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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film^s en commengant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'iliustration et en terminant par la dernlAre page qui comporte une teiie empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole -^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN ". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diff6rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 d partir de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. srrata to pelure, »n d n 32X / 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 V i- LETTERS or TBI ^ HON. ALBERT GALLATIN, y THE OREGON QUESTION. /^pUr ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE NATIONAL INTELLIOENCER, JANUARY, 1846. Ai^' WASHINGTON: pnlWTBl) AT THE OPFICB OF TH» WATIOKAl IHTRIITOKKCEII. 1846. »-. ■;|'( I! % 'tsbW^ it" ■-'■f, ^^; :. ■^ -^x '' t .1- ,|.|* .v'!^>«^;--M;-:^^^-rS ■■.■ 'f' ,1 V. S ■# 4» \A- ,' i : ' ■»^^-''- THE OREGON QUESTION. r^f ^h NO. I. IT , ' New York, January 7, 1S46. ! Iiad been a pioneer in collecting facts and stating the case. 1 he only materials within my reach consisted of the accounts ; of voyages previously published, (including that of Maurelle, in Harrington's Miscellanies,) of the varied and important in- formation derived from Humboldt's New Spain, and of the voyage of the Sutil and Mexicano, the introduction to which contains a brief official account of the Spanish discoveries. The statenieut of the case was the best I was able to make with the materials on hand, and may be found defective in many re- spects. Since that time manuscript journals of several of the voyages have been obtained at Madrid. New facts have thus been added ; others have been better analyzed, and some er- rors rectified. Arguments which had been only indicated have been enforced, and new views have been suggested. The subject, indeed, seems to be exhausted ; and it would be diffi- cult to add any thing to the able correspondence between the two Governments which has been lately published. Ministers charged with diplomatic discussions are not, how- ever, m those official papers intended for publicarion, to be considered as philosophers calmly investigating the questions with no other object but to elicit truth. They are always to a certain extent, advocates, who use their best endeavors to' urge and even strain the reasons that may be alleged in favor of the claims set up by their Governments ; and in the same manner to repel, if not to deny, all that may be adduced by the other party. Such official papers are in fact appeals to public opinion, and generally published when there remains no fiope to conclude for the i;:esent an amicable arrangement. • But, though acting in that respect as advocates, diplomatists are essentially ministers of peace, whose constant and primary duty IS mutually to devise conciliatory means for the adjust- ment of conflictmg pretensions, for the continuance of friendly relations, for preventing war, or for the restoration of peace. It has unfortunately happened that on this occasion both Gov- ernments have assumed such absolute and exclusive grounds 7 ' V ■/' >.: r IVW ' ■ ^^ - 'H' ^tlj. l ^ pi t l -!l|f**' '"'•!'..'>' ' "i'i'U:*i'vqpv«pa«P>«|p«Mn««"i>"(ni f , as to have greatly increased, at least for the present, the obsta* clcs to an amicable arrangement. It is morally impossible for the bulk of the people of any country thoroughly to investigate a subject so complex as that of the respective claims to the Oregon territory ; and, for ob- vious reasons, it is much less understood by the great mass of the population in England than in the United States. Every where, when the question is between the country and a for- eign nation, the people at large, impelled by natural and pa- triotic feelings, will rally around their Government. For the consequences that may ensue, those who are intrusted with the direction of the foreign relations are alone responsible. Whatever may be the cause, to whomsoever the result may be ascribed, it appears from the general style of the periodical press, that, with few exceptions, the people, both in Great Britain and in the United States, are imbued with the belief that the contested territory belongs exclusively to themselves, and that any concession which might be made would be a boon to the other party. Such opinions, if sustained by either Government! and accompanied by corresponding measures, must necessarily lead to immediate collisions, and probably to war. Yet, a war so calamitous in itself, so fatal to the gener- al interests of both countries, is almost universally deprecated, without distinction of parties, by all the rational men who are not carried away by the warmth of their feelings. In the present state of excitement, an immediate amicable arrangement is almost hopeless ; time is necessary before the two Governments can be induced to recede from their extreme pretensions. In the mean while, nothing, as it seems to me, should for the present be done, which might increase the ex- citement, aggravate the difficulties, or remove the only remain- ing barrier against immediate collision. The United States claim a right of sovereignty over the whole territory. The pretensions of the British Government, so far as they have been heretofore exhibited, though not ex- tending to a claim of absolute sovereignty over the whole, are yet such as cannot be admitted by the United States, and, if persisted in, must lead to a similar result. If the claim of Great Britain be properly analyzed, it will be found that, although she has incidentally discussed other ques- tions, she in fact disregards every other claim but that of actu- al occupancy, and that she regards as such the establishment of trading factories by her subjects. She accordingly claims a participation in the navigation of the river Columbia, and would make that river the boundary between the two Powers. )( [J ■^ :■:■<<} rmmmfmmi PlIi'lR III . ' HtJUHiP •-»• urnlii, i.fi ,, iiipv iipi .-^ VMWPWV^HI W*| lU 1^1 • I " I >fc ■ 1^ *• This utter disregard of the rights of discovery, particularly of that of the mouth, sources, and course of a river, of the prin- ciple of contiguity, and of every other consideration whatever, cannot be admitted by the United States. The ofler of a de- tached defenceless territory, with a single port, and the recip- rocal offers of what are called free ports, cannot be viewed but as derisory. An amicable arrangement by way of compro- mise cannot be effected without a due regard to the claims ad- vanced by both parties, and to the expediency of the dividing line.* An equitable division must have reference not only to the extent of territo:^ but also to the other peculiar advantages attached to each portion, respectively. From and including Fuca Straits, the country extending northwardly abounds with convenient seaports. From the 42d degree of latitude to those Straits, there is but one port of any injportancc — the mouth of the river Columbia — and tliis is of difficult and dangerous access, and cannot admit ships of war of a large size. It is importawt only as a port of exports. As one of common resort for supplies, or asylum, incase of need, for the numberless American vessels engaged in the fish- eries or commerce of the Pacific, it would be almost useless, even if in the exclusive possession of the United States. It must also be observed that the navigable channel of ttie river, from its mouth to Puget's island, is, according to Vancouver, close along the northern shore. Great Britain proposes that the river should be the boundary, and that the United States should be content with the possession of the port it offered, in common with herself. It is really unnecessary to dwell on the consequences of such an arrangement. It is sufficient to say that, in case of war between the two countries, it would leave the United States without a single port.and give to Great Britain the indisputable and exclusive control over those seas and their conunerce. The first and indispensable step towards an amicable arrange- ment consists in the investigation, not so much of the superi- ority of one claim over the other, as of the question whether there be sufficient grounds to sustain tlic exclusive pretensions of either Government. If the claim of the United States to the whole of the contest- ed territory can i sustained agaiast Great Britain, or if the * I allude here only to the cumproinigc |iro{x>scd by Great Britain. Her actual rlaira, as explicitly thus stated by herself, is to the whole territory, limited to a right of joint occupancy, in common with other States, leaving the right of exclu- sive dominion in abeyance. i wmilWg l ii ll fiiWI [ jireteiisioiKs oJ iliis Power can to their full extent bo maintuin- cd against the United States, it must be by either party assum- ing tiiat tlie other has no opposite claim of any kind whatever, tiiat there are no doubtful and debatable questions pending be- tween the two countries. This, if true and maintained, must necessarily lead to war, unless one of the two Powers should yield what it considers as its absolute right. But, if there bo any such debaiablo questions, the way is still open for negotiations; and both Powers may reeede from their extreme pretensions, without any abandonment of positive rights, without dis- grace, without impairing national honor and dignity. It has been asserted that the title of the United States to the whole Oregon territory was maintained by irrefragable facts and arguments. These must be sought for in the correspond- ence lately published. They consist, first, of the assertion of the ancient claim of Spain to the absolute sovereignty over' the wiiole northwest coast of America, as far north as the Gist degree of north latitude. Secondly, of the cumulated proofs which sustain the claims of the United States to the various portions of the territory, (whether in their own right, or as derived from the acquisition of Louisiana and the Spanish discoveries,) and of the refutation of the arguments adduced by the other party. The first-mentioned position would, if it could be sustained, be sufficient to prove, and is, as I think, the only one that could prove, the absolute and complete rigljt of the United States to the whole contested territory. It is undoubtedly true that " Spain considered the northwest coast of America as exclusively her own;" that this claim " had been asserted by her, and maintained with the inost vigilant jealousy, ever since the discovery of the American !;ontinent, or nearly three centuries, as far north as her settle- ments or missions extended." There were two ways of ex- amining the soundness of that claim: an investigation of the principles on which it was founded, and an appeal to prece- dents. The Secretary of State has abstained from discussing the principle; but he has said that the claim of Spain to sover- eignty "had never been seriously questioned by any European nation; that it had been acquiesced in by all European Gov- ernments." This appears to me the most vulnerable part of liis arguments. The early charters of the British monarchs to the colonies bordering on the Atlantic extended from sea to sea, from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, with the single exception which excluded from the grants the places actually occupied by the subjects of any Christian nation. The right of prior occupancy - .^ M Ml^a-iili- . ** !! *i«aj- — ^f*U i-,.::.!! '. ■■": \\ ■ ■ nii w ' mf' ^^^ J-t ' "^rfiE^ -'.— — ■■.