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 SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 MR. HANNEGAN OF INDIANA, 
 
 ON THE 
 
 OREGON QUESTION. 
 
 DKLIV ERKD 
 
 3N THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 FEBRUARY 16, 1846 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 PRINTED AT THE UNION OFFICB 
 
 1846. 
 
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SPEECH. 
 
 OJS THE RESOLirriON OIVINQ THB TWELVE MONTHS' NOTICE FOR THE TERMI- 
 NATION OP THE ; JINT OCCUPANCY OP THE OREGON TERRITORY. 
 
 M Iht Srxate, February 16, 1846— On the resolution 
 of notice of the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
 hnd on the rcBoIutiona relative to Oregon, which he 
 had previouBly iMbmitted, and the amendment 
 thereto as a substhute, proposed by Mr. Cal- 
 
 ■MOUS'. 
 
 At 1 o'clock the Senate proceeded to tne discus- 
 sion of the special order, being the Joint resolution 
 of the Committee on Foreign Relations, proposing 
 to give notice to Great Britain of the intention of 
 this government to annul the treaty for the joint oc- 
 cupation of ihcOregon territory, and the resolutionsof 
 Messrs. Hanneoan, Calhoun, and Crittenden 
 having relation to the same subject. The question 
 immediately pending was the amendment of Mr. 
 Crittenden, which being announced — 
 
 Mr. HANNEQAN then rose and addressed the 
 Senate as follows: Mr. President, there are various 
 pro)>ositioris rtluting to the subjert of Oregon now 
 ' before the Senate for its consideration, which prop- 
 ositions have been already fully and clearly stated 
 bp the presiding officer of this body; to any one of 
 whiiih, or all of them, if I correctly understand the 
 rules of the Senate, it will be in order to speak. As 
 far as the rcanlution for giving notice of the termina- 
 tion of the joint occupancy of Oregon is concerned, 
 it is a matter of very little consequence whether the 
 resolution reported from the Committee on Foreign 
 Relations or tho resolution offtred by the senator 
 fi|om Kentucky, [Mr. Chittenhen,] shall prevail. 
 Eitlier one or the other will satisfy me. But I con- 
 sider the giving of the notice at the present session of 
 Congress a matter of the utmost importance in many 
 points of vitw. It will be entirely unnecessary, 
 however, to discuss those various points, and, in- 
 deed, it would not be consistent with the course 
 wliicli I have marked out for myself. I desire to 
 speak more particularly ui>on some other branches j 
 of the subject, and especially in reference to the 
 resolutions which I had the honor to submit, and 
 the amendment t > those resolutions, or substitute 
 for them, proposed by the honorable senator from ' 
 South Carolina, [Mr. Calhoun.] I prefer this course' 
 for the simple icason that the resolutions which 1 1 
 submitted bring the whole question of Oregon I 
 directly before the Senate. My first resolution de-l 
 dares our title to the whole of the territory, ex- 1 
 tending them from the Rocky mountains to the Pa-[ 
 
 cific ocean, and lying south of 5iP 40' north lati- 
 tude, to be valid and unquestionable; in the. second 
 resolution I declare that this government has ho 
 power to alienate its soil, or to transfer the allegiance 
 of its citizens, to any foreign prince or power; and 
 by the third resolution it is declared to be in direct 
 violation of the honor jBiid best interests of tke etfua- 
 try to surrender that which is clearly ours- In 
 amendment to these resolutions, the ssnator from 
 South Carolina has submitted the following: 
 
 Res-^lvtd, TUnt the rrpaiaent of the United States ban pow- 
 er, "by »n<l with the advice and conKiint of the Senate, to 
 make treaties, provided two-tbirds of the senators piesant 
 concur." 
 
 Resnlvid, That the power of making trea'.iea embraces tkfet 
 of Dettlin^and fiKinsr bnun aries betweeathe territories and 
 possessions of the IJnited States and those bf other p»werf, 
 m cases of conflicting claims between them in reference to 
 the same. 
 
 Resolved, That, however clear their claims may be. ia 
 their opinion, to "the country included within the parallels 
 of 4'} ieg. and 54 deg. 40 miti. north latitudcv and extendinK 
 from the Rocliy mountains to the Pacific ocean, known at 
 the territory of Oregon," there now exiils, and have loag' 
 existed. conAictingclaim!) to the possession of the same be- 
 tween them and Great Britain, the adjustment of which 
 has been frequently the subject of negotiation between the 
 respective governments. 
 
 And also Mr, Calhoun's fifth resolution, as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 Resolved, That the President of the ITnitod States, in re- 
 newing the oll'er, in tlie spirit of peace an.l compromise, to 
 nstabliiih the 49t)i degrcK ol north l.atit\idt' as a line between, 
 the two co'.ntdes to tho said territory, did not abandon the 
 honor, the character, or the best interests of the American 
 people, or cxcect! the power vested in him by the eonstitw- 
 tion to malie treaties. 
 
 To this last resolution I have no answer to make. 
 1 shall not attempt to consider it in any way. To 
 the first resolution I have no earthly objection. All 
 that is substantial in it is in accordance with the let- 
 ter and spirit of the constitution. 
 
 The second resolution of the senator from South 
 Carolina contains some undoubted truth, but it ia 
 not applicable at all to the subject of Oregon. I de- 
 sire th<' Senate to observe that the senator from 
 South Carolina, not only in this resolution, but else- 
 where in his resolutions, uses the word ^'claims'* as 
 applicable to the pretensions o^both countries. I 
 use the word tUle when speaking-ofthe United Slates. 
 I think his second resolution utterly inapplicable 
 here, from the fact that his entire series does not 
 
present the quealion in its true attitude. We set up 
 BO claim — we assert title, the freehold, the sovereign- 
 ty. It is England alone that rents upon a nakrd 
 claim. 
 
 To this hour she never has succeeded in showing 
 even "a colorable title" to one single foot; whilst 
 upon the other hand, I hold that our negotiators, our 
 executive department, both branches of Congress, 
 hundreds of our fellow-citizens all over the Union, 
 have at various inbervals, and in rapid succession, 
 made out and exhibited to the world as clear a case 
 of title to the country between the parallels of 42° 
 and 54° 40' on the Pacific, with the adjacent islands, 
 as was ever made out to the soil and freehold of any 
 country on earth — as clear as can be made out by 
 any member of this body to the plantation on which 
 stands hid habitation. 
 
 IVithout losing any time by prefatory remarks, 
 I will go at once into the evidence of the title, 
 which has already been presented on several occa- 
 sions, 
 
 To avoid stepping in the course of my remarks to 
 name authorities, 1 may now simply state in ad- 
 vance, that the sources from whence my informa- 
 tion is chiefly derived arc the works of Malic Brun 
 and Humboldt, the writings of sevnrni hrads of the 
 S'.ite D.^partment, the speeches delivered in this 
 bi ', and the other branch, by various distinguish- 
 ta .nen, for the last twenty-five years, and from the 
 work of, and conversntiona with, the commander of 
 the exploring squadron, Captain Ciiarles Wilkes, 
 and alpo from the persunal communications of Com- 
 mbdores .Tones and Aulick, both of wiiom have vis- 
 ited a portion of ihe coast in question. 
 
 Humboldt informs us that in the year l.ldi, 
 Francisco Gall, in his voyage from Macao to Aca- 
 pulco, discovered the northwest const of America as 
 high as 57° .30*. In the language of this author, 
 "Gali admired, like all thos.; who since his lime 
 have visited Kew Cornwall, the beauty of those co- 
 lossal mountains of which the summit is covered 
 with perpetual snow, while their bottom is covered 
 with the most beautiful vegetation." 
 
 New Cornwall, as it w.^ called Ion"; after, if I 
 recollect right, by Vancouver, extends from the 
 54th degree to the 57th. This discovery by Gaii 
 ■was ten years anterior to the voyage of Juan de 
 Fuca, wlio discovered the strait separating the 
 eouthern point of Vancouver's island from the main 
 land. Whilflt giving implicit credence to the dis- 
 coveries of Gal i, Humboldt, for reasons I cannot 
 discover, is inclined to treat the voyage of Juan de 
 Fuca OB apocryphal. The examinations of modern 
 4mes have united a concurrent fupport of de 
 Fuca|a statements, and with one accord the strait 
 he discovered perpetuates his name. Tills voyage 
 ofdeFu-'a was in 1592. .Subsequent to that time, 
 «nd up to the period of 1774, Spain continued or, 
 various occasions to aend marinerd into trmse seas 
 as high north as the parallels of 55° and 57°. 
 Througho'ji. the whole period she was, by the com- 
 mon conscni of Christendom, 'dgarded as the sov- 
 creig,« and possessor, not only to the last-named par- 
 allel, but still further to the north. 
 
 I'l the year 1774, however, occi.red the voyage 
 of .fuan Perez, under the authority of the Spanish 
 go irernment, to a p(/lnt between the parallels of 55'' 
 and 50°, 
 
 He landed on the north coast of Washington isl- 
 and, traded with the natives, took possession for- 
 Bialiy in the name of the king of Spain, coasted 
 dowa it, and' thence to Vancouver's island, along 
 
 which he coasted, landing and trading with the 
 natives, and was the first civilized nMin who di,scov> 
 ered or entered Nootka sound, where he anchored, 
 and christened it Port San Lorenzo, in honor of the 
 saint on whose natal day he entered it. The year 
 following his return, the Spanish viceroy of Mexico 
 fitted out another expedition, the command of 
 which was assigned to Bruno Heceta, accompanied 
 by Perez and Qiuadra, and they proceeded to the 
 57th degree north. They erected monuments, af- 
 fixed to them inscriptions, raised crosses, traded 
 with the natives, and took possession in the name of 
 the king of Spain, of the whole country south of the 
 57th parallel. In so doing, they complied with 
 all the formalities known to the age, and upon the 
 principles which have guided the course of England 
 on more than one occasion. These two voyage-^ 
 would alone constitute a perfect title by discovery. 
 This last voyage, commanded by Heceta, was two 
 years prior to the voyage of Captain Cook, on 
 whose discoveries the English claim now rests, .\z 
 one time she defended her claim undtr the piratical 
 voyage of Sir Francis Drake, to the Spanish pos- 
 sessions on the Pacific; history, however, has long 
 since assigned to that renowned freebooter his ap^ 
 propriate place. Pilla ,rt and plunder were his in- 
 centives, not the di.scovery and acquisition of terri- 
 tory. It is exceedingly doubtful whether lie pro- 
 ceedcil as high north as 48^ As the claim under 
 hi.4 discovery is abandoned, it would be useless to 
 give it further notice. 
 
