Page:History of Oregon volume 1.djvu/647

596 while not a member of the government council of England, was consulted as to the third and fourth articles of the treaty, which were for a long time in contemplation by the company in Oregon, and in anticipation of which the posts south of the Columbia were not withdrawn, as the directors at one time ordered, to the north side of the river. From the Oregon–American standpoint, the United States had been overreached in the matter of these two articles; and instead of the treaty making an end of the fur company's monopoly, it seemed to fix it upon the territory more firmly than ever.

There was, however, a weak spot in the treaty which was overlooked by the British plenipotentiary, and by the company itself; and that was in the second article, which left the Columbia River free to British traders, but placed them "on the same footing as citizens of the United States." Citizens of the United States paid duties on imported goods; and so hereafter must the fur company on the Columbia and on the Sound. This point, on the other hand, was not overlooked by Benton while the treaty was under discussion in the senate, but was pointed out to the objecting members by that avaricious but astute statesman. In Oregon this point was not at first perceived by either side, and it was only when a United States collector of customs appeared at the mouth of the Columbia that the company itself awoke to its true position.

As to the boundary, the company in Oregon held that England had made a concession, but that it had been wise to do so; and that in the settlement the United States had been treated by England, whose people could afford it, much as a kind parent treats a