- muiiituin- ly assuin- whatever, Sliding be- llied, itiusl tits sliould ere bo any gotiationij; rctensioiis, Ihout dis- ates to the ;ablc fuels orrcspond- ssertion of ignty over' Eis tile Gist ,ted proofs lie various iglit, or as le Spanisli is adduced irould, if it IS I tliinlt, iplete riglit r. northwest tliis claiai the most American her settle- ays of ex- tion of the il to prece- discussing n to sover- ' European pean Gov- ble part of lie colonies a, from the tion which )ied by the occupancy "nw»ftP»» was rerognisod; but the general claim of Spain to thn sovor eignty of the whole coast bordering on the Pacific was utterly disregarded. Had that claim been considered as nn\.,S: Mi •' .m I ' " ir - I rpsnii of ihoao transaciions. Wlialcver constrnciion mny at this time be given to that instrument, it is certain at least that Spain by it concedri' a portion of tlie absolute and sovereign right she httfl till then asserlod; that she yielded the right of trade with ihe natives on all that part of the coast lymg north of her actual settlements; and that, by suffering the ultimate right of sovereignly to remain in abeyance, she made that pretension questionable which she had contended could not ho called in question. , With respect to the United States, without recurrnig to former negotiations which were not attended with any result, it is sufficient to advert to the convention between them and (Ireat Britain of the year 1818, concluded prior to the date of the treaty by which they acquired the claims of Spam to the territory north of the 42d degree of north latitude. The United States at that time distinctly claimed, m their own right and independent of the Spanisli claims, that the boundary along the 49th parallel, which had been agreed on as that between them and Great Brita' • from the Lake of tho Woods to the Stony Mountains, shoula be extended to the Pa- cific. To this division of the territory Great Britain would not accede ; and the provision for a joint occupancy during the next enduing years was substituted. A clause was inserted, that the agreement should not be taken to affect the claims of any other Power or State to any part of the country west of the Stony Mountains. This provision clearly referred to the claims of Russia and Spain. The northern and southern boundaries of the country, which the two contracting parties mieht claim, were left undefined. Great Britain probably thought herself bound by the Nootka convention to respect the Spanish claims to the extent provided by that instruinent. The United States could not but recognise those derived Irom discovery, with which they were at that time but iinperfectly acquainted, since their own claims were in a great degree de- rived from a similar source. But the conventiori decisively proves that the United States did not acquiesce in the anti- quated claim of Spain to the absolute and exclusive sover- eienty of the whole country, since, if they had recognised that prior claim to the whole, they could have had none whatever to any portion of it. . r .u c»„»:oU It is theref-re undeniable that the assertion of the Spanish claim of absolute sovereignty cannot be sustained by a pre- sumed acquiescence on the part of the only nations which now claim the country. It may perhaps be said that their opposi- lion came too late, and that they neglected too long to protest ■ ■UA* fc ^ i i . J iwfc r **, w ail ii ha rt * mny at iast that ivereign right of ii» north ultimate ide that (i not h« iring to ly result, hem and e date of in to the I, in their that the •greed on ke of the 3 the Pa- in wotild uring the inserted, claims of y west of red to the southern ig parties probably to respect strument. ived from aperfectly legree de- decisively the anti- ve sover- nised that whatever e Spanish by a pre- hich now jir opposi- te protest 9 against \hc Spanish pretension on dm Pacific. No stress will \w liid on Drak(f'H voyage, which Imd a warlike character. But the British charters to their colonics show that tho.sc pre tensions were disregarded at a very early date. There was no occasion fur opposition or direct denial, with re.-e the idle ceremony of taking possession, as it is called. The celebrated Spaniard who first discovered the Pacific ocean, « Balboa, advancing up to the middle in the waves, with his buckler and sword, took possession of that ocean in the name of the King, his master, and vowed to defend it, with his arms, against all his ene- mies." — (Robertson.) I have dwelt longer on this subject than it may seem to de- serve. The assertion of the solidity of this ancient exclusive Spanish claim has had an apparent effect on public opinion fatal to the prospect of an amicable arrangement. I am also fully satisfied that the resort to vulnerable argum 3, instead of strengthening, has a tendency to lessen the we.ght of the multiplied proofs by which the superiority of the American over the British claim has been so fully established. 12 NO. II. It lias, it is believed, been conclusively proved that the claim of the United States to absolute sovereignty over the whole Oregon territory, in virtue of the ancient exclusive Spanish claim, is wholly unfounded. The next question is, whother the other facts and arguments adduced by either party establish a complete and absolute title of either to the whole : for the United States claim it explicitly ; and, although the British proposal of compromise did yield a part, yet her qualified claim extends to the whole. It has been stated by herself in the fol- lowing words : " Great Britain claims no exclusive sovereignty ' over any portion of that territory. Her present claim, not in ' respect to any part, but to the whole, is limited to a right of f ' joint occupancy, in common with other States, leaving the ' right of exclusive dominion in abeyance." And, again : " The qualified rights which Great Britain now possesses over ' the whole of the territory in question, embrace the right to ' navigate the waters of those countries, the right to settle in < and over any part of them, and the right freely to trade with ' the inhabitants and occupiers of the same. * # » ' It is fully admitted that the United States possess the same ' rights ; but beyond, they possess none." In the nature of things, it seems almost impossible that a complete and absolute right to any portion of America can exist, unless it be by prescriptive and undisputed actual pos- session and settlements, or by virtue of a treaty. At the time when America was discovered, the law of na- tions was altogether unsettled. More than a century elapsed before Grotius attempted to lay its foundation on natural law and the moral precepts of Christianity ; and, when sustaining it by precedents, he was compelled to recur to Rome and Greece. It was, in reality, a new case, to which no ancient precedents could apply,* for which some new rules must be adopted. Gradually, some general principles were admitted, never universally, in their nature vague, and often conflicting. For instance, discovery varies, from the simple ascertaining of the continuity of land, to a minute exploration of its va- rious harbors, rivers, &c. ; and the rights derived from it may vary accordingly, and may occasionally be claimed to the same district by different nations. There is no precise rule for reg- * UrotiuB, however, sustains the right of occupation by a maxim of the Civil Roman Code, - rfT tlf -TiT^ rt- wnn i^-^'?i II ^ • t the claim the whole re Spanish 3, whether Ly establish e : for the he British lified claim r in the fol- lovereignty laim, not in I a right of caving the id, again : sesses over he right to to settle in trade with ;s the same lible that u merica can actual pos- law of na- ury elapsed atixral law sustaining [ome and lo ancient must be admitted, conflicting. .scertaining of its va- om it may to the same ule for reg- m of Ihe Civil I J tllll 11 l^lBf ' j m m_ mn^ n nmjv ts ulaling the time after which the neglect to occupy would nul- lify the right of prior discovery ; nor for defining the extent of coast beyond the spot discovered to which the discoverer may be entitled, or how far inland his claim extends. The princi- ple most generally admitted was, that, in case of a river, the right extended to the whole country drained by that river and its tributaries. Even this was not universally conceded. 'I his right might be affected by a simultaneous or prior dis- covery and occupancy of some of the soiuces of such river by another party ; or it might conflict with a general claim of contiguity. This last claim, when extending beyond the sources of rivers discovered and occupied, is vague and undefined ; though it would seem that it cannot exceed in breadth that of the territory on the coast originally discovered and occupied. A few examples will show the uncertainty resulting from those va- rious claims, when they conflicted with each other. The old British charters, extending from sea to sea, have already been mentioned. They were founded, beyond the sources of the rivers emptying into the Atlantic, on no other principle than that of contiguity or continuity. The grant in 1621 of Nova Scolia, by James the First, is bounded on the north by the river St. Lawrence, though Cartier had more than eighty-five years before discovered Ihe mouth of that river, and ascended it as high up as the present site of Montreal, and the French under Champlain had, several years before 1621, been settled at Quebec. But there is another case more im- portant, and still more in point. The few survivors of the disastrous expedition of Narvaez, \v^ho, coming from Florida, did, in a most extraordinary way, reach Culiacan, on the Pacific, were the first Europeans who crossed the Mississippi. Some years later, Ferdinand de Soto, coming also from Florida, did, in the year 1541, reach and cross the Mississippi at some place between the mouth of the Ohio and that of the Arkansas. He explored a portion of the river and of the adjacent country ; and, after his death, Moscoso, who succeeded him in command, did, in the year 1543, build seven brigantines or barques, in which, with the residue of his followers, he descended the Mississippi, the nioulh of which he reached in seventeen days. Thence putting to sea with his frail vessels, he was fortunate enough to reach the Spanish port of Panuco, on the Mexican coast. The right of discovery clearly belonged to Spain ; but she had neglected for near one hundred and fifty years to make any settlement on the great nver or any of its tributaries. The French, coming from Can- ada, reached the Mississippi in the year 1680, and ascended it 14 as high up as St. Aiilliony's Falls ; and La Salle descended it in 1682 to its mouth. The French Government did, in virtue of that second discovery, claim the country, subsequently founded New Orleans, and formed several other settlements in the interior, on the Mississippi or its waters. Spain almost immediately occupied Pensacola and Nacogdoches, in order to check the progress of the French eastwardly and westwardly ; but she did not attempt to disturb them in their .settlemeuts on the Mississippi and its tributaries. We have here the proof of a prior right of discovery being superseded, when too long neglected, by that of actual occupancy aud settlement. The French, by virtue of having thus discovered the mouth of the Mississippi, of having ascended it more than fifteen hundred miles, of having explored the Ohio, the Wabash, and the Illinois, from their respective'mouths to their most remote sources, and of having formed several settlements as above mentioned, laid claim to the whole country drained by the main river and its tributaries. They accordingly built forts at Le BoBuf, high up the Allegany river, and on the site where Pittsburg now stands. On the ground of discovery or settle- ment, Great Britain had not the slightest claim. General, then Colonel Washington, was the first who, at the age of twenty- two, and in the year 1754, planted the British banner on the western waters. The British claim was founded principally on the ground of contiguity, enforced by oiher considerations. The strongest of these was, that it could not consist with natural law that the British colonies, with a population of near two millions, should be confined to the narrow belt of land between the Atlantic and the Allegany mountains, and that the right derived from the discovery of the main river should be carried to such an extent as to allow the French colonies, with a population of fifty thousand, rightfully to claim the whole valley of the Mississippi. The contest was decided by the sword. By the treaty of peace of 1763, the Mississippi, with the exception of New Orleans and its immediate vicinity, was made the boundary. The P'rench not only lost all that part of the valley which lay east of that river, but they were compelled to cede Canada to Great Britain. It may, however, happen that all the various claims from which a title may be derived, instead of pertaining to several Powers, and giving rise to conflicting pretensions, are united, and rightfully belong to one nation alone. This union, if entire, may justly be considered as giving a complete and exclusive title to the sovere.gnty of that part of the country embraced by such united clams. 