extended its authority to the bounds of what the colony comprised previous to 1763.

The writer of this article resided in Louisiana at the time of the controversy, and heard an opinion generally expressed which he still believes correct, that had the government of the United States proceeded to take possession in 1803, of all ancient Louisiana, the subsequent idle dispute would have been avoided, and without incurring even the danger of war. As had been the case in every former instance of controversy between the United States and Spain, France leaned with all her weight in favour of the latter. The inhabitants of West Florida were divided into two unequal parties. A few who held offices, and some persons from particular reasons, sided with Spain, and its governor Folch; but the much greater number regarding themselves rightfully citizens of the United States, and well knowing that peace and tranquillity, as well as individual security, depended on their being received into the union, regretted that such had not been their lot, with other parts of ancient Louisiana. A state of irritation was the consequence, attended with violence and some bloodshed. The United States government paid more respect to the claims of Spain than was reciprocated; but the people of West Florida, at length driven to desperation, openly revolted in 1810, seized the Spanish Fort at Baton Rouge, and compelled the United States to do what ought to have been done in 1803. Orders were sent to Wm. C. C. Claiborne, governor of Louisiana, to occupy West Florida; orders which were promptly executed, and the former eastern boundary restored.

It seems, however, that the boundaries between the Anglo-American territories, and those of Hispano-America, were to remain an inexhaustible source of vexatious litigation, in the form of diplomatic controversy. France sold Louisiana, as France held that province under original discovery and original colonization. From the time that the first French colony landed on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico, to the treaty of 1763, the western boundary of the French province was matter of perpetual dispute between the two governments and their respective agents. France claimed to St. Bernard's Bay, where La Salle landed in 1685; Spain claimed to within nine miles of Natchitoches on Red River, at a small creek called by the Spaniards Rio Hondo. The disputed territory included a great part of the large country of Texas. The entire cession of Louisiana to Spain, silenced the contest during the 40 years from 1763 to 1803. The United States, representing France, very naturally revived the claim to the westward, and the field of negotiation on that subject was again thrown open; but the importance of the western boundary was soon lost sight of, in a discovery that whilst Spain nominally held East Florida, distraction reigned on the southern border of the United States. In all diplomatic discussions, the highest object at issue is the happiness of the people who are to be affected by interstipulations. If the lives even of millions had not been at jeopardy, we might well smile to hear the government of France charg

ing that of the United States with proceedings which nothing can authorise towards a power, which has long occupied, and still occupies, one of the first ranks in Europe." This was the diplomatic language of M. Talleyrand in December 1804, when France was treating the whole Spanish monarchy with far less ceremony than she would have dared to do one of her own departments. The real fact was, that from the beginning of this century, and in particular from 1808, the power of Spain had ceased as to all beneficent purposes, and existed on the continent of America for those only injurious to mankind. West Florida, and afterwards East Florida, afforded instances, which, intermingling with the history of the United States, we feel interested to trace to the abatement of the evil. We cannot however follow, step by step, negotiations, which on one side were conducted with evident design of delay. The shores and havens of Florida became the resort of every species of armament which, without national responsibility, could vex and plunder those employed in the legal pursuits of commerce. In the war between the United States and Great Britain, the whole province became a hostile flank to the former, and it is amongst the most singular instances of a departure from the ratio ultima regum, of which history affords us an example, that it was not permanently occupied by the military and naval force of the United States. More rational and more positively efficacious measures were adopted, and after tedious preliminary discussions and correspondence, a treaty of amity, settlement, and limits, was signed at Washington on the 22d February 1819. The negotiators were, on the part of the United States, John Quincy Adams, and on that of Spain Don Louis de Onis. Of this treaty, the parts relevant to our purpose are:

"ART. 2. His catholic majesty cedes to the United States, in full property and sovereignty, all the territories which belong to him, situated to the eastward of the Mississippi, known by the name of East and West Florida, &c."

