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SPEECH OF ITIR. HAYWOOD,
OF NORTH CAROLINA,
ON THE OREGON QUESTION.
Delivered in the Senate on the 4th and 5th March.
. . , !
The joint resolution for giving the notice to j
terminate the convention between the United
"C i.aiu n. iciii c iu me vie-
gon territory being under consideration
Mr. Haywood addressed the Senate as fol-
lows: Mr. President, the subject before the j
Senate is an important one. Viewed in con-
nexton witn me topics ttiat nave oeen orougnt
into the discussion of it, it is one of momen-
tous interest; and I confess that its magnitude
oppresses tne. My want of experience in po-
litical affairs naturally made me reluctant to!
enter into it as a speaker, when I must neces-
sarily feel, in addition to the high responsi-
nnmes oi me occasion useii, 111. emoarrass- act ot necessary duty on the part ot the Kxero
ment of addressing those who are my seniors tivewould be perverted intoan occasion for de
in age and in political knowledge. Besides, bating, not the question of notiue or nonotice,
I have though j, that a silent vote, could it have j which properly belongs to the Legislative de
heen obtained, would be much moremposing. prtment. but also our negotiations with Great
But the occurrence of the last few Weeks have j Britain, whm her Minister is in the city and
left me no choice. Silence would now be a even in the lobby of the Capitol, and cuir for
compromise with my conscience and my duly eigh .elations and our grievances, real or sup-
to the country, and 1 must speuK. It will lake posed, with all the kingdoms of the earth,
me some time, hut I throw myself upon the, which legitimately belong to the Executive
patience f the Senate, with a pledge that my department? Perhaps he" felt a strong reli
heart shall he opened sincere'y, at this the j arice upon the prudence, moderation, and wis
pouncil of our common country. 1 have no dom of Congress the assembled lepresenta
actions of the past to explain, and no aspira- tives of the people and the States and hoped
tions for the future to restrain me; and, if j that they would in jsuch a case talk less but
God gives me strength and utterance for the j deliberate, and then act. Perhaps he thought
work. I will do my whole duty according to that, upon a question of this kind, the neces
my poor ability. !s'ly he was put under to disclose what was
The President of the United States, who is 'done by the Executive before he had termina
authorized by the Constitution to make, but i ted negotiations, would hardly be made a pre
not to unmake treaties, hns a negotiation on i text fot snatching negotiations outW his hands.
foot which was commenced or opened before j which he did not recommend, instead of enact
his term of office began. The object of it has j inn- a law to arm him with a notice that hedid re
been to fix a line of division by compromise commend. How far he was mistaken, if he
between the UnitedStates and Great Britain, ! did so feel and so think, need not to be said
and thereby to adjust the conflicting claims of. to this Senate. The events of the last few
tne two Governments to the territory lying j weeks speak for themselves. Believing that,
west of the Stony Mountains, commonly call so far as the President lias been concerned,
ed Oregon. I assume for the present here- ; the British Government has got no advantage
after I will demonstrate that in the view of of us, I confess I did feel mortified in reading
our President, as well its the British Minister, the news by the hist steamer at the necessity
the negotiation is still a pending one. The of conceding to the debates of the British Par
assumption is warranted by every incident of j liament a decided superiority over those of
the subject in this country and in Great Brit- i ourselves in their dignity and moderation;
ain except the absurd conclusions and unau-j and it would be quite a satisfaction to me to
thorised constructions given by some of my ; get news by the next packet of an outrageous
own party friends to the message of the Pre-debate rn the British Parliament; at leastsuf
sident. And it is confirmed beyond all f. irjficient to put us evi n with them on that score.
doubt, by the silence ot the President upon j
that point, when, if tne negotiation hud termi
nated. Executive silence would be unpardbn
ahle live m ore especially as his jurisdiction
over the subject will cease the moment neo-,
1 . .
tiation ends. I he negotiation once closed con-
eluded, put an end to. by the Executive, and j
all the remaining questions about Oregon will
become forthwith subjects of legislation by
Congress exclusively.
