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Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre film*s A des taux de reduction diff*rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clich*, il est film* * partir de Tangle sup*rieur gauche, de gauche * droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n*cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m*thode. rrata to pelure. n* D 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 6 6 THE UNITED STATES MAGAZINE, AND DEMOCRATIC REVIEW. Vol. XVII. NOVKMBKR, 1845. No. LXXXIX. THE EDINBURGH AND FOREIGN QUARTERLY ON TKE OREGON. Since the article in our June num- ber on the Oregon question, two of the British Quarterly Reviews have con- tained articles on the same subject, which may be regarded as expressions of the views of the two ])artie8 into which the people of Great Britain are divided. The Edinburgh reasons in a liberal s|)irit; and though it leans to the British side, thinks, nevertheless, that there may be some justice on ours, and counsels moderation. The Foreign Quarterly is insane in its hatred of America and everything American, sees nothing in our claims but unfound- ed prctenc'ons, and appears to think that nothing more is needed than Bri- tish threats to frighten us into an aban- donment of them. Neither of these articles in itself would be entitled to much consiilera- tion; but they are tn be treated dif- ferently. The Edinburgh is mode- rate, and should be answered with rea- sons; the Foreign Quarterly is too fu- rious to be reasoned with, if its brag- gart tone did not place it beyond the pale of argument. Perhaps our readers would like to see the latest arguments of the English in a condensed funn. We will give them, therefore, a summary of the ar- gument of the Edinburgh, passing over all that part of the article which does not relate strictly to the disputed (jues- tion. It begins with assuming that sove- reignty over an unoccupied country may be aer|uired by five ditlerent means ; discovery, settlement, contigu- ity, treaty, and prescription ; nnd it VOL. XVII NO. LXXXIX. lays down the preliminary proposition, that the acts by which the sovereignty is acquired must be the acts of a go- vcniment, not of unauthorized indivi- duals. As to discovery: it admits that the title of Spain, so far as that could give it, was cf)mplete, and it rejects the claims arising from discovery of both the English and Americans. As to our claim to the countrv of the Colum- bia, founded upon the discovery of the river, it gives three reasons for reject- ing it : first, that Gray was not octu- ally the first discoverer ; second, that if he were, he was but a private indi- vidual ; and third, that the discovery of a river gives no title Ifi the country drained by it ; three reasons any one of which would be sufficient, if it were well founded. As to settlement: it rejects equally the claims of America, of England, and of Spain, oi. the ground tliat all the settlements, snuill und ))artial nt best, were the unauthorized acts of private individuals, up to the time of the Convention of 1818, since which no act of either America or England can have afli'ctcd the title. As to treaty : it admits that the Con- vention of the Escurial ought to be deemed a temporary arrongeinent, and that either nation hns the right to ter- minate it, as it has the right to termi- nate thfc Convention of 1818. Then it insists that our claim, founded on pur- chase from Spain, is sophistical, for the reason, as we understand it, that we ceded tn Spain the territory bo- low 42, to which we had no title, and, 21 42018 324 BntuU Reviews on Oregon. [November, therefore, could, under the same treaty, Uikc IK) title from Spain to the territo- ry north of tliut parallel ; u reason the force of whieli we acknowledge our- selves uniilplc^ to perceive. Prcscri])tion it coa.siders inapplicalile to u case so recent ; and as to runtigu't- ly, while it insists that neitlier America nor England can claim a jieriect title by contiguity, it nevertheless admits that each hns an im])erfect title fi-om that source to the ixjrtiim of Oregim which adjoins its own frontier ; Ameri- ca to that sou h of the 40th parallel, and England to the rest. U))on the whole, it maintains that the disimte is one eminently ])roper to be adjusted by arbitration, and