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I LlN TI

SPEECH

toN. JOSEPH A. WOODAVAED

OF SOUTH CAROLINA,

THE OREGON QUESTION.

DELIVERED

I^IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1846 i

r% 1

WASHINGTON:

PRINTED BY BLAIR & RIVES.

1846.

}

It Resolutini
Afl'nirs, requi
Briuiin of tin
terminate the
abro^Titie the
^•nsidcmtion

Mr. WOOD^

Ipws :

Mr. Chairm.

e muph i)le
Ijera, in the a
fluctice their
d| perhaps, t

"brrasion , le
e^'pnsent. I
\iks,p and del
tt that opposi
iStp in tne ji
^lenst , my p
Hmnn^ the
t4he other s
tuition, that 1
hiitc, been si
tit one happe
•fbre the com
■ Bevcrity in tl
settnd the can

the ireneral t
iddpch\mafio
if title to Ore
y.to the Uii
jAt not to li
:ttleiiicnts the
ntinj: laws
ghl to give th
3ntes we hav
lUSt be defen
uatter iissaik
ill into tlie h
osed to its s
ote for all sue
•eB-boino; of (
s to question '
l«^ war, eve
m at ii loss t(
iduri'd gentle
f debate, to s
b!e false issii
iWfi vehemenc
id and injen
u^icioii, that

THE OREGON QUESTION.

M Reaolution frori the Cnmmittee on Foreign
Afl'airs, requirine: the President to notify Great
Brit^iin of the intention of the United States to
terminate the joint occupancy of Oregon, and to
altrogutc the convention of 1827, Iteing under
.:«nsideration in Committee of the Wliole — ^

Mr. WOODWARD addressed the committee as

Mr. Chairman: I am not of a temperament to

e much jjleasure in addressing argument to

tiers, in the absence of all hope of being able to

fluctice their opinions, or control their notion;

d, perhaps, tliere never was, and never maybe,

fbccasion, less favorable to such hopes, than

ePj>nsent. I know there is, in tliis committee,

lil^gp and determinate majority opposed to me ;

it that opposition has not diMinished my confi-

|itp in tlie justness of my views, or shaken, in

^east, my purpose of adhering to them.

Among tne great variety of matters discussed,

I the other side of the argument, there is one

t<fction, that has not, so far as I Imve heard the

Bite, been so fortunate as to be included; and

<i|one happens to be the only question properly

(Bre the committee. There may be something

'•(Bverity in this stricture, but I appeal to the jus-

«iBnd the candor of my opponents to bear me out

the general truth of the declaration. We have

id declamation and discourse, interminable, upon

untitle to Oregon; the importance of that coun-

J^o the Union; the reasons why the British

tw»t not to have it; the propriety of promoting

^tWenients there; the duty and necessity of ex-

nCng laws and protection to the settlers, the

ght to give the notice, &c., Ac, &c. Who, sir,

3nfcs we have rights in Oregon, or tliat they

lUSt be defended, whenever, or from whatever

uarter i\ssailed? Who desires the country to

ill into tlie hands of the British .' Who is op-

o«ed to its settlement? Who is not ready to

oW for all such laws, as may be essential to the

•dH-bojng of our people there? Who so stupid,

» to question the right to give the notice, or to de-

1^ war, even, if it suits vou to do so? Sir, I

n* at a loss to conceive, what motive could have

idlircd gentlemen, putting aside the real question

f 'Rebate, to spring upon the committee innumer-

bw false issues, and to are:ue them with a sol-

rifl» vehemence, positively disgusting to the can-

iq and inircnuoua mind. Am I to indulge the

picioii, that their purpose has been to exhibit

the minority in a false light before the country.'—
to put them in a position they nevi;r meant to oc<
cupy, and to impute to them sentiments and opin-
ions they never entertained, but do utterly repu-
diate? Tliis might be considered an uncharita-
ble suspicion — and, of course, I would exempt
from it all who might be entitled to escape under
the plea of ignorance; but with regard to those
who are wise and discreet, what could they say,
why sentence should not be pronounced upon
them? I shall not undertake to affirm, what has
been the object of this most extraordinary discus-
sion; but I have no hesitancy in saying what it
has, in fact, done: It has perverted and falsified
everything it has touched. It has sent forth no
shining light to the country, but enveloped every-
thing in darkness. Its only tendency has been,
to produce that very thing, which it is the object
of fl-ee discussion to destroy — ignorance. Sir, I
choose not to refrain from speaking with a degree
of freedom on this occasion. Sentiments of pro-
found indignation impel me.

