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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 1900)
10 THE SUiSDAY OEEGONIAK, POKTIAND, MAY 27, 1900. BOUNDARY OF OREGON TERRITORY Additional Details of the Famous Dispute Russia's Claim to Jurisdiction, Which the United States Denied. The fifth volume of "The History of the People of the United States," Just pub- llshed by D. Appleton & Co.. New York, deals with the early situations of the Oregon question, but not -with the final settlement. Portions of the book, referring to 'this subject, follow: "To. come to an agreement with Great Britain on any matter was quite Impos sible. An act of Rus3la bad suddenly brought up for discussion the question of the ownership of Oregon. "In the Autumn of WIS, as Mr. J. B. Prevost, the American Commissljner sent out by the President to receive the formal deliver' of Astoria, was on his way home, lie stopped at the Port of Monterey, In California. While there he wrote a long report of his mission, described the Co lumbia River, the climate, soil and phys ical features of Oregon, and closed hU narrative with an account of an Incdent which he thought most serious. Until 1S16 the Russians, he said, had no settlement south of 3 deg. Cut in that year, ex cited very probably by the glow.ng descrlp tlons of Humboldt, they had established two colonies of an Important character. One was at Atooi. In the Sandwich Islande. The other was on the Cal fornia coast, a few leagues from San Francisco, the northern limit of Spanish occupation. On ly two days before he reached Monterey two vessels had left that town for the Russian settlement, carrying to it imple ments of husbandry and mechanics of ev ery sort. So plain an intention to acquire a site on the shore of the Pacific by a race but just emerging from savagery, and ruled by a ch'ef who sought not to emancipate but to enthrall, ought sure ly, Mr. Prevcst thought, to excite the serious apprehensions of the United States. Xo Interest In Oregon. "But it did not excite the apprehensions of the United States, and neither the President nor Congress cared what went on In Oregon. "In December. 3820, attention was for a moment drawn to the country by a motion for a committee to inquire into the sit uation of the settlements on the Pacific Ocean and the expediency of occupying the mouth of the Columbia River. The committee was diligent, and soon made a long report and presented a b'll to author ize the occupation of the Columbia and regulate trade with the Indian tribe?. "The report began with a careful review of our title to the country, told of the discovery of the river; of Its exploration by Lewis and Clark: of the building of Fort Clatsop at Its mouth: of the founding of Astoria: the establishment bv Astor's men of five substations between the moun tains and the rea: and dwelt at length on the A-alue of the fur trade. It told of the wonderful energv displayed bv the Hud son's Bay and Northwest Fur Companies In their search for furs; how they carried the supplies Intended for the Indians and the traders across the cont'nent from Mon treal to the Rocky Mountain, and brought back the furs by a route 2000 miles long, paddling their birch canoes through In numerable rivers, across more than 60 lakes, and carrying them over 130 portages from a few yards . to 13 miles In lngtn. Many of the establishments of the North west Company were within the limits of the United Rtnte. To bring to the peo ple of the United States all the profits of this fur trade It was only necessary, therefore, to put a few troops on the up per waters of the Missouri, and confine the British to the-lr own domain. If the Canad'ans could carry on their trade In spite of such natural obstacles, how much more easily and profitably could the citi zens of the United States conduct theirs along theVleep and smooth Missouri, run ning through a W of boundless fertility, and separated by a'pertage of less than. 203 miles from another great river flow ing into the Pacilo! Th's portage was not a matter of doubt. In reveral placcn the Rocky Mountains were so smooth a: d open that 10 men in 20 days could lake a wagon loaded with furs from the navi gable waters of the Missouri to those ol the Columbia. All that was needed to de velop Oregon was a small and permanent post at the mouth of the Columbia, ?nd this was provided for in the bill. "To the majority of Congressmen who listened to the report, Oregon and the up per waters of the Missouri seemed farther away and less accessible than Africa. That the United States could ever want a ' foothold on the Pacific seemed pre posterous, and having heard the visionary report of the committee, their bill was laid on the table. "There it lay when, one day In Febru ary. 1S22, the Chevalier Pierre de Polltlca. the Russian Minister, placed a most alarm ing document in the hands of the Secre tary of State. It wa an edict of the Em peror Alexander, and set forth that the pursuits of commerce, whaling and fish ing, and. Indeed, of all other Industries, whether on the islands or in the ports and gulfs of the Northwest coast of Amer ica from Ber'ng Strait to 51 deg.. were exclusively granted to Russian subjects. Foreign vessels were forbidden therefore not only to land on the coast and islands, but even to come within 100 Italian miles of them. Itnsnla Sets t'p a. Claim. "So unexpected an attempt to define the boundary of the two countries aroused the President, who demanded of the Russian Minister the grounds on which It was based. Why had not the boundary been arranged by treaty? Why were vetels of the United States excluded beyond the limit to which territorial Jurisdiction ex tended? He answered that the Russtans bad long maintained a settlement at Novo Archangelsk, In