USA > Louisiana > The province and the states, a history of the province of Louisiana under France and Spain, and of the territories and states of the United States formed therefrom, Vol. II > Part 39
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"Article VIT. It is further agreed that the said two last men . tioned commissioners, after they shall have executed the duties assigned them by the preceding article, shall be and they are hereby anthorized upon their oaths impartially to fix and deter- mine according to the true intent of the said treaty of peace of 1783 that part of the boundary between the dominions of the two Powers which extends from the water communication between Lake Huron and Lake Superior to the most northwest- ern point of the Lake of the Woods, to decide to which of the two parties the several islands lying in the likes, water comnu- nications and rivers forming the said boundary do respectively belong in conformity with the true intent of the said treaty of peace of 1783, and to cause such parts of the said boundary as
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require it to be surveyed and marked. The said commissioners shall by a report or declaration under their hands and seals desig- nate the boundary aforesaid, state their decision on the points thus referred to them, and particularize the latitude and longitude of the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, and of such other part of the said boundary as they may deem proper ; and both parties agree to consider such designation and decision as final and conclusive."
Under the stipulations of the treaty of Ghent the boundary between Great Britain and the United States from the Atlantic ocean to the river Mississippi was divided into four parts, the fourth division extending from Lake Superior to the most north- westerly point of the Lake of the Woods. The two commission- ers appointed for the survey of the fourth division met, explored the line assigned to them, but could not agree. Mr. Porter of New York was the commissioner on the part of the United States to determine the boundary from Lake Superior to the northwesternmost point of the Lake of the Woods. The disa- greement of the commissioners was in keeping with the disa- greements between the two countries. The British were extremely grasping and exacting, but it cannot be said, whatever else may be asserted, that the United States demanded more : than fairness and justice required. The proposition they sub- mitted in 1814, was practically the same as they had submitted in 1807. But Great Britain made new and unfounded demands. They had the assurance to demand the military jurisdiction and control of the Great Lakes, and an acknowledgment of their per- petual right to the navigation of the Mississippi. They being concessions of great value belonging partly to the United States, the latter felt fully justified in demanding compensation therefor ; when, therefore, they requested as a consideration, additional rights to the fisheries at the mouth of the St. Lawrence river, they encountered an emphatic refusal. Evidently England was using her utmost endeavors to drain and bleed the country to the utmost, regardless of right or justice. But there is no doubt that the British commissioners were acting under orders to favor as much as possible Hudson's Bay Company.
In all mentions of the Lake of the Woods in connection with the northern boundary, the northwesternmost point of the same is nearly always referred to; but the forty-ninth parallel crosses that lake nearly on the southwesternmost point. One mistake made by the United States was in over referring to the forty- ninth parallel at all, or in failing to send a surveyor or astrono- mer to ascertain the exact latitude of the northwesternmost point
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of the Lake of the Woods before referring to that parallel. IL .. ! the United States displayed the same unfounded greed as Gre. : Britain, the line would have been established in accordance wi:'; the partisan slogan of later times, "fifty-four forty or fight." A1 .; person, by looking at a large map of the United States, will ja ?. ceive a small wedge extending up into the Lake of the Wood .. This should be regarded as a perpetual reminder of the wrong done to this country by the want of foresight of the American . statesmen of that period. In an hour of weakness, desiring to gain the good will of the British government, they had previously incautiously mentioned the forty-ninth parallel as having been established by the treaty of Utrecht (which establishment has been emphatically disputed ) and were, in consequence of this statement, held to that line by the astute British ministry.
