Newspaper Page Text
BY ALBON CHASE.
ATHENS, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26,1841.
VOL. IX^-NO, 60.
CONGRESS.
SPCEl’II OP MU. lU i iSAWN,
OF PENNSYLVANIA,
In Senate, Friday, January 22, 1841—In
defence of the iiilinimstralion of Air. Vail Bo
ren against ilie charge of extravagance m
expending the public money.
Mr BUCHANAN rose to answer each of the
four specific charges of extravagance which
had been made by the Senator from Kentucky
[Mr. Crittenden] against the present Adminis
tration. That Senator had called upon him
personally to make this answer ; and be un
dertook the task with pica*nre, not telieving
it to be one of much ditiiculty. Before, how
ever, lie should apply himself diiccily to this
work, he would take the liberty of making
some preliminary observations.
And in the lirsl place, said Air. I*, permit me
to observe, that 1, at least, have never intro
duced nilo «'iis Senate, as topics of debate, “Jog
cabin;, liaid cider, and coon skins:” nor have
1 ever made an observation here which could
lie tortured into a reflection upon either the in
tegrity or intelligence of the people of the
United Stales for having elected Cieneral Har
rison their President. The Senator from Ken
tucky lias promptly and frankly disclaimed
any intention of imputing to me such a charge ;
a id with ihis 1 am entin ly satisfied. The
|K‘ople are llio only legitimate sovereigns of
this country, and however much 1 may regret
their recent decision of the Presidential ques
tion. I shall never, either here or elsewhere, in
dulge myself.in the use of reproachful lan
guage against them for tins or any ollici
cause.
If 1 know myself, said Mr. B. I came to
Congress in December last with the desire and
with the expectation that tins would prove to
be a busine'S session. It wasn.v sincere wish
that the political excitement w hicli has recent
ly agitated the people and lias extended to ev
ery portion ol'tiie land, might, tort io present,
l«; sulleied lo subside, and that we might bring
tip the arrears of business with which we are
nmv encumbered. I had not the most distant
idea that this chamber would again m> soon be
converted into a mere political arena. Acting
nnd.-r a sens-- of duly, 1 have abstained from
polilieal conflicts since the commencement ol
the present session, excej t when compelled to
cuter the lists in the newssary detente of my
self or of my parly. 1 have madt? no assaults,
and have generally been a mere listener.
1 had another reason for refraining fiomany
participation in the debate now before the Sou- j
nte. I knew that the question of the distril n-
lion of the proceeds of the public lands was be
fore the Legislature of my own Slate, and that
1 might be instructed on the subject ; and, as
1 shall ever entertain and express ti e utmost
deference and respect for that legislature,
whatever political party may he in the majori
ty, 1 thought that a proper sense of delicacy
required me to abstain from discussing this
question. | have not, therefore, said, nor do 1
now intend to say, a sing'e word upon that
subject: and I shall either give my vote-accor
ding to these instructions, should they pass,or
resign my seat. I am not the man who, after
having enjoyed the sunshine of political favor,
will shrink from the storm. 1 long since, from
the deepest conviction, adopted the principle
that the representative was bound by the in
structions of Ins co: stitueuls. 1 consider it es
sential to the wholesome action of a flee, Dem
ocratic Republican form of Government; and
having publicly avowed this doctrine at a pe
riod when there appeared to le but little prob
ability that it could ever reach myself. I shall
not disavow it in the day of apparent gloom
and adversity. 1 am willing to abide the fate
of war.
For a similar reason, I might even have re
frained from advocating the passage of the pre
emption hill, dear as it now is, ami ever lias
been lo me, had 1 then known that the instruc
tions before the Legislature of Pennsylvania
embraced Ihis subject, as well as that of the
distribution of the proceeds of the public lands
I am glad, however, now to find, that evt n the
Senator from Kentucky himself [Mr. Critten
den] is in favor of the principle of pre-emption,
and has actually incorporated it with that of
distribution in his motion now before the Sen
ate. This renders it certain, that if ever a dis
tribution bill should pass—and from the signs
of the times I consider such a result probable
—the poor man, who lias expended his toil in
erecting an humble dwelling, and cultivating
the soil, shall not be driven from his home on
the public lands of the far West, ptovidcd lie
is willing to pay the Government price for the
quarter section which he has selected and im
proved.
