Oregon spectator., September 17, 1846, Image 1

ICT At Am tlaae of tat) arrival f nm of the lata
isiffsau front U. Btotof, it wu etartath reported
tht Lieut WoadiwrUi wm mm m m "fisrsai mm
stags?" from Um Uatlad Suits' gtranuMMt to Ow
2ea, baring dttfatohas of gnat iaportaact to tk
Governor of iWa territory. Thk rumor wu ItOftthsr
incorrect and unf lunded. Mr. Woodworth dot not
claim to htva received or broajht any official docu
mrnu or pnprt of any kind from (ha V. KUW' gov
uiorntto tliit, but having concluded to toko a pleae
uro U'.prvi thi country, lie brought filet of the IntM
paper from tlin State, and alo Ilia following MaMo
aUL or (Jroaaa Waste lo tho Speaker nnd Hpro
ruinlivrt nf tlir LegiiiUlum of Oregon, which wu
prrfixrd to a printed pamplet containing Wilkc' -1
niorial to CotifRM, praying fur the coiwlruciion of a
HuCroad frum tlip Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. It
m an Important and inlcrrrtiiig document and will bo
mad u-.t.'i much ntlriitiou- Ki. Hue.
MEMORIAL OF
Pbavi.no for an r.xrnesstoN from the
Legislature of Oregon to the Senate
AND lioU.sn OP KkNIEHKNTATIVEK OP THE
United Statss of Noktm America in
co.turess as8kmm.ed, on the .suiup.ct
of his project for a National Rail
Road from the Atlantic to the Pacific
Ocean, rnp.sr.NTEO to Congress in Dr.
cf.miier 18 1.1, and referred to the
Committee on " Roads and Canals"
in the House.
To l?ic Nprakcr and Rrprcwutativc
of lite People of Orrifou, In roiigrti
assembled t J
Your memorialist begs respectfully to rep.
ro-cnt to your honorable loJy, that in tin-'
month of Deer mk-r, A. D. 18l., he pre-1
vnted to thi-uatu and House of Rcprc- ;
sentatives 01 the United States of North
America in Congress assembled, n proposal
for a Nati nal Kail Road from the At
lan'ic to the Pacific Ocean, of which the
printed matter following is a copy. Thai
ai i ni"in -ial uo'i its pre'cntithn liy Hon.
William It. M.iclay of the city of New.
Voik, to the House of Representatives afore
said, was referred to the committee of said
II use on " Roads und Catnls." That short,
ly subsequent to such reference, the chair
iir n of said committee, (the Hon. Robert
.Smith of Illinois) open- d a correspondence
with your memorial int in which he coinmu
nicatcd the f.ict, that his committee would
report f.ivnrahly upon said nrmorhl :
Win r -fore, your mcimrialist, with a view
of eliciting the m no of the peo le of Ore
gon upon a iroject of such paramount im.
portancc to themselves respectfully here
wih submits his said memorial to your con
sidcration ; praying that if it should receive
the same approbation from your honorable
body, that it lias already met with in the in
cipient steps of its progress in the popular
branch of the national legislature at Wash,
inrjton, that your honorablo body will ox
press such approbation, in form, to the S"iia
tors ond Representatives of the United States
in Congress assembled, and despatch the
same to the capitol at Washington, to cxer.
cisc its influence on the futc of the Dill (em
bracing the views of said memorial,) in the
next Congress, should the said Dill not be
affirmatively decided during the present scs.
ion. And your memorialist will ever p raw
GEORGE WILKES,
of New York:
Oregon Spectator,
t M -l''..fc-U- J '.111 I .-yrSIWWt III --U-11- JIJUII1 L'J-t-t IT" . -iJ. -X.I i.ti M M -! -
WaMward tha Star of Empire takra lu way."
-T M l J
Vol. I. Oregon City, (Oregon Ter.) Taunday, September 17, 1846. No. 17.