Upon a renewal of negotiations for the settlement of the bound- ary in 1818, the British government showed great earnestness to have the question adjusted ; so much so, in fact, as to kindle the suspicions of the Americans that they had some ulterior designs for their own aggrandizement. On July 28, 1818, Mr. Adams wrote to Messrs. Gallatin and Rush as follows :* "From the earnestness with which the British Government now return to the object of fixing this boundary, there is reason to believe that they have some other purpose connected with it which they do not avow, but which in their estimation gives it an impor- tance not belonging to it considered in itself. An attempt was at first made by them at the negotiation of Ghent ( 1814) to draw the boundary line from Lake Superior to the Mississippi. But, as they afterward not only abandoned that preten in, but gave up even the pretension to an article renewing their right to the navigation of the Mississippi, it was to have been expected that they would thenceforth have considered this western bound- ary of no importance to them. The new pretension, however, of disputing our title to the settlement at the mouth of the Columbia river, either indicates a design on their part to encroach, by new establishments of their own, upon the forty-ninth par- allel of latitude, south of which they can have no valid claim upon this continent; or it manifests a jealousy of the United States -- a desire to check the progress of our settlements, of which it might have been supposed that experience would before this day have relieved them. Their projects for the line, both in the negotiation of Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney in ISE and at Ghent in 18144. were to make the forty-ninth parallel of latitude,
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from the Lake of the Woods, west, as far as the territories of the United States extend in that direction, with a caveat against its extension to the South Sea or beyond the Stony mountains; upon which two observations are to be made: First, that it is uncer- tain whether any part of the Lake of the Woods is in latitude forty-nine; and, Second, that they always affected to apply the indefinite limit of extension 'as far as the territories extend' to the territories of the United States and not to those of Great Brit- ain, leaving a nest-egg for future pretensions on their part south of latitude forty-nine. The counter-projects for the line on our part, therefore, at both of those negotiations, were, from the : northwest corner of the Lake of the Woods, the point already fixed and undisputed, a line due north or south, as the case may be, to the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, and thence along that parallel due west as far as the territories of both parties extend in that direction, and adopting the caveat against extension to the Pacific or beyond the Stony mountains."
This statement was made to the American commissioners for their information in the pending negotiations. The first con- ference leading to the convention of 1818 was hekl on August 27. On September 17th, the Americans submitted the follow- ing proposition for the boundary line: "It is agreed that a line drawn due north or south, as the case may require, from the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, until it shall intersect the forty-ninth parallel of 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 Britannic Majesty to the use! ward of the said lake; and that the said time she! form the northern boundary of the said territories of the United States and the southern boundary of His Britannic Majesty's said ter- ritories from the said lake to the Pacific ocean; it being dis- tinctly understood that with respect to the territories situated on the northwest coast of America or westward of the Stony mount- ains, the two high contracting parties intend hereby to define the extent of their respective claims so far only as relates to the two parties and without reference to the claims of any other nation.
. The navigation of the rivers that fall into the Pacific ocean and which may be intersected by the line of demarcation aforesaid, shall, from the sources of such branches as may be thus intersected, to the ocean, remain free and open to the citi- zens of the United States and to the subjects of Great Britain. But both parties reserve to themselves the power of regulating, cach within their respective territories, the right to the navigat-
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tion of the rivers that fall either into the Gulf of Mexico or into Hudson bay."+
The counter-project of the British commissioners agreed to the forty-ninth parallel westward as far as the Stony mountains, but beyond that barrier that the country between the forty-fifth and the forty-ninth degrees "shall be free and open to the sub- jects and citizens of the two States respectively for the purposes of trade and commerce." They further stipulated that neither country should attempt to exercise sovereignty between those parallels, nor waive any of its rights within the same. They also requested the following privilege: "It is further agreed that the subjects of His Britannic Majesty shall have and enjoy the free navigation of the Mississippi from its source to the ocean, and shall at all times have free access to such places as may be selected for that purpose, in His Britannic Majesty's territories, to the river Mississippi, with their goods, wares and merchan- dise, the importation of which into the United States shall not be entirely prohibited, on the payment of the same duties as would be payable on the importation of the same article into the Atlantic ports of the United States." The Americans replied that they were "not authorized to agree to any condition that would bring the British in contact with the Mississippi," and that "the right to the navigation of that river could only be derived from the treaty of 1783." They further disagreed with the prop- osition for a neutral zone from the forty-fifth to the forty-ninth degrees of latitude westward of the Stony mountains. The first break was made by the British in agreeing to the omission of their article respecting the navigation of the Mississippi, which was done on October 13th, 1818. They also withdrew their request for a neutral zone, but reiterated their proposal that the westward extension of the line on the forty-ninth parallel should end at the Stony mountains. They stipulated that the country beyond that point should be and remain free and open to the citizens and subjects of the two powers, leaving the period of such free commerce in that quarter undefined. The Americans practically agreed to this proposition, except that it was proposed that the period should be limited to ten years. This brought the commissioners so near together that the following agreement was finally reached and incorporated into the treaty of October 20,
"Article II. It is agreed that a line drawn from the most
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northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, along the forty- ninth parallel of north latitude, or if the said point shall not be in the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, then that a line drawn from the said point due north of 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 Ilis Britannic Majesty, and that the said line shall form the northern bound- ary 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.
