Speech Of Mr Thurston In Defence Of His Constituents And Of His Course Touching The Oregon Land Bill

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ISBN 13 : 9781331283676
Total Pages : 26 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (836 download)

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Download or read book Speech of Hon. S. R. Thurston, of Oregon written by and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-12 with total page 26 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Speech of Hon. S. R. Thurston, of Oregon: On the Proposition to Admit California as a State Into the Union; Delivered in the House of Representatives, March 25, 1850 In Committee of the Whole on the state of the Union, on the Presidents Message transmitting the Constitution of California. Mr. Thurston said: Mr. Chairman: I have come here as the delegate from the Territory of Oregon. I have the honor of being the first recognized Representative from the Pacific coast, and am at this time the only one accredited from that country on this floor. I come from the toil-worn people of that distantTerritory, to speak and act in all cases, as 1 believe they would do, were they here, acting in my stead. I come here, sir, not as a party man, though I belong to a party; and not as a sectional man, though 1 belong to a section. Though by the law, I may be entitled to all the rights, save one, to which a Representative from a State is entitled, yet, as a matter of courtesy to the members of the House, if not of ease to myself, I shall refrain from all debate, except on such questions as my territory is immediately interested in; and on such I shall endeavor to confine myself to the question. On such Questions, I have no doubt, the members of this Congress, whether sitting as a House, or as a committee, will be disposed to grant me the privilege of speaking, and do me the honor to listen while I speak. The question of the admission of California into this Union as a State, is one in which, for several reasons, my Territory is deeply interested. California and Oregon are twin sisters. They are allied together, by cords so strong, by feelings so similar, and by occupations so widely diflerent and for that reason more important to each otlier that you cannot even jostle the one, without the others feeliiig the motion. When you raise the knife over one, the other expects to bleed. When adversity withers the foliage of the one, the leaves of the other wither; and when you insult and abuse the one, the fire of indignation flashes across the countenance of the other. And, indeed, so closely are we allied, and so dependent the one on the other, and so sympathetic are we, that the pulsations of ihe heart of the one send the very life-blood into the extremities of the other; and I must confess, that I involuntarily partake so fully of this spirit, tiiat not a few times in this House, and in the other end of the Capitol, I have had my best feelings deeply wounded, as 1 have heard California and her people slandered, and perfectly overwhelmed with hard words, because they have dared to make use of one of the first laws of naUife, protect themselves because they have dared to construct for themselves a State constitution, and have knocked at your door for admission. For this, they are called usurpers, fugitives from justice, Sandwich Islanders, Indians, negroes; and the best vocabularies are taxed, to find I epithets to express toward them a sovereign con; tempt. The people ofCalifornia, sir, do not deservs such treatment; and here, 1 take occasion to return my thanks, and the thanks of the people of that Jcoast, to the gentleman from Alabama, Mr. Ikce, the most ardent of the ardent opponents to the admission of California, for saying what the truth will warrant, that a more intelligent and enterprising; people cannot be found on the globe, than are to be found in California. I thank him for it, sir, because truly said, and because I shall have oceasion to use it by and by; for what admissions come from an enemy, are entitled to double weight. This, then, being a question in which Oregon is interested, deeply and sensitively interested, I not only deem I it my right, but my imperative duty, as her only Piepresentative here, to interest myself in its success. To discharge this duty, notwithstanding many misgivings, has brought me to the floor in my place, to raise my feeble voice in behalf of California. The position which I intend to.