The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-10-28
Tho Sam Juan Decision.

.Iud. aHhl0 VI tuo CuPotoA
the chosen. arbitrator. in the Northwest
boundary question, settles q claim which
hass,a fol. more than q. quarter OF o century,
been q bone OF contention between England
| and. the United States, and, on more than
one occasion, has led the two countries to
the very. verge OF val. The dispute grew
| ont OF: a compromise on the Oregon boun-
| Diary question, and u con cession BY our gov
eminent. 10 Great Britain. The United
States originally claimed the line OF 81 deg.
Al min, but finally compromised on the 49th
parallel OF north latitude, thus concedlng to
Great Britain nearly all the access to the
Pacific seaboard which she now possesses.
But It was found that this line would cut of
a portion OF .Vancouver's Island, 80 the
American commissioners Of the Oregon
treaty consented to q defec ton to the mid.
die of the channel which separates the con-
tlnent from Yancouver's Island, and thence
southerly through the middle OF said chan.
mel and Of the Straits OF Fucs to the Pacific
Ocean. The object OF this clause was to
give Great Britain control Of Vancouver's
Island, leaving to the United States all that
was not necessary to secure that result. AZ
q matter Of course, San Juan and the ada
cent islands were regarded as belonging to
the United States, and in fact were Included
In the territorial organization of Oregon.
But q number Of years afterwards, In 1853,
Great Britain preferred claim to San Juan
and the main channel, and the resulting
controversy has been maintained, With
greater or less spirit, by the successive
English and American cabinets ever since.
For five months the matter has been under
consideration by the Imperial arbitrator,
who has called to- his assistance the most
eminent jurlsts Of Germany; and the decis-
ion now rendered, which ls said to have
been unanimous, accords to the United
States Its claim to the Island Of st. Juan
and all the islands between the mainland
on our Northwest boundary and the nearest
channel to Vancouver's Island.
The Importance OF the award consists In
the fact that it gives US possession OF the
only safe and commodlous harbor on the
Northern Pacific between San Francisco
and Alaska, q distance Of several thousand
miles. The Island OF San Juan is the larg-
est OF a number Of small islands which
come under our flag by this decision. 1t is
only about fourteen miles long and seven
miles wide, and would not be worth quar-
reliug about, II it were not for the fact that
it has a very fine harbor, to which access is
gained by the Canal de Haro, which ia Vir-
tualy q %prolongation OF the Straits OF Fuca.
The Canal de Haro, the entrance to the Lar
Dor OF San Juan, is about ten or twelve
miles wide, and has twenty. five fathoms
depth OF water In the shallowest parts, and
is capable Of accommodating the entire
naval and mercantile marine OF the Pacific
coast. On the other hand, the Rosatio
Straits, to which this decision limits Great
Britain, are only a couple Of miles wide and
four or five fathoms deep, and constitute
| the only or chief entrance to the small har-
bors on Vancouver's Island. The adVan-
tsge thus gained iB looked upon as estab-
fishing and confirming American supremacy
on the Pacific coast; for we now possess the
largest, and, in fact, the only harbors o.
the Pacific seabosrd, San Diego, on the e1-
IRENE south, being the complement OF San
Juan on the north, with San Francisco half
way between. Wethus, ash were, stretch
both arms, at a distance of over a thousand
miles apart, to take in the commerce OF
China, Japan, Australia and Asiatic Russia;
and In a few years we shall have three great
lines of transcontlnental railway commnni'
eating with the Atlantic seaboard.