For one, it was both my design and my de
sire, so far as 1 was concerned, to devote this
s.-ssioii to the necessary businessoftlic country,
and to wait patiently until General Harrison
should get into power. 1 shall then judge the
tree by its fruits, without any predetermina
tion t > oppose his measures. 1 am hound, not
withstanding, in candor, to declare, (lint if he
entertains the ofinmn of his friend from Ken
tucky, [Air. Crittenden,] in regard to a Nation-
id Bank, he [General 11 trrison] believes that
to he a great good, which I consider one of the
greatest evils winch can befall the country.—
Without, at present, alluding to its fatal politi
cal consequences, 1 lielievc that in a mere fi
nancial point of view, it would prove destruc
tive to our prosperity. In order to obtain a
specie capital for such an institution, you must
either ruin or essentially cripple our State
banks; or yon must adopt the alternative of
borrowing specie abroad, and creating a na
tional debt for this pnr|*osc. One or other of
these alternatives is inevitable; and the coun
try is not in a condition to resort to cither,
without great injury to the people. But enough
of this for the present. 1 return to the subject
with which 1 commenced.
I shall now proceed to show that the charge
of extravagance which has hern so often made
and reiterated against the present Administra
tion by both the Senators from Kentucky,
[Mussrs. Crittenden and Clay,] is without foun
dation. It will he for the Senate and the cotin-
• r y to decide whether 1 shall have succeeded,
h will be recollected thnt in tho month of
last, a report was made by the Secretary
of the Treasury in obedience io a resolution of
the Senate on the subject of the annual expen*
diftircs of the federal Government during the
fifteen preceding years. From that report it
appears* that the ordinary expenses of this
Government, which in 1824 amounted to a lit
tle more than seven millions one hundred
thousand dollars, had been gradually imweas-
mg until the year 1839, when they a little ex
ceeded thirteen millions and a quarter. 1 mean
by “ordinary cryensen,” the money aunualiy
disbursed in maintaining the [erinnnent civii,
military, and naval establishment of the coun
try, and embracing every expenditure neces
sary to conduct the Government prosperously
in time of peace. Now, in regard to ihis cla s
of expenditures, I have never heard any Sena
tor on either side of the House complained of
their amount, ci that they had ri*en fiom sev
en to thirteen millions ol dollars between 1824
and 1S39. During this period, a number of
omy which can be practised by the Presi
dent ; and if he has neglected this duty in
any particular instance lie would be liable to
censure; but not otbe wise.
In order to swell‘the expenditures of the last
four years to one hum red and thirty milieus,
Senators have include 1 items, not only of the
most unjust, but oftlic most ridiculous charac
ter. 1 shall eunmefaie a few of them.
Oik* large item in this amount was for mon
ey expended upon th s public buildings. Is
there a single member >f the Senate wlio either
raised his voice, or gate bis vote against the
appropriations for tins purpose / The money
expended on these buildings alone during the
period oftlic present Administration, amounts
lo between four and five millions. 1 have
not added up the sum; but it is certainly not
new States have been admitted into the Union, less than four millions. And yet these appro
and several new Territories crentid— the army
and navy have Loth been considerably in
creased and the exjx-nsos of Congress have of
late years become enormous, requiring reform
prialtous made hy Congress, without distinc
lion of party, are converted into an item of
extravagance against Mr. Van Buieii!
Then there was tin- money expended in the
I bt permitted to remain in tlie Seriate, 1 shall
call upon them, when they have all the offn ial
documents in their power, to make good the
charge ol wasteful extravagance against Mr.
Van Bnreirs administration. This is due to
themselves, ns well as to that portion of the
American people who have been deluded into
the belief that the present Administration has
been guilty of a prodigal and wasteful expen
diture of the public money.