latitude 57, and that 51 deg. was about midway between Novo Archam-elek' and the -mouth of the Colum bia. The restriction forbidding an ap proach to the coast was laid In order to keep out foreign adventurers who. not content with carrying on an illicit trade injurious to the interests of the Russian Amrun Fur Company, had suppl.cd arms and ammunition to the natives of the Russian possessions in America and incited them to revolt- Against thee doc trines Adanw protested: but Polltlca cut short the discussion by the statement that he had no authority to continue it. "Thjs curt answer gave a new aspect to the matter, and Monroe. In his annual xne&bagi- to Congress In December, 1622. suggested that the time had come to think seriously of occupying Oregon. The House at once called up the old bill of 1S21, and listened again to speeches in which the manifest .mention of Great Britain to eeise and hold the country, the great value of the fur trade of the Upper Mis souri and the Columbia valleys, and the many advantages to be derived from a fcettlenicnt on tne Pacific Coast, were once more set forthwith argument and statis tics, all to no purpose. The House flatly lciused to consider it. "Failure in the House did not discour age the friends of the idea In the Senate, and a couple of weeks later Benton moved that the committee on foreigu relations ue Instructed to inquire into the expediency of making an appropriation to enable the President to take and hold possession oi our territories on the Northwest Coast. To this the Senate agreed. But the session soon ended, and no report was made. "Two months after the members had gone to their homes Adams received a note from the Baron de Tuyl, who had succeeded the Chevalier de Polltlca. ask ing that the American Minister at St. Petersburg be given power to settle the differences by negotiation. The invita tion was accepted, and instructions were duly drawn and dispatched. '' Rnanlan Contention Denied. "While Adams was oreparlng them, the Baron called one morning at the Depart- xupnt of State, and in tha course of pon- ; vensatlon, was told that Russia's claim J to a right to colonize on the Pacific Coast 'could b listened to because both North and South America, in consequence of the Independent position the nations of this hemisphere had assumed and main tained, were closed to colon zation by Eu ropean powers. From this doctrine the Baron dissented .most heartily: but It seems to have impressed Mr. Adams so strongly that It was reasserted by him in a letter to our Minister at St. Peters burg. "Mr. Middleton was to admit no part of the Ruw?'an claims, and rest those of the United States on the Span'sh tieaty of ISIS, which secured all the rights and pretensions of Spain to the coast north of 42. deg.; on the discovery of the Columbia by Gray, on the exploration of the countrj by Lewis and Clark, and on the settlement at Astoria. He might, however, agree that no citizen of the United States should land at any Russian settlement without permlss on of the Russian commander, that no subjects of the -Emperor should land at any American settlements without consent of the American authorities, and that no American settlements should be made north and no Russian settlements should be established south of 55 deg. north latitude. "Meantime Great Britain had protested against the Imperial ukase, and bad In 1 ke manner been Invited to an amicable negotiation for the adjustment of her claims. It was supposed that, as England and America held the country In Joint oc cupation, the two countries would carry on a Joint negotiation with Russia. But when it was found that the British envoy had power to discuss but not to con clude anything, and that authority to act jointly was not likely to be given him. Henry Middleton began the negotiation on behalf of the United States alone by of fering 53 deg. as a boundary or line of de marcation. Russia then offered 54 deg. 4Q mln., which was accepted and incor--nra'tcd In the convention sgned in April, 1S24. Pacific Ocean to Be Open. "The. discussion thus raised by Russia made it most fitting that the United States and England should come to an under standing as to their respective pretensions. Adams therefore instructed Richard Rush to bring up the matter and to state defi nitely the grounds on which the United States took her stand. The Russian application of the colonial principle of exclusion was not to be admitted as law ful on any part of the Northwest Coast of America. Indeed, It was to be denied that such a principle could be applied by any European nation. It was true that, by the Nootka Sound Convention of 1790, Eng land had agreed that, so far as Spanish settlements extended In North and South America, Spain possessed the exclusive rights territorial, and of navigation and fishery, to a distance of ten miles from the coasts so actually occup ed. But the Independence of the South Amorlrnn n.i. tions and of Mexico had extinguished, said ADams, tne exclusive colonial rights of Spain in North and South America, ana 'the American continents henceforth will no longer be subjects of colonization. Oc cupied by civilized independent nations, they will be accessible to Europeans on that footing alone, and the Pacific Ocean and every part of It will remain open to the navigation of all nations. In like man ner with the Atlantic.' "Ab to the boundary. Rush was to ofTcr to stipulate that no settlements be made In future by the Russians south of 53 deg.. by citizens of the United States north of 51 deg., or by British subjects either south of 51 or north of 53 deg. He -might, how ever. If England lns'sted on It, accept 49 deg. as the boundary from the Rocky Mountains to the sea. These two propo sitions were accordingly