Georgia statesman. (Milledgeville, Ga.) 1825-1827, June 27, 1826, Page 2, Image 2

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2 partying documents, were read. On motion. The said treaty was rend the sec ond time, l»v unanimous consent, and considered as in committee of the whole. On motion by Mr Benton. Ordered, That it be retered to the Committee on Indian Affairs,lo con -ider and report thereon : and that it be printed in confidence for the use of the members. Friday, March 17, 1826. Mr. Benton, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, made the follow- ing report. “ The Committee on Indian .Af fairs, to which was refered the Presi dent’s Message, of January 31, 1826 accompanied by the treaty made at the City of Washington, on the 21th of the same month, between the Sec retary on the part of the United States, and the Chiefs and Headmen oft he Creek Nation, on tiie part ul said nation, report —that they have had the said message and treaty un der consideration ; also, the me morial anil resolution of the Le gislature of Georgia, which was refer-, ed to the committee by the order of the Senate of the Bth day of Febru ary last ; also, the message of the Governor of the State of Alabama, and the resolutions of the Legisla ture of said State, which were, in like manner referred to the commit tee on the 7th day of the last men tioned month, and reccommend the adoption of the following resolu tion. “Resolved, That the Seriate do not advise and consent to tire ratification of the treaty made at Washington the 24th of February, 1826, between the Secretary of War, on the part of the United States, and the Chiefs, and Headman of the Creek nation, on the part of said nation.” The report was read. Tuesday, March 21, 1826 Mr. Edwards submitted the fol owing motion for consideration. Resolved ‘ That the President be requested to communicate to the Senate such evidence as may he in bis possession, tending to show that the persons who signed the treaty of the twelfth of February, one thou sand eight hundred and twenty five, on the part of the Creek nation, iiad no sufficient authority to form trea- make cessions of the lands of that nation. Friday March 31, 1826. The following message was re ceived from the President of the l - nited JSlacts, by Mr. John Adams, Jr. To the Senate of the V. Staten. Washington, March 31, 1826. 1 communicate to the Striate, here with, a supplementary article to the treaty with the Chiefs and Headmen of the Creek nation in behalf ol that nation, which was transmitted to the Senate, on the 31st of January last ; and which I submit, together with, and as a part of that treaty, fpr the constitutional advice and consent of the Senate, with regard to its s*atifi cation. A report of the Secretary of War accompanies the article, set ting forth the reasons for which it has been concluded. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. The tnes: age was read* ■The separate article, therein re ferred to, was r ad twice, by unan imous consent. Ordered, that it be referred, with the treaty communicated on the 31st of January, to the committee on In dian Affairs, and be printed in con fidence for the use ofthe members. Tueseay, April 4, 1826. Mr. Benton, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was re lerred the treaty with the Creek In dians, with the supplementary arti cle thereto, reported the same with out amendment. The Senate proceeded to consider the said treaty as in committee ofthe whole ; and amendments being pro posed by Mr. Berrien. On motion. The Senate adjourned. Wednesday, April, 5, 1826. The Senate resumed thfe consid eration ofthe treaty with the Creek Indians, with the amendments propo sed thereto : and after debate, On motion ofMr King, The Senate adjourned. Tt'ESDAV, April 6, 1826. The S nate resumed the consid eration ofthe treaty with the Creek Indians, together with the amemt meats proposed thereto : and. after debate — On motion by Mr. Berrien, That it lie on the table. It was determined in the affirma tive—yeas 25 nays 14. On motion of Mr. Branch. The yeas and nays being desired by one fifth of the Senators pres ent— Those who voted in the affirma tive, are— Messr*. Berrien, Chandler, Cobb, Eaton, Harrison, Ilavue, Hendricks, Johnston, of Lou. Kane, King, Lloyd, Macon, Noble, Reed. Rowan, Ruggles, Seymour, smith, Tazewell, Thomas, Vanßuren, White Williams, Woodbury.