Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 19.djvu/132

 120 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE that purpose the pretext of moving the call for the Ghent papers, and then for Russell's letters. Clay, who is at the bottom of it all, has been working like a mole to undermine me in the West, by representing me as an enemy to the Western interests, and by misrepresenting the transactions at Ghent in a way to suit that purpose." In the second session of the Seventeenth Congress (19 De- cember, 1822), a resolution by Johnston of Louisiana produced the correspondence which described the transfer of Astoria to the North-West Company. All this fitted in with the plans of Floyd who was eager to have brought forward any- thing which would serve to stir Congress into action, and whatever pointed toward apparent British aggression upon American rights was calculated to rouse interest. While the House had before it the Oregon matter in its various aspects the Senate, during the life of the Seventeenth Congress, ignored the whole question, except in two instances. Late in April, 1822, when the Indian trade was under dis- cussion, Benton took occasion to point out the value of the fur trade of the Columbia region and the claims of the United States to that valuable country. It may not be out of place to call attention to the fact that this marks the beginning of Senator Benton's long legislative connection with the Ore- gon Question; never thereafter when the topic arose was the gentleman from Missouri found reticent in expressing his views. The second time the Senate's attention was di- rected to Oregon was also at the instance of Benton who, in February, 1823, introduced a resolution calling upon the Committee on Military Affairs to inquire into the expediency of making an appropriation to enable the President "to take and retain possession of the territories of the United States on the Northwest Coast of America." This resolution, which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, ap- parently had two purposes : it served to bring formally before the Senate a matter which the House had under considera- tion ; and it allowed Senator Benton to make one of his many