the great measure to which the honorable senator has alluded, my sentiments have accorded with his, and my course with his. We have sought the same end by the same means. There has been no difference of opinion between us. While, therefore, I shall continue to retain the subordinate station I hold upon the committee, I can not, under any circumstances, accept the position he has filled so ably, and resigned so honorably, even should the Senate think proper to bestow it upon me. I have thought it not improper, considering my relation to the committee, to make this declaration, as the reasons the honorable senator has given for his course would apply, in a great measure, to myself, were I the chairman and organ of the committee."

On the 16th of June, the President transmitted to the Senate the convention, duly "concluded and signed," in the following words:

“Convention between the United States of America and her majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, concluded at Washington on the 15th of June, 1846.

"The United States of America and her majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, deeming it to be desirable, for the future welfare of both countries, that the state of doubt and uncertainty which has hitherto prevailed respecting the sovereignty and government of the territory on the northwest coast of America, lying westward of the Rocky or Stony Mountains, should be finally terminated by an amicable compromise of the rights mutually asserted by the two parties over the said territory, have respectively named plenipotentiaries to treat and agree concerning the terms of such settlement; that is to say, the President of the United States of America has, on his part, furnished with full powers James Buchanan, Secretary of State of the United States, and her majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland has, on her part, appointed the Right Honorable Richard Pakenham, a member of her majesty's most honorable privy council, and her majesty's envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the United States; who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon and concluded the following articles:

"ARTICLE I.

"From the point on the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude where the boundary laid down in existing treaties and conventions between the United States and Great Britain terminates, the line of boundary between the territories of the United States and those of her Britannic majesty shall be continued westward along the said forty-ninth parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly through the middle of the said channel and of Fuca's Straits to the Pacific Ocean: Provided, however, That the navigation of the whole of the said channel and straits, south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, remain free and open to both parties.

"ARTICLE II.

"From the point at which the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude shall be found to intersect the great northern branch of the Columbia River, the navigation of the said branch shall be free and open to the Hudson's Bay Company, and to all British subjects trading with the same, to the point where the said branch meets the main stream of the Columbia, and thence down the said main stream to the ocean, with free access into and through the said river or rivers, it being understood that all the usual postages along the line thus described shall in like manner be free and open. In navigating the said river or rivers, British subjects, with their goods and produce, shall be treated on the same footing as citizens of the United States; it being, however, always understood, that nothing in this article shall be construed as preventing, or intended to prevent, the government of the United States from making any regulations respecting the navigation of the said river or rivers not inconsistent with the present treaty.

"ARTICLE III.

"In the future appropriation of the territory south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, as provided in the first article of this treaty, the possessory rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, and of all British subjects who may be already in the occupation of land or other property lawfully acquired within the said territory, shall be respected.

66 ARTICLE IV.

"The farms, lands, and other property of every description, belonging to the Puget's Sound Agricultural Company, on the north side of the Columbia River, shall be confirmed to the said company. In case, however, the situation of those farms and lands should be considered by the United States to be of public and political importance, and the United States government should signify a desire to obtain possession of the whole or any part thereof, the property so required shall be transferred to the said government, at a proper valuation to be agreed upon between the parties.

"ARTICLE V.

"The present-treaty shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by her Britannic majesty; and the ratifications shall be exchanged at London at the expiration of six months from the date hereof, or sooner, if possible.

"In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seals of their arms. "Done at Washington the fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-six.

"JAMES BUCHANAN. [L. S.] "RICHARD PAKENHAM." [L. S.]

On the 18th of June, Mr. M'Duffie submitted the following resolution:

"Resolved (two thirds of the senators present concurring), That the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of the treaty between the United States of America and her majesty, the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, concluded at Washington on the fifteenth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-six."

