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 KATHARINE

312

B.

JUDSON

had long possessed a settlement upon the Columbia River which had been captured during the late war, and that upon the peace, application had been made to Mr. Baker for its restoration, to which Mr. Adams alleged that Mr. Baker merely replied that the fort had been destroyed, and that he believed that no persons would be found there who could make restitution, and that the object of the voyage was to re-establish this settlement which, he rather seemed to imply, was already in the possession of the United States. "Having ascertained the fact of which I desired to be assured, I made very little observations upon Mr. Adams' remarks but in the short conversation which followed, he stated that the Columbia had been first discovered by an American ship which sailed from Boston between the years 1780 and 1790. To this I immediately replied that the coast had been



uniformly claimed by Great Britain, as might be seen by reference to the discussions which had formerly taken place with the Spanish government, the only government with discussion upon that subject could arise."

whom

any

Mr. Adams then "only observed that, would be hardly worth the while of Great have any differences with the United States on

Further than in his opinion,

Britain to

that,

it

account of the occupation of any part of so remote a territory." But Sir Charles thought that a ship of war sent to a country

He had sent an express to Sir John Sherbrooke, asking if they could warn the North West Company through an express sent by their interior posts, overland. The Ontario, so Sir Charles noted in a closing sentence, had on board a Mr. Tyler for Peru. But Sir John's answer 24 was that it was too late for an express overland. The North West Company would send a claimed by Great Britain was "a serious matter."

memorial, to be used as a basis of representations to "the United States cabinet."

On December

23,

1817,

25

the

North West Company did

present a petition to Sir John C. Sherbrooke, Governor of 5, 5,

Vol. 130. Vol. 131.