The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-01-03

the compromise OF a. with intention that
u Il should be accepted. believe the offer was
made, the President has said in defer
snee 70 the action Of his Predeeessors. |
believe the offer made, in difference, also, 10
that which we may not despise, the public opinion
of the world; public opinion, which has been
mainly formed on this point, by our own conces-
sions and oilers 10 compromlss Nor do agree
with the gentleman from New York, that every man
\ Of common sense must know, that Great Britain
would refuse that offer. Every who has strictly
examined the subject must, as think, come TO the
conclusion, that compounds. It is one Gar more
favorable 10 Great Britain than She her Ohcn
grounds Of prssasiOa, had right TO expect. The
gentleman from Massachusetts talks of vague ira
iIuonary discoveries as sources Of title. Does he
not know that Great Britain, rejecting these, now
POUNDS her claim on other ground that her comm,s-
sipners have officially declared that the rights Of the
United States aud Of England, on the nnrth~est
coast, now 10 be traced, IN narratives of ear
" voyages, many Of them spochryphal, but In the
text Of the NUoka convention OF 1880? That con
senon, she declares, contains the entire title;
and hers. Now, sir will not, NJ This time, go into
subject, somewhat intricate and tediousi but II the
| House, when the Oregon question comes directly
before them, will afford ms an opportunity prom
Use TO prove from documents official aud uncontest
ed, even IL we grant 60 England all she asserts in
gard to this celebrated convention, and ADM, thai
Il Is ia force 10 the present day--that, then,
compromise founded on this very document,
thus claimed by England the sole just foundation
of territorial right in Oregon, would be a compro-
mise at latitude Wly-i,oO not at latitude toriy-nns
And that when our government, as she has ~ often
done, has offered forty-nine, she has stricken OF
for the sake Of peace three entire degrees and that
100, from her just demand, sapposing Il founded on
the very convention which England up as the
charter Of her rights ia Oregon
The gentleman from Massachusetts, has said, that
peaee-aay peace-is Ia itself an honor. | must
differ from him in that opinion. hope and believe
hat ihara ia Hnnr sin .l,s
friendly to peace, one DESTROYS 10 see il main
tanned, than myself But there may be peace, not
only not honorable, but utterly disgraeefuG peace
obtained 10y trucking, peace toleratng gross MUS
tice. And, more, there may be peace for the mo-
| ment, TO be followed by aggravated war, ere long
! am reminded Of anecdote related by reyou-
tionary writer IL the eve Of the great strug
| gle, which made America free, that certain man
was standing at his door, his little boy by his side
and engaged in conversation touching the sppre-
hended Ii was argued, that, sooner later, il
vas evident there must be a rupture with Grea
| Britain; and that all that could be done was TO
delay IL for a season. "Well,n said he Sat any
rate, let me have peace 10 my day!n How Just
and noble the sentiment Of the writer, who remarks
that II that man had felt rs parent Should his Ian
guage would have been far different he would have
said eff war must come let il come now; that my
child may have peace" Hollow peace is neither
honorable nor profitable: and hollow that peace must
be- that leaves the entire question of territorial right
you beleyi, sir, that our people-those Of our
| western frontier especialy-are TO be lied down
to the line Of the Columbia, because Great Britain
or her Hudson Bay Company, sees fl TO seek to
prevent settlement north Of that river And if
they we're permitted TO settle there, how long, think
you, will they be content, without title 10 lands,
which we cannot give ill., by the notice. this con-
yention is terminated II avails little to post
pone declaration Of war here, and transfer it. |
self to Oregon.
Sir, there is another remark of the gentleman
from Massachusetts, on which have word 10 say. /
The world, he says, will not hold bameless IT, |
in cannot otherwise settle this difference,
decline TO refer It to arbitration Great Britain,
he reminds us, has proposed to arbitrate. IL the |
gentleman has read the early history of the dispute |
between Spain and Great Britain in regard to this /
very territory, he knows, that in the Of the
negotiations OF 100, between Count Florida Blan-
ca and Aleyne Ftzherbert, this very offer to arbi-
trate was made by Spain TO Great Britain; with the
additional admission mot now made by England to
us) that she herself might select the arbiter. Was
that proposal agreed TO then by Great Britain No,
sir. She declared that she would entrust the settle
ment Of her rights TO no third person. 1t i'll be-
comes her, now TO find fault with our refusal. The
truth is, we have already offered the very utmost
we ought, under any circumstances, TO accede to.
To what purpose, then, an srbitratlonl
A single word more, sir and 1 shall close. IL !
is IN reply to the argument OF the gentleman from |
Massachusetts, that our Spanish title, Of which |
of in 1918, that we did not even urge it in the
course of the negotiations of that year. II the
gentleman will take the trouble to refer to the date
of the treaty by which, first and alone, we obtained
the Spanish title to Oregon, he viii find the date to
be 1919. How could we plead, in 1878, branch |
of our title we did not acquire until year after
wards The gentleman must see that that argu-
ment is good for nothing, During the negotiations
Of 1918, our commissioners were scrupuiously
careful in stating, that they did not contend that
hal that,
good as against England. This has sometimes, by
superficial observers, been quoted against us as
weak concessions; whereas, in fact II was but just
reservation of the rights of Spain.
owe to the House an apology for the very de-
sutory character Of these remarks drawn from ne,
on the moment, by some points requiring an
answer, in the speech Of the gentleman from
MASSACHUSETTS,. .... ...
Mr. BAKER moved that the House adjourn;
which WAS neZdtIyed. .........- ..........
Mr. q. then addressed the House at considerable
length on the subject and in very animated man
ner, He was not, he said, in favor Of the bill, for
he was not willing 10 increase the military estab-
lisfment, add To our system OF Notifications unil
W. whether we were to have war. In the
business affairs Of life, man could not do better
than to act according to the convictions Of his own
mind. He was sincere in his own convictions on
this subject, and intended TO act upon them, what
ever might lie the eourae of this House. He was in
favor Of the whole Of Oreson-of every sand that
gllttered IN It's sunoeams, anu every pepoie mat
was found on its seashore. Oregon was ours
by discovery, by settlement, by conuguity, and
by manifest destiny No one could take w
this question as a statesman, unless he first asked
himself what was the destiny Of the country
which was panty marked out; our destiny was
plainly wsitien. II was the destiny that be-
longed to freedom, and could not shut our eyes
to it. He did not wish to take away territory that
rghtfully belonged to another nation; but Great
Britain had right to any portion Of this territory.
He did not consider the alluson of the gentleman to
illinois as in very good taste, COS il Illinois not
so wealthy as of the States, she was not to be
sneezed at. The manifest destiny of this nation
was not solely, the gentleman had minated, to
be found in some dark unfathomed cave in Illinois;
for it apparent in our whole history and charac-
ter, our destiny ought to enter into all the consider
atoms that directed our policy That was the rea-
son why we refused now 10 make an offer which
we made in 1924; for who could foresee, in 1924, |
what we have become nowa We did not see then
we were to run southwest TO Texas and the mines |