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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included In one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams lllustrota the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent At^e filmAs A des taux de rAduction dIffArents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reprodult en un seul cllchA. il est filmA A partir da Tangle supArleur gauche, de gauche A droite. et de haut en bes, en prenent le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 -)p. ^ eyyaxt/uvest C^Uectiorv m. SPEECH OF HON. ^Y. F. GILES, OF MARYLAND, o^- THE OREGON QUESTION. DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF RETOESENTATIVES, FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1846. WASHINGTON: BLAIR & RIVES, PRINTERS. , 1846. VjuJp ...i THE OREGON QUESTION. Tlie resolution from the Committee on Forcij^n Affairs, requiring the President to notify Great Britain of tlie intention of the United States to terminate tlie joint occupancy of Oregon, and to abrogate the convention of 1827, lieing under consideration in Committee of the Whoh^, — Mr. GILES, who was entitled to the floor, rose and said: Mr. CriAiRMAv: There are some questions whose importance and whose greatness are such as to Swallow up for 'a time all others, to chain the tninds of men to their consideration, and to com- pel them to yield their imdivided attention. Of (Such a character is the subject which we are now discussing. Its importance is co-extensive with the American ^continent, and lasting as the American name. Its interest is felt, and its decision anxiously looked for, upon every spot where live the principles of American liberty. The merchant in his counting- liousc, the mechanic at his daily toil, the farineras he tends the field of promi."!e, the hunter as he 1)resscs over the boundless prairie; even the travel- er, as he pursues his solitary way by the banks of the C'olunibia, feels its interest and look.s anxious- ly for our decision. But, sir, its imjiortancc goes further. As it re- ."latos to peace or war, it affects all Christendom. j,!As it may uivolve two of the greatest commercial jiations on the earth in war, it interests and affects every man, every civilized man, on whatever spot Jic may dwell. To-day, sir, our comnierce whi- tens every sea. The industry and the enterprise Of our countrymen ha\e been mnde known in (every part of the habitable globe. Our Christian Shilantliropy has planted the institutions of re- eemiiig i»crcy in the centre of tl»e great continent 'of Asia, in the isles of the Pacific, and even on the dark and dreary coast of western Africa, so ■Jtursedby "man's inhumanity toman." Am I in *rror, tlicn, in saying that this question interests ■»very civilized man.' Or is it strange that an in- terest should be excited in this Hall which beto- j^ens the greatness and importance of the subject, ^d that even beauty should forsake, for a season, 'aergay and flowery walks to smile upon our de- .^berations.'' " _ It is a question which outrides all party distinc- "tions, which sweeps away all party lines, and Ihows us that upon all great questions of foreign teolicy, we are, as a people, one in sentiment, as we are in history, and shall be one in destiny. I "' '^ ""■. il'> « I' believe that when this great question comes up for final action, this House will be found unanimous in the pursuit of such measiwes as may be deem- ed necessary to meet the exigencies of the occa- sion. However we may diflier as to the initiatory steps proper for the assertion of our title, (and these are points on which I know there are honest differ- ences of opinion amongst men of all parties,) yet M'hen no other resource is left — when all negotia- tions fail — when all hope of settling the matter by treaty shall have passed away, and men come to consider what course we ought to take for the maintenance of that title, they will throw off the, faded livery of party and put on the uniform of our common coimtry. Sir, the debate which we liave had in this Hall has been gratifying to every American heart. There was only one ]iortion of the argument M'hich I re- gretted. I did deeply regret that th'? honorable gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. Giddings,] who first addressed the committee, should have permitted himself to turn aside from this