"ART. 3. The. boundary line between the two countries, west of the Mississippi, shall begin on the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the Sabine, in the sea, continuing north along the western bank of that river, to the 32d degree of north latitude; thence by a line due north, to the degree of latitude where it strikes the Rio Roxo of Natchitoches, or Red River; then, following the course of the Rio Roxo westward, to the degree of longitude 100, west from London, and 23 from Washington; then crossing the said Red River, and running thence, by a line due north, to the river Arkansas; thence, following the course of the southern bank of the Arkansas, to its source, in latitude 42° North; and thence, by that parallel of latitude, to the South Sea; the whole being, as laid down on Melish's Map of the United States, published at Philadelphia, and improved to the first of January 1818. But, if the source of the Arkansas river shall be found to fall north or south of latitude 42°, then the line shall run from the said source due south or north, as the case may be, till it meets the said par

allel of latitude 42o, and thence, along said parallel to the South Sea. All the islands in the Sabine, and the said Red and Arkansas rivers, throughout the course thus described, to belong to the United States; but the use of the waters, and the navigation of the Sabine to the sea, and of the said rivers Roxo and Arkansas, throughout the extent of the said boundary, on their respective banks, shall be common to the respective inhabitants of both nations." "The two high contracting parties agree to cede and renounce all their rights, claims and pretensions, to the territories described by the said line, that is to say: the United States hereby cede to his Catholic Majesty, and renounce forever, all their rights, claims, and pretensions, to the territories lying west and south of the above described line; and, in like manner, his Catholic Majesty cedes to the said United States, all his rights, claims, and pretensions, to any territories east and north of the said line; and for himself, his heirs and successors, renounces all claim to the said territories forever.*"

ART. 4. Provides for the survey of the boundary, as designated in the preceding, by a commissioner and surveyor, who were to have been appointed by each nation, and who were "to meet before the termination of one year, from the date of the ratification of this treaty, at Natchitoches, on the Red river, and proceed to run and mark the said line, &c." But, the delays in the ratification of the treaty on the part of Spain, and other causes, have operated to prevent any steps being taken to estab. lish any part of the immense boundary which obliquely crosses the continent of North America, and, without estimating the minute curves of rivers, amounts to at least 2300 statute miles.

When we read the treaty of Washington, we are led to infer from its phraseology, that the original draught had been made in English, and that uncommon care had been used to render the stipulations clear and perspicuous; but it appeared that no language could protect the United States from tedious delay on the part of Spain, even in cases where no assignable pretext or benefit gave excuse. Pretexts were made, however, and though in this instance Spain received no countenance from the other powers of Europe, but rather on the contrary was advised to close amicably a negotiation in which the entire civilized world was directly or indirectly concerned, yet it was not until the 24th of October 1820, that the treaty was ratified by the king of Spain; and on the 22d February 1821 the ratifications were exchanged at Washington.

If we regard it in all its bearings, the treaty of Washington with Spain, was one of the most important transactions in which the United States were ever engaged. It closed, at least for the present age, a most intricate series of negotiations of nearly 40 years duration, and extended the land bor der of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. But

* Lyman, vol. ii. page 136-137.

the day must come, and is not very distant, when a most complex, and-unless more prompt than the mother country, a most tedious negotiation will arise with Mexico. If we except a small share of this extended national border on the Sabine, every other part is liable to conflicting construction from the terms of the treaty.

We now proceed to notice the boundary of the United States on the side of the British provinces of New Brunswick and Lower Canada, by quoting the whole second article of the treaty of peace of 1783, between Great Britain and the United States, which affords a striking example of how inadequate are the terms of human language to defend against human ingenuity.

