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Comment. <« the Pterident's Message, > THE WH:*LE of the OREGON ETC.^ETC, ETC. * BTf AN ADOPTED^mZEW. NEW YORK ; rMRDAtr— J848. J. yWlftr •r. Wl.^ fWKrt,, <»n„, ^ ^^^ >;^'v-j^?^^':^fc^ «■» IUM4U (ttEETt. -.f^:^. .«! ■••v:::;^-^^ "ffp \ .• •< ,1 WILL THERE BE WAE? ANALYSIS OF THE ELEMENTS WHICH CONSTITUTE, RESPECTIVELY, THE Power of England and tbe United States. RESULT, AND CONSEQUENCES or AN OBSTINATE WAR BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES. CURSORY REMARKS ON THE Tone and Tactics of the British Organs in America. STRICTURES ON THE ASHBURTON TREATY. , THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POSSIBLE EMERGENCY, THAT WOULD, INEVITABLY, BE THE CAUSE OF WAR. COMMENTS ON THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, '■ : ■ , ..- . .t - .. . ; ^ THE PROPER COURSE TO SECURE, PEACEABLY, - THE WHOLE OF THE OREGON, * ' "' ETC., ETC., ETC. BY AN ADOPTED CITIZEN. "^ ' : , « • NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM TAYLOR, NO. 2 ASTOR HOUSE. PRJCE, 25 CENTt. FEJAUAR7 1846. JAM 2»H>' \ : . "..""■." SUMMARY. ""' ,';'!...:' :' Introduction 7 to 8 Tone and Tactics of the British Organs in America, and of the Whig Presses in the Atlantic cities, on the subject of ^ ;, War and Oregon, agreeing on this point, that England is clearly right, and the President wilfully wrong 9 to 10 The British Organs backed by the Whig leaders will not sue- : ceed in misleading public opinion ... 9 Republican America stands no chance for a fair arbitrament , in Europe d False predictions of the organs of British interests, and of ihe •; . Whig presses • < » , 10 The course of the President on the subject of our foreign re- . lations will be sustained by the people 10 Will there be War? '. 10 to 38 The contexture of our Institutions is pre-eminently opposed to aggressive War : ,, 11 Analysis of the elements which constitute the power of England 11 to 14 Analysis of the principles which give impulse to the Govern- mental strength of Great Britain 13 to 14 Elaborate examination of the injury that England might in- flict to the United States 15 to 17 Analysis of the elements which constitute the power of the United States 15 to 17 Analysis of the principles which impart strength to the American Confederacy 17 to IS Result, and consequences of a protracted War between En- ..,.,5; , gland and the United States 18 .Disquisition on the Ashburton Treaty 19 to 22 Formidable organization and threatening attitude of Great Britain in North America, since the Treaty 19 to 20 Reasons, accounting for the silence of the American press on the disgraceful cession of a passage through the State of ■ ^- * Maine 21 to 22 How Great Britain, by sending over a proper man, obtained the passage she had been so long coveting. (See note |.) . . 21 to 22 199246 SumiiKtrif. PACKS. ii^xplnnalionof the circumstances which enabled the American ncguciator to buy the consent of Maine 23 to 24 Strictures on the course of the Senate in ratifying the Ash- burton treaty 23 to 24 Mr. Calhoun and some southern senators voted for the treaty through sectional feeling 25 The passage in Congress of the Oregon resolutions will not produce War '' 99 Development of an emergency which would be the cause of hostilities within two or three years 25 to 26 EH'ect of the Presit'ent's Message in the United States, — it has silenced for a while the opponents of the Administration 26 to 27 Investigation of its probable effect in Europe 27 to 35 The rebuke of the President to the French Government will increase in our favour the sympathies of the French p ^ple 27 to 30 Remarks of the Organ of M. Guizot in this city, who threatens the President with " vigourous reprisals," from his patron 28 Foul abuse from M. Guizot's organ on Gen. Cass, for having approved of the President's rebuke, &c 28 Various comments on the tone of the French papers under the controul of Louis Philippe and of his ministers 28 to 30 The threats of the British Aristocracy on the subject of Oregon in Apri!. 1845, were a mere theatrical demonstration to insulate the president : true causes which prompted tliose threats 30 to 32 Quotations from the ' London Standard,' giving an insight into the consistency, &c., of the British Aristocracy 32 to 33 Good joke told by Lord Ashburton concerning the proper man to settle the north-eastern boundary. (Note *) 33 Quotations from the President's message having reference to ' Oregon, international law, and foreign interference on this continent 33 to 34 The message takes officially the same ground that had been taken in the Inaugural, by expressing then — an opinion.. . . 34 The message, although the most offensive to the views of British statesmen that has been issued, will have a peaceful tendency in England ; the reasons why 34 to 33 The threats of the British Aristocracy will be hushed, and will give way, for the present, to procrastination, bribery, and intrigues of all kinds 30 The opponents of the President are covertly at work 35 ftJ^RSEX Siimmari/. I'AUK*. Mr. Calhoun, under cover of defending the course of the Pre- sident, takes strong ground in opposing his most impor- tant measures 36 Conclusions on the question " Will there be War r" 38 The proper course to secure, peaceably, the whole of Oregon 38 to 40 Synopsis of four decisive, but conciliatory measures, which will give us, in time, the whole of Oregon 38 to 3y What is not proper for the President to propose, can effectually be done by a two-thirds' majority in Congress 39 The offer for compromise made by the President last summer was eminently judicious 40 No compromise can be made as to our riijht for the exclusive navigation of the Columbia river 40 It can be allowed to merchant vessels in pursuance of free trade principles 40 Resignation of the Peel Ministry, &c 40 to 43 Illustration of the devices used by the British Aristocracy whenever a change of measures becomes necessary 41 to 42 Classification of a majority of the American press in the At- lantic cities 42 to 43 Queries submitted to their consideration 43 Divergeni'.e of opinions and erratic views of the leading mem- bers of the Senate deprecated 43 Hope entertained that a majority of Senators of both parties will set aside sectional views and party spirit, when voting, finally, on the Oregon resolutions 44 Synopsis of the consequences that would ensue if the Oregon measures recommended by the President were to be de- feated in the Senate 44 Unanimity in our conncils, the most potent weapon wielded by Congress ....,,.,, 44 * « INTRODUCTION. In ihe fall of the year 1843, I went over to Europe witli my fumily, for the purpose of travelling, particularly in France, which is my native country. Wiiile in Paris, where I resiiled nearly twelve months, I was grieved to see that the tone of the Fronc^- pre.ss had hecome altogether unfriendly to this country, and I noticc^d iiat the daily abuse lavished by the English press on the people, and on the institutions of the United States, was promptly echoed by *l.c Parisian' papers. The organ of thu French Government, the Journal, des i>»t,"/i, was particularly remark- able for its systematic, insidious, mcliguaiit, and persevering efforts to traduce and villify the American character ; and in December, 1844, the virulence of the ministerial paper became so outrageous, that I madr jp my mind to expose publicly, in a daily paper, the utter falsity of its calumnious aspersions. I found, that it was not an easy inulter to get my articles inserted, in extenso, in the daily journals, some of them, such as the Siecle, the Commerce, and the Conatitutionel, gave only the spirit of my manuscripts ; the National inserted one or two articles : but it was only in La Reforme that my views on American afluirs appeared without mutilation ; they formed a connected series of articles pub- lished over the signature of " Un Citoyen des Elata Unis ;" and, in course of time, they were republished in two pamphlets ; and although my arguments did not prevent the French Government from interfering in the affair of Texas, it exposed, publicly, intrigues which had been kept in the dark, and a change in the tone of the Parisian press, except in the organs of the French Government, became, at that time, easily percept- ible : that change was entirely in favour of the United States. On my return to my adopted country, I found that considerable ex- citement existed as to the uncertainty of our relations with England ; it appeared to me, that the press was generally at fault as to the proper course to follow, in order, on the one hand, to secure peace, and, at the same time, on the other, to sustain and vindicate with becoming spirit our national rights. I felt convinced that such a course could be pointed out ; and, moreover, that the propriety and efficiency thereof could be sup- ported by uncontrovertible facts and arguments. The task, at the pre- sent time, was personally inconvenient ; I have, however, undertaken to do it in the following pages: — the hesitation and the conflicting views which appear to prevail in Congress on the subject of our foreign rela- tions, have led me into the belief, that the measures which I propose, under a firm conviction of their efficacy, may not be untimoly. Introduction. The first article of this pamphlot, headed " War and Oregon," was published in the Daily Globe of the loth of November ;* it is a brief exposition of the whole subject. Eight other articles appeared success- ively in the same paper, and in reading thcni the reader ought to bear in mind the date of the publication, as it shows strikingly the general inconsistency of the press, at the same time that it tests the correctness of the views expressed in said articles. To illustrate my meaning, I will merely point out one instance relative to the inconsistency of the press. As early as the beginning of N*" /ember, the influential papers of this city were nearly unanimous in daily abusing the President on account of his stand on the subject of Oregon. The burst of popular approbation which greeted the Message of Mr. Polk, bore too strongly the stamp of public opinion to be misunderstood, and the editors of those papers shifted their ground at once ; many of them even went so far as to express themselves satisfied with confiding the care of our foreign relations to the prudence of an Executive, whom, only a few days previously, they were villifying at a great rate. By degrees, however, they have broke ground on another course ; they do not abuse the administration — they rather flatter it ; but they are covertly at work, and try what they can to defeat the measures recommended by the President, by urging delay, &c. Well, the series of articles contained in this pamphlet takes a space of time of about two months, and forms a kind of political record of ike events which have occurred within that period : and, as I stated at the outset, it will be well to bear in mi'.d the date of each article at the time it is read. In conclusion, I call the attention of the reader, in a special manner, to that part of the pamphlet which contains the " Analysis of the Ele- ments which constitute the power of Great Britain," &c.,from pages 11 to 18. It may not be amiss to remark, while on this subject, that I have lived eight years in England, where, having plenty of leisure, I devoted most of my time to study the mechanism of its government, and to make out and appreciate the springs which give motion and power to its con;- plicaled machinery ; and it may be stated, m Dreover, that I have been an attentive and disinterested observer of public events for the last forty years. AN ADOPTED CITIZEN. New York, Jan. 15t/i, 1845. • The dates of the articlfc8 contained in this pamphlet have been taken from the original manuscripts, and aa they vary, now and then, a few days from the dates they appeared in the Daily Globe, I annex herewith, for the convenience of those who might desire to compare them, a correct list of the dales they appeared first in print. The articles in the Globe will be found identically the same is those in this pam- phlet ; no change whatever has been made, except those necessary to correct typo- graphical erroura, and to connect the articles together in their new form. 1st article appeared Nov. 1.