Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-01-09

| in possession, while treating OF The title
That negotiation terminated in the convention
If The 20th of October, i8I8-the third article Of
which is in The following words
at is agreed that any country mat may =.
claimed by either party on Inc Nol'h"esl eHas'
| - America westward Of the Stony mountains,
shall together with It's harbors, bays and cfeehs'
| and the navigation OF all rivers within The same,
he free and open for the term OF ten years rom
The date of The signature OF The present cohveh-
lion. 10 the vessels citizens and sup]ecis VI !ne
rwo movers: il being well understood thai inis
! acreemen, is not 10 be construed TO the prejudice
! Of any claim which either OF The Two hish con,
| tracing parties may have 10 any parI OF 'he sdu
country nor shall il be taken 10 aifect me Claims
of any other power or State 10 any part Of lhe saa
country; the only object Of the high contracting
parties, in that respect, being 10 prevehl oisp'e'
and differences amongst themselves.
/ The Two acts. the restoration oil our possession
| and The signature Of the convention, were near
" conlempora neous-ihe latter taking place , pul
| fourteen days subsequently TO The former. We
were then. as admitted by Lord Casllereagh en-
titled 10 be considered as the parry in possession;
and the convention which stipulated that Inc Ter
rirory should be free and open, for The term o len
wears from the date OF its signature, 10 the YES
sells, citizens and subjects OF The two countries
without prejudice 10 any claim which either par.
~ NAV have 10 any part Of The same, preserved
and perpetuated our claims 10 the territory, IN
Guiding The acknowledged right 10 be considered
the party in possession, as perfectly during the
period of lis continuance as they were the day
The convention was signed. Oh this there can DC
no doubt.
After an abortive attempt TO adjust The claims
of the two parties 10 The territory, IN 1874 another
negotiation was commenced IN 1920 which ter
minated in renewing on the 9th OF August, 1927.
~ h;rJ i'll NJ tho nj INN
10 lis expiration. Ii provided for The indefinite
extension Of all the provisions oil the third article
OF that convention; and also that either party
might terminate il al any time il might thlnk III,
hy giving one years notice, after The 2Ulh oil &c
tobcr 1925 II took, however, the precaution OF
providing expressly that "n0'hing contained IN
ms ,on rcnfion IN The Mirt article Of Inc conren-
INN of lie 20h OcfOJcr, 1878 hereby continued an
0rce shall b. construed 10 impair or in ann mann1
oGcetMe claims uhieh eHier ofttc contracting pr
ii.s man hare 10 anu part 81 The c0unt,y weicdrd Of
tfe Stonv or RoctU mountains" That convention
is now in force, and has continued TO be 40 since
The expra,ion OF that Of 1918. BY The joint ope-
ration OF the two, our right 10 be considered the
party in possession, and all the claims we had 10
he territory while in possession, are preserved 10
as full vigor as they were al The date oil It's resio
ration in 1918, without being affected or i'm
paired by the settlements since made by the sub
jrcs Of Great Britain.
Time, indeed, 20 lar from impairins our claims,
has greatly strengthened them, since that period !;
for since then The treaty OF Florida transferred TO
us all The rights, claims, and pretensons olSpaln
10 the whole territory as has been stated In con-
sequence Of this, onr claims 10 the portion DRAM
ed by the Columbia river-lhe point now The sub
iecl OF consideration teen much strength
ened, hy giving US The incontesiible claim 10 the
discovery of the mouth of The river by tieceia,
above stated But il is not in this particular only
that il has operated in our favor. Our we'll
founded claim, grounded on continuity, has great
IL strengthened, during The same period, by the
ra pid advance OF our population towards The Ter
rory-ils great increase, especially in the valley
of The Msssspp-as well as the greatly increas-
ed facility OF passing to The territory by more ac-
ccssbc routes and the far stronger and rapidly
swelling tide OF population that has recently com
menced flowing into it.
When The first convention was concluded, in
1918, our whole population did moi exceed nine
millions of people. The portion of il inhabi
ing The States in the great valley OF The Mlssis-
spp was probably under one million seven hun
drcd lhousand-of which not more than Two hun
bred thousand were on The West side Of he river
Now, our population may be safely estimated al
not less than nineteen millions-of which al
least eight millions inhabt The States and Ter
llories in the valley OF The Mississippi, and OF
which upwards OF one million are in the States
and Territories West Of that river. This por-
ton Ct our population is now increasing lar
more rapidly than ever, ard will, in shor
time, fill the whole tier oil States on its Western
bank
To this great increase OF population, especial
IL in The valley of The Mississippi, may be added
The increased facility OF reaching the Oregon
territory, in consequence of the discovery OF the
remarkable pass in the Rocky Mountains al Ihe
head Of The La Plane. The depression is SO great,
and the pass so smooth, that loaded wagons
now travel with facility from Missouri 10 The
navisable waters of the Columbia river. These
Joint causes have had The effect OF turning the
current OF our population towards The territory,
and an emigration estimated at mol less than one
thousand during the last and fifteen hundred The
present year has flowed into it, The current
thus commenced, will no doubt continue 10 flow
with increased volume hereafter. There can
then be no doubt now that The operation of The
same causes which impelled our population
Westward from the shores of The Atlantic across
the Allegheny to The valley OF the Mississippi,
will mpel them onward with accumulaing force
across the Rocky ins into the valley OF the
Columbia, and that the whole region drained BY
il is destined TO the peoped by US.
Such arc our claims 10 that portion OF the ter
ritory, and The grounds on which they rest. The
Undersigned DeiieVeS lnein 10 De well louHdeu,
and trusts that The British plenpoicntiary will see
in them suliicien. reasons why he should decline
his proposal.
The Undersigned plenipolenliary abstains, for
the present, from presenting the claims which the
United States Tay have 10 other portions Of the
territory.
The undersigned avails himself OF this occa-
sion 10 renew 10 The British plenipoen,ary as
suranccs of his high consideration.
J. C. CALHOUN.
% p,Lenbano Fen Sc ,Sc