Mr. Chairman, let us see what is the quefition,
this committee ought to have been discussing,
and to which my friends in the minority have
vainly endeavored to draw your attention.

We have a convention with Great Britain for
the joint use and occupancy of the northwest ter-
ritory. That convention provides, that either
party may annul it, by giving twelve months' no-
tice to the other party. And the only question
before the committee, upon which there is difler-
ence of opinion, is, Shall the notice be given?
So, the question ia merely one of notice. Nor
does it involve the substance of notice, but only
the time. All are agreed, that the notice should
be given, at some period not very remote. But
is it expedient, is it good policy, to give it at the
present time? I think it is not. And as it ia pre-
posterous to pretend that national honor, or dig-
nity, or essential right, is involved in this matter
of time, I maintain that considerations of good
jiolicy and expediency ought to direct our coun-
cils, and determine our action. And this, sir, ia
the issue that gentlemen ought to have met, and
which the honor of our country, and the welfare
of the people, made it their duty to meet, and dis-
cuss in an honest and statesmanlike manner.
And dismissing every fceling of prejudice from my
mind, I now propose to express some views upon
this question.

Wc nrc not, Mr. Clinirmnn, the Rdvoratca of
total inactivity >ii tiiis sul)ject. On tiie contrary,
I believe the nine has conic when it is proper to
adopt such measures na will promote the settle-
ment of the Ore^jon territory, and f!:iv. law and
i)rotection to our people there. But I do not lie-
ieve the time has yet come for ahroj^ating the
convention of joint occupancy.

it has suited the vicwa luiu purposes of gentle-
men, to represent this policy of masterly inactivity
as a South Carolina schemi,'; as thouj,'h it was not
adopted, as far back as 1818, by tho united coun-
cils of the nation; as thoufjh. after an experience
often years, it was not again established in 1827,
by a unanimity almost unexampled; a.s thougli it
was not adhered to throughout the twelve years
of Andrew Jackson's Administration, and that of
Mr. Van Burcn; as thoujjli South CaroUna were
doing anything more than advising you not to
disturb whot so much wisdom and disinterested
patriotism had devised and sanctioned, and what
so long a period of time had proved to be bene-
ficial. You, sir, and not we, are proposing inno-
vations and new schemes of policy. You are ad-
Tising to set at naught the councils that have en-
dured throughout five Administrations; — the wis-
dom of whicn councils was, all the while, so self-
evident and palpable, that the cunning selfishness
of party, or the schemes of plotting ambition,
never ventured to make a question about it; anj
I am at a loss to sec what else ever could have
made a question about it.

Let the committee follow me a moment, while I
give a brief account of this matter. Gentlemen
represent Great Britain as aiming to keep off, as
long as possible, this question of notice; and our-
selves, as the dupes of her temporizing policy,
destined to be caught in some snare she has laid
in the future, for us. I deny that this policy is of
British origin. It is our own, both in its begin-
ning and its continuation. The first conception of
it we find, in the instmctions §iven, in 1818, to
Mr. Rush, at that time our Minister at the Court
of St. James. It was the desire of Lord Castlc-
reagh, the English Minister, that the conflicting
claims of the two countries, in relation to the
northwest territory, should be included among the
subjects of negotiation, then pending at London,
and be brought to a final adjustment. Mr. Rush
sought instructions from his Government, and Mr.
J. Q,. Adams, then Secretary of State, in his in-
structions to Mr. Rush, for the first time, sets forth
distinctly and most comprehensively the policy of
' taking Oregon upon time." Alluding to .some
things proper to be mentioned by Mr. Rush to
Castlereagn, in regard to this matter, Mr. Adams
proceeds as follows:

" In suggesting these ideos to Lord Castlereagh,

• rather in conversation than any more formal

• manner, it may be proper to remark, the mi-

• nuteness of the present interest, either to Great
' Britain or the United Jtntes, involved in thiscon-
' cern, and the unwillingness, for that reason, of

• this Government, to include it among the objects

• of serious discussion with them. At the same
' time you might give him to understand, ihough

• not unless in a manner to avoid everything of-

• flensive in the suggestion, that from the nature of

• things, if, in the course of future events, it (Ore-

• gon) should ever become an object of serious im-

• portancc to the United States, it ran scarcely

• supposed, tliut Great I'littiiii would find it u.^'
' or advisaltli', to rrsistt tiicir claim, to jtosse-ss:

• l)y synteiiialic op]>OKiiioii."