15 The position assumed by the British Government, that those various claims exclude each other, and that the assertion of one forbids an appeal to the others, is obviously untenable. All that can be said in that respect is, that if any one jiaim is alone sufficient to establish a complete and indisputable title, an appeal to others is superfluous. Thus far, and no farther, can the objection be maintained. The argument on the part of the United States in reality was, that the Government con- sidered the title derived from the ancient exclusive Spanish claim as indisputable ; but that, if this was denied, all the other just claims of the United States taken together consti- tuted a complete title, or at least far superior to any that could be adduced on the part of Great Britain. It is not intended to enter into the merits of the question, which has been completely discussed, since the object of this paper is only to show that there remain on both sides certain debatable questions; and that therefore both Governments may, if so disposed, recede from some of their pretensions, without any abandonment of positive rights, and without im- pairing national honor and dignity. Although Great Britian seems, in this discussion, to have re- lied almost exclusively on the right derived from actual occu- pancy and settlement, she cannot reject absolutely those de- rived from other sources. She must admit that, both in theory and practice, the claims derived from prior discovery, from contiguity, from the principle which gives to the first discover- er of the mouth of a river and of its course a claim to the whole country drained by such river, have all been recognised to a certain, though not well-defined extent, by all the Euro- pean nations claiming various portions of America. And she cannot deny the facts, that (as Mr. Greenhow justly concludes) the sea shore had been generally examined from the 42d, and minutely from the 45th to the 48th degree of latitude, Nootka Sound discovered, and the general direction of the coast from the 48lh to the 58th degree of latitude ascertained, by the Spanish expeditions, in the years 1774 and 1775, of Perez, Heceta, and Bodega y Quadra ; that the American Captain Gray was the first who, in 1792, entered into and ascertained the existence of the River Columbia, and the place where it emptied into the sea ; that, prior to that discovery, the Span- iard Heceta was the first who had been within the bay, called Icption Bay by Meares, into which the river does empty • that, of the four navigators who had been in that bay prior to' Gray's final discovery, the Spaniard Heceta and the American Gray were the only ones who had asserted that a great river IG a #H3 i- } •Miiptiod itself into tlial bay, Ilecela liavingeven given a name to the river, (St. Uoc,) and the entrance having been desig- nated by his own name, (Ensennada de Heceta,) whilst the two English navigators, Meares and Vanconver, had both concluded that no large river had its mouth there j that, in the year 1805, Lewis and Clarke were the first who descended the river Columbia, from one of its principal western sources to its mouth ; that the first actual occupancy in that quarter was by Mr. Astor's company, on the 24th of March, 1811, inough Mr. Thompson, the astronomer of the British Northwest Com- pany, who arrived at Astoria on the 15th of July, may have wintered on or near some northern source of the river in 52 degrees north latitude ; that amongst the factories established by that American company, one was situated at the conflu- ence of the Okanagan with the Columbia, in about 49 degrees of latitude; that the 42d degree is the boundary, west of the Stony Mountains, established by treaty between Spain, now Mexico, and the United States; that the 49th degree is like- wise the boundary, from the Lake of the Woods to the Stony Mountains, established by treaty between Great Britain and the United States; and that therefore the right of the United States, which may be derived from the principle of contiguity or continuity, embraces the territory west of the Stony Moun- tains contained between the 42d and 49th degrees of latitude. Omitting other considerations which apply principally to the territory north of Fuca Straits, where the claims of both par- ties are almost exclusively derived from their respective dis- coveries, including those of Spain, it may be rationally inferred from the preceding enumeration that there remain various questions which must be considered by Great Britain as being still doubtful and debatable, atjd that she may therefore, with- out any abandonment of positive rights, recede from the ex- treme pretensions which she has advanced in the discussion respecting a division of the territory. But, although conjec- tures may be formed, and the course pursued by the Govern- ment of the United States may have an influence on that which Great Britain will adopt, it does not -belong to me to dis- cuss what that Gove|nment may or will do. This paper is in- tended for the American, and not for the English public ; and my attention has been principally directed to those points which may be considered by the United States as doubtful and de- batable. It was expressly stipulated that nothing contained in the conventions of 1818 and 182 7 should be construed to impair, or in any manner affect, the claims which either of the con- ^■■>mi i i m pi ^ ,ii.i,n.i ■ n a name en desig- vhilsl the had botli mt, in tlie ended the rces to iis sr was by 1, tnough vest Corn- may have irer ill .52 stablished he conflu- 19 degrees est of the pain, now !e is like- the Stony -itain and he United contiguity ny Moun- f latitude, illy to the both par- sctive dis- ly interred n various n as being fore, with- n the ex- discussion gh conjec- 3 Govern- ;e on that me to dis- aper is in- iblic ; and ints which ul and de- led in the to impair, f the con- 17 tracting parties may have to any part of the countrv westward ot the Stony or Rocky Mountains. After the most cool and impartial investigation of which I am capable, I have not been ab e to perceive any claim on the part of Great Britain, or de- batable question, respecting the territory south of Fuca's straits, but tue species of occupancy by the British Fur com- panies between the year 1813 and October 20, 1818 ; and this must be considered m connexion with the restoration of "all territory, places, and possessions, whatsoever, taken by either tCl 1? PK ! °'lp "■ u"'L"S ^^"^ '^"'" P^°^'d«d for by the reaiy ot Ghent To this branch of the subject belongs also the question whether the establishment of trading factories with Indians may eventually give a right to sovereignty. My own opinion was expressed in the American counter-statement ol the case, dated 1.9th December, 1826 : « It is believed that mere factories, established solely for the purpose of traffick- ing with the natives, and without any view to cultivation and permanent settlement, cannot, of themselves, and unsup- ported by any other consideration, give any better title to do- minion and absolute sovereignty than similar establishments made in a civilized country." However true this may be in an abstract proposition, it must be admitted that, practicallv the modest British factory at Calcutta has gradually grown up into absolute and undisputed sovereignty over a population of eighty millions of people. The questions which, as it appears to me, may be allowed by the United States to be debatable, and therefore to make it questionable whether they have a complete right to the whole Oregon territory, are : 1st. The Nootka convention, which applies to the whole and which, though not of primary importance, is nevertheless a lac , and the inferences drawn from it a matter of argument 2dly. The discovery of the Straits of Fuca. 3dly. North of those straits; along the sea shores, the dis- coveries of the British contrasted with those of the American and Spanish navigators; in the interior, the question whether the discovery of the mouth and the navigation of one of its principal branches, from its source o the mouth of the river implies without exception a complete right to the whole coun' try drained by all the tributaries of such river; and also the British claim to the whole territory drained by Frazer's river- its sources having been discovered in 1792 by Sir Alexander Mackenzie, factories having been established upon it by the British as early as the year 1806, and the whole river thence to Its mouth having been for a number of years exclusively navigated by British subjects. ' 3 18 It appears to me sufficient generally to suggest the contro- verted points. That which relates to Fuca's Straits is the most important, and deserves particular consideration. If Fuca's voyage in 1598 could be proved to be an authentic document, this would settle at once the question in favor of the United States ; but the voyage was denied in the introduction to the voyage of the Sutil and Mexicano. This was an official document, published under the auspices of the Spanish Gov- ernment, and intended to vindicate Spain against the charges that she had contributed nothing to the advancement of ge- ography in those quarters. This negative evidence was con- firmed by Humboldt, who says that no trace of such voyage can bo found in the archives of Mexico. Unwilling to adduce any doubtful fact, I abstained from alluding to it in the state- ment of the American case in 1826. Later researches show that, although recorded evidences remain of the voyages of Gali from Macao to Acapulco in 1584, of the Santa Anna (on board of which was, as he says, Fuca himself) from Manilla to the coast of California, where she was captured in 1587 by Cavendish, and of Vizcaino in 1602-1603, and even of Maldo- nado's fictitious voyage in 1588, yet no trace has been found in Spain or Mexico of Fuca's, or any other similar voyage, in 1692, or thereabout. On reading with attention the brief account published by Purchas, I will say that the voyage itself has much internal evidence of its truth, but that the inference or conclusion throws much discredit on the whole. The only known account of the voyage is that given verbally at Venice in 1596, by Fuca, a Greek pilot, to Mr. Lock, a respectable English merchant, who transmitted it to Purchas. Fuca says that he had been sent by the Viceroy of Mexico to discover the straits of Anian and the passage thereof into the sea, which they called the North Sea, which is our Northwest Sea ; that between 47 and 48 degrees of latitude he entered into a broad inlet, through which he sailed more than twenty days ; and, being then come into the No?th Sea already, and not being sufficiently armed, he returned again to Acapulco. He offered then to Mr. Lock to go into England and serve Her Majesty in a voyage for the discovery perfectly of the North- west passage into the South Sea. If it be granted that the inlet through which he had sailed was really the same as the straits which now bear his name, that sea into which he emerged, and which he says to be our Northwest Sea, must have been that which is now called Queen Charlotte's Sound, north of Quadra and Vancouver's Island, in about 51 degrees of latitude. Our Northwest Sea was that which washes the shores of Newfound- J ' '■ . , ,^ . .1^ ...