made by Ru"jh. and were met. the one with a declination and tho other with a fiat denial. Great Britain, It was answered, considered the whole of the unoccupied parts of America open to her for settlement In the future just as they had been in the past, and would make no exception of the Northwest Coast, whether north of 42 dec. or south of 51. Yet she would from pure goodness, from a desire to close sources of disagree ment which the future might multiply and aggravate, waive her rights and suggest a line of demarcation. This line was the parallel of 4D deg. from the summit of the Rocky Mountains to the northeastern most branch of the Columbia River, and thence down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. Rush rejected It as promptly as England had rejected that -of the United States, and tendered 49 deg. from the mountains to the sea. Again Eng land declined the offer, and the negotia tion came to naught. Too Far From Clvlllxatlon. "So the matter .stood when Monroe, in December, ab24, met Congress tor tne last time. In his me&sat,e nc once more called attention to our .nterests on the Pacltlc Coast, ouco more urged the tcrtablnment of a. military post at .ne nioutn of tne CoiuuiDia. it..i, una the xiouse once more went back to tne mutter. j.n.- oia out was taken up, anu when the oojectlon hac. been miuc anu wibtttftu, -t wa& passed. In the benuie. however. It cucouiucred strong opposi tion iroin men wnuae lueas were best ex-pretA-ea by a Senator iroxn -New Jersey, iie objected .because the ten years of Joint occupation under the convention ot ibis had not yet explrea; because till it hau expired, 10 taive possession by military :orce would be highly improper; because we had never yet spread our laws over a territory but with tne intention of sooner or later making it a state, and a state Oregon never could be. Our Un.on, said Mr- .Dickenson, is already too extensive. The distance irom the mouth, ot tne Co lumbia to the mouth of the Missouri 13 2555 miles, tout the mouth of tne Mis souri is 114S miles irom Wasnington. wnich city is therefore 4703 miles from the nioutn cf the Columbia. Suppose now that Or egon la a otate of the Union, and that a member of Congress irom the far Western conttnes of our countrj ets out from his home to make the journey of 4700, or tay 4t50 miles to Wasnington- At the rale members of Congress travel, according to law that Is, 30 milts a day he woula re quire, to come to the seat of government and go homo again 465 cays. If he should Ha by on Sundays say bS of them he woula spena 531 days oa the way. But suppose he made haste, and traveled 2U milu each day and rested every Sunday, he would then consume 350 days, a his would enable a young and energetic trav eler to leave his home, come to Washing ton, spend two weeks attending to h s du ties In the House, and get back home again In the course of just one year to a day. For this long and perilous Journey ho would receive $372 as mileage. He might como by water around Cape Horn, or by Bering Strait ctround the north coast of our continent to Baffin's Bay, and so to Washington. True, this Northwest passage had not been discovered except on the maps. But It would be before Or egon became a State. "Benton answered him. Ignoring what he was pleased to consider Mr. Dicker son's wit, the Senator from Missouri re viewed at great length the claims of the two countries to Oregon, declared ours to be Incontestlble, and to rest on the discovery of the Columbia by Captain Gray in 1792; on the purchase of Louis iana In 1KC; on the exp:oration and dis covery of the Columbia from Its head to Its mouth by Lewis and Clark in 1S03: on the settlement of Alaska In 1S11; and on the Spanish treaty of 1S19. "The question of title disposed of, Benton turned to that of occupation. On this he took four positions: That the United States had the right of possession: that Great Britain had actual possession: that sho resisted occupation by the United J States; and ths.t after JS3B the party In possession would have the Tight of posses sion till ownership was settled by nego tiation or by -arms. After touching brief ly on the first 'point, Benton passed lo tho second, and reminded the Senate that the delivery of Astoria to the United States was a pretense and a shame. Mr. Prevost, said Benton, was carried on a British sloop-of-war from Lima to Astoria, where he stayed Just five day. During this time he signed a receipt for the de livery of the post, and accepted a remon strance from the British, protesting against the del'very till the question who owns Oregon had once and for all been decided. This was all he did. The actual control of the fort was not changed for an hour. The British flag was hauled down and the Stars and Stripes were run up to satisfy the words of tho Treaty of Ghent. But Mr. Prevost could not man the fort him self. H brought no sailors and no sol diers to do eo for him. and on the day he sailed away It was as much under the crown of Gerat Britain as on the day he came. Over it at this moment the Brit ish flag is flying. It still bears the name of Fort George, and at It the medals of George IV are still distributed to the chiefs of the surrounding Indian tribes. And more than this: Five other posts have since been built along" the banks of the Columbja from the sea to the moun tains, as part of a great cordon 3000 miles In length stretching along our frontier for a purpose which every citizen and every Indian of the West well understands, and which the United States makes no effort to counteract. '"In evidence of his third point Benton "Sleep. 