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FlililgJlfOB, EDITOR. ■■t« ..«j ^ 1 1 " -JW ^. ^Mi^ -If ^^•i '^;' is:.: CONTENTS. Page. Salutatory 1 Tub Relation ov the Democbatic Pabty to the Govebnhemt of tub United States.. , 4 History op the Two Years' Amendment to Constitution of Massachusetts, &c. 19 Tub Outbreak at Harper's Ferry 39 Tub San Juan Question 47 James Buchanan 69 Tub Appalachian Group of Indian Tribes a Political Eleme.«t 74 The United States Coast Subtet 78 Tub Production of Cotton and its Influbncb on Modern Civilization 07 Invocation 105 City or Washington 10(3 Quarterly Synopsis of our Foreign Commercial Relations 118 Alfred Tennyson 133 Rifles 144 British Novelists 152 Death of Governor Hamilton 1G5 Stanwix 179 On tub Probable Fall in the Value of Gold, &o 184 tlt'iii Biil; IM'llI (liU'K llu' F..I- as I lor tliol't 1»(.'C11 tl.c iiiiiiii bclol HMhMM "les of a nnitnal ^-ood undei'standin^' on inunovalde ii'rounds, and the e(pial necessity of maintainin;^ the di.unily and justice of our own tdiaracter as a frei' and ci\'ili/,cd people, possessinjj,- a superior ;;-overnment and lar^'cr privile.i:'es than have fallen to the lot of nu)st of tluMuitions of the earth. For a time, and so lon^' as the wounds inllicled hy the wnv of the llevolution. l»y whi(di we achi(?ved our independence, wei'e fresh and painful, wo were in(dined to cherish towards the mother country fe( lin^s oi' iutferness and alienation, on account o\' the ;;"rievous w i-on^-s We had sustained at her hands, and to lui'n with ail'ectiim and gratitude to France, who. with a generous sjjirit. came to aid Wfmu 48 Tin S'lii Jd'lii OiUs/ioj), fX..v., US ill any cxtrcnitty, iuid lidji us to fi^i'lit i-itaiii; l»iit, ill l»oth these wars, it was at h'n^th clearly seen that the spirit of iiidejieiidi'iic(; was a vital element in the Ameri- can lireast. — that if we conld ri'ceive Mows, we could return them, and that neither encroachment on our just ri;ilits, nor a c()ntem[)tnoiis disre};'ard of our position as mere ad- venturers, and tho propa;^'andists of a now experiment in p;o\einment. conld subserve the purjioses of a ^reat and i)ow- crfiil nation; that if Great ]>ritain had pride. exi)erii'nce, reputation, and an almost boundless domain, the United States had popular liberty, youth, vii^or, manliness, and an inheri- tance in the solid continent, to which she had vindicated her titl(! by the force of arms, of far wider extent thaii her own; that the same do;i,-^-ed obstinacy, if it should not rather be called the same invincible cw; in a word, that a removal to a new country, possessing* a thousand additional stimuli to exertion, had not chang-ed the oriii'inal genius of the Anj^'lo-Saxon race, but that it still ex- hibited, in that country, the same characteristics of love of law. order, and truth, and the same firnuiess and indomitable resolution. That our national character has been essentially modified by circumstances and our jteculiar institutions, in ■which the elements of popular liberty and po})ular power pre- vail, cannot be disputed. Hence, while the policy ol" En^'land, as a le has directed and conti'olled through- out the ])rop(n' organization of our i)uhli('; )>olicv. Can tin- same he said (d' any other nation on the face of the globe? We think not. It may he jiroi)er. in coinu'xiiui with the .snhject hefor(.' us. to impiire how territory may he acquireil. Writer.s on the laws of nations describe lour nu-thods, vi/,: 1st. bv trijatv; 2d. by coin[uest; ."M. by discovery ; ami dtli. by contiguity. 'J'he grouml usually r(died on. ami which, together \\ith the right by treaty, has more particular a|»plic*ation ti» the case betbre us. is till! right acipiireil by discoscry. This, however, is an inchoati' right, which only beconu's perfc'ctecl by subscfpuuit oc,'tipalion, and to entitle a party or a nation, claiming inider this right, it is necessary tlnit the discovery shoidd not be (.•asual nor accidental, hut that explorations shoidd he nmler- taken nmler the authority of the goverinnent wliiidi the oxjilorer represetds, with a^ special view to occu[)am'y, and that not a temporary but a piM'maneiit occupation. The mere discovery of a coinitry. even though memorials arid monu- juents of the discovery, sm-h. for instance, as in [\u\ case of Spain, of setting up a cross, or, in the case; of JMiglaml, of ]»lanting the Hriti^h Hag on the soil of the disco\ere(l coun- try, will not invest the coinitry of the discoverer with any I'iglit of einiuent domain o\'er it. without sid)suqnent and continued occupation. The monument erected on the spot mav be notice to the whole world of the ii this sMlijcct. Tlii'V are nniv(M'sall\ rt'Li'ardcd jiHt anil rcasdiialiji'. and have lorniiMJ tin; i:"i'(»niid-\\(irk and data til" all di'cisidiis in ride it net.' teeii aniMtiou.s to extend her doinaiii in evei'v direction that she has deemed advaiita.Li'eoiis to her interests; and slii- has, aecordiiijily. wher- ever she has th(»ii^ht that she had i>laiisildc ^'rounds lor so doin;^', set up claims to larj:e jiortions of the North Aiiiericiui continent, j)articiilarly on its northwestern iVontier, on the ground of the ri^ht resulting' from discovery, and has prose- cuted these claims in Parliament ami through tlu' i)ress, and liy means of diplomacy, with a jn-rtinaeity execedin;^ly credit- aide to her ambition and desire ttf national ag<:ranili/.eiiu'nt, but relli'ctin,!;' h'ss credit on her sense of national justice, and on w hat was due to her own reputation and to the common un- derstand in,:;' of all civilized nations, i)articularly of those to bo adected by her jiolitic; claims and lar,i;'e pretensions. If sho has understood the right (»f diseovery at all, her perceptions of it have been very glimmoring, imperfect, Jind shadowy, but she has sei/,ed on the shadow as a shield of large i)ro[)ortions, and as im])eiietrablc liy the weapons of assailants. In this comdusion ■'" ••■'ilit, to which she has arrived by a short cut and with a nt air, she has singularly misappreheiuled the common .-< ..> »»f mankind, anil the degree of inttdligeiu.'e of the citizi'iis of the United States, who, like Englishim-n, have a kemi eye to tliidr own interests, and who, however long their slumbers when nature recpiires repose, will never bo ibiind sleejiing on their rights. Jt is a little singular that, with the facts a. el knowledge before her, and staring lier broadly in the face, she should not have seen, or seeing should not have acknowledged, the priov claims of Spain and Portugal to all those countries to which she set ii[) a title of eminent domain on the ground of discovery, and that in one instance, and that one of no slight moment, she should tt)tally have ignored or singularly misi'e|»r(.!sented the prior right of our o\Nn country, resulting from the discovery and navigation of the river Columbia by one of our own citi/eiis. There has ever been an incomprehensible and, we fear we must add, discreditable disposition manifested on the [>art of Great IJritain, as far as contested claims for territory in this country are concerned, to warp established principles to the side of her own interests, to resist, if possible, the force of acknowledged facts, to set XdV., IS.VJ.J The San Juan Qnestini. 51 'I'liry an.' onin.'