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%■ 
 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 j^Ill. C, DAllRAGH, OF PENNSYLVANIA, 
 
 ON 
 
 
 THE OREGON QUESTION. 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 IN THE HOUSE OF TwEPRESENTATIVES, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1846. 
 
 frh. 
 
 le Resolution from the Committee on Foreign 
 
 AfTairs, requirini? the Pi-csi(I( nt to notify Great 
 
 j Brilftiii of the intention of the United States to 
 
 itcrminiUe the joint occupancy of Oregon, and to 
 abrogate the convention of 18-^7, bcini^ under 
 consideration in Committee of tlie Wliole — 
 Mr. DARRAGH said, timt a short time since, 
 when the liill from the Committee on Military 
 Affiiirs, providing for the organization of two regi- 
 ments of riflemen, was liefore the House, he had 
 taken occasion to submit a few remarks. The de- 
 bate, at that time, seemed to take it for granted 
 that the regiments i)roposcd to be raised were to 
 irccnpy the territory of Oregon, and to be employed 
 in the protection and defence of American citizens 
 Bottled tiiere. Whether this.^furce could be sent 
 thei-e without giving the notice to terminate the 
 joint occupancy, referred to in the convention of 
 1827 between this country and Great Britain, was 
 the sul)Ject-matter of debate. 
 
 in the few remarks he had then made, "le con- 
 fined himself to the simple question, whemer, in 
 view of the convention of 1827, the shield of our 
 , civil laws, and the protection of our arms, could 
 ''. not be extended over Oregon, without the notice, 
 and without any violation or departure from our 
 I treaty stipulations? He was of opinion then that 
 we could; and the best consideration he had been 
 able to bring to the subject had not changed the 
 opinions he then expressed. 
 
 Sir, said Mr. Darragh, the resolution now under 
 
 consideration proposes to rmnul and abrogate the 
 
 \ second section of the convention of 1827, requiring 
 
 ' one year's notice of the desire and intention of 
 
 either party to terminate the joint occupancy now 
 
 existing between Great Britain and the United 
 
 States, in reference to territory west of the Rocky 
 
 I mountnins. The discussion on this resolution 
 
 e trom the Committee on Foreign Affairs has opened 
 
 up the whole question in reference to Oregon — our 
 duty to protect our fellow-citizens there — our title 
 — our ability to maintain it — il.s fuUire advantages 
 to the Republic — and the chances of war. 
 
 I propose, sir, to direct the attention of the com- 
 mittee to these considerations; and I may be per- 
 mitted to say that, although in the many days 
 through which this debate has [la.ssed, few gentle- 
 men have qucstiincd the validity of our title, yet, 
 as far as I have heard, but a few speakers have un- 
 dertaken to show what that title is. It is very true 
 that the honorable Secretary of State, in lb cor- 
 respondence with thr; British Plenipotentiary, has 
 with great ability pla< ed our claim j to Oregon on 
 clear and unquestionable grounds; yet it may not 
 be unintCTjt'ug to those of our constituents who 
 see not tije 3;>i>« paper.^, to understand the charac- 
 ter of our dai. i and demands. I intend, sir, to 
 occupy a short, ime of the committee in the histo- 
 ry of the northwest coast of America, so far as the 
 same has relation to title by discovery, cession, or 
 settlement. 
 
 Before doing so, however, I desire to say a word 
 or two in reference to the rciiort made by the mi- 
 nority of the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
 which aKscrted that Coivj^ress cotild n-^i ct on the 
 matter of giving notice to terminate the ji.mt occu- 
 pancy, because it helonsed to the treaty-making 
 power, and that the Prcsudent and Senate alone 
 possessed such authority. This opinion has been 
 adopted and repeated (luring the debate by other 
 gentlemen. The Constitution of the United States 
 (article 2tl, section 2,) confei-s upon the "President, 
 by ond with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
 the power to make treaties, provided two- thirds of 
 the Senators present concvir;" but this has refer- 
 ence to' the making of treaties, and not to the 
 tnding. 
 
 The fallacy of tlie argument of the minority of 
 
 *>0.>.i.o 
 
2 
 
 tlir Commillne on Fi)if;i;;ii Afl'air.s consists in the 
 did'cnmro between tin; nmkin;^ iinii emlin;; of trea- 
 ties. Tlie niakini; of a treaty is onq lliiiii;; tlieiin- 
 nulnient tiiereof is aiiollier anil a very dill'erent 
 (Jiin;;. Besides, tin; eimvenlion of IH-j? provides 
 for its termination so far as relates to the joint oe,- 
 cn|)an<^y; either parly bein^' at lilierty to terminate 
 it in one year's notiee, 
 
 Aii^aiii: every treaty implies tiro parlies — a treutor 
 and a treatee — a bar;;aiMor anil a bari^ainee. The 
 word " treaty," pj' vi tinnini, implies two parties. 
 It is iin agreement between two or more; but the 
 ending of llie treaty may be by one of the parties 
 thereto. We liave treaties of emnmeree, navis;a- 
 timi, Sn'., between Kni/^land, France, Spain, nnd 
 other Powers, and ('on;;ress may jnit an end to 
 them without eonsuitiiiii the President, by llie exer- 
 cise of the war jiower. These treaties may be i)i 
 full force, nnd €oni,'ress, possessim; exeiusively the 
 power to deelare war, may thereby terndinate tnem; 
 for war annuls all Ireilies between the parties bel- 
 iiijerent. The treaty-makiiiij j)owerdoes not there- 
 fore necessarily iniluile the ireaty-endnij; power; 
 and Compress may, by resohiiion or mherwise, 
 terminate the eonvention of 18:27. 
 
 Other Renllemen maintained that the right of the 
 President to i^ive the notice is concnrreiit with that 
 of Conj^ress ; that, as the executive otiicer of the 
 Government, he has the power to jjive the notice, 
 and that he oui^ht to be permitted to exen-ise it. 
 As to the power of the Kxeculive in the premises, 
 I have nothini; to say, because none of iliose who 
 have exjjressed such views deny the power of 
 Cono;ress to net. 'I'lie honorable gentleman from 
 Alabama [Mr. IIili.iaiu)] proposes to authorize 
 the Presideirt to give the notice when to him it 
 shall seem most fit and expedient. Sir, I can see 
 no useful end to be attained by this course. Is it 
 designed to throw on the President the resj>onsi- 
 bility of the measure, which may end in war, and 
 which some geiiilemen regard as ei|uivalent to a 
 declaration of war.' If ibis ite the jiurpo-se, then I 
 go not with it. The Piesident has, iit my judg- 
 ment, assumed, in his Message, all the re.'<iM)nsi- 
 bilily which a decent res]icct tor the rej)resentatives 
 of the [leople and the honor of the nation permitted 
 or required, lie believes our title to the Avhole of 
 Oregon to bo valid, and he has said so; he thinks 
 that it is time this un-American and ruinous joint 
 occupancy was terminated, and he has officially 
 given us this opinion. But why ask the President, 
 in this momentous alhiir .' What will be the result, 
 if his order alone goes forth, without the voice of 
 Congress accom])aiiie.s it.' In Europe, particularly 
 in Great Britain, it will be said that the refusal or 
 omission of Congress to act indicates that the no- 
 tice t.> end the joint occupancy is the act of the 
 President alone, or at most of his party, and not 
 of the people. Ay, sir, there mtiy not be wanting 
 persons and presses in this country who will echo 
 the same sentiments. Now, sir, this is un Jhiuri- 
 can not a parly question; and for one, I protest 
 against its being defiled by the touch of mere party 
 manoeuvre or machinery. 
 
