The Georgia journal. (Milledgeville, Ga.) 1809-1847, May 15, 1810, Image 2

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rsc’.ccs and inoperative as to outproduce than to succumb to any na enemies, but also insusceptible ol ex ecution. hat thi» government has no energy, no strength, has long been the cry' ol its enemies, and it is now become quite fashionable to hear the same doctrine from those who pro less to be its advocates. For one 1 deny it. The laws of no country are better executed than the laws of this country. They for the most pan are executed from choice, and the violation of them is confined to an unprincipled class ol society, perfect ly insignificant in number. It is hy the profligate part of the merchants alone that your commercial regulati ons have been violated or evaded, and these practices could be readily prevented. If you ill consult the head of the Treasury Department, he will tell you, that if the mfeans be furnished the laws can be executed. It is because you did not give au thority to the executive for the pur pose, that the law has not been com pletely enforced. Rut the gentleman (Mr. Taylor) says that the very circumstance of employing the navy to aid in the ex ecution of the law would be sufficient to disgust him with my amendment. £ r r|j C following is the speech of Lord non.— They would rather do wha gentlemen formerly said they woul. do, what the gentleman from South Carolina would have done two years ago ; they would make a great bon fire of all the surplus produce oftht United States—It is only through the newspapers, the very touch ol which is contamination, on this floor, and in the other wing of the Capitol, so help me God, that I have seer or heard any thing of this disposition to submit to the belligerent edicts for the .sake of gain, or upon any o- ther consideration. We have sworn that we could not submit to the de crees and orders without a sacrifice of their rights, honor and indepen dence. You hold your seats by that solemn vow, and yet you are about to submit. You are about to do more—-to inscribe on your statute book the most abject submission. You withdraw what you have and oppose no other resistance. I de mand of gentlemen how they are ab solved from their vow ? I call upon their candor to explain what has hap pened to change their course. the same manner that subject which is trea.cii oi in his majesty’s speech. I mean the topic of our difference* with America, there will come a dav when you must examine what is and has been the conduct of the govern ment of this country towards Ameri- There will come a dav when it The principal cause of the embargo’s not effecting its full purpose was that the House would not agree to em ploy the navy in executing it. Not only the navy but the military force also should have contributed to the execution. Whatever your laws may be, let them be faithfully com plied with. It is better to have a mild law well executed than to have a rigorous one partially enforced. The gentleman is certainly mista ken in saving that Mr. Erskine’s ar- ialignment was made under a provi sion similar to that contained in this bill. It was made under the provisi on giving the President power to suspend a law, not to enact it. No thing was in that case offered to one nation to induce her to do us justice except the repeal of our own restric tions. It was not said either to France or Great Britain, that if they ceased to violate our rights wc would join with either against the other. The gentleman put a case in private life, and told you that if he was to meet two bullies there would be no thing degrading in saying to one, “ Hands off whilst I fight the other.” This case was not fairly stated, sir. Suppose he was to meet two ad versaries, would he propose to one that if he would be so mercifiul as not to ..trike him he would join him to whip his enemy? I have too much confidence in the gentleman’s cou rage to suppose he would take such a course The gentleman was so obliging as to remind me of the fate ol the bill which passed this House some time ago. I would only observe in reply, that l voted for that bill ; and I be lieve it contained all the features of Grenville, moving for an enquiry into the conduct of the British Mi nisters. A speech, couched in such elegant language—exposing, even at the foot of the throne, the infamous conduct of the British Cabinet ; cannot fail to be inte resting, to every friend of humani ty. The sympathetic bosom must burn with indignation, against those scourges of the human race; while it is dissolved in pitv, for thi distresses of mankind. The mis tress of the ocean, has attempted, also to rule the continent of Eu rope. Every effort, to effect this purpose has been crowned with disaster. Ami although she has participated, in the common cala mitics of the continent ; yet her sufferings will not bear a com parison, with those of other nati ons. Lord Grenville’s remarks, concerning the “ garbled, mutila ted, and misrepresented docu ments” presented to the House, are, we presume, made in re ference to Mr.Erskine’s instructi ons. If England is not dead to all sense of shame, she must cer tainly blush, to have her perfidy- exposed to the world. And this, not by her enemies, but by those who are most interested in her vvel» fare.]—Ed. Geo. 