lofty theme, and hurl a shaft at one of the institutions of the coun- try. But, sir, during the debate we have heard a voice, I might almost saj', from the past. The venerable gentleman frona Massachusetts [Mr. Adams] has spoken on*: and I, for one, rejoiced to see that, although his locks arc bleached with the frosts of more than seventy winters, yet the fires of patriotism still burn brightly on their an- cient altar. Mr. Chairman, I was one of those' who were ia favor of post]ioning the discussion of this great question, as proposed by the honorable chairman of the Committee on Foreign Aflfairs, [Mr. C. J. IvciF.nsor.L.] I wished to see what would be the effect in England of the present aspect of the ques- tion, as it is presented in the late correspondence, whi'"h has brought from the archives of diplomacy into the full light of day, the fulness and clearness of our title — a correspondence which will add to the heretofore widc-sjn-ead famo of the Secretary of State; a fame whose hun-els time — which corrodes and destroys so much of human achievement — will, year after year, only freshen and renew. After that correspondence, if we must go into this con- test, M^e shall feel the full force of the sentiment: " Tliricu iri ho jirin'd wlio liatli his quarrel just." If this contest is to come — for we are not per- mitted to lift the veil of futurity, and see what ia in reserve for us — humanity will weep. The 4 nngcl of peace will unfurl his fiiiry wing', nnd take his eaj,^lo flijjht to the sky. It will be a contest that will not only sweep from the ocean a vast E onion of commerce, but will retard the i;r(}at enevolent operations of tlie day, and, a.s I liclieve, arrest the march of civilization for more than Jiaif ti century. It was for considerations such as these, that I was anxious to pause, that we niij;iit see whether our o])pononts would plant themselves directly in the face of (lie President's Message, of our title, and of the correspondence. But the House has decided otherwise. We are here discussing this great cnu'slion, and in a few days we must vote upon it. I siudl now, tiiere- fore, briefly and [ilaiidy give to the comnuttee the -easons which have operated on my mind, and which will induce me to vote for the resolution which the chairman of the Committee on I''oreign Afl'airs submitted. Much has been said al)out the conse(]ucnccs of a conflict lietwcen Great Britain and this country. If it comes — and I, fin* one, covet not for my country " the pliuned troop, tlic big wars, the shrill trump, the spirit-stirring drum, the ear- piercing fife, and all the juide, pomp, and cir- cumstance of glorious war" — but if it comes, it will do one thing for us that has not yet been men- tioned: it will free us forever from the lo(jms of Manchester and the workshops of Birmingham, It will emancipate us forever from the manufac- tures of Great Britain. She will lose one of her best customers; and that I believe to have lieen one of the great prevailing consideriitions which have hitherto held her in peaceful relations with us. Mr. Chairman, after the most careful consider- ation which I have b(?en able to give to this ques- tion, I conscientiously believe that, if war is to come, it will come wlielhei" you give this notice or not. I believe that we have now reached a point in the history of the Qregon terril.iry which will no longer admit of this joint occupation. I should like to know from British stivtesmen how long this chrysalis state of civilization — this inchoate system of government — is, in this state of things, to last. It was very well in 1818f-it was well in 1827 — when this great country Alas used only as a place to receive from the Indiair tribes the furs tliey col- lected, and as a place at which our whalemen and other ships might water. It was very well while Great Bntahi and ourselves merely used the terri- tory for the purposes of commerce, without refer- ence to actual settlement. But, sir, in pursuance, I suppose, of that destiny to wliich my eloquent fi-iendfrom Indiana referred the other day, whose onward progress we cannot resist, our people rapidly have passed to Oregon, not for the purj.ose of commerce, not to obtain the furs of that vast country, but to settle, to build houses, and to till the soil. In this state of things, look for a moment at the condition of Oregon. Our