"Art 2.-And that all disputes which might arise in future, on the subject of the BOUNDARIES of the said United States, may be prevented, it is hereby agreed and declared, that the following are and shall be their boundaries:-from the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, viz. that angle which is formed by a line drawn due north from the source of St. Croix river to the highlands; along the said highlands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the rivet St. Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to the north-westernmost head of Connecticut river. Thence down along the middle of that river, to the forty-fifth degree of north latitude; from thence by a line due west on said latitude until it strikes the river Iroquois or Cataraquy; thence along the middle of said river, into Lake Ontario, through the middle of said lake until it strikes the communication by water between that lake and Lake Erie; thence along the middle of said communication into Lake Erie, through the middle of said lake until it arrives at the water communication between that lake and Lake Huron; thence along the middle of said water communication into the Lake Huron; thence through the middle of said lake to the water communication between that lake and Lake Superior; thence through Lake Superior, northward of the isles Royal and Philipeaux, to the Long Lake; thence through the middle of the said Long Lake, and the water communication between it and the Lake of the Woods, to the said Lake of the Woods; thence through the said lake to the most north-western point thereof and from thence on a due west course to the river Mississippi; thence by a line to be drawn along the middle of the said river Mississippi, until it shall intersect the northernmost part of the thirty-first degree of north latitude. South, by a line to be drawn due east from the determination of the line last mentioned, in the latitude of thirty-one degrees north of the equator, to the middle of the river Apalachicola or Catahouche; thence along the middle thereof to its junction with the Flint river; thence straight to the head of St. Mary's river; and thence down along the middle of St. Mary's river to the Atlantic

Ocean. East, by a line to be drawn along the middle of the river St. Croix, from its mouth in the Bay of Fundy, to its source, and from its source directly north to the aforesaid highlands, which divide the rivers that fall into the Atlantic Ocean from those which fall into the river St. Lawrence: comprehending all islands within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of the United States, and lying between lines to be drawn due east from the points where the aforesaid boundaries between Nova Scotia on the one part and East Florida on the other, shall respectively touch the bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean; excepting such islands as now are, or heretofore have been, within the limits of Nova Scotia."

This article, which opens with a promise of preventing disputes respecting boundaries, contains, except those parts which are palpably natural, no specified boundary which was not liable to be the ground of protracted dispute; and one of the most serious magnitude has arisen in regard to the first and last boundary comprised under its stipulations. To render. the causes of this contest more intelligible to the reader, we enter into some geographical detail.

From the total silence of the treaty respecting St. John's river, we may presume, that to the framers, the fact was unknown, and of course unsuspected, that a large share of its basin comes within the scope of its provisions. By turning to our description of St. John's river in this article, the reader will discover the very remarkable fact, that its remote sources interlock with those of Chaudiere and Penobscot, and entirely overhead the latter, reaching, indeed, within eighty miles of the extreme fountains of Connecticut. From these sources, the higher volume of St. John's and the general range of its valley for about 150 miles, are very nearly parallel to the St. Lawrence; leaving an intermediate strip of land from 50 to 70 miles wide between the two rivers. What is again of the most importance, as far as the contested boundary is concerned, the much greater part of the narrow region between the upper St. John's and St. Lawrence is drained into the former. From the city of Quebec, in a N. E. by E. direction, the distance is only about 45 miles, to the basin of St. John's; and and about 125 miles lower down both streams, and opposite the influx of Saguenay, it is not 20 miles from the right bank of St. Lawrence to the sources of the extreme northern confluents of St. John's. According to Tanner's United States map, these northern fountains of St. John's, or the heads of Mattawaska, are in N. Lat. 47° 52', and Long. 8° E. from Washington city, extending within nearly a degree of latitude north of the city of Quebec. From the preceding geographical point, the Mattawaska, and, below their junction, the St. John's, flow by comparative courses S. E. by E. 90 miles to N. Lat. 47°, and thence by a course of a little E. of S. nearly over another degree of latitude, and reaches within less than 20 miles from the source of St. Croix river.

