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2) HIS.ITH on tilt ULH H’.itt
COMMIT
HOUSE OF KEFUESENTATIVRS.
January <20.
[Mr. CUt’j't tfrreii f escfudrd/'«n yrrmlij j
The principle* winch attached to the
case* nf ArbutMiot and Ambnster, con-
tituting them tri-rcly participea in the war,
supposing them to have been combatants,
verticil the fo'tner was not, he having been
taken in »Spanish fortress, without arm*
in liis hand*, all that we could| pos-ibh
have a right to do, wm to apply to them
the rule* which we had a right to enlorc-
• agai»*t the Indian*. Their English char :
peter we* -only merged hi tnrir Indian
"character. Now, if the law regulating In-
dia;i hostilities, be estsbli-hed by long and
•immemorial Otago, that we have no moral
-right to retaliate upon them, we erm»e :
jsu. iifl^iiid no right to retaliate upon Ar-
•6utbmit and Ambrister. Even it it-wer .
admitted tli.U, in regard to futvie war*.
..akd tur«. 6 »er*, delr execution;
"way hayeago.id effect, it would nut thence 1
follow that von bad a right tu ejecuto
them. It ia not always. ju»t to do wliat
fuaj be advaniageuu* And retaliation,,
• during a war, moat have relation to the
■eveiita of that war, and u:u‘t. to be just,
b.u* an operation up-m mat war, and up
on the individual* only who c.xnpesi: the
belligerent party. It beeztne,then,on tne
Other aide, to anew, byname known, cer
tain, and recognized rule hi public or mu
nicipal' law, iliar tne execution ol th-w
-Bleu were justified. ‘Where ia it? H-
whould be glwi to-sot it. ’We are told in a
paper, emanating Imm the department 01
•tale, recently lanM*efo*8 this house, di*
■ iingniahed fur tiie'fervor ot Its eloquence,
anif of which the honorable gentleman fr. m
'ilase.nclKJsett'ihtsuupplied us in part with
6 -second edition, in one respect agreeing
rWIthtlHt-peototype that they both ought la
dle inscribed to the American public—-w-
,«re justly told in that paper, that this i-
thejirat Instance of the execution of per
"301*3 fur the crime of instigating Indians to
-war. Kir, there are two topics which, in
Europe, are constantly employed by Un
friend* -and minion* of legitimacy against
oar country. Tin* one is an inordinate
spirit ol aggrandizement—of coveting oth
r «r people’s goods. The othei is the treat-
- ne at which we extend to the Indians.—
Against both these charges, the public s,-r
vai.tv. who roudiutel at tinent the nego-
• ctotionr with-'the Untish commissioners,
endeavored to vindicate our country, an' 1
he hoped with some degree of success.
What will be the condition ot future Am
rican negotiators, when prrsacd upon this
head, lie knew not, alter tne unhappy exe
cutions on our southern border. The gen
tleman from M'lasartiuaett* seemed on yes
terday to read, with u sort ol triumph, the
name* of the commissioner* employed in
the negociation al. Ghent. Will heexcu*'
me lor saying, that I thought he pronounc
ed, even witu more Complacency and with
a more gracious smile, the first name in the
comimssion, than he emphasied that oftlie
hu.able individual who addresses you.—
£Mr. Holmes desired to exulaio.l Mr. C
said the.ie was no occasion fiir explanation:
be was perf-cily sati-fied. [Mr. H. how
ever procured to say that liis intention
Was.to pronouncing the geulleman’s name,
to add to the respect due to the negn
eutor that which was due to the speaker
of‘.hi* house.J Will the principle of these
tuen having been instigators of the war,
justify theft execution? It was a new one:
there were no land marks to guide us in
-its adoption, or to prescribe limits in it-
application. If William Pitt had been
taken by the Preach army, during tne
lat<’ £ iropean war, could France have jus
tifiably executed him, on the ground ot his
having notoriously instigated the continen
tal power* to war, agaiu-t France Woui !