(l the lo till- title (lisccivcrv. iiiieiiKiriiil, iliitious to IS (li'eiiK'd ;:ly. wlier- iids lor so AiiK'i'icaii ■r, oil the has pi'ose- j)i('ss, and ;^'ly ci'diit- idi/cinent, istire, and )niiiioii im- hose to 1)0 s. If she erce[)ti()us idow V. hut ■(•portions, . Ill this short cut ended the lli)j;i.'nce of iiicii, have ever lon<^" never be that, with hroadly in 1 not have li^al to all nt domain , and that .U'liored or 1 country, the river ever been creditable , as far as onceriied, intei'ests, ets, to set n]t antry anil Iiravado Ibr ]io>itive and unanswcrabh." demonstrations. If is w ell known fn tin^sc who are ac(juainted with our i-ai'lirr annals, that the jjrst successful exjtlorations of Christopher Columbus, prosecuted umler the patrona;^'e and by the aid ictui-e he drew "Went home to the itnpnlar heart with irresistilile force. awaken- injj;a spirit of adventure that i"ose to enthusiasm, and which, after the ast(»nisliment pro fhainiin (in adilitioii to her other po.s- sessions) than was at that time possessed l>y any other civilized nation. While otlii'i" ^'overnmeiits were asleep to the ii'reat Vocation i){ the au'e— the pi-osecation u|" discoveries in the no louixer fabulous i-e!.;-i()n of the Xew Worlil — she was fully alive to this novel source of interest and national Lrrainleur; the first to rouse np her in\incible ener^'ies lur the execution of tlu! inspiriii;^' task", animated by the prospect, in the distance, of the ])reci(iiis mines whose exhaustlcss treasuri's she in- tended u» di^Jcmbowel froni the bosom of the earth to increase her wealth, and of the ii'oMen harvests of all kinds, in that fertile s(nl. which -lu' ex|)ect(Ml to r«'a]i by her industry. Yes! Fpain has had her ^I'reat anil Li'lorions au'e. It was the aii'e that succ(H'ded the discovery of Ameriea by Cobniibus. .and. for somi.' hundreds ^^'( years afterwards, animated by the same courageous and intrepid spirit that ,!Ji,lowed in his bosom, she mmmmm fi-J The S i'ollowfd ill liis wiikc. jiddiiii:', l>v licr ciitcrpri/.t' ini'l iiMli>iiiit- jililc pcrscvcriiiicc, li-rritoiy to tcrritorv. siiwl claimin.Li" all iimlt r a tillr innrt-' Liloiious than that ol" any cMiKiUfst or ofaiiy treaty. Ainci'ica ^hoiiM iicvi'i' lor.u'ct the oltliiiatioiis she is uiulcr to Spaiii. 'I'o htn* \\v areiiHh'htod, this iiiomeiit, lor a country in some respects the most lavored l>y l*roviraise and a flattering- recognition, in this matter of discovery, which we may justly withhold from other countries. When she; had the means and the opportunity, she was no laggard and no triller in the ])ro- gress of discovery, but went into it seri(nisly, earnestly, and with a delinite aim before her, and that aim was occui)atiou and use of the territories she explored, whereby she acquired the best of all titles to their valid ami indisputable ])ossession. Will any one at this day deny, in resjiect to our northwestern frontier, that that country, ])rior to any other nation, not only discovered but took possession of the whole coast, and exer- cised over it every right of sovereignty that sovereign States do and of right ought to exercise over the countries they con- quer, discover, or come into possession of by force of treaty, ])urchase, or otherwise? The fact cannot, in truth, l.te con- troverted. These explorers set up crosses, performed masses, (for they were Catholics.) and declared in the name of their sovereign, under whose autliority they acted, and to whom they owed their allegiance, that they formally took possession of the country ; and they were not like many discoverers of a M fXt.v.. is.')!). The Sun 'Jiiiiii (Jiii'.s/ii)ii. .V3 iii'l iiidomit- iii.Li" all nmlcr any treaty. s iiiultT to a country in ny on wliich V our lainily if> past her ly not kept civilization, iloncc, coul- ter nations. '; exhibits, lie tire that iize of lifi'ht f anythinntene con- ed masses, le of their . to whom possession rerers of a more lioi'sfful charartrr. who afterward-' oldy ralue and saw. liiit tlii'v actually ciMHiuertMl tie soil hy rntcriu":: into tlu; con- tinued occupation of it, Ituildiii;^: up sctllcMniits. pcoplin^r thfiu with inhahitants. and resistin;^ the pretentious titles of all sui>- sc(pu'nt claimants, as a^xj^'ressors on their IcLiitimatcdy ac(piircil dttmain. All honor to Ferrido, who, as i-arly as 1 ')4.'{. at the licad of an t'Xpeditiou fitteil out by the authority of tht" Spanish j^overmuout, cxjilort'd the coast as far as the forty-third deuree of latitude. Let us put a mark at his name — a name meniorahle as that of Corvantes, thou^ih lor a very dill'ereiit cause — liy which he will he known through all future time. All honor to Juan de Fuca. who, in loicj. discovereil the straits whii'h now l)(>ar his nairu', and whose umpiestionaldt^ ri,t;ht to this distinction .-iKJuld not he denied l)y the iJritish govern- ment or her minisrers, since it is attested in the fullest maunei" l>y the very hiii'h authority of the lionlished in ISKI in that work, the lead:;,'.; ])olitical oriz'an oi the Tory and Jli^^h (Jhurch party of En^'aiid. We may put a mark also of distin,Li'uislied c(»nsideration fo the name of .luan dc Fuca. althou^'"h the straits he discovered may serve cipially v. '11 to pi'r|)etuate his mem(n'v. Next in the list of wo'-thy Sj^anish expl(»re;s of whom we are hound to make favorable mention, and which we do ])artly by way of ari;'ument, is that of \'iscaino. wlio. in the expeditions he undertook in Hid.'), explored tln.^ northw(\stern coast only up to the ]ioint reached by his ])redecessor Fcrrelo, and who. it is said, then returneil to .Madrid for the pur])ose of oldainini::; authorit\ from his p;overnnient to to 1774 lia, purpose, we are infoi-med, a distinct department. calliMl the marine department of San I Mas, Avas established in Mexico, wlijcli was "•especially chai\v;e(l with discoveruiL:'. explor'nii'. and takiiii:' pos.session of the terri- torv on the northwest coast.'" evinciiu' her settled detei'iuii a- ■■*■■■■«■ Mta 64 The San Juan Question. Nov.. IS')'.). tion to maintain lior rights in and over the whole countrv. Under this new regime, in 1774, Perez undertook a voyage. ex|)loring the coast, until lie at length reached Xootka bay a< higli as latitude 'ifty-fbur degrees. Heceta, another explorer, made land tlie next year at fifty degrees of latitude, and on his return is said to have discovered, though he did not entei'. the Columbia river. Quadra reached fifty degrees, and on his return explored between forty-five degrees and forty-two degrees. The last name upon the list of those distinguished Spanish explorers, is that of Martinez, who in 1787, a few year.< alter the conclusion of the Avar of the American revolution, under the authority of his government, headed an expedition with a view to ascertain the character of certain Russian set- tlements then in the process of being made near Prince Wil- liams sound, at about latitude sixty degrees, and which Spain, upon the representations of Martinez that they were within the ascertained limits of her discoveries, represented as an cncii*achment, and made the subject of a remonstrance to the Empress of Russia, who acknowledged its justice; but ^lar- tinez, notwithstanding her distinct disavowal of any design to encroach upon any part of Spanish America, learning that two Russian ships had been fitted out and v/cre on their way to Nootka. prosecuted his voyage thither, took actual possession by establishing a settlement and erecting a fortification, and seized and condemned tlie vessels of Mearez, a sohlisani Englishman, who had reached the sound, sailing in Portuguese ships under Portuguese colors, an act regarded by the British government as one of a rather high-handed cliaracter, and which subsequently led to the celebrated Nootka convention, to which, as it was influential in settling British claims, we may have occasion hereafter more particularly to advert. It would seem that Great Britain, ever animated by a liveh" regard to her own interests, but who was certainly antici[)ated in these western explorations by the kingdom of Spain, did, with the i)rogress of the discussions instituted with a view to the settlement of her claims, gradually abandon any title resting on the ground of first