citizens are now there without a government, and without protection from the country. They are entitled to both. Refuse to pass a bill to pro- vide that government and to give that protection, and what condition are you in .' Why, if a British subject assaults and beats an American citizen, by whom, under the present system, (which some gentlemen wish to continue,) is he to be tried ? By your American judiciary.' No; but by a British cotu't. If there is no British court near, then he Ik sent to some. disl;iiit esUiblislnnent of the Hudson Bay Company. Can any man beii(!vc tiiat, look- ing to this conflict of Jurisdiclion, if it is eontin- ucd, iieace can longer be maintained? Daily and hourly must be the conflict. An American citizen is indebted to a citizen of Great Britain: where is he to be sued? — In an American court. If a i'ritisli subject is indebted, he must be sued in a British court. But the aitsurdity of the lliing does not stoj) here. Our citizens have gone to liiat territory lor the ]nirpose of settlement. From whom are liicy to obtain their titles to the soil? The treaty says that the .sovereignty is in abeyance. 1 iippe.d to the good sense of gentlemen to say, whether it can longer be left so? it has been said by travellers, that the coffni of Mahomet is suspended between heaven and cartli; but a greater mirai'le will l)e seen if this matter of title to the sovereignty of this soil can longer be kept in abeyance. Whether you give the notice or al'stain from giving it, a conllict must come uidess this matter is arranged by treaty. That it may be so arranged, I fervently and sin- cerely hope. 1 do not see tiuit the giving this no- tice can, in any manner, eitiier ad\ ance or retard a settlement by treaty. I am for giving the notice, because we are bound to jirotect our citizens who have gone to that ctmntry upon tlie faith of that title which we have again and again asserted. I am in favor of giving it, bectiuse we must follow it u]i by provision fov a govenunent to protect and defend our citizens who have planted our banner on the shores of the Pacific. I tim in favor offer-, minating this joint occupancy, because we caimot give an efficient govennnent and a proper protec- tion to our citizens whilst it remains. But 1 am in favor of it for another reason. How many citizens, to-day, of the United States, are on the northern bank of the Columbia river? Not one, of whom I have any hiformation ! What is the reason ? The British Government has now established there a regular system of government — the Hudson Bay Company, with their forts erected on the northern side of tiie Columbia, who so ar- range matters that no American citizen shall make a permanent settlement hn the northern side of that river. They have not, I learn, infringed upon the treaty; but, with their great power and wealth, and looking to the secrecy with which that company operates over the whole North American conti- nent, they have brought other means to bear than that of force to turn the emigration from the United States south of the Columbia river. I \yill read an extract from a work w hich describes this organiza- tion. I quote from Greenhow: *' In addition to the assistance and protection ' thus received from tlie British Government, the ' constitution of the Hudson Bay Company is such ' as to secure the utmost degree of knowledge and ' prudence in its councils, and of readiness and ex- ' actness in the execution of its orders. Its affairs ' are superintended by a governor, a deputy gov- ' ernor, c.nd a committee of directors, established ' at London, by whom all general orders and rcg- ' ulations are devised and issuedrand all reports ' and accounts are examined and controlled. Tiic ' proceedings of this body are enveloped in pro- ' found secrecy, and the communications made to ' tlie Government in writing, wliich are likely to be •published • tion, and •quired." Here, th gnnization- xn favor fif of the Coh I am in ; and yet sti again open ernment, ii tiharacteriz has ngain, liberal ofl'e compromif again ])rop parallel of tent often is a most ' so pronoui gives Engl territory. that ? Lei the Secret! British M: Mr. Bu " He [tl • undersig « of Great •divided 1 • parallel c • tains to ( _. That(s. it did not ^ "OfTeri ■•'Great Bi •Island, s *Governn ; Can tlu position tl mitted ? Why, f tory of ( amazcmei jected. I day that heel upon time until todi at S has Great ritory slu lion's shr of l:>attle i has it alv Columbif ritory to give me i which I the sod.' upon the degrees, to Texas breathes permit G parallel. Mr. C tent with jects; an( all she \\ fiver aski nrar, tlicii lio i.s •pul)Iislu(l, aro fxpros.