OREGON.
THE American journalists and orators have materially modified their tone in relation to Oregon. The newspapers received by last packet swarm with projects for settling the difference with England, and with unauthenticated and contradictory rumours respecting the views of public men in regard to the controversy. What the American Government intends to do, or whether it has any plan, we do not conjecture ; but it is obvious that one truth has dawned upon the minds of our American cousins- " Oregon is more accessible from Great Britain than from the United States." From both countries the journey thither can be performed with less inconvenience by sea than by land. The British possessions in Inc Pacific, and we might even say in the Antilles, are more convenient points of departure for ope- rations upon Oregon than any inhabited territory of the Union. Time has forced these reflections upon the Yankees ; and the bluster about appropriating Oregon by the strong hand has subsided. Temporizing is now the order of the day. Some months ago, a leading statesman of the Union warned his countrymen that they could gain nothing by precipitating a de- cision on their claims to Oregon ; and his views appear now to be generally adopted. A favourite object with all the state-doctors, who have propounded to their countrymen terms respecting Oregon to be offered to Great Britain, is a renewal of the joint- occupancy for a kin°. period. The experience gained in the Ca- nadian frontier territory ought to guard us against falling into such a trap. In whatever way the Oregon controversy is to be settled, it is for our interest—for the interests of substantial jus- tice—that it should be settled without deltor. A prolonged period of joint-occupation will give rise to continual disputes between British and American settlers' and render a pacific arrange- ment less easily practicable. There is no chance of the dis- covery of new facts to throw new light on the conflicting claims : the facts already known will only run a risk of ob- scuration and metamorphosis into different shapes, if years are allowed to elapse before they be adjudicated upon. The joint-occupancy would be a source of diplomatic expenditure, in- cessant heartburnings, and additional perplexity. What is to be done otiolt to be done now. If the Oregon territory be left many years without a recognized government, it will become a place of refuge for the strangest and most dangerous characters. Already the Mormons, havine- agreed to evacuate Illinois, are casting their eyes upon it. The e'Bois Brules of Canada, the Loafers of the United States, all the offscourings of American society, will flock to a country which has no government. The growing trade of the Pacific will soon be worth the attention of buccaneers ; and if neither England nor the United States exercise territorial sove- reignty on the Straits of Juan de la Fuca, a more eligible situa- tion for pirates could scarcely be imagined.
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