Indiana State sentinel., 1846-02-19

intention OF the negociators Fox, in attacking the
! treaty, says: ' am much friend to the claims
OF Spain as Count Florida Blanca or any Spanish
Minister can be, because they founded in justice.
These claims are an exclusive right of territory navi
CATION and commerce in all the seas and coasts of
Spanish America These claims, il is true, have been
pushed to absurd extravagance by extending the term
Spanish America to seas and coasts where Spain had
no right Of occupation To what have we objected,
but to the indefinite extension of the term Spanish
America Wei, that objection stiH remains (after
the Convention Of Nootka) for the imus Of
Spanish America are StiH undetermined" And fur
ther on, the orator adds: Z" We have abandoned all
right of forming settlements, except for temporary
purposes TO the south of the Spanish settlements we
have obtained the right Of settling to the norh and
even that we have not obtained with clearness"
Thus Fox adduces it as a cause Of complaint
against the Convention of Nootka, that ii put no def
mite limit TO the sovereignty of Spain, and that it
gave to England but very insufficient and contesta-
bie privilege of joint settlement in part of the terri
tory covered by that sovereignty. But Pitt did not
attempt in reply TO his adversary, 10 give any
other Interpretation to the treaty He merely sought
TO justify and palliate the defects which had been de-
nounced and terminated the debate by phrase which
puts forward the truth nakedy, that one must eh-
be blind not to acknowledge, dishonest to deny
It. Fox had observed, "that all the stipulatons
were but concessions and not acquisitions. Pitt
copied this remarkable Distinction and rendered it
more explicit still by the wOrds-"that hoaglb Whci
this country (England) had gained consisted not of
nelo rights, 1T certainly did Of neV GdrantGgeS.'
In the House Of Lords, the Duke Of Montrose. in
moving the of thanks said, mot only is Nootka
restored to us, but we may participate in more north
ern settlements"
We have culed these facts brought to light by Mr..
Owen from the powerful argument by which he knit
them together and put them forth in bold relief but
the facts themselves clear that IL suffice
state them, and leave it to the good sense Of each one
L.. 81 a. 80
For ourselves do not Hesitate declare that Mr..
Owen has established. In manner not TO be refuted,
the sovereignty of Spain, and consequently of the
United States, tile entire territory and that he
has also established in favor of Spain and of this
country. the exclusive right of settlement on every
part of the coast situated to the south Of Nootka ;
that is TO Say TO the south of latitude forty-nne and
half and that he has left England, at the very most
but the right in virtue of the Nooka Convention TO
found commercial establishments to the north of that
parallel This right certainly existed before the war
Of 1896 but il remains to be seen whether afer be-
ing abrogated by that war; l. has has not been
vived by the treaty of 1914 And observe here that
in interpreting the silence of that treaty as an mpi-
cit recognition of that of 1870, still all the British
pretensions reduced to the joint occupation Of the
territory situated to the north Of latitude fortynne
and half, of which the sovereignty belongs to the
United States. as well that south Of that latitude
which it is their privilege to settle exclusively In
word. this entire question, as stated and solved by
Mr. Owen, may be ven in the following terms as
the sovereignty of Oregon belongs exclusively the
United States in virtue of the primitive rights Cf
Spain, has England, by the Nootka Convention, ac-
CURED the privilege of sharing with these States the
commercial settlement Of the territory north of forty
nine and half, the territory south of that line re-
manning exclusively theirs for all purposes whatever!
To appreciate the importance of the transforms
of the national problem thus effected by the learned
and ingenious representative from Indiana we must
bear in mind, that England, by the mouth of Mr.
Pakenham has declared, that in the Convention Of
Nooka and where else. is to be found It's solution
1.-The respective rights of the two countries" says
the British dplomatSt, "are no longer to be traced
in vague narratives Of discoveries many of them
apOchrypha, but in the test and stipulaons of the
Convention itself" Poor Mr.. Pakenham how must he
regret that he concentrated this diplomatic strug
gle this ground on which Mr.. Buchanan has
several times disturbed BIS equilibrium ard which
has Just utterly crumbed beneath his feet the voice
of Mr.. Owen. And this orator has shown himself to
be not less well informed in the geographical than in
the diplomatic branch of the question and we wish
we could follow him through the curious demons;ra-
tons lie has given us, that the whole of Ore
gon south Of forty-nine, there is but the single
trance Of Fuca which offers harbOrs where navy of
large tonnage may ride In perfect safety The mouth
of the Columbia Is, he stated, difficult of access;
and if the entrance Of Puget Sound were surrendered
to England that would be to abandon to er the only
spot of that coast easily accessible to ships of Leavy
draught from the Pacific. But il is to surrender these
straits if England be suffered adv only half de-
gree south of fUrtynine and almost as well might the
surrender be made TO fOrtyseven. This, however, is
a secondary question, which it may suffice to Indicate,
for we must now bring 10 a close remarks on the
sulj c. of Oregon.