-.IJ^-i - nhj-Vt I -■■njia^- 19 3 contro- the most Luthentic or of the oductiou in otiicial ish Gov- i charges nt of ge- was con- h voyage adduce the state- hes show oyages of Anna (on Manilla to 1 1587 by of Maldo- een found royage, in Wished by ;h internal ion throws unt of the ly Fuca, a hant,who »f Mexico of into the Norihwest le entered an twenty eady, and Acapulco . serve Her le North- It the inlet the straits erged,and been that of Quadra ude. Our ewfound- land and Labrador, then universally known as fur north as the vicinity of the 60th degree of latitude. Hudson's Straits had not yet been discovered, and the discovery of Davis's Straits might not be known to Fuca. But no navigator at that time, who. like lie, had sailed across both the Atlantic and the Pa- cific Oceans, could be ignorant that the northern extremity of Newfoundland, which lies nearly in the same latitude as the northern entrance of Fuca's Straits, is situated sixty or seventy degrees of longitude east of that entrance. The only way to reconcile the account with itself is, to suppose that Fuca be- lieved that the continent of America did not, on the side of the Atlantic, extend further nort'.i than about the 60th degree, and was bounded northwardly by an open sea, which extended as far west as the northern extremity of the inlet through which he had sailed. It is true nevertheless that, between the years 1774 and 1792, there was a prevailing opinion amongst the navigators that Fuca had actually discovered an inlet leading towards the Atlantic. Prior to the year 1787 they were en- gaged in seeking for it, and the Spaniards had for that purpose explored in vain the seacoast lyitig south of the 4Sth degree ; for it is well known that Fuca's entrance lies between the 48th and 49th, and not between the 47th and 48th degrees of lati- tude, as he had announced. The modern discovery of that inlet is due to Captain Barclay, an Englishman, commanding the Imperial Eagle, a vessel owned by British merchants, but which was equipped at and took its departure from Ostend, and which sailed under the da"^ of the Austrian East India Company. The British Goverii- meiit, which has oujected to the American claim derived from Captain Gray's discovery of the mouth of the river Columbia, on the ground that he was a private individual, and that his vessel was not a public ship, cannot certainly claim any thing in virtue of a discovery by a private Englishman, sailing under Austrian colors. In that case, and rejecting Fuca's voyage, neither the United States nor England can lay any claim on account of the discovery of the straits. Subsequently, the Englishman, Meares, sailing under the Portuguese fla^, penetrated, in 1788, about ten miles into the inlet, and the American, Gray, in 1789, about fifty miles. The pretended voyage of the sloop Washington throughout the straits, under the command of either Gray or Kendrick, has no other foundation than an assertion of Meares, on which no reliance can be placed. In the year 1790 (1791 according to Vancouver) the Span- iards Elisa and Quimper explored the straits more than one hundred miles, discovering the Port Discovery, the entrance of Tg.. 20 Admiralty Inlet, the Deception Passage, and the Canal de llaro. In 1792 Vancouver explored and surveyed the straits through- out, together with their various bays and harbors. Even there he had been preceded in part by the Sutil and Mexicano ; and he expresses his regret that they had advanced before him as far as the Canal del Rosario. Under all the circumstances of the case, it cannot be doubted that the United States must admit that the discovery of the straits, and the various inferences which may be drawn from it, are doubtful and debatable questions. That which relates to a presumed agreement of Commission- ers appointed under the treaty of Utrecht, by which the north- ern boundary of Canada was, from a certain point north of Lake Superior, declared to extend westwardly along the 49th parallel of latitude, does not appear to be definitively settled. As this had been assumed, many years before, as a positive fact, and had never been contradicted, I also assumed it as such, and did not thoroughly investigate the subject. Yet I had before me at least one map, (name of publisher not recol- lected,) of which I have a vivid recollection, on which the di- viding lines were distinctly marked and expressly designated, as being in conformity with the agreement of the Commission- ers under the treaty of Utrecht. The evidence against the fact, though in some respects strong, is purely negative. The line, according to the map, extended from a certain point near the source of the river Saguenay, in a westerly direction, to another designated point on another river emptying either into the St. Lawrence or James's Bay ; and there were, in that way, four or five lines following each other, all tending westwardly, but with different inclinations northwardly or southwardly, and all extending, from some apparently known point on a desig- nated river, to another similar point on another river; the rivers themselves emptying themselves, some into the river St. Law- rence and others into James's Bay or Hudson's Bay, until, from a certain point lying north of Lake Superior, the line was declared to extend along the 49th degree of latitude, as above stated. It was with that map before me that the following paragraph was inserted in the American statement of Decem- ber. 1S26: "The limiU between the poggesmons of Great Britain in North America, and those of France in the game quarter, namely, Canada and Louisiana, were deter- rained by Commiggioners appointed in pursuance of the treaty of Utrecht. From the coagt of Labrador to a certain point north of Lake Superior those limits were fixed according to certain metes and bounds, and from that point the line of demarcation was agreed to extend indefinitely due west, along the forty-ninth pairllel of north latitude. It was in conformhy with that arrangement that the United States did claim that parallel as the northern boundary of Louisiana. It has been accordingly thus settled, as far as the Stony Mountains, by the convention of 1818 between the ,r.f - fti f ^» .-,. ,i. i nrt j %*VN> ^ *- '- >. * ^ ^ .^L^ ' A ! j ; j -1" ^ .ll..I»(l.-"? >*^l ■■.WW. 21 le Haro. hrongh- eii there no -, and him as doubted y ot the wn from imission- le north- north of the 49th y settled. . positive led it as . Yet I lot recol- :h the di- isignated, iimission- t the fact, The hne, near the another to the St. way, four irdly, but dly, and a desig- le rivers St. Law- until, ine was as above bllowing Decem- Vmerica, and were deter- !cht. From U were fixed demarcation i|el of north ed States did accordingly between the ay United 8tat<«ii nnd Great Britain; and no adequate reawn can lie gi*en why Ihs rame boundary ihould not be continued aa for us the claimi of the United State* do extend, thnt in to Ray, bh far as the Pacific Ocean. " It appears very extraordinary that any geographer or map- maker should have invented a dividing line, with such specific details, without having sufficient grounds for believing that it had bpen I'lus determined by the Commissioners under the treaty of Utrecht. It is also believed that Douglass's Summitry (not at this moment within my reach) adverts to the portion of the line from the coa.st of Labrador to the Snguenay. Fi- nally, the allusion to the 49lh parallel, as a boundary fixed in consequence of the treaty of Utrecht, had been repeatedly made in the course of preceding negotiations, as well as in the conferences of that of ihe year 1826; and there is no apparent motive, if the assertion was known by the British negotiators not to be founded in fact, why they should not have at once de- nied it. It may be, however, thnt, the question having ceased to be of any interest to Great Britain since the acquisition of Canada, they had not investigated the subject. It is of some importance, because, if authenticated, the discussion would be converted from questions respecting undefined claims into one concerniner the construction of a positive treaty or convention. It is sufficiently clear that, under all the circumstances of the case, an amicable division of the territory, if at all practicable, must be founded in a great degree on expediency. This of course must be left to the wisdom of the two Governments. The only natural, equitable, and practicable line which has occurred to me, is one which, rtuming through the middle of Fuca's Strait^,, from its entrance to a point on the main situated south of the mouth of Frazer's river, should leave to the United States all the shores and harbors lying south, and to Great Britain all those north of that line, including the whole of Quadra and Vancouver's Island. It would be through Fuca's Straits a nearly easterly line, along the parallel of about 48J degrees, leaving to England the most valuable and permanent portion of the fur trade, dividing the seacoast as nearly as possible mto two equal parts, and the ports in the most equi- table manner. To leave Admiralty Inlet and its Sounds to Great Britain, would give her a possession in the heart of the American portion of the territory. Whether, from the point where the line would strike tlie main, it should be continued along the same parallel, or run along the 49th, is a matter of secondary importance. If such division should take place, the right of the inhabit- ants of the country situated on the upper waters of the Co- lumbia to the navigation of that river to its mouth, is founded on natural law; and the principle has almost been recognised f 22 •8 (lie public law of Europe. Limited to commercial purposes, it might be admitted, but on the express condition that the citizens of the United States should in the same manner, and to (ho same extent, have the right to navigate the River St. Lawrence. But I must say that, whatever may be the ultimate destinies of the Oregon territory, I would fuel great regret in seeing it in any way divided. An amicable division appears to me without comparison preferable to a war for that object between the two countries. In every other view of the subject it is highly exceptionable. Without adverting for the present to considerations of a higher nature, it may be suthcient here to observe, that the conversion of the northern part of the terri- tory into a British colony would in its effects make the arrange- ment very unequal. The Unitud States are forbidden by their Constitution to give a preference to the ports of one State over those of another. The ports within the portion of territory allotted to the United Stales would of course remain open to British vessels ; whilst American vessels would be excluded from the ports of the British colony, unless occasionally ad- mitted by special acts depending on the will of Great Britain. ALBERT GALLATIN. NO. III. Beyond the naked assertion of an absolute right to the whole territory, so little hi the shape of argument has been adduced, and so much warmth has been exhibited in the discussion of the subject, that it cannot be doubted that the question has now become, on both sides, one of feeling rather than of right. This, in America, grows out of the fact that, in this contest with a