Copyright 2000 - 2003 - Janine M. Bork
This page is part of the
Union County, OR AGHP
CHAPTER XX.
(1835 - 1846)
Congressional and Executive Actions - The Oregon Question an Element of American Politics - Presidential Election, 1844 - The Treaty of Limits, June 15, 1846.
WHILE the American government ws working up to the determination to assert sole occupancy of whatever right of territory it possessed in Oregon, emigrants from the United States had been settling in the territory; and the leaven of healthy Americanization was duly at work within its borders. Each of the processes of converting Oregon from a possession of British trading companies to a territory of the United States has its distinct history. Knowledge acquired from parties who had visited, traveled in, or were residents of, the territory, enabled Executive departments and members of Congress to act and speak more advisedly. So, also, did information embodied in congressional reports and speeches serve to bring the country into notice, and prove a stimulus to emigration. Senators and Representatives, imploring the government to do its duty and take immediate steps to maintain its territorial rights, must have had a powerful effect in creating the belief, by every American settler, that his government would ultimately adopt measures to guarantee protection. The Federal government was slow in arriving at its conclusion; yet the validity of American claim had always been maintained. In the negotiations during the protracted struggle, it was a source of proud satisfaction that the United States negotiators had always held the advantage. The real cloud to be removed was ignorance of the value and importance of the country. Apathy existed, engendered by the felling that the region was so remote, so inaccessible; for that reason alone the opinion had been readily adopted that the country was not worth contending for. Ignorance of its resources, and failure to appreciate the future importance of the Pacific slope; the remoteness of Oregon from the seat of government, and the then centers of population and American power; the vast quantity of unoccupied land lying between; the belief that the Rocky Mountains were an insurmountable obstacle to the land transit of the continent, constituting a line which must effectually divide settlements on the western slope from those on the eastern, - the poet's thought had been accepted as a truism: "Mountains interposed make enemies of nations, who had else, like kindred drops, been mingled into one."
All these, and more especially repugnance to a contest with Great Britain, combined to prolong the controversy, and afforded that nation the opportunity of securing a foothold within the territory, most difficult to remove. There were, however, acts of government, revivals of efforts in Congress to relieve this pathway to American occupancy of Oregon, of its seeming indifference. Here and there a champion was found to plead the cause of the American Oregon. Now and then some resolution was introduced provoking discussion in which manly claims were asserted, and which tended to create the
(149)
belief that the United States did intend at some time to assert sole jurisdiction over Oregon. These occurrences, 'tis true, were "few and far between;" the aggregation of them will be presented in this chapter.
In the latter part of 1835 (November 11), President Jackson appointed William A. Slacum, United States Navy, special agent to visit Oregon Territory to examine into its political, physical and geographical condition. His duty was "to stop at different settlements of Whites on the coast of the United States, and on the banks of the Columbia river, and also at the various Indian villages on the banks, or in the immediate neighborhood of that river; ascertain as near as possible the population of each; the relative number of Whites (distinguishing the nation to which they belong) and aborigines; the jurisdiction the Whites acknowledged; the sentiments entertained by all in respect to the United States, and to European powers having possessions in that region; and generally to endeavor to obtain all such information, political, physical, statistical and geographical, as may prove useful to the government."
The result of Mr. Slacum's observations was embodied in a memorial to Congress on the 18th of December, 1837.
At the second session of the twenty-fifth Congress, 1837-8, the Oregon question was revived. In the Senate, Lewis F. Linn, of Missouri, and, in the House, Caleb Cushing, of Massachusetts, ably and earnestly labored for the Americanization of Oregon. Mr. Linn introduced a bill on the 7th of February (1838), establishing a territory north of latitude forty-two degrees north, and west of the Rocky Mountains, to be called Oregon Territory. It provided for the erecting of a fort at the mouth of the Columbia, and the occupancy of the territory by United States troops. A port of entry was located; and the revenue laws were to be extended over the territory. Fifty thousand dollars were to be appropriated to carry into effect the provisions of the bill. Mr. Linn moved its reference to the Committee on Military Affairs. After some discussion, in which Senators Clay, Buchanan and Benton participated, on motion of the latter it was referred to a select Committee of five, with Mr. Linn as chairman. The Vice-President filled the committee by appointing William C. Preston of South Carolina, Robert J. Walker of Mississippi, Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire, and Garret D. Wall of New Jersey.
On the 13th of February, on motion of Mr. Linn, the Secretary of War was requested to furnish all information in possession of the department relating to Oregon Territory, and cause a map to be made of all the country claimed by the United States on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
On the 25th of May, Mr. Linn reported the bill with amendments, and presented an elaborate report, accompanied with valuable statistics, giving a truthful picture of the territory, a thorough vindication of the claim of the United States, and unanswerable reasons why the government should not further delay in the settlement of the controversy.
While these proceedings were
being consummated in the Senate, Mr. Cushing introduced the subject in
the House of Representatives, offering a resolution, March 17, 1838, calling
upon the President for information relative to the subjects of officers
of any foreign government intermeddling with the Indian tribes in Michigan,
Wisconsin and the territory beyond the Rocky Mountains, or elsewhere within
the limits of the United States, by the supply of munitions of war, the
distribution of gratuities or pensions, or otherwise; and likewise all
correspondence, in regard to the title and occupation of the territory
of the United States beyond the Rocky Mountains.
On the 3rd of May, President Van Buren transmitted to the House a report from the Secretary of State, embodying the correspondence in regard to the title and occupation of the territory. On the 17th, Mr. Cushing moved the reference of the message to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, with instructions to inquire into the expediency of establishing a post on the Columbia river for the defense and occupation of the territory of the United States watered by said river, and of provision by law to prevent any intermeddling by subjects of any foreign power with Indians of the territory. In support of the motion, Mr. Cushing addressed the House that day, concluding his remarks on the 22d. Mr. Howard, of Maryland, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, replied to Mr. Cushing. Mr. Elmore, of South Carolina, moved to amend the resolution, directing the committee to inquire into the extent of the country claimed, the title under which it is claimed, and the evidence of the correctness of title, the extent of seacoast, the number and description of harbors, nature of climate, soil, productions and trade, and whether it is expedient to establish a territorial government, or one or more military posts, with the expense thereof. Mr. Elmore expressing a desire to speak to his motion, the House adjourned. Upon the next day he yielded the floor, and the resolution, as proposed by Mr. Cushing, was adopted. This concluded all legislation in regard to Oregon that session.
