Democratic banner., 1846-02-07
CONGRESS.

'He last oetesiroin tte metropolis. lhc ap
pearance o. affairs sQuint strongly at
rupture between his Government an,
Great Britain. Our readers will re~coi!ec
that IN 1878 pending negotiation bctwee,
the two governments it was agreed tina
the settlement Of this question should b
postponed and that IN tie meantime or
minister agreed that the English Should
have the privilege of navigating the waters
uf the Columbia. Since that time no ac-
ton has been taken upon the subject until
Very recently, and this permission on our
part has been construed by some to mean
:%"joint oe~cu1ancy* between the two ma
tons, when in reality the term Joint occu-
pancN' was never heard Of. and was never
used until :he>Engl,>h supposed tat ;hry
had acquired SOME rig,tto tic territory hy
the length OF time which sac had been SUI
.feredto hold it. 10 abrogate this contract
between the two nations a notice OF twelve
months was required. Since 1873 affairs
have remained IN this position. The Brit
iSA Government by her Hudson Bay Com.
pany occupying almost exclusively the
whole country mort Of TIE Columbia II, cr.
Different american traders lave located.
themselves il this rygicn Of country f.: TIE
purpose Of trading; bat unaiJed and unpro-
tected by their own Government and over
Swallowed by the immense power of that
company have been compelled t, l&csist, and
some Of oar people have located north Of
that river for agricultural purposes, and
when the subjects CT this rapacious nation
discovered that they could not he forced TO
leave the county by threats have rcsorteA
to absolute force, and the log cabins of cur
countrymen have bycn lcvelicd with the
ground. AL these acts Of violence and ag-.'
gr"ssion on the partof the English we HAYES
horne; frequent complaints lave been made,
10 ihe proper authorities and have been ar.
swercd only by additional wrongs. Tie
attention of Col. Polk was early dircctedi !;
to this subject after his inauguration, and :,
placed in a delicate position and surround +,
ed by ombarrasnents following f.0m The ac-tL
ten Of his predecessor iii Office, he offered !;
10 settle this question by fixing on the 18th,
as tie boundary between TIE two :
From some cause or other "tortu- :;
for him and for Us, and for Oregon. !
III, offer WAS rejected and or Government =
thrown back upon oar original rights =,
- the whole Of The territory. The question -.
then vas whether Congress should hesitate ,
IN giving that notice requisite for G~ctyril- q,
between tie i've governments wi.atI,h
terl1c4 tic '.j4.at ~cccupamoy.@ There -,
S evidently 7 large majority in the lower -
lous@ in favor OF giving this immediately;
{, fcw contend That this notice viii i~nevita- =
,.y lead 10 ! rapture between .hc two ma
and therefore tAcy advocate the pro-
,riety OF settling the boundary by n>gotia- -
ion. We have already presented The
Olive Branch b. offering TO compromise v.
way several degrees Of our righttul terri
Dry. This c!Ier has been refused and Lon ~
+ and self-respect should now teach rs
hat We should negotiate now only at the -
%cannon's morth." EHcry member Who
as spoken upon this subject has admitted ~
our tide to the 5:th degree is clear and =,
questionable. If this be 50 We have tAen y.
othing to do but to contend fer evcrinch OF
he soil. But they say this wlIl produce a
ar and we had better arbitratc. The ca
antilles resulting from war We Should re-
ret. The sight Of sacked and burning rec
ties and ravaged fields, when war has tn
AIRED its rampant arm and the torch Of des- Jo,
alton flares upon scenes Of carnage and
aughter can be pleasing to none; and yet, gc,
great as this calamity is there are others IN,
orc deplorabIc than this. In the elegant ccI
.nguage of Mr.. Kennedy Of Indiana, why bo,
it, that after all we should so dread the tbo
.ock Of war? We all have to die, wheth- Ian
in our beds or in the battle field. Who the
You all, when reused by the clangor Of
L.. :. $780,, .,1l .-, ..l.. ,.,..,