 England is loth to tei ininaie the joint occupancy, 
 because heretofore she has used it altogether for 
 her own advantage. Her Minibters, Lord Aberdeen 
 and Sir Robert Peel, have asserted their claim to 
 Oregon. The opposition to the Ministry, by its 
 leaders, Lord Joan RusacU and Lord Polinentton, 
 
 have, in tliis malti^r, forgotten tluir political ran- 
 c(>r, to aid the Ministry they have been slrugglini' 
 to overlhrri'w. The Puiiish press, not inaptly ealleil 
 "the fourth estate in the realm," has raised it> 
 mighty vi'ice,to quicken tlie empire into the main- 
 tenance of its claim. And shall the decree that i> 
 til diiy this <:ombined jiower and determined ac- 
 tioii,go forth from the mouth of one man.' or sinill 
 it not rather be borne across the Atlantic on the 
 viiices of twenty iniilioiis of people, who know 
 tluir rights, and, knowing, will maintain them.' 
 Sir, I .say, let Congress s|ieak. 
 
 1 now come to the imposing objection made to 
 the passage of tiiis residution. I say imposing ob- 
 jection, because it has been most generally made; 
 and by those, too, who profebs to be in favor ol 
 our claim to the whole of Oregon. It is: that this 
 is not the time to say to Kngland, tlie territory 
 is ours and we will have it; Itiil that we should 
 sneak along, until we grow stronger or England 
 weaker, under the cunning device of " a wise and 
 masterly inactivity." We have seven thousand 
 people there, who are imploring tm to protect them. 
 Every year the tideof emiu:ration from the western 
 States IS swelling and will continue to swell to the 
 valleys of the Columbia. These are not mere ad- 
 veniuriis ormamuders; they take with them their 
 wives, till ir children, ami their Bible. They have 
 established a quasi form of goveriimei't, winch, so 
 far as regards practical morality, is in advance of 
 long established irovernmeiits. The arts of civil 
 ized life are there — the husbandman is reaping the 
 reward of hi.i toil. Amerienn Christian mission- 
 aries are among tliem, teaching thengricullural piir- 
 suilsand thedestiiiy of man. The leviathan jiower 
 of steam already awakens the echoes of her forest.^, 
 and temples, dedicated to the service of Alniighiy 
 God, have been erected, wherein His praises air 
 hymned and His holy word explained. 
 
 These brave and adventurous men have repeat- 
 edly reminded this House that they are American 
 citizens on American soil. They continue to cry 
 to us, as their fellow citizens, to vindicate their 
 rights and maintain the iionor of the nation. Who 
 will say that, as the representatives of the people, 
 we can or dare deny to them the imnHinilies and 
 the protection of American citizenship? Sir, we 
 are not at liberty to (h) so. If the tenitory h' ours 
 by rightful title, we cannot refuse to our brethren 
 there the rights and the protection we enjoy here. 
 This is of itself", in my opinion, a sufficient answer 
 to the proposition for further delay in giving to 
 Great Britain the notice to quit. 
 
 But, .sir, what is to be gained by this " wise and 
 masterly inactivity.'" Let us look at the past. Let 
 us see if this postponement of the question — this 
 ntasterly inactivity, has not been a ruinous inac- 
 tivity for us, and a masterly activity for England. 
 In 1818, at the time of the convention entered into 
 between Great Britain and the United States, the 
 former had not title to one rood of territory on the 
 northwest coast; and this I will presently atlempi 
 to show. The only show of title she now has 
 arises in the main from that convention (1818) and 
 the subsequent negotiations in regard to it. No 
 one will nretend that the terms of tlie convention 
 affected tne title or sovereignty of either Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The United States then asserted, and actually 
 possessed the title. The convention of 1818 only 
 
 permitted 
 •snrcrcigiW!; 
 lias used 
 Years at'ler 
 JH-il,) an 
 ileorge IV 
 asks. Th 
 of the tern 
 joint occu 
 iurisdictioi 
 
poliiiral ran- 
 l>icii Nlrii;,'s;;liiii; 
 •t inaptly culled 
 ' liHH raised it> 
 into the imiiu- 
 (' decree that i.s 
 d(t( iniiiicd ac- 
 f man • or shall 
 Atlantic, on the 
 who know 
 naniiain them.' 
 
 ecti(»ii made to 
 y iniposinj^ol). 
 iierally made; 
 l)e in favor of 
 It i.s: tjiat thi.s 
 the territory 
 lat we should 
 r or England 
 (' " a wi.se and 
 veri thousand 
 i> protect them. 
 <im the western 
 to Hwell to the 
 e not mere ad- 
 vith them their 
 e. They have 
 eiit, wiiich, so 
 s in advance ol 
 IP arts of civil 
 
 I is reaping;; tlii' 
 i»tiaii mi.s.sion- 
 trriculluralpur- 
 'viathnn power 
 sof herfore.st.'>i, 
 •e of Alnii;i^hiy 
 tlis praises art 
 lied, 
 
 II hiive repeat- 
 ' are American 
 ■oiitinue to cry 
 vindicate their 
 nation. Who 
 of the pco|)Ie, 
 niiuiiiities) and 
 'hip? Sir, we 
 nitory w ours 
 our brethren 
 •c enjoy here, 
 fiicicnt answer 
 y in yiviiiij to 
 
 his *' wise and 
 the past. Let 
 question — this 
 ruinous inac- 
 ' for England, 
 n entered into 
 cd States, the 
 rritory on the 
 leinfy attemjii 
 .she now ha.s 
 >n (1818) and 
 rd to it. No 
 le convention 
 ther Govern- 
 
 and actually 
 of 1818 only 
 
 p»>rmittcd nn equal ri?lit of trmh, not of lillf or 
 !snrrreiirnlii in Great IJritain. Now mark how she 
 lias used this s;rant of favor. In less than three 
 years after till! ratification of the convcntimi, (in 
 1h:31,) an ad of Parliament i.s passed, (Isf and '2i\ 
 Georj^e IV,) which gave to her all that .she now 
 a.sks. Thi.s act of Parliament is in open vinlation 
 of the terms and spirit of the convention (IHjH) of 
 joint occupancy. Hy it England extended her 
 jurisdiction over all Oregon. 
 
 The (ith section of the act of Parliament refer- ' 
 red to, provides — 
 
 "That the courts of Upper Canada shall have' 
 ' the same civil jurisdiction in all respects wliat- 
 ' ever within the Indian t( rritories, and other parts 
 ' of .Vnicrica, not tritliin the limits of the Ciintidus, or 
 ' (if'aiiy ritil giivernmriit of Ike United Stateit, as the 
 ' said courts have within the limits of Canada; 
 
 * and further, that every wrong (li- injury, to thcper- 
 
 * son, or the properly, real or pcisonal, committed 
 
 * within the said jiarts of America, shall he coirni- 
 
 * zahle and tried in the same manner and .suhjec.t 
 ' to the same conscciuences in all respei'ts as if the 
 » same had been cuiiimittcd tvilliin the province of 
 ' Upper Canada.'''' 
 
