H. of R. & Sen.] Chesapeake and Ohio Canap-Copper Mines. thought the amendment gave all that was now needed or asked. Mr. MERCER felt it due to himself to vindicate the bill from the imputations of the gentleman from New York. It was the first time he had ever known the private conversations of gentlemen in a committee room, brought forward on the floor of this House to prejudice a measure under discussion. What the personal views of individuals, as to certain great plans of internal improvement, had to do with the question before the House he was at a loss to conceive The conversations alluded to, did not, however, embrace this canal only, but many roads, canals, and other measures of a general character; and it was for the whole of these that the millions mentioned by the gentleman had been talked about. Mr. M. denied that the bill was so greatly changed, and he adverted, in order, to the amendments which it had undergone. In reply to Mr. STORRS, Mr. M. admitted that the bill was an act of incorporation-such was its avowed object; but he contended that no evil could legitimately grow out of it, especially as now limited by one of the amendments. He opposed the amendment of Mr. RANKIN, as defective in several provisions, which were secured by the bill as reported, particularly respecting toll Mr. RANKIN supported the amendment. His main objection to the bill was, that it went to mingle the powers of the General and State Governments. He thought the views of the gentleman from New York, (Mr. STORRS,) were perfectly correct. The act of Virginia, now proposed to be confirmed, appointed Com missioners for this work; if this were re-enacted by Congress at the next session they would hear that they were bound to patronize the design by large appropriations, as they had put their sanction on it, by appointing Com. missioners. He thought the powers of the General and State Governments should be kept as distinct as posible. If the General Government engaged in Internal Improvement at all, it should either be by taking the work into their own hands entirely, or by subscribing to the stocks of private con panies. The bill proposed neither. The moment the bill passed, Government might give up all the surveys, made over the mountains; the whole design would thenceforth be a private concern. The amendment gave the company all which he thought they ought to ask, or expect. The question was then put on the amendment and carried- ayes 83, noes 58. And the bill, as amended, was then ordered to be engrossed for a third reading to-morrow. An engrossed bill concerning the grant of land to the Marquis de Maison Rogue was read a third time. Its passage was opposed by Mr. SANFORD, of Ten. and advocated by Messrs. ISACKS, CAMPBELL, and J. T. JOHNSON; when, on the question being put, it was passed by a large majority. IN SENATE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1825. Mr. CHANDLER, from the Committee on the Militia, to whom was referred the report of the Secretary of War, together with an abstract of infantry tactics, submitted the following resolution. He observed, they had been at great expense in furnishing the Militia with arms, and were of opinion they should be furnished with the means to make use of them for the benefit of the country. It was now too late in the session to bring in a bill for the purpose, and it was the object of the resolution to obtain sufficient information to act on it at the ensuing session. [FEB. 24, 25, 1825. pies of the abstract of Infantry Tactics, which was reported to the Senate by the Secretary of War, on the 3d day of February, instant, to be delivered at the War Department, bound in boards, and that he, the Secretary, will state, in his advertisement, as near as may be, the size of the work, the number of pages and plates, which it will contain, and report such proposals as he may receive, to the Senate, in the first week of the next session of Congress. The resolution was read, considered, and agreed to. The Senate then proceeded, as in committee of the whole, (Mr. LowRIE in the chair,) to consider the act authorizing the occupation of the Oregon River. Mr. BENTON moved an amendment, providing an additional Paymaster, and extending the time allowed for the officers to send in their accounts; which was agreed to; and then (on account of the temporary absence of the chairman of the Committee,) the bill was laid on the table. The Senate proceeded to the consideration of the bill authorizing the President of the United States to appoint Commissioners to treat with the Chippewa Indians, for the right of discovering and working certain valuable Copper Mines, supposed to be on the south side of Lake Superior; and appropriating the sum of ten thousand dollars to defray the expense of treating with the said Indians. The bill having been