Franc?, if she had stained her charac'.ei
by cxtcuting him, have obtained the sanc
tion of t ie world'to the act, by appeals to
the passions and prejudices, by pointing
t«> the cities sacked, the countries laid
waste, the *iuman lives sacrificed in the
wars which he had kindled, and by the -x-
elaimmg to the unfo-tunate captive, you
r.ii*cri*.it, you monster, have occasionen
all these scenes of devastation and blood?
What hid been the conduct even of Eng
land towards the greatest instigator of aM
the wars of the present age? The condem
R iiion of that illustrious man to the rock
of St. Helena, was a great blot on the Eng-
Ami Mr. C. repeated, what lie
Sox, or even William Pitt himself, hail
been prime minister, in Kugland; Bona-
ji.irte sever had oven so condemned. Un
that transaction history will one day pas*
it* severe but just censure. Yes, although
Napoleon had desolated half Europe; al-
tnouuh there were scarcely u power, how
ever humble, that escaped the mighty gr»s|
ins ambition;although in tie course of
f*i* splendid career he is charged with
t ivmg^piutnitted the greatest atrocities,
disgraceful to himself and to human na
ture, vet even Jjis life has been spared.—
jfotc allies would not, England would not,
gxeuute Iran, upon the ground of hi* being
»n instigator of war*.
The mode of the trial and sentencing
tor*e men, Mr. C said, was equally ob
jec -maule with the principles on which it
ft a J been attempted to shew a forfeiture of
tneir lives,, He know, he said, the lauda
ble spirit which prompted the ingenuity
di-played in finding out a justification fur
these proceedings He wished most sin
ce' idy that be could reconcile them to hi*
conscience. It had been attempted to
vindicate the general upon g-ounus which
tie wm periuided be woald himtcU «lu-
lwn. It had btrs» asserted, that be Va»|
guilty ill - a-mistake iti calling "S-pon the
n.-i t * try them, and that be Wight hav>-
•it otic* iicdl-red their e-xicntiOB, without
tuat fnruuiity. lie denied-tuat there was
any Mich anvlute right iu the cwsnnander
if any portion of our army. The riuht of
retaliation is an attiibate-of sovereignty,
ft is comprehended »’.n the war-making
power thut congress pcaseases. It belong-
to this body not only to declare war, but
rni-e armies, and Ur mike rule* and re-
gulationxfor their goveruinent. It waa in
vain lot gentlemen to look to the law ot
nations lor instances in which retaliation
is lawful. The laws of nations merely
laid down theprizripir. or rale, and it be
longs to the government to constitute the
tribunal for applying that principle or rule
t here-was, for example, no uistante in
which the orath n! a captive v a* more cvr
tainly declared by tlie law of nations to.be
ju-tifiable, that in the case of spies. Con
gress has accordingly provided, in £he
rule* and articles of war, a tribunal for the
ti tal ol spies, and consequently lor the ap
plication ot the principle of the national
law. The legislature nadnut left the pow-
ernverspic*undefined, to the mne dis-
return of the cominandet in chief, or ot
any subaltern ollker in the army. Fnr, if
the doctrine*miw contended lur were u-ue,
.they would apply to the Commander of any
corps, however small, acting as a detach
ment. Suppose congress had out legislated
in the cove ot -pie*, wnal would have been
their condition? It would have been
casus omissua, and although the public latv
piououncvii Him- doom, it cuuH not be
executed because congress had assigned
in# tribunal for enforcing that public law.
No man could be executed in this free
. our,try witbuut two tlnrrgs being shewn:.