If a line be drawn due north from the head of St. Croix river, it will gradually incline upon, reach

and pass over the main volume of St. John's in a distance of about 80 miles; and thence traversing the sources of Ristigouche river, intersect the highlands, agreeably to the treaty of 1783, almost on N. Lat. 48°, and Long. 9° 10' E. from Washington city.

Above a line drawn as designated in the preceding paragraph, the St. John's and its confluents drain a surface rather exceeding 10,000 square miles, and lying directly between the upper part of Lower Canada and New Brunswick. There can be no reasonable doubt that more correct geographical knowledge would have greatly modified the treaty of 1783, and would have probably caused. the continuation of N. Lat. 45°, as designated in the treaty of Utrecht, 1713; and there are as few doubts that a fair interpretation of the treaty of 1783, would leave the whole basin of St. John's to the United States; but the political consequences to the British provinces were too serious, and hence disputes, which time and all attempts of amicable arrangement have failed to settle. was for the purpose of having the point at issue determined, that the following provision was made by the treaty of Ghent.

It

"Art. 5. Whereas neither that point of the highlands lying due north from the source of the river St. Croix, and designated, in the former treaty of peace between the two powers, as the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, nor the north-western-. most head of Connecticut river, has yet been ascertained; and whereas that part of the boundary line between the dominions of the two powers which extends from the source of the river St. Croix, directly north to the above mentioned northwest angle of Nova Scotia, thence along the said highlands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the Atlantic Occean, to the northwesternmost head of Connecticut river; thence down along the middle of that river, to the fortyfifth degree of north latitude; thence by a line due west on said latitude until it strikes the river Iroquois or Cataraquy, has not yet been surveyed; it is agreed that for these several purposes, two commissioners shall be appointed, sworn and authorised to act exactly in the manner directed with respect to those mentioned in the next preceding article, unless otherwise specified in the present

article."

In article 4, it was stipulated, that a board of commissioners was to be formed to adjust these disputes, and it was provided, that in case of disagreement or refusal to act, the respective.commissioners "shall make jointly or separately, a report or reports, as well to the government of his Britannic majesty as to that of the United States, stating, in detail, the points on which they differ, and the grounds upon which their respective opinions have been formed, or the grounds upon which they, or either of them, have so refused, declined or omitted to act. And his Britannic majesty, and the government of the United States, hereby agree to refer the report or reports of the said commissioners to some friendly sovereign or

state, to be then named for that purpose, and who shall be requested to decide on the differences which may be stated in the said report or reports, or upon the report of one commissioner, together with the grounds upon which the other commissioner shall have refused, declined or omitted to act, as the case may be. And if the commissioner so refusing, declining or omitting to act, shall also wilfully omit to state the grounds on which he has so done, in such manner as the said statement may be referred to such friendly sovereign or state, together with the report of such other commissioner, then such sovereign or state shall decide ex parte, upon the said report alone. And his Britannic majesty and the government of the United States engage to consider the decision of such friendly sovereign or state to be final and conclusive on all the matter so referred."

Without aid from the inductions drawn from history, the preceding extracts would seem to have provided the full means of complete adjudication in the last resort, and without appeal; but the result did more justice to history than did the provisions of the treaty of Ghent to the objects of its stipulations. Boards of commissioners were appointed, and proceeded to execute their respective duties. That under the recited 5th article advanced and fixed the head of the St. Croix river, which, as laid down by Tanner, is at 45° 57' N. Lat. and in Long. 9° 10' E. from Washington city. Advancing thence due north, as provided by the treaty of 1783, the line of demarcation was drawn something above forty miles to a place called Mars Hill. This hill is very nearly on the mid distance between the head of St. Croix river and St. John's river, on the due north and south line, and about ten miles westward from the nearest part of the right bank of the latter. Here the British commission arrested the farther continuation of the boundary in its northern direction, contending, that they had reached the "Highlands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence, from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean."