read Mr. BENTON said, that the existence of Copper Mines on Lake Superior was a fact of historical notoriety, attested by all travellers in that region for a century and a half past. They were seen in 1689 by the monk La Hontan; in 1721, by the Jesuit. Father Charlevoix; in 1766, by Captain Carver; in 1771, by Henry; and in 1789, by Sir Alexander McKenzie. Each of these travellers published an account of these mines, and their descriptions have excited the attention of the first mine. ralogists of Europe. Some years before the commencement of our Revolution, a mass of silver ore was found in the same region, carried to England, and gave rise to a mining company, of which the Duke of Gloucester was the head. They caused a gallery to be opened in a hill on the south side of the lake, but finding nothing but copper, the operations were discontinued; for it was no object in the then condition of the country and state of transportation, to carry copper from Lake Superior to London. In the year 1800, at the time when the Government of the United States contemplated an augmentation of the Navy, a resolution, adopted in both Houses of Congress, authorized an examination to be made of these mines, by a competent agent; but the policy of the Government changing soon afterwards, the examination was attended with few results. In 1807, Mr. Gallatin deemed these mines of such value as to be enumerated by him among the sources of our national wealth. A In 1820, they were visited by Governor Cass, of Michigan, and Mr. Schoolcraft, a mineralogist, and a report of their discoveries made to the Secretary of War. knowledge of this fact, Mr. B. said, had induced him, at the session of 1821-2, to lay a resolution upon the table of the Senate, calling upon the War Department to furnish all the information which the Department contained upon this subject. In compliance with that resolution, a report had been received, and published among the documents of 1822–3, giving full and satisfactory information upon the extent and value of these mines.— Their report has been confirmed, by a letter from Gov. Cass, lately printed among our documents, and by another from Mr. Schoolcraft, [which was read,] and the fineness and purity of the metal had been proved by the Resolved, That the Secretary of War be directed to profert of a mass of 50 pounds weight, which had been advertise, for three months, in the National Intelligencer, lately deposited in the Library of Congress. But the that he will receive, at any time before the first day of superior fineness of this metal is not a mere matter of December next, sealed proposals for printing 40,000 co-opinion. It has been tested in the Mint of Utrecht, by FEB. 25, 1825.] Copper Mines. [Sen. & H. of R. the Inspector General of that Mint, upon the request of indications of copper on Lake Superior, was not confinour late fellow citizen, Gov. Eustis, of Massachusetts. ed to the mass which the gentleman had particularized. That distinguished citizen, anxious to be useful to his It was seen in thousands of places, in lumps and in veins, country, had possessed himself of specimens of this cop- on both sides of the Lake, on the islands within it, and per when at the head of the War Department, and car- extending across the country to the Falls of St. Anthony. ried them with him afterwards on his embassy to Holland. Mr. B. said, that it was a continuation of that great reThe report of the Inspector is to be found in all the prin- gion of fossils and minerals, which, beginning upon the cipal European works upon the subject of mineralogy. Arkansas river, traversed the state of Missouri, crossed It says:the Mississippi at the Falls of St Anthony, and exhibit"The examination of the North American copper, ined itself on both sides of Lake Superior. As to reports, the sample received from his excellency the Minister, said Mr. B. we have enough of them. We know as much by the operations of the coppel, and the test by fire, has as we can learn, by looking at the surface of the ground. proved that it does not contain the smallest particle of If we want to know more, we must penetrate the bowsilver, gold, or any other metal. Its color is a clear red; els of the earth, and that is the precise thing which the It is peculiarly qualified for rolling and forging, and its bill before the Senate proposes to do. It is in vain to excellence is indicated by its resemblance to the copper say, that we must not search until we are sure of finding. usually employed by the English for plating. The deal- Upon that principle nothing would be found, except ers in copper call this sort Peruvian copper, to distin- what the chapter of accidents would give. It was equalguish it from that of Sweden, which is much less mallea- ly in vain to argue against the existence of valuable ble. The specimen