 In opposition to the conceded discoveries of .Spaii:, 
 ICngland, at this day, romesi in with the voyage of 
 Captain Cook, the Notka Sound convention, and 
 the voyage of Vimcouver. A sufficient answer to 
 the claim under Cook, is founded in the well-au- 
 thenticated fact, admitted by Cook himself, that 
 prior to sniling from Kngland nn account of the voy- 
 age of Heceta had been published by Q,uadra, and 
 had been scon by Cook. This simple statement of 
 fact is the most decisive and complete refutation oi 
 the English claim by di.scovery. 
 
 Her claims under the Nootka Sound convention 
 arc no better tbunded. In the year 1789, an Eng- 
 lish subject named Mcares landed at Nootka souird, 
 and erected some huts for the purpose of trading 
 with the natives; and shortly after an English ves- 
 sel coming in, was seized by the Spaniards who had 
 a settlement there. Mcares was sent in coniinc- 
 nfient to Mexico, and the ships and cargo were con- 
 ii.scated. An appeal was made to the English gov- 
 ernment by Meares, for hnr prutection and interposi- 
 tion; and, to her honor be it spoken, that appeal 
 is never made in vain. She promptly addressed the 
 Spanish government; and Spain, 'n reply, alleged 
 that an English subject had trespassed on her do- 
 minions. England armed, nnd thrcitened in.'stant 
 hostilities unless Spain would make reparation tor 
 the nlleged injury. Spain, weak asi she wa?, and 
 controlled at that time by the weakest and mo.st im- 
 becile monarch that has dishonored a throne in mod- 
 ern times, who wau him.3elf infamon^ly controllei! 
 by the notorious and abiindoncd G idoy, misi;a!!ei 
 Prince of Peace — even Spain, iu her degradation, 
 refused the orbitrary exHCtiona of England. An 
 iippeal, under the "family compact," \v\a made to 
 France by the Spanish minister. C'lunt Nunez, <le- 
 manding assistance nnd support, in accordance with 
 the terms of that compact. The reply of Franct 
 was, that she was ready to meet and discharge her 
 obligations under the "family corftpact" The un- 
 settled condition of her nfToirs prevented ihc aid 
 
 t 
 
r 
 
 that waa invoked, for the flame wati ulrcudy kindling 
 which, three short years ufter, brought Louis XVl 
 to the block. Left alone, weak ana feeble as she 
 was, Spain could not, single-handed, encounter the 
 colodsal [lower of EnglnnJ, and was compelled to 
 submit to terms. 
 
 But, in so doing, she maintained to the last the 
 tone of her minister in addressing the French gov- 
 ernment for aid. That communication appealed to 
 all Europe for the jutisfication of her title to the ter- 
 ritory in question. Its lunguagu i» vio;oroua and 
 remarkable, and defies rcfutntlon. With the per- 
 mission of the Senate, 1 will read a pnesn^e from 
 that communication. Here it is: 
 
 •'\p\. That by the tre^xtiin. dcinuikatiun^, takings of poa- 
 se:isioii, ami tho niott ilfciilcd acts of foveruiuiily exerriaiHl 
 by till! Hp.ini.udc in tlifsu EtalioMs from Ihi; ri-igii of ('.hurlcs 
 tlie sicoriil, anil aulliciriiti.l l)y tli'\l moinrcirin 103^, tlifc 
 ori'riicil voiichen fir wliicli shall he liioii>»lit forwind in 
 the course of the nuijo'.iitiii.i. nil the cou'itlo tliu noilli of 
 thf ivi'stcrn Aineiici. on tho ^i.lc t'f tho soiitli ten, a>. f,ir :i» 
 bL'Vond ivhat i" callrd I'rinci' W'illirun'd Miunil, wliiih is in 
 the tilfil degrco, is aoknowltdjifd to litlonij ixclusivcl)' to 
 Spain" 
 
 "3J. Thai the state of tin- poisussionw r\\i\ i'<;;-.hi(ivi' com- 
 niirrct' '1,1 tilt' yvaijuatl of the soiitlirrn ii'.'c in, a:, it e\isl(';l 
 in till- tiiMi- (if (;li,ir;oi tlif iU'CDrvl. Ii;i,l tu:i :; aoUnowleilr:;!'!! 
 rindil'diud anew !•}• all th'j iialions of Kiiropc, and inoif 
 ;ia'.tii'nl i.lv I y F.unlaail, in the tiyliUi article ol tlic tro^l) 
 of l:tr,:r.!ii." 
 
 Mr. Presiilciit. rvnry rommuniralion v liirli siib- 
 EC(|i!fiitIy j).;'!.'<e(l frini Count Kloriila i'liiir.n, the 
 y|mniaii iic^Dtia'nr, in Mr. Fiizlitrliert, the l',ii;;li.-li 
 envoy, contains liiiigiiii<;e rqiinlly, if not mere (lt;i'i- 
 dcd, in the nH.ibrtion of •'^pniiisli title, than the pa.'! 
 sa!;c I have quoted. Ami ut tlid vi'iy moment of 
 signing the Nootka Si)ui»(l convention, to nvoi'l all 
 sulisiMiiunt fruudoleiii interpretation, and in dcfmicc 
 of the ganntlcittd h:ind itnpcndinn; over her, Count 
 Florida IJ'anc.a dcL-I.^ies that Spain yielii.s not one 
 tittle of sovereignty — of exclusive sovereignly over 
 the soil. 
 
 If wa add to this, and the common cotascnt of 
 Christendom before alluded to, the fact, that Mr. 
 Fiizherbert madu no assertion of title for England, 
 but confined himself to a vague and undcfinecl ex- 
 pression of rights, or "claims," up to the time of 
 accepting the convention on behalf of England, we 
 have as clear a title in Spain to Vancouver's island, 
 and the adjacent coaiiit and islands, as can be 
 found in history, to the attachment of any newly 
 discovered country on earth. Tiiat admission of 
 right in Spain extended as high north as the Gist 
 parallel. 
 
 Oh, what a picture would the secret history of 
 English diplomacy present! I speak not in censure 
 of the master-spirits who for centuries have con- 
 trolled her councils, leading her step by step to the 
 mastery of the world. Their far-sightednesj, and 
 their devotion to her interests, is worthy of commen- 
 dation and emulation. Perhaps no stronger in- 
 stance of forecast was ever given than that which 
 sixty years ago saw the vast importance that the 
 desert coast of the Pacific was ultimately to attain 
 in the scale of empire. 
 
 The Nootka Sound convention gave to England 
 the right "to land on the coasts in places not already 
 occupied, Tor the purpose of carrying on their com- 
 merce with the iialiTes of the country, or of miking 
 SRitlements ihcre," with the sole intention of afford- 
 ing her facilities in such intercourse with the natives 
 and to enable her to repair her vessels. These 
 secondary and permissive rights, in no manner in- 
 • solving the sovereignty, were all she acquiicd by 
 
 that convention — all that her atatesmen then 
 claimed — all that Spain conceded. Ant^ yet aha 
 has at this hour the eflfrontery to assert, m the face 
 ofhistory, that she thus acquired the right of para- 
 mount occupation and settlement. I say all that 
 her statesmen claimed; for Mr. Fox, in the British 
 Parliament, whilst the convention was underdiscus- 
 sion, denounced it as "a treaty of eoiiensions and not 
 of acquisiliont." In another passage he asserts, 
 that "we had given up all right to settle except for 
 temporary [lurposes, to tho south of the Spanish 
 settlements or in the intervals oelween them, where 
 they happened to be distant." — Par. Hit. vol. 28, 
 p. 995. 
 
 And in confirmation of this language, Mr. Pitt, 
 under whose auspices ns prine minister theconven'* 
 tion had been nej-totiated, replied by stiyiig, that 
 li:n:;l:ind "hud giincd no new rii;hfH, but that she 
 Ind gained new advantagoa." The^p tiew advan- 
 iao;r.T, in the la'i;fiia;,'e of Mr. Pitt, consisteil simply 
 in llic iickno-.vkiignient liy Spain "of the right of 
 'Cn;;lnml to carry on lislicri-a in llie Parific ocean, 
 to tr iJe (in the co.ist of uiiy p:irt of it northwest 
 
 of America." 
 
 hnni(di,\!c'!y after tlic cxcniti >n of this conven- 
 tion, Ivi;; an I fiiicl out one or two sliips, and in- 
 trusted tho CKiiiinaml to C.ipt.nin Vancouver, to pro- 
 ceed oil a voyaf^e of discovery — yes-, of dijtoovery 
 to the I'iicilii; ocean, and, ns is ulli^^'cd, to iirocnre res- 
 litulioii ol' LMi'.'lish projifiity in c inijiliaMcc with the 
 oonvcnlion. What v.tae thy oor-,urrenc,ci of that 
 voymre? Il'i^piin had intende:!, by this convention, 
 to deliver i\o iilc;i sounJ lo E);;l.\nd, or if England 
 had under.'HioiJ ii an thus ar.r|uirfd, would it not 
 have bteo prompily enforced by the one, if refused 
 by thr; other.' M >3t asisuredU'. Hut what i.s the 
 f.tct? When Vnnno'iver reached Nootka 8 lund, did 
 he make any demaml for restoration.' No-ie that I 
 ever heard ot. And ifso, it w.is not comjilied with; 
 fur so far from delivering to him poascssion of ^foot• 
 i ka Pound, which in between the pirallela of 49^ and 
 50<^, the Spanish command>int refused to allow him 
 lo proceed around the island of Quadra or Vancou- 
 ver, by tho straits of Fuca, th« gulf of Georgia, and 
 Queen CharloiteV sound, which all combine to sep- 
 arate it from the main land, until he could get ves- 
 sels ready to ascompuiiy him, and he did accompa- 
 ny him. 
 