thinks that un honest arbitrator would divide the territory by the 4'Jth jjarallel, giv- ing, however, the whole of Vancou- ver's Island to England. Such is a very brief summary of the argument of the Kdinhurgh. Our readers will jierceive that it makes no claim upon the pretended discoveries of Drake, and that it obandons what we considered the strongest ground of the English claim, the Convention of the Escurial. Its other positions, vi/., the denial of the priority of Ciray's dis- (•overy, the denial of right acquired from discovery or settlement by pri- vate persons, and the denial that the discovery of a river gives a claim to the territory which it waters, demand some notice from us. First, as to the ])riority of Gray's discovery. His only comjietitor is tle- ceta. The existence of the great river of the west was matter of tradition and of general belief long before his time. Who first actually discovered it is the question. To have seen the coast where the river empties itself was not enough ; that must have beeudone by nil who coasted along the shore. To constitute a discovery of the river, it was necessary either to enter it or to see it, knowing it to be a river. Hc- ceto's account of what he saw is as follows : " In the evening of this day, I disco- vered tt lurpe buy, to wliicli I «iivo the name of Assumption Vni/, and of which a pluu will 1)0 found in tbis journal. Its tutitudc and loii^itiido arc ili'Icruiined iic- eonliiig to the nmst exact iiiuium ulVordud by tbi'i)i-y and jji-aclicc. " " 'i'liL-Uitiludcii of the two most pronii- ucnt tapes of this bay, especially of the northern one, are calculated from the ob BiTvatiDnii of this day. " Having arrived opposite this bay at six in the evening, and placed the ithip nearly midway betw len tlie two capes, I suunjed, and found bottom in twenty- four brazat; the currents and eddies were so Htrong that, nntwithutanding u l)reKii of sail, it wa« difllcnlt to get out clear of the nflrtberu cape, towards which the current ran, though its direction waa eovtward, in consequence of the tide being at Hood. " These currents and eddies of the water caused me to believe that the placo is the mouth of some great river, or of Bon)e passage to another sea. " Iliul 1 been certain of the latitude of tbis bay, from my observanons of the same day, I might easily have believed it to be the passage discovered by Juan do Fuca, in 15!)2, which is placed on the charts between the 47th and the 48th de- grees, where I am certain that no such strait i-xists ; because I anchored on the 14th of July, midway between these two latitudes, and carefully examined every- thing around. " Notwithstanding the great difference between the position of this bay and the {>assago mentioned by De Kuca, I have iltlc difficulty in conceiving that they may be the samo, having observed equal or greater differences in the latitudes of other capes oiul ports on this coast, as I shall show at its proper tinie ; ant' in all cases the latitudes thug assigned arc high- er than the real ones. " I did not enter and anchor in this port, which in n)y plan I suppose to be formed by an island, notwithstanding my strong desire to do so; because, having consmted the second captain, Don Juan I'ere/, and the pilot, Don Christovol Hc- vilhi, they insisted that I ouglit not to at- tempt it, as, if we let go the anchor, wo should not have men enough to get it up, and to attend to the other operations which would b(! thereby rendered iieCL'ssary. Considering this, and also that, in order to reach the anchorage, 1 should be obliged to lower my long boat (the only boat I had), and to man it with at least fourteen of the crew, as I could not manage with fewer, and also that it was then late in tlu? day, I resolved to put out; and at the distance of three or four leagues I lay to. In the course of that night I experienced heasy currents to tho south-east, which made it impossible for mo to enter the i)ay on the following morning, as I wa* far to h^eward. " These currents, however, convinced me that a great ()iiantity of water ruslied from this buy on llie el)l) of the tide. " The two capes wliith I name in my plan Cape Ban Uo(iue and Cuj)e Frondosa, liu in the angle of ten degrees of the 1845.] British Reviews on Oregun. 