REMARKS ON OREGON AND CANADA.

.

BY THE AUTHORESS.

AFTER presenting to my English readers the foregoing comprehensive Extracts from Haywood, Hannegan, and Benton, and, lastly, those from the Letters of the venerable Gallatin, I may be permitted to ask the question, "Of what use could the Oregon ever be to England?""

Grant that every right, and every power, that of occupancy alone excepted, belonged indisputably to Great Britain, (which they do not,) the right and power of occupancy being exclusively in the hands of the Americans, the territory is de facto already theirs. From this right and power there is no appeal. And had the common sense of England, instead of her false pride, been enlisted in the cause, her people never would have scared themselves with the phantom of a war. Had the uselessness and the danger of such a possession been truly represented to them by those commissioned for such purposes, the just and clear-headed English Public would have replied to the claim, "Let the Americans have the whole; England does not want it, and any insignificant rights we may possess we will dispose of for equivalents." Such would have been their decision, wise for themselves, just towards America, had they been truly informed upon the subject, and allowed to understand the merits of the case. England in going to war for Oregon would have had all to lose, nothing to gain; she would have wasted time and life, and toil and treasure, would have increased her countless millions of debt, have compelled her already famishing multitudes to die of hunger for want of the corn and cotton of America; and might thus have risked a revolution in the heart of her empire. And the gasping Emigrants who leave her thronged and naked hungry shores in eager haste to seek for bread, where could they have sought an asylum? At home they are ready to devour each other; I speak literally, not figuratively, for the horrors of the besieged Jerusalem, which we read of in Josephus, do not surpass those we daily see detailed in the English and Irish journals.

And in case war had ensued-England would have carried her arms to the Pacific, as once she carried them to the Atlantic Coasts, some seventy years ago-and with the same success; three millions of men, undisciplined, almost unarmed, vanquished

her then; now, twenty millions would oppose her, improved in the art of war, and provided with all its means and appliances. And supposing even that by some mysterious agency she had been successful, what would it avail her? Surrounded by a rival and indigenous population, would she enjoy it in peace? Near residents, and especially those who spring from the same family, are not the most harmonious neighbours; and Border warfare has been ever proverbial. In twenty years the people of Oregon may, possibly, (for who can read their destiny) proclaim themselves Free and Sovereign States. To what purpose, then, this turmoil for a distant, uncertain, useless, and refractory possession? There is no question that for the first two, three, or more years of war, England would have had the advantage, she would have distressed America most cruelly; but in so doing she would have turned the poisoned chalice to her own lips; for while success itself would be her destruction, would assist in leading her to irretrievable bankruptcy, or its alterna. tive, repudiation, America would arise from the contest like a young giant; in twenty years after the cessation of hostilities, she would have forgotten them and their effects; her cities would have arisen from their ashes, more fair to look upon than they were before, and her people would again be rejoicing in lavish abundance.

England, unhappily for her, has more than enough to do in India and in Africa; she has, besides, her difficulties at home; and these considerations, were they the only ones, should have dictated the policy of her letting Oregon alone now and for ever. Should she unwisely sound the war-whoop in North America, Canada will instantly respond to the challenge. The tenure of Great Britain in that province daily becomes more and more frail. By a singular justice they who first redeemed these Territories from a state of nature still possess them. England holds the Canadas by the influence of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy alone. The Sulpicians of Montreal are her Vicegerents; the Governor has only an honourable and troublesome sinecure. The enormous wealth of this magnificent Priesthood, who have possessed the Island of Montreal for upwards of two centuries, their wisdom, benevolence, and power keep the provinces under sway; and the home Government acts well and wisely to leave them in possession of all their immunities, and all their privileges. All the charitable institutions and the educational establishments are conducted by them on the best arrangements; and I have seen two thousand children at their studies in the Schools of the Christian Brothers. In the Priest

hood also, as is the case in all Catholic countries, is vested the keeping and guiding of the consciences of the people. The wisdom and statesman-like prudence of Lord Metcalfe, saw perfectly this position of Canada. When I had the honour of dining with that exalted personage, M. Quiblier, the Vicar-General of the Order, and the Superior of the Seminary, with his Secretary, were present, and none of the guests at that hospitable table were more honoured than the accomplished Priest.*

The French Canadians abhor the British whether they are of English or of Canadian descent and birth; they never call them Canadians, and in Montreal the two nations form a distinct local society; of which the French or Canadian is esteemed the best, independently of the officers of the Vice-Government. The Military, as far as I could understand, were eminently unpopular.

The slightest encouragement on the part of this all-powerful Priesthood would induce the Canadians to declare themselves independent of the Mother, or more truly of the Step-Mother country (for the Canadians do not owe their birth to England, but to France; they are merely English by cession). I do not imagine that they would at first annex themselves to the United States, because they were originally children of France, called by her name, and still revere the names of Francis the First, and of Louis the Great. The national admiration for the person and state of the Grand Monarque, obsolete in all the world, save here, combined with a certain prejudice against the Americans, would in all probability keep them for some time a separate People, under another and a less republican form of government.

