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Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE". le symbole Y signifie "FIN". Meps. plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. Thie following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atrs filmAs A des taux de reduction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atra raproduit en un seul clichA. il est filmA i partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche i droits, et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'imagas nAcsssaira. Les diagrammes suivants illustrsnt la mAthode. rata elure. 3 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^(,f> MR. I Deli SPEECH QF MR. J. S. PENDLETON, OF VIRCHNIA, ON THE OREGON QUESTION. Delivered in the House of Representatives , U. S., January 26, 1846. . WASHINGTON: PRINTED BT J. * O. B. GIDEON. 1846. •.:;'.\v/ I /i'jM ; The Hoi Mution repo Great Brit mcnta, pro months — Mr. P was furtl dispositic trouble c It was Texas w of 1844- he mighi litter, of parturiti( Xoan tinguish( i by an es ; ception c Presiden aiid witli I friends, '. tiie repul ^ lating an had airei has brou sake — su = its best e I But, f lieved I tnistaken iTiise tha liberal ai lieve, to from its £truction candidal Hartford Baltinioi by its ov pay it m one-houi I was of that r not last, patriotisr Barnes w cient an< i SPEECH The House being in Committee of the Whole, and having under consideration the joint reso- Mution reported from the Committee on Foreign Aifairs, directing the President to give notice to Great Britain that the United States will terminate the convention between the two Govern mcnts, providing for the joint occupation of the Oregon territory, at the expiration of twelve months — Mr. PENDLETON said, that when this debate commenced, nothing I was further from his intention than any manner of participation in it. My disposition was, Sir, (said Mr. P.,) to leave to those who have brought this trouble on the country, the business of settling it. It was said early in the discussion, that this Oregon question and that of Texas were "born and cradled" in the Bahimore Democratic convention of 1844 — ^^^twins," as my honorable friend from Massachusetts says; two, he might with more precise accuracy have said, out of a very numerous litter, of as monstrous political absurdities as any conclave, by so rapid a parturition, ever spawned upon the world. '^'o another of the progeny of tliat celebrated convention — the most dis- tinguished in his destiny , as the most remarkable in his birth — for with him , by an extraordinary violation of all the laws of nature and of reason, con- ception and delivery were a simultaneous, if not a single process — to the President of the United States, I mean — with a party majority at his heels, and with the command of both branches of Congress in the hands of his friends, I was inclined, I repeat, to leave the task of relieving himself and tlie republic, of all the consequences of his own peculiar system of regu- lating and conducting its foreign relations. I did not doubt but the party had already a sufficiently lively perception of the difficulties into which it has brought itself, to find reason — for the party's, if not for the countiy's sake — sufficient to stimulate an interested, if not a patriotic, dedication of its best energies to the object of its own extrication . But, Sir, as long as I have known your party, and as thoroughly as I be- lieved I understood it, and know that I do understand it, I confess I was mistaken on this occasion. I was perfectly aware of the spirit of compro- mise that shaped the decisions of your Baltimore convention — a spirit so liberal and large, that, in the brief session of two days, it found time, I be- lieve, to deny and discredit every principle which, as a party, it professes; from its unanimous negation of its own great fundamental doctrine of in- struction , to its unanimous recommendation of a Democratic Republican «andidate /or the Presidency, at the instance and upon the nomination of a Hartford convention Federalist. I desire it to be remembered that this Baltimore convention has been introduced into this debate not by me, but by its own friends and partisans. If time permitted, I should be happy to pay it my special respects, on many accounts. But, for the present, your one-hour rule compels me to let it pass. I was about observing that I comprehended perfecdy well the steraness of that necessity which caused your apparent harmony , and that it could not last, for it was not cordial in its character, nor founded on any basis of patriotism or principle. No, Sir; you might as well attempt to fetter the Barnes with llax, or to chain the ocean with sand, as to keep in any effi- cient and permanent combi nation ^ the heterc^eneoua elements to be found 1 ^\ H '^ ^'* '"* J! « 5 f jf :,-« 1.-J ■'..-I in the millions who compose your Democratic party; or, what is perhaps^ more difliciilt, to restrain the impatient and selfish aspirations of some of the leaders, whom they follow. Bu*- I was unprepared, I confess, for the events we have seen here. I did not suppose that the party, in thirty days after its full instalment into power — fresh from the people — burning, according to its own account, with fervent devotion to the public weal; and last, not least, banded together by a common and disinterested reverence for the high qualities of its chosen chief, would be found on such a question as this — a question settled at the Baltimore convention — split up and divided into angry and contending fac- tions. And not only divided, but, if we may believe the evidence of one faction against the other, seizing on this great national question, as the occa- sion for comiAencing a miserable scramble, for the succession to the Presi- dential office. I refer to these facts as things which huve transpired in the face of the whole country, and therefore proper to be referred to; and for the further reason that they furnish, in part, the motive of my action on the present occasion. I take nu sides between these criminating and recriminating parties. Least of all, do I tender any mediatorial offices — ^^non nqhis tantas componere lites.