■0r 
 
Conservation Resources 
 Llg-Free® Type I 
 
P,i8 ^ > SPEECH ^£^t^l£^i^/-^ # ^^.^1^ 
 
 opy 
 
 1 
 
 - - . ' Jf- 
 
 ./y OP ♦^ 
 
 MR. SAMUEL M^ROBERTS, OF ILLINOIS, 
 
 THE TITLE OF THE UNITED STATES 
 
 s ^ TERRITORY OF OREGON, 
 
 IN FAVOR OF THE BILL FOR ITS OCCUPATION AND SETTLEMENT: 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE, DECEMBER 30, 1942, AND JANUARY 9, 1843. 
 
 or ^V 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 PRINTED AT THE GLOBE OFFICE. 
 
 1 843. 
 

SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 MR. M^ROBERTS, OF ILLINOIS, 
 
 OK 
 
 THE TlTIiE OP THE UNITED STATES TO THE TERRITORY OF OREGON, 
 
 AND 
 
 I 
 
 Tn favor of the bill for its settlvnc?it and occupation. 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE SENATE DEC. 30, 1842, AND JAN. 9, 1813. 
 
 The bill " to authorize the adoption of measures 
 for the occupation and settlen>ent of the Territory of 
 Oregon, and for extending certain portions of the 
 laws over the same," having been taken up, as in 
 Committee of the Whole, the motion pending was 
 to strike out the preamble to the bill, which is in 
 these words: "Whereas the title of the United States 
 to the Territory of Oregon is certain, and will not 
 be abandoned" — 
 
 Mr. McROBERTS addressed the Senate as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 I shall vote, Mr. President, against the motion to 
 strike out the preamble to this bill. There is no 
 great vitality in a preamble to any law; but the one 
 before us expresses so clearly the rights of the peo- 
 ple of the United States, that I prefer it should stand 
 as it is. But whether the preamble be retained in the 
 bill or not, it is my purpose to-day to show that our 
 title to the Oregon Territory is certain, and to pre- 
 sent those reasons which I hope may, to some ex- 
 tent at least, induce our countrymen never to aban- 
 don it. The citizens of my own State take a deep 
 interest in this question; they have memorialized 
 Congress repeatedly, for years past, to adopt efficient 
 means for the settlement and occupation of the 
 Oregon. The same spirit has long animated the 
 entire population of the West. Nor is it confined 
 to that great division of the Republic, but other 
 States — I believe from all of them on this side of the 
 Alleghanies, at some time or other, have petitions 
 been received, urging this measure upon the atten- 
 tion and consideration of Congress. So far, there- 
 fore, as the public voice is concerned — a voice which 
 is indispensable in all great widertakings — we shall 
 never be stronger than at present. We hare tlie 
 great element of national strength and power upon 
 our side. These things all point to the conclucion, 
 that now is the time. 
 
 Sir, there arc other considerations — great and 
 paramount considerations — connected with, and de- 
 pendent upon, a determined and speedy action upon 
 this bill. Have you counted the cost necessarily 
 attendant upon delay ! Have you weighed well the 
 effect of procrastination] It is with States, as it is 
 with individuals, — long continued neglect of your 
 own rights when others are in their enjoyment, sole- 
 ly because of such neglect, may ultimately prove 
 fatal to those rights. We live in a stirring age; the 
 wants of the human race increase with the augment- 
 ation of its numbers, and such wants, when vacant 
 territory is concerned, seldom ask many questions. 
 Of one thing, sir, you may rest assured: if you re- 
 fuse to take the necessary steps, and afford the neces- 
 sary protection, to cause the Oregon to be populated 
 by your citizens, other nations will popuUte it for 
 you. Already great numbers have gone there, who 
 owe allegiance to other nations. They have asked 
 no questions, and we have interposed no obstacle. 
 The unsurpassed salubrity of the climate, and the 
 fertile .soil of the Oregon, its contiguity to the ocean, 
 and the facility to commerce with other portions of 
 the globe, its fisheries, and furs, and its minerals, 
 are temptations too inviting to be overlooked. These 
 arc the temptations which Nature offers to emigrants: 
 to pass this bill is but to follow her dictates. To pass 
 it now, will secure the advantages to your own citi- 
 zens, which, if neglected, will fall into other bands. 
 That the questions connected with the Oregon 
 should have remained for forty years unsettled, is, I 
 think, very much to be regretted. The mere fact 
 of the delay has operated to retard individual exer- 
 tion in the scftlcrnciit and inijirovement of the coun- 
 try. But this has not been the fault of any Presi- 
 dent of the United States, or of the Government; for 
 it has been urged on t'ongrcss from that quarter on 
 various occasions and in \arious forms. Repeated 
 
efforts have been made to bring the questions with 
 Great Britain in relation to the Oregon to an ami- 
 cable adjustment, though hitherto without success. 
 No other Government but that of Great Britain 
 would have desired such delays. In 1815. at the 
 treaty of Ghent, an admirable opportunity presented 
 itself to settle the question of boundarv; but it was 
 not acted upon. In 1818, our minister at London 
 was specially instructed to press the final settlement 
 of the question of boundary. It was so pressed, but 
 nothing definite could he obtained. Our minister 
 proposed that the 49th parallel of latitude (which 
 was the then established boundary) west to the 
 Lake of the Woods, should be extended across the 
 Rocky Mountains to the Pacific ocean, and should 
 be the permanent boundary; the north to belong to 
 Great Britain, and the south to the United Stales. 
 This the British Government refused. In 1826, the 
 United States proposed a renewal of the discussion 
 as to boundary. Mr. Gallatin and Mr Rush, our 
 ministers, were instructed to propose (and accord- 
 ingly made the proposition) that the 49th parallel 
 of latitude, which was the boundary between the 
 British possessions and the United States, west 
 from the Uake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, 
 should be the permanent boundary, and be extended 
 across the Rocky Mountains to tiie Pacific ocean. 
 This proposition, and by which tlie then adminis- 
 tration proposed to surrender all chiiin of the United 
 States between the 49th and 54th parallel of lat- 
 titude, was refused by Great Britain. Her minis- 
 ters, not content with five degrees of latitude on the 
 Pacific ocean, which had been offered them, pro- 
 posed that the 49th parallel of latitude should be 
 extended across the Rocky Mountains till it inter- 
 sected the northern source of the Columbia river, 
 and then proceed down the main channel to the sea. 
 This, being wholly inadmissible, was rejected; and 
 the minister of the United Slates (Mr. Gallatin) in- 
 formed the British Government that this Govern- 
 ment was absolved from its offer to abide by the 
 49th parallel of latitude, and would thereafter insist 
 upon the whole territory to which it had just claim. 
 Great Britain, however, acted in the spirit of her 
 accustomed policy; and one part of that policy is, 
 that when its Government has in point of fact no 
 strict right in a claim once set up, to effi'ct delay — 
 to procrastinate — to put off its adjustment; well 
 knowing that weak pretensions have always been 
 Btrengthcncd by that policy. We must cut the 
 Gordian knot, and take possession; or (Jreat Britain 
 will accomplish all she desires, overrun the country 
 with her people, and then with more jilausibility 
 urge her claim, upon the ground that she is bound 
 to afford them protection. The convention which 
 Was made in 1818, and renewed in 1827, securing 
 to her a joint occufiancy with us, has been made by 
 hCr subservient to this very result. Arc we to have 
 no tnd to these delays? Why is it that a distin- 
 guished nolileman of Kngland, (Lord Asht»urion,) 
 who was sent to this country us a .<|;(!cial iiiiuistcr, 
 and, as was said, to settle, if jiohsible, all disputes 
 between the two countries, should have had no in- 
 structions from ihi- British ministry upon this* sub- 
 ject? When the British Government hail the right 
 clearTy on its si<le, there is not an instance on record 
 where it sought for delay. IVow, I am perfectly 
 
 willing to allow that it is always proper to proceed , 
 deliberately; to see that we have the right on our 
 side, when we are obliged to go into such matters. 
 But what I do contend for is, that our right and 
 title to the territory claimed by us (take from lati- 
 tude 42 to 49 degrees north, for exam})le) have been 
 long since so clearly ascertained, that we should not 
 have admitted any pretence for delay in its recogni- 
 tion. Sucli would have lieen the course of Great 
 Britain herself, had she the right and title we pos- 
 sess. 
 