 Again, the bth section of the British act (1821) : 
 provides — | 
 
 "That in case any pnnon or persons rrhalsoerer, 
 ' residing or heinir within such parts of America, 
 
 * .shall refuse to obey, or resist any process of said ' 
 
 * courts, such yierson or persons shall lie committed 
 ' to custody, in order to be conveyed to Upper Can- 
 'ada.-' 
 
 Other sections of this art provide for courts, of- 
 ficers, &c.; but throughout the whole statute not 
 one \v<n-d is said excc|ptiug .Vmerican citizens in ' 
 Oreijon from the operation and penalties of the 
 British law. 1 
 
 To ihis day this insolent assumption of author- I 
 ity stands unrepealed by England and unrei)uked ' 
 by the United States. The insull and the wrong, ' 
 has indeed, been heightened by investing the otfi- ' 
 cers and s(!rvants of a trading corporation (the '■ 
 Ifudsnn Bay Company) with judicial power and ' 
 .nuthority to carry the statute into elTect. An Amer- ! 
 ican citizen may now be dragged from .\nierican ' 
 soil to answer before the officers of tiie Hudson 
 Bay Com|ninv or the courts of Upper Canada, and 
 held responsililc for his conduct whilst on Amcri- 
 onn territory. 
 
 This hiiniiliatins- : ubmi.ssioii on our part is one 
 of the trophies of twenty-seven years of " m.ast''rly 
 inactivity." Sir, there should be an end to tliis 
 state of affairs. Great Britain has asserted claims 
 which she cannot maintain. Will drlav induce 
 that rapacious Power to v/ithdraw or lessen her 
 demands.' You iioslpoiie tiie manly vindication 
 of our rights. You open the door to further ne- 
 gotiation about what most gentlemen say is sufTi- 
 ciently clear now. Does any one expect that 
 Great Britain will be less anxious for n part of 
 Oregon a year or two hence than now.' Will she 
 be less al)!e to meet us in the strife of liattle } You 
 postprme, you give time, and advise her to arm. 
 England knows and dreads a war with .\mer- 
 ica. She has tried the experiment twice, and 
 has no reas<in to boast of the result of either C(ni- 
 flict. She knows more : .she know.s that a war 
 with the United States would be the beirinnin"- of 
 
 the end that would free this whole continent from 
 European influence, power, and authority. Delay, 
 give time, and the monarchies of Europe might be 
 brouirht to see that the cfuflict, when it did come, 
 would be between legitimacy and republicanism — 
 the ri'_'hf divine o iings, and the people. 
 
 All this mi:;h; oine to pass if we continue to 
 delay the settleui' of this <|uestioii. That it will 
 happen whether , settle the (]uestion or not now, 
 I have no doubt. Indeed, I hope that the time 
 may hasten on when the sovereign people shall 
 be the only sovereigns on earth. But in this Ore- 
 gon atl'air, I prefer settling it with England alone; 
 which will be done, if (,'oiigrcss will only act with 
 |iromptnesH and decision. 
 
 Mr. (Miairmau, I come now to speak of title; 
 and I believe a careful examination will show that 
 all the proofs substantiate the claims of the United 
 States. I do not design to rely on, or even allude 
 to, proofs of diMibttnl import, (u* to the vague his- 
 tory or misty traditions wbit'li the honorable gen- 
 tleman from Massarhusetts [Mr.WiN'TiiRoi'] seems 
 to think to enc,oni|)ass the subject. I will depend 
 on events as mtu'h matter of' true history as the 
 Dec'laration which declared the colonies free and 
 independent States. 
 
 It will be observed that in all the negotiations 
 and ofVers to compromise this vexed question, 
 England has denied our rights even as far north as 
 the parallel of 4!) north latitude. Now to this 
 point we have a title not heretofore referred to, 
 arising trom the cession of Louisiana in 1803 by 
 France to the United Stales. By that cession we 
 became invested with the rights and title of France 
 to territory west of iIk; I'ocky mountains. Let us 
 see how l[ie matter .s|ood for a long lime previous 
 to IHD.'J. In 1(583, M. De la Sailed a Frenchman, 
 navigated the Mississippi from Canado to its 
 mouth; in virtue whereof, France claimed the sov- 
 erciirnty to Louisiana, on both sides of the river, 
 from the Gulf of Mexico to the 49th degree of 
 north latitude. This right of sovereignty was based 
 upon the acknowledged jirinciple of international 
 law: " that the nation-which discovers the mouth 
 of ii river is entitled to the sovereignty to all the 
 land which is watered by such river, its tributaries, 
 and head waters." From the time of the discov- 
 ery by La Salle, England never controverted this 
 principle; she had in repeated instances availed 
 herself of its provisions. France, by the discov- 
 ery of the Mississippi, extended west, at all events, 
 to the Rocky mountains, for ther-' are the sources 
 of some of the head waters of that river. She was 
 the only Power contiguous to the vast wilds from 
 the llockv mountains to the Pacific ocean; and 
 therefore the argument of continuity was altogether 
 with France as oppo.sed to England. 
 
 As e;nly as 1713, Great Britain regarded the 
 French possessions in America as extending west 
 to the Pacific. The 10th article of the treaty of 
 Utrecht, (1713,) provided for the ap])oiiitnient of 
 coinmissioners to settle the btaindery between Can- 
 ada and Louisiana on the one side, and Hudson'.-* 
 Bay and Northwestern companies on the other. 
 This boundary by the treaty was established " by 
 a line to commen.-e at a ca|ie or promontory on 
 the oce.m. in ."i^osi' north latitude, to run thence 
 westwanlly to the 49</i parallel, and along that line 
 ind(finitcbj westumrd. Now this line, indefinitely 
 wcs'.ward, includes, of course, all Oregon south of 
 
the 43th di-Ricc north liiiitudc. Ii is, to be sure, 
 doublnd whctlicr the r.ominis.sioiicrs provided for 
 by the treaty of Utrecht ever acted; und it is very 
 certiiin lliat if tliey did not, no record of tlieir pro- 
 ccediiifjs now exist; but tlic United Stutes liavc 
 nlwHys considered the treaty of Utrecht as extend- 
 ing the 49ili paralli 1 indefinitely westward. Mr. 
 Cliarius Pincluioy and Mr. Aloinoe, our Ministers 
 at Madrid in 1805, in the correspondence between 
 them and Don Pedro Cavallo.s, thi,' Spnni.sii Minis- 
 ter, respecting tlie western boundary of Louisiana, 
 advanced tliese views. — Stalt Papers, vol. H, p. IC'J. 
 
 Mr. Gallatin, in the American statement of De- 
 cember, 182C, recojL;nises th<^ action of the commis- 
 aioners under tlie tr<!aty of Utrecht, as extending 
 the 4i)ih j)arallel indefinitely westward. 
 
 But again: the treaty of Versailles, (17(i3,) be- 
 tween France and England, and which concluded 
 the Freindi wars in America, stipulates " that the 
 confines between the Britisli and French posses- 
 fiioiis in America were irrevocably fixed by a line 
 drawn along the middle of the Mis.siHsii)pi from its 
 source to the river Iberville." 
 