335 third qiiotlrnnt. Thoy oro bolli faced witli red t-artli, and aro of little clovu- tJon." It will bo seen from tliia account that Ilcceta did not enter the river; that his actual position won fur outside the bur, in twenty-iimr f'alhonis of water ; nnd there is no evidence that he even saw the opening of the land through which the river issues. All that he himself says, is, that tlie cur- rents and eddies led him to hclirve. that the jdace was " the mouth of some S[rcat river or of some pussajje to ano- ther sou." This was not seeing the river or entering it. It was n belief in its existence prothiced by the pheno- mena which he observed. The two next are questions of inter- national low. According to thot law, does a discovery or settlement of on unoccupied territory by private indivi- duals give any right whatever to the goveniment or nation to which the in- dividuals owe allegiance ? We main- tain that it does, and thot this necessari- ly follows from the doctrine of allegi- ance and protection. Every (riti/.en of this country who goes abrouil on any lawful und«!"rtaking, goes as nn American citizen, and is entitled to the protec- tion of his government. If he enters the jurisdiction of another govern- ment, ho submits himself to that for the time being ; but so long as he n;- maius out of another jurisdiction, this government should not permit another to touch him. WhutloUows? That American citizens settling in any unoc- cupied country, not under unotlicr ju- risdiction, arc us much sul-ject to the jurisdiclion nnd government of their own country as if they were at home, and an; eciiially entitled to its protec- tion. Rights and duties are correla- tive. The new couiilrv having to be defcniicd by the origiiiiil government of its settlers," may lie goviTned by it also. And the ruli- "tlml obtains in respect to settlements by American citizens, must obtain also in respect to disco- very, which is but preparatory to set- tlement. The doctrine of the English leads to this; that a nation cannot communi- cate its authority, evccpl in purticnlar cases. Now it must, lie admit icil that any nation n\i'y give it.s sanction in what manner and to whom it ))leases. It may commission a few otlicers to mak(! discoverie." and settlements in its name, and by its authority ; or it may authorize all its citizens t») discover and setti(! new (Countries; or it may liedare that it adopts any discovery and settle- ment mad(; by any of its citizens. If the sanction of the government is all that is wanted, w(! do not see why it may not Ih; given ufterwarils as well 08 betondiutid. The remaining point is the extent of claim accruing from the discovery of the mouth of a river. It is to be observed at the outset, that the ar- ticle in the Edinburgh docs not state the claim itself with exactness. The ground token by us is, thot the tlisro- very of a river is deemed a discovery of Its course and branches, and of the country drained by it. Then we contend that fnmi discovery flows the right of occui>ancy within a reasonable time. What is discovery .' Is it the oc- tuol sight of all thi- land or wotcr within the limit? If it were so, the view of one side of a mountain would not be a discovery of the other, or one side of a bay tlu; discovery of the op- posite side. According to this, a dis- coverer might have sailed hundreds of miles along the northern shores of the Amazon without ac(piiring tht; right-s of a discoverer in its southern shores, or any great r'r portion of the rivcT than he actually saw. Now, so far from this being tlv riceived doctrine, it was pushed rat' r to the t)pposito extreme, nnd, on one occasion, so for that the S))iiniards laid claim to the Pacific, from the discovery by Bal- boa at Panairca. In reason as well as in fact, the dis- covery of one part of a river must be deemed a discovery of the rest : for it gives n duo to tlic rest, nnd it is impossible to apportion it without, leading to the most whimsical confii- t^ion. This is as far as we need to go. If we had anv title to the country of the Columbia by discoviry, it has not been l(jsr through the scltlcini-nts of other nations; for. in point of fact, there have been no such .'^etllcnienLs on any of the waters of tluil river ])rior to otirs. JJnt we could go further, unrl extend the same principle to a('luil scathv ment. The .