E396 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 0D0D503Dfl21 0" .* '•. X,'^**' .•^IM.'"'^-^.^**''.-:*^ ■=<•_ ^^.. * A 'A * ° -. "^^ 1* . t • ^* V^*^ \. ".^^^^z . '2^^' '"rovinces retained." History may be silent or fail to cootiemn, or diplo- macy may glo.^sover lhe.se an ogant demands, made at the tni.nent of her g'eatcst siien;;th — '.vhf n her armies, rti.ishfd wiih success from ihe oi/t rthrow- of the Emutror Napoleon, hereto be precipitated on our s^liores to carry death and desuuciion in their coHrse. But the people of the United Slalv.<, if true to themselves, will not soon forget ilie^e movements. What Great Britain then failed lo extort from our weakness or fears, she has feince obtained, by military possession, and by spinDing- the thread of negociation to an almost intermi- nable length. He (Mr. L.) would ask the Se- nator from Maine, [iVIr. Evans,] whethsr the que.=tion of ihess Biiiish claims lo the terri- toritoiy within the Nonheastcrn boundary line of his S'aie, is any neater, or, indeed, so near, being settled this day, as it was in 1783. Was there not, twenty-five years ago, a more rational prospect of adjustment than there is at preseni? He would ask (hat Senator if, in his opinion, it would be propt-r for Congress to recede fiom ihe pledge which had been given to ihe Siate of Maine? oi, if Maine v^ouid recede from her own pledges — will she yield rp tamely? and with- out uiing every means that she possesses, for pro- tecting that portion of her territory coveried by Great Biitain? In addition to those qucsiions, he would also ask, if Great Briiain persists in the course she is now taihng, of locating her military forces within the borders of Maine ff r the evi- dent purpose of obtaining and maintaining posses- sion, will not Maine resort to force to expel intru- ders? and if she dees, how is awarwiih Great Britain to be avoided? [Mr. Evans said, that thus appealed to, he should say ia reply to the question, whether he thought Congress wr.nld recede fiom the pledges given to I^Jaine, his firm conviction was, that Congress nsver would retreat from these pledges. He could a so say, that it was equally his conviction, that IVIaine never would recede from her promises, or her duty to hersell and the General Government. If Maine had been inactive of late, it v7b» in con- sequence of (he las.t raes.sage from Mr. Van Burea having informed CoBgress that there was every prospect of an amicable adjustment of the dffi- cully between thii". Government and England, in re- laiion to the disputed territory. How the Isct was, he did not knov.?.] Mr. Linn said, of that fact it was not now ne- cessary to say any ihing; but the Senator's answer as to the pledges of the General Government to Maine, and these of Maine herself to the whole country, was sufricient for his (Mr. L's) present argument. The Senator believes that neither Con- gress nor the Stale of Maine will recede from resolves stilenmly made. What the h rd oi the laie Administration thought en ihe subject of an amicable adjustment, was not now the question; it was, wheiher ihera was a belter prospect of ad- justment now than there was twenty -five yeais ago. That it was not only not so good, but daily growing worse and worse, was the position which he (Mr. L ) maintp.ined. He would lake upon himself the responsibility of saying, in his place in the Senate, that this boundary question never was in a more hopeless condition; and he believed it never would, permanemly, be arranged, till Great Britain cilhcrgave independence to the Ca- nada.'.'t r was compelled, by the valor of Ameiican arms, to yield up her unju-it pretensions.* And whea 'Mr. Fairfield, the Democratic candidate for Governor of Maine, makes the lollowing remarks en the boundary question, in reply to a letter a.^king his views on that subject: "In regard to our boundary question, patience is exhausted. The hope of an amicable adjustment is nearly extinguished. After years upon years of wailing, we seem to be as far from a restoration of our entire territory as we wera 6 or where has Great Britain ever giren away without compuisioni Has it not been the invariable policy of England to bold on — lo maintain her fooling, right or wrong, as long as she has a foot of ground to siand tjponi So long as sbe reiains h?r Cana- dian poi-.vessions she will never surrender her claim to the territory within omt boundary 1 re. Was not that disputed question a soutce of imminent danger? But that, great as it was, was not ihe onlyone of the kind. There is ano'her of the same naure in the Far West to be settled. He al- luded, ! e Faid. to the Territory of Oregon. As this Territory of Oregon had been the subject of protracted negotiation between the United Sia'es and Great Bri;ain, and would, probably, like the Maine controversy, lurnish material for much more, a brief notice of the grounds on which we we place our claim, seems to b=' required from the nature of the proposition under discussion. The country on the Pacific Ocean, extending from latitude 42 d(g. the boundary line between the Unitpd States and the Republic of Mexico, to latitude 54 deg, 40 min. Norib, is claimed by this Govern:;;enl and Great Britain; Spain ard Russia having formally, by treaties, renounced theirs Great Britain claims a modified jurisdiction, not an exclusiveone, fotmded upon the Nootka S. and conventirn with Spain. By ihe treaty of Paris, of 1803, the Uniied States acquired the noblest province in the world, without the cost of one drop of blood — the fairest pr ruon of the Valley of the Mississippi, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico lo the sources of the "Father of Waters," the Missouri river, the Rocky Mountain^?, and, by con- tiguity, the unexplored regions west of these mountain?. Mr. Linn said that this was not the proper time to enier, minutely, into a history of ail the treaties which related to thi.'? pait of the discussion; from that of Uirechi in 1704, to thjos? with Spain in 1819, with Mexico in 1824, and with Great Britain in 1818 and 3827. But if l.he United States rested its claim to the territory in dispute, upon priority of discovery alone, it would be as immuiable as the Rocky Mi-uniains, which over- look its lovely plams and valleys. In ibe ye.Tr 1791, th- mouth rf the Co'umb-a river was fir- 1 seen by Captain Grey of Boston, in commani of the fihip Columbia, sailing under tho flag of the United States. In the month of May, 1792, he entered the river; he save loit its name, and conti- nued to explore it from the l^t to the 7lh of the month. Having fixed its latitude, and distinctly atthe commencement. Our forbeaiance has but served to ex- cite the hopes and increase the arrogance of those who are contending with us. A mere diploiiiatic ruse, by lapse of time, has hecome a serious and and portentous affair. An of- fer to purchase, a quarter of a :enturyago, a similar sti-ip of land on our Monheastern border, anon ripened into a. claim of iiUe—a.n(\ from that day to this, ha^ been swelling and expajid- ing, until now, it covers one-llurd of the territory of a State, larger than all the rest of New England. A single mail ear- lier, wending his solitary way through the passes of 'the high- Sands,' is lollowed by small companies of poor peasants, ga- thering merely a subsislen?e by cutting and sending down the streams to a market, a few of the trees standingjuiion the mar- gin. The:,e are succeeded by formidable bands of plunderers, iindar the pay of wealthy and 'respectable' merchants, sweep- jngour forests, and accumulating fortunes by the spoils. And jast comes a foreign soldiery, who, undf-r the authority of 'her Majesty,' build forts and erect barrack.s, make permanent and military establishments, and claim to hold possession." marked the topography of the neighborhood, the bearines of the various headlands around the ba)', which lies wiihin the embouchure of the river, he returned to thi' United Sates and announced his important discovery. Thus was this great RIVER DISCOVERED BY THE UNITED STATES FROM THE SEA. Alter the splendid and peaceful acquisi- t'on of Lousiana in 1803, the philosophic mind of Mr. Jefferson was turned anxiously to lading open its hidden treasures, tracing to their sources its great riveis, and penetrating the regions of ihe un- known West, as far as the mouth I f ihe Colum- bia. According to his suggestion, an exploriag expedition was fitted out by the Govern- irent, to ascend the Missouri to its source, and penetrate, overlaid, to the mouih of the Oregon, which had been pcvioudy discovered by Grey. Every body knows the signs! success which crowned this admirably conduced enter- prise, which c-pened to the world ihe exiensive re- giors cf the Upper Missouri, the Rocky Mountains, and added togergrapby the magnificrnt Valley of Ihe Oregon. Ten years before thisevent, McKen- zie had penetrated to tbi= Western ocean; but his route did not toxicli any of (he waters oflhisgrmid basin, btii:g several r'egrees north of it. In 1805, Lewis and Clarke took for'.