The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-08-15


time, more than one difficulty with US, my answer
is ready il was TO give effect TO the war panic upon
our government To illustrate this, let IL be reco-
leeted that when the Ashburton negotiation opened
there were to say nothing of the Of 'the Gre
ole" and the Caroline, three great questions in dis
Iputs--the Maine boundary, the Oregon boundary,
and the impTessment and right Of search. These
three questions taken Together, involved the inter-
lesIs and, therefore, excited the feelings Of the
tohOs American people. The whole east felt a
more immediate interest in the question of Maine,
because il was more local, 10 the east The
whole west felt more immediate interest in
the question Of Oregon, because il was more local
to the west. The whole Atlantic 'front.' well
as the whole interior, felt widespread national
interest in the question Of impressment and search
because IL was national and widespread In It's ef.
fects. England knew this she knew that so many
and such great interests, stretching all over the
Union, and addressing themselves to every section,
would band together the whole mass Of the people
of every condition, vocation, and section in their de-
fence. She knew that, II in a single negotiation,
and all at once, she undertook, by one Of her war
pancs, to fighien this whole nation into a surren
der OF so many and such comprehensive interests,
she would have war indeed, and such war as
would eventually lop of the North American limb
of her empire. She understood all this, and there
fore dpdsd these questions By lines Of local interests
IN order TO divide the people, the feelings, and the
energies Of this nation, by the same lines; and thus
of the Union which might suppose they had a great
or interest IN the preservation OF peace than in the
one remote sectional question about which the war
was threatened She knew that the Maine territory
lay in one corner Of the Union, and thought that the
other sections might under the threat OF war be in
duced to acquesce in its surrender for the sake OF
peace. Whether she judged rightly or not, the
treaty will tell She knew also that the Oregon ter
rtory lies IN the opposite corner, four thousand
miles from the 6rst She expects the same result,
| by the same means, in regard TO this. These are
the reasons why she has in her negotiations sepa
rated these questions, as she ever has all former
questions in dispute between the two countries.
TO divide our interests by time and space, and TO
conquer them one at a time, by the aid Of a war
panic, IN each case, is her system. To unite all
interests, and by the union Of all people, TO de-
fend them all at once, should have been ours But
| IL has not. The Maine territory is Loaf; and In
FIVE days after England obtained it by diplomatic
duplcity and the tsrors ola panic, she ordered
her minister 10 get Oregon by the same means
When that is done, if done il shall be, she may then
take up the question Of impressment and search
shou she have no other claim Of territory ready TO
put forth
Sir, in thus permitting England to divide our
strength by lines Of local interests and to conquer
those interests by one because of our unwilling
ness TO hazard war in their separate defence, we
shamefully disregard the great object Of our federal
Union and the obligations It imposes
That union was formed with reference mainly TO
dangers Of aggression from abroad, and chiefly from
England herself IL was formed that the whole OF
our interests might be successful Unprotected as our
revolution was achieyedby the joint efforts Of the
whole people in the defence of each Of those in
teIests, regardless Of their separate locality.
Yes, sir, 1t was TO guard against the anticipated
dangers from abroad, and chiefly from England
that this federal Union was formed. The American
colonies the first part Of her empire to revolt
She beheld, in their Independence the uprising of
mighty rival which threatened divide with her the
commerce Of the world and by the example of its
institutions, to undermine the whole regal system
The men Of the revolution understood all this.
They saw, in the new relations which these States
must, as free States necessarily bear monarchca
Europe, and especially to Great Britain, that she at
least smarting under the Illuminating dismember-
ment OF her empire, which she had warred so long,
and at such cost of life and treasure, to prevent
would eper remain hostile to those States, and
therefore seek every opportunity TO cripple them
when that might be done with impunity. IL
was the prime object of the States to meet and
repel these dangers by their union in the federal
compact. But of what is this compact it. in
stead of every section standing forward to support
the interest of each, when threatened from abroad
all, save the section whose interests are exposed
stand off, and leave those interests to be sacrificed;
But what is yet worse than this, such an abandon
ment Of the endangered interests OF one State by
the others, leaves those interests without any de-
fence whatever For, by the very terms OF the
compact, which makes it the duty of all the States
to guard jointly, the interests of each against for
egn wrongs, the power of each State to enforce
even its most sacred rights separately, by war, is
expressly taken away. What was the fact with re-
gard to Maine Great Britain first asked the feder-
al government to cede to her part of that territory
the government refused. Great Britain then claimed
1t as a. right and threatened war the government
to buy peace, surrendered il. Maine had to YIELD
because the government refused to defend her soil
hv uar If md hasa he,
forbade her TO defend it herself by war Had
Maine never become member Of the Union, she
would have had the right Of war for the defence Of
her territory. As it was, she had not. And thus
the very fact that by the federal compact the other
States had agreed to aid jointly in her defence by
war 1t necessary, upon condition that she would
surrender the right separately to defend herself by
the same means, left her practically without any de-
fence at all. This not the fault of the const-
tuition, but Of those who were intrusted with the
administration Of its powers. Great Britain ever
armed herself; and knowing that the safety Of every
country, as whole, depends upon its readiness to
defend its smallest and remotest parts, knew also
that ours was country unprepared for war, and
whose opposite parts were separated aar from each
other
! By the threat Of war upon all the parts, UMPIRE
pared for it as they were, she hoped to make it
the apparent interest Of NEST of them To purchase
peace by surrendering the interests Of the others
BY separating, for these reasons, Maine from Ore
gon in the negotiations, she has obtained the terri
tory of the former and will, by the same diplomacy
and threats, obtain that of the latter if this govern
ment shall again show that it feels the fear Of Eng
land more than its own obligations of self defence
But why this feari Is it because il has any sound
foundation in England's strength or our weakness
No. Iffoundaton has at all, it exists only in that
transportation of her and Misrepresentation Of
ourselves, arising from certain morbid admiration
of her institutions, and certain morbid Indifference
to our own. II, indeed, she be so powerful that is
the best of reasons why we should show that we
fear her not for it is the very fact of our apparent
fear that invites her TO aggression.
i But, sir, this fear is groundless England may
continue to threaten, she ever has, and ever will
so long continue to believe her threats, and
therefore, concede her demands. Yet boldly affirm
that she ,cH NOT because she dare not all other State
reasons aside, make tcar, sngle-handsd agsns The Uni
ted States for The Oregon Territory. This is my prop
osition. ! say she dare not Not that suppose her
people timid, for man is drawer than well-fed
Englishman--except better fed American. Bot
say she dare not, because forbidden by those pru-
Dental which govern her sagacous rea-
sons which ever govern her ssgacious counsels, as
u