The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-03-12

gle gateway into the The snoweaPPsd Rocky noun
sins enclose il 10 the bound the
frozen desert the north aud sandy plains the south
ence each other In the cen. o. and then hoW
together into the ocean through gap in the mountain
whss the aud the colds Of winter are new
felt and where southern and northern diseases equal
~ UNKNOWN This Is the valley Of the Columbia-a coun
whose every advantage is crowned BY the advantages
OF position and conhgurston; by the unity Of all Its parts
tho iD4ccessiby Of its borders and its single ntrog
sion % s ssa such country Is formed for union wealth
and strength. IL have but capital and that will hs
Thebes but one commercial emporium aud that will be
Tyre queen Of cities. Such a country have one
shOs be American, that interest," SSs and that govern
meni republican Aeeuned and Infamous be the that
diyidss or slsnstes H."
This is the language of the senator from Missou-
n few years since, and TO every word Of il utter
hearty amen
Mr. President the spirit of resistance TO progress
whieh we witness here now, is as ancient as our
eouaty is old II has been seen at AN early day in
opposition TO the settlement OF Kentucky, struggling
10 coshne our republic without the Alleghanies; in
yehs1enl opposition to the purchase of Louisiana
and florida; in uneharitable efforts to repel Texas
But DIS last fury against Oregon is an infanticide
unusdhable and fendish than all its predeces-
sors, for Il feoniousy invokes the Hessian power
OF British tyranny TO block our path and huh US
from dc trail Of our destiny. Ii will prove the
worh 81 sysphus.
There were some positions taken by the distin-
guished senator from Delaware, Mr.. CLAYTON, !
in which find II impossible to concur lie sug
gested to the Senate that the question Of our title to
Oregon ought not to be made the subject of discus
sion IN open Senate; and indicated the propriey Of
Withholding the expression of our opinions on a
matter which might hereafter come before us con.
nectedwth a treaiy-to withhold all discussion I'M
al these galleries shall be cleared and these doors
closed In this sentiment | cannot concur. hold
that the Oregon question has become the property
Of the American people. Ii is in every mans
hlId "A
relation TO it's Oregon our own" lit is thsn
becomes US M open Senate 10 yndicate our right
TO 1t. There is mo cause which can more certainly
and htaly impair our Institutions, none that will
morespoedily insure their overthrow none that will
so asuredly produce anarchy, as the conviction in
the hearts Of the people that their pnblic author-
ties and their representatives want alike the energy
and he spirit 10 assert and defend the rights and
the honor Of the nation. IL is the opinion Of six
seventies Of the American people that Oregon is
oup--perhaps should rather say fye-seyenths, for
must leave out Of the estimate the commercial and
stock jobbing population Of our great cities along
the seaboard, great portion of whom are English
Subjects residing among us for the purpose OF traffic
and many others not now and not intending to be-
come American citizens; and they hold that if the
territory is ours, should assert our title to il and
take II. IL there ever was question earth which
demanded discussion before The great tribunal of the
public, II Is the question OF title 10 Oregon. More
than all Others 1t interests the people OF this coun-
try at this hour and than all others they have
the right TO know each and every step taken by
their government and their representatives. Let
the title to Oregon be argued here in the glare OF
day. before the bar Of the American people. Smother
il not, smother II not. The hour will be melancholy
in our history when a question like this, upon
which the people have passed in judgment, shall be
Withdrawn from public view for decision in &C.
eret and in darkness. should fear it as the brief
prelude to the entrance of some Caus Gracious in
this coasecraed chamber whose heart, big with the
fires Of freedom, and reused by a sense OF public
wrong, should impel him to trample upon the cher
ished forms, and the solemnity Of this body; by
simple change OF attitude, turning from the Conf
tum and that veneratcd chair to address the great
Forum without.
In such stake as this the people demand a hear
ing fit is ours, shall fear to avow it, lit is
Englands, we want it not. Here, here, and now, is
the place and the hour to discuss the title, that our
country may know, If a treaty should come, wheth-
90 her servants have sustained her interests and her
honor or abandoned them. ....
There another point in the remarks of the
honorable and distinguished senator, in which
could not concur. unite heartily with that senator
in the desire to put the country in more efficient
posture Of defence In all the conversations we have
had together on that subject our views and senti-
ments entirely agree. But | must utterly object to
having the power Of England held up in this body,
with view to act upon the nerves of the American
people.
The honorable senator has arraycd before us the
mighty naval power Of England, the number of her
ships Of war; her sailors, and her guns and the
paratively diminutive force present. | think a
close scrutiny would lessen the exhibit of her avail
able force, and increase that of ours but that is not
to my purpose at present. If that senator by this
intended to awe us into compromise by the surren-
der of our territory, it was certainly both timed
and ill-planned; that would better have become Sc
cret session. The idea of surrendering without an
effort because of the numerical superiority of the
enemy whether in guns men, is new to me in mil
itary history. admit that it is right and proper
to examine the force Of Great Britain, but at the
same time we ought not to forget undervalue our
own. The American people cannot be alarmed;
they are not to be awed by any such representa-
tons.
Were all the fleets of England gathered in one
body, their approach would create no terror in the
American heart. Our people remember that more
than sixty years ago, one small American frigate,
commanded by John Paul Jones, made its way
through her naves, to ravage England's coasts and
pillage her palaces, and returned in triumph. They
have not forgotten the names Of Decatur Hull Per-
ry, Porter, the Joneses, McDonough, Stewart, and
glorious host beside, who united to indomitablc
courage and lofty heroism burning love for their
country and its free and happy institutions. Though
England's guns were hundred to one, the heart Of
the nation would not tremble, while her eye was
the roll of these bright and undying names, and
her memory full of their deeds Of noble daring.
The honorable senator quoted to us the words of
Engand's model monarch when he was celebrating
the invasion of France II is plain the senator has
not learned his rules Of war from Harry the Fifth.
The senator did not quote far enough. For, as the
great dramatst tells us, when the king assured
by the archbishop, on whose learning he so greatly
relied that his title to France valid, that it was,
in word, "clear and unquestonable," what did he
dor Did he hesitate Did he pause and inquire,
"But where are my troopss-and where are my
ships'-and how many guns do they carry'-
are they in number equal to the enemy" Not at
all. Relying the courage Of his soldiers and the
,port of God to the justice of his cause he gave
orders at to march, and, on the field Of Agin-
court--the most glorious field England ever saw--he
met his enemies without dismay, though more than
ten to one against him, and from his brave and con
fdent heart, cried aloud that he could almost wish
the number Of his little band still less. With that
handful Of invincbe soldiers he vanquishcd France
and all her multitude, and won for himself and them
n renown lasting as the foundations of the world.
The senator did not learn his art Of war from the
greatest of the Romans--the immortal julius. Had
1.-THE foremost man in all the world" acted on the