February 4th, 1840. Daniel Uaffenspcrgen, would remain in a state of nature for one
Esq., by a unanimous call, took the chair, hundred years to come. We would also re.
and ur. L. .M. whiting was, on motion, op
pointed secretary.
Thla memorial to the Speaker and Hoiim of Rep.
nacniativea of the Prop' of Oregon, la prefixed to
a pamphlet which contain Air. Wilkea' memorial to
tbe Congre of tha United Statu, propoaiog the coo.
atructioo of the rail road under couaideratiou. Go.
We extract the following from the "Ohio
Repository," of February lth, published at
.Canton, &ark county, Ohio;.
OKIjQOfl(
Rail Road Keating.
In acuordance-wi'h previous publio notice,
a largo und rcsp etiblo mectingof the cltl.
zons nf C uitosi, Stirk enun(y, Olih, and tho
surrounding country, onyuriod nt tho Town
Hall, in Canton, 'on Wcdwwljtf ovoning,
H. C. Frey, Esq. having stated the obicct
of th" mccliir to be a consultation as to the
nropric y of memorializing Congress in re
iation to tli- construction of a Riifroadfrom
aomc eligible point on the MissotV-; river to
the I'sciti'j Ocean, urged some Important
reasons for the adoption of such a measure
by our government. He furthermore sug
gested that a committee be appointed to draft
a rncmorinl, and closed by offering the fol
lowing resolution, drawn up by Jacob Hos
teller, Esq., which was unanimously adopted
by the meeting.
lleioval, That in the opinion of this
meeting, a National Railroad to the Pa
cific Oi can is of such immtnxc imparlance to
the great mass of the people of (he United
S'.utes that its construction shoul I be com
menced by the gt neral government with the
leiut possible May, consistent with a judi
cious execution of the project.
On motion of I. Hugus, Esq., it was
Jtcin.'vcrl, That a committee of three, to
consist of J. D. Brown, S. C. Frey, and
Jonathan G. Lester, be appointed to draft a
memorial to Congress expressive of tho views
of this meeting upon the sulject of its delib-
(rations and in proper form for the attach
ment of bignatures.
This committee having retired for a short
period, presented by S. C. Frey, the follow
ing druft of a memorial, which was un mi
mously received and adopted by the meet n'.r.
Tn t'lr Smale. and Home of Ilrprtwntatitrs
of the Unilrd Slates, in Congress aisrmbkd.
The undersigned, citizens of county
and S'atc of , do respectfully requot,
'li.it your honorable body will, before the end
of your present session, take the necessary
steps for commencing the construction of a
great NATIONAL RAILROAD, from the
most eli'.'ihle point on the Missouri river to
the Pacific Ocean, havi -g the western ter
minus as far south as is practicable, where
a good harbor can be found. The said Rail,
road to be built with a double track, in the
most substantial manner, nnd free to the uc
of the citizens of the United States, reserv
ing only such tolls as will keep the Road in
repair, and pay for superintendence. That
said Railroad shall be a National work,
und by no means a corporate monopoly, as
proposed by Mr. Whitney.
We beg to add, that in our opinion, every
year this great work is put ofT or procrasti
nated, is a year of serious national loss.
Owincr to our new and peculiar relations
with China, nnd all the countries bounded
by tho Pacific Ocean, this great work ap
pears to us as indispensable, and the sooner
wc set about it tho better. The arguments
in its favor have been ably set forth in a pam
phlet by George Wilkes, Esq., of the city
of New York, with which wo presumo you
are familiar, and hence we need not hore re
iterato them. We would remind you, that
Poter the Great, struggled through a twenty
year's war, with the loss of 200,000 men,
and more than a thousand million of rubles,
for tho sako of gaining an insignificant
swamp, which would afford his stibpcts an
outlet to the Rattle- Son. Compared with
that, an outlet for tho great Mississippi Val
ley to tho Pacific Ocean, is gfcnntic and stu
pendousand tho other insignificant and
yet the civilized world accords to Peter the
Great far seeing and statesmin-like policy,
for lasting benefits conferred on his country
and people, amontr the greatest of which was
his founding of St. Petersburgh. How much
nvjre inviting is this great National work
whioh we propose a bloodless work ! a
work whioh we bollcvo will not exceed 970,
000,000 in its cost, nnd a work which will
bring into market, lands, the sale of which
will go far towards defraying tho expense of
oi lty construction and wnjoh otherwise
mind your honorable body, that tho benefits
arising Irom this work will not be sectional
it wiH, benefit every inch of our vast tcrrito.
