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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. rata elure, 3 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 6 6 *. TH LAST LETTER OF MR. B U C H A IV A JV t to MR. PAKENHAM, OR THE AMERICAir TITF E TO OREUOIV. BALTIMORE. PRINTED AT THJt CONSTITUTION •FPICE. 184D. For sale at one dollar per hundred copies. ^»1 m '■'* I MR. nVCHAXAl^^S LETTER. Depakimknt ov St\tk, Wnshivsilon, August 30, 1845. The undtTsigned, Secretary of State , (Hi ai^ not in respect to any part, but to the whole, is limited to a right of joint occu- pancy in common with other states, leaving the right of exclusive dominion in abeyance." And again: "By that convention (of Nootka) it was agreed that all pans of the norlhwcsiern const of America, not already occupied at thai lime by either of liie conlracling parlies, should thenceforward be equally open to the sub- jects of both for all purpdses of coinmerce and selllemcul — iIk- snvereignty re- maining in abeyance." I5ut <>n this subject we are not lefi to mere inleicnces, however clear. The BriliNJi commissioners, in their statement, tioni which the undersigned lia< jusl quoted, have virluniiy c mndoned any other titL; which Great Britain may have previously a-ssened to the territory in duspute, niul expressly de- elate "thai whatever llmt title may have been, however, either on ilie part ofGreat Britain or on the part of Spain, prior to the conve ition of 1790, it w:is ihmcrfur- ward no hmgcr to be traced in vitifue iiarraline^ of discni'cries^ several of /Item ad- mitted to he, apocryphal, bu> in the text anil slipulatiowi of that convention itself,''^ And again, in summing up llieir wljoie case, they say: "Admitiiiig that the United Slates have acquired all the rights wliicli Spain possessed up to liie treaty of Florida, ciilier in virtue ot'disrovery, or, as is prrteiided. in right of Loui--ianii. Ureal Brii.iin niaiuiain.s liiul ilic iiiUure ancl extent of iIii'm- riulits, as well as the rights of Great Britain, iire iixed and diiinod bv iLi^ Conveniion ol Nootka,"' &c. &.C. The undersigned, after a careful examination, cm discover nothing in the note of the present IJrilisli plenipolcntiary to Mr. Calhoun, of ttie 12ih Sipiemhor last, to impair the force of thesi; declarations and admissions ofhin predecessors. On the contrary, its gen^ ral ton^ is in perfect accnrdance wiih ihi-m. WhateVLT may be ilie consequences, ihtn, whelh r lor good or for ever — wlie- ther to slren<;lhen or to desiroy the Mriiisli cliiim — it is non- too lat<' far the Bri- tisli Government to vnry Uieir position. If the Nooika Convealion confers upon them no such riphts as ti.ey claim, they raniioi at this laie luur go behind ils pro- visions, and set up claims which, in 182B, they admitted had befiii merged "in the text and stipulations of that conveiition i'sdf." Tht of merely trading with the Indians whilst the country should reiiiaiii unsettled, and making the neces- eary esliddishtnents lor this inirpose; and thai it did not inlerCere with the ulti- mate sovereignty ofSjiain over the territory. The British plenipiUentiary lias not attempted to resist iliese conclusions. If ihcy he fair and leuilimate, then it would not avail Great Britain, even il she should piove the Nooika Convention to be siill in force. Cn the contrary, this convention, if the construction placed upon ilby the undersigned he correct, contains a clear virtual admission on the pari ofGreat liri- tain thai Spain hi-ld the eventual right of sovereignty ovei the whole disputed ter- ritory; and consequently that it now hcdonffs to the United States. The value of this admission, made in 1790, is the same whether or not the con- vention has ccmtintied to exi.'^t until the present day. But he is willing to leave this point on the unconlroverted argiiiueiu contained in his f rmer sialemenl. But is the Nootka Sound convention still in force .^ The British plenipoten- tiary docs not contest the clear general principle ol public law, " that war termi- nates all subsisting treaties between the belliL;erenl powers." He contends, however, in the first place, tlial this convention is partly coiiirnerciil ; and that, 80 far as it partakes uf this character, it was revived by the treaty concluded at Madrid on the 2Sih August, 1814, which declares "that all the ircalies of com- merce which .'»'ibsislever — w'he- jr the I5ri- nftrs upon ind ils pro- ved "in the noticed his iidi'iivored, 1.'! very na- rading with the neces- lli tiie ulti- ,iry has not •n it would :)!! tf) l)e siill )on it by the f Groat F.ri- iisputed ter- not the con- mg; to leave ineiit. pleiiipoten- t war termi- le contends, 1 ; and tliat, concluded at tiis of com- d Spain) in. r re.'^peets it admission of In regard to the first proposition, the undersigned is natisfied to leave the ques- tion to rest upon his former ar«rumcnt, an the Hritisii plenipotentiary has con- tented himself wiili merely nsserlinj;' the fact, that the roniriiercial portion of the Noolka Sound Convention was revived by the irnaly of 1814, wiihouL even spe- cifyin;; what he ctinsiders to be that portion of thai convention. Jf the under- «igiii'(l hail (h'sired to slrcngtiien hin former position, he might have repeated with great ellei't the arginiirnt eonlained in th^• note of Lord Aberdcin to I lie Dniie of Soioniiiyor. dated ;jl)t!i June, 184-5, in wliich his h>r!lship rlearly established that all tile treiilics of commerce subsisting between Gnat Britain and Spain previous to 1706, were confined to the trade with Spain alone, and did not embrace her coloiiit'.s and remote possessions. The second prnjiosilion of the British plenifiolenliary deserves greater att i- tion. Does tin? Noolka Sound Convenl'on belong to llial class of Ireaties c« »- tainin;^ •' an acknowledgment of subsisting rights — an admission of certain prin- ciples of international law" nol to be abrogated by war ? Had Spain, by this con- Tenlion. acknowledged the right of all nations to make discov(.'iies, plant settle- ments, and estahlisli colonies, on the northwest coast of America, bringing with them their sovereign jurisdieticm, there would have been much force in the argu- ment. Ihil such an admission never was matio, and never was intended to be made, by Spain. The Noolka Cotiveiition is aibiiniry and arlilicial in the highest degree, and is anylliiiig rather than the mere acknowledgment of sim])le and elenjentiiry piinciples consecrated by ilie laws of nations. In all its provisions it is e.xpressly confined to