The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-05-14
"fIFTY-FouR FORTY"

COmrlQe w. ". MARTIN, Iarknlll, Ou-
tario, sends us number of extracts from
Canadian papers, inveighing bitterly
against the injustice which has been done
Canada by the United States, in depriv-
ing her of territory which was legitimate
Iy hers. They began with the Treaty of
1883, which they claim robbed them of
what is now the great States of Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wiscon-
sin, and then they pass on from small
wrongs to dilate i'll extenso on the settle
ment of the boundary in 1916 by which
what is now Washington and Oregon were
conceded to the United States. This is
what is known as the ''Fifty-four Forty"
incident in our history.
A number of Canada's public men, at
the head of whom is Judge Hodgson, sup
port this indictment against the United
States for robbery of Canada. Comrade
Marin asks us, on behalf of numerous
comrades who are residing in Canada, to
give the American side of the controversy.
The Treaty of 1888 is too ancient history
to discuss now, farther than. to say that
the territory lying between the Great
Lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers
properly and scientifically belongs to the
United States, which at that time had
many settlers in it, while there We're very
few from Canada. At that time there
were probably not many more than 1OO, 600
people in all Canada. Anyone looking at
the map will at once say that the destiny
of the country aforesaid was with the At
lantic Seaboard east of it, and it was so
wisely decided.
AS to the '.Fifty-four Forty" incident,
that was a robbery of the United States
of territory which legitimately belonged to
it, and which was lost through Great Brit
aims bluff, combined with the hostility of
the Slave Power in our country to any
more free territory, and the desire of the
New Englanders to secure fishing pryi-
leges on the Newfoundland Coast. The
Pacific Coast from Mexico up to the North
Pole was for long time in dispute be-
tween Russia, the United States, Great
Britain and Spain. Spain, on account of
her strong hold on Mexico, claimed the
whole Pacific Coast, resting it on the
voyages of Cabrillo, Afere.lo, Juan Fuca,
Vizcaino, Perez, and Heceta. These had
from 1913 to 1775 made casual explora-
tons of the coast as far as latitude 81,
and Fuca had discovered the strait which
bears his name. The Jesuit missionaries
had gone some distance north of Mexico,
and established stations. Russians claim
was based on her occupation of Alaska,
and few trading stations down as far as
San Francisco. The Spanfards had as
serted their claim as far as Nootka Sound
but the matter was arranged by a treaty,
agreeing that neither party should land or
settle on territory occupied by the other.
Great Britain had scarcely any claims of
discovery, though several Of her explorers
had sighted the coast. The great Hudson
Bay Company had extended its operations
through: an unknown portion of the terri
tory, and possibly some of its traders had
reached the Pacific Coast. The United
States's claim was based first ON the ces-
sion of Louisiana from France, which
possibly might reach the Pacific Coast;
next, upon the discovery of the Column
bia River in 1892, by an American Cap
tain commanding an American ship, who
named the river after his ship, and which,
it was held, gave us possession of the ell
tire watershed of the Columbia, reaching
far up toward the North Pole. Later.
Capts. Lewis and Clark, sent out by the
order of the Government, after expIor-
ing the whole Mississippi Valley, crossed
over the mountains and reached the coast.
This was in 1S05-1S0G, or ID years after
Capt. Gray had discovered the Columbia.
In 1911 John Jacob Astor established a
trading post at the mouth of the Column
bia, and named it Astoria. The American
Fur Company, which was a competitor
of the Hudson Bay Company, extended its
operations through the country, and came
in collision with the British corporation.
The American settlers began to pour
into the country, and in 1916 numbered
5000. We certainly had acquired rights
to the territory as far as the 10th parallel
of latitude. In 1916 we concluded
treaty with Russia by which we agreed to
60 no further north than so 40,