^fd in trrnis of stiuliod raii- c 49th d by travellers, parallel of latitude, which, in reference jto the ex- lendcd ])et\\een tent of territory on the northern and southern side, miracle will be is a most liberal offer of compromise, and will be ereignty of this so pronounced by the diplomatists of Europe. It Whether you gives England nearly one-half of that magnificent ing it, a conflict territory. Did not the offer go even further than uigedl)y treaty, (hat? Let me read an extract from the letter of vently and sin- the Secretary of State, of the 12th of July, to the '■ giving this no- British Alimstcr. ance or retard a Mr. Buchanan says: ling the notice, " He [the President] has therefore instructed the an- citizens who ' undersigned again to propose to the Government le faith of that ' of Great Britani that the Oregon territory shall be ain asserted. I 'divided between the two countries by the 49th e nuist follow it ' parallel of north latitude, from the Rocky moun- : to protect and 'tains to the Pacific ocean." nted our banner Tliat (said Mr. G.) was a most liberal offer, but I in favor of ter-, tt did not stop there. It further says: pause we cannot , " Oflcring, at the same time, to make free to a proper protec- * Great Britain any port or ports on Vancouver's lis. * Island, south of this parallel, which the British ;r reason. How 'Government may desire." 3d States, are on Can there (said Mr. G.) be a more liberal pro- bia river? Not position than that which our Government thus sub- Ltion ! What is mitted ? iment has now Why, sir, if one were unacquainted with the his- if government — jfcry of Great Britain, he would be struck with leir forts erected amazement that such a proposition should be re- bia, who so ar- jftcted. But wl.en we trace her history from th-^ izcii shall make day that the Norman conqueror planted his iron icrn side of that heel ujion that sea-girt i.^le, down the stream of ■inged upon the time until the day that she chained her honor to the an(l wealth, and rock at St. Helena with its royal captive, when 1 that com))any has Great Britain ever abandoned any claim of ter- Linerican conti- ritmy she has made, except she has obtained the IS to bear than lion's share by treaty, or has first tried the wager from the United of battle? What is her proposition now? What has it always been? " Give me the north of the Columbia river. Give me two-thirds of this ter- ntory to which I acknowledg I have no claim; give me more than two-thirds of that territory in which I have never claimed the sovereignty of the soil." Now, sir, howtver we may differ upon the offer, or acceptance of the parallel of 49 degrees, I do not believe that, from Nova Scotia Texas — from the Atlantic to the Pacific — there reathes a single man even this day who will ever |>ermit Great lirilain to come south of the 49th parallel. Mr. Chairman, Great Britain is perfectly con- tent with the Joint occupancy. It effects all her ob- jects; and she is willing to trust to time to give her 411 she wants. It gives her, Mr. Chairman, all she ever asked or contended for, as I shall show. The i vyill read an ;s this organiza- and jirotectioii overnment, the Dmpany is such knowledge and idiness and cx- 3rs. Its afl'airs , a deputy gov- )rs, established orders and rcg- iiid all reports ntrolled. Tho elojicd in pro- itions made to ire likely to be joint (iicupancy is all slie ever asked or contended for. Now, what is the basis of her'tith;? Why, sir, in the negotiation at London between Mr. Gal- latin and the British pleiiipoten'iaries, in 1827, wliat was the claim then advai. 