 I propose to state briefly the grounds of our title, 
 to show that it has been long since rendered plain 
 and indubitable. I will try and present the subject 
 in such a manner that those who run may not only 
 read, but comprehend also. A cherished principle 
 upon which our people have always acted, is first to 
 investigate, and be certain that they are right; 
 because, if either individuals or nations must ijuarrei , 
 it is one of the cardinal laws of being, th.at — 
 
 •'Thrire id he armed who haih his qiiarrtl just." 
 
 Let us commence with the title which we derived 
 from Spain; because it is to be remembered that, 
 whatever of right Spain had to the Northwest coast, 
 either by discovery, occupancy, or purchase, has 
 been transferred to us in the most enlarged and 
 am[)le maimer. 
 
 1st. From 1532 to 1540, several expeditions were 
 fitted out under Spanish authority, and explored 
 California and the coast to a considerable distance 
 north of it. T'lie commanders were Mazuela, Gri- 
 jalva, Becera, and Ulloa. Their object was discover)-, 
 and to find what did not exist — a water communica- 
 tion through to the .'\tlantic. 
 
 In 1540, Coronado, by orders from the viceroy, 
 made an iin[)ortant expedition by land in the interior 
 north of New Mexico; and in L543, Bartolome 
 Ferrelo discovered Cape Blanco in 43 degrees north 
 latitude. 
 
 2d. It is established beyond all question, that in a 
 voyage of discovery under the authority of Spain, in 
 the year 1592, Juan De Fuca discovered and travers- 
 ed the straits which bear his name. The straits 
 enter the land at 48 de^^recs north latitude, and ex- 
 tend east 100 miles and thence northwest 250 miles, 
 ' into the Pacific again, in latitude 51 degrees; that 
 he remained twenty days in the straits, landed fre- 
 j quently, and traded with the natives. It further ap- 
 ' pears that this voyage and di.scovery was made 
 known to Iwigland by letters from .Michael Lok, th» 
 English consul at Aleppo, to Ijord Treasurer Cecil, 
 I and Sir Walter Raleigh. Spain, therefore, first dis- 
 I covered the country, and traversed it as far north as 
 I 51 degrees north latitude, 251 years since, and le>4 
 ' years before the celebrated voyage of Captain Cook. 
 3d. In 1602 and subsequent years, further and 
 I more extensive surveys were made of the coast by 
 Corvan and Vizcaino, uudei the Sj)anish Government, 
 extiiiiiing north of its former possessions; and on 
 ! the 16lh of January IG03, Aguilir discovered the 
 [ beautiful river Umqua, which is wilhin our boundarj, 
 j in latitude 44 degrees north. 
 
 I 4th. ("omplete and authentic evidence exists that 
 } in August, 1774, Perez and .Martinez, under Spanish 
 I authority, lirt^t discovered the Sound of Nootka be- 
 
tween latitude 49 anil 50 dpt^rces north. They 
 called it yiin Lorenzo. (Hiimlioldt, p. 331.) 
 
 5th. 'I'liat eijually roiirlusivc evidence exists that 
 Heccia, Ayala, and Quadra, Spanish officers and 
 navigators, disicovcrtd the bay at or near the river 
 Columbia. 
 
 6th. 'I'hat ill these two years 1774 and 1775, the 
 Nortbwest coast was explored by Perez and Marti- 
 nez, S[)anish navi;;ators, as high as the 58th degree of 
 north lalilnde. 
 
 7tli. Tliat in pursuance of orders from the vice- 
 roy of jVIexico, then under the (tovernnient of .Spain, 
 Martinez, with two armed vessnU, took possession of 
 Nootka on the Otli of May 17K'.); and it is allirnicd 
 in (trecnhovv's compilation, upon full examination, 
 that, '•bct'orc the arrival of (he t>[)anisli commander 
 Martinez at Nootka, in .May 1789, no settlement, 
 factory, or commercial or military establishment 
 whatever, had been founded, or even attcmpleil; and 
 no jurisdiction had been exercised by the subjects or 
 authorities of any civilized nation in any part of 
 America bordcrinij; u[)on the I'acidc, between T'ort 
 San KrHiiciscr> and Prince William's Sound " 'I'lie 
 first being in latitude 37 degrees north, and the 
 second in latitude 60 degrees. 
 
 Such are the prominent points showing the rights 
 of Spain to the Noilhwest coast, founded upon dis- 
 covery and m-cupancy. Now, the Unitecl States 
 have become the successors of Spain, and every right 
 she had, according to the law of nations beli)iigs to 
 us. By the treaty of Feiiruary 10,1763, hetv<^cen 
 Great Britain, France, and Spain, England was con- 
 lirnied in her possession to the French provinces on 
 the St. Lawrence, and she relincpiished all claim to 
 territory beyond the Mississippi. Spain acfjiiired 
 Louisiana from France the 3d of November, 1762, 
 and held it until October 1, 1800; she then retro- 
 ceded it to France — "the same in extent as it now 
 is in the hands of Spain, as it was when France 
 formerly possessed it, and as it sliould be according to 
 the treaties subscijuently made between Spain and 
 other nations." Such is the language of the treaty. 
 
 On the 30tli of April, 1803, the Fir.st Consul of 
 France (Bonaparte) ceded Louisiana to the United 
 States, in the language of the deed itself, '•witii all 
 its rights and appurtenances, as fully and in the 
 same manner as it had been acquired from Sjiain" 
 in 1800. 
 
 Whatever extent Louisiana possessed utider either 
 France or Spain, became the territory of the United 
 States. The discovery by La Salle of the river St. 
 Louis (now Mississippi) gave to France, according 
 to the law of nations, the whole territory watered 
 by it, or its tributary streams, not previously occupied 
 by any other power. This extended ]<ouisiana to 
 the Kocky .Mountains on the west, and up the main 
 channel to its source. 
 
 By the treaty of February C2, 1 81!), commonly 
 cal ed the Florida treaty, the boundary between the 
 possessions of the I'nitcd States and Spain was 
 established at latitude 43 degees north, extending 
 from the head-waiers of the .Arkansas, west, to the 
 Pacific ocean. And the tiiird article of the treaty 
 declares that '"his C.itholic Majesty cedes to ihe sai<l 
 United States all liis rights, claims, and pretensions 
 to any territories east and noith of the said line; and 
 
 for himself, his heirs and successors, renounces all 
 claim to the said territories forever." This is the 
 treaty that perfects our rights; and by this sweeping 
 chinse invests the I'nitcd States with every right, 
 interest, or claim, which the Spanish monarchy 
 possessed upon the shores of the Pacific. What her 
 discoveries were, extending through a period of two 
 hundred and fifty years, I have already shown. 
 
 So much for our title to the Oregon, derived by 
 treaty, through France and Sp.iin. Let us now trace 
 our own title, as founded upon discovery and occu- 
 pancy b\ citizens and soldiers under the (lag of the 
 L'nited States. 
 
 The valuable commerce in furs and skins upon 
 the shores of the Paciljc induced enterprising mer- 
 chants, shortly after the Revolution, to cngagC in 
 that trade. 
 
