon queslioh. ~"
convention was not ouce referred 10 py .ne Pr
fish plenipotcntiarics. They then res.Iu .
claims upon other foundations. SUD h mo.
which is now their main reliance "ouiu a, n ma
escaped lhe observation oil suen sloee'
they then supposed il was in existence.
In view OF all these considerations, The unoer-
signed respectfully submits, thai il Cfeal DIlaiu
has valid claims 10 any portion Of the preson a,
ritory. they must rest upon better io .
dian thai of the Nuotka Sound CunVeht,on'
II is far from the intention OF the Undersigned
TO repeat the argument by which ms pleoeCessol
(Mr. Calhoun) has demonstrated inc AmeiIIan
title ITO the entire region drained by Inc Colunua
river and lis branches" He has SHOWN 'li@s n,ne
United States belongs The discovery OF .ne LoiG
bia river, and that Captain Gray was , ,ne nrd
civilized man who ever enleleu us nio' aa
sailed IN its channel, baplisng me fivef ltsel
with ,ba name Of his vessel that MessIs. Lewis
and Clarke under a commission from thelr 20
yeument. first explored The waters OF .ais rlser
almost from its head springs TO the Iaci,iC, pass
ing The Winter of 1905 and loU6 on us Nol.i'eih
shore. near The ocean; that the hrst se'ietiiep'
urun this river was made by cillZeh OF .iie
United States at Astoria; and that inc bii'sh ~
vernment .olemnIv recognized our right 10 me
nos,essinn Of this settlement, which had heen cap
iured during The war, BY surrenderins II up 70 'ne
Unied States on the 9Th day OF October, iol", IN
obedience 10 the Treaty OF Client. II lhe us
covcry Of The mouth OF river, lolio"eo " WI
in reasonable time BY the first exploration ooh
of its main channel and its branches, anu nPl'io-
pria,ed by The first settlements on lis bank, 90
al, ma -
waters in The nation performing these ac'>, .iien
The principles consecraled by the placce OF CIVIL
zej nations, ever since the discovery OF Inc new
World. must have lost their force. These prlnci-
ples were necessary 10 preserve the rcace 0: lhe
world. Had they not been enforced IN pfac',oe,
c)asbine claims to newly discovered territory, ana
perpelual strife among The nations, would nave
been lie inevitable result.
The title of the United States 10 The entire re-
gion drained by the Columbia river ana us
branches, was perfect and complete before INC
dare Of tic treaties OF Join, occupation ~ .'c'o-
her 1918, and August, 1927; and nnder me eA-
press provisions of these treaties, this lie WINS,
ihev endure, can never be impaired by any act Of
The British government. In the strong language
of The treaty OF 1897, "nohing contained IN ms
convention, or IN The third article o. The CONVEX
lion Of 1918, hereby continued in iorce. si'al DC
construed 10 impair, or in any manner ahec', vac
claims which either OF The contracting Par'es
NAV have 10 any part of the country WESTWARD OF
The Stony or Rocky Mountains" Had not the
convention contained this plain provision, Whith
has prevented the respective parties from lock
inc with jealousy on The occupation Of portions
OF The territory BY the citizens and subjects Of
each other, its chief object-which was 10 pre-
serve peace and prevent collisions in tho,e DIS
tan, reeions--would have been entirely defeated.
II is then manifest that neither the grant oil lhls
territory iur a term Of years, made by Great BIZ
Tain 10 The Hudson Bay Company in December,
1921. nor the extension of This grant IN 1888, nor
The settlements, trading-poss, and forts, winch
have heen established by that company under II,
can. in The slightest degree, strengthen The bri-
tish, or impair the a merican title 10 any portion
OF The Oregon territory. The British claim i
neither better nor worse than il was on The 29lh
October, 1919, the date olthe hlst convention.
