IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. ^ >. ^ ^ ^^ 1.0 ^lii 1^ itt IM 12.2 u 1.1 U — 6" ■l PhotDgraiiiic Sciences Corporation ^ 4 \ V <> ^. ;\ '^ ?^ tVIST MAIN STRfIT WUtSTn,N.Y. USM (71«) 172-4503 '^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D D D D D D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagAe Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurie et/ou pelliculAe I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes gAographiques en couleur 'l^oloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other n^aterial/ Rell6 avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La re liure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int^rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas M filmies. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl6mentalres; L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiqute ci-dessous. T t( I I Coloured pages/ D Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagies Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restauries et/ou pelliculies Pages discoloured, stained or fo«ed/ Pages d6color6es, tacheties ou piquAes Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es T P o fi b t» si o< fi si Ol Showthrough/ Transparence I I Quality of print varies/ Quality inigale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplimentaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont Ati filmies A nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. ; w i er bi ri| re This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiquA ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 7 ^^ 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X tails I du odifier une mage Tha copy ffilmad hara has baan raproducad thanks to tha ganarosity of: Library Diviiior. Provincial ArcNves of British Columbia Tha imagas appearing hara ara tha bast quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in lieeping with 'the filming contract specifications*. Original copies in printed peper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the becit cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrsted >mpression. The last recorded frame on eech microfiche shall contain tha symbol — ^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol ▼ (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hend corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire f llmA fut reproduit grAce i le gAnArositA de: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia Les images suivantas ont AtA reproduites avac la plus grand soin. compta tenu de le condition et de la nettetA de I'exempleire f llmA. et en conformitA evec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplairas originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimAe sont filmAs en commen^ant par la premier plat et en terminent soit par la darnlAre page qui comporta une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration. soit par la second plat, selon le cas. Tous las autres exemplairas originaux sont filmAs en commen9ant par la premiAre pege qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la darnlAre pege qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derniAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: \kt symbole — ^ signifie "A SUIVRE ". le symbols ▼ signifie "FIN". Les cartas, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux da rAduction diffArants. Lorsqua la document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA. il est filmA A partir da I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut an bas. en prenent le nombre d'images nAcessaira. Las diagrammas suivants illustrent la mAthode. rata o telure, lA 3 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 f ■( ;,,,> W' eAoztluv,est \ (?oLlect Lorv \ ._j ^i ■V'i ' '■ 'tS'- ■'V ♦ . — \ L SPEECH or MK. BOWLIN, OF MISSOURI, ON THE OREGON QUESTION, DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JANUARY 6, 1846. Mr. BOWLIN said: He re]Sfarded this ques- tion of the occupation of Oregon as one of the most vital importance that had agitated this Govern- ment since its foundation. It not only involved the value of the territory in question, but rrinci- ptes of the most sacred character to the nation. No matter in what light we viewed it — whether in regard to the value of the territory in question, to the national honor at stake, or the mighty Power with whom it might probably bring us into colli- sion — it was every way equally important. The issue seemed now to be made un. Negotiation, which had been amusing and roobing us for the last quarter of a century, was now at an end, and the time foi action had come. The crisis had ar- rived; and we had to decide upon principles which involved the unity or dismemberment of the soil of the Republic. If this nation should give way OB this point, she would, in the very bloom of her youth, stand degraded in the eyes of the world, and a lasting stain would be inflicted upon her honor. If she resisted this agression, war might be the consequence; and even if it should be, who would hesitate in the performance of a great na- tional duty, demanded by honor and justice, to avoid its calamities? The very importance of the question rendered more imperative our duty to bring the country out of it with untarnished honor. Was this to be accomplished by a time- serving