'journal. My Lords—It is with very great my amendment except the absolute'gratification to myself, I gave wav to prohibition of importations from the no |,i e car ^ | M . causo the s i iarc ' t hc France and Britain. I can see that we are about to con fess to the people of the U. S. that we have been holding a false light to them; noble earl lias had in the glorious tri umphs of his country, entitled him to] be heard with reverence and respect, when speaking of the calamities that the embargo and non-intercourse which have befallen it. Not only did were engendered in weakness andj I give way most willingly to him but have been continued through ohstina-it would have been infinitely more cy ; to say to this nation that while we gratifying to me, to have left to men have been treacherous the opposition of younger and of more active minds, have always been in the right ; that,the task of offering an amendment to they' have been the exclusive friendsjthe address which has just been pro of the people. Notwithstanding thisiposed to your lordships. But that, general confession of sins, I for onijanxiety is not to be resisted, which shall ever maintain (and I challengejinduces me to offer myself at this gentlemen to meet me upon the issue)|carlv period of the discussion. I am that this nation has been well governed anxious to anticipate the probability —that there has been no just ground of jof any circumstance which may di- compluiMwthat in the great body of Me vert the course of the debate from community therein fact is no complaint, that which is of the first considerati- Sir, the people of the tJ. States would'on, and the only feature to which it is rather persist in the peaceful system!possible for me to give my attention which has been pursued for the last on the present occasion. For others, three years, than launch into any un tried system. 1 am supported in this declaration bv nine-tenths of the A- nierican people. Before we act we mould look about us ; we are now go ing to pass a censure on every thing which has been done by our predeces- I cannot presume to judge ; but for myselt, my heart is lull, and I must give vent to those feelings by which my mind is impressed. There an in the king's speech many topics that ought to engage and must, on future days, engage the attention of this e aboutjhouse. On iuture days you must : ov5 for several years. We are to brand two administrations withjexamine, not only the effect, but the weakness ami imbecility. We are a- foundation of those calamities which bout ourselves to cease to exist as a are adverted to in the speech. You partly. If this Congress shall be found capable, alter its loud vaporing at the mini iici mint of the session, of do- i.:g nothing—of doing worse than no thing, ol going home and leaving the nation in disgrace, we shall only meet the scorn amt contempt of the peo ple ! if they were consulted the\ had rather get no prices for then will be impossible to lie borne in a country, which calls itself Iree, that there should be laid before such an assembly as this, garbled, mutilated, and misrepresented documents ; not to keep back information, but to give information directly contrary to the fact. That is a question you will have one day to examine. There is also another question, a pretty seri ous question, whether you have in this country any government at all ? Whether there be any thing which any man believes in the present dreadful situation of society, to be ca pable of maintaining the authority, or supporting the necessary power of government ? That is a question you must one day examine, unless you can make up your minds to sur render all thought and regard for the public interest and safety of the coun try. But even these questions great and momentuous as they’ are, suffici ent, any one of them, to have occu pied the care and attention of a whole session of parl iament, greater God knows, each of them, than any of the questions which have at any former period occupied the attention of parliament ; all these, in my mind, sink to nothing in comparison with the duty' which you are this day cal led upon to discharge. I say, this day, because I mean to contend and I shall shew you before I sit down, that this duty is not a duty' you can put off under any specious pretences whatever. You are called upon now, at this very moment to do justice to your country and yourselves, to do justice to the memory of those who have fallen in your country’s cause. You are called upon to do justice to the memory of those who have perished ingloriottsly, in enterprizes the utmost success of which could have produced nothing likely' to be attended with advantage. Enter prizes, which, instead of succeeding, or even partially succeeding, have utterly and completely failed ; for that is the true character ; that is the true description of those campaigns planned by his majesty’s ministers^ which have wasted the strength of the Country. Every one of the military operations, in which our armies have been engaged, have completely, to tally, and irretrievably failed. And y ou, forsooth, my lords, are this dav to hear from the throne, aye, and to be satisfied, not as the noble lord said, who seconded the address, with an assurance, that his majesty will be pleased to lay all the papers upon the subjects referred to belore you, for there is no such assurance in the speech of the