By act of Congress, approved March 14, 1836, the President had been authorized to send out an exploring expedition to the Pacific Ocean and the South Seas. On the 20th of March, 1838, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes was assigned to command. The sloops-of-war Vincennes and Peacock, the ship Relief, brig Porpoise, and tenders Sea Gull and Flying Fish, were placed under his orders. On the 11th of August, 1838, Secretary Paulding issued instructions to Lieutenant Wilkes, which, having designated where he should cruise until his arrival at the Sandwich Islands, orders: "Thence you will direct your course to the northwest coast of America, making such surveys and examinations, first of the territory of the United States on the seaboard of the Columbia river, and afterwards along the coast of California, with special reference to the Bay of San Francisco, as you can accomplish by the month of October following your arrival." On the 17th of August, that year, the exploring squadron sailed from Hampton Roads. At the next session of Congress, Mr. Linn (December 11, 1838), introduced in the Senate a bill "to authorize the occupation of the Columbia or Oregon Territory," which was referred to a Select Committee, consisting of Mr. Linn, John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, Robert J. Walker and Franklin Pierce. In the House of Representatives, Mr. Cushing, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, submitted an elaborate report, in which the American title is exhaustively maintained, the importance of the country demonstrated, and the policy of Great Britain, operating through the Hudson's Bay Company, to acquire the sole occupancy of the territory and control of the Indian population, thoroughly exposed. A bill accompanied, directing the President to employ such portion of the army and navy as he deemed necessary for the protection of the citizens of the United States who resided in the territory of Oregon, or are employed in commerce on the Columbia river, or its tributaries, or upon the adjacent coasts.
On the 28th of January, 1838,
Mr. Linn presented in the Senate the first petition from American settlers
in Oregon, signed by J.S. Whitcom and thirty-five others residing south
of the Columbia river, praying Congress to extend protection to their settlements
and to embrace Oregon within Federal jurisdiction. On the 22d of February,
Mr. Linn addressed the Senate in favor of his bill (introduced at the previous
session). Some
Senators suggested that its passage during the pendency of negotiations with Great Britain on the northeast boundary might by the latter government be regarded as an unfriendly act tending to embarrass the negotiations; and the bill and petition were referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
At the next session, Mr. Linn introduced (December 18, 1839) joint resolutions upon the Oregon question, which were referred to a Select Committee, of which he was appointed chairman. On the 31st of March, 1840, he reported substitute resolutions, authorizing the President to adopt such measures as would secure protection to the persons and property of citizens of the United States residing in Oregon, and to erect a line of military posts from Fort Leavenworth to the Rocky Mountains. They also provided that, after the adjustment of the boundaries between Great Britain and the United States, one thousand acres should be donated to each White inhabitant over eighteen years of age, and that an Indian agent should be appointed for the territory.
On the 28th of April, 1840, Senator Linn introduced a bill "to extend certain portions of laws of the United States over the territory." But the Senate closed its session without coming to a vote on either of Mr. Linn's proposed measures. On the 8th of January 1841 (twenty-sixth Congress, second session), Mr. Linn's proposed measures. On the 8th of January, the President to take measures to secure the occupation and settlement of Oregon Territory, and for extending over it certain laws of the United States.
At the extra session (first session, twenty-seventh Congress), Mr. Linn, August 2d, introduced a resolution requesting the President to give the twelve months' notice to Great Britain (as required by the treaty of 1827) of the termination of the convention permitting a joint occupancy of the territory west of the Rocky Mountains. By consent of Mr. Linn, the resolution was so modified as to direct the Committee on Foreign Relations to inquire into the expediency of making such a request of the President. The committee never reported. At the second session of this Congress, Mr. Linn introduced a bill (December 16, 1841), the preamble of which recited: "Whereas, the title of the United States to the territory of Oregon is certain and will not be abandoned." This bill, like its predecessors, looked to the assertion of sovereignty over Oregon, the establishment of a line of post from the Missouri river to the best pass for entering the valley of the Oregon, and also a fort at or near the mouth of the columbia river. It provided for a grant of a section of land to each settler, and the appointment of two Indian agents. The laws of Iowa were to be in force in the territory; with the proviso that, if an offender were a British subject, he was to be delivered to the British authorities. Two additional justices of the Supreme Court of Iowa were provided in consequence of the enlarged jurisdiction. The office of justice of the peace wa created, and jurisdiction defined. The Select Committee unanimously recommended the passage of the bill. Before its consideration had been reached, Lord Ashburton, special ambassador, charged with negotiating certain matters of difference between the two countries, arrived. It was generally supposed that the Oregon boundary was among the questions for settlement; hence further action was suspended in Congress. The Ashburton-Webster negotiations did not include adjustment of the Oregon boundary, and terminated with the treaty of August, 1842, generally remembered as the Ashburton Treaty.
Early in the spring of 1842, the Indian Bureau appointed Dr. Elijah White, of Oregon, sub Indian agent of the territory west of the Rocky Mountains.
The United States exploring expedition,
commanded by Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, spent the summer months of 1841
in surveying the Columbia river, the bays and harbors
of Puget Sound, and making explorations of the country. In 1842, Lieutenant J.C. Frémont, United States Army, by order of the Topographical Bureau, examined the country westward from the Missouri frontier to the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains. In 1843, Frémont went to the Columbia river, connecting his work of 1842 with the survey of Lieutenant Wilkes. Those overland expeditions were of value, in their effect upon the popular mind, vastly beyond any information furnished to the country and the routes thereto. They served to verify what trappers and missionaries had years before made known. Their great importance, however, was a realization of the hope that the government was about to assert jurisdiction; that it was growing alive in its duty of protecting the emigrant and encouraging settlement.
Doubt no longer remained that Oregon was to be settled by a population from the United States. At this period the scene was about to change. The Oregon question had become a theme of popular discussion. Oregon settlement had become a matter of popular interest. Now is heard
"The tread of pioneers
Of nations yet to be;
The first low wash of waves, where soon
Shall roll a human sea."
On two occasions, the government had yielded to Great Britain opportunity of maturing and manufacturing claim by admission of a joint occupancy of the territory. But henceforward the actual presence of settlers from the United States within the territory is the assurance that the transition has commenced; that Oregon has passed through her middle age. She is about to shake off the worse than feudal bonds which have retarded her career. She is to be transformed from a mere hunting park and dependency, held by the Hudson's Bay Company, attorney-in-fact of Great Britain. She is to become an American territory; to be dedicated to American settlement; to become an integral portion of the American Union. Within the limits of the territory," governments are to be founded on the natural authority of the people."
Still the government continued inactive; but the people responded to the distant voice from Oregon. Throughout the nation, emigration societies were formed to people that territory. Those associations agitated the public mind as to the importance of Oregon. Petitions to Congress invoked governmental action. State legislatures passed memorials, and instructed their Senators and Representatives in Congress. The American element in Oregon breathed out its eloquent appeal that it might be fostered and guaranteed protection. Interesting Oregon had become national. The voice of the people was giving its mandate to the government, to abandon the policy of "masterly inactivity," and reclaim its own. The first effort of the American settlers (in 1841) to form a provisional government had been unattended with success. The influence of the Hudson's Bay Company, the Roman Catholic mission, and the advice of Lieutenant Wilkes, delayed the effort; yet the attempt provoked the attention of the people of the United States. In 1842, a numerous emigration crossed the plains and arrived in Oregon.
On the 7th of December, 1842, President Tyler's annual message, having commented on the relations of the government with Great Britain as satisfactorily changed by the ratification of the Ashburton Treaty, thus refers to Oregon:
"It would have furnished additional
cause for congratulation if the treaty could have embraced all subjects
calculated in future to lead to a misunderstanding between the two governments.