inactive policy ? Were we to escape dis- hftnorlay leaving a foreign colony upon our soil ? No; the brand nad been already fixed upon the nation's brow, by miserable diplomacy, and every hour it was suffered tamely and quietly to remain but fixed the impression deeper and deeper. He repudiated the miserable policy that could ttunely calculate the cost upon a question of this import- ance to the national interests, to the national honor and glory. Upon the question of our claims to Oregon, he did not propose to trouble the House. His views upon it nau already been fully submitted at a for- mer session of Congress, and ne should only touch upon them as they might incidentally be involved in the review of the treaties made upon this sub- ject. He proposed to leave the question of title where the decision of the last Congress, in confor- mity with that of the Baltimore Convention, had placed it, and which tlie people of this nation had ratified by a solemn and decisive vote, viz: that it is unquestionably in us The title of Oregon, then, is ours; and is estab- lished by the best authority in this country. That being the case, had we aone anything to place that title out of our hands, or to ng it into jeop- ardy? And here permit him to stttte, at the outset of his argument, that no act which we might pos- sibly do in relation to Oregon, so long as we leave the rivers, bays, and creeks of that territory open to the subjects of Great Britain, and allow them the right of trading with the Indians, could be in violation of that conver*"on. We might establish a territorial Government regardless of the notice^ we might build our forts and fortifications; we might send our people there; we might oi^nize the territory into a State; and, in his humble opin- ion, there would be no violation of the ti-eaty stip- ulations between us and England. «'/0 •.-!« "•■» The error into which gentlemen seem to liave fallen upon tliis subject, waa, in supuoNins; tliat we had negotiated ourselves out of the right of disposing of our territory in Oregon as we j)leased without giving just cause of offence to otiiers. This docrine grew out of tiie idea, so busily j.ro- mulgpted by the English usurpers of our tcrriiory, that there existed by treaty a "joint occupation" in Oregon. This he utterly denied. There never was such a thing as "joint occupation" secured ?o England in the treaty; and it was only an adopt- ed phrase, ingeniously invented to bolster up the pretensions ni' the aggressors. It exists in none of the treaties either with Spain or with us. It is a modern invention, to turn a treaty strictly com- mercial into a treaty of territory and boundaries — into a treaty involving the sovereignty of soil. What he proposed now to show was, that no ex- ercise of sovereignty over the territory of Oregon, on our part, was a violation of any of the treaties, while British subjects were there permitted to en- joy the freedom of navigation and trade, and while that privilege might and could be better protected under an organized goverrmient of the territory by us than at present; and that it was our right to an- nul and abrogate it at our will and pleasure, with- outjust cause of oifeiice to any one. Then he might ask, what has England gnined by treaty on this subject? The first foundation of her pretendad claim was the treaty of Noofka Sound; and upon this her own eminent stiitesmen had pronounced, on the floor of the British Parliament, that they had gained nothing that they had not before. They had bullied Spain into that negotiation; they hud kicked her into it by voting supplies to the King for carrying on the war. But Spain out-generaled them, and they gained nothing but fine words. They gained nothing but the right of ingress and egress in that territory, the right to trade with the natives, and to make temporary huts and ware- houses. Ay, they gained a loss by that very treaty; for they' gained the privilege of the com- merce of the South Sea, ana took it as a boon at the hands of a nation which they, at the tnmc time, held in pretended scorn and contempt. Yes, sir; she acknowledged the sovereignty of Spain over the South seas, and took as a boon from her the privileges of their commerce. That was strict- ly a commercial convention, and had nothing to do with the sovereignty of the soil of Oregon; and every privilege granted could have been exercised consistently with Spain's sovereignty over the soil. 1 he following is the third article of the treaty of Nootlca Sound, specifying the privileges conferred: "Ar'iICLc ill. Ill ordur to Htieiigthuii the boiuis of ' fridulship, and to jirest'ive in future iwrlei-t Imriiioiiy nnd ' ag)od uiidur:«tiiiidin!; butwenii thi; two contracting parties, ' it ii agreed tliat their rasftcctive subjects shall not he dis- 'turted or inolesied, either in iiaviguting or carrying on ' thci r tisheries in tlie I'acitic ocean or tlic Hoiitli aens, or ' of l.:tiding on the coast-s of those seas, in places not al- ' ready o.'-cupied, for the purpose of carrying on their coiii- ' merce Wi?h tlie natives of Uie country, or of making set- ' tieinents U.