 And here let me pause to mark a point in English 
 diplomatic artifice. Upon the arrival of Vancouver 
 at Nootka sound, the island v<fhich forms the sound 
 was called Quadra, and had l>ecn^for years; the Span« 
 iards were in possession; a Spanish commandant, 
 he whose name the island bore, held possession in 
 the name of Spain, and a flourishing Spanish set- 
 tlement, with the consent and approbation of the na- 
 tives, was established. Without a word on the 
 subject of restoration, or of sovereignty, or right t* 
 the island, but silently and without the knowledge 
 of any one, but doubtless with the secret sanction 
 of the English ministry, Vancouver in his journal 
 and chart christens the island by his own name, in 
 order that Engiarid, half a century afterwards, might 
 have another point on which to rest her random 
 and vagrant claim. The flagrancy of this act is 
 more striking when it is recollected that Spain held 
 possession, not only at Nootka sound, but of the 
 entire island of Vancouver — undisturbed, undispu- 
 ted possesi^ion — from that period until the year 
 1795, when she voluntarily abandoned it, because 
 the disturbed condition of Eur5p9 was such as to 
 prevent her or any other European pawar from ex- 
 
tending 6r protecting such remote settlements du- 
 ring the succeeding twenty years. 
 
 But did England after this abandonment by Spain 
 come forward with her claim? Did she attempt a 
 setllemeiit? Certainly not. No senator can show, 
 for England herself cannot, that between the par- 
 allelHot 42Pttnd 54° 40' she i;ver made a ficttlement or 
 asserted a ''claim" to a single inch of ground, until 
 it had been previously owned and occupied Ijy 
 others. 
 
 Notwithstandin:^ her uniform course all a\rr tlic 
 world ofcjaiiniiii:; and holdinp; hy discovery na her 
 own ri°;lit, aha rciiuires Komcthing m Jiv in others, 
 whenever it units li(!r purpo^fis, than nicri^diKcnvcry. 
 
 Meart'B, whu was the t)ri{jin of ilii.^ iliffiruliy :it 
 Nootka ^'()n'ld, in ii mumnriyil niaJc tf> his o'.vn j'ov- 
 crnmeiit, but wiiioh i^ proved by aijlmtantial wit- 
 nesses to lie fnl.-se, alleged that he hid purchancd 
 landat Nootk.i of the liaiive cliicf Mupiinnii, and 
 had thus acquired the right to build, o<:>'.uj)y, and 
 possess). 
 
 Two Aniericuii navigators, Cnptainn Gray and 
 Ingraham, were at that point when the dilHculty 
 occurrc'l, and st,'»t6 emphatically that, the chief denied j 
 ever giving the right to Mnares or any i>:lic,r En- 
 glishman to miiko sctilemenia there, ni)r dil ha to j 
 any cxtciitad. nit their claims. On the contrary, at 
 the period of this difficulty, the native chief took 
 part with the Spaniiirds. This fact, even under the 
 English construction of the rule for others in the con- 
 summation of title by discovery, gives Spain a (icr- 
 fect title; for when the net of discovery is accompa- 
 nied by permanent settlement with the conRcnt of 
 the natives, it constitutes, according to that construc- 
 tion, a perfect title. 
 
 So much for the claim of England to Oregon; for 
 this is the entire evidence of title upon which she 
 rests. She is just where she was in 1189, when she 
 attempted to extort the country from the weakness 
 aad the terrors of >Spain. She has no additional 
 derivation of title to point to from that hour to this. 
 We have purchased the title of Spain by the Flori- 
 da treaty;, we a.'.qiurcd all her rightf, and all her 
 sovereignty. We stand to-day precisely in the 
 shoes — if i may so speak — of Spain in 1789. We 
 occupy in relation to Oregon the very position then 
 occupied by that enfeebled and worn-out monarchy. 
 Now, as then, the samcdomineermgpowcr is arming 
 to the teeth to drive us completely from the ground 
 which poor Spain more than half maintained. 
 
 Shall the mailed hand of England dictate to us 
 another Nootka Sound convention? Shall it do 
 more? — nhali it force us to surrender that for 
 which Spain prepared to struggle. Shall the 
 twenty millions who now people free Americo, 
 with energies unfathomed, and as 1 believe 
 unfathomable, with resources unsurpassed in 
 the history of nations — shall we, thus endowed, 
 abandon a position in defence of which Spain was 
 willing to iHizard a contest, the result of which to 
 her was not even doubtful, and upon it was slaked 
 her natioral existence? Even the effeminate 
 mind of Charles IV held his nation's honor 
 as dear us hia nation's existence. I know it is some- 
 times fliieeringly asked, what has honor to do with 
 Oregon? — and why should there be so much talk 
 about honor? Mr. Pox, wfiose authority 1 dearly 
 love to quote — for i reverence his memory — said in 
 the debate in Parliament I have before quoted 
 from : 
 
 'Honor, 10 nalioni!, was pThaps the only jaatifiabU or ra- 
 tional groun') of contest. Warij forthu nr.ke ofcoiiqufiit.of 
 
 aeauiring dominion or exifndin; tniia, w«re<q«ally uDjU4i 
 aiM impolitic. I{« who viiHlicuted tite honor vf a country 
 wan th«i advocate of ita deareit iotcreiu, becautc to viiiJl- 
 cate itii bonor wan to (ucure iti peace." 
 
 And this authority will eland good when the 
 memory of those who ask *'why tolk of honoi?'* 
 shall be forgotten. 
 
 Hut in addition to the title of Spain, we have one 
 of our own to contend for — the diBcovery and cu- 
 tranre into the ntouth of the Columbia river by 
 Captain Gray, of Hnston. That river hit* its source 
 al)oul the 5.')d fiardl'.'l of north Ls.i'.ude. J^ addi- 
 tion to tlii.s, we h.ive the ri«;ht acquired by the dio 
 I'ovcrici riid expli)ration.s of Lewi-i niul (/"larke, (jiv- 
 ing us higher lli.ui the -19! h p.mnlli;!, to which the 
 iitjiiator (ri)in t^oulh Carolina would confine the 
 Amerir.ui Uoundary. Is there notliing due lo the 
 initerpri.ii;, the privations, uiid the ftii'.i'ringM of that 
 <^allaiit party, despA'r.hed l)y o'lr government to ex- 
 phne and take posocsnion of this territory? Is there 
 nothing; duo to the privations they endured in their 
 journey to that region — piercing the mountains in a 
 region of eternal snov/ — v/iBlering without hunsc, 
 or tent, or hut, and subsisting on sc*nty meal;; ol 
 horse-ll'iiil:? Is there nothing due to the gallant ct- 
 t'liris of these indomitable men in the service of their 
 ^'iverninent? 
 
 ThMU the conj )int tiilo'! of ."Spain iind the United 
 States to Oregon, no better title exists by'discovery, 
 cxplo.-ation, and infant occnp.Ation. 
 
 A single remark upon the expedition of Mackeii- 
 z.ie, in consequence of which England, or some per- 
 sons for her, pretend to found a claim north of the 
 Columbia. He piofes'icd, and, indeed, he supposed, 
 that he discovered the Columbia from near its source; 
 but the facf, as long since established, proves that it 
 was the Tacoutchee Te=i3cc, which rises north of 
 the Columbia, and which he pursued for some di.s- 
 lance, and without ever having approached the Co- 
 lumbia from iis source to its mouib. 
 
 A claim for England is also asscrt-^id oy the di.i- 
 covery and pursuit of Eraser's river from near its 
 source to its mouth. It will bo remembered that 
 this sircank empties into (he gulf of Georgia oppo- 
 site Vancouver's island, which is separated at many 
 points from the mainland by so siiori a apace that, 
 for a long time, it was regarded as a projection of the 
 continent. The idle nature of such a claim mu.'t 
 be apparent from the fact that the whole coast, at 
 the point where Frazer'a river dL^charges, is mask- 
 ed by Vancouver's ishind, more than two hundred 
 and fit'ty miles long, and which had been, long prior 
 to the exploration of Frater, in the possession of 
 Spain, OS he was not in that regi m until sevcru! 
 years after the Nootka Sound convention. Undei 
 tlicse circumstances, to give the right of occup.ancy 
 on th'! mainland to one power, where the right; of 
 sovereignty to the i.sland was already in .another, 
 would be as preposterous as to divide Long Island 
 from New York in the hands of different govern- 
 ments, the juxtaposition being as striking in the one 
 case as in tlie other. 
 
 I have been charged with assailing the President. 
 The last resolution of the senator from South Car- 
 olina conveys this imputation. 1 snid'l had no an- 
 swer to make to thai resolution, nor have I. But 
 for the purpose of nscnrtaining who as.sails the 
 Prcxident's position, and who suntains it, I will 
 refer lo his own mcus.ige delivered at the opening 
 of the present Congres.s. Surely he can better speak 
 his own views, explain his own position, than the 
 BCivtlor from South Carolina or myself. It will be 
 
I 
 
 «lM«rT«d ih«t Out rcMlntioM of itiat distinguiaked 
 tenator fix th« 40th (larallel of nortti latitude om the 
 limit df our pocsesaioiis. Does the Prcaident do so? 
 ]>t his message speak for him: 
 
 "Wh*a I CKinc into oAiee, I fouiul thin to be the atatc of 
 Uie nei^tlntitn. Though untcrtaiuinc the ieltlo<l convic- 
 tion, tkat th* pfitith pmteniioBi or titl« r.oulJ not lie main- 
 tained to Anjrpoiiioa of the Orveon territory upon Hny 
 principle ofpablic Uw rccoRoiscd by naliona, yet, in dffur- 
 «ne« to wljtt htid \jeen doin! by my pre'lc.*,):ii«oi9, auil us- 
 
 icci«lly in coniidemtion timt propositi'; »■ oi cumprounisii 
 
 Ad bean thrice made,'' be. 
 
