The Arkansas banner., 1846-02-18


 argument solely on the declaration made by the undersigned, that the title of the United States to the valley of the Columbia was perfect and complete before the treaties of joint occupation of October, 1918. and Au- gust 1927, and before the date of the Flori- da treaty, in 18l9 But the British Plenipo- tentiary ought to recollect that this title was asserted t0 be complete, not against Spain. but against Great Britain; that the argument was conducted not against Spanish, but a British, Pienipatcntiary; and that the United States, and Hot Great B9itajns-9epresent the 1 Spanish tile. And further, ta2t!he statement from which he extracts these declarations was almost exclusively devoted 10 prove, in the language quoted by the British pleniPolent- ary himself, that "Spain had good title, as aganst Great Britain, 10 theWhale of Oregon 1 terrltory.o The undersigned has never, as he before observed, instituted any compar- son between the American and the Spanish titles. Holding both-having a perfect right to rely upon beth, whether jointly or sepa- rataiy, he has strongly asserted each of them in their turn, fully pursuaded thai either the one or the other is good against Great Bit ain; and that 10 human ingenuity can make the Spanish title, how vested n the United States, worse than it woHd have been, had i. remained in the hands of Spain.
 Briefly to illustrate and enforce this title, shall be the remaining task of the under signed.
 And, ill the first place, he cannot bu1 com mend the frantness and caudor of the British plenpotentary in ndepartng from the course of lis predecessors, and rejecting all discoveries previous to those of Car;.n Cook, in the year I778, as foundations of British title Commencing with discovery at a period so late, the Spanish tile, on the score of anti quity, presents strong contrast to that. of Great Britain. The undersigned had stated as historical and ''strlking fact, which must have an important bearing against the claim oi Great Britain, that this Convention, fthe Nootka,) which vas dicated by her to Spain, contains no provision impairing tie ultimate sovereignty which that power had asserted for nearly three centuries over the whole Western side of North America as far N North as the 6lst degree of latitude, and which had never been seriously questioned by any Eu- ropean nation. This had been maintained by Spain with the most yigilant Jealousy, ever since the discovery of the American continent, and had been acquiesced in by all European governments. It had been admit ted even beyond the latitude of g. aeg. 40 min N orth by Russia, then the only power having claims which could come in collision with Spain, and that, 100, uadeea sovereign fpecuiiaFly tenacious of the R.asitoiial rights of her empire" These historical facts had not been as they could not be, cohtroYerted by the British plenipoteHtiagy, although they were brought under his particular observa- tiOn, aid were even quoted by him with ap- probation for the. purpose ef showing the in- consistency of~the several titles held by the United States. In the language of Count Herman de Nunez, the Spanish ambassador at Paris, to NJ. de Montmorin, the Secretary of the Foreign Department of France, under +date June 10th, l790: ''By the treaties, demarcatlons, taking of possessions, and the most decided acts oI sovereignty exercised by the Spaniards in those stations from the reign of Charles Ii,,and authorized by that Ho- march i'll 1892, the original vouchers for which shall be brought forward in the course ot the negotiation, all the coast to the north of the western America, on the side of the South sea, as iarws beyond what Is called Prince Williams souHd, which is in the 6lsi degree, is acknowledged to belong exclusiue- iy to Spain"
 Compared with this ancient claim Of Spain, acqpiesced in by all European nations for centuries, the claim of Greal Britain, founded on discoveries conmencodal so late a period. as the year 177S, must make an unlavorable first impression.
 Spain considered the northwest coast of America as exclusively her own. She did not send out expeditions to explore thai coast for tltc purpose of rendering her tile more valid. When 1t suited her own con venience, or promoted her own interest, she fitted out such expeditions of discovery to ascertain the character and extentof herown territory; and yet her discoveries along that coast are far earlier than those of the Bri- tish.
 That Juan de Fuca, Greek in theservice of Spain, in i592, discovered and sailed through the Strait now bearing his name; from its Southern to its Northern extremity and thence returned by the same passage, no longer admits of a reasonable doubt. Anac- count of this voyage was published in Lon don in 1895, in work cklted the Pilgrims, by Samuel Purchas. This account was re- ceiye1 from the lips of Fufa himself at Ve- .nibe, ill April, 1896, by Michael Lock, highly respectable English merchant
 During long period, this voyage was deemed fabulous, because subsequent navi- gators had in vain attempted to find these straits Finally, after they had been found, il was discoYefel that the descriptions of de Fuea corresponded so accurately with their. geography, and the facts presented by nahne. upon the ground that t was no longer pos sib!e to consider his narraton as fabulous. It.s true that the opening of the straits from the South lies between the 18th aa1 49 pa raIIels, as he had supposed; but tIris mistake may be easily explained by the inaecnracy so common throughout the sixteenth eentu- ", in ascerlalning the latitude of places in newly discovered countries.
 It is also true that de Fuca, after passing through these straits supposed he had reacl- ed the Atlantic, and had discovered the pas sage so long and so anxiously sought after between the two oceans: bit from the total ignorance and misaPprehenson which pre- vailed at that early day of this portion of North America, II was natural for him to be- al IL. f,t, I;