^'re ; the whole subject, nevertheless, to Uie ' restrictions speeiiied in the tliree following articles." The nature and diameter of the settlements are tally explained by the proviso to the sixth article, in the following words: " Provided, Tliat tlie said respective subjects shall retain < the liberty of landing on the coasts and islands so situated * for the puriKMe .of their flilierjr, oud of «r«ctiiig tlienon ' huts id other teinporarj' buildings «f niiig only for ihIctcly abro- gated by the war wliii'h immediately alter fol- I lowed between Great Hntaiii and Spain, what did 1 she gain by it? Freedom to her ctiminerce and i trade in those regions; nothing more. And what- j ever may have bten her aiiiliitioiis designs upon ] the temlory, Spain conceded no more, and inieiid- I ed to concede no more. The n>. xi thing in the history of negotiation, by I which .she pretended that she ac(|uirtd any rights, I was in the ceh^bratid treaty with the United States, I in iHld. The terms of that treaty were, perhapi", f'aniiliiir to every gentleman hi this House; but he wished to call tlie attention of gentlemen particu- larly to it as compared with other treaties of the I United States witli Great Britain, that they might .see whether she ever ;riiined any more right cf soil, or other rigJits, under il than she had gained under other treaties, with regard to which she had made no such preteiisioiiH. What did the treaty of 1818 give them ? The third article of that treaty was as follows: "Ahticle III. It is agreed th.it any country that may be ' elaiiiied by cithitr party on the northwest co.-ist of America • westward of tlie i^tony mountains, shall, together with its ' harbors, bays, and crpcks, and tliif navigation of all rivers ' within the saiiir^ In; free and op«Mi for the term often years, 'fr( n the date 'I the signatnre of tlie present convention, ' to the vesMels, citiKens, and .subjects of the two powers ; it ' being well understood that iliis agreenicnl is not to be con- ' strued to the prejudice of any claim which cither of the 'two high contractins parties may have to any part of the ' said count 'y ; nor shall it be takc'ii to affect the claims of ' any other jtower or state to any part of the said country — ' the only object of the high contracting parti(;s in tti;»t re- 's|M'ct being to prevent dispute* and dilfurenccs among ' themselves." Now, he contended that while we preserve to them the freedom of trade in that territory, and preserve the creeks, bays, and rivers open to their communication witli the waters of that country, there was no violation of the spirit of that treaty. This idea of "joint occupation," growing out of that treaty, arose from the peculiar condition of the case, and not from the words of the treaty or from any known principles of international law. When we agree to let a country into commercial transac- tions with a savage people on our territory, it ne- cessarily carried with it the idea that they may for- tify themselves with stockades and temporary forts; and that begets the idea of permanent iiabitation, permanent location; and tlii.«« begets the idea with a grasping nation such as Great Britroduce a perfect revolution in csfab- ; lished systems. It would draw that commerce, j which has eiiiiched every nation that ever controll- ■ ed it, from tlic direction of Europe to the American I coast. If she can cripple us, and prevent emig^ration I and settlement in Oregon, that is all she desires, to preserve her supremacy over the connnerce of the world. Every move ujion the political chess- board is but another illustration of her vast designs; and justice and equity ftirm no barrier to their ac- complishment. A beautiful specimen of English justice is now developing itself, which, if carried out, ought to brand her with eternal disg[race. In the Chinese war she captured the beautiful island of Chusan, which commands the entrance to Ning- p.5, the commercial depot to Peking, the capital, and the mouth of the Yang-tse-kiang, the great river of China. By the terms of the peace, she extorted some twenty millions of dollars from that peace-loving people, and in return was to restore back this island in December, 1845. The money has been paid — China has kept her faith. And now we behold the spectacle of the English press — yea, the press that speaks the sentiments of the Guvernment — declaring that this island is not to be surrendered, and that avowedly for the purpose of controlling the commerce of tlie Yanj-tse-kiang — that great artery of Chinese trade. They enforce the portion of the treaty beneficial to themselves, and then claim a change of circumstances as a i'ustification for a violation of national faith. They ave got the money, and they refuse to surrender back the island, because, they say, forfooth, "it would be pultinw it into the hands of our great rival, France, ft is too important to surrender; we must keep it, and prevent France from coming into possession of it." This is British morality! And why do they keep it? Because it is the near- est harbor to Oregon. He now called upon gentlemen to look frankly upon this treaty, and to see that there have been no rights conferred under it, as claimed by gentle- men in this House; and whether we give the no- tice or not, we have as much right to organize a territory, to fortify it, and put our troops in it, as we had in Tennessee or Mississippi under Jay 's treaty. It was no grant of territory, out merely a commer- cial treaty; and Great Britain could justly take no offence at our action, so long as we