The territory of the United States commonly called Oregon Territory,
lying on the Pacific Ocean, north of the forty-second degree of latitude, to a portion of which Great Britain lays claim, begins to attract the attention of our fellow-citizens; and the tide of population, which has reclaimed what was so lately an unbroken wilderness in more contiguous regions, is preparing to flow over those vast districts which stretch from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. In advance of the acquirement of individual rights to these lands, sound policy dictates that every effort should be resorted to by the two governments to settle their respective claims. It became manifest at an early hour of the late negotiations that any attempt, for the time being, satisfactorily to determine these rights, would lead to a protracted discussion, which might embrace in its failure other more pressing matters; and the Executive did not regard it as proper to waive all the advantages of an honorable adjustment of other difficulties of great magnitude and importance, because, this, not so immediately pressing, stood in the way. Although the difficulty referred to may not, for several years to come, involve the peace of the two countries, yet I shall not delay to urge on Great Britain the importance of its early settlement."
Some Senators thought differently. Mr. Linn urged that the action of the government in reclaiming Oregon was "immediately pressing." On the 21st of December, 1842, he introduced in the Senate a resolution, "that the President be requested to inform the Senate of the nature and extent of the informal communications" which took place between the American Secretary of State (Daniel Webster) and the British special Minister (Lord Ashburton) on the "subject of the claims of the United States and Great Britain to the territory west of the Rocky Mountains" and also the reasons which prevented any agreement, and which made it inexpedient to include that subject among the subjects of formal negotiation. The resolution was adopted. On the 19th, he had introduced a bill to authorize the adoption of measures for the occupation and settlement of the territory, with similar provisions to bills previously introduced. It was referred to a Select Committee, consisting of Messrs. Linn, Walker, Sevier, Merrick and Phelps. On the 21st of December, the committee unanimously recommended its passage. After protracted debate, the bill passed February 6,1843, by a vote of twenty-four ayes, twenty-two noes.
Reported to the House, it was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. Mr. Reynolds of Illinois, on the 9th of February, 1843, reported from the Select Committee on Oregon Territory a bill of similar provisions to the Senate bill, which was also referred to the Committee of Foreign Affairs. John Quincy Adams, chairman of that committee, reported adversely to the passage of the bill, on the ground that the government had precluded itself from taking any step towards the occupancy of the territory until the twelve months' notice had been given to Great Britain, as provided in the convention of 1827. That report disposed of the bill in the House for that session.
The passage of the "Linn bill"
was among the last of the persistent efforts of Dr. Lewis F. Linn, the
devoted champion of the American Oregon. He died October 3,1843, at his
residence in St. Genevieve, Missouri. Those who dwell with interest upon
the history of the great Northwest, who linger with pride as they recall
the efforts of American statesmen to develop the nation and extend the
blessings of free institutions, constitutional liberty, and the rights
of mankind, will read with grateful satisfaction the merited tribute to
the memory of this father of American Oregon by his illustrious colleague,
Thomas H. Benton. Says he:
. . . . "But how can I omit the last great act, as yet unfinished, in which his whole soul was engaged at the time of his death. the bill for the occupation and settlement of Oregon was his; and he carried it through the Senate when his colleague, who now addresses you, could not have done it. There is another historical truth fit to be made known on this occasion, and which it is declared to this large and respectable assembly under all the circumstances which impart solemnity to the declaration. He carried that bill through the Senate; and it was the measure of a statesman. Just to the settler, it was wise to the government. Alas! that he should not have been spared to put the finishing hand to a measure which was to reward the emigrant, to protect his country, to curb England, and to connect his own name with the foundation of an empire. But it is done. The unfinished work will go on; it will be completed, and the name of Linn will not be forgotten. That name will live and be connected with Oregon while its banks bear a plant, or its waters roll a wave."
At the commencement of 1843-4, President Tyler thus invokes the attention of Congress to Oregon:
"The territorial limits of the two countries (Great Britain and the United States) in relation to what is commonly known as Oregon Territory, still remain in dispute. The United States would at all times be indisposed to aggrandize themselves at the expense of any other nation; but, while they would be restrained by principles of honor, - which should govern the conduct of nations as well as individuals, - from setting up a demand for territory which does not belong to them, they would as unwillingly consent to a surrender of their rights. After the most rigid, and, as far as practicable, unbiased examination of the subject, the United States have always contended that their rights appertain to the entire region of country lying on the Pacific, and embraced within forty-two degrees and fifty-four degrees, forty minutes of north latitude. This claim being controverted by Great Britain, those who have preceded the present Executive, actuated no doubt by an earnest desire to adjust the matter upon terms mutually satisfactory to both countries, have caused to be submitted to the British government proposals for settlement and final adjustment, which, however, have not proved heretofore acceptable to it.
"Our Minister at London has, under instructions, again brought that subject to the consideration of that government; and, while nothing will be done to compromise the rights or honor of the United States, every proper expedient will be resorted to in order to bring the negotiation now in progress of resumption to a speedy and happy termination. In the meantime, it is proper to remark that many of our citizens are either already established in that territory, or are on their way thither for the purpose of forming perfect settlements, while others are preparing to follow. And, in view of these facts, I must repeat the recommendation contained in previous messages, for the establishment of military posts at such places on the line of travel as will furnish security and protection to our hardy adventurers against hostile tribes of Indians inhabiting those extensive regions. Our laws should also follow them, so modified as the circumstances of the case seem to require. Under the influence of our free system of government, new republics are destined to spring up at no distant day on the shores of the Pacific, similar in policy and feeling to those existing on this side of the Rocky Mountains, and giving a wider and more extensive spread to the principles of civil and religious liberty."
At the session of Congress 1843-4,
memorials, petitions and resolutions of state legislatures and popular
assemblages in all portions of the Union flooded in upon Congress. Acts
providing for the immediate resumption of the claim of the United States
to the whole of Oregon, and to give notice to Great Britain of the termination of the convention of 1827, were introduced and discussed. During the recess of Congress, the Presidential election transpired. The Democratic National Convention in its platform declared: "Our title to the whole of Oregon is clear and unquestionable. No portion of the same ought to be ceded to England or any other power; and the reoccupation of Oregon at the earliest practical period is a great American measure."
James K. Polk, of Tennessee, was the nominee of that party for President of the United States. In accepting the nomination, the people had the assurance that he intended to adopt those principles as the policy to govern his administration in the event of his election. This remark is not a reflection on his subsequent administration, hampered as the government must have regarded itself by previously repeated offers of compromise by preceding Executives. It is stated to exhibit the value that the great political party who supported Mr. Polk's election attached to the American claim to Oregon. "Fifty-four, forty or fight" was the issue, as it was understood and accepted. Earnestly that party went to the ballot-box, and there asserted that "war with Great Britain was preferable to a surrender of any part of Oregon.
