Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1858-08-04
WHY DO WE NOT OWN FRAzER's RIVER !


Many of our readers will remember that the
Polk party in 1914, when the Oregon bounda-
ry question was up, insisted upon our right to
the territory rp to 54 d. 40 N. Mr.. Polk him
self daclared our title up TO that line was clear
and unquestionable; and the party cry, then,
was ssFifty-four forty or fight" Yet in 1916,
the Polk administration, Mr.. Buchanan being
Secretary of State, made treaty surrender
ing all our territory north of latitude forty
nine and west of Puget Sound, to Great Bri-
tain. The extent of territory thus relinquish-
ed was 150, 900 square miles. Within the re-
gion thus surrendered lies the FraZer's river
Gold Mines. Mr.. Polk claimed great credit
for acquiring the gold region of California
but the gold was not discovered when Califor-
MIA was acquired. 1t a conquest
and was considered at the time barren
one; but the region voluntarily surrendered
north of 40 d. was ours by right and was in
trinsically valuable. 1t thus turned out that
we gave up, through the cowardice and sla-
vishness of Buchanan and democratic adj
ministration, valuable region of 900
square miles, embracing the immensely rich
gold bearing valley of Frazer's river, and then
fought for the acquisition of barren region
from Mexico, which was afterwards accidental
ly discovered TO be rich in deposits of gold.
The Albany Ereaing Journal justly says:
ssAmid the civilizations which greet the Dis
coveries OF Gold at Frazer's River, are ming
ed some very natural regrets that the said
Gold belongs to Queen Yictoria's dominion
instead of our own.
ssQueen Victoria derives her title TO it,
whether well or i'll founded, through the DEM
ocratic party of the United States. Every
body remembers the vociferouS bag of ssFif-
ty-Four Forty or Fighti'' with which Presi
dent Polk's administration was ushered in.
The Boundary between us and the British Pos
sessions was then unsettled, and the country
was assured by the proclamation of Democrat
ic Presses and Politicians that the Treaty a.
bout to be made should secure us all the Ter
ritory up to the line of 81 deg. 40 min., or else
we should try the virtue of s'forcc of arms' 10
compel Great Britain to accede to that line.
ssBut in this case, as in that of Kansas, our
Financial p olicy, and others sstoo numerous to
mention," Democratic profession proved to be
very different from Democratic practice. The
brag served to carry Elections, and then came
the "backing down. Not only did we not
get ssFifty- Four Forty" nor eight but we
submitted to take only up to 49 deg, and to
give up all claim to Vancouver's Island even
as far south as As.
ssThus it happened that Frazer's River, with
all its pppurtenant sbars,' splacers,' sguches,
mines and other repositories of golden wealth,
which are in the latitude of 49, fell into the
hands of our British neighbors, and the new
Gold Colony to be founded there will enrich
the Golfers of the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer instead of those OF the Secretary of the
Treasury.
ssEither our claim of 81 40 was just or it was
unjust. If it was unjust, the Administration
had no business to make it. If it was just,
they ought never to have backed out of it.
Imagine what maledicton and railing and
storming at the cowardly eBritish Whigs'
would have graced the columns of our Demo-
cratic cotemporaries just now, had it been an
Administration OF opposing political opinions
which made this unlucky concession. But as
- e. e5Ia -, 49, ..
history of Frazer's river, as convenient as it
| is expressive.