But to ppfct-eed. At the meeting of Con
gress in. December the negotiators of the two
Governments had been unable to agree upon a
compromise or-iueir counseling claims, ana
the President, believing lint, under the exist
ing convention of 1827, the United States can
not 44 rightfully assert or exercise exclusive
jiiiisdiction over any portion of the territory
without giving a year's notice, declared to
Congress th t, in his judgment, would be
proper to give the notice; and thereupon, by
;tis message, he recofrfniendeo ttiat nrovision
be made by law for giving it accordingly, s?nd . to presume that Congress are wise and pru-! dent has informed Congress plainly and dis- j ed pretty strong signs of the Emperor's inten
terminating M in this manner'1' the convention i dent legislators ; that they would say nothing ; tinctly lhat this British proposition to us can- I lion to maintain hers against all the world,
of the Gth August, 1827. This then is the J to embarrass negotiations unless Congress re- j not he entertained hy him, hut that it is j The American Government (aftera long delay
question: What shall we do 1 iallv wished to defeat negotiation', and even j "wholly inadmissible." So far there is no growing out of our policy towards Spain whom
The message of the President was aecorn- j in that case he may have thought that, as by j difficulty. Every thing is plain and directly we did not wish to offend by setting up our
panied by a copy of all the correspondence the Constitution treaty-making helon2ed to j to the point, as it ought to be. claims prematurely) finally acceded tn a pro-
which Irad taken place in the m gotiation ; and ; the President, under the advice of the Senate, i Next, we are informed bv the message that j posal of opening negotiations with Russia and
we have subsequently been furnished, by our
request, with such further correspondence as
had taken place in it up to February, 1846.
In the meanwhile, various propositions in the
Senate, em :natifir from individual Senators,
but not from the Executive, have been offered
and proposed ; and it is true, as some honora
ble Senator said the other day, that we have
exhibited the singular spectacle in this Capi
l of a discussion by Congress with open
doors of nearly all the foreign affairs of the
nation, and more especially of our affairs with
Great Britain upon this very subject of the
Oregon territory, although at the same time,
j negotiations have been going on at the Exe-1
cutive Department with the British.MinhUry ; j to Oregon was "clear and unquestionable."
and it was rather intimated than charged thatjln prosecuting the negotiation, he found it to
the President was to blame for it. Now, in be his duty to offer a line of compromise at
the spirit of kindness which characterized this 49, and to'give up James K. Polkas opinion
complaint, suffer me, a friend of the Adminis- j to the President's obligation to preserve na
cration, to answer why I do not concur in it, tional honor. From some cause or other, the
and how I suppose the sending of this corres- public mind had been pre-occupied with ihe
pondence here may be vindicated. belief that this offer had not been made by
The President, believing that the conven-1 him. But, as it had been made, the Presi
tion of 1827 had better be abrogated, we know i dent might have felt and probably hedid feel,
that he could do that in either one of two a solicitude at the meeting of Congress to tell
ways, but in no ctherv Either he mustgetan j the whole to let out the secret and to pre
agieement with Great Britain to abrogate it vent, if he could, clamors or calumny upon
by mutual consent, and then Conguess need j the subject. Had the President dreaded the
not be applied to at all; or hn must get the 'same clamors, and sought to avoid, by such a
mandate of a law, authorizing him to give a ' disclusnre, denunciations like ihose which
year's notice. The first mode was not at- have been unceasingly poured out upon the
templed. j heads of the great men who negotiated and
The other manner of doing it is by a law of i voted for the Washington treaty, I am sure
this Government; and the President recom-j the Senate would not fame him much for it
mended to Congress Congress alone being! not very much. That Washington tre'aty
. . 1 ml . a f
competent 10 enact u mat provision be made
for giving the notice accordingly, and for ter-ihaps it is to be kept a going until it can get
minating, ' in this manner," ihe convention company. It may be that the President did
of 1827. Can it be said that the President not wish to furnish the companion for it by
erred in choosing ibis m-nner" of terminat-! keeping his M friends" unapprized of the im
ing the convention, it being the only mode by I portantfact that he had offered a compromise,
which that object could be legitimately ac- I should not wonder at it, if hedid not. As
complished without closing his negotiations it je, that thunder will all be spoiled as far as
ura compromise: ine complaint against
me mesa-age implies ne nao no intention to do
lhat.
it being indispensible to apply to Con-
for a law to give the notice, was it not
sress
Congress every thing that had taken place in of an old speech, abridged to be sur?, but not j that he could not speak for himself, nor au
the negotiation, as far as it had progressed, ! improved. Our politicians seem determined j thorize another to speak for him. so long as
when the President made his recommendation? t0 convince the woild abroad, and the people , negotiation was pending, or not concluded.