This resolution Mr. Hannegan moved to amend by striking out all after the word "Resolved," and inserting the following in lieu thereof:

"That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby advised by the Senate to offer to the government of Great Britain, as a just, fair, and equitable compromise of the con

flicting claims of the two governments connected with the country lying along between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, extending from the parallel of forty-two degrees to fiftyfour degrees and forty minutes north latitude, and including the islands embraced within said parallels of latitude adjacent to the coast, the following, as the fundamental provisions for a treaty between the two governments:

"First, The government of Great Britain shall acknowledge the right of soil and the sovereignty to exist and be with the United States to the whole territory above described, and shall abandon to the United States all claim which shall in any manner conflict with the paramount jurisdiction of the United States

therein.

"Second, The United States shall guaranty to the Hudson's Bay Company, for twenty years from the date of such treaty, the most perfect security in all their possessions, and the right to pursue their business of hunting and trapping, with all the immunities which pertain thereto, and to trade during that period with the natives, and the use during that time of the ports, rivers, and harbors within said territory, without charge or hinderance.

"Third, Within twelve months from the date of said treaty, commissioners shall be selected, by and on behalf of the respective governments, whose duty it shall be to assess, at just and liberal prices, the value of the property of the Hudson's Bay Company within said territory, which amount, when ascer tained, shall be paid by the United States to said company, in such manner and at such time as shall be agreed upon between the United States and Great Britain."

This amendment was rejected by the following vote:

Yeas: Messrs. Atchison, Cameron, Hannegan, Semple, and Sturgeon-5.

Nays: Messrs. Archer, Ashley, Atherton, Bagby, Barrow, Benton, Berrien, Calhoun, Chalmers, Thomas Clayton, John M. Clayton, Colquitt, Corwin, Crittenden, Davis, Dayton, Dix, Evans, Greene, Haywood, Houston, Huntington, Johnson of Maryland, Johnson of Louisiana, Lewis, M'Duffie, Mangum, Miller, Morehead, Niles, Pearce, Pennybacker, Phelps, Rusk, Sevier, Simmons, Speight, Turney, Upham, Webster, Woodbridge, and Yulee 42.

The question was then taken on the resolution of Mr. M'Duffie, which was adopted by the following vote:

Yeas: Messrs. Archer, Ashley, Bagby, Barrow, Benton, Berrien, Calhoun, Chalmers, Thomas Clayton, John M. Clayton, Colquitt, Corwin, Crittenden, Davis, Dayton, Dix, Evans, Greene, Haywood, Houston, Huntington, Johnson of Maryland, Johnson of Louisiana, Lewis, M'Duffie, Mangum, Miller, Morehead, Niles, Pearce, Pennybacker, Phelps, Rusk, Sevier, Simmons, Speight, Turney, Upham, Webster, Woodbridge, and Yulee 41.

Nays: Messrs. Allen, Atchison, Atherton, Breese, Bright, Cameron, Cass, Dickinson, Fairfield, Hannegan, Jenness, Semple, Sturgeon, and Westcott-14.

So the Senate advised and consented to the ratification of the treaty.

It is to be observed that some doubts exist as to the true construction of the second article of the convention. Mr. Buchanan, in a letter to Mr. M'Lane, dated June 13th, 1846, notify. ing him that the Senate had given its "previous advice" in regard to the project of a convention, says,

"I have learned from the best sources that the Senate gave this advice under the conviction that, by the true construction of the second article of the project, the right of the Hudson's Bay Company to navigate the Columbia would expire with the termination of their present license to trade with the islands, &c., on the northwest coast of America, on the 30th of May, 1859. In a conversation with Mr. Pakenham to-day, I communicated this fact to him, and requested him to state it in his dispatch to Lord Aberdeen.

"The treaty will be signed and sent to the Senate on Monday next, and it is more than probable that they will, in some form or other, place upon their records their understanding of its true construction in this particular."

It does not appear that any such understanding was placed on the records of the Senate.

And so the long agony was over!

No member of either House had been more thoroughly committed, on behalf of himself and his people, to the extreme claim, than Mr. Douglas. Its abandonment, we believe, was a sore subject to him. How he reconciled his constituents to their be