He then adds, that Groat Britain could li
•' no solid inlin .1 " to prevent the exMension of
territory "until all possibility of doing so, ^:
have vanished."

Here, sir, is the first conception of the i
that time would best secure our rights in Ore-;
and by recurring to tlic language of our Seereir
(Mr. Adams,) it might be inftTred thai he ei,
tained some doubts, wliether it would ever ber^
an object of iniportanre to the United States
po8s> ss themselves of tliat country. But I ndi
he spoke as a diplomatist.

Now, in 1818, Great Britain was in the exch
and udverse possession of Oregon. And '^ct.
high a value did our diplomatist set on the ac
of time, to fortify our rights, he desired to a^
all negotiations, and leave to Great Britain all
advantage which exclusive and adverse po.sses
would give her in future ne<jotiations. He thoi
time worth more to us than exclusive, adv
possession to Great Britain. But fortunatel'
species of convention was hit upon, which, w
it did not conflict with our nolicy of procrasi
lion, gave nothing to Great Britain, but in faci
stroyed the adverse character of her possess
and prevented the legal effect of such a posses
in future negotiations upon the title. And
gentlemen tell you this convention was a scIp
of Great Britain to advance her interest and uii
mine ours! I have said. Great Britain, in p
of fact, took nothing by the convention. Her
elusive occupancy was a state of things pn
istent to the convention. We did not stipu
for the purpose of occupying, but, simply,
occupancy, claimed l)y both parties, as a r
prior to, and independent of, convention, sli'
not be made a cause of quarrel. You will :
ceive, therefore, from what has been said and i
ted, our diplnmati.^t, so far from being disinci:
to the convention, was, in fact, in the first inst;i
anxious to adopt a policy far less to our advaiit
that is, to avoid oil negotiations, and leave G
Britain in exclusive and adverse possession.

Such, sir, was the beginning of this policy, I
masterly act of diplomacy; and who amonir
great and patriotic men of tlie day disajiprovec

Well, sir, in 1827, the term of the conyentic
1818 was about to expire, and negotiations v
to be renewed: Was any new pcdicy then rec
mended by the venerable gentleman from IM:i
chusetts, then President of the United States?
sir. Notwithstanding we had acquired tho tii
Spain, and, perhaps, supposed we ' -id some
son to feel uulignant, that Great Britain, under
new state of the question, should still dispute t;
with us, the stipulations of 1818 were renews
1828; and I have yet to learn that the peoj.!'
not, with one voice, ajiprovo. What said M
son, Monroe, Gallatin, Crawford, Clay, Low i
Clinton, and Van Buren ? What did Andrew .1
I .scm say r At this time the second contest betv
Mr. Adams and General Jackson had rcaclit .!
highest pitch of excitement. The whole pi>l.
■life of Mr. .\danis was scrutinized with no '
! ings of indulgent charity. It was a favorite (
of the opposing party to fix upon him an uiifi- •

It rnn acnrcely
loiiltl find it u.v
iiim, to poHsesH:

Jrifnin could li
ici'Xtnisioii of
of diiiiig so, h

'ptinn of the i
rifrhts in Oj-Pi;

;c of our Sccrctr

■rrcd thni he ci.

woi'Id evrr her'
United Slatrs

itry. Cut I ndi

«'as in the excli
;on. And "ct,
8t set on the nc
e desired to a:
rreat Rritnin all
adverse posses^
itions. He thot
nxriusive, adv
Hut foriunntel'
ipon, which, w
icy of |)rocri\st
tain, but in fuel <
of her possess
" such a poRsts
lie title. And
tion was a sch'
interest and ui:
lit Britain, in p w^
ivcntion. Her 4.
! of ihinjTS pn
I did not stipi!
but, simply,
larties, as a r
onvention, kIk
;l. You will I
been said and /
n bcinfj disinci;
n the first insf;;:
i to ouradvaiit
is, and leave G
! possession.
)f this policy,'
J who amont'
ay disajiprovci:
fthe convcntii'
negotiations v
)()licy then rrc
man from IM;'
nited States ?
nquircd the tit
we '"id some-
Hntnin, under
still dispute t:
i were renewi
:it the peojil<
iVliat said M
, Clay,Lo\vi
did Andrew }
tl contest hetv
1 had reaclit.!
le whole jiol.
led with no '
sa favorite c
him an uiifr'