^* I find in the bitterness, as well as the prema- turity of their discords, the best omen for the public good, that either their aspect or action has afforded, for along time past. Yet, since 1 have referred to these matters, and since, for the larger part , I believe the charges to be perfectly true , I owe it to my own siijcere convictions to acquit myself of the suspicion of lending any sort of coun- tenance to that very gross and ungenerous charge , which has been made against a distinguished member of the other branch of Congress. If the man whose earliest distinction in public life, was his authorship of the war report of 1812, cannot be relied on to sustain his country in a just and righteous war, then, I do not know the man who can be depended on in such an emergency. It seems to be one of the hard conditions of great eminence in our country, to be peculiarly liable to the grossest impu- tations. A great statesman, distinguished for more than thirty years, in the highest offices of the republic, returns to public life after a temporary re- tirement, and the foreign press hails his advent, as auspicious to the cause of peace. Instantly he is charged with being under foreign influence, and we are significantly told to wait and see "which side he takes;" as if those who resist these mad projects of war were a foreign party, or under foieigik influence. I do not belong, and never shall belong, to the party of that Senator — never, certainly, whilst he keeps his present company — but I think far too well of him to suppose, that he can be, even for a moment ^ ruffled by so unjust an aspersion. I hope sincerely that he will be found ^ on this occa- sion , where his large experience and his matured wisdom make it almost certain he mtAit be found , on the side of peace — the peace of his own country and of the world; that he will, with all the strength of his great intellect, resist the rash and ill-advised counsels that would plunge hi» country into war; and, in so doing, add another to the many unquestiona- ble titles he already has, to the respect and admiration of all his country- men. If I could be permitted to counsel that distinguished gentleman , I would say to him — Go, emulate the example of & great pacificator; and if, as in fiave no then yoi the unm ble judg Iwill present ( veil fron the haz2 pressible bility to am calle This( national is now c ticular s< favor of is due til boundar whilst I a statem to remar debate, J and pail things, s ever hon the mosl imminet pending I can ■ought to tion , an( presentai wealth , millions ^and war I hope, •'•of an ur 'present ( •^he most Let m 4ion of t liere. I x:hildren about wi England It is e your citi men for change ( |.long pea 8 perhaps- f some of here. I nent into Lint, with gether by- Is chosen led at the iding fac- ce of one the occa- Lhe Presi- ce of the le further le present iminating ion nqbis le prema- ither their the larger *'n siiicere , of coun- ;en made tiorship of in a just depended ditions of est impu- }rs,ia the lorary re- e cause of }, and we IS if those er foieigii Senator — k far too fled by so this occa- it almost f his own his great lunge hi& luestiona- J countiy- leman, I arfor; and if, as in his case, services that deserve monuments more durable than brass, tiave no present return, but the cold ingratitude of a thankless generation — then >ou will not fail to win a higher reward than party can bestow — Ihe unmixed approbation of your own conscience, and the sure and favora- ble judgment of the good and the wise, now and forever. 1 will endeavor, Sir, to rfvoid the error of making a parly speech , on the present occasion. 7f 1 have erred in attempting, for a moment, to lift the veil from that miserable jugglery which has led a confiding people to incur the hazard of a tremendous calamity, let it be attributed rather to an irre- pressible indignation against the conjurers themselves, than to any insensi- bility to the high obligations, and the grave responsibilities, under which I am called to act, in common with all the menibers of this House. This question, which should always have been, but never has been, a national one, is beginning to lose the party character it at first assumed, and is now coming to be very distinctly a sectional one. Gentlemen from par- ticular sections of the Union seem to unite, without regard to party, in favor of th^s war measure of notice, .as if the capacity to comprehend what is due the national honor, were circumscribed within certain geographical boundaries. In this state of things, I beg the indulgence of the committee, whilst I submit a few remarks, hardly intended to be arguments, but rather a statement of the reasons which decide my own course. And permit me to remark, in limine, that, although not absolutely inexperienced in public debate, 1 arise on this, to me, untried theatre, with the most unaffected and painful diffidence and distrust of myself; distrust of myself in all things, save a sincere and earnest desire to say, if I can, in any form, how- ever homely, a single word that may contribute to avert from my country the most dreadful of all the scourges to which civilized society is liable — imminently, as I am forced to believe, imminently, at this moment im- pending. I can imagine. Sir, no 'occasion of more solemn interest — no scene|which •ought to be marked by every circumstance of sober dignity, and modera- tion, and caution, more than that of a North American Congress — the re- presentatives of twenty millions of people, as advanced in civilization, in wealth, in intelligence, in public and in private virtue, as any other twenty millions in the world — deliberating upon and discussing the issues of peace ^and war — issues always inlportant and interesting, and, I may be allowed, " I hope, whhout incurring, even in this belligerent presence, the reproach '•of an unmanly timidity, to say — not the less interesting, when, as in the ■yresent case, the adversary party is the most ancient of existing States, and ^'4he most powerful and warlike of either ancient or modern empires. Let me not be hastily condemned. Sir, for speaking in terms of exaggera- tion of the momentous crisis in which it has been my fortune to appear liere. I speak as I feel about it. It is an easy thing, Mr. Chairman, for 4;hildren at school — boys at college shoi^ld have more sense — to talk lightly about war, and battle, and bloodshed, between such people as those of England and the United States. It is easy for that worthless and vagrant population which loafs about your cities — the bullies of election days, and patriots of the pot-houses — men for whom wars and revolutions have no terrors, because to them change can bring no inconveniences, "the cankers of a calm world and a fiong peace," to talk and rant about war. 6 And, Sir, among our friends and compatriots here, there are circum- stances and conditions naturally calculated to aflect very importantly the relative composure with which we can contemplate those scenes of suffer- ing and calamity, which a British war must inevitably produce to both par- ties, and to all who may become parties to it. Gentlemen whose local position removes them beyond the range of dan- ger — far beyond the point to which even successful invasion would have any motive to penetrate — who are fortunately so situated that, if it did reach them , they could easily place themselves in a condition that the in- vader