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

2
1 relations with Engiand-beng the opening speech
! pending the Oregon notice.
tcoScLuDED.l
Al length the hour for action had arrived. Lord
AshbuTIOn came TO the capital. On our part, the
wise man Of the East, Mr.. WEBSTER, then in the
State Department, was Commissioned by the Presi-
dent cut the State Of Maine in two and To deliver
over to her Majesiy's minister such portion as her
Majesty desired. The process and the form Of de-
livery was 10 be styled negotiation in order that il
might seem TO the world that secretary had at
least talked some little about the matter before he
agreed TO the surrender. HIS lordshp and our sec
| rotary were not strangers. They had met in Lon
don before. ''rhey knew each other" "bOth for
good and ILL.," They knew each others objects, and
dispositions, and had, therefore, no difficulty in
agreeing mol 10 keep protocol, Vrsn memoranda Of
! the transactions, upon which they we're about TO
enter. This point being settled, they proceeded.
! But, inasmuch as it had been the policy Of Eng
land first to get up panic the United States,
that the mission might come with the greater effect,
as being the only means Of maintaining peace, II
necessary to the success of her duplleity that
the minister should, at the oisel Of the negotiation,
profess to have full po1srs TO settle all the outstand
ing questions of dispute between the two countries
This profession was necessary, as the mission was
declared 10 be mission Of peace; and because, II
part only OF the questions were settled, equally dan
gerous causes Of war might remain in the balance.
Lord Ashburton DID, therefore, in his first note TO
make this profession Of full powers in the following
clear and emphatic language:
The very friendly and cordial reception given BY you
sir well as BY all the authorities Of your government TO
the that mission here by sovereign has
been determined BY unfsigned desire ssis rails and oil
Other questions Of difference between principle. Of
bA ofhs failure Of our endeayors applied 18th sincerity
! to this purpose"
! These full pO,Osrs thus professed by the British
minister, were fully recognised by Mr.. Webster, in
aaE a. al -.
Washington, June II, 1912, and which opens with
the following words
Lord Ashbaron having been charged BY the Qucens
government with Juh P0TsrS 10 nsgOtidts and ,ss al
And here, sir, let il again be remembered that the
Questions Of difference" these 'matters in discus
slon," were five IN number: the Maine bounda
ry," the Oregon the Creole" the Caroline ="
and the "impressment and right Of search; the sec.
ond of which presented a no less dangerous cause
Of quarrel than the first, and the last Of all be-
ing the very same question out Of which the former
war between the two countries had grown. Well,
| sir, Lord Ashburton had come avowedly on mis-
sion Of peace; and it to that great object
by the adjustment of oil these questions that he at
the outset Of the negotiations, professed to have the
amplest powers. Were these all settledl No. sir.
But, on the contrary, every question evaded
and thrown out Of the negotiation except the single
question Of the Maine boundary and that, too,
whilst another matter-the African squadron-a
matter wholly alien to the professed business of his
mission, and sbout which there never had been, nor
ever could be, any dispute-was made part Of the
treaty, at the instance Of the British minister. Why
was this' Why was it that this minister Of peace,
with full powers to settle ALL eft unsettled four Of the
FIVE questions-two equally pregnant with causes of
war; Was It because our government was unwilling
to settle everything, and thus dispe every cloud
that overhung the fuurei No. sir. For in the cor
respondence il appears that Mr.. Webster proJsssed
his readiness to settle all because he knew that the
American people were fully aware that their interests
demanded that all, or none of those difficulties
| should be settled at the same time. This a
cret known also to England, and therefore Lord
Ashburton, in accordance with the perhdious policy
of his government, resolved that, in the end but
question should be settled whilst protesting in he
| beginning, the power and readiness TO settle all
When, therefore, he had obtained of Mr.. Webster
surrender of as much Of the ate Of Maine as Eng
| land thought proper to demand and an agreement
that large part Of our navy should be withdrawn
from the protection OF our own shores and, at the
Of half million of dollars annually to our peo
ple sent to upon the coast of Africa he sudden
ly stopped, laid down his pen, threw himself back
! in his chair, and said, 81 am done"
| Done my lord? | am done. My lord, the Gre
ole" o, in regard to that reflection we will let
that stand over. But, my lord, the "Caroline d"
True, true, yes, well, so, suppose we just let that
pass. The 'impressment and right of search" my
lord. Indeed, that is complicated My lord, the
Oregon territory. All! in regard all these things,
| have no pOtcers. No powers, my lordi None.
| Such, Mr.. President, we may imagine, from the
correspondence TO have been the Of this nego
tiation; such the beginning, progress, and end
Of this miserable farce-this great mission of hui
| mainly and peace--a mission, whose professea OBJ
iect was, to remove all causes of that terrible var
which we were assured would otherwise break upon
the world and put to hazard the whole system of
civilization. 1t was this mission that ended in the
| IF hx,a 10 arl
all she demanded, and the postponement Of at least
too others, equally fruitful in causes of quarrel and
of war. The treaty was sent TO the Senate. The
war panic here induced its ratification. Lord Ash
burton put it into his portfolio, and FASTENED to the
presence Of her Majesty, with the consciousness
of having, during single campaign of six months
IN our capital unaided by anything that belongs TO
an army, conquered for England more Of our terri
tory than all her arms could have conquered in q
century. The queen smiled, and ratified the treaty
She had cut piece of our territory out of the side OF
our constiution-not, indeed, by the sword but by
the yet sharper edge Of negotiation Her ministers
and statesmen, in full Parliament assembled then
proudly exulted in the display Of map, marked by
the hand of an English king, to prove that they had
obtained, without price, without blood, by the
means of bullying negotiation, territory from u.s.
to no one inch Of which had she any right whatev-
err. The fact went forth to the world. The war
panic---the instrument with which England had
worked-was found 10 have been a miserable hum
bug. The men who, on this side OF the Atlantic,
had been her agents in getting it up, sought
their conduct by impudently declaring that the
| territory surrendered was Of little or no value.
Once more | desire the Senate to remember that
am seeking TO prove Engand's policy TO be the set
Element Of but difficulty at time, the ad ourn-
ment Of all others to the future and the resort to
war panic in every instance as the best means Of
torting concessions from u.s. With the same view,
| proceed.
The Ashburton treaty was signed, in this capital,
on the ninth of august and ratified in London on
the thirteenth Of October eighteen hundred and forty
tco. BY that treaty England had secured part Of
Maine. That object was obtaincd--that work done
What next Why, sir, on the fra day after the rat
6caton Of the treaty which gave her that territory
she instructed Mr.. Fox, her then minister at Wash
| ngton, TO commence negotiations with govern
ment about the Oregon territory and in those
rery Instructions, Lord .fbrdetn tells Mr., For
thai Lord .9shbuton had been =" furnished rih
specific and detailed Instructions sih respect 10
the treatment Of this point Of difference beirstn the
fipo gorernmentsthaf Is, the Oregon question: Here
them il seems that Lord Ashburton refused to settle