 On the 30th September, 1787, Captains Kob«rt 
 Gray and John Kendrick sailed from Boston in the 
 shi|is Washington and Columbia, for the Northwest 
 coast. 'J'he Washington arrived at Nootka on the 
 17ib of Se|)icmber, 1788, and the (Columbia the 
 latter part oftluit inontb; at wiiich place both vessels 
 spent the winter. 'J'he next year Captain Gray 
 discovered the strait of Fuca, and passed uj) it fifty 
 miles; and from information derived from the natives, 
 he had no doubt it communicated with the I'acific 
 north of Nootka, at a place he had the year before 
 called Pintard's Sound. The furs collected by Gray 
 and Kendrick they sold in (Canton. Gray returned 
 to the United States, and Kendrick remained upon 
 the coast. Gray shortly after again sailed for the 
 Nortliwest coast, and on the 7th of May, 1792, he 
 discovered a safe harbor in latitude 47 degrees north, 
 and which, in honor of one of the owners of the ship, 
 he called Bulfinch's harbor. On the 11th of May, 
 1792, he discovered the mouth of the Columbia, 
 which he describes as being a broad and rapid river, 
 the water of which was so perfectly fresh that the 
 casks of the ship were tilled within ten miles of the 
 Pacific. He ascended the river twenty miles; he 
 landed and examined tlie country, and rein.iined 
 there trading with the great nundier of natives that 
 crowded round his ship in their c.mocs, until the 
 20th o( the month, when he sailed out into the Pacilic. 
 He bestowed th<< name of his ship — the Columbia — 
 upon the noble river, and called the promontory on 
 the north Cape Hancock, and that on the south 
 Cspe Adams. 
 
 Such is the account given by Captain Gray him- 
 self of his discovery of the Columbia. The material 
 facts are recorded at length in the log- hook oftiisship, 
 a copy of which has been furnished by .Mr. Charles 
 Bulfinch under oath. 
 
 The discovery of this great river of the West con- 
 stitutes an important era in the history of the coun- 
 try. It opened a new channel of communication 
 from the ocean to the Ftocky Mountains, and extend- 
 ed, by means of its tributaries, to almost every part 
 of one of the most fertile regions upon the globe. 
 It contributed to secure to the country, under who.-^e 
 flag the discovery was made, a title to the river, and 
 the magnificent territory which is watered by it. 
 
 Since the Oregon Territory has begun to be un- 
 derstood and to be justly appreciated, the British 
 
Government, through its minister:!, have indulged 
 ill doubts — nay, in denial — as to Mr. Gray'sprior dis- 
 covery of the Columbia. In order that there shall 
 be no misunderstanding. I will give the words of the 
 British plenipotentiaries in their coininunication in 
 1826, to Mr. Gallatin, our minister. 
 
 They say that ' Great Britain can show that, in 
 1788, (that is, four years before Gray entered the 
 mouth of the Columbia river,) Mr. Mears, a lieuten- 
 ant in the royal navy, who hiid been sent by the 
 East India Company on a trading expedition to the 
 Northwest coast of America, had already minutely 
 explored that coast from the 49th to the 45th de- 
 gree of north latitude; had taken formal possession 
 of the straits of De Fuca in the name of his sover- 
 eign; had purchased land, trafficked, and formed 
 treaties with the natives; and had actually entered 
 the bay of the Columbia, to the northern lieadland, 
 which he gave the name of Cape Disappointment. 
 Dixon, Scott, Duncan, Strange, and other private 
 British traders, had also visited these shores and 
 countries several years before Gray; but the single 
 example of Mears suHices to quash Gray's claim to 
 prior discovery. To the other navigators above 
 mentioned, therefore, it is unnecessary to refer more 
 particularly." 
 
 Let us proceed to examine the pretensions of the 
 British Government, as set forth in the extraordina- 
 ry passage here quoted. That Mr. Mears should 
 have minutely explored that coast — "minutely ex- 
 plored" are the words — and yet not have discovered 
 a river which is seven miles wide at the mouth, 
 would seem to be too great a tax upon the credulity 
 of any one. That he should have entered the bay 
 south of Cape Disappointment in 1788, and thereby 
 furnished his Government any claim to the Colum- 
 bia, would be equally incredible, when it is positive- 
 ly proved that Heceta, a Spanish navigator, entered 
 the same opening in 1775, and actually named the 
 same Entrada de I/eceta, and which is so represent- 
 ed on the Spanish maps. That Mr. Mears should 
 have taken formal possession of t!ie Strait of De 
 Fuca, and that such act should be relied upon as 
 conferring any right, is equally wonderful — especial- 
 ly when it is remembered that the said straits had 
 been discovered and navigated from one end to the 
 other under Spanish authority, and therefore right- 
 fully belonged to Spain for a period, at that time, of 
 one hundred and ninety-six years. Captain Beike- 
 ley, under Anstriiin colors, entered the Striiit of De 
 Fuca in the summer of 1787, one year before Mears 
 was there. Wliy did not he claim it! Berkeley, 
 finding it in the latitude, and answering the descrip- 
 tion which De Fuca iiad given of it, and which ap- 
 peared upon all the old maps, immediately bestowed 
 upon it the name of its discoverer, and called it the 
 Strait of Juan De Fuca. Captain Gray, "of the 
 United States, landed at Nootka, (which is on the 
 island formed by this strait,) the 17lh of September. 
 1788; Captain Kendrick joined him during the same 
 month; they built houses, traded with the natives, 
 and spent the winter there. Gray sailed up this 
 same strait fifty miles, 'i'he reason that Berkeley 
 and (iray made no claim to the discovery of tin- 
 Strait of Fuca is, because they knew whatttie whole 
 maritime world knew — that the merit belonged to 
 
 another; and that the strait would forever bear the 
 name of its rightful discoverer. 
 
 What discoveries were made by Dixon, Scott, 
 Duncan, Strange, and other British traders, we are 
 not told; and for a very good reason. Indeed, they 
 seem to be named only to fill up the back ground of 
 the picture, as the sentence coi:cludcs by saying that 
 the single example of Mears sufhces to quash — yes, 
 (jtiiish is the word — Gray's claim to the prior dis- 
 covery of the Columbia river. 
 
 Now, it so iiappens that I have beforeme a piece 
 of evidence upon this suiiject, that cannot fail to be 
 interesting to the Senate and the country. It is tes- 
 timony written at the time, with all the frankness 
 of a gallant sailor — and that sailor, too, an officer of 
 Great Britain. I read it here, to show how the as- 
 sumed facts and conjured up arguments of a British 
 minister to sustain a bad cause, and made out forty 
 years after the date of the transaction, are anni- 
 hilated Iiy the naked statement of a sailor, and he 
 their own officer. 
 
 I read from the second volume of the voyage of 
 discovery of Captain George Vancouver to the north 
 Pacific ocean in 1791-'92-'93-'94. 
 
 Vancouver was in latitude 47^ 37', and says at 
 page 41: 
 
 ''At four o'clock a sail was discovered to the west- 
 ward, standing in shore. This was a very great 
 novelty, not having seen any vessel but our own con- 
 sort during the last eight months. She soon hoisted 
 American colors, and fired a gun to leeward. At six 
 we spoke her. She ])roved to be the ship Columbia, 
 commanded by Mr. Robert Gnty, belonging to Bos- 
 ton. Having litile doubt of his being the same 
 person who had formerly commanded the sloop 
 Washington, I desired he would bring to, and sent 
 Mr. Puget and Mr, Menzies on board to acquire 
 such information as might be sei-viceable in our fu- 
 ture operations. 
 
 "On the return of the boat, we found our con- 
 jectures had not been ill-grounded; that this was the 
 same gentleman who had comnjanded the sloop 
 Washington at the time we were informed. She had 
 made a very singular voyage behind .\ootka. It was 
 not a little remarkable, that, on our approach to this 
 inland sea, (Strait of De Fuca,) we should fall in 
 with the identicnl person who, it hud been stated, 
 had sailed through it. His relation dillcreil, however, 
 very materially from that published in England. 
 He assured the oOicers that he had penetrated only 
 fifty miles into the strait in question. 
 
 "He (Captain Gray) likewise informed them of 
 his having been off the mouth of a river, in latitude 
 4(i° 10', where the outset or reflux was so strong 
 as to prevent his entering for nine days." 
 