would be alone the sufferer by the experiment — may find much less difficulty in going to war upon a Quixotic pretext, than those of us who, if we do not do ail the fighting, must unquestionably pay nearly all the penal- ties. J mean no manner of disrespect to the courage or patriotism of those gentlemen who talk lightly of an English war. As one who admires many traits of their personal character, I could only wish that some other occasion might be improved, when, placing themselves, their families, and their constituents in the front of exposure , they might vindicate their pre- tensions to that ultra chivalry, and impatient valor, and public devotion, which , under the actual circumstances of the present case , are not likely to be fully appreciated by practical and common-sense men. But, Sir, the prospect of war must always be viewed by the people of the Atlantic States with very different emotions. The gentleman from Phila- delphia was disposed to treat jocularly the remark of the gentleman from 'South Carolina, that he was alarmed at the probable issue of this question. I should think very indifferently of the understanding of that gentleman, if he die feel some alarm at the prospect before us, seeing in it, as he does, tii. tjance , not to say the strong probability, of a collision, which must inevitably involve more risks to his immediate constituents than to those of, perhaps, any other gentleman iii this House. That honorable gentleman has, in my judgment, shown his good sense in the quick aiid accurate perception of the danger before us, and such a spirit as becomes a representative of his own gallant State, in spurning the well understood dictation of party , which would direct a different course from that he means to pureue. Though less exposed than that gentleman, I put myself in the same category with him ; and I shall have the approbation of a constitu- ency which, like his, has shown in every crisis of the country that they understood the point of the national honor; and that, whilst they are wise enough to ''beware of rash entrance into a quarrel," once entered, they know how "so to bear themselves, that the adversary shall beware of them." I consider this notice a war measure. I believe that a military occupa- tion on our part of Canada, would not more certainly produce collision than it must; unless, as I very faintly hope may turn out, the British Govern- ment has already seen the propriety of receding from the position it has so long held in the negotiation about Oregon — and, before this moment, is so committed , that it may not choose to resume that or a stronger position — pro- voked, as it unquestionably is, to do so, by the great indiscretions occurring in this debate — the greater indiscretions of the known organ of our Admin- istration — and the yet greater indiscretion than all, that of the President of the United States, in the manner in which he has brought the subject be- fore u in whi to exis in my mesBBj "The rejection aon, an that no He "Thi Aga " All tneaaure hercaAei He tory," ments. about Whi the fe\ this no at all. Ale broken a willii opinio! and till not pre ■ the mc interest * give u] ■ which \ be the \ some c \ I do \ 1 appn plaint < .' those c >that,b which Rej< ; make i the ho reasoni Th€ of the withdr try; y. s ity to j \ fore th procee 1 , fbre us and the country. I mean, in the terms of his annual message^ in which he assumes that the possibility of amicable adjustment has ceased to exist, calls on Congress for authority to give notice, and, very unwisely, in my opinion, publishes the correspondence of the negotiators. In thtt message he says: " The extraordinary and wholly inadmimiblo demands of the British Gk>veminent, and the rejection of the proposition made in deference alone to what had been done by my predeeea- aora, and the implied obligation which their acts seemed to impose, afford satisfactory evidence that no compromise which the United Stales ought to accept can be effected.^' He says again: " This notice it would in my judpnent be proper to give,'* &c. Again : " All attempts at compromise having failed, it Incomes the duty of Coneress to consider what measures it may be pro[)er to adopt for the security of our citizens now iimabiting or who may hereafter inhabit Oregon, and for the maintenance of our just title to that territory.*' He elsewhere asserts, that our title is to -'the whole of the Oregon terri- tory," and he affirms that it is " maintained by irrefragable facts and argu- ments." I give the words of the message, that there may be no mistake about the meaning of it. What then, is the precise slate of the case, ns it now stands? Stated in the fewest possible words, and in reference to the single inquiry of whether Ihis notice, in the actual circumstances in which it must be given, if given at all, is or is not a war measure, whether intended to be so or not? A long negotiation (the argument greatly on our side) has been abruptly broken off: England, however, has manifested a zeal, an earnestness, and a wiUingness to submit to arbitration, which proves that she is sincere in the opinion (tjowever erroneous in itself) that she has rights in the premises, and that in her opinion they are rights of some value. And if it does not prove that she is sincere in her conviction as to the right, then it shows ' the more strongly her high estimate of the vtlue of her real or pretended interests there. The President of the United States has himself offered to give up five degrees forty minutes of the entire twelve degrees forty minutes^ which is its whole length, and that five degrees and forty minutes is said to ; be the best part of the whole territory — thus acknowledging that there was ^ some color of claim on the part of England . I do not mention this offer of the President in a spirit of complaint ; for am 1 inclined at any lime to make unnecessary com- functionary, or ever to do it in any other terms than proper respect towai'ds the officer and the man. I refer to it to show £ that, by our own admissions, England has grounds— nsome grounds — oxk which to assert her claim . Rejecting the President's last offer, the British negotiator suggests, that he make some other proposition which, in very infelicitous phrase, he expresses the hope will be ^' more consistent with fairness and equity, and with the reasonable expectations of the British Government." * The President then says, substantially,! have offered you a large portion of the country; I did so for peace sake; you refused io accept it; then I withdraw my entire proposition, and I claim and will have the whole coun- try; you shall not have one acre of it; I will call on Congress for author- ^i-e'si2cnt*of \ ^^^ ^° ^^^^ ^^^ notice, (that being the toar power of our system y and there- subiect be- \f°^^ ^^^ ^^y ^'** competent to this step,) and, if it concur with me, we will J ; proceed to make good our title in our own way. are circum- H>rtantly the les of suffer- to both par- inge of dan- would have U, if it did I that the in- (1 much less f us who, if ill the penaL- sm of those i^ho admires t some other dmilies, and tte their pre- ic devotion, e not likely •eople of the from Phila- lleman from lis question, entleman, if I in it, as he ion, which ents than to honorable e quick and 8 becomes a I understood at he means yself in the a constitu- . a consuiu- i , •. xt r that they i ^^PP'^T*^* ^7 ey are wii f^^'"' f ^^^^ ^'S^' .