1-t. Tuat tire law condemns him to
death; anil 2dly. That Ins death i* pro
nounced by that tribunal which is autho
rised by the law to try him. Toeae prin
ciples would r- acli every man’s case, na
tive or tureigner, citizen or alien. The
instant quarters ai a granted to a prisoner,
'he majesty ol the law *u.rounds and sus
tains him, and hecannot lawfully be pun
ished with death, without the concurrence
of tne twu circumstances just insisted up'
on. lie denied tuat any commander in
chief, in this countiy lud this absolut
power of life and death, at liis side dis
cretion. It was contrary to the g.-mus <-l
.ill oor laws ami institutions, to con
centrate in the per on of one iiidividn-'-
tne powers to make the tule, to judge ami
execute the rule, or to judge and <iLecut-
the rule only, vyas utterly irretom il.tbl--
•vith every principle of tree government,
.ml was the very definition of tyranny il
-• If; and he trusted that this house would
never give even a tacit assent to such a
principle. Suppose the commander ban
made reprisals on property, would tha*
iirop-rty nave beloug.-d to the nation, or
could tie have dispo ed of it as lie please, r
.lad tic more power, would gentlemen tc i
urn, over the lives of human beings than
.ver property? The assertion ol such a
power to the commander in ctuei, was
couirary to the practice of the govern
ment, By an act of congress which pas
sed in 1799, -vesting the power nf retalia
tion, in ceitain cases, in the president ol
t it- United States”—au act which pas
sed during the quasi war witn France,
the pi evident is authorised to retaliate up
on any citizens of the French republic,
the enormities which may be practis'd,
• ti certain cases, upon our citizens. Un
der what administration was this act pav
ed? It was under that which has been
justly charged with stretching the Consti
tution to enlarge the executive powers.—
Ev< n during the mad career of Mr. Adrnis,
when every meaua was resorted to for the
purpose of infusing vigoi into the execu
tive arm, no one thought of claiming f -r
dm the inherent right of retaliation. He
would not trouble the house with reading
another law, which passed thirteen >-r
fourteen years alter, during ilie late war
with G.eat Britain, under the administra
tion of that j- eat constitutional president,
the father of tne instrument itself, by
which Mr. Madison was empowered to
retaliate on the British, in certain in»tao-
. es. It was not only contrary to th-
-emus of our institutions ami to the uni
form practice of the government, but i
was contrary to the obvious principles oi
which the general himself had proceed
ed; for in forming the court, he had evi
dently intended to proceed under the rules
and article* of war. The extreme nuin
her winch they provide for is thirteen
precisely that which is detailed in the pr
sent instance. The court proceeded, not
by a bare plurality, but by a majority of
•wo thirds. In the general order* issued
from the adjutant general’s office, at head-
|Uliters, it is described a* a court mar
tial. The prisoner* ate said in those or-
d r* to have been tried, ‘on the fotlowin
charges and specifications.’ The court
fish uaitti
?< id once before said, that if Chatham or understood itself to be acting as a court
martial. It was so mgmized—tt so pro
ce. ded. having a judge advocate, hearing
witnesses, the written defence of the mis
erable trembling prisoners, who seemed
io have a presentiment of their doom.—
And the court was finally dissolvtd. The
whole proceeding mamfrstly shows that
all parties considered it as a court martial
-onvened and acting under the rales and
articles of war. In his Utter to the secre
tary of war, noticing the transaction, the
general says: “These individual* were
tried under my orders, legally convicted
as exciters of this savage ami negro war,
legally condemned, and most justly puo-
isiied tor their iniquities.” The Lord de
liver us from such legal • convictions and
such legal condemnations! The general
himself considered the laws of his country
to have justified his proceedings. I' was
in vain then to talk of a power in him be
yond the law, and above the law, wneu he
himself tines out assert it. Let it be con
ceded, that he «u clothed with absolute
authority over the live* of thesemdividual*
and that, upon hia own fiat, without trial,
without defence, he might have command-
etltbeir eiccktioc. Now if &a absolute
sovereign, in anyi*^ 0 ’*^ Aspect, pro-
tnnlgates a rul« which he pledge* himself
t« observe, if he *ob«equrnt'y deviate-
from that rute.hr subject* himself to th<
imputation of odious tyranny- If general
Jackson had the power, without a court,
to condemn these men, he had al-o th*
power to appoint a tribunal. He did ap
point a tribunal. »"d he beratne. there-
<ore; morallv boand to observe and exe
cute the sentence of that tribunal. In
regard to Ambrister, it was with gri*l anti
pain he was compelled to sij, that he was
executed in drfUr.ce'iif atl law; in defi
ance of the law to which general Jtckson
hail voluntarily, if you please, submi»t--d
himself, and given, by his appeal to the
court, liis implied pledge to observe. He
knew but little of military law, and he had
m>t a ta-tc, by wliat had hapened, created
in him for arqtiirir.ga knowledge of mores
but he believed there was nu example on
recurd, where the sentence of the court
has been erased, and a sentence not pro
nounced by it carried into execution. I'
had been suggested that the court had pru-
nostred two sentences, and that the gen.
