Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/362



objects of old England, and were prepared to check thera. And they clearly foresaw that England was scheming to get Oregon, or all of it that they could get ' ' by hook or crook, ' ' not for the sake of the land, or the furs, or the timber, or the mines, but for a great naval position on the Pacific coast, where, with its largest fleet of war ships in the world; it could dominate the commerce of the Pacific, and dictate terms to Russia, China and Japan, and to American interests on the west coast of America. But when the British agents met Rush and Gal- latin in 1818, they soon discovered that they had statesmen to deal -with who could not be deceived or over-reached. Then commenced the play for time, and a more favorable opportunity. They gave up Astoria, they kept the peace at Van- couver, they let the pioneers organize at Champoeg, putting in only a mild ob- jection. But when they saw the North and South of the American States divid- ing on the question of slavery they saw their long sought for opportunity, and encouraged the breach.between the free and the slaveholding states. Eng- land had tried to purchase Texas from Mexico, and after Texas had declared its independence of Mexico, England had been the first nation to recognize the in- dependence of Texas and make a treaty with that state before it had a settled government. Texas was annexed to the United States by the Tyler administra- tion and pro-slavery votes in congress for the express purpose of adding slave- holding territory to the Union. Giving voice to the southern sentiment on this subject, Henry A. Wise, a member of Congress from Virginia, said in the House of Representatives January 26, 1842 :

"True, if Iowa be added on the one side, Florida will be added on the other. But there the equation must stop. Let one more Northern state be admitted, and the equilibrium is gone — gone forever. The balance of interests is gone — the safe- guard of American property — of the American Constitution — of the American Union vanished into thin air. This must be the inevitable result, unless hy a treaty with Mexico the South can add more weight to her end of the lever. Let the South stop at the Sabine river while the North may spread unchecked beyond the Rocky Mountains, and the Southern scale must kick the beam."

JACKSON LETTER :

The opinion of Ex-President Andrew Jackson was called out on this subject ; and his reply to a letter of Congressman Aaron V. Brown of Tennessee is here published to show how the Southern statesmen were looking far ahead to protect the institution of slavery, and how clearly they saw the intrigues of England to checkmate the advance of the United States to the Pacific. Here follows Jack- son 's letter never before printed outside of the Southern Confederacy :

"Heemitage, February 13, 1843.

"My Dear Sir — Yours of the 23d ultimo has been received, and vrith it the Madisonian, containing Gov. Gilmer's letter on the subject of the annexation of Texas to the United States.

"You are not mistaken in supposing that I have formed an opinion on this interesting subject. It occupied much of mj^ time during my presidenej', and, I am sure, has lost none of its importance by what has since transpired.

"Soon after my election in 1829, it was made known to me by Mr. Erwin, formerly our minister to the Court of Madrid, that, whilst at that Court, he had