"Article III. It is agreed that any country that may be claimed by either party on the northwest coast of America west- ward of the Stony mountains, shall, together with its harbors, 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 coun- try ; the only object of the high contracting parties in that respect being to prevent disputes and differences amongst themselves."
The provision of the treaty of isis that the country west of the Stony or Rocky mountains should remain free and open to the inhabitants of Great Britain and the United States for the space of ten years, was a serious mistake of the american commissioners, because that entire section was immediately over- run by the trappers of Hudson's Bay Company, who stripped the streams of their immensely valuable supplies of beaver, otter and other furs. Millions of dollars' worth of these furs were taken by the agents of that company from territory which unquestion- ably belonged to the United States. It was reported by an American trader at St. Louis who conducted trapping operations in the West, that in two seasons, in territory afterward falling to the United States and on one stream only, beyond the Rocky mountains, more than six hundred thousand dollars' worth of valuable furs were taken by Hudson's Bay Company.+ And all of this was unwittingly surrendered to the government that had unhesitatingly preyed upon the American colonies from the com-
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mencement and had forced them into revolution to secure their natural and political rights.
The most remarkable feature in connection with the negotia- tions with Great Britain over the northern and northwestern boundaries is the unfairness of the propositions of her commis- sioners and the tenacity with which they clung to claims with- out any foundation in justice. England crushed the colonies until they were forced to rebel ; her next step was to secure the admis- sion of English goods free of duty ; she then brazenly demanded and exercised the right of search and . of impressment, until thousands of American citizens were forced into her army or navy or shut up in prison ; she next agreed to correct these abuses without any intention of doing so, nor did she, until after the United States had been goaded into war to maintain their rights and their self respect.
But her next action was one of the cruelest blows ever struck the United States: During the War of 1812 the United States, thrown upon their own resources, had established many facto- ries for the manufacture of cloth, iron, and many other prod- ucts ; but the moment peace was secured a treaty of trade and commerce between the two countries was effected, by which the United States was immediately flooded with the immense quan- tities of goods (that had lain on English shelves while the war lasted) at so low a price that every factory that had started up in this country was crushed to death. The panic, the first of any consequence in the United States, lasted from 1815 until 1821, and was so sweeping and complete in effect that those who passed through that period never forget it until they reached the grave. As an instance may be cited the effects at Pittsburg, where at the close of the War of 1812 the manufactures amounted to nearly three millions of dollars, mostly composed of iron prod- ucts of all kinds, from seventy-five to one hundred establish- lishments. All these, with scarcely an exception, were com- pletely crushed, and idle factories were to be seen on every hand. It was largely through the instrumentality of a Pittsburg man, Mr. Baldwin, that the country was enabled to recover speed- ily from the results of this distressing period. Every act of Eng- land up to this time had thus been directed to her advantage at the unrighteous and galling expense of the United States. She pur- sued the same course to the end in regard to the northern and northwestern boundaries, and succeeded in wresting from the United States millions of dollars worth of property. Had Spain stood in the shoes of England during the progress of that con-
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troversy, the commissioners of the United States would not have been so considerate, not to say humble and subservient.
The attitude of the United States toward Spain over the Floridas and the southwestern Louisiana boundary questions, was alto- gether different from that toward England over the northern and the northwestern boundary questions. Why? Was it not because nothing was to be feared from Spain, while something like the stab of a knife was to be feared from Great Britain? But please observe herein to what a ruinous extent the unmitigated audacity of the British government enabled her to almost everlastingly outwit and bleed the United States. The policy of Great Britain over the northwestern boundary question was from the start to delay the establishment of a definite line in order to strip the disputed territory of its valuable furs. But none of the Ameri- can commissioners ever seemed to comprehend this manifest Brit- ish design ; no more than did the American statesmen who per- mitted the influx of English goods at the close of the war of 1812 upon the payment of so little duty as to amount to nothing. The political system, or perhaps the commercial system, adopted by the United States for the first thirty-five years of its existence, retarded the proper and natural progress of the country nearly a quarter of a century. It was carried to such an extent that many citizens thought the United States could not get along without the products of the English factories. This idea was nurtured and fostered by English agents, sent to this country to persuade the congress and the people of the brotherly and sanctified inten- tions of the British ministry. But observe how the boundary question was dallied and proof rumated, and hos cathy th Ann- ican commissioners were influenced by the views of Great Britain.
