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About Oregon spectator. (Oregon City, O.T. [i.e. Or.]) 1846-1855 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 17, 1847)
P7' ' ryw w i f a IK E w r OREGON SPECTATOR, From emr Extra of lept. 8 By Mm vital, yesterday imln, ef JohaM. Shivery, Eee,, Deputy Festasester at Aatarie, Ihum diately RwtiM Stelae, tae anajnlata iaureetlag docameata wets flaai ila ear aaaaaaiaa, which wa hTthaakaaaraof earesaaat eaftreow readers thia amraiag aiaa astasias, CaL Baataa'a letter eati- iIm laante the hmm newel sf every cHiaaa of Oregon. HewriUs was smell feeMag aad ha ax. preadaa are fsl ef algaiajiaat i , Tharnwuauaica tion fran Judge Bacaaaan, Secretary af State, k likawiaofalef iaAereetajutwil be read with much atafactieaaad received aa a delightful assaraace of ilia high regard the executive eaterUln for the wel fare of our country f the unchanging policy ho iU awaae to prase for the promotion of ita interesta. We are in a great harry, and we haTe not time nor room for further remarica even if we had the deeire to nuke them; aufice it to aay that the Spectator will be pnbliahed on Saturday next, a few days in ad ranee of ha regular publicatkat day aad will con tain the Bill "To eetabUeh the Tectorial GoYern roeatof Oregon" which peaard the Houaaof Repre aaatatiTea.wkh aliatof theyaaaaad aaya ia the Sen ate aa the rote to lie it on the table, which unfortunate ly eacoeeded on the 3d of March latt We alao hope to be able to give therein other late and important in-farmatiaa. Department of State, Washington City, March 29, 1647. $ John M. Shivcly, Esquire : Sib On the ovo or your departure for Oregon, tlio president has instructed me to communicate to you his views in regard to that territory, so that you may make t hem known to its inhabitants. He deems you a suitable agent for this purpose, as you are now an officer of the United States, having been commissioned deputy postmaster at As toria. The president deeply regrets, that congress did not, at their late session, enact a law es tablishing: a territorial government in Oregon. A bill for this purpose passed the house of representatives on the loth January last, by a vote of 138 to 3ft. It faikd in the senate, not, aa I am firmly convinced, from any want of disposition on the part of the majority to provide a government lor that interesting por tion of tho reputyic ; but because other ur gent and important business connected with the Mexican war, did not allow the necessary time before the close of their short session, to discuss and perfect its details. For this rea son alone, it was laid upon the table on tho day congress finally adjourned. It is tho intention of the president, in his message to congress in December next, to re iterate the recommendations in regard to Ore gon, contained in his last annual message. No ,foiibt is entertained that congress will, at an aarly period after their meeting, create a tor Tfterial government for Oregon extend over It air laws relating to trade and intercourse wllwtba radian tribes establish custom bou ses and make liberal grants of land to those bold and patriotic pioneers who, amidst great privations and dangers, have established their settlements upon the soil. t An earnest of this is afforded by the recent act carrying into effect the recommendations of the president, so far as regards the exten sion of our post-offico laws, and tho grant of mail facilities to our'tellow-citizens in Ore gon. This will apperr from a certified copy now furnished to you of part of the first sec tion, and of the second, sixth and seventh sections of the act, approved 3d March, 1847, to establish certain post routes and for oth er purposes." I am authorized by tho post master general to assure you that all the pro visions contained in theso sections, will be parried into cfiect with as little delay as pos -siblo. Thus you will" perceive, that the means 'have already been provided for tho convey. t.,ance of public information and private cor respondence amongst our citizens in Oregon themselves, and, between them und the citi zona of our states and territories east of the Rocky mountains. Besides, tho late congress, at their first scs siosi, by tho act of 19th May, 184(1, provided for raising a regiment of mounted riflemen fur the express purposoof ufTording a secure passage through tho intervening Indian terri: lory to emigrants on thoirway to Oregon, and for tho establishment of military posts along tho route for their protection. The people of Oregon may rent assured that the government and people of the Uni. ted States will sever abandon them or prove unmMAil of their welfare. We have given a sufficient pledgo or this determination, by the zeal and firmness with which, through, out a quarter of a century, our just right to that territory was steadfastly maintained against the claims of Great Britain, until at last the question was adjusted betwaea the two powers by tho treaty of June'Jt4. That treaty has secured to us tho wheat ter rltory on tho continent, south of the parallel of 41) begrees, and this, we shall never aban don. Wo feel tho deepest interest in the oros. pcrity of the people of Oregon. Their breth rcn on this side of tho Rocky mountains re gard them with affection and with hope. We can perceive, in the not distant future, one or more glorious states of this confederacy, springing into exigence on tho shores of the northern Pacific states composed of our own kindred ot a people speaking our own Ian cuoge, L'overncu bv institutions similar to those which secure our own happiness, and extending the blessings of religion, liberty and law, over that vast region. Their com merce and trade with the other states of the