-(ttlctnent is subseipusnt and auxiliary to the discovery ; it per- fects the title, otherwise imiwrfect. A 326 British Reviews on Oregon. [Nrivcmber, Bcttlcmrnt nt flic mnuth of n rivor rx- teiids its juris liction over t\w upper country, unlcsd mmw ))iirt of that coun- try has Ihi'u iilrcndy settled or diseo- vcred liy iinotlier. IIow is tliis doctrine of jiublic Inwto lie estiililishec strove to obtain as much ns ])ossible of the new-found hemisphere, some rules of partition, some foundation for their rehitivc rights, became indispensable. The western .slion; of the Atlantic was the scene of their cnterprizes. How broail lay the continent before them they little knew. When they landed on the coasts, they tixik possession, as of the country to its westernmost limits. The first who reached the mouth of a river had found an opening into the land. The rivers were the gates of the interior ; they who possessed them- selves of these gates conceived that they held good against all comers whatever lay within. And thus it hajipened that, without exception, so far as is now known, the possession of the mouth of a river was considered a title as against other European nations to all the country which lay abij/c it, nnd was approachable through it ; in other wmrds, to all the country which its waters washed in their whole course. Thus the French, taking possession of the mouth of the St. Lawrence, claimed the coimtrj' to the north and west ; and although the Spaniards nctually first discovered the mouth of the Afississi|i])i, yet thev were met in their ascent by the "French, de- scending from the Oliio and the Upper Mississippi, whither they had crossed from the head waters of the St. Lawrence; and these titles of tVc French and .S|)aniards had theefTect to contract the titles of the English colo- nics, which before had cloimed to the South Sea. It was said by the British negotia- tors, in 1818, nnd has been repeated by their journalists since, that our dif- ferent titles are inconsistent with each other. What if they arc inconsistent ? Toes that weaken onr claim, or make the British a better one ? There may be ditli-rent claims to the same terri- tory, of more or less strength ; none of them perfect. Take for example, the case of the claim by discovery, the (daim by occupancy, and the claim by contiguity, held by dilli-rert govern- ments. If nny one of thei.c govern- ments can by treaty unite them all iti itself, it strengthens its title, nnd it does so because it thus fur- nishes an answer to its odversariea. One may prefer the first title, another may maintain thot the se(ond is the best. Neither of them can be de- monstrated to be perfect ; but the purchase of all the titles silences all the objectors. It is so in private af- fairs. A land-owner purchases in aa outstanihng claim against his estate, to (]uict his title. lie docn not thereby admit the title purchased to be good, or his own previous one to be bad. You connot destroy both his titles by asserting that the two are incon- sistent with each other. His answer will be, "tell me whi(;h title you con- sider good, and I will show you that I have it." It is puerile then for any Englishman, diplomatist or journalist, to dis])arage our titles as inconsistent with each other. They are a source of strength, not on evidence of weak- ness. In regard to ihc line of partition which the Edinburgh recommends, we have not much to say. Wc have already expressed the opinion in our former article, that the ofliT of the 49th parallel, which our government formerly made, was a reasonable nnd proper compromise, and the south- ernmost which we ought to concede. Our government has twice ofTcred that line, nnd the English Govcmme!;t has as often rejected it. We would not re- ]ieut the ofl!er, after two refusals. But at the same time we arc free to say, that if England were to offer us that line without more delay, so as to put an end nt once to the disquietude, which the very agitation of the matter occasions, wc would accept it. We are not insensible to the objections that have been made to such a compromise, nnd we know very well that the state of irritation towards England which prevails among us, particularly at the west, disinclines a great body of our countrymen to make any tcnns with Jovcmbeft 1, nr make 'licro may n;tie tern- li i none of implp, the )vcry, the V claim