The case is a peculiar one; but that peculi- at home, whether or not. that our'nation is al- j Oh ! I wish it were so that he could speak
amy am notarise out of any thing that thisiWavs overreached, cheated, and disgraced.
Administration nas done, but altogether from
the convention it is desired to abrogate, and
the limited constitutional power of the Amer -
lean Executive. Look to the message itself,
9 ,M , wo "X" . more or less;
than what the President w 3S ids ?rsa t H p or rno
obliged to disclose to toe legislative depart
ment, under the peculiar circumstances of the
subject. That Congress might determine this
question of notice, they must know the state
' ! ..- -
ana condition ot the negotiation. I hey would ,
1.- i ... .... . .
Know mat oest by sending up all the corres-jit
pondence; and, in order that they might see
ana juage ior tnemseives. the president com-jines
municated to Congress the whole corrcspon-
uencc which uau HKfn piace. ne nas aone :
no more,and he is responsible tor nothing more,
Had he anv ricrht to sunnose that ihis would 1
be made the foundation for violent, invective !
- - - - " ? " w .... v J- " J - j
sifions that have, fallowed itl If he had ap-s
ann irrecrn ar nisotissions. 3 no nr trip nronn-1
prehended any such consequences, would that ,
have authorized him to withhold the recom-1
mendation of a measure of legislation which '
he deemed to be essential to the interest of j
the nation, and which he mav have sunnosed
to be important to Ihe peace of the country ?
Upon making such a lecommendation, how
could he conceal the information that was ne-
eessary to aid Congress in considering it?
Had he any means of forseeing tliat this simple
I cannot help wishing it may bp so
(Some Senator: "'Tis likely yon'M be
gratified.")
But surely the fault is not altogether that
of the President. H;;d he known ever so well
that his recommendation to legislate. Con
gress saw fit, so as to help his progress in ne -
trotialion would be misconstrued into an invi
tation for all sorts of interference by Congress
with the more appropriate duties of the Exe
cutive, he would hardly have been justified
by it to omit all or any one thing which he
j has done. He has, as I understand his mes
sage, but done his dnty, and no more; and he
dared not do less. I hone Senators will see
in all :his an excuse for the President, if they j that arbitration is out of the question. We
do not find in it a justification for his message cannot help it if we would, and I owe it to can
to Congress communicating the correspondence dor to say that J would not if I could,
of the British Minister. That the President , Well, then, we have seen in his message
sent this message td 'Congress might be ex-j that Great Fritain made an offer of compro
ensed indeed for other reasons, without a I mise, which was rejected by the American
heavv lax unon our charitv. He was hound
his own "friends," without any recommen
dation from him, would lono ago have propo
sed and voted directly " that the President
shall he advised by the Senate that he is
mistaken in supposing the nation committed
itself to any compromise, and that the negoti
ation upon that basis ought to be concluded,
if that indeed be the decision of the people."
That would be DOING something.
I do not affirm that the President thought
all this, or any of it. Yet another thing has
struck my own mind with some force, and
j possibly it ini"ht not have been without its
i influence upon the President. When he came
into office, he declared his belief that our title
I seems in hvp Unmp a favonle hobDV. rer
concealment goes.
I have sel lom heard a discussion, Mr. Pres-
id en t, about our '.erritorial rights in any quar
! ter, that Benton's speech against Webster'
; But why do this, if at all, long after a treaty
; has been solemnly ratified by a vote of 39 to
U in the American Senate ? Let notSenators
I eivlheir aid to it. I say, as we love one an-
other and the country. I utter no complaints
against the speech itself of my honoiable friend
from Missouri, (Mr. Benton.) Like every
thircr else that comes from him here, it was
eloquent. It was in season and at the right
time when hemae it. The occasion which
........ -
the strong excitements under which the
; speech was made. The constitutional author-
h tne Government overruled his ohjec-i
lions, and it is no disparagement to the fame I
oi tne speecn or ot that Senator, to oelieve
that hi& noble and generous heart would be
able io see now fn.l manlv i-kan!-
would let him own it) that there was quite e-
-gy- - w w u I I U UU7 i 1 t I 111 HIV
when it was made. I know not how he feels
non an or mvpr ivp anr Minn nn tho cnoco .
