American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1846-05-27

M The large and increasing circulation oil the CLIP
neT bot in town and eOuiEry, together WITH the Tact
tha} is opniops and sentiments uniecred by par
tizan and sectaran prejudlces, theEby giving II wei
come reoe soR among an classes and conditions OF so
eiety and especially those who constitute die lite OF
trade and business make it medium for advertising,
canal to any other paper published in this city. Mer
chants and citizens generally should be aware of this
important fact.
Cot. BENroN's SPEECH CONTINUED. On
Monday last, Col. Benton resumed his master
ly speech on the bill from the house. to estab-
lish jurisdiction over the territory Of Oregon
and if he failed in that part of his speech which
was delivered on Friday last, to convince any
reader of the groundlessness of our claim to the
territory of Oregon up to Sd, 40, what he said
on Monday must be conclusive on that point.
Various official documents were introduced to
show, that, until recently, our government new
or set up title higher North than 49-and
Col. B. has demonstrated that our claim
cannot Justly extend beyond that degree. He
sweeps the whole ground from under the feet
of the iny-four forty men, and leaves them not
an ncA to stand upon-at the same time he
shows that Great Britain is precluded, by her
own acts, from laying claim to any portion of
the territory south of that degree. Indeed, Col.
Benton has exhibited so clearly the rights of
each party, that it is surprising there should ex-
ist any difference between them upon the sub
ject. Much of the clamor about "the whole of
Oregon or none," has arisen from ignorance;
for we suspect that few members of Congress
h. bou al la.J ia IaCo hat lo;r
and have endeavored to establish the Fighting
line" at Sd 40, were conversant with the facts
now brought forward by Col. Benton-and
much less were the true merits of the question
understood by the convention, which first de-
clared that our title to the whole of Oregon
was "clear and indisputable." Indeed it is
questionable, whether many of the members Of
that convention were familiar with the precise
location Of Oregon, to say nothing of its dis
covery and settlement.
Col. Benton is opposed to the bill which has
passed the House of Representatives, to esta-
blish jurisdiction over the Oregon territory, as
not only contrary to the recommendation of
the President, but as calculated to produce
collision between Great Britain and the United
States. He is in favor of the passage ola bill
in conformity with the Presidents recommen-
dalton, "that the sovereignty and jurisdiction
of the United States be extended to our Ore
gon territory to the same extent that Great
Britain had extended her sovereignty and juris-
diction to the same country" This is all that,
under present circumstances, should be done
all that justice or expediency requires-and we
therefore hope, that the bill under considera-
ton will be either so modified as to have this
bearing, or be rejected by the Senate; for it
would be be mOnstrous, to set up an unjust
claim to territory to which we have no title,
and then proceed to pass laws for the govern
ment of the country thus enormously claimed,
when devastating war must be the inevitable
result. The people of the United States will
never tolerate such proceeding; for we be-
lieve that the maxim "to ask for nothing that
is not right, and to submit to nothing which is
wrong" from foreign powers, is universally
assented to by the citizens of the country.
The official documents introduced by Col.
Benton, and his own clear and conclusive ar
guments against the Sd 40 claim, are peculiar
ly appropriate at the present moment, when
we have one war on hand, and hot-headed
men in Congress would willing plunge the
country into another. The people want cor
rect and authentic information on the subject
of our claim to the "whole of Oregon or none;"
and if Col Rentons sDeech were printed and
distributed by resolution of Congress-, it would
be much moro servceabe use of the public
money than that to which it is too frequently
applied.