The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-03-02

guing against the "lntelgeneers" Proposition--ths
70 refuse arbitration il to break the av Of nation.
yet because of lis peculiar bearing on ono point il
the Oregon controversy, We win cite from vatls
single passage more. II will be remembered that a
early as 1918, Lord castlereash distinctly admitis,
on the part Of the British Government, tour rixh
to be considered as the party in possession pend
ing the negotiation. This admission of Englan,
has never been retracted Let us see what Vatte
says Of such case. How stands the lawi
at is for the plaintiff, (says ysttel, to prone hi
right for he ought 10 shoe good foundation for de
handing thing he does not possess. He must hau
q ii IT," England does not claim 10 have TILE,
"snd people are not obliged 10 pay any rsgm,
to Il further than he sh0Ds as validity. Tn
posssssOr may then remain IN pOsssssion tiR 1
Is made 10 appear 10 him that his possession unjust
While this is not done, he has right 10 nlsinisir
himsefin H. and to roeOpsr BY force, " ks I,
stripped Qfi" The possession here spoken Of by
Vsttel ia, Of course, the righyia possession. Now
laying out of View the convention which, by ex
press stipulation, does not affect the rights Of elhel
party, and which we trust 10 soon 10 become .
dead Latter, England admits that arc ryh1ils ih.
party Ia possession. We arc defendants ia this con
troversy, and entitled to the privileges Of the de-
fence. Ii is for the plaintiff 70 sssk1 sui ks casa
And M Ia does 20, says me law book. we may law.
fully resist his action Of ejecimsHt by ores Of ums
And this is that very Law Of ps,ions which the In.
elligeneer says have broken, or departed from,
in declining arbitration.
There is one other authority upon the law Of ma.
tons, and thai is an American authority. Il wal
quoted by Judge Brsese, Of Illinois, in the seaai,
Of the United States to-day in the Oregon debate
and the Judge quoted it from a despatch of MIR
John q. Adams, in the year 1918, touching thu
very question Of Oregon. He quoted Mr.. Adams
as saying, "the expedieney itself Of submitting as
sertions of territorial rights and boundaries in dis
cussion between two nations, to the decision OF
third, was unusual, If not srtrsB..iy ns,p, &c. &c
This sounds in our ears very different from the In
elligencers present doctrine, that "the Executiy,
has departed from the SAFE il not obligatory pyeserip
ton Of The lac Of nations in rejecting arbitration, &c
&c.
But we are tired Of proving what is so plain anC
palPable. We have ENTERED upon the task only gu
Of consideration for the "lnteigepcer's" one pain,
taking argument in favor OF arbitration-the 6r,i
born and single e6,pring Of its tesming thought or
this important subject. Surely the poor bantling-
the only one, pindlng and ricketty as it may be-de
serves at our hands the poor respect of serious and
conclusive rtfiintion. And that respect we hav,
shown it, in compassionate courtesy. II must be q
hopeless and forlorn cause, indeed which can driv,
a - III ~ l..
strait like this!
That government is alike authorized and re.
quired by the law OF nations maintain its right,
with hrmness, but in spirit OF peace and Of justice
thar, in this spirit it is bound to consider the var
Gus "miid methods" Of terminating its controversy
and to have recourse To that mode or 10 those modes
which 1t shall deem, upon due debsratiop, beat st.
ted to secure and preserve It's own rish.s, wshou,
attack upon the rights of others; that III the selsc
lion of such modes, nation 10 free TO ex.
.ercise its own honest discretion, and 10 have
all due regard to the nature OF its con
srovorsy, TOD he exsen. 81 ice the rss.E,
and justice Of the opposing clAm, to its own pecu
liar constitution, circumstance and interests and
to reject arbitration or mediation, even eompro.
mise, whenever either Of these modes of pro-
cedure shall seem to its candid and careful juds
nent unwise or unsuitable-a this is elementary
automatic, rudmental in the law Of nations. Mer
more think Of arguing to p one these frat prin.
eipies, than they make an argument to show that
is The first letter Of the alphabet. s
But there is one sanction of national procedure IL
such matters, which no nation is great enough
wholly to disregard. That sanction is found in tn,
approving moral judgment Of those men, and o
those assembages of men in other nations, who's,
study, and opportunity, and disinterestedness hav
made competent and impartial judges This sane
ton, the course Of the American government in re-
ecting arbitration on the Oregon question has al
ready received In the French Chamber Of Depu
ties, the highest moral and political tribunal of cont
mental Europe, the relations'of England and tn
United States have been most exclusively and tho
roughly discussed Throughout tina. discussion
the fact IRA, taken for granted beforehand-betre IL
action Of our government ,ras kno,pn--that an o6e
Of arbitration woud mol be, and could not be, from
the nature Of the case, accepted From the speeches
in the French chamber, which we have published
and from those which we intend in a day or two t.
publish, we shall show that what we now assert il
| true to the letter.