New-York daily tribune., 1846-01-17
The Right of the Oregon Cnse-The Claims OF
Each Party-yvar Considered.


Coneluded
The settlement of Astoria will rot detan us long.
1t was q mere trading establishment, formed Tor
purposes OF commerce, and not as permanent abode
for men. or the commencement OF a colony Mr..
FORSYTH in n report Congress. in S3s, calls II
trading establishment and II has always been
thus denomina,ed Now Mr.. Gallatn, in the Ore
gon negotiation in 527 not only admitted, but labored
with grea; earnesuess 10 prove that factories
established for the purpose OF traffic and not follow
ed by actual cultivation, give no te. The whole
basis OF his argument is, that only actual colonies
imply exclusive sovereignty. The British formed
trading establishment al Nootka Sound in 1888;
Lieutenant Meercs erected house there, cleared
out shipyard, and built vessel-quite much as
was done at Astoria. The Spaniards captured the
place the next year; but its restoration was supu
lated in the Nooika convention, and it restored
TO Vancouver in 1892 though il was Immediately
abandoned. Thus It's history affords curious par
allel IN every respect TO that OF Mr. Asor estsb-
ishment. To dwell upon the settlement of Astoria
then, would be fatal 10 our claim for 1t would be an
admission that England had a good title 10 the
whole region around Nootka Sound, IN latitude 49,
/ four years before Gray entered Columbia river.
! We have but one other remark 10 make upon this
subject. but it is applicable TO all the grounds upon
which the American claim 10 Oregon is supported
disputed title. whether II rests on discovery, set
tleinent contiguty is entirely indefinite IN re-
spect the limits of the country claimed. If the
subject of dispute be an island indeed, OF moderate
magnitude, then discovery settlement OF any por
ton OF il constitutes good title 10 the whole But
when the land in question is only small part OF
continent. is impossible 10 tel where the title
ends. Discoveries and settlements are usually
made on the seacoast; how far do they extend in
land? Not surely over the whole breadth OF the
continent. England, indeed, tried TO establish this
doctrine for the benefit oil her colonies on the East
ern coast Of North America bat she was obliged
10 abandon it. and 10 limit them on the West by the
Mississippi river; and the principle has been gene
rally abandoned. 1t we now attempt to enforce It,
we must in consistency demand belt OF country
/ between 49o and 54o 40, extending East OF the
/ Rocky Mountains, through tue heart of the British
| possessions 10 the Atlantic Ocean. This may seem
! extravagant; but it is this principle that our
whole claim 10 Oregon rests, so far as II derived
/ from The possession of Louisiana And the princi-
/ pie may be turned against us; If Louisiana gives
title TO the Pacific Coast South OF i91, the Hud-
! sons Bay possessions give England title 10 the
! same coast North of that parallel
! Does our claim, then, cover the whole region
| drained by the Columbia and its tributaries? But
this is not the whole of Oregon considerable
portion of the territory discharges its waters direct
ly into the ocean through the Klamet, the Umpqua,
the Chickeees and the Salmon, into the straits OF
Juan de Fuca by Fraser's river. And to the region
thus drained, which includes much of the most val
liable land in Oregon, the discovery OF Gray, the
! expedition of Lewis and Clarke and the settlement
! of Astoria afford not the shadow of q title.
I But enough of this dry discussion Of claims,
! which has been drawn much longer than we
! bad intended We have not sought TO disprovc the
American title TO Oregon but only 10 show that 1t is
necessarily qualified ndeierminaie, and imperfect;
and this has been proved conclusivev, that any
who shall hereafter declare that this title
is perfect and unquestonable, will afford good rea
doubt either his soundness of mind his hon
csty. That the United States have rights in Ore
gon equal in every respect to the British rights is
known by the full and explicit admission of Eng
land herself; and thus have all the needed
ground Tor compromise, and an equitable division
! OF the territory. Messrs. Huskisson and Adding
ton, III their official statement made in 1897, which
we have already quoted, held the following Ian
guage:
The rights of Great Britain are recorded and defined
in the convention of 1880; thev embrace the right to
navigate e waters OF those countries TO settle III and
over part OF them and tn trade with the Inhabitants
and occupers ofthe These rights have been peace
ably ever since the date of that that
is for aperiod ofneary forty years Under that conven
ton, valuable British interests have grown up in those
countries is admitted that the United States possess the
rights although they have been exercised by them
only single instance, and have not since the year
1873 been exercised ALL but beyond those rights they
possess none.'
Great BrlRin, as we have said now offers TO eX-
change her partial title TO the whole for an exclu
sve title TO part and only the terms OF the dlvls
ion remain To be adjusted. The ollvebranch is held
out, il remains TO be seen whether we will reject
it, and prefer war. To one who has not studied
with some attention the records of as 10
be aware into what acts OF folly and wickedness
country may be plunged by the ambitious and self
seeking spirit OF its pocians acting on the milan
mabe passions of n mob, II may seem utterly un
worthy OF belief that great nations should 20 to
war with each other about such worthless posses
sions He will say, with Englands great morallst
that to charge any men with such madness aP
proaches 10 en- accusation defeated by It's own in
| credibity' But let him open the pages of history
aud learn do more justice 10 the extent OF human
foolishness. Twice in the latter half of the last cen
| tury was England on the very brink OF q war with
| Spain, once about this very Oregon and once about
cluster of frighuy bleak and barren islands that
! still remais unoccupied, somewhere in the neigh
| borhoed of the south pole Each time Spain, learn
F! ing wisdom from lis weakness, shrank from the
contest and England having expended millions on
armament, and thus vindicated the national hon
or Quilted her threatening attitude, and rested on
her laurels in both instances leaving the disputed
title Just much in doubt ever Ii the United
States do not cheat her out OF the opportunity she
Is capable OF acting quite toolishly once again,
and even OF adding TO the absurdity by actually
commencing destructive of her own lnte-
rests as those of her antagonist She is pledged TO
do so. by the public faith granted the Hudsons
Bay Company. and by the solemn declarations OF
her ministers in Parliament We have no heart to
estimate the nature and probable consequences OF
war begun with such motives, and prosecuted with
all the bitterness and pertinacity which have char
! acterized our former contests with England.
On the affair Of the Falkland Islands, TO which we
have here alluded. DR.. Johnson wrote pamphlet
in I'll, when the public excitement on the subject
was at its hight aud as many OF his ponderous and
majestic sentences are literally applicable to the
| present emergency, will place few OF them be-
fore our readers. leaving it for them 10 Judge whe
ther they aptiy describe the conduct oil Great
Britain or of the United States. And first, we will
give his computation of the profit which England
derived from thus pushing the affair TO extremlties
1--WE have. by obtaining disavowai OF Buccareis
expedition and restitution OF our settlement MAINTAIN
cd the honor of the crown, and the superiority OF our
| influence Beyond this. what have we acquired: What
bu, bleak and gloomy solitude, an island thrown aside
from human use stormy in Winter and barren IN sum
ner: an island which the southern savases have
dicnifed with habitaon where sarr son must be Kept
state that contemplsles with envy the exies OF sioe
OF which the expense will be perpetual ana tue use
only occasional and which, If fortuhe smile upon our
abors mar become nest of smuggers in peace ana IN
the refuge BUCCANEERS To a! this the gov
has ansatiOn. for The Island has