protected the rights of trade of her citizens; but if she saw fit to take offence at it, let it come. But the gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Rhett] yesterday told them if war came it would be a war of aggression on our part. Our soil (said Mr. B.) is quartered upon; fortifications are erect- ed, and the territory is actually taken possession of; and because we see fit to do the same thing, in the exercise of our rights, are we to be told that, in case the result of this action is war, it is a war of aggression on our part ? It reminded him of the old fable of the porcupine and the snakes. The porcupine, being overtaken by a storm, called at the den of the snakes, and sought protection from the inclemency of the weather. He was taken in; and when he got tired of his company, he threw out his sharp quills into their soft skins. They invited him to retire. " No," he told them; " he ' had been allowed to come in, and he was very ' well satisfied; those who wished to could go out.'' So with British traders. Tliey had been allowed to come in, and they had taken possession of this territory; and now, w-hen we wanted to get them out, they tell us they are very well satisfied, and those who are dissatisfied may withdraw; and then the gentleman says if we undertake to put the por- cupine out, it is an agn^rcssive war. He (Mr. B.) did not so understand it. It was nothing more nor less than a war of defence against the en- croachments of an over-grasping Power. An "of- fensive" war! Why, one would suppose from the speech of the gentleman that we were engaged in some Was that the fact? any one doubt it at rand acquisition of foreign territory. Is not Oregon ours? Did this day ? And if it was ours, what was our duly in regard to our citizens and our territory? The gentleman from South Carolina had told them that to give this notice would be to assume exclusive jurisdiction over the territory, and to assume exclusive jurisdiction would be war; and furtlier, that it would be a war of aggression on our part. He agreed with the gentleman, that giving tlie notice, as the matter now stood, was necessury to assume exclusive jurisdiction; but as to the remainder of his posi- tions, he differed with him in tola. To give the notice, aiid to assume exclusive jurisdiction, he (Mr. B.) coritcnded did not necessarily invite to war; and if war should follow, it would be a war of aggression on the part of England , to take from us a part of our rightful territory; and a war which, he trusted, if it once was forceil upon us by tlie rapacity of Great Britain, would never cea.sc until slie had not a foot of land upon the continent of America. Let her distinctly understand that llikj was the sentiment of (liis ltou.se and of the other house of Congress; and that they are sustiiined in it by the American people; that we are not going to cower before her, and to surrender our just territory; that we are not the poor contempt- ible creatures tliat she is committing her depreda- tions upon in South Africa, in Hindostan, or New Zealand; and let her distinctly understand, that if slie makes a war of aggression in order to take from us any portion of our territory, it will never cense so long as she owns one inch upo)i our con- tinent. The gentleman from South Carohiia also dwelt at some length upon the policy of allowing things to renuiin as they now are, and of leaving to time to settle this question. We had been allowing it to go on in this manner for fifty years^ and what had time accomplished ? It had brought iuto question the title of a territory to which our claim was as good as that u})on which tliis Capitol stands. Our diplomacy, our concessions, our negotiations from time to time, had brought the matter into this position. What was time going to do ? He would tell them: It was to leave that country in the possession of tlie British, with en- couragement to fortify; and the responsibility of changing the state of things which we pusillan- imoudly shrink from will be assumed by our pos- terity; and Fremont's pass in the Rocky mountains will be another Thermopylae to drive back the in- vading Persians upon the rights of freemen. The gentleman was mistaken in his theory. Time sufficient had already elapsed to develop what would be the result of this policy; and it was, that England has twenty-fijur forts in that territory^ and that we had none; that England has an organ- ized government, we have none; that England has militiiry forces there, we have none; and that she iias absolute possession of a territory to which she has no claim but the pretended one under this treaty. That was the oj)eration of time; and time would work wonders I We would drive them off eventually, or make them American citizens; but he scorned to leave to our posterity what we ought to do ourselves — to vindicate our claim to a terri- tory to which our title was as good as it is to the territory of Virginia. The gentleman seemed to think it absurd ta * territory, irs ? Did if it was ir citizens m South lis notice tion over risdiction be u war with tlic le matter exclusive his posi- give the tction, he invite to be a war take from ar which, 13 by tlie ease until itinent of that thic) the otliur sustained are not ender our contenipt- dcpreda- 1 , or ^few id, that if to take vill never our con- uhna also I allowing >!' leaving had been fty years, d brought r'hicli our is Capitol ions, our jught the mc going cave that with en- ibility of pusillan- our pos- loun tains k the in- in. The Time ap what it was, erritory, ,11 orguii- laiid has that she hich she der this ind time them off jiis; but /ecome extinct in the land. Had we any such thing as national honor? We thought we had, when Congress, a few years ago, patriotically voted millions to the discre- by lliosp who wcmid go determined to drive off tionary control of the President, to protect our our enemies from the lost inch of the soil of the Republic. Absurd to possess our own soil — alis'ird to resist Britisli aggressions upon our own territory — ab- surd to protect the national honor from the burn- ing disgrace of foreign colonization within our established limits ! Mr. B. frankly confessed thai he could not comprehend the force of such logic. No achievement, however brilliant or stupend(ms, backed by the mighty power of this Republic, could merit the epithet of absurdity; much less one which had justice for its guide, and the pre- servation of the national domain and the national honor for its aim. The gentleman [Mr. Riiett] had treated at some length of the effects of war upon our institu- tions, and had seemed to dread something like despotism resulting from it. In this he differed from that gentleman; and he regarded it as a poor compliment to our system to assume its inefficiency for any and every emergency. He regarded our system of Government the best that had been de- vised by human wisdom, either for peace or for war. It was no frail bark, formed alone for j)ros- rights in the northeast. Then we felt as a brave and patriotic people should feel — that the cost was not counted when honor was at stake. In four short years that disputed territory fell a victim to our sjilendid schemes of diplomacy. Maine was dismembered, and a portion of her people tran.s- ferred to despotism and tyranny, and she paid for the priceless sacrifice out of 'he public treasury; and this in turn was deemed an honorable trans- action But he sincerely trusted that this was the last of that splendid system of diplomacy; and that suth disgrace would not be again inflicted upon the country. Upon this subject we might derive a most beautiful lesson from the ancient Romans. Amongst the fabled deities of the Ro- mans, they had a god of boundaries called Termi- nus, who was represented without feet, indicating that he had no power of retreating from the snot where Roman valor had placed him. To tnis fabled deity, the homage of patriotism, courage, and a sacred faith in tne prowess of their arms, were rendered up with divine honors. Religion and patriotism combined in the preservation of the soil of the Republic. In support of this sacred Cerous gales, and to be shivered amidst the storm; principle of Roman faith, of Roman patriotism, it ut one formed for every contingency; and well was ordained that any one who j)roposed to re- has it realized the best hopes of its patriotic found- • move this god, and Jismcmlier the Republic, should ers. It has stood the test of war-tempests when ' be decreed infamous. Armed alike with religious the Republic was in its infancy, and brought us ! enthusiasm, a devotion to this god of limits, and out gloriously and triumphantly. The anticijjated an ardent and burning patriotism, the Roman peo- " " * ■ pie not only preserved from dismemberment the evils of the gentleman were no part of the fruits of that glorious struggle, but, on the contrary, it aroused a noble and enthusiastic patriotism among the people; a renewed devotion to our cherished institutions, which had borne them unscathed amidst the conflict; and its fruits were national honor and national glory. A v. ar, he maintained, occasionally, was no positive evil. It engendered among the people a self-relying confidence, and a warm aad patriotic devotion to their country. It secured respect, by teaching others that we are not to be assailed with impunity. China is an example of a nation which never wais — which spends millions of money to build walls to hedge liersclf m-ound, instead of relying on the breasts of her sons as a bulwark of defence. On the con- trary, England, France, and Grcrmany were na- tions that were prepared to defend their rights. He did not regard war as a positive evil, if it was forced upon us by aggression and injustice: and he told the gentleman he might look to the "West for defence for any war which might come upon us. On the point of honor, it v/as a subject, as he had before remarked, of vital importance to this country. The eyes of the world are upon us, and their estimate of our national character was more or less to be formed upon the issue of this contest. If the Territory of Oregon was a barren rock, if it was a burning volcano, still it was ours; and he trusted in God that there was in the hearts of the people that strong idea of national honor which would forever preserve it from dismemberment, soil of the Republic for more than a thousand years, but planted the statue of their favorite deity ill Britain on the North, on the Euphrates in the East, Mauritania in the South, and the pillars of Hercules in the West. Roman arms and Roman valor carried him to the utmost limits of the then known habitable ^lobe. Inspired by a holy faith in