Great IJritain and Spiin, and acknowledges no right whatever in any ihird power to interfere willi the northwest coast of America. Neither in its terms nor in its essence does the Nootka Sound Convention con- tain any acknowlodgiiient of previously subsisting territorial rights in Great Britain, or any other nation. It is strictly confined to future engagements; and these are of a most peculiar character. l''ven under the construction of its pro- visions maintained by Great Britain, hiT claim does not extend to |ilant colonies; ■which she would have a right to do iindiT the law of nations, had ihe country been uniippropriaied ; but it is limited to a mere right of joint occupancy, not ia re.'pect to any part, luit to the wh(de, the sovereignty remaining in abeyance. And to wiint kind of occupancy ? Not separate and distinct colonies, but scat- tered settlements inteimiiigled with each other, over the whol." surface of the territory, for the single purpose of trading with the Indians, to all of which the subjects of each power shotilil have free access, the riijhl of exclusive dominion remaining suspended. Surely, it cannot be successfully contended that such a treaty is " an aiunission of certain principles of international law," so sacred and so perpetual in thtir nature as not to be annulled by war. On the contrary, from Die character of its provisions, it cannot be supposed for a single moment that it was iiitend.'d for any purp.)se but that of a mere temporary arr.ingemeiit between Great Britain and Spain. Tiie law of nations recognises no si;cli principles ia regard to unappropriated territory as those einbraciul in this treaty ; and the British plenipotentiary must fail in the attempt to prove that it contains '" an ad- mission of certain principles of international law which will survive the shock of war. But the British plenipotentiary contends, that, from the silence of Spain during the negotiations of 1818 between Greu Brii-uii and the United States respecting the Oregon territory, as well as '' from her silence with respect to the continued occupation by the British of their settlements in the Columbia territory, subse- quently to the convention of 18H," it may fairly "be inferred that Spain con- sidered the stipiihilioDS of the Nootka Convention, and the principles therein laid down, to be still in force." The undersigned cannot imagine a ca.se where the obligations of a treaty once 6 extinjjuialied by wnr, ran be rovived williotit n posillvp Bijreoinpnt to this offect belwcfii the pnilii^s. Kveii if hoth priii's, aftir the coik liision of pence, shouUI perforni positive uiul uncipiivoial nets in acccivilancu w iih il.s proviKioiiN, these must be consiruetl as iiurcly voluiilurv. to \ni (liscoiilinticd by either at pUasiiie. But in tlie present case it is not even preli ml' li llial Spain perforinecl any :\( I in acroidance wilii the eonvtiition of INootlva SihiikI, after her treaty with (Jreut Britain of 1814. Her mere silence is relied up in to revive that convention. The undei>ij;no(! asserts eonlidently, that neither by public nor private law will the mere silence ot one parly, wlulf-t another is encroaidiin;^ upon his ri<^hts,even if he h d l;nowle(!i.'e of lliis eiicroiiehineni, d( privc him of tlnse ii};hls. If this princi ill- he correct, at; applied to iiidividn.ils, it luilds with much t^reater force in regard lo nations The feihie may not he ni a cunditioii to complain against the powerful ; and thus the encroachment of ihe strong would convert itself into a perfect tidi' n<>nin-t the weak. In tiie pi('S(;iil case, it was Hcarcely possible for Spain even to liave learned the pendeii. y of n";^i)tiati'-iih day of Anwusi, 1814, the dale of the ad- ditional a.nicles to the tre.ity of Madrid, and terniinali^d on the 2'2i\ Fel)ruary, ISl'J^ the date of the Florida treaty. Is there the least reason from this silence to infer an adiiiis'i of America, from the date of the Nooika Sound Con- vention until the yOd Felirnury, 1819; nor, so far as the imdersigned is iid'orm- ed, has she done f-o down to the present moineni. Spam could not, therefore, have complained of any .'•uch seitleii eiit. In re;;aid to the encroachments which had been made from the interior by the Noiihwest Company, neither Spain nor the rest of the world had any specific knowledge of their existence. But even if the British plenipotentiary had brouglit such knowledge home to her — which he has not attempted — she had been exhausted by one long and bloody war, and was then engaged in another widi her colonic..^; and was, besides, negotiating for a transfer of all her rights on the northwestern coast of America to the United States. Surely these were suiQcient reasons for her silence, without inferring \ from it that she acquiesced in thn continued exiNtrnce of the Nootka Convention. ir Spain iiud entertained the lount idea that the Nootka Convention was still in force, her good faith and her national honor would have cauRed her to rommuni- eatc this fad to the United States before she hud ceded thin territory to tlieni for an ample consideration. Not the least intimaiion of this kind was ever conimu- oicated. Like Great IJiitain in 1818, Spain in 1819 had no idea that the Nootka Sound Convention wuh in furco. It had then pawacd away, and was forgotten. The lirilish plenipotentiary alleges, that the reiiHon why Great Hritnin did not assert the existence of the Nootka Convention during the negotiations bi-iwecn the two Governments in 1818, was, that no occasion had arisen for its interposi- tion, the American Government not having then nrciuircd the title of Spuin. Ft » very true that the United States had not llien acquired the Spanish title; hut is it possible to imagine, that throughout the whole negotiation, tlie British cominis- •ioners, had tlu-y supposed this convention to have betn in existence, would have remained entirely silent in regard to a treaty which, as Great Ikilaiu now alleges, gave lier ecjuul and co-ordinate rights with Spain to the whole northwest coast of America ? At that period. Great Britain confined her claims to those ariising from dis- covery and purchase from the Indians- How vastly she could have strengthened these claim?, had she then supposed the Nootka Convention to be in force, with her present construction of its provisions-. Kven in 1821 it was first introduced into the negotiation, not by her commi.