water, a useless expense was incurred in send
ing tbt m.dver land. Three hundred was the
whole number of these Missouri volunteers, ns
l have been informed bv the highest oflicial
authority ut the proper Department. And to
what, then, does this whole charge ofextmva
trance against the Administration amount ?—
To the excess of what it would cost to trans
port three hundred men from Missouri to Flor
ida above the cost of transporting the same
Another most extraordinary charge against number of men from Georgia, Alabama, or
Mi. Van Buren, embraced within the nggre- Kentucky. This difference of price is the
more than any oilier branch of the Govern-! payment of pensions, amounting to upwards
ment. Our expunJitures mint necessarily in-5 often millions of dollars. Had the Ailmmis-
creasc with the growth of the country; but it Oration any control over this expenditure 7—
ought to be our care that this increase shall be j Those pensions were granted by a grateful
as slow as possible, and never proceed beyond j country to those wholi; d defended it in the per-
wliat is absolutely nercssary foi the public ser-! ilons times which tried men’s souls, and who
vice. VVc might with ns much reason expert arc now the feeble am broken relics of a past
that tho little garment which was sufficient to j age, dependent on the public bounty for their
cover the child of «ighl or ten years of age. j support. Congress Ins ah o gran bd pensions
would prove sufficient lo protect him from the j to such widows of old soldiers, ns in the days
wind and the storm after he had grown to be of the Revolution rem; ined at home, and at-
a giant, as argue that the “ordinary expenses” j tended to tin ir families' whilst their husbands
of the Government should not have increased ! went forth to the hat le field. Be this right,
with the rapid, nay the unexampled growth of j or he it wrong, had the present Administration
the nation during (he last fifteen years. Noth-'.my agency in craning these pensions? —
ing has been said against these expenses, eitft- J Did not Congress pass these laws; and ditl
or in the aggregate or in detail, since they were not the Senator from Kentucky vote for them/
brought to the attention of gentlemen by the I do not know the fact because it is not tnv
Secretary’s report. It is, then, fair to presume practice to examine t le journals for the pnr-
tliat nothing can lie urged against a single [ pose of ascertaining Ik w individual tneuil ers
item of them. On ihis triumphant result, 1 may have voted; but I do know, from the
am most happy to have it in my power lo con- j nature of the man, thn he [Mr. Chittenden]
gratulate the friends ol the present Adiniuistrn- j is one of the last members of the Senate who
lion. would vote against sm-h pensions. And yet.
The Secretary of the Trcasnry in the same ; strange to say, the pay riient. ol these very pen-
repoit to which I Have ri fern d, also, present-1 sinus to old soldi* rs at d their widows, I y the
< d an annual statement of the expenses “ of an j Treasury, is one of the items of extravagant
extraordinary or temporary character,” from expenditure charged against .Mr. Van Bnren’s
182-1 lo 1839. both years inclusive, arranged j administration; and t ie aggregate of $130,-
imder difl'ereiit heads. When this report came j OftOOAO composed of such items as these lias
into the Senate in the* mouth ol May hist, loth j been spread o\er the whole country, ill Older
the Senator from Missouri [Mr. Benton] ar.d , to ahum t lie fears oil he people,
myself'called upon the gentlemen on tlie oppo- Again. There was the expense of extin-
site side to point oiit a single item of extrava- giiishmg the Indian titles within the States
;ance amongst all those expenditures of the j and Teriitortes of the Union, and of removin
Government, whether ordinary or extraordin
ary*. Not one of them was then I old enough
even tit make the attempt. Onr challenge was
not met. And now 1 would ask tho Senator
from Kentucky [Mr. Crittenden] on whom
ought the burden ol the proof of extravagance
to rest? Would he require, tlie friends oi' the
Administration to go over, item by item, all
the ten thousand items of expenditure which
have been submitted in a distinct form to Con
gress, and show that in each particular in
stance there was no extravagance? This
would, as that honorable Senator well knows,
be reversing all the rules of common law, as
well as of common sense. We present to tlie
Senators in opposition a clear and distinct ac
count in detail of tlie expenses of the Govern
ment ; and it is manifestly their duly, if they
believe there lias been extravagance in any
item, to lay their hand upon it and show where
in the extravagance consists. This they can
not do, or they would long since have aceej*-
(i-d our chnll-ttge. They are, therefore, driv
en to condemn m the aggregate, although tiny
can find no fault with any of the details of
which this aggregate is composed. ’They ex
claim that the Administration has been extrav
agant, because it lias expended one hundred
and thirty millions of dollars in four years,
whilst they do not point nut in what manner
it would have been possible to have reduced
this expenditure. It is true that at this late
day the Senator from Kentucky [Air. Critten
den] Jtas denounced lour particular items of
the account as extravagant; hut 1 think 1 shall
prove, before I sit down, that he has been less
wise and wary than his colleague, [Mr. Clay,]
in descending from generals to particulars.