 Aguin: 
 
 ."The- propoBltioii tlius oft'ercd ond rej'ic'.eti rupoati-d tlm 
 olli-rof ttJC piriUlnl of frtrly-nini- (ln^r 'on of iiortli latiluJc, 
 which hnd I'lien madn l)y two precetlini; admiuiiilrutionB, 
 but withC'Jl propoiing to nurii'mlir to (iri;.<t Biilain, hb 
 they liad dont, tlin fnio nivisationof tin; (joluniliia livnr. 
 The nght of niiy foiiM;^ri puwiT to Ihd Iruo navigHlioii of 
 onyo.Cutir rivezii, tbroui;h t)iu bnart of oui' ouunlry, wms 
 one wlush ] wai^ unwillin;; to conc<Hl<!. It also embraci'J 
 a provi«ien tu CTaks free to <)ri:ut Jiritdiiiany port or piiit.4 
 on the cape of (iiMdra and^aiicuuver'ii island, noiUli of this 
 piirallel. Iltid lhii been a ne-,v quf-Klion, ocininK ""dcr (lis- 
 etiilioii ier tbetirjt time, Ibis pioposition would not iiivu 
 tweumsaie. The oxtrnordiiiHiy and wholly iitadmissiblu 
 dcnandu of the Ilritixh i^ovornrncnt, and tbo rcjoctinuof 
 tho propojition m.idc in defuri'ijce aloiio to Abut lind boi'n 
 done hy my priIer,i)»«or«, and the implit;) ohli:i;ation wliioh i 
 thoir nets tBcme I to iimpoie, iifljrd satisfnctory cvidi-nci' 1 
 thatno rotnpromine which tli<r United Stites ought to af- 
 cepl can be efl'eclcd. With Ibin oonvir.tion, th" proposition ; 
 of compromine which had been maili! and I'lj^ct'-'d, 'va«, by t 
 my direction, subseriuently witblnuvn, and our ,'.'le to 
 the \fibole Qiegon territory asserted, and, as in belicvud, 
 mointain^el by irrerrai;nble fact« and nr?unients. 
 
 "The riviUzed world will^seu in tlicnn pioccodini^s a, 
 •pititoOibcral concession on the part of the United .States; 
 and tbii'ftOTcrDment will be relieved from all responsibility 
 which max/ollew the failure to settle tho eontrovcrsy. 
 
 "AUattcnptt at compromise having failed, it becomes 
 the duty of CoBrrei'ii to consider what measures it may he 
 proper to adopt Tor the security and protection of our citi- 
 soai now inhabiting, or who may hereafter inhabit, Oregon, 
 and for the maintenance nf our just title to that territory. 
 In adopting measures for this purpose, care should be taken 
 that nothing be doni: to violate tlic itipulations of the con- 
 vention of Iff;?, whi'^h is still in force." 
 
 Again: 
 
 "At the end e( the year's notice, should (Jongross think 
 it propisr to make provision for (giving that notice, we shall 
 'have reached a |>eriod when the national rights iu Oregon 
 mait either be abandoned or firmly maintained. That they 
 cannot be abandoned without a sacrifice of both national 
 honor and interest, if too clear to admit of doubt. 
 
 "Oregon is a part ol the Noitb American continent, to 
 which, it is confidently aniTned, the title of tho I'nited States 
 ii the bast now in existence.'* 
 
 'Die proposition of compromise at the parallel 
 of 43 de2;rces, he says distinctly, was by his 
 order withdrawn, and our title to the whole territory 
 nsserted, immediately after the coiUeiiiptuous rejec- 
 tion by the BiitLsh minister of tlie oft'er of com- 
 promise. 
 
 And Ihi.'? fact and these opinions he communi- 
 cate in his public mrBs^ge to all the world. It 
 would seem an caRy matter to determine which 
 propoMtion, that of the senator from South Carolina 
 or'the orte which I submit, is" in accordance with 
 thie'vjewfl and intentions of the I're«idei)t as declared 
 ' 'in'liifi rnesanee. It is evident that (he resolutions of 
 diiii diatii^ished senator are intended for but one 
 TfMth. He goes for all the President h.-^s done that 
 it in the grave, and as;ain8t all his present and living; 
 action. lie intends to drive the President from the 
 unKMwerhble assertion of our title to 51° 40', to 
 briijg him back to 49°, and to force liim to die re- 
 linquishment of the whole of o.tr territory above 
 this line. — ' 
 
 1 said, eij' — or if I did not, 1 Fay it now — ihftt in- 
 stead of meeting the ((ueation which ia prcsentad to 
 
 the Senate by the reeolutions which I haid the hpMr 
 to submit, tho resolutions of the I notor from SoMi 
 CaroliRa are directly an evaeim of the quealion 
 which is there presented. 1 present the whole 
 question of title. Tho senator from South Carolina, 
 instead of replying to that proposition, comes tot' 
 ward with some most ingeniou.9ly-drawn reaoUH 
 tions, neither assertingVor denying our title to OMfl 
 foot of the country, but insidiou.sly draws attention 
 from the main fact for the purpose of making an 
 issue on what lawyers term tin immaterial point. ' 
 
 1 neglected sjiuaking in refi:rcn(-c to this point to 
 allude to the laiii^uage of one wIjomc ])owf.rful inttl- 
 lecl penetrates to tho bottom of cviiry queation he 
 iiivt-HtigatcH. I do not iiUroilucc it lor the purpose 
 "f proving ihiU wIhcIi no man here will deny, but 
 NJmply to show that I0115; nincc in thi -i chamber our 
 situation on this question ha.^ been boldly and ftw- 
 li;.«:aly defined. It ;s an txiract from the speech cf 
 the fjreut senator from the Went, [Mr. Obmtun,] 
 delivered heic pending the A.shburton treaty — that 
 treaty which Hiirrondcrcd at a nmnnions our whole 
 military frontier on the northcust. He fully main- 
 tuiiia the view 1 have taken of our liile to Oregon, 
 and every inch of Oregon: 
 
 "Tiio fate o;'.>uii:ie b;!< do'iblc ' iho d,iii;;Mr3 of the Oe- 
 iucubia, und nearly pi icod us ii, a position to chooiulH 
 twuun WAIldiul l.Mi'AMV ia lelutioii to that rivtr." 
 
 And, sir, ju^it Mucceediiig this, thp senator from 
 Misanuri addreHses the Senate in the following em- 
 phatic language: 
 
 "Nootka is in lali-ude .'lO— being fonr degrees north of j^i: 
 mouth of the ColumbiH; and to that degree did Spain asMT". 
 and maintain her title against Ureat Britain in 17!)0. Qut'iHa'; 
 was not the extent 01 hur assertion of that right. Against 
 the British she asserted it to the whole cKtent of the coa^t; 
 against tho llu.ssiaDE, (the only real claimants, with .o.ar- 
 selves, in that miaiter.) to latitude .jft. Thus, as derivinj; 
 from Spain, our title is good ngain^t l''.iigland throiigbdut 
 the coast; against Russia, to latitude Oj. as deriving un4«:- 
 discoveriesand settloment, it is good agjinst all the wodd, 
 to the extent of the niijion drained by tho waters of the. Co 
 lumbin river Wo discovered the river from its mouth to itii 
 tource, took posse.ssioii of it as our territory, and, accord- 
 ing to tho law» of ni.ious, have .t clear and valid title 
 to it." 
 
 Sir, I have been ."Startled occasionally in this cham* 
 bcr by expressions which I have heard from esti- 
 mable and distinguished members of this body in 
 relation to the territory of Oregon. 1 heard a dis- 
 tinguished senator some few days since, (it may 
 have been owing to the excitement of the moment 
 in the warmth of debate, but its effect upon th'S 
 country will be the .same,) — 1 heard a disiin'^uished 
 .senator speak siieeringly of a contest for what/ho 
 was pleased to call the possession of a piece of land 
 at the end of the earth. Does that senator know 
 the value, the position, the soil, the power of (his 
 piece of land ai tltc end of the earth.' Sir, if wo dun 
 credit the statements of those who have visitediit, 
 there is no finer region of the earth on any por^ri 
 of it.s .surface: there is to be found within its liiriits 
 every inducement which can be held out to entbr- 
 i prising man. We have the highest authorityfor 
 tlie fiict that on the inland of Vancouver in tite 
 month of April the grass was already a foot high, 
 ! the temperature so delightful that in all that month 
 , the merr.ury, according to Fahrenheit, never sank 
 '. below 48, riding during the day to from 65 to 70. 
 jit ia a well-known fact that the weslern slope of 
 ' both Europe and America possesses a far milder letn- 
 I poraturo than their eastern stupes. .The western coasl 
 ; of Ainevica haj the ailvniitage by some five degrees 
 over the westevn const of Kurope. The highest point 
 
6 
 
 of Vaocouver*! iaiend dnea not extend aa far north a* 
 Dublin an4 Liverpool, with the additional udvan- 
 taMof this milder climate under the name parallel 
 •Matitude. 
 
 The Pacific coaat of America u milder than the At- 
 lantic coast by aomti t^velve orfifiuon degrceti. And 
 it ia in this region, between tho parallels of 49^ and 
 I < i 64°, that exist, as on both faces of the A'.iuntic, in 
 ' natural combination, the harbors with depth of 
 water and convepiunt shofes for marine arscnald 
 Md depotfl; the timber for marine construction; 
 the fisheries to create and nurse a maritime popula- 
 tion; the high tideo of a northern latitude for docks. 
 But all these are cnlmiiced above tinytliin^ on tlie 
 Atlantic by the hi;^h temperature of the winter 
 .climate; the gcnerucis iraii(|iiillity of the I'acific wa- 
 ters, the great sizr, the !^i°iirid fouturcs, and the sub- 
 lime scenery which arc thvie blended in hurnioiii- 
 0U8 uifiuon Willi the grand ocean on wlne.ii llit-y 
 look out. God ui:d niuure point to Oregon ;i!i llu; 
 main coUrnn of thi i iini^lity empite. 
 
 Mr. Mangum here desired to ael Mr. U.^NNKtiAN 
 right, if liis allu.>ion, as he suppouod, w.ts iiilciide I 
 for him. 
 
 Mr. Hanneciam li.iviiig rcp'ieJ that hi^j niluiiiori 
 was to liis reniiiiki n f.iw diiyti since — 
 
 Mr. Man'gum s.iid, I hiivc t.ikcn occasion to ex- 
 press no O|)iniort on I'-io nueslioii in relation to whnl 
 nii^ht or might noi lit ilie viiluu ul" thai rouir.ry In 
 truth, liie opinioi.s ■. ipon the Hiibjcct mx- ko onfl ct- 
 ing thai I have nu Iicen able to form ;i sutiifi\rl>ry 
 one. Some huv( rerucjeiitfid it u.s u Bteril co;iniiy, 
 without water nii'! riM. Olhera aj;<>in, unvin^ whom 
 is a friend of minr, a nieiti'jer of the i.tlier House 
 from Ohio, say it is atl.ipted to the pidliiciioii of 
 sugar nnd cotton, even ns fur up ns tho Hist decree. 
 