«sioner.s, but by Mr. Rush, the American plenipotentiary. But the British plenipotentiary argues that "ilie United States can found no •lairn on discovery, exploration, and settlement ellected previously to the Florida treaty, without admitting the principles of the Nootka Convention;" "nor can they a|)peal to any exclusive right as acquired by the Florida treaty, without up- setting all claims adduced in their own proper right, by reason of discovery, ex- ploration, and settlement antecedent to that arrangement.''' This is a : mst ingenious method of making two distinct and independent titles held by the same nation worse than one — of arraying them against each other, and thus destroying the validity of both. Docs he forget that the United States own both these titles, and can wield them either separately or conjointly against the claim of Great Britain at their pleasure ? Krom the course of his remarks, it might be supposed that Great Britain, and not the United State.'', had acquired the Spanish titlj under the Florida treaty. But Great Britain is a third parly — an en- tire stranger to both these titles — and has no right whatever to mar.^hal the one against the other. By what authority can Great Britain interpose in this manner ? Was it ever imagined in any court of justice that liie acquisition of a new title destroyed the old one; and vice t'cr.w, that the purchase of the old title destroyed the new one ? In a question of mere private right, it would be consulered absurd, if a stranger to both titles should say to the parly who had made a seldemenl : Vou ."hall not avail yourself of your possession, because this was taken in violation of another outstanding title; and although 1 must admit that you have also acquired this out- standing title, yet even this shall avail yon nothing, because having taken posses- sion previously to your purchase, you thereby evinv ' " ; t you did not regard such title as valid. And yet such is the mode by which the British plenipotentiary has attemj)ted to destroy both the American and Spanish titles. On the contrary, in the case mentioned, the possession and the outstanding title being united in the same individual, these conjointed would be as perfect as if both had been vested in him from the beginning. The undersigned, whilst strongly assertin? loth these titles, and believing each of them separately to be good as against Gi • it Britain, as studiously avoided in- stituting any comparison between them. i-Jt admitting, for the sake of the ar- } gument merely, thul the tliscovery by Captuin Gray of tlui mouth of the Columbia, its exploration by Lewitt and Clarkt>, and the sottlemcnt upon its bunks at Asto- ria, wore encroachments on Spain, she, and she alone, had a rii^ht to complain. (Jrcut Britain was a third party; and, as such, had no rii>ht to interfere in the (|uestion between Spain and the United States. Hut Spain, instead of complnin- in!( of these acts as »(ncroachineiiH, on the 22d Fel»ruary, iHl'J, by the Florida treaty, transfiried the whole title to the United Status. From that nionnMit all possible con(li(tt l)etvv' ';n the two liih's was ended, both bciiifr uiiilcd in the same party. Two lilies which niiifht have conllieied, therefore, were llins bleuil'-d to- gether. The title now vested in the United Slates is just as stroiijr as thouEfh every act of discovery, exphiralion, and seltlement on the |)arl ol l)()lli poworn hiid been performed by Spain alone, bt fore she h.ul traiifeired all her ris^hls to the United Stales. The two powers arc one in thii respect; the two titles are one; and, as the under»iij;ned will show hereafter, they serve to ronfirm and streiif^then each other. If (ireat Britain, in.xte. of the United States, hud acqnired the title of Spain, she mii^ht have contended that those acl.s of the United Slates were en- croachmci.'ls; but, standin^r in {[m altitude of a stranger to both lilies, she has no right to interfere in the matter. The undersifrned deems it unnecessary to pursue this branch of the subject fur- ther than to state, that the United Slates, before they had acquired the title of Spain, always treated that title with respect, in ths negotiation of 1818, the American plenipoteniiaries ''did not assert that the United States had a perfect rin;ht to that country; but insisted that their claim was at least good aijainst Great Bri- tain;" and the convention of October 20, 1818, unlike that of Noolka Sound, re- served the claims of any other power or Stale to any part of the said country. This reservation could have been intended for Spain alone. But, ever since the Uni- ted Stales ac([uired the Spanish title, ihey liave always asserted and maintained their rijfht in the strongest terms up to the Russian line, even whilst offering, for the sake of harmony and peace, to divide the territory in dispute by the 4Ulh pa- rallel of latitude. The British plenipotentiary, then, has entirely failed to sustain liis position, that the United Stales can found no claim on discovery, exploration, and settlement, without admitting the principles of the Nootka Convention. That conventioa died on the commencement ol the war between Spain and England, in 1796, and has never since been revived. The B- lish plenipotentiary next "endeavors to prove that, even if the Nootka Sound Convention h.'id never existed, the position of Great Britain in regard to her claim, whether to ilie whole or to any particular portion of the Oregon terri- tory, is at least as good as that of the United Stales." In order to establish this position, he must show that the British claim is equal in validity to the titles both of Spain and the United States. These cati never now be separated. They are one and the samo. DilFerfnt and diverging as they may have been before the Florida treaty, they are now blended together and identilied. The separate dis- coTeries, explorations, and setllem-'nts of the two powers previous to that date must now be considered as if they had all been made by the United States alone. Under this palpable view of the subject, the undersigned was surprised to find thai in the comparison and contrast instituted by the British plenipotentiary between the claim of Great Britain and that of the United Slates, he had entirely omitted to refer to the discoveries, explorations, and settlements made by Spain. The un- dersigned will endeavor to supply the omission. But, before he proceeds to the main argument on this point, he feels himself constrained to express his surprise that the British plenipotentiary should agaia have invoked in support of theBriti.sh title the inconsistcni;y betw»i" the Spanish and American branches of the title of the United States. The e iii r- .j^ncd cannot forbear to congratulate himself upon the fact, that a gentleman oi Mr Pakenham's e acknowlcdgrd ahiliiy lins hrcw rciliircd to the nccesnily of relying chirfly ii|*on audi a 8ii(i|)iHt for Hii-'tHiiiiiiir llu- Urilinli pretPn»ii)iiH. Slntrd in lirief, llic nrgu- nipnt is ilii>: tin- Ainfiio.m lidi; i.s not ^ond iiijHitiHt (ircitt Ikiliiiii, l)('r;iii«(! tncDn- siHtciil widi that of Spain; ii>id the S|miiisli liilt; in iml (,'ood O'iiiinsl (ircHl Hiiliiin, lirraii.s(? iii(;tin?