288 LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE At the third session of the 25th Congress, however, little was done beyond receiving the report of Cushing's committee. It was the short session and the press of other business crowded out the Oregon Question which had not yet come to be regarded to be of such a nature that it demanded action forthwith. Furthermore the delicate situation of the relations between Great Britain and the United States over the Maine boundary made it seem advisable, to those in positions of authority, not to add more fuel to the flames. In the Senate Linn brought up and supported his bill in a short statement of the value of the country under considera- tion, a value which was being wholly absorbed by the British since they had driven out the American fur traders. 12 He com- plained that Great Britain had extended the operation of her laws even to the boundaries of Arkansas and Missouri. The Yankees were showing the proper spirit in opposing British encroachments in Maine and he hoped, if war ever should come, that Great Britain would be driven from the continent. He would, however, make no motion regarding the bill since "many esteemed friends around and near me seem to think that, at this critical moment, the passage of the bill might be misconstrued. But I pledge myself not to permit our claims to this Territory to slumber." Twice before he dropped the cause for the session did Linn strive to keep these claims awake. He presented in January the Memorial from the Citizens of the Oregon Territory, 13 and, in February, another from citizens of his own State re- questing Congress to establish a customs house and port of entry on the Missouri River ; the memorial pictured the former flourishing trade with the Indians of the Oregon country in contrast with its then languishing condition. The House during this session received a report from Cush- ing's Committee on January 4th, and a supplemental one one February 16th, 1839. 14 The first or main report is of interest, not because of its elaborate review of title and its presentation 12 The matter was formally before the Senate on six different days in De- cember, January and February. Globe, VII, 19, 22, 149, 210, 218; Appen. 221-2. 13 Whitcomb's of March, 1838, see Chapter IV. 14 H. Rep. No. 101, 2$th Cong., 3d Ses.