 Mr. Uannkoan. f it was aiiaptcd to the pro- 
 duction of sugar nn^l cotton, it would not have en- 
 countered the opp;>Nilion it has met here; it.J pns- 
 •eaeion would at once huvo been secureil, for that 
 very opposition would have composed its warmest 
 support. Sir, it iH not good for the production of 
 sugar and cotton, nor is it destitute of rain; for if 
 the honorable senator will examine the account of 
 Lewis and Clarke, he will find, that during the win- 
 ter monthd they were nearly drowned out. 
 
 It ia good for something better than sugar and 
 cotton; for Nooika sound commands the north Pa- 
 cific ocean, and will, in less than half a century, be- 
 come the grand emporium for the commerce of the 
 Oriental world. A compromise upon the 49th par- 
 allel 13 continually urgca upon us. As I live, and 
 aa I shall answer to my constituents, 1 would rather 
 give away every foot of it. The island of Vancou- 
 ver ia the power of Oregon, and four-fifths of it, in- 
 eluding Nootka sound, lies above the parallel of 
 tSP. Let England noiijsess Nootka sound, the fiuest 
 harbor in the world, commanding as it does the 
 atnita of Fuca, and consequently the access to Pu- 
 gefa sound, and she has ail of Oregon worth pos- 
 seasing in a commercial and maritime point of view. 
 She would hold the straits of Fuca and Pugei's 
 sound as securely as the trap holds the mouse; for 
 hr this compromise, she also secures the gulf of 
 Gkorgia and dueen Charlotte sound. If we surren- 
 der above 49°, we give away every harbor worth 
 having on the coast. There is no harbor below that 
 would give shelter to a fleet of canoes. 
 
 But, with the permission of the Senate, I will 
 read a short extract from the speech I have before 
 alluded to, of the distinguished senator from Mis- 
 Muri, describing Oregon aa it is. And a ntore bold 
 
 and graphic deaeription was never tittered in thia 
 chamber. Hero it ia: 
 
 "I do not dilnto apon tho ritlue and extent of thii crsat 
 country. A word luMcei to diiplay both. In extent it i« 
 luri(vr tliun tUe AtUntic portion of thu old thirteen United 
 
 Htntui', in climate, nuflur; ia lurtility, greatur; iii talabrily, 
 ^uppriuri iu poiition, bettor, l)cc»ui,4 rrontlug Alia, rim 
 wunhtiil l)y a (nin(|uit tea. In hII tlu'au purticultrt, the 
 western klupo of our continent ia l;tr more happy than tlio 
 eiutern In conrigutntiaii, it h iiiexareHailjIy line Hnil grand 
 II vn>^t ubloai; Ni|iiiire, with n-jtural l)oundurie4, nnd u lin- 
 !^l>' Kutuway into Ihn sea. The unuw-caiipud liocky mtuu- 
 laiiiit eiicloaH it to tliu eust, an irunlxiunu coaat on the west, 
 a fru/un cluai.Tt on tlie nurlJi, niid Handy plaini on the soutli. 
 All it<i riven, riaiiii; ua the Kti^ineal of a vast cirrumfcr- 
 eni-e, niii to meet eiich other in the centre, and then flow 
 to'.,'ether into tlie ocean throiii^h a i;up in the mountain, 
 where the hcatii of kummuruail ihecoliia of winter aru ncr- 
 er lull, and where nouthcra and northern ilineuscs nru eriual- 
 1} uidinuwB 'I'hiii ia the vulliy of the Colamliia-a coun- 
 try whose erery advantage ia tr ii'd l<y lae adrantngea 
 of pixi'.ian and eiin(i.;iMati')ti; liy tlic aivily of all ita (larts 
 -till! in:ie.cesHil)iiily ul' its IjomIitj. und it) i:ini;lc inlro);re:i. 
 KDii tu llie sea. Svuli a euiiiiliy i ; Ijirm d for nn;on, wcillh, 
 a. id HUiMi;r||i. It (ail have lint our (Mpital, and that will l>u 
 u Theliei, hut oiif co;n;neici,il i n\|.i.' mm, and tliat will tio 
 'I'jie, <|iieen (if eilie«. Such f I'l.unii) cnii linvn but oiiu 
 pi'iijili'. one inliTeji, oiii' j^di iiiii.i'nl; and l!ia' i^eoplu 
 !-ii.iiild lie .*.in,;ritan. that i;ilr.i-t oiirs, andli . [^overn- 
 imntr^-jiiilili.a.i. Accnru-d and infa.noua bu the man that 
 di\i Ie3 or alienates ill"' 
 
 Tills is the laiiijuige o? the .si-nator from Missou- 
 ri a few year.'( hinc. , and to every word of it I utlcr 
 a lic'irty aiiicii. 
 
 IVlr. I'leiiilcnt, ih'? K|iiri: of rcsi:;latK:!; to prof;rfcs:i, 
 v.'liii'li we witiie.'i--* here now, u an iiiicieiit as our 
 iMuntiy in old. It Ir.iy been seen at an early diy in 
 opjui.-ition t'l tiieHctiltiiieiii ol' Iventucky, struggling 
 to (iinrme our republic wiiliuat the Alleijlianius; in 
 veiiement opposition to tiio pnrclia.^u of Louisiana 
 and Florida; in uncharitaldi.; (irorts to repel Texas. 
 l»ut this las^t fury af;ain.st Orci^ in ia iin iiirunlicide 
 more unjuHtifiable and fiendinh than all iU preilccefl- 
 Hor.s, for it feloniously invoK'ts llic Hessian pow'er 
 of British tyranny to block our path, nnd hurl US 
 fjo.-n the trail of our destiny, it will |)roTO the 
 work of Sysiphus, 
 
 There were some positions taken by the distino 
 guished senator from Delaware, [Mr. Clatton,] 
 in which I find it impossible to concur. He SHg* 
 bested to tlie Senate that the question of our title to 
 Oregon ought not to be made the subject of discua- 
 fion in open Senate; and indicated the propriety of 
 withholding the expression of our opinions on a 
 matter which might hereafter come before us con- 
 nected with a treaty — to withhold all discussion un- 
 til these galleries shall be cleared, and these doors 
 closed. In this sentiment 1 cannot concur. 1 hold 
 that I he Oregon question has become the propert]f 
 of (lie American people. It is in every man's 
 mouth, and but one question is asked everywhere in 
 relation to it — ''Is Oregon our own?" If it ia, then 
 it becomes us in open Senate to vindicate our 'ght 
 to it. There is no cause which can more certainly 
 and fatally impair our institutions, none that will 
 inores(ieeidily insure their overthrow, none that will 
 so assuredly produce anarchy, as the conviction in 
 tho hearts of the people that their pnblic authori< 
 ties and their representatives want alike the energy 
 and the ^{^ >nt lO assert and to defend the rights and 
 the hon.o- 1.,' the nation. It is the opinion of six- 
 seventhb of '1'^ American people that Oregin is 
 our — (perhatis i should rather say five-sevenths, for 
 I must leave r.it of the estimate the commercial and 
 stock jol bin; population of our great cities along 
 the 8e:.l)U)«.;(i, a great portion of whotii are Englien 
 subjecu*, residing among m for the pur(>i>8e of trafiie. 
 
mm! many othen not now and not inlendini; to b«- 
 eorrte American citizcnu;) and thcHS five-aeTcnlhii 
 hoki that if the territory ia ours, we should aa- 
 fcrt ( ^r title to it and take it. ir there ever 
 waa a quoation on earth which demanded dia- 
 Ausaion beforo the grout tribunal of iho pub- 
 lic, it ia the qucttion of title to Oregon. More 
 tlian all othjcrs, it intcrcsta thu people of thia coun- 
 try at this hour; and moru than all others titty have 
 the right to know each and cvury step taken by 
 their government and their rcpiescntiitivca. Lr.t 
 the title to Oregon be argued here in the glare of 
 day, beforo the bai of the Americon people. Smother 
 it not, smother it not. The hour will be melancholy 
 in our lil^tory when u question like thiif, upon 
 which thit (Hiople lutvu p.iHHeil in judgiricnt, Hhall be 
 withdrawn from public vicv< fur ti decision iti m: 
 crct and in (larkncaa. i dhc i fear it an tlx^ brief 
 prelude; to the enltiinco of sorno Ciiiun firuccliis in 
 this CDnRCiralo.! chaiiitiur, ■• Un^m heart, lii;? wiili tlie 
 fires of froi;(l()in, antl nuscd liv ii niiiiit; of publn; 
 wrong, tliould impel lii.ii lo trtiio|ili: iipnri tin; cher- 
 ished form.", nnd the aolonmily of thin body; hy a 
 simple rhunge of attitude, luriiin,;; from the t,\mii- 
 tiuin nnd that venerated cliair, U} udJreua the gi ent 
 Forum v. ithont. 
 
 In Nurh 11 at;tke BH tbii 111 people dtfmanil a hear- 
 ing. If It i.>) ours, fihall we fe.ir t) avow i'..' If it is 
 Kngbiid\<, wc wnnt it not. Here, liere,iiiiil now, is 
 the place and the hour lo diMcuHs the title, ti. it our 
 country m.iy know, if a trculy iihould conii-, whetli- 
 er her fcrvanlB have Riistained iicr intereata and her 
 honor, or aliundoncd them. 
 
 There was another pcinl in the rcmnrlc.i of the 
 honfirn''li! and (!i8'ini;uiHlietl srn.iinr, in v.'hioh I 
 could ii'.'l concur. 1 unite heartily with that nerialor 
 in the de.are lo put the country in a nmrc eilii'icnt 
 posture of defence. In all the cnnvcrsationa we have 
 cad tog:! her on that subject, our views and senti- 
 ments entirely agree. But I must utterly object to 
 having the power of England held op in thim body, 
 with a view to act upon the nerves of the American 
 people. 
 