«isti'nt with lliai (if Ihi' Dnit'-d States. Thn undcisiuiioil had I'vpcrt- ed Ni.ini'iliin;; far dilii'icnl lioin .such ;iii »ri{iiin(Mii it) n circle, llt'hiid luiiiripalcd that ihp Uriii-h phi>i[ oicniiary would Invn nticiiiptpd to prove tiial Spain liml no ri({lit to lh(! norlhwe«icr;i const id' America; thai it was vacant and nnn[ipropriiited; and hcnci', iridi-r llin law of nations, wasopcu to dis't'ovtry, ('xploiiiiion, and i>et- (li-iny ,1.1 nation:-!, lint no nmcIi ihintr. (Jn ihi.s vital point of Inn cjce, ho rests his nrptiment solely on ilic declara- tion made hy the iinderHi;;iied, that the title (>•' •'■ • Uni'ed Staler lo Ihe valley of the I'liluiiiliia was |icriect aiid ci inplcle h-fori' ''"• tuatie.i of joint occiipali'm of Ociolier, INIH, iind Aii'.^n-t, 1S:27, and heloro t!i date ol the I'lorihi treaty in IHIO. iiiil liic liiili.sli plenipolciitiiiry oiinlit ' • lecojlecl that ihis litlo v.ns bh- st'itod lo 1)1! coiiiplde not a:;ain~l Spain, hiu ajjuin • tireat liiituin; that the aii;u- ment wbs coiulu(;l"d not ns;am.st a Spani.iii, Imt a Uri^iwh plciiipoienliary ; and liiat tilt! Ifnilcd Stales, and not Cireal Diitain, repr(!sfiit .'in- Spanish title. And fnr- iher, tiiat the statenumt I'roni which lie extracts ilii-'C declarations was almost ex- clusively devoted to prove, in the lanirna^e (jiioled hy ihn Hrilinh i)leiii|)olenlinry himself, that ''Spain had a ijood title, as nifaiini Britain, to the whole of the Ore- gon territory." The iindfryisrned hu.s never, as lie bv fore ohserved, instituted any C(im|)arisi)n hetween the .\ineric:in aed the Sjianisli tides. HoMiinr hotli — havin!^ a perl'cct riirht lo n ly U|)on hoth, whether jointly or separately — he iia.s (Jirongly asserted each of them in their turn, fully persuaded that either tiie one or the otiu-r is j,Mod aijainst (Jreai Hrituin; and that no human inge'iuity can mtdie the Spanish title, now vested in the IJniiid .'Mates, woi.^e th.iii it would lisive hceu had It reiiiaiiK'd in the hands of Sjiain. Briedy to illustrate and enfuice tliis title, shall iie the remuiuing task of the nn- dcrsi^Mied. And. in the f\ryt place, he cannot iiiit commend the frankness and candor of the British plenipotentuiry in dej,artinvesl coast of Aineiira as exclusively her own. She did not send out cx|)i;diiiijns to explore that coast, for the purpose of rendering her title more valid. When it suited Iht own convenience, or promoted her own interest, she tilled out such expeditions of discovery to ascertain the character and extent of her own territory; and yet her discoveries along that coast are far earlier than those of the British. That Juan do Fuca, a Gieek in the service of Spain, in 1592, discovered and sailed through tliu sliait now beaiing his name, from its southern to its northern extremity, and thence returned by the same passage, no lonjjer admits of reasona- ble doubt. Am account of this voyaj^e was pnblished in London in 1(525, in a work called the Piljfrims, by Sinmel Purcliu'^. This account was received from the lips of Fiiea iiiiuself, at V^enice, in April, 1596, by Michael Lock, a iiighly respectable English merchant. During a Ion;; period, this voyage was deemed fabulous, because subsequent navigators bad in vain attempted to find these sirails. Finally, after they had been found, it was discovered that the descriplions ol de Fnca corresponded so accurately with tlieir geography, and the fails presented by natuie upon the ground, that it was no longer possible to consider his narration as fabulous. It is true that the opening of the straits from the south lies between the. 48ih and 49lh ijarallels of latitude, aiul not between the 47lli and 48lli parallels, as he had supposed; but ihis mistake may be easily explained by the inaccuracy so common throughi' It the sixteenth century in ascerlaming the latitude of places in newly • discovered countries. It is also true thai de Fuca, after passing through these straits, supposed he had reached ili" Atlantic, and had discovered the passage so long and so anxiously sought alter between the two oceans, but from the loud ignorance and misappre- hension which prevailed at that early day of the geography of this portion of IVorth America, it was natural for Itim to believe that he had made this important discovery. Justice has at leniitii lieen done to his memory, and tliese straits, which lie dis- covered, will, in all future time. Iicar his name. Thus, the merit of the discovery of ihe straits of Fuca, belongs lo Spain; and this nearly two centuries before they had been entered by Captain Berk, ley, under thf Ansirian (l.ig. It is unnecessary to detail ilie discoveries of the Spaniards, as they rejrnlarly advanced to the north from their SfUlenienls on the western coasts ot North Ame- rica, until we reach the voyage of Ca()l. Jiiaii Perez, in 1771. That navigator was commissioned by tiie viceroy of Mexico to proceed, in the corvette Santiago, to the 00th degree of north latitude, and from th:it point to examine the coast down to Mexico. He sailed from San Bias on the 25ih .lanuary, 1774. In the performance of this commission he laiuled first on Ihe northwest coast of Queen Charlotte's island, near the .'J4th degree of north latitude; and thence proceeded south, along the slior<^ of that island and of the great islands of Quadra and Van- couver; and then along the coast of the continent, until he reached Monterey. He went on shore and held inl'rcourse with the natives at several places; and espe- cially at the entr.mce of a bay in latitude 492 degrees, which he called Port San Lorenzo — the same now known by the name of Nootka Sound, lu addition to the journals of this voyage, which render the fact inconiestible, we have the high authority of Baron Humboldt in its favor.That distinguished traveller, who had V I i * 11 / access to the manuscript documents in the city of Mexico, slates that "Perez, ^ anc' his pilot Estevan Martinez, left the port of San Bias om the 24lh Jannary, / 1774. On the 9th of AnLUist