'quoth the one with the silver locks, ,"S!ep till the life anew; This flower U red for the blood you shed In the struggle of sixty-two." cited the public documents. He recalled to the tiUuie how, in lsl5, me Lrliisn Charge u'viia.ret. Air. Baiccr, iiau reiueu to $ic an order lor the oelivery of As tor.a; how in 1817 Mr. Bagot, tne Min ister, had remonstrated agiinst tne occu pation of the country by the United atatei.; now .n isri Mr. Canning, then itlu.ster, when the quesilon of ocupat.un was before Congresu, hud twice' attempt ed to atrcst alscusision; and how, inspired by BriU6h agents, the -National Intelli gencer nad published essay ajter essay ridiculing the claim of the United States to any part ot the Northwest Coast of America. "With a fleet on tne Coast, wun a fort at the mouth of the Columbia, with batterlea along its banks, with a line of posts to Canada and 140,000 Indians at her command, aoes any man suppose that when 1S2S comes Great Brlta.n will give up possession of the country she is doing so much to secure? " 'But gentlemen ask. What are the ad vantages to be derived from occupation? I answer. The advantages will be securing of the fur trade of the Columbia, tho Rocky Mountains, and tne Upper Mis souri: preventing the Russians and the Britsh getting control of the Indians on tho Columbia; a naval station for us on the Pacific; communication between the Valley of the Mississippi and the Pacific: and. chief of all, the exclusion of foreign powers from Oregon. Benton's Prediction. " 'Gentlemen ask again, What effect will a new territory or a new state '."" uo " ". ",c "".- -"......" . w.m spois giving me to notning Dut tne have on the Union I nnmrer the ,nfaRt selemen,s 0I ou Atlantic i fipruce, the hemlock, and trees of that ? -in k .t i , answer , Coast once Jusffled her in claiming all the description. Lower down, nearer the It will be the nucleus of a new J continent to the South Sea. and of enforc- coasr, tne BOn. where there is any. Is and Independent power This Republic Injr It to the Mississippi, the pre-ence of formed of rotted pine leaves and even shoula have limits. Where they should ' millions of American citizens already with- tnat jg 6wept away by the floods which oe on the north or the south is not now for In. reach of the Pacific cannot certainly from tJme t0 tlme cover tne lana aiong me to say. But W&stwaiu they are rixed i hfi.I?ie??6 . ,, ... . ... , ! tno rIver banks. Today the extremity of by the hand of Nature, and tne ndgr of 7 th e Br1"h negotiators replied. dr0ught prevails; tomorrow all except tiie Rocicy Mountains may be named as ??a th rt,p!y ."5vas F?und ? , conclusiye the hills are under water. It Is my firm ottering t convenient, natural and ever- 1 thnt ,theJPr,ovInc LLor, ,na, W.aB.C1! beIlef that lc a settlement were made lasting boundary- In planting the teed of fountrJ Araned by the MLssIsMpp . that and agricuUure attempted on any scale, a new power on tne Western Coast, it tfce re!on draSn;a b' th? Clumbla ha(l large or small, the settlers would not re should be well understood that when EmJ" rJL?f.w JJht ?', main two years. They could not endure strong enough to; take care of Itself the Li";," ? """J!,;' r tho taceasant rain of four months' dura new Government should separate from i e" tnJJLm-f St Mf.i"nnl , tlon the Mother Empire s a child separates 7 ZTJS? n tltlS. S " 'But 8Upp0se the obJect of thla bl" ac" from the parent. You think this & look- . aS and thS oe'ng "thl las " Sitata com. Suppose the Infant settle lng far into the future. It Is not- Within , 2Ln'2dU,it.tl?B. tJ? tS mcnt- fostered h? the Prnal care of century from this day a population greater than that of the present United States will exist on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. - 'But tho question now before us is, Shall wo execute the Treaty of Ghent expel the Br.tlsh from the Columbia, per- j settlement. Having thus disposed ot the feet our title and take possession of the French claims, the British plonjpotentl country? What use rtiall then be made ari, declared that the claim of Spain be of it is to be settled later. But on one 'cause of discovery prior to 1790 were fn po.nt there should be no doubt-the ipeo- tile ncT vWonary. and cut off by the Noot ??,L n,ed States will neither be fca Convention of that year between her tricked nor bullied out of this territory. and Great Br'taln: that the rights d nor suffer a monarchical power to grow rived Dr th TjriUed States above 42 deg.. upon it. , under the Snanlsh treatv of 1R19. were "The manly speech of Benton fell upon uu care, nie repori oi jjajor wing nan ( fonventlon. and none other: and that done its work. That magnificent stretch these were to trado and settle In that re of rolling prairie which lies between Mis- tfon and to naviente Its waters In com souri and Iowa on the east and the Rocky . nion with Great Britain. Mountains on the west, and extends from j Texas to our northern frontier a region j Rlichts of the United States, now cut up into eight states, supporting j "The valid claim of our country to the a population of more than 5.000.000. dotted , Oregon region rested on discovery, explor- with towns and cities, five of which may M(h Hrumfr nf "mora nnaVtlinntic tfinn l ritv in thi Union in isKr - lnnd of teht fields and corn fields and mines and rancnes was conaemnea as a wilderness, overwhlch buffaloes and Indians might roam, but on which , civilized man could find no habitation. With such a desert barrier between the States and Oregon, It seerozd idle ts the Senators to give any heed to the Pacific Coast, and the bill for the occupation nf the mouth of the Columbia River was laid upon the table by a vote of 23 to 14." "When Adams proclaimed the convention .of 1R27, with Great Britain, under which questions arising out of the Northeast I boundary were submitted to arbitration, he ! to do with the Northwest boundary. By article 