Union, will confer mutual benefits on all par ties concerned, and will bind them to us, and us to them, in boudsof reciprocal interest and affection more durable than adamant. Sci ence has discovered, and enterprise is now fast establishing, means of intercommunica tion so rapid, that, at no distant day, a jour ney from New York to Oregon, will lie ac complished in less timo than was once em ployed in traveling from that city to New Or leans ; and important news will bu commu nicated by telegraph, witli 'the velocity of iignining. i ncir loreign commerce wiiii mu west coast of America, with Asia and the isles of tho Pacific, will sail under tint pro tection of our common flag, and cannot fail to bear back wealth in abundance to thoir shores. In the mean time, wo shall watch over their growth with parental care. The president will direct our vessels of war to visit their ports and harbors as often as practicable, and to afford them all. tho protection which thoy may require ; and con gress, I doubt not, wjlLHts-Tiext session, provido for them a territorial government, suited to their wishes and their wants. Yours, very respectfully, .'AMES BUCHANAN, Secretary of State. Letter frawa Seatatar Beaton, to tko People sf res;e. Washington City, March, 1847. Mv Friends f For such I mav call manv of you from personal acquaintance, ami all of vou from mv thirtv vcars devotion to tho interests of your country) I think it right to make this communication to you at tho present moment when the adjournment ot Congress, without passing the (til! for .your government and protection, seems to havo left you in a state of abandonment wjr four mother country. Hut such is not the case. You aro not abandoned ! nor will you be de nied protection unless you agree to admit slavery. I, a man of the South, and a slave, holder tell you this. The House of Representatives, as early as the middle of January, had passed tho bill to give you a Territorial Government ; and in that bill had sanctioned and legalized your Provisional Orsanic Act, ono of tho clauses of which forever prohibited tho existence of slavery in Oregon. An amendment irom tho Senato's committee, to which this bill was referred, proposed to abrogato that prohibi tion ; and in tho delays and vexations to which that amendment gave rise, the wbolo bill was laid upon tho table, and lost for tho session. This will bo a great disappoint ment to you and a real calamity, already five years without law, or legaUjnsjftnUons for tho protection of life, liberty and proper. ty, nnd now doomed to wait a year longer. This is a strange and anomolous condition ! almost incredible to contcmplato, and most critical to endure ! a colony of frcn men, 4000 miles from tho Metropolitan govern ment, and without law or government to pre servo them ! But do not be alarmed, or des pcrato. You will not bo outlawed for not admitinc slavery. Your fundamental act a gainst that institution, copied from the Ordi nance of 1787 (tho work of tho groat men of tho sotmi. in the great day of the south, prohibiting slavery in a teriutoky far less northern than yours) will not bo abrogated ! nor is that tho intention of tho prime mover of the amendment. Upon the record of tho Judioiary committee of tho Senate is tho au thor of that amendment : but itot so tho fuel) It is only tnid.wifu to it. Its author ia the same mind that generated tho "Fike Brand Resolutions," of which I send you a'copy, and of which theamendment is tho legitimate derivation. Oregon is not the object. Tho most rabid propagandist of slavery cannot expect to plant it on the shores of tho Pacific, in tho latitude of Wisconsin arid tho Lake of tho Woods. A homo agitation, for election and disunion purposes, is all that is intended by thrusting this fire brand question into your bill ! and, at the next session, when it is thrust in again, wo will scourge it out ! and pass your oil) as it ought to be. I promise you this in the name of the south as wot! as of the nohth ; and the event will not de ceivo me. In the mean time, the President will give you all the protection which exist ing laws, and detachments of the army and net vy, can enablo him to extend to you ; and, until Congress has time to net, your friends must rely umii you to continue to govern yourselves, as you have heretofore done, un der the provisions of your own voluntary compact, and with the justice, harmony and moderation which is due to your own charac ter and to the honor of the American name. 1 send you, by Mr. Shively, u copy of the bill of the late session, both us it passed the House of Representatives and as proposed to lie amended in the Senate, with tho Semite's vote upon laying it on tho table, and a cony of Mr. Calhoun's Resolutions (posterior in date to the amendment, but, nevertheless, its father) a!so,o copy of your own Provis ional Organic Act, printed by order of the Senate: all which will put you completely in possession of the proceedings of Congress on your Petition for a Tiikitokial Gov ernment, nnd for the protection and security of your rights. , In conclusion, 1 have to assure you that the samo spirit which has made me the friend of Oregon for thirty years which led me to denounce the joint occupation treaty the day it was made, and to oppose its renewal in 1628, and to labor for its abrogation until it was terminated: the same spirit which led me to reveal tho grand destiny of Oregon in articles written in 1818, and to support every measure for her benefit since this same spirit still animates me, and will continue to do so while I live which, I hope, will be long enough to see an emporium or Asiatic com. inerco at the mouth of your river, und a Mrcam of Asiatic trade pouring in'o tho Val ley of of the