—2s. Those who voted in the negative are— Messrs. Barton, Benton, Branch, Chase, Clayton, Dickerson Edwards, Findlay, Harper, Johnson, of Ky. Marks. Robbins, Sanford, Willey. _ 11 ing motion for consideration ; w hich was read, and ordered to be printed in confidence, for the use of the members. Resolved, That the Senate of the United States, having had the trea tv lately conclud' and with a Deputa tion of the Creek Indians; now at the scat of Government, together with the treaty supplemental thereto, (un der consideration) and being excee dingly desirous that the difference subsiting between the United States and the Creek nation of Indian should be amicably adjusted and settled ;do advise and request the President of the United States to endeavor to conc'udc, with the Dep utations here the following addition al supplemental articles : 1-t. Soto arrange it as that tin entire lands owned by the Creek Nation of Indians, in the limits ol Georgia, be ceded, absolutely and certainly, agreeably to the terms o cession by Georgia to the United States on such further consideration as may be deemed proper. 2d. That the sum of $ 30,000 for each 1,000 persons of said Creek Nation, be paid, who, within months from the ratification of tin treaty, shall signify their disposition to Ihe Agent to emigrat to th< West of the Mississippi, and who shall, accordingly' carry said d< sien into execution, within a reasonable time thereafter. 3d. The United States to support each of said emigrants for month’s after their arrival at the point ofdestination ; month,s no tice of their intention to emigrate be ing given to the United States, through their Ag nt ; to pay for supplies furnished the Mclntosh par ty since the death of the General : proper vouchers for the same being produced ; and to give to each male emigrant, over the age of sixteen years, a rifle gun and ammunition, butcher knife, and a camp kettl , and to pay for the value of all im provements left by any emigrant, which add to the real value of th land, to he ascertained by a Com missioner to be appointed by the President. 1 4th. To stipulat 1 that the explo ring partv, provided for in the treaty shall be accompanied by an agent, who shall be acceptable to them and to he appointed by the President ; and, after the return of said agent herein provided for, and after his r - port to the Secretary of War, ti e President of the United States shall, forthwith, grant to such agent a spe cial commission, aurnnrTzing trim t repair to the Creek Nation, the* it open abook of registry, in whichshal be inserted the names of all person willing to emigrate to the count;, which shall have been determine! upon, of which due and public notice shall be given throughout ali iln- Creek Nation. The trends and fol lower's of the l ate General M. Into®, shall have free access to the several towns, and to all parts of the Creek Nation, under the protection of the said special agent, for the purpoS' of inducing their friends throughout the Nation to join them in their emi gration ; and all persons desirous of emigrating, shall be at lull liberty to do so, without hindrance or moles tation from tiiose who remain ; and the resident agent of the United States shall be instructed to giv< them all necessary aid; and th said special agent shall accompany them in their emigration. sth. That the first article be modi fied, so as to read, after “ twenty five in the sixth line, “ Shall not be re quired to be executed by either par ty, farther than the same has been already executed : And that am ui- ties of two hundred doll trs per an num be paid to each of the wives and daught rs of the Indian Chief, GcneAkl W illiam Mclntosh; to the wife of Samuel Hawkins, a half breed and ceased , and to the wife of the- Indian Chief, Etomme Tustunnug gee. A motion was made by Mr. King, that the Senate proceed to the con sideration of the motion submitted by Mr Edwards, ou the 2)st March, in relation to the Creek Treaty. Whereupon, Mr. King submitted the following motion for consideration : Resolved, That the President cf the United States be requested to lay before the Senatethe treaty made w ith the Creek Nation of Indians, on the 12th day of February, 1825 ; with such i vidence as may be in his possession tending t 6 shew that the s;:.l treaty was not signed by persons competent to make a treaty, or that it is not now binding on the parties, or ought not to be carried into ef fect The Senate proceeded to consider the motion; On the question to agree there to— It was determined in the negative —yeas 9. nays 26. On motion by Mr. King, The yeas and ays being desired by one fifth ofthe Senators present. Those who voted in the affirma tive arc— Messrs. Branch, Eaton, Edwards, ifayne, Kane, King, Macon, Reed, Smith.—9. Those who voted in the negative’ ire— Messrs. Barton. Benton, Berrien, Buiiligny, Chandler, Chase, Cobb. ■ ■ K-M.ll:.; Hardsell GEORGIA STATESMAN, TUESDAY JUNE, 27, 1826. | Hendricks, Johnson, of Ky. Johnsot oi Lou. Marks, Noble, Robbins, Row an, Sanford, Seymour, Tazeweii Thomas, Vanßuren, White Williams, W ood bury.