discovery, to which abandon- ment she was reluctantly compelled to submit by the accumu- lation of proofs incontestably establishing the contrary fact; and al'terwards, with a sagacity that did more credit to her inventive spirit than to her knowledge of the principles ol' international law governing such (juestions, or to her honesty in the recognition of them, Avas dispt)sed to rest her claims to certain attractive and highly convenient and useful regions, lying tin'Mi in a \ thron cedtM the in^ that two their way to d possession ication, and a mldisanf I Portu^'uese the British iracter, and convention, claims, we id vert. by a lively anticipated Spain, did, h a view to II any title li abandon- he accuniu- itrary fact; -'dit to her incij)les of ler honesty sr claims to id regions, lyinu' nn the northwestern frontier of the Xorth American con- tinent, on tlie ground, not ol" a first, but a more per/ed discovery: in a word, she did not, wlien she liad found thein out, either tlirougli her own enterprise, or that of others who had pre- ceded her and opened the ]»ath for her ai)[)roaeh. compiering the dangers, removing the dillicidtios, and ultimately rushing on the prize, gaze on these desiral»lc spots in the New World — eminently desirable for th" extension of her trade, navigation, and «onin)erce — witlia casual and indillercMit glance, as if there was ''no speculation in her eyes" and no hope, but looked at tliem on all sides for a long time with an earnest, searching, and curious scrutiny, examining and considering intently, uay profoundly, all the possible advantages likely to result from their acquisition, coming at length to the conclusion, that they ■were woi'th something, nay, worth much, for the ])romotion of her ulterior designs, and that she Avould claim them all, and a(Npiire possession of them all, if she could in fee simple, and, if not, tlien as perfect a ])Ossessiou as she could acquire in right ()f a more perfect discovery. ]5ut why, she asked, is not a subsequent discovery, if it is more perfect than the first, better than the first, and of at least equal force in investing the country of the discoverer with the indefeasilde and un- (pu'stionable right of eminent domain over any s])ot in a far off country that has been curiously and industriously exam- ined? The ipiery was pro])ounded, and the statesmen of Gr(vit Britain — a country that, through all past time, has been dis- tinguished less for the geinus of invention than improvement — Lad the honor on this o(.-casion of starting a new idea so in- genious and unexpected that it amounb'd to a pi'oblein. But fortunately for the world, less fortunately for the pride of originality, which sometimes beats wildly in lireasts soaring after im[)racticable novelties, the problem was one of easy 8oluti(*n, and was readilv solved bv oiuMiini:' anv accredited book, the first that cnme to hand, on the law of nations, \vhere tlu> doctrine was clearly laid down that [trior discovery, if followed lip by oceii|)a<^'on, and the exei-cise (^f unquestionable acts of ownershi[i, givi . tlu^ party that has made Ihe discovery the ri^ht of ]ios,s(\ssioi . and the right to maintain it in per- petuity aii'ainst all advei'se claimants. The right, then, rest- ing on the grounerl\- belong- ing to the announcement of so unusual a pi'ojxisilion, is chimeiiea! and fanciful, and rests on no authoritative grounds. «to immm^m 56 The San Juan Question. [Nov.1859.] Still, it may be interesting, as Ave are now embarked in :joverv diseussion rendered important l>y recent circumstances, ti^yjj(^j,[ , inag ]ie yi name — but sailing under Portuguese colors, as we have befon of Van stated, sent a boat into ihc Straits of Fuca, but did not entei df^ims them. Vancouver visted the coast in 1792, and MackenzitThe pr discovered the headwaters of Frazer's river in 1793. So As ti much for British explorations on the northwestern coast ot'been c North America. But, were the discoveries resulting from Prazer' these voyages more perfect than those of preceding naviga- the aui tors who had touched at the same points? Tliat is the ques- that hi tion. It appears that, of these explorers, Vancouver and the riv Captain Cook were the only ones Avho acted under the an- may ni thority of the British government. All the rest Avere adven- mouth turers. Drake was a mere buccaneer; ^lackenzie, an Indian been d trader; and Meares, a land speculator and dealer in furs, a perl' They did not represent their government; iiiid their discove- subset] ries, if they made any, Avero purely accidental. Most of the Anv places they i)retended to find had been discovered by the grount Spaniards long before they reached the coast. Meares, the once \ Portuguese .r^uniggler and captain, " cruis<,^d along the north- entirel Avest passage Avhere the Columbia enters the occsui by aniouth and n seven mill's wide,'' but, strange to say, he did not see the discov river, and ridiculed the idea that the Spaniards had disi'overed Ferrel any )-iv(.'i" then'. In a si)irit of vaunting and imagined triunii)h, and r he i'alled the biiy " .I)ece[)tion," and one of the i-aju's at the secon* mouth oi' the rivei-, " I)isa[)i)()intnient." There is no eviilence, made llien, in the case of Meai'cs, that he made a more perfect dis' of nat C^ov.igso.] TJie San Juan Question. 57 'I ^^ jovcry than his predecessors Ileceta and Gray, tlie latter of nistances t^^jj^j^^ ^^^-^^ ^^^^]y discovered the mouths of tlie river, but sailed up t lis elauijp its -waters twentv mih's, calling it Colunibia, after the name yas tiur y oii^f ^j^^, trading shi^) in wliidi he sailed— a name which it still 7/ uiiich ^li'|3ears. Tin's was something like a valid disc(»very, valid in the case wilj^^^^,^ ,^,„j entitling the nation of the discoverer, the United retender, an^^^gtes, to the whole extended tract of count rv drained by the :'rn coast an,,i^,.,, Lictthantliosi it ^vill be admitted that Vancouver, acting under British '^f'^'+i ^'■'tiuthoritv, made a tolerablv accurate survcv of the coast, but lor the pur-tc. vvhoni was he indebted "lor that accuracy? To Perc/ and 'A*^ '/-^ii :'*^''Q-ray, \\iio had preceded him in the ex})loration, and whose '^ '^^'^^ Vl^charts of the coast wore placed in his hands to guide him in Hr^r, ^^ hie researclies. It is not ])retended that he ac(|uii'cd anv .!y. I'^^^^^'additional information or made any new territorial disclosures > ills voyagifQj. tho benejit of mankind in general or of his own ccunitry- uca, jind an-mgn i,, particular. Indeed, like Mcares, he ridiculed the idea ics, ^h'lnnnp^jjjjt, Captain Gray had made any such discovery of a river lable hy his^s jie pretended to have done. How can it be atlirmed, then, j have beforcof Vancouver that he gave any additional force to British lu not enter cijtiijis, in consequence of more itcrfai discovcnj of the coast? 17o'> '"^'i'The pretension is idle. 1 liJo. ho \^ to Mackenzie, '' the straggling Indiiin trader,*' as he has item coast oli3e(3,^ called, and who accidentally struck the headwaters of suiting ii'onipi..,-,,_.,.'s river, it is not i)ret(;ndcd that he was acting under :l|ng luiviga- the authority of the British government, or, if he had been, IS the ques- that he made the discovery of any new region: for although icouver and the river which he traced for a distain.'e ot* two hundred miles, iiuer the au- may never have been seen before, tho whole country, from its Avere adven- mouth to the point of coast where he reached tin; Pat'ilic, had y '"\ -tiidiaii been discovered and explored long before his day, and with . y.' ^'''"•'^* a peric!