 The honorable aenatnr has arrayed before ua the 
 mighty naval power of England, the number of her 
 ships of war, her sailors, and her guns, and the com- 
 paratively diminutive force we present. I think a 
 close scrutiny would lessen the exhibit of her avail- 
 able forcu, and increase that of oura; but that is aot 
 to my purpose at present. If that senator by thi.^ 
 intended to awe us into a compromise by the surren- 
 der of our territory, it was certainly both ill-timed 
 nnd ill-planned; that would better have become a se- 
 cret session. The idea of surrendering without an 
 effort, because of the numerical superiority of the 
 enemy, whether in guns or men, is new to me in mil- 
 itary hiijtory. 1 admit that it is right and proper 
 to examine the force of Great Britain, but at the 
 aame time we ought not to forget or undervalue our 
 own. The American people cannot be alarmed; 
 they arc not to be awed by any such representa- 
 tions. 
 
 Were all the fleets of England gathcre<i in one 
 body, their approach would create no terror in the 
 American heart. Our people remember that more 
 than sixty years ago, one small American frigate, 
 commanded by John Paul .Tones, made its way 
 through her navies, to ravage England's coasts and 
 pillage her palace?, nnd returned m triumph. They 
 have i!C)t forgotten the names of Decatur, Hull, Per- 
 ry, Porter, the Joneses, McDonough, Stewart, and 
 a glorious host beside, who united to indomitable 
 
 courage and lofty heroism a burning love for their 
 eountry nnd its free and happy institutions. Though 
 England's gima were a huiiured to one, the heart or 
 the nation would not tremble, while her eye wflfi 
 on the roll of these bright and undying names, and 
 her memory full of their deeds of noble daring. 
 
 The honorable senator (juoted to us the words of 
 Eiiglond's model monarch w'len he was deliberotirfg 
 the invasion of France. It is plain the senator haH 
 not learned his rules of war from Harry the Fifth. 
 The Honaior did not quote fir rnough. For, as tho 
 great drumati.st tclla us, when the king was assured 
 liy the archbiflhop, on whose learning he so greatly 
 relied, that his title to France was valid, that it was, 
 in a word, "clear nnd unmirsfionable," what did ha 
 do? Did he hcaitatc' Did he paufic and inquire, 
 "IJut where are my tinofiH? — and where are my 
 aliiph,' — nnd liow inuny tjuim do they carry.' — 
 arc lliey in number cipial to the enemy?" Not at 
 (ill. Ilelyiiij.' on the cciiraije of hit ncldicr.-:, and the 
 .•■lupiun t of Gud to the jiiniiee ofhin rcuce, he g.ivo 
 ordi.Ts lit once to march, -iritl.on the firkl of Agin- 
 cniirt — tfie mnstgloiious field F.nj;liind ever saw — ho 
 iviot hii oneiiiieH wiiliout trr'umy, tliou'jh more than 
 ten lo one agai st liini, am! friirri Iuh h'-ave nndeon- 
 fiih lit heart, nied aloud that he lonld almost wiali 
 llie niiiiibei- of his little hand ';ti!l les. i. With that 
 lianilfnl of irninc'lilc PoldierH h? viiriquished F'nincc 
 and all her miiUitnd'', aiirl won for liiriiseir nnd ihciii 
 arenown lantinnrn.s llie foundatirin.'j of the world. 
 
 The fienator did not lejrn liia nrt of war from fhft 
 greatem (if the IlornuiH — tli<' immortal .Uilius. Had 
 "the r()renit).st man in i.ll the world" u^ted on the 
 eaii'louf! policy of the hoiinr.'.UIe grntlcman from 
 Delaware, he would have left ih'' triumph of Phar- 
 paiia to the glory of Pornpey, v/hose number.? wer« 
 d(inl)le hi!i own. Nor did he leaun in the school of 
 the great Frederick, nor of Guslnvns Adolphus, nor 
 of our own Washington nnd Jaekaon. No, eir; the 
 sienator learnt from none of these the rules of contest 
 ill aslriiggle for the right. 
 
 In looking at the course of the di.stinguished sena- 
 tor from South Caiolinn, [Mr, CtniooM,] I find 
 that, three years ago last month, that able and dis- 
 tinguished gentleman opposed, in this chamber,°a. 
 bill which proposed to take possession of Oregon^ 
 to tho same extent and no further than England had 
 olready done; and his opposition was based on tho 
 expense of the measures proposed. The estimates 
 for carrying those measures into effect did not ex- 
 ceed $100,W)0; and the utmost amount they would 
 have cost could not have exceeded $200,000. And 
 on that occasion, when speaking against the bill for 
 military posts and occupation, he suggested the no- 
 lice (which he now opposes) as a necessary ]. i eliiti- 
 inary measure to all other action. Three years ago^ 
 he opposed the measures because they were prema- 
 ture, and now he opposes the notice which waa theik^ 
 the essential preliminary. He then contended that 
 the notice to Great Britain of the termination of the 
 ' convention should precede the extension of our 
 laws to Oregon; yet now, when that very thing is 
 proposed, that senator vehemently opposes it. . E 
 cannot, I acknowledge, comprehend wnat.are his in- 
 tentions, unless they arise from an uncompromisin|f 
 and deadly hostility to the acquisition of any tern-. 
 lory in Oregon beyond what wc now hold by actital 
 gctilrment, ond even Ihat, perhaps, he regards as a. 
 proper subject of compromise. On that occaaioa 
 the honorable senator, with tho ability which char- 
 acterizes all his efforts, presented to the Senate a 
 comprehensive and graphic view of the then state olT 
 
of' 
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 frc 
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 '•■riivl'C .i- "•''. l:'rT- ■ : 
 
 tKe fin^neea aod th* eountry. He traj/ repreaentad 
 tha country as being on the road to ruin, embarraaa* 
 ed at every point, and sinking deeper and deeper at 
 <very 8tep> The great cause of our then depressed 
 condition was represented by the senator to be an 
 opDreasive system oftaxation. 
 
 I am as strongly in favor of a revenue tariff as the 
 senator from South Carolina. But I cannot resist 
 the conclusion that, as his prediction of the result 
 has failed, so his assignment of causes was imper- 
 fect. He predicted that the government would 
 founder; that event has not occurred, and so far 
 from it, we are this day in a condition of as high 
 prosperity as the world has ever witnessed. 
 
 During the past season, the farmer, tiie planter, 
 and the artisun, have nil received a rich reward for 
 . toil and industry; we huvc an overflowing treasury; 
 and that too at a period when no false ciiuses exist 
 to produce the deceptive appearance of unreal wealtli. 
 ■ Sir, the unhappy condition of our finances three 
 years since can only, and justly be attributed to 
 causes which run back as far as 183G, uiid to n grcui 
 extent were continued during the two following 
 years. The general prostration from which we had 
 not recovered in 1843, was the result of that worth- 
 less and bloated paper currency, the creation of those 
 deadly foea to free institutions, licartless, irresponsi- 
 ble, unprincipled corporations, with wh'ch the coun- 
 try was studded from one end to the ouicr. A re- 
 newal of the paper system of currency, under any 
 mode or principle of taxation, will forever be at- 
 tended with the same disastrous results, which have 
 Already twice marked the history of our country. 
 
 if it was proper three years since to commence 
 with the notice, as a necessary preliminary to all 
 ueasureQ for taking possession or Oregon, why is it 
 not so now ? 
 
 But the senator from South Carolina is wedded to 
 a different plan — a plan which avoids all action. He 
 iff for leaving the whole matter to the silent, quiet, 
 naiaeless operation of time, and the gradual en- 
 ^oaohments of our hardy and enterprising settlers 
 who have gone, and are going, into the territory. 
 Does not every one know that all the while they arc 
 making these very noiseless and quiet encroach- 
 menta, they are exposed to the British bayonet? 
 And whilst a@ exposed you refuse them the protec- 
 tion of American laws, and American tribunals. 
 Such a state of things would inevitably produce 
 repetitions of the Caroline affair. 
 
 But do gentlemen flatter themselves that we can 
 thus lake Oregon and England know nothing of it? 
 Will they not understand thl's policy as well as we? 
 And when they perceive the plan likely to take ef- 
 fect, will they not be on their guard? If we press 
 our population upon them, will they not, in turn, 
 press their pauper population upon us? Which of the 
 two plans will most consult the honor of this coun- 
 try? Which story shall we rather leave on record 
 as a heritage to our posterity — the plan of the honcr- 
 •ble senator, to get the territory by silent encroach- 
 ment, or that advocated by gentlemen on the other 
 aide, who are for demanding tho territory because it 
 ia ours? Shall we take it openly and boldly by a 
 Btraightforward manly course? — or shall we get it 
 covertly, slily, stealthily? Wo, I will not say stealth- 
 ily; I will not employ any term that may imply the 
 alighlcst disrespect to the honorable senator; I will 
 not fay stealthily, but I will say circuitously; yes, 
 that is the word — circuitously. I would not say 
 anything that could bb a cause of oiTcncc to the hon- 
 orable gentleman from South Carolina I have no 
 
 If 
 
 such feetiAg toward li{ai. t holdthat honorable 
 senator in too much' rekpect; I have too much es- 
 teem and regard for him. I would not for the world 
 pluck one leaf from the laurel that enwieathcs his 
 venerated brow. He has ably served his country in 
 many and various important stations; i hope and 
 Cru;t he will do nothing that shall mar the page in 
 this nation's history which he is destined to fill, t 
 respect his acquisitions; above all, I venerate his 
 virtues — the spotless purity of his private life. It 
 is on these that the future American Plutarch will 
 most delight to dwell. But the senator's course is 
 circiiitouif — ours in direct. Which, I nsk, will do 
 most honor to a country like t!iia> Which will 
 read tKe best? Sir, how will it read alorij; iside of 
 the history of '76? Then the whole population of 
 a range of Allantiii colonies, sooner than submit tc 
 the exaction of a slight tax, took up arms and went 
 into the appeal of battle. They stood for their 
 rights in many u bloody field, and they conquered 
 tlioNc rights from the mightiest and (he haughtiest 
 power the world ever saw. Such was the first chapter 
 of our history, rend and studied by the nations of 
 the Old World. But what is to be the second chap- 
 tor? At first wc had but three millions of people; 
 now wc have twenty millions. Our wealth, our 
 power, our energy have increased in more than a 
 like proportion. And now the same old enemy 
 claims a great empire on our western coast, and the 
 descendants of that same people resolve, sooner 
 than resist, to surrender their rights, and let her 
 take it. I trust no such chapter is to be written in 
 our history. 
 