If the real base of the objection to carry the let ter of the treaty of 1783, had been geographical, it would have been sufficient to show that an inflected line from Mars Hill, drawn along the dividing ridge between the sources of St. John's and Penobscot rivers, must extend upwards of 150 miles before reaching a single fountain the water of which flowed into St. Lawrence; and that in a direct line Mars Hill was more than 120 miles distant from the highlands between the sources of St. John's and Penobscot, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean, and those of the Chaudiere, discharging its waters into St. Lawrence. But the true objection lay deeper, and the United States and Great Britain made choice of the king of the Netherlands to arbitrate the matter. After years of delay, the award of the king of the Netherlands was made; and, similar to an immense majority of awards, it left the litigation tenfold more embroiled, by directly violating the rights of one party, and falling far

short of the claims of the other; and there remains unsettled the boundary of the United States on the north-eastern extreme, involving one-third part of the surface of the state of Mainc.

From the head of Connecticut river to the Sault, or Rapids of St. Mary, the boundary between the United States and the British territories is fixed, and was finally determined under the 6th article of the treaty of Ghent, and by a report signed at Utica, the 18th of June 1822, by Peter B. Porter for the United States, and Anthony Barclay for Great Britain. From the Straits of St. Mary to the north-western, or rather the western part of the Lake of the Woods, the common boundary remains agreeably to the treaty of 1783. By that treaty, however, an impossible boundary from the Lake of the Woods to the river Mississippi was provided for, in these words, viz. "and from thence (the most north-western point of the Lake of the Woods) on a due west course to the river Mississippi."

Future discovery demonstrated what was then (1783) suspected, that the extreme northern sources of the Mississippi did not reach the latitude of the north-westernmost, or any part of the Lake of the Woods. It is not probable that the extreme sources of the Mississippi are yet determined to the utmost certainty; but sufficient has been ascertained to decide the facts, that no water flowing into the Mississippi rises as far north as 48° of N. Lat. and that the southern angle of the Lake of the Woods is at least as high as N. lat. 48° 50'.

The whole boundary or boundaries from N. lat. 45° on Connecticut river to the Rocky, Stony, or Chippewayan mountains, is or are indeed fixed on the basis of the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713. That part between the Lake of the Woods and Rocky Mountains, was finally fixed (as far as a convention could fix it), by solemn stipulation in the convention or treaty of that year:

"Art. 2.-It is agreed, that a line drawn from the most north-western point of the Lake of the Woods, along the 49th parallel of north latitude, or if the said point shall not be in the 49th parallel of north latitude, then that a line drawn from the said point, due north or south, as the case may be, until the said line shall intersect the said parallel of north latitude, and from the point of such intersection due west along and with the said parallel, shall be the line of demarcation between the territories of the United States and those of his Brittannic majesty, and that the said line shall form the northern boundary of the said territories of the United States, and the southern boundary of the territories of his Britannic majesty, from the Lake of the Woods to the Stony Mountains."

"The extreme north-western point of the Lake of the Woods, is declared to be latitude N. 49° 23′ 54", and Long. 95° 14' 38" W. (18° 19' 38" W. from W. C.), so that in conformity with the treaty, this point having been ascertained to be north of parallel 49°, a line is drawn due south from it to parallel 49°; on which it is to be continued to the Rocky Mountains. No means have yet been taken

to delineate the boundary westward from the Lake of the Woods."*

We proceed to close these diplomatic reviews.of the boundaries of the United States, with a notice of an object destined to become of the most stupendous consequence; that is, the great basin of Oregon, and the adjacent regions on the Pacific Ocean, westward of the Rocky or the Chippewayan mountains.

The great river, named by the Spaniards (the original discoverers of the coast) Oregon, and by travellers and writers of the United States until recently, Columbia, pours its great volume into the Pacific at N. Lat. 46° 19' and Long. 46° 25′ W. from W. C.