•:„j .u.„ .' those of proper resn tered, they betoare of ary occupa- ollision than ish Govern- on it has so ment, is so sition — ^pro- is occurring our Admin It is vain for gentlemen to say, that '* it is a provision of the conv#nlipii Miat either party should give notice when it chooees^and therefoce it ip ftb« flrst, and a peaceable step towards a settlement." Had either party |fi?en notice to the other (and given it in advance of any attempt at n^o- tiation) that the joint occupancy was to cease; then, sir, it was a regular, fwaceful , and proper measure. It would have been in that case the first step, towards tne settlement of a long postponed miestion. The next step would of course have been negotiation, which would have brought the mat- ter to an amicable adjustment, or to the arbitrament of arms. But here, Sir, is altogether a different state of things. The notice now proposed, is not that peaceful notice contemplated and provided for in the convention of 1818, and afterwards continued as part of ihe subject. That notice was intended as a means in the hands of either party , of bringing on, when it saw lit, a negotiation to settle the points in dispute. But in this case, the parties waived tlie formality of notice, 'and proceeded to actual ne- gotiation. The President of the United States has seen fit to break it off abi^ttptly — without exhausting the usual and ordinary means of adjusting in- ternational questions of territory and boundary. He declares to us that no compromise con be effected. He publishes the whole transaction, as if to cut off the possibility of retreat from both parfies; and calls upon us for our co-operaMon. The difference is too manifest, not to be seen and comprehend- ed by the feeblest understanding. The import of nolice, if now given by authority of Congress, is nothing ,more nor less than this: We back the President at all hazards; we concur with him in the opinion that you do not mean to do what is right; we will not ollow you a single inch of this territory ; we will proceed ot the end of twelve months to take possession of the whole country, as well your present establishments there, as the rest; we have no proposition for peace- ful adjustment to offer, but we will make good our claim by some other •means than compromise or arbitration. Do we not present to Great Britain the single and only alternative of war or submission? Sir, there is not a little page upon your floor that does not see that. Then I ask, can any man who knows any thing of England suppose, that she will submit to so harsh a treatment? To say nothing of the injury, did she ever submit to so much insult, from any Power, or from any combination of Powers? She says it ■ is injury — all the world must pronounce it insult. England is, however, a prudent and sagacious Government, and, with all her bull-dog spirit, would not like, more than another, to go into a very hopeless and unequal war. And alarmed, as doubtless she will be, when she hears of the very formidable proposition of the honorable gentleman from Michigan, who the other day pledged himself that Gen. Cass, and Michi- gan, and himself, would take Canada in ninety days, and let her loose, and take her again in half the time, she will pause and survey her actual condition, and see for herself whether or not she is prepared for the contest. Is there, then, in her present circumstances — her credit, her army, her ^Bavy, her resources of eveiy kind — any thing to make her fear the hazards •'of war, more than in ordinary circumstances, and at all times? Her army is stronger than, on a peace establishment, it ever was before; her naval pow- er infinitely greater than when, single-handed, she swept the combined fleets .of the other principal naval powers from every sea. Her credit is equal to 'Ae command of . - _ worl aequ has the agoB of a I «ver and the rery dollar in Europe. peace berefore it ip either party npt at nego- iB a reguUr, case the first he nexl step ^ht the mat- notice now d for in the jecl. That of bringing But in this o actual ne- breuk it off (djueting in- us that no on , as if to n us for our omprehcnd- , is nothing we concur ht; we will the end of well your I J for peace - some other rreat Britain lere is not a m any man to so harsh to so much She says it ; and , with into a very , when she eman from and Michi- : her loose, her actual he contest. army, her he hazards Her army naval pow- >ined fleets is equal to ih pU the 9 world. She has the prospect of alliances on our own continent, in con- sequence of the relations which the wisdom of '^ progressive democracy" has estabJushed be.A-een ourselves and Mexico; and, if we are to confide in the judgment of those gentlemen here, who seem disposed to taN the man- ■agement of this whole business in their own hands, she has the sympathy of all the crowned heads with her. I do not wish to press this point; it is a delicate one. I must say, how- ever, that, in niy poor opinion, England cannot — and that, wiih a pro|)er and prudent regard for her own public character and moral influence with the world at laige, and especially within her own possessions, site dare not — submit to it. If she does, then she pockets an affiront grosser than any to which she has submitted for eight hundred years past;'and she does so pre- cisely at the time when she is more able, than at any other period of her ex- istence, to resist and resent it. Nor is It at all|consi8tent with her general sagacity to suppose, that she will <}uietly fold her arms, and wait our twelve months' preparation. I believe liie notice will produce war inevitably, and immediately, on its being given. And it is substantially avowed to be the object of gentlemen , hign in the regard of the dominant party, to force the country into war. One gentle- man in the Senate has said that he considered war inevitable, at the begin- ning of the session , because he then thought it certain the notice ipouldpass; that he now considers it doubtful , because it is somewhat uncertain whe- ther the notice can be carried . I did not understand that gentleman to say that he is for war; on the contrary, they all say they are not for war — but he ^iys he is for the notice; and