 Page 58: "The river Mr. Gray mentioned sliould, 
 from the latitude he assigned to it, have exish-nc^ in 
 the liay south of Cape Disapjxiinimiuit. 'J'his we 
 passed on the forenoon of the 27th; and, as I then 
 oi)serveil, if any inlet or river should be found, it 
 must be a very intricate cne, and inaccessilile to 
 vessels of our burden, Mr. Gray said he had been 
 several days attem])ling to enter it. I was thorough- 
 ly convinced, as were also most persons of observa- 
 tion on board, that we could not possibly have passed 
 any safe navigable ojjening, harbor, or place of 
 
security for shipping, on this coast, from Cape Men- 
 docino to the promontory of Classat:" — that is, 
 from 40° to 47° 30' north latitude, and extending a 
 great distance both north and south of the Columbia. 
 
 In the month of October following, when the wor- 
 thy Captain Vancouver returned to Nootka, and saw 
 Mr. Quadra, the Spanish commander, he changed his 
 opinion upon the point that there was no such 
 river as the Columbia, or no harbor on the coast 
 for shipping. The 13th of October, at page 388 
 vol. 2d, he uses this language: 
 
 "The present re-established serenity (of weather) 
 encouraged me to hope I might bo enabled, in our 
 route to the southward, to re-examine the coast, and 
 particularly a river and a harbor discovered by Mr. 
 Gray, in the ship Columbia, between the 46lh and 
 47th degrees of latitude, of which Sefior Quadra 
 had favored me with a sketch, f'or this purpose 
 our course was directed along shore to the eastward, 
 which would alford an opportunity of examining 
 the Spanish survey between Nootka and De Fuca's 
 straits." 
 
 This last passage contains three highly important 
 admissions: 
 
 1st. That Mr, Gray had discovered the river 
 Columbia. 
 
 2d. That he had discovered a harbor (meaning 
 Gray's harbor) north of tlie river; and that both these 
 discoveries had been made upon a coast where he 
 (Vancouver) had declared, in April before, that no 
 river, no harbor, or opening, existed. 
 
 3d. That the Spaniards had previously made a 
 survey of the coast from Nootka Sound to De Fu- 
 ca's straits. 
 
 Accordingly, on the 16th of October, at page 393, 
 we have the following order of Captain Vancouver: 
 
 "I directed Mr. Whidley, taking one of the Dis- 
 covery's boats, should proceed in the Dedalus to 
 examine Gray's harbor, said to be situated in lati- 
 tude 40° 53'; whilst the Chatham and Discovery 
 explored the river Mr, Gray had discovered in the 
 latitude 46° 10'." 
 
 Page 39,'>: "In the aflcrnoon, when having nearly 
 reached Cape Disappointment, which forms the north 
 point of entrance into Columbia river, (so named by 
 Mr. Gray,) I directed the Chatham to lead into it." 
 
 Sir, (said Mr. McR.,) was ever proof of the ex- 
 istence of any fact more conclusive than that here 
 exhibited — that Captain Gray was the first discoverer 
 of the great river of the West? This old volume 
 which I have found in the library contains the regular 
 journal of daily entries, made by Captain Vancouver 
 from April to October, 1792. The information fur- 
 nished to him by Captain Gray, of the strait of 
 Fuca, of Ci ray's harl)or, and of the Columbia river, 
 is repeatedly mentioned. Captain Vancouver ob- 
 jected, in April, that there was any such river or 
 hay. When he returned in October, and learned the 
 particulars from Quadra, and received from him a 
 diagram of both, he directs the bay to be examined 
 by Whidley, and orders the other vessel to lead 
 into the Columbia. He examines them, and admits 
 that Grav was the discoverer. In the face of proof 
 like this, is it not am r/incr that the British ministers 
 in 182(5 slmuld declare to Mr. Gallatin that the dis- 
 coveries of Mears suffice to "cjuash" Gray's claim 
 to prior discovery? ' 
 
 The connected testimony of their own witness, 
 entered in his daily journal, and detailed in all the 
 simplicity of truth, is, of itself, sufficient to (juash 
 a thousand such claims as those of Mears. It does 
 not only destroy all pretensions on the part of Mears, 
 but it annihilates the arguments of the ministry in 
 sustaining it. As long as that noble stream shall 
 bear the rich commerce that is destined to float upon 
 its bosom from the mountains to the sea, so long 
 will this evidence hold up to the living world the 
 name and character of its undoubted discoverer. 
 
 There is anottier branch of this subject to be con- 
 sidered, and which completes the view of our title 
 to tlie country by discovery. Mr. Jefferson nom- 
 inated on the nth January, 1803, Messrs. Livings- 
 ton and Monroe to the Senate as ministers to nego- 
 tiate for the purchase of Louisiana. On !he 18th of 
 that month, he recommended an appropriation for 
 an expedition to the Pacific ocean. The 30th of 
 April, ISO.'i, the Louisiana treaty was signed; and 
 on the 14th of May, 1804, Captains Lewis and 
 Clarke entered the Missouri river on their western 
 expedition. Of the importance of that expedition — 
 of the privations and hardships which were en- 
 dured in its performance — of the unrivalled intre- 
 pidity, courage, and talent, displayed by its com- 
 manders and the whole party, it is not now my pur- 
 pose to speak. These things are known, and fill up 
 one of the most interesting and thrilling pages in 
 our history. The expedition traversed the Missouri 
 to its sources among the Stony Mountains, crossed 
 them in latitude 47 degrees north, found the head 
 waters of the Columbia, constructed canoes, and 
 passed down the river; and on the 15th of Novem- 
 ber, 1805, landed at Cape Hancock, upon the Pacific 
 ocean. Lewis and Clarke and their party passed the 
 winter at an encampment erected by them south of 
 the Columbia, near its mouth. They traded, hunted, 
 and fished with the Indians, and on the 13th of 
 March, 180G, started for the United States. They 
 followed the Columbi^ in their canoes to iLs falls, 
 and thence travelled oy land to the mountains. 
 One party, under Captain Lewis, crossed the moun- 
 tains directly east to the falls of the Missouri; while 
 the other party, under Captain Clarke, crossed south, 
 to the sources of the Yellow Stone, and passed down 
 it to its mouth, where the parties were re-united, 
 and on the 23d of September, 1800, arrived at St. 
 Louis. This was the first instance in which the 
 Oregon Territory and the Columbia river, from its 
 source to ■ its mouth, had ever been traversed by 
 civilized man. The whole country on the route, 
 for more than three thousand miles, was sublime 
 wilderness. Lewis and Clarke were not men about 
 whom posterity can err. They are of the number 
 of those whose acts stand in high relief before the 
 world, and whose courage, self-command, and in- 
 domitable perseverance awakened new impulses in 
 the age in which God had placed them upon earth. 
 
 The trip was undertaken by the Government for 
 the avowed purpose of discovery; it was intended 
 to accomplisli an exploration of the Oregon Terri- 
 tory fniin the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific ocean. 
 It was intended to found a claim to that territory in 
 virtue of such discovery, and in furtherance of our 
 'existing rights from the discovery of the mouth of 
 
8 
 
 the Columbia by Captain Gray. The notoriety of 
 the expedition of Lewis and Clarke, and the pub- 
 lication of their journal, were notice to the world of 
 our purposes, and of the success of the expedition. 
 
 Our enterprising citizens have traversed portions 
 of the country on both sides of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains often since, and as far south as the Mexican 
 settlements. Emanuel Lisa, Hunt, Henry, and 
 others of Missouri, could be named; and General 
 Thomas James, of my own State. These noble 
 men, though engaged in individual pursuits, ex- 
 plored our remote possessions, and from their in- 
 trepidity and talents made the name and character 
 of their country respected in the remotest regions 
 of the West. Their names are known among all 
 the tribes, and by their exertions and sacrifices the 
 rights of our country are engraved upon the moun- 
 tains. 
 