under consideration is incomparably mines on Lake Superior, because they were not yet disbetter than Swedish copper, as well on account of its covered. The great copper mines in England, which brilliant color, as for the fineness of its pores, and its ex- now furnish more than one half of the whole quantity of treme ductility." copper produced by all the mines in the known world, were only discovered in the last century; the name of the great salt mine in that kingdom, Salina was known to the Roman legions two thousand years ago; but the vast mine of salt, which furnished the salt water of that spring, was only discovered some fifty years ago. The bill was then ordered to a third reading. The Senate, then, as in committee of the whole, proceeded to consider the bill authorizing the establishment of a Navy Yard and Depot, at or near Pensacola. Mr. B. would not dilate upon the advantages to be derived from a home supply of this metal. It was an article of almost universal use. Ships could not be built without it. The cost of copper in a single ship of the line, lately built under an act of Congress, was $57,000. Merchant vessels required a proportionate supply. In all the grain-growing districts of the United States, it was in demand for stills. The Mint of the United States made annual purchases, sometimes to the amount of $30,000 for the coinage of cents and half cents. Combined with zinc, of which there was an exhaustless supply in the mineral districts of Missouri, copper produced brass, an article of such universal use and application that it was found in every form, and in every house, from the cottage of a peasant to the palace of a King, and applied to every use, from the pin to the cannon. Mr. B. believed that the problem of the existence of these mines ought to be solved, and that the appropriation of $10,000, contemplated by the bill, was an object of no consideration in the magnitude of the question to be decided. Mr. DICKERSON was not opposed to the object of the bill, but he preferred a modification of its provisions. He would prefer that an Agent should be sent to examine the country, and to make a report, and to have that report returned before the subject was finally acted upon. He was no stranger to the accounts which described a large mass of native copper on the south side of Lake Superior, but detached masses of any metal were not considered as certain indications of mines. He instanced the lumps of gold found in North Carolina, and of other metals found in other places, and yet without the accompaniment of mines. Mr. CHANDLER was in favor of having the country examined before any thing further was done; but considered the undertaking as an experiment in which we, the United States, would probably expend more dollars than we should ever receive cents. Mr. JOHNSON, of Kentucky, replied. He said that reports of the kind that gentlemen called for, had already been received, and referred to in debate by the Senator from Missouri. It gentlemen wanted reports founded upon actual experiments in searching for mineral, such search would involve the commission of a trespass upon the soil and jurisdiction of the Indians—a point upon which the gentlemen had been particularly scrupulous heretofore. Mr. BENTON rejoined. He was not skilled in the science of mineralogy; but he knew enough to know that a solitary mass of any metal, found by itself, was not a sign certain of the presence of a mine. But here the fact was not what the gentleman supposed it to be. The Mr. LLOYD, of Massachusetts, supported the measure at some length, explaining the advantages which the situation possessed, and the necessity there was of such a depot being established in that quarter. Mr. HAYNE proposed to amend the bill, by adding the following section : "And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to make the necessary arrangements for the establishment of a Navy Yard, either at Charleston, in South Carolina, or St. Mary's, in Georgia, should the examination and survey, directed to be made by the act of 26th March, 1824, show that such an establishment will be advantageous to the public service.” The amendinent was supported by Messrs. HAYNE and ELLIOTT, and opposed by Messrs. SMITH and LLOYD), of Mass. on the ground of its obstructing the passage of the bill. On the question being taken, it was negatived. The bill was then ordered to be engrossed for a third reading. The bill, as amended, authorizing the subscription of Stock in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal Company, was read a third time, passed, and returned to the House. Yeas 19, Nays 11. The bill for the continuation of the Cumberland Road, was read a third time, passed, and returned to the House. Yeas 23, Nays 6. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-SAME DAY. Mr. CAMBRELENG, from the Committee of Ways and Means, reported a bill to authorize the importation of foreign distilled spirits in casks of a capacity not less than fifteen gallons: which was twice read. Mr. CAMBRELENG explained the reasons for introducing this bill-the state of our trade with South America, and the obstacles to it arising from the present law on this subject. Mr. TRIMBLE, of Ken. opposed the bill, as leading to frauds on the revenue; and took a view of the course of legislation hitherto pursued in relation to our revenue laws; he deprecated any further relaxation of the system. S. & H. of R.] On a Western Armory.—Occupation of Oregon River. Mr. CAMBRELENG replied. [FEB. 25, 26, 1825. cular concern with this bill, and had not intended to have participated in the debate, as it was under the care Mr. BLAIR called up the joint resolution laid on the of the Military Committee, whose members were every table by him some days since, directing a survey of the way able to defend it; but, as the Senate had laid it on waters of East Tennessee, with a view to the location of the table in consequence of his absence, he felt it due an armory. The motion was carried; ayes 73, noes 52. to them to state, that he approved of the bill, and would Mr. BLAIR briefly stated the grounds of the resolu-avail himself of this opportunity briefly to state the reation. An opportunity was now afforded for having the sons which induced that opinion. proposed examination effected without a dollar's addi tional expense to the United States, as the Engineers were already ordered to examine that country for another object. Mr. ISACKS moved to include West Tennessee. Mr. M'LEAN, of Ohio, moved to include the waters of Mad River, near Dayton, in Ohio. Mr. WRIGHT opposed this amendment, and also the resolution itself. Mr. M'COY called for the reading of the original law, ordering the examination of the Western waters, when, On motion of Mr. HAMILTON, the resolution and amendments were laid on the table. An engrossed bill to confirm the act of the General Assembly of Maryland, confirming an act of the General Assembly of Virginia, to incorporate the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, was read a third time, and the question being, Shall this bill pass? Mr. COCKE demanded that it be taken by yeas and nays, which was ordered. The question was then put, and decided in the affirmative, by yeas and nays, as follows: The subject would naturally divide itself into two views, under which it should be considered: 1st, Have the United States a right to the territory proposed to be settled? and, 2dly, Is it politic now to occupy it in the way proposed by the bill? On the first point, as to title, he had but little to add to the very full exposition given by the American Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James. He thought, by a comparison of that state paper with the counter state. ment of the representative of that court, there could be no difficulty in saying, that the claim of Great Britain, as to the territory on the Oregon, was without foundation. If, as Mr. B. believed, America, in the spirit of friendship and forbearance, had made a sacrifice to Russia of five degrees of her just claims on the Northwest coast, and in the same spirit had been willing to make an equal sacrifice to Great Britain, he hoped on her part she would eagerly seize this proof of good will, and close with the terms proposed. Be that as it may, the United States can yield no further. As a consequence, our claim must be held as unquestionable many degrees to the North of the proposed settlement. As a matter of curiosity, and indeed as connected with the question in hand, one may be permitted to recur to the pretenYEAS. Messrs. Abbott, Alexander, of Va. Alexan- sions of the European nations to the different portions der, of Ten. Allen, of Ten. Allison, Bailey, Bartlett, of the new world. Spain, under whom we claim, has Bartley, Blair, Brent, Buchanan, Call, Cambreleng, unquestionably the undivided credit of its first discovery, Campbell, of Ohio, Cassedy, Condict, Crafts, Cushman, and, to the extent to which this fact goes, the best titleCuthbert, Durfee, Eddy, Edwards, of N. C. Ellis, Find- to which she superadded the grant of the head of the lay, Forsyth, Fuller, Gatlin, Gurley, Harris, Harvey, christian world, in the person of the Pope: and however Hayden, Hemphill, Henry, Herrick, Herkimer, Hobart, ridiculous the latter may seem at this time, at the time Houston, Isacks, Jennings, Johnson, of Va. J. T. John- of the exercise of this high prerogative, it was respected son, Kent, Kidder, Lathrop, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, by the civilized world. This respect, however, yielded Little, Longfellow, McArthur, McDuffie, McKean, Mc- eventually to cupidity, and the other