under its repetition, with or without notes,
but I have admired the patience of Senators
implicated by denunciations about the Wash-
ington treaty, and wondered how they could
silently endure it. Certainly, when such
. a v - .
tnings are introduced here, they are in exceed
ing bad taste, and very like what a venerated
friend of mine used to call the dullest thing
in the world to listen at " old psalms sung
over dead horses." Out of the Senate, it is the
game by which great men of this nation are
to be killed off, and more room left for exalt
ing little. men to big offices.
But, Mr. President, letall this be as it may,
and let it be right or wrong in the President
to have sent his message, and the information
in it, to the Congress of the United States : he
has done it the act is past recall. The sub
ject is before the Senate, and, with all its em
barrassments, it has become necessary for the
Senate to act upon it, and, in my judgment,
the sooner we do that, the better for the coun
try. In order to act aright we must look to the
President's messages, and see for ourselves
what position he occupies. I agree entirely j
with some other Senators that we cannot take
our position upon this question of the notice
until we see the position of the President. See
it, l mean, with a reasonable certainty; as
positive certainty cannot be arrived at, and
cannot be expected. If he means to negotiate
for a compromise, or if there be a pending ne
gotiation, it would be unwise, unprecedented,
and indelicate, for the President, either him-
selt directly, or indirectly through another
person, to declare beforehand any determim-
tion of his own mind upon questions to arise
in the further progress of such a negotiation,
I shall, in justice to him, have occasion to
called it forth has now passed, and along with
point out to the Senate hereafter how I think (tant negotiations at that time in progress be
this silence this necessary silence proves ! tween us and Great Britain. He knew that
almost of itself that his "thoughts are turned
on peace.
But what is the position of the President in
this negotiation 1 About it there would be
less doubt if there had been less eTort to as
sign the President an extreme position and a
false position. What say the records 1"
W here does he stand 1 We must see before
we fling him the notice to terminate the con-!tially, I mean, not in all its details.) And al
vention of 1827. j though our Ministers were instructed to insist
First, we all know that the President upon it, they were unable to get the consent
whose assent is indispensable will not agree
' to an arbitration. I do not stop to defend or to
accuse him for this; it belongs to some other!
occasion. It, in the providence ot uod, tins
Oregon controversy should terminate in a con
flict, the responsibility of having rejected ar
bit rati on will be a fearful one, and he will have
to meet it. But the responsibility has been
taken by him. The Senate, therefore, must
now proceed upon it as a f ct, a "fixed fact,"
overnment in August. 144. and in e rresi -
'.he President himself made an offer to Great
Britain by which the territory of Oregon be
tween the parallels of 42 and 54 40 was
proposed to be divided by a compromise on the
line rf 49, and that the British Minister re
jected it without submitting any other propo
sition, &c. This offer of our President was
made on the 12h of July, 1845 refused on
the29th of the same month. But on the 30th
August, 1845, the President withdrew his re
jected proposition, and re-asserted, by his let
ter to the British Minister, our claim and title
to the whole of Oregon ; which letter has not
been answered !
The President does not say that the negoti ¬
ation has been abandoned, nor that it will be
concluded by him without waiting to receive
another offer. No such thing. He does not
inform Congress that he will or will not re
new, or that he will or will not entertain his
own offer, which he adopted as that of the na
tion, for a compromise. I repeat that it was,
under the circumstances, impossible for him
to do that, provided he considered compromise
stiil admissible. But he does say that he has
receded, notwithstanding his opinion as to ti
lie, to the line of 49 as a compromise, and his
reasons for it are given reasnnsquite as con
clusive in favor of accepting the offer now as
they were for making l last year. And, as I
understand the President's position, he stands
this day upon thatline of 49 as a compromise,
if compromise is to be had. Once for all, let
me explain, that when I have spoken or shall
hereafter speak of the " compromise line ff
49," I do by no means intend to be under
stood literally. But I mean that line in sub
stance not "every inch" I mean the same
compromise substantially which this Govern
ment has frequently offered, without regard to
slight variations ; which may be left for set
tlement by "equivalents." I do not measure
my own or other people's patriotism by the
"inch." I shall not recognize lhat measure
ment in deciding upon the merits of the Ad
ministration or the wisdom of a treaty not at
all. at all.