1 do not deny but that the “extraordinary
expenses” of the Government have been very
large during the last four years. But whether
tin ran* expenditures were great or small, is not
the question. Were they inevitable ? Could
they have been avoided by any human pru
dence or foresight on the'pnrt of the Executive
or his friends in Congress / Was not each of
the treaties and iwts of Congress under which
these expenditures were necessarily incurred,
sanctioned and sustained by the very Senators
who now condemn them in the aggregate?—
T hose arc the true questions.
These “extraordinary expenses”must,from
the nature of things, vary with the evet vary
ing condition of the country. Our circum
stances arc changing with every changing
year. Some years ago, the nation was gliding
along on the smooth current of prosperity, and
requiring hut little above the ordinary expen
diture necessary to keep the Government in
regular motion. Not so, since the present
President came into power. It has been bis
misfortune, thnt, during the jietind of his ad
ministration,heavy expenses, of any extraordin
ary character, which lie could not have avoid
ed, were rendered absolutely necessary, whilst
the revenue of the Government has been great
ly reduced, by causes equally beyond Ins con
trol. Is it not, then, tlie most crying injustice
—is it tot the strangest accusation in tlie world,
to charge tlte man who happened lo take the
helm of State when the country was involved
in such difficulties, with extravagance, merely
because lie was compelled to execute treaties
and laws which had received the sanction of
all political parlies in Congress?
Under such circumstances, ought he to he
denounced because the necessary expenses of
Government happened to exceed, under his
Administration, those which were incurred
under his predecessors? True economy in a
Government does not consist in hoarding mon
ey like tho miser, and doing ho good with it,
hut in applying it, with a provident hand, to
the accomplishment of snch ohjects ns tiro ne
cessary to the defence and prosperity of the
country. After these, objects of exi^nditnre
have been designated by Congress, Executive
economy consists in accomplishing them at the
the Indians west of the Mississippi, vvbivli
amounted to more than ten millions of dollars.
Are the present Administration to I.lame for
ihis expenditure? Could the President have
avoided it. after the Senate had rniilhd the
I real as iind<*r which it was incurred? No
Senator on this floor will say that he could.
He had no discretion whatever ou the subject;
Lut was obliged to execute these treaties and
the laws made in pursuance of them. How un
just is it ,then, to put down this item in the ngre-
gatc of one hundred and thirty millions of
dollars expended hy the present Admit, siraticn!
1 might, tfl pleased, pass in review all the
other heads of extraoidiunry expenditure de
tailed by the Secretary o! the Treasury in his
report, and show that it was impossible for
tin- President to avoid any one of them. He
can exercise no dispensing power. He must
obey the acts of Congress and treaties; and
these laws and treaties were of suc h pres
sing necessity as even to have disarmed oppos
ition, and to have received the votes of the po
litical enemies, as well as of the friends of the
Administration. 1 may well spare myself this
trouble, as not one of these items of expendi
ture has ever been questioned hy any Senator
upon this floor. It is'true, they exclaim, you
have spent cue hundred and thirty millions
of dollars, and this is enormous; hut they make
no attempt to show how it was possible for the
President to have reduced this amount.
There nre I wo or three items embraced within
i his aggregate, of a character soext inordinary as
to deserve more than a mere passing notice. In
the Secretary’s report tho indemnities amount to
between six andseven millions ofdollars. What
arc these indemnities ? G« n ral Jarkson.during
his prosperous Administration, succeeded in ol -
mining satisfaction for all the old claims which
our citizens had against foreign Governments.
He got nearly five millions from France; and
1 do not recollect precisely how much from
Denmark, and other nations. At all events
he left ns a clear score, and the enjoyment of
peace with all foreign nations. Now, accor
ding to the terms of the treaties, these indemni
ties, obtained from foreign Governments for
our own citizens, were paid into the Treasury
for their use, and were of course paid out of
the Treasury to them, as soon as it was as
certained how much each one was entitled to
receive; and yet, strange as it may seem, these
very payments from the Trcnstuy constitute
a large item of the aggregate of one hundred
md thirty millions, about which vve have heard
so much. Thissacretl trust fund, wiheh w is
acquired for our citizens by the most efficient
and persevering exertions—this very fund,
which was fairly distributed amongst thoseen-
titlc-d to receive it,lias thus been converted into a
charge of extravagance to its full amount agairst
Mr. Van Rnren, Simply because it was paid
out of the Treasury during his administration.