^ 2nd '« " " 26 3rd " " " 4th article appeared Dec. 17 .Ith " " " 23 6th '• •• " 24 7th article appeared Dec. 30 Sth •' '• Jan. 1 9th " " " 7 general red Dec. 30 Jan. 1 " 7 n Ufi- . WAR AND OREGON. New York, November 13th, 1845. The organs of the British interests in this city have been loud, for ft few days past, in their denunciations against the views of the American Government on the subject of the Oregon 'I'erritory. They have re- ceived their cue from their patrons by the last steamer from England. Here is the substance of their vituperations, divested from the foul abuse with which fhey are intt'rmixed : They pretend that the United'States have actually acknowledr"ed the title of Great Britain down to latitude 49, and that therefore President Polk was and is wilfully wrong, in asserting that the American titlfe to Oregon is unquestionable. The Commercial Ad- vertiser, the Journal of Commerce, the Jj^xpress, and the Tribune, maintain alike that England is clearly right ou the subject of Oregon ; and the proof thereof — as they aflirm — is, that she is willing to submit the case to the arbitration of any croicned head in Europe. They threaten that war is inevitable, if the resolutions which passed the House of Represen- tatives last winter are adopted by both Houses in the next session of Congress ; and they point significantly to the immense maritime pre- parations of Great Britain, which many of the late English papers insinu- ate, with an air of mystery, squint terribly towards Oregon. The obvi- ous purpose of this simultaneous vwvemcnt on both sides of the Atlantic is, no doubt, to intimidate Congress. The Morninri Courier and Enquirer of last Saturday, awkwardly enough, lets the cat out of the bag, as follows: "They (Congress) know now — wJiich they did not know last winter — that to vole for such a measure, is to vote for War." The Courier appear entertain a very mean opinion of Congress. The House of Kepresentalives passed last winter, by a large majority, resolutions organising a government in Oregon ; but vow that they find that England threatens, that war, as is pretended, is inevitable, they will no doubt hack out, says the Courier. The zealous endeavours of the whole oi the corrupt organs of the British interests icill not succeed to mislead public opinion, even backed, as they appear to be, by the leaders oiihe Whig party ; the great majority of the people of this country fee! confident that the ( icncral Government will in- sist only on what is clearly right ; they know that llepublican America has no chance for a fair arbitrament from any of the Sovereigns or the Monarchies of Europe, particularly at this present time, when European statesmen, Mr. Guizot in their number, have publicly made knowa their opposition and dislike to the extension of Democratic principles. The peo- ple of the United States are generally convinced that the intrigues of of England are dangerous, but her threats are harmless — regardless of her threats we have annexed Texas, without a war, and we will ultimately have Oregon, without a war. I ' 10 It is no longer ago than last year, that the British organs and many of the Whig presses predicted v/ar with Mexico, war with England, in case Congress dared to accomplish the annexation of Texas ; and now, when their false predictions are still fresh in the minds of all., they have the har- dihood to make another attempt at intimidation. That the organs of Bri- tish interests should perform the part which is prescribed to them, is to be expected ; but it is certainly very strange that the Whig leaders and the Whig editors, especially those that arc independent of British influence, should be so infatuated as to take sides with Great Britain against their own government, on questions of naiiowa/'-'iarof/er; they ought to know that our system of aggrandizement is entirely in harmony with our free institutions, and that, so far, it cannot be denied it has been effected with- out war. The very contexture of our institutions, and the working of self-government as it is with us form, altogether, a new era in the history ofnatiqns; and so is our mode of aggrandizement — other nations wage long wars, possibly for no other purpose than to take a few towns — we annex immense territories with no other instrument than the beacon of our institutions, and the cordial good will of the JPeople who inhabit them. Some other day, 1 will proceed to give an analytical statement of in- controvertible facts, which will convince any unprejudiced mind, that the adoption by Congress of the resolutions which pai.sed the House of Rep- resentatives last winter, will not produce tear; and I make bold to pro- claim beforehand, that the course taken by President Polk, on the subject of our foreign relations, will be triumphantly sustained by the People of America. No. I. New Yorb. Vovember 25th, 1845. Will there lie War betiveen the United States and Great Britain'} The Whig papers throughout the county have generally assumed that war, (immediate war, says the Courier and Enquirer,) will be declared by England in case Congress adopts the resolutions which last winter passed the House of Representativ:;s on the subject of Oregon. I asserted in the Daily Globe of 15tU inst., in an article headed " War andOregon," that the threats thrown out against the tenour of those resolutions by the organs of British interests in this city, were part of a concerted movement on both sides of the Atlantic for the purpose of intimidating Congress, and I proceed to-day to give the first part of a detailed and analytical state- ment of facts, which will no doubt convince the unprejudiced reader that a war between the United States and England would, in a few years, ]ead iae\it&h\y to the dismemberment of the British Empire. This asser- tion will startle many; let those suspend their judgement until they have gone through the following elaborate analysis. In conclusion, I intend to establish by fair argument that the adoption by Congress of the Oregon resolutions does not afford England reasonable ground of complaint. Great Britain will try hard to bully us out of our rights, but when she finds out that Mc are resolved and united to stand by them, she will let us alone. The analytical disquisition underneath was first published in Paris, in one of the daily papers of that metropolis, and formed part of a brochvre in the French language. That language, on account of its clearness and perspicuity, is generally used by the statesmen of Europe for dratving out treaties and international stipulations ; it is peculiarly adapted to subjects requiring close reasoning. I have done my best to be both clear and concise, but I apprehend that the following t/ans'ation may not be alto- gether satisfactory to those who have read the original. Paris, Februaiy 22d, 1845. Wtaat ^voiild be the Result, and the probable Consequences, of a War between the United States and England? In order to treat this question with the serious deliberation that it de- serves, it will be necessary to examine carefully what are the elements which constitute the power of the two nations, respectively, and what are the principles which impart action to the governmental strength of the two countries. The available force that England can dispose of, for an aggressive war, has increased considerably since 1838. It was about that peric d when armed steamers were first built for the Royal Navy : the naval armament of Great Britain, has reached, at the present time, unmatched magnitude ; and for efficiency to strike a blow on a sudden emergency, she has no rival in the world ; and yet, on the other hand, England has never been in such a precarious situation as she would soon be, if she was to under- take a war with any maritime nation that could stand the first brunt, and protract the struggle for a few years. If such an occurrence was to hap- pen, her situation would, indeed, be much more perilous than it ever was before 1815. This discrepancy will strike one at first as being very strange ; but it is accounted for by the material change that has taken place in the principal element of her power. In order to appreciate fully the ej, whom Lord Palmerston publicly declared he could at any time shove through 4he_eye of a needle. Following up the encroaching policy, they sent an armament to China, slaughtered the defenceless Chinese, took their ports, their bullion, and as high a tribute as they could extort. The boldness of these movements gave a gene- Tal alarm to all Europe ; but British Aristocracy knows when to push on and when to stop — they found tnat the pear was not quite ripe, a change of policy became necenary, and the Tories as meek as lambs, took the place of the Whigs. H :c., she has ires, Coin- money hag extension raising the nd the due kold on the overgrown is remains weaker, een invest- eleinenl of stated, a 1, are now I maritime rould have Ilects from itime com- •ket of the le outlet of i no longer vitzerland, the British whole 6U ■ es will be belief that enever they t with good adminiatra- igs are the ty is inter- bourne and icularly the to the feel- led plan of )m the Red there was linistration saty of the JrsofTur- end Louis ve through 33ament to 30, and as 'e a gene- and when 7 became ,'tr;,<' s ^.4?;i,'.'^ >,i. :itj»-^t»/.- ijjjit." -u. •tKU No. n. Paris, March 2d, 1843. What would be the Result, and tlie Probable Consequences^, of a War betiveen the United States and li^ngland 1 I proceed, to-day, to investigate the reasons, the causes, and the cir- cumstances, that will enable the United States to sustain a long and obstinate war ; and, moreover, to analyze their means of resistance against the immense aggressive means of Great Britain. The principal element of the force and ascendency of the American Republic consists in the peculiar energy of the Yeomanry of the country, united to the immense territorial resources it controls, and to the advan- tages it holds forth to the oppressed population of the despotic Govern- ments of Europe. In England, the owners by entail of the greatest portion of the land, count up a few hundreds — in the United States they uumber millions. Those millions of Freemen, in the strongest sense of the word, are inured to hardships by daily labour in the open air, and they take hold with equal skill, as circumstances require, the plough, the axe, or the rifle ; they would fight in defence of the soil that belongs to them with an intelligence and a tenacity not to be found in any other country. The regular army of the Republican Americans does not exceed nine thousand men.* They are conscious of their strength — and the invio- lability of the soil is safely entrusted to the well-known devotion of the masses to a form of government, whereof every individual constitutes a part, and which every individual has a personal interest to sustain. There are about a million of citizen soldiers in the United States, an- nually drilled to militia duty, and two millions — if it was necessary — ■ would take up arn. - to defend their institutions, their homes, and their lands, against foreign invasion. The deadly aim of the American rifle has become proverbial ; it was fully demonstrated at New Orleans, in 1815, when a few thousand of the militia from Tennessee and Kentucky, with a few hundreds of French sailors, totally touted 15,000 men, saicT to be, at the time, the choicest troops of the British army. It was pro- claimed by the British organs in America, when these fifteen thousand men landed, that they were " the conquerors of the conquerors of Eu- rope." They were actually part of the British army which had invaded France, udder Wellington, in 1814. This remarkable victory is not an exceptionable case ; the battle of St. Jacynth was fought, with a similar result : about seven hundred of American adventurers completely cut to pieces the Mexican army of Santa Anna, 6,000 strong. On the seaboard the United States have nothing serious to apprehend from England — the means of transportation are so rapid and efficient, through numberless steamers and railroads, which traverse the country in all directions, that there is not a single spot from Boston to New Orleans but where 60 to 80 thousand men might be cor.centrated in the short * This was tlie total number when I left America in 1S43 : I find now, by the late- Report of the War Department, that it has been reduced to 6,500 men. . -St- '- . * / «p *l; 16 space of two or three weeks ; the British, it is true, might land ; they might possibly destroy one or two of the large cities on the Atlantic ; it is a game, however, they will be slow to undertake, for the loss that would ensue thereby to the British commerce and to British interests would be nearly as heavy as that of the Americans. They might, ac- cording to their usual warfare, burn a few towns, but they would soon be compelled to make their escape to their ships, their numbers greatly diminished by death, the prisoners taken from them, and the missinq ; the British soldiers know well, and their desertion from Canada to the United States, at the peril of their lives, proves it frequently, that the Democratic institutions of the United States, and a few acres of land to make themselves independent, are more conducive to their welfare than the flogging they receive now and then, to encourage them to sustain the glory of Old England. On the north, northeast, and northwest frontiers of the United States, England might act with much better chance of success ; the passage which she has obtained through the Slate of Maine by the Ashburton treaty* has made her position in North America truly formidable ; it enables her to send troops to Canada in the heart of winter — it increases incalculably her means of organizing and planning aggressive excursions against the frontier towns on the lakes, and whenever the depradatory troops would meet with effectual resistance they might fall back on their fortified points, &c. The United States would,- no doubt, perceive the dangerous consequences that