Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1846-01-16
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/, The avowed purpose of Witnessing such res'o-
ration. The undersigned knows not Whe'nel
any new understanding took place between a,.e
British and Spanish Governments on inis suu-
;ec, but one fact is placed beyond all douo''
mar the Standards continued in undistnroed pos
sion of Nootka Sound until The year IT'D, when
thew voluntarily abandoned The place Urea.
Britain has never al any time since occuPieu ,''
or any other position on VancouVels is.a nia.,
Thus on the score oil elmer discose'yi ,ha verv
ton or nossesson this island seems 10 be the very
last norton of the territory in dispute 10 "nich
she can assert just claim. CO.. ,.,o
In he mean time, the United States were
proceeding with the discoveries when selveu NV, ~
romne,e and confirm the Spanish American u'le
10 the whole of the disputed territory:
Capt. Robert Gray, in June, ICY, 10 'pe s,oop
Washington, first explored the whoie ia''e'"
coast of Queen Charlotte's Island.
eod dn no an,nmn OF The same year, Capt. John
notwithstanding in the mean time SURRENDERED
the command of The Columbia 10 Capt. Gray
sailed as has been already stated, IN me scoop
washington. entirely through the slrailso ruca.
In 1871 Capt. Gray returned TO the Nortn "a,
c;6c in the Columbia; and in the summer OIL
Thai wear examined many OF The iniets anu pas
sapes between The 54th and 56th degrees OF ldu-
ude. which the undersigned considers unne'
cessary to specify 10, ,..,,,,.red ard
On Inc I'm Oh Mdl, iis~J ~
entered Bulfnchs harhor, where ne remained a'
ancbor three DAYS trading with the Indians.
ON the llth Of May, 1872, Captain Gray en-,
,ercd The mouth of the Columbia, and competed
The discovery of that great river. MS river id"
hsen iono sought in vain by former navisators.
Ro,b Meares and Vancouver, after examination,
Mad denied its existence. Thus is The world 10 m
debred 10 the enterprise, perseverance, anu i'eiil-
pence of an American captain Oh trauinS YES
sci for their first knowledge OF this, the greatest
river on The Western coast oil America-a lver
whose head springs flow from The goIses OF lns
| Rocky mountains, and whose branches extend
from The 42d 10 The SD parallels OF latitude
| This was the last and most important discovery
| on the coast and has perpeIuated Inc name OF
Robert GRAY. in all future time, This great river
will bear the name OF his vessel.
his lrne that Buno Hecela, in the year l7lo,
had been opposite The bay of Columbia; an The
| currents and eddies OF the water caused nm, as
he remarks, 10 believe that This was the mouth oil
some great river, or OF some passage 10 another
sea-" and his opinion seems decidedly 10 nave
been that this was the opening OF The strait dis
| covered BY Juan de Fuca in 1892. To use his
Dan language: Notwithstanding the great dill
| ference between The position OF This bay and The
massage mentioned by de Fuca, have little DIT.
| fcully in conceiving that they NAV be The same
having observed equal greater differences in The
attitudes Of other capes and ports on inns coast as
| shall show al its proper time; and III all casts
The attitudes thus assigned are higher than The real
ones"
Heceta from his own declaration, had never
entered the Columbia; and ne was in doubt
whether The opening was The mouth OF a river or
| an arm oil the sea; and subsequent examinations
the coast bv other navigaiors had rendered The
opinion universal that no such river existed when
! GRAY first bore the American flag across its bar,
sailed up its channel for twenty-five miles, and
remained in The river nine days, trading with The
! Indians.
The British penipo'entiary attempts 10 depre-
ciae the yalne 10 the United States Of Gray sdis-
covery, because his ship, Qhe Columbia,) was
trading. and not q. national vessel. As he fur
nishes no reason for this distinction, The under
| signed will confne himself 10 The remark that
merchant vessel bears the flag oil her country al
| her masthead and continues under lis Iurlsdc-
ton and protection, in the same manner as though
she had been commissioned tor the express pur-
pose olmaking discoveries Besides, beyond all
doubts. this discovery was made by Gray; and 10
what nation could the benefit OF ii belong, unless
il be 10 the United States? Certainly not 10 Great
Britain. And tito Spain, the United States are
now her representative.