This item shows conclusively why the Sena
tor from Kentucky [Mr. Clay] goes fur footings,
and not for particulars. Is this fair towards
the present Administration ? If it were, then
had General Jackson succeeded in obtaining
twenty millions more from foreign nations,
Air. Van Buren, who disbursed the money,
would have l>een twenty millions more extrava
gant; and thegeritlernan might haveexclaimfd,
“you have expended one hundred and fifty
millions of dollars, instead of one hundred and
thirty.” In making out these debtor and cred
itor accounts of extravagance, will auv mnn
gate of one hundred and thirty millions, is that
of mote than twenty millions paid out of the
Treasury in discharge of the national debt.—
Now, sir, observe the gross injustice of tfiis
charge; The Administration are fiist charged
with all the expenditures which rendered it
necessary to create a debt by the issue of Treas
ury notes, mid afterwards, ns this debt was dis
charged, they, are again charged the second
time with the amount paid to the public credi
tors. According to this mode of staling the
account, an Administration is first charged
with, 1 shall say, twenty millions of dollars for
public expenditure. Their necessities require
them to borrow these twenty millions. They
then pay the borrowed money, and this dis
charge of the debt is twenty millions more ex
pended, and swells the total to forty millions
instead ol fwenty, although this last sum is
palpably the whole amount expended. As a
iurtlad* illustration, let me suppose a case.—
The Senator from Kentucky employs an agent
to build him a house which shall cost ten thou
sand dollars, and directs him to borrow the
money on his (the Senator’s) credit. Thengent
borrows the money and builds the house, and
afterwards discharges the debt from the pro
ceeds of the Senator’s estate. What would be
thought of his justice, if the Senator were lo
brand this agent with extravagance, and say,
you have expended twenty thousand dollars ol
my motley when 1 «ulhoiiz> d you to expend
but ten? You have first paid out ten thou
sand dollars in the erection of my house; and,
shameful extravagance! you have squander* d
ten thousand dollars more in dischaiging tin
del t which I authorized you to contract. And
vet this is tlie measure of justice which, the
Senator won id apply to the present President
of the United States as the agent of the people.
Now, fortunately for this country, neither
the pro;cut nor any future Prc-iih nt of the
United Stales can be justly charged with ex
travagant expenditures, except in few cases,
should Congress do their duty. Under the
Constitution, not one dollar ol public money
can ever be drawn from the Treasury, “but in
consequence of appropriations made I y law.”
Ill most instances, Congress appropriates the
precise sum which, under existing laws, is re
quired for each special purpose; and tlie Se
cretary of the Treasury merely pays out these
s,.rns as their agent. Neither lie nor the Presi
dent can make these payn cuts either greater
or less. Since the origin of the Government,
the ptil lie Treasury has been protected by this
constitutional guard.
But' the 'prfserff 'Adinhiisfration have done
more than all their predecessors to secure the
public money in the hands of our leceiving
and disbursing agents. Hitherto, whilst the
poor wretch, who stole five dollars to gratify
the cravings of hunger, was doomed to the
penitentiary; the public officer who squander
ed the public money entrusted to his care,
or fled with it to a foreign country, was held
to have committed a mere breach of trust, and
escaped without any punishment whatever.—
The much abused Independent Treasury law,
which is now about to he repealed, was the
first act of legislation whichever inflicted any
punishment upon public officers for plunder
ing the public money. Under its provisions,
such a crime is made felony; and the culprit
is consigned to the four walls of the penitentia
ry, instead of being sent on a mission to Lon
don or Paris, to revel in Injury thereon tlie
spoils of the public, and to enjoy the pleasures
of “good society.” But the decree has gone
forth, ait* this law is to be repealed by the new
Administration.
The Piesidclit of the United States can on'v
I e guilty of extravagance by recommending
and I y influencing Ins friends in Congress to
adopt useless and extravagant projects not ne
cessary for the public good; or where, from
the nature of the case, a general appropriation
must he made to accomplish a particular pur
pose, by not applying ihis money, necessarily
subjected to his discretion, with a wise and
proper economy.