 And now a word or two on the proposition for ar- 
 bitration. We learn fronrj the complexion of a great - 
 portion of the press, the prompt rejection of the offer 
 of arbitration by pur government meets the nioel 
 decided disapprobation m certain quarters. Coming 
 from the quarter it does, this condemnation by the 
 press, so far from weakening, gives strength to the 
 administration. It is the best proof of its merits. 
 Arbitration? Arbitrate what? Arbitrate a ques- 
 tion which admits of no debate, as was done in the 
 case of Maine? Submit oiir rights to the decision 
 of a crowned head, who, when the treaty was sub- 
 mitted to him, spoke of a boundary line which ran 
 from the northwest branch of a certain river, took 
 tho northeastern branch of it ! If a man should 
 claim the farm for which I hold a government pa- 
 tent, and because my neighbor, who f;et up the 
 claim, happened to be a very rich nan, and very 
 influential in the neighborhood — a mr who was al- 
 ways foffnenting quarrels , among his neighbors — 
 threatens to seize my property, mus^ I consent to 
 submit my title to arbitratioti by :<itranger8, and 
 with no assurance that the money of my adversairy 
 may not corrupt, or, at least, prejudice the minds of 
 the arbitrators? If a man claims a house and lot, 
 and goes to law to support his title, will ho suhmil 
 his right to orbitration? No; he will any, let the Iciw 
 take its course. Just so ought we to do in this quen- 
 tion of our Mile to Oregon. 
 
 There is aaothcr point which I cannot omit to 
 touch upoB;and that is, the contrast in the course of 
 the honorable senator on i •'»$ subject of Oregon and 
 that of the annexation of Texas. That honorable 
 gentleman now stands before tha country in ft very 
 prominent attitude as the advocate of peace. Peace 
 IS all his cry; an honorable adjustmeAtof this ques- 
 (inn so as to preserve peace. But how waa it when 
 Texas stood before ur. asking to be annexed to ihia 
 republic? At that time the senator did cot hoM 
 
11 
 
 lat honorable 
 
 too much fl«> 
 t for the world 
 nwseathcf) his 
 his country in 
 ; i hope and 
 ir the page Jn 
 inec to fill, t 
 
 venerate hig 
 ivntc life. It 
 Plutarch will 
 nr'a course is 
 i nsk, will do 
 Which wilJ 
 alot)^ :5i(le of 
 
 population of 
 :)an .submit tc 
 irms and went 
 lod for their 
 ley conquered 
 the hauahticsl 
 ie first chapter 
 ihe nationa of 
 : second ch»p' 
 ms of people; 
 ir wealih, our 
 
 more than a 
 le old enemy 
 coast, and the 
 isolve, BOoiMtr 
 I, and let her 
 be written in 
 
 •osiiion for Rr- 
 fcionof agreat- 
 on of the offer 
 lects the niojsl 
 ters. Comiiig 
 ination by the 
 trcngth to the 
 of its mcrite. 
 trate a ques' 
 83 done in the 
 I the decision 
 eaty woa sub- 
 ine which ran 
 lin river, took 
 k man should 
 vernmcnt pa- 
 ho f:et up the 
 nan, and very 
 who was al- 
 ! ntighbors — 
 I consent to 
 itrangers, and 
 my adversary 
 e t.he minds of 
 house and lot, 
 ^ill ho Huhmil 
 ?iy, let the Idw 
 o in thisquea- 
 
 annot omit to 
 the course of 
 >f Oregon and 
 hat honorable 
 itry in ft very 
 peace. Peace 
 tof this i]ues- 
 V waEi it when 
 inexoJ to thii 
 did not held 
 
 ip«a^t(> be'quftc so \&^ip^^.Jf'»Willik',M] 
 
 to his letter addressed tQ Mr. Ivingt at veinu', a let- 
 ter whose language could not but be ^o the last de- 
 gree offensive to the uritiEh government; so much 
 so, that if we should get into a. war now, I should 
 not be surprised if, after <\1), that letter ^as at the 
 bottom of it. The senator then p7anted.hinnself on 
 the highest ground. He openly defied Brieland on 
 that question of annexation. But what isliis tone 
 now? He is willing now to buy England off with 
 five and a half dcgrecB of Oregon. 
 
 Upon the qncstirtn involve(l in my second re.so- 
 lution, that ihei-e is no power in this govemn^cnt 
 to alienate the soil, and transfer ilie aliegiance of its 
 cilir.cns to any foroisn power wliatcver. 
 
 The sen.Ttor from South Cdrolina assumes, in op- 
 poailioii to this j)rinciplfi, mat the treaty-making 
 power can exerct.ic it under the pretext of settling 
 Doundarics. Treaties can only be made by,orthrough, 
 the instrumentality of the .sovereign power. Where 
 that power is undelegated by the people, or any por- 
 tion of them, it in unlsnn.i'.cd, as in Russia and Tur- 
 key. In constiimiona! monarchies, such as Eng- 
 land and France, it is >.uore circumscribed; but 
 where the limit to the treaty-making power begins 
 or endfl with them, I never have been able to discov- 
 er. In the mixed t'orm of the English government, 
 where the aristocratical .ind the monarchical princi- 
 ple tdtr.rnatoly prevails, there are certain checks, to 
 be sure; but they are essentially of the one upon 
 the other, and mainly discretionary in the cr'wn. 
 There isacarcely a power, no matter bow arbitra- 
 ry, the exercise of whioli by the British crown 
 cannot be justified, at least by analogy, if not by 
 precedent, under the British constitution, whenever 
 the occasion authorizes the use of the word necessi- 
 ty — ncce.ssity. 
 
 But fortunately foi,- us, happily for mankind, a 
 different state of things exists here; and consequent- 
 ly we cannot be pointed to their practice for prece- 
 dents in our conduct. Ours is a limited govern- 
 ment, fi government of delngated^iowers, every one 
 of which is plainly expressed; nothing is lefl to 
 implication. Ther^ is no avenue here for the silent 
 ntiarch of usurpation, under the plea — alike the 
 plea of the tyrant and the demagogue— ej;jj<i<i«nci/. 
 
 The limit of the treaty-making power is confined, 
 cguallv %vith the legislative and Judicial powers. 
 They can none of them transcend tne express crea- 
 tions of the conmitution itself. And the ascertain- 
 ment of the extent of each and every power, of. the 
 true intent of every article, is governed and con- 
 trolled by the same rule of construction which 
 prevails with all other laws; and that rule is a refer- 
 ence to the context for the spirit and meaning of 
 the whole instrument. 
 
 Happily the spirit and meaning of the constitu- 
 tion of^the United States is plainly and explicitly 
 declared by a portion of the context: 
 
 "The power-mot iluk'gatcd to the UnUed Stbtje* ^]r , the 
 conslitutioii, uoi- piohibitoJ by it to Ui«.^tat».»,are »e«firve4 
 to the States rospectivoly, or to the people."— jJrhVl* 10, 
 •^ntndmtnts Can. U. S. 
 
 Such is the plain, ani not to be misapprchcnJed 
 language of the Iflth article ofthe amendments to the 
 constitution. '1 his comprehensive article declarer 
 the spirit and the mcanin;^, and fixes impastnible 
 boundaries Vi the liiMita of the wliole instrument, 
 and of all tiio powers of the federal government 
 c«ated and existing under its agency. 
 And now comes my second resolution : 
 RtiilveJ, That there esuals BO power io Ail govsroBMt 
 
 totraasfer its soil, and ihs Itllegiance cf it>rci(|Kens, to tbc 
 dominioii, autherUy.coiktfot, and cobjiictien, of any toreiga 
 power, prince, Htate, or (overcigntj-. 
 
 Unless the language of this resolution is true, 
 oure is no longer a gpvernment of limited powers, 
 or rather it never has been such. 
 
 If it is not true, in the creation of the treaty- 
 making power, there was planted a mystic and im- 
 plied power, beyond the plain meaning, the appa- 
 rent spirit, and the common understanding of the 
 instrument. 
 
 The reverse of the principle contained in this 
 resolution, QRsertfl for the President and Senate dis- 
 cretionary powers, to which there nre no bounds. If 
 the President and Sonaiocan alienate the soil ofthe 
 republic, and transfer the iillegiance of its citizens, 
 what further step in necesaury to the creation of a 
 despotism ? 1 know of none; for they involve the 
 very highest prerogatives of unlimited monarchy. 
 
 This is not t; question cf boundaries. No ou:h 
 question is raised by my resolutions. And tlie 
 counter resolutions of the senator from South Caro- 
 lina are but an evasion of the real issue. We show 
 a title to Oregon; England shows none — assumce 
 none. To Rurrendor a portion of our soil on such a pre- 
 text, ia to con'-eal the real motive of action, which 
 is, that England i.s powerful, and we arc wcnk. In 
 plain wordi, the motive must be dread of England. 
 
 Sir, the doctrines to which I have just adverted 
 open a range which no eye at present can begin to 
 compas.s. If we adopt for our guide the practice of 
 other countries in making treaties, if we allow thia 
 undefined range to the treaty-making power at this 
 point, mut5t we not at once admit its supremacy 
 elsewhere.' If they possess this the hiohest attribute 
 of earthly power, where is the restricUon upon their 
 control over the whole revenue system of the coun- 
 try by commercial treaties, fixing the rate of im- 
 portation duties? It is in vain to say that the con- 
 stitution gives to" Cotig~r<s3" the righ t 'to "/ay anrfcof- 
 lect dulies, iwposts,"&c.,and ihatnll "bills for revenue 
 shall originate in the House of Representatives.'" 
 The .same instrument expressjy reserves to "Con-, 
 gress" "the right to dispose of and make all needfulruUs 
 and regidttlions respeclifig the territory and other prop- 
 erty of the United Stalet," &c. The term "dispose" 
 here, it can be easily shovvn, does not imply the 
 power to alienate, but it is not neces.sary for my 
 present ptirpose, should it evei be contended to the 
 contrary, as I merely wish to show that ""Cong^t-ess," 
 and not the President and Senate, is fhe constituted, 
 guardian of the territories of the United States. 
 