The Canadas are suffering from the ill effects of a deputed Government; a system inherently vicious; they cost England immense sums annually-more than their commerce is worth ; and since the universal adoption of Free Trade measures, it is difficult to assign a reason for keeping them. Canada herself would be infinitely more prosperous as an independent country

*Since his return to Canada, M. Papineau has been a guest at Monklands, and has also accepted a Government office. I had the pleasure of seeing this gentleman the day after his arrival at Montreal, in the society of M. Louis La Fontaine, with whose charming wife I was intimately ac quainted. M. Papineau is a man of mild manners and pleasing conversation. M. La Fontaine bears an extraordinary resemblance to the busts and portraits of Napoleon Buonaparte. He has the same spiritual paleness of complexion. Madame La Fontaine had the kindness to accompany me in my visits to the Catholic Communities in Montreal. I was placed under her care by the amiable Bishop Bourget, of that Diocese.

+ La Nouvelle France.

than as a colony of England. The Canadians are not blind to this: they are patiently waiting till English capital shall have completed their public works, and as soon as opportunity is granted they will rally round the Golden Lilies. Many more causes than I could here enumerate, and probably many more than I am aware of, are gradually leading to this result; it only bides its time; but, in the meanwhile, any war in North America, (either in Mexico or the West Indies,) in which the English were a party concerned, would present the opportunity. I have understood that a rumour is afloat that the Lower Canadians wish to remove the Seat of Government once more; to carry it again to Quebec, and to make it a Vice-Royalty. As a private individual I have no means of knowing more than the Journals convey; but, if it is true, I should regard it as a rash and (supposing that England considers it desirable to retain these provinces,) a perilous measure on our part to permit this change; it is not only putting the sword into the hands of the Canadians, but teaching them how to use it. Quebec was the original seat of the French Government; it is endeared by the exquisite beauty of its site, and its historic recollections, and is recommended by its strong citadel; and a Viceroy would be the most popular of titles for their ruler to assume with the Canadians. Nor would a division of the United Canadas into departments or states, each having its local legislative arrangements, be less hazardous to the permanent dominion of England.

To return to Oregon. There is an unseen element at work in the remote wilderness of the Oregon, whose success is guaranteed by all the precedents of history; it is the agency of the Catholic Church; the Missionaries of that Faith made Canada French; and they will make the Oregon American. If the limited powers of the United States Government admitted of their granting a million of dollars annually to the Roman Catholic Bishop of New York, that energetic and enlightened Prelate would make it theirs in less than three years; and he would return it to their hands, organized both civilly, morally, and religiously. The Pope by dividing the Territory into an Archbishopric and eight Bishoprics, of which three Prelates are already consecrated, has done more to establish the right and power of occupancy for the Americans than any thing they have done, or could have done, for themselves. The Irish and German Emigrants will flock thither in innumerable hordes; and already the Indian Tribes begin to hail "the beautiful feet of the messengers of glad tidings upon the mountains."

In a subsequent part of this work, I shall cause to be printed

the description and announcement of the College of Notre Dame du Lac, in the State of Indiana, which institution I have visited; and which, I presume, will be the model upon which similar establishments will be formed in the still more distant West. A review of his wishes and intentions with respect to the College and its future enlargement, will also accompany the sketch of the life of M. Sorin, the Superior. The French Jesuits stand pre-eminent, as they have ever done, in the work of civilization; I have perused with delight many of the relations of these Missionary Fathers; and, in particular, the Letters of the accomplished Father de Smet, whose efforts extend to the improvement of his barbarous converts,* in the useful arts of agriculture, carpentry, &c., as well as in religious knowledge; he travels through this wilderness with a quantity of ploughs, hatchets, and other instruments, which he distributes among them. These Letters have the twofold interest of convincing us of the truthfulness of the narratives of the first explorers of these wilds, whose religious and adventurous spirit their successors in the field inherit; and of proving that all difficulties are to be overcome by zeal and faith, united with discretion. The modern Missionaries possess one mighty and marvellous ally which the early labourers in the vineyard never dreamed of. Steam, and the vast machinery it actuates; Railroads are the wings of the Catholic Church in America; for they are constructed by the European emigrants who, most generally, are of that suffering religion. Wherever there is a body of Catholic workmen assembled, there also is a Priest to succour and counsel them; and soon he raises an altar unto God; and however humble be the tenement, it bears the sacred symbol of the Cross, and is looked upon with reverence by the worshippers, and with benignity by Him, whose temple is in their hearts.

One remark more. The American project of carrying a Railroad from the Great Lakes, or from St. Louis or elsewhere, from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, is virtually to take possession of the Oregon; little doubt remains of its practicability, and it is a far more legitimate mode of obtaining the country than that of planting on its hills by fierce and horrid war, the banner

*The French still call the Indians Sauvages and Sauvagesses; originally Salvages. The French nation, whether as Missionaries or Settlers, have always been more popular with the Indians than any other Europeans, probably from their happy manner and cheerful endurance of inconveniences. The finest race of half breeds is acknowledged to spring from the intermar. riages of the French and Indians.