Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 20.pdf/78

 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPER

70

him what he had already told so many Democrats, that a proposition came from Great Britain he would submit it to the Senate. Archer told of a conversation which he had had telling if

with the British minister in which he had urged Pakenham to use his influence with his government not to insist upon free navigation of the Columbia. This conversation with the

Virginia Senator

made Polk doubt

the accuracy of Buchanan's

information, which was imparted with some excitement to the President, about a Whig plot to throw the whole responsibility

upon the President

if

the advice of the Senate should be

asked.

On

the fourth and fifth of

March a new

interest

was roused

Senate debate by a speech of Haywood, who explained that while the President was constitutionally authorized to in the

make treaties he could not unmake them; conventions could be annulled only by mutual consent or by law and the President had chosen to follow the latter method. 22 The President, continued Haywood, had receded to 49 on a compromise and still stood on it as such, he would never enter a long war in order to determine the meaning of the Nootka Convention. While partisans had raised the cry of "All Oregon or none," or "54 40' fight or no fight" this was not the attitude of the President; if it had been, he, Haywood, would have been forced to turn his back upon the Administration He would vote for the President to give notice and if Great Britain would not yield her demands south of 49 then the United States must fight.

Both Hannegan and Allen attempted to obtain from Haystatement as to whether he had authority, directly or indirectly, to speak for the President, and, when he answered

wood a

ambiguously, pressed the point, whereupon Haywood said, "I have not assumed to speak by authority of the President." "Then the Senator takes back his speech?" asked Allen.

"Not

at all," replied

Haywood, "but

I

am

glad to see

it

takes" 22 Globe, XV, Appen. 370-6. Haywood told 'the reporter that he wished to report his own speech and it appears much edited in the Appendix, bristling

with capitals and

italics.