-al possession of the country, and pased the winter there, in a fr ri built by themselves, ovtr which floated the stars and stripes of their country. Jind thus, by both sea and land, does this discovery belong lo the United .States. This occupation by Lewis and Clarke was, beyond ques- tion, the first settlement made by civilized man on h-it river, and it is an important incident to our liile. It was notice to the world of our claim, and that solemn act of possession was fol- lijwed up by seitlem'-nt and occupation by that in- telligent and enierpris^ing merchant, John Jacob As'or, under enciur- gement from thi=; Government. Thus, it will be perceived that our title has all the rf quisite.^ prescribed by European powers making settlements on this continent, and by Grfat Britain among the number: 1st. That the discovery and occupaiion of the mouth of a river, gives itle to the region watered by it and its trinuiaries, as in the case of the Hudson, James river, &c 2d. That the disco /ery and setilement of a new country gives title ha' f way to the nearest settlement of a civilized power. Either of there principles would carry us beyocd the 49;h parallel of latitude, independent of any claims derived from France by the li&aty of Louisiana, or by the Florida treaty of 1819 ^Ax. Astor, from his long £.nd intimate acquaintance with the operati. ns of the Briti.'^h Nonhwest Com- pany, anti close connection in business with the English Macinaw Company, perceived, at an earlyj day, Ihe great political and commercial advantages) to be derived io himself and to his country, by eX' tendins his orerations in the fur trade to the waiers of the Missouri river, to the Rocky Monntams, andj to the country watered by the Columbia. H'' iherC' fore planned expeiUnnns, by land and wafer — doubled Cape Ho-n wih his ships, which e-itered ihp mouth of the Columbia in the month r.f April. 1811 .^nd est.Tbli^hed a factory called "Astoria,' amid volleys of musketry and tbe roar ol artillery The overland expediiion, under the cmmand O! Wilson P. Hunt, ascended the Missouri riveii in boats to the Arickaree villages, from whence he took up his line of march across the great Western plains. After suffering the exireme limits of hun- ger and thirst and the attacks of savage beasts, and still more savag* men, he succeeded in forcing his way through snow and ice, over the stern barriers of the Rocky M)untains, and joined his country- men who bad already established themselves at the mou'.h of the Columbia. Notwithstandirjg the multiplied disasters which had befallen the expe- ditions by land md water in this perilous under- taking, Mr. AskDr's anticipations of success would have been more than realizd, but for the war of 1812 The Northwest Company, jealous of the control this morement would give the Anaericans over the fur traile and over hundreds of thousands of Indians, despatched Mr. Thompson from one of their tradica posts, as a secret emissary, who reached the d rthern branch of the Columbia, which he deECfcnded to Astoria, which had been, months before, established. Tae Northwest Com- pany had, for years, been under the direction of clear sighted Siotchaien; and many of Mr. Astor's associates wee also natives of Scotland. The news of the declaration of vrar was brought to Astoria by a iietachment of the Northwest Com- pany, who, while Mr. Hunt was absent on busi- ness to the; Saadvich islands, entered into negotia- tions with Mi. Astor's Scotch friend?, which re- sulted in a transfer to the Northwest Company, of all Mr. Astoi's effects and possessions. Tnis had scarcely been completed, when the British sloop of war Racjoon appeared off the place, and compelled its surrender. The Northwest Company hoisted the British flag, which was replaced by the Ame- rican in October, 1818, under a stipulation of the treaty of Gient. This is the foundation of British possession. Their claim, by right of discovery, is not so R'rong as the one by possession, inasmuch as the Uniied States, by the treaty of 1818, con- sented f'^ a joint occupation, and to leave the title undecided. The Northwest Company prompt- ly improved the advantages acquired by accident or treachery, and by the improvidence of our rulers. For a long series of years a bitter rivalry had existed when the Hudson Bay Company, chartered by Charles the S-cond in 1670, and the NorlhT^est Company, which often led to bloodshed. This caused Parliament to pass an net which united the two into one, under the name of the Hudson Bay Company, and by another act, extended the crimi- nal law of Canada over the boundless region west of the oraanizpd States and Territories of this Union. The wisdom of those measures, soon be- came apparent. Prom that time the affairs of the company began to proyper; its stock rose from sixty per cent, below par to two hundred above par, and this mostly from an encroachment upon our Indisn trade and territory. This great corpo- ration, under the direction of the British Govern- ment, exercises almost ab.>olute .«;way over count- less tribes of savages, frrm the Atlantic Ocean and the great lakes on the east, to the Pacific Ocean on the west, from t'^e Polar regions on the north, to the confines of Mexico on the south. Over this vast area are dotted her forts and factories; she en- lists armies of soldiers, and calls them "employres," builds ships of war and names them "coasters;" establi»hes strongly fortified places, bristling with cannon, as at Vancouver, and nicknames them "Trading Posts," with many less impwrlant works east to the moun'ains and south to the borders of California. By exemption from the payment of any duties on her merchandise, through intrigues, her arts, and arms, the American hunter and trap- per have been driven by this poworful and well or- ganized company from any participation in the fur trade west of the Rocky Mountains, and hun- dreds have fallen victims, iu their gorges and passe?, to the rifle and tomshawk of the merciless Biackfeet under British influence. Within the last two years shepherds and farmers have been brought from England, by way of Ca.^e Horn, and lands allotted them as colonists; and within twelve months four hundred emigrants hav.' been trans- ferred from the frozen borders of the Red River of L'ike Wianepeg to the fi-rtile plains and mild cli- mate of the Valley of liie Columbia. From their large farms and extensive mills, the 'company" furnishes breadsuffs and provisi( ns to the Russian set iements of the North; timber to the Califor- nians and Sandwich is.'arids; and the richest furs and peltries to Ch'na and Europe; amounting in the aggregate to several millions of dollars in value per annum — thus realizing the brilliant anticipa- tiouo cf Mr. Astor. Understanding thoroughly the advantage they pos-ess, this lordly corporation now openly proclaims i's dr^'ermination never to aban- don the country north of Ihe Oregon until compelled by force pf arms. Mr. L. said he had in hi* poise.->- >ion much recent information, wh ch went to prove that the British Government was bent earnestly upon streng'hsning itself in the Pacifi:; ocean, by holding firmly in is grasp the Territi-ry of Oregon and the Sandwich islands, and if p'ssible acquire from Mexico the fine province cf Upper Califor- nia, with its capacious hnrbor of San Francisco. He would, from the mas?, select the following fiom a highly respectable source, wfcich went to show some of their doings on that quarter of the continent. "AFFAIRS IN OREGON. "Tlie author of ilie letter below is a citizen of Boston — at the present lime a resident at Honolulu, the chief town and mart of the Sandwich Islands, wliere he owns considerable shipping, and can it's on an pxif naive trade. "For several years he was engageJ in a profitable commerce on the shores of Oregon. Aboul the year IS33, he, with other American merchants, withdrew from the coast, their trade be- ing almost entirely brolcen up by the monopolising of the II. B. Compfiny. "Mr. P. is a true American; I have had much acquaintance with him. 1 saw and Icnew much of him while at the islands in IS.3.5. Others, with myself, cm bear honorable testimony to his worth — his public examples of generous and noble ac- tion. It is due Mr. Peirce and the country, tu spealc thus par- ticularly of his character — a knowledge of the facts in his let- ter, as well asofotherswliich may follow in a Aubscquent pa- per, being of real import ince to the inieresLs of our citizens. Tliey are true, and should be published throughout the land. II. J. KELLEY "Honolulu, Oahu, .Sandwich Islands, March IS, 1S40. "Hall .T. Rblley, esq. Boston: "Dear Sir: I have received the pamphlet of documents re- lating to the action of Congress on the Oregon Territory. Please receive my thanks for the same. Is it not astonishing that our Government should