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 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE

210

Brothers and Company, who told the President that he was a He said it was of great interest friend of the Administration. to his firm to know whether there would be peace or war; he

had heard that the President was in favor of claiming all Oregon, in which case there should be danger of war. All the satisfaction Ward could get was the assurance that the general policy of the country was peace. Polk considered the call from Ward as significant because less than a week before Buchanan had received McLane's letter in which the government's dissatisfaction with the course of Pakenham had been stated,

and the willingness of the British government

new

to listen

In spite of these opportunities to allay the war rumors, and against the advice, almost pleading, of Buchanan for permission to show that the United States

to a

proposition indicated.

would go part way toward a compromise, Polk insisted that the burden of reopening the negotiation should be placed wholly upon Great Britain.

When

Annual Message was discussed in Cabinet Polk Buchanan, who was trying to secure a modified tone, that he had not seen ten Congressmen who were "not roused on Oregon and willing to go the whole length." 27 All the 54 40' men were pleased with the message. It called attention to the accompanying documents which gave the details of the offer of 49, its rejection and then the withdraway of the offer. The offer was explained in this way the

told



"Though entertaining the settled conviction, that the British pretensions of title could not be maintained to any portion of the Oregon territory under any principle of public law recognized by nations, yet, in deference to what had been done by my predecessors, and especially in consideration that propositions of compromise had been thrice made, by two preceding administrations, to adjust the question on the parallel of fortynine degrees, and in two of them yielding to Great Britain the free navigation of the Columbia, and that the pending negotiation had been commenced on the basis of compromise, I deemed it my duty not abruptly to break it off." 27 "It was manifest to me that in the whole discussion Buchanan disapproved the course which he saw I was inclined to he was laboring to prevent it." Diary I. 81.

Mr. take,

and

that