III. THE BRIDAL OF PENNACOOK, A POEM. By J. G. Whittier IV. THE TRAVELS AND WRITINGS OF HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT VII. MRS. CHILD'S LETTERS FROM NEW YORK X. THE TEA FAIRY. A Chinese Legend. By Mrs. E. F. Ellet Page 523 XII. THE POWER OF WORDS. By Edgar A. Poe XIII. MONTHLY FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL ARTICLE XVII. NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY THIS NUMBER CONTAINS SEVEN SHEFTS. THE OREGON is a tract of country on the western side of the new world, principally watered by the river Oregon, or Columbia, and its tributaries. It extends from 42 degrees of north latitude, to 54 degrees and 40 minutes, and from the Pacific eastward, five or six hundred miles, to the ridges of the Rocky or Oregon mountains. The name is taken from the river which, long before its actual discovery, had been supposed to exist beyond the mountains, and which was first called the Oregon by Jonathan Carver of Connecticut, who travelled in the interior of the continent in 1766. How he got the name, or whether he invented it himself, it is impossible, at the present day, to determine. The stream was not actually seen till 1792, many persons until then believing it to be fabulous. The name, however, remained, and is now not only applied to the country from which its waters are gathered, but, as the name of the river itself, is in "Married to immortal verse," "The continuous woods Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound, Save his own dashings." of lofty mountains. The shores are bold and high; in many parts, mountains rising immediately from the sea. Up to the 48th parallel there are few inlets, or islands, but further north there are thousands of islands, and a net-work of bays and peninsulas. The valleys of the interior are generally narrow. The climate is drier and milder by many degrees than on the Atlantic side in the same latitudes. Of the soil, different accounts have been given, some representing it as fertile, and others as of little value. The most valuable portion of it undoubtedly lies south of the river, though by far the best part of the territory, for its harbors and maritime advantages, lies around the strait of Fuca. To us as a trading power on the Pacific, these are invaluable. Until within a few years there have been but scanty settlements; a few trading posts and missionary stations. But the tide of American emigration has lately set in that direction, and nothing but some fatal misstep on our part, can prevent its habitable portions being occupied in a few years by our countrymen, and a vast trade thence carried on over all the Pacific. This country is claimed by America* as belonging exclusively to her; while England claims, not an exclusive right This country is traversed by ridges in any part of it, but a right to occupy *We use the words "America" and "American" in a national sense only, using another designation for the continent, whenever we have occasion to mention it. and settle it, in common with America and other nations. The discussion between the two governments has grown to be an angry one; and if we were to judge by the late declarations of the English ministry, there remains no arbitrament but the sword. It is difficult, however, to believe that the government of Great Britain can seriously think of pushing their pretensions to the extent of a war, while we are confident that our government, in maintaining the rights of America, will see the propriety of discussing them with moderation as well as firmness, doing no act to provoke, and sedulously abstaining from even the appearance of disregarding the obligation of treaties. But while it does this, it has also a duty to perform to Americans. It is time that the insolence of Englishmen, now become almost habitual, were rebuked. indeed be just; let us appear just; and let England and consequences take care of themselves. That we may present a concise as well as a just view of the real merits of this question of the Oregon, we shall endeavor to condense into as small a space as possible the grounds, both of fact, and of public law, on which our rights are founded. In doing this we shall strive to omit nothing material to the inquiry. 3. That the discovery of a river is deemed the discovery of its course and branches, and of the country drained by it. 4. That all treaties and engagements between governments, of an executory nature, are annulled by a subsequent war. With these rules before us, let us examine the questions of fact. The first settlements in the new world were all made on its eastern shores. The Pacific ocean was discovered by Balboa at Panama in 1513. No person, however, ventured to the north west coast as far as Oregon till 1543, when Ferrelo, a pilot in the service of Spain, penetrated to the latitude of 43. Thirty-six years afterwards, Drake made his famous voyage round the world, and it is maintained by the English government that he sailed as high on this coast as 48; but Let us while one account of his voyage has it 48, the other has it 43; and there is good reason to think that this last account is the true one. The discrepancy in the two accounts destroys their value as evidence, and no reasonable person would think of resting any title upon them. Drake did not land on any part of this coast, and from that period for about two hundred years no Englishman visited it. The Spaniards, however, visited it several times, once more at least during the sixteenth century, twice in the seventeenth, and three times in the eighteenth, before the time of Cook's voyage. In 1778 that great navigator sailed along the coast, particularly examining the upper parts near the 47th and 48th parallels,and stopping at Nootka Sound. Afterwards the coast was frequently visited by the vessels of the different maritime nations. The river remained undiscovered. Vancouver passed along the shore in 1792, examined it and concluded that there was no river. Capt. Gray, an American, in the American ship Columbia, however, discovered it on the 11th of May, 1792, and sailed into it a considerable distance. Its existence had been previously suspected, as we have already mentioned, and Heceta, a Spanish navigator, had in 1775 run along the shore, and on the 15th of August, at six in the evening, arrived opposite a bay in the latitude of 46 degrees 17 minutes, "where the currents and eddies were so strong that notwithstanding a press of sail it was What are the rules of public law, by which the question of right, in this case, is to be judged? They are these: 1. That in respect to newly discovered countries, the first discoverer has the prior right to occupy, provided he does so within a reasonable time. What is a reasonable time depends upon the nature of the country, the uses to which it may be applied, and the wants of mankind in respect to it. If, for example, it were a rich West India island, the first discoverer could not rightfully prevent other nations from occupying and cultivating it if he did not see fit soon to do so himself. If on the other hand it were a remote barren island, there would be no necessity of immediate occupation. 2. That if the first discoverer does not occupy within this reasonable time, he is deemed to have abandoned his right, and the next discoverer stands as if he had been the first, and so on though any number of discoverers. |