Mr. President, I disavow any authority to
speak FOR the President. I have already said
, out. But I must be allowed to speak tor my
self, since the Administration has been so per
severingly put where I ought not to stand by
it; and I will dae to speak to the President,
and ff the President and his Messages, from
mv station upon this floor, as I judge him and
them. And I say, in answer to certain Sena
tors of my party, that the President did right,
exactly right, in continuing this negotiation
for a compromise wnieh he lound on iooi, uuu
in renewing the offer ff 19 as a fine ff eom-
.promise. And in reply to them further, 1 say
that he ought not, and my convictions are as
strong as death itself that he cannot, will not.
disgrace himself and his Administration, by
refusing his own offer, should it be returned
upon him refusing, I mean, to entertain it;
repulsing it, and rashly putting a final termi
nation to his negotiation for a peaceful com
promise ; and madly forcing his country into
a war, without even consulting his constitu
tional advisers, the Senate ; who are this day
assembled. Yet that is said of him day after
day in this Senate. A war for what? Why,
Mr. President, a war between two great Chris
tian nations upon the meaning of the word
settlements in the Nootka convention ! A war.
perhaps, of twenty years, to determine which
of these Christian Governments shall enjoy
the privilege of cheating the poor Indians out
of the largest portion of Oregon. No, sir; no,
sir. The President will not do that. As he
loves his country, and values his own fame,
he dare not think of it.
But I have said the President did right in
offering a compromise of this controversy.
Other friends of this Administration have said
he did wrong, particularly the Senators from
Ohio, (Mr. Allen,) Indiana, (Mr. Hannegan,)
and Illinois, (Mr. Breese.) Friends and ene
mies, (if he has an enemy here,) will you
hear another friend in his detence ? It is a
serious charge, if it be true. What are the
facts ? Let him be tried by these, and there
can be no doubt of the decision. Hear them
He found it in our own history a fifct, an
undeniable fact, that, so long ago as forty
years, in negotiations between this Govern
ment and Great Britain, the United States had
maintained and asserted lhat the true line of
our national rights, west of the Stony Moun-
j tains, was at the 49th parallel cn the nortn,
'in virtue of the treaty of. Utrecht, and of our
treaty with France in 1803. He found that il
was urged by our Government upon the oppo
site party as a fact, too, that commissioners
had been appointed to designate the line west
j of the Stony Mountains, constituting the south
boundary of Great Britain and the north boun
idary of France, who sold us Louisiana ; and
ithat that line had been settled at 49; and this
1 fact was assumed as the basis of very impor
this was in the days of Jefferson and his com
patriots.
xvoooay, i oencve, ever suspecieu jrjjcrsun j
being " British .'"
He found that in subsequent efforts to ad
just this long pending controversy, to wit, in
at i i. rl.i j J T.er. ..f
1817, the American Government had proposed
i this samf compromise line at 49, (snbstan
of Great Britain; and that negotiation finally
terminated in a convention for what we call a
joint occupancy of the whole territory, entered
into, I believe, by our request, and certainly
done with our consent, which convention was
to continue for ten years and no longer. That
'convention was sent to the Senate, with all the
j correspondence, and it was ratified and approv-1
j ed by a voie of ayes 38, noes none all Brit-
ish '"
He found that this convention was not sat -
isfactory ; but the Government of the United
Mates grew anxious to settle and adjust me
line of division between us and the European
Governments claiming territorial rights westof
the Stony Mountains. Russia and Great Brit
i lan notn asserted rignis mere, nussia nirnisn-
! Great Britain abont 1824 for a line of compro-
mise. uur Ministers were insirucieo to get
this line adjusted upon a compromise with
both nations at the 49th parallel, and we
hoped at one time to unite Great Britain with
U3 against Russia. But Great Britain, al
though a "joint occupant" wilh us, managed
hei diplomacy better than lhat; and after the
United States had agreed with Russia to aban
don all our rights viz. "not to settle" north
of the parallel of 54 40v his Mnjesty the
King of England, &c. made a separate treaty
with the Emperor of Russia.and took to him
self a laere share of what we had surrendered .'