3 of the convention of ISIS the Oregon country, with all Its harbors, riv ers, creeks and bays, was to remain open to the citizens of the United States and tho subjects of Great Britain for a period, of 10 years from the day on which the negotiators affixed their names. As this period drew to a close, the rulers of both countries became most desirous to set tle the long-pending- question of ownership once and for all, or continue the agree ment about to expire, and toward tha end of 1S26. therefore, the old claims were j again taken up by Great Britain and the United States. England's Offer. "At the first conference the representa tives of tho King began by offering as a boundary the 49th parallel from the crest of tho Rocky Mountains to the northeast ernmost branch of the Columbia River, and down that river to the sea all to the north to belong to Great Britain, and all to the south to the United States. Mr. Gallatin. In reply, offered the 49th parallel from the mountains to the sea, with three provisions: Tnat li tne line crossed any iuuwsiuiia. j-ijiii ii iue iiuc uruiseu any i icr tne csiaDiisnraent or a territorial gov branches ofthe Columbia at points from ' ernment over the whole country up to G4 TWO MOURNERS. "Sleep," quoth the maid with a throbbing heart, "Caressed by a sweetheart's tear: 3?or my love Is there, 'neath the roses fair, On the grave of a Volunteer." Ha. which boats might descend to the main stream, they and the Columbia should for ever be open to the people of Doth coun tries; that the people of neither nation should thenceforth make settlements In the territory of tho other; and that settle- ments already made In the domain of one nation by tho citizens or subjects of the other should be held by them for ten years. under the old agreement of Joint occupa tion, and no longer. To this the British representatives repl'ed that they must have the north bank of the Columbia and ; the right of navigating that river to and i from the sea. but that they were willing to concede to tho United States a de tached piece of country on the Pacific and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Ptretchlng from Bullfinch Harbor to Hood's Canal. ' "Mr. Gallatin baed the claims of the United States on the purchase of Louis iana In 1SG3. and the acquisition by this means of titles of France to the country; on the Spanish treaty of 1819 and the ac quisition by this means of the titles of Spain above 42 deg.: on the d'scovery of the mouth of the Columbia by Captain Gray In 1792 on the exploration of the re- ' gion by Lewis and Clark; on the settle ment at Astoria In 1S11; on the v'rtual rec ognition of American title by Great Brit ain In the restoration" of tho Astoria fur In ISIS: and on contiguity, a doctrine al ways maintained by Great Britain. If. j said he. some trading factories on the i snores of Hudson Bay onerea ner grouna for asserting an exclusive rlcht to occu- ror averting an exclusive ncnt 10 occu- .,Vi,.- ,. -i , ,. a settlement in a country already belong ing to Spain. It was only by acknnw!- - r I nat!on that th United States could derive I im. v. i ,-,....,. .t oif I -nh n Rnnin ikVi ftr tT, vvintv ation and settlement. To this Great Brit- aJn replied, in the first place, that Lleu.- ! tenant ileares, of the Royal avy, en- tercd the Columbia four years before Cap tain Gray, but admitted that Gray was the first to discover that the bay formed by the discharge of the waters of the Columbia Into the Pacific was the outlet Of a gTeat river; la the second place, that the exploration of Lewis and Clark was of no consequence, because the coun try traversed by them fell wthln the provisions ot the Nootka. Convention of, 17S0; In the third place, that agents of the Northwest Fur Company had planted posts on the northwest branch of the Columbia. and were extending them down that river before Astoria existed. Finally, It was stated that Great Britain d d not claim exclusive possession of any part of the country, but merely the rights of trade, navigation and settlement rights which she conceded to the Umted States, as the successor of Spain, and no others. "To come to an agreement as to" bound ary was impossible. The attempt was therefore abandoned, and In 1S27 a new convention was drawn, and Joint occupa-1 tlon continued Indefinitely, with the pro vision that either party might end It after one year's notice to the other. "The attention which in one- way and an other was thus drawn to the Oregon coun- try in the course of four years now be gan to produce visible results. Men In various parts of the United States became eager to throw off the restraints of life in the East, brave the hardships of a march across tho plains, and begin a life of ad venture on the Pacific Coast. Three as sociations of companies of adventurers ono in Massachusetts, one in Ohio, and one in New Orleans were read.ly termed, and when the Twentieth Congreso began i Its second session. In December. 