we have his authority for considering the no- tice certain and inevitable war. If the notice does not pass, that gentleman will not vote the proposed naval appropriations; for, in that event, there will be, in his own words, "profound peace." Another distinguished Senator, whose position in the party is eminent — for he seems to be vigorously contesting the leadership with the old stagers — cannot be screwed down to the point of saying, that it will not produce war. He will answer no further than to say that, "in his opinion, it will not be just cause of war." He does not seem to care at all about a war, if we do not give a just cause for it. My opinion is, we should do every thing an honorable people and Gov- ernment can do, to avoid it; and in this case the difliculty is, in my judg- ment, not how we may honorably avoid it, but how it is possible to get into it, in any other than a most dishonorable way. England wants no war with us. She knows very well that she has no- thing to make by it; and that, whilst she would inflict on us incalculable injury, she would suffer just as much, probably more, than ourselves. War may yet come out of this thing, and come fairly. I say, then. Sir, let it come. When we can stand justified before God and man — ^justified in our own conscience? — we shall present an undivided front, an unconqtierable force; conscious that we are right, with the sympathies of the world in our behalf, and the God of battles on our side. But the inquiry which occurs to a practical mind is, will we get Oregon by a war? The honorable gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Rhett,) expressed opinions on this subject in which I entirely concur, and need not repeat. How is it to be done ? If the object could be accomplished by a mere war of words, the thing might be practicable enough. If the Con- gress of the United States and the English Parliament would agree to set- 10 ■tie it by a bout at stump speaking, then I think) Sir, we should have deci-^ T^ dedly the advantage. In the thunder and lightning part of the perform- chan| ance, we might safely undertake the Lords and the Commons too. ants Suppose the fight to be on the contested premises — for there it must be volul| before we can take or keep Oregon — ^how would you meet England there ? alas A very few men, uninc'mibered with the armor and subsistence of war, form] can with great difficulty make their way to Oregon. It is impossible for ^^^\ . large numbers to reach there at all. They could not carry subsistence to- perilj last them, and could not possibly gather it on the way. Would you go by ^®"*1| sea ? Run the gaundet of the British fleet in a voyage of twenty thousand ized | miles? I suppose there is no man, of any sort of judgment or information, serve here or elsewhere, that supposes you could get a sliip into the mouth of the Columbia, from this day in ten years to come? Sir, you could not get out of sight of your own land , with the first transport . The very wave that bore it from your shores would return to strew its fragments upon the strand. Eng«; land, whose boast — and no idle boast it is — has been , for three hundred years, that *^her march was on the mountain wave, her home upon the deep," was never so able as now, to maintain her naval supremacy. There is one, and only one way in which the thing is within the bounds of possibility; and that is, by whipping England elsewhere so severely, that she would be willing to surrender the question, for the sake of peace. Suppose England would not invade us. I believe it has not yet been suggested that we would invade England. But gentlemen say, we would take Canada. 1 have no doubt we could take Canada. But would that give us Oregon? If you think Canada worth more than Oregon, you . would not make the exchange, after you had taken it. If England consi- ders it worth less, she would not desire to exchange Oregon for it; and, if a result of this sort is looked to, then we are making war, not for Oregon, but for Canada — a thing which 1 have no doubt is perfectly true, as to some who vote for this notice. I say we could doubdcss take Canada; not Sir, but at a price far beyond her value. We should not have to take it from the mongrels and hybrids, that might form largely the mass of a mere Canadian army — Canadian French and half-breed Indians. No Sir; we. should meet men of our own mettle; it would be Saxon against Saxon; and there is no child's play there. The blood of some of the most gallant of our countrymen has . stained , on more than one occasion, the snows that for half the year veil her frozen and unfertile regions; and whienever England and America meet to do batde, there, then, sir — "Few, few shall port where many meet, The snow shall be their winding-sheet, And every turf beneath their feet Shall be & soldier's sepulchre!" Mr. Chairman, there would be no war in Oregon, nor for Oregon, after it is commenced. New York will be the battle-field. The poisoned cha- lice will be commended to her lips. She will have an early and a bitter taste, of the fruits of that policy, which she has so largely contributed to fas- ten on the country. Hn maornificent emporium, with its stately palaces and its imperial treasures, presents an object worthy the steel of that powerful adversary, the roll of whose morning's drum rattles round the globe, and the vigor of whose potent arm, has been tested in die triumphs, of a thousand battle-fields. lave deci- perform- i must h& nd there ? B of war, [>ssible for istence to- ^ou go by thousand armation, iih of the ot get out mt bore it id. Eng^ hundred jpon the V' e bounds lely, that ace. y^et been ^e would mid that on, you [id consi- and,if a gon, but to some beyond hybrids, anadian our own Va play nen has ear veil ca meet ti, after id cha- i bitter to fas- salaces >f that nd the mphs^ 1 n There, Sir, would be the tug of generous and manly war; and there, peir- cbapce, powerful as the great empire State is, the services of the descend- ants of those men, whose blood was poured upon every field where her re- volutionary banners were unfurled, might not be entirely disdained ; but^ alas ! they will have other, and sadder, and more dangerous duties to per- form. For this war measure seems to be pressed on by a combination , one element of which avows its purpose to bring upon the South, afflictions and perils, which nothing but the phrenzy of abolitionary fanaticism could con- template witflout agony. For us, beyond the ordinary incidents of civil- ized war, horrors to which we are supposed to be peculiarly liable, are re- served . ^Whilst we are to meet the brunt of the conflict, and to bear in immense disproportion the expenses that attend it; to fight for the country, and to meet and drive back its invaders from our long line of defenceless shores; presenting