(;tion and accursicy that i»recluded tlu> claims of any leir discove- subsequent disc-overor. iMost or tho _^j)y claim which the i>ritish government niigiit set u]) on tho Tcd liy the ground of the discoveries made hv Sir Francis Drake, though iueares, the once ])refi.'rred as entitliMl to consideration, hiis of late been ; the north- entirely al>andoned, or, if not abandoned, has heen disjtroved l»y a mouth and utterly disc(uintenaneed (ju two grounds: lirst, that the not see the discoveries of Draki; were antii-iitatinl at least thirty \ears bv I (iist'overed Ferri'lo, acting under tho authority of the S[ianish govermnent, ed triunq)li, and rendcreij null and \oid by aetiial pr''-o(.'cupatioii : and, •ai)cs at the secoiidlv, on the ground that at the verv time that Drake, lo evidence, made the pretended discoveries, he ^vas, contrarv to tlu' laws periect diS' of nations, tMigaged in i»rosecuting a predatory warfare on the 58 The Sail Jnau Oncsficn. Xol85l». V/ nortliwcstcni coast of America against Spain — a country ^viQot ot "which Enghind was then at peace — and that he was afterwariquestii in consequence, compelled by Queen Elizabeth to restore jow ] Spain a part of his ill-gotton booty. It is a little curiovjviffVri but furnishes an illustration of the reckless and incautio The manner in which statements are sometimes made, that Lnc^gt oi Clarendon should have antedated the time when Drake miiOoluinl this voyage by twenty-one years, and then should have ^trading up a claim for Great Britain on the ground of prior discoveiind wh But even this calcuhition, which we sincerely hope wa^sap the typographical blunder, would place the Spanish discovery of the advance of that of the British marauder by a period of niigovern years. Nothing, after this, can be alleged in behalf of Drakiwester movements as constituting evidence of a more jiofect (^/svow/'relinqu or of any discovery whatever, which the British goverinueilglO, 1 would })robably care to ofter to the United States, or to tl3d. Th world at large, in support of her pre-eminent claims. by cit Nor can the explorations of Captain Cook, the enterprisii the L' and fearless navigator, whose name has come down to us witunder t honor, be properly employed in support of this special pkunder of a more perfect discovery. What did he discover on tl session northwestern coast? Certainly not the Straits of Juan tganu Fuca, for when, in 1778, in the latitude of 48° 15', he w; river, i inspecting the coast, and the southern cape at the entrain return*, of that strait Avas in full view, being only a few miles distan Oompa this close and scrutinizing observer, who does not on tli and in occasion seem to have been invested Avith his full powers fpany, 1 vision, a:i.ounds us by saying: "It is in this very hititudi by the where we now were, that geographers have placed the pii treaty tended (?) Straits of Juan de Fuca. But avc saw nothing lik includi it; nor is there the least ])robability that any such thnig evi purchi existed!" But Lord Clarendon 'says that in 1792 Coo States actually took possession of the country adjacent to the Coluii, parallc bia river, when, in fact, his voyage was made in 1778, " fon; line o\ teen years before the Columbia river Avas entered, or eve We certainly knoAvn to exist." But the noble lord, it avouI sets u seem, is not very particular as to dates, or even to faci and oi whose importance, in an inquiry of this kind, depends upo fanciii dates. hislor It AA'ould seem, then, th'it Great Britain neither by tli Oon\'i right of prior discovery, nor by that of a more perfect di their covery, Avas entitled to any of those regions on the northAvest than \ ern coast of America, Avhich she for a long time clainuMl o; is a si those special grounds. Indeed her claim of right to u singl betwt r>»'"i85i). TliH San Juan QmcsUou. 59 ■a country 'svioot (»t' that territory is, hy tlio law of nations, extremely ivas aiterwari||ie;:;ti(iiijil»le, and lias lonji; been so ro^'arded, and what she li to restore iow ])osse.sses of it, it is l)clioved she possesses rather by I little <-"urioi;juf[V' ranee and conces^ inn, under treaty, Ihan by ri^ht. and ineaiitii, The claims of the United States to the territory in quest'on ade, that Lof^^t on the Iblhjwinir grounds: 1st. The discovery of the en Drake niiiOolinabia river, in 1788, by Gray, who, in that year, made a lould have ^trading voyage to the Pacific under seadetters from Congress, rior discoveijnd who, on his return to the United States in 1702, sailed y hope was(ip tlui river a distance of twenty miles, giving it the name di discovery of the vessel in which he sailed. 2d. The transfer to this period ot niigovernment. by France, in 1^03, of Louisiana, with undelined halt ot Draluy^esterly Imnndaries, as she. received it from Spain, and the 'r/f'c^ (^/.svoiv/'relinqiiishment of her tithi l)v tlie latter under the treatv of di governmoilglO, l)y whiidi she ceded the Floridas o the United States. ;ates, or to tl3d. The occupation of the territory from the time of its transfer claims. by citizens of the United States. As soon as jn'acticable, after le entcrprisiithe Louisiana |)urchase, viz: in the year 1805, Mr. Jcllerson, own to us Avitunder the authority of Congress, sent a company of Hfty men, IS special pKunder (.' iptains Lewis and Clarke, to explore and take pos- iscover on tl session of the territory, which they did in the autumn of the its of Juan (same year, remaining there during the winter, tracing the 5 15', he AVirivor. and erecting a fort, and, then, crossing the mountains, t the entraiK returned to the United States. In 180S the Missouri Fur miles distairOomi)anv erected trading establishments upon the Lewis riviM", 3S not on til and in 1810 Mr. Astor, at the head of the Pacific Fur Corn- full powers fpany, built Astoria, near the mouth of the Columbia, taken very latitudi by the British in the war of 1S12, but restored under the laced the pi^ treaty of Client in IS 18. Sjiain, insisting that Oregon was not V nothing lik included in the transfer to France of Louisiana, which we had icli thing cvi purchased of the latter government, assigned to the United n 1702 Coc States any interest she might have above the forty-second to the Coluii. parallel of latitude, our government having fixed the dividing 1778, "foil! line on the north, with Russia, at 54° 40'. erod, or eve We c(nne next to consider the claims which Great Britain )rd, it woiil sets u[) under iiv_.aties; the rights founded on prior discovery, even to fact and on inoi'e ])erfect discovery, having lieen ascertained to bo ilepends upo: fanciful and untenable. Let us, as we are looking into the history of her ])ret(>nsioiis, refer back, first, to the Nootka sither by tli- Convention, of which her statesmen, with a view to fortifying 3 perfect di their claims, seem to have s|)oken somewhat more confidently he northwest than the facts would warrant. A convention betwei'ii nations le claimed o; is a sei'ious thing, and implies that there arematli'i-s in dis|)uto ht to a singlt between them of au important character, but which sometimes, a "nmm** 60 Tltc San Juan Question. [N,.