The position of the Whig party, if not so arrogant in assertion of claim, was equally unequivocal upon the validity of the United States' title. Henry Clay, its most illustrious chief, was selected as its nominee for the Presidency. His position on the title to Oregon was well defined. On May 8,1826, in his instructions to the Panama commissioners, he had irrevocably committed himself on the measure of relative claim by foreign powers to the territory on the northwest coast. Said he:
"From the northeastern limits
of the United States in North America, to Cape Horn in South American,
on the Atlantic Ocean, with one or two inconsiderable exceptions, and
from the same cape to the fifty-first degree of north latitude in North
America, on the Pacific Ocean, without any exception, the whole coast
and countries belong to sovereign resident American powers. There is, therefore,
no chasm within the prescribed limits in which a new European colony could
now be introduced, without violating the territorial rights of some American
state. An attempt to acquire such a colony, and by its establishment to
acquire any sovereign rights for any European power, must be regarded as
inadmissible encroachment.
Shortly subsequent to the date
of that instruction, in one of his dispatches to Mr. Gallatin, referring
to the acquisition of Spanish title by the Florida Treaty, Mr. Clay asserted:
"Our right extended to the sixtieth degree of latitude." Voting
for either of the candidates for President was voting that "our claim to
Oregon was clear and unquestionable;" while voting for Mr. Polk carried
with it also the assent that war was to be preferred to the surrender to
Great Britain of any portion of that territory. Such was the attitude of
the two great political parties; such the opinion as to the title to Oregon
entertained by the respective Presidential nominees. From the national
Capitol, the Oregon question was transferred to the stump. Throughout the
nation, at every political meeting, appeals were made to the popular heart;
and the response was enthusiastic: "Oregon of right belongs to the United
States; and it is the duty of the government, at all hazards, to maintain
that right unimpaired." Never in the history of any country was a popular
verdict so unmistakably and unanimously rendered. Never was a government
more signally advised by the voice of a united people. The popular pulse
had been felt; and it beat strongly in favor of prompt and decisive measures
to secure the immediate reoccupation of Oregon. It equally proclaimed "that
no portion thereof ought to be ceded to England."
President tyler, at the opening of the session of 1844-5, in his annual message, informed Congress that negotiations had been resumed. He urgently reiterated his previous recommendations, designed to protect and facilitate emigration, and adds:
"Legislative enactments should
also be made which should spread over him (the emigrant) the aegis
of our laws, so as to afford protection to his personal property when he
has reached his distant home. In this latter respect, the British government
has been much more careful of the interests of such of her people as are
to be found in that country than have the United States. She has made necessary
provision for their security and protection against the acts of the viciously
disposed and lawless; and her emigrant reposes in safety under the panoply
of her laws.
President Tyler's administration ended without satisfactory termination of the negotiations. On the 15th of January, 1845, the British Minister (Sir R. Pakenham) proposed that the matters in controversy be settled by arbitration; which Mr. Calhoun declined, January 21, in a brief note, expressing "the hope that the question may be settled by the negotiations pending between the two countries."
In the house of Representatives, December 16, 1844, under a suspension of rules (125 ayes, 53 noes), Mr. Duncan introduced a bill "to organize a territorial government in Oregon." The bill was referred to the Committee on Territories, and reported to the House December 23d. It provided a government for the territory west of the Rocky Mountains, bounded south by latitude forty-two degrees north, and on the north by latitude fifty-four degrees, forty minutes north. A governor, who was also to act as Indian agent, a judge, secretary, marshal and attorney were to be appointed by the President. It provided for a legislative assembly, consisting of a council to be composed of five members, and a house of representatives not to exceed fifty members. The council was to be selected by the house of representatives, one to go out annually; every five hundred inhabitants were entitled to a representative. The elective franchise was restricted to citizens of the states or territories, unless actual residents of the territory. All suspected of a want of fidelity to the United States, or who refused to take the oath of allegiance thereto, were excluded from voting. The veto power was conferred on the governor; but laws could be passed over the veto by two-thirds. Congress reserved the right to disapprove any law passed by the legislative assembly. Suitable forts were to be established within the territory, and on the main routes leading thereto.
The bill was referred to the
Committee of the Whole; where, on motion of Robert C. Winthrop, of Massachusetts,
by a vote of one hundred and thirty-one to sixty-nine, it was amended by
incorporating the proviso, "that there shall neither be slavery nor involuntary
servitude in the said territory, otherwise that in the punishment of crimes,
where of the party shall have been duly convicted." That glorious vote,
dedicating to freedom the great Northwest, explains why so much of Oregon
so soon thereafter was so readily surrendered to Great Britain. Lying north
of thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes (the compromise line on the admission
of Missouri), it would necessarily remain free territory and ultimately
become free states. The territorial integrity of Oregon, though so heartily
indorsed by the people, had been already sacrificed. The bill was further
amended to require the delivery to British authorities of any British subject
arrested. Grants of land were made, subject to the settlement of the title
of the territory by the two governments. No obstruction of harbors, bays
or rivers, against vessels and subjects of Great Britain, was to be permitted
until the twelve months' notice should have been given to Great Britain,
as provided by the convention of 1827. The amendment requiring the President
to give said notice, and to secure the rights of British subjects until the termination of the requisite twelve months, passed by a vote of one hundred and twenty-one to eighty-two. The bill passed February 3, 1845: ayes one hundred and forty, noes fifty-nine.
In the Senate, Mr. Atchison of Missouri introduced, December 19,1844, a bill to organize a territorial government in Oregon, which was referred to a Select Committee, consisting of Messrs. Atchison, Walker, Rives, Crittenden and Allen. On the 16th of January, 1845, Mr. Atchison reported the bill with an amendment. On the 4th of February, the House bill was read and referred to the Select Committee on Oregon Territory. On the 7th, the bill was reported to the Senate, with an amendment. On the 19th of February, in answer to a resolution of the Senate, President Tyler reported that the negotiations were progressing favorably. On the 3d of March, the friends of Oregon tried to press the Senate to a vote upon the bill; but that body (twenty-one ayes, twenty-three noes) refused.
Up to the close of President Tyler's administration, both branches of Congress, at different sessions, had asserted by the passage of bills that immediate measures should be taken by the government to reoccupy Oregon. In the election of 1844, the people had, with entire unanimity, expressed their will that the government would be sustained in extreme measures adopted to settle the Oregon question. It may be truly claimed that the sole occupancy of the whole of Oregon Territory by the United States had been advised by the American people.
That the President-elect so construed the popular verdict is evident from his very able inaugural address, March 4, 1845, in which he thus in advance committed his administration:
"Nor will it become in a less degree my duty to assert and maintain, by all constitutional means, the right of the United States to that portion of our territory which is beyond the Rocky Mountains. our title to the country of Oregon is clear and unquestionable; and already are our people preparing to perfect that title by occupying it with their wives and children. within that period, within the lifetime, I might say, of some of my hearers, our people, increasing to many millions, have filled the eastern valley of the Mississippi; adventurously ascended the Missouri to its head springs; and are already engaged in establishing the blessings of self-government in valleys, of which the rivers flow to the Pacific. The world beholds the peaceful triumphs of the industry of our emigrants. To us belongs the duty of protecting them adequately, wherever they may be upon our soil. The jurisdiction of our laws and the benefits of our republican institutions should be extended over them in the distant regions which they have selected for their homes. The increasing facilities of intercourse will easily bring the states, of which the formation in that territory cannot be long delayed, within the sphere of our Federative Union. In the meantime, every obligation imposed by treaty or conventional stipulations should be sacredly respected."