a complication of difficulties, distresses, and dangers, that might not only command the sympathies of strangers, but plead for the mercies of God, what fraternal greetings have we from one portion of our own country T It is just at this moment that the fiend-fonn, of ferocious fanaticism, steals upon the scene — with prayers and piety hanging upon its tongue, but the fires of hell burning in its heart — and beckons a dark, and, as it thinks, a terrible enemy vipon our rear. The dagger and the torch , the conflagra- tions and the murders, of insurrectionary strife, are threatened to our homes. Is there to be no peace for us? Are all the horrors to which I have allu- ded to be perpetually attempted to be forced upon us, by men who cry "peace, peace, when there is no peace?" Is there no period of repose? Can no question of peace or of war be discussed in this house, that we are not still to be struck at? Is oura to be the fate of Prometheus, chained forever to a rock, which we cannot escape, and gnawed at by, not this eagle, but this insatiate vulture of abolitionism ? Cannot ''potent, grave, and reverend seigneurs" learn to understand our position and our character, and be taught that we will not and cannot sub- mit forever to this obstinate, this insolent interference with our own private aflairs; that there is a point at which patience ceages to be a virtue; that the crisis may at last be forced upon us; and that, if they be right in supposing us too weak to protect ourselves, (of which we have no fears,) then, that they should credit us with the strength and courage to sustain a struggle, in which, if we did not succeed in preserving ourselves, we could not fail to pull down the pillars of our common temple in ruin upon our heads; and in consigning to an early and inglorious grave our great experiment — with all the sublime recollections that gather round its history, and all the brilliant anlicipauons that brighten in its future — if it could be pursued in a spirit of concessi-r^n, and patriotism, and submission, to the principles of the Constitution ? As to the merits of this Oregon question — I mean, as to the character of our title — I find no occasion to go into it at all. It seems that we all a^ree in one thing, and that is, that our title is a better one than the English title; that, if it be not one which can bear the test of judicial scrutiny, still it is a better one on all grounds, than that of England. What I mean, is in refe- rence only to the comparative strength of the two titles — English and Amci irua . My own opinion is, that either title is far from being a clear one. But i speak to the pointy as between England and the United States; and;. 12 In wl^atiev^ I say on that subject, I desire to be distinctly understood aanpt intending to afi^m that a clear, leg^l, or equitable title, is in either Govem- meot to the whole, or any part of it. ' judicious already twenty times told, of the reasons which bring ray mind lo the conclusion in favor of our title — good, at all events, as against England. I should but follow in the course of numerous gentlemen who have preced^ me in this debate — themselves following the able and unanswerable arguments of our two ministers, Messrs. Calhoun and Buchanan. I concur in every argument, opinion, and sentence of the speech of the able and learned gentleman, who with so much distinction represents the city of Boston on this floor; and who, whilst he in tofies that bring convic- tion of his sincerity to every ingenuous mind, declares his purpose to stand by his country, and his whole country, in any emergency to which she may be brought, yet evinces not a timid, but a manly and a rational anxiety to preserve the public peace. He may well take such a part; for he who has least done so, might be said to have lived in vain, if he had failed to be im- pressed by all the splendid institutions which adorn and enrich his beautiful city, and the great and wise commonwealth of which that city itself is the ornament and pride, with the truth of the proposition, that peace hath her triumphs, as well as war. I say, Sir, I adopt that honorable gentleman's v»'hole speech, for it was ad- dressed to the 56/156, and not to the Mo;wew5c, of this House orthe country . That gentleman gave proof, in the entire speech, as well as in the particular de- claration, of the great confidence which he reposes in the calm judgment, the "sober second thought," as he called it, of the people of this country: that, however true might have been the remark of the Bntish courtier, in reference to the Bntish people, it was not true of our day and country. Whilst 1 concur with all the gentlemen who have preceded me in the matter of the title, so far as its vahdity is compared with that of England, there is another point in regard to which I differ with perhaps the whole of them; and that is, as to the value of this territory to our Government. In my judgment It is not worth one farthing to the United States. Waiving all inquiry into its intrinsic capacities and value , (which I hold at a very low irate, even to those who want territory,) I maintain that it is of no value to us, because we want no more territory; that if we were cramped within . too narrow boundaries, still Oregon is too remote from us to form a portion of our Uoion, with advantage either to itself or to us. We may incur the heavy expense of nursing its infancy, but, long before it approaches man- hood, it will be able to stand upon its own legs, and will then set up for it- self, as it ought to do. 1 call genUemen's attention to the character of the vote which will be ;given on this very question, as an answer, full and complete , against the thQpcy of those who favor a national policy, of endless and perpetual expan- eipn— r^xiwision, until our Union comprehends sections that cannot have a copin^n interest or common attachment, bringing into the Confederacy a principle which tends inevitably and irresistibly to national disunion and ruin. I maintain the title, however, and acknowledge ou obligation to make it la ood as not T Govern- judicious c it is. le alrendy elusion in loiiid but ne in this nts of our ch of the Jsents the convic- to stand 1 she may nxiety to who has to be im- beautiftil elf is the hath her it was ad- ry. That culfxr de- idgment, country: iirtier, in itry. le in the England , whole of ent. In Waiving t a very no value d within I portion ncur the les man- jp for it- will be linst the I expan- t have a leracy a ion and make it good at all kazetrdSf when the necessity arises for its assertion . But I utteiijr deny the right of a particular section to claim this as a sectional qitestiKNii). or Oregon as a Western property. The Western States have no mare rights, no more interests, in this subject, than have the Eastern. And I protest