The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1846-01-23

subject should come from some com.
mittce other than the right one, wher
the Texas bill was passed. Now, be
repeated, with reference to this Or.
egon bill, they wished it carried
through-not with the same rapid.
ty, but with the same bolddcss, the
same consistency-so as to show thai
they were twin measures, not onl,
in name, but in fact. He hoped thi,
bill would be acted on, and that
bill from the committee on Indial
Affairs would be reported and actct
on; and if the chairman of the com
mittee on Foreign Affairs would re
port his notice for the Termination
of the joint convention, he (Mr. d.
would be in favor of pushing it thro
in the same short time I; and if tina
did leave his Dill without much re.
naming, he should be gratified tina
so little was left to be acted on. He
had none of that pride.
He did hope that there would be
no lodging on this Oregon question.
Yes; that there would be no dode-
ing on the Oregon question; that
there would be no delay and he no.
ped that the gentleman from South
Carolina Mr.. Holmes) would show
the same spirit and the same enthu-
siasm in behalf of Oregon that he
had shown in behalf of Texas; and
that he would be as brave and as
fearless in looking Great Britain in
the face as he was in looking Mexi-
CO in the face. There was great ap-
prehension of war here last year
but of war with Mexico instead of
Great Britain; and they have found
men brave, and furious in their bra
very, in defying Mexico and her al
lies, England and France, who now
had an awful horror in prospect of a
war with Great Britain. He (Mr.
d. had felt pretty brave last year
with reference to Mexico, and her
allies, and he felt equally so now.
He believed, if we wished to avoid
a war upon this Oregon question,
the only way we could avoid it was
by preparing to give them the best
fight we had on hand. Just give the
notice; erect military posts ;
garrison them, and do all we could
during the continuance of the trea-
ty; and the moment the notice ex-
pires, have a Territorial bill ready
to drop in and take effect from that
day, and the Oregon question, we
would find, would be settled. The
contest would be a bloodless one
we should avoid war for the reason
that Great Britain knows too well,
If she had war about Oregon, fare
well to her Canada. If this house
and the other house acted firmly on
the Oregon question-if they passed
the military bills first, and then fol-
lowed them up with the civil bills,
showing the nerve to act without
talking-except they talked for the
purpose of making men active
should have no war with England
on this subject.
Mr.. HOLMES confessed, whatever
might be said of his bravery on the
Texas question, that he did feel, on
the Oregon question, grave and deep
alarm. Yes, he was not afraid to
acknowledge that he was alarmed
to see the interests of this mighty
republic precipitated and plunged
heedlessly into contest with Great
Britain; and he put it to gentlemen
who advocated the bill of the gem
tleman from Illinois, (Mr. Douglass
whether they had not better first pass
the notice, if they could pass it, be-
fore they made any appropriation for
war; for he told that gentleman that
if the bill reported to this house by
him did pass, he would not find him
MIR. Ill., backing out from the war
for he was well convinced that what
he believed the intention of vast
body of this house to be, would be
accomplished-that war would be
inevitable; and instead of three or
five regiments, he wished at once
and he intended to move it on the
passage Of the gentleman's bill-that
the Executive be entrusted with a
credit of 20 million dollars, to be
made instantly applicable to the de-
fences of the country; for the issue
could not be avoided if this bill were
passed; and he therefore wished, if
the bill did pass, it would pass be-
fore we arrayed in any manner the
force of this country, whether by
regiments or by battalions. He said
that the gentlemen, as a lawyer ac-
quainted with the law international,
knew that the notice would produce
war. What was the object of the
notice? Was it not to terminate the
joint occupancy? Why terminate
the joint occupancy? Was it not,