Oregano, in Spanish, is the name of wild marjoram, and without pretending to give that as the origin of the name of Oregon river, we may, how ever, suggest, that such was the fact, from that plant or some other bearing to it a strong resemblance, being found on its banks. Let that conjecture be well or ill founded, the revival of Oregon ought to be supported, to avoid the embarrassing repetition of the same name so common in American geography. In the present case we are more concerned with the political claim of the United States to the basin and adjacent parts, than with their geography.

It was certainly making the most of a claim, to include Oregon in Louisiana, as did many writers and speakers of eminence, subsequent to the acquisition of the latter by the United States. Nor was such questionable extension requisite. We have already shown that, by the treaty of Washington, Spain surrendered to the United States all claim to the northward of N. Lat. 42°; of course, from the final ratification of that compact, the United States obtained sovereignty over Oregon as far as Spain was concerned; but two much more powerful competitors presented themselves to disturb the title, Great Britain, extending her claims from the eastward, and Russia from the northwest coast.

It is useless to traverse a beaten path, to prove priority of discovery, as Vancouver himself acknowledges that the first knowledge he received of Columbia river was from Captain Gray, of the ship Columbia. We shall merely and briefly state that some merchants of Boston in 1788 fitted out two vessels, for the express purpose of trading to the northwest coast of North America. One of these vessels, the Columbia Redivina, was, on a second voyage, 1792, commanded by Captain Robert Gray, who discovered and entered a great river, the Ore gon. Captain Vancouver was then at Nootka, and Captain Gray, naming his great discovery after his own ship, very fortunately communicated the whole to Vancouver, who sent his first lieutenant to survey the entrance, but acknowledges the facts. Again, the expedition of discovery under the direction of Lewis and Clarke, is known to every reader, and in 1804, 1805, 1806, completed the inland discovery of the central parts of the basin of that river, called by them Columbia. The British government, urg.

VOL. XVIII.—PART I.

ing claims to the same region, succeeded in some measure to obtain a recognition of their justice from the United States in the convention of 1818.

"ART. 3. It is agreed, that any country that may be claimed by either party on the northwest coast of America, westward of the Stony Mountains, shall, together with its harbours, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be free and open, for the term of ten years from the date of the signature of the present convention, to the vessels, citizens, and subjects, of the two powers: it being well understood, that this agreement is not to be construed to the prejudice of any claim which either of the two high contracting parties may have to any part of the said country, nor shall it be taken to affect the claims of any other power or state to any part of the said country: the only object of the high contracting parties, in that respect, being to prevent disputes and differences amongst themselves."

If we revert to the subsequent history of the far greater number of treaties entered into by the United States, the latter part of the above quoted article ought to read "the only fruit of all the foregoing, will be abundant disputes between the parties.

The progress of European discovery, claims of sovereignty, and colonization, is a new and illimitable field of political history; and far the most extraordinary feature in this greatest of all revolutions, is, that the christian nations of Europe, making professions of pre-eminent principles of justice and humanity, have actually invaded and conquered no small share of every other section of the earth. Of these gigantic invaders, the Russians have acted by far the most important part, though, from relative position, their progress in eastern Europe, northern Asia, and northwestern America, has attracted comparatively but little attention. Advancing from west to east in a reverse direction to the progress of the more western nations of Europe, Russia in the last two centuries has gained dominion over all northern Asia, and penetrated into America. Her ancient and new dominions presenting another peculiarity, they were constantly in contact, and, with the narrow sea or strait between America and Asia, remain an unbroken zone on the earth, comprising 200 degrees of longitude. The further extension of this belt, encircling already five-ninths of the planet, was at least for the present arrested by another rapidly developing power, the United States, which occupies 62°, out of the 160° of longitude left between the two extremes of the Russian empire.

The central regions of both the great sections of America, had, in the early ages of discovery, less fame for the exuberant production of gold and silver, than had in after times the northwest coast of North America for the abundance and richness of its furs. Amid pretensions on all sides, the priority of discovering the approaching extremes and intermediate straits, is accorded to Russia. One of the captains in the employment of that em