 In furtherance of the rights of the United States 
 to Oregon, founded upon prior discovery, there was 
 an occupancy of the country under our flag of great 
 notoriety, and a subsequent act of the British Gov- 
 ernment recognising our rights founded upon that 
 occupancy. I refer to the establishment of Astoria, 
 near the mouth of the Columbia. In 1810 the 
 party left the United States, with the necessary mate- 
 rial and men; part sailed from New York, and part 
 crossed the country by land, and all met at the mouth 
 of the Columbia in the spring of 1811. Astoria 
 was established, houses and other buildings erected, 
 gardens enclosed and cultivated, a vessel built and 
 launched, and trading-posts located in the interior as 
 high as the mouth of the Okanagan, which is four 
 hundred miles up the Columbia. The party engaged 
 in hunting and trapping, and carried on an extensive 
 and lucrative trade with the natives. 'J'heir furs 
 and skins they shipped to Canton. The proceeds 
 were sent to the United States in silks, teas, and 
 other products of the East India markets. 
 
 The establishment at Astoria — though it encoun- 
 tered some reverses, and espcqplly in the murder by 
 the Indians of the crew of the ship Tonquin (in 
 which bloody affair, one of the crew, rather than suffer 
 himself to be murdered by their hands, blew up the 
 vessel, after the enemy liad overpowered them,) — the 
 establishment, I say, notwithstanding its reverses, bade 
 fair to be highly prosperous. It had the entire com- 
 mand of the fur trade through the whole extent of 
 the valley of the Columbia. It was the first perma- 
 nent establishment ever made there. Arrangements 
 at St. Petersburg had been made by it, for the exclu 
 sive trade with the Russian settlements in the north 
 Pacific, There was not one British subject in the 
 territory. The news of the war of 18 1'2 was carried 
 from Canada, by one of the Northwest Company, in 
 1813, and communicated to the inhabitants of Asto- 
 ria. He was also the bearer of intelligence that a 
 naval force was on its way from England to take 
 possession of the mouth of the Columbia. The same 
 intelligence was received from other quarters. A 
 fraudulent sale was then made of the furs anil other 
 property, to a party of the British Northwest Com- 
 pany; and shortly after an English ship of war entered 
 the Columbia rivor, and took possession of the fort 
 and buildings at A.toria, changed the name to Fort 
 George, and hoisted the British flag. 
 
 This was an act of public war. The place fell by 
 belligerent captiire. The property belonged to citi- 
 zens of the United States, and was under the pro- 
 lection of our flag. England acquired no otherright 
 than that which grew out of the laws of war. I have 
 detailed the material facts of the transaction, in ordej 
 to show that England herself did not regard that 
 capture as of any possession or territory of hers. 
 Immediately after the treaty of Ghent, the United 
 States demanded the restoration of Astoria, in pur- 
 suance of the stipulations in the first article, which 
 provided that all territory, places, and possessions, 
 captured by one party from the other during the 
 war, should be restored. 
 
 Accordingly, after writing two letters denying our 
 right to be restored to possession; and after an at- 
 tempt to have the question referred to an umpire, 
 which our Government refused; and after an armed 
 vessel of the United States had actually sailed for 
 the mouth of the Columbia, for the purpose of re- 
 occupying Astoria, and finding that nothing would 
 do but the restoration of the fort and property, the 
 British Government surrendered it. 
 
 The act of delivery is worth reading, to show 
 the good taste in which that Government can do 
 things, and also to show the unqualified terms in 
 which the restoration was made. It is in these 
 words: 
 
 "In obedience to the commands of his royal high- 
 ness the Prince Regent, signified in a despatch from 
 the right honorable the Earl Bathurst, addressed to 
 the partners or agents of the Northwest ('ompany, 
 bearing date the 27th January, 1818, and in obe- 
 dience to a subsequent order, dated the 26th of July, 
 from W. H. Sherriff, Esq., captain of his Majesty's 
 ship Andromache, we, the undersigned, do, in con- 
 formity to the first article of the treaty of Ghent, 
 restore to the Government of the Lnited States, 
 through its agent, J. B. Provost, Esq., the settlement 
 of Fort George on the Columbia river. Given under 
 our hands, in triplicate, at Fort George, (Columbia 
 river,) this 6th day of October, 1818. 
 
 F. HICKEY, 
 Captain of H. J\t. Ship Blossom. 
 
 J. KEITH, 
 Of the A'oi'thxvfsi Compani/.^' 
 
 We were, therefore, restored to the possession of 
 Astoria in the most ample manner; and the United 
 States have been in the legal possession ever since. 
 
 In 1818 Lord Castlereagh admitted the full right 
 of the Americans to be reinstated, and to be the 
 party in possession while treating of title. By the 
 conventional law of Europe, the consummation of 
 the inchoate title gained by discovery is the forma- 
 tion of settlements in the country discovered. This 
 is a safe and well-settled rule; and we can justly say, 
 that both by right of discovery, and by continued acts 
 of ownership, as well as by the title derived through 
 France and Spain, the United States, according to the 
 settled law of nations, has a clear and undoubted 
 right and title to the Territory of (Jregon. 
 
 There is another branch of this subject to be con- 
 sidered. It is as to the validity of the claim which 
 England has made to that territory. I propose to 
 state the nature of this claim, that it may be seen in 
 connexion with the view I have presented of our 
 
own. The subject is one of great interest, and an 
 examination of its merits cannot be uninteresting to 
 the country. England places her claim upon tlu' 
 right of discovery, and upon a treat\' with Spain 
 dated in 1790. The first English navigator that is 
 mentioned as conferring any claim is iSir Francis 
 Drake. He sailed from Plymouth in 1.577, and 
 arrived in the Pacific the next year. England and 
 Spain were at peace; but as soon as he arrived at 
 the Spanish towns of Gautulco, .\capnlco, and others 
 in Mexico, he cotnm(!nced a system of robbery upon 
 their towns and ships, that was altogether new to the 
 Spaniards. We do not know what his instructions 
 were; but one thing is certain — that he meant to let 
 the Spaniards know that there was such a man ;;s 
 Sir Francis Drake. He certainly created ijuitc a 
 sensation, for the historian says thi't the bare men- 
 tion of his name would horrify the people for a centu- 
 ry afterwards. After he had thus amused himself 
 he sailed up the coast to 4.3 degrees north; and thcrr 
 returned to the coast at .38 degrees, repaired his ship, 
 called the country New Albion, accepted the crown 
 from the natives in the name of her Majesty Queen 
 Elizabeth, and arrived in England in 1580. The 
 whole of the coast seen by Drake, so far as we can 
 judge from the evidence, had been explored under 
 the authority of Spain thirty-six years before, and 
 several times within that period. 
 
 Sir Thomas Cavendish next attempted the circum- 
 navigation of the globe, in the list of English adven- 
 turers. He does not ap|)car to have seen as much 
 of the coast as Drake had before him. 
 
 The next name that appears in the list of English 
 discoverers, is one that has been made immortal by 
 his public services, and by the justice and excellence 
 of his character. I mean the celebrated Captain 
 Cook. England was anxious to ascertain whether 
 there was or was not a northern passage by water 
 connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. She 
 despatched ships forth at purpose, at the same time, 
 to the north Pacific, and to Ballin's Bay. Ca[)tain 
 Cook was selected to take charge of the expedition 
 to the Pacific. 
 