European nation, tho contested territory is in America, and not in Europe. It is identic with the premature official annuncia- tion that the United States could not acquiesce in the establish- ment of any new colony in North America by any European nation. This sentiment was already general at the time when it was first publicly declared; and now that it has been almost universally avowed, there can be no imjjropriety in any pri- vate citizen to say, as I now do, that I share in that feeling to its full extent. For the Americans, Oregon is or will be home ; for England, it is but an outpost, which may afford means of annoyance, rather than be a source of real power. In Amer- 33 ica, all have tlie samo uliimato object in viow ; wo diH'er only with respect to the means by which it may ho attained. Two circumstances have had a tendency to nourish and ex- cite these feelings. The British fur companies, from their po- sition, from their monopohainx character, from their natural influence upon the Indian.s, and from that, much greater than might have been expected, which they have constantly had upon the British Government in its negotiations with the United States, have for sixty years been a perpetual source of annoy- ance and collisions. The vested interests of thn Hudson Buy Company are at this moment the greatest obstacle to an ami- cable arrangement. It is at the same time due to iustice to say that, as far as is known, that company has acted in Oregon in conformity wiih the terms of the convention, and that its officers have uniformly treated the Americans, whether visiters or emigrants, not only courteously, but with great kindness. If the British colonies on the continent of America were an independent country, or were thoy [)laced in their commercial relations, at least with the United States, on the same footing as the British possessions in Europe, these relations would be regulated by the reciprocal interests anH wants of the par- lies immediately concerned. Great Britain has an undoubted right to persist in her colonial policy, but the result has been extremely vexatious, and to the United States injuriotts. All this is true; but feelings do not confer a right, and the indulgence of excited feelings is neither virtue nor wisdom. The Western States have no greater apparent immediate in- terest in the acquisition of Oregon than the States bordering on the Atlantic. These stand in greater need of an outlet for their surplus emigrating population, and to them exclusively will for the present the benefit accrue of ports on the Pacific for the protection of the numerous American ships employed in the fisheries and commerce of that Ocean. It is true, that in case of war, the inhabitants of the Western States will not, if a naval superiority shall be obtained on the Upper Lakes, feel those immediate calamities of war to which the country along the sea shore is necessarily exposed; but no section of the United States will be more deeply affected by the impossibility of find- ing, during the war, a market for the immense surplus of its agricultural products. It must also be remembered that a di- rect tax has heretofore been found more productive than the aggregate of all the other internal taxes levied by the General Government; that, in case of war, it must necessarily be im- posed ; and that, as it must, in conformity with the Constitution, be levied in proportion to the respective population of the sev- r- 94 eral States, it will be much more oppressive on those which have not yet accumulated a large amount of circulating or personal capital. The greater degree of excitement which prevails in the West is due to other and more powerful causes than a regard for self-intecest. Bordering, through the whole of their northern frontier, on the British possessions, the Western people have always been personally exposed to those annoyances and collisions already alluded to ; and it may be that the hope of getting rid of these by the conquest of Canada has somft influence upon their con- duct. Independent of this, the indomitable energy of this na- tion has been and is nowhere displayed so forciblv as in the new States and settlements. It was necessarilv directed to. wards the acquisition of land and the cultivation of the soil. In that respect it has performed prodigies. Three millions of cultivators of the soil are now found between the Lakes and the Ohio, where, little more than fifty years before, save only three or four half Indian French settlements, there was not a single white inhabitant. Nothing now seems impossible to those men ; they have not even been sobered by fresh expe- rience. Attempting to do at once, and without an adequate capital, that which should have been delayed five-and-twenty years, and might have then been successfully accomplished, some of those States have had the mortification to find them- selves unable to pay the interest on the debt they had con- tracted, and obliged to try to compound with their creditors. Nevertheless, undiminished activity and locomotion are still the ruling principles. The Western people leap over time and distance ; ahead they must go ; it is their mission. May God speed them, and may they thus quietly take possession of the entire contested territory ! All this was as well known to the British Government as to ourselves. A public and official declaration by the President of the United States was unnecessary, and at least premature. Mr. Rush's correspondence of 1824 bears witness of its unfor- tunate effect on the negotiations of that year. These feelings had gradually subsided. But, whatever maybe the cause, the fact that an extraordinary excitement on this subject has mani- fested itself, and does now exist on both sides, cannot be denied. Time is absolutely necessary in order that this should subside. Any precipitate step now taken by either Government would be attended with the most fatal consequences. That which, if done some years ago, might have been harmless, would now be highly dangerous, and should at least be postponed for the present. The first incipient step recommended by the Executive is to i. .. .jtlj i ^ ^thlijHj B I^ M f t* ! . ■ W'i'fMe*.*- <^. ^^•?W»"* •n those which circulating or itenient which owerful causes ern frontier, on re always been Uisions already ing rid of these upon their con- jrgy of this na- cibly as in the ilv directed to- on of the soil, iree millions of the Lakes and 3fore, save only here was not a s impossible to by fresh expe- iit an adequate five-and-twenty J accomplished, m to find them- they had con- their creditors, motion are still p over time and ion. May God )ssession of the vernment as to the President east premature. ess of its unfor- These feelings the cause, the )ject has mani- nnot be denied. should subside. ernment would That which, if ess, would now stponed for the Executive is to ib give the notice that tho oonveutiou of 18m the mo- r the whole 8, all those ving taken ites cannot, lovereignty lat nothing )arty to the y remained 1 of the ter- nains unde- uiled States rention, and eremptorily t cannot be will adhere tka conven- upancy can )ermit the rer her sn.b- cise of any ace, against under her continue )iighout the 1st be main- y ensue, ewhere, see ing the no- er war to a re ready to ing conflict, ensure suc- question to ley have in view ? Or may it not be attained by peaceable means ? It is a question of war or peace, and it is fairly laid before the nation. Rut many respectable men appear to entertain hopes that peace may slill be preserved after the United States shall have assumed, or attempted to assume, exclusive sovereignty. The reverse appears to me so clear, so obvious, so inevitable, that I really cannot understand on what grounds these hopes are founded. Is it thought that the President will not, after the assent of Congress has been obtained, (and whether immediately or at the end of this session, is quite immaterial,) give the notice which he has asked Congress to authorize ? Or is it supposed that a change in the form which, in order to avoid responsi- bility, would give him a discretionary power, could lead to a diflerent result, or be anything else but a transfer by Congress to the Executive of the power to declare war ? Can it be presumed that when, after the expiration of the term of notice, the convention shall have been abrogated, the President will not assert and maintain the sovereignty claimed by the United States? 1 have not the honor of a personal acquaintance with him ; I respect in him the First Magistrate of the Nation ; and he is universally represented as of irre- proachable character, sincere, and patriotic. Every citizen has a right to difl!er with him in opinion : no one has that of sup- posing that he says one thing and means another. I feel an intimate conviction of his entire sincerity. Is it possible that any one, who does not labor under a sin- gular illusion, can believe that England will yield to threats and defiance that which she has refused to concede to our arguments ? Reverse the case : Suppose for a moment that Great Britain was the aggressor, and had given the notice ; declaring, at the same time, that at the expiration of the year she would assume exclusive sovereignty over the whole coun- try, and oppose the exercise of any whatever by the United States : Is there any American, even amongst those who set the least value on the Oregon territory, and are most sincerely desirous of preserving peace, who would not at once declare tnat such pretension on the part of Great Britain was out- rageous, and must be resisted ? It is not certainly the interest of Great Britain to wage war against the United States, and it may be fairly presumed that the British Government has no such wish. But England is, as well as the United States, a great, powerful, sensitive, and proud nation. Every effusion of the British press which dis- plays hostility to the United States, produces an analogous sentiment, and adds new fuel to excitement in America. A 1 ! . I I -^ r^in"VM«gHp>mnw * 28 moment's reflection will enable us to judge of the inevitable effect of an oflensive and threatening act, emanating from our Government ; an act which throws, in the face of the world, the gauntlet of defiance to Great Britain. Her claims and views, as laid down in her statement of December, 1826, remove every doubt respecting the steps she will take. " Great Britain claim i * no exclusive sovereigi^'y over anyportion of that territory. Her * present claim, not in respect lo any part, but to the whole, is * limited to a right ofjoint occupancy in common with other States, * leaving the -irnt of exclusive dominion in abeyance. * » * ' The pretensions of Great Britain tend to the mere maintenance * of her own rights, in resistance to theexclusive charac/er of the * preiensions of the United S ates. » * * * These riglits ' embrace the right to navigate the waters of those countries, * the right to settle in and over t:ny part of them., and the right * freely to trade with the inhabitants and occupiers of the same. ' It is fully admitted that the United States possess the same ' rights. But beyond these rights, hey possess none. To the * interests and establishments which British industry and enter- * prise have created, Great Britain owes protection. That * protection will be given, both as regards settlement and free- * dom of trade and navigiition, with every attention not to in- * fringe the co-ordinate rights of the United States." Thus, the United States declare that they give notice of the abrogation of the convention with the avowed determination of asserting their assumed right of absolute and exclusive sov- ereignty over the whole territory of Oregon. And Great Britain has explicitly declared, that her pretensions were in resistance to the exclusive character of those of the United States ; and that protection will be given, both as regards set- tlement and freedom of trade and navigation, to the interests and establishments which British industry and enterprise have created. How war can be avoided, if both Powers persist in their conflicting determinations, is incomprehensible. Under such circumstances, negotiation is morally impossible during the year following the notice. To give thai notice, with the avowed determination to assume exclusive sovereignty at the end of the year, is a decisive, most probably an irretrievable, step. " After that period the United States cannot abandon ' their right of sovereignty without a sacrifice of national * honor." The question of sovereignty has never been decided. Sim- ply lo give notice of the abrogation of the convention, would leave the question in the same situation : it would remain in abeyance. But when the President has recommended that the notice should be given with the avowed object of assum- i^ M .» W ir^ ^.