Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 19.djvu/130

 118 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE States as far as 5 1. 17 Although other matters prevented a consideration of the bill itself the Oregon Question arose in other connections. Since, however, the bill was carried on into the next session, for continuity's sake it may be traced here. The second session found the bill under consideration at an early date, when, in Committee of the Whole House, Floyd supported the measure in a long speech, taking the arguments of his report for his text. With a minor amendment or two the bill was reported to the House, where it came up in the middle of January. Although an amendment defining the Oregon Territory as "all that portion of the territory of the United States, lying on the Pacific Ocean, north of the 42nd degree of north latitude, and west of the Rocky Moun- tains/' was adopted, 18 the measure as a whole was laid upon the table on the 25th of January, and by a vote of 100 to 61 the House refused to take it from the table. In addition to the fact that interest did not run high in relation to the project itself Floyd's bill was delayed during the first session of the Seventeenth Congress (1821-2) by the Russian Ukase. In December, Floyd had secured the adoption of a resolution calling upon the Secretary of the Navy for information relative to the probable cost of an examination of the harbors on the Pacific and of transport- ing artillery to the mouth of the Columbia. 19 In February he brought forward another resolution calling upon the President to inform the House whether any foreign government laid claim to any territory upon the Pacific Coast north of 42 and to what extent; what regulations touching that coast had been made by foreign powers, and how far these affected the interests of the United States; also whether any com- munication had been made to the government by any foreign government touching the contemplated occupation of the Co- 17 H. Rep. No. 1 8, i?th Cong, ist Ses. j 8 The apathy of the House on the topic had been complained of by Wright, Ibid., 413. 19 Annals, I, 553; a response indicated that it would cost $25,000 to send 150 tons of artillery to the Columbia. The reply was referred to Floyd's select committee.