—26. So the motion was not agreed to. Friday, April 21, 1826. The Senate resumed, as in Com inittee oftbe Whole, the Treaty wi; tlie Creek Indians, the supplement; - ry article thereto, with the amend ments proposed on the -Ith instant. On motion of Mr. Berrien. To strike out the Ist article, an l insert the following: “ The execu tion of the treaty concluded at the Indian Springs, on the l2th day Ol February, 1826, shall not be further •nforced, arid the Creek Nation o Indians are hereby re%a-ed from al obligation to fulfil and execute the sAine, further than the same has al ready been executed”— The question was put: Shall tin first article stand part of the treaty , —viz : “ That the treaty concluded at th Indian Springs, on the twelfth da* >f February, one tiiousaud eigOt hun dred and twenty five, between CU.m mi-siuners on the part of the Unite. States, on the seventh day of Marc; one thousard eight hundred am. twenty five, is hereby declared to ! ull and void, to every intent arm purpose whatsoever : and every rig i id claim ari-ing Irom the same, . hereby cancelled and surrendered. And it was determin and in the afiii mative, yeas 30, nays 8. Those who voted in the affirma tive, ar Messrs. Barton, Belt, B. nton, Boutigny Branch, Cba.nh :rs, Chandler, Chase, Clayton, Dickers. ;., ’Salon, Edwards, Jcinui .j, Jo - son, of Ky. Johnson, of Lou. h no, Knight Lloyd, Marks, M.lls, R and, Robbins, iiun.n. S imour, Smith, Tazewell, Thomas, Withy, —3O Thos. who voted in the negative are Messrs. Berrien, Colib, Harrison, King, Macon, Van Boren, White, Williams—3 No amendment having been mads, the President reported the treaty to the Senate, accordingly. Mr. Benton submitted the follow ing resolution : Resolved, (Two thirds of the Sen ators present concurring therein) That the Senate advise and const:; to the ratification of the treaty b; ; ween the United States of Ark ri and the Creek nation of Indians, co< < luded at the City ol Washington, oi h 24th day ol January, 1826. The Senate proceeded toconsidei tiie resolution A motion was made by Mr. Whit to amend the same, by adding, at tin •nd thereof-, the following v.ord- Provided, tb it an additional ortic t * be executed between the Unit-* States and tiie Friends amt folio> ers ot the late General M’lntosh. i ii.eir delegation now id the city Washington, shall be • utered int containing the toilow ing stipulation by the United States, in favor of tii said friends and followers of the late General .VI Intosh: 1. That the sum of 30,000 dollm s for each luOO persons oi said Creek Nation, be paid, who, within months from the ratification ofth treaty, shall signify their disposition to the Agent to emigrate to the wo of the Mississippi, and who shall a< cordingly carry said design into exe cut ion, within a reasonable tiim thereafter. 2. The United States to supper each of said emigrants for months after their arrival at the poi t of destination; months Doth, of’their intention to emigrate bein. given to the United States throu*. their agent; to pay f r supplies 1 mshed the M’lntosh party since i death of thq General; prop r vou er-- for the same being product > and to give to each male emigrant, over the age ol sixteen years, a r.fl gun and amunition, butcher knile and a camp kettle, and to pay for the value of all improvements left by a ny emigrant, which add to the real value of the land, to he ascertained by a commissioner to be appointed by the President. 3d. To stipulate that the explor ing party, provided for in the treaty, shall be accompanied by an agent, who shall be acceptable to them, ano to be appointed bv the President ; and after the return of said agent, herein provided for, and after his re port to the Secretary of War, th; President ofthe United States sh; 11. forthwith, grant to such agent asp. cial commission, authorizing him t. repair to the Creek nation, there h open a book of registry, in whici shall be inserted the names ol a; persons willing to emigrate to tin country which shall have been de termined upon, of which due and public notice shall be given through out all the Creek nation. The friends mid followers of the late gen eral M'lntosh shall have free access ito the several towns, and to all part> of the Creek nation, under the pro tection of the said special agent, for the purpose of inducing their friends throughout the nation to join them in their emigration : and all persons desirous of emigrating, shall be at full liberty to do so, without hind rance or molestation from those win. remain ; and the resident agent oi the United States shall be instructed to give them all n< cessary aid; and the special agent shall accompany them in tin ir emigration.’' On the question to agree there to, It >vu" determined in the negative, eas 9, nays 25. Those who voted in the affirma tive, arc— Messrs. Berrien, Cobb, Harrison, Hay ne, King, Noble, Tazewell, White nd Williams—9. Those who voted in the negative ire— Messrs Barton, Bell, Benton, Bou ;:ny, Branch, Chambers, Chandler, Chase, Clayton, Eaton, Edwards, . ’.idlay, Harper, Hendricks, Johnson, it Ky. Kane. Lloyd, M