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 and is very imperfect, and perhaps may not, without a great deal of trouble in preparing it for the press, answer much purpose,—but if it does no more than give you some of the facts of vital importance to know, it will have accomplished something,—but it all resolves itself into this, that the Hudson's Bay interest will represent itself ably, no doubt, during the next two years and you cannot too scrupulously watch the American interest, and the treaty gives ample scope for them to have their rights and also a few which should be turned over to Americans. As an advocate of holding treaties sacred, I should give it as my desire to see the treaty fulfilled but at the same time where there is any matter left to legislate on, that the American rights should be attended to, and if necessary to comply with the treaty that British claimants should be paid by the United States Government and not give away individual rights to fill the stipulations of treaties. This appears to be the aim of the British interests here; instead of throwing themselves on the liberality of their own government, they think they should seize all in their power and thereby wrong individual citizens of what they have a right to expect from our own government. Instead of their surrendering anything which a preference as an American, they should be entitled to, the government should give the American the preference and if the government is indebted to the Hudson's Bay Company, let them be paid out of the public treasury and 'not from the dearly earned interest of individuals. I allude particularly to the interests of the settlements on land claims and the choice of locations on which a grant or pre-emption may be anticipated. There has been various instances of American settlers actually having been driven from their settlements by force and their houses pulled down and at other times burned; and other times on refusal to relinquish their improvements have been put in prison by this same Hudson's Bay Company. Now if an American has any preference on American territory, why should these men be allowed to hold in defiance of that preference?

From the wording of the Organic Act (latter clause of the 14th section: "But all laws heretofore passed in said territory, making grants of land or otherwise affecting or incumbering the title to lands shall and are hereby declared null and void," etc.) by Congress, that body may have had this thing in view; but our best judges have given it as worded thus from the grants by the territorial compact or old organic law of this territory. It is clear if the latter has been the cause of this clause being inserted; but that body has taken the same im-