linens to the interests of hifl own counfr;-, in h'lis
diplomatic transactions. Every saying aiid doing
of his, that mii»;iit be worked up into available po-
litical stock, was afisiduously collected and exhib-
ited in bold coloring to the country. And yet, I
liave never lu-ard that the treaty of 1828, which,
ftistidious gentlemen now say, subjected our soil
to be dishonored by Briti.<^h footsteps, was brought
forward as one of tlie misdeeds of Mr. Adams. It
was never once oltjected, that, setting no value
upon the newly ac«|uired title of Sjiam, he sanc-
tioned « treaty in lHf.'8, no more favorable to his
country than that of 1818, when we were not pos-
sesued of the Spanish title.

Nor can it be pretended there was some strange
oversight in this matter — that it was kept as a
Cal)inet secret. The \v!ioIe suluect came up inci-
dentally in tliis House, :'nd was here placed before
the American people; and what said James K. Polk
on that occasion ? ♦' Ry dday we can lose nothing;
by acting now we hazard much." The subject
directly under discussion was a bill extending law
to Oregon, and authorizing a military establish-
ment at the mouth of the Coliimltia river; but not
for giving this •• notice."

In connexion with the treaty of 1828, there is
another fact not to be overlooked. Notwithstand-
ing the acquisition of the Sjmnish title, and the
greatly-increased wealth and strength of our coun-
try, wc were again desirous that the convention
should be made irrevocable for ten years, as in
1818. But the British Minister objected. Seeing
liow time was working for us and against his sov-
ereign, he insisted on the right, at any time, to ab-
rogate the convention, by giving twelve montlis'
•• notice;" and this was the British part of the pol-
icy. Hut it is not at all surprising that this fact
should be overlooked by g<!ntlemen.

In 1H29 Andrew Jackson took the Chair of State.
Who ever suspected Old Hickory of being afraid
of anything? Or who ever charged him with
beins on the British side of any question? The
dii>lomatic transactions of 1828 were then fresh.
What said he to them ? Our Oregon interest was
committed by the country to the charge and keep-
ing of the treaty-making power. He was the great
head and initiatory functionary of that power.
There was a noramount ol)ligation resting on him
to see that tlie country suffered no detriment in
this matter. Unless he acted first, no one el.se
could act at all; and he had it in his power to cause
the notice to be given at any time. But through-
out the period of his eight years of public service,
and the four years of Mr. Van Burcn, which fol-
lowed, not a word was said by either on this sub-
ject, indeed, the Jackson party, in the year 1829,
voted d'lwn the bill of Governor Floyd, which
went no furtlier than to give law and protection to
our emigrants to Oregon; and I am proud to be
al)le to say, that there is no other difference be-
tween General Jackson and ourselves on this sub-
ject than this: while he was not only unwilling to
give I lie notice himself, l)ut opposed, also, to the
ena'tment of any laws for Oregon, which might
indu'-e Great Britain to give the notice, we are op-
posed to notice only, and are in favor of laws.
While he declined both to give notice, or to take
tiie risk of receiving it, we are prepared to take
th.1t risk.

Thus, Mr. Chairman, I have given a brief his-

tory of our Oregon policy. I have shown how it
has been approved liy all our statesmen, patriot*,
and warriors; by the people and the politiciani;
by all political parties, uniformly, from the begin-
ning to a very recent date; when, all of a sudden,
the discovery is made, that it is an anti- American
policy; that it is dishonorable to the country; that
It has tarnished the national escutcheon, and
brought a very pollution upon our soil; and that
all who advocate it are f)n the British side of the