 He was instructed to Aril in with the Northwest 
 coast at latitude 4.'3, to recruit his wood and water, 
 and then to sail to latitude 65 degrees north, and 
 there to begin his examination for ''a water passage 
 pointing towards Hudson or BatHn's Bay." If he 
 became convinced that no such communication ex- 
 isted, he was to explore the seas north as far as he 
 could. He was to take possession of such coinitries 
 ns he might discover, that had not already been dis- 
 covered or visited by other European powers. He 
 was not to touch upon any part of the Spanish do- 
 minions, urdess driven there by accidi'Ut. He was 
 to give no oll'ence to the subjects of his Catholic 
 Majesty or of Russia, but to treat theni with friend- 
 ship. Such is the substance of Cook's instructions. 
 Tiiey clearly [joint out the objects of his voyage, and 
 the views of the British (lovernment. Cook sailed 
 from England and reached the Northwest coast in 
 1778. He saw Cape Blanco in latitude 43, and 
 (.'ape Flattery in latitude 48. But he did not see 
 the nrouth of the Cohunbia, nor the strait of Fuca. 
 The 29ih of March. 1778, he anchored in Nootka 
 Sjuiid, He remained there four weeks, repairing 
 
 his vessels, and trading with the Indians. He found 
 they had weapons of iron, and ornaments of brass. 
 One chief had two silver spoons ofSjianish manu- 
 facture. He saw Momit San Jacinto, which had 
 been named four years before by Bodega, and Mount 
 St. Elias, described in Bhcring's voyage. He con- 
 tinued his examinations north, passed into the Arc- 
 tic ocean, to the western extremity of America, and 
 crossed over to .Asia, naming the strait after Bhering, 
 in honor of its first discoverer. He traced the coast 
 of America to latitude 70 degrees 30 minutes north, 
 when he had to return in consequence of the ice. 
 He found no passage to the Atlantic, because none 
 existed. The remainder of his history is known to 
 the world. He visited the Russian settlement at 
 IJnalashka on his way to the south, and arrived at 
 (Jwyhee, where, on the Kith of February, 1779, this 
 gallant and generous man was murdered by savages. 
 
 The examinations and surveys of Cook in the 
 north Pacific are of imperishaltle value. They 
 opened to the world a new theatre for enterprise. 
 But his instructions and the settled laws of nations 
 prevented him Iroin accpiiring any rights by discov- 
 ery to the Oregon Territory. His operations were 
 dii-ected to regions far north, and his discovery of 
 the Capes Blanco and Flattery, and landing at Noot- 
 ka, gave no right to England; for all these points had 
 been previously seen and explored by Spanish navi- 
 gators. Nootka Sound had been occupied by Perez 
 in 1774, which was four years before Cook arrived. 
 The subsequent navigators, Mears, Vancouver, and 
 others, were nothing but trespassers upon the dis- 
 coveries of Spain and of the United States. 
 
 The next ground of title assumed by Great Brit- 
 ain is founded upon a treaty with Spain. It is, 
 therefore, necessary that we look into the provisions 
 of that treaty. In 182(), upon the renewal of the 
 discussion in regard to the Oregon between (Jreat 
 Britain and the United States, Mr. Huskisson and 
 Mr. Addington, the ministers of Great Britain, in a 
 communication to Mr. Gallatin, state their claim 
 growing out of the Spanish treaty in these word.s: 
 
 "Great Britain claims no exclusive sovereignty 
 over any portion of the territory on the Pacific, be- 
 tween the 42d and 49th parallel of latitude; her 
 present claim — not in respect to airy part, but to the 
 whole — is limited to a right of joint occupancy in 
 common with other States, leaving the right of ex- 
 clusive dominion iir a/ici/aiicf; and her pretensions 
 tend to the men? maintenance of her own rights, ia 
 resistance to the exclusive character of the preten- 
 sions of the United States. 
 
 "The rights of Cireat Britain arc recorded and 
 defined in the convention of 1790, (with Spain;) 
 they embrace the right to navigate the waters of 
 those countries, to settle in and over any part of 
 them, and to trade with the inhabitarrts and occupi- 
 lers of the same. It is admitted that the United 
 States possess the same rights; but, beyond those 
 rights, they possess none." 
 
 Here, then, we have not only the rights of Great 
 Britain defined, but we are modestly told what are 
 our rights. Her claim, it is said, is limited to a right 
 of joint occupancy in common with of/wr Stules. 
 What other States] In 182G. did any other Gov- 
 ernmcnt but ours (except the claim she was put- 
 
i6 
 
 ting forth) lay claim to if? Spain, France, and 
 Russia, had all renounced to us, and the boundaries 
 were established. And is England to decide that 
 the only right to Oregon, in favor of any Govern- 
 ment, is a mere possessory one; and that it is a com- 
 mon right equally belonging to other States? If 
 so, it would seem that our treaties with France, Spain, 
 and Russia, are to be abrogated; that our right to 
 Oregon must be abandoned; and that henceforth 
 it is to be regarded as a country subject to the claim 
 of any "other States" of the world. The avowal 
 of doctrines so monstrous, and so wholly at war with 
 the settled law of nations, only proves the utter 
 groundlessness of her claim. 
 
 Let it be remembered that her ministers declared 
 that "the rights of Great Britain are recorded and 
 defined in the convention of 1790" with Spain. 
 And then let us proceed to examine what are the 
 rights, the breadth and length of vphich are record- 
 ed in that convention. Here is the fifth article, the 
 one upon wliich these supposed English rights are 
 founded : 
 
 "Art. 5. As well in the places which are to be 
 restored to the British subjects by virtue of the first 
 article, as in all other parts of the northwestern 
 coast of ]\orth America, or of the islands adjacent, 
 situate to the north of the coast already occupied 
 by Spain, wherever the subjects of either of the two 
 powers shall have made sittlements since the month 
 of April, 1789, or shall hereafter make any, the sub- 
 jects of the other shall have free access, and shall 
 carry on their trade without any disturbance or moles- 
 tation." 
 
 Now, in ivhat places, or upon what "parts" of 
 the northwestern coast of North America, did this 
 article operate? Is it upon the whole iVorthwest 
 coast, or only upon a part of it? The plain language of 
 the article furnishes the answer. It is upon the 
 "parts of the northwestern coast, or of the islands 
 adjacent, situate to the north of the coast already 
 occupied by Spain, wherever the subjects of either 
 of the two powers shall have made settlements 
 since the month of Jlpril, 1789." And what parts of 
 the northwest coast of North America did the subjects 
 of either Spain or England then occupy by settle- 
 ments made after the month of April, 1789? It is 
 proved beyond all doubt, that the only place upon 
 which either Spanish or British subjects made set- 
 tlements between the month of April, 1789, and the 
 28th of October, 1790, the date of the convention, 
 was atNootka Sound. The testimony furnished by 
 England and Spain, and the letters of Captain Gray 
 and Joseph Ingraham, all concur in proving this. 
 Nootka was head-quarters. The ships, after ob- 
 taining their supply of furs, sailed from there direct- 
 ly to Canton. The language of the convention 
 could not refer to the ancient soutliern settlements 
 at California or San Francisco. The dispute had 
 grown out of disturbances at Nootka, upon the North- 
 west coast. Spain occu|ned Nootka; so had Eng- 
 land; the convention looked to that occupation. 
 The joint occupancy was not to be to the south, 
 but exclusivily north of the parts so occupied. 
 And Nootka is in latitude 49° 40', which is two 
 hundred and forty miles north of the mouth of the 
 Columbia river. That convention, therefore, never 
 
 gave to England the right to occupy a foot of terri- 
 tory south of Nootka Sound. 
 
 Sir, no part of the valley of the Columbia river 
 is included in that treaty. And Mr. Huskisson and 
 Mr. Addington, in stating that "the rights of Great 
 Britain are recorded and defined in the convention 
 of 1790 with Spain," have admitted that England 
 has no rights whatever south of Nootka. 
 
 Mr. President, (said Mr. McR.,) in this construc- 
 tion of the treaty of 1790, 1 am sustained by the high- 
 est possible evidence. I am sustained by the author- 
 ity of British statesmen, who supported that treaty 
 when Mr. Pitt brought it before Parliament. I read 
 from the 28th volume of Parliamentary History. 
 The Diike of ^Montrose, who moved an address of 
 thanks to his Majesty for having made the treaty, 
 said : 
 
 "We are not only restored to Nootka, but, by an 
 express stipulation, we may participate in a more 
 7iorihern settlement, if we should find at any time 
 that a more northern situation would be preferable 
 for the carrying on of the trade." 
 
 Mr. Dundas said; "At Nootka we have obtained 
 a specific right of settlement to trade and fish," 
 page 980. 
 
 Mr. Smith, another friend of the ministry, and 
 who warmly supported the treaty, said; 
 
 "The whole coast of Prince Wdliam's Sound was 
 free for us to settle on, no place being occupied 
 there by a Spanish colony." 
 