against their right to decide, when we are to go to war for this mise^ rable and worthless territory. It may be asked, how I would make it good? Why, the most agreeable process, it seems to me, would be that indicated by the honorable chairniaq of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and called by the honorable member from Indiana ''the American maltiphcation table." I think it very doabt- ful however, whether our present chief Executive officer is precisely the man to head an operaticm of that soil) of this I am sure, that at that par- ticular game her Majesty Queen Victoria would beat hint, and beat him badly. [Here Mr. C. J. Ingersoll observed to Mr. P. that Sir Robert Peel bad eleven children.] Then, Sir, if it were a question not between the two sovereigns themselves^ but between their respective premiere, Sir Robert Peel and Mr. Buchanan^ it would be no less against the American side. Sir, I would leave jt to time, to a reasonable extent at least. I Would Ttnew the negotiations; if that could not be made successful, 1 would sub- mit to reference; I would setde the question as honest men may and must settle all such questions, by the umpirage of impartial and competent lefe- rees. It is no point of honor to be settled; but purely a question of bouiH dary, between contiguous proprietors. And finally, Sir, if these means all fail, and this bullying poWer of Old England, so much and in such bad taste abused in this debate — though, by the way, her part of the bullying and blustering is yet to be enacted on thi& subject — shall persist in a course of injustice, and above all, shall attempt to bully us— then fight her. Sir, and fight her to the death. I feel, Mr. Chairman, a reverence too sincere, a devotion too deep, fat that venerable Commonwealth , which I so unworthily represent in pftrt here, to insult her by telling you, or the world, where she will be found when that crisis arrives. Virginia belongs to no "peace party in Waf;" t* no war party in peace. And, as she disdains to eaact the braggart in the> quarrel, so it may be safely assumed, that she will never play the part of the traitor in the conflict. The President of the United States speaks of our obligations to facilitate emigration to Oregon, and to protect our "patriotic pioneers" who are there ► And gentlemen tell us of the attachment of these people to their dear native land ► Why do they leave it, Sir? Why is it that, with instinctive aversion, they retire before the advance of civilization— preferring the wild excitement and the rug- ged discomforts of the wilderness to the repose, the security , and the refinement* of social and cultivated life? They manifest their attachment, by disregarding the influences that bind ordinary men to the places of their nativity; by- snapping recklessly the ties of blood, and kindred, and social connexions; and calmly, and of their own free choice, deserting a generous soil and a genial clime — abandoning the hearths and the altars of their childhood and youth, they toil through a vast and cheerless wildenjess — ^where savage mail and savage beast meets them at every turn — through scenes where danger lurks in every path, and death is whispered in every breeze — to gain at last tnnnrr-TwaaowB H « borne so inhospitable and rude, tbat according to tbe learned gentleman from Pbiladelpbia, it takes tbe genius of Shakspeare to do justice to its bor- Tors. And it is for these restless and wayward wnnderers^ that the distinguished :gentleman from Alabama would have our Government endeavor to realize the fabulous ubiquity of the Roman power — sending its eegis throughout the world , for their protection . Sir , I am against any such principle . It is easier for these people to stay at home, than for us to go to war. If they will go upon territory, the title of which is unsettled, let them go at their own risk. A few men have no right to involve millions in war. It is not the policy of our Government to be running over the world looking after citizens, whose allegiance is mani- fested, only by acts of expatriation. They went to Texas to fight for their liberty; they achieved great victories; had wonderful prosperity; found the true El Dorado — a country, richer than the dreams of Spanish avarice had pictured — a country, in behalf of which it would seem, that a relenting Pro- vidence had repealed the primeval curse; for we were told that production leaps spontaneously from its bosom , and man need not toil for his bread . Yet, in a few brief years, though unscourged by war, or pestilence, or famine, they call on us to annex them '^ immediately or sooner," or their friends say, they will perish. We do annex them, in a way which, for its form and precipitation has left a deeper stain on our national character, than any event since the declaration of our independence. And straightway they next put out for Oregon, and, getting there, call on us to terminate a convention, under which, for thirty years, we have got along in peace ; and to do it directly and instantly, despite the hazard of a war — a war which, if it does come, may, and most probably will, be the most destructive which has for centuries occurred. And that over, (if, in- deed, it be the good fortune of our Confederacy to survive it,) they would make another start, for God knows where — perhaps to the North Pole, if they could find a trail, or make a trail to it — and the aegis, I presume, would be immediately called for again , supposing any other people in the world absurd enough to contest with them such a possession. But, Sir, if I am mistaken in regarding this as a war measure, then I am still opposed to it as a peace measure. It loses us inevitably and certainly about half ihe territory of Oregon; for I suppose no man, and least of all, those gentlemen whose consciences are so nice on the point of the national honor, can doubt that, with the notice, the last proposition of the President must be re-submitted . The settlement of the question now must lose us the better half of tbe country: time, emigration, and '4he multiplication table," get us the whole of ii. This is no point of interest to me. I make the suggestion for gentlemen who consider it a very valuable country. Gentlemen talk about honorMe peace. Who, here, is for dishonor- able peace? Will some of these war-hawks come down from their exercises with the eagle, and condescend to deal in common sense for a few moments, and let me know — for I wish to learn — wherein it is that the peace subsist- mg between the United Slates, and Great Britain, is a dishonorable peace? Have we an insult, a trespass, or even a menace to avenge? Has our flag been insulted, our soil invaded, or our honor impeached? It seems to me, 4Si,r, that it is more dishonorable t(< break, than to keep such a peace. ISuppose, Sir, that votes enough to cany this measure be given, not with the wish or the expectation of getting Oregon, but to get Canada — ^thus ex- I citing i purpo I claim I hones s cious I But I minut I and I Hei i :l Th( for m( point taken practi( had hi the tin shouk report 1 tion c I made I Had I 1 tion i ever I had I ca than t< Albert cer — tl Gallati establi establi Ii has 1st. n 1 tested te ^ honor o ■ tiations. ? 