Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1846-02-14

wv uuu u4ut q I'll q century "A 4 III
no. toste AZ . glance that the unil.i States have new,
hitherto considered tn IL right to Oregon. a. . Will, f,..
u"m aimss u- sd Notwithstanding, or that tho claim.
oforcst brtsin We're So untoundsd, in every p.rtieul.,
a. to justify Ne J., treating them a. more idle pt.,,n.,on.
MT. Ganstin, Who has borne 50 able and Ji.,in,ui.h.d +.
part In these discussions. has just given his testimony % m.
nation that ihera arc questions Of q doubtful and drb.t,hi.
character which have ever been felt to embaua.. the NJ.
adjustment OF our title, In the latitude Ia which II /. now
put forth. The whsle official correspondence Of the other
eminent and ds ingushed citizen tMr. Rush, by whom
mo do snes VI the American cla.ms IVES so le.rnsdly and
ia'hiuny conducted at London bears testimony TO the
same fact.
From what iarter Of the horizon, then. has ,hi. new
and clear light br.ken IN upon a quesicn which the Anne.
nean government aud It's most experienced and able mi
doubtful and debateablef We Ia tho country, have .nx
iously sought Information on the subject from every source
Then was accessible to us. We believe with General
JACKSON that IL n a sound precept OF national honor. in
our relations with Foreign Powers, TO .a,k nothing thu, /,
not clearly right" as well as .o submit To nothing thai IL
wrons, we desired, therefore. before the public sanction
a. "'eNoeaoiy given TO measures intended TO enforce our
nshu' ana involving the hsisrd Of the last appeal Of n,.
uons' to understand correctly the nature and lust extent OF
mD.se 1sns, ana the foundation upoa which they rest. We
'i"ea na.ufauy TO the able correspondence OF our S~cre.
tartes OF State, Mr.. Calhoun and Mr.. Buchanan. which
seeompsnies the Presidents Message. have never
known sny documents II that character 10 be more game
rally read. or to DO more anIiou.ly and e,refuIly eon.,
dered- IL may not be without IA. = IN i,t von
NOV ~ impression they have made upon the minds OF
the pcrP'e, 80 Tar as | have been able to coil,et n from |.
own neighbothood. y"
e "eio ara admirably drawn letter Of Mr.. Calhoun TO
vi faAehhsni' containing his statement aud view of IN,
american cisiu', has made a powerful impre.sion unoo
inc common sense Of the country. lie rests our lille
manniy upon the undispoted prior discovery, entry. and
exploration ito n certain distsnce) Of the mouth and chm
mel OF the Columbia nver by our own hardy and g,II.n,
eounuymSn' CsP, Gray. in 1884 followed by the .aosIIy
unusPu'ea phor discovery and exploration OF som. of its
sources anu upper branches, and tracing is course from
inc Rocky Mountains To The Pacific Ocean. in The y,ea,
ns"onai enterprise conducted with such distinguished b,r.
dlh"od and bravery by Messr.. Lewis aud Cia,k. in lsos
aHb OVO m That again lninn.H D.. 4. .... -
made In the country by our own ciizens. and esn,si,Iv
tne = taoi,hm, nj founded by the American Fur Connsny
~ ,'si' ana,r the saeseious lead e Mr Astor. sta place
'e noun OF the olumbia river, which was theme.
named after him, with two similar e.,ablisbmen,, Al,
nuharea aod my niles higher up the river; and, finally,
me formal restoration in 1915 of Asturia twh,rh ~
oesn taken BY 4 part OF the BRUSH naval furcr i'm m,
war OF 1871 under a stipulation OF the treaty of p,ac.
winch provided that e all territories. places. ana p,ss,,.
slons' taken by either party from the other during the war
nou'a DC restored" la seeing our claims placed upon
s1eh tangible and solid grounds as these, with so much
eieafoess' and force, The public Judgment was fortified in
IN honest conviction OF our right TO the extent Ia VIII Oh
thea grounds fairly carried Il. Candid and rea.r,i,. ~
ieit, too, that a tide thurs sustained was founded IN = ;r.,
anu SOUND pr'ncipIe-ihs actual and permanent incorpor,-
10 u our own labor and enterprise with the subi.et We
eIllmec-'he principle To which property itself 80. %
origin AM Institution. There is nothing fanciful arbitrary
eIhs'rHe,'Ve' s~ymbolicsl, IN a tide so derived. No monen
'ary saying OF mass-no trAnsitory rearing of crosse. ~,
some desolate and Abandoned shorc-to stand in len az ~.
tiai and bona hide appropriation, TO give title to vas, region.
and even continents by mere idle mockeries. and Ia nl,y
-SaAuh M enterprise oil all. the feat of
mankint.
The rtle, however. thus clearly established in the ,
mehto Mr. calhoun, II must be borne IN mind. il no, ,
tte o the tpAoie OF Oregon. It's a title. as he himself
descnbeslt, ''to the portion u the terri.ory drained hy ,ha
columbia river and It's tributaries" The whole of Ors,on
a : now understood, eomprehends the entire country from
Tue Rocky Mountains Ia the Pacific, which lies betv cen
The ~ deg. and the 81 deg. 4Om. of north latitude IT..
Columbia river enters the oce N n little above the 46,h de-
gree OF north latitude. Its course for some hundred mil,
nom mo ocean Is nearly due east end west. sod then ON.