nations of Europe Kee, McKim, McLean, of Ohio, Marvin, Matlack, Mat- proceeded to appropriate such portions as accident or son, Mercer, Metcalfe, Miller, Mitchell, of Pa. Mitchell, circumstances enabled them, in opposition to the claims of Md. Moore, of Ken. Moore, of Ala. Neale, Newton, and the protests of Spain. The opposing claims were O'Brien, Olin, Outlaw, Owen, Patterson, of Pa. Patter- sometimes adjusted by rules established pro re nata. son, of Ohio, Plumer, of Penn. Rankin, Reed, Reynolds, Sometimes merged in contemporary subjects of contest Rose, Ross, Saunders, Sandford, Scott, Sharpe, Sib in Europe, or, finally, if there were any rule generally ley, Sloane, Alex. Smyth, Wm. Smith, Standefer, Ster- acquiesced in, it was discovery and actual occupation. ling, J. Stephenson, Stewart, Storrs, Swan, Taliaferro, Now, by the correspondence before referred to, by Taylor, Test, Thompson, of Pen. Tomlinson, Trimble, whatever test our claim to the territory in question shall Udree, Vance, of N. C. Vance, of Ohio, Van Rensselaer, be decided, it seems obvious that that of the United Vinton, Wayne, Webster, Whipple, Whitman, Whittle- States is not to be shaken. As every gentleman is in sey, Williams, of Va. James Wilson, Henry Wilson, Wil-possession of that correspondence, a more particular reson, of Ohio, Wolf, Wood, Wright-116. ference is deemed unnecessary. NAYS.--Messrs. Allen, of Mass. Barber, of Con. P. P. Barbour, Brown, Burleigh, Cady, Clarke, Cocke, Collins, Conner, Culpeper, Day, Dwinell, Foot, of Con. Foote, of N. Y. Frost, Gist, Hogeboom, Hooks, Jenkins, Leftwich, Litchfield, Long, Martindale, Morgan, Richards, Arthur Smith, Spaight, A. Stevenson, Stoddard, Ten Eyck, Thompson, of Geo. Tyson, Wilson, of S. C. -34. So the bill was passed; its title was altered to read as follows: "An act confirming the act of the Legislature of Virginia, entitled An act incorporating the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, and an act of the state of Maryland, confirming the same;" and then it was sent to the Senate. IN SENATE.-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY, 26, 1825. The Senate then resumed, as in committee of the whole, (Mr. MILLS in the chair,) the consideration of the bill for the occupation of the Oregon river. Mr. BARBOUR said, that, personally, he had no parti Passing to the second view of the subject, Is it politic now to occupy it, in the way proposed by the bill? we must inquire what are the probable advantages or disadvantages. The bill proposes a military establishment only on the banks of the Oregon. Its advantage is obvious, as it regards our navigating interest in time of peace. When we advert to the extent of this interest on the Pacific already, and its probable future increase, a friendly asylum, which will be furnished by this establishment, to which our vessels can repair, in an otherwise strange, distant, and perhaps hostile region, must contribute alike to their comfort and safety. If, from the ocean we look to the interior, and to the great and diversified territory washed by the Oregon, this settlement, as a depot for commerce, must be full of advantage. Advantages of such a position, in the event of war, are too obvious to be enumerated. What are the disadvantages to be objected to it? An unwieldy extent of empire! What is meant by this objection? If T you will not settle it yourselves, give it up to some of the European nations-either will take it off your hands, and quiet your scruples on this head. But no American Senator will propose this. What then? Is it to be kept as a jungle for wild beasts? No. It is not in the order of Providence. The earth was designed for man. It is not in human power, if it were wished, to prevent the consummation of the design. Fifty years ago and the valley of the Mississippi was like the present condition of the country of the Oregon. It is now teeming with a mighty population-a free and happy people. Their march onward, therefore, to the country of the setting sun, is irresistible. I will not disguise that I look with the deepest anxiety on this vast extension of our empire, as to its possible effects on our political institutions. Whatever they may be, however, our forefathers decided the experiment should be made. When it was determined to annex the vast region of which the country in question is a part, to the old states, that question must have been deliberately weighed, and, in that determination, our destinies, whatever they may be, were placed, in this particular, beyond our control. While I look with anxiety, sir, it is mingled with a strong hopethe hope of the future rests on the strong foundation of the experience of the past. Our advance in political science has already cancelled the dogmas of theory. We have already ascertained, by the happy combination of