THE NORTHWESTERN BOUNDARY -LINE. 210 



tensions of proprictorsliip founded upon license to 

 trade ; its license was revoked ; it was compelled to 

 yield up Oregon to tbe United States; and it was 

 iialf- persuaded and Lalf- constrained to sell its cluar- 

 tered rights to the Canadian Dominion, and to slirink 

 into comparative insignificance in America. 



AVlien the Government of the United States enter- 

 ed into necrotiations with Great Britain for termina- 

 ting the joint occupation of Oregon, tlie machinations 

 of the Hudson's Bay Company were the great disturb- 

 ing fact which for a long time prevented the conclu- 

 sion of a treaty and its due execution. 



i\Iean while the two Governments, after extraordi- 

 nary contention, at length arrived at a settlement of 

 another Ijoundary fpiestion, which had rcmaini;d o])en 

 ever since the Treaty of Independence, namely, the 

 boundary -line on the northeast between the British 

 possessions and the United States [Treaty of Novem- 

 ber 20,1842]. 



The duration of the Treaty of 1818 was limited to 

 ten years. As the expiration of this time approached, 

 the Amei'can Government ofiered to settle the ques- 

 tion of Oregon by extending the line of 40° to the 

 Pacific Ocean, and announced this as "our ultimatum." 

 The British Government o>>jected that this line would 

 cut off the southern part of Vancouver s Island. AVe 

 replied by proposing to yield this part for an equiv- 

 alent. But it w\as for the interest of the Hudson's 

 Bay Company, which was in practical possession of the 

 whole country, to defeat this attempt at settlement, 

 and it was defeated, and the United States reluctant- 