auestion ! Sir, what is the vile spirit of partisan
emagogueism not capable of!
But certain gentlemen have come to the high-
minded conclusion, that it would be dishonest to
take Oregon by operation of time under the con-
vention. This is a most unaccountable objection.
The conventiim is no stipulation for mutual favor
or advantage; no agreement between the parties
for the reciprocal supj)ort of each other's rights and
interests. It is in the nature of an armistice. Each
nation claimed rights prior to, and independent of,
the convention; not reciprocal, but adverse and an-
tngonistical; and being unable to adjust the diffi-
culty, they agreed not to go to war, but to forbear for
a season. I say, the convention was, to all intents
and purposes, an armistice. And who ever heard
that an armistice disabled the parties to make ready
for war? or, when war did come, made it dishon-
orable for them to use any advantage that time or
other resource had placed in their hands ? Sir, the
consideration of the advantage that time would
bring us, was the only consideration that induced
us to enter into that convention; and our Minister |
openly avowed it. Our Secretary instnictcd Mr.
Rush to say to Lord Castlereaghj of course, in as I
polite a manner as possible, •• that if, in the course
' of future events, it [Oregon] should ever become
'an object of importance to the United States, it I
'could scarcely be supposed that Great Britain!
' would find it useful or desirable to resist theirl
' claims." Castlereagh saw the policy of the Uni-|
ted States, and himself predicted it would be suc-
cessful in the end. And yet, when we propose|
to avail ourselves of the only consideration that in-
duced us to enter into the convention, we are toldl
it would be a fraud upon Great Britain ! But
will argue no longer a proposition so consummately
ridiculous. If making laws for our citizens in Ore-
gon displeases Great Britain, let her give the "no-J
tice."

But while some gentlemen think our reliance
upon time inconsistent with good faith, oiliers esJ
teem it deceptive and futile. What, they ask, will
delay do for us ? What, I ask, has it done for us
since 1818? It has increa.sed ten millions of peoj
pie to twenty millions; covered the valley of th«
Mississippi with a warlike race of men; extendec
population, arts, and agriculture, far towards thd
region of Oregon. Time has, in all respects, adl
vanced our strength, relatively to Great Britain ano
the world. The last three years have sent 7,C"
people to Oregon; exceeding, threefold, the BritisI
residents there. If we had had forty millions
people, Mr. Polk would never have offered to cor
promise upon 49°; and if we had had twenty millionl
m 1818, we would never have entered into the cor
vention; for twenty millions then would have givej
us as great relative strength as forty millions no\
These are the things that time is doing; and thil
progression is, in all respects, still steadily anl

rapidly onwftnl. Ociiilt men urc soiiftiljlc of this,
and liuvt! cxputiutod on the very idia, without
being conscionH tliiy wen: nrgiiing ii^uiiiMl llinu-
■civtH. In what vivid colors has the gentleman
from Missouri [Mr. Bu\vi.in] puintrd the growing;

SreatnesH and fulvnc grandeur of our eountry ?
Lud yet, in a few utomentN, he asks, what is time
going to do for us towards getting Orejjon? He

K'cturvd to the imni;iiiation the valley of the Great
iver, in a politital and eonnnercinl point of
view, rising in colossal magnifii'enre, with iiii hun-
dred millions of human iteings, and innumerahic
citieH, and marts of uninniginahle wealth, throwing
the petty Atlantic States into utter insignifieanre
by the OMitmst; and yet he gravely asks, what is
time going to do for us? lie has ga7.ed at our
western tideof immigration, now heating against the
Stony mountains, now flowing heyond and spread-
ing over the great geopraphic, sl(»pc of the Pacific
oceun; he has seen, in fiuicy, our children going
west, instead of east, to Ja|)an and China, and has
exhibited to our wondering vision myriads of rich
and elegant fabrics, from the workshops of those
ancient peoples, (numl)criii^ 300,000,000,) gorging
every storehouse of (uir western cfHitinent ; and still
he asks, indignantly, what is time going to do for
us? And all this stupendous future he represents
to be close at hand, looming, as it were, in the sen-
sible horizon, like the blue eminence of the Stony
mountains. But he docs not cease to exclaim, im-
patiently, what is tiiTie going to do for us? Why,
sir, can it be possible, that the honorable member
means to intimate, that these .sublime results, this
tremendous destiny, is to depend upon our first
gettini' •"' ■':etting at this very moment, the bar-
ren de, he everlasting snows, the mountain
crags ", cms, north of the 49th parallel ?