a National and State Governments, but above all, by a wise arrangement of the representative system, that republics are not necessarily fimited to a small territory-and that a Government, thus arranged, produces not only more happiness, but more stability and more energy, than those the most arbitrary. Whether it is capable of indefinite extent, 'must be left to posterity to decide. But, in the most unfavorable result, a division, by necessity, from its unwieldy extent an event, I would devoutly hope, is afar off-we even then can console ourselves with the reflection, that all the parts of the great whole will have been peopled by our kindred, carrying with them the same Language, habits, and unextinguishable devotion to liberty and republican institutions. Mr. DICKERSON, of New Jersey, said, he had hoped, that, before gentlemen opposed to this bill, should be called upon for their reasons against it, the Senate would have heard from its friends all the arguments that can be urged in its favor. The gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. BARBOUR,) has mentioned its importance to our trade in the Pacific in general terms, said Mr. D. without descending to any detail of facts or circumstances. He also stated that we had already acquired this territory of Oregon-we should have deliberated when we so acquired it-not now-that it was impossible to stop the march of population in that region—and that it was our duty to provide for extending such population, which, in that gentleman's opinion, was a sufficient reason for passing the present bill. [Senate. tend to, and be in full force in, said territory. It is true, the bill does not provide for the appointment of a Go vernor or Judges of this territory: but these no doubt are to follow. The present is but an incipient step in a much more extensive plan of populating and settling that country, as we may collect from the original bill as laid upon our tables; and even this is but a part of the whole plan, as this would include a chain of posts from Council Bluffs to the mouth of Columbia River. In all these points of view, it is a bill of the highest importance. As yet, we have extended our laws to no territories, but such as were or are to become states of the Union. We have not adopted a system of color.ization, and it is to be hoped we never shall. Oregon can never be one of the United States. If we extend our laws to it, we must consider it as a colony. The period never will arrive when it will be proper to adopt the measures proposed by the friends of the present bill; but, if ever, this is certainly not the time: because their adoption now would interfere with existing relations between the British Government and ours. The territory of Oregon is bounded on the South by latitude 42, as by our treaty with Spain. On the North, the Russians renounce all claim to the country South of latitude 54° 40'. We think our claim incontestible as far as the 49th parallel of latitude, supported by the cession of Spain in 1819: by the discovery of the mouth of the Columbia River by sea, and afterwards by Lewis and Clark over land, and by an actual settlement at the mouth of the Columbia in 1811. This would leave the British Government a belt of 5 deg. 40′ of latitude from the Rocky Mountains and the Ocean, between our possessions and those of Russia; an arrangement, it is to be presumed, not altogether satisfactory to the British Government, and which, indeed, could be of very little importance to them. They have already extended their settlements to a point on the Columbia River, and we know they have set up a pretence of claim to all that part of the territory lying North of the Columbia to its mouth. It would have been desirable that they should have been parties in our treaty with Russia; but in this they refused to take a part. The extent of their claim is not to be ascertained or limited by Congress; but our commercial treaty with that Government certainly recognizes a claim to some part of that territory, without defining what part. By the 3d article of that treaty, it is agreed, "That any country that may be claimed by either party, on the Northwest Coast of America, Westward of the Stony Mountains, shall, to gether with its harbors, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be free and open for the term of ten years from the date of the signature of the convention, to the vessels, citizens, and subjects of the two powers; it being well understood, that this agreement is not to be construed to the prejudice of any claim which either of the two high contracting parties may have to any part of said country, nor shall it be taken to affect the claims of any other power or state to any part of the said country; the only object of the high contracting parties in that respect being to prevent disputes