^59.] save for the consequence attached to conventions, AvonMyeri»eei the judfi'ment of thinking- men, be regarded "trifles h"glit^ac^"®^ '^ its ex(!cutiou was a physical 'uipossibility. No occupation ha ^'®6**^*" M^ fN,-^59.] Tlie San Juan Qvcfttlon. (;i ions, M-onldyer I x'lMi proved; no dispossession, tlioroforo. could ]i;i\t' tid<"n 'trifles li;j,'litLace. Ex niliifn uiJnl /if. Tliu \vli()!o coast was in the ])os- conventioii Jssioii nf the Spanisli }:,'()vcriiint'nt. ami no i>ritisli sul'jcct, lid ground, iiucli less the Uritisli government itscll", in its o\\ii right, 'vas nside out, iiatitlcd to u to(jt ot" it. The treaty ot' the Escurial gave to )le garment, ritish -settlers on the coast, who went there tor the i)urpose them, for tf trade, certain privileges of temporary settlement, hut Great has llothed their government with no right of eminent domain. the repntati^esides, Great Jiritain did not avail herself of these privileges. od importaijone of her subjects made settlements on the coast in pursu- onvention, jiUce ot" the treaty, and consecpu ntly the argument resulting rbitant clainrom even a temporary possession, slight as it is, falls to the of a few faciTOUnd. In addition to this, the declaration of hostilities that e treaty of took place betvveen the two countries, Spain and England, in 1 Great Brit.! 796, put an end, under the law of nations, to all treaty stip- Eis Avere puroilations between them, and England was left in the same con- of it, couclilition that she occn])ied before the treaty was made. It is buildings a rue she insisted that the treaty was revived in ISl-l by a 't of Ameri(!onvention reviving all treaty stipulations, but it will be boi-ne of Avhich tin mind that in llSOO Spain transferred her right in Louisi- sed about tiina-j earrying with it all the northwest coast, to France, and ild be restoriltie in her turn, in 1803, transferred it to us, so that the con- oflicer, allu(K6Btion between England andSi)ain in ISl-t, could not revive Jen Martine* riK^'f that had wholly passed beyond the control of either authority ^ty. So much for the Nootka convention, under which ects dcspo'iltH|b'^* Britain gained no rights but such as were guaranteed range to sn^^British subjects {is such, and which consisted merely of the a single iiniprivilege of erecting temporary halntations on the coast for lan, sin"'ulai the purposi; of carrying on trade "vvith the natives, with an S^ootka, as ^(additional ]»rovision that those engaged in the prosecution of sailiu"- undithe iisheries sliould not be molested. Martinez di "^^^ come now to the treaty of Ghent, ratified by the United the empha>^^t^^ '" ^''^' y<-'iii' ISlo, and which sti[)ulated that "all tei'ri- t}', mio-ht itory, places, and possessions whatsoever, taken by either party oectable coi'^^'*'".^' the war, or which may be taken after the signing of it a miserals^^^^ treaty, excepting only the islands hereinafter mentioned, ■shall be restoreil without delay." Under this sti])ulation, the mmP'- G2 Tlte San Juan Qtifsiion. [Novg59.1 absolute terms. Ca])taiii J3i(Ulle couseciucntly received instni) set u]) tioiis iVidii this ji'f the adjacent eonntrv in a friendlv and i)eaceallaim t( manner, and Avithoiit the emi)loyment of force," Avhicli orii ■"S"* WIWPW" ■*•»■' mtt [^'o^B59.J TItC San Jn(ui Quesliuii. (S^ coivcd instiT) set n\* under tin- cdImt of her treaties, first with Spain, aii'l mouth of flfterwanls with tlie L'nited States, but from wliicli it a|niears states to t lat slir was not entitled, under any treaty whatsoever, to lay iiiid peacealjaim t(» or exereisu any aets c»f sovereiL;iity over any jiortiou which ordf tlie soil on the northwest coast of North America. iiig' possess!. During' the lirst session of the 2{)th Congress, a riisolution 11 taking pl.irae otVered in the United States Senate to give Great Di'itain iideavoring he notice of twelve months, hy virtue of which the treaty it is cvidoetvveen her and the United States of August (!, 1827, sti|»u- tho validity itiiig that the Territory of Oregon shall he free and open to cretary of tl.he people of bolh countries, is to hi; ahrogated and annulled. d to be fui.^his notice, at that time, became necessarv, not onlv because :in while trea his go\eriunent wished to occu[)y that territory with her nt occuj)aii(itizcns, but in conse(|Uence of the arr(tgant language em- ^linister, Cai)loyed and the h)fty pretensions set ii[) l)y Great Britain. Only sh, "wGneoi year previous to the ratification of the treaty of 182", nltimately (tiessrs. Iluskisson and iVddington, in their correspondence with ho northwe-tfr. (xallatin, thus state their claim: tained by oi; "Great Britain,'' they said, '•claimed no exclusive sover- dccLired tha)ignty over any portion of that territory. Her present claim, to aiuj 2)ovt iu\oi hi any respect to any part but to the irJtole, is limiteil to a ite under Mi'ight of joint occupancy in common with other States, leaving 1' at the Couphe right of exclusive dominion in ahoinnce.''' Yes! (rreat lat the exteiiBritain, without the shadow of a title to a foot of tin? tei-ri- urultimatuii^ory, claimed the whole of it, not then on the ground of a 1818, cntcrePrioi' or more perfect discovery, but— c/'C(/o/ JikIx'hs AjqnlliL ! — tain, fourtcePy virtue of the Nootka convention with Spain, a ti'eaty til)ulated tlnitictually annulled by her war A\ith that power, and also by party on tlivirtue of the treaty of 1818 with the United States, and which ky mountaiiigave her only a joint occu])ancy in the Territory for the term cks, and tliof ten years ! ^Ir. Packenham, the British Minister, was some- and open fiwhat more moderate in his diiuiands, but not less prtjvoking. ature of tliiSo would be content, he said, "with an ey a siKLiemaiii lea]), into !i vJLi'lit of <'iiiin<'nt doiaain. Ifad it not Ix'cii incl of t tlu" ,u-(Mu'rosity of tlio Unitcil Sf;itos, siu'iiificd l»y licv soariyje Ore!. caii-lc. slio M-onM lu'vor liavc consented to lliis joint occn[)ai ;nd \v»' as one of tlio conditions of peace witli a country of sudi li' acts co lilvjD propensities and of so exorl>itant an appetite, l»ut ^\■lt^,,Il(J are have held on to licr territorial rights with a firm and undyi vith wl g-ras]), ^ iny otl Perliaps no cpie.stion tliat has ever been debated in tmrdoii Auu'rican Senate, frcnn tlic origin of tlie government, awaken ylajcsty a dee[)er feeling on the part of the citizens of the United Stat)eforo at large, or elicited higher talents or a more searching analy-iblest, from tiie distinguished members of that body — a body, at leashe pre equal in tlu; higher attributes of statesmanshi[), in genius mutates— in solid knowledge (if not superior) to the famed Senates Right I Rome and Great Britain — than the Oregon question, a quest! esty's in respect to the true territorial boundaries of the United Stat Envoy on its northwestern frontier. The question was one of tlQnited right of the American citizen to American soil — to a part ioubtle^ his country, and if there is anything that strikes home to tlwould i heart of the American, and ronses up all his energies, airul and (cs})ecially if right and honor are assailed) quickens and fii Ration his indignation to the highest degree, it is a question of tLoaemori kind, involving, as it does, a title to the broad earth and bom that it t' ing rivers of his "own, his native land" — not simply to a Starof the i\ though it may be the State of his birth or adoption, but to libhat ger whole country. On the other hand, came up the claims the Uni Great Britain, not founded in justice, not in accordance wittions wi the laws of nature or of nations, bnt pressed with a sturdy arnorthwc unyielding (obstinacy peculiar to her national genius, a gcnivforty m; of a comprehensive and grasping kind, a commercial geniii-forty-ni spreading a greedy eye over whole oceans and continent-garded with a desire of appropriation, and who, after all her conquestscountr}' was never ready to cry, "enough !" saw no ultima thule, biilectionn marching ever onward with a proud but dissatisfied air, ibwiU bel sumed for her mottoes, "Get all you can, and keep all yoand niii o])tain !" "Right is a strong argument, but assume a virtue : By tl you have it not." "The shadow of a right is somethiiiL;15, IS J Pursue it as if you were in earnest, as if your life dependeninth p on the pursuit, and, by and by, the world, supposing thatyoiiin exisi zeal has a real and tangible object, will admit that you havand G grasped the substance." Such is now, and such ever lias been theater the character of British policy. The progress of civilizatioiMajest; has not changed nor ameliorated it — and such, we fear, it wilparalle ■ '^fi. I>V' 850. TJic San Juan Qiusfion. n.