On the 16th of July, 1845, a conference was held between James Buchanan, Secretary of State, and Sir Richard Pakenham, British Minister, when negotiations were resumed. Mr. Buchanan had presented a proposition dated July 12th, in which he most lucidly demonstrated the title of the United States to the whole territory. He concluded:
"We have a perfect right to claim
under both these titles; and the Spanish title alone, even if it
were necessary to confine ourselves to it, would, in the opinion of the
President, be good as against Great Britain, not merely to the valley of
the Columbia, but the whole territory of Oregon. Our own American title
to the extent of the valley of
the Columbia, resting as it does on discovery, exploration and possession (a possessions acknowledged by a most solemn act of the British government itself), is a sufficient assurance against all mankind; whilst our superadded title, derived from Spain, extends our exclusive rights over the whole territory in dispute, as against Great Britain."
"Such being the opinion of the President in regard to the title of the United States, he could not have consented to yield any portion of the Oregon Territory, had he not found himself embarrassed, if not committed, by the acts of his predecessors. In view of these facts, the President has determined to pursue the present negotiation to its conclusion upon the principle of compromise in which it commenced, and to make one more effort to adjust this long-pending controversy. He has, therefore, instructed the undersigned again to propose to the government of Great Britain, that the Oregon Territory shall be divided between the two countries by the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, offering at the same time to make free to Great Britain any port or ports on Vancouver Island south of this parallel, which the British government may desire."
The British Minister, under date of July 29th, assumed the responsibility of rejecting this offer. Mr. Buchanan, in an elaborate reply (August 30th), ably reviewed Mr. Pakenham's position, and thus closed the negotiation:
"And how has this proposition been received by the British Plenipotentiary? It has been rejected without even a reference to his own government. Nay, more, the British Plenipotentiary, to use his own language, 'trusts that the American Plenipotentiary will prepare to offer some further proposal for the settlement of the Oregon question, more consistent with fairness and equity, and with the reasonable expectations of the British government.' Under such circumstances, the undersigned is instructed by the President to say that he owes it to his country, and a just appreciation of her title to the Oregon Territory, to withdraw the proposition to the British government which has been made under his direction; and it is hereby accordingly withdrawn."
Matters were in this situation
at the commencement of the session of Congress, December 21, 1845, when
President Polk delivered his first annual message. That document contains
a most interesting history of the negotiations. They were evidently cited
by the President in justification of his magnanimous and liberal offer
of compromise, in view of the committal of the administration by his letter
of acceptance and inaugural address. That the administration, after so
many repeated offers by predecessors, should have attempted to secure a
peaceful adjustment, is in the highest degree commendable. No censure can
justly attach for that effort to maintain peace between nations. By its
manly assertion of the United States' claim, the Polk administration had
brought the Oregon question to the happiest juncture occupied in its forty
years' discussion. the administration had embraced the opportunity to withdraw
its offer of compromise; and the nation now asserted its rightful title
to the whole territory. Its peace-offering had been spurned, and, by direction
of the President, had been formally withdraw. The administration was free
and untrammeled. It was about to march forward to give effect tot he great
popular mandate of 1844, that no portion of Oregon should be ceded to Great
Britain. Such appeared to have been the animus of the President in that
first message to Congress. He urged that the twelve months' notice to Great
Britain required by the convention of 1827 should immediately be given;
that the United States desired the abrogation of the Joint-Occupancy Treaty.
He invoked Congress to adopt measures for
maintaining the rights of the United States to the whole of Oregon; that Federal jurisdiction be extended over the territory. He recommended such legislation as would afford protection and security to American settlers.
In both houses of Congress numerous measures, responsive to the President's suggestions, were introduced. The House of Representatives, on the 9th of February, 1846, by the decisive vote of one hundred and sixty-three to fifty-four, passed a joint resolution directing the President to give Great Britain twelve months' notice of the desire of the Untied States to abrogate the convention of 1827. The Senate modified the resolution so as to authorize the President "at his discretion," to give such notice, and passed it April 16th, by a vote of forty to fourteen. The House of Representatives refused to concur in the Senate amendment, which led to a conference, resulting in the Senate phraseology being substantially adopted. On the 23d of April, the resolution passed both houses: In the Senate, forty-two ayes, ten noes; in the House, one hundred and forty-two ayes, forty-six noes.
The notice embodying the joint resolution was promptly given April 28, 1846. The occasion was so important, such proceeding so unusual between nations, the precedent of such weighty interest, that its insertion at length is justified:
"Whereas, the Congress of the United States have adopted a 'Joint Resolution concerning the Oregon Territory,' of which the following is a copy:
"JOINT RESOLUTION concerning the Oregon Territory.
"Whereas, by the convention concluded the twentieth day of October, eighteen hundred and eighteen, between the United States of America and the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for the period of ten years, and afterwards indefinitely extended and continued in force by another convention of the same parties, concluded the sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and twenty-seven, it was agreed that any country that may be claimed by either party on the northwest coast of America westward of the Stony or Rocky Mountains, now commonly called the Oregon Territory, should, together with its harbors, bays and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be "free and open" to the vessels, citizens, and subjects of the two powers, but without prejudice to any claim which either of the parties might have on any part of said country; and with this further provision, in the second article of the said convention of the sixth of August, eighteen hundred and twenty-seven, that either party might abrogate and annul said convention, on giving due notice of twelve months to the other contracting party.
"And whereas, it has now become desirable that the respective claims of the United States and Great Britain should be definitely settled; and that said territory may, no longer than need be, remain subject to the evil consequences of the divided allegiance of its American and British population, and of the confusion and conflict of national jurisdiction, dangerous to the cherished peace and good understanding of the two countries.
"With a view, therefore, that
steps be taken for the abrogation of the said convention of the sixth of
August, eighteen hundred and twenty-seven, in the mode prescribed in its
second article, and that the attention of the governments of both countries
may be more
earnestly direct to the adoption of all proper measures for a speedy and amicable adjustment of the differences and disputes in regard to the said territory:
"Resolved, by the Senate
and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress
assembled, that the President of the United States be, and he is hereby
authorized, at his discretion, to give to the government of Great Britain
the notice required by the second article of the said convention of the
sixth of August, eighteen hundred and twenty-seven, for the abrogation
of the same.
"Approved April 27, 1846.'
"Now, therefore, after a careful consideration of the premises, I, James K. Polk, President of the United States, in the exercise of the authority and discretion vested in me by the said 'joint resolution concerning the Oregon Territory,' and in pursuance of the second article of the convention of the 6th August, 1827, therein mentioned, do hereby, in behalf of the United States, give notice to her Majesty, the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and ireland, that, at the end of twelve months from and after the delivery of these presents by the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States at London, to her Britannic Majesty, or to her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the said convention shall be entirely annulled and abrogated.
"In testimony thereof, I have
caused the seal of the United States to be hereunto affixed. Given under
my hand, this twenty-eighth day of April, A.D. 1846, and of the independence
of the said United States the seventieth.
[L. S.]
"JAMES K. POLK.
"By the President:
"James Buchanan, Secretary of State."