aeon, M arks, Mills, Rowan, Seymour, Smith, Thompson and V\ illey—2s On the question to agre to the resolution— It was determined in the affirma tive, yeas 30, nays 7. Those who voted in the affirma tive, are— Messrs. Barton, Hell, Benton, Bou b_ny. Branch, Chambers, Chandler, Chase, Clayton, Dickson, Eaton, Ed •v irds, Findlay, Harper, Harrison. Hendricks, Johnson, Ky. Kane Flovd, Marks, Mills,Noble,Randolph, Reed, Rowan, Seymour, Smith, Tazeweii, Phi mas, Willey—3o Those who voted in the negative, ;ire— Messrs Berrien, Cobb, Hay ne. King, Macon, White, Williams—7. Ordered, That tiie Secretary lay be said resolution before the Presi lent of the United States. On motion by Mr. Cobb. Ordered, That ttie injunction of crecy be removed from the Prcsi h. message of3l>t January,trans .lifting a Treaty w ith the Creek In i. the message of 31st March, i ansmitting a supplementary article, I tiie documents accompanying the! ame; and the proceedings of the ; Senate thereon : and that the Secre tary be authorized to furnish any Senator, or, application, with a copy >1 the said proceedings. Extracts from several of the Speeches deliv ered before the Senate of the United States, May 19th, on the Report of the Committee of Conference, on the disagreeing vote of the two Houses in regard to the appropria tion bill for carrying into effect the Treaty with the Creek Indians. The Report liav. ing been read, Mr Van Buren said the amond ■ tent proposed by the Senate holds iie Secretary of War responsible for •is money to these Indians, accor ig to their ju-t rights. The amend ment from the House supposes that \ may be effected, ami this money paid, i open council of the chiefs, when umtnoned in the usual way. The conferees on the part of) the Senate >e|ieved that measure would fall iort of obtaining the desired end; at the amendment if tin Hon e id not go nr enough, but, undt r the rcnmstances of the case, Congr >~s : uld go farther, and see that the ev was properly distributed.— diiey ought to see that this mon-y ■ nt actually into the hands of the Iferent Chiefs and Warriors—then, t they chose to give it to the Cher - •es, or to dispose of it in other w ay s, ie United States would have,done eir duty. Vlr. V. B. said, in his judgment, Hie character of the Goverrnn nt was volved in this subject, and it would require, und r the circumstances of l his case, that they should take every ’ep they could rightfully take, to xculpate themselves from having, my degree or form, concurred in .is fraud. The sentiment of the Vmericun People where he resided a as. and had been highly excited on is subject—(hey had applauded in he most ardent manner the zeal •>. nifested by the Gov rnmont to rve hem-elves pure in their tiations with the Indians,* and, iough he was satisfied—though he Seemed it impossible lo sup; ose lor • moment Jhat Government could have countenanced the practice of this fraud, yet there were circum stances i.i this case which required exculpation. Between the negotia tion oft lie treaty and the negotiation of ihc supplementary article on which the treaty w as finally adopted, dl these circumstances were com municated to the Department of VV ai by the two Cherokees Mr. V. B. said it was not his purpose, because the necessity ofthe case did not re quire it, to say what the Secretary of War ought to have done, or to censure what he did do, when the information was given to him. He had known him many years, and er< was not a more honest man, ora in n more devot and tohiscountry than tout gentleman was. Mr. V. B* said t was not for him to have said what hon'd have been the course of the President of the United State, if th information had been given to him on the subject. It could not fail to make a mortifying and most injurious impressions on the minds of the Peo ple of this country, to find that no means whatever were taken for the oppression of this fraud. There was, and there ought to be, an excitement on the subject in the public mind The members ofthe Senate had seen it. It had displayed itself strongly tnd strikingly on the point oi tin i ontroversy between Georgia, the U. Stales, and the Creeks. The settle ment oft hat controverey wasappHtud . and from one end of t e Union to the other. So far as the State of Geor gia was concerned, she claimed that the title to all the Indian lands with in her limits, should be extinguished by the United States, according to the obligation of the cession of 1802. This question had been settled—and bow ? Every thing that had been done, so tar as Georgia w as concern ed, by the treaty ofthe Indian Springs is believed to have been done by tins treaty Every foot of land is believ ed to have been ceded. It was the understanding of the delegation ot the State of Georgia that this treaty extinguished the Indian title to all the land. Mr Berrien rose, and said it was not the