'cd by Great Brit- ain? Did she dream at that day of claiming any sovereignty of title to any part of the soil of Ore- gon ? Let us hear her own Plenipotentiary. In his protocol, he holds this language : " Great Britain claims no exclusivp. sovere'tgntij ' orer any jwtion of that territory. Her present ' claim, not in respect to any part, out to the whole, ' is limited to a right of joint occupancy, in com- ' mon with the other States, leaving the right of ' exclusive dominion in al)eyance." There is where she wants to leave it now. Why, sir? Why? Because site has no title beyond that. She never asked for anything but the joint occu- pancy. Well, upon what has she founded her claim? Why, at the close of (his protocol, she holds this language: " Such being the result of the recent negotiation, ' it only remains for Great Britain to maintain and ' uphold the ([ualified rights which she now pos- ' sesses over the whole of the territory in question. ' These rights are recorded and defined in the con- ' vention of Nootka, They embrace the right to ' navigate the waters of those countries, tlie right ' to settle in and over any part of them, and the ' right freely to trade with the inhabitants and oc- ' cupiers of the same," She claimed, then, no sovereignty, no title to the soil, but a right in that territory merely for the usual purposes of commerce; a right there to pur- sue her commercial operations, founded u])on the treaty of Nootka Sound, Well now, sir, that was her claim in 1827. That was the ojiinion of her Minister of her claim. Was it correct, or was it not ? Can any man believe — if at that day she believed herself to possess any title to the soil of Oregon — it would not have been eml^raced in the protocol of her Plenipotentiary? She founded her claim upon the Nootka Sound treaty. Now, this protocol gives you the opinion of her Minister in 1827, that that treaty gave her no right to the soil — that it gave her but a " quali- fied" right. Was it in existence in 1827? Out of what did it grow? There is something about the history of that treaty which speaks a lesson aa to the foreign policy of Great Britain. Why, sir, in 1790, the" King of Great Britain made a commu- nication to his Parliament, that two British vessels had been seized by the Spanish Governor ujwn the northwestern coast of America. Now, 1 ask centlemen to look at the communication made to the Parliament of Great Britain upon the 5th of May, 1790, and which was the commencement of the Nootka Sound difficulty. Docs any gentleman believe, if Great Britain at that day believed she had any claim to the soil, that when her King was sneaking to his own Parliament he would not have alluded to it? That when he was calling down at- tention to an outrage committed on a portion of the citizens of his kingdom, he would not have spoken of it as being committed in a country over which he claimed the sovereignty, or in whicii he claimed the right of soil? But we hear not one word of this. He sneaks of the injury to the vessels; but in the whole communication there is not one word that upon the soil of the country Great Britain had 6 I i any rlixim. ITo(!oca not sf)Pi\k of tlioloss oflnnils. No, sir. Hn docs not spciilt of the (Icsinictioii of liouscs; 'nit he coniplfiins of tliP cajituri! of two Bhi|)H nrid tlmir r.iirijops. Well, Snairi look jjrcal rmina to clnir tip thin matter. Sln! liehaved in a il)cnil nnd noble way; and slie addressed a. inenio- rinl to the courts of Europe in justification of her conduet, in whieli she liolds this hin;,'uaj:;e: '• The hii;;li anut forward by the Secretary of State, " tliat this ' ti-eaty was entirely abro<;ated by the war which I ensued between Spain and Great Britain." And it is this : that any grant fi'om any Power to an- other, of a qualified right of that kind, must he taken to continue only so long as that qualified ri^ht can be fairly exercised in reference to the progress and settlement of the country. Spain never could have intended, and never did intend, to g-ive to Great Britain, by that treaty ^ the right, if she should hereafter settle and cultivate that country, to any portion of its sovereignty. It was a right to trade on an uncivilized coast — a right for protection for lier ships in storms — a right only which could be exercised without injury to Spain, while Spain liad not yet settled upon the territory, but wliich could not be considered to extend be- yond the period when Spain, or any other Power to whom she should transfer her sovereignty, should settle and cultivate that soil. So I read that treaty, sir. It is temporary from the very nature of things, and must have been intended to be end- ed when the state of the country had become en- tirely changed from what it was when tlie treaty was made. Now, upon that treaty of Nootka Sound, Great Britain plants