Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1846-06-08
20 Tn CONG Il Il : = i.
FIRST SESSION.


ovER OREGON,
In the Senate Of The United States.
MONDAY. May ~, 1916.
CONTINUED,
SPECIAL ORDER.
The Senate then proceeded 10 The consideration OF The
special order. the motion pending being that III VII.
Neslcot p's,ponc the further consideration ct the
bill 10 establish jurisdiction the territory oi Oregon
Until the first Monday IN December next.
Mr.. BENTON aud addressed the Senate as l
leae:
In resunng my speech On this subject, | wish 10 say
Nh Pfesidea, thai tho bill now belre the Senate Is
not the recommended by the President Of the u nj
ted States. He recommended that the sovereignty aud
jurisdiction Of the United States be extended 10 ""f Ote
gun territory the extent that Great britain had
extended her sovereignty AMI jurisdiction To The shmr
country In this recommendation fully c"ncut aud
venture say that. II such bill WAS brought III. II
might pass The Senate (eavine out unnecessary se,ch
es) ~ ~ ltle tine "a II would tqita 10 read three
tunes by lis title. But the bill before The Senate Is not
OF that cha actt. II gues lar beyond the Presidents
commentator. II proposes many things not tnnd IN
the British act of 2l--things Implying exclusive IN.
r,dclion and sovereignty aud that IN an undehn.
ed extent al country. and ucder circumstances, which
must immediately produce hostile collisions between our
agents AVID the British agents the other side ol The
Rocky Mountains | am opposed 10 all this, but am
not ~ l,ut ui The md, finite posipuhemehl of the bill
WIS., 10 il amended aud made coniorinabo 10 The
Presidents recommended N. II gentlemen who have
the conducting Of the measure mere VIII bfng ~ such an
amendment. aud put II on lis passage without speeches.
| will stop my speech until II Is passed.
Will uow proceed Ia show, well as eau, the de.
gree aud extent Of our Just claims Beyond the Rocky
Moutalns.
To understand what mcan to say. il is necessary to
eeolrc the geography ol the country IN question. aud
It presenting, does. three d'snc, geographical
divisions, each of which different claim and diff
erent degree Of claim attaches. aud which cannDi bo
eanlounded under any general view without gen,
eta sifcatlon and total conusun ol the whole sub
ject The Columbia aud It's valley is oil these
divisions; The islands along The coast Is another Fazcs
v.r and lis valley (caed bv the Brilisn New Catdo-
nla) is the third. Under these three divisions now
PROPOSE 10 speak OF the try. Under these divisions
have always spoken OF IT.; aud wha' have said ot one
part had no application Ia anothet When | spoke Of
The great Of the West and liz valley. either by It's
American name OF Columbia las Indian name Of Ore
gon. intended Fazer's river and lis valley. or
H da sSad j lsaqd Il S@F Gb GSg soak Ga
coast and the Islands. do not mean the continent aud
the Mountains aud when speak Of Ffazet's river or
New Caledonia do not mean the Columbia river. !
repnpule all such loase aud soyruly verbage; and de
sirny To be understood according to my words, go on
To speak ui Tho country beyond The Rocky Mountains
under the three great geographical divisions into which
Nature has formed IT, aud 10 Which political events have
naturally adapted themselves.
/ ! begin with the Islands.
From lhe Straits of Fuci (n fact from Puge's
Slund) To the peninsula Of Alaska-a distance OF one
/ -
chipela so-some large. some small cheqnred IN iogeih-
err and covering the TO the extent OF one Two aud
even three hundred miles IN front "i The continent
They are most Of tlem of volcanic IMPRESSION and sep
Grated from each other and the continent by deep bays,
gus, and straits, and by long deep ehasns, 10 which
naylgalors have gwen the name OF canals lhs long
cheque board islands, aud, The waters which contain
then have been he theatre Of maritime discovery to
many nailons and especially Spanish Brush and kus
san but, except the Russians, no nation made pema-
No sell on of
as low down latitude So. The British aud SpanaIds
both abandoned Vancouver's Island after the Nooika
Sound controversy; and from that time had no settle
menl of any kud the coast, Islands. north OF Cape
Meudocino latitude 4 aud the British had none any
where In this state Of the case the question came on
between Russia, Great Britain. aud The United States,
~ which the distinction between the islands and the
continent was acknowledged by all the Powers. and
Russia excluded from the continent and confined 10 the
islands because her discoveries and settlements were
not continental, but lhsular. Tho conventions WIN
Russia (Bntsh and AmerIcau) of lS21-25 were ffar-
ed upon that prncple and now proceed to read the
instructions from Government under which tins dis
Ii nctlon between the islands and the continent was as
serted and maintained. ! read from MIR. Adams de-
spalch to Mr.. Middleton. July 22d, 1928
'.l never has been admitted by the various Europe
an nations whch have formed settlements IN hls hemls
phee thai the occupation Of an island gave any claim
whatever 10 territorial possessions On The continent 10
which it was adjoining. The recognised principle has
rather been the reverse, by the law OF nature, islands
rather be considered as ippuIleHdnt W
than continent 10 islands "
And again, IN Mr.. Middleton COMMUNICATIONS "
the Russian Government.
.'The Russians have an establishment upon The island
OF Siha in latitude 81 degrees so minutes This iori
built in 1899 destroyed three years after by the
natives of The country, aud re established IN ls,l4 by
Mr., .slanki who called it New Archongel. Russia
cannot however, avail herself of the circumstances of
hat possession firm foundation Tor rights on ne
contiuet the usage of nations having established
that the o island could give rights upon
npIghbrInp conincn The principle is, rather, that the
islands ought be considered appendan 10 the eonit
neli than the inverse OF The pIopLsliioh.
These were The instructions to our Minister, under
which we treated with Russia IN 1884. and upn which
the conventions Of thai period were formed. They es-
iabsh the fact that these Islands IN front OF the northI
west cuast considered q separate geographical di-
vision of The country governed by national law appcs'
bile TO Islands; and TINT discoveries among them. even
perected By SET lernent gave claims upon the cont
nent This is the way Tho two Powers settled WIN
Russia Applying the same plncpie 10 themselves,
aud no discovery Of Vancouvers lslaad or any one OF
the thousand Islands along That coast, give any ter
territorial claims the continent have considered IL
Cardinal error in all the discussions on Oregon,
Ia bottom continental claims upon these nsula discove
RES The Spanards. as well shown IN the speech
ofibe Senator from New York. Mr.. Dix) were the
predecessors Of the British in these discoveries; but !
did not understand him claiming the continent to
The Rocky Mountains and up TO 5io 10', by virtue VI
these maritime discoveries; and am very sure tina! /
limited my sanction Of his views to The tracks OF
the ships which made these discoveries. consider the
Spanish discoveries along that coast as dominant over
The British both for the priority Of date and for the spl
r Of ownership in which they were made. Tho Span
ards explored US masters Of the country ooking after
,be;, avn extepded and cunpuuus POSSESSIONS and