The acceptance of the notice was equally prompt. It was as follows:
"FOREIGN OFFICE, May 22, 1846
"The undersigned, her Majesty's principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, has had the honor to receive the note of Mr. McLane, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of America, dated the 20th, and delivered on the 24th instant, inclosing the document dated the 28th day of April, signed by the President of the United States of America, and countersigned by the Secretary of State, in which, after reciting a joint resolution concerning the Oregon territory which has been adopted by the Congress of the United States, the President, in conformity with the terms of that resolution, gives to her Britannic Majesty's government the notice required by the second article of the convention of the 6th of August, 1827, between Great Britain and the United States, for the abrogation of the same. The undersigned acknowledges, accordingly, on the part of her Majesty's government, the receipt of the said notice, and declares that, in conformity with its tenor, her Majesty's government will consider the convention of the 6th of August, 1827, abrogated accordingly from the 21st day of May, 1847.
"The undersigned has the honor
to renew to Mr. McLane the assurances of his high consideration.
"ABERDEEN.
"Louis McLane, Esq., etc."
While thee events had been transpiring in Congress, negotiations had been resumed. On the 27th of December, `945, Sir. R. Pakenham, by order of his government, made the proposition to submit the question "of an equitable division of Oregon to arbitration." Mr. Buchanan promptly declined it, because, to submit to such a proposition was an avowal of a right of Great Britain to a portion of the territory, and equally as strong an admission that his government was wrong in laying claim to the whole of it; besides, it would conclude the United States from making claim to the whole territory before the arbitrator." On the 17th of January, 1846, Sir R. Pakenham submitted a modified proposition to refer "the question of title in either government to the whole territory to be decided; and, if neither were found to possess a complete title to the whole, it was to be divided between them according to a just appreciation of the claims of each."
Mr. Buchanan replied:
"If the governments should consent to an arbitration upon such terms, this would be construed into an intimation, if not a direct invitation, to the arbitrator to divide the territory between the two parties. Were it possible for this government, under any circumstances, to refer the question to arbitration, the title, and the title alone, detached from every other consideration, ought to be the only question submitted. The title of the United States, which the President regards clear and unquestionable, can never be placed in jeopardy by referring it to the decision of any individual, whether sovereign, citizen or subject. Nor does he believe the territorial rights of this nation are a proper subject of arbitration."
But the venue of contention is now to be changed. On the 6th of June, 1846, Sir R. Pakenham submitted to Secretary of State Buchanan a draft of a proposed treaty, which had been transmitted to him by the British government. President Polk at once presented the same to the Senate of the United States, accompanying therewith the following message:
"TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES:
"I lay before the Senate a proposal, in the form of a convention, presented to the Secretary of State on the 6th instant, by the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of her Britannic Majesty, for the adjustment of the Oregon question, together with a protocol of this proceeding. I submit this proposal to the consideration of the Senate, and request their advice as to the action which, in their judgment, it may be proper to make in reference to it.
"In the early period of the government,
the opinion and advice of the Senate were often taken in advance upon important
questions of our foreign policy. General Washington repeatedly consulted
the Senate and asked their previous advice upon pending negotiations with
foreign powers; and the Senate in every instance responded to his call
by giving their advice, to which he always conformed his action. This practice,
though rarely resorted to in latter times, was, in my judgment, eminently
wise, and may, on occasion of great importance, be properly revived. The
Senate are a branch of the treaty-making power; and by consulting them
in advance of his own action upon important measures of foreign policy
which may ultimately come before them for their consideration, the President
secures harmony of action between that body and himself. The Senate are,
moreover, a branch of the war-making power; and it may be eminently proper
for the Executive to take the opinion and advice of that body in advance
upon any great question
which may involve in its decision the issue of peace or war. On the present occasion, the magnitude of the subject would induce me, under any circumstances, to desire the previous advice of the Senate; and that desire is increased by the recent debates and proceedings in Congress, which render it, in my judgment, not only respectful to the Senate, but necessary and proper, if not indispensable, to insure harmonious action between that body and the Executive. In conferring on the Executive the authority to give the notice for the abrogation of the convention of 1827, the Senate acted publicly so large a part, that a decision on the proposal now made by the British government, without a definite knowledge of the views of that body in reference to it, might render the question still more complicated and difficult of adjustment. For these reasons I invite the consideration of the Senate to the proposal of the British government, for the settlement of the Oregon question, and ask their advice on the subject.
"My opinions and my action on the Oregon question were made fully known to Congress in my annual message of the second of December last; and the opinions therein expressed remain unchanged. Should the Senate, by the constitutional majority required for the ratification of treaties, advise the acceptance of this proposal, and advise it with such modifications as they may, upon full deliberation, deem proper, I shall conform my action to their advice. Should the Senate, however, decline by such constitutional majority to give such advice, or to express an opinion on the subject, I shall consider it my duty to reject the offer.
"I also communicate herewith an extract from a dispatch of the Secretary of State to the Minister of the United States at London, under date of the 28th of April last, directing him, in accordance with the joint resolution of Congress 'concerning the Oregon Territory,' to deliver the notice to the British government for the abrogation of the convention on the 6th of August, 1827; and also a copy of the notice transmitted to him for that purpose, together with extracts from a dispatch of that Minister to the Secretary of State, bearing date on the 18th of May last.
"JAMES K. POLK.
"PROTOCOL.
"A conference was held at the Department of State, on the 6th of June, 1846, between the Honorable James Buchanan, Secretary of State, the American Plenipotentiary, and the Right Honorable Richard Pakenham, the British Plenipotentiary, when the negotiation respecting the Oregon Territory was resumed. The British Plenipotentiary made a verbal explanation of the motives which had induced her majesty's government to instruct him to make another proposition to the government of the United States for the solution of these long-existing difficulties. The Secretary of State expressed his satisfaction with the friendly motives which had animated the British government in this endeavor.
"Whereupon, the British Plenipotentiary submitted to the Secretary of State the draft of a convention (marked A), setting forth the terms he had been instructed to propose to the government of the United States for the settlement of the Oregon question.
"JAMES BUCHANAN.
"R. PAKENHAM."
"A." (Preamble omitted.)
"ARTICLE I.
"From the point on the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, where the boundary laid down in existing treaties and conventions between Great Britain and the United States terminates, the boundary line between Great Britain and the United States terminates, the boundary line between the territories of her Britannic Majesty and those of the United States shall be continued westward along the said forty-ninth parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver island; and thence southerly through the middle of said channel and of Fuca's Strait to the Pacific ocean; provided, however, that the navigation of the whole of said channel and strait south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude remain free and open to both parties.
"ARTICLE II.
"From the point at which the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude shall be found to intersect the great northern branch of the Columbia river, the navigation of said branch shall be free and open to the Hudson's Bay Company, and to all British subjects trading with the same, to the point where the said branch meets the main stream of the Columbia, and thence down the main stream to the ocean, with free access into or through the said river or rivers; it being understood that all the usual portages along the line thus described shall in like manner be free and open. In navigating the said river or rivers, British subjects, with their goods and produce, shall be treated on the same footing as citizens of the United States; it being, however, always understood that nothing in this article shall be construed as preventing, or intended to prevent, the government of the United States from making any regulation respecting the navigation of said river or rivers, not inconsistent with the present treaty.