understanding ofthe Delega tion of the State of Georgia, that this treaty ceded all the land. That tact had been stated to the Senate by himself in his place In a certain event it was rendered probable that the lines to which the additional ar ticle of the treaty extended would embrace all the land, hut ccording to th best information, it was hi belief that the State of Georgia would lose one million of acres by the new treaty. Mr. Van Buren resumed. It was stated to tne Senate, when the treat ; was under consideration, that the In dians were willing and de-ign and to c dc to Georgia all their lands. The controversy had been settled —and how ? According to this view of the subject, every thing so far as the State of Georgia was concerned, by the treaty ofthe Indian Springs, had been done .by this treaty, w ith the single addition of a little more money to be distributed among the chiels. Mr V. B. said he had not a doubt in his mind, that the same application, of these same means might, at any time, have settled the controversy. What was the subject that produced all this excitement? What was the object ion to the treaty of the Indian Springs? It was made by an insuffi cient number of chiefs, and there was reason to suspect that undue influ ence had been exercised. That there was not a sufiic ent number of chiefs, was a matter of contestation: on the subject of fraud, what were the evi dences . On the face of the treaty, the United States gave to M’lntosh an unreasonable amount of compen sation. That was the length and breadth and depth ot till the allega tions of fraud. vlr. Harrison said, the proposition of the House, not only comported with the treaty, but it met the view ofthe Senate; the only difference between the two propositions was, that the one directed that the distri butions should he made in the usual proportion to the chiefs anh warriors —the other, that it should he made in the presence of the chiefs and warrior—in presence of the great council Os tne nation. When tills subject was first before the Senate, and a confident ial communication was made that such a fraud was in con temp it ton, he was anxious that every measure should he taken to obtain justice. Mr. li. said he thought there was no better wav than that of pay ing the chiefs and wmrriors in pres ence of the assembled nation. The only error the Secretary of War had committed, had arisen from his not being acquainted with the usual man ner of concluding Indian business. Mr. H. said he regretted, after the declar tion which the gentleman from N. York, (Mr. Van Buren) had made of his confidence in the integrity of that officer, that he should say that some stigma would remain on lit Government, unless something should be done to clear the Government of that stigma. Mr H. could not con ceive that such a tiling was neces sary. The people of the U. States would accord with the opiu on given by the gentleman from New-York, in relation to the character of that of ficer, and the arrangement of this affair; and though an error of judg ment might be imputed to him, the nation would determine that it was an error of the head and not of the heart. No better mode could be de vised to do justice to the individuals and to the Indian nation, than that proposed by the other House. Mr Benton said, that after the ex planation of the views of the com mittee of conference which had been given by the Senator from N. York, (Mr. Van Bun n) he would limit him self to a statement of facts on two or three points on which references had been made to his personal know l edge. The Secretary of War had ref r red to him in his letter to the Com mittee, as knowing the fact that the Secretary had refused to give private gratuities to th° Creek Chiefs to pro mote the success of the negotiation. The reference was corr ct Mr. B. had himself recommended to the Se cretary to do so ; it was however a bout forty days after the treaty had been signed. He referred to a paper which fixed the date to the 9th or 10th of March, and the treaty had been signed in the month oi January prec ding. It was done at the tim that Mr. B. had offered his services to pr. cure tlie supplemental article to he adopted. The Secretary en tirely condemned the practice of giv ing these gratuities. Mr. B. said he recommended it, as the only way of treating with barbarians that if not gratified in this way, the chiefs would prolong the negotiation, at a great daily expense to tlie Government, until they got their gratuity in one way or other, or defeated the treaty altogether. He considered the prac tice to lie sanctioned by the usage ol the U. States; he believed it to be j common in till barbarous nations, and No. 28. in many that were civilized, and re ferred to the article in the Federal Constitution against receiving “pre sents" from foreign powers, as a proof that the convention thought