show so much apathy on a ques- tion involving our national rights, honor, and piidel The Bri- tish have taken possession of, and are colonizing, a territory clearly ours, by discovery, by purchase from the Indians, and by former settlement of Jacob Astor's people. Our country- 1 men are little aware 0/ the monopolizing, grasping, and ambi- 8 lious spirit of the British Hudson Bay Company in this pan of the world. "Look at what they have done, are now doing, and intend to do. They have, for two years last past, been increasing the number of their men at their establishment at Fort Vancouvre, on the Columbia. A month since a vessel of theirs took from here eighty natives of these islands, ostensibly for the purpose of farming, «tc. but really to increase their military force at the Columbia, and to resist any attempts on the part of our peo- ple or Government from dispossessing the company of the oc- cupancy of that place. "Alarge number of Saxony sheep have been imported into the Columbia for the breed. Las', year they imported SCO sheep from California for the like object. " It is reported here, and generally believed, that the Hudson Bay Company intend to es'ablish a oniony in Puget's Sound, Straits of Juan de Fuca. Two more ships are to be added to the company's marine in the North Pacific: for the purpose of ex- tending their operation to these islands and to China, and if possible, to monopolize the trade of the whole North Pacific! You well know they have already succeeded in respect to the /Mr trade of the Northwest coast; and I have to tell you that they have now succeeded in monopolizing the tiade to (he Ru.s- sian settlements at the Norfolk Sound, &c. The company have contracted to furnish them with any production of England and Europe, at about 30 per cent, on the prime cost, an advance hardly sufficient to cover tiie charge, but the object of the company will be obtained, viz. Zo destroy American eominerce oii the whole coast,ofthe Northwest. "A Company's vessel vviil leave this, and each succeeding year, from the Columbia to Norfolk sound, with a large con- tract of flour, wheat, beef pork, butter, &c. — actually realiz- ing some nf your madprojecls! I .ist year a fine coal mine was discovered somewhere near Pagei's sound, and 150 or 200 tons of the same was taken to England for sale by one of the Compa- ny's vessels, as much probably lor ballast as for profit. "Imight write a volume on the subject of this letter. But enough has been stated to show, that unless some of the ener- getic character of the 'old General' is shown by the present President, our trade in this part of the world, instead of increas- ing, must be destroyed by the overpowering capital of the Hudson's Bay Company, our rights as to the sovereignty over the Oregon territory laughed at, and our character as a nation become a by -word to the world. Do, for the honor of our country, what you can to arouse our Government to the great importance of an immediate military occupation of tlie Ore- gon terriioiy, and the establishment of its northern boundary. "You may make such useof this letter (written in haste)as you think proper. Your friend, HENRY A. PIERCE." The foothold the compatiy acquired, as ?uc cesser to Mr. Asicr, was artfully secured to it for tea years by the ihirtJ article o! the treaiy of Oclo- ber, 1818, between ihe United Siates and Great Britain, and prolonged for an indefinite period by the trt^aty of September, 1827, the panies reserving the risht to put an end to it by giving twelve mon:lis' no'ice. The Senate will pe'ceive at once some of Ihe evil consequences flowing from per- mitting oursslvfs to be entangled in the me-hcs of dip'rm-^cy, in regard to our title, which we nf ver should have allowed ourselves to discuss with any Europesn power whatever. The?e treaties have prevented any legislative action, on the part of the United States^ to encourage emigration by making grants of liind to settler.'^, buiU'irg tor'.s, cuL-tom- houses, or any governrxicnta! act which would have the appearance of permansnt posses-ion or exclu- sive jurisdic!ion, v.'hiist the title v/as thus placed in aheiante. They proved a stumbling block to Doc- tor Floyd, and to every otlrer mcmtier of Congrets who may have attempted any ihirg of a legislative kind, with a view to the occupation and ?ettleri:ent of this tetritory. These treaties should be put an end to by the President, and the subject opened again for dis- cussion or final setilement in some v^^ay. Dt- lay only v;eakens n-, and strengthens the claims of our adversary, as in the !\ipine boundary. The United Slates is now the second commer- cial nation in the world, and in another quar- ter of a century, will probably be the first.— The genius and enterprise of oar conntrymeo carry them to the almost bounds of the earth, our canvass whitens every sea, and our flag floats on every breeze. In no portion of the world has this commerce increased faster than in the Pacific ocean, the capital invested be- ing not less than twenty millions of dollars, and giving employment to twelve or f:)urieen thousand seamen. To this commerce the Territory of Ore- gon is of the highest importance ia times of peace, and during the period of war is indispensable. Had we possessed some strongly fort.fied port on the Northwest cc&st as a place of refage during the late war with England, Commodore Porter's dar- ing enterprite and eflTorts would have been crown- ed with entire success; instead of injuring mate- rially, he would have completely cut up the ene- my's commerce in that quarter, ant; saved himself and gallant crew from the melancholy fate which befel them at the hands of a perfidious foe, who attacked them in Valparaiso, a neutral port, in op- position to the laws of nations, and in defiance of every principle of chivalry. The possession of OfL'gon, independent of the protectioa and enlarge- ment it would give to. trade in the North Pacific, is o! primary importance to our expanded and (dan- gerous Indian relations; to our iotercsurse with the Northern Provinces of Mexico; to our fur trade; but above all, as an outlet to the Anglo-American family, destined, in ihe progress of t.rae, to carry across the Pacific Ocean, to the land of the First Pf.rents of all mankind, the blessings of free prin- ciples in Government. For ages past, England has pursued one uniform line o"f policy; and that was, by conquest or otherwise, to lay hold of all the stron* points of the globe, from which to annoy or ruin the commerce of others and protect her own. She overawes the East India trade from the Cape of Good Hope — flaiiks it from St. Helena, the Mara- tinus, Madagascar and Ceylon — commands the entire commerce of the Mediterranean Sea by the impregnable fortress of Gibraltar and 'he scarcely less impregnable Island of Malta — flanks the trade of North America from Halifax and the Bermu- das; commands theGulf of Mexico and a portion of South America from the Islands of Jamaica and Trinidad; and in less than twenty years the Isthmus of Darien, the Sandwich Islands. Upper Califor- nia and the territory of Oregon, will be added to the avergrown dominions of the British Crown, un- less this Government, by suitable preparation, takes that stand its lasting inierests require. Under cover cf the East India Company she has subju- gated kingdoms in Asia, and threatens to augment her conquests by the overthrow of the Ctiicese Etnpire. Under the mask of the Hudson's Bay Company she is insiduously at work to engross the fur trade; gain a predominating influetice over all the Western Indians up to the very borders of Ar- kan.a-, Mis.'ouri, and Iowa; and acquire actual poss sion of some of the fairest portions of this contin-nt. He said he would not dwell longer en this subject, nor attempt to delineate the many evil effects which wc uld follow the continued pos- session of the territory of Oregon fey the English. If parted with, its price ought to be blood. Id all times and countries, the fiercest conflicts between individaals and the bloodiest wars between na- tion?, have grown out of disputed claims to land or ierritor>; and he very much feared that we were about to furnish another example. Are these two vexed questions, so long under d s cussion, in a fair way lo be amicably adjusteii? No, sir; they arc not. Will members of this bndv rise in their places and say they are? Every hour widenv. the breach. And, if so, \rho can tell, at what moment some outbreak may lake place along the exiended and exciled i orders, on either side, which may plunge us suddenly into a state cf hos- tilities wi^h the mightiest power of the world? Are we pr^'pared lo repel aggression or to en- ferce our rights in cither of these ca^es of disputed territoiyl No, sir, we are not; nor will we ever be, so long as we continue lo ; qnander, by dividing to the States the revenues which should be appro- priated to the army and navy, and the defences