ry, and make us at once the most powerful,
and most truly wealthy nation on the globe.
And as in duty bound, the undersigned will
most fervently pray, and will continue to
pray, until this great and glorious work is
accomplished.
February, 1840.
The following resolutions were then sue
ccssively presented and adopted :
1. Rcw'rrtl, That a committee to consist
S. C. Frey, John Black and James Sloan, be
a committee of correspondence. That said
committee procure blank memorials to be
printed and circulated far and wide for sig
nature. 2. Reso'rcd, That wc invite our fellow
citizens of the United Ststtes every where to
examine this subject thoroughly, and if they
approve,of it, wc ask them to co-operate with
us in urging this measure forward.
:?. Resolved, That copying the pamphlet
of George Wilkrs, Eq. by publishers of
newspapers, would throw much light on this
subject ; and we recommend such publish
ers, every where, to copy said pamphlet for
public information.
4. Reto'vcd, That tho proceedings of this
meeting signed by its ofliccrs, be presented
for publication in the papers of this coun
tv, and all others favorable to the project
throughout the United States, be requested
to copy the same.
On mo' ion, the meeting adjourned sine die.
DANIEL RAFFENSPERGER,
Chairman.
L. 31. Whiting, Secretary.
V. H. COXGREMS.
Washington, AprihD.
House of Representative, The House
then went into committee of the whole, and
resumed the consideration of the Senate bill
for raising a regiment of mounted Riflemen,
and for establishing posts for the protection
f rmigrunts on the route to Oregon.
After debate, the amendment of Mr. Lev.
in, providing that the officers and men shall
be American born, was rejected, as were
several other amendments.
The committee then rose and reported the
bill, with ono amendment, which provides
that all the ofliccrs of the said regiment shall
lo taken from the regular lino of the Army
of the U. Stutcs. This was agreed to by
the House yeas 80, nays 82. A motion
to reconsider the vote was made, but with,
out acting upon it, the House adjourned.
House of Representatives, April 1 1 . The
bill to raise u regiment of mounted Riflemen
was then taken up and passed, as amended,
by a vote of l.')8 to 38. The amendment
requires the President to officer the regi
ment with men already bearing commis
sions in tho U. S. army.
Washington, April, 14.
House of Representatives. Mr. Lynn
Boyd introduced a resolution that all debate
on tho bill extending our jurisdiction over
the American citizens in tho torritory of Or
cgon, should terminate on Thursday of this
week, at 2, p. M. Various amendments
wore ofllrcd, soino shortening and others ex.
tending tho time ut which the debate should
close, all of which were voted down, and the
oriciuul resolution adopted,
The House then went into committee of
the whole,, when Mr Tibbjitta took the floor
and expressed his decided preference for tho
substitute offered by Judgo Douglass, and
made some sensible remarks, showing tho
ncccsri'v as well as the importance of what
ever bill did rasMbc House, clearly (leaning
the extent of our northern boundary, In
tho absence of this being done, bo insisted
that tho pueegc of tho bill u well u aoU 6o
our pan under h, would lead, wkbout delay
to hostile collision. . , -, v ,
Mr. Vinton opposed tho bill in tbto, be
catiso it wets, in his judgment, a palpable vio.