1S2S. a bill In their Interests was reported .by a committee- As presented. It provided for the establishment of a territorial gov- deg. 40 mln., for occupancy by military force, for tho erection of a fort, for a port of entry, and donations of land to set tlers. But the discussion had not gone far when a motion was made to strike out all after the enacting clause and Insert, instead, sections giving the President power to build forts and garrison them, to send out an expedition to explore the country, and to extend the Jurisdiction of the United States over Oregon as to citi zens of the Union. Oregon Little Understood. "The debate which followed richly de serves to be read, as a fine Illustration of how little the men of tnat day under stood the marvelous growth of tuelr coun try, which in less tnan 20 years was to found two states In tne region they did not think worth having. .now, wnat will be tne consequences," said a member from Missouri, 'suppos.ng we pass this bill and give a social existence to the coun try? Cons.der where the region Is. From the Atlantic to the Missouri is 1500 miles. From the mouth of the Missouri to the head of navigation Is 2500 more. Then there Is the rugged and almost impassable belt of the Rocky Mountains, while be tween the Missouri and the Pacific, save a strip of culturable prairie not above 200 or 300- miles wide, the region Is waste and sterile, no better than the Desert of Sa hara, and quite as dangerous to cross. r jjear the mountains the countrv is com posed of rocky and stony ridges, dottec posed of rocky and stony ridges, dotted - Government, has grown into a vigorous I marnrlTTT MnM flnv man Irrtnirlnt thnf i maturity. Does any man Imagine that a brotherhood of affection, a. community of interest, could bind that distant and solitary member of the family In the Far West to those held together by the firm est of political ties In the East? The ' very name of the place Is expressive of Its poverty and sterility, for It comes ' from oregano. a word applied by the Spaniards to an herb rerembllng penny royal and growing near the coast.' !" 'When,' said a member from Tennessee, 'we contemplate the vast extent of the fertile territory which spreads to the east . and south of the Rocky Mountains, we may well be led to wonder what can lead any adventurer to seek the Inhospitable re gions of Oregon, unless, indeed, he wishes to be a savage. At what period do gen tlemen suppose the population of this happy Republic will have filled up the fair and fertile territory within our pres ent limits? At what distant day will the pursuits of agriculture and the train of the mechanic arts have taken full posses sion of this Immense region? That day - so distant that no centleman of th most prolific m'nd can ever look forw-trd to It. Not even within the reach of fancy Itslf can the advocates of this bill point out the time when Oregon Territory will have to be organized. But it Is said that If we do not take possession some other power will. Well, suppose they. do; what will we lose? It is a terntor we ought not to inhabit, and one I hope we never shall Inhabit. Why? Because It Is situated at such an Immeasurable dis tance from the seat ot government that there never will, thero never can be. any Intervening links to unite It with the rest of the countrv. It is utterly lmposs'ble to conceive, if we do plant a colony in Oregon, that It ever will form part and parcel of our Government. It seems to me to be the decree of Nature herself that the Rocky Mountains should be the West ern boundary of this Republic She has Interposed a country of 400 miles In ex tent, of the most barren, sterile charac ter, a country without timber and without water, a country wholly unfit for the oc cupation of civilized man. while above and beyond it the mountains rear their snowy and Impassable tops, many nun dreds of feet higher than the summits of the Council Bluffs. They stand like a Chi nese wall, and must forever and effectual ly guard us from all attacks from that quarter. Should any foreign power ever be so senseless us tQ take possession of Oregon, she can never injure the United States on that side. Brynnlte Argrament. " But suppose It possible to settle such a country. The next step will be to or ganize It into a territory. fd then you will be called on to turn this terrltory into a state. And what then? It can be but a few years before such a state must of Its own weight fall off from this Confederacy. Tou have no practical mean to connect such a state with the rest of the Republic. No Delegate or Repre sentative can come thence to this House nnd return withm a twelvemonth. Let h's Journey average 25 miles a day. and It will take him C6S days to come here and go back. His mileage will amount to nearly $1000. and be paid him for no other serv ice than traveling. No. sir, let th03e restless spirits who cannot be content to cultivate their nativo soil, let such be lngs go to Oregon, but let them go at their own risk.' "Twenty years from the day on which this speech was made, a Delegate from the Territory of Oregon was sitting in the Houee of Representative. , " 'There were, however others more hopeful. It Is a mistake. said one. 'to suppose that Oregon could never become a part of the Confederacy. I believe the Stony Mountains In time will be passed with as much ease as tho Alleghenies now are. The Improvements of the ago re move the obstacles Imposed by distance and Nature. Twenty yeare since, a man who predicted that a voyage from New Orleans to Louisville would be made In eight days, as It row Is. would have been thought kisane. Then a Journey from the Atlantic to the Ohio River was a great and hazardous undertaking. Now It may be made over a comfortable road In three days.' Others declared Oregon was not the desert waste the opponents of the bill had tepresented. but a fertile and healthful region, well watered and wooded, and to make good their assertions, ouoted at length from the writings of Vancouver. Lewis and Clark. Humbolt. "Mr. Prevo-Jt. wn recelvrd the surrender of Astoria, Major Brooks. -who had often vKted the Coast, and Franchere, a French Canadian and a member of the first partv sent out bv Mr. Astor in 1810. But the belief thai Oregon was of little Importance, that it could not become a state in the Union, and that to organize It as a territory or snread over It the laws of the United States would be a violation of the Con tention of 1S27. prevailed, and In the end the House refused to order the bill to a third reading, a vote which amounted to