ol the country. Oq the one hand, we arc plundered of our terriiory by a foreign power, and on the other, we rob the Treasury of our comttion coun- try of the means necessarv to lis recovery, and ne cesstry to the defence of the whole Union. Is this patriotic Of statesman like? Can such conduct bf justified by the letter or spirit of the Constitution? Will our constilutnts ju.'nify i'? Mr. LINN said, he would call the atienlion of the Senate to a subject somewhat connected with the laji, which be ihought of great magnitude, and which seemed to him to have been ireafcd with uumeii'ed indifference for years pa^t by most of our publ c men, and indeed by the American peo- ple generally — that was, the influence Great Bri- tain exerts > ver Indian tribes within the jurisdic- tion of the United Stales. Against this enormous evil a prompt remedy should be provided. During the war of the Revolution, and down to the present period, the British Government has unifcroly re- sorted lo the barbarous policy of subsidzingsa vages, in war and in peace, within and beyond the boundary line of the United States. To perpetuate th:s influence, for the purpose of using them against us in the event of hostilities, has never been lost sight of by her stales men; and probably never will cease uniil such reprei-entation* are made against its continuance as cannot be mistaken. It .vas not his intention, on this occasion, to open ihe bloodstained p^iges of our Revolutionary history, filled as they were with accounts of the frightful atrocities of a savage enemy, acting under the in- fluence 01 the English aathoriiies. But with the treaty of 1763, wi ich secured our independence, peace was not restored befweea the Indians snd the whiles. On the contrary, the most destructive war, excited by forei.^n influence, was kept up for many years. History say$, that fiom 1783 to 1790, not less than three thousand persons were murder- ed, or dra2,"?ed into captivity from the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky. Tne."5calp' and the prisoners travelled the old w.ir-paths. The British Indian department was both strong anH active. A personal inspection was ma'e by Lieut Gov. Hunter, and a fort was commencexl on the Miami. The hopes of the Indians wrre elated by the celebrated war talk of Lord Dorchester. Pro- fuse issues of cloihing, provisions, and ammunition, were made to them. Several intercepted letters of British officers were published, which leave no doubt of the influence exerted upon the Indians. Gen. Wayne, in hi* official report, says that he had ob- tained a victory ov<-t the combined forces of the hostile Indians, ami a consideiab'e number of volunteers and militia of Detroit, [then occupied and held by the Canadians,] And ! After the convention of Greenville, a general calm CRSued amo:g our red neishbors, wh'ch was occasionally interruf.ted by the incursion ot some predatory band, with the a?a-A acco.Tipaniments of conflagration, robbery ind murder. But it must not be supposed, that during this general cessation of hostilities, the Enalish Government, its agents or trader:;, were idle. Pensions were granted and regularly paid to Indian chiefs and warriors; and arm^^, ammuni'i. n and cloihing, distributed to all whom they cou'd reach, whose trade or co-operation might be useful wiihin or wi houiour jurisdiction. A long series of insults and injuries upon the ocean and upon the land, followed up by iheattack upon theCh^sa-- p? ake frisate, in our own waters, and within sight of CUV shores, rous-ed the whole country from its lethargy, and for a moment the spirit of our fadiers flashed across the land. A point seemed to have been reached, when forbearance ceased to be a virr tup. From that time new life and aciiviiy were infused into her Indian affairs by the British au- thorities, in anticipation of coming events; and Indian outrages upon our defenceless frtntiers, kept pace with the increased activity of the prinse movers of them- The restless, enterprising, and chivalrous spirit of Tecum-^eh was put in motion; he flew iiora na- tion to natiem, and for years exerted his great abili- ties to form a coalition among all the trills un- friendly to the United Sia'es. Th?se eff'oris, to a "reat extent, v.-ere su cessful. The battle cf Tippe- canoe, ioughl in November, 1811, whilst ha wason a mission to the Southern Indian?, and the decbvatioa of war Psainst the Engli.sh, in 1812, prevented the comr)letion of his great design. At ihe/ame time that the Indian chief was at work on the borders, orci'ing every wh^re his rsd brethren tu a united efTnrt against "the Ameiican*, ihe English emissary and spy, John Henry, was carrying on his opera- tions in 'he bowels of the land, to promote strife and disunion. No sooner did hostilities commence, than we agnin find the combined foice of the Bri- tish snd Indians enter the field as our enemies. T. em^sfacreat the River Raisir, of Dudley's army, ?nd thp midnight conflagration and murder along the frontier, will attest how faithfully their red allies performed the work assigned them. The Indian of the desert was true to his engagpments, and in return his civilized, polished, chiistiaa friend clothed, fed, and paid him from his aban- daal stores; and during the negotiations for peace 10 at Ghent, he was not forgotten, as will be seen from the following proposition made by his Britan- nic Majefiy's rainiiEers to the American ambassa- dors. The enormity of this demand will be per- ceived at ouce by tracing the lines on a map. "Ttie next important point to be attended to in a treaty of peace wit li tlie United Slates, is anew boundary for the In- dians. • "The boundary line which appears best for the protection ol Indian rights, and which would add to the security of Canada, would be to run a line from Sandusky, on Lake Erie, to the nearest waters falling into the Ohio; then down that river, and up the Mississippi, to ihemoufk of the Missouri; thence up the Missouri to its principal source, confiningjhe United States to the Rocky Mountains as their westeryi boundary, and excluding them from all the country to the northwest and westward of thelines h-ire designaled,iehich,from those lines to that which should be agreed on as the British boundary of Canada, should remain icholly for the Indians as their hunting groutids. s he boundary between the United States and the Indians, as fixed upon by the treaty of Greenville, before al- luded to, would perhaps answer as the new boundary line for the protection of the Indians, if extended so as to run up tlie Missouri to the Rocky Mountains; provided that all the reservations a.nd conditions in that treaty relative to the various tracts of ground within that line, for the advan tage of the United S'ales, and all other condiiions attached lo them liy it, he wholly done aioay, and the American Govern- mefn tarid probably, al.so reciprocally the British) excluded from haviiig any (orts, military posts, territorial jurisdiction, or public prospects of any kind, within the Indian line: but the *ona jfe/e property of white people, in lands within that boun- dary, where the Indian tides shail have been fairly extinguish- ed [irevious to a new treaty with America, might perhaps be safely allowed under the territorial jurisdiction of Great Bri- tain. "This would, of course, obviate the necessity of any reser- vation as to the right of the British to carry on trade with die Inilians, whose independence being thus established, they would have the right to admit or interdict whom they please; and we we'l know to whom they would, both from inclination and in- terest, give the preference. This is the more desirable, as the intercoiirse with the Indians of that quarter by the Briiish, be- ing carried on by permission, as it were, of a jealous and hos- tile nation, has been the fruitful source ol iniiiiumerable exac tion.