would ensue of comYnunication being kept up actively between Halifax and England through the means of steamers ; they might be averted by collecting a large force and marching it, on the first intimation of hostilities, into Nova Scotia, for the purpose of taking Halifax, if possible — if not, to blockade it strictly by land, proclaiming at once the independence of Canada. But it must be admitted that the American militia, although supfriour to any other when defending their own soil, are deficient for an offensive war. Let us concede the worst. Let us suppose that England would hold her own in Canada, and that her emissaries should succeed to stir up the Indian tribes against the United States — it cannot be denied but that such a cruel border war would inflict very great individual misery, but no farther advantage would accrue to Great Britain; it would nSt enable the English troops to penetrate suc- cessfully into the United States. Any British General that would leave the protection of the fortified camps on the frontiers, and make an attempt to advance into the interior of the Union, would meet the fate of Bur- goyne, who was taken prisoner at Saratoga, in 1777, with 8,000 men. The one hundred and seventy thousand citizen soldiers of the State of New York, acting in concert with the hardy yeomanry of Maine, of New Hampshire, of Vermont, and of Michigan, could effectually annihilate or scatter any force the British might muster in North America. At the south England would very likely try to stir up the blacks to rise up against the whites. It is doubtful whether they could succeed ; • It enables England to keep Canada connected at all titnes with her other scattered provinces in North America. Before the Ashburton 'I'rcaty, Canada was without direct intercourse, seven months out, of twelve, except tlirough the United States. The disgraceful concession that has been made by yielding such an important passage is clearly and forcibly demonstrated in the French hochttre, wherefrom the above is a translation : it will be the subject of a separate article. 17 were Ihey ubie, however, tu du it, the Soutlicvn Stiites would theu be, no doubt, the theatre of a frightful slaughter; but the genei al vxaspera- tion that such a horrible act would excite all over the country, would settle the question at once. Peace wUh England would become impossibley so long as she would own an inch of ground in North America. On land, Great Britain has no chance to force her terms on the American Republic. At sea, she might, it is admitted, destroy materially her maritime commerce ; but although maritime commerce has been greatly conducive to the prosperity of the United States, it is by no means an indispensiible clement of their existence; it iiiay, indeed, be asseited, that there is no country on the globe that could so easily dis- pense with foreign commerce as the United States, considering that the Union has within itself such a variety of productions and raw materials, of territorial resources, and of manufactories withal, whose bu.sincss would increase materially by getting rid of English competition. How- ever, even at sea, the United States have, in the last war, from 1S12 to 1815, bearded the tjritish Leopard, and the changes and modifications that the introduction of steam-power in the navy will produce in a mari- time war, would be mostly to the advantage of America. A strict block- ade of the coast would be nearly impracticable— sti im fireships might be stationed at the mouth and entrance of every river and harbour — Brili.sh cruisers would have to keep away at a distance, and the numerous ileet of fine sailing packets in port, might be filled out as privateers, and would have a rare chance to make depredations on British commerce on every sea. England would, no doubt, semi, at the outset., a powerful armament of her armed steamers ; but England has so many places to guard and protect, that it would be impossible even for her to keep up, for any length of time, on such extensive coasts, a sufficient force to be able to resist the steam fireships that might issue from every creek and outlet, at every favourable opportunity; and thereby the blockading force might be, night and day, threatened with total destruclicn. The reader is by this time, no doubt, satisfied that the United States are able to sustain a long and obstinate war against Great Britain; but in order to dispose of this question logically, I will proceed to explain the principles that impart action to the governmental strength of the United States. According to the federal contract, the various States have re- served to themselves all the powers which have not been delegated in clear and precise terms, to the General Government. The Constitution, it is true, delegates to Congress the right of declaring war ; but even that power is never used, but when a large majority of electors (that is to say, a large majority of the nation) is actually in its favour ; the necessity of a large majority being needed to warrant a declaration of war, proceeds from this simple fact, " that all the powers emanate directly from a ma- jority of the people." Under such a system, an unjust war can hardly ever be attempted, and it accounts for the forbearance of the American Administration from 1805 to 1812. They protested against the indig- nities that Great Britain was heaping on American citizens ; but Congress bore them for seven years, and war was deliberately and coolly declared, only when a large majority of the nation became aroused to the necessity of avenging their wrongs. That war, of course, was national, and the rank and file of the Federalist party, whose leaders fiercely opposed it, 3 18 I.|l |[ ■ 1v rallied round the majority. At this present time, many qf the influen- tial leaders of the Whig pnrty are closely connected with British inte- rests and virith British capitalists ; these individuals, acting in concert with the numerous class of speculators, use their influence over the presses under their control, and leave no means untried to promote indi- rectly the views of Great I3ritnin against the annexation of Texas, &.c. Some of these do so in the hope of being able to contract some new loans in England, for the purpose of going on, as they say, with what they call internal improvemenls; but the most that the opposition of these men proves, is, that there are selfish men in America, the same as in other countries ; but if war was actually to take place, many of these ego- tists would become the most inveterate enemies of Great Britain; they would try to make up their anticipated gains by fitting out privateers against British commerce, with the hope of filling their pockets there- from ; and the popular feeling of the two great American parties, in case of war, would fully agree upon this point — to make one great effort to exclude England altogether from the American continent. The summing up of the juxtaposition of facts above ininutely exposed, may now be made briefly, and the underneath inferences must appear ir- resistible. A declaration of war by Great Britain against the United States, on account of the annexation of Texas, or else, on account of the projected occupancy of Oregon, according to the resolutions adopted in the House of Representatives, would be a war of a minority government, resting on an artificial basis, whereof the three organic and fundamental parts a^e more or less exposed to be impaired, against a majority government, the strength whereof proceeds direct from the cordial adhesion of the masses, which government is supported, ^ar/jc«/ar/^, by the energy and intelli- gence of an agiicultural population of nearly three millions of freemen, whose territorial resources and means of living, are beyond the reach of British aggression. The inevitable result of such a war, carried on with animosity for a number of years, must be THE DISMEMBERMENT OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, SUCH AS IT IS NOW CONSTITUTED. The C0H8SQDENCE8 that would naturally ensue, from such an event, would be the following : THE ULTIMATE TRIUMPH OF DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS, WHOCiE BENEFICENT EXPANSION WOULD DIFFUSE ITS BENEFITS ON A MUCH ENLARGED SCALE. THE REGENERATION AND ENFRANCHISEMENT OF THE POPULAR MASSES OF IRELAND, ENGLAND, AND SCOTLAND; WHO, BY SHAKING OFF THE YOKE OF A GRASPING AND MACHIAVELIAN OLIGARCHY, WOULD THEREBY IMPROVE THEIR SITUATION, BY BEING NO LONGER* REDUCED, EITHER TO BE PAUPERS, OR TO TOIL INCESSANTLY FOR A WRETCHED PITTANCE, IN ORDER THAT THEY MAY GIVE TO THEIR OPPRESSORS THE MEANS OF MONOPOLIZING ALTOGETHER, THE COM- MERCE, THE FINANCES, THE POLICE, AND THE^SfPiOJV^GJSOFTHE WHOLE WORLD. reat effort to Nkw York, December 4th, 1845. No impartial person of common understandJDg can rise from reading with attention this translation of the French brochure, without assenting to its conclusions. The writer thereof proceeds minutely through the whole article with lo,s;ical precision, tracing events to their incipient causes ; and he is particularly careful not to draw any inference until it is warranted by preceding reasoning or statements. All the facts brought forward are matter of history, and the writer has classed and grouped them with such clearness and force, that there is no resisting the evi- dence. In corroboration of the views exposed in the French brochure, I here- with transcribe an extract from tho London Globe of the 11th of Febru- ' ary last, in an article headed " Fortifications of London" : «* But Eng- land canftot afford an invasion, her power is based upon commercial greatness, upon commercial .security, and faith, and confidence ; let those be shaken and the whole fabric fulls." No. in. Nemt York, December 13, 1846. Will there be War between the (Jnited States and Great Britain 1 Preparatory to resuming my remarks on the above question, I subjoin underneath the strictures on the Ashburton Treaty, which I adverted to in the last number. Paris, January 20th, 1845. The Ashburtcn Treaty-, and the Reasona wby It hoi mode the Annexation of Texas popular In the United States. The news lately received from the United States, represent the popu- lar feeling in favour of the annexation of Texas as daily gaining ground ; the impulse that produces it, proceeds, from a cause that begins to be felt in the Northern States, although that cause has not yet been publicly divulged. The reasons why the American press has been silent there- upon, will be easily seen through on reading the following explanation. It is now given in France, for the purpose of refuting, at once, the daily abuse belched out by the British press, concerning what it calls the grasp- ing ambition of the United States ; the cause alluded to is briefly explained underneath. " The Ashburton Treaty has enabled England to assume a threatening, and a truly formidable attitude on the Northern and Northwestern fron- tiers of the Federal Union. The new position created by. that treaty, enables her to stir up, on a great scale, the whole of the Indian nations and tribes which have been of late years mostly concentrated West of the Mississippi, many of them with hostile feelings against the United States. Admitting the assertion as to the effect of the treaty to be true, it will be easily conceived, by looking over a chart of America, how im- portant it is to prevent Great Britain from extending her protection to Texas, and from cementing with that country n connexion akin to the one she established formerly with Portugal ; it would, undoubtedly, en- m \ 1*5 able her to contra/ altogether the Uult'ol' McaIcu; and it would give her an entering wedgo to scatter her emissiirie!) oniong the Indian tribeti os fariip ns lake Michigan, and thereby encircle with enemies the whole of the VVestem frontier of the Union from North to South, which eneniie* would rise up at her bidding ; and in order to demonstrate the strict truth of the above assertion, as to the dangerous consequences of the Ashburton Treaty, I am going to set forth, as clearly and ns forcibly as I possibly can, the position of Hngland before th3 treaty, and compare it with what it is now, and what it may be within a short time. In the month of November, 1837, a general rising of the people of Canada took plnco against the Colonial Government. The river St. Lawrence was then bound in icy fetters, and the news reached England through the United States, ns no part of Canada can be approached from sen in winter time. Halifax, in Nova Scotia, is the only harbour that has a free communication with England all the year round ; but Halifax, be- fore the Ashburton Treaty, could not communicate with Canada, on ac- count of a strip of land belonging to the State of Maine, which stretched 80 far North in those uncultivated and dreary regions as to prevent the possibility of its being turned. The result was, that England, notwith- standing her large standing army and her numerous fleets, could not send a single regiment to strengthen the garrison. The St. Lawrence did not open until the enc' of the month of May, and England would no douSt kave lost, forever, her colony ; if local causes * had not enabled the Colonial Government to get over their adversaries without any material aid from the metropolis. Anterior to the Ashburton Treaty, the Northern and Western frontiers of the Union were comparatively safe, as, in case of war, Canada was actually cut out from England seven months out of t^velve. It was then annually dependant on the United States for supplies and intelligence from abroad — that is, from the month of November to the month of May. The Ashburton Treaty has brought about a complete change. That part of the State of Maine which England had been so long coveting, for the purpose of opening a short and easy communication between Halifax and Canada, havi^.g been given up to her by the United States, a mili- tary road has alrijady been completed ; a railway is even talked of, and now, the British Minintry can send direct, despatches, emissaries, ammu- nitions, troops, &c., whenever it suits them, in winter as well as in sum- mer. It must be taken into consideration, besides, that England keeps id North /fmerira, since the trgali/, a garrison of twelve thousand men, which is ne&rly double the number of the whole regular American army, while in 1S37 she had hardly three thousand ! England has now completed such a compact and powerful organization in Canada, that she can, through the means of her ste ..:n navy on the Lakes, annoy and harass the American Union on a frontier extendinji three thousand miles. But what ought to be considered the most dangerous features of this new position, is the rapidity wherewith instructions maybe transmitted from London to Montreal. Celerity in war movements is well known to be the mo«t energetic promoter of success, and the British Ministers might now, in the space of a few weeks, organize a plan of operations *The«e causes will be explained in a separate article. Tlie general purport thcreot cill be to five an ipiiiglit into the fi.veign policy of Mr. Van Buren. « with thu in i-alculal)lu ucl vantage of being ab!e to superintend its cxeca-, tion, details, nnd progress, almost daily, from Downing street, in London, through expeditious steamers from England to Halifax ; and the whole available force of (ireat Uritain might thus he brought to oct wherever it would be thought to be the most etfective. The Colonial authorities in Canada succeeded lost war, with limited means, to stir up against the Americans some of the Indian tribes, which waged on the borders a war,of extermination, without distinction of oge or sex. Now that we can appreciate the extent and elFiciency of the means at the disposal of Knglund, we may form some idea of the exten- sion she might give to such a cruel and barbarous warfare. Well, if England, over and above the powerful means that the Ashburton Treaty has su|)plied her with, was to succeed besides to draw Texas under her protection, nnd was thereby, as a matter of course, to control the Gulf of Mexico, she might, it appears ol)vious, stir up simultaneously an Indian war all along the extensive Western frontiers, and at the same time, u war of revolleil slaves at the South; M'hich war of all others, is the most dangerous to the American Confederacy. To break asunder ll;e Hepub- lican Union, has been the secret aim at which British machinations have been directed ever since 1815.* 'J'hi.') is the aim she had in view when she lavished so much money to abolish slavery in her Colonies on the Coast of America. It is needless, no doubt, to enter into further developments. Every intelligent reader understands now the reasons why the Annexation of Texas has become so popular. 'J'ho Ashburton Treaty has made it an event of sheer necessity /or the prntecllon of the American Confederactf ; so much so. indeed, that many individuals in the Northern States, who at first opposed annexation on account of honest and conscientious scru- ples about slavery, admit, now, after a more comprehensive view of the subject, the urgency of immediate annexation. But many people will probably exclaim, how is it that the American Government has been drawn into the discreditable cession of n passage whereof the consequences might be so disastrous .' I confine myself to- day to prove the factf — the following remarks will, however, ac- count for the silence of the American press. The fed Attorney of Baring & Co. was Secretary of State, and was the American negotiator of the disgraceful treaty. President TylerJ was so situalsd with his Whig • Reasons in Bupport of the above assertion will be found in an article hfireafter, to be publishe.i under the head of " Origin of Slavery in the United States, and the most suitable means to promote its gradual abolition." t The original causes which have led to this discreditable ce.ssion, may be traced up to the administration of Mr. Van Buren, and will be distinctly developed in the next article. t In justice to Mr Tyler, 1 am led to append herewith the following comment : Wnen the British Ministers found that General Harrison was elected President, and that Mr. Webster was to be Secretary of State, they lost no time, and availed them< selves at once of the golden opportunity, by appointing at once a plenipotentiary to settle the Northeastern lloundary ; they knew that they could get what they wanted by sending a proper man; and, therefore, a banker came over to this countty, with full powers, &c. The death of H''.:rison had like to spoil the comtemplated arrange- ment, as Mr. Tyler, in his inauguial, assumed a tone on the subject of our foreign relations very different from that taken by the good-natured Harrison within the short space of Tionth ; and Mr. Webster had to use a great deal of management to get the 22 Cabinet, that he was drawn into signing it — over two-thirds of both the Whig and Democratic Senators were equally guilty in voting for its rati- fication. Most of the influential presses took sides in its favour, some of them biased by their political leaders, others through mere corrupt in- fluence.* Those circumstances, and the general disgust they created, explain the sullen silence of the great mass of the community on that in- famous Irealy. • -■• ' » New York, December Mth, 1845. The feeling of disgust whereto the French brochure attributes, truly, the silence of the American public would have prevented me from pub- lishing the above translation, had I not had, at the present time, an im- portant object in view. The motives that have influenced the course of Daniel Webster, are understood by every unprejudiced mind, and it meets the reprobation of every well-thinking man — it is, therefore, useless, to cavil about it — but what I want to expatiate upon, is, the course of '.he American Senate. The strictures on the course of the Senate I will give in another num- ber, in which [ will quote a remaik made to me by Mr. King, (Ambas- sador at Paris,) as to the rcascns which induced Southern Senators to vote for the treaty. ' T .. ' " ' ' ;f. WW,-'' Tho article underneath was published in the JDaily Globe on the 23d of December: -\.,.i. No. IV. !».. New York, December 21, lSi5. Will there lie War bctwueu. the United States aud Great Bi'itainT ?«. ;;i<^. -.;ir ,^'>->i'i.i" Previous to summing up argument on this exciting question, it appears proper to set forth before the reader, all the information that has a material consent of the new President. Ths disgrace of giving up to Great Britain the im- portant jiassaiie she was coveting, could not be brooked by Mr. Tyler without obtain- ing some concession that might, at least, seem ei]uivalent. Accordingly, to save ap- pearances, the navi;;atinn ot the St. John river, and a strip of land in Canada, were conceded to the United States; it had the advantage, besides, of giving to Mr. Webster an argument, which he might and did use in the Senate, in addressing those who opposed the treaty : "you complain that wo have given up our territory ; well. Great Britain, for the sake of compromise, has also, on her side, given up to us part of her territory," &c.; and to this day, whenever the Ashburton Treaty is held up as a reproach on our negotiator, the i)artisans of Mr. Webster will not fail to tell you; " Head what the loyalists of Canada say concerning the treaty ; there is an outcry that the British Ministry have sacriliccd the honour of tho country, &c. Such way of rea- soning has an efTect on the many who take no trouble tn form an opinion for them- selves, but it does not invalidate the fact — the stubborn fact — namely, that England, through thatlreaty, has been enabled to perfect such a formidable and compact an Crganization as to change altogether the former relative jjosition of the two countries, while the advantages ■fi'hich have accrued to the United States from that treaty, are, ' in comparison, entirely insigniticant. See note 3 of article No. 8. •I have been told, as a positive fact, by a person well situated to know it, that a certain editor in this city (whose paper has a great circulation) received from a Bri- tish fuuctioniiry, now in Canada, five hundred dollars as a douceur, to influence his editorials on tho subject of the Northeastern Boundary. 93 f December: bearing thereupon ; last Wednesday, I produced in the Daily Globe, the translation of a remarkable article on the Ashburton Treaty, which was fi'-st published in Paris in a daily paper called La Rcforvie ; this has been done with a view of setting forth in a strong light the course of the Senate concerning their ratification of that disgraceful treaty : it is not a pleasing task to expose publicly the unsound views and principles which influenced the votes of over two-thirds of our Senators, but it becomes necessary to do so at the present juncture of our national afliiirs, when a similar course might be attended with siill worse result. The President of the United States has lately sent to the world a mes- sage, wherein he has expressed opinions and recommendations on the subject of our foreign relations, which emphatically embody the popular feeling of the Republic. The House of Representatives, will, no doubt, sustain the President in the stand he has taken in maintaining our claim on the Oregon territory, as well as in opposing any attempt at Coloni- zation on this continent by European powers; but the organs of British interests appear to be confident tbat a majority of Senators will refuse their consent to such measures, that might give oiFence to Great Britain. If such is to be the course of the Senate, then, indeed, apprehensions of war ir.ight spring up therefrom. The elaborate analysis of the elements of the power of Great Britain, which is the subject of No. 1 of this pamphlet, demonstrates, I Irust, con- clusively, that England, notwithstanding her immense means of aggres- sion, has never been in such a precarious siliiationas she is now, to prose- cute a ^ro/rac/ed maritime war. But if the British Ministers perceive that our councils are distracted — if, moreover, they acquired the convic- tion that they might enforce their terms by striking a bloM', that blow \t ould be struck instantly, and without hesitation, entirely regardless of " our common Anglo-Saxon origin," of kindred lies, and of all the pathos extialed by those who profess a holy liorrour of Mar ; which fustian, if it was to influence our counsels, would have the effect of producing that very war which it is meant to deprecate. 1 do not apprehend, however, that the British Ministers will have any such conviction ; they are fully aware of their weak points, and they appreciate the imminent risk they might incur, with much greater accuracy than it is generally done on this side the Atlantic. Their apprehens-on of the consequences of a war with the United States, is a sure guarantee that peace will be unbroken on the part of England. It is, nevertheless, very important, that the measures proposed by the President should be promptly and cordially supported by the Senate. The sooner Great Britain is convinced that we will present an undivided front, the sooner all appearances of war will vanish ; and our Senators should be careful to eschew, at this present juncture, the unsound views and principles which influenced the vote of many Senators on the Ashburton Treaty. I will proceed, now, to expound the course of the Senate on their ratiflcation of said treaty. The very day that I published in Paris the French brochure thut I have partly translated, I took it to Mr. King, the American Ambassador. I knew he was in the Senate at the time the Ashburton Treaty was under discussion, but, was doubtful, as to what had been his vote for the rati- fication thereof; being particularly desirous to ascertain his opinion, 1 rtwd to him the whole of the article on the Ashburton Treaty, and laid 24 |)eculiar emphasis on the following sentence — " The Whig and Democra- tic Senators were equally guilty in voting for its ratification." Mr. King, with a degree of candour, highly honourable to him, made, verbatim, the following remarks — " I voted for the Treaty, and I must say, / am very ■sorry for it. ^^ A short pause followed, and then he added — "Massa- chusetts and Maine, which were most interested, gave their consent ;" the last wonis of the .sentence 1 do not recollect distinctly, but I recollect well the purport thereof, which was, that the Southern Senators con- sidered the Northeastern Boundary a sectioqal question, &c.