and differences among themselves." This treaty expires in 1828, until which period, it will be highly improper to take possession of this territory by military force, or to establish a port of entry there, or, indeed, to exercise any act of possession or occupa tion we did not exercise at the period of making this treaty; more especially in that part of the territory to which the British Government laid claim, however unfounded. It is true, that, by the operation of certain causes, we have acquired this territory; but that circumstance surely imposes upon Congress no obligation to provide for its occupation or population, unless the interests of the United States should require it. To that country we owe nothing. By the present bill, that portion of country lying on the Pacific Ocean, North of the 42d degree of North latitude, and West of the Rocky Mountains, is to be erected into the territory of Oregon, without defining its Northern boundary. The President to occupy the same with a military force, and cause a suitable fortification to be erected. The Indian title to be extinguished for a tract not exceeding thirty miles square, or nine hundred square miles. To erect a port The President, by this bill, is to take possession, by a of entry within and for said territory, whenever he shall military force, of the Oregon territory. We claim up to think the public good may require it, and to appoint the Russian line, latitude 54° 40', but consider our right such officers as may be necessary for the same; after incontestible to latitude 49. The President must, there. which, the revenue laws of the United States shall ex-fore, take possession up to that parallel. He is to cause Vol. I.--44 a fort to be erected on Oregon River, on the left or the right bank, as he shall deem it expedient, and cause the Indian title to be extinguished to a tract of land thirty miles square, or 900 square miles, including said fort, and which ought to include both banks of the river, and include a considerable portion of country claimed by the British Government, but which, under the provisions of our treaty, they have not thought themselves authorized to occupy by a military force. Our port of entry may be erected at Nootka Sound, and our revenue laws extended to every part of the territory. As yet the British Government have done nothing to contravene the provisions of this treaty, but will they quietly look on and see us take military possession of this territory, make our establishments, purchase the Indian title to 900 square miles, erect fortifications, and establish ports of entry? By our treaty, the country is to remain open without prejudice to the claims of either party, in order to prevent disputes. But is this measure calculated to prevent disputes? On the contrary, will it not lead to immediate collisions with the British Government? Will they not also take military possession of this territory? erect fortifications, purchase the Indian title, and establish ports of entry? We cannot steal a march upon them; they are always on the alert-we shall gain nothing by this hasty, this uncalled-for measure. At all events, before we proceed further, let us ascertain by negotiation, not by military force, our respective parts of this territory. If we are entitled to the whole of it, by amicable adjustment, if possible, or, if we must enforce our rights, by military occupation, let it not be done till all other means have failed. It is to be presumed the British Government are willing to enter into negotiations for settling our respective boundaries in that territory. Should the negotiation occupy many years, it ought to excite no regret, as it would give the unhappy natives of that region, a little more time to breathe upon the face of the earth, before the final process of extermination, by means of a white and civilized population, shall take place. No doubt the British Government would willingly renew the third article of the treaty of 1818 for ten years more, to prevent disputes. And if the two Governments would make a perpetual treaty, to take no further possession of that territory, than they now have, or that might be necessary for the purposes of trading with the Indians, they would do more for the cause of humanity, than has been done in the present age. In 1810 we had a settlement at the mouth of the Columbia river, called Astoria, which the British took from us during the late war-it was, however, delivered up to us under the first article of the treaty of Ghent, and, whoever may be the private owners of the property there, the possession is in the United States, and may now be occupied as it was before the war. As yet, we have sent no military force there. What is the immediate pressure for such a force at this time? To protect our ships engaged in the whaling and fishing, and