their tutelary deity , they could look undismayed amidst the slaughters of Canute and the ruthless plunder of the Gauls. Even in her greatest ex- tremity, no senator dared counsel peace at the sacrifice of an acre of her soil; no diplomatist had the temerity to breath the thought of removing the favorite deity from his pedestal at any price. Where Roman genius and Roman enterprise erect- ed the sacred symbol, Roman valor was there ready to defend it. Under the benign influence of this mingled sentiment of religion and patriotism, Rome grew and spread until She veiled Earth witli her hauglity slmdow, and displayed. Until the o'er canopied horizon f^iiled, Her rushing wings — Oh ! she who wm Almighty hailed. From this beautiful story of the fabled divinity, let us learn to draw lessons of wisdom and patriot- ism. Let us, like the Romans, inculcate a sacred reverence for the unity of our soil, for the untar- nished lustre of our honor. Let us enshrine in our hearts our stars and our strij)es as the patriotic emblems of our faith. Let us plant them upon the utmost limits of the Republic, and invoke exe- 6 I cration upon the head of him who would counsel their withdruwal or their dishonor. He trusted that this illustrious example would not be lost on our later Republic, but the same spirit which hud glawed in millions of Roman hearts, would contuiue to pulsate in every Ameri- can bosom, until our name, and our principles, and our free institutions, had spread and covered the eartli with their benign hifluencc. National pride and national honor were sentiments in the Ameri- can breast which, like the vestal fires, flamed eter- nal upon the sacred altar of the hearts of freemen. To ofTend that pride or that honor, was as holy a cause of war as to strike the indignant blow at liberty itself. In the gentleman's [Mr. Riiett] illustration of the causes of war, he differed with him entirely. There were other causes than the oiJpressor's blow upon the liberty of a nation. There were other causes than the mere dread of being trodden in the dust by the iron heel of pow- er. In the honor of a nation there were points as nice and delicate, and even more so, than in that of a private individual. Our revolutionary fathers had .spilled their blood on a hundred battle-fields on an abstract technical principle; not becaiise they were tiixed higher than they could bear — for they taxed themselves much higher afterwards — but because they were taxed by those who had no right to tax them. To tax themselves was the ex- ercise of the glorious right of freemen — to submit to be taxed by others was the degradation of slaves. The gentleman had said somethings about north- ern and western chivalry, which could contemplate the flowing of blood (()r national honor, and yet would award a felon's grave to an individual who would combat on a pomt of private honor. He could tell the gentleman that, as far as the West was concerned, he had wholly mistaken the char- acter of her people. And he could further tell the gentleman that uiat high sense of pride, that deli- cate sense of honor, which impelled man to call another to the field of private combat, was to the full as strong in the West as it was in South Carolina. [Mr. Woodward, of South Carolina, here in- terposed, and, as his colleajjue was absent from the House, would take the liberty of saying on his behalf that he thought the gentleman from Mis- souri had mistaken his meaning. He had made no such reference to the people of the West, nor to any individual in the West. He had merely said tnat there were some individuals such as he described.] He claimed no peculiar credit for the chivalry of the West; he only claimed for her an equal parti- cipation, with the rest of the confederacy, in that common sentiment of American valor which made the blood of her citizens a free offering upon the altar of their country's glory. There was another branch of this subject to which time would only permit him to alluae, and that was the commercial importance of this terri- tory. And, in the first place, he would call the at- tention of gentlemen to the fact, that from the At- lantic coast, through the valley of the Mississippi, on to the Pacific ocean, we were by nature, ay, we were stamped by the hand of God himself, as one nation of men. Look at the geographical con- formation of our country, and contrast it with the Other quarters of the globe, and no man can doubt | that ligh destiny which is manifest from our situ- ation. Nature nas tnarked the distinction, and it would be folly in the extreme to shut our ryes to the :Uture glory of the Republic. On the other greai cftnlinents of the world, nature has placed their massive mountain-chains in the centre, from whic 1 their rivers di\erge in every direction to the ocean. Each great river-valley from the moun- tain to the sea, is marked as the abode of a sepa- rate and distinct projile. Nature has ordained the distribution of nations upon the continen's of the Old World; and every attempt to consolidate them has proved fruitless, and will contimte to prove fruitless. Not so with our own continent. Our mighty mountain-barriers are not in the centre, but are distrilnited into two great chains upon the East and the West — from which their waters con- verge to a common centre through the gre;>t valley of the Mississippi, and