Gentlemen may lest the expenditures of the
present Administration by any reasonable role
which they please,and ascertain whether any
of theta could have been avoided. There they
are, spread upon the record of the American
Senate in the report of the Secretary of the
Treasury, and there they have been ever since
Alay last, subject to the inspection and scruti
ny of each American Senator; and what has
l>oen the result ? At this late period, after the
Presidential election lias been decided,-the Sen
ator from Kentucky now, for the first time,
makes four specific charges of extravagance.
If we were even to admit that these specifica
tions are all well founded, happy indeed would
be the country where, in the expenditure of so
ninny millions, the research and ingenuity of
gentlemen could discover but four small and
comjnrntively inconsiderable items to which
they Can object. There is another nation on
the face of the earth which could present such n
spectarle in tlie administration of its finances,
and even with these blemishes, if they existed,
it wiinld lie the glory of onr country to be able
to present such an account. It would be con
clusive evidence of the regard for low and the
morality which'prevails amongst us.
After this report find been thus subjected to
the bidool of these gentlemen for the greater
part of a year, the Senator now confines him
self to a specification of only (our particulars,
ill which he alleges tlie Government have been
whole sum and substance of the Senator’s first
charge of extravagance^ I have been also in
formed frbm the sante anfhority, that these
men did not march over land through Ken
tucky, as the Senator supposes; hut were tin -
the utmost energy and vigor, and to conCetf
irate such a force as would overawe ail oppo*
sition. 1 hsk, then, would not the Admitii^
(ration have been greatly lo blame, had they
not collecied sufficient provisions for ffiewholtf
force which General Scott deemed- expedi
ent to call into service ?
In this crisis, John Ross, the head chief'of
the Cherok rs, concluded an arrangement' wrtft
General Scoit, under the sanction of the Se-
erehiry of War, and engaged himself to remove!
his people. It was thus rendered unnecessary
to employ our troops tn removing them by
force; and a large portion of these troops was
itnmediab ly discharged. A sufficient numbers
therefore, did not continue in the service (of
consume all the remainder of the provisions
fortunately transported by water from St. Lott- j which had been collected,
is to Florida. The consequence was, that! Were these provisions itn iroperly collected?
they encountered a storm in the Gulf of Mext-1 Was it not necessary that the Department
co, and many of their horses were lost. I lap- j should have them at the point where the army
py, indeed, therefore, would it have been for |assembled? Bill a large portion of thio army
them if this portion of the Senator’s charge had j was soon disbanded, mid in this nnforseen con-
been well founded, mid if they had marched titigoncy what -was to he done with the remain*
oVer land. ' j tier of ihe provisions? There they were in
But why did the Secretary of War resort to the midst of the Indian country, where no do-
Alissonri for these volunteers? Was it be- tumid existed for them; and necessity com*
cause he had not entire confidence in the patri- polled tlie officer in command to direct them
otism and courage of the men of Georgia, Ala-1 to be sol 1 at auction, whatever price they might
bamn, and Kentucky? No, sir, hot at ull.—- j bring. -It is true the bacon and hard bread
But it was suggested to the Secretary, that the j were so’d at a sacrifice; but what else could
frontier men of Missouri—the hunters and trap- be done? The expense of transporting them
pers of the far West, who had been accustom- j toraiiv place where they might have sold for
onto Indian war, were better acquainted with ; their value, would have he«*n greater than the
the character and habits of our savage foe, and j difference between that value mid wlml tho
would, lor this reason, lie more efficient than i Government actually received.
equally brave soldiers who had not the same
experience. It was believed that these fron
tier men would be skilful in penetrating the
Everglades of Florida, and discovering the In
dians in their hiding places.
In the days of the Indian wars of Kentucky,
But whether the loss were greater small, the
Administration had nollung-direclly todo with
ihe sale, and are not, therefore, liable to cen
sure for this cause. The provisions were col
lided by the proper department for the sub*
sistenci* of the a tiny under the Commanding
say thnt it was either just or proper to charge guilty of extravagance. If I can demonstrate,
such an item as this against the retiring Ad- as 1 believe 1 can, that he has been ttiisfaken
ministration? in each of these particulars, then the friends
1 should have been rejoiced if the snhject of; of the present Administration will indeed have
*hcexpenditure of the present Administration
had not again been introduced until after the
accession of General Harrison, because then,
as the Senator [Air. Clay] says, the books and
papers will be in Ihe possession of bis friends.
