| 1119 the general and fundamental laws of nations; and that on this ground we have with us the consent of all conservative powers and statesmen who stand opposed to war and to aggression in every part of the globe.
-The joint occupation of the Oregon by British and American settlers is no longer judged expedient. Partition is recommended and desired. On what principles ought that partition to be made? Evidently on those of equal benefit and advantage. In our view of the question the Americans, having no exclusive right of sovereignty, cannot treat our fellow subjects as mere tenants at-will, nor drive them to whatever corner of the Oregon they choose, at the same time claiming for themselves great credit for forbearance. They have both an equal right to the disputed territory-a right arising from occupation nearly identical in time and similar in purpose. And if a greater share of land is to be accorded to one than the other, this award must be made, not as a recognition of right, but to those considerations which the proximity numbers, and the past labors of American settlers introduce as necessary elements in the adjustment of the dispute, considerations which, in all such important matters, it is impossible to merge in the technicalities of law or the minutiae of title.
But if the award of territorial district may be modified by these considerations, care must be taken that no such modification be carried to the extent of positive deprivation, and that though the British settlers may lose in the superficial measurement of their area, yet they shall not lose any of those collateral advantages which are absolutely indispensable for the prosecution of their trade-such as the great water privilege of the Colombia and the harbor at its mouth.
We think that every purpose both of honor and interest would be answered, if the British minister, on whom now devolves the duty of making fresh proposals to the Government of the United States, were to renew on his part the offer made to England by Mr. Gallatin in the Presidency and under the direction of Mr. Adams. That proposal was to take the 49th degree of north latitude as far as the sea, as the boundary line, reserving to Great Britain, Vancouver's Island, the harbor of St. Juan de Fuca, and the free navigation of the Columbia.-This would be a concession as far as superficial area of ground is concerned. It would leave the United States masters of the greater part of the Oregon. But it would secure the principal advantage of the country, the free navigation of the Columbia, to the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, as well as harborage, anchorage, and settlements for English vessels trading with China and our possessions in Australia and New Zealand. It would concede all that the most successful war could acquire, a sovereign but barren dominion; but it would secure all the commercial blessings of an honorable compromise and a rational peace. It would not deprive the native Americans of any equitable advantage, but it would retain for the Englishmen that privilege to which they are justly entitled-the privilege of sharing in the traffic between North America and the English settlements in the Pacific. No impartial man can expect that an English minister would ever consent to transfer to the United States the monopoly of the carrying trade between Hudson's Bay and English colonies in that sea.
We hope that no rules of diplomatic etiquette will prevent our representative at Washington from making some proposal of this kind. We hope, also, that no false pride, or more ignoble sentiment, will preclude the ministry of Washington from accepting it. And if they do reject it as coming from us, we do not see how, after such a rejection, they can refuse to submit the question of miles still left in dispute to the arbitration of some neutral power. To reject an offer conceived in the spirit of peace and moderation, and at the same time to demur to the suggestion of a reference, would be to deserve, not less than to provoke, the imputation of the most reprehensible obstinacy or the most insolent injustice.
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