they aiichorcil (tlie first of all European navigators) in Nootka roar), which they called the port of San Lorenzo, and which the illus- trious Cook, four years nflerwards, called King George's sound." In the next year, (1775,) the viceroy of Mexico ag.iin fitted out the Santiago, under th-i command of Bruno Ileceia, wilh Perez, iier iornier commander, as en- sign, and also a schooner, called the Sonora, commanded hy.luan Francisco de la Bocltga y (Jiiadra. These vessels were commissioned to examine the northwest- ern coast of America as far as the 65tli degree of latitude, and sailed in company from San Bias on the 15ih March, 177:"). It is unneccfssary to enumerate the different places on the coast examined hy these navigators, either in conjpany or sejiarately. SnOice it to say, thai they landed at many places on the coast from the 4lst to the 57th decree of latitude, on all of which occasions they took jjossession of the country in the name of their sovereign, according to a prescribed regulation ; celebrating mass, reading declarations asserting tiie right of Spain to tlie territory, and erecting crosses with inscrijilions, to conimeinorale tiie event. Some of these crosses were aftL-rwards fou' 'I standing by British navigators. In relation to these voyages. Baron Hum- boldt says . " In the following year, (1775, alter that of Perez.) a second expe- dition set out from San J3las, under the command of lltcela, Ayaln, and (Quadra. Hecela discovered the mouth of the Bio Columbia, called it the Kntraca de He- ceta, the peak of the San Jacinto, (Mount I'^^dgecond),) near Norfolk Bay, and the fine port ((f Bucareli. 1 possess two very curious small maps, engraved in 178S, in the city of Mexico, which give the bearinsfs of the coast from the 27lb to the 58ih degree of latitude, as they were disu-overed in the expedition of (Juadia." In the face of these incontestible facts, the Ikitish plenipotentiary siys, " that Capt. Cook must also be considered the discoverer of Nootka Sound, in conse- quence of the want of authenticity in the alleged previous discovery of ttiat port by Perez." And yet Cook did not even sail from Ivigland until the l^Jiii July, 1776 — nearly twoycars after Perez had made this discovery. The thief object of Cook's voyage was the discovery of a nortlnvest pas.sage ; and he never landed 8t anj- point of the continent soutli of Nootka SjuikI. It is true, that in coasting along the continent, betoic he readied this pi ice, he had observed Cape Flattery; but he was entirely ignorant that this was the southern entrance of the Straits of Fuca. In liis Jonniul he admits that be ' ' beard some iiccount of ibc Spanish voyages of 1774 and 1775, before he leu England; and it is l)eyond question that, before his departure, accounts of the voyage of Quadra had been published, both in Madiid and Loiulon. From Nootka S!)und. Cook did not again see land 'intil lie reached tlie 57th degree of north latitude. In 1787, it is alleged by the British plenipotentiiry that Captain Berkeley, a British subject, discovered tjie Straits of Fuca; hut these Straits bad Lei n discov- ered by Juan de Fuca nearly two centuijcs liefoie. Be,'.id> s, if there had been any merit in this discovery of Capt. Berkeley, it would have belonged to Austria, ill wliose seiviee be was, and under whose colors he sailed, and cannot be appro- priated by Great Britain. And here it is worthy of remark, that these discoveries of Cook and Berkeley, in 177S and 1787, are all those on which the British plenipotentiary rilies, pre- vious totht'dale of the Nootka Sound Convention, in October, 17L)0, to defeat the ancient Spanish title to the northwest coast of America. The undersigned will now take a position which cannot, in his opinion, be successfully assailed; and this is, that no discovery, exploration, or settlement made by Great Britain on the northwest coast of America, after the dale of the Nootka Sound Convention, and before it was terminated by the war of 179(i, can be invoked by that power in favor of her own title, or against the title of Spain. 12 Even according to the British construction of tliat convention, the sovereignty ove; the territory was to remain in abeyance during its continuance, as well in regard to Great Rrilain as to Spain. It would, tlierefore, have been an open vio- lation of faith on the part of Great Britain, alter bavins; secured the privih'ges con- ferred unon her Dy the convtMition to turn round a'^ainst her partner and perform «ny acts calcula'.cd to divest Spain of her iiltiniale sovereii^iity ovt:r any j)ortion of the country. 'Hie palpable meaning of the convention was, that, dnriii;; its con- tinuance, the riirjits of the respective parties, whatever they may have been, should remain just as tiiey had <'xi.-^if d at its comniencement. The Goverunient of Great Ikilaiu is not justly chnrfjeahle willi any siu!]i l;reach of faith. Captain Vi'.ncouver acted without instructi-ins in attempting to take possession ol'tlio whole Hoitluvisiern coast ofAinfric.i in the name of hi.^ ^oveieign. This oflicer, sent out Crotti J']n;jland to execute the coiivciiiion, did not carry with him any auiliority to violate it in this outrageous niantier. Without this treaty, he would have been a mere intruder ; under it, Great Erilaiu had a right to make discoveries and surveys, not thereby to acquire title, but merely to enable her subjects to select spots the most advantageous, to use the language <>l' the convention, "for the purpose of carrying on llieir commerce with the natives of the country, or of making settlements there." if this construction of the Nootka Sound Convention be correct — and the un- dersigned does not perceive how it can be (juestioned — then Vancouver's passage through the Straits of Kuca, in 1792, atul Alexander Mackenzie's journey across the continent, in 1793, can never be transformed into elements of title in favor of Great Britain. But even if the imdersigned could be mistaken in these positions, it would be easy to prove that Capt. John Kendrick, in the American sloop Washington, passed through the Straits of Fuca in 17S'J, three years before Capt. Vancouver perlornied the same voyage. The very instructions to the latter, b-l'ore he left Englaiid, in January, 1791, refer to this fact, which had lieen ccmmutiicated to the Britisli Government by Lieut. IVTeares, who has rendered his name so noto- rious by its connection with the tiausaciions preceding the Nootka Sound Con- vention. It is, moreover, well known tliat the whole southern division