 In 1783, the Mississippi, from its source, vva.s 
 adopted as the line of demarcation between the 
 British and French possessions. Louisiana then 
 extended north as far as the 49th degree, and to 
 the Gulf of Mexico in latitude L'O. It will be ob- 
 served, by looking iit the map, that the sources of 
 tlic Mississip|)i are in 49, north laliiude; and that 
 this is the parallel fixed on by the treaty of Utrecht. 
 In 1703, France and England made partition of 
 almost the whole continent of North America. 
 Er)gland then obtained the territory east of the 
 Mississippi, and north of the 49th parallel of lati- 
 tude. She then made no claim to territory in any 
 other quarter — a pregnant conclusion against the 
 existence of any such --laim. She was at this time 
 victorious over iier rival, and flushed with her con- 
 quest. Slie possessed the power to dictate the 
 terms of the treaty of Versailles, (17G3.) Not 
 over nice in her pretensions to territory, nor over 
 scrupulous in theemploymcnt of means to enforce 
 them, Great Britain made no pretension to territory 
 south of the 49th parallel in any quarter. These 
 provisions of the treaty of Versailles seem to me 
 to indicate that the 49th parallel extended indefi- 
 nitely westward, as is provided in the treaty of 
 Utreiht, and governed in this matter the delibera- 
 tions which resulted in tlie treaty of Versailles. 
 
 So also the parallel of 49 north latitude, seems 
 to have been regarded as a determined line, or 
 landmark, by the commissioners who negotiated 
 the treaty of Paris in 1783, which terminated the 
 revolutionary war. The l)oundary there is de- 
 .scribed as " from the northwestern |)oint of the 
 Lake of the Woods, duo west to the Mississijipi 
 river;" and the northwestern point of the Lake of 
 the Woods is in about latitude 49 north. 
 
 Sir, I have adverted to the title in the United 
 States, acquired by the cession of Lotiisiana, only 
 because* the British Plenipotentiary, and others, 
 deny our right even to the 49ih parallel. This is 
 not the title to Oregon on which I lely. Greai 
 Britain now claims to the right bank of the Colum- 
 bia river, and what I have said about the French 
 claim, was only to show how England herself re- 
 garded it from 1713 to 1790. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, I apprehend that otir best title to 
 the whole of Oregon, is in what is called the Span- 
 
 ish title. It is in my opinion Ihe title, and the onl} 
 valid title. By every rule of national law it is good 
 against the world. 1 propose to examine it; and 
 this 1 will do ^'s briefly as I can. 
 
 By the treaty between Spain and the United 
 States in 1819, Known us the treaty for the cession 
 of ]''lorida, we became rightfully entitled to the 
 territory claiuiid by the former |)owcr in North 
 America, north of the 4yd degree north latitude. 
 The territory of Oitgou extends on the Pacifir 
 coast from i:P to 54'^ 40' north, and is bounded ou 
 the east by the llocky mountains. By the treaty 
 of Florida we were placed in the shoes of Spain, 
 and possessed of all her rights to the country in 
 dis|»ule. What were the rights and title of Spain r 
 We shall see. By the law of nations, there are 
 three methods m which a nation may acquire the 
 .sovereignty of a country. First, by discovery; 
 secrmd, by cession fnnn the rightful owner; third, 
 by conquest. Under the first of these, the sover- 
 eignly of the whole of North and South America, 
 as well as the West India islands, was originally 
 acquired. Vattel and other writers doubted the 
 jnsiiic of civilized nations acquiring title merely 
 by invading the territory of barbarous people; but 
 it is now too late to discuss this question. Certain 
 it is, that neither England nor any other of the 
 great Euro|)(aii Powers can ol ject to sovereignty 
 thus acquired, becau.«ie to most o-f their colonial 
 possessions iliey can produce no better or other 
 title. Who, then, were the first discoverers of the 
 Pacific const along the territory of Oregon.' Eng- 
 land, in 1790, for the first time, made an attempt 
 at claim. From that time, until very rect ntly, her 
 statesmen and political writers founded their claim 
 on the ancient discovery pretended to be made by 
 Sir Francis Drake. 
 
 This daring navigator lived in the reign of Ciuccn 
 Elizalieth; and in the year 157G or l.')77 sailed, not 
 on a voyage of discovery, but to annoy and cap- 
 lure the Spanish shijis with their rich cargoes from 
 the New World. His voyage was of a warlike 
 character, and Sir Francis himself little better than 
 a commissioned |)irate. In 1577 he fell in with 
 land on the Pacific, which he called " New Al- 
 bion;" and this it is lu-etciided was the coast of 
 Oregon. Sii- Francis Drake never .saw the coast 
 of Oregon. Heylyn, v/ho published a geography 
 in London in 1G74, and which will be found in 
 your library, gives tlie |iarticulars of this prclended 
 discovery; from which it apjiears that "New Al- 
 l)ioii" lies altogether within the bounds of Califor- 
 nia. Maps were publi^^hed not long after this dis- 
 covery, which descril)e all the country north of 42 
 degrees as "Terra lionalis incrgnila." Hakluyt, 
 who lived in the times of Sir Fraiicis Drake, in his 
 History of Voyages and Discoveries, states tliat Sir 
 Fiamis Drake found the cold so great when he 
 reached about 42*^ north, that he returned south 
 and entered the liay in latitude 38^, which to this 
 day bears his name — "Port St. Francisco Draco" 
 —Port St. Francisco, as it is now called. 
 
 This barren and proofless claim is the whole of 
 England's title by ancient disco^•t1•y. Now let us 
 look at the title of S|)ain, under which we claim, 
 und a mere rcfcrenco to well-authenticated voyages 
 and dis.'overies is all that is iniended. Bartolome 
 Ferrelo, though not the first navigator of the Pa- 
 cific, sailed in 1543 as far north as latitude 53°, 
 and landed at what was subsct^ucnlly called Cape 
 
Ic,nnd tlic onlj 
 i»l law it is good 
 ixaniino il; and 
 
 nd tlie United 
 ' for tlic cession 
 
 fiitiilfid to the 
 owcr in North 
 
 iiortli latitude. 
 
 on tl»e Pacifu' 
 J is hounded on 
 
 By tlie treaty 
 siioes of Spain, 
 ' tlie country in 
 1 title of Spain.' 
 ions, there arc 
 lay arquire the 
 
 l)y discovery; 
 1 owner; third, 
 ie.se, the sover- 
 MJWtii America, 
 was ori<^iiially 
 rs douhted the 
 nyr titl'; merely 
 )us people; but 
 stion. Certain 
 ly other of the 
 to sovereignty , 
 
 their colonial 
 jelter or other 
 coverers of the 
 )regon .' Eng- 
 nde on attempt 
 y rcct iifly, her 
 ded their cluiiu 
 to be made by 
 
 reiiin of Cluecn 
 I ")77 sailed, not 
 nnoy and cap- 
 h cargoes fiom 
 
 of a warlike 
 tile better than 
 10 fell in with 
 ed " New Al- 
 5 the coast of 
 saw tiie coa.'st 
 I a {;co-raphy 
 I be found in 
 this pretended 
 at "New Al- 
 ids of Culifor- 
 
 al'ier this dis- 
 rv north of 42 
 ." Halduvt, 
 : Drake, in his 
 states that Sir 
 reat when he 
 ;turned south 
 ivhich to this 
 lisco Draco" 
 led. 
 