Nor does the undersigned perceive in what
manner The value of this great discovery can be
lessened by The fact that it was first published 10
| the world through the journal OF captain van
ccuver, British authority On The contrary, lis
AUTHENTICITY being thus acknowledged by the par
~ having an adverse interest, is more firmly es
tabshed than if il had been first published in the
| United States.
| From careful examination and review oil The
subject the undersigned ventures The assertion
that 10 Spain and the United Stalas belong all The
merit of the discovery of the Northwest coast OF
| America South of the Russian line, not spot OF
which, unless it may have been the shores OF some
OF the interior bays and inlcts, after The entrance
10 them had been known, was ever beheld by Bri-
fish subjects, until after il had been seen or touch
ed by Spaniard or an American. Spain pro-
ceeded in this work Of discovery, not as means
oil acquiring tile, but for The purpose OF exam
ming and surveying territory 10 which she be-
lieyed she had an incon;estable right. This title
| had been sanctioned for centuries by The acknow-
| ledgment or acuuiescence OF all the European
movers. The United States alone could have
disputed this title, and that only 10 the extent Of
the region watered by The Columbia. The Spa
nish and American titles, now united by The Flo
rida treaty, cannot be Justly resisted by Great Bri
tain. Considered together, they constitute per-
fee, title TO the whole territory in dispute, ever
since the 1Ilh May, 1872, when Captain Gray
passed the bar at the mouth OF The Columbia,
| which he had observed in August, lISS.
The undersigned will now proceed TO show that
this title oil The United States, al least 10 The pos
session OF the territory al the mouth OF the Co
Iumbia, has been acknowledged by the most So
lemn and unequivoca acts OF the British Go
vernment.
After the purchase of Louisiana from France
he Government of the United States fitted oul n
eynedition under Messrs Lewis and Clarke
who in 1905, first explored The Columbia, IRON
lis source 10 its mouth, preparatory 10 The occu-
nation OF the territory by the United States.
In 1911. the settlement al Astoria was made by
,be Americans near the mouth OF the river, and
ralotber posts were established in The Interior
along lis banks. The war OF 1872, between
Great Britain and the United States, thus found
The latter in peaceable possession OF that region
Astoria was captured by Great Britain tnTins
This war. The Treaty of Peace concluded al
Client in December, 1914, provided that "all ter
ritory places, and possessions whatsoever, taken
by either party from The other, during The war,
&c &C. "shall be restored without delay" In
obedience 10 the provisions OF this Treaty, Great
Britain restored Astoria 10 the United States; and
thus admitted in the most solemn manner, not
only that il had been an American territory or
possession al the commencement OF The war but
tina, il had be n captured BY British arms during
lis continuance II is nov TOO late 10 sainsay or
r1plan away these facts. Both the Treaty Of
Client. and The acts of the British Government
under it, disprove the allegations of the British
Plenipoleniary, that Astoria passed "into British
hands by The voluntary act of the persons IN
charge of it," and shat il was restored 10 The
United States in 1918 with certain well-aurhenli-
Gated reservations.
In reply 10 the first oil these allegations, il IS
true that the agents of the (American) Pacific
Fur Company, before the capture of Astoria, on
the 10Th October, 1913, had transferred all that
they could transferable private property OF The
company-to the (British) Northwest Company;
bul ii will scarcely be commended that such ar
rangemen could impair the sovereign rights OF
the United States 10 the territory. Accordingly
the American flag still kept flying over The
fort until the LIST December, 1919, when it was
captured By his Majesly's sloop-of-war Rackoon
and the British flag was then substituted.
5 That it was nc. restored to The United States
"wilh certain we'll authenticated rescrya ions,
fully appears from the Act Of restoration itself