Mr. Chikirmnn, it is l)ecause I have a degree of
fhith in the gorgeous picture drawn l)y the honor-
oruble member, that I would, confidently, have left
this matter to time. Time, which is to bring to
pass these great events, will bring with them, and
as a part of them, Oregon — the whole of Oregon.
The period is rapidly approaching, when Great
Britain will perceive the usclcssncss of attempting
to resist our claims — when, in the language of the
venerable gentleman from Massachusetts, in 1818,
'• all hope of doing so will have vanished." You
will thus avoid the calamities of war, and yet be
iblc to make your own terms. You may take the
whole of Oregon, if you think you are entitled to
,he whole. England will be at your mercy — at
V'our mercy not only in relation to Oregon, but all
.he possessiojis she has upon this continent.

Gentlemen have laid down the proposition that
•the notice is not war itself, or cause of war;"
ind, with earnestness and gravity, have argued out
he proposition. I shall not venture a rencontre
ipon this point; but will beg gentlemen to listen to
.n observation or two. The convention of 1818
vas, in the language of the venerable gentleman
rom Massachu-setts, ♦' the alternative of instant
trar." Now, the notice w'ill take away this alter-
ative; and though •' not war itself or cause of
/ar," it will prove it.self a most potent destroyer
f a cause of peace. In 1818, the cause of war was
le disputed title to Oregon. 1 he notice will again
ender this cause active and operative, and leave
o alternative but negotiation or war. And I be-
eve thert arc none who will deny, that, if we in-

sist on our claims to 54° 40', negotiations will be
impossible, and war inevitable. I, therefore, feel
at liberty to say, that all win) vote for this notice,
with a view to claim the whole territory, knowing*
ly vote for war; and they ought, in candor, to admit
ine fact, and not deceive the country-
Mr. Chairman, it is a remarkable fact, that al-
though I stand here in a minority, the views I en-
tertain and policy I advocate meet the approbation
of a large majority of this body and of the other
branch of the National Legislature. I know what
I am saying, and I know the ground uptm which
I stand when I say ii. The great majority of the
Whigs, if not all of them, admit, I think, that the
lime had not come for abrogating the convention,
and deprecate the agitatirm of this (picslion; but
they say, now that the matter is .set on foi>t, the
sooner we get rid of it the better. Well, sir, the
veneral)lc gentleman from Massachusetts, [Mr.
AuAM8,] the author of the convention of 1818, and
its renewal in 1827, still believes it the true policy
for getting the whole of Oregon, and he has aban-
doned that policy solely on account of the admis-
sion of Texas into the Union; and this I will prove
out of his own mouth. At the last session of Con-
gress, in debating the Oregon bill reported by Mr.
Brown, of Tennessee, the venerable member said:
•' At the last session I was not prejmred to act

• upon this subject at all. I was not then prepared

• to i\grcc to a termination of the joint occupancy
' of that territory (Oregon;) but I am ready now

• to do so, and am sati-sfied this subject should now
'be settled." * • • • << I am as much as any
' member of this House for bringing this issue to

• a point."

Again, in his next speech on that occasion, the
honorable gentleman said:

•' It wos not without much serious deliberation

• that I came to the determination, before this debate
' commenced, to agree to give notice to the British
' Government that this tiling must be settled."

The Oregon debate, at the last session, com-
menced two days after the passage by the House
of the Texas resolutions; and by considering care-
fully the extracts I have read, it will appear that
during that short interval, or thereabouts, the
views of the venerable gentleman in regard to Ore-
gon underwent a radical change. Just before then,
" he was not prepared to act at all" on the subject
of Oregon; then " he was as much as any member
of this House for bringing this issue to a point."
But I need not labor to connect the gentleman's
purposes in regard to Oregon with his sentiments
concerning Texas. He himself hos made the thing
sufficiently manifest. In the conclusion of the
speech alluded to, he uses the following remark-
able language:

" He wished to have the reasons given to the

• world for our taking seven degrees of latitude,
' and perhaps more; and when we took it, too, he
' hoped we should have it defined geographically,
' denned politically, and, more than all the rest,
' defined morally.'^

Who does not remember the vehement empha-
sis with which the venerable gentleman announced
the word morally. If what I have stated is not
satisfactory, go read carefliUy the speeches to
which I have alluded, and the proof will be found
so perfectly conclusive, that the venerable gentle-

man Cf
fart, w
of hon
sidcrer
north,
is one
tion :
eil the
abidin<
true ai
the j'

tun will 1)0
rfTi»iT, fuel
lii.t nniire,
, knowing-
>r, to ntliiut

ft, tlint nl-
r'u'WH I en-
|)prol)ntion
r tlie other
[now wliat
|)on wliich
rity of the
k, llint the
i>iiv«'iition,
Htioii; but
I foot, the
II, sir, the
;ttH, [Mr.
1818, niid
rue policy
Urn* nbnn*
he ndmis-
will prove
>ri of Con-
'i\ by Mr.
liber said:
red to net
I prepared
iccupnney
•ady now
lould now
r\\ as any
s issue to

ision, the

iberation
Ihis debate
British
led."