«. continued disputes, and incessant broils. "For men whose friendship has been recently shown to be of such great importance to us, we cannot do too much. We should see all their wrongs redressed, their territory restored to tbeni; and themselves rendered forever secure from American encroachment. But the ii. dependence of the Indians cannot be efftictually preserved by the articles of any treaty which shall ptovide security for the Indian territory or Indian rights, unless, what is indispensable for their due execution. Great Britain become the avowed guaraiuee and protector of those rights and that territory, so a"s to have both the right and the power oi instant interference, in case of any encroachments and violation, and not, as hitherto, be a silent spectator of ■wrongs and injustice, more immediately injurious to the abo- rigines, but eventually as ruinous to the security of the Cana- das." This was the basis of^the modest proposition to divide the Union, and form from a portion of it an Intiian territory under the guardianship of Eog- ]and, «hir,h was firmly asd successfully resisted by ihi^ American commissioners — liihough pre- sented as a sine guanosi, and in lieu cf it, they re- tnrned a counter projet, having for its object a prohibition against the employment cf savagrs bv either country, in the event of any future wars be- tween thfm. The English envoys rejected this philanthropic proposition as inadtnis-^ible. What admirable consistency, humanity and justice Great Britain exhibits to the world' By her social sys- tem o' li^ws she taxes one portion of her ci;:z^ns to support another — liberates black slaves in th? West Indie?, and impresses h^r s^iilors and drags the, n in fetters on b'"'ard hprfli>ati!3g dungeons to fight th^ country's battles in distaut seas, far from borne or friends — holds "world's conventions," to emancipate j^laves in the United -States, and tram- plea under foot the conqtiered peniasala of Hindos- tan, and noble, generous Ireland — invades China j for seizing and confiscating English contraband i opium, and pays a premium to savages to burn, murder and scalp her own fle*h and blood in the United States — has no law on her statute books for j puni-hingher own people for a bresch of neutra-, iity, but threatens wpr if the laws of neutrality are not strictly enforced by us — demands imperiously in. demniiy lor injuries done to the persons and pro.^ perty of her subjects, yet refuses indemnity, or sa. tisfaction for the violation of our territorty he de- struction of the Caroline and the murder of our citizens. As before stated, after the treaty of 1783, the northwest Indians, iustieated by Easlish means ad 3gents,.coniim5ed their cruel and de.Mructive war against us until their complt-te overthrow by Gen. Wayne, in 1793. So also after the treaty of Ghent, in 1814, the Southern Indians, by similar mean.-;, were u.rged to hottilities equally desolating to that frontier, uniil the Seminoles were signally defeated by Gen. Jackson in 1818. Reports on your files from Governors Cass and Clarke, and from Indian agents, as Fulkerson, Schoolcraft, Hughes, Dougherty, &c — from traders and travel- lers, as Ashley, Gordon, Farnbam, Piicher, Sub- lette, &c. &c. all conclusively pr^ ve that the exer cise of this Britiih influence is destructive to the property and lives of our people. Nor will it be permitted to cease, as is apparent from the follow- ing. Lord Glenel-?, in a de.spatch addressed to the Eail of Gcssford and Sir F. Head, of 14th January 1836, says: "The annual expenditure incurred by this country [Great BrilainJ on account of Indians in Upper and Lower Canada has been limited, since the year 1830, lo £20,000; of this sum, j6 15,850 has been considered app'icable lo the purchase of pre- sents, and £4,150 to pay and pensions of Indian Departments. "Deferring, for the present, any observation on this latter branch of expenditure, I feel bound, after much consideration, to express my opinion, that the time has not yet arrived at which it would be possible, consistently with good faith, alto gether to discontinue the annual presents to the Indians, l appears that, although no formal obligation can be cited for such issues, there is yet ample evidence that on every occa- sion when this comdry has been engaged in war on the North American continent, the co operation of the Indian tribes has been anxiously sought, and has been obtained. This was particularly the case in the years 1777 and 1812; and I am inclined lo believe that it is from these periods respectively that the present annual supplies dale iheir commencement. "Of the sum expended in presents, there is, however, a por- tion which would appear to be placed under peculiar circum- stanses It has often been represented, and lately on official authority, that of the Indians who receive presents from the British Government, a considerable number reside within the United States, and only resort to Canada at the periods of issue." That American Indians resorted annually to Ca nada f< r their presents, could be easily proved. An officer in out service, stationed at Fort Brady, informed him that he counted 8,000 who passed that post in 1840 to receive their accusinmed pre- sents, which supports the s atements of our Indian As ents. If the two Government* should ever open negotiations with a view to a fitial settlement of all the points in dispute bptween them, he hoped this would be made a prominent one; yes, a sine qua nan. With but little aid from the Slates east of the Alleghany mountain.?, the Western States have increased in wealth and population ia obedience to the eternal laws that direct and govern their onward march. Every thing II that Government could do has been done to encourage and expand maritime commerce, and afford it ample protection. Let a ship be plundered and the crew murdered in Java, or in any ot ihe far distant isles of the ocean, and one oi our na- tional vessels is promptly despatched to demand re- dreg's, orpuni?h aggression; whilst murder and de- va!-taiion on the frontier sometimes pass unheedei', and our claims to indcmnilv are often treated with neglect and indifference. As yet, ihc General Go- vernment has done hut little to encourage the trade and mtercourse between the people of the We?t end the interior provinces of Mexico; and nothing to increase the trade between the whites and Indians. The erection of a line of military posts from the Missouri to the Columbia, and allowing a draw- back upon such srticles of merchandise as are used in both rr.'ides, would po far loward.s placing us on an equal fooiirg with ihe English or any fo- reign power. In vain, year after y-ar, has Mis- souri sent here memorial after memorial, relaiing to ihe subjsct of drawback:. A deaf ear was turned up m all our representaiions, until within the last thre« year.",, wh^n a coinmiitee was found fa- vorable to the mea^u^e, which reported a bill ttiat passed the Senate twice in succession, but which was buried beneath a mass of other business accu mnldied by the perpetual strife and wasi of time spent in President making. Some of the evil effects of this long delay, and want of proper attention on the part of ihe United States, have been, that the American traders on the Santa Fe route, and the hunters and trappers on the Rocky Mountains, and oh the Upper Missouri and Mr'ssij-sippi, are oft n shot with British rifles, knocked on the head with British hatcbets, and scalped with British knives, in the hands of Indians wearing Briti«h blanket*. He said that if he had dwelt at some length on this subject, it was because he felt as a Western man should feel, the blood of whose friends and relatives had been poured out like wa- ter by the red man upon the soil of almost every State and Territory in the valley of the M ssissippi; and a'^a representative from Missouri, v;hose in'e- res's are deeply and immediately involved in this and Oregon affairs; and were his voice potent enough, it should reach the ear of ev^ry man in the Republic, and roue him to a due sense of the importance of this species of foreign influence. Leaving out of the account the forced acknowledg- ment of our independence, and her defeats upon the ocean, and by our armies durmg the la'-t war, if England r^ere to embody all her causes of com- plaint a^rainst this country, they would b? but a feaiher in the balance, when weighed against her Indian enormities. Tne next in point of importance, if not the most pressing in its nature, was the searching and cap- ture, by British ships of war, of a number of our merchant vessels engaged in legitimate trade on the coast ot Africa, under the plea that they were concerned in the slave trade. These cap'ure^ wer^ made under circumstances well calculated tr stir the blood of Americans, and revive the recol- lection of outrages cmmiitei. in years long since passed, when, under British orders in council, se- cretly sent forth to their naval commanders, our ships were seized upon the higti seas, without warning or notice, and plnndsred, or burnt, orcon-- fiscated by thtir Courts ot Admiralty. He was the more anxious to have the attention of the Senate to ibis matter, as it had begun since the outrage upon the Caroline, he believed, and was growing to aa extent which >ecraed to increase in proportion to the impunity with which it was suffered to exist. Disturbed, as the harmony of the two countries un- questionably was, nothing could be better contrived to widen the breach than this pracUcal revival of the unjust and exploded doctrines of the right of search, and nothing seemed wanting to complete the circle of onr wrongs but a renewal of the prac- tice of impressiu? American ?eanaen into the Eng- lish navy. -And if these captures are not promptly disavowed or atoned for, he thought the United Sta'es would bs justified in the eyes of the world in commencing hostilities at once. Mr. L. said he regretted to see the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations [Mr. Rive-] was not in his feat, as he desired to a-k him some questions lourhing this subject. His absence weld com- pel him to make use of Doc. No. 34, which had been laid en cur tables, since July 14ih, without once being alluder-! to by that chairman, or any member of the body, so far as his memory served him. As this document was long, he would con- tent hira.seiJ with reading a few passages Ciom the able and spirited leiier of our Minister, Mr. Ste- venson, addressed to Lord Palmerston, but would make free use of these communications in hi.s prin'» ed remarks, that his constituents might have the information it contained in their possession. Mr. Forsyth, in a despatch, calls the attention of our Minister to the seizure of the Jones, Seam^w, and Tigress, under the pretenrp of their being engas^ed in the slave trade, and to th3 outrage committed oa the William and Frances — he says: "the per.