-j , l>y u sii(l,|Qjjj.,i„ hancrlitv, itrotcMitioiis. oxai-tiiiir. iiii*l exorMtaiit to flu; 1 nor hccii jQ^j ,,(• fji,n>_ Wji liavc no iiitciitiMii tc I'cvicw tin' debates on y '^^■' ^^'i'l'ili© OrcL^oii question that took |)lac(- in tin- Ani('i-i<';iii Senate, lint occn[)iii:,jjj \y^, refer to tlnMu sini[)Iyto remind our renders that all th(> \ '^' ^"eji lii jacts eonneeted with that inquiry hav(» heen wdl canvassed ite, lint weiimd are betoro the world; and that it" there is any one niattei' n and undyiyith whieli our intelli.irent citizens are more conv(.'rsant than iny other, it is that ot" this Itoundary line that separates coated in t)vir dominittiis on the nortlnvestei'n frontier from those of her ont,_awakeii Majesty the (^)ueen of Great Jiritain. The treaty of 184(5 is United Statjewro us, ne,^•otiated, on one side, by one of the purest, t'hin,!;- analv-iblest, aiul most determined statesmen of this or of any a>i:e, body, at lea-he present venerable chief executive ma^nstrate of the United m o-eiHus instates — vlarinn vciirrahih- vomonx and, on the other, by the led Senates Right Ilonora. le Richard Pack(.'nhani, a menil»er of her Ma- lon, a questi esty's Most Honorable J'rivy Council, and her Majesty's United Stat Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the ^'as one of t![Jnited States, (we like to ^ive the wliole title,) a diplomatist. to a part ioubtless, of the most atbuirable caution and sa^^acity, or he '8 iionio to tlwould not have been so eminently distinpiislied l>v his thou,!4ht- ener^-ies, auul and i)rudent government. Whatever may be said in dero- ■kens and fir ration of the stipulations of this brief but important and uesjon of tl.aaein(u*a!de treaty, one thin<^ may certainly be said in its])raise: I'th and bouithat it exhibits the highest possilde evidence of the generosity iply to a Statof the American people, and of the lively sense entertained of ion, but to lithat generosity b}' the experienced statesman who represented tlie claims -the United States on that occasion. By our previous conven- "ordanco wittions Avith Spain, France, and Russia, we were entitled to the 11 a sturdy ainorthwestcrn territory u}) to the })arall(d of lifty-four degrees nius, u geniiforty minutes. If we consented to divide the territory at the ercial geniu-forty-ninth parallel, the remainder of our claim may bo re- d continent>garded in the light of a concession, on our ]>art, to the mother ler conquestscountry, in consideration of common ancestry and ancient recol- ijDa fhnle, biiections, and made for the sake of perpetuating i>cace and good- isfietl air, a,>will between two nations who had many motives foi* cementing keep all y(rajid maintaining friendly relations with each other. mo a virtue; By the first article of our treaty with (ireat Britain of June s somethiii-15, 1840, it is stipulated, that *'from the point of the forty- ife dependcuinth parallel of north latitude, where the boundary laid down ling that yoiiin existing treaties and conventions between the United States hat you Iiavand Great Britain terminates, the line of boundary between ver has beciithe territories of the United States and those of her Britannic f cIvilizatioiMajesty shall be continued westward along the said forty-ninth e fear, it wilparallel of latitude to the middle of the channel which separates 5 mmmm IMHM OG The San Juan Quest ion . [X, 1859. WaBliiti the (.•oiitiiuMit from Vancouver's island, and tlienco soutln through tin- niiildlf nt'said cliaiini'l and ot" Fuca's straits tn l^acilic ocean: ProvliJed, iiouevor, that tliu navij^ation dl'^^P'"^' whoh^ of the said channel and straits, south of the forty -im'^^f*'"" paralhd ofnorth latitude, remains free and open tohoth partii -^ It would seem, from the stipulations of a treaty so distini ■^®®" ^ expressed, that no j)ossilde didiculty could arise in respect*^®^^ ^'^ what was included within the boundary line and what outsi^ "^"l" of it, when it is said to be the middle of the channel scparat ^^^V'' the Island of Vancouver from the continent, for the sli<;lii'^"y ' "^ inspection of a correct map of the country would be sulli?^' '] ent to satisfy any one that the channel intended to be s])ecit:l? F'' in the treaty is the channel of Ilaro, the main channel i , ''/ nectin;;- with the Straits of Fuca, which is obviously the ur , *, ' highway for the navigation of both nations on their "vvi»\ »•• • the Pacitic, and this being admitted to be the case, it W( :q •' * ; as obviously throw the Island of San Juan on the Americ . ./" and the Island of Vancouver on the British, side of the cli. . j *, • • • • l*lftfl TO ncl. But the question of our title to San Juan island havi , , . been drawn into dispute by recent circumstances which iq,, notorious to the whole country, and which have threaten j-n-. temporarily, at least, to disturb the friendly relations of t , . two countries, it may be proper to consider the relation wlii - A the island in dispute bears to the continent or main land, , 'i well as to dwell brieflv on the causes which have disturli. ,• ' ., • V i> * • ^ • 1 I • 1 I i. 1 tractinc tiie equanimity ot our ancient cousins, and wlucn have at Ic; j i , led to a loud war of words in the leading political journals r , , ^ both sides of the Atlantic. .i U ; The Island of San Juan, containing forty thousand '"iciti i ' is one of a group of sixteen, constituting an archipela o in the waters of Puget Sound — the Mediterranean sea p^ii:',;,^, the northwestern territory of the Union. This island _;~i + i separated from Vancouver's island by the main channel ^^bcUj, the Straits of Haro, and belongs to that class of islands "^vlii q i. • are usually called continental, to distinguish th^ni from avIi '■■ are denominated oceanic islands. .'i.n inspection of the iii.^' ^ would convince any one acquainted with the scienceof phy- - ^^ cal geogra})liy that this Avhole group of islands anciently 1 lj— longed to the continent, and formed an integral portion o^^'Tnith'i main land, from which they have been dissevered during t ill wi a The lapse of ages by the eruptions of the ocean. Suffice it v\tJL^ . say that, under the treaty of 1846, it has been claimed as tl ^^^j ^j', property of the United States, and, in the survey of the coa q£ ^^^, and its appendages, has been embraced within the limits attacln [Xu 1859.] The Son Juan Quvslion. CT lienco soullii _, , . m • 11 1 • /• ■ I'c r\', l>v the oxnicss aiitli'intv o\ mir of \\\^^ tl o '^ 1 1 ( 1 1 I N I I I . • • , ' • iviratioii of 4epi>rtm<'iits mI tlic Aiin'rican ;;ov(,'niiiit'iit. ami loiinally takm fl..'. f,,.-*,- , ■ )08sessin!i uf and lortilicd liv tlif Lrdicral in coiumaiKl of the iJiL 10113-1111 .-. ...... .' .' . . , j,^],j^j^} J .jTiilitary division in that r('L;i(»n. .\n iniitri'ssion sci'ins to have iry so (iistiiK •'"^'^" ' """ "^ in tho United States that, notwithstaiidiiiir the so in resDecf^^'y ex|>ress ternis of the treaty, this ishmd was territory still wl «•!>..+ -\.,. n dispute between tlic two eoiintries. \\\\{ this issue has not HI \MiaL outs; '11 4.1-11 iti iinol t^cnarit ®^ '""'^*' l>y our }.:;oveniinent, which has never entertained .1. till !i';,..'i .^■nv doiihts a.s to its riiz;ht to it, has alwavs treated it a> its )i iiie slight J , • 1 X f 1 • ' -x i- • ouhl be nl!'"*^'^^' "" <'-\'<'reised aets (»t ownership over it. as tornun^r iin ouiu he suiiir""' • • •;.,:/,, : ; ', • : • [ to be ST e if'^*®?'"' and indisputal)le part 01 tlie American territory. ,. r.i, ..,.,!, 1 Besides, it would seem there could be no reasonalde doui>t n ciianncl t' , . , , 11 ,. . ouslv tho .. *'"** '^ l>eion *^^^*^ ^^'"^ '^ possibility of getting into the Straits of Fuca by ■elation'' ft* different chanmd from th(3 Straits of Haro. iind which, if ,...1 .