Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1846-02-12

groSSer thnA any 70 which She has submitted
for eight hundred years past; aud she does
so precisely at the time when she is more abe
than at any other period Of her existence 70 rc-
SIS, and pscn; IL
Nor is il n al ooass;entw III her general So
gacity 10 suppose that She wllquie,sy fold her
arms and wait our Twelve months prepara-
ton. believe the notice VII produce war in
eviiahly. and iTnrcdiaicly on its being gwen.
And il is substantially avowed 10 be the OBJ
jec, Of gentlemen high IN the regard Of the
dominant party to force the county into war.
One gentleman in the Senate has said that he
considered war inevitable NJ the beginning of
the session, becmss h then tdought il certaia
tle notice scosld pass, thai be now considers il
doubtful, because il is some what uncertain
whether the notice can be carried. did not
understand that gentleman 70 say he is for war
lon the contrary. they all say they are not for
war--but he SAYS he is for the notice: and we
have hrs authority for considering the notice Ger
tain and mcrifaLie war IL the notice does not
pass, that gentleman viii not vote The propos-
cd naval appropriations; for, in that event,
there will be, in his own words, profound
peace"
Another distinguished Senator, whose posi-.
ton in the party is eminent, for he seems TO
be vigorously contesting the leadership with
the old siagers, cannot be screwed down TO the
point Of saving that il will not produce war.
He will answer no further than 10 say that
Sin his opinion il viii moi be Just cause Of
war" He does mol seem 10 care al all about
war, If we do not give a Just cause for it.
My opinion is. we should do every thing an
honorable People and Government can do to
avoid il and in this case the difficulty is. in
my Judgment, not how we may honorably
hoo,
any other ihan a most dishonorable way.
England wants no war with us. She Knows
well enough that she has nothing 10 make by
il; and that, whilst she would iniiict on us in
caiculable injury, she would suffer Just as
much, probably more. than ourselves. War
may yet come out Of this thing and come fair
ly. ] say then, sir, lei il come. When we
can stand justified before God and man--just-
flied in our own constructive shall present
an undivided front, an uneonquerable force;
conscious that we are right, with the syrnra-
thies of the world in our behalf, and the God
Of battles on our side.
But the inquiry which occurs to a practical
mind is, will we get Oregon by war; The
honorable gentleman from South Carolina (Mr.
RHErT) expressed opinions on this subject in
which entirely concur, and need not repeat.
How is ito be done? 1.-THE object could be ac-
complished by mere war of words. then the
thing mightbe practicable enough. 1.-THE Con-
gress fine United States and the English Par
lament would agree to settle il by bout at
stump speaking, then, think, sir, we should
have decidedly the advantage. In the thunder
and lightning part Of the performance we might
saf,iy undertake the Lords and Commons TOO.
Suppose the fight obeonthe contested prem
ises--for there il must be before we can take or
~ n
A very few men, unincumbered with the amor
and subsistence Of war, can with great difficult
" make their way to Oregon. ltis impossible
for large numbers TO reach there at ALL They
could not carry subsistence to last them, and
could not possibly gatheriton the way. Would
you 60 by sea- Run the gauntlet Of the British
fleet in voyage OF twenty thousand miles !
suppose there is no man ofany sort ofjudgment
or information, here or elsewhere. that suppose
you could get ship into the mouth OF the Co
lunbia FROM this day in ten Years to come. Sir,
you could moi get out Of sight OF your own land
with the first uansJ ort. The yery.wavc that
bore il from your shores would return TO strew
its fragments rTen the su3nd. England,
whose boast--and no idle boast il is---has been
for three hundred years that "her march was
ON the mountain wave, her home upon the
deep" was never so able as now to maintain
her naval supremacy.
There is one, and only one, way in which
the thing is within The bounds Of possibility;
and that is, by whipping England elsewhere
so severely that She would be willing TO sur
render the question for the sake of peace
Suppose England would not invade us.
believe il has no, yet been suggested that we
would invade England. But gentlemen say
we would take Canada. ] have no doubt we
II H..
Oregonl If you think Canada worth more
than Oregon you would not make the exchange
after YOU had taken IT, Ii England considers
it worth Jess, she would not desire to exchange
Oregon for it, And. if resnli of this sort is
looked to, then we are making war not for Ore
gon. but for Canada---a thing which have no
doubt is perfectly true as TO some who vote for
this notice
| say we could doubtless take Canada mot. sir,
but al a price far bcyondher value. Weshould
not have to take il from the inongrels and hy-
birds thai might form largely the mass of mere
Canadian army---Canadan French and half
breed Indians. No, sir, we should meet men
of our own mctile; il would be Saxon against
Saxon; and there is no chiid's play there. The
blood Of some Of the most gallant OF our coun-
trymen has stained, on more than one occasion,
the SHOWS that for hall the year veil her frozen
and uniertlle regions. And, whenever Eng
land and America meet to do battle, then, then,
sir
"Few, few shall par where many meet.
The snow shall be their winding sheet,
And every turf beneath their feet
Shall be a soldiers sepulchre.7>
Mr.. Chairman, there would be no war IN
Oregon, nor for Oregon, after Il was commence
ed. New York wlll be the battlefield The
poisoned chalic viii be commended to her lips.
She viii have an early and bitter taste OF the
fruits of that policy which she has 50 largely
10 fisten on ihecouDtry. Hermag-
nilicent emporium, with lis stately palaces aud
us imperial treasures, presents an object worthy
the steel OF that adversary. the roll OF whose
drum rattlcs round the globe, and
the vigor Of whose potent arm has been tested
IA the triumphs Of a thousand battle-helds.
There, sir, would be the tug Of generous and
manly war; and there, perchance, powerful
is the great Empire State is, the services Of the
defendants Of those men, whose blood was
poured upon every field where her revolution
iry banners were uniurled, might not be en-.
irely disdained; but. alasl they VIII have
,ther, and sadder, and more dangerous duties
o perform. For this war measure seems to
,e pressed on BY combination, one element of
which avows rs purpose to bring upon the