* The con- sent of Massachusetts and Maine was thus considered, it appears, hy many Senators, of sufficient weight in itself to induce them to give their votes in favourof a treaty v^hich affected, eminently, vital interests to the whole of the Union. As to the consent of Massachusetts, I will merely remark, that the men who held, and hold now, the political power of that State, were and are exceedingly anxious at all times to do every thing that may be agreeable to their friend John Bull — but how was the con- sent of JVIame obtained ? The noble-minded Fairfield, who is now in the Senate,might tell his associates all the particulars which preceded and influenced that consent. He might disclose to them that Mr. Van Buren wheedled him to withdraw his volunteers from the 'vantage ground they had gained over the Briti.'sh — he might whisper to them, that the promi- ses of the ex-President, as f cause the disputed territory to be respected by the British, proved to be .allacious — he might assert, that both Houses of Congress, with great unanimity,, had voted and delegated to the Ex- ecutive, ample means and power for the purpose of sustaining our clear and unquestionable rights, and that said Executive basely betrayed them. Governor Fairfield might declare, that the State of Maine had incurred a debt of five to SIX hundred thousand dollars to sustain national claims, which he found were in progress of being sacrificed by the General Government. He might divulge, that the American negotiator offered to buy the consent of the authorities of Maine, by paying to tliem, out of the Tftasury of the Union, the amount of expenses they had so promptly incurred, nobly actuated by a keen sense of national patriotism. Fi- nally, he might confess tha* the commissioners and authorities cl" Maine made up their minds to accept the 6ar(/am that was pressed upon them, only when they found they had no other chance to be assisted by the General Government. Such was the way that iheconsentof Maine was obtained, and the Senators who voted for the treaty must have been aware of all the facts above detailed. I do not dcubt that many gave their votes with reluctance, and that they did so under the mistaken ap- prehension that war would have been the result of the rejection of the treaty ; but those who gave their votes under the plea that the consent of Aiassachusetts and Maine was of sufficient weight to give up a pas- sage whereof the consequences may be so disastrous to the whole Con- federacy, acted under a principle derogatory to the plain duty of the Sena- tor ; specially in his acts as part of the Executive power of the United States, he ought, when deliberating in that capacity, to divest himself from all sectional feeling, and give his vote with a sole view of its being conducive to the welfare of the whole Union. * Mr. King admitted, in terms of higl) praise, tlie correctnest of the views express- ed in the French brochure: ind he told ine the next time I saw him, that he had •ent it to Mr. Buchanan, bccrctarv of .State, IT 85 Although disgust has prevented the people oi" the United States from making any public demonstration against the course of the Senate on the Ashburton Treaty, it must not be supposed that it is forgotten ; a proper tone of national feeling is gaining ground, and is penetrating the masses throughout the country; and those Senators who may take upon them- selves to vote according to sectional feeling on the Oregon resolutions, and other questions, which will sho.tly be under debate, will find out, in tine, the truth of my assertion. The arrival of the Acadia furnishes us with extracts from various in- fluential organs of the British Aristocracy, extolling to the skies a late speech of Daniel Webster, recommending the giving up of all claims ou the Oregon territory, &c., and they agree in manifesting the pleasure it would gi>e them to see "the great expounder" appointed as negotiator for the Northwestern Boundary. No wonder they should like such a negotiator ; they have had already a foretaste of his accommodating spirit, in the Ashburton Treaty ; many of those influential presses, particularly the Times, intimate views which perfectly coincide with those already expressed in the Whig papers in this city : they hope that the Senate will check the popular feeling, and that Mr. Calhoun will interpose his influence in order that *' masterly inactivity" might prevail. At the time Mr. Calhoun recommended "masterly inactivity," it might have been a wise measure ; but the time has passed by, and Mr. Calhoun is no doubt aware of it- Mr. Calhoun, as Secretary of State, sustained our claims on the whole of Oregon with transcendent ability ;* but Mr. Cal- houn has voted for the Ashburton Treaty, and he is suspected of being rather sectional in his views. Some people insinuate that his zeal for maintaining our claims on Oregon will not equal that which he displayed for efl'ecting Texas annexation ; I hope that this insinuation will prove entirely groundless. An attentive reading of the articles published in the Daily Globe on the 15th and 26th ult., and 6th inst., on the question " Will there be War," &c., will carry with it a conviction that the passage, by Congress, of the Oregon resolutions, tdW «o/ prorfuce war; but an emergency may arise in another quarter, that might be, within two or three years, a cer- tain cause of hostilities ; the explication of that emergency will be the subject of a separate article. No. V. New York, December 24tli, 1815. Will there be War betvireen the United States and Great Britain I To the Editor of the Globe : In your paper of yesterday I made this remark, that an attentive peru- sal of the series of articles you have published for me, ou the question " Will there be War ?" would carry with it a conviction that the pas- sage, by Congress, of the Oregon resolutions, will not produce war, but * It will be recollected that Mr. Webster, in a vehement speech, maintained in Con- g.-ess that our claim on the whole Maine territory was unciuestionable, and that we orgl;t to take possession of the disputed territory on the -Ith of July. 1 do not mean by 26 that, however, an eincrycnci/ may arise from another quarter, Tfhicb might be, within two or three years, a positive cause of hostilities. England has, for some time past, cast a wistful eye on California : it is much more important to her views of aggrandizement than would be that part of Oregon which is soutn of the Columbia river. Possibly a treaty has already been concluded with Mexico for the cession to Great Britain of that fine country. Should that be the case, an English fleet is already more than halfway to the Pacific, for the purpose of taking immediate possession thereof. If such be the course of events, no doubt but that considerable trepidation has been felt by the British Aristocracy, preTious to making up their minds to take such a decisive step — they are aware that the dismemberment of the British empire is at stake, if a pro- tracted war takes place ; but they know, on the other hand, that the federate form of this government is a great impediment to a foreign war, which requires principally celerity and decision; moreover, the appre- hension that the United States might purchase California, may have spurred them to act before having proper time to ponder well the conse- quences, and possibly they may deceive themselves into the belief that prompt action, and actual ,jossession by treaty, would distract the coun- cils of the United States, and would thereby prevent any serious oppo- sition. Taking the above premises as granted, the British Ministers would, no doubt, send all their available force in Canada and on the Coast of Ame- rica, for the purpose of watching our movements, and of fomenting the spirit of party, by exciting the zeal of the numerous partizans of British interests throughout the country. Such a course, a few years ago, might have proved successful to prevent hostilities from the United States, but 1 make bold to say, that it would nov) prove a failure ; ex- tensive preparations would be made in the United States — Great Britain would soon find that we would be in earnest in preparing for war ; and then the question arises, whether she would not, at once, commence hos- tilities ; her stake is so great that she might hesitate for a length of time, but war would be only delayed thereby, for the United States, acting con- formably to what was done in 1812, would coolly and deliberately de- clare it, as soon as the national feeling would become united on its neces- sity, which might make two or three years. The subject of the next article will be a disquisition on the probable effect of the President's Message in Europe. f|i No. VI. ' ■ New York, December 2'Jlh, 1845. Will there be War between tlie United States and Great Britain 1 We have novr reports from nearly all parts of the United States as to the effect produced by the Message of the President. An almost univer- sal burst of popular approbation haj responded to the clearness of its this allusion, to insinuate that Mr. Calhoun might back out in the someway that Mr. Webster did : I mean to say, that there is a ditference between an able advocacy of a claim, and an energetic zeal to enforce it. sri 27 ter, which ities. lifornia: it [1 would be Possibly a on to Great nglish fleet ! of taking no doubt ristocracy, -they are e, if a pro- d, that the ireign war, the appre- may have the conse- belief that :t the coun- rious oppo- I would, no st of Ame- nenting the 8 of British years ago, the United iilure ; ex- reat Britain r war ; and imence hos- 5th of time, acting con- )erately de- D its neces- le probable i'Ah, 1845. Id Great States as to ost univer- rness of its vay that Mr. dvocacy of a exposition, to the true American spirit and patriotism which it displays throughout, and to the soundness of the principles laid down therein as a basis for our foreign and national policy. It has silenced, /or a tchile, the opponents of the Administration, and many of them have even gone so far as to express themselves satisfied with confiding the care of our foreign relations to the prudence of an Executive, whom only a few weeks ago they were villifying at a great rate, applying to him such epi- thets as "rabid," " unprincipeld," &c. My purpose, in introducing to-day the subject of the President's Mes- sage, is to investigate its probable efiect in Europe. Will it be received with the same manifestation of hostile feelings as was the Inaugural .' The solving of this question will require some preliminary remarks. On the 12th of April last, 1 published in La Refonne, one of the daily Parisian papers, an article * headed, " Threats of the British Aristocracy on the subject of Oregon,"- wherein 1 asserted that the warlike denuncia- tion that was made on the 4th of the same month inthe British Parliament, by both shades of the Aristocracy, on account, as was pretended, of the language of President Polk in his Inaugural, on the subject of Oregon, was actually nothing else than a theatrical demonstration, which had been concerted for the purpose of intimidating the American Govern- ment — of fomenting the spirit of party throughout the Union, being in- tended, particularly, for insulating the President from the support of the people. We have now a Message from Mr. Polk, taking stronger ground than the Inaugural on the subject of Oregon, (as I will show in its proper place when reviewing the Message,) asserting, besides, princi- ples of international law which will be most galling to the British Aris- tocracy, and to their vassals, Messrs. Guizot & Co. If the language of the President on the subject of Oregon, in his Inaugural, had been the real cause of the warlike demonstration which took place last April, we ought, of course, to expect a complete outbreak. Well, I venture to as- sert, beforehand, that the tone of the British Parliament will be, on the contrary, more subdued,"f and if that be the case, it will be a convincing proof that the warlike demonstration of last April was a mere abortive attempt to bully us out of our rights. The portion of the President's Message which alludes to France, hav- ing been the subject of various comments, I transcribe it entire under- neath, as I mean to introduce some of those comments as well as my own remarks thereon : " Even France — the country which had been our ancient ally — the country which has a common interest with us in maintaining the freedom of the seas — the country which, by the session of Louisiana, first opened to us access to the Gulf of Mexico — the country with which we have been every year drawing more closely the bonds of successful commerce — most unexpectedly, and to our unfeigned regret, took part in an effort to prevent annexation, and to impose on Texas, as a condition of the re- cognition of her independence by Mexico, that she would never join her- self to the United States. We may rejoice that the tranquil and