" They conclude their appeal to
the Government of the United States for relief by declaring:
If it be at all the intention of our honored parent to spread her
guardian wing over her sons and daughters in Oregon, she surely will not
refuse to do it now, when they are struggling with all the ills of a
weak and temporary government, and when perils are daily thickening
around them and preparing to burst upon their heads. When the ensuing
summer's sun shall have dispelled the snow from the mountains, we shall
look with glowing hope and restless anxiety for the coming of your laws
and your arms.
In my message of the 5th of August, 1846, communicating "a copy of the
convention for the settlement and adjustment of the Oregon boundary,"
I recommended to Congress that "provision should be made by law, at
the earliest practicable period, for the organization of a Territorial
government in Oregon." In my annual message of December, 1846, and again
in December, 1847, this recommendation was repeated.
The population of Oregon is believed to exceed 12,000 souls, and it is
known that it will be increased by a large number of emigrants during
the present season.
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