"ARTICLE III.
"In the future appropriation of the territory south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, as provided in the first article of this treaty, the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, and of all British subjects who may be already in the occupation of land or other property, lawfully acquired within the said territory, shall be respected.
"ARTICLE IV.
"The farms, lands and other property of every description belonging to the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, on the north side of the Columbia river, shall be confirmed to said company. In case, however, the situation of these farms and lands should be considered by the United States to be of public importance, and the United States government should signify a desire to obtain possession of the whole, or of any part thereof, the property so required shall be transferred to the said government at a proper valuation, to be agreed upon between the parties."
"The Senate being in executive session:
"On motion of Mr. Mangum, the
Senate proceeded to consider the message of the President of the United
States on the 10th instant, communicating a proposal for the adjustment
of the Oregon question; and, after debate, Mr. Haywood submitted the following
resolution:
"Resolved (two-thirds of the Senators present consenting), that the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, advised to accept the proposal of the British government, accompanying his message tot he Senate dated June 10, 1846, for a convention to settle boundaries, etc., between the United States and Great Britain, west of the Rocky or Stony Mountains."
"On June 12, 1846, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution submitted by Mr. Haywood on the 11th instant. On the question to agree to the resolution, it was determined in the affirmative: yeas thirty-eight, nays eleven. Those who voted in the affirmative are: Messrs. Archer, Ashley, Bagby, Benton, Berrien, Calhoun, Chalmers, Thomas Clayton, John M. Clayton, Colquitt, Davis, Dayton, Dix, Evans, Green, Haywood, Houston, Huntington, Johnson of Maryland, Johnson of Louisiana, Lewis, McDuffie, Mangum, Miller, Morehead, Niles, Pearce, Pennypacker, Phelps, Rusk, Sevier, Simmons, Speight, Turney, Upham, Webster, Woodbridge, Yulee. Those who voted in the negative are: Messrs. Allen, Atherton, Breese, Cameron, Dickenson, Fairfield, Hannegan, Jarnagin, Jenness, Semple, Sturgeon.
"The Senate having, by the necessary constitutional majority, advised the President to accept such proposed treaty, the said action was communicated to the British government in the following letter:
"Secretary Buchanan to Minister McLane.
"DEPARTMENT OF STATE,
"WASHINGTON, June 13, 1846.
"Sir: The President communicated to the Senate, on the 10th instant, a confidential message, of which I transmit you a copy, asking their previous advice in regard to the project of a convention for the adjustment of the Oregon question, delivered to me by Mr. Pakenham on the 6th instant.
"On yesterday the Senate adopted the following resolution:
"Resolved (two-thirds of the Senate present concurring), that the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, advised to accept the proposal of the British government accompanying his message to the Senate dated 10th June, 1846, for a convention to settle boundaries, etc., between the United States of Great Britain, west of the Rocky or Stony Mountains.'
"The vote of the Senate stood thirty-eight to eleven.
"I have learned from the best sources that the Senate gave this advice under the conviction that, by the true construction of the second article of the project, the right of the Hudson's Bay Company to navigate the Columbia would expire with the termination of their present license to trade with the Indians, etc., on the northwest coast of America, on the 30th day of May, 1859. In a conversation with Mr. Pakenham to-day, I communicated this fact to him, and requested him to state it in his dispatch to Lord Aberdeen.
"The treaty will be signed and sent to the Senate on Monday next; and it is more than probable that they will, in some form or other, place upon their records their understanding of its true construction in this particular.
"I am, etc. "JAMES BUCHANAN.
The treaty as proposed was signed June 15, 1846, by the representatives of the two nations. On the 18th of June, it was submitted to the Senate, and ratified by a vote of forty-one ayes, fourteen noes. The herculean Benton was its most zealous champion. From his very remarkable speech in its advocacy, the following very remarkable language is extracted. Said he:
"The first article of the treaty- and it is the main one, and almost the whole treaty - is in the very words which I myself would have used if the two governments had left it to me to draw the boundary line between them. The line established by that article - the prolongation of the boundary on the east side of the Rocky Mountains - follows the parallel of forty-nine degrees to the sea, with a slight deflection through the Straits of Fuca to avoid cutting the south end of Vancouver Island. All this is right in my opinion. Forty-nine is the line of right, and of mutual convenience, between the two powers, offered by us since the time of Mr. Jefferson, and wonderfully adapted to the natural divisions of the country and the actual possessions of the two parties. It parts the two streams of water (those of the Columbia and Fraser rivers) as naturally and commodiously on the west of the mountains as it parts on the east of the same mountains the two systems of waters which belong on the one hand to the Gulf of Mexico, and on the other to Hudson's Bay; and on both sides of the mountains it conforms to the actual discoveries and settlements of both parties. There is not upon the face of the earth so long a line, and so straight and so adapted to the rights of the parties and the features of the country. From the Lake of Woods to the Pacific Ocean is twenty degrees of longitude (fifty miles to the degree in that latitude); and throughout that long distance the line follows the highlands which divide great rivers and their basins, cutting off nothing but the heads of rivers of little consequence; and these excisions most wonderfully balance.
"It is a marvelously proper line, and
does great honor to the discretion, or illustrates the good fortune, of
the French and British commissioners under the Treaty of Utrecht, by whom
it was so long ago established. Mr. Jefferson offered this line in its
full extent in 1807. Mr. Monroe made the same offer in 1818, and again
in 1824. Mr. Adams offered it in 1826, Mr. Tyler in 1842, and Mr. Polk
in 1845. For forty years, save one, this line has been offered by our government
to the British government, and by all except the last, as a line of right,
adapted to the actual possessions of the parties and to the natural divisions
of the country. Since thirty years, I have been accustomed to study the
question of this line; and during all that time I have been in favor of
forty-nine degrees. As often as I have had occasion to express my opinions
about it - and those occasions commenced with the Treaty of Ghent in 1815
- I have declared uniformly in favor of that line, but always as a basis,
never as an inflexible demarkation, yielding to no accidents of land or
water. I never talked the nonsense of every inch and acre up to forty-nine
or war. I knew the Straits of Fuca, and that those straits formed a natural
boundary for us, and also divided the continent from the islands, and the
fertile from the desolate regions. I knew that the continental coast and
the inhabitable country terminated on the south shore of those straits,
and that the northwest archipelago - the thousand desolate and volcanic
islands, derelict of all nations - commenced on their shore; and I wanted
to go no farther than the good land and the continental coast went. I was
always in favor of a deflection of a line through the Straits of Fuca;
but I said nothing about it. It was a detail, and I confined myself to
the proposition of the line as a basis. I had expected the deflection to
have commenced further back - on the continent - so as to have kept our
line a little farther off from Fort Langly, at the mouth of Fraser river,
almost in sight of which it
now passes. If this had been asked, I for one would have been willing to grant it; but the British did not ask it, probably for the reason that I would have granted it, namely, the entire worthlessness of the desolate region about the mouth of the Fraser river.