of the straits had been explored by the Spanish navigators, Elisa and Quimper — the first in 1790, and the latter in 1701. After what has been said, it will be perceived how little reason the British pleni- potentiary h.ts for stating ihiil his government has, " as far as relates to Vancou- ver's Island, as complete a case of discovery, exploration, and settlement, as can well be presented — giving to Great Britain, in any arrangement that may be made with regard to ihe territory in dispute, t'le strongest possible claim to tlje exclu- sive possession of that island." The discovery thus relied upon is tiiat of Nootka Sound, by Cook, in 1778; when it has been demonstrated that this port .vas first discovered by Perez, in 1774. The exploration is that by Vancouver, in passing through the Straits of Fuca, in 1792, and examining the coasts of the territory in dispute, when de Fuca himself had passed throiiirh these straits in 1592, and Kendrick again in 1789; and a complete examination of the western coast liad been made in 1771 and 1775, both by Perez and Quadra. As to possession, if Meares was ever actually restored to his possessions at Nootka »Sound, whatever these may have been, the undersigned has never seen any evidence of the fact. It is not to hi* fonnd in the journal of Vancouver, although this officer was sent from England for the avowed purpose of witnessing such a restoration. The undersigned knows not whether any new understanding took place between the British and Spanish governments on this subject ; but one fact is pi iced beyond all doubt, that the Spaniards con- tinued in the undisturbed possession of Nootka Sound until the year 1795, when they voluntarily abandoned the place. Great Britain has never at any time since •> \ / 13 f' occupied this or any other position on Vancouver's island. Thus, on the score of either discovery, exploration, or possession, this island seems to be the very last portion of the territory in dispute to which she can assert a just claim. In the meantime, the United Stales were proceeding with the discoveries which served to complete and confirm the Spanish American title to the whole of the disputed territory. Captain Robert Gray, in June, 1789, in the sloop Washington, first explored the whole eastern coast of Queen Charlotte's isUnd. In the autumn of the same year, Cnptain John Kendrick — having in the mean time surrendered the command of the Columbia to Captain Gray — sailed, as has been already stated, in the sloop Washington, entirely through the straits of Fuca. In 1791, Captain Gray returned to the North Pacific in the Columbia; and in the summer of that year, examined many of the inlets and passages between the 54th and G6th degrees of latitude, which the undersigned considers it unnecessary to Hpecify. On the 7lh of May, 1792, he discovered and entered Bulfinch's harbor, where he remained at anchor three days, trading with the Indians. 4^0n the 11th May, 179'i, Captain Gniy fiin.'red the moiitii of the Columbia, and completed the discovery of that great river. This river had been iong sought in vain by former navigators. Doth iMearrs and Vancouver, after exa.nination, had denied its existence. Thus is the world indebted to the enterprise, (^cseverance, and intelligenco ofan American captain of a trading vessel for their first knowleclgft of this, the greatest river on the western coast oi' America — a river wlio-we head springs flow from the gorge.s of the Rocky .Mountains, and whose branches extend frein the 42d to the «53J paralhds of latitude. This wa« the last and most im- portant discovery on the coast, and has pfrpctuated the name of Robert Gray. In all future time this great river will bear the name of his vessel. It is true that Bruno lleceta, in the year 177o, had been opposite the Bay of the Columbia; and the currents and eddies of die water caused liim, as he remarks, to believe tliat this was "the mouth of some grrat rive:, or of some passage to another sea;" and his opinion .seems deeideiily to have been that this was the open- ing of the strait discovered by Juan de Fuca, in 1592. To use his own language: "Notwithstanding the great diilerence between the position of this bay and the passage mentioned by de Fuca, I have little diflicnliy in conceiving that they may be the same, having observed equal or greater difit;rences in the latitudes of other capes and ports on this coast, as I shall shov.' at its prv>per time; and in all cases the latitudes thus assign 'd are higlier than the real ones." Ilecta, from his own declaration, had never entered the Columbia; and he was in doubt wiiether the opening wa.s the mouth of a river or an arm of the sea; and subsequent examinations of the coast by other navigators had rendered theopinit»n universal that no such river existed, when Gray first bore the American flag across its bar, sailed up its channel for twenty-five miles, and remained in the river nine days, trading with the Indians. ^ The British plenipotentiary attempts to depreciate the value to the United States of Gray's discovery, because his ship (the Columbia) was a trading, and not a national, vessel. As he furnishes no reason for this (li>tinc ion. the undersigned will confine, himself to the ren\ark that a merchant vessel bears the flag of her country at her mast-head, and continues under its jurisdiction and protection, in the same manner as though she had been commissioned for the express r"irp<»se of making discoveries. Be.sides, beyond all doubt, this disrovery was made by Gray; and to whnt nation could the benefit of it belong, unless it be to the United States ? Certainly not to Great Brit;tio. And if to Spain, the United Stateg is now her representaiive. Nor docs the u:idcrsigned perceive in what manner the value of this great dis- , overy can be lessened by the fact that it was first published to the world through 14 the journal of Captain Vancouver, a British authority. On the contrary, its au- thenticity being thus acknowledged by the party having an adverse interest, is more firmly established than if it had been first published in the United States. From a careful examination and revievf of the subject, the undersigned ven- tures the assertion, that to Spain and the United Statep belong all the merit of the discovery of the northwest coast of America south of the Russian line, not a spot of which, unless it may have been the shores of some of tiie intev.or bays and inlets, after the entrance to them had l)een known, was ever beh/zd by Bri- tish subjects, until after it had been seen or touched by a Spaniard or hd American. Spain proceeded in this work of discovery, not as a ineins of ac(H)iring title, but for tl\e purpose of examining and surveying territory to which she believed she had an inconteslible right. This title had been sanctioned for centuries by the acknowledgment or acquiescence of all the European powers. 