+; 1 adopted as the cliannel of the treatN', would throw the Island rohition win ^ K , ^ ,, . . • V, i> •.• 1 • 1 r .li .. ,,. ;. 1 1 O* fe'ih Juan trom the American to the Hritish side ot the r main land., , ,. ,xr, . , , , . , i 1 1 .1 1 • 1 . -r.^ r + 1 DOOndarv line. Winch channel was intended l»\' the high con- IclVe ClISTUrli. .. • a ^^ i\ I \ \^ -1,1 I |,.,„p . i. 1 trading })Gwers .' Uovernor Douglass su]i]>osed there might be 1 '• ' , a doubt about that matter, and, consequently, a doubt as to ^ ' '^whether, under the treaty, San Juan belonged to England or 1 the United States. Consequentlv Ik; intiinateil, it is said, that T • ] ne should forcibly pn^vent the landing of any lurther troops ^ "on San Juan, which had very much tlie aspect of a threatened ranean sea ^ .1. . ■,', ,, -ia " /• ..i .. i 1 • i rpi • • 1 1 collision with the military ot the two powers, and whicli Ihis island _i 1 . 1 1 . 1 1 x xi i. • n^^ • -c 1 , micrht lead to a general war betweciu the countries. II n channe f •, , .^ ^ . i , tt- 1 .^i r This, if V. therefore. General • 1 1 ,. possible, was to be avoided v......... islands wliiS ^,, • ,. , . . -r* 1 I r , ocett. 111 consequence ol Ins u'reat militarv oxptM'ience and lem irom wli ^_ •, n i • .^ 'n x- i '1 \ i i i. i.i ,. -. sagacity, Avas called into consultation, and despatched to tho ,. , scene of the troubles, undcM' instructions from our Govern- /, •, ment which have not transi)iree one tl 1-^ ^-^'' o^ very difficult solution. Far more imjiortance lias Iieen I the limits attached to it than it deserves, but the slightest causes, where : Vii"iiriiWi""< IMMHMni iMtaKwl .■.TS*-#!K G8 The San Juan Question. [Nol859. parties arc jealous of each other, often lead to serious distuiiingui allocs. It is iK'cossarv, therefore, that the matter should island maiiap;ed with a wise caution, hut, at the same time, witltracks| hrm determination not to surrender to the British g-overnimfour > one iota of our rig'hts. For the sake of pc:ice and good fclLthat t ship, we have conceded too much to her already. There i-Britai point where intcm})erate exactions, accompanied with thit;ondar and a spirit of bravado, must be met with uncompromising aStrait sturdv resistance, and this is doubtless one of those poiiis foui which in the progress of our history we have now reaclnof the "VVe are satisiied that Great Britain does not wish to go tou On with us at this time about this matter or any other. S dred . has troubles of a weightier nature nearer liomc which ii,precin occupy the minds of her leading statesmen and distract tli.frage, thoughts. Neither do we court a war with her, nor ex})' even one: but if she is not satisfied with the amount of territo States she has received at our Imnds, but demands a portion of i const r inheritance at the point of the sword, the United States w of ^^\*^ be ready to meet her. Its free and brave people, with anus tery, 1 their hands and stan ill be prepar and can do no danger t time, with t over liasty p; tor. This V .1, as it will i stion, in oru a strip of sol c ishnid, it u as the boiiii hat it Avas t ishmd to Gr. 11 the appei. t as \vell as 11 inch beyn: pled with* t ites San Ju 11 the liniib linguisliod cliief. has traced out the exterior linos of these islands, ascertained, by exact soundings, the depths in the tracks of the sarronn! ji^-i, a most valuable and interesting inaj». showing that the Rosario Straits nearest to the main land which Great -Britain claims as the dividing line, are shallow, entirely sec- ondary — in fact shoal water, whilst on the other hand, in the Straits of llaro, those I'arthest to the west and near Vancouver, is found the deep-sea ehaniu'l, the natural and real boundary of the territory of the two nations. On this San Juan Island, east of those st 'its are one hun- dred American settlers. It has been organised as a political precinct i»f Washington Territory, exercising the right of suf- frage, and it> influence felt in the election of tei-ritoi nd oflicers, even including the Delegate t«t the Congress of the United States, Jt is now fortified by an exterior line of defence, constructed on military princii)les, and is held l)y a detachment of Hve hundred United States troops, with a heavy field bat- tery, by flying artillery and infantry. Jt is the i)rinciple of our ]»eople, when once the right to an inch of our territory on the extremest frontier is determined by the proper authorities, to defentl and maintain thai right by all the jxtwer and means the nation can commar.d. Let that judgment be once authori- tatively expressed in aflirming our title, and the world will then see that we are in earnest, let the consequences be what they may. JAMES BUCHANAN. t public ac; uid the groi been asserti n, the Unit ent of its d: Wk ])ro])oso to present in this first number of the Demo- cratic J?eview, as an accom]>aninient fo the portrait which graces it, a short outline of the ciireer of Jamhs lincFiANAN, President of the United States. Our limits forbid us at ]U'e- sent from giving more than a very brief and meagre sketcii of the life of this distinguished statesman; Init. brief at it is, it will show a course of pubhc service, continued through many years, \u times often of dilllculty and of peril, and coniuM'tcd with the gj-eatest (piestions which have arisen under the nd- inisti'ation of our com])lex form of government. The annals ramn I — ■ j~- ■ ■ ^ of oui" history fuinish but few (\\aniples o[' a political career 80 siiecesslul, united with a private life so pure and blameless. It i'^ j-alher our imrjxtse in this article, coni'isely and rapidly, mtm- 70 James Buchanan. [X (IV •i Pol to cnuiiierato the public .services oi' Mr. Bucliaiiaii, than to d. cuss their merit or vindicate their usefulness. The fit pi formance of tlie latter task Avill fall into other han«ls after : shall have been ^^[athered to his fathers, and death shall lia opened to him the ])ortals of immortality. The p,:ssions the hour, and ])rejudices more unreasoninj^" than j)assions, iii j)revent now, and for years to come, the approval by a P^J'tivarioiB of his countrymen of those measures of his Administration — tiv.merIcaT| approi)riate peroration of his long life — Avhich are now beii^ansiw enacted into history. mgSafl James Buchanan was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvaii'orB.Grel on the 23d day of April, 1791, during the first AdministratiiSteghej of AVashington, and but two years after tiie Constitution • ^^ ,1 the United States had been put into operation. His fatli^^aBill had emigrated from Ireland about eight years before, and Lnptoli, 1 mother was a native of the State in which he himself Avas ^""^^r^'i lie was educated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, tlien and ni gm^Bil a liigldy respectal)lc institution of learning, at which he ^\ (rotfl|?on araduated in 1S09, at the age of 18. He ciiose the professii'^**'*^^'" of tiie law, and entered immediately witli ardor and zeal njiggjij^es its study in the olHce of James Hopkins, at Lancaster. llDr«i*coi was admitted to the l)ar in 1812, at tiie age of 21. It ^v Jo^jJ^JjJ^^ not long before his great talents, his thorough ]n'ej)aration. I'linAn's e\emj)lary habits and fidelity to business, attracted attenti(iiiai^!||pof From that time his progress was rajud and sure, and but j?