FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON
351
Governor Abernethy. It had always been the policy of the United States to cultivate the good will of the aborigines, and "that this could have been done with the tribes in Oregon, had that Territory been brought under the government of our laws at an earlier period, and had suitable measures been cannot be doubted. Indeed, adopted by Congress the immediate and only cause for the existing hostility of the Indians of Oregon is represented to have been the long delay of the United States in making them some trifling compensa.
.
.
in such articles as they wanted, for the country now occupied by our immigrants." This compensation had been promised by the Provisional
tion,
Government but the
fulfilment
had been postponed for two
years while awaiting Congressional action. Accordingly Polk repeated his recommendation for laws to regulate intercourse '
with the Indians.
No
further recommendations did he
make
Oregon, although he reiterated his reasons, given in the message accompanying the signed territorial bill, He announced that steps had been for approving the act. with regard to
taken to carry into effect the act for mail service between Panama and Oregon, and in this connection mentioned a proposal for establishing a line of steamships to New Orleans and Vera Cruz as potentially beneficial to the commerce of
both Oregon and California.
But the Thirtieth Congress had spent enough time on OreThe whole question of California and New affairs. Mexico, with relation to slavery extension, had been left over from the first session, and, as this was the short session, there was little time to attend to other than the most pressing and
gon
Consequently all the action taken to deal with Oregon was the passage of a resolution allowing the Secroutine business.
War to furnish emigrants to Oregon, California and New Mexico with arms and ammunition. 14 The greater quesretary of
removing the most important source of trouble between titles, was not touched, neither did Congress take any steps to remove certain diffi-
tion of
the settlers and the natives, that of land
T^Globe, XIX, 535, 560, 616.
