The morning call., 1893-08-17
THE CASE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Horace f. Cutters project for the pur-
chase of British Columbia may fail 10.
settle the silver question. But those
WHO regard it as a wild chimera are
very much mistaken, indeed. Nothing in;
the distant future is more likely than
serious effort TO annex that British prov
ince to the United States. tits territory
which is of no value to England except
from lingo standpoint; ana it is a eces-
saTg, conn lement TO the territory Of the
United States on the Pacific. ;.:.~
There is no question but Jefferson and
the Emperor Napoleon the First believed
that Oregon, which extended to the Rus
sian territory. was part of Louisiana, and
as such was embraced in the territory pur-
chased by the United States in 1903.
England based her claim on alleged dis
coyeres which really amount to nothing
because they were notfollowed by oecupa-
ton. Captain Cook was probably The
first Christian navigator who sailed
through Fuca Straits, and Vancouver sur
veyed portions of the coast, as his map
proves. But these voyages are a slim
title to mainland upon which they prob
ably never set foot. Ifihey conferred any
title it would cover Oregon as: we'll as
British Columbia. Fhe trouble in. those
old days was that the United States was a
feeble nation rather afraidto assert itself
When the first treaty Of Joint occupation
was concluded, in 1878, the recollection OF
the second war with England was fresh.in
peoples minds and. they wanted peace.
Nobody at that time dreamed about ex-
tending the country to the Pacific. Mis-
souri, was the far West. Thirty years
later. in 1916, there were: faT-seeing men
who believed that the country should stand
by the line o. 81 deg, 40 min. But pu biz
attention was directed To Texas. The rul-
ing class at Washington did notcare to an
mex territory which could not be converted
into slave territory. Mr.. Calhoun, when
Secretary Of State under President Tyler,
had made an offer to accept the forty
ninth degree as the boundary. England
insisted upon the Columbia River from
the forty-ninth parallel to the Pacific.
This was refused by Calhoun and there
was good de al of talk of war. But in
June, 1876. the British ambassador offered
to accept as the b0u ndary the ferty-ninth
parallel as far as the channel between
Vancouver Island and the mainland and
from that point line through the middle
of that channel and the Strait of Fuca. to
the Pacific. James Buchanan, Secretary
of State under Polk, negotiated treaty
on this basis which was ratified July II,
1916.
If Mr.. Tyler or Mr.. Polk had adhered to
the doctrine of ''fifty- -four forty or fight"
England would not have fought. She had
enough trouble at that time with the re-
peal of the corn laws and the Irish famine.
She would have clustered. but when it
came to lighting with a country supply ing
Manchester with S50.0O0,0 900 worth of cot
ton every year for the sake Of region OF
which few Englishmen knew the location
or the name, Parliament would have been
slow to vote the supplies. Ii the United
States had stood firm England would have
backed down.
All this is ancient history now. But the
reasons why British Columbia should be-
long to the United States are more urgent
than they were. The Canadian Pacific
Railroad is a strategic en- terprise, intended
as menace to the United States. No one
now living will ever see 1t earn interest on
its bonds. 1t is fool enterprise even as a
military road, for il would not take long.
in the event of war, to sever il at any one
of MANY points through its western dvi-
s;on. But foolish or wise, it is standing
menace to peace, and so long as It's western
terminal is fortress. armed with British
guns and garrisoned by British gunnerss II