by tit govnrn- i.c gdvrm- iiitc them s its title, thus fur- rtversaries. Ic, another ontl is the tti) be (le- ; but the silrnops all private af- insc8 in an his estate, not thereby to be good, to be bad. 1 his titles are incon- His answer tie you con- iw yon that hen for any r journalist, inconsistent ire a source ;e of weak- of partition ecommends. We have nion in our )fler of the government isonablc and the south- to concede. ofTorcd that cmmeiit has ould not re- fusals. But free to say, )flcr us that eo as to put disquietude, f the matter pt it. We ijcrtions that compromise, hut the state Inland which ularly at the body of our terms with 1845.] British ReviewB on Oregon. 337 her. But stror.g as arc these objec- tions and tliii« feeling, we think ihcy are outweighed by the considerations which fiivor an immediate settlement of the c|ue.stion, on the basis of some com- promise. It is n.)t the case of a pro- prietor giving up territory which be- longs to him by an undisputed and in- disputulile title. We believe our title to the wliole to be g(K«l — that to the part 8o\ith <)f 49* to be the best — but we cniniot reasonably assume that Great nrituiii is not sincere in her claim also. We think it unf(Mini!cd, but it is not in- disputably so. How are these claims of two great nations to the same ter- ritory, each being sincere in its claim, to be niljustcd ? By compromis'*, by arbitrament or by war. We are less dis- (Kjsed to arbitrament than to compro- mise, for the reasons given in the former number. Wor is the last resort when oil others fail. We wouldcompro- mise sooner than go to wor ; though we would go to war sooner than submit to a dishonorable compromise. As to Vancouver's Island, it should belong wholly to America. England has now almost a monopoly of islands. The rest of Oregon is not im- |>ortant to us. With Vancouver's Isl- and, and the country south of the 49th parallel, we hold the keys of the Pacific. Thus we believe we have answered all the arguments of the Edinburgh, which make against the positions that we have heretofore maintained, in this Review. One other observation of the reviewer must not escape us ; that ill which he sneers nt the " ignoronco of intenmtional law, which is the glar- ing defect of American star 'nen." This is I'ttther a remarkable observa- tion for a Scotchman to make, seeing that neither ."Scotland nor Kngland has yet produced ony work of outhority on mternntionni law, nor shown any parti- cular (i])titude for such studies, whether among its statesmen or lawyers, and that the observation is made of a conn- try which has numbered Franklin, Adams, .leffcrson, .lay, (Jallatin and Webster among its statesmen and di- i)lomatists, nnil now Imasts of the best living writer on international law. It should seem to be impossible for Eng- lishmen or Scotchmen, however fair in general, to finish any discussion con- cerning America, without a sneer at ber. Wc do not care to retaliate on the Edinburgh. If we did, we should ask it to point to any English states- man, eminently instructed in the law of nations ; and if it ccjuld |K>int to one, we should then refer to the history of English diplomacy and war, as to a his- tory of infractions of that code. The Foreign i^uorterly, as we have already observed, puts itself, by its in- sane scurrility, out of the pale of argu- ment. It gives us slanders for reasons. 'J'o pronounce its article more furious and abusive than those which have ])receded it, in the same journal, on American all'airs, would be to make a distinction where all arc eminent in wickedness. One might su])|X)8e that all the spleen of the (lisap|H)inted thrrmgh England, all th.e falsehood of all the false, were engaged in the service of that single journal. The journal, however, is nothing. Who the reviewer may be, we know not. lie may be a person whose opinions would not be thought to de- serve a moment's notice in any private circle. But we fear that the utterance of such sentiments is grateful to the po- pular feeling in that country. We fear that they are the sentiments of a large class of its inhabitants. It is as the representative of o i)arty that the jour- nal can alone cloim attention. Other- wise it has no significance. As such a rejiresentative we regard it; and we ask whither this thing is tending. Is it the settled