had a ftght-to select either. Two sente ..
ces! Twoverdicts! ltwasnotso. The first,
by being' revowed, was as though it had
rn-ver been pronounced. And there re
mained only one sentence, which was put
aside upon the sole authority of the com
mander, and the execution »f the prisoner
ordered- . He either had or had not a right
to decide upon the fate of that man, with
out the intervention of a court. If he had
the right, he waved it, and, having Violat
ed the sentence of the court, there »a
brnught'Upon the judicial administration
nf the army a reproach, which must occa
sion the most lasting regret. -
However guilty these men were, they
should nut have been condemned or ex,
cuter!, without the authority oftlie law—
fly would not dwell, at this time, on tin-
effect of these pr.-cedenta in foreign coun
tries, but he would nut pa-s unnoticed
their dangerous iufijence in our own coun
try; Bad examples are generally set in
the cases ot bad men, ami often remote
from the central government. It was in
the provinces Were laid the abuse* ami
the seeds of the ambitioui projects whit-:,
overturned tlie liberties of Rm.ie Hr- be
see.rheil the commiiiee nut to be taken
captive by the coarms of el .quence, and
•ne appeals made to our p ass,on* mid our
sympathies, go as t" forget the lumiamen-
•I principle* uf our government. The
fiuetice uf a bad example w.-uld often
oe felt when its authors a id ail the cir
cumstances connected with it were no
longer remembered. He knew id hut one
analogous instance of tne execution of a
pri-uner, and that Imd brought in-re
.•ilium, than almost any other incident, on
the unhappy Empe or ol France. He al
luded to the instancr ol the execution uf
•ne unfortunate member of the Bouibon-
liouse. lie had sought an asylum in the
territories Baden. Bonaparte dispatched
a corps utgen d’armes to the plaie of in*
'etreat, -eized him and bruught him to.me.
dungeons ol Viucenoes. He w.u then
tried by a court martial, Condemned and
shut- There, as here, was a violation' of
neutral territory; there the neutral griiiiijd
was notstaineil with the blood of him whom
it should have protected. And there was
another must unfoitunate diff- n tice. I'm
the American example The Due D'E
ghin, was executed according to his sen
tence. ft is said iiy the defenders of Na
poleon, that the duke had been machina
ting not merely to overturn the Fi euch go
vernment. but against the life of its chie.l
If that were true, he inig t, it taken in
France, have b-en 1 gaily executed. Such
was the obiuin bruugut upon the lustra-
merits of ll.is transaction, tout tho.e per
son’s who have been even suspected of par
ticipation in it have soug.it to vindicate
themselves, from wliat they appear to have
considered as au aspersion, ticlore foreign
courts, in conclusion of-tills part of In
subject, Mr. C. -aid, that be must cheer
fully and entirely acquitted general J n k
sun ol any inteuuuh iu violate the laws id
t ie country, or tile obligations of humanity.
He was persuaded, train all that In had
ieard that lie thought Inmseif - q-i iliy ie-
peeling aad oos rviug both. Willi te.
pect to the purity nf ms intentions, the.e
fore, lie was dispo-ed to a'low it in the
most extensive degree. Of ins acts, saol
vlr. C. it is my duty to sp- uk w ith the
freedom which b-iong* to my station.—
And I snail how pio. <=ed to consider some
of them, of the most momentous character,
a* it regards the distribution of the powers
of government.
Ol all the powers conferred by the con
stitution of th- United States, not one is
more expressly and exclusively granted
than that is to congress of declaring war.
