Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1846-06-04

given. There is no boundary at 81 deg. 40 min.;
and far proposed to make II one, 1t was fos
the British, and not for ourselves, and ends this
redoubabe line up to which all true patriots were to
march and marching, fight, and fighting die IT
need be singing all the while, with Horace
"DuIee et decorum est pro pairie MORT"
Street and decent it is TO die for ones country.
And this is the end of that great line all gone
vanished evaporaied into thin air - ana the place
where it to be found. Oh! mountain that was
delivered Of a mouse, thy name shall henceforth be
ffty-four forty And thus, Mr.. President, trust
have exploded of the into which the public
mind has been led, and which il is necessary to get
rid of before find the right place for our Ore
gon boundaries.
proceed to another part of the same family-the
dogma Of tie unity and indyisibity of the Oregon
title, and its resulting coroary of all none. 1t is
assumed by the I" friends Of Oregon to be all one
title all the way from AZ deg up to "a deg. 40 min.-
no break in it; and consequently, I" all or none" is
the only logical solution which claim to it can
receive Well, this may be brave and patriotic but
is it wise and true And we, with clear con-
sciences, and without regard to consequences pass
law upon that principle, and send agents there TO
execute 1t These are the questions which present
themselves to my mind, and in answering which
wish TO keep before my eyes the first half of the great
maxim-dSk for nothing but 1h0t is right. answer,
them that ii is not true that title to what is called
all Oregon is not one, but several that II consists Of
parts and is good for part and bad for par. and that
nothing just or wise be determined in relation to
it without separating these parts into their proper
divisions, and giving to each division the separate
consideration and judgment which belongs to it.
Thus the title to the Columbia river and its valley
was complete; the claim to Frazer's river and its
valley began; and the claims to the islands and
coasts rests upon different state of facts, and DIFF
ferent principle of national law, from that which
applies 10 the continent.
The title to the Columbia river and its valley rests
upon discovery and settlement, and was complete
before acquisition of the Spanish title in 1919.
The claim to FaZers river and its valley, ard to the
coasts and islands in front of it, began in lSl9 and
rests upon the discoveries of Spanish navgators and
of these discoveries, the islands and the continent
have very different degrees of evidence to exhibit.
mention these differences of title facts well
known to require documents to prove them; and the
bare statement of which should be sufficient to explode
the dogma of the unity and indivisibiity of the
Oregon title. 1t is not " all one title" 1t is not
good '' for all or none" 1t is not a unity. There
are breaks in il; and these breaks sufficiently
large to cover large geographical divisions of the
country and require separate consideration and judg
ment That consideration will be given at the proper
place. at present limit myself to the correction of
the error, widely spread over the public mind that
the Oregon title is all one title, from AZ deg. to 81
deg. 40 min.
4 come to the line of Utrecht, the existence of
which is denied upon this floor by Senators whose
fate seems to be to assert the existence of line
A clerk in the department of State has compiled a
volume of voyages and treaties, and undertaking to
set the world right has denied that commissares
met under the treaty of Utrecht and fixed boundaries
between the British northern and French Canadian
possessions in North America. That denial has been
produced and accredited on this floor by Senator in
his place. (NIr Cass;) and this production of blum
derng book, with this Senatorial endorsement of Its
assertion lays under the necessity of correcting
third error which the Z" ffty-four forties hug to
their bosom, and the correction of which becomes
necessary for the vindication of history the estab
lismen Of political right and the protection Of the
! Senate from the suspicion of ignorance.
t | affirm that the line was estabshed that the
commssaries met and did their work and that what
they did has been acquesced in by all the powers
interested from the year l7l3 down to the present
time This is my affirmation; and, in support of it.
and without repeating any thing said heretofore,
shall produce some new proofs, and take some new
positions, the first of which is, that this line was
enforced by (wlthout any thing else but the treaty
of Utrecht to stand upon) for fifteen years-from 1903
to 18l8-as the northern boundary line of Louisiana
and submitted to such by the British government
and British traders thereby kept out of territories
west of the Mississippi, while treaties lei
them into territories this side of the river In
word, will show that this treaty of Utrecht saved
us from a calamity for fifteen years, in our new ter
rtory of Louisiana, acquired from France, which the
treaty of peace of 1888 and Mr. jays treaty of 1854
exposed us to in our old territories of the United
States, conquered for by fathers in the OF
the revolution. This is my first position, and this is
the case which sustains it,
In the year 1903 the United States acquired Loui-
siana, and with it became party 10 all the treaties
f which concerned the boundaries of that province
The treaty of Utrecht of these and the par
alle of forty-nne Of the lines established by it.
and governing its northern boundary. We soon had
occasion for the protection of that boundary Span
ish connivance and weakness had suffered British
traders to invade the whole northern flank of Lousi-
ana from the lake of the Woods to the head-waters
of the Missouri river and acquisition of that
province we found these traders in the actual possess
sion of the Indian trade throughout all that extensive
; region. These traders were doing immense mischief
among Indians this side of the Mississippi,
by poisoning their minds and preparing them for war
against the United States. The treaty of peace and
Mr. Jays treaty, under the deusve idea of recipro-
city, gave them this privilege of trade in the old
territories of the United States Experience of its
evil effects had taught lesson of wisdom; and while
vainly striving to get rid of the treaty stipuations
which admitted these Indians on this side of the
Mississippi river the treaty of Utrecht was eagerly
seized upon TO expe them from the other Mr.
Greenhow's compilation was not published at that
time, and Mr.. Jefferson and his cabinet proceeding
according the lights of their little arthing candles
in the absence CT that vast luminary Just took the
line of forty-nne the northern boundary of Loui-
sana and drove all the British traders to the north
of that line.
These traders complained loudly and appealed TO
their government but the British ministry lust as
much in the dark as Mr. Jefferson and his cabinet,
refused to take official notice of the complaint only
presented it unoically the United States Ministers
in London, and asked as favor, not as a right the
privilege of trading in Louisiana south of 40 deg
Of this favor not granted and thus Brit
ish traders were excluded from Louisiana bv the
treaty of Utrecht, while admitted the old north