^j^j ffW fcfc t *^ mg exclusive sovereignty, an act of Congress, in compliance with his recommendation, necessarily implies an approbation of the object for which it is given. If the notice should be given, the only way to avoid that implication and its fatal con- sequences IS, to declare, at the same time, that the sovereignty shall not be assumed. But, then, why give the notice at all ? A postponement is far preferable, unless some other advantage shall be obtained by the abrogation o( the convention. This must be examined; and it is necessary to inquire, whether any and what measures may be adopted, without any violation of the convention, that will preserve the rights and strenelhen the po.siiion of the United States. NO. IV. The acts which the Government of tlie United States may do, in conformity with the convention, embrace two objects : the measures applicable to the territory within their acknow- ledged limits which may facilitate and promote migration; and those which are necessary for the protection of their citizens residing in the Oregon territory. It is a remarkable fact, that, although the convention has now been in force twenty-seven years, Congress has actually done nothing with respect to either of those objects. Enter- prising individuals have, without any aid or encouragement by Government, opened a wagon road eighteen hundred miles ni length, through an arid or mountainous region, and made settlements on or near the shores of the Paci6c, without any guaranty for the possession of the land improved by their la- bors. Even the attempt to carry on an inland trade with the Indians of Oregon has been defeated by the refusal to allow a drawback of the high duties imposed on the importation of foreign goods absolutely necessary for that commerce. Thus the fur trade has remained engrossed by tiie Hudson Bay Com- pany ; missionaries were, till very lately, almost the only citi- zens of the United States to be found in Oregon ; the United States, during the whole of tiiat period, have derived no other advantage from the convention tha'n the reservation of their rights, and tlie express provision that these should in no way be affected by the continuance of the British factories in the territory. And, now thai the tide of migration has turned in their favor, they are suddenly invited to assume a hostile posi- tion ; to endure the calamities and to run the chances and con- sequences of war, in order to gain an object wi.ich natural and irresistible causes, if permitted to operate, cannot fail ultimate- ly to attain. ^, i., r t «r 30 The measures applicable to the territory within the ac- knowledged limits have generally been recommended by the President. A very moderate appropriation will be sufficient to improve the must difficult portions of the road ; and block- houses or other temporary works, erected in proper places and at convenient distances, and garrisoned by a portion of the in- tended additional force, will protect and facilitate the progress of the emigrants. However uninviting may be the vast ex- tent of prairies, destitute of timber, which intervene between the western boundary of the State of Missouri and the coun- try bordering on the Stony Mountains, it seems impossible that there should not be found some more favored spots where settlements may be formed. If these were selected for mili- tary posts, and donations of land were made to actual' settlers in their vicinity, a series of villages, though probably not a continuity of settlements, would soon arise through the whole length of the road. The most important place, that which is most wanted, either as a place of rest for the emigrants or for military purposes, is one in the immediate vicinity of the Stony Mountains. Reports speak favorably of the fertility of the soil in some of the valleys of the upper waters, within our limits— of Bear's river, of the Rio Colorado, and of some of the northern branches of the river Platte. There, also, the seat of justice might he placed of the new territory, whose courts should have superior jurisdiction over Oregon. The measures which the United States have a right to carry into eftect with- in the territory of Oregon, in conformity with the convention, are the neit object of inquiry. The only positive condition of that instrument is, that the ter- ritory in question shall, together with its harbors, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be free and open to vessels, citizens, and subjects of the two Powers. For the construction put on this article by Great Britain, it is necessary to recur again to the statement of her claim, as given by herself, and to her own acts subsequent to the con- vention. The acts of England, subsequent to the convention of 1818, are to be found in the various charters of the Hudson Bay Co)npany, (observing that some of their most important pro- visions, though of a much earlier date, stand unrepealed,) and in the act of Parliament of the year 1821, which confirms and extends a prior one of the year 1803. It must also be recol- lected that, by grants or acts subsequent to the convention, the ancient Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company of Montreal have been united together, preserving the name of Hudson Bay Company. This Company was and remains a body corporate and politic. Ill . I — - I J I ... MM II /'^ at with provisioiis Ibr the election of a Ciovoriior and other olii- cers, who direct its business; and, amongst other powers t e Company is empowered to build fortifications for t'^iede ence of Its possessions, as well as to make war or peace wi h a I la^ tions or people not Christian, inhabiting tlieii territories whiH, TsTi "hetrisJrr^'r^r^"'- ^y '•« -^ of pS.;.: I'o tPriJ J»"sd'ct.on of the courts of Upper Canada is ex- tended, m all civil and criminal cases, to .he Oregon ten torv • provision is made for the appointment of justices^o the peace' to act as r ""'^ •^^"•^«'y'.-"h a limited juiisdiction and p'^Ter erst UpprcradT" '" "'^"" "^^^'^"^ '« ^''"-^ ^^'^"'^ biddJn'ln ^i''*' ^^ observed, that although the Company is for- bidden to claim any exclusive trade with the Ind ans to the prejudice or exclusion of any citizen of the Uni ed S at^s w o .nay be engaged u. the same trade, yet the jurisSktirabove men oned is, by the letter of the act, extended to any person^ Br^hlrP?' '"*'? '"^ **•■ •'"i'fS ^'^•'hin the said territory' The British Plenipotentiaries did, however, explicitly declare Im the course of the negotiations of 1826-1827, that the ac ha no other object but .he maintenance of order amongst Brir^s ^he^Sj^tSrel"^^^^'^^"^"^""^^^ ^° apply to"?lt'':'f It IS perfectly clear that, since it has been fully admitted that the United States possess the same rights over .^he e itorv a! Great Brif^.n, they are fully authorized, under t e crSon to erijoy all the rights whic'h Great Britain d^im^ for S ' and to exercise that jurisdiction which she has assumed as being consistent with the convention. assumed as The citizens of the United States have, therefore at this tim*. a full and acknowledged right to navigate the water of tl^ Oregon territory, /o settle in and over any pari of ti and freely to trade with the inhabitants and occopiCrs of the s^me ttioipH ,^°^«"""«"^ «f »he United States is likewt fully au honzed to incorporate any company or association of men f^r o extend he jurisdiction of the courfs of any of its terrUories lying within Its acknowledged limil^ in all dvi L ch mina? cases, to the territory aforesaid; to appoint within the same justices of the peace and such other officers as may ^e necTs sary for carrying the jurisdiction into effect; and aL to make war and peace with the Indian inhabitants 'of ^hetrritorvt. trfhe o.rt"l' P""'^ ''^^PP"'"^ *8«"'«f«r that purp'o :' On the other hand, it seems to be understood .hat so In m Tav dnt?'"'""r ''""''"' '" f''^^' "«""«r Governn^'ei t haU merce i;" ''^^ '«"'^*Yy .«» tonnage, merchandise, i com merce , nor exercise exclusive jurisdiction over any portion of 32 ! i It ; and that llie citixuiis and subjects of tlie two Powers re* Niding ni or removing to tlie territory shall be amenable only to the jurisdiction oC their own country, respectively. It has been contended by the British Government that the establishment of any military post, or the introduction of any regular force under a national Hag, by either Power, would bj an act ot exclusive sovereignty, which could not bo permitted 10 either whilst the sovereignty remained in abeyance. Under existing circumstances, it is believed that such an act would be highly dangerous, and prove unfavorable to the United States. But the establishment by the United States of a territorial governrnent over Oregon is also objected to on the same prin- ciple. The want of such government appears to be the only serious inconvenience attending a continuance ol the conven- tion, and requires special consideration. The United States have the same right as Great Britain, and are equally hound, to protect their citizens residing in the Ore- gon territory in the exercise of all the rights secured to them by the convention. It has been fully admitted that these rights embrace the right to settle in and over any part of the terri- tory, and that to be, in all cases whatever, amenable only to the jurisdiction of their own country. The subjects of Great Britahi, who are not in the employ of the Hudson Bay Com- pany, are forbidden to trade with the natives; and the Com- pany does in fact control and govern all the British subjects residing in the territory. This gives a strong guaranty against the violation, by rash individuals, of the rights of the citizens of the United States. Should any of theru, however, be dis- turbed in the exercise of their leguimate rights, and the Com- pany should be unable or unwilling to relieve and indemnify them, the United States would be justly entitled lo appeal to the British Government for the redress of a violation of rights secured by the convention ; for the British Government has preserved a control over the Hudson Bay Company, and does in fact, through it, govern the British subjects who reside in tlie territory. The United States are placed, in that respect, in a very dif- ferent situation. It is not believed that the General Govern- ment is authorized to incorporate, as a political body, a com- reiercial company, with such powers as would give it an etti- cieut control over the private citizens residing in the territory. Such delegation of powers, either by any of the States or by Congress, is wholly inconsistent with our institutions. The United States inay indeed give to their citizens in Oregon a regular and complete judiciary system; and they may also extend to them, as the British Government has done on its part, the laws of an adjacent territory. But an executive local • ■ ■ i t m m mMimtm. '-' m.i u i" ' ■ .