Mississippi through the chan nel of Oregon. Your friend and fellow citizen. THOMAS II. BENTON. IN TIIK SENATE OF THE U. STATES. FriaciRT 19, 1847. Read, and ordered to bo printed. Mr. Calhoun submitted for consideration the following resolution: Resolved, That tho territories of the Uni ted States belong to the several States com posing this Union, and aro held by them as their joint and common property. Resolved, That Congress, us tho joint a gent and representative of the States of this Union, has no right to make any law, or do any act whatever, that shall directly, or by its effects, make any discrimination between tho States of this Union by which any of them shall be deprived of its full and equal right in any territory of tho United States, acquired or to bo acquired. Resolved, That tho enactment of any law which should directly, or by its effects, de prive the citizens of any of tho States of this Union from emigrating with their prop crty into any of tho territories of tho United Statos, would makosuoh discrimination; and would therefore bo a violation of tho con stitution, and tho rights of the States from which such citizens emigrated, and in dero gation of that perfect equality which bo longs to them as members of this Union nnd would tend directly to subvert the Union ilsolf. Resolved, That it is a fundamental princi ple in our political creed that a people, in forming a constitution, havo the uncondi tional right to form and adopt tho govern ment which thoy mayjhink bc8tj!aloulatcd to secure their liberty, prosperity, and hap piness; and that, in couiormity thereto, no other condition In imposed by tho federal constitution on a State in order to bu admit ted into its Union, except that its constitu tion shall bu republican; and that the Impo sition of any other by Congress would not only bo a Violation of tho constitution, but in direct conflict with tho principle on which our political system rests. Vailtcal Mates of America. DEPARTMENT OF STATE Te a fe afloat tint frttnts UU , Ortthng: 1 Ceanrv, That the Baser hereuste aMaahed ia a true copy of part of Oik feat, aad of Um ateend, sink and eevrnth arctioui, of an act of Ceagreaa, apsravrd March 3'J, 18-17, milled "Aa aet to aaabtiah certain peat routes and for Mhr parpone " treaeeribed frees, and carefully collated with the original roll on file ia ihu Department. In terfiriiony whereof, I, James Buchanan, at rre lL.a.1 Ury "Ute' ot ,1 Wttl,d Ststaa, hare here 1 ' uuto (utM-iibrd my same aad eeuaed Ilia eta! of the drpartrmiBl of atale la be aJUad. Dune at the City of Waaalagtoji,lais twenty -oinlb lay r Marrh, A. D. 1847, aad of the iasepeadence of the Uuitrd State of America the erveaty -sjat JAMK8 BUCHANAN. OREGON. From Oregon City, via Fort Vancouver and Fort Nesqually, to the mouth of Admir alty inlet. From Oregon City, up tho Willamette val ley, to the Kalamel river, in the direction of San Frisco. Sec V!. And be it further enacted, That tha above routes shall go into operation on the first day of July, eighteen hundred and for ty seven, or sooner, should the funds of the department justify the same : Provided, That as soon as a renjKJhsiblc contractor shall of. fer to trunsport tho mails over any portion of the routes included in this bill, for th- revenues arising therefrom respectively, the postmester general shall have tlio power forthwith to put them under contract. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the postmaster general 'be, and he is hereby, au thorized to contract for transporting a mail from Charleston, 8outh Carolina, to Cbagrcs, touching at St. Augustine aad Key West, and ulso at Havana, in the Island of Cuba, if deemed expedient, and acrosk tho isthmus to Panama, and from theaco to Astoria, or tho mouth of ihe Columbia river, touching at Monterey, St. Francisco, and such other places on the coast as the postmaster ccn. eral may direct ; tho mail to bo convoyed from Charleston to Chagres, aad from Panu- ma to Astoria, in steamships, and to be trans- ported each way ono every two months, or ofiener, as the public interest may require Provided, That the expenditure for said scr vice shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars per annum. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the postmaster gcnernl be, and he is hereby, au thorized to establish a post-office and appoint a deputy postmaster at Astoria, and such oth er places on the coast of tho Pacific, within the territory of the United States, as the pub lic interest may require : that all letters con veyed to or from Chagres shall bo charged with twenty ettnts postage; and all letter conveyed to or from Havana shall be subject to tweivo and a half cents postage, and let ters carried to or from Panama shall pay a jiostago of thirty cents, nnd letters to or from Astoria, or any other place on tho Pacific coast, within the territory of tho U. States, shall pay forty cents yoolagc. School Examination." Peter, what are you doing to that boy V ' Ho wanted to know if you take trn from twenty, how many will remain ; so I took ten of his apples, to show how many ho would havo left, and ho wanto me to give 'cm back to him !" ' Why don't you give them back, Peter?" "Bccoz, sur, then ho would forget how many is left." "Joiiinos, walk up sir, and say your Iceeon.' " Yit, Sir." " Jccmcs, who was the oldest man 7" ' Does'nt know, sir." ' Well, who was the oldest woman, then?" " Ann Tiquity, sir." Paimian ali. ovkr. At a medical con vention, in Paris, to guard against quackery, n young doctor urgud that a wall of bras should bo built up between physicians and surgeons ; on which a eolebrated belle csprif bogged to know on which side of tho wall should be placed tho graveyard t i H WH. StlNu"-.'