rejection." WOMEN IN THE CHURCHES. St. Paul Quoted to Shovr His Ap proval of Their Ministry. VANCOUVER, Wash., May 24. (To the Editor.) The morning papers announce that at the Methodist General Conference yesterday "amid tremendous applause the motion to substitute tLe words 'lay mem bers,' in section 1 and 5 of the constitu tion was adopted." This was the last point In dispute 'In the report on the or ganic law of the church, and after a short debate the report, of the committee as amended was adopted by more than the necessary three-fourth3 vote. The con stitution as approved will now go to the 124th annual conference for approval." As the action of tho Methodist General Conference is one of those conspicuous milestones on the way of human progress which every lover of righteousness and truth must rejoice to see, I would urge women everywhere to hold a Jubilee over the event. The Fourth of July would be a very appropriate day for such a. cele bration. Let the women of our country gather together in every city, town and village, and give expression to their ap preciation of tho Just nnd righteous ac tion 6f this great religious body. We rejoice that the leaders of Methodism are willing to follow the example of Paul who, when he wrote that masterpiece ot all his writings, from Corinth to the Romans, and sent It by Phebe "servant of the church, in Cenchrea," said, "I com mend unto you Phebe our sister, which Is a servant of the church; that ye re ceive her In the Lord as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you." Evi dently Phebe was not Just then a "keeper at home," or she would not have been off on a Journey to Rome on church busi ness. Paul appreciated the labors of the early Christian women, or he would not have taken time to say that Prlscilla was "known and loved of all the churches roi her ministrations." Had she been strictiy conflned within the sphere assigned to women by the modern church, her "mm Istrations"would not have been so highly spoken of. Let us rejoice that tho Phebcs and Prlscillas of the modern church are to be permitted to go about their Father's business unhindered and unhampered y the man-made rules and customs wnich have so long prevented the spread of the gospel of Christ We regard this amendment permitting women representatives at tha General Con ference as one of th greatest events of the times. God speed the day when woman shall enjoy rights and privileges, political ly as well as religiously. MARIA L. TRENHOLEN-HIDDEN. "Woodchuclcs. St. Nicholas. The woodchuck9 appetite makes him the plague of every farmer, and his queer and interesting ways make him the de light of every farmer's boy. If we dig him out of his home In the Winter, we shall find what appears to be a football covered with fur. Let us take him in by the warm fire in the farmhouse, and soon he will wake up, but in such a drowsy way as not to be frightened. Before long he will roll up and go to sleep again. He is the soundest of the Winter sleep ers. The gray squirrel "sleeps" (hiber nates, It Is really) only In the coldest weather; the chipmunk sleeps more, but awakes from time to time for a nibble at his store of nuts; but the woodchuck sleeps continually for about 6ix months. In the middle and late Summer he lives alone, and for a large part of the time sits perfectly still at the mouth of his hole. The scientific people name him Arctomys monax. Those of you who have commenced to study ancient tongues know that monax means? monk; so ycu see grown-up people have their fancies when they say In this scientific name that this Is the bear-mouse monk. While woodchucks are not rapid run ners. It Is very difficult to catch them, for they usually go but a little way from the hole, and keep a sharp watch to see If any one is coming. Sometimes the farmer's boys dig out the whols family of woodchucks In the Spring. John Bur roughs tells In "Rlvcrby" an Interesting story about feeding ml'.k to young wood chucks, and says that they would hold a spoon in their little, shining black paws; and In "Pepacton" he tells how the farm I dog Cuff outwitted an old woodchuck. GAGE ON THE JAPANESE SECRETARY OF TREASURY RE PORTS OX RECENT nnilGRATIOX. Promoted, by Commissioners el Steamship Companies, and Cer tain. Desire for Cheap Labor. WASHINGTON, May 2L The Secretary of tho Treasury has submitted to Con gress the following report on Japanese Immigration on the Pacific Coast: "I have to Inform you that the Infor mation requested In said resolution, or so much thereof as is in the possession ot the bureau, appears for the fiscal years 1S3S and 1S29 la the annual reports of tha bureau and in the files of, this office up to the 1st day of May ot the current year, from which the following arrivals of Jap anese immigrants appear for the times indicated: 1S9S. 2230; 1599. 3395, and for the 10 months ending April 30, 1900, 71S1. "These flgurey indicate the number of thqso only who have come directly to the United States, and do not embrace the yery large number (how many the bureau has no power to determine) who are des tined ostensibly to the Dominion of Can ada, and most of whom, it is believed, ul timately enter the United States on the Northwest Canadian border. "In view of the fact that the recommen dations contained in the annual reports oL the bureau for several years past, to the effect that exclusive ports of entry for Immigrants shoula oe established at the principal points on the boundary line between the United States and Canada, have not been adopted, there Is no means at tho command of the bureau to either Inspect or keep a record ot Immigrants entering along said border; but the largo number of Japanese engaged In construc tion work in the Western states and territories confirms the Impression