 And where is Prince William's Sound? Mr. McR. 
 said, by turning to the map it appeared that it is situ- 
 ated directly west of Mount St. Elias, in the 60th 
 degree of north latitude, being nine hundred miles 
 north of Coluiiibia river. 
 
 Here we have the construction put upon the 
 treaty by its friends, that the right on the part of 
 Great Britain to make settlements was to be to the 
 north of Nootka. The same volume (said Mr. McR.) 
 contains the opinions of members of Parliament who 
 Were opposed to the treaty. 
 
 The celebrated Mr. Fox, of whose talents and 
 sagacity I need not speak here, in the debate upon 
 the convention, said: 
 
 "Our right before was to settle in any part of South 
 or Northwest America not fortified against us by 
 previous occupancy; and we are now restricted to 
 settle in certain places only, and under certain re- 
 strictions." Again, at page 996 he says: " We had 
 obtained an admission of our rights to settle to the 
 north; and even that we had not obtained with 
 clearness, as 'Spanish settlements' were the only 
 mark of limits." 
 
 Lord A'orth said : 
 
 "Was it not necessary to know the reasons for 
 so vague a delineation of our rights in the North- 
 western American seas, as the convention contained; 
 and of the boon of tSpuin's not colonizing beyond 
 the most northern of her settlements?" 
 
 'J'he JMarquis of Lansdowne said; 
 
 "As to the particular terms of the convention 
 just concluded, it stip\ilated, with respect to Nootka 
 Sound, what was either pernicious or Irilluig. It 
 iil)pcared madness to think of colonies, after what 
 had passed in North America." 
 
 The last remark, you perceive, is a very pointed 
 
n 
 
 one; anil boinsr made but nine years after the Revo- 
 lution, its import was well understood. 
 
 Sir, many members denounced the ministry, in 
 terms of bitter reproach, because the treaty had not 
 secured to them more of the Northwest coast, and 
 because tbe British were restricted in their settle- 
 ments to the territory north of Nootka. 
 
 Lord Perchestev said: 
 
 "A conduct so absurd and pernicious, so desti- 
 tute of all pohcy, the history of nations cannot ex- 
 hibit. Bullying so unprovoked, evaporatini? at 
 length in a convention so unrneanine;. confidence 
 given so liberally, and so illy rewarded, never was 
 paralleled. Did not the event, he asked, confirm 
 the very general observation without doors, that we 
 had a ministry who had neither courage to make 
 war, nor the skill to make peace?" 
 
 And, sir, (said Mr. McR..) this very subject of 
 boundary, and the exclusion of the British traders 
 from the country south of Nootka — that is, from 
 the whole valley of the Columbia river — was pressed 
 upon the ministry as a dereliction of duty, with all 
 the sirenijth and eloquence of a most talented oppo- 
 sition. This point was never denied by the minis- 
 try or their friends. The treaty was defended on 
 other grounds, and was adopted, with the admission 
 of its friends, and the charge of its opponents, that 
 the British right of joint occupancy witli Spain 
 was confined to the country north of Nootka iSound. 
 And yet, sir, it was in this treaty — ay, tliis far- 
 famed treaty — that, in lS2fi, Mr. Huskisson and Mr. 
 Addin^ton averred that "the rights of (ireal Britain 
 are recorded and defined." 
 
 I take them at their word; and the history now 
 exhibited, the concurrent testimony of its friends and 
 opponents at the time of its adoption, together with 
 the language of the treaty itself, all prove that it 
 gave to Great Britain no right at all to any part of 
 Oregon. M'e look to something higher than Noolka 
 conventions for our title. It is ba.sed uj)on tlie lirst 
 elements of national law, — upon j)rior discovery, 
 upon occupancy, and upon deeds of purchase from 
 France and Spain. 
 
 I have now done with this branch of the subject 
 — the question of title. It is one of trre.U and traii- 
 sceiidant importance to the whole community ; lor 
 our people, who square their lives by a sense of jus- 
 tice to others, only want to know what are their 
 own rights, in order to defend and maintain them, 
 .^ml upon the views now presented of our indefeas- 
 ible tide to the Oregon 'I'erritory, I am willing to 
 abide the decision of the living, and the judgment of 
 posterity. 
 
 The bill before us proposes — 
 
 1st, To cause a line of jjost'^, not to exceed five 
 in number, to be established from our Western 
 boundary to the mouth of the Columbia river. 
 
 'lA. To altacli the Oregon to the Territory of 
 Iowa, for judicial j)urposes; and to appoint a judge 
 and justices of the peace to adiniiiistcr the law-:. 
 
 .'id. 'i'hat Congress will hereaftrr provide for 
 granting to each inhabitant over eighteen years of 
 age six hundred and forty acres of land, who shall 
 'ultivate it five y»'ars; to the wife of each occupant, one 
 hundred and sixty acres; and to the father, for earh 
 child he may ha\e under eighteen years of age, or 
 
 that may be born there within the five years, one 
 hundred and sixty acres. 
 
 These arc the inducements which the bill pro- 
 poses as an encouragement to emigrants. The 
 honorable Senator from South ('arolina [Mr. Cal- 
 Moi'jj] and the honorable Senator from Massachu- 
 setts [Mr. Ciiciate] are of opinion that the pro- 
 posed grants of land may come in conflict with one 
 of our treaty stipulations, giving a right of joint 
 occupancy to English subjects. Now I think that, 
 upon a more full examination of the sulij<'ct, the 
 objection will be removed; and I believe I shall be 
 able to show that England has been permitting to be 
 done precisely what we propose to do. The con- 
 vention of October 20, 1818, and extended by that 
 of August 6, 1827, was intended for the purposes 
 of hunting and trapping; the whole object was to 
 preserve peace among men of the two nations, in 
 pursuit of furs and skins. The convention express- 
 ly i\iem/)le<l the title to the country from its opera- 
 tion. We can, therefore, as well dispose of the title 
 to the land, as though the convention had no exist 
 ence. Upon this point there can be no doubt. 
 Now, as to the propriety of doing it, we all know 
 that the leading inducements to the formation of 
 that convention, which was to facilitate the collec- 
 tion of furs and skins, has almost entirely ceased; 
 and particularly in the country south of the Colum- 
 bia, wliicli is the best adapted to agricultural pur- 
 suits. 
 
 The hunter has laid by his rifle and traps, and is 
 cultivating the land for a subsistence. If our peo- 
 ple go there, they must pursue the mechanics arts, 
 or be cultivators of the soil — not hunters. .\nd they 
 will not go to Oregon, unless we make provision 
 for them. Indeed, this donation is the most e4ij>itaF 
 feature of the bill. It will insure a vigorous and 
 active po[)ulalioii in the country, aii<l nothing else 
 will. Now I think my honorable friends will .igree 
 with me about title. 
 
 Mr. Caluoix. I agree that the question of title 
 is clear. 
 
 Mr. CiioATK expressed himself of the same opin- 
 ion. 
 
 Mr. .McRoHEUTs. We do not dilTer upon that 
 l)oint. 
 
 Now the convention of 1818, creating the joint 
 occupancy, by one of its provisions, can be annulled 
 by giving twelve months' notice. The passage of 
 this bill wi 1 induce the Executive to give the re- 
 quired notice, or we can have it done by a joint-res- 
 olution. Before our people can yet to Oregon, tlic 
 cim\ention will be annulled; although it imposes no 
 olilii;ation incompatible with our right to pxss this 
 bill. But there are other reasons: the bill is a pledge 
 that we will make provision for emigrants and set- 
 tlers, though no grant is to be m:!de under t\\c years. 
 This pledge to provide for cultivators of l!ie soil 
 could not, tlierctore, molest the British subjects in 
 any right of hunting, trapping, fishing, or farming, 
 which was provided for or contemplated in the cou- 
 veiilion of 18 Is. 
 
