LETTER OF DR. JOHN McLouGHLiN. 295 relations to the making of Oregon by one who had been a cen- tral figure in Oregon history nearly to that date, it deserves a place in Oregon historical literature similar to that of Washington's farewell address in our national classics. That there was masterly opportuneness in the development of his plea (for such it was) is seen when studied in connec- tion with the measures to which he refers. It should have won redress. Alas ! for the honor of Oregon that it did not. PORTLAND, Oregon, September 3, 1907. On this, the fiftieth anniversay of the death of Dr. John McLoughlin, the friend of the early pioneers of Oregon, it is fitting that a letter, which he wrote in June, 1852, which was recently discovered in the Oregon Statesman of June 8th of that year, be reproduced. At that time this paper was pub- lished in Oregon City, and its editor was Mr. Asahel Bush, the present well known banker of Salem. GEORGE H. HIMES, Assistant Secretary Oregon Hist. Soe'y. The letter alluded to is as follows : Mr. Editor: Being frequently asked in the pres'ent excited state of the Territory [1852] my vi'ews and intended action at the polls as between the Whig and Democratic parties just now organizing, I beg to make a public reply. I do this to the end that no public act of mine touching the interests of the country may b'e made under cover, for i scorn deceit or duplicity in affairs concerning the welfare of others; and, I cannot, at this late day, depart from a rule alike dictated to my reason in 'early life, and which more than fifty years of experience has been commended to my riper judgment. I was born in Canada, and reared to manhood in the immediate vicinity of the United States, and from my earliest recollection I have found happy employment for many a leisure hour in studying the character of its people and the working of its institutions. Nor have I been indifferent to the two adverse systems of political thought and action dividing its inhabitants from the earliest formation of the government. The sympathies of my heart and the dictates of my understanding, more than thirty years ago, led me to look forward to a day when both my relations to others and the circumstances sur- rounding me would permit me to live under and enjoy the political blessings of a flag which, wherever it floats, whether over the land or the sea, is honored for the principles of justice lying at the founda- tion of the government it represents, and which shields from injury and dishonor all who claim its protection.
