"He (Mr B.) went for the whole of Oregon; for every grain of sand that sparkled in her moonlight, and every pebble on its wave-worn strand. It was ours--all ours; ours by treaty, ours by discovery.... There was such a thing as destiny for this American race--a destiny that would yet appear upon the great chart of human history. It was already fulfilling, and that was a reason why we could now refuse to Great Britain that which we had offered her in 1818 and 1824. Reasons existed now in our condition, which did not exist then. Who at that time could have divined that our boundary was to be extended to the Rio del Norte, if not to Zacatecas, to Potosi, to California? No, we had a destiny, and Mr B. felt it." ... "Cuba was the tongue which God had placed in the Gulf of Mexico to dictate commercial law to all who sought the Carribbean Sea. And England was not to be allowed to take Cuba or hold Oregon, _because we, the people of the United States, had spread, were spreading, and intend to spread, and should spread, and go on to spread_!" ... "Mr Speaker, if from this claim an echo shall come back, it may not come from Oregon, but it will come from the Canadas. Sir, it will be 'the last echo of a host o'erthrown.' The British power will be swept from this continent for ever, and though she may, 'like the sultan sun, struggle upon the fiery verge of heaven,' she must yield at last to the impulses of freedom, and to the touch of that destiny which shall crush her power in the western hemisphere!" This may be considered bad to beat; yet, in our opinion, a choice spirit from Missouri, SIMS by name, does it-- "It is so common on this floor, for inexperienced members to make apologies for their embarrassment, that I will not offer any for mine. I find some difficulty in getting along with all the questions that may be raised by the north or by the south, and by lawyers, and by metaphysicians, and learned doctors who abound here, that I shall be slow in getting along. I hope, therefore, that gentlemen will keep cool, and suffer me to get through." ... Certainly, Sims--there is no false modesty, you will observe, in this good Sims. He thus defines his position. "I wish it to be distinctly understood what banner I fight under. _It is for Oregon, all or none, now or never!_ Not only _I myself_, but all my own people whom I represent, will stand up to this motto. Around that will we rally, and for it will we fight, _till the British lion shall trail in the dust. The lion has cowered before us before. Talk of whipping this nation?_ Though not, sir, brought up in the tented field, nor accustomed to make war an exercise, and do not so much thirst for martial renown as to desire to witness such a war, yet I cannot fear it, nor doubt its success."