abova expressed that the bulk of those profess ing to be destined to Canada ultimately reach this country. . "With reference to the probabilities as to such immigration for theensuing year, this, again, is a subject upon which tho bureau can only conjecture In general terms, from the steady Increases of such arrivals and the common rumor which reaches -the bureau from time to time through its officials on the Pacific Coast, that thero will be a large Increase in such Immigration. "Respecting the examination of Japan ese immigrants, the same precautions are observed to avoid violations of the alien contract labor and Immigration laws as are now in use at the immigrant sta tions along the Atlantic Coast, and the attitude of the immigration officials along the Pacific Coast is perhaps one of even greater Jealousy for the interests of the laborers of this country than that which Is displayed at the Eastern immigration stations, for the reason that such Im migration of a totally alien race and one as well whose language and habits are little understood in this country, renders additional precaution necessary. 'The bureau does not feel, however, that under prevailing conditions the dif ficulties preyinted by the Influx of Orien tals can be as easily met for various reasons, chief among which may be men tioned the fact that Japanese Interpreters are very difficult to secure, few being familiar with the language except those who are themse.ves members of that race, whose sympathies are naturally enlisted In behalf of their countrymen rather than In favor of the enforcement of the laws Intended for the protection of the citizens and Institutions of this country. "Eighteen months ago, as a result of the increase of this class of Immigrants, a special officer was detailed to visit Japan, where he spent several months investi gating the inducements to this increase of Immigration by a race which theretofore had exhibited no desire to come to this country in large numbers. The report of this officer expressed the opinion thafsuch immigration was fostered by a number ot societies, among whose members were found Japanese subjects high in political and social life, and that the occasion of the orfe-anlzation of such societies, wnile os'ensibly for the purpose of furnishing passports to such subjects of the Mikado as desired to come to this country, and to Insure that only such as were admissible under the laws of the United States should embark for the purpose of temporary or permanent settlement here, the true oc casion was the large profit derived from commissions paid either directly by tha Immigrants or through the agency of the steamship lines. Ihe report referred to is now in the hands of the House of Rep resentatives, where It wa3 referred In re sponse to a resolution dated May 10, 1900. "The bureau desires further to report that It has, from time to time, had rea son to believe that the Influx of Japanese Immigrants was due to pome extent to the solicitations of citizens of this country who desired to avail themselves ot cheap er labor than could be secured here, and haj attempted by making special Investi gations to substantiate this opinion, but thus far. owing partly to the impossibility or securing reliable Interpreters, and In part to the indirectness; of the methods adopted in securing such labor, its efforts have been fruitless. "Within the past few weeks. In view of the reports in the public press and from other source.?, of a still greater Increase In the near future of the kind of Immi gration under consideration, the bureau has detailed Special Immigrant Inspector Robert Watchorn to proceed to the prin cipal Pacific ports-, "including Vancouver and Victoria, B aG'.and ib such other ports as the 'necessities of the mission may require, to make a full investigation of tho subject and a full report of hi3 findings. This report, upon Its receipt, ir In your judgment consistent with the In terests involved, will be accessible to Con gress and to such persons as may be in terested in Japanese immigration." Rats exterminated a colony of 43 prairie dogs In Lincoln Park, Chicago. THE SIMPLEST CURE FOR INDl GESTION. As "Well nx the Safest and Cheapest. The new medical discovery, Stuart's Dyspepsia Tablets, digest the food Instead of making the worn-out stomach do all the work, give it a much-needed rest, and a cure of dyspepsia is the natural result. You get nourishment and rest at the same time because these. Tablets will thoroughly digest all wholesome food taken Into the stomach whether the stom ach works or not. A cure Is certain to re sult because the dlrestive organs are given a chance to rest and recover their natural vigor and tone. The Tablets are then no longer required. To show the manner in which the rem edy acts on different people and how quickly and effectually it cures stomach troubles, we present a few recent cases'. Mr. J. O. Wondly. of Peoria. 111.,, writes: I was unable to eat anything but the plainest food, and even that often dis tressed me, but since using one box of Stuart's Dyspepsia Tablets, I can eat any thing and everything I want Mrs. Samuel Kepple, of GIrty. Pa., writes: I have been entirelyy relieved of my stomach troubles by your Tablets. I suffered three years with sour stomach and gas at night. I am thankful for them. Mrs. A. E. Bowen, Barnard, Vt., writes: I think Stuart's Dyspepsia Tablets are the best thing for dyspepsia I ever took. I will recommend them to any one trou bled as bad as I was. Stuart's Dyspesia Tablets will not dis appoint because they cure dyspepsia sure ly and lastingly by causing the food to bo properly assimilated, and cure constipa tion by producing the proper quantity of bile, and sold by all druggists at SO cents I per package.