discharge themselves by one common trunk to the ocean. This great val- ley, more than thirteen hundred thousand square miles in extent, is marked by the hand of destiny as the abode of one people. It is marked as the great body of the Republic, to which the Atlantic and Pacifi^c slopes are but wings of comnumica- tion with the commerce of the world. These three parts of the Republic are inseparably bound together by the chains of a conuiion interest, of a common destiny. And it is wisely arranged that that portion of the confederacy — the great valley of the Mississippi, which cannot do without the Union, to jireserve her commercial connexion with the seas — is destined, in all time, to po.ssess the power to preserve it. A half century has scarcely elapsed since the wave of population first jtassed the great barriers of the Allegliany into the Mississippi valley, which now contains nearly ten millions of people, located luion a soil unsurpassed for fertility upon the globe. The surplus productions of this va'ley, now, are more than sufficient to supply all the demands of Eurojie and America; and judging of the future by the past, the time is not distant when it will be quadrupled in surplus production as well as popu- lation. To control the trade of the surplus prod- uce of this rich valley, has called forth the un- ceasing efforts of every commercial city, fVom Boston to Savannah. That mighty mountain bar- rier of the great valley has been passed over at a variety of points, with improvements and at a cost of more than a hundred millions of dollars, to secure this great trade of the West, Boston has her railroad; New York has her great Erie canal and railroads; Philadelphia has her railroads and canals ; Baltimore has her railroad and the Chesai)eake and Ohio canal, forming a junction with the national road; and so the catalogue might be continued along the whole line of Eastern cities to Savannah . And though a great amount is drawn off through these sources, yet scarcely enough to make an impression upon the vast surplus produc- tion of that mighty region. Now he would ask Eastern gentlemen, who are opposing the provision of a new outlet for this great trade, to look for a moment at its effects u})on the agricultural interests of the Eastern States. It is to flood your markets, and, bv the force of competition with a cheaper agricuftural country, to destroy your agricultural interests. The productions of the West and Southwest, our situ- tn, mid it r eyes to lio other s plarcd rn, from on to the e nioun- a scpa- f\inp(i the •a of the ate tliem to prove nt. Our centre, upon the iters ron- ■Mt valley stives by ^eat val- id square " destiny cd as the ! Atlantic iinmnica- These ly bound jrest, of a nged that eat valley thout the xion with )ssess the since the k barriers cy, which le, located the globe. now, are jiTiands of future by it will be I as popu- ilus prod- i the un- ity, fVom ritain bar- id over at and at a if dollars, Boston freat Erie • railroads [ and the I junction 2[ue mijrht tern citieg lis drawn nough to s produc- , who are t for this its effects Eastern d, bv the ;ricuftural interests, juthwest, coming into competition with Eastern produc- tions, arc, all kinds of ^rain, hemp, tobacco, cot- ton, Wind, pork, iieef, and every variety of live stuck — all of wliich can be produced at prices there infniilely less than the cost of production in tlie East. And every year the amount of this com- j)ctiti maf;nifi- cent cities in the Ea.st, at the ex|»eiise ot the i'arm- inj,' and plantinj; interest. And how can gentle- niei) in tlie East, in view of this prospect before them, hesitate to aid us in opening a new market for this ri<;h trade ? But when it is brought into the eastern market.^, where is your foreign outlet? Eiiro{>(! — a country of some two hundred millions of jieo^ile, all rivalling us in the same productions, and, consequently, af- fording a poor jirospect of a market for our surplus. On the other liand, give it a direction wcRtward, and let Astoria become the rival of New York in commerce, and what are the prospei-ts? The ports of eastern Asia are as convenient to Oregon as the ports of Europe arc to the eastern slope of our con- federacy, with an infinitely better ocean for navi- fation. In China, Japan, Cochin Cliina, and the 5irnian empire, w(! have an aggregate of four hun- dred and fifty millions of the finest artisans and maimfacturers in the world, as a jiopulation to consume the surplus productions of the great val- ley. In return for our breadslufls to feed their starving millions, they could give us tea, porce- lain, silks raw and manufactured, satins, velvets, crapes, ivory ware, fine woollens, cottons, metals, gums, paints, and, from the Philippine Islands, coffee, sugar, and spires. Here is the natural out- let for the surplus productions of our country, and a direct inlet to that commerce which has enriched every country that has enjoyed the benefits of it, from the earliest period of recorded history to the present day. This is the prospective value of Ore- gon. To the West she is to give a glorious mar- ket, and partially relieve the East from a withering competition. Then, with this view before them, wiio iire i)rejiared to treat it as a local question ? Let us perform our duty in relation to this terri- tory, (he urged,) and if war was forced uj)on us he trusted in God that we should not be found afraid to meet if, and that we should not cravenly postpone it for our posterity. Let us jireserve our territory from dismemberment, and ourselves from eternal dishonor and disgrace. There wa.