in the fur trade, and taking of sea otters. The whales are caught in the Southern latitudes, and all the sea otters we shall ever take upon the coast of the Oregon territory, would not pay the expense of marching a single company across the Rocky Mountains. What little commerce we may have upon that coast, will be much better protected by three or four ships of our Navy, than by any fortification on Oregon river. We have now in the Pacific Ocean the Frigate United States, sloop of war Peacock, and schooner Dolphin, and can send more there if necessary. But is this territory of Oregon ever to become a state, a member of this Union? Never. The Union is already too extensive-and we must make three or four new states from the territories already formed. The distance from the mouth of the Columbia to the mouth of the Missouri, is 3,555 miles-from Washington [FEB. 26, 1825. to the mouth of the Missouri, is 1,160 miles-making the whole distance from Washington to the mouth of the Columbia River, 4,703 miles-but say 4,650 miles. The distance, therefore, that a member of Congress of this State of Oregon, would be obliged to travel, in coming to the seat of Government and returning home, would be 9,300 miles; this, at the rate of eight dollars for every twenty miles, would make his traveling expenses amount to 3,720 dollars. Every member of Congress ought to see his constituents once a year. This is already very difficult for those in the most remote parts of the Union. At the rate which the members of Congress travel according to law, that is, twenty miles per day, it would require, to come to the Seat of Government, from Oregon, and return, 465 days; and if he should lie by for Sundays, say 66, it would require 531 days. But, if he should travel at the rate of 30 miles per day, it would require 306 days. Allow for Sundays, 44, it would amount to 350 days. This would allow the member a fortnight to rest himself at Washington, before he should commence his journey home. This rate of travelling would be a hard duty, as a greater part of the way is exceedingly bad, and a portion of it over rugged mountains, where Lewis and Clarke found several feet of snow in the latter part of June. Yet a young, able-bodied Senator might travel from Oregon to Washington and back once a year; but he could do nothing else. It would be more expeditious, however, to come by_water round Cape Horn, or to pass through Behring's Straits, round the North coast of this Continent to Baffin's Bay, thence through Davis's Straits to the Atlantic, and so ou to Washington. It is true, this passage is not yet discovered, except upon our maps-but it will be as soon as Oregon shall be a State. But how could a revenue be derived from such a state, or supplies sent to it, but at an enormous expense? Every portion of strength given to this state, from the other parts of the Union, would so far weaken the Union; and this territory, when it shall obtain the strength and importance of a state, will fall off from the Union by its own weight. Is this territory to be a colony? Have we a surplus population that we wish to send from our country? So far from that, we have hundreds of millions of acres of fertile lands, within the boundaries of our present States and Territories, that remain unoccupied for want of a population to take possession of them. While this is the case, shall we be holding out inducements to our citizens to seek settlements in the remote parts of the earth. If we plant a colony at Oregon, we must protect it, and that at an enormous expense. And what advantage can we expect in return? Surely none. We form a vulnerable point where our enemy can easily reach us, and where it will be very difficult to defend ourselves. The British, last war, took from us our settlement at Astoria. This was a matter of but little importance. But if we had possessed a city there of 30,000 inhabitants, we should have expended millions for its defence, and, after all, probably have lost it. Will this colony afford us any very important commercial advantages? Are we to supply it with manufactures? It will be a long time before we supply ourselves. foreign manufactures, more than the amount of five and We import, for our own consumption, annually, of twenty millions of dollars. Are we to have great advantages in the fur trade with the natives of that region ? As soon as we establish a white population in Oregon, who will drive the Indians back to the Rocky Mountains, that trade will cease. To carry the provisions of this act into effect, the sum of 50,000 dollars has been agreed to, as contained in the bill from the House of Representatives. This sum has, however, been struck out, for the purpose of inserting a larger. A sum ten times larger will be required before the objects of the bill can be carried fully into ef |