such a restriction to be necessary, even a rnong ourselves. Mr. B. also adverted, in answer to something which had been said in previous debat s, to the part he had acted in getting the supplemental ar ticle adopted. What he had done was with tlie knowledge and consent ot - the Secretary It amounted to nothing more than producing a con viction in the minds of the Creeks themselves, that it would not be ad vantageous for them to hold any land in Georgia ; this being accomplished the consideration was left to be ad justed by others. Not a word with respect to its ainou t had passed be tween Mr. B. and any one of the Creeks or Cherokees. They agreed upon the representation of Mr. B. to give up all the lands claimed by the Creeks in Georgia, but when they come to reduce that agreement into the form ol an article, a difficulty oc curred ; the line between Georgia and Alabama had never been ascertained; and the Indians were unwilling to agree to a line, the course and posi tion of which wasunknowm to them, and which was to be fixed by u pow er over which they had no control, and which might run, they knew not how deep, into their country. They were willing to agree to the line where it was b. !i. ved to be : and ac cordingly two points named by a part of the delegation from Georgia, as those which would include all the land in Georgia, were agreed upon, and inserted in the supplemental ar ticle. Tt was intended to cede all; it was believed that all was ceded: the exact truth could not be known until the line was ran. lie consid ered (he unwillingness of the Indians to an unknown line s natural and reasonable, and if any mistake had occurred, there was certainly no blame on either party. The Indians agreed to the points indicated by gentlemen from Georgia, and these gentlemen to his persona! knowledge had expended great pains in consult ing maps and in referring to the knowledge of individuals to fix the points correctly. Mr. 11. had concurred in the report against the now treaty, bccnusc it divested Georgia of vested rights . and. though objectionable in many other respects, he was willing, for the sake of peace, to ratify it, provided the vested rights of Georgia were not invaded. The supplemental ar t trie had relieved him upon this point. He thought that Georgia had no fur ther cause of dissatisfaction with the treaty; it was Alabama that was in jured by the loss of some millions of acres which she had acquired under the treaty of 1825, and lost under that of 1826. Her case commanded his regrets aid sympathy. She had lost the right of jurisdiction over a considerable extent of territory ; and tne advantages of settling, cultiva ting, and taxing the same, were post poned, but, he hoped, not indefin itely. They had, Mr. Tazewell said, manifested more skill in diplomacy than the United States. They had completed their affairs more dexter ously than we had ours ; and the time was not far distant when this thing would be disclosed to the work!, that these two Cherokee boys sent here, had completed a treaty on better terms for the Creeks, and worse terms for the United States, than all diplo matic functioaries employed. Our benevolence, our magnanimity, our justice, and any other good quality we might have, required that this fund should be distributed amongst them, according to what we consider ed to be the principles of justice. — The nation owned the land; the money, therefore, must go to those who owned the land lie believed that within the De partment of War’ there were at this moment, documents to show that a treaty, very different from that which had boon conclud. and, might have been concluded and far more to the benefit ofthe United States. [!!!] It had been bruited abroad Mr. T. said, for many’months past, that this treaty of the Indian Springs was objected to, becaus it was negotiat ed in fraud. Though the Senate had not acted directly on that sugges tion, that treaty had been dispensed with without a particle of proot •fraud. Mr. Branch, of North Carolina, •aid, that while he would concur with the gentlemen from Nevv-York and Virginia, in any measure to detect fraud, he must dissent from the gen tleman from Va. in the latter part oi his observations. The gentleman bad said that the first treaty had been set aside without evidence ol fraud. Mr. 15. said it was not his purpose to enter into an investigation ol this point; the reason why they had not that evidence, was because they refused to look at it; the evi dence was most ample and abundant in the Department of War; but the Senate had shut their eyes on it- That evidence was taken by men high in the confidence of this country, for integrity, talent, and firmness evidence which he should not decan upon, hut w liich was to his mind con clusive. If any gentleman thought proper to refuse a call on the Depart ment for it, the fault was his Mr-