Our 54 40' friends ought to go font all back Mr. D'Wolf,) and of all our people and their Ke
again, according to,their doctrines, and perhaps j preventatives for two generations consiitu
England,fwith Russia to help her, would favor j ting, as It were, a nation's opinion- would
us with a fight, and that s something. In our
negotiation of that convention with Russia, and
in our attempts to negotiate at mat lime wnn
Great Britain, the American Government yiel
ded no her claims between 54 40 anJ 61
unto Itusia. (What an unconstitutional anu
disgraceful dismemberment!) And the same
. . m-m-. 1 1
old compromise line, substantially that which i God grant that he may stand firm to his posi
the President re-offerd in 1845, was tendered tion!
to Great Britain and declined urged and re
fused ! fHow one's American blood boils at
the thougt
rht of ceding an inch ! The treaty
with Russia, which, in view of Senators, so
dishonorably and unconstitutionally dismem
bered the national domain, (for the benefit of
crowned heads too!; was submitted to the
American Senate, and with a full knowledge tf
the rorresnondence. the Senate approved it all
by a vote of ayes 41, no 1 !
Who was it!" exclaimed several voises.
"Where was he from !"
Ans. R. Island. His name was D'Wolf.
All " British," save one !
In nassintr. the Senate will suffer me to say
that this treaty with Russia was made wiihin!
m. . mm
the very year succeeding ihe famous declara
tion of President's Monroe's message against
new European colonies on this continent!
Made by him ! It is of itself a contemporane
ous construction of the meaning attached to
that declaration. Attention is due to the j the Baltimore Convention 1 shall speak here
namea of Ihe forty-one Senators who approv-! after. And now as to Mr. Polk's opinion
ed of it. There are illustrious names in that upon our title. However clear, and whenso
list; but I have not time to go into such de-jever entertained or expressed, let me say that
tails, and, if I had, the Senate would hardly j Mr. Polk's opinion, nor the opinions of the
have patience to hear mo through. j Baltimore Convention, nor those of the people ,
The President further found lhat our impor-, themselves upon the title to Oregon, touch this
tnnitvtnfiTiinon the line of49 as a compromise
was again manifested as soon as me conven
tion of 1818 was likely to expire; and lhat, in
the correspond enc preceding that identical con
vention of 1827, which it is oor present wish
to abrogate by a notice, the American Minister
was instructed to adjust the controversy at
this same line of 49 ; and the convention was
made only because that cm -promise lire cojld
not be got. That correspondence a??- was
. j 1 . -
laid before the Senate along with the convention
of 1827, where, in despite of Ihe opposition of
my honorable friend from Missouri (Mr. frkn
tor,) and in defiance of his predictions the
convention was approved by a vote ayes 31,
noes 7.
The "British party seems to have been still
a strong party in the American Senate ! The
names of some of them stood high on the rolls
of Democracy, and some are now in high pla
ces. I will not tax the paiience of the Sen
ate by reading them over.
He found that under the administatton suc
ceeding the ratification of this convention, all
of them Adams, Jackson's, Van Buren's,
Harrison's, and Tyler s, too we made no
complaint of Great Britain abont Oregon, and
sounded no alarm to the people to prepare lor
a repudiation of our own oners to compromise
an lnh, below 54 40 ; but quietly submit-
le to let this remain as they were until Octo
ber, 1843, when the message informs us that
our Minister in London was authorized to
make an offer of compromise similar to those
made by U9 in 1717 and 1827; in other words,
to renew our offer of the compromise line of
i9. Thus stood the question when the ne
gotiation was transferred to Washington.
Here I beg the Senate to observe lhat Mr. Ty
ler's message, in December, 1843, informed
Congress that M the negotiations for an adjust
ment and settlement had ?gain been proposed,
and were in progress to a resumption." Yes,
proposed .by us; and the President said that
'every proper expedient would be resorted to
for the purpose of bringing it to a speedy and
happy termination." And, again, by his mes
sage to Congress, in December, 1844, he
said : 41 A negotiation has been formerly en
1 tered upon between the Secretary of State
and her Brittanic Majesty's Minister, &c.
