Newspaper Page Text
ness and vigor ho tore away the harriers
which unnumbered generations had looked
upon as sacred, and with what boldness he
brought forward new schemes for the con
trol of tumultuous people. In the face of
all the reverence for kings and kingly power
which was felt at that day, ‘ 1 would as soon,’
cried Cromwell, * put my sword through the
heart of a king, as that of any other man.’
He wasa staunch Presbyterian, and could
not brook the least approach to Popery.—
In one of his journies, he stopped at York- j
minster. ‘ What are these !’ inquired he, j
as he saw a dozen silver statutes in the !
niches of the chapter house—'what are
these V
‘The twelve apostles,’ answered the trem
bling deati.
‘Take them down, and coin them into
money,’ replied Cromwell, ‘ that they may
go about doing good, like their Master.’
Hints to Men of Business. —Superintend
in person as much of your business nsprac
tibable, and observe with a watchful eye,
the management of what is necessarily com
mitted to the agency of others.
Never lose sight of the powerful influence
of example, and be careful in the manage
ment gs your concerns to recommend hy
your own personal practice, uniform habits
of active, interested and persevering dili
gence to those in your instruction and to
your agents, and let it he understood by
them that you expect they will execute the
eame in strict conformity thereto.
Let no common amusements interfere or
mingle with your business; make entirely
distinct employments.
Despatch at once, if possible, whatever
you may take in hand ; if interrupted by un
avoidable interference, resume and finish it
as soon as the obstruction is removed.
Beware of self indulgence ; no business
can possibly thrive under its influence.
Do not assume to yourself more credit
for what you do, than you are entitled to:
. rather be content with a little less : the pub
lic mind will also discover where merit is
due.
Familiarize yourself with your hooks,
keep them accurately, and frequently inves
tigate and adjust their contents. This is an
important item.
Cultivate domestic habits; for this your
family, if you have one, has a strong and un
deniable claim; besides, your customers
will always be best pleased when they find
you at home, or at the place of your business.
Never let harry or confusion distract your
mind.
Under the influence of such habits as
these, with a suitable dependence on Prov
idence for a blessing on the labor of your
hands, you will have a good foundation to
lest your hope upon, for success in whatev
er business you may be employed in.
A Newspaper. —A newspaper! It is the
cradle of genius—rhe record of truth.—
Wood cut engravings adorn it and the muses
smile graciously upon it. A newspaper !
A city newspaper is a picture of the world.
Cast thine eyes over its grim pages; like
that, all is confusion and bustle—each one
pushing forward to attract attention hy arts
no matter how trivial. Little ships and big
ships; steamboats with their roaring wheels
and black smoke, whiz past us; rail cars,
post coaches and post boys; boxes of tea
and barrels of cognac; Franklin gridirons
and Lafayette bedsteads ; strayed animals
and found animals, all are mingled together.
“ Money,” cries the lottery office. “Fire!”
crie3 the insurance company. Strange that
between both, men cannot get money am!
keep it. Some applicants for public notice
are very modest in their approaches, only
soliciting favor as long as they deserve it,
others are not aware of then’ claims on pub
lic gratitude, and surely some are prompted
by the spirit of philanthropy. The same
diversified scene! in one column a fire, in
the next a successful speculation. Here a
man eats himself to death, there a child starv
ing ; the widow solicits a pittance and the
*-ih man i/fleis a loan ; the register of death
numbers the old, the middle aged, and the
young. Matrimony ! ah, the list is gene
rally long and appalling. Notice ; alas, some
Jonathan close at hand, advertising his re
fractory rib; what is the matter with thy
wife, friend 1 is thy steak cooked too much,
or are thy potatoes burnt up, or thy door
locked at 12, P. M., and thou on the out
side, or did she love gadding about ? She
must be a mild creature, for she m ikes no
angry retort. A newspaper. It makes one
love this little round ball of earth. All the
ships are well built copper bottom and fast
sailing; the houses in good repair—exten
sive out grounds, delightfully situated ; no
lime bleached linens or damaged cambrics;
no mouldy almonds or musty oranges or
sour raisins, inadeira wine and Spanish ci
gars, are all the trans Atlantic origin. In
short every thing comes from its proper
place. Human beings, 100, seem to be ve
ry social, so many partnerships. Some
times indeed, we find some little soul armed
with a patent right, elbowing his way through
the crowd, threatening “chains and slavery”
to all who dare invade his proper sphere:
but generally men seem to have coupled
themselves together in loving fellowship.
Much as our world has been abused by mis
anthropes and despised by poets, we doubt
whether they would find in the clouds any
thing half so convenient. Why here is ev
ery thing theatres, circuses, rope dancers,
and singers, gardens, and gunpowder; doc
tors for the sick, teeth for the toothless, wigs
for the bald, braces for the ill-shaped, rouge
for the pale, and white lead for the rosy.
It is indeed a bright and beautiful world,
and we pray, gentle reader, that thou may
estbe preserved from the spirit of love and
poetry, only read thy newspaper punctually,
and it will always appear to thee bright and
beautiful.
Tartar on the Teeth. —M. Le Bauem lias
ascertained, that washing the teeth with
vinegar and a brush will, in a few days, says
the Medical Times, remove the tartar; thus
obviating the necessity of filing or scraping
them, which so often injures the enamale.
He recommends the use of powdered char
coal and tincture of'rhatany afterwards,-,
which effectually, in his opinion, prevents
its information.
A Duel prevented. —We have seen, with
! regret, for a long time, a violent and increas
ing personal quarrel between the editors of
the Richmond Whig and Enquirer. The
contest had recently assumed a character
which called for its adjustment in some way
or other, and we were not therefore surpris
ed to hear that a duel had been arranged
1 between Mr. J. H. Pleasant, the editor of
the Whig, and Mr. W. F. Ritchie, the son
of the editor of the Enquirer. Mr. Ritchie,
it is said was the challenger, and the terms
were twenty-five paces, fowling pieces load
ed with twelve buckshot each; the guns to
be laid at the feet of the combatants, and at
the word “fire,” each was to seize his gun
and fire within the time “three.” Satur
day morning was the time fixed.
The proper interference of friends on
Friday night prevented the hostile meeting,
and the Richmond papers of yesterday con
tain the following card :
The undersigned have seen with deep re
gret the editorial controversy between Thos.
Ritchie and J. H. Pleasants, Esq’rs. and
with still more pain have learned, (not from
the principals or their seconds) that a per
sonal conflict between W. F. Ritchie, Esq.,
and Mr. Pleasants is likely to grow out of it
—and believing that it may be avoided, and
the controversy healed without compromit
ting the honor of either gentlemen, we come
forward, voluntarily, and tender our medita
tion between them. The article of Mr.
Pleasants of the 17th day of January, 1843,
headed “ The Enquirer,” was called forth
by that of Mr. Ritchie of the 14th day of the
same month, and we are satisfied was the
result of a misconception hy Mr. P. of the
latter article. That article, we are satisfi
ed, was not intended in any manner to re
flect upon the personal courage of Mr.
Pleasants, or to invade his private character
but had reference to the editorial ’bout be
tween those gentlemen, and to the editorial
and political coarse of Mr. P.; and so be
lieving, we regard the article of Mr. Pleas
ants as unjustified, though we believe that
the implied challenge to the family of Mr.