pur])ose of any considerable number of persons in that country to disparage this / Is is their aim to stir u|) ill blood between ILS? If such be the case, we arc sorry for it. There are too many in- flammable elements in each country to make it safe. Perhaps wc exaggerate the impor- tance of these systematic attacks of the British press. In themselves consid- ered, we certainly tlo not think them of any consetiuence ; it is only as an index of the direction in which the English mind is setting, that we amsider them worthy of obsen-ation : and even then jjossibly we overrate the evil which they can do. But we cannot help thinking that there is a woild of dan- ger in the course of our foreign rela- tions at present, immeasurably in- creased by the tone of the English press ; and on that account alone we make these observations respecting it. 328 Briluk Reviews on Oregon. [November, Let 08 nr.dcratanrl each other. The people of this country w»nt nothing of the people or government, of Knglunil. Wc are willin;j to exchange with them the products ot our soil, and the work of our hands. *Ve are glad to meet th(TO in th(^ olHces of peace. Above all, we desire to |)anicipate in the ndyontogrs of (!vrry H'ep in the arts, in science, in nivilizati(/n throughout the world. Hut in our intercourse with (Ireat Britain, we give os much as we receive. Cer- tainly, we are not sensible of any be- neKts received, for which we should be grateful, and wo feel no gratitude. Jf they like not our civil polity, wc like theirs as little. If they are shocked at what they call the rudeness of our equality, we are not the less shocked at the servility which we see in all their classes, from the cottagers to the nobles, each crouching to aiul fawning upon its superior. It is not, therefore, to obtain ad- vantages for ourselves ; it is not from admiration or fear of England, nor from any other selfish or timid motive, that we refer to the spirit which ap))ears now to prevail in that country towards us. IJut wc take this occasion to make some oliservatioiis respecting the atti- tude of the two countries towards each other. That this attitmle is at present un- friendly is too apparent. Perhaps at no period since the ll Then thatmak vols be t] problem, find in J We thin us both, ours, traffic at shall do drance fr tlier over sisting p they find we canni Wc more ani nations of ancestry same la' of mind ■•'omparal two nnfi good will We ri ami the a side by si try and y/hercv( lishman c the other and the tor, and Wars of November, 1845.] British Reviews on Oregon, 329 outhH up- huiuU and yr» tlesircd Knglish. — he Jl(!VO- muriii); the :h whi<:1» it ling t<) lay an buried ;" water, and w repulsed, England has 1 nor a ge- lt is hrr dry. Sho :ation of her lie nmgnani- 18 of her re- she had any resentment. )y a (latholic would have power had to put down t so much as r than power have gloried pV(^r the last. le disaiiiioint- 1 the jierma- rineiples, anrl nd language, in the prodi- tho dismetn- il its partition one re|mbli- hical. icn to justify IS to us, has Beginning 1) countries, to rios were the m that IvMnl ich hos ilone and the od- Kor half wnging a in- s))read of re- Kurope, and he most arro- of neutral ■orld. And in n and Atneri- n warring in ])()« unwilling I! and i)rinc(ai, uarrels of tlie natives, to find pretexts for absorbing their ]iosses»ions into herowndoniinioiiH. In sliort, her foreign poli('y has been uniform, unceasing aggression upon the iK)ssesNi()ns and rights of oth(^r nations, jook now at Amuriea. Hitherto she has souglit only to possess her do- minions nnd her rights in peaee ; Ims never engaged in war, btit to defend them ; has |irorlaimed the rights of men as tlie oidy foundation anil source of power ; ollered an asylum to the poor and opi)res»ed of all nations ; sub- dued the wilderness, founded cities and states, and spread her commeree throngh both hemispheres by the arts of peace alone. The Knglish have won many victo- ries by sea and land. They have tro- phies taken from mony nations. Bnt have they won victories from us? On the contrary, whenever %ve have met them on equal terms, has not their lianncr been brought to the deck or to the dust ? It ill becomes them, wc should think, to deport themselves haughtily towards us. Then as to our rivalry ; why should that make her an