2d. 1 convent elusive 1 • and has interest! . such a ( aggressi chances 3d. 1 that, if tion ; tl somethi ductive 4th. vention and nia it not diat 15 gentlemaii I to its hoi' itingiiished realize the the world, }r for these n territory ; men have srnment to i is mani- it for their found the i^arice had nting Pro- )roductioa his bread, ilence, or ' or their ich, for its cter, than re , call on have got zard of a 11, be the ;r, (if, in- ey would Pole, if lie, would he world hen I am certainly St of all, national President it lose us iplication I make ry- dishonor- exercises noments, subsist- e peace? 3 our flag IS to me, e. not with -thus ex- citing the people of the country on the merits of the Oregon claim, for the purpose of directing their force against a province, to which we have no [claim, and to any attempt to take which directly, they could not, as an honest people, be brought. Was there ever a war, more infomous and atro- ; cious than that would be? - I But, Sir, I observe by the watch before me, that 1 have less than half a minute left me. I have many things I would like to say on this subject, I and I regret for this time, and for this only, the existence of your hour rule. Here the chairman's hammer came down. TO MY CONSTITUENTS. The one hour rule of the House of Representatives made it impossible for me to discuss the question of title at all, without neglecting every other point entirely. The presentation oi" the mere historical detail would have taken more than the entire hour. I find no fault whatever with the settled practice of gentlemen in writing out ''what they would have said if they had had time," and especially when they signify their intention to do so at the time they speak. As a general proposition, it is right and proper they should do so. But for myself, in this particular case, I have preferred to report, verbatim et literatim, what I did say — without the intentional addi- tion or subtiaction of a single idea or word. Otherwise, L should have made copious quotations from the numbers just published by Mr. Gallatin. Had I seen those numbers before I spoke, I should have declared my inten- tion to do so; and then, without any difficulty, could have selected what- ever I deemed important to strengthen my own views on the subject. But I had not read a line of either one of them . I can now only call the attention of such, as have no better employment than to give an hour to the foregoing speech, to the four numbers signed Albert Gallatin , appearing in the last few days in the National Intelligen- cer — the last of th6 series this morning. I will here only quote, in Mr. Gallatin's own words, his statement of the propositions which he meant to establish; and which, more tlian any other writer or speaker, I think he has established. He says: Ii has been attempted in tliese papers to prove — 1st. That neither of the two Powers has an absolute and indisputable right to the whole con- , tested territory ; that each may recede from its extreme pretensions without impairing national [honor or wounding national pride ; and that the way is therefore still open for a renewal of nego- i tiations. i 2d. T> A. .le avowed object of the United States, in giving notice of the abrogation of the convention, is the determination to assert and maintain their assumed right of absolute and ex- clusive sovereignty over the whole territory ; that Great Britain is fully committed on that point, and has constantly and explicitly declared that such an attempt would be resisted, and the British interests in that qiftirter be protected ; and that war is therefore the unavoidable consequence of ' such a decisive step — a war not only necessarily calamitous and expensive, but in its character aggressive — not justifiable by the magnitude and importance of its object, and of which the chances are uncertain. 3d. That the inconveniences of the present state of thuigs may in a great degree be avoided ; that, if no war should ensue, they will ue the same, if not greater, without than under a conven- tion ; that not a single object can be gained by giving the notice af 'his time, unless it be to do something not permitted by the present convention, and therefore provoking resistance and pro- ductive of war. If a single other advantage can be gained by giving the notice, let it be stated. 4th. That it has been fully admitted by Great Britain that, whether under or without a con- vention, the United States have the same rights as herself, to trade, to nttvigate, and to occupy and make settlements in and over every part of the territory; and that, if this state of things Ibie not disturbed, natural causes must necessarily give the whole territory to the United States. m Under thcae eiieviMtaDieck it i$ oniy aaked thbt tb« Mibjeet may be ppaMpnad /or th« pt^ •eht; that Qovernraent shoula not commit itself by any jwemature act or declaration-, that, in- Mead' of iacriMiiiing the irritation and excitement Wliich exiat on both aides, time be ^ven fat mutual reflection, and for the subdnal or aubaidence of angry and violent fiMlings. Then, aniA then only, can the delibenUe opinion of the American people, on thia momentous qucation^ btf trdly ascertained. It is not perceived how the postponement for the present, and for a time, can, in any ^ape, or in th<; slightest degree, injure the United States* I need not say to euch a constituency as my own, that, in quoting Mr. Galli^n, I rely on the highest living authority. That venerable gentfemaii — by fax the most illustrious of American statesmen yet left to us — ^the trusted friend of Jefferson and Madison, and a great leader of the Republi- can party in its best and purest days, may possibly have still some claim to the respectful consideration of his countrymen. The quotation which 1 have made is intended to attract the publvc atten- tion, in my own district, to arguments and opinions, calculated, I believe, to enlighten its judgment, and to fortify it against the insane ravings of a senseless clamor, which, incapable of comprehending, or careless of en- countering, the inevitable consequences, would place the country in a con- dition in which il Will be impossible to avoid war. JOHN S. PENDLETON. •d /or th« i^r^ iration; that, in- gs. Then^ aniA and for a time. quotinfif Mr. e gentldman to us — ^the he Republi- me claim to )ubHc atten- I, I believe 7 'avings of a eless of en- ry in a con- LBTON. WMMtl