-ist- ance in these unwarrantable proceeding;- isnolonly destructive to private interests, but must inevita- bly destroy the harmony of the two countries." — These cases were formally laid before the English Ministers, in addition to others of a simihr nature, and no answer returned. Again: Mr. Sievenson complains to Lord Palmerston of the capture of the lago, of New York, under circum-^tances of an agcrav.Tied kind, such as breaking o^ea trunks of the captain and sailors, plunder ot clothing, nautical in^ruments, &c. &c. and in the case of the Hero, of New Orleans, in the following words : "II appears that tliis schooner sailed from the Havana in June, I'JJO, with a cargo of assoried nierchantlise, bound to Wyhah on the African coast. That, on her voyage on tlie 9th of Au- gust, she xvas boanied by her lHajesty's brig the Lynx, and brought to anchor, her hatches were broken open and over- hauled, and the commander of the Lynx then determined to send her into Sierra Leone. That after removing a part of Ihe crew of the schooner on board the cruiser, and sending his own n.en to take chargeof the Hero, who robbed her of a part of her supplies, the commander of the Lynx determined to surrender theschooner and permit her to pur-'ue hervoyage That, on the arrival of the schooner at Wydah, her cargo wa." found to have tieen greatly damaged by the crew ol the Lynx, during her cap- ture and detonrion by the British commander. "These are the malerial facts in relation to the two cases now submitted. The previous communications which the under- signed has had the honor heretofore of addressing to Lord Pal- merston on subjects of a similar character, will relieve him from the necessity of recurring to the peculiar circumstances under these repeated »utrages upon the vessels and commerce of Ame- rican ciirzcns have been perpetrated, or discussing the princi- ples under which her Majesty's officers have attempted lojueti- fy their conduct." • 18 To these oft repeated complaints of captures and outrages, no answer was returned, though pressed for one, as will be seen from the following letter: Mr. Stevenson to the Secretary of State— Extract. Legation of the United States, London, April 19, iSll. "In compliance with the instructions received iVom your predecessor, I addressed to Lord Palmerston a note upon the subject of the seizure on the African coast, of four vessels 'the Tigris,' 'Leamew,' 'Jones,' and •William and Frances.' A copy of my note I have the honor to transmit. My previous despatches will have informed you of thesteps I had taken on this subject previous to your taking charse of our foreign re- lations. Mostof the cases which have been submitted to this Governinent, you will see, have remained unanswered, not- withstanaing every effort on my part to obtain justice for the claimants and get a decision." Again, under date of April 16, 1841, he sends another official note to Lord Palmeis'oa, and as it covers the whole ground, he would, with pe;mis- sion, read it to the Senate. lENCLOSURE.] Mr. Stevenson to Loid Palmerston. 32 Upper Grosvenor street, ,,,- ^ April 16, l&ll. My Lord: It is with unfeigned regret that I have the honor of acquainiirg your lordship (hat it has been made my duty again to invite the attention of her Majes y's Government to the subject of (he continued seizure an^l detention of American vessels by British cruisers on the high seas, and to express the painful surprise with which the Government of the United States have learned that the repeated representations which have hereto'ore been made on the subject, have not only re- mained without ellect, in obtaining a favorable decisri-on, but have failed to receive the attention which their importance merited. That a series of such open and unprovoked ai^Tes- sions as those which have been practised for the last two or three years by her Majesty's cruisers on the vessels and com- tnerceofthe United States, and which were made the subject of complaint, would have been permitted to remain so Ion" un- decided, was not to have been anticipated. "On the contrary, my Government had confidently expected that the justice of the demands which had been niade would either have been acknowledged or denied or satisfactory rea- sons for the delay adduced. "This was to have been expected, not leas for the justice of her Majesty's Government than the respect which was due to (hat of the United States. Her Majes'y 's Government, ho wever, have not seen fit to adopt this course, but hiive premiited a delay to place of so marked a character as not only to the in- dividual injuries which have been sustained, but to become a lit subject of complaint. It is in this view that I have been spe- cially instructed to make another appeal to your lordship; and, in doing, so, to accompany it with four additional cases of sei- zure ol American vessels on the African coast, of character more violent and aggravated than those which I have before had the honor of presenting to the notice of her M;iJFRty's Go- vernment. These are the cases of the brig 'Tigris- and ship Seamew,' of Massachusetts, and the barks '.Jones,' and 'Wil- liam and Frances,' of New York. For the more clear and sa- tisfactory undtrstandingof each particular case, I beg leave to refer your lordship to the documents which I have'received, copies of which I have now the honor of transmitting. These papers require noconment. I shall therefore refrain from troubling your lordship with a recapitulation of ths details which they contain. The only inquiry which I presume it ■will be iiecessai-y to make, will be, whether the vessel were the property ofAmericanciiizenSjunderthe protection of the United States, and were actually seized and detained by her Majesty's cruisers. How, of the national character of the four vessels, your lordship, will at once perceive that the evidence is conclu- sive. They were documented, according to the laws of the United States, are the property of their citizens, and were under the protection of the American flag at the time of seizure. In the case of the Tigris,' she was not only literally captured, but sent with a prize crew from (he coast of Africa to the United States for condemnation, upon the alleged srouiid of having on toard an African boy, whom Lieutenant Watson chose to con- .sider as sufficient evidence of her bein. ■ uoi, in the rest of the world, evidence: that a cycle of war and peace follow each other in regular suc- cession, like the epidemics which affl ct mankind, and require us to provide a,gainst the evil to come? 14 la the natural revolutions of the world, a period of ■war and peace teemed necessary to the present fallen state of man, and this would probably con- tinue until the benign influence of Christianity had softened all hearts and the torch of science illumi- nated all minds; it may be ages upon ages in it^ progress to perfection, but it was a glorious pros- pect to contemplate, although veiled in the womb of time. Philosophers may sigh for it, and the Christian •wait in meekness to hail its advent — but turn now to which side you will, to the Eastern or to the Western world, to the North or to the South, and you hear of wars and rumors of wars — even in our own peaceful land, the elements of strife seem in frightful commotion. While the party now in possession of the admi- nistration of the Govf rnment has been busy in concocting schemes to distribute the public lands. the prcceeds of which should be devoted lo the na- tional defences; while it has been deluding the peo- ple with (al»e promises of high wages and abun- dance; while it has been laboring here, day and night, lo erect an enormous bank machine, the ef fects of which would be to enable the rich to grind the face of the poor and unsuspecting, while it con templates relieving the pe( pie from pecuniary dis- tress by taxing them twenty per cent on articles of general consumption, to supply the deficiency cre- ated, or to be created, by the passage of this bill; the English Government has