Iation of the treaty stipulation of 1837; and
that it could not be regarded in any ether
light by Great Britain, and was consequent.
Iy the strongest war measure that Congress
could pas. He thought it far morepradent
to givo Great Britain the notice, and toter
minate the Convention of 1627, previously
to passing any law extending our junseMc
tion over all oar territorial rights in Oregon.
Mr. Holmes indited that the establish
ment of a line of posts to, and in the territr.
ry of Oregon, as also the appointment of In.
dian agents and sub-tgenw, to regulate the
trade with the 'Indians, ac., was a clear vio.
Iation of the Convention of 1827, and would
be regarded and treated by Great Britain.
as an act of aggression on our part, in addi
tion to being an unwarrantable violation of
treaty stipulations. He raised many other1
objections to the bill ; all of whioh may be
summed up in a few word. He saw no .
chance for slaves and cotton in Oregon ;
therefore, the acquisition of 'that section oi'
country must be unconstitutional, and danger
ous to the peace of tho country.
from tha M awouri Reporter, April 21.
The Pretdtleal's PswiUwu.
The Washington Union of the 7th inst.
insists that thej Executive stands ready to
make any fair or honorable adjustment.
It remarks:
" What one chance of suitable accommo
dation of the controversy docs that platform
exclude-? What one solitary offer, just and
fair, consonant to our rights, and compatible
with ourhonor, docs the position taken by
the Executive in the mcsjsge bar the Exec
utive from accepting? The platform of tho
Oregon policy laid down in the message wan
frorr.cl in wisdom. It is broad it is broad
enough. It admits every thing, and it ex
cludes nothing which this country can ener
sanction. Nor is this all. At what time
and by what statesman was the question ever
placed in better prospect of adjustment than
within the past year by Mr Polk? Was it
in 1818 ? Was it in 1842, when Mr. Web.
stcrand Lord Ashburton thought the ques
tion too difficult mark the -fact! mark the
fad ! too difficult, not to sett'e, but even to
aucuss f It is history now, that with one ac
cord, and swiftly, the British statesman put
back upon Mr. Gallatin's hands his immense
concession and that, too, when the naviga
tion of the Columbia, which he offered, was
universally considered to be of far grcutcr
value than it is now proved to possess."
The intimation in the closing sentence of
the foregoing extract, that the navigation of
the Columbia is fur less valuable than it wan
regarded when Mr. Gallatin' offer wnt
made, is worthy of consideration, connected
as it is with the assurance that the President's
Message docs not exclude the adjustment of
the controversy on any terms compatible with
I our honor " it admits of every thing, and
it excludes nothing which the country can
ever sanction" including, of course, tho
offer of 40 and that offer, as made in 181H
and 1820, is referred to thus:
"Mr. Polk, in viow of this fruitless anil
hopeless past, took a new stand. In his first
official act ho proclaimed to the country ami
to tho world, what had before been locked
up in the archives of diplomacy, the unwa
vering confidence of the executive branch of
this government in the validity and sound
ness of our title to the " whole of Oregon."
In so taking his position, he announced by
implication that any compromise whatever on
our part was just so much concession-concession
to be guarded and limitedconces
sion to be met fairly concession in view t
illustrious precedent, of high public policy
and of large established interests and, most
of all, concession in the spirit and in the mi
crcd causo of public peace This was truth,
and new truth. It placed our whole rfiplo.
maoy on new ground, and the very highest
ground. From that ground Mr. Polk made
his prnposul of compromise. And what wn&
its effect 1 True, it was reiuaed at once by
the British minister here; but 4ae British a
prime minister at ham fiHored, or msmi n
(alter, before it. He "oculd not My" k
should have been reiused He mM eay
it would havo been better to send It Jo Bug
land for consideration." -, i -,
"And this language of new reepoot and;
new moderation, in reply to Mr.'FieVa jitm
prttstiUwnicf cv cea ie titureayaWU.