perva- ding influence of the American principle of self-government was suffi- * The next number of this series of articles will contain a translation thereof, t Unless, peradventure, the emergency I have alluded to in the last article, (that of the British gettinK possession of California.) was to prove correct. cient to tlefeal the purposes of British and French interference, and that the almost unanimous voice of the people of Texas has given to that in- terference a peaceful and effective rebuke. From this example, Euro- pean governments may learn how vain diplomatic arts and intrigues must ever prove upon this continent, against that system of self-govern- ment which seems natural to our soil, and which will ever resist foreign interference." General Cass, in a late speech in the Senate, observed with ♦ruth, that the above intimation is a well-deserved rebuke to the French Govern- ment for their intrigues in Texas and in Mexico ; thereupon, the French organ of M. Guizot, in this city, came oui with foul abuse on the Gene- ral ; calls him a flatterer and a sycophant; because, forsooth, the Senator from Michigan, when in France, wrote a book praising Louis Philippe ! It is true that General Cass wrote such a book, but what does that prove? It proves that the General, like many other eminent men, has been for some time hood-winked by the wiles and duplicity of the citizen King ; the noble and patriotic Lafayette praised also Louis Philippe ; he died shortly afterwards, and his memoirs, published by his family, ex- hibit in words of truth, how the candid and venerable patriot was jilted by the trickish son of Philippe Egalite — how his heart was ulcerated, and how his last hours were embittered by the sad conviction that he had, unsuspectingly, delivered over the destinies of his beloved country into the hands of a heartless hypocrite and a rapacious despot. The liberal and open-hearted Lafitte not only praised Louis Philippe, but actually made him a King. Well, a few years afterwards, the unde- ceived and repentant Lafitte, from the tribune of the Chamber of Depu- ties, publicly, before the whole world, asked forgiveness " to God and inan to have been the means of placing Louis Philippe on the throne of France." No doubt that General Cass repents, likewise, to have deceived his countrymen as to the true character of Louis Philippe ; great many of them labor, as yet, under the delusion he has created, and it is his duty to act like Lafitte, and to make a public recantation. The French organ I have before alluded to, descants as follows on that portion of the Message which alludes to France : *' The French Government will be deeply wounded by the accusation of treason (treachery) and intrigue, (the word is there at full length,) openly cast upon it from the Presidential Chair. And, let us say it, the French Cabinet will not be wounded without reason. Whether the policy it adopted on the Texan question were good or bad, it owes no account of it other than to its own country and its own conscience, and it belongs not to any foreign Government to constitute itself the Judge thereof. The accusation preferred by Mr. Polk against the policy of M. Guizot will so much the more irritate the latter, as it will be in the hands of the opposition in France a sharp weapon, the left of the Chamber will scourge unmercifully with the policy of the Ministry. But M. Gui- zot is not a patient victim, and when he turns upon his adversaries, his return blow usually brings one or more of them to the ground. We are much deceived, or Mr. Polk will have his share in these vigorous reprisals." According to the doctrine thus laid down by the French editor, it mat- ters not what low intrigues the French Government may have been :e, and that 99 guilty of, to the injury of the United States. " It belongs not," says he, " to any foreign government to constitute itself the judge thereof;" and accordingly Mr. Polk, for having done so, is threatened with " vigorous reprisals" fromM. (jiuizot, The French paper tells us that " the return blow of M. Guizot leaves one or more of his adversaries on the gromuV — this sentence will not be generally understood ; it requires explanation : nearly half of the whole number of the deputies of France are salaried functionaries, and the half of the remainder are striving to get situations for themselves or their rela- tives ; so, when it is said that M. Guizot leaves his adversaries on (he ground, it means that he takes from them the pap they receive from the Treasury,* and leaves them, on the ground, to shift for themselves. The above strange reasoning of M. Guizot's organ, has thus been com- mented upon by the Morning News : " It is very possible that Sir Robert Peel may feel a little annoyed, and Monsieur Guizot deeply wounded, when, to the mortification of the failure — the unmitigated and humilia- ting failure — of all those abortive labors of rnonarchial diplomacy, i» added the unpleasant necessity of hearing them thus coolly rebuked.''^ And further : " The President has used a moderation of expression due much more to our own self-respect than to M. Guizot's deserts ; and if the term " intrigue" had been directly applied to his course, (which has not been done,) and with it that of " duplicity" added to boot, the French Premier, might, perhaps, have indeed reddened with anger ; but full half of the blush would have been due to conscious shame and detected disgrace.'''' The French paper, however, has not been left alone to sustain the cause of M. Guizot ; the Courier and Enquirer has the following re- mark : '* It was indecorous to read alecture to the French Government." And further : " It was impolitic, at a moment when it was important not to lose French sympathies." Now, if the Whig paper just now quoted be in earnest in the above remark, it laboured under a great mis .ake ; the French Government and the French People are two very different things, and the event will prove it. I venture to assert that the sympathies of the French People will be more and more in our favour, in proportion as we detect and rebuke openly the crooked policy of M. Guizot, and his notorious subserviency to British interests. Louis Philippe and his ministry hate heartily our Democratic Institutions : they use all the means in their power to under- mine them ; the Journal de Debats, and all the papers under their in- fluence, are daily traducing the American character, and vilifying our form of government. The most proper way to retaliate, is to let them understand that we are aware of their views and of their trickery. They dare not show their anger ; Louis Philippe is fully aware that a war with the United States, he acting therein as the vassal of England, would seal his fate ^ as a sovereign. Let the press of this country *The threat of instant removal from office held, like the sword of Damocles, over the French Deputies, is the principal cause of the support which is given tothe most unpopular Minister that France ever had ; the French Ministerial papers, in the at- tempt to humbug the public, attribute that support to his eloquence ; if Louis Phi- lippe was to withdraw his countenance from his Minister, the eloquence of M. Guizot. »vould not avail him twenty-four hours. [fill ii 80 retaliate vigorously to the recrimiaations of the French ministerial organs, and they will soon lower their tone. On the whole, I sum up the argument as follows: The rebuke of Mr. Polk will have a salutary influence in France, and the effect of the Mes- sage will be, to increase in our favour the sympathies of the French People, -. No. vn. , „,;/,,..„,„..;: . New York, December Slat, 1845. Will tltere be War betinreen tlie United States and Great Britain 1 To the Editor ojtlie Globe: I began to prepare some comments on the following translation, where- to allusion is made in my last communication, but the Parisian article itself is rather lengthy, and, with the addition of those comments, it would encroach too much on your columns. Those comments, as well as the further investigation of the probable effect in Europe of the President's Message, will be the subject of another number. Paris, April 9th, 1845. Threats of the Brltiali Airlitocracy on the Subject of Oregon. The inaugural speech of President Polk has produced an explosion of high wrought up feelings in the British Parliament: the sullen and con- centrated anger which I alluded to a few days ago,* has at last exploded — the Ministers, and several of the leading members of both shades of the Aristocracy, have matured their parts, and after six days of preparation have enacted a grand theatrical denunciation. President Polk has taken the liberty, in addressing the American peo- ple, to say that, in his opinion, the title of the United States on the Oregon Territory was " clear and unquestionable," and that he would maintain it by all constitutional means, with this restriction, " that every obli- gation imposed by treaty or conventional stipulation should be sacredly respected." The British Ministry pretend, on their side, that the rights of Great Britain on the same territory are " clear and unquestionable," and that «' they ore ready to maintain them at all hazards. ^^ In contrasting thus the identical terms of the two declarations, there is nodiflSculty to perceive on which side is the blustering. If the British Ministers are convinced that the claims of England are " unquestionable," no one can object at their saying so ; but there is no need of swaggering on the subject of a question wherein the opinion of the President can have no hostile effect for a considerable space of time. What can, then, be the reason of the concerted understanding of the organs of the two shades of the Aristocracy in threatening the United States ? To burn down their towns — to stir up a war of revolted slaves — to sup- ply the Mexicans with ships and sailors, to enable them thereby to fit out privateers against American commerce .' * On the 2d of April I published an article in a Parisian daily paper, with com- ments on the Inaugural of Mr. Polk, remarking, that it had been received in England with «u;/e» anger, &c. Mi 8! The language of the President on the subject of Oregon is not of that pressing importance that will warrant such a sudden and violent denun- ciation. There arc several causes that the Aristocracy does not wish to divulge, which has provoked it — they are the following: The ascen- dency that the Democratic party has regained in the United States ; the firm and resolute tone wherewith the President has identified himself with the views and the principles of that party ; the mortification felt by the British IVlinisters, in finding that the intrigues of their agents, in Texas and in Mexico, have been detected and derided at. Finally, the vote of the last Congress for the annexation of Texas, which, confidently, they did not expect to take place. Those are the true causes of the irri- tation and of the threats of the British Aristocracy ; the obvious aim of the British Ministers in getting up with so much eclat a warlike demon- stration in Parliament, is to insulate the new President. The English Aristocracy accuse Mr. Polk, to court popular passions ; and it is them, on the contrary, who, in the most solemn manner, exert all their influence to excite the feelings of the powerful British interests which exist in the United States — for the purpose of denouncing the opinion of the President as tantamount to a declaration of war ; ana, in order to prove to the American people thttt Parliament are unanimous to sustain the Minis- try and the Press in their denunciation, and in the threats that escort it, they have delayed one day, for that express intent, the departure of the mail steamer for Boston. But the Americans know that the support of Parliament has never failed to the Aristocracy, in all its aggressive wars. Lord North had for him Parliament and the Press, to wage war in America in 1776. What has been the result ? I have, I trust, conclusively demonstrated in former communications that England, notwithstanding her immense means of aggression, is in a most precarious situation to wage a protracted maritime war. Pretexts are not wanted to pick up a quarrel with the United States — she might easily find some, if it suited her — it is the apprehension of the conse- quences that makes her hold back ; and I assert, in direct opposition to the language of the British Ministry, that it will not go to war unless it expects intestine division in the United States. It is to be hoped that President Polk will not be intimidated by the warlike demonstration of the British Aristocracy, and that he will evince the sincerity of his opinion, as to the claims of the United States on the Oregon Territory, by refusing to negotiate on any other basis than what are deducible from the terms of his Inaugural Speech. The course which Congress ought to follow is clear enough. It is in- dicated in the resolutions which have been passed in the House of Re- presentatives, but not acted upon by the Senate. The next Congress, will, no doubt, pass resolutions of the same intent, and the effect thereof will be, to place the United States in Oregon on the same footing that England has been for some twenty years ; beyond those measures of self- protection, no aggressive staps will be taken by the United States ; it will be left to England, if she wants to prevent the accretive power of the American settlers, to declare war ; and that is the very thing she will not do, unless she finds that the councils of the United States are dis- tracted. All the extensive means under the control of British inter- ests will be set in motion to create division ; but the masses are intelli- w 32 gent in the United Stales ; they know how to appreciate properly the honest motives of men who hold the helm of State ; and if, as it is to be ex- pected, Mr. Polk does his duty, popular support will give him a prepon- derancy to put down party spirit, and to sustain the national character and the dignity of the country. The President is the direct representative of the whole people lakcn individually- This peculiar feature of the American Constitution accounts for a fact that many people wonder at without perceiving the cause thereof; the fact alluded to is this — the irONEST OPINION .