been drawing round the territory of the United States a cordon of mili- tary power, which shR can tighten at a moment's warnins. And may not that moment be near at hand? If M'Leod is hanged, Mr Fox, it is ?aid, will demacd bis passports and quit the country ; and the next you will hear will be the sound of the British cannon reverberating along your Atlantic border, and the ravage Indian's warwhocp along another. Yet all these admonitions, so rudely given for years past, are unheeded; and you go on making your paltry distributions of the means en- trusted 10 you for the nation'*; safety and honor. Mr. Fox says in effect to the Secretary of State, that if McLeod is not given up, the con.sequences will be of the most serious character. It will not, cannot be denied, that this is the languaga of inti- midation. If he (Mr. L.) had no other motive for hanging M'Leod than this, it should be done, if proved guilty of the crimes of which he is charged. But it was not the life of a i»ere man that could wipe out a nation's wrongs. Wbeher he was punished or not, this Government is bound in honor to have atonement for its deep injuries. It must insist on retraction and indem- nity. And this threat is superadded to the mur- der of your people, almost in cold blood. What may ha /e been the number of the living freight of the Caroline, which English violence committsd to the flames and sent booming over ihe cataract of Niagara, Heavei\ alone now can tell. This deed still cries aloud for redress. Your territory •has been violated, your citizens assailed in their l-cds and slaughtered, and their property destroyed ;-,ad burned; and, to crown all, when the hand of the law is laid upon one of the murderers and de- spoilers, a nation, professing relations of amity, at- tempts to throw the mantle of her power and an* thority over the criminal, and avows, in the face of truth, the crime itself: and when it is said, we have the murderer — let him give satisfaction to the of- fended laws ! that nation insults you by a threat, and it is borne as'iamely as the original outrage? That proud nation, which never admits an equality, domineers now, as she always has done, and pro- claims to the world, as she always has done, that her individual subjects shall be protected by her power, no matter whether injured by sea or by land, in the territory of friend or foe. No expense of treasure or blood is permitted to stand in the way of this great and uniform line of policy. And when that proud nation holds such language to you — language never uttered by her without a meaning, nor ditiicult to be understood — is it a time to be paltering with your more than ques- tionable party measures, instead of looking to the timely and legitimate preparations for the gather- ing storm? How are you to avert it? Certainly not by standing idle with folded arms — certainly not by pursuing a tame, truckling policy towards our haughty mother — certainly rot by squandering your vast public domain for ignoble purposes! What sort of atonement or indemnity can you re- ceive for the seizure of your merchant ships on the coast of Africa, the burning of the Caroline, the invasion of our country, and the murder of our citi* zens? HoTv can the people cf the United States get rid of the responsibility of not acting with promptitude, or of the odium of being the inactive, quiescent recipient of these gross violations of their national rights? If the British Government is so tangible with regard to national honor, and so sensi- tive as respects the lives of its subjects as to threaten us with hoslililies because ihe laws of the State of JVew York endangers the life of one man, what ought this Government to feel, when citizens of the United S ales have been murdered, with the superadded indignities of properly destroyed and territory in- vaded? VVar, with all its concomitants, is a terri- ble scourge to a nation — dishonor is worse. Gentlemen will probably say, that he was ihis- taken in regard to the beligerent aspect of our af- fairs. He solemnly, before God, hoped it might be so. He had, however, formed his opinion from facts as they now exist. In this opinion he was supported by the course pursued by the British Go- vernmenl; for it was strengthening itself at every point — you see it in the increased activity of her dockyards, in preparing heavy line of battle ships, and in building and arming additional steam ves- sel; in the number of veteran troops stationed on our borders, aided by well organized provincial militia, with 20 or 30,000 black troops in the West Indies, and clouds of Indian warriors on your frontiers. But suppose that he war in error, it was still a paramount duty we ewe the country to place its defences on a formidable footing — it was a duty we shoiald neither postpone nor evade. He most sincerely desired never to see this a military Go- vernment; or that it should ever be infested wiih a spirit of conquest. We should only wish our prin- ciples to dominate. Their inherent beauty and strength would prove more powerful in changing the political condition of the world than conquering fleets and armies. Notwithstanding, the country should possess the necessary armaments to defy suddea 15 assaults, punish insulting threats, and enable it to take that stand among the nationsof the earth to which our numbers and resources entitle it. His amend- ment, if adopted, would contribute greatly to thrse desirable objects, and at the same time go very far towards tranquillizing the public mind in refe- rence to the national domain, as every man, wo- man, and child, in ihis broad land, was deeply in- terested in seeing its defences perfected. From the days of Washington down to the present mo- ment all your Presidents have united in ihe same opinion, in peace prepare for war. In this line of policy every Secretary of the Navy and of War have coincided. Yeur printed documents are full of reports from these departments relating to the defences by land and v/a!er. The report cf 1836 is a monument of wisdom in many reaped?, and that of 1840 is dis- tinguished for its ability. By addina the proceed* of the public lands tu the sums usually appropri- ated annually by Congress to the army, navy, and foriifications, ihey will in a iew years, under the direction of skilful officers, be perjected according to a just and equal system, which is due to the most ex- posed portions of the Union. There would be then no partial legislation for the benefit of one portion, at Ihr. expense of another. Pursue this course, and in twenty years you may defy the united powers of Europe, if not of the world. The board of officers selected by the War De- partment to eiamine the subject of our fortifica- tions, repotted in 1840 that the sums annexed were necessary to fortify the following named place?: THE NORTHERN SECTION Or THE COAST. Eastport and Machias, Mount Desert Island Castine Penobscot Bay §100 000 500,000 50,000 150,000 St. George's bay, Broad bay, Damariscotla, and Sheepscot 500 008 Kenntb^ck river 300 000 C Fort Preble, 155,000 Portlani harbor < House Island, 48 000 t Hog Island channel, 145,000 The mouth of the Saco, Kennebunk, and York, 75,000 PortsnKuih harbor, 500.000 Newburyport harbor, 100,000 Gloucester harbor, 200^000 Beverly harbor, 50,000 Maiblehead head, 318 000 Boston haibor, 9,337,000 Plymouth harbor, 110,00') Providence harbor, 600 000 $6,118,000 MIDDLE SECTION OV THE COAST. Manha'a Vineyard sound, 250,000 New Bedford and Fairhaven harbor, 300,000 Narragansett bay, 2,050 000 Gardiner's bay, 400,000 Sag harbor. New York, 100,000 Stonington, Ct. 200,000 New London harbor, 314 515 Mouth of Connecticut river, 100,000 New Haven harbor, 90,000 Towns between New Haven and New York, on boh sides of the Sound, 200 000 New York harbor, 5,369.824 Delaware and city of Philadelphia, 1,121,000 Hampton roads, James river, and Norfolk, 723, 189 Harbor of St. Mary's 300 00ft Patuxent river, 505,000 Annapolis harbor, 350,000 Baltimore harbor, 1, 517^000 Mouth or Elk river, 300,000 Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, 300,000 $14,390,527 SOUTHERN SECTION OP THE ATLANTIC Mouths of Cape Fear river, Georsetown harbor, Saniee river and UuH's bay Charleston, S C. Stono, North Edi^to utA South Edislo, St. Helena sound, Broad river or Port Royal roans, Savannah and mouth of Savannah river, St. Augustine, Key We,si and Tortugas Charlotte harbor, Espiritu Santa bay, Appalachicola, Apalache bay, St. Joseph's bay, and St. Ro.sa's bay, COAIT 258,000 250.000 100,000 8011.000 5(1,000 150 000 SO!) 000 , 1,800 OOO 50.(00 3,000,000 l.OOO/iOO GOLF CF MEXICO FRONTIER Pensacola bay, Perdidcbay, Mobile bay, New Orleans and the Delta of the Mij .•iissippi, S7,758,000 610,Ci0O 200,000 905.000 517,000 §2,232,000 WESTERN FRONTIER. Forts Je.'