 the whole of 
 Now let ua 
 ch we claim, 
 :ated voyages 
 Bartolome 
 )r of the Pa- 
 latitude 53°, 
 ' culled Cape 
 
 Rlunno. In 1592, Juan de Fucn, n native of 
 Ccphalonia, in Greece, in the service of Spain, dis- 
 covered a strait in latitude 49° to 51° north. Dc 
 Fuca staid there twenty days — landed, and traded 
 with the natives. An account of his voyage and 
 discovery was taken from his own lips and written 
 down by Michael Lock, an Englishman, then in 
 Venice, a short time after De Fuca's discoveries in 
 1596. This imponant discovery, made under the 
 Spanish flag, is not only made history by an Eng- 
 lishman; but more than two hundred years after- 
 wards, an officer of the English navy, Vancouver, 
 then on a voyage of discovery, was so well satis- 
 fied with the truth of De Fuca's discovery, and 
 Michael Lock's account of the same, that when, 
 in 1792, he fell in with these straits, he named 
 them the " Stunts nf Fuca," iu honor of the first 
 discoverer. Now here is the Sjianish title by an- 
 cient discovery to 50° north, which cannot be dis- 
 puted, and which Capt. Vani;ouver has acknowl- 
 edged by perpetuating the name of Dc Fura. Other 
 (loints along iheOregon coast were early discovered 
 )y the Spaniards. In 1GI(3, Aguilar, a Spanish 
 captain, discovered the mouth of the river Um))qua, 
 in latitude 44. 
 
 After the treaty of Versailles in 17G3, the great 
 European Powers had a period of peace; and Eng- 
 land, l'"rance, and particularly Spain, diri.'cted their 
 attention to prosecuting new voyages of discover- 
 ies, and ascertaining the nature and condition of 
 such as were already made, but which, owing to 
 the wars they had been eiigaj;ed in, had not been 
 followed up. Spain, ever intent on the grandeur 
 and wealth of her possessions in the New World, 
 led the way. In pursuance of instructions from 
 Madrid, an exjiedition was fitted out for explora- 
 tion and discovery in 1774. The vessel called the 
 "Santiago" was commanded by Juan Perez as 
 captain, with Estevaii Jose Martinez as pilot. Perez 
 .saded iiortii to the 59th parallel, where he saw the 
 northeastern point of (iueeii Charlotte's Island. 
 After a cursory examination of this coast, he pro- 
 ceeded south, and in latitude 49^ degrees, he dis- 
 covered and entered a bay, to which he gave the 
 name of "Port San Lorenzo." He landed and 
 traded with the natives — giving them implements 
 of iron, and other articles, in exchange for furs. 
 This is the same bay to which CapUiin Cook, /our 
 years afterwards, pretended to have discovered, and 
 to which he gave the name of King George's 
 Sound, and which is now known as " Nooika 
 Sound." The English press, and the British Plen- 
 motentiary here, rely on this modern discovery of 
 Captain Coolt. Now, let us, for a moment, look at 
 . the claim of Captain Cook to the discovery of Noot- 
 ka Sotmd. Cook sailed from England in 177(» to 
 discover a northwest passage between the Atlantic 
 and Pacific oceaihs. He admits that accounts of 
 the discoveries on the Pacific by the Spaniards 
 were in Pjiffland before he sailed. Cajttain Cook 
 sailed from Plymouth, in his old ship the "Ueso- 
 lution," 12lh July, 177G. His instructions from 
 the Admiralty were, to nroceed by the wixy of the 
 Cape of Good Hope and Otaheite "to the coast of 
 New Albion, endeavoring to fall in with it in the 
 latitude of 45 degrees." He was "there to put 
 
 • into the first convenient port to recndt his wovd 
 ' and voter, and procure rffreshmeiUs, and then to sail 
 ' northward along the coast to the latitude of 65 
 
 • degrees, or further, if not obstructed by lands or 
 
 • ice, taking care not to lose any timt in erplorin/f 
 ' rivers or inlets, or vpon any other account," until he 
 had reached that degree. 1 le wns further in.strucl- 
 ed and " strictly enjoined not to touch upon any 
 ' part of the Spanish dominions on the western 
 'continent of A' .c-ricn, unless driven thither l)y 
 ' some unavoidai)le accident; in which case, he wna 
 ' to stay no longer than should be absolutely nc- 
 ' cessary." 
 
 Now, sir, it will he recollected, that an account 
 of the Spanish discoveries on the northwest coast 
 was current in England before Cook sailtd; and 
 it will be observed, that the British Government 
 then recogni.sed the right of Spain as far north os 
 the 65th degree of latitude; forC'aptuin (jook is in- 
 structed not to stop short of that degree, except to 
 "wood and water." South of it he was not per- 
 mitted to explore or lake possessien of the coun- 
 try. In latitude 49^ degrees he found a sjiacious 
 and secure bay, offering every facility for the re- 
 pair of his vessel and the refreshment of his men; 
 and on the 29ih of March, 1778, he there cast an- 
 chor, and bestowed upon the place the name of 
 " King George's Sound." This name he shmtly 
 afterwards changed to thatof Ab(i//fn Sovnd, under 
 the impression that Nootka whs the term employed 
 to distinguish the bay by the natives of the sur- 
 rounding territory. He remained at Nootka Sound 
 four weeks, and traded with the natives. Il can- 
 not be pretended that this Kinsj George's or Noot- 
 ka Sound is not the " Port San Lorenzo," entered, 
 discovered, and so named by Juan Perez, in the 
 service of S]iain, in 1774. That Cook's ship was 
 not the first there seen by the natives, is abun- 
 dantly evident from Cook's own account. He 
 tells us that the natives manifested no .surprise at 
 the sight of his .ships, and were not startled by the 
 reports of his guns; they had tools and weapons 
 of iron, and ornaments of brass, and one of their 
 chiefs had hanging around his neck tioo silver table- 
 spoons of Spanish mannfacture . 
 
 Can it be doubted that these implements and 
 utensils of iron, and brass, and silver, are what 
 the natives obtained from Juan Perez when he 
 landed there in 1774? Besides these clear proofs 
 of the discoveries of Spain, England herself, for 
 many years afterwards, never controverted the 
 Spanish title. 
 
 1 now wish to direct the attention of the com- 
 mittee to the much-talked-of Nootka Sound con- 
 vention. We all know the occasion of that cele- 
 brated treaty: a certain Captain John Mearcs, 
 a hnlf-pay ofhcer of the British navy, was em- 
 ployed, m 1788, by a Portuguese, named Ca- 
 vallo, in Maeoa, to command an expedition 
 under the Portuguese flag to carry on the fur 
 trade with the natives of the northwest coast 
 of America. He sailed for Nootka Sound, and 
 in 1789 built a small vessel and some huts there. 
 As soon as informed of these circumstances, 
 the Spanish authorities sent a command which 
 took down tlie British flag, demolished their hul3, 
 and made prizes of their vessels. Meares com- 
 |ilained to Parliament, and King George the Hi. 
 made the suiijecl a matter of complaint in his 
 s[)cech to Parliament. In 1790, negotiations were 
 entered into at Madrid between Mr. Fitzherbert, 
 the English agent, and the Spanish Government, 
 concerning the wrongs which England complained 
 to have received, in her subject. Captain Meares, 
 
6 
 
 nt Nontka. Spiiin rcsiNted, but she wns in )tr, 
 ronilitidii to resist \(m<^. She liad iilniidy tnkni 
 the (lownwanl pliiriirc Into tlif niianliy biuI wcnk- 
 m'HH which inarkH hir at this day. 
 