The title OF the United States 10 the valley OF
the Columbia is older than The Florida treaty 81
February, 1919, under which the United States
acquired all the rights OF Spain 10 The North
west coast OF America, and exists independently
Of il. provisions. Even supposing then that The
British construction OF the Noolka Sonnd Con-
vention were correct, it could not apply 10 this
portion OF the territory in dispute. convention
between Great Britain and Spain originating
from dispute concerning petty trading es!a-
bishmen! at Nookl Sound could not a5-lcge
the rights Of other nations. Both in pubic and
in private law, an agreement between Two parties
can never bind l:ird, without his consent, express
or implied.
The extraordinary pro position will scarcely be
again urged, that our acquisition OF the rights oil
Spain under the Florida treaty can in any manner
weaken or impair our rre-exi>ling Title. It may
often become e1pedient for nations, as Il IS Tor IN
dviduals 10 chase al outstanding title merely
for HE sake el reacc; and il has never heretofore
been imagined that The acquisition of such new
tile rendered the old one less valid. Under This
principle, a parry having Two titles would ic con-
fined 10 his worst, and would forfeit his best
Our acquisition oi the rights OF SPAN, then,
under The Florida treaty. whilst il cannot AFFECT The
prior lille of The United States 10 The valley OF The
Columbia, has rendered il more clear and unqhes-
,ionahlc before the world. We have perfect
right 10 claim under both these titles; and The
Snan;.b title alone, even if il were necessary to
cnnfne ourselves 10 il, wonid in the opinion 81
The President, he good as against GFea' BRITAIN
no, merely 10 The valley of the Columbia, but ibe
whole territory Of Oregon.
Our own American title, TO The extent OF The
valley ofihe Columbia, resting as il does on dis
coyery. CT ploraiion, and possession-a possession
acknowledged By most solemn ACT Of The British
Government ilself-is a sufficient assurance
aeains; all mankind; whilst our superadded TILE
derived from Spain extends our exclusive rights
over the whole territory in dispute as against
Great Britain.
Such being the opinion OF The President in re-
gard 10 The title Of the United States, he would not
have consented to yield any portion of The Ore
gon territory, had he not found himself embar-
raised, il not committed, BY the acts OF his prede-
cessors They had uniformly proceeded upon
the principle of compromise in all their neaoiia-
lions. Indeed, The first question presented 10 him.
alter entering upon the duties OF his office, was,
whether he Should abruptly terminate the nego-
tiatiun which had been commenced and conduct
ed between Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Pakenham on
the principle avowed in the first protocol, not OF
conicnding for The whole territory in dispute, but
of treating Of The respective claims Of The parties,
"wilh The view 10 establish Pcrmanen! boun-
dary between The two countries westward OF The
Rocky mountains"
In view of these facts, the President has deter
mined 10 pursue the present negotiation 10 lis
conclusion upon the principle OF compromise in
which il commenced, and 10 make one more
effort to adjus, this long pending controversy
In this determination he trusts that the British
Government will recognise his sincere and anx-
ions desire 10 cultivate the most friendly relations
between the Two countries, and 10 manifest 10 The
world that be is aclualed By a spirit of modera-
lion. lie has, therefore, instructed The under
signed again to propose TO The Government Of
Great Britain that The Oregon territory shall be
divided between the two countries by the forty.
ninth parallel of north latitude from The Rocky
mountains 10 The Pacific ocean; offering, al The
same time, 10 make free TO Great Britain any
port or ports on Vancouver's Island, South o
this parallel which The British Government may
| desire He trusts that Great Britain may re.
ceive this proposition in the friendly spirit BY
which il was dictated, and that it Tay prove the
stable foundation Of lasting peace and harmo-
nv between The two countries. The line proposcC
will carry out the principle OF continuity equally
for both parties, BY extending The limits Of botf
ancient Louisiana and Canada TO the Pacific
along The same parallel Of latitude which divide.
Them East OF the Rocky mountains; and il will
secure 10 each sufficient number of commmodi
Gus harboTs on the Northwest coast Of America
The undersigned ayails himself Of this occasion
10 renew 10 Mr. Pakenham the assurance of hi
distinguished consideration.
JAMES BUCHANAN.
The Right Hon. R. Pakenham, &c.
/ (Corresnondsnce rnniiDued on Second PAGE