Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/302

 294, DOCUMENTS. are formed th'ere: without a naval station, however, on the Pacific, the force employed in the whale fishery, as well as in sealing, and the northwest trade, would, in the event of war, with a great maritinre power, be, in some measure, lost to the Nation. But, that establish- ment made, it would afford a secure retreat to all our ships, and seamen, in that section of the globe; and the force, thus concentrated, might be used with effect against the trade, if not the fleets, or pos- sessions, of the enemy, in place of being driven to the Atlantic, or perhaps captured on their way. The establishment might be considered as a great bastion, command- ing the whole line of coast to the north and south; and it would have the same influence on that line which the bastions of a work have on its curtains, for the principles of defense are the same, whether applied to a small fortress, or to a line of frontier, or even an entire section of the globe. In the one case, the missiles used are bullets and cannon shot; in the other, ships and fleets. I have the honor to be, Sir, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, To the Hon. John Floyd, TH. S. JESSUP. House of Eepresentatives. Letter of Dr. John McLoughlin to Oregon Statesman, June 8, 1852. A word of comment on the occasion of the production of the following remarkable document seems warranted. Though the author in his opening paragraph refers to the circumstances which impel him to write, he does not allow himself to disclose fully the conditions that called for an expression from him. Neither is it quite possible for the letter as a whole to disclose all that called for it. The occasion for this document grew out of what Dr. McLoughlin had done for Oregon and out of what at the peculiar juncture of affairs it would have been most meet for Oregon in 1852 to have done for Dr. McLough- lin. Though a private citizen and not a candidate for office, yet, and not of his own choosing, he was an issue. His spirit bears up sublimely under the crushing blows it had been receiving and his magnanimity charms. The docu- ment, as Mr. Himes remarks in submitting it, is a most appro- priate memorial paper, but as a comprehensive resume of his