^)^'*^ ^ few years elapsed before he had won a position in the vli^ij^^'^,,, front rank of his profession. It Avas at this period, or evitheFui'i earlier that he formed those accurate, methodical, and ordcijaii^^.' '*' liabits .vhich have clung to him through life, and liave ""I'Jj^iJaiial him so remarkable an exemi)lar of industry and })unctualitvAddi5ess< ]\Ir. Buchanan continued to })ractice law for about 20 yeaistonrot' and long before he retired he had reaped the substantial i' Jenfpi^.l wai'd of an ample fortune fairly won l)y honest labor. dHiirboi [u 1814, at the very outset of his career at the bar. 1. School L volunteered as a private soldier in a company raised and coi,^??^'^ manded by .luuge Shii)pen, ol Jjancaster, Aviiich ^jroceeded i^yery. once to Baltimori; to aid in the delence of that city, tluactefroni threatened by the British forces un-ler General Ros Tl,lfi?JV seryu'i's of tlie company not heing needed, it was disl)an(l( in Baltimore, and Mr. l>uchaniin returned to his home after he was (dected to represent Lancaster county in tlie Slaiwre fa m Legislature, and commenced hei'e that long civic cai'eer whii^' has been S(.'arcely interrupted fi'om that day to thi^. iJiertites served two terms in the Legislature, and IVom the very bcgii is uied lis bo6k ^ ^ery sub ^"' ical ilgn 10 above i to perBi IdreM [X, POLITICAL WORK. nv SECOND EDITION OF CLUSKEY'S POLITICAL TEXT-BOOK OR ENCYCLOPEDIA. By M. W. CLUSKEY, Postmaster of the House of Representatives of the United States. IT CONTAINS, lan, tlmii to d. Tlio fit ]i( • liaiids jit'tor loath sliall lia riie p.-.ssioiis n j)assi()ii8, m ral bv a ijorti • r. x -m tr . • , • • ^ --anoTO Party Platforms. iniStriitloii—t.;k.merican Ritual. ; are now bt-iiiftMas Legislation of Congress. rnore Gftary, Stanton, and Walker's j> _ , mgoral Addresses. , I oilli.sylvaii: ojg Qj.g(,,^^ Douglas, and Collamcr's, Aflniiliistratl i St^hens and others Roiwrtson Kan- Constitutiori • .^ , ,. , ., ^^ xr H.. ,, matenal portion of the Kansas Ne- i« ^at]>,8kaBill. before, and I npton, Topeka, and Leavenworth Con- nself was b(ir'^'***^«- .1 1 UrittWiden, Montgomery, Senate, and , tlion and iMgiigi^ Bills. wllich lie \\ irote§on the same in each House. - tlie ])]-ol'(_'s,'^ii'®*^» •^*^'"y *^""" *^^^^"*'^''' appertaining , .,,, 1 , 1 thenmu, including President Pierce's and zeal u].,3^,i^i.Message.) janeaster. JlDred Bcott case. of 21. it W'^**'*'*^*"*'^'! •^f*^'® Ui^i*^^ States. rpivn-.tlnn 1 lea of Confederation. ICpai .ition, l-iinglon's Fiirowell Address. [•ted attentldiiandW of 1784 and 1787. ire, and but ^'^'••**'^ ^^^'^^^^'^'^y ^'^^o^u^-i'-'^sof 1798 fl d 'tS. )n in tlie viNj^^yr^ ru>port in favor of a Distribution eriod, or evi theFublic Lands, and able documents id, and ordiii^iMtiit, with a full history of the same. iiwl li.i\-o ,,,„,;01lt 20 veill'StMf of Railroad Grants by Congress, ^nlxf'intl'il V •'^ ™® "^'"tt's tlicii'on. , aeHtPierce s Message vetoing the Rr, 9,. U)or. dHMborBill. the bar, l.Schiwl Land Bill, and votes thereon. ised and eoi O^y^e" ^''^'''^' T'""*!-- 1 , acM .from fepceches tor and against l)roceede(l;ive,^. at city, till acttlrom Speeches of noted Republicans 1 lly)/ 'J'] d Abolitionists. 1- , 1 Toombs' Boston Lecture on Slavery. NIKS disbandt ^ ],„,,, ^ reryiubject is fully treated, and cverv yoto in Congress, on any subject having a iiuiiit. Y*' "ical llgnilicancc, is given. V 111 the St;ily)re ii not a single political question upon which this book does not fully post the career wiiii^^f* , 4 1 I II ha^iecoived the commendation of the entire political press of the United States, and iiiu . 11 jg g^giesnieu of the country, e very bcgll. is UMd in nearly all tlie discussions in Congress as a bonk of ready reference. lis bo6k posts up tlu! public speaker on the Kan*w and other questions. TKRAIS I Nliiffle copy, $3-Club of Six, $ 10. 10 above terms inclmle the p(i8tiiv;e, Lihenil deductions to the trade, and a fair allow- : to persons who interest tliemsclvcs in obtaining subficiibers. idrea JAMKS n. SMITH & CO., No. 610 Chcbtnut street, Philadelphia. AMOXa OTHER THINGS Messrs. Fremont and Buchanan's Letters of Acceptance. Messrs. Buchanan and Williams' Letters on the Bargain and Intrigue Charge. Mr. Calhoun's Fort Hill Address. President Jackson's Proclamation against Nullification. The Maysville Road Veto. A History of Party Conventions. Report of Mr. Davis, of South Carolina, on the Political Power of the Supreme Court. Mr. Bucliauan's Minority Report on same subject. Governor Wise ami Mr. Caruthers' Letters against the American Organization, and the Hon, A. H. Stuart's Letters, signed " Matli.son," d^fi-nding it. Kenneth Rayner's Speech at Philadelphia, in Nov., 1856, and in North Carolina in ls;j2. A Hlii'tory of^ with the votes on the various Tariffs. A History of tho United States Bank and Abolition Petitions Mr. FlUmord's Albany Speech and Erie Gayle liCtters. History of tlie Annexation of Texas. Opinions of public men on the power of Con- gress over the Territories. The Nicholson Letter. The Nashville Convention and Georgia Plat- forms. Missouri Compromise, with every vote tlierc- on sectionally classified. rpj^NCom promise Measures of 1850. Clayton Compromise. Wllmot P.oviso. Tlie expenditures of the Government, with the beat speeches on both sidos of the pr''Si'iit issue with reference to the same. Witli many other things too numerous to numtion. ■MMMPNM irt>"< "nil -^-imamt J "EaUAXi AND EXACT JUSTICE TO ALL MEN OF WHATEVER STATE OR PERSUASION, RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL."— Thomas Jejferton. OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC QUARTERLY REVIEW, North-«vc8t corner Pennsylvania avenue and Seventeenth street, ( N'ear the Presidential Mansion. ) Washington, November, 1859. On the 17th day of September ultimo, a day consecrated in the hearts of all lovers of their country as commemorative of that on which the Constitution of the United States was adopted, was put to press, at Waship.gton, the initial pages of a Political and Literary publication, which is now issued to suIJscribers only, entitled the NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC aUARTERLY REVIEW. This work is designed as an exponent of the school of statesmen founded by Thomas Jkffbbson, and maintained by his Democratic successors in the Presidential office. Tlie policy of the present and all future Democratic Administrations of the National Government will be fully explained in the pages of th« '• Review," and its purposes, in all that concerns the vit^ interests of thciDemccratic party, foreshadowed, with a view to perpetuate our political institutions and promote the true inten'sts of the whole Union. No mere eulogium, or denunciation of men, will be permitted in the pages of this Publication. It will be an earnest advocate and defender of principles believed to be sound. The " Quarterly" is intended to supply a want in the field of political literature which long since should have Leen occupied by some such publication. It is believed that the necessity for the " Review" will secure for it a circulation commensurate with its importance and usefulness. The political and literary articles wiJLV^ ^^J^iitributed by eminent writers of the country; and no exertions or expense ;^VMi iie epaJ'od to make the work acceptable and desirable to every Democrat in the tJniteci St**^' The sole object of this periodical being to dfe^^nainftte sound political truths, with a view to promote future Constitutional triuirtphs, the earnest co-operation of every national sound thinking man is roquestgd-to '♦^^ ^^ obtaining it patronage. A finely executed likeness, engraved upon steel, of his Excellency James Dir^iiANAN, President of the Uaited StatdS, embolliBhej 'tlve^^t^fi P*?^ of ^^^ fi™t nurtiber of the "Review." -s--"^ Subscription price three dollars per annum, payable invariably in advance. Address all letters relating to business or sikbecriptions to THOMAS B. FLORENCE, Editor, Washington City, D. G {Office northwest corner of Penn. ave. and 17 th it., near the President's House.) Mi iUk (isd^JH 4"