 Kiifjhmd 'A-as powirfnl. Pailiann-nt had vofrd 
 oru' milhon pounds strrlintij to war with Spain, un- 
 less shi; 3"i('ldrd to Rritish rapacity. The treaty 
 
 took it for the main land. (See Helyn's Qcoi^rrf 
 pliy, London, I(i74.) Two yf'ars afterwards, a 
 Dutch navi;j:ator, Sehald de West, eanic to thctn, 
 and called them " Sehald's Islands." Knirland 
 heard no more of them for a century, atui their 
 existence was even called in question. In the reii^n 
 of William, an En;;lishnmn named Strr>n2; found 
 Ni^ned at the Kscurial in ITOK, called tlie "Noofka j tlwm out a;;ain, and called them "Falkland I.s- 
 Hoiind convention," was dictiUed to Spain, and ' lands." In the rcijj;n of Geori^i- III., Cajitain By- 
 forced from her. Simultaneous with the si'^niui; ' run, the ancestor of " Childe Harold," look pos- 
 oflhe treaty, Spain puhlished a rnanifesir) directed session of one of them. This is the first possession 
 to all the Kuropean cnurts, remonstrating' aj^aitist | liy England; it was only ofo7ic island, and not fol- 
 thc manner it was extorted from her, and assert- ! lowed uphy settlement. In ITtifi the Kins; of Spain 
 in'' her claims at Modtka. Hut lireal Mritaiii did ' sent trooiis and xcM/fi/ one of the is! 
 
 not then jiretend that the Nootka Sourul conven- 
 tion acknowledged or surrendered to her any title 
 or sovereignty. CJreat Mrilain only claimed m-if^hl 
 to trade at Nootka, not of sovereignly. She de- 
 manded .^ali-sfaction for the insult offered thnmgli 
 her suhjeels, not apology for invasion of her ter- 
 
 ^lauds.and called 
 
 it •« Solidade;" and yet Great Mritain, in 17(i'J, 
 claimed all the i.slands on the ground of prior (lis- 
 rorery, and Spain was obliged to submit. 
 
 One other ••ase, and I have done with this branch 
 of my remarks. I refer to the pretext assumed by 
 England for driving out the Dutch from New York. 
 
 own imi 
 
 ti<e. li 
 
 ueakiiH 
 
 clainii 
 
 The 
 
 Bs us.sit 
 
 the Col 
 
 Boston 
 
 Colunib 
 
 ineiit an 
 
 ricaii cii 
 
 tei; agai 
 
 declares 
 
 » moutl 
 
 « all lilt 
 
 ' and h< 
 
 this prii 
 
 UH by 
 
 Salle, 
 
 bi 
 
 rilory. Neither the King, (George III.) Mr. Pit', , In 14'.I'J Columbusdiscovered the West India isl- 
 Mr. Fox, norany one else in Parliament, spoke of' ands. In 145)7, Giovanni (John) Cabot, a Vene- 
 tith ; it was tmly a right to trade. The ai-eount of I lian, in the employ of Henry VII., discovered the 
 this matter, as given in P.issett's History of Eng- '• island of New Foundland and the Atlantic coast 
 land, is full as to the fact that the Government of as far as Virginia. Henrv VII. made no settle- 
 
 England denied having any claim to the sover- 
 eignty ()f the country on the coast of Oregon. The 
 historian says that the English claim there was 
 only " a right to trade [not of soil] in places in 
 which no country could claim an exclusive right 
 of cnmmerre and H«fign/iojt," not of sovereignty. 
 
 'J'his, sir, is the purport of the famous Nootka 
 Sound eonventifm; and although extorted from 
 Spain by England, it will be seen that the latter 
 Power gained nothing but an apology for the in- 
 sult offered to Captain Meares, redress for the 
 loss sustained, and a bare right to trade. But had 
 more been obtained, the treaty and its jirovisions 
 were ended in 171tfi, at which time a war was de- 
 clared between England and Spain. War termi- 
 nates and cancels all subsisting treaties between 
 the partie.s. On the subject of the Sjianish claim 
 to the territory in dispute, I desire to direct the at- 
 tention of the committee to a map describing the 
 Briti.<«h, Spanish, and French possessions (m the 
 continent of America, according to the treaty es- 
 tablished at Paris, Hth of February, 1703, by 
 " Email Brown, Geographer to his N'lajcsty, and 
 John Gibson, Engraver. On this ma|i the do- 
 minions of England extend f^om the Atlantic to 
 the Mississippi; the French dominions extend 
 from the Mississippi to the western boundary of 
 Louisiana: and all the country between the last- 
 mentioned boundary and the Pacific ocean is put 
 down a.s beloniring to Spain. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, if discovery gives title, I think 
 that I have shown that the Spanish title to Nootka, 
 the very point in dispute, is clear and unquestion- 
 able. But I am told that discovery without settle- 
 ment or occupancy gives no title. However this 
 may be, it may not be profitless to see how Eng- 
 land regards and has acted on this principle. The 
 case of the Falkland islands exhibits the views and 
 conduct of Great Britain as to title by discovery 
 without settlement. These islands were first seen 
 by Captain Davis, who .sailed with Sir Richard 
 Hawkins in 1592. He was driven by a storm into 
 the Straits of Magellan, when he accidentally saw 
 them. He gave them no name. In 1594, Sir 
 Richard Hawkins saw one of these islands, and 
 
 ment nor mfition towards one. In like inactivity 
 towards the disr'nvery of Cabot passed the reign 
 of Henry VII f. So, too, passed the short reign of 
 Edward'VI. and Mary. In 15HM, eighty-six years 
 after the discovery of Cfiovanni Cabot, the first 
 British charter of colonization was signed by Queen 
 Elizabeth to Sir Humphry Gilbert. Nothing was 
 done under thi.*^ grant. Then came the patent to 
 Sir Walter Raleigh to settle the southern part of 
 North America, and he, landed the firs', colony in 
 lfi07. This settlement was soon abandoned, nor 
 did the second attempt of Sir Walter Raleigh meet 
 with any better success. Hackluyt, who chroni- 
 cles these accounts, lived and wrote in the age of 
 Elizabeth and .Tames I., and was the chief man in 
 the next expedition. It was got up by Hackluyt, 
 and was under the direction of Richard Go.^iuild, 
 in pursuance of instructions from King James I., 
 to colonize Massachusetts bay. Gosnold reached 
 the bay, traded with the natives, Init made no set- 
 tlements. James I. then divided the discovered 
 land into two portions — Virginia and New Eng- 
 land. In the meanwhile, Hudson, the Dutch navi- 
 gator, had sailed up the river whi<'h still bears his 
 name. The Dutch landed where now stands the 
 city of New York, settled, and immediately im- 
 proved. In IGG"? Charles IT. granted the province 
 of New York to hi.s brother, the Duke of York, 
 under whose directions the Dutch were driven 
 away or forced to yield. The Eiifflish claimed it 
 by tlie [irior discovery made by Cxiovanni Cabot 
 mf)re than one Inmdred years before. The Dut:h 
 had settled, the English had not; and yet the prior 
 discovery title of England without .=;ettlcment was 
 asserted and maintained. Sir, with such examples 
 on record and before the world, does it become Eng- 
 land to object to title by di.scovery, even though 
 no occupancy may have followed.' 
 