>) '' a^ ' mf:^^-^f i i » .- '^'ij«tiii» ft ..i^. ,g i jn< ji ^ . ^ ii> ^ j. f^ " 'i' ^^fe'jitia^.MCwg'fet^'?'! ^^!ii^A'M-f.''&Ai ' J^C ^ 'lf *f"' '•*?^*T'r"^rfa I H,'U. power is wanted in this case, as it is everv where pU« ,m,i-. any form of government whatever, to caS the Iws to be ex ecuted and to have that general control which ir now 11^' e^iL ^"tel^a""^"!^^^ Co^p.^^^The BrS Got l«li : . ^^^ ^^^'*^^^ various acts of a public though bZL r'"'"' r^' *' **P""'"» ^««d«' '"^king bridge 'erect"S ^ th« i r!'?' ?' Protectio,, against the natives, pfov dTnTfo? the destitute, &c, all which are performed by the H.rdson H«v Company and cannot be accomnlished by iLula.ed i.XS/ wLTJ'' "' "^'' "'^■'•''='^^'°" •'•• government "'''"^"• tnrll\ ^"^ measures may be devised, other than a terri onal governinenf, that will be sufficient for the pu pose might not be nicorporated and made a body politic with of w and w^rfh''" '' '^"'' T''^ *" '^' HudLf, C; Comp^anT or Jn '•«f«''v«»«" by the General Government of a check c\Zn\ ^"*'*^g°»« ^« ♦hat reserved by the Government of BrGrmBTilarhr^h"" ""^'y '' '"'^"^ consTdTrat on nrp.nn? ,,.".'^'" j^^« 'h3 same interest as the United States to JnH'r K° •"'°". 1"""^ 'h« continuance of the convention and It ,s believed that, if negotiations should be renewed wi?h an equal and sincere desire on both sides to nreservrfri'pnJ „ relations, there would be no difficultv at th ^ ffml f ^ possib lilv of thr*'""'^^"'^' ""' P'^'''^'''"^' prevon nTthe ever annLd tn h'^?^'" l^^"""'"'^ ^^ '^^ United States being ^^i^^:^ '^ -y ^'^- of^rss s^tr^r lipTif® " *''«»her important subject which has not, it is be- lieved, ever been discussed by the two Powers Thil ;l ,if claim to the ownership of the 'places Te«i;dTnd imj^oved in' hmh ' TT'T: ^' ^^^'"^ '« >"« that, on the principles of both natural and international law these ri J^hu .« T * J extent, should be respected by each Power res^eclivelv th"'** sovereignty over the'portion'of the TerSylu'w^ch Jich iT olaL^'V t^'^Son, under the convention%Il the S o and hereafter cla^m or acquire: limiting and defining the Ltent of fin,— 34 the grant in the same manner as would be done if such grant was absolute; and promising that the title should be confiriiied, in case and whenever the sovereignty of the United States was recognised or asserted and maintained. The prolongation, in 1827, of the convention of 1818, was evidently intended as a temporary measure, since it was made revocable at the will of either party. The plenipotentiaries of the two Powers had been unable to agree on the terms of a definitive arrangement, or even in defining with precision the conditions on which the convention of 181S might be contin- ued for a determinate period. It will be seen, by reference to the protocols and correspondence, that although it was general- ly admitted that neither party ought during such continuance to exercise any exclusive sovereignty over the territory, the American Plenipotentiary declined to agree to any convention containing an express provision to that effect, or accompanied by the insertion in the protocol of a dfclaration for the same purpose by the British Plenipotentiaries. The reason was not only because an exclusive right over Astoria and its depen- dencies was claimed by the United Stat( 5, but principally be- cause it was anticipated that, in order to have in fact an au- thority equal to that exercised by the Hudson Bay Company, it would become necessary for the United States to perform acts which the British Government might contend to be for- bidden by such express provision or declaration. The conse- quence was, that the convention recognises some certain rights, and imposes no positivv3 restrictions, but only such as may be supposed to be implied in the clause which declares that nothing contained in it should be construed to impair or affect the claims of either party. The probability that it might become necessary for the United States to establish a territorial or some sort of government over their own citizens was explicitly avowed; the deficiencies of the renewed convention of 1327, and the inconveniences which might ensue, were fully under- stood; and the continuance of that of 1818, made revocable at will, was agreed on, with the hope that the two Powers would embrace an early opportunity, if not to make a defini- tive arrangement, at least to substitute for the convention another, defining with precision the acts which both parties should be allowed or forbidden to perform so long as the sove- reignty remained in abeyance. The inconveniences alluded to have been fairly stated in this paper, and some of the means by which they may be avoided have been suggested. It is not, therefore, on account of the intrinsic value of the convention that its abrogation is ob- jectionable and dangerous. It is because nothing is substituted in its place ; it is because, if the two Powers are not yet pre- I ^l * |,T ' ;^ '^'* ^%iMj i > ^J * WgJ !' t»f q Vf[^^ r o - ^ ' ** r r^7^■^-■r4S«r^J? •mmt r such grant couiiriiied, Stales was 1818, was was made iiitiaries of terms of a ecision the be contin- ;fereiice to as geiieral- oiitinuaiice rritory, the onvention ;ompaiiied r the same m was not its depen- cipally be- act an au- Conipany, to perform to be for- Fhe conse- lain rightii, as may be at nothing affect the ht become Lai or some explicitly n of 1827, illy under- revocable vo Powers :e a defini- jonvention )th parties s the sove- ited in this be avoided unt of the ;ion is ob- substituted ot yet pre- 35 pared to make a definitive agreement, it becomes the duty of both Governments, instead of breaking the only barrier which still preserves peace, to substitute for the existing convention one adapted to the present state of things, and which shall pre- vent collisions until the question of sovereignty shall have been settled. The inconveniences which were only anticipated have become tanjrible, from the time when American citizens whom tho United States are bound to protect, began to make settlements in the territory of Oregon. The suddnn transition Iroman agreement, however defective, to a promiscuous occu' pancy, without any provisions whatever (hat may prevent col- lisions, IS highly dangerous. When this is accompanied by an avowed determination on the part of the United States to as- sume that exclusive sovereignty which Groat Britain has posi- lively declared she would resist, war becomes inevitable. NO. V. It may not be possible to calculate, with any degree cf cer- tainty, the number of citizens of the United States who, aided by these various measures, will, within any given period re- move to the territory beyond the Stony Mountains. It is cer- tain that lis number will annually increase, and keep pace with the rapid increase of the population of the Western States It cannot be doubted that ultimately, and at no very distant time, they will have possession of all that is worth being oc- cupied in the territory. On what principle, then, will the rieht of sovereignty be decided ? It may, however, be asked whether, if this be the inevitable consequence of the continuance of the convention, England will not herself give notice that it shall be abrogated. It mi^^ht be sufficient to answer, that we must wait till that notice slfall have been given, and the subsequent measures which England means to adopt shall have been mdde known to us, before we assume rashly a hostile position. The United States may gov- ern themselves ; although thev may irritate Great Britain they cannot control the acts of her Government. The British Gov- ernment will do whatever it may think proper ; but for the consequences that may ensue it will be alone responsible Should the abrogation of the convention on her part be fol- lowed by aggressive measures ; should she assume exclusive possession over Oregon, or any part of it, as it is now proposed that the United States should do, America will then be placed in a defensive position ; the war, if any should ensue, will be one unprovoked by her, a war purely of defence, which will be not only sustained, but approved by the unanimous voice of the ^w 36 1-^ nation. We may, however, bo pormilled to examine what motive could impel England, what interest she might have, cither in annulling the convention or in adopting aggressive mensuros. When it is recommended that the United Stales should give notice of the abrogation of the convention, it is with the avow- ed object of adopting measures forbidden by the convention, and which Great Britain has uniformly declared she would resist. But, according to the view of the subject uniformly taken by her, from the first time she asserted the rights she claims to this day, the simple abrogation of her convention with the United States will produce no effect whatever on the rights, relations, and position of the two Powers. Great Brit- ain, from the date at least of Cook's third voyage, and prior to the Nootka convention, did deny the exclusive claim of Spain, and assert that her subjects had, in common with those of other Stales, the right freely to trade with the natives and to settle in any part of the Northwestern coast of America not already occupied by the subjects of Spain. The Nootka convention was nothing more than the acquiescence, on the part of Spain, in the claims thus asserted by Great Britain, leaving the sov- ereignty in abeyance. And the convention between the United States and Great Britain is nothing more or less than a tem- porary recognition of the same principle, so far as the two par- ties were concerned. England had, prior to that conveiuion, fully admitted that the United Stales possessed the same rights as were claimed by her. The abrogation of the convention by her will leave those rights precisely in the same situation as they now stand, and as they stood prior to the convention. It cannot therefore be perceived what possible benefit could ac- crue to Great Britain from her abrogation of that instrument ; unless, discarding all her former declarations ; denying all that she has asserted for more than sixty years; retracting her ad- mission of the equal rights of the United States to trade, to oc- cupy, and to make settlemefits in any part of the country — she should, without cause or pretext, assume, as is now threatened on the part of the United States, exclusive sovereignty over the whole or part of the territory. It may be permitted to believe that the British Government eriterlains no such intention. It may also be observed rhsi. England has heretofore evinced no disposition whatever to !;olonize the territory in question. She has, indeed, declared most explicitly her determination t" protect the British interests that had been created by British enterprise and capital in that quarter. But, by giving a mo- nopoly of the fur trade to the Hudson Bay Company, she has virtually arrested private efforts on the part of British subjects. Her Government has been in every other respect altogether in- E M> 9 B «-««»• %" "^ :{7 active, mid apparently caroless ubom tlic ultimate fnle of ()r«>- goii. Tliu country has been opon to her enterprise at least fifty years ; and there are no other Hritish settlements or interests within its Hunts than those vested in or coiuiected with the Hudson Hay Company. Whether the British Uovernment will hereafter make any effort towards that object cannot bo known ; but as long as this right to colonize Oregon shall re- main common to both Powers, the United States have nothing to apprehend from the competition. The negotiations on that subject between the two Governments have been carried on, on bcth sides, with perfect candor. The views and intentions of both parties were mutually communicated without reserve. The conviction on the part of America that the coimtry must ultimately he occupied and settled by her agricultural emigrants, was used as