 If the power now claimed for the President ami 
 Senate is Qdmitted, you can at "one fell swoop"" 
 expalriate Iowa and Wisconsin, should Englatid. 
 claim them. Upon the same principle', the treaty-, 
 making pow'-rcpn , /jurrender this Dimrict, should 
 England sfiriip sorpc antiquated claim, l.^wy npoli 
 the same principle, ?or principles are in themselves 
 fixed and invnovaM^^'ajilJ .caii^ot be ch'nng,p4 to eiih 
 ever-shifiih^' opijriigns.' .Ojuf ,t^t!e,to Onego^is sus- 
 tained. by,tlie^^conci\ri-r'~.c.e ,Qf ,hi»tpr,y antl'.^.f. cv^- 
 dehce, ap(Mf wen9,^;siu;j;tp/^er,'ib north, g/'ilip pnf.-, 
 allot "^L'f 49^, it iS the'rehnquisn'meht of i\ clear an'd" 
 established right tfi a territory large enough for nn 
 empire. And thi.^ relinquishment is urged U|>on us 
 for the .sake of peace. 
 
 ]\lr. Presiilent, v;ar i:i to he deplored; it in a grt av 
 calamity; bu'. the warninga of history are ful,-c, its 
 many memorials but idle tales, if there is not a t'.r. 
 greater cnbmity for nations — a purchi\acd nnd i!is- 
 grRccfwl peace. Bloated and cncrvr.tod China i.' (^. 
 
I? 
 
 12 
 
 living witness of the faet ModerH Italj atill groans 
 under the curse inflicted upon her centuries ago by 
 a feeble empire, whose tyranny she might h«ve re- 
 aidted, but did not. To this hour the ignoble de- 
 scendants of the most heroic race the ancient world 
 ever saw, exhibit the degrading effects of cringing 
 submission. Alas! alas! for the endless train of 
 woes which awaits the nation won from the aaser- 
 tion of her rights by the allurements of luxury and 
 peace. 
 
 Upon the other hand, consecrated Marathon, 
 through the lapse of iwenty-five centuries, still bcara 
 fresh witnsss to the glory of the heroic Greeks, 
 who disdained a purchased peace. Bunker Hill, 
 Trenton, and Yorktown, are monuments on the 
 pageof history, and on our own sacred soil of the 
 same noble resolution. And this whole land, the 
 youngest and fdiresl daughter of earth, tlie favored 
 of God, is the enduring and eternal monument of 
 thoae who pre'errcd resiylance tooubmiseian, and all 
 the perils of a most unequal and deadly htiiTo, to 
 the debasing plpasures of a purcliusi-d, and there- 
 fore an ic^;;omininua pttice. 
 
 But you rnusi let us alone with our trafTn'.! Siir 
 not, or our commerce is luincil! You hud bettci 
 surrender Ori'gon t'lan diyturb our IrafTic! 
 
 Such is this day the hinguaije of the descendants 
 of thoae who muiie thai glorious choice. Let us 
 traffic! Traflfir, on, I say, but do not barter away 
 your country's territory, unJ her last, her ))riccles.s 
 jewel — her honor. Do not traffic, ns did the bast 
 Judeiui, who, for thirty piecca, sold "« ;)car/ ric/irr 
 than all his Uihc.''^ Traffic on; but, for the love of 
 Heaven, do not traffic, in the allegianco of freemen 
 and the freedom of your fellow-citizens. 
 
 It was the splendid lansuage of a famous Eng- 
 lishman — ^^ I regard the ItgalUbtrty ofthemrantst man 
 irt Britain os much as my own, »ni I Konlil defend it 
 with the same «n<." 
 
 This noble sentiment should of itself preserve the 
 writings of its author to all poiterity. But. if it bo 
 good in an Englishman, how much dearer should 
 Its application be to every American. Yet what 
 American can utter it who would be willing to trans- 
 fer his fellow-citizena to the bondage of a monarch'^ 
 rule ? I cherish this lofty sentiment of the patriotic 
 Englishman, and I cherish it the more as I contem- 
 plate its comprehenaiTcncss. Is it regard for the 
 legal liberty of the American citizen to transfer him 
 and his to the dominion and control of the English 
 monarchy.' Where is your warrant for ceding 
 Away five degrees and a half of Oregon? Where is 
 your warrant for withdrawing the aigis of yoar con- 
 stitution artd laws from any, even the meanest of 
 your citizens, who may have fixed his habitation 
 on the most remote *and steril point in all your do- 
 minions.' Is the senator from 8. Carolina prepared 
 and willing to transfer any, even though it be the 
 poor pioneer, whose sinewy form first parts the 
 tangled forest to let in upon the eternal solitudes the 
 light of day; from whose rude hut the first smoke 
 of the pak face curls in the wildemessr 8hall free- 
 dom's eabbath be no more for him? Par, far away, 
 Mtd lonely ua he is, he Itas his domestic aitar, and 
 
 before it Ood and freedom are worshipped together. 
 He has h:a household gods — the names his msUier 
 
 taught him, perhaps in South Carolina, perhaps in 
 
 Massachusetts, wnen he, a fair-haired boy, 
 
 by her side. He has taught in turn, and he hears 
 
 them' daily from 'isping childhood, and first of these 
 is Washmgton. Where is the steel-clad hand, 
 where the iron heart, that would break do 5f n this al- 
 tar, desecrate this worship, and change upon his 
 children's lips the name of Washington for Eng- 
 land's (ineen? Rather, were that hut mine, should 
 its fif-e go out forever — rather, far rather, should the 
 serpent wind it^ deviouN way among the lifeless 
 bodies of the best loved of my heart, to coil and hiss 
 unharmed ufon the lieirthatone. 
 
 But I have no fears for Oregon, none, if the voire 
 of the American peo|)le can be hcurd. I would be 
 willing this hour to liy .nr.iile al! further quemion 
 here, and let the ni;,tt-ir no ,i.^;\iM to ihoin. I say 
 aj;ain, for they hav.' rtUi':\<'y mule one deci.-iion in 
 favor of ihe whole teiritory. The ii;ii)tfiil was made 
 by the Biitimore cdiivottii'-in to (he n:ition for the 
 whole of Orej^iii, wliii'li v;^.< nns wtrcJ by th-i elec- 
 tion of .Tani-.i Iv. l'<>;ic aivl Geoi-^e M D.illaa. 
 Suumit to ilie |i:':>|i'ii a.;' i'l ''>e ([iicstioti of "Oregon 
 <.rnoOrr-oii.>"'4iiOi.r;>lo.!(i?" Ifthree-fifihsdo not 
 respond "54" 40'," 'tun whole of Oregon," I never 
 would -.itter thf word aiviiii. My fiMris nit of the 
 people. My fear is lest tiii:? q'uslion sMiould be 
 slranfilrd here. When ih;'. ilooi:< urc clo.'i.^tr, and 
 tlicTC is no eye 1 1 s-'ce what we lio, I fc.ir it iniiy meet 
 the fate "of riichar.l's neplin-.v-s in tiio lo.ver." 
 (Everywhere ihu ?aino mi:^!iiy considerations must 
 prevail, when ih? qai's-ioii is known imd under- 
 blooJ. In the West v/c ullorly for!)i(l the unholy 
 sacrifice— no compri)mi?e by thi; tfurrejider of one 
 sinele foot. 
 
 But it is not the W(\'it altne tlial I'lrhiil.^ it. His. 
 lory,spfakinirfr<)m (lie .'ejiil'-hre of tlies. tinted dead, 
 forbids it. The sh.ndca of AViisliiiigton, of Adams, 
 of Henry, of the whole host of revolutionary -sires, 
 forbid it. A still smaM vijce from Lexington and 
 Concord, forbids it. The holy blood, which ran in 
 torrents on the parched fields of Monmouth, and 
 Brandy wine, and CSimdcn, forbids it. All the past — 
 the spectre form of the past — with mournful look, 
 forbids i>. The present forbids it. Sevcn-tentlisof the 
 American people forbid it. The future, with one 
 long continued, stern, unbroken front, forbids it. By 
 all the past glory of our country, and in the name of 
 posterity, of the unborn millions whose fortune it 
 shall be to direct free and proud America on her 
 high destiny, I protect against the dismemberment 
 of her territory, the abandonment of her interests, 
 and the sacrifice of her honor, before any and every 
 altar of earth, but especially, and above all others, 
 before the altar of English ambition. 
 
 1 have but uttered the rights of my countrv, and 
 by their side i plant myself, ready to abide tha^ 
 issue — come peace, come war. 
 
 For the singleness and sincerity of my motives I 
 appeal to Heaven. By them 1 am wilting to ly.- 
 juaged now arid hereafter, so help meGod, whw.i^ 
 prostrate at thy feet, 1 falter forth my laat hf.ief 
 prayer for mercy on an erring life. 
 
 t 
 
)ed together. 
 3 his msther 
 , perhaps in 
 boy, played 
 and he hears 
 first of theee 
 l-clad hand, 
 lobn thiaal- 
 ge upon his 
 on for Eng- 
 nine, should 
 r, should the 
 ; the lifeless 
 coil and hiss 
 
 , if the voire 
 1 would be 
 
 ther queaiion 
 hem. I say 
 e deciiion in 
 ill was rniide 
 Kition for the 
 by th". elec- 
 M DAJiaa. 
 
 I of "Oregon 
 s-fifihsdo not 
 on," I ncvei" 
 is not of the 
 
 II (:liould be 
 tlosetr, and 
 
 " it miiy meet 
 the tower." 
 jraiifvns must 
 I and under- 
 (1 the unholy 
 sJider of one 
 
 lids it. Hiis- 
 a.ilntiul (lead, 
 ii, of Adams, 
 tionary aires, 
 exington and 
 which ran in 
 nmoulh, and 
 \.ll the past — 
 >urnful look, 
 i-tenthsofthe 
 ire, with one 
 ui'bids it. By 
 1 the name of 
 sie fortune it 
 lerica on her 
 jmemberment 
 lier interests, 
 ny and every 
 }ve alt others, 
 
 country, and 
 to abide th&. 
 
 my motives I 
 wrilting to ly^ 
 e God, whw.)^ 
 ny last hr.jef