I'r.e flnmortal convention who framed that
instrument, had abundant reason for con
fiding this tremendous power to the delib
erate judgment • ot the'representatives of
the people, drawn from every page of his
tory. It was there seen that nations are
nften precipitated into ruinous war from
lolly, irum pride, from ambition, and from
the desire oi military fame, it was believ
ed, no doubt, in committing this great sub- ’
ject to the legislature of the uniou, we
should be safe from the mad wars that have
afflicted and desolated and ruined othei
countries, it was supposed that Delate
any war was declared tlie nature of the in
jury complained of would be carefully ex
amined, the power and resouices of the
enemy estimated; and the power and the
resources of our own country, n well as
the probable issue and consequences uf
the war. It was so guard our country 1
against precisely that species of rashness,
winch has been manifested io Florida, that
the constitution waa to framed, if then
this power, thus cautiously and clearly
bestowed upon congress, ho* been assum
ed and exercised by any other functionary
of the government, it is cause of sermu,
alarm, and it became that body to vindi
cate and maintain its aathority by all the
mean* ia it* power, aud yet there are some
giutlemen, wno would have us nut merely
to yield a tatue and silent acquiescence in
the encroachment, bot to pass evon a vote
uf thanks to the author.
On the 2Jth of March. 1313, Mr. C. con
tinued, the president of the United State*
communicated a me*sage to congress in
relation to the Seminole war, in which he
.Ie. lared that, although, in the prosecution
of it, orders had been given t" pas* into
the Spanish territory, tney w » • so guar
ded as th*'the local authoiitir* of Spun
should be respected, li-.w respected?—
The president, by the documents accom
panying the message, the orders themselves
which issued from the departmeut of war
to the commanding general, had assured
the legislative that, even if the enemy
should take shelter under a Spanish lor-
tress, the fortress was not to be attacked,
but the fact to be reported to that depart
ment for further orders. Congress saw.
therefore, that there was no danger of vi
olating the existing peace. And yet, on
the same 25th day ot March, (a most singu
lar concurrence -d dates,) when the repre
sentatives uf tne people receive this sol
emn ines-age, announced in the presence
of the nation and in the face of the world,
aud in tin-midst of a friendly negotiation
with Spain, does gen. Jackson write frem
liis head quarters, that he shall take Kt
Marks as a necessary depot for Ins milit i-
ry operations! The general states, in hi'
letter, what he had heard about the threat
on the part of tlie Imliau and negroes, to
occupy the fort, and declares his purp se
tvi posses* himself of it in either of the two
< vinlingeticies ol its being in their hands or
m the hands of the Spaniard*. Hu assu
.lied a i ig it to judge what Spain was
hound to do by her treaty, apd judged
very Correctly; but then he also us-
-unied the power, belonging to congress
alone, or detenrininiug what should
be tli e effect and consequence other breach
of engagement General Jackson, genn-
• lly perform* ivlut he intimates liis mten-
tnm to do. Accordingly, finding St.
.Marks yet ill the hands ut the Spaniard*,
he seized arid occupied it. \V«s ever, he
asked, the just confidence of the legislative
•indy, in the assurance of the chief magis
trate, more abused? The Spanish com
nander intimated his willingness that ti.c
Vmertran army should lake post near linn,
antil he could have instructions from Ins
i-ierior uffl- er, and promised to muiu-
tain, in the mean time, the in-ist friendly
relations. No! St. Marks was a c->nvrn-
i-nt po't for the American army, and de-
ay wasiaidinissibli. Hehad alvvsysuniler-
stoud that the Indians but rarely take or
defend fortresses, because they are utiskil-
n-d in the modes of attack amt defence.—
I'lie threat, therefore,on their part, to seize
on St. Mark* must have been empty, am!,
would probably have been impracieable —
At all events, when general Jackson ar
ris- d tnere, no danger any longer threaten
ed tne Spaniard from the miserable fugi
tive Indian*, who fled on alt sides up -n
is approach. And, sir, upon what pl>-1
« this violation of orders, and this act ol
war upon a foreign power, attempied to
be juUifi-d? Upon- the grounds of th-
vonvenicncy of tlie depot ai.d the ludiat
threat. The fir»t he would not seriously
examine and expose. If the Sp.-.uislicliai
a ter oftlie fort had been totally merged in
i he Indian! character, it might have been jus
'ifiiblo to seize it. But that was not tlie
fict, and the hare possibility of it* being
forcibly taken by the Indians could iioi jus
tify our anticipating their blow. Uf'allthe
dious transactions which occurred during
'lie.late war between Franceand England,
.nolle was more condemned in Europe and
in the country than her seizure of the fleet
d' Denmark, at Copenhagen. And he la-
edited to be ubliged to notice the ana logy
which existed ia the defences made of the
>wo cases. If his recollection did not
deceive him, Bonaparte had passed the
.thine and the Alps, had conquered Italy,
e Netherlands, Holland, Hanover, Lu-
iec,and Hamburg, and extended liis em
pire as far as Aitoiia on tlie side ef Dr ti
tlark. A few days’ inarch would have
carried him through Holstein, over the
two Belt-, through Funen and into the is
land uf Zealand. Wliat then was the con
duct of England? It was my lot, Mr. C.