The northern boundary of the United States beyond the Rocky mountains, has nothing to do with the Lonisiana purchase except from association. The treaty of ISIS settled the boundary west- ward to the Rocky mountains, which was as far as the purchase extended. But an outline of the negotiations subsequently con- ducted to settle the line from the Rockies to the Pacific, owing to its association and its importance to the United States, will be briefly stated hereafter. Negotiations to fix that line were resumed in 1823. Again the United States entered the negotia- tions with vastly improved rights. The treaty of 1810 with Spain had given them all the daims of that country on the Pacific coast north of the forty-second parallel of latitude. In this respect, at least, England had been outwitted by the United States, which first by acquiring Louisiana and then by securing the rights of Spain on the coast above the forty-second degree, had
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vastly amplified their rightful claims. The negotiations, there- fore, were resumed with great confidence by the commissioners of the United States.
In the protocol of the eleventh conference of the American and British plenipotentiaries, April 1, 1824, it is stated that the Ameri- can representative Mr. Rush* "opened the subject of territorial claims on the northwest coast of America westward of the Rocky mountains. It having been understood that the pretensions which had been put forward by the cabinet of St. Petersburg, respecting its jurisdiction in that quarter, was to be matter of separate dis- cussion between the respective parties, he observed that, notwith- standing this circumstance, and although the convention of Octo- ber, 1818, one article of which contained a temporary regulation with respect to the above mentioned claims, had still four years to continue, his Government was of opinion that the present was not an unsuitable moment for attempting a settlement, of the boundary on the northwest coast of America westward of the Rocky mountains, and he therefore proceeded to explain the nature of the claims which his Government thought itself entitled to advance." On the following day, Mr. Rush resumed his remarks, and closed with the presentation of the following prop- osition :*
"Whereas, by the third article of the convention between the United States and his Britannic Majesty, signed at London on the 20th of October, 1818, it was agreed that any country that might be claimed by either party on the northwest coast of America, westward of the Stony mountains, should, together with its har- bors, bays and creeks, and the navigation of all users within the same, be free and open for the term of ten years from the date of the said convention, to the vessels, citizens and subjects of the two Powers; it having been understood that such agreement was not to be construed to the prejudice of any claim which either of the parties might have to any part of the said country, or taken to affect the claims of any other Power, but only to prevent dis- putes and differences between the parties themselves ; and whereas, it is desirable that the provisions of the said article should be con- tinued for a longer term than as therein specified : It is therefore agreed by the high contracting parties that the same shall con- tinue in force for the full term of ten years from the signature of the present convention. The high contracting parties further agree that during the like term no settlement shall be made on the northwest coast of America, or on any of the islands thereanto
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adjoining by citizens of the United States north of the fifty-first degree of north latitude, or by British subjects either south of the said fifty-first degree or north of the fifty-fifth degree of north latitude." This proposition was made in consequence of the requests of the British commissioners at previous conferences, and not because delay was desired by the United States. The Amer- icans hesitated over bringing matters to a crisis, and yielded to the request for delay.
Their. extremely liberal proposition was not answered by the British representatives until the conference of June 29th, when it was unjustifiably declined, "because it woukl substantially have the effect of limiting the claims of their Government to a degree inconsistent as they thought with the credit and just interests of the nation." The importance of a settlement was acknowledged, "whereupon the British plenipotentiaries stated in general terms that they were ready either to agree on a boundary line to be drawn due west from the Rocky mountains along the forty-ninth parallel of latitude to the northeasternmost branch of the Columbia or Oregon river and thence down the middle of that river to the ocean, or to leave the third article of the conven- tion of 1818 to its natural course. The American plenipotentiary declared his utter inability to accede to this boundary ; but, finding that the line offered in his former proposal was considered wholly inadmissible by the British plenipotentiaries, said that in the hope of adjusting the question he wouldl so far vary his former line to the south as to consent that it should be the forty-ninth instead of the fifty-first degree of north latitude." Mr. Rush further stated that inasmuch as the United States changed the whole country watered by the Columbia river, and inasmuch as Spain possessed all the remaining country on the American continent to the south, "he was instructed to insist on the principle that no part of the American continent was henceforth to be open to colonization from Europe." In answer to this statement which has since became famous as the "Monroe Doctrine," the British representatives "asserted in ntter denial of the above principle that they considered the unoccupied parts of America just as much open as heretofore to colonization by Great Britain as well as by other European Powers, and that the United States would have no right whatever to take umbrage at the establishment of new colonies from Europe in any such part of the American continent." They added "that they felt themselves more particularly called upon to express their distinct denial of the principle and claims thus set forth by the American plenipotentiary, as his claim respecting the territory watered by the river Columbia and its
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