\ND THE MERE RECOMMENDATION OF THE PRESIDENT ON ALL QUESTIONS OF A NATIONAL CUAKACTEB, IS MORE POWERFUL IN AMERICA THAN WOULD BE IN EUROPE THE ROYAL WILL OF THE MOST ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGN, './)».' cvcTi Cotigress must abide by it. i;>>J<. u Kemarr. — The underneath article was intended, like the preceding numbers, to appear in the Daily Globe, and accordingly the manuscript thereof was left in the hands of the person who took charge of the others ; on finding that five or six days had elapsed witl^out its being inserted, I withdrew it on the 14th of January, for the purpose of publishing the whole in pamphlet form. ; .', ,\i ■■ "■'■* ' • ' No. Vm. v. ^r---^..^_.-i. New York, January 7th, 1846. Will there be War between the Uuited States and Great Britain? The translation from the French of" Threats of the British Aristocracy on the subject of Oregon," which was the theme of the last number, sets in juxta position the ideiUical words of the declaration made by both Mr- Polk and the British Ministry on the Oregon question, and the following inference therein drawn must be granted as correct by any person who' will compare the two declarations, namely : " In contrasting thus the identical terms of the two declarations, there is no difficulty to perceive on which side is the blustering. The principal aim of the British Government, in the blustering alluded to, was to insulate the Prt ident, and to weaken thereby the American Administration, so as to prevent the accomplishing act of Texas annexa- tion. The following article of the Ministerial paper, the Lmidon Stan- dard, betrays thus, in an unguarded moment,* the secret motive of the British Ministers : " London, May 2d. The feverish anxiety which has prevailed for these two or three weeks had not decreased, as the late news by the packet Waterloo (from New York, April 11) gives out, that • The Standard of the 28th of March (the day that Mr. Polk's Inaugural was pub- lished in London) has the following comment on the passage of the resolutions for the annexation of Texas : " All this is interesting, and that is all ; for truly, it does not concern us any more than the acts and the gestures fro.ii the Celestial empire." Let the reader contrast this dissembled resignation with the anxiety betrayed by the same paper, in the article above transcribed of the 2nd of May, and it will give him an ade- quate idea of the sincerity, and of the consistency, of the organs of British Aristocracy. S3 iiotliiiig i8 to be expected from the Justice of the adniiDistratiuii ut Wush- ington,and, it is believed, that nothing but the attitude taken by England and France on the subject of Texas can prevent the American Govern- ment from accomplishing annexation. We look out, therefore, with im- patience to know what effect the demonstration made by both Houses of Parliament (on the 4th of April) may have produced in the United States." It Becomes evident from the above avowal that much, to pre- vent the last act of annexation, was expected from the warlike demon- stration of Parliament, &c. Well, the Caledonia arrived on the 14th of May, bringing out the expected news ; it turned out that the threats from England had not the anticipated effect, and the agent of the Times in this country (a Genevesa Traveller)* and that of ihe.Morning Chronicle (Publicus) agreed in advising the British Government to give up, for the present, the bullying system — that it would not do, that Mr. Polk would be sustained, &c. ; the consequence was, that the organs of the aristoc- racy, although awfully disappointed, declared sullenly, that they were well satisfied with the news. The purport of the above disquisition is to enable the reader to form, at once, a correct view of the reasoning I am going to set forth as to the probable effect of the President's Message in England, and I proceed, now, to quote those parts thereof that bear upon the Oregon question. The President sftites as follows: "Though entertaining the settled conviction, that the British pretensions of title could not be maintained to any portion of the Oregon territory, upon any principle of public law re- cognised by nations, yet, in deference to what had been done by my pre- decessors, and especially in consideration that propositions of compro- mise had been thrice made by two preceding administrations, to adjust the question on the parallel of forty-nine degrees, and in two of them yielding to Great Britain the free navigation of the Columbia, and that the pending negotiation had been commenced on the basis of compromise,. I deemed it to be my duty not absolutely to break it off. In considera- tion, too, that under the conventions of IblS and 1827, the citizens and subjects of the two powers held a joint occupancy of the country, and was induced to make another effort to settle their long pending contro- versy in the spirit of moderation which had given birth to the renewed discussion. A proposition was accordingly made, which was rejected . * The letters in the Times, subscribed " A Gnncvese Traveller," are endited by a person in this city named D****, as it appears from the following anecdote recited by Lord Ashburton in jocose conversation ; here is the substance of the great banker's bon-mot: " A few days after my arrival in New York I wrote a note to Mr. D., stating that I should be happy to see him at my apartments at the Astor House ; he accord- ingly called on me, and when we were closeted together I toid him — ' well Mr. D. we value your letters very highly in England, as the information they convey to us is very useful, and if I can render you any service, I will be very happy to do it ; your style is remarkably clear and /orcii/c, and there was a passage in one of your letters which struck us as being peculiarly significative. You said • If the proper man be sent ovei), there is no difficulty to arrange the Northeastern Boundary. You had, no doubt, something important and particularly in view for using the qualifying adjective of proper 1 ' Mr. D. answered me he had not ; he meant, that a personage like me, by ir ance, he considered a proper man." His lordship was of course too discreet to mention whether any services were rendered. Thic anecdote shows that Lord Ash- burton liked, occasionally, to crack a joke. In note 4, of article No. 3, 1 have taken the same view of the subject as had been expressed by " a Genevese Travelltr"— the GREAT BANKER was, indeed, the propet than. 5 .l-f l)y till; Hritlsl\ pliMiipnlenliiiry, wlio, without sul)mitting any oilier pr Whole of the Oregon Territory. The following measu.es will ensure to up in rouifc'j oi time. *he whole of Oregon : ,, • , 1st, The one year's notice should be given promptly and unani- mously. * A few copies which remain or hand, will be left for sale at William Taylor's, No. 2 Astor House. 39 , i^af&ours B!;ot\ersTet -^^^^^^^^ "^1 e.ch at the tune ind the United States steal ^ ^ely «"f ,r*^' ^'r of accretion Let the above -^'^J^^^.y of Congress, '^"i.^^^/^to fit en years, specitia^, by a grea r go^ J^ ^^fo,, ^.e expuation ot ten ^^^_^^^^^^ ^^, ^'ill give ns '(»e f f^^^^ t^'oist measures, ^^ J ^^eujca y^^ ^^^^^^^ _ Th» propriety ot ^^^^J ding pages •, ^^^^^^^^f ^f our manmity. been d^-ff^jt . ve a cSnvincinI and -^"f «"J„d, i„ tine of peace, sure would be to give «i „^ejauaonary expenou ' j ^^at we *^^fee year, notice, ^-^^^ -^^ ^^r^^f j^^^^^{lh n;s;^-^^r hs^ri:^- :^hen the national "f \%i^ ^^nW be abandoned, w^hout ^^^^^ „ fi,„,ly r ^f '".t wr and inliest, is too c ear to adm^^ ^^^^ ^.^.^^,,^ of both nationa. honor »' j^e offered bj- J^l'- roi .^^ Considering that the co^^P;^,-,,^ plenipoteiit.ary, ^^ ^^^^^jt^d j but rather contemptuously by t^ « ^^^^^ the aUerna we as a W ^^ ^ per that the ^^'I'^'^^l^^^^ M.. Polk o offex t^e 1 ^^ ^^ [he same reasons winch P P^ ^^^^ ^ ^^ ^^'i -^f the other conjoint will exist in their t uu i ^^^^^ ,^ould doji ^^^ ^^^ ti^^ ought to act accordingly, an« ^ ^ „ajoiit>. J^J^J^^ ^^^Uce, and measures were to be f^^'XJ, duly considered as legarj ^^^ ^^_ Tvorld that our s^nd h <1 bec^^^^^ ^^ f-^" '^l^S were offered that we are sliU "^yj^^J^^^abJe claim, the sf^^ **;""', ted with the othe" ,.„.t;n»to due consi increasing emigraUon,, ^^^ -^r^tStCp,butSsorbillg^ :£f t1 fu^^^^^^^ expressed, under the ap- Some people wiu " j 40 pichension that border disputes would take place, and that war would be the consequence. This might be very true if the 13ritish Aristocracy were disposed to run the risk thereof. I have, I trust, conclusively established in the preceding pages that the great stake they would have in jeopardy, Ly going to war against an united people, would prevent it ; there is no danger whatsoever that the decisive, but, at the same time, conciliatory y me; • ui-es above recommended would be the cause of hostilities. Border dis^ ( 'i» Oregon would have less eflect to provoke war, than the bor- der an vhich, occasionally, used to take place on the Northeastern boundaij The ofter made by the President last summer, for settling the Oregon dispute, was eminently judicious; it has conceded much for the sake of compromise, at the same time that it has reserved what constitutes the principal importance of Oregon in a commercial point of u/eu?, namely : the . outlets in the Pacific, and the exclusive controul of the Columbia river* No compromise can take place as to the right of the exclusive navigation of said river ; but I do not see any inconvenience to allow merchant ves- sels to navigate it, in pursuance of free trade principles. A proposition has been lately started in many quarters, that we should jive up to the British the right of navigation on the Columbia river, pro- vided they should grant us an equivalent — the right of navigation on the St. Lawrence. The right of navigating a river, whereof both sides are •occupied and fortified by a foreign nation, is liable to numberless disputes and difficulties ; we have an instance, at the present time, as to our right to navigate the St. John, which is stipulated by treaty, but it is well known that the British authorities render that right nugatory. On the whole, I am fully satisfied that the adoption by Congress of the four measures, as set forth at the head of this article, conjointly, in all its parts and spirit, would secure to us, peaceably, the whole of Oregon. New York, January 3lst, 1846. Remark. — On Wednesday, the 15th instant, the matter to make up this pamphlet was left in the hands of the printer, with the expectation that it would be published in the course of a few days ; but, owing to some unavoidable circumstances, the printing thereof has been delayed to this day. I avail myself of that delay to write and insert an additional arti- cle, on the subject of the late news brought by the steamer Hibernia, from Liverpool. , . Resignation of the Peel Ministn'^ and their Return into Power. Twelve or thirteen days ago the packet ship Liberty brought over the news of the resignation of the British Ministry, and the appointment of Lord John Russell to form a Whig administration ; on the 24th instant, within a week's time, the Steamer Hibernia furnished us with the infor- •Ihe line of forty-nine degrees would give us Pujet's Sound, the Straits of Fuca, part of Vancouver's Island, and an important port at the entrance of the Straits. 