•aid, to fall into conversation with an in
telligent Englishman on this subject —
• We knew (said be) that we were fighting
for our existence. It was absolutely ne
cessary that ws should preset ve the com
mand of tiie seas. If the fleet of Denmark
fell info the enemy’shands, combined with
his oilier fleets, that command might be
rendered doubtful. Deumark had only a
nominal independence. She was. in truth,
subject to his sway. We said to her, give
os vour fleet; it will otherwise be taken
p >ssession of by your secret and our open
enemy. We will preserve it, and restore
to you whenever the danger shall be over.
D-nmark refused. Copenhagen was bom
barded, gallantly defended, but the fleet
was seized. ‘Every where tne conduct of
England was censured; and the name even
of liie negoriator who was employed bv
her, and who was subsequently the minis
ter near this government, was scarcely
ever pronounced here without coupling
with no epithet indicatinghis participation
in hedisgraceful transaction.* And yet we
are going to sanction actsolviolence.coinit-
t“d by ourselves, which but too mu>h re
semble it! Wliat an important difference
too, between the relative condition ot Eng
land aud of this country! She perhaps was
straggling for her existence. She was
combating single handed, themost enurmus
military power that the world has ever
knowu. Whc were we contending with?
With a few half-starved, half-clothed,
wretched Indians and fugitive slaves.—
Anil, whd,t carrying on this inglorious
war—inglorious as it regards the laurels
or cenotru won in it—we violate neutral
rights, which the government had solemn
ly pledged itself to respect, upon the
principle-of convenience; or upon tne light
presumption that,by possibility, a post
might be taken by this miserable combina
tion of Indians and slaves..
On the tlie 8th of April, -the general
writes from St. Marks, that he shall inarch
fur tne Suwaney river; th* destroying of
the establishments «a which will, m Ids
opinion,bring the war to a close. Avcor-
diugly. having iffecteil that objett, he
write* on the 20th of April, that he be
lieves he may »ay the war is at an end lor
the present. He repeals the same opin*
ion in his letter to secretary of war, writ
ten six dot* after. The war being thu*
ended, it might have been hoped that no
further histilitie* would ha*.,been commit
ted. Rut on the 4Sd of May. on his way home,
he receives a letter froes the commandant
of Pensacola, iutimating'his surpize at the
invasion of the Spanish territory, and the
acts of hostility performed by the Ameri
can army, and his determination if persis
ted in, to employ force to repel them.—
I.ct us pau-e and examine this proceeding
of the gover or, so very hostile and affrnn-
tive in th* view of geueral Jackson Re
collect that he was governor uf Florida;
that he had veceivcd no orders from Ids
superiors, to allow a passage to the Ame
rican army; that he had heard of the re:-
duction of Sb Marks; and that general
Ja< kson, at the head of hi* army, was ap-
pieaching in ’be direction of Pensacola.—
He nad seen the president’s message o’f
the £5 March, and ri minded general Jack-
son of it, to satisfy him that the America^
government could unt hove authorized all
those measures. Mr. C. said he r£uld
not read the allusion m,de by the goveinor
to that message, without feeling that tha
chart* «• insincerity, which it implied, had
al least too much the appearance of tiuth
hi it. Could the governor have dime less
than write some such letter? We havo
only to reverse situations, and to suppose
him to have been an American governor —
General Jacksonsav- that when he receiv
ed that letter he no longer hesitated. No,
sir, he did no longer hesitate! lie receiv
ed it on the 23d; he was in Pensacola on
tne 24th, and immediately after set him
self before the fortress Kan Carlos de
Rarancas. which he shortiy reduced.—
Cent, vidi, vici M omlerfut energv!
Admirable promptitude. Alas! that it
hail uot been an energy and a | romplitude
within the pale nf the constitution,and ac
cording to the orders nf the chief magis
trate! It was impossible to give any dc-
finatinn of war, that would not compre
hend these arts. It was open, undisguis
ed, and unauthorized hn-tility.
Tne honorable g-'oth man Irani Massa
chusetts had endeavored to derive some
authority to general Jackson from the
message of the president, and the letter
of the secretary of war io governor Bibb.
I'he message declares that the Spanish »u-
t'ioritesare to be respected wherever main
tained. What the president means bv ibeir
heii)ginaintaiiied,isex|il.iiin-d in iK. mders
themselves; by the extreme case beiog put
of the enemy seeking shelter under a
Spiuish lort. Iteven in that case,he was
out to attack, certainly Ip- was not to st
uck in any case ol less strength. The
letter to governor Bibb admits ot a simi
lar explanation. When the secretary
says, in that letter that general Jackson
i, lully empowered to bring the S- minolo
war to a conclusion he means that he is so
empowered by his orders, whir.fi, being
now before u*, must spe k for themselves.
It does nut appear that general Jackson
ever saw that letter which wag dated at
his place after tlie capture ol St: Marks,
fie would tike a momentary glance at the
orders. On the 2d of December, 1817,
general Games was forbidden to cross
the Florida line. Seven, days after, the
secretaiy of war having arrived here, amt
infused a little more energy into our coun
cils, he was authorized to use a souml
discretion in crossing it or not. On the
16th, he was instructed again to consider
hunselt at iiberty to cross the line, and
pursue the enemy, but. if he took refuge
under a Spanish fortress, the fact Was to
be reported to the department of -war.
These orders were transinittsd to general
Jackson, and constituted, or ought to
have constituted, his guide. .There was
then no justification fur the occupation of
Petisacola, anj the attack on the Bar
rancas, in the message of the president,
the letter to governor Bibb, »r in thu_ or
ders themselves. The gentleman -Train
Massachusetts would pardon him for say
ing that he had undertaken what even Ins
talents were not competent to—the‘main
tenance of directly contradictory propo
sitions, that it was right in general Jack-
sun to take Pensucela, and wroog in ’ the
president to keep it. The gentleman has
mad- a greater mistake than lie supposes
general Jackson to have done in attackiog
Pensacola for an Indian town, oy attempt
ing the defence both ufthe president and
general Jackson. If it were right in him
to seize the place, it is impossible that it
should have been right in the president
immediately to surrender it. We, sir, are
the supportei;*ofthe president. We regret
that we cannot support general Jackson
also. The gentleman’s liberality is mors
comprehensive than ours. I approved,
with all my heart, of the resturatioif of
Pensacola. I think St. Miuks ought, per?
haps, to have been also restored; but I
s»v thi* with doubt and diffidence. That
the president thought the seizure of the
Spanish post* was an acfof war, is mani-
fe.ted Irani Ins opening message, in which
he says tuat, to have retained them, would
have changed our relations with Spain, to
do wh.ch the power of the executive was
iucoiupeteut, congress alone possessing
if The president has, in ibis instance,
deserved we'l of his country. He has
taken the only course which lie could have
pursued, consistent with the constitutioa
of the land. Aud he defied the gentleman
to make good both his positions, that the
gtueral *a, right in taking, and the pre
sident right in giving up the posts. [Mr.
Uoluies explained. W e took these posts,
he said, to keep them from the hand* of
the eueiuy, aad, in restoring them, made
it a condition that Spain should not let
our enemy have theia. We said to her,
here is y<»ir dagger; we found it in the
hands of our enemy, and’ having wrested
it from him, we restore it to you in the
hope that you wilt take better cite ofit
for t£c future.'} Mr. C.proceeded. The
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