enemy ? Cannot ri- vals be friends ? That is the jiolitical problem, which she must solve. Wc find in it no cause for alienation. We think the world is large enough for us both. Her T)ros|)erity shall not mar ours. We will labor, and build and traffic at our own free will, a d she shall do the same, without let oi hin- drance from us ; and we can walk toge- ther over the earth, befriending and as- sisting each other none the less. If they tind it otherwise, we regret it, but we cannot help it. We have relations with each other more and closer than any other two nations of the present or past: the same ancestry ; the same language ; the same laws ; pursuits similar ; habits of mind alike ; energy and enterjiriae i^omparnble only to each others. No two nations have so many means of good within their reach. We rival each other in commerce and the arts. We push our enterprises side by side into every branch of indus- try and every comer of the earth. Wherever the American or the Eng- lishman 0|)en8 any new channel of trade, the other is sure to follow. In China and the remotest East, under the equa- tor, and within the frozen zones, the stars of America and the cross of Eng- land, float side by side. In all lands are to lie found travelliTs ami traders, of the same tongue nnd lineage, under the protection of dilli'rent governments. This rivalry, more than all tlu^ mishaps of the past, explains the dislike of Kiig- lishmen to everythiiig American. It solves more problems of state than dip- lomacy. Pity that it should be so. With so many motives to t)riiig tlicm together, and so much good capable of accom- plishment by their co-ojierHtion, we cannot sulliciently rejin t that they should have been so alienated. He would be the greatest of benefactors, not to these nations only, but to the whole human race, who should succeed in producing a cordial symjiafhv and co- op them, that though we do not attach much imiMjrtance to the attacks of in- dividuals, whether writers or states- men, yet we cannot mistake the evi- dence which the number, fretjuency. nnd violence of these attacks give of the present disposition of great bodies of their countrymen. For three or four years the press has been piufuse I 330 liritish liivicivt on Orcfion. [NoTrmbcr, bpyoiiil cxoiiiplf (»f every calumny, ap- jdifil to Aiiii'ili'uns. Anilcvi'ii wliilr wc wrilf tliirc Imt 'i|i|>car('(l u cliurj;i! tin) gross we ttliiiitlil liuvf tli( "^lit to 111! inudc or lu'lu'vt-d by iiicii in their HenKcs, tliut (ini- of our iiutioimi iiiii|M hail liirii rii^iigt'il in curryin;; sluvu HJiui'kli'i', to 1)1' UMi'il in thi; nIiivu iruilr. If Hueli thin;^s can bu bclicvnl in Kiii;liinkun witit thi; rliiiiicv of lii'iiiff lislcncil to, tli.'n lire ihu proplr of ihul country n|ii; fur a wur with ust, uud on thu verge of it. It is lit best n |iitiiible einploynient to Btir u|) uniiiicisiiieM, nnil es|ieciu!iy be- tween eiNiiiiiiiiiitieH related to each oilier us liieirs iinil ours. If by rensoii of condiciuj; interests or opjioslte inox- iius of policy, wars bctwi-'.-n us are in- ur|)asscd richness of your island, its heavHy- laden fields, its stately mansions, the vast commerce that nils its harbors, without doing homage to the industry that created such jiriKligies of wealth. But money alone is not always ])owcr. There nmy be a cancerous disease within, fastened ujmn the vitals of the •itate, and eating out its strength. You have in your own bosom weakness more than a countcriH)ise to all your jwwer, d'scontented and indigent millions, whom a lost battle or a ileficicnt har- vest may turn in.o rebels, clamorous for bread and for their rights as men, and pulling down in their fury the pillars of ihe state. Bat where lie the fi)tiQdatioi» of our power? Deep in the heartM of the millions who thi'iiiselves riiiHcd and now beiir on their Atliintean Hhoulilem the fruiiiu of our |>olity. With ex- haust less territories of llie ino.