hersejf, not claiming, as I said before, the sovereignty to one foot of the soil, but merely the right jointly to occupy it for the purpose of trade. Mr. Chairman, in 181S, when the convention of that day was made, joint occur)aney suited both the high contrai'iing parties. In IHIR, no citizen of the United States, except jiossibly those con- nected M'itli the fur trade at Astoria, had becomi' an inhabitant of that territory. Great Britain and the United States looked to its use merely ns n place for carrying on the fur trade, and possibly as a place for wat(Tiiig their ships engaged in tht whale fishery in the Pacific. Joint occupancy, then, was all that the United States wanted; joini occujiancy was then, and is now, all that Great Britain wants. In 1827, things remained in the same condition; and that which was but tempo- rary, by its own limitation, was made to continue during the pleasure of lioth parlies. But what does it bear on its face? Why, it bears on its face the opinion of both the high contracting parties, t!;!>t n period would come when thisjointoccunancy would no longer be advisable. It reserves tlic right for either [larty to terminate this joint occupancy upon twelve months' notice. Tliey looked then, as they did in 1818, when they made this convention temporarily, they looked to the fact that the day would come when this joint occupancy would iiu longer exist. Now, I may be in error — we an liable to error — but I think, sir, that that day hn? arrived. Now, as I said before, we differ upon this initiatory step towards the assertion of our title. We difl'er, and I regret, Mr. Chairman, exceed- ingly, that I differ in opinion with a distinguished statesman in the«thcr end of the Capitol, whose purity of life and comjirehensiveness of intellec liave marked him as one of the master-spirits (ji the age, and who has shed a halo around the American name; a man to whom the American |ieople can jjoint as the living model of what an American statesman should be. But we have nli our individual responsibility. We are all bouni: to bring to the consideration of this question tli( best intelligence which nature and education havt brought within our reach, and to follow out, af^cr patient and retired study, the dictates of our own judgments. I believe, sir, the day has come for the cessation of this joint occupav.cy. Your Government has thought so too. She has again held out the olive-branch of peace to the Gov ernment across the water. She has again said to her opponent in this question, "Although wt believe our title clear to the whole of this territory, yet we Avill, for the fourth time, ofiTer to divide ii with you by a parallel of latitude, which is thf same that divides our territory from the Lake o: the Woods to the Rocky mountains. We wil extend this parallel to the Pacific ocean, and givt you nearly one-half of this magnificent territory. We will give it to you, too, when you never claiii> cd the sovereignty of the soil, but claimed merely its temporary occupajicy." Sir, I believe that tin; rejection of that oflier by the British Minister wo.- rash and impolitic; and, I believe, over it humaiii ty will weep. Sir, the gentleman from Indiana who addressdi the committee a day or two ago, asked where wa; the power of Congress, under the Constitution, ti pass this resolution. I point him to section third, article fourth of the Constitution, which reads thus : " The Congress shall have power to dispose of ' and make all needful rules and regulations re- < specting • ing to il Now, I to jiass a! lilory. tlie treat ever c(Mi king pov Congress under th fentalive tic treat cnale. treaty-m Do coiilli The h Yancky much di ■cnny Si «d. Sir S war f(] l^ad claii |>oet had t I the. rnnvention of, gpprtin^ \\\o frrritorv or other properly bcloner- -anry snilo.l iK.tl, . i,',„ i„ ,f,^ United Statrs." II ipiN, MO citizon Now, lien; is a power i^'ivcri in t)ie ConNtiii'ion ssibly those «on-jp j,j,j,j^ nH ,.,,1,.,^ „m| n.<:ulalip"-.'