 Sir, (said Mr. McR.,) the British Government 
 have been for ten years doing, of |)ermitting to bo 
 done, precisely what we propose. Its subjects have 
 already large farms in Oregon. One gentleman 
 there in 1837, as we learn from a letter of one of 
 
12 
 
 the missionaries, raised 4,500 bushels of wheat, 
 4,000 bushels p.as, 1,700 bushels barley, 1,500 
 bushels oats, -and potatoes in proportion. He has 
 750 cattle, '100 hogs, 200 horses, ami a grist and 
 saw mill of great value, and works one hundred 
 hands, mostly Canadians. He has a garden of five 
 acres ([ quote from the printed letter) "stored with 
 almost every species of vegetables, fruits, and flow- 
 ers ; among them figs, citrons, oranges, lemons, 
 pomegranates, cotton plants, and all common fruits 
 in the United States. Everything produces well. 
 For some day.s our time was divided between visits 
 to the firm, the mills, the herds, the dairy, the 
 stores, the ships in j-ort, the school, &c. It, of 
 course, gave us great satisfaction to witness these 
 fruits of civilization, which we suj'posedour eyes had 
 looked upon for the last time when we passed the 
 ftontier line of our own land." 
 
 This is farming upon no ordinary .scale. The es- 
 tablishment at Vancouver trades largely to the Sand 
 wich Islands in flour and sawed luml.cr. Both 
 English and .Americans have farms on the Walla- 
 mctt. And, sir. Great Britain is encouraging this 
 policy, and declares that she will protect her sub- 
 jects in this individual approprialion of the land. 
 Mr. Huskisson and Mr. Addington, in 1.S2G, in a 
 despatch to our ministers, said: ''In the interior of 
 the territory in question, the subjects of Great Brit- 
 ain have had formany yearsnumeroussettlementsand 
 trading-posts. And they navigate the Coliiuibia 
 as the sole channel for the conveyance of their prod- 
 uce to the British stations nearest to the sea, &i' 
 To the interests and establishments which British 
 industry and enterprise have created. Great Britain 
 owes protection; that protection will be given, both 
 as regards settlement and freedom of trade and nav- 
 igation." This is all that is material in the state- 
 ment. 
 
 Sir, (said Mr. McR.,) what is this but an appro- 
 priation of land? We allowed her a temporary 
 right of joint occupancy with us; and under this, 
 England encourages her subjects to settle and cul- 
 tivate the land, erect farms and build mills, and then 
 tells you that her subjects shall be jtrotected in their 
 settlements and establishments thus formed or to be 
 formed. Is there any difference between such a 
 declaration, and the pledge vi'hich we make to pro- 
 vide for settlers in this bill] In substance, they are 
 precisely the same. The Senator from Massachu- 
 setts says that ICngland might also make grants of 
 land to her subjects, which might produce collisions 
 between jiersons holding a<ljoining farms under 
 different titles. This is the answer: England 
 could malvc no grants where she had no title. Slie 
 might as well make grants upon the Potomac, as 
 upon the Columbia. But this bill removes all tempt- 
 ation for such a procedure, by conferring its privi- 
 leges upon all resiilrnts, whether they be of .\nglo- 
 American or European iilood. England, therefore, 
 could have no cause of comj)laint, bccau.se such of 
 her subjects as may have built farms, and wlio see 
 proper to remain in the country and become sub- 
 ject to our laws and jurisdiction, would lie protected. 
 and j)!aced upon the footing clour own citizens. This 
 matter has been tiiorougbly considered; and the [iro- 
 visions of the bill projnising to make future provi- 
 
 sion for those who have or may expend their labor 
 or money in making farms, is founded in the highest 
 principle of justice and philosophy. 
 
 Sir, a sense of public duty requires immediate ac- 
 tion. By our settled policy, we have placed a nu- 
 merous Indian jiopulationupon our Western borders, 
 extending from Iowa to the line of Texas. They are 
 now at peace with us; but they are the shattered frag- 
 ments of a hundred hostile tribes, and are composed 
 of the very elements of war. Being oa the frontier, 
 they are liable to be influenced by those who have-, 
 been, and again may become, inimical to us. I need 
 not stoj) here to tell the Senate from what source 
 all our Indian wars have {>roeceded, or whose hands 
 first kindled the hostile ijres; the world knows all 
 this, forthe history of it is written in blood. 
 
 What plan could so effectually remove the tempta- 
 tion to war on the part of those tribes, as also of the 
 tribes still more remote, as to have a population in 
 their rear sufticicnt to overpower them? 
 
 The natural element of the Indian is war. He 
 is taught it from his mother's lips in the wigwam, 
 and sees it practised and cherished as the highest 
 virtue of his tribe. We must counteract as far as 
 possible this dangerous propensity of his being ; we 
 must remove the temptation ; we must provide 
 guards for pr<>lec.tion; and the settlement of the (Jre- 
 gon with an e;hcient population would accomplish 
 all this, and would create a moral power which, in 
 time, would extinguish their war fires. 
 
 The Territory of Oregon, to wliich our right is in- 
 disputable, extends from the 42d to the 4'Jlh degree 
 of north latitude, and from the Pacific ocean to our 
 territory east of the Rocky Mountains. This com- 
 prises a fertile region 700 miles wide at one extremi- 
 ily, and 500 at the otlier, running through seven 
 degrees of latitude, and embracing nearly two hun- 
 dred millions of acres — enough to form three or tour 
 new Slates. Hitherto it might have been thought 
 we had territory enough, and that for some genera- 
 tions at least we would not have use for more. But 
 the late census, as well as those preceding, shows 
 that wc may count ujion our population being 
 doubled every twenty-three or four years. Here is 
 the table showing our increase: 
 In 1790 - - - - 3,929,827 
 
 In 1800 .... 5,305,941 
 
 In 1810 .... 7,239,814 
 
 In l8-:0 .... 9,654,590 
 
 In 1830 - - - - 12,806,020 
 
 In 1840 . . - - 17,068,666 
 
 By this ratio wc may expect to have a population 
 of fifty-two millions in KS80, and at the close of the 
 present century at least nini'ly-two millions. We 
 lay claim to nothing but what belongs to us by right. 
 By the mode proposed in this bill, we can accom- 
 plish tbis without any reasonable ground of offence 
 towards any other Government. We have to act for 
 those who arc to succeed us; and our neglect of their 
 interests, at the critical moment when it is our duty 
 to place them on a permanent foundation, will be 
 wholly inexcusable. 
 
 That d\ity is now to assert our rights — to extend 
 our laws over the country — to encourage the oeru- 
 pat!<in of o'jr own territory by our own citi/ens — to 
 give them temjiorary protection in their emigration; 
 
13 
 
 aini, iti less than ten j'cars, your harJy citizens trans- 
 planted to this new section of our Union will be 
 able to defend and protect themselves. 
 
 Sir, I want to see no more of this delay — no more 
 procrastination. 
 
 "T>-iri"rrow. and m morrciw, ami to. marrow, 
 ';ree|is in lis peity paco Iruiii day ui day 
 Til ilii; lu;i'. sylliiblK ol' lei-cinliMl nine: 
 Anil all your yct!t<'i\!:i s hu^e liihicil men 
 Till' roail 111 tlufiy tleiiili." 
 
 The great interests of the country recjuirc action — 
 «peedy and determined action; and I appeal to politi- 
 
 cal opponents as well as friends to unite v,-ith us, and 
 give an undivided support to this hill. Other nations 
 will take warning by it. 
 
 If our right to Oregon can be settled only by war, 
 then my constituents, and I believe the whole coun- 
 try, will unite with me in saying, Let it come. That 
 territory belongs to us, as I have this day demon- 
 strated; and I hold it one of our highest national 
 duties to assert that title, let what may come. Give 
 us a decisive vote in both Houses of Congress. 
 Unanimity upon the question is all that is now ne- 
 cessary; it will .settle it a.s eflcctually as the sword. 
 
017 187 297 2 i 
 
 [1 Au«.,T^ 
 
■0^ 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 017 187 297 2 ^