They will then be enabled to search these books
and papers to their hearts’ content; and, for
cause for congratulation and tritimph
ilie Senator’s first specification is, that the
cheapest rate possible. This is the only eeou- one, I now giv'e them fuir notie'e, that should
the Kentuckians were probably the best Indian j General, and hearted hi strict conformity with
fighters in the world. But these days have j his duty in directing the sale of such of them
fortunately long since passed away; and you as he con’d not use. The Administration
must now go further West for men of expert-j knew* nothing of tlie matter until after they
eiice in this peculiar mode of warfare. Con- i had been sold, and the accounts of the Sale were
sidering how our army had been baffled by the reudeml. Thus ends tlie second item of ex-
Florida Indians, it might have been wise, and i iravngnnce allegid by the Senator agaiust the
I believe it was wise, lo accept the seivicos of Administration.
these Missourians; and the conduct of tins] The third specification of extravagant
brave hand, with the lament* d Colonel Gentry ! mainly rests upon the strange order ol litiga
nt their head, proved that tlie Secretary was not! diet General Read of the Florida militia. Of
mistaken eilla-r in their skill or courage. Some I all the persons 1 have e\cr known, the Sena-
forty or fifty of them lost their lives in battle; inter from Kentucky can the most effectually
and yet the charge is. that their transportation • turn into ridicule, even that which is not ridi
culous ill itself. What a rare occasion, then,
docs this order pr< sent for lii.s powers of satire 1
He must esteem it as a precious relic, anil
therefore I shall most certainly comply with
Ins request,and return it to him as soon as I
shall have rend it to the Senate.
Here Mr. Buchanan read the order ns fol
lows :
IIcaThjcartcrs, Florida Biucadx,
Ncwuansvill*, Denrinlwr 4, 1840.
“ The troops of the Sedentary infantry service, of
which Captain Brocr’s company U ail integral portion,
shall not at any time he orocruil oil active duly ; nor
will it ever occur during their term of service, that
they shall he ordered to march a greater distance than
twenty miles'beyond the headquarters of their respec
tive companies, 'they will be directed to remain at
(heir usual places of abode, and expected to engage
sedulously it* tlie pursuit of their usual occupations."
(Signed.) LEIGH READ, , -
Brigadier General, Florida Brigade.
Captain Broeu. Mandavicn. ‘“i;?
If tin* Administration could he hetdrespon-
sililu for tin? bad taste in which this ordtfr wax
conceived. I should pronounce them guilty ut
once. But this is a question not of taste, but of
extravagant expenditure, arid r*gmded in that
view, the Senator would find that it did not at
all establish his proposition. -
1 shall then first explain lo the honorable gen
tleman why Brigadier General Read, who hy
tin* by is excellent ail officer, told these men to
remain at home, mid attend to their own busi
ness. Although ii might have belli in better
taste not to-have embraced such a command in
a general military order, at least without fur
ther explanation, yet the Senator would him
self soon perceive the propriety of this injunc
tion.
It will be recollected thnt at the last session,
the Secretary of War had called upon Congress
to raise a thousand inounied men lor tlie Flor
ida war, to remain in service during its contin
uance, and to receive a bounty iu land, with
the same pay and emoluments as the cuvalry
of the United Slates. The Senate passed a bill
for thnt purpose, increasing the fotcelo fifteen
hundred men. This bill went to the House
of Representatives, where the Committee on
Military Affairs, approving of the policy, recom
mended a still further increase (Vom 1,000 to
2,000 men ; hut the House never reached the
measure.and no troops were raised for the pro*
secuthin nl the Florida war. But did Congress,
fly this negh ct, intrnd that Florida should not
be defended ? Was it tlie design of Congress
that the Florida militia should not be called
into scrvii e for this purpose ? Certainly not.
If aiiy-ihing could be inferred frftrntlie neglect
of Congress to pass the bill, it Was fhat Florida
should be defended by tin: mttitirt under Ihe
existing militia laws; for no Senator can sup
pose that we intended lo give up the wives and
the children of its inhabitants to the scalping
knife of the savage.