81 ITS principal branches bears, in its upward course !, IN,
sou'hws'', having It's source near the i2d deg of norm
Iau'uoe' WINE the other branch bears TO tine n,uh and
northeast, having its source very far IN the interior. and IL
Is said near the So deg. OF north latitude. The En-, ~
hr.CAlhounis view Of our title, then, would be- TO g,y, M.
large extent al iRIaHd country, corresponding with IN.
ossin oil the Columbia and its tributaries. with such n linn.
tied and reasonable portion of the eOa,f above and Ill.,
the mouth OF the river as might be considered f,irly apnur
tenant To the ownership OF the mouth. A large portion of
me coast between the ~ and 81 deg. 4Om. of north lari.
inde' and all the t.Isnd country north aud east OF the val.
ley oil The Columbia, and lying between that valley and The
sea- ad extending thence to the 81 deg. 4Om. OF N nth ia.
ttude, would not DO embraced by this title. T., make
out, then, "thc clear and unauestion.bIe ryh, i, IN. ,,hoI.
o. oregon" which was proclaimed by the Baltimore Con.
vention, and adopted as u part OF its creed by the Pres dent.
u became necessary 10 insist upon other and less tenabio
views" i our title. Accordingly, the President Informs Us.
la ils message. =. the opening OF Congress, that 81. Ans
direction our tide 60 the Ioh9Le Oregon territory was as.-It.
co. aho' Us Is believed, maintained by ir~refugabl= facts ard
arguments"
This task was. OF eourse, TO be performed by Mr.. Bueh.
anan, and has doubtless been executed with all the inp,nui
~ alu Aoliy ~hlch the nature OF the case admitted But
l may be permitted to say, with all nv sentiments Of Der.
sonal regard tor that gentlemen, that plain psopl. i'm Nh,
county, on reading his two long and elaborate letters to
Mr. Pakenhsm, we're not a little startled 10 find that his r
gument, In asserting an absolute aud exclusive sOyereignty
N Spain over to whole territory OF Oregon preyious 10 The
FLORIDA treaty OF 1919. utterly demolished. IL true, the whole
iaor'e OF Our mento'ious lille built up by the energy, enter.
Prise, ana Iabors OF our own citizens, and which they had
seen conclusively established. as they thought. by tbe
argument Of Mr.. Calhoun. The treaty Of 1919 nhe, "a
the boundary line between the United States
west of line MlaaIssInnt and IL he, G,..,l 49, r
Mexico, along the Sabine rvor add other specified lin ,
and courses. up to the source 81 tho Arkansas, in latitude
42o north, and thence by that parallel OF latitude to the Pa.
cihc ocean, contains a clause OF mutual remuneration in
which his Catholic Maiest ~, on his part. renouness and
cedes Ia the United States I'LL his rights. claima. and ara
tensions 10 any territories east and north Of The above de-
scrbed line" It's ihese vague 'nghts, claims, and preten.
sionr,' derived from Spain in 1919, which, Mr.. Buchansp's
argument asserts, give Us a good utlc TO the whole of Ore
gon. He, therefore. msRnifes and eHalts the Spanish title
with oil the force OF language he can employ, without seom-
ing to be at al conscious, in the zeal Of the m ,ment Of
the suicidal effect Of his argument on the true Amrrle n
uue, derived from the we'll atiested achievements Of our
own citizens. but people IN the country take those thi ,gH
a little more cOony. They could not help saying to them-
selves, II the Spanish title were Of that high, absolute. aod
imposing character which Mr.. Buchanan represents IL 10
have been, then all the acts Of our countrymen and Govern.
ment on which We hive hitherto so confidently relied as
constituting an improbable title for us-the hardy and
successful adventure Of Capt Gay-ths noble expedition
OF Lewis and Clark, Get on foot by our own Government
the settlements made in the territory by our enierprising
citizons-all these were bot lnwless violations Of the rights
OF another Power, which could not give US the slightest
Of claim. hut exhibit us to the world in tho odiou,
character Of laud pirates.
Thinking men, too, became curious to know on what
foundation tins exclusive aud oyefsbBdowing ule to vast
unsettled regions, which was - much dwell upon BY Mr.
Buchanan, could repose. They turned with easencsa
therefore, to his second letter, In which he undertakes 10
trace tho origin and yndicaie The legitimacy Of The Spanish
title. lie gives a long account Of the voyages Of Spanish
havigaiots, beginning two and three hundred hears ago.
some OF them OF disPuted authenticity, aud one Of them.
oi lead ng Importance, treated as fabulous by our ncRonn-
tor IN 1861 and tells Ne that ono navigator landed and
peht on shore htsueh a place. another anchored In a GER
tuin hSrbof, and, finally, that others went through the pre-
scrbed ceremony OF taking possession, NJ IL was called. of
the county IN the name Of heir sovereign, by celebrating
mass and erecting crosses with inscriptions. And here thu
st1y undS. No actual occupancy, no settlements made
any where, no real permanent bona hde appropriation Of
the county. such NJ has always been held necessary 10
the inehOaro title derived from discovery. In
the absoteo q oil such scts, the people, who appreciate
more ihan { rm, have not been able to compre-
hond how tho 'ayng Of mass aud 'oting up 81 erOsscs. aud
then abandoning the country, can form an ehsctual taking
procession OF u any more than the celebrated achievement