Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1846-02-26
(Cowtinusd from frS page.)

ttN cOuetSN WIN uuNNtol INV, It5t Inv DfNs
Ish cvtoti"s WITH population al near
two msRons, saN'ld be confined 10 the nar-
ruw belt ~ hand between the Atlantic aud
the Allegheny Mountains, and That the right
derived from IN" discOvcry ot the msln rive,
shonld be carried 10 such an extent a. 10
allow the French colonies, with a popula,'on
of fifty Thousand, righlfully ,o c.alm the
whole valley al the Mississippi. The con
test was decided by the sw"rd. BY 'i'e ir"a.
" of peace OF 1864, the Mississippi, with iiH
exception Of New Orleans and It's immediate
vicinity. was made the bo"n1nry. The
French not only los, NIL ,ha' par, VI The valley
which lay eas, of that river, bat they were
compelled to cedc Canada 10 Great Britain.
II may, however, happen that all The vurl
ons claims from which q title may be derived +.
instead Of pertaining 10 several Pow ers, aud
giving rise 10 conflicting pre'ensmns, are
united and righ,fully belong to one naiion.-
This union. il entire, may justly he consider
r1 ~ giving = complete and exclusive title Ia
the sovereignty Of that part VI the country
embraced by such united claims.
The position assumed by the British Gov-
ernmeni, that those various claims exclude
each other, and that the assertion ni one
iorblds an appeal 10 the other, ~ obv Iously
unttUuDc. All IIuI eau ~ rHN w tUut re-
spcct II, That IL any ope clam IL alone sntli
cieni ." establish complete aud ind, puia-
bic title, an appeal to Others il super 1uous.
Tins far, and no farther, can the objection
b" maintained. The argument on the part
oi the United States in reality was. that The
government considered the title derived from
the ancien, exclusive Spanish claim az IN
d,spu,ahle but that. II this was denied, all
.l. 8 1, ,la
taken together constituted a complete ,itle.
or a, least TAR superior to any ,ha, could be-
sddnced on The part Of Great Britain.
II il not intended To enter into the me ri's
Of the question, which hns been completely
discussed, since the ubjec, of this paper l.
only To show lha, there remain nn both sides
dc5niable questions aud that therefore both
governments may, il 80 disposed. recede
from some of their prrtensions. without any
abandonment Of positive rights. md without
imrniring Of national honor md dignity.
Although Grea, Britain seems. IN this dis
cussion, 10 have relied almos, exclusively on
thc right derived from actual occupancy and
settlement. she cannot r. ject absolutely those
derived from othcr sources. She must admit
TINT both theory md practice, ,the claims de
rived fr"n prior discovery, from contigui,y, from
u
or of the mouth Of a river and OF iis course u
claim 10 III" whole country drained by such
river have all brrn recognised to certain
ih"nghno' well.dcfined extent, by oil the Euro
pcaD nati"ns claiming vnrous portions Of
America. And sh. cannot deny the facts. that
Us Mr. Greenhnw Justly cunclndes) the sea
shore had heen generally cxn,nioed from the
i2d.nnd mlnutely from the 45,h io The lS,h de-
NJ In, tL, 4
thu genera direction ofthc coast from :he 4eih
Z" The Ssh degree OF latitude ascertained. by
th- Spanish expeditions. in the years IVA
md 1875. of Perez, Hccein, and Bndrgary
Qiadra =; that the American Captain Gray
~as the frsi who. in 1899 entered into and
ss""r,sned the existence oi The River TO.
i0nrhia and the place where II rmptles into
the sea that. ptinr to that discovery. the
Spaniatd ilece,a was the first who had been
within tho bay. called Deception Bny by
M"nres. iatn which the river does empty ::
thai, Of the f,ur navigator- who had bccn in
that bay pr,Sr Ia Gray's final discovery, the
Spnniard nrro'u uno ,h- huri,uuu H,uy
~"r" th" Uuly .mes who had asserted that u
grrnt r,ver empiied itself INTO that bay, llec-
etn having even given name To- the river.
Isl. Rue. aud ih" entranc" having been ,lcSIg.
mated by his own name (Enscnnada d. flec.
81, whilst the two English nuviga' ors. Aienres
ard Vanconr"r, had hath concluded that M
large river had as mouth there that in the
year 1905, Lewis aud Clark were The first
who d, scended the river Columbia. from one
az U- prinripal western sources 10 i's mouth :;
that the htsi sctua! occupancy IN that quar-
tor was by Mr. Astor's company. on the 2il,
at March. 1871. thuagh Mr.. Thonp-op, the
asirnnomrr al the BrH.h Northwest cnm
pany who arrived at Astoria on the 18th Of
Infy, may have wintegcd on or near some
Dnrihcrn snurce at the river IN SO degrees
honh latitude that amongst the factories
established by that Amrricau company one
~as ,Iun'ed ~ the confluence of the Okana.
gan with the Columbia. ia about - degrees
"f ia'ind": that the AID degree Is the boun.
Diary west of the Stony Mnuntains, establish
cd by treaty between Spain. now Mexico.
aud III" United States tnat the 49tli degree
~ likewise the boundary. from the Lake uf
The Wo"ds to 'h" Stony Mountains establish.
cd by treaty between Gr"nt Britain and the
United States aud that therefore the right
of tho United States, which may be derived
from tho principle Of contiyuity or continuity,
embraces the territory west Of the Stony
Mountains contained betwcen the 42d and
49th degree of latitude.
Omiiting other considerations which apply
principally to the territory north ot Fucn's
Straits. whero the claims Of both parties are
aims, exclusively derived from :iirir rcspcc
tive discovrri's, including those of Spain. !,
pSy be nationally inferred from the preceding
e"umpra'ion that there remain various nues.
iiaas which mnst he cons sldered bv Grcni
Ersein ss being still doubtful aud debatabe,
and ihat sh" may therefore, without any
nb,ndonnicnt of positive rights. rcccdc from
the extreme preiensionS which she has nj
yanced 10 the discussion respecting q divi.
sion oi the territory. But, although conjcc.
lures may be formed. and the course pursued
BY the Government OF the United States may
hsye an influence on that which Great
Britain will adopt, it d0e| not belong to me
to discuss what the Government may or will
dn. This paper IL intended tor the American,
nnl not f"r the English public and h,y a,len
ton has been principally directed 10 those
p"i' which may be considered by the
C..'"d States as doubtful aud deba,,bir
II wss expressly stipulated that solhirg
rhriaiaoa ~ The conventions o, 1915 aud
iSl7 .hu ID b. construed 10 impair, Or in any
manner affect. lie claims which either Of the
contracting parties may have TO any purt OF
the country westward Of the Stony or Rocky