'I'he United States alone could have disputed this title, and that only to the extent of the region watered by the Columbia. The Spanish iind American titles, now uniied by the Florida treaty, cannot be justly rfsisted by Great Britain. Considered together, they consliliiti' a perfect title to the territory in dispute, ever since the llth .May, 1792, when Capt. (iray passed the bar at the mouth of the Columbia, which he had observed in August, 1788. The undersigned will now proceed to show that this title of the United Slate?, at least to the possession of the territory at the mouth of the Columbia, has been acknowledged by the most solemn and unequivocal acts of the British Go- vernment. After the purchase of Louisiana from France, the Government of the United States fitted out an expedition under Messrs. Lewis and Clarke; who, in 180.5, first explored the ('olumbia, Iroiu its source to its mouth, preparatory to the oc- cupation of the territory by the Uniied States. In 1811, the settlement of Astoria was made by the Americans near the mouth of the river, and several other posts wore established in the interior along its bunks. The war of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States thus found the latter in peaceful possession of that region. Astoria was captured by Great Britain during tliis war. The treaty of peace concluded at Ghent in December, 1814, provided that "all territory, places, and possessions whatsoever, taken by either party from the oUier, during the war, &.c. "shall be restored without de- lay." In obedience to the provisions of this treaty. Great Britain restored As- toria to the United States; and thus admitted in the most solemn manner, not only that it had been an American territory or possession at the commencement of the war, but that it had been captured by British arms during its continuance. It is now too late to gainsay or explain away these facts. Both the treaty of Ghent, and the acts of the British Government under it, disprove the allegations ot the British plenipotentiary, that Astoria passed "into British hands by the voluntary act of the per.ions in charge of it," and "that it was restored to the United States in 1818 with certain well-authenticated reservations." In reply to the first of these allegations, it is true that the agents of the (Ame- rican) Pacific Fur Company, before the capture of Astoria on the 16th October, 1813, had transferred all that they could transfer — the private property of the company — to the (British) Northwest Company; but it will scarcely be contended that such an arrangement could impair the sovereign rights of the United Slates to the territoiy. Accordingly, the American flag was still kept flying over the fort until the 1st December, 1813, when it wps captured by his Majesty's sloop of war Raccoon, and the British flag was then substituted. That it was not restored to the United States "with certain well-authenticated reservations," fully appears from the act of restoration itself, bearing dale 6th Oc- tober, 181S. This is as absolute and unconditional as the English language can make it. That this was according to the intention of Lord Castlereagh, clearlj 15 found G reat :ember, en by out de- red As- lot only of the It is Ghent, ol the unlary States (Ame- Dclober, of the ntended Stales iver the sloop nticated 6ti\ Oc- lage can , clearly appears from his previous admission to Mr. Rush of the right of the Americans to be reinstated, and to be the party in possession while treating on the title. If British ministers iil'lerwards, in despatches to their own accents, the contents of which were not communicated to the Government of the United States, thought proper to protest ngainst our title, these were, in effect, but mere mental reserva- tions, which could not affect the validity of their own solemn and unconditional act of rcHtoration. But the British plenipotentiary, notwithstanding the American discovery of the Columbia by Captain Gray, and the exploration by Lewis and Clarli of several of its branches, from their sources in the llocky Mountains, as well as its main chan- nel to the ocean, contends tliat because Tlioinpson, a British .sulijecl in the em- ploynienl v( the Northwest Company, was llie first who navii^ated the northern branch of that river, the Bi'itisli ^ovcrnnient thereby acquired certain rights against the United Stales, theexteui of whicli Ik" does not undertake to sptcily. In other words, that after one nation had discovered and explored a great river, and several tributaries, and made seitleuu'nts on its baiiks, another nation, if it could find a single branch of its head waters wiiic.li had not been actually explored, might appropriate to itself this branch, lo;rether with the adjacent territory. If lliis conld have been done, it would have produced perpetual strife and collision among the nations after Ihc discovery of America. It would have violated the wise principle consi'crated by llie [jraetice of nations, which gives the valley drained by a river and its branches to the nation which had first discovered and appropriated its mouth. But, for another reason, this alleged discovery of Thompson has no merits what- ever. His journey was undertaken on behalf of the Norihwest Company for the mere purpose of anticipating the United States in ihe occupation of the mouth of the Cclumbiu--a territory to which no nation, unless it may have been Spain, could with any show of justice dispute their right. They had acquired it by discovery and by exploration, and were now in the act of taking possession. It was in an en- terprise undertaken for such a purpose, that Thompson, in hastening from Ca- nada to the mouth of the Columbia, descended the north, arbitrarily assumed by Great Britain to be the main br.Juch of this river. The period was far loo late to impair the title of either Spain or the United Slates by any such proceeding. JVlr. Thompson, on his return, was accompanied by a party from Astoria, under Mr. David Stuart, wlio established a post at the confluence of the Okinagan with the north branch of the Columbia, about six hundred miles above the mouth of the latter. In the i\e.A year (1812) a