The daily union., 1846-09-30

the line Of the ryer,) shall be free and Open.n
Nov, sir, no one knows the number and eXtenl
Of roads thus laid open TO foreigners within our ter
ritory. have travelled along portage paths In the
northwest some miles 10 length, and which, froG.
the physical conformation OF the country len at con
siderable distance, the streams whose interrupted
navigation rendered necessary this tedious mode OF
transportation. When boat reaches one OF these
Impediments, il is taken from the water, and, 10,
sether with its lading carried upon the shoulders
Of the crew to n0tgable point In the rVer, and
there again committed 10 the stream. The goods
formed into packages, adapted 20 this labor, and
may thus he concealed or disposed OF, with hIue
rIsk Of detection, and IN contempt Of revenue laws
ind revenue officers. The senator from Missouri
sees in the kind OF vessels to be used IN this nayi
CATION further restriction Of IL. FOI myself, SEE
the greater danger Those portages running lnto
the country, and travelled by bands Of foreign tra-
ders, carrying on their backs the goods destined foT
IN extensive trade, will furnish stations for SNUG
yng which no vigilance can prevent or detect
This Terty contains supuatIons which grant a.,
unknown portion ofhe country, as far down as 40
o British subjects, degrees south Of our line OF
,igh The lhIrd and fourth articles are devoted to
lnIs object.
The PRACTICAL difficulty we now experience s this
hat we know nothing Of The number, extent, pos
IOn, or value of these claims. Should We raufy
Ills treaty to-day, and be asked on leaving the CaPl-
Ol, how much Of our own teHItOry We had eede ,
Jhere is not OF Us could answer whelher i've ~
1--WE millions Of acres Sensible Of his absence of -
knowledge, We have, indeed, passed a resolution
and direct It's immediate uansm ssOn TO the Pres-
leni, asking such information as msy be IN his pos
session. and will enable US 20 discharge our duirs
GIIh at any rate con njeetural estimate of what We
ave, ana what ws retain. But we h0d fifteen sena.
tOTs voting against this call and there indications
that we shall proceed TO the final contamination OF
our labor, without awaiting the answer The mos
We know, and It 10 not much, comes from Lord Ab-
erdeen. Were the sourcs impartial sIill the inior'
nation Is too vague for discreet action Bat, coming
It does, from the organ Of the Brush government,
se may well receive II with caution, npon genera
principles, and without any Offensive Impuaton.
Lord Aberdeen told Nj. McLAne that "the British
srulements between the Columbia river and the
4gIh parallel are not believed TO be numerous, eon
sstlng, as he supposes, Of few familles, and tive
three forts and stations" South Of the Colum-
bla, we have no information, positive or conectu.
raj, though II Is understood, that the late the
present governor Of the Hudson Bay Company
holds ~ his own right one Of the best posIons IL
the country | presume this lucky example has
found or made many followers.
Nor does the treaty define me uses TO which
these British forts upon our soil may be put, any
more than their number. suppose they are hard.
y desIgned to project the American flag.
The Senator from Indiana, with one OF those
flashes Of true eloquence, which illuminate, while
they convince, has happily described the position
Ju NHiCH Nils utall VIII Ndhc ub lhblcau OF DciHk
joint occupants ofIhe whole country as we now are,
we shall cede the northern portion Of 4, and become
Joint occupants Of the southern potion
The farms, &c, Of the Puget land agricultural
association u be- confirmed" The tenure, ther.-
fore, OF this property IS un1uestionable.
The possessory rights Of the Hudson Bay
Company, and OF all other British subjects occupy
ing land whether north or south Of the Columbia
rtyer are 10 be respected" In the former class o
cases that Of the Pugets land agricultural associa-
uon, the British government, ! presume, had given
niuatory uIles, which we are to confirm; while in
the latter the rights derived from occupation and
thence the difference IN the phraseoogy.
What will be the effect Of this stipulation to ere
spect" these "possessory rights" THIS inquiry
has been made, and the true answer is important
We know the object Of the Bhtsh government and
he construction hey wall put upon this obligation
Our minister has told much. "a perpetual
lItle" TO all British occupants. Mr. McLane sup.
posed that tins claim would be limited the coun-
try between the Columbia river and the 49lh par
ael; but # such was at first the intention, it has
been abandoned, and the provision now covers the
whole "terriory."
"Possessory rights shall be respected" This is
a treaty between two great nations We are told
by an honorable senator, that the language OF
the article is "technical and precise" and that
It's object tcouLd seem 10 be for The quiet Of
The company and other British subjects, till they ean
remope. This presumed motive of the British gov
ernnent II the report OF our minis
ter; and the characteristic of technical precision is
hardly supported by the words "farms lands and
other property" descriptive of the class Of cases
and the respect Of possessory rights applied to
another. "Possessory rights shall be respected -
Not for to-day, nor for tomorrow, till The oirn.
sys rtmOUs; but indefinitely; and we, who are
imposing the obligation upon ourselves, must
expect to have it construed most strongly against
u.s. II, at any time, these "possessory rights
are terminated by grants to others, they will
be no longer respected" )" and we fix the dura-
tion Of AN obligation, left without limitation in the
treaty" THE first words of the article" Culture
appToprlaton,) says the senator from Missouri
"admt our right 10 dispose Of these possessions u
&c The treaty says: an the future appropriation
| of the territory, &c the possessory rights &c.
shall be respected" Certainly, they admit il; but
unfortunately for the exposition, which the senator
would give of them it is precisely in the act of ap
preparation, that these rights to be respected >
rhe British government undoubtedly knew that be-
fore the land was sold, agreeably to policy, &C
tual settlers would be undisturbed. So far, there
fore, is this stipulation from seeking to provide
short time for the occupants to remove the change
OF government, that it may not come into operation
for some years, and cannot for a considerable time
And when we appropriate" the land, how are we to
redeem this obligation to "respect" the possessory
| rights of the occupants, but by converting these
| rights into actual titlesi We canno, convey tbe
lands to anybody else, and if we hold them we mus
hold them lnoenntey, leaving the occupants IN
possession, and with their rights ''respectedn
system Of policy at war with our practce and ou
institutions. As 10 the limitation OF "scventeer
years" it is imposed by the senator from Missouri
and not by the treaty. find no ''new licensed com
pany" there, nor any "od' one. The assurance il
given, IN the one case, 10 the "Hudson Bay Com.
pany," and in the other to aIl British SUBJECTS ,
interested, and equally in both cases, without re-
| stricton, as to duration and extent,
But there is still another stipulation liable To ser
Gus objections. 1t is the proviso the first article
That article, after establishing boundary upon The
parallel Of 49o from the mountains TO The sea, in III,
Straits of Fuca adds, provided, however, that tht
| navigation of the whole of the Rad channel anc
straits, south Of the 49h parallel Of north latitude
remain free and oLen to both parties "
| Vancouver's island is separated from the cont
nent by an arm of the sea about two hundred anC
fifty miles in extent, different portions of which ar,
known by different names. One part is called IN,
Straits of Fuca another the Canal of AFRO, onorhe
the Gulf of Georgia, and fourth Queen Charlotte.
| sound. This channel of communication sometime,
spreads into broad bays, and then into mar
| row straits. But broader narrower, IL runs from
to sea, and be taken from the great mas,
/