Whilst ihisbill was pending before Congrcw t
the Governor of Florida, in pursuance of an
act of the Territorial Legislature,called out in
to notun! servuea number of mounted men for
the defence of that Territory, nominally at its
own ex|iense, hut which we nil know, from past
experience, miist eventually hare to be paid by
ihe United States. Alter, the adjournment of
Congress without having passed the bill lo
which 1 have referred, ihe Secretary of War
interposed, and ordered out twelve hundred
mounted men, embracing those Bins already
in service from Florida, to serve in every part
of the Territory, ai d to pursue Ihe Indians
wherever they might be found, and five hun
dred infantry militia. And for what purpose
were these five hundred militia tohe employed 1
They weie intended for mere neighborhood
defence, and, like the minute-men of the Revo
lution, were to be ready to repel invasion tit a
moment’s warning. They nre divided into
companies of seventy men ; and these men cul
tivate the soil, aud’are spread over the border
which divides the savages from the peaceful
inhabitants. They are neither required nor
permitted to pursue the enemy more than twen-
'ty miles from tlie head quarters of their respee-
h hire cotr.paukb; beouuse, if ihey were, it would
from St. Louis to Florida had rest the Govern
ment more than it would have done to trans
port the s«me number of men from Lexington
or Nashville. This is tinly a grnve*and seri
ous accusation!
1 can inform the Senator in what manner I
presume his mistake originated in rognidto the
matching of the Missouri volunteers through
Kentucky. Although they did not march
through Kentucky.yet the second regiment of
dragoons did; and lie must have mistaken the
one for the other. And why was this regiment
marched to Florida over land, and not trans
ported by water? - It was not done to expend,
i-nt to save money. They thus transported
themselves, and therefore, the Government
saved the cost of their transportation. Besides,
in addition to all this, they were trained aiid
disciplined every day upon the road as caval
ry ought to be trained and disciplined. The
consequence was, that the moment they arriv
ed in Florida, they were prepared for active
and efficient service. On the oilier hand, had
they I ecu transported by water, their horses
might probably have been lost, as were those
of the Missouri volunteers, and they could not
have improved in discipline on the way. In
regard to the expenditure,! have been inform
ed at the Department that it was a clear sav
ing to the Government to march this regiment
to Florida by land, instead of transporting it
by water. So much for the Senator’s first
charge.
The second chnrge made hy the Senator con
sists in this; that the Administration had col
lected five hundred thousand dollars’ worth ol
provisions in the Cherokee country, for the use
of the army; and that these provisions, not be
ing wanted, were afterwards sold at auction for
a sum but little exceeding fifty thousand dol
lars. To this and to all the other charges ol
the Senator, I felt myself prepared to reply last
evening; hut concluded that it was hes» to
wait and re-asstire myself of the precise cha
racter of the facts.' 1 can now assure the Sen
ator that there is great exaggeration in this
statement. The whole supply of provisions
was not sold at auction ; but tlie comparative
ly small surplus only, which remained after
subsisting the troops, and this because the ar
ticles were perishable, and would not bear the
cost of transportation. 1 admit that thereAvas
a * onside/able loss on the sale of this surplus,
chiefly in the articles of bacon and hard bread ;
and 1 shall tell the gentleman how it occurred,
and then ask him to say whether the Adminis
tration is fairly chargeable with it.
We all know t int the Ch< rokces, at the fiDt,
refused to execute their treaty and remove to
the West of the Mississippi. Indeed, an inci
pient war already existed. From the repre
sentations of their chief, atid from other causes
which l need not detail, they were induced to
believe that the Government would never re
move them by force. They were upon tlie
soil of Georgia, Tennessee and North Caroli
na, who irtsisted upon their removal: and it
thus became the imperative duty of the Gov
ernment to enforce the execution of the treaty.
Policy, humanity, economy, and the exniplo
of the Florida war, all required that a sufficient,
force should he sbnl into the Cherokee conn
try to overawe the Indians, and thus effect
their removal without bloodshed. One of the
most eminent men of onr country, the hero of
Lundy’s Lane, (General Scott) was selected to
command these forces, and ample discretiona
ry power was conferred upon him to carry the
treaty into effect. This hero may, in future
time.hecomea still more distinguished charac
ter, for the race of military chieftains is, pro
bably,not ycteytinct. Under these circumstan
ces, it beenme necessary for the subsistence de
partment to collect within thi. Cherokee coun
try a sufficient quantity of provisions for tlie
Administration bed brought mounted volnn-1 supply of the aftny. That this was thetr tm
teers nil the wav from Missouri to the Florida J perativednty no one can deny,
war, When men in abundance might have been General Scott executed the high trnst conn-