)n, com-
e House
•ing care-
lear that
>uts, the
d to Ore-
brc then,
! subject
member
I point."
tieman's
lUimcnls
tiie thing
of the
rcmark-

1 to the
latitude,
, too, he
)hically,
he rest,

empha-
lounced
I is not
clics to
c found
gentle-

man rouM not, in the fare of this Hoiwc, deny the
fart, without jeopurdiziii'^ bin <-harnr,ti'r as a mmi
of honor. Doubtless the hon(»ral>Ie ijontlemttti con-
sidered it perfectly fair to ;;ct additional territory
north, tocounlerpoiseTeXiw in the Kouih. But there
is one consideration worthy of your special atten-
tion: the honorable gentleman nas himself afford-
ed the mo!<l conclusive evideni;e that the settled and
abiding conviction of his mind has been, that the
tme and effectual policy for securing Oregon, is
the joint-occupancy scheme. Now, if it be, in
renin y, the ol)ject of the h(moralilc gentleman to
save i)it"j;im, why should he, on account of Texas,
abandun that oolicy? Why not, rather, adhere
the closer to it? (!an it be that the honorable gen-
tleman has been reasoning, as all prudent and sa-
gacious men have been reasoning altoiil this city,
that a war with Great Hritain would end in the
loss of Oregon, ami llie acrjui-iiiion of New Bruns-
wick and the Canadas? Good backing for the
t'aslern States against both the Houth and the
West !

I could bring to the attention of the eommillee
other collateral causes that have aided in generating
this large majority for the notice; but I forbear.

1 have, however, a matter to propound to certain
of my western friends, who have signalized them-
selves in this debate, as going fi>r the •' whole of
Oregon^'"' and a little l>eyond, to make it al)Rolutely
certain, they get enough. Some three or four of
these gentlemen, the most ultra of all, do admit
the fact, that Mr. Piilk having offered the 49lh

1)arallel, will iie bound to accept it, if it should now
)e oflered by Great Britain. And they acknowl-
cdi::e they would feel bound to sustain him in the
fact. Now, if lho!»e genlUinen are sincere in pro-
fessing to go for more of Oregon than the rest of
us, why will they, by passing this notice, force
on negotiations uttdcr auspices so unfavorable .'
Why V. ill tlw y, by itiukliig an issue that may lead
to war, put Great Britain under the urgent motives
the alternative of war w«iuld present, to make the
proposal which Mr. Polk is bound to accept? If
this notice be not, with them, a mere humuug; if
this cry for the " whole or none" be anything
else than a political hobby, why will not gentle-
men permit this matter to lie over, until a new Ad-
ministration shall come in unconnnitted to 49^.
Am I to suspect that gentlemen are really anxious
for the settlement of this question, and to be re-
lieved of its terrible responsibilities; and that this
whole-hoffism is only meant to be used hereafter as
an ex post facto hobby in elections; when, having
been opposed to giving up any part of Oregon, is
to constitute a high claim to office; just as lioving
f'ftn opposed to the northeastern boundary treaty
seems, at this time, in certain quarters, tr) be relied
on as constituting a meritorious claim to popular
favor ?

I have not, Mr. Chairman, thought proper to
argue the question of title. It is not properly be-
fore the committee. The question here is as lo the
most elfeclual means of securing our rights inOre-

fon. We are not debating rights, but remedies,
have investigated the matter (^f title laboriously,
and have come to conclusions satisfactory to my-
self. And I think we should never give up any
portion of the territory south of 49°. But the peo-
ple, having to do the fighting if war come, and be-
ing, therefore, entitled to decide for themselves