^ not a heart in the nation, he tnisted, that did not leap at the glorious thought of meeting our enemy in such a cause as this if war was forced upon us, and of pressing forward, not stopping until we should drive our invaders from the American continent. There was no difficulty on this point, however. Great Britain was not going to declare war. Did she declare war on Russia when she resumed the territory on which she had given her the right to triide? or upon us, when we had resumed the right of the navigation of the Mississippi river, which we granted her under Jay's treaty ? No; she was not going to declare war now; and he regretted that any jiart of the legislation of this House should be tinctured with a British feeling — with a fear that Great Britain would not approve our action in re- gard to our own territory. He utterly denounced and deprecated such a course; and he invoked this House to continue to legislate upon our own soil precisely as if Great Bntaiii did not exist as a na* tion — precisely as if, with an a»grraslvc spirit, she was not spreading her dominion fur and wide over the bounds of the habitai)le globe. We had our rights; and let us dare maintain them. This alone was worthy of a great people, and would lead ua on to true glory. Gentlemen had talked tliere about propagandists, and assimilated our determination to protect our own soil from aggression to a proposition to ox* tend and spread our jieculiar infltitutu)n8 over man- kind by force, and cited Prance and the French Revolution as a terrible example of that kind. There was the spirit of propagandism in that con- test, but it was not in France, mit in the combined Powers of Europe, to force a system of govern- ment upon her against the solemnly expressed will of her people. England led in the efforts to resist the march of liberty in France, and force upon her a monarchical Government against her will; and he gloried in the fact that France rose in her might and drove back the invaders with defeat and dis- grace. In the hour of peril to their country, the i 'rench were as one man. He admired the French for their love of country, and their devotion to lib- erty and national honor and glory. He denied that she had ever exhibited a spirit of propagand- ism, and attributed her whole career in Europe during the Revolution to a noble resistance of a design to crush her liberties. She had but resisted her oppressors, and carried the battle into their own fields. He trusted that when we were as- sailed, we should be animated by the same spirit and crowned with the same success. If was ab- surd to talk of conquering twenty millions of peo- ple, enlightened and free, and intrenched in the mountain passes of such a country as ours. We never could be conquered by force of arms, and this Britain well knew. She would make war upon us in a different form; she would carry on against us that same war of colonization which she had wajjed against all the nations of the earth, and by which she had vanquished the Hindoos, conquered Ceylon, attached Ne>v Zealand, overrun Affghan- istan, and even stooped to use her fleet and her soldiery against the little islanda of the Pacific. But if war should come, it would be a mighty struggle, and one that would convulse the civilized world; there would then be a clash of systems. The aggression would not be on our part, but with the monarchies of the Old World, in their frantic efforts to destroy Republicanism and banish it from the earth. A struggle like this held out hope and encouragement to the lovers of liberty everywhere, and to the oppressed millions all over the whole W'orld. To talk about refciTing our disputes to arbitration was absurd — the despots of Europe were our natural foes. No, wc stood alone; wc had no friend among them, and nothing to expect at their hands. If our quarrel was submitted to such an arbitrament ana the award should take from us a portion of our own territory, he for one would try to awaken his countrymen to arms, and urge them instantly to retake that which was their own. We never had negotiated but we were cheat- ed. He would hear of no more negotiation for ter- ritory. The result of it was, first to prove our title good, and then to surrender it to our opjionents. Mr. B. concluded, expressing his coimdence that the unfeeling sentiments of the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Gipdingij] expressed on yesterday, 8 would have no influence upon this House. No true friend of Oregon entertained such feelings. When the gentleman drew his horrible picture of •war, of English black rcginrjents, and of insurrec- tion in the South, he (Mr. B.) could charitably have hoped that the " wish was not father to the Uiought," had not the gentleman coolly remarked that the South had brought this upon themselves. Oregon wanted no such advocates, unon such mon- strous principles of inhumanity. Her true friends rcpudiiitod them, and he wcald say, in the spirit of the Litany of the church, from 8u<;h advocates, and from such inhumanity, good Lord deliver us. '■■*' *• « ')■ V A •■ V .,M