About Savannah daily republican. (Savannah, Ga.) 1818-1824 | View Entire Issue (March 30, 1819)
aim t*r SAVANNAH llEPUHLIOAN iu citt riu.<rrr.R 7u tUUtT arorsa, Cuurral, MX, ear-LSt’* ./» tDfAMtz. 'iQ^u.t mew* asm **W.»nv**Ti»*rt*i<T; arriaal* j»utb n>iu-*w» i-rorr at naota oslt 4is ojtv. L.ICQCS>wd «»£A- jjtcmo/r. •'7Vm tkc.Sfctbnui JnitVigtncer. UQth in»t- The promised reply of Mr lacoc* to th'- 3ttic- v -1«jj**oi» l!ic report r ff ihe commiuet of the Sen- •■ate on the • Si minute » »r. i> published lo-ilny — reelingirtirtclvf*bound,b) tin- ruleof impartiali ty, • to publish Uii* >rticu, M «e did tbal lo which ii repliin, it i* no little satisfaction to u*. that Mr. has signed it with bis pn.jier tiame. The cun- treveny is sT ijicli a nature as to excite in ux un noted feelings of pain and regret; and we are giad, that, by settiig the example yf affixing his ‘ | ytne to ins communication, Mr. L. ha» cleared ou- course ton the d.ffieulticn with which it might liave been embari anted, by the continuance of an anonymous diaeussion «n our columns, in volving personalities, Irom winch we nave ever endeavored to keep them frees will: leaped to tlienotice which, itrIns intro ductory iettef, gen. l.aeoek has laken of our edi- toriat-cburse. a tew w ords in self-defence may bo necessary; aiid vhich, a we appear to have been misunnerstood, *e are glad of the opportunity ot ofitring. We said nothing, in the paragraph to which he refers, ofthe conduct of die tommuteoj •Is Smote; and certainly did not, in the remotest manner, intimate that it ttu of such a nature ac to rd/solve -as from the rules we have hitherto observ ed. tVe atated the circumstances which appear ed to ithe the case out cf the ordinary rule, be. cause those circumstances were r.ot in themselves ordinary, At a late day in the session, a commit- ton of the senate made a report, impeaching the conduct and lending to alfcct the character o! general Jactson. That in itself is not a common 'occurrence; because it lias never happened before siifcc we li*«e had any thing to do with a news- >. piper. The report referred to was givento the ptinlic, through the medium of our colt.trice; and w .r not di'cusged or acted on in the aenaie, iur weal of lime. There was no mode, tlici. ol coun- • terading rv' -ti-'* cffcl it might ha.c on the public min Set that which was resorted to — ."an any r:. V . more clear Ilian that all the par ties to a puUie controversy ought to be heard, on etpial terms, before the people! lt< tore that in bund g. II Jacleren had been arraigned, by a re- , port which wc publisi.ed. The author of the strictures dittoed the right of reply through the awne-medium; and it was not thought sullicieni reason f.>r rcfi'r.inp the claim, th: t we-did not like the manner of the defence. We tliought the tem- * ■'-per of the. strictures calculated to counteract the •• object of ihe writer, and intended so to liavr ex pressed ourselves. It will be seen therefore, that ■ ’ i.i. not only did not, m stating facts, at all reflect on the cosdr.ct of the committee—hut, on the ” contrary, did expressly disolaim any partitipalion in the feeling of the-article, by the unusual enur e of annoui.cing our readiness to give up the name of the author to whomsoever felt aggrieved b;. the publication; Jt wt impossible, from the nn ••ta-tuPB of our intercourse with them, that wr could entertain any animosity towards the gentlemen cmhposing the committee, or any one of them, er tliat we «ouW intend to identify ourselves with those who did. At the same time Kurt We make this explanation, vve take leave to say, that we hold the conduct ol every branch of the government to be a fair sub ject of examination, or censure, or of approbation *l'his is a .right so sacred as to have been secured ' by the Constitution; and there is nothing in the 'privileges of either the Senate or the House ol TJepreventativrs, however their scope may at times have been enlarged by the tiptil an co-pi, to cx 1r empt them from this liability. Duty may call upon us hereafter, as it has often done heretofore, lo censure their acts. In doing so, however, we ■ti ust we shall never resort to violence of lan guage; for the experience of many years has taught uv, and we wish we could indelibly impress ;t on all orators end writers, that intemperance of language invariably defeats itaewn purpose, tfmr. Those-ymntg men. were aids ge- neral'Jackson, or belonged to his military family. Some of the -documents annexed to the strictures, where, it seeds,furnished from his own private bureau, for -they could not be obtained in the War Office. The personal invectives indulged in, in. the stictnres, correspond entirely with hi* previous observations in the public taverns and ball-rooms «f Washington}—Tor it is a fact notorious, and cannot be denied, that on those occasions he was vociferous in his imprecations, and violent in his threat*; of personal vengeance, even to cutting ofTthe ears cf some of the member** ..... — -j of the select committee, and this while the- general Jackson, on winch there could pc Messrs. Galf.s & Beatow: Shortly after The report was made-in the • senate on the subject of the Seminole war, -formal notice was given in your paper, -that strictures (ample anil free in their character)-would be made on that report. Those strictures have appeared; and, by -inn editorial paragraph subjoined, it would seem that the editors of the Intelligencer had viewed the conduct of the committee : flnd of the senate, on that occasion, as of Sdch a nature as to justify in them a de parture from the rules that have-herctufore ‘‘been observed in conducting their press. It is believed that this is the first instance l*n which.