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FEDERAL RELATIONS OF OREGON 101 issue which figured largely at a later date. When news of the existence of a state of war reached Astoria the post was tempo- rarily under the command of McDougall, once an employe of the North- West Company. McDougall immediately sold the whole establishment to a representative of the Canadian com- pany for $58,000, of which Astor eventually received about $40,000, although he claimed that the plant, furs, etc., were easily worth $200,000. McDougall became a partner in the purchasing company. After the sale had taken place ( 16 Oct- ber, 1813) H. M. Frigate Racoon arrived and took possession in the name of George III, formally changing the name of the post to Fort George. It appears that the officers of the Racoon were intensely incensed that the sale had taken place before their arrival because they had expcted to obtain a liberal reward from the rich prize. Astor, who had feared for his factory, had made application to Monroe, as Secretary of State, for a vessel of war to proceed to the North Pacific to protect Ameri- can interests there, but none had been available in time to be of any use. 10 Because Astoria was sold to the North- West Company be- fore capture by a national vessel it was urged later that it was not included as among "places" to be restored according to the treaty of Ghent, since there could be no restoration after a bona fide sale to a bona fide British Company. Therefore, ac- cording to the British view, no strength was added to the claims of the United States either by the words of the treaty or by the "restoration" of Astoria in 1818. In the negotiations for the treaty of peace following the War of 1812 the Northwest Coast did not assume an important place, although Secretary Monroe in his instructions cautioned the negotiators on the point. 12 John Quincy Adams notes 13 10 The correspondence relative to the transaction and Astor's letters with reference to it are given in Annals of Congress. i7th Cong. 2d Ss. 1210-21, having been brought before the House by a resolution of 19 Dec., 1822. 11 See Memorandum of H. U. Addington, 10 May, 1826, in Stapleton, Some official correspondence of George Canning, II, 110-5; also Canning to Liverpool, 7 ponde , _Jid., I 12. Am. State 'P'apers, For. Rel. t III, 731. 13 Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, III, 81-2, entry of i Dec, 1814. July, 1826, Ibid., II, 71- Papt