>m<' jjtory, q, hut, says the -eiitlenicii, it Ijclon-s to "".'l"*^ "'I'" '^'"' the treaty-making power. But no conflict" etui lies wan en ; joint gentatives, tlu Piesitlent.and tlic Senate. Wlio iw, all that Greai ^c treaty-niaUiii;,' power.' Tiic Preside iit ui Senate. "Wliatever, then, Congress approves, the Tliere cun be itPH wanted; Great gj, remained in the ]g( was l)ut tempo- treaty-nuiking power will sanction made to continue ^o conflict between them. 1. liutwhatdoes mi i ii .i /• ai i tut s on its face the lionorable gentleman from Auibnma, [Mr. in"- parties' t!' lit n Yancky,] to wlinse remarks 1 listened with so ocTupnn<-y' would »»"<='^ clelight-it was the glowing eloquence of the ves tlic rrrht for "^""y ^»utb — asked what the late war had achiev- t occupaiicv unor *^' ^'''' ^''"' '^'^''^^ ""' '^ ^'^'' ^"'' ^'^'''''''^'7; '^ ^^^^ looked tiien as • ^^''^'' ''"^'' ^''^ freedom of the sea. Great Britain e this convention W '^''lim"' supi-emacy upon the ocean; and lier fact that the day 1'°'^^ '"^'^ boastingly said of ner- upancy would ik. in error — we nr( that that day hah i^edifler upon this tion of our title, hairman, exceed- " Uritaniiirt iierdH no bulwark, No towers nloM!? tlic steep; Her inaroli is o'er tlie mountain wave, Her lioiiie is on tlie deep." We met her on that element; and again and again and again was the red cross of St. George struck h a distino-uished before that .starry banner around which cluster tlic e Capitol^whosf jgushing afTectioiLS of our hearts. Yes, sir, upon cness of intelleo' *'» before we entered that strug^e, we inscrilied master-spirits 01 ''^^'■''« trade and sailors^ rights." They were glo- hulo around the fiously, nobly maintained; and at the treaty of m the American Ghent — over which was placed, as one of its min- model of what an istering spirits, the venerable gentleman from Mas- But we have ali «ac.husetts, [Mr. Adams] — the American eagle Ve are all bount flapped its wings triumphantly over the crouching this question tin ^^on, id education hav( , M""- Chairman, muck has been said of what the ' follow out after ^ West will do in case of a contest. 1 hojie, I fer- Rtates of our own ^vently hope, tliat this contest may not come; but ay has come for ; :upai.cy. Your ^ ' She lias agaii; ;ace to the Gov 3 has again sail! I, "Although we of this territory, offer to divide i: de, which is the rom the Lake o: itains. We wil '. ocean, and give lificent territory, you never clainv t claimed merely I believe that the ish Mitiister wo- , over it humaiii a who addres.scc . . vsked wliere was '. ' ' Constitution, tt ,, to section thiril, . :; m, which reads ':', iP wo arr to liavc it — if \vr are to have the battle of tin' Wiirrior " with tonfiiscd noise and garmenta rolled in blood" — I tell my friends from the rich and glorio\is West, that tliose I have the hon- or to represent will not Ijc found last when the muster roll is cnlhul. Sir, the patriotism and the valor of my constituents need no pulo";ium from ine. They have Ixen written on the field of battle with the heart's blood of the proud invader; and the same valor nnd the same patriotism which more than thirty years ngo impelled them to throw themselves between their own loved homes and tlio warrior's desolation, which led tiieni to encounter the veterans of Wellington, fluslied with the victo- ries of the Peninsula, animates their bosoms, and will again nervo their arms. Sir, in our infant struggle for liberty, in the army which carried us so successfully through that trying crisis, there was one division whose name has become an epi- taph of glory. It was the Maryland Line — "fir.st in th(! fight ana last in the retreat." Although How- ard, of Eutaw, and the gallant Smith, now sleep beneath the soil of that country which their efforts aided to redeem from a foreign bondage, their spir- its walk abroad. Mr. Chairman, I btheve if this contest is to come, it will not be for a few miles of territory. It will be a strife between the monarcliical principles of the Old World and the rising greatness of the Western Empire. Our light has become so bright as to be flashed across the ocean, and to light up the dark places of Europe; our glorious republican institu- tions have engendered a Jealousy beyond the wa- ters; and if the contest comes, it will bo an effort to break down the resources, and to cripple the ener- gies of this mighty nation. Sir, if this contest comes, I look down the distant future, and I see no speck or cloud upon our j)olitical horizon; no shade of doubt crosses my mind as to the final issue of that conflict; for " Freedoin's battle once bcsiiin, Hecpieattii.'d I'roiu lileediiiH; sire to son| Though butflud ofl, is ever won." ver to dispose ol I regulations re-