«t fertile noil, with energies untraiiielled, fiee to wek their own giKnl in their own way, coiiipeteiiee within the reach of all, there is no tusk tiM> great for our eoun- tryiiieii (.o ai'coinplish, in a just cause and with united elliirts. Unite then, once • war with your country, exiis- perale tiieniby eiicroaehiug upon their rights, and by making them believe that they are the objects of your dislike, Olid you will have raiscti up against you an enemy iiiorc forinidable than Holland under the commonwealth or France iimU'r Najioleon. Do not count upon disseimions among us. The genius of our institution* tolerate* all sorts of opinions. There have been diUlrenccs among us ow almost all subjects, ami they v ill doubtlrts coDtinui-. But the conduct of your countrymen does more than any- thing else to obliterate all dillerences of opinion nspecting them. Notwith- Htanding the prejudices of an educa- tion favorable to you, and the innumer- able ties which have hitherto drawn us towards each other, wc feor that at this moment, if all America were poll- ed, there would be a majority of voices for a war with you, and we ane confi- dent that aill would desire your expul- sion from the continent. There is one subject above all others on which there can never be a ditler- ence of opinion among Americans ; and that is, the introdnction into the New World of the Europeon system of in- tervention. The balance of power is an idea purely Kurojieun. It has no pface in the relations of other States.- Its iiitro(hK:tion Iicre would at once draw us into the vortex of European jwlitics, and would be resisted by all Americans as one man. We will meet the evil as the threshold. If force bo necessary to prevent it, wc will use force, and we will use it at the first moment of provocation. To hesitate would be to fall. You may arrangv your system \n Europe Ets you chixjse, supervise each other's governments, cut down a • - it ■, if it be too large, or partitmn it, J 't harbor dangerous doctrines ; t'U' your scheme of policy shall no', rros? '-ht! Atlantic. We form no pait ot your )TfTnbcr, 1646.] British RevieiOM on Oregon. Ml tri'i! to » II wny, 1 of all, } syKtrm. Wr knuw little of yonr ((iwtritK'o lit" Irgitirmifv, nnre;;on would be settled by ])caceful uielhods ; but we fear it may be other- wise. Apjjearances are threatening. The demands of Knglund are too great ; her demeanor is too haughty ; and our people arc exosperated. Our go- vernment cannot yield more than it has done and preserve the confidencD of the jieople. The question of peoee or war, therefore, rests with Kngland. Be it so. Wor is a great calamity ; but it is not the greatest. Far from us be the wish to accele- rate that event. Rather, if it were in our power, would we chain the pas- sions that arc now howjinjj tn get Iooro, till the moderate and wis*- <-ould recon- cile these unhappy disputes. W« show our desire for peace by connscl- lutff compromise, notwithstanding tha stri^nuous ojiposition it has received. Hut we fear it may be already too lato. Our olli-rs should have betn ai . , ed years ago. The dial cannot moMi backward. England is arming. .Sh'j is doing more ; she is evoking a an; - ilinries the terrible spiritn o^ national jealousy and hatred. If the territory in dispute wore never so worthless, we could not allow our- selves to bo pushed from it W'ihoui, ceremony. But it is not worthless. It commanils the Pacific. The real ub- ject of contention is the commerce of that sea. Its shores, so long occupied by semi-barbarous nations, are about to become the seata of civilization and power. Tho stake is a great one. A quarter of a ct.ntury will find po- pulous States along the marr.i of that sea. The imagination loses itself when it travels into the future, sees an active population like that which occupies Americo, planted there, trading with •he islonds, with Australia, with China, India, and perhaps Japan (for that country cannot long remain shut against strangers), and contem- plates the probable consequences to the world. The increased mtercourse with Eastern Asia may lead to a resur- rection of the Asiatic mind. Certainly the power which shall then have been concentrated in the Pocific will make itself felt in all the concerns of men. Let us assert our claims withput needless otrence. Let us show our con- sciousness of strength in our modera- tio:;. If we can have peace and our substantial rights, we will not take coun- sel of our resentments. And when war comes, if come it must, we will enter into it with the assurance that we have done everything reosonable to avert it ; but with unshaken confidence that it will result in the maintenance of our rights ond the discomfiture of their assailants. D. D. F.