 Mr. Chairman, the United States have claimed 
 Oregon by virtue of the discoveries of her own citi- 
 zens; ancf as T regard our claim good at all events 
 as against England, T propose to say about it a 
 word or two. The silly argument, that because 
 the United States claim under the Spanish title, her 
 own cannot be good, and that the claim under her 
 
Hrlyn's Gco^rn- 
 aiN (iftn-wanjs, a 
 <f, runic tf) them, 
 inds." Rn[,'-I;ui(l 
 ntiiry, nml their 
 toil. Ill tlir rri<rn 
 rd Sironu; fMiind 
 Ti " F'^ilklniid Is- 
 nf., Cnpiairi By- 
 I'lld," took pns- 
 II' first |K>ssf'Nsifpn 
 liiiid, iiiid not fol- 
 lip Kin2:nf S|i(iin 
 slaiids,aiid called 
 Hritaiii, in ]7(i!», 
 iind of prior dis- 
 Rulimit. 
 
 with this lirnnrli 
 text assumed hy 
 from New York. 
 West India isl- 
 ) Cal)ot, a Vene- 
 I., discovered tlie 
 lie Atlantic const 
 made no settle- 
 In like inactivity 
 passed the reii^^n 
 the short reign of 
 eij^hty-six years 
 Cabot, the first 
 signed hy Queen 
 t. Nothing was 
 mo the patent to 
 southern part of 
 c first colony in 
 I abandoned, nor 
 ter Raieig-h meet 
 lyf, who chroni- 
 tc in the ngc of 
 the chief man in 
 ip by Hackluyt, 
 Richard Gosiiold, 
 I King James I., 
 Grosnold reached 
 but made no set- 
 l the discovered 
 and New Eiig- 
 thc Dutch navi- 
 ■h still hears his 
 now stands the 
 mmcdiately im- 
 ted the province 
 Duke of York, 
 ;'.h were driven 
 glish claimed it 
 Giovanni Cabot 
 re. The Dut-Ji 
 nd yet the prior 
 .settlement was 
 1 such examples 
 ! it become Eng- 
 y, even though 
 
 's have claimed 
 of her own citi- 
 od at all events 
 say about it. a 
 t, that because 
 panish title, her 
 :laim under her 
 
 own nullifies tlie title of Spnin, «cnrcely needs no- 
 tice, li would be Mtmnge indeed if a good title was 
 Weakened liy (he aci|uiNilion ui' an oulHiaiidinji; 
 claim i but let tiiis pa.s.>4. 
 
 Tile claim of the United Slates, apart fnxii tiuil 
 Bs ussigiicr of .Sjiaiii, re»t.s upon the diNcovery of 
 the Cohuiibia river by Captain Robert Gray, of 
 Boston, the exploration of the head water.s of the 
 Coluiiil>ia by Lewis and Clarke, and the improve- 
 liieiit Mild .seitlenieiim of Mr. A.storand other Ame- 
 rican citi/ens. I cull the attention of the coniiuit- 
 tee again lo the principle of internalional law which 
 declares "that the nation which discovers the 
 
 • mouth of a river iN entitled to tiie sovereignty to 
 
 • all the land.s watered by such river, its lrii)UtarieH 
 'and hfad waters." Great IJritain acknowledged 
 tiiis principle as well by the treaty of L'lrecht, 1713, 
 UM by the treaty of Versailles, 17(i3. M. de La 
 Halle, ill IGf^.'), discovered the mouth of the Minsis- 
 bippi; liy reason whiM'eof, Fruiu'c claimed tlie whole 
 ot Louisiana, and this claim was admitted by Eng- 
 land. Wlio discovered the mouth of the Columbia, 
 orOiegonrivcr,and who explored its head waters? 
 We .shall see. In the month of May, HiU, Captain 
 Roiiert Gray, of the American .ship " Columbia," 
 of Roatoii, whilst cruising in the north Pacific, dis- 
 covered an oiieniiig in ilie coast, in latitude 4(P W, 
 which he pronounced to lie the mouth of n river. 
 On thet2i)ili April, 171)0, Cajttain Gray fell in with 
 the I'jiglishship" Discovery, "Captain Vancouver. 
 Gray informed Vancouver of his having bei-ii oil" 
 the mouth of n great river; Vancouver in his luir- 
 rative mentions these facts, and afterwanls niiulc 
 search for the river, but could not Iind it. He be- 
 lieved that Captain Gray had been misiaken, tor lie 
 thought that such a river was not there. On the 
 11th May, 171)i?, Captain Gray was again off the 
 opening where he informed Vancouver the river 
 was to be found, ^'ankee-like, lie determined to 
 satisfy himself, and he directed his course to the 
 opening. This was no hazardless matter — the 
 l)reakers to.s.sed the sea, iind the surf was furious. 
 He sailed on, crossed tlu; dreaded bar at the mouth, 
 luid found hiinself on the bosom of a magnificent 
 river, which he named after liisown shi]), " Colum- 
 hid/' He ascended the river twenty-five miles, 
 aiichorerl, landed, and traded with the natives. flJe 
 descended the river, named the capes on its north- 
 ern and soutliern sides "Adams" and "Han- 
 rock," and again spread lii.s .sails to the breezes of 
 the Pacific. 
 
 This was the first vessel that ever crossed the 
 bar at the mouth of the Columbia or (loated on the 
 waters of that nolile river. No soj)liistry or nii.s- 
 represeiitation can ever take from Captain Gray the 
 lionor of the di.scovery, or from Ins country the 
 value of the acrjuisition. This river has its .sources 
 on the western slopes of the Rocky mountains, 
 and lorms a stream where it enters the Pacific seven 
 miles in width. It meanders a great distance 
 through ii country, a greater part of which is well 
 adapted to the wants of man. From the mouth 
 of tlie Columbia, a few days' sail takes you to the 
 Sandwich islands, and le.ss than thirty days, .. 
 China. Here let me remind the committee of the 
 expedition sent by the United States under the Ad- 
 ministration of Mr. JeflTerson, In 1804,Lewisand 
 Clarke, in the service of the United States, ascend- 
 ed the Missouri, and are believed to be the first 
 civilized men who crossed the Rocky mountains. 
 
 They discovered and exiilorcd the lioad waters of 
 the Columbia river, aiui fidlowed it down to itn 
 mouth. A year or two afiir this, the Ainirican 
 Fur Com|)any estul)lished trading posts on llic 
 head waters of tiic Colunil)ia; and in IHll John 
 Jacob Astor built tlie town of Astoria at its mouth. 
 War was declared between liie United Slates and 
 Great flritain, and in the month of December, 1HI3« 
 Astoria WIS captured iiy the Drilish sloop of war 
 " Raccoon," Captain Illakc. By tiie peace treaty, 
 known as the treaty of Ghent, it was agreed "thai 
 all territory, &c., taken from eitlier party by tiiu 
 other during the war should be ntHTouKU." Not 
 assigned to, aliened, or surrendered, but restored. 
 Sir, you can only restore that which formerly be- 
 longed to you. 
 