king’s commissioners, but you are to be satisfied with the assurance of the king’s commission ers, that his majesty’s ministers will be graciously pleased to lay before you those papers which they trust will prove satisfactory I have no doubt they mean, in this session as in the last, literally to verify the as sertion—they will lay belore you, such papers, and parts of papers, and extracts of papers, as will be satis factory to themselves, and they may- trust will be satisfactory to you ; and those, my lords, be assured, are the only papers you will have. I trust you are not to be so deluded. I was prepared to have stated, but the king’s speech anticipated me, that there was not one man in the country who was not convinced that the disasters of the last campaign had not been made the object of vigorous, immediate and effectual inquiry.—I am glafl to see, that, by a sense of their own si tuation,and by a conviction ot their failures, those ministers who had ad vised his majesty to tell his corpora tion of London, that no enquiry was necessary, have advised his majesty not to wait till his parliament infor med him what the circumstances con nected with those failures are, but merely, that he has directed the pa pers to be laid before us. It is not single word to the effect, that we wil’ 1 proceed to the consideration of thos. papers. There is no pledge in the address, of our sense of that duty wi owe to the country. No pledge that we will discharge our duty in a differ- ent tone from that in which we dis charged it last year. None of these things are mentioned in the address, but it is a mere complimentary ad dress of thanks to his majesty, for panish campaigns, I entreat you to wait till vou an* satisfied, whether the causes which have now prevented the success of our armies in Spain, are not precisely the same as those of which we before had the experi ence. The conduct and achieve ments of our troops in the field, arc to be attributed to their valor and the conduct of their general. The disastrous consequences even ol their ordering those papers to be laid be-'victories, are attributed to their want f n n- n<t |of supplies—to the want of support, those circum- all fore us. supplie My Lords—I beg leave to statejeombination—to that I consider vou will ill dischargeistances which compel an army to your duty to vour country and your-|retreat even after a battle, in which selves, if vou suffer this day to passiit has been victorious. It is to be without making to his majesty’s min-'attributed to the mistaken instructi- isters, the broad and plain distinctions of his majesty’s ministers, cou- on, which no man can be ignorant of, pled with the complete deficiency of who adverts to the considerations, the means by which they were to be which arise out of the facts withkxecuted. I have stated thus much ; which we are so fatally acquainted.'but when I have stated my decided o-. I sav, that not with regard to Wal-j pinion, that with respect to both these cheren—not merely with regard toilailures,inquiriesoughtto take place,* this boasted attack on dock-yards and! I am persuaded the result ol those ships, but I say with respect to thejirtquiries will be satisfactory as to the campaign in Spain ; with respect tojeonduct of the officers—I mean to * every part of the campaign, there isjeontend, that it is not to the couduct * an absolute necessity for immediate, of the officers the failure our arms vigorous, persevering, and effectuallhave experienced are to be attribu- * inquiry. I say if you mean to main tain your own character—if you mean to be handed down to posteri ty as men sensible of your country’s wrong—and if you mean to prevent the recurencc of calamities, similar to those which have been already en dured, you will give to your country a direct, distinct, not insinuated or implied, but a direct, distinct, posi ted, but that the plans of these expe ditions have been attended with -cir- * cumstances on the part of his majes- ‘ tv’s ministers, of such manifest, no torious, uncontrovertable miscon duct, as would make it the basest dereliction of your duty, if you was not on this day, when you are, for the first time, assembled to express a general opinion of condemnation. tive and unequivocal pledge, that you I will shew you that it is probable, will enter upon those enquiries with-jb om what I have heard, the result out delay, and that you will prosecute further inquiry will greatly aggr?« them with effect. Something has vatethe impression of the misconduct been said with reference to the cha-P^his majesty’s ministers.