an argument why, in case of a division of the ter- ritory, the greater share should be allotted to the United States. The following quotation, from the American statement of the case of December, 1826, proves that this expectation was fairly avowed at the time : " If the present itatc of oroupanry is urged on the part of Great Uritain, theprol>- ability of the manner in which the territory west of the Rocky Mountains must lie settled Ijelongs alio essentially to the subjert. Under whatever nominal sovereignty that country may be placed, and whatever its ultimat« destinies may be, it is n«'sr|y reduced to a certainty that it will bo almost exclusively peopled by the surplus pon- ulation of the United States. The distance from Great Britain, and the expense in- cident to emigration, forbid the expectation of any being practicable from that quai- ter but on a comparatively small scale. Allowing the rate of increase to be the same in the United States and in the North American British possessions, the dif> ference in the actual population of both is such that the progressive rate which would within forty years add three millions to these, would within the same time give a positive increase of more than twenty millions to the United States. And if cir- cumstances, arising from localities and habits, have given superior facilities to Brit- ish subjects of extending their commerce with the natives, and to that expansion which has the appearance, and the appearance only, of occupancy, the slower but sure progress and extension of an agricultural population will be regulated by dis- tance, by natural obstacles, and by its own amount." There was no exaggeration in that comparative view ; the superiority of the progressive increase of population in the United States was, on the contrary, underrated. The essential difference is, that migration from the United States to Oregon is the result of purely natural causes, whilst England, in order to colonize that country, must resort to artificial means. The number of American emigrants may not, during the first next ensuing years, be as great as seems to be anticipated. It will at first be limited by ihe amount of provisions with which the earlier settlers can supply them during the first year, and till they can raise a crop themselves ; and the rapidity with which a new country may be settled is also lessened where maize cannot be profitably cultivated. '"i i 7^ '*- '%■ 38 '^ I Whether more or less prompt, the result is nevert^^•les8 in- dubitable. The snowball sooner or later becomes an ava- lanche. Where the cultivator of the soil has once made a per- manent establishment, game and hunters disappear. Within a few years the fur trade will have died its natural death, and no vestige shall remain, at least south of Fuca's Straits, of that temporary occupancy, of those vested British interests, which the British Government is now bound to protect. When the whole territory shall have thus fallen in the possession of an agricultural industrious population, the question recurs, by what principle will then the right of sovereignty all along kept in abeyance be determined? The answer is obvious. In conformity with natural law, with that right of occupancy for which Great Britain has al- ways contended, the occupiers of the land, the inhabitants of the country, from whatever quarter they may have come, will he of right as well as h\ fact the sole legitimate sovereigns of Oregon. Whenever sufficiently numerous, they will decide whether it suits them best to be an independent nation or an integral part of onr great Republic. There cannot be the slightest apprehension that they will choose to become a de- pendant colony ; for they will be the most powerful nation bordering on the American shores of the Pacific, and will not stand in noed of protection against either their Russian or Mexican neighbors. Viewed as an abstract proposition, Mr. Jefferson's opinio'i appears correct, that it will be best for both, the Atlantic and the Pacific American nations, whilst enter- taining the most friendly relations, to remain independent, rather than to be united undjr the same Government. But this conclusion is premature; and the decision must be left to posterity. It has been attempted in these papers to prove — 1st. That neither of the two Powers has an absolute and indisputable right to the whole contested territory; that each may recede from its extreme pretensions whhout impairing national honor or wounding national pride; and that the way is therefore still open for a renewal of negotiations. 2d. That the avowed object of the United States, in giving notice of the abrogation of the convention, is the determina- tion to assert and maintain their assumed right of absolute and exclusive sovereignty over the whole territory ; that Great Brit- ain is fully committed on that point, and has constantly and explicitly declared that such an attempt would he resisted, and the British interests in that quarter be protected ; ^nd that war is therefore the una"oidable consequence of such a decisive step — a war not only necessarily calamitous and expensive, but in its character aggressive, not justifiable by the magni- .^ ..^^'^'^Mi^itii^tta-i J^ ^^Mni*. , f. ^f*'T'"-r, • '^'~ T''"''^^ir^" '-f^^ ^^ir^ 4^^ -wm-T«^.?-v ,- T,-; ertht'less in- les an ava- made a per- ar. Within il death, and traits, of that •rests, which When the ession of an 1 recurs, by ill along kept natural law, Iritain has al- nhabitants of ve come, will sovereigns of y will decide t nation or an annot be the become a de- iwerful nation c, and will not ir Russian or reposition, Mr. e best for both 3, whilst enter- independent, ernment. But must be 'eft to 'e — "' ■ .' •:-■'". 1 absolute and ory; that each hout impairing id that the way ions. States, in giving the determina- ; of absolute and that Great Brit- ! constantly and [ be resisted, and d ', ^nd that war such a decisive and expensive, by the magni- -ts 39 tude and importance of its object, and of which the chances are uncertain. '3d. Thai the inconveniences of the present state of things may in a great degree be avoided; that, if no war should ensue, they will be the same, if not greater, without than under a convention : that not a single object can be gained by giving the notice at this lime, unless it be to do something not permitted by the present convention, and therefore provoking resistance and productive of war. If a single other advantage ^^ can be gained by giving the notice, let it be stated. 4th. That it has been fully admitted by Great Britain, that, whether under or without a convention, the United States have the same rights «a herself, to trade, to navigate, and to occupy and make settlements in and over every part of the territory; and that, if this s'ate of things be not disturbed, natural causes must necessarily give the whole territorv to the United States. Under these circumstances, it is only asked, that the subject may be postponed for the present; that Government siiould not commit itself by any premature act or declaration ; that, instead of i:, creasing the irritation and excitement which exist on both sides, time be given for mutual reflection, and for the subdual or subsidence of angry and violent feelings. Then, and then only, can the deliberate opinion of the American people on this momentous question be truly ascertained. It is not perceived how the postponement for the present and for a time can, in any shape or in the sliglnest deeree. injure the United States. b « j It is certainly true that England is very powerful, and has ufieri abused her power, in no case in a niore outrageous man- ner than by tht impressment of seamen, whether American, English, or other foreigners, sailing under and protected by the American flag. I am not aware that there has ever been any powerful nation, even in modern times, and professing Chris- tiaiiity, which has not occasionally abused its power. The • United States, who always appealed to justice during their early youth, seem, as their strength and power increase, to give symptoms of a similar disposition. Instead of useless and dangerous recriminations, inight not the two nations, by their united efforts, promote a great object, and worthy of their ele- vated situation ? With the single exception of the territorv of Oregon, which extends from 42 to 54 degrees 40 minutes north latitude, all the American shores of the Pacific Ocean, from Cape Horn to Behring's Straits, are occupied, on the north by the factories of the Russian Fur Company, southwardly by semi-civilized States, a mixture of Europeans of Spanish descent and oi nti m 40 live Indians, who, notwithstanding the efforts of enlightened, intelligent, and liberal men, have heretofore failed in the at- tempt to establish ^jvernments founded on law,*ihat might ensure liberty, preserve order, and protect persons and prop- erly. It is in Oregon alone that we may hope to see a portion of the western shores of America occupied and inhabited by an active an .^ etiiightoned nation, which may exercise a moral influence ovor her less-favored neighbors, and extend to them the benefits of a more advanced civilization. It is on that account that the wish has been expressed that the Oregon ter- ritory may not be divided. The United States and England are the only Powers who lay any claim to that country, the only nations which may and must inhabit it. It is not, fortu- nately, in the power of either Government to prevent this taking place ; but it depends upon them whether they shall unite in promoting the object, or whether they shall bring on both countries the calamities of an useless war, which may retard but not prevent the ultimate result. It matters but little whether the inhabitants shall come from England or from the United States. It would seem that more importance might be attached to the fact tliat, within a period of fifteen years, near one million of soiils are now added to the popula- tion of the United States by migrations from the dominions of Great Britain; yet, sinre peimitted by both Powers, they may be presumed to be beneficial to both. The emigrants to Ore- gon, whether Americans or English, will be united toge'lK r by the community of language and literature, of the principlss of law, and of all the fundamental elements of a similar civili- zation. The establishment of a kindred and friendly Power on the Northwest Coasi of America is all that England can expect, all perhaps that the United States ought to desire. It seems almost increcMble that, whilst that object may be attained by simply not impeding the eflect of natural causes, two kindred nations, having such powerful motives to remain at peace, and standing at the head of European and American civiliza- tion, should, in this enlightened age, give to the world the scandalous spectacle, perhaps not unwelcome to some of the beholders, of an unnatural and unnecessary war ; that they should apply all their faculties and exhaust their resources in inflicting each on the other every injury in their power, and for what purpose ? The certain consequence, independein of all the direct calamities and miseries of war, will be a mutual increase of debt and taxation, and the ultimate fate of Oregon will be the same as if the war had not taken place. ALBERT GALLATIN. lightened, in the at- hat might and prop- ! a portion talked by se a moral nd to them is on that )regon ter- d England juntry, the not, fortu- revent this they shall ill bring on svhich may matters but Sngland or importance d of fifteen the popula- aniinions of s, they may ints to Gre- ed toge»li€r e principles milar civili- 3wer on the can expect, e. It seems attained by two kindred in at peace, can civiliza- e world the some of the r ; that they resources in (wer, and for iendeii> of all be a mutual lie of Oregon LLATIN. « # *-?*#j«:^*-