41 le . J* tnation that Lord John Rossell has failed to form an adininistratlon, and that Sir Robert Peel, with his colleagues, have resumed their offices. The whole of this mairceuvring strikes me as being a mere juggle, which has been enacted for the purpose of turning away the public attention from the new policy which the British Aristocracy means to pursue ; and the reader will do well, preparatory to reading what follows, to look over a note appended to pages 13 and 14 of this pamphlet, wherein the de- vices of the British Aristocracy are strikingly illustrated. I transcribe therefrom the following remark : " The pretended division of the British Aristocracy in two parties, denominated the Whig and the Tory party, is a mere gull-trap to deceive the people into the belief that there are tfome patriots among them. It has the advantage, besides, whenevei they find that a change of measures become necessary, lO enable them to do so with good grace, by letting the whigs or the tories, as the case may be, to take the administration of affairs in opposition to their mock opponents." The sentences in italics give the explanation of the late manoexivres — a change of measures has become necessarj'. The British ministry, through vexation and sullen anger at the passage by Congress of the resolutions annexing Texas, took a stand on the subject of Oregon which, I have recorded in pages 30 to 31 of this pamphlet ; this stand has beeft met by the President in his late IMessage. The breaking up of the negotia- tions last summer, and particularly the tone of the last note from Mr. Buchanan to the British plenipotentiary, wherein the American Secretary of State claims, officially, the whole of Oregon, must have convinced the British ministry that the President would toe the mark in his forth- coming Message. Some means must be contrived to recede, with good grace, from the threatening attitude assumed last April ; hence the ma- noeuvring about the resi nation, the attempt to form a new administration, and, finally, the return of the old one. While tne public mind was thus agitated by those viighty changes, the leading organs of the Aristocracy assumed a more friendly tone towards A.nerica ; in the meantime, the President's Message arrives in England, and, although it asserts, officially^ claims that had been so violently denounced when the President, in his Inaugural, set forth those claims as being, in his opinion, " unquestion- able," we find that the Message has had a peaceful tendency. No. 6 of this pamphlet was published in the Daily Globe of the 30th of December last, and tho reader, by perusing it, will find (see page 27) that I distinctly indicated the above result as to the peaceful effect of the Message, my assertions thereon being predicated on the very reasons which, no doubt, have brought it about. The burden of the news brought by the Hibernia, concerning the va- rious phasis of the ministerial movements, may be condensed in a few- lines. Sir Robert Peel, meeting with opposition from the Duke of Wel- lington on the subject of the corn laws, which he is represented as bein^ bent upon repealing altogether, resigns with all his colleagues. Lora Russell is sent for — accepts the charge of forming a new administration, but fails to do it on account, it is said, that Earl Grey objects to Lord Palmerston. Whereupon, Sir Robert Peel with his colleagues resume at once their offices, without further ceremony. While this manoeuvring was performed, which took up about a fortnight, the automaton Qucec was all the time graciously pleased — graciously pleased, to accept Sir Robert Peel's resignation — graciously pleased, to take op Lord Russell 49 jiad her former whig friends — and, lastly, graciously pleated, to greet again Sir Robert Peel as her prime minister. Let us look, although slightly, en passant^ under the surface of things, as they are above represented, and enquire, somewhat, into their cor- rectness. If the opposition of the Duke of Wellington to the repeal of the corn laws had been the true cause of the breaking up of the ministry, how is it that Sir Robert Peel consented to resume his office with the Duke of JVellington as his colleague 7 If the intention of Sir Robert Peel had been to form a new administration, having within itself the proper ele- ments of strength, is it reasonable to suppose that he would have recom- mended Lord Russell for that purpose ? It is notorious, that the said Lord is pledged to introduce measures that have no chance whatever to obtain a majority in Parliament — a Russell administration is, at the present time, unpracticabie. And as to the reason set forth, that Lord Russell failed to form an administration because Earl Grey objected to Lord Pal- merstoD, it must, on reflection, strike the reader as being rather shallow. The above remarks, although made hastily, point out significantly some of the inconsistencies of the statements of the British press, to hood- wink, Bot only the English people, but the world at large. It is not uecess.-wy for my ictual purpose to go deeper into the subject ; I wish merely to record my deliberate opinion thereon, namely — that the whole transact'' n; as T stated at the outset, has been a mere juggle, and I am inclined to believe, besides, that there has been a secret understanding, throughout the whole imbroglio, between Sir Robert Peel and Lord Russell. The effect produced by the late news, on the tone of a majority of the newspapers in the Atlantic cities, deserves a passing remark. Before the arrival of the news, most of the editors thereof affected to express their belief that war was not possible, &c. ; but that opinion was evidently predicated on the hope they entertained that Congress would not support the measures recommended by the President ; apprehensions of war were still rankling into the minds of most of them, as it may have been easily remarked by their harping day after day on the same subject, and, more- over, by the joy they have manifested at the pacific complexion of the news, which, it appears obvious, has taken them by surprise ; and they seem to think, because England has not issued forth those warlike declarations they so much apprehended, that all the difficulties will be settled at once. This is falling from one mistake into another : 1 foresaw distinctly the pacific reception of the Message, w^hich, by not expecting it, has surprised them so agreeably ; but I am far from thinking that the difficulties will be arranged so very quickly, especially if the advice of those editors was to be followed. The British ministry have been pre- paring for a change of measures ; but the new policy they are adopting may be more dangerous than that of intimidation, which they have had to give up. — We must not forget the Ashburton treaty — coaxing, delay, bribery, intrigues, have often had more effect than cannon. The character of the press iu the Atlantic cities is not calculated to keep us on the alert as to the danger of this nm) policy. The majority of the editors thereof mav be divided into four classes : 1st — Those vho are positively under Britisn influence. 2nd — Those who care nothing for honour or country when a^ loif of a dollar is at stake. 3rd — Those who are connected with let |r- British commercial and financial interests. 4th — Those who are ao mdch dazzled by the imtnense aggressive power of Great Britain, as not to perceive her weak points. To the two first classes I have nothing to say — all arguments are useless ; but to those of the third and fourth class, and to that part of the community which may be under the influence of the same views, I will submit a few remarks for their consideration. It has been generally asserted that England does not recede, and that it waa wrong for Mr. Polk to join issue with her on the subject of Oregon, as war must be the inevitable consequence. This observation was made by the editors of the third and fourth, as well as by those of the first and se- cond classes, in reference to the warlike demonstration made by both shades of the British Aristocracy, in April last, versus the opinion expressed by Mr. Polk, in his Inaugural, namely — that our title to the Oregon terri- tory was " clear and unquestionable." What has been the result so far? The President, in his Message, claims officiallif the whole of Oregon, and yet we have news from England that the Message has had a peace- Jul tendency ! and, it is generally said and believed, that some overtures to renew the negotiations have been made by the British ministry. I do not suppose that they will recede altogether from their pretensions ; but, it must be admitted, that they have receded considerably in their tone. The abrupt change that has taken place, from hostile to pacific language towards this country, by the leading organ, the Times^ is certainly re- markable. Well, in .submitting the above remarks to the consideration of the third and fourth class of editors as aforesaid, 1 will thank them to answer candidly the following queries : — Do they believe that the organs of the British Aristocracy would have subdued so suddenly their language, after the receipt of the Message, if Mr. Polk had receded from the stand taken by the Inaugural .'' Do they believe, had this been the case, that better terms in favour of the United States would have been advo- cated by the Times, in three successive articles, which bear the stamp of being, at least, semi-official? I expect that the g';iierd answer will be a frank NO; at least, it will be so from those whose pa- triotism rises higher than private interest. And to all those who have 80 answered, I will remark, that we must, of course, continue the same policy that has produced that change in British feeling ; and, in order to do it effectually. Congress, without any further loss of tim?, ought to adopt the four measttres set forth in the preceding article, headed, " The proper course to secure, peaceably, the whole of Oheoow," h«t>' New York, February 4th, 1840. The Senate of tlie United States. The two houses of Congress have been in session about ten weeks ; what have they done ? Numberless speeches have bem made, but no legislation of any consequence has been accomplished. The great ma- jority of the people have made up their minds, long ago, on the propriety of the measures recommended by the President, and on the urgency of carrying them into immediate efiect ; and yet, those measures continue to be the subject of an endless debate, eliciting the most discordant aai} fonflictiog opinions. 44 '^ About the middle of December, General Cass, in a ipeeoh ftiU of patriotism, urged on the Senate the propriety of an inquiry as to* our means of defence, &c.; but, in reviewing the whole ground of oar anta- gonist position with England, he overshot the mark, by stating that war IS nearly inevitable— 'that England never recedes, and alarmed the timid, who* thereupon made a great rally. On the 30th of December, Mr. Cal- houn *' defhies his position"— ^opposes the measures recommended by the President, under cover of taking his part against pretei\{led implica- tions of Mr. Hannegan on the course of the President ; and, decidedly, Mr. Calhoun gave ths cold shoulder to our claim on the Oregon territory. A few weeks afterwards, Mr. Benton opposes the bill increasing the steam navy : — first, if it was meant for a peace measure, because the appropria- tion was too large ; second, if it was meant for a war measure, because it was too small. This is^ truly, strange rea.soning. It must strike any one, that a moderate appropriation for precaiitionarij armaments, might secure peace^ which is the object in view by the advocates of the bilL And if, on the other hand, wa? was- to come notwithstanding, it cannot be amiss to have ten steamers' ready for action, for the simple reason, that if thirty or forty steamers become necessary, in case of war,, it. will, certainly, be sooner accomplished' by having already fen fitted out, than if we had none at all. At a time* when decision and unanimity in our councils become an ob*> ject of the highest importance, it is really painful to see our leading Senators wasting their time and talents on such erratic courses. I hope, still, that the good sense and patriotism of a great majoFity of both parties in the Senate will see the necessity of great unanimity when the final vote will be taken on the Oregon measures ; but, in case those measures were to be defeated, I make bold to state, beforehand, some of the con- sequences thtot would ensue ; they would be the following : — 1st.— ^That this division in our councils would embolden the BKtish Govemmentto assume again a hostile attitude, which would be first fell by their excit'ng Mexico against us — by their increasing their naval forces on the stations bordering on our coasts — and apprehensions of war would be the immediate result. 2nd. — That the proper time to settle the Oregon question, according to the decisive, but conciliatory measures recommended in the preceding article, being thereby lost, .the consequence would be, that it would re- maiiji open until the next elections, when it would be found that the popu- lar vote would go for 54-40, which would render the settlement of the question more difficult. 3rd. — That the Senators, whose influence would have thus defeated the Oregon measures, would forfeit, by so doing, the confidence of the nation. In conclusion, and m the warning voice of one who is entirely discon- nected with party spirit — who looks only to the interest, the safety, and the good fame of the Republic — I cannot give up the pen without em- phatically recommending unanimity in voting in favour of the Oregon measures, as the most mighty weapon that can be wielded by Congress. i.i«t tliis POTENT WEAPON be properly applied, and there will be NO WAR ! l( ip* AN ADOPTED CITIZEN.