—What I racter of ihe officers. I do assert; 1 * 1 " calling upon your lordships to that the failures of our armamentsj ex P ress an opinion upon it with re- have been of the greatest magnitude, g ar d to those points which are public that our losses hare been unparalel- anc * notorious, which are obvious to led, and that the circumstances un- a ** world, and no inquiry can der which all our military enterpri-! ma ^ e your lordships better acquain-- zes have been conducted, are of such tet * with, even if you had here ou a description as to render inquiry in-iyour table all the orders and counter dispensable ; But, having said that, orc *ers of all the contending depart- I desire those who may advert to a-] mcnts i belonging to what is called ny thing which may fall from me,jibe existing government. I do this will be assured, that I am persuaded, j not solely for the purpose of censure,- that every thing has been done by though I do distinctly avow, that, to the officers that could be achieved by shrink from the duty of censuring them. That with regard to some of Iministers, would be to abandon the the officeis, more has been done than the public has admitted ; and, with respect to others, what the public may seem to have cause to lament in their conduct, is to be attributed only to the orders of ministers, to their deficiencies, and not, as I trust in God, to any ot the officers or com manders. I say this, because a ru mour w’ent abroad, in the case of gen. Moore, to the effect, that all the responsibility of the operations of his army belonged to him, and not to his majesty’s ministers. I was told, and the public were spuriously told, that whatever ill success had attended the military operations ot the army un der gen. Moore, the cause was only to be found in the discretion exercis ed by the officers commanding the army, which discretion, we were also told had been absolutely entrusted to him. I own I did not believe the as sertion at the time it was made. must consider not only the effect aiui foundation of those calamities, bu the consequences they are likelv ti produce on the state and condition ol tlie country and the spirit of the peo pie. You cannot shut your eyes u those questions. It is in vain vou at tempt o shut them ; they wiii fori themselves upon your attention. 1: most sacred trust reposed in us. I do it for the more important purposed of prevention ; for to my astonish ment, if any thing could create it, af- 1 ter what I have heard, the principle is this day avowfd—the intention do- ' dared—aye, and you are called upon to make yourselv es parties to the con- * tinuation of these destructive wan ton, and fruitless expeditions. There fore, the amendment I have to state,'» does not merely go to the condemna tion of ministers—It will make it im possible you can suffer that part of the address to pass, which if you do, will make you individual partakefs, and the sharers in the consequences which must follow from the mad de termination expressed in the address, which has been moved. Consequen ces, which I shew Ihte spirit of pre diction when I stae, will be much more calamitous than those which have preceded them—The noble But since it was made, how has itjkaron, who seconded the address, ad- been contradicted ?—I hope no man verted to opinions and suggestions who hears me has failed to read thej°f policy, which, had they been pas- interesting history of the campaign se <* over in silence by others, I should of the army under general Moore, have thought it my bounden duty published bv that gallant officer’s re-j ol, ce more to have brought before lative. If there is a man who has;>’ ou * I did not shrink from the du- not read it, he is incapable of judging' 1 )’ °f stating them when they were what is the true character of the unpopular. It I predicted the con- government under which he lives. sequences of the measures of his raa- YVhoever has read it if he has the jesty’s ministers when those conse- leelings of a Briton in his heart, what <l uences were doubtful and uncertain, must be his indignation when he con-| ccrla inly I am not to shrink from templates such a general as general! 1 * 10 " 1 now, when all I have said has Moore going upon an expedition, the'* 500 " confirmed by melancholy expe- verv plan and object of which was! rience , and when the great majority foreign from his own better judg- °f l * 1e country perceive the delusions ment. Going to the South, when he knew he ought to be in the North —Going to meet co-operation, where he knew he had no ground to expect co-operation. Figure to yourselves the situation of that gallant soldier, subject not to the orders of a superi or officer, but the orders of a dij Li- matic agent, ol whom I must say nothing else than desire 3 011 to re possible that Parliament can meet co ** cct * n what manner it was he ex without going into an enquiry on this subject. Let not any argument be raised upon that part of the speech ; or though we may thank his majesty >r laying those papers before us, hich neither are nor can be expect 'd to be to our satisfaction, yet there s !'£t contained in the address om ecuted the powers entrusted to him. It the injured spirit of that gallant ge neral could hover over us, how would tt reproach us tor attributing the ca lamities of that campaign, in which ne lell, to any other cause than tin power by which he was controulec'. It there are points upon which it 1 possible to doubt with respect to the under which they have labored, the. artifices by which they have been de ceived, and the dreadful result of the errors into which they have been led. I do repeat the opinion I have before expressed, that, from the mo ment of the renewal of the present war, the policy of this country ought to have been decidedly different from that which was pursued in the last war. (To be concluded in our ncxt.J By arrival of the Juno from Eng-, land, London dates to 12th March* have been received. We learn by the newspapers, that Turkey was about joining the continental policy against Great britain, and Adair the British imbassador had already left Constan tinople.