second trading post was established by a party from Astoria, on the Spokan, about six hundred and fifty miles from the ocean. It thus appears that, previous to the capture of Astoria by the British, the Ame- ricans had extended their possessions up the Columbia six hundred and fifty miles. The more intrusion of the Northwest Comp my into this territory, and the estab- lishment ol two or three trading posts, in 1811 and 1812, on the head waters of the river, can surely not interfere with or impair the Spanish American title. What this company may have done in the intermediate period until the 20th Oc- tober, 1818 — the date of the first treaty of joint or.cupalion — is unknown to the undersigned, from the impenetrable mystery in which they have veiled their pro- ceedings. After the date of this treaty, neither Great Brilam nor the United Slates could have performed any act afTecting their claims to the disputed territory. To sum up the whole, then. Great Britain cannot rest her claims to the north- west coast of America upon discovery. As little will her single claim by settle- ment at Nootka Sound avail her. Even Belsham, her own historian, forty years ago, declared it to be certain, from the most authentic iuformation, "that the Spa- nish flag flying at ISootka w as never struck, and ihat the territory had beeu vir- tually relinquished by Great Britain." 16 The agents of the Northwest Company, penetrating the continent from Canada, in 1806, estublisiied their first trading post west of the Rocky Mountains, at Frji- zer's lake, in the d4lh degree of latitude; and this, with the trading posts estab- lished by Thompson — to which the undersigned h.is just adverted — and possibly some others nfierwunLs, previous to October, 1818, coiustitute the claim of Great Britain by actual settlemfut. Ujjon ilie whole: From the most careful and ample examination which the un- dersigned has been able to bestow upon tlie subject, he is satisfied that the Spanish American title now held by the Uniifd Slates, embracing the wiiule territory be- tween llie paialhOs of 42 dcgn^es and 54 degiei^s 40 minutes, is the best title in existence to this entire region; and that the claim ol Great Briiain to any portion of it has no .sudicient fouiidaliou. Even Brili^h geographers have not doubted our title to. the territory in dit^pnie. There is u large and splendid glolie now in the Department cf State, recently red ived from London, and published by Mnlby and Company, 'Snannfacturers and piiUlisheis to (he Society lor the Diffusion of Useful knowledge," which assigns ibis territory to the United States." Notwithsti'.nding such was and still is the opinion of the President, vet, in the spirit of coinproiiiibc and concession, ami in defrcnco to the action of his prede- cessors, the undersigned, in obedience to his iastructioiit, propo.-cd to the British plenipotentiary to seiile the controversy by dividing the territory in dispute by the 49th parallel of latitude, otlcring at the satne time to mtdcc free to Great Bri- tain any potior ports on Vancunvcr's islmd, south of (his latitude, which the British lrov('i■nnl^'llt might ilesir.^. The JJritisii plenipoifntJnry has correctly suggested that tlie frep. navigation of tiip Colujiihia river wiis not cinbraci d in this proposal to Gre;U Britain; but. on the otlipr hiin.l, the use of free ports on tlie soulhern extremity of this inland had not befn included in loriner ofi'ers. Such a propositioii as that v.'hicli has lit-on made, never would have been authorized by thePrpsi.lt'iil, had this bfca a new (piesiioii. Upon his accession tooifice. he I'oiiud the present ncg'tiation pendinn;. It hod been institute I ia the spirit nnd upon the p;in'.-ipl» of lonipromise. Its ohjpct.as avowed by the negotiators, was not to ilernanii ttin whole territory in dispute lor either coumry; but in the lansn;>gt> of the ilrst protocol, "to treat of the rpspectivH claims of the two coun- tries to the Oregon t irritory wi.h tlu' view to estalilish a perrnaneat boundary between thcin westward of the Rocky Moui'.iairis to the Pacific ocean." Phiced in tliis position, anil considering that Presidents Monroe and Adams had on former occasions olTered to divide tle^ tprriiory in dis,)Ute by the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, he lelt it to bo his duly not a'lrnptly to anest the negotiation; l)ut so I'ar to yield his own opinion as oace more to ma!;e a similar offer. Not only respect for the conduct of his predeces.sors, hut a sincere and anxious desire to promote peace and linrniony hetwren the two countries, influenced him to pnrsue this course. The Oregon q lestion prcsints the only intcrveiung clond which intercepts the prospect of a lon<^ careerof inuiiial friendship and bcneliciai commerce between the two nations, ami tliis cloud he desin d lo remove These are tiie reasons which a<;luated the Pres, nt to offer a proposition so liberal to Great Britain. And how has this proposition been received by the British plenioolenliary? It has been rejected wiihout even n reference to his own govern 'nent. Nay, more; the Bri- tish pleiiipotenoary, to use his own language, "trnsis tint the American plenipotentiary will be prepared to od'.T scnae further proposal lor the settlement ol the Ofegon fjuestion more amnislenl iBUhJiiirnesmiiil eiiuUij, and with the reasoriabk erficctations of the Brilish gooeriimi^nlf" Under these circf nslanccs, the undersigned is instructed by the President to say that he owes it lo !iis own country, and ajust anpreciation of her title to the Oregon terrilury, to wiihdra\v tlie propocilion lo the liriiiid' government which had been made under his direction; and it is hereby accordingly vv'itiidrav/n. In taking this necessary step, the Prc:udent still cheri'-her! th» hope th.al this long pend- ing controversy vnay yet be finaUy adjusted in stfii a manner as not to disturb the peace or interrupt the harmony now so h.ippdy subsisting between the two uatious. The undersigutd avails himself, kc. • JAMES BUCHANAN. The Right Hon. R. PixENHAM, fcc. Canada, ), al Fru- its estab- possilily of G leat I the un- > Spanish itory be- lt title in f portion doubted 3 now in ly Mnlby tusioii of 3t, in the is prcde- e British spule by reat Bri- fliich the suggested opos^al to iremily of ulhorized had been /owed by tinry; but wo coun- between IS had on larallel of II to yield las desire to pursue inii>r(?opl8 ween the liberal to ? It has ; the Bri- tit'ntiary question te Bnlish I say that tcrrilury, under his mgppnd- tlu- peace AN.