whether there shall be war, and how mucii of Ore-
gon they can conscicniifnislypo to war for; should,
when they take the matter in hand, be pottsessed
of the full argument mi both sides. And as the
letters of Messrs. Calhoun and Biichi* inn have
been sent forth, I deem it nroper to 8ii;''gcnt that
their arguments were intenticd for the British Min-
ister, and not for the puldic; and if you flup|>oM
they considered all they said •\n gosoel, you never
labored under a greater mistake. What ore the
circumstances ? Here is a eoinrovcrsy about land
between Great Britain and the United States. The
United States engage Messrs. Calhoun and Buchan-
an to argue our side of the question; Great Brit-
ain appoints Mr. Pakcnhain to argue hers. Now,
it was the business of each to make the most of his
side of the question. This in the practice of law-
yers the world over. If Mr. Pakenham left hia
side unargued, it was not .Mr. Calhoun's business
to .irgiic it for him. I would not insinuate that
our 'r'ecretaries suited anything that was not true.
I mean to say, it was their duty to sum up the
facts and considerations in our favor, and nothing
besides. But when the argument shall be taken
out of diplomacy, and committed to the people,
they will act in the character of judges; and a judge
should always hear both sides of a question fuUy
and fairly stated, especially if he i.i al)oiit to dccidle
upon his own rights.

Mr. Chairman, the prominent position held by
the venerable gentleman from .Massachusetts upon
this questitin, the reliance which the friends of
'♦ n(»tice" seem to place upon his co-operation, and
the great weight his name is likely to have with
the comniunily and the world, make it my duly,
as I conceive, to take some further notice of hia
course in this matter. All eyes liere are turned
towards him ; all encomium and adulation are
heaped upon him; and, indeed, if anyone here
iiitiy \)c ctllcd a leadi^r, he is, un<iueslioitably, that
person. The venerable gentleman professes to be
the friend of peace; but look, sir, at his conduct.
Last winter he pronounced the notice a war meaa*
ure; calling it a " tcrrilde question." Nor can he
pretend it was an inadvertency; for the point be-
fore the House was, whether the power to give
the notioc was with the Congress, or with the
President; and his whole argument in favor of the
power being in Congress, rested upon the single
proposition that ihe "notice was war." His ef-
fort, at that time, was to postpone action until
Greenliow's book, ordered by the House, could
be procured, and the people made acquainted with
the evidence of our title. This ex parte argument
would, he supposed, stimulate the popular mind
up to 54° 40'. Let his speech be consulted. Well,
sir, havin;; carried this point most successfully,
he now tells you to •• pass the notice; it is per-
fectly pe;iceful; no harm in it."

Thus the only important objection isjainst notice
being removed, he then assures you that you can
pass no laws in relation to Oregon until you have
first given the notice; leaving you no alternative,
but to give the notice, or abandon utterly your
people there, and every measure to promote the
settlement of the country: notwithstanding he,
himself, in 1825, recommended certain laws to be
pas-^ed on the sul)ject, and notwithstanding, too,
the British Government admitted our right to make
needful laws, and denied expressly that Great

I
I

«
t

•

11
id

Britain intended to ** nrcvent the progi-csR of Amor- ' snmc impnrt to Great Britain, upon the nupnoiition
ican settlements." By nil tiuH, he would pcrHiiadc lliiit INIr. I'olk uhuiild Mtnnd firm. TIiuh uurN he
you that the notice is both n hiirmlesH thin;; and

an indivpen^iiiblo thing; and, aa aiich, of counie no
one could heaitntc to vote for it. Conceiving, then,
the convention to be abrog;ntud and the contont to
be brought to a point, the next oltjcct to bo attain-
ed is, to excite trie two nations to tne moat uncom-
Eromisin^ pertinacity in their rc8|)cctivo demundu.
[c therefore, in terms of taunt and derision, pre-
dicts that if Great Britain should stand firm, *'Mr.
Polk and the Democratic party will back out."
He then turns about, and apj>lic8 language of the

aim to nettle each party to the conflict, by all those
powerful impulses that spring ftom national pride
and Hensil)ility. Two haughty and imperious na-
tions, that would rather sutler annihilation than
be humbled and aliased before tlic world. And
yet the vrneral>le gentleman says he is opposed to
war. He opposed to war ! What more could he,
or any one man, have done,
bloody catastrophe ?

to bring about the

[Here the Speaker's hammer fell.]

:t
V

r>
t

t
.1

9
C

' auppoBttion
Ims dors he
, by all thoHc
ilionni pride
nperioua nn-
liiltttioii tliiin
vurld. And
H opposed to
)tc could he,
g nbout the