The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-01-03


,bst The House 90 into COMMITTEES OF the Whole on
the stae Of the Union and take up the the bil OF the
1entlenan without waiting for the day TO which II
was postponed as a special order.
But he preferred, ia reference To this view which
the BRUSH government took upon this subject, 10
saw thai lhey we're all aware that that government,
whatever might be our opinion OF ~, was ST.
eacious one that il had skill and ability IN those
who administered il; that they understood the ma
tuTe and character of men and of republicans, nl-
though they disllked the latter that the
hands Of Sir Robert Peel, indeed, were engag-
ed in feeling the bounding pulse OF those VINO
desire liberty; that Ireland has "itnesGr
HUI which they may remember and that
there were hills in Scotland and ~ wales, ana mat
The crust of amerry England" itself might ere long
show some signs Of uphesying' bnt looking al
his question: they seem TO rely WIN security on
the acrion Of the Senate ana u was mos, extra
ordinary fact that from the British organ IN Lon
don the ad vent of an American senator 10 the Amer
lean Senate should be announced, and his course
foreshadowed. IL was a most extraordinary fact
that that organ Should claim pledge on this sub
iect. To whom could such pledge haye been CIV
en- This question had been under negotiation long
So far as The present administration was concerned,
he regarded tha the view taken in this paragraph Of
IL. position and Of lis IVA, was entirely erroneous.
Great Britain did not understand the character Of
the Hickory stock Of this country, II she supposed
that President Polk playing with this question,
hnd desiring 10 hutubuS tHc ItOplr. ~ WIS ho' wv
la his judgment, however, the present admlnlstra-
lion committed error when II offered TO the Brit
iah government 10 surrender the territory OF Ore
gon north Of 49 degrees, II might have felt the en-
barrassmsnt Of the previous position of our govern
ment on this subject bat with the responsibility
which belonged To him American cIzen, and
as the representative ~ Ao,eriean citizens, he ex
pressed his opinion on the subject. The admins
lralion IL was saih--and lie disposed 10 believe
t-f.l, feliy assured that the offer would be reject
ed, or that offer never would have been made. II
was rejected; and tie position of the administration
was perhaps stronger before the country and before
the world; and II having been made and r. jecied,
the administration was thus saved from injury by
any such error--ife error there were.
But the British organ in his judgment, understood
the character OF tie American people. That gov
ernmeot had met them at various times and in va
rious localities. They had met the Boston boys on
Bunker Hill; the men OF Carolina and Virginia, at
Yorktown and Camden; the New Workers and cIti-
zeus Of the surrounding States, at Saratoga; the
Pennsylvanians and the New Jersey men at Mon
mouth; and the western people, who were younger,
at a later day, at New Orleans. They understood
the character OF the American people, and they
right he believed, when they said that The
Senate of the United States is no permanent and
insurmountable barrier to the American occupation
of Oregon.
So much for the British view Of this question. 1t
had been, in his judgment. in the charge OF dIplo-
macy long enough. He was nojoieed when he learn
ed from the message Of the President Of the United
States that negotiations on the subject Of Greg n
were terminated, and that the subject was TO be let
Congress and TO the people Of this country to de-
termine how il should Great Britain des-
rous to interfere in the arrangement of the political
cpncerns of this country and, although he was
aware that in the expression Of the sentiments
which he should now utter, because they were his
own,) he should differ from many-perhaps from
more OF his constituents than he would choose to
a. az IA h. Ii ,nt,
but his constituents were generous, and patriotic
and had always been indulgent TO him. He was,
then, none the less readyto say thar lac believed
the British government would rcjoioe-most heart
lily reoice-If the settlement of the Oregon ques-
ton could be effected by division Of the territory;
aod by the acquisition, to her, of half oft, as he
believed she did rejoice that the Texas question had
been settled in the manner in which 1t had. Great
Britain would be glad to see America peopled with
slaves; she would people the brave and the hardy
North with her own Swiss, who admitted their allie
glance to her. and she would be glad TO the
ny and the ehiyalrons South peopled with black
population, and oppressed with negro slavery. She
would see her own interest, Der own comparative
power in trial of strength, in such disposition Of
these two questions. ............ &c.,.
He would be most heartily glad il the discussion
Of this question could be relieved of all extrnsIc OF
all personal, of all party considerations. The Ore;
gon question belonged to the country; it was ours
and the gentleman from South Carolina, Mr..
HoLAEs,l had well stated that il was a question
which diR-ved tram the question Of the acquisition
Of Texas, though on that question there was but
one consideration, and that paramount with
him, which had prevented him (Mr. k from being
forced in the vote with the gentleman. But the
Oregon country is ours; we had proclaimed to the
world that the British government had no right TO
interfere upon this continent, even in relation 10
other countries Should she be permitted here to
interfere with our own territory' Was that the
only use TO which could put our diplomacy,
that II should demonstrate TO ourselves and
to the world that a territory was ours
that we may then be enabled TO show
our magnanmty by surrendering il to our enemy :
He trusted not. He glad he repeated, that
this question was ont Of the hands Of diplomacy.
Diplomacy had established our title to every inch
ofthe disputed territory in Maine, most clearly,
most fully. IL was afterwards, he believed, &C
knowedged that evidence of titeto that territory
existed in man in ihs possession of the British
government. Diplomacy established our title in
this case; but diplomacy then wsnt 10 work to buy
from Maine, and from Massachusetts, The con-
coded title TO that 'erritorythat it might surrender
that territory to Great Britain. What did Great
Britain desire Of that country, which she designated
as barren waste, valuable at least for nothing but
its timberi Great Britain desired roads, ROAD on
which she mig send her powder, her baiis ay,
and her seaipiRg knives to her northwestern allies
IN the long northern winters that shut up the mouth
of the ST. Lawrence. That was all Great Britain
otrHSu w tiiut potlloH oi country, WHICH
macy she obtained from this government. vi
He had not proposed in rising to go any further
than to call the attention Of the House and the
country TO the peculiar condition Of this question:;
he was prompted to do so by the fact announced by
the chairman Of the Committee on Territories, that
a game was being played on this subject, and his
chief object was TO call upon that gentleman, sad
upon all the members Of this House. who felt an in
terest IN this question to come up and take hand
an this game, ard TO be assurad themselves, and to
he watchfu of others, tina, the game might be fairly
played on all hands, - ."5
Mr. WINTHROP next obtained the floor, and
was appealed to by Mr.. PETrT to yield the floor
TO enable him 10 Offer resolution strike off mem
bers' franks from the documents sent through the
post Office; but declined 10 comply with request.
Alter alluding 10 the decisiono Of the chair under
which il had been permitted this motion Of refs-
renee TO into discussion of the whole Oregon
question, and, after stating that he should have
preferred to see the debate going under Qireum-
starces Of grea,er rropriety Mr.. w. observed that
his hon. colleague Mr.. ADtasl yesterday, and the
gentleman from Pennsylvania MIR. IseEsspLLl to-
day, had referred to their previous course on the