 Mr. Cliairman, these are some of tlie reasons 
 whicii have induced me to believe that the wiiolo 
 of Oregon is ours; and believing so, 1 am (irepaieU 
 to go tlie full iengtii to assert and maintain our 
 claim. It is, sir, in my judgment, full time that 
 the joint occupancy under the conventions of 1H18 
 and IB'iil should be terminated. Great Britain haii 
 iiad the exclusive benefit of the arrangement, 
 Witliout title to one rood of the territory, she haa 
 dotted it everywhere witli her forts, and the Brit- 
 ish flag at tliis day rtautits as saucily over the 
 stockades of the Hudson's Bay Company as on 
 the ramparts of Gibraltar. No American can set- 
 lie there with a view to business. No sooner does 
 he fix himself than the agents of the Hudson '.s Bay 
 Company surround him, undersell, and drive; him 
 from the trade. Mr. Farnliam, an intelligent gen- 
 llcnmn who travelled through Ore^^on, states that 
 Mr. Wyelh, an entcrpri.sing Yankee, established, 
 at great labor and expense, a post for trading witli 
 the Indians, (Fort Hall,) and immediately the Hud- 
 son's Bay Comjiany forced liim to sell to them. 
 They undersold him, and paid liigher price.s fiu- 
 peltries, until the adventurous man found iiimself 
 without business. The Hudson's Bay Company 
 have now twenty-two forts in Oregon. Nor, sir, 
 will it do to say that Great Britain has not thus ex- 
 erci.sed acts of ownership and sovereijgnly over the 
 territory of Oregon. The Hudson's Bay Company 
 is, quoad hoc, the British Government. Well does 
 she understand the use and management of these 
 politico-commercial companies, and profitably ha.s 
 she used them. Look to the history of the East 
 India Company, and see the mammoth empire she 
 has acquired by means of that trading corporation,. 
 Little more than one hundred years shice Great 
 Britain had in the Ea.st Indies the small commer- 
 cial fiictories at Surat, Madras, and Calcutta, 
 which, together with the island of Bombay, obtain- 
 ed from Portugal as the dowry of the wife of 
 Charles the Second, were all her possessions there. 
 Now, after having waded in blood throat-deen to 
 empire, she sways her sceptre over one hunurcd 
 millions of people. The glory of the conquest is 
 England's — the crime and horror of the murders 
 belong to the East India Company, says the his- 
 torian of that proud island ! So, too, would act the 
 Hudson's Bay Company, if they dared; but the 
 American people are made of sterner stuff. Satisfy 
 our people that our claim to Oregon is good, and 
 we will have it at all and every hazard. The pallid 
 and trembling cry of war will not frighten them 
 from their propriety. No ^aunt spectres of com- 
 mercial distress, sacked cities and ruined com- 
 
¥ 
 
 8 
 
 mr-rrfi, will filnrm the people, whru thfl nniionnl 
 ri(;lii« wrid h'lnur nrv at Mtiikf. 
 
 Kir, I triiKt ymi will nt f>nrc jjivr the notirr tn 
 tPrminntp thm ruinoim joint oiciipiiiiry. h'l it lie 
 
 firompl and (Iccmivc. Knixliuid will hrsililr Inn;; 
 icroif MJir wiirN with m.h; nIic Ims little to irmn Imt 
 hiinl l>lowH. Dnrm^; the lute war, nhe fi:ained little 
 of advanlajje or t^lory. Wi- were ihrn seven mil- 
 lionH of people; we are now twenty niillionn. At 
 hfimr, she has sonieihiii'^ to look after. 'The un- 
 ffdressed wroiii:^ of the Irixh people ninrlle her 
 rnnseieiwe, ami her Ntarviii:,'' millions are illy eoii- 
 tenteil with their iniseniMe liondai^e. Sir, I l)C- 
 iievp the resolution heCcn-e the eoniiniitee, if adopt- 
 ed hy f» true Ameririm vote, will lie the greatest 
 of peace measures. It will assure the world of the 
 inienti<m to vindirate our rij^his; it will assure 
 Kn'4;huid that th<' nation is determined to have their 
 own, des()iie her monetary^ her naval, orniilitary 
 power. (Jenlleinen le^janl tlie passasifc of thi.i res- 
 olution n.<i equivalent to a declaration of war. I 
 do not sn refrard it. Rut should such lie the result 
 of our netion, why, let it eoine. l-'or one, I adopt 
 the lanc^unL'e and sentiment of old .lohn A«lama, 
 when speakiiiijof the Declaration of liideiipiuh'ncp, 
 " Sink or swim, live or die, survive or jieri.sh," I 
 go for the rcsfdiition. 
 
 1 will not detain the committee by npoaki..^ of 
 
 the value of Ore;;on; nfl whohnveheen there upeak 
 of it as the fit almde of a vast nation of freemen. 
 VVe want it now, to rerhiim it from ii« wild ntale, 
 and make it Idossom as the rose — to reanip a mi!;hty 
 repulilic, liased upon the riirhls fif man. Kni^land 
 wants it, n\\t\ keeps it as n hreedini: den for wild 
 heasts, in whose pursuit ever is thi rapacious 
 Hudson May Company. fJod ^jave it for the uses 
 of man — Kni^land uses it for i)ie lirer'dini^ of lieants. 
 Let there he nil end to this. When our litU; shall 
 \u'. maile iierfect, and our possession iisserted and 
 maintiiined, the moral, the (loliticil, and the com- 
 mercial aflairs of Asia will he revoluiioiiized. I 
 helieve that the man is now liviiifr who will sei 
 
 {'our Atlantic cities connected liy railroad with the 
 *acifie. ocean. That accomplislied, and the trade 
 of China, and India, and islands of the Pacific, 
 rush by tlii.s course to Kiiropi". Six oreiy;htdays, 
 hy railroad, will whirl you from sfunn maa;nificeiit 
 city, to he fouiKJed ami Itiiilt on the shores of the 
 Pacific, to Philadelphia or New York. We shall 
 he neiijhhors of the Chinese; and as it was from the 
 east the nations fif the world received their early 
 knowledire of the arts and sciences, so from the 
 west it shall l)C>;iven hack to them. Ay, sir; not 
 only their arts and sciences hi'^^hly imjirovcd, hut 
 we will take to them the blessings and the repub- 
 licanism of Christianity. 
 
hrrn tfiorft iipenk 
 ition of frt'ciufin. 
 mi itfl wild Ntnte, 
 )rri>ni[)iurii!j;hty 
 frnnn. Kn:;laii(| 
 liim: i\rn for wild 
 is tli'i rn(mc.ioiis 
 ive it for llio unrn 
 rpr'dini; of licnstH. 
 ir;n our title sliall 
 sioii iissfrtMil and 
 •il, nnd tUf; rom- 
 
 r'VdlutiolliZf'd. I; 
 
 iiifj wiio will RCC 
 railroad with the 
 •d, (ind tho Irndc 
 9 of the Pacific, 
 Mx or t'ijjht days, 
 some nia'^iiific.cnt 
 thr shorcH of thn 
 Vork. We Hhall 
 IS it waH from the 
 rived their early 
 ces, so from tho 
 m. Ay. sir; not 
 ly iniiirovcd, but 
 H iiiiU the rc[iub-