' residing at Washington, relative to the rights
of their respective nations in and over the
4 Oregon territory. That negotiation is still
pending." This, too, after Mr. Polk's elec
tion after the Baltimore Convention of 1844.
But no where could the President find that
any of the 44 true friends of Oregon" had re
corded their opposition to it by their votes ik
Congress. If he did, it is more than 1 cat!
find. The Senators from Ohio, Indiana, and
IPinoi (Messrs. Allen, Hannegan.and Breese)
were all Senators at the lime. No, Mr. Pre-
I sident, the Senate did not advise nor protest
j against negotiation whpn it was only 44 in pro-
giess to a resumption," nor had Senators bro't
themselves up to the point, so far as 1 know,
of only moving, so late as two years ago,
whilst there was time and opportunity for it,
to stop the negotiation itself, which has now
become so unconstitutional and so dishonora
ble to the nation.
But again : He found that these persevering
efforts to fix our northern boundary in Oregon
at the forty-ninth parallel by a compromise
these well-considered instructions to our Min-
isters. and often-repeated propositions la the
adverse claimants for a compromise made
before Spain had released her rights, and re
peated afterwards were long since exposed to
the public eye; and that neither the Peoples
Representatives in Congress, nr ne Slates,
j nor the People themselves, had complained
(against the Presidents, and Statesman, and
1 Senators who had been endeavoring toaccom
lish a compromise at 49 for nearly half a cen
tury. No, sir. Until very recently, indeed,
the complaints, when made at all, were aim
ed at Great Britain for refusing to accept this
reasonable and just compromise of our conflic ¬
ting claims. Memorials, when sent at all,
were applications to settle and adjust the con
troversy ; and our efforts to legislate over the
subject were confined to the valley of the Co
lumbia river this side of 49.
Well might the President pause, tlin, not
withstanding his own individual opinion lhat
our title to the whole of Oregon was "clear
and unque3tienable," ere he took the respon
sibility, in view of all this, of abruptly putting a
stop to the negotiation which he found on foot,
as it had began by his immediate predeces
sor, upon a negotiation for a compromise.
Well might he feel lhat the nation was com
mitted to a compromise. Wei! might he dread
that, for him to put his personal opinion upon
the strength of out paper title, however "clear
and unquestionable," against all these solemn
acts of the Government, and against this con
currentaction and acquiscence of all our Presi
dents from Jefferson inclusive, and of all our
Statesmen, and of all our Senators, (except
be sacrificing the faith, censisiency, sincerity
and honor of this country, to preserve the per
sonal consistency of himself a single man! .
A mere politician might have halted, but a
statesman could not. He lifted himself above
! - If . I II. 11 L. lllA
mmscir. ana snoweo now wen hc imch o
office his country has appointed him to 611.
And wht " commits" a nation but its hon
or 1 Honor! National honor ! But its ob
ligations must be felt, end are not a topic for
argument and debate in an American Senate.
I have imperfectly grouped the tacts from our .
own history. Senators must determine for
themselves. Appealing to their hearts at
monitors, 1 ak whether I was not justified in
asserting that the President did right in offer
i ing the line of 49 as a compromise, because the
nation was thus committed to it by the past ?
But the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Breese)
has said the question was " a new one, so far
as it concerned the President," because he
' had a clear opinion that our title was good.
and gave that opinion before hi nomination ;
. . - l I ! 1 A. A. A l O 1 S
and he seems to think that the Baltimore
Convention of the Democratic party had re
solved this matter out of the general rule, and
made it a new one to this administration.
Stranre nronosition ! Passing strange ! Of
WW W 'W
Question. All that haa just noining at aij 10
..,
do with it. If ihe character ana sincerity.
. W - A
and faith, and honor of the nation were com
mitted to a compromise befoie Mr. Polk was
elected, they remained so notwithstanding his
election, and notwttbstand! his '-P:jlicn f
any body's opinion upen onr iiue. .
The hWtt who become Presents of the Kepb-
! archways char$irjg-7 :
rrrtn aed cr A r fag l
-
V