Litchfield enquirer., 1846-02-26

: nut iirst discovered by Fuca in l50s
} then the were indispulably 80 by %
J English Captain Bcrk ey, in l767. Thi
/ il seems 20 mlc, would turn the tillr b,
discovery, SO far as the upper part OF th
country is concerneds decidedly against Ia
. 3. But however this may be, 50 it'll
was there of publicity md authenticity
given to the Spanish discoveries. e reall
made, that the two points OF the coast b.
far the most important. the Columbia riv
or and the Straits of FucH, had 10 be re
discOvered-,he former by the American
I Captain Gray, 10 1892, and the latter, al
before remarked, by the English CapiaiI
Berkeley, in 1857. What can be the val.
ne of discoveries which have to be re-
discovered! The eulogies which, in thi:
debate, have been passed upon the name
aud character Of Gray, and the high up.
probation which gentlemen seem to have
Of his great exploit in discovering the Co.
lumbia, is proof conclusive that the mere
discovery OF the mouth of that river by
Heceta, in 1775, was valueless. The
world did not positively know that there
/ was, in fact, any such river till Gray S
discovery put the question at rest. The
English nay;Sators searched for !; in vain
until Gray, by fortunate hit, in connex-
ion with other facts, conferred upon US
an undoubtcd title to far The better part
of Oregon. insist, that discoveries,
which are not authenticated, where no
landmarks are given, no charts publish
cd, and no means furnished of Identified.
tinn, are not worthy of a moments con-
siLcra.ion. They add nothing tn the &C.
ograph, OF the world. and nothing TO the
resources OF commerce or business. 1t
is we'll known that the application Of the
steam-engine 10 navigation haze been sug-
gesied, and, 10 some extent, attempted,
long before Fulton, by making that uis:-
ter practical, conferred the richest bles-
sings upon his country and the world.
4. The English, by Mckenzie, undoubt-
eddy discovered and explored FraZer'S
river in 1893, and established trading
posts upon it by the Northwest Company
in 1906. No American citizen made any
discovery, exploration Or settlement, in
that part of Oregon, prior to the conven-
ton of 1918; nor am aware that any
such citizen has occupied one foot of it,
though fully entitled to do so. under the
convention, from that day to this. ..
$. We discovered the Columbia river,
as before remarked, by Gray, in 1902
explored it by Lewis and Clark in 1904
and 5, and csta biiSlIed trading posts up
on il by As'or il. 1911. The English have
made many settlements in the valley of
/ the Columbia since 1918, but from these
they can draw no benefit, as by the con-
vention Of that year, the title is TO be set
tied between the two Governments on the
state of things then existing. ...
Under such circumstances, it would
seem 10 me there can be no difficulty in
estimating the value of our claim 10 SO
much of the Tertiary as is situated above
the p ,rallel Of 40. | repeat, it is found
wholly on Spanish discovery, running
back into the dark ages, and doubtful on
important points, Nothing is more clear,
than that mere discovery Of a savage or
an uninha bi,able country, never gives a
title, unless followed by exploration and
settlement within n reasonable time
This is admitted by Mr.. Buchanan in the
statement marked J. B. He says: .....'
"If the discovery fthe mouth Of riv-
err, .foilosoed up wuhin a REASONABLE TIME
by the first exploration both of its main
channel and its principal branches, and
appropriated by the first settlement on
its banks, do not constitute title to its
territory drained by its waters in the ma
tion performing these acts, then the prin-
ciples consecrnled by the practice Of civ
llized nations, ever since the discovery of
the new world, must have lost their pow
er. These principles were necessary TO
preserve the peace Of the world. Had
they not been enforced in practice. clash
ing claims 10 new discovered territory,
and perpetual strife among the nations,
would have been The inevitable result"
This is strong language, but not more
strong than true. What are the princi-
pies con >ecrated by the practice OF civil
lied nat;on 7 Not that discovery alone,
but that discovery followed up. within a
reasonable time, by exploration and SET.
Element. gives a GOOD tile to wild and
savage countries. No: a sctti"men: was
made by the Spaniards on this COAST from
the first supposed discovery of Fuca, iii
1892, TO 1918, unless the trading post q:
Nootka be considered such I; and that, as
before remarked, was abandoned in 1905.
Over two C, aturies and quarter elapsed,
and nothing done Was not that a
reasonable time TO make settlements 3
How much time would our honorable
Secretary of State allow to this poor. de.
graded and inert race of men, to effect
such an object! Without enterprise, in
dustry, or vigor of character, the Span
iards would not have settled Oregon to
the end of time. contend that no ma
ton has right To hold wild country
vacant for ages, under prctcncc of disco
very. There lies ut the but,om OF all this
great law OF our nature, which was en-
stamped upon humanity at the era of the
garden of Eden, when man was enioined
to "be fruitful, and multiply and replen.
ish the earth, and subdue it," The Span.
ish Mexicars having failed to comply
with this law, the Anglo Saxon race, in
either of its branches, had right to treat
the country us vacant-to enter and take
possession. '|H... "
But there are other difficulties in the
way of this Spanish title which are e.
qually serious, among which, that arts.
ing out of the convention entered into be-
tween the British and Spanish Govern
ments in 1890, usually denominated the