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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
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H
WH.
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