"The deflection leaves out Vancouver Island, and I am glad of it. It is one of the most worthless of the thousand worthless islands, which the northwest archipelago presents, and is the derelict of all nations. The Nootka Sound quarrel between Great Britain and Spain ws not for the island, but for the insult to Great Britain in the deportation and incarceration of her subjects by the Viceroy of Mexico. Reparation for that insult was the point of the quarrel; and, that being obtained in a treaty of restoration and indemnity, both parties abandoned the island, and neither has since occupied it. It is now vacant and desolate, and I want none of it. I would not accept it as a present, nor would the poorest lord of the isles that ever lived on the western coasts of Scotland. The fictitious importance lately attributed to this island, upon the disparagement of the mouth of the columbia, has vanished upon the revelation of the true character of that river. The estuary of the Columbia is now shown to be a good port; and, with the advantage of lights, buoys, beacons, pilots and steam tow-boats, ready to become one of the best in the world. This knowledge of the true character of the Columbia puts an end to all pretexts of necessity to go north three hundred miles to hunt a substitute port in the remote and desolate coasts of Vancouver Island. That island is not wanted by the United States for any purpose whatever. Above all, the south end of it is not wanted to command the Straits of Fuca. It so happens that these straits are not liable to be commanded, either in fact or in law. They are from fifteen to thirty miles wide, - rather too wide for batteries to cross their shot, and wide enough, like all other great straits of the world, to constitute a part of the high seas, and to be incapable of appropriation by any nation. We want nothing of that strait but asa boundary, and that the treaty gives us. With that boundary comes all that we want in that quarter, namely, all the waters of Puget Sound and the fertile Olympic district which borders upon them.
"When the line reaches the channel which separates Vancouver Island from the continent (which it does within sight of the mouth of Fraser river), it proceeds to the middle of the channel, and thence, turning south, through the channel de Haro (wrongly written Arro on the maps) to the Straits of Fuca, and then west to the middle of that strait to the sea. This is a fair partition of those waters, and gives us everything that we want, namely, all the waters of Puget Sound, Hood's Canal, Admiralty Inlet, Bellingham Bay, Birch Bay, and with them the cluster of islands, probably of no value, between de Haro's Channel and the continent. Neither the Spanish discoveries, nor our own discovery and settlement of the Columbia, would have given us these waters. Their British names indicate their discoveries; and the line of forty-nine gives them to us."
Thus was temporized the Oregon
controversy by that hasty and ill-digested surrender of a large portion
of territory to which our title was "clear and unquestionable." That treaty
settled only so much of the boundary line as lies upon the main land, carrying
the parallel of forty-nine degrees north westward to the coast of the Gulf
of Georgia. Hardly were the ratifications exchanged, when, early as the
fall of 1846, the boundary dispute was revived by the claim being asserted
that Rosario Strait was the main channel, and the channel intended by that
treaty as the northwest water boundary, instead of the Canal de Haro. That
question remained a matter of controversy between the two governments,
until the award in 1873, by the Emperor William of germany, that the Canal
de Haro was the main channel referred to in the treaty. By it also the
Hudson's Bay Company was
permitted to continue in Oregon; and the United States stipulated to respect possessory rights, which were to have been terminated, by their license, May 30, 1859; yet that company and its offshoot, under the alias of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, claimed $5,000,000 against the United States as a compensation to them to withdraw from Oregon, to abandon their rights, and for rights claimed to have been acquired during their occupancy of Oregon, under the Joint-Occupancy Treaties of 1818 and 1827.
Such was the Oregon question, and such its abortive termination. It aptly proves that to governments, like individuals, "nothing is denied to well-directed industry." The world is afforded the strongest illustration that persistent claim gives as good a title to the territory as actual right.
The actors in the consummation which secured peace without honor (though it is not believed that Great Britain would have dared to go to war with the United States in support of her Oregon pretensions) have passed away. Robert J. Walker, Secretary of the Treasury in the cabinet of President Polk, thus explains (1) the readiness to surrender so much of Oregon to Great Britain:
"We own now the whole western Pacific coast from Lower California to the Arctic Sea, except British Columbia, which (against my earnest protest in the cabinet) was ceded to England in 1846. I say ceded, for our title to the whole of Oregon from the forty-second parallel northward to Russian America was in truth clear and unquestionable. British Columbia was lost to us by the most unfortunate diplomacy extending through a long period of time."
Why we so willingly yielded it, Mr. Walker explains in the following:
"The opposition to the acquisition of Louisiana was geographical and anti-slavery. In 1821, Texas was relinquished partly from geographical, but mainly from anti-slavery, opposition. In 1845, the opposition to the annexation of Texas was based mainly upon anti-slavery grounds. In 1846, in connection with the unfortunate action of preceding administrations, Oregon, north of the forty-ninth parallel, was lost to the Union. While the history of annexation in the United States shows various obstacles by which it has been retarded, yet the chief among these was the discordant element of slavery. Thus it was that, while the free states to a great extent opposed the acquisition of slave territory, the slave states opposed the acquisition of free territory. But for these opposing principles, our area would be far greater than it is now. On extinguishing slavery, we have removed the principal cause which retarded annexation. We see already the good effects of the disappearance of this institution in the almost unanimous vote of the Senate by which the Alaska treaty was ratified. Before the extinction of slavery, that treaty would have been defeated upon the same principle that Oregon north of the forty-ninth parallel was ceded to England."
On another branch of this case, apprehension of war with England, Mr. Walker remarks:
"We all know how she availed herself of our war with Mexico to deprive us of our rightful territory of Oregon north of the forty-ninth parallel. In other words, a war with Mexico to secure Texas must not be endangered by the conflict with England for our rights in Oregon."
Mr. Walker thus acquits Mr. Polk and Mr. Buchanan of voluntarily and too-readily abandoning the policy avowed in such manly terms by the Administration and Department of State in regard to the United States' title to Oregon:
(1) Letter, January 24, 1868,
on the purchase of Alaska, St. Thomas and St. Johns. Washington Daily
Morning Chronicle, January 28, 1868.
"In the letter of the 3d of March, 1845, of the late James K. Polk, tendering me the office of Secretary of Treasury, he inclosed me his proposed inaugural address discussing the Oregon and Texas questions, in which letter he says: 'If you, sir, concur with me in these opinions and views, I shall be pleased to have your assistance in my administration as a member of my cabinet, and now tender to you the office of Secretary of Treasury. I shall be pleased to receive your answer at your earliest convenience.' In my reply of that date to Mr. Polk accepting the tender, I said: 'The reannexation of Texas in the mode proposed in my letter of 8th of January, 1844, may be regarded as nearly consummated. The kindred measure referred to in the letter, namely, our just and rightful claim to the whole of Oregon, will, I trust, be successfully asserted by you; this would leave no European power on our Pacific coast except Russia, whose well-known friendship to us would, it is hoped, induce her to cede to us her North American territory.'
"This correspondence needs no comment. It is due, however, to my late excellent friend and chief, James K. Polk, to say that he was most sincerely desirous of retaining the whole of Oregon, and only abandoned it when he arrived at the conclusion that Congress would not sustain him in the measure.
"It is due to the Secretary of State, James Buchanan, to say that he yielded with great reluctance to the sacrifice of any portion of Oregon."