^ssp, Tow;on, Gibson, Smith, Leavenworth, and the new works to be erected at Spring river, Marais desCygne, &c. $850,000 RECAPITULATION. The Northeastern section, 6,1 18 000 " Middle; " 14.390,527 " Southern " 7,758,000 " Gulf of Mexico Frontier 2,232,000 $30.49S 527 Add — Western Frontier, 850 000 Lake Frontier, about, 2 000,000 It may be, on a strict reviewof the list, tha' many of the places named might be dropped as not re- quiring defensive worts; but no one can doubt the abjolute recessity of ample fortifications for the larae commercial cities and be>t harbo-'s, under Ihe protection of which your ships can ride se- curely when overpowered by superior nurabeis at sea. But abovs all, we must look to the Navy as the right aim of the national defence. The reputat'oa it acquired for the country more than couni/.--- balanced the expenses of the last contest with Great Britain. Standing a« we do, the second commercial nation in ihe world, and soon to be the first, our navy should iacrease pari passu with 16 the increase of commerce, and in proportion to the increase of the power of other nation to injure that commerce and to harass the Atlantic border. The remarks of the Secretary at War in a report to Congress, iji 1836, on this branch of the defences of the country, are so apposite that he must beg to he excused for reading then to the Senate. "But it is upon maritime fiontiev that we are most exposed. Our coast for three thousand miles is washed by the Ocean, •which separate us from those nations who have made llie high- est advances in all the arts, and particularly those which mi- nister to the operations of war, and with whom, from our inter- course and political relations, we are most liable to be drawn into collision. If this great medium of communication, the element at the same time of separation and union, interposes peculiar obstacles to the progress of the hosiile demonstrations, it also olfers advantages which are not less obvious, and wh^ch, to be successfully resisied, require conesponding ar- rangements and exertions. These advantages depend on the economy and facility of transportation, on the celerity of movements, and on the power of an enemy to threaten the whole shore, spread out before him, and to select his point of attack at pleasure. A powerful hostile fleet upon the coast of the United States presents some of the features of wa-- v.hero a heavy mass is r)\oufrhi to act a^iiinstdetachments, •which may be cut up in dolail, although their combined forces •would exceed the assailing foe. Our points of exposure are so numerous and distant, that it would be impracticable to keep, at each of them, a force competent to resist the attack of an enemy, prepared by his naval ascendency, and his other ar- rangements, to make a sudden and vigorous inroad upon our shores. It becomes us, therefore, to inquire how the conse- quences of this state of things are to be best met and averted. "The first and most obvious, and in every point of view the most proper method ol defence, is an augmentation of our na- val force to an extent proportioned to the resources and neces- Bities of the nation. I do not mean the actual construction and equipment of vessels only. The number of those in service must depend on the state of the country at a given period. But I mean the collection of all such mateiials as may be preserved without injury, and a due encouragement of those branches of interest to the growth of a navy, and which may be properly nurtured by the Governmenl; so that on the approach of dan- ger a fleet may put to sea, without delay, sufficiently powerful 10 meet any force which will probably besent to our coast. •'Our great battle upon the ocean is yet to be FOUGHT, and we shall gain nothing by shutting our eyes to the nature of the struggle, or to the exertions we shall find it neces- sary to make. All our institutions are es entially pacific, and every citizen feels that his share of the common interest is ef- fecte"d by the derangement of business— by the enormous ex- pense—and by tlie uncertain results of war. This feeling jiresses upon the community and the Government, and is a sure "uai-antee that we shall never he precipitated into a con- test, nor embarked in on>>, unless imperiously required by those considerations which leave no alternative between resistance and dishonor. Accordingly, our history shows that are more disposed to bear, while evils are to be borne, than to redress by appeals to arms. Still, however, a contest must come, and it lehooves us, while we have the means and opportunity, to look forward to its attendant circumstances, and to prepare for the consequences. "Thera is as little need of inquiry now into our'moral as into cur liiysical capacity to maintain a navy, and to meet upon e lual terms the ships and seamen of other nations. Our ex- tended commerce, 'creating and created by those resources \Thich are essential to the building and equipment of fleets, re- moves all doubt upon one point, and the history of our naval enterprise from the moment when the colors were hoisted upon the hastily prepared vessehi at the commencement of otr Re- Tolutionary struggle, to the last contest in which any of our CHT ships were engazed, is equally satisl'actory upon the other. The achievements of our navy have stamped its chaiacter with the country and the world. The simple recital of its ex- exploits is the highest eulogium which can be pronounced upon i'." Ej.'ice the date of this communication, the dis- puted problem of crossing ihe Atlantic ccean by steam has been solved; and a-^ time is distance, we are now near neighbors to Europe. This must pro- duce a decided change in our relations to that ccn- tinent, and will demand new and extraordinary ex- penditures to place our defences, particularly the naval, upon a formidable footing. The entire strength of the navy at this time is sixty-seven ships of war, of all classes, including four steamers; while that of Great Briiain, of all grades of sailing ves- sels, was upwardsof four hundred, wiih about three hundred steamships of war, including packets, which are built for warlike purposes, commanded by regular officers of the royal navy, which now vapor through every sea, and penetrate even to the very interior of Africa, by the River Niger, to open a new world for commercial enterprise to operate in. The expenditure of this Government for years to come, mast be great on this branch of the ser- vice, to make it equal to ih3 objects contemplated in its creation, and to keep pace with the new dis- coveries made in the art of destruction by Eurapeae .. powers. Then, sir, if gentlemen are determined to take this great fund, won by the treasure and blood of our fathers, out of the Treasury of the nation, what better disposition can possibly be made of it than its application to the army, navy, and fortifications of the whole Union? Will gentlemen frankly an- swer this question? There was something truly appalling to see so many measures of the deepest import concentrated, and to be forced through these halls in the short space of an extra session of Con- gress — AN EX FO'^T FACTO LAW, interfering between man and man, and sponging out the debts contracted in many years past — a bill to repeal the Independent Treasury; that law which efleclually guarded your money, punished de.f^alcations, and separated the purse and the sword — a bill creating a national debt — a bill to collect taxes with one hand and give away money with another — a bill creating a National, or Fiscal Bank, to regulate by a few favorite individuals working in secret, the value of every man's labor and every man's property wiihin the bounds of this wide-spread Republic. But above all, it created a profound melancholy feeling in him, to see abandoned forever, perhaps, YOUR GREAT NATIONAL DOMAIN, Stretching away, over mountains, and pliins, and rivers, and lakes, from cape Florida to the mouth of the Oregon — from the sources of the Missouri and Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico — from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific oceans. By this bill a fund will be squandered upon British and other foreign bond holders, or for uncertain projects at home; an annual income which weuld enable this Government to borrow and pay the interest on one hundred millions of dollars in time of war, or fr other great national purposes. Reject his amendment and pass this bill, and the public domain is gone forever, un- lefs the people come to the rescue within two years. Pass if, and every struggle for liberal or just pre- emption and graduation laws will be vain and futile. Pass it, !.nd the claims to lands owned by private individuals under treaties with France and Spain will be silenced— a contest will commence about the augmentation of the price of land be- tween the old States and the new, and between the the tariff and anti-tariff portions of the Confede- racy. t f46 J.'^' .c« •:'*.-:^-'-X.. ^'^ ,,,'^'''- .& ♦^f^ .>^' . « ' " >^ r^ .'p'J .0' Pr ^^•n^. '■^^ jA.'" , o » o . ^^ < O, O, ^ >* ..••,