The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-02-18

passage northward into the Pacific by which he
to Noos having thus ereumnavsai the island whie
Vancouyors island complete Of discovery eKpl
ration and settlement well be presented giving
regard the territory In dispute tho strongest possib
claim to the exclusive possession Of the island"
To repel this assumption, the grounds Of whc
the distinguished British plenipotentisTy appear
not to have sufficiently investigated, Mr. Buehana
briefly referred 10 previous examinations by IN
\ Spanards. now proceed to show by Vancou's
himself that the assumption is entirely unsustaine
1 by the facts.
In the first place, let me correct an error Of fac
into which Mr.. Pakenham has fallen at the outset
IN saying that Vancouver, departing from Nootk'
sound, " surveyed the straits Of Fuca, cireumnasi
4 gated the island which bears his name, and then re
turned TO Nootka. Sir, Vancouver had never seer
NooIka sound when he surveyed the straits OF fu
ca. He entered the straits the 18th Of April, the
/ evening OF the day he met Capt. Cray and pro
eeeded Immediately TO survey them, az may be seer
/ by his Journal, vol 2, pages 40 and 81 lie arrived
al Nooika for the first time, the 18th Of August
four months afterwards-page 1874 same volume
This correction is only important as repelling the
! inference which might have been drawn from the
fact IL il had been as stated by Mr.. Pakenham, that
Vancouver had been previously established at Moot
ka, and had departed from il from regular sta
ZION on voyage Of exploration to the straits Of
Fuea-
But there are more important errors to be cor
reeted.
While Vancouver was surveying the strait OF
Fuea, and the extensive inland waters connected
with II Galiano and Valdes, two Spanish officers,
sentout from Nootka sound, were engaged in the
same service. The two parties met on the 22d Of
June, about the middle Of the strait, near Point
Gray, above Frazers river, and proceeded together
noftherly, uniting their labors and surveying its
shores TO point near the extremity Of the island Of
Quadra and Vancouver, between the 50th and the
5lst degrees Of north latitude where they separated
And here desire To call the special attention Of the
Senate TO the Journal Of Vancouver, who states
that Seior Galiano, who spoke little English, in
formed him that they had arrived at NOotka on
the llth Of April, from whence they had sailed on
the 5,h OF this month, June in order to complete
the examination Of this inlet, which had in the pre-
ceding year, been partly surveyed by some Spanish
officers, whose chart they produced. Observe, sir,
the inlet d. the strait Of Fuca) about latitude 500
surveyed and apped year before Vancouver
came on the coast Vancouver then continues,
(page 2l0, vol. 2.:)
Il esnnO avoid acknowledging that this occasion
external shores OF the gull had been visited and already
examined few miles beyond where my researches during
excursion had extended making the land had been IL
doubt about island continuing nearly In the same drec
ton about four l.ag further than had seen by
and BY the sPanisrds named Faruda, [Fevedsl'
BY turning back to page 2O4, vol 2, q refer to
the edition in the library Of Congress- II will appear
g., north latitude; so that the Spanards, before his
arrival, by his own acknowledgment, had examin.
ed the stat Of Fuea to point north Of that para
lei; and by turning TO page 249, vol g il will be
seen that in parting with Sehor Galiano the latter
him with "a copy Of his survey and other
particulars relative to the inlet of the sea- which
contained also that part Of the neighboring
coast extending norhwestward from the straits OIL
De Faca, beyond Nootka, to the latitude OF 500 g.
longitude 1920 as"
What, then, becomes Of this complete lease Of
discovery, exploration, and settlement" in respect
70 Quadra and Vancouver's island, and the strait Of
Fuca Ii is proved by Vancouver himself that the
Spsniards had partially surveyed and mapped the
shores of the strait high as 500 year before he
arrived on the coast And If we turn to his Journal
sol. page 1859, it will be seen that Gallisno and
Valdes arrived at Nootka on the LIST Of September,
hree days after him, by ''route through Queen
Charlotte's sound" round the northern point of the
Island, ITO the southland Of that which we had nayi-
gated" and OF course following its shores more
closely than he. The strongest possible claim 10
The exclusive possession Of the island to use Mr. |
Pakenhams language, Is not, therefore, he asserts
'elf, II was IN Spain then, and is in now.
But, SIR, have word 70 say IN relation TO the i
whole subject of Vancouvcr's exploration.
Il would seem that the sPenisrds in the autumn
,f l793 had become distrustful Of Vancouver
ccts in the survey Of the northwest coast; and on
bis arrival at Monterey on the lst of November the
o,,aulsh commander, Avillaga, questioned him in
writing to the objects of his voyage, to which
Vancouver promptly replied, (psge 800, VOL ~
shat the voyage in which we wee engaged was for
he general use and benefit of mankind, and that un-
der these circumstances, ought rather to be con-
sidered laboring for the good of the world in gen.
era than for the advantage Of any particular
eign, and that the court of Spain would be more
early informed, and much beneted by my labors /
as the kingdom of Great Britain"
H. .f Al
there was no intention Of interfering with the terrific
rial rights Of Spain, and that no special advantages
were sought for by Great Britain. II is the highest
evidence the evidence of cotemporaneous exposition
against the claims Of the British plenipotentary; and
il demoshes the whole fabric Of the British title,
far as it is built on Vanceuver's explorations.
While on this part of the subject, desire also to
call the attention Of the Senate to the manner in
which the Oregon question has been discussed in |
the British Parliament by some of the most distn-
guished members Of both branches Of that body. ]
wish to do so for the purpose of correcting great in
and also for the purpose of showing
how imperfectly the subject appears to DO under
stood by those who, from their elevated positions,
are under the strongest moral obligations to possess
of the truth, in order that the public
mind Of Great Britain may not be misled and in
famed on their high authority.
In the House OF Lords, on the 4th Of April last,
after the reception Of the Presidents
inaugural speech, the subject was brought forward
by the Earl of Clarendon, not in the usual form of
call on her Majesty's ministers for information, but
in pursuance Of notice which he had given on the |
preceding day of his design to invite the attention
Of the House to the question. In the course of his
remarks he undertook to give sketch of the claims
Of Great Britain and the United States to the terri
tory Of Oregon. shall, in respect to the former,
quote his own words from the Times, source to
which, without raising any question Of organism,
we may confidently look for an accurate report Of
his lordship's remarks. | shall con6ne myself
strictly to the question of title in all have to say in
reference to these debates, avoiding carefully all al
fusion to the offensive language with which they
were in some instances connected |
I'm the first place my lords priority of discovery could
constitute title claim would be unquesonabe; for Sir
Drake when he first visited that country in 1853 found
all the land unappropriatcd and took possession Of It,
giving the title New Albion. lido not to that
this constitutes claim but owing subsequently to seiz
Of British vessels at Nootka and to dispute which
in consequence arranged by the treaty of the
Escura that the subjects Of the contracting parties hou
be moested in fishing and making settlements ports
not hitherto occupied In 1892, the country adjacent to
the Columbia river taken possession Of by Cooke and
was explored in 1918 by the Northwestern Company,
now called the Hudson Bay Company, who established
themselves in Port St. George under the COVE Of
British laws continuing to the present day and being the