-through the medium of that pa per, the congress of the'Uuitcd States lia»e Ibeen arraigned for their conduct; or that a -committee of either branch have been ' Charged by an officer of the army, with -deliberate falsehood anil malice lor a dis charge of-their duty. Of this, however,' no complaint is made, as it respects the ^Editors. But, as the strictures have been made to -assume, by those artificial means, at: im portance they would not hate merited •when intrinsically considered, it is there-, 'fore hoped that the E litors will feel no. .hesitation it: publishing the following ob servations. Yours, tfz. A. LvCocr.. TOTTIRTUBLIC. Having recently seen, in the Niticna! ‘Intelligencer, stnclu>v» of an erroneoos |character, upon a report made by a select •committee of the senate, en the subject of the Srm.nole war, and being the only ■member of that committee now at the seat •of government, it seems to be a duty I owe to the senate of the United State*, to toy -committee of which 1 was a member, and to cy «>vn character,' lo offer some remarks ■ oa toose strictures. In the first place it ■is necessary tc observe, that, on applying ■tt/tiis editor of the Natibnal Intelligence;, '.I was informed by them, ip writing, that they were authorised to give up, as ’he • authors nf tbe strictures, the names of two ofiiccis of the army of the United States. Could I have brought myself to believ that those young men* were the real, as they were the ostensible, authors of -those strictures, they would have been treated with silent pity and commiseration, and their prodnocion would have i eutained for ever unnoticCTl by me. But charity lor those men, and the.peculiar circumstances of the case’forbid this conclusion. 3 We -must look tq a higher source for their au- * Those officers were examined -by the com- •knif.ee: they discovered (but more especially one- of them) talents, and much energy of character, ;that, if tempered with prudence, esnnorfad to -tlttske ibem-ujtfulmembers of society; and a ttn- ■ demess-fer thenylxmiermg on parental regard,' -'has indued! me to withhold their namea from the public, knowing- thet *mubUc rebuke burdens the Tvart,” and believing that, when they liave m>.. [bered my. -rears, tliey »iU look back on the ui>- .tguaidcd foifits dfyouth trijkwnow sad resent. subject was before the senate; and some members of the bouse of representatives who dared to animadvert upon his conduct, or even to doubt his infallibility, wete menaced in neai l^a similar manner. Un der these circumstances, there seems to be no unfairness in considering that general Jackson is the real author of those stric- turns, or at least thpt he approved of, and assented to the publication:! and that those gentlemen (with more gallantry than pru dence) were induced to step forward and take upon themselves a responsibility tuat the general himself felt unwilling to en counter. And it is for him to decide bow far it was just and proper for age and ex perience to tale advantage of the exuber ant ardour of youthful feelings and attach merits, and by this means induce the offic ■ rs in question to bastard their reputation and future prospects in the army, by acts of Inconsiderate rashness. As citizens of the United States, they were entitled to equal privileges with ail others. As mili tary officers, they were held strictly sub tmrdiuate to the civil power. An act ol congress declares, that every officer shall no cashiered., or otherwise punished by court martial, who shall even speak con temptuous or disrespectful words of the confess of the United States or of tut legislatures or governors of any of the -•tates in the Union. Aud, by rules am. i emulations established in the army of the United States, the officers are forbidden, under like penalties, from publishing in newspapers, or otherwise, observations disrespectful,-of each other. And it is believed that this is the fir^t instance in which a military officer, whose conduct was the subject of investigation before the congress of the U. S.has-vcntur- ed, tochargetliutbauywilha violation,of the constitution and with exercising inqci - itoiial power.! Or that a comin.ttec of ei ther branch of the National legislaturi has been charged with the^'most wanton and studied disregard to truth,” and the most “foul” and “dishonest motives.”— But how far it is either for the honor or interest uf the nation thus to submit to military dragooning and newspaper chas tisement, by military officers who it is be lieved, visited the seat of government for that purpose; and how far ta committee of the senate of the United States should be subject to this kind of discipline, for the conscientious discharge ol official duties, imposed by the unanimous voice of that body, is for the ptoper authorities to de termine. I .shall now state faithfully the proceed ings had in toe senate and beure the com- -i.iitee, on this subject, pledging myself, and appeulin 0 to others, lor the correctness of every fret stated. On the 18th November, 1818, the pre sident’s message to buth houses of con gress was received In this message the president reiers to the Seminole war, am) promises to present to congress the docu ments respecting it. Mu tue -It t 0.‘comber, 1818, this volume if documents was received in manuscript jm>i sent to ine printer. On this day (and not on the 18th, as stated erroneously in the strictures) the resolution was otf reil in the senate, for raising the committee on this suhjec.; it was considered on the nil. and postponed tiom time to time, un til tin- 1 Utli December, when it Was modi-; tied and enlarged, o.a the motion of Mi. Eaton, and unanimously adopted. This delay vyas occasioned bydhc senate’s not having pievisusiy received.the documents from the printer. Therjt bad, howeyer, been mvle, in the senate, a call on the president, fo? further information on this subject, and thisj’eso- lution, offered on the ltitn December, was agreed to on the irtb, and the call was- complied with on the 28th December, by message, and another volume of documents furnished. These documents were not received from the printer until the 1st or 2d of.Feb ruary, 18l9. But a copy of them had been received by each member of the senate, through the medium of the house ol repre. svntatives, to whom they were first sent on the 2Tth or 28th ofj.tnuary. and, on the day they were received, the committee were called together. .At this meeting all the members being present, Mr. King unde a motion that the committee should ask the senate to discharge them from the fur ther consideration of the subject. The question on the motion was put, and, four members voting in the negative, it was of cuurse lost. And, at this time, the committee order ed, under the authority of the resolution of the senate, that the Aids of general Jackson, an« such other persons as the chairman might think necessary, should be summoned before the committee for examination. This order was complied-with, witsesses were summoned, end the examination pro ceeded, from day to day, as the witnesses appeared, subject only to the delay and interruption that arose from the indispen sable necessity the members of the com mittee were ouder, of attending to their other official duties. Thus the enquiry was prosecuted, until the committee'ware toli by ihe chairman, that he knew no other evidence that it was. in his power toobtaio. And at this time,, as cn former occasions, particular enquiry was made of the tnerobersof the committee generally, and of Mr. Eaton particularly, whether it was kopwn thatfurther testimo ny could be obtained, or weather they wish ed thatother witnesses should be summoned and the answers to these enquiries were in the negative. The testimony being thus considered as closed, the uatore of the report to be made to the senate was then discussed, and all ■ he points involved by the conduct ot f If the resJer entertains any doubts as to the auJiorstiip ot tlie Strictures, they will be remov ed on resiling the deposition of colonel Orr, in which it wdl be seen, that general Jackson obtain ed from him a tact- which he asked leave to make use or, and that the. fact is made use of in the Strict urea. ♦ 6eo tie. last paragraph cf the Strictures. any doubt, were distinctly stated in writ ing, and separate questions taken on each of'them. On thefirst point, of raisingand organizing the volunteers, the unanimous voice of tue committee was, that it was ii- legal. The second point, the right to pursue the enemy into Florida, was deci ded, unanimously in the affirmative. Anti on several other points, the committee were divided, three disapproving tHe con duct of tKejiotnmanding generaf aud two justifying or excusing it- The decision of the committee being thus had, the chairman was ordered to pre pare a report, in conformity to the princi ples established by the committee. About this time, however, another circumstance took place, which necessarily occasioned some delay in obtaining further evidence. Mr. Eaton infortned the chairman of the committee, that he heard general Jackson say, at his lodgings, that, alter he had left the Floridas, he had issued an order to •"•ncral Gaines, to take possession of St. Augustine, and that his order bad been countermanded by the department of war. The chairman having ascertained this to be the fact, by a letter dated February 8 called on the department for this corres pnndence, whifch was furnished on the evening of the 12tb ol the same month. These documents never before having been called for, were not previously transmitted: oorwasthis design of taking Sit. Augustine (after the close of the war,) known to the committee until this disclosure; and it was thought necessary that the documents should accompany, and betaken notice ol in the report. If lui liter evidence be neces sary to convince the most incroiiulous“that no improper or unnecessary delay was oD- rerved in making the .report,” it will be furnished by tlie following facts: Ihe senate ol the United States is connected by the constitution, with tke executive, in the exercise of the treaty making power. On the 9(h or 10th of February the chairman of the committee w«s confiden tially informed that the treaty with Spam would probably be brought to a favorable result, in a short time; and a suggestion was made, that a report on the subject ol the occupation'of Florida might, by possi bility, affect the negotiation, if made pre vious to the signing of the treaty. These facts and suggestions were irome diately communicated to a majority ol tlie members Of the committee, and more es pecially to Mr. King, whose experience in diplomatic concerns gave bun a full op portunity ol forming a correct judgement on the subject. This gentleman, with two other mem bers of ti e committee, besides the chair man, agreed that the report should be kept back a fetv days, until the treaty was re ceived. On Monday the 22d of .February this *caty was sent to the senate; on the 24th it was ratified, and on the stnne day the report was made. And this accounts for the only delay that was not occasioned bv the difficulty of obtaining the evidence proper to an understanding of the case, and which it was imposiblefur tlie commit tee sooner to obtain. Thus it appears that the charge, in the strictures, that the report was kept back to injure general Jackson, is totally with out foundation. And it is equally untrue that“ftis/rfettds'’* on the committee hud no opportunity of making a defence. The same time was affo ded them to make a de fence, that was given to the chairman to write report. They were present when the decision of the committee was made, and the chairman received his in structions. A counter statement might have beet: prepared and offered, in tlie. manner pursued by coionel Johnson, in the house of representatives; or, if this course should ,have been thought ineligible or irregular, whv'n the report was made to the senate, it m\'.ht have been called up at anytime,and a resolution offered,appro bating or excusing ilv ! conduct.of general Jackson, and this reso lution might have been prefaced by reason^ at large, in oppo sition to the -reasons nffa rct l “J tne com mittee and thu3 the minor, T 0,1 tft e com mittee would have had a fk'E opportunity of laying before.the public v’he result ol their deliberate opinions on t.V e subject.— Neither is it true “that the cht , ' , ™so de clined annexing the customary re solutions to the report.” But, oil the contt ' a ''y» the fact is known to every member of frhe com mittee, that, when the ciairmsn prek silted the report, the question was put by him, whether resolutions should beannek-ed, and the committee decided unanimously in the negative. But it appears by it'•* strictures, that the chairman of the commit- tee has been almost the sole actor on this' occasion, and has had the entire control of the committee and of tlie senate. The author of the strictures, in thus giv ing importance to thc-indivldual concerned, has uututentially done him too much hon or, the acceptance of whtcb at the expence of the senate, he begs leave to decline, de sirous, as it relates to himself, of being only.considered what thesenate hud con stituted him—the chairman of tiiu select committee. As their organ, he wt.s sub ject to their control, and acted in cou- formity-to their .-instructions; as, iti like manner, ibecmuuiiltee was controlled by the senate, aud bound to observe thg m structions received from that body. V The word ••friends,” is used as a quetS'on from the strictures. It iscic:ain that gen. Jack. had not nn enemy on the committee, ahbcujyh his conduct was disapproved. And it ip** * «o*rce of no small gratifi Cation to the rommittee to find that their conduct in the investigation was approved by the senate, and that it was so approved is manifst Irom the following facts; On the 17th February, 1819, Mr. For syth, a member of the select committee, re signed bis seat in the senate, and of course was no longer a member of the committee,' amf, on the same day, a resolution was of fered in the senate proposing that another member should be added to the committee in the place of Mr. Forsyth. On this ques tion a discussion took place; and it was expressly and repeatedly stated, that the remaining members of the committee were equally divided; that, unless the vacancy was filled, no report could be made to the senate. The nature of the report to be made, and the additional evidence procur ed, was also fully disclosed: The members of the committee opposed to the repoit, particularly Mr. King, sta ted to the senate that his object was that the committee should be discharged; and, that the senate’s refusing tc add another member "TS the committee would be e- quivalent to discharging the committee, and with this understanding, to try the principle, and take the sense of the senate in discharging the committee, Mr. Eaton moved the postponement ot the resolution before thesenate to a day beyond the ses sion, anil on this question the yeas and nays- were called; IS members \7ting in favor of the postponement, and 21 against it.f Thus it appears that the select commit tee of the senate was appointed by the unanimous voice of that body; that they were with the same unanimity vested with powers to send for persons and papers, and specially instructed to mako the investi gation; and that, after the investigation had been made, the facts disclosed, anr the substance ol the report, ihen prepared were made known to (he senate. That body, by a strong majority, refus cd to release them, and held them to ; discharge of their duty: so that it is not the committee alone, but the senate of the United States, that should be considered, as they really are, responsible for this transaction, not, fortunately, to a military chieftair or subalterns in the army but to the American people. m It is not tke fact, as stated by the author of the strictures, that gen. Jackson was charged in the report, with acting from mercenary motives and views of specula tion in Florida lands. No such charge was made; neither can such a charge be fairly inferred from any part ot the re port. The words selected by the writer, and which arc tortured into such a charge, are these: “The tendency of these measures “of the coinmaoding general seems to have “been to involve the nation in a war with “out her consent, and for reasons of hi “own unconnected with his military lunc tions.” In these observations there is no chargi of the nature complained of, cither expres se<i or implied, nor was any such designed and it must have been extreme sensibility on this subject that could have induced tne author to have drawn such an infer ence. The plain and obvious meaning of these words are, that gen. Jackson, as a military officer, had no right to judge of what tvas cause ol war with a neutral, and his attempting to-reason and act on this subject was an unsurpation ot the civil powers of the government, and, of course unconnected with his military fuoc tions. But, since so much anxiety has been discovered on this branch of the subject, and so much pains taken to refute a charge never made on gen. Jackson, but by the author of the strictures, it may not be amis to slate, that, had the committee been dis posed to receive amf give credit to such hearsay evidence as thaton which Arhnth- not was hung, there might have been more necessity for the elaborate defence set up on this point. And thug it must be seen, notwithstan ding what is said in the strictures, that the committee were disposed to deal, not on ly with fuirness, but with tenderness, to wards gen. Jackson. He was heard by his staff; his bosom friends, and the metn- oers cf his own family, were selected as the witnesses; and, when a call was .made in writing on the secretary of war, for inform ation, it was sent to gen. Jackson, and the enquiries made by the committee were an swered by him; and he goes at large into the reasons that induced him to occupy Pensacola. This letter of gen. Jackson’s was received and considered by the com mittee, and will be found among the docu ments accompanying their report- 'lints, it must appear, to every unprejudiced mind, that gen-Jackson had not only an opportunity of being heard before the com-: milter, and of furnishing all the documents inhis possession but that the committee were anxious, as well on his account as on ac- count of the character of the cation, to t-b tain evidence in justification of bis con duct. It now becomes necessary to take some notice of the deposition of col. Butler an nexed to the strictures. Thts gentleman was examined before the committee, and his testimony was taken down by Mr Burrili, a member, and afterwards read to t 'iim,aod!ie assented to it as written.-— A fter which on a subsequent day, trhen ,iVne other witnesses were examined, it app eared theie was a material variance, on a, particular fact, between theirevidence and t'iat of col. Butler; and it was men- tionea to *Ir. Katon, by the chairman, that the- probability was, that the colonel has beev mistaken as to tliat fact, and ad vised hia.: to mention the circumstance to niin.that >if, on reflection, he should think- ue.had fall’-n into an error, he might be. .iblr to coa« c * *t. This information was riven to col. Butler, as Mr. Eaton after wards stated, ar.d tlie colonel sent word, by Mr. Eaton, that he had, on reflection, discovered bis mistake, and desired the fSee the annexed extract from the journal* of the Beats. committee to alter Vis deposition; tut Mr. Eaton was requested to inform the colo nel that he most attend to it himself; that it coold net be done id his absence, and on the suggestion of another person. It i* true that Mr. Burrili did state to the officer examined, that he would write out his deposition in a fairer hand, and he would be called upon to sign it But it is a fact equally true, and which should have been stated in col. Butler’s last de position, that those officers left the city be fore time was given for the depositions to be made out, and remained absent until near the close of the session, ami after the report and documents were printed. It was not to have been expected that, after the fairness, as well as the kindness, of the committee towards col. Butler, as it re garded his testimony, tltat. he would, on his oath, afterwards have indulged him self in any reflections on that committee; more especially when it is considered (if the strictures be true, and it is believed they were written under his eye) that be was mistaken in another fact that was stated by him—that of the governor of Ten nessee being iu Nashville when gen. Jack- son called out and organized the volun teers. There is rio disposition felt to in jure the feelings of col. Butler, bj^t ha should liat have invited discussion on a subject ofsuch delicacy to himself. But, to silence for ever all clamour oil the subject ol the depositions, and to re move every doubt from the minds of the most suspicious, they are referred to the original depositions themselves, on file ia the office of the secretary of the senate, and in. the very words used by them, and written by Mr. Burrili, and examined and approved by the wilmsses themselves.— And, if the trouble be taken to compare the original depositions with the printed copies, it will be found that not a single alteration was made but those of a verbal nature, except in tke deposition of gen. Gibson, in two paragraphs, which were made by himself, and at his own request, ^d with his own hand, in the presence of >tr. Burrili and the chairman, and after his deposition was in the hands of the prin ter. Having already observed that gen. Gtbaoa hud made some alteration in hisfirst depos ition, it is necessary, for a correct knowl edge and explanation of this subject, to refer to his second deposition, as it appear ed in the Intelligencer of the 10th March. In this it is stated, that Mr. Burrili and the chairman had refused to let him add to his statement two fetters that he con sidered ttecessury to illustrate the subject. It is true that gen. Gibson was told, that he might strike out what he thought prop er from the deposition, but he could not add any new facts; for that could only be dene by a majority of a committee when authorized to call for and examine witnes ses; that the committee on the subject of the Scminolg war, having made their rc^ port, was out of existence, and no powef: remained with those members who had composed that committee more than anf others of the senate. Gen. Gibson then stated, that “he had given the letters in question to Mr. Eaton, of the committee^ some considerable time before, and reques ted him to lay them before the committee and have them attached to his deposition. 1 * —General Gibson was then inform* ed that “no such letters had been, put in possession of the committee by Mr- Eatou.” This conversation took place in the secretary’s office, while the senate, was in session, On my return to the se nate chamber, Mr. Eaton was asked by •ne, privately, whether or not such letters, had been received by him from general Gibson; he said, "they had and he had not thought proper to lay them before ths committee.” All those facts relative to the letters were afterwa rds stated by me, . in uty place, when tlie senate was in ses sion; and Mr. Eaton was called upon te stale whether he had not received socb letters and withheld them from the com mittee; and he stated to the senate that he had, and that be never had submitted them to the committee. Thus it will ap pear, that, so far from refusing to admit the introduction of those papers into tbe statement of general Gibson, the commit tee never knew of their existence until after the report was made. It is but fair tu observe that general Gibson has been long known to me, and no one is more willing to subscribe to hid correctness a* an officer, and private worth as a man; and it is.confidently believed, that, when con vinced of the fact, that he has charged the committee with an impropriety of conduct, that, if improper, can but attach to a single member, he will rejoice at hav ing xn opportunity of correcting the error- in a postscript to the strictures, it is v stated thatgeu. Jackson told a member-*! the committee that he w as willing to go A before them and disclose all thedocikpienta in his possession. ^ If general Jackson did say this to a member, it must have been designed as an insult to the committee and to the senate: he must have considered that body in the light of subalterns in tke--&rniy, and he therefore.condescends to teB- them that he is willing lo appear before their com mittee. That committee wa9 vested by the sen-it ate with lull power to call every officer in the government before them, and it was not necessary for the general to hsve giv en this evidence of his great condescen sion, to have putthem in mind of the ex tent of their powers, or thtir obligations of dutytto the senate. The reasons for dot calling genera}. Jackson before the committee, were of a different character, arising from the pecu liar situation in wich he officially Stood, and bis connection with the subject of en- quiry.^ But, if the general was Willing to disclose other documents to the commit tee, why were not tho»e documents trans mitted to the executive department of the government and filed in’the war office, , from which tliey might have been obtain ed; or, are we left to presume that gene- e al JasSwou is IA po»»$sign cjf facts cf t ^
