sPEECHqoFvM Il: BENTON.
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! = OF MISSOURI, t~f '


In the Senate Of the United States, March /, 1925


onithe Bill for the !Oceppatien, Of the Oregon
81 River, and in; reply to Mr.. MAHIoN D1cKEA
81 sON,Pof New Jersey esed zir'1su: be:tsgs =


Mr. Benton, ip reply to Mr. Dieke;rtson, said, iha


ne had not intended 10 speak 70 this bill. Always


unwilling to trespass upon the time and patience
lof the Senate, he was particularly so at this mo


ment, when the session was drawing TO close
and an hundred bills upon Thea table were each
|demanding attention. The occupation ofthe CO


!umbia River was a subject which had engaged


the deiiberation Of Congress for. four years past


and the minds Of gentlemen might be supposed


TO- be made up upon. it. Resting upon this belief


Mr.. B, as reporter Of the bill, had limited himself


to the duty of watching its progress, and holding


himself m readiness TO answer any ina1iries which


might be put, Inquiries he Certainly expected


but general assault in this laie stage Of the ses


sion, upon the principle. the policy and the de-


tails OF The bill, bad not been anticipated. Such


an assault had, however, been nude BY the Sen,


ator from New Jersey, (Mr. D. and Mr.. B. would


be untahhfnl to his duty if he did not repe il. In


dlscharging his Duty. he would lose no time in
going over the gentlelnans calculations about The


expense of getting. member Of Congress from


solve his difficulties about the shortest and oest


route; whether Cape Horn should be doubled a
new route explored under the North pole, or


mountains climbed, whose spring .summits pre-
sent twelve feet of defying snow to The burning
rays of a July sun. Mr.. B. looked upon these
calculations and problems as so many dashes of
the genteman's wit, and admitted that wit was an


excellent article in debate equally convenient for
tembeilishing argument, and concealing the


want Of one. For which Of these purposes, the


Sen1tor from New Jersey had amused the Senate
with he wit in for q IN


say, should he undertake to disturb him in


the quiet enjoyment of the honor which he had


won thereby. Leaving all that out Of view, he
would proceed directly to expose and confute those


paris of the gcntleman's argument in which he
had favored the pretensions Of Great Britain at
the expense Of the rights and interests of his own
country These parts aIe-


1st. His admission Of title, OH the part of Great


Britain, to the right bank of the Columbia River.
Cd. His declarations that the United States were
precluded from occupying the country on the Co.


lumbia River by the third artcl le of the LoRdon
convention Of 1873
Sd. His menace of conflict with Great Bri-
tain if we presumed to occupy it. .......-


1t is now, Mr.. President, continued Mr. B. pre-
cisely two and twenty years since contest for the
Columbia has been going on between the United
States and Great Britain The contest originated
with the discovery>of the River itself The mo-
ment that we discovered it, she claimed it and
without the color of a title in her hand, she has
labored since to ovcr-reach US in the arts of
negotiation, or to bully out of our discovery by
menaccS OF war.


In the year 1870, ci,izen of the United States.
Capt Gray, of Boston, discovered the Columbia
at its entrance into the sea and in 1903, Lewis
and Clarke were sent by the Government of the
United States; to complete the discovery Of the
whole river from its source doTnwards and to
take formal possession in the name of their Gov
ernment In l793, Sir Alexander Nj Kenzie had
been sent from Canada by the British Govern
ment 10 effect the same object; but he missed the
course of the river, fell upon the Taeoutche Tesse,
and struck the Pacific about FIVE hundred miles 10
the North ofthe mouth Of the Columbia. :.


In 1903, the United States acquired Louisiana,
and with it an open question of boundaries for that
vast province. On the side of Mexico and Fori.
da, this question to be settled with the King
of Spain; on the North and Northwest with the
King of Great Britain. 1t happened in the very
time that were signing a treaty in Paris for
the acquisition of Louisiana, that we were signing
another in London for the adjustment Of the boun-
dairy line between the Northwest possession of
the United States and the King of Great Britain:
The negotiators of each were ignorant Of what
the others had done and on remltng the two
treaties TO the Senate of the United States. for IA.
tifcalion that for the purchase of Louisiana was
ratified without restriction;. the other with the ex-
cepton of The fifth article. 1t was this aFticleE
which adjusted the boundary; line between the
United States and Great Britain, from the Lake
of the Woods to the head ofthe Mississippi and the
Senate refused to ralify it, because, by possibility
it might leopard the Northern boundary of Loui,
siana. The treatY-w was sent back to London, the
fifth article exptnged and the British Govern
ment, acting then as upon a late occasion, reject
ed the whole treaty; when she failed in securing
the precise advantage of which She.was in search.


In the year 1907, another treaty was negota-
ted between the United States and Great Britain. |
The negota,ors on both sides were then possessed
of the fact that Louisiana belonged to the United
States, and that her boundaries 10 the North and
West were underlined. The seltlement of this |
boundary was point in the negotiation and con-
tinued efforts were made by the British Plenipo |
tentiaries to ever-reach the Americans, with res
pect to the country West of the Rocky Mountains
Without representing any claim, they endeapor- |
ed g to leaoe ,seA egg for future pretensions IN
tkat ouerter" {State Papers, 1822-3( Finally |
an article was agreed TO. The 10th degree of
North lutitude was to be followed. Test, as far as
the territories of the two countries extended in
that direction, with proviso against its applica.
ton to the country West ofthe Rocky Mountains |
This treaty shared the fate Of that of 1903 It I
was never ratified Forcatises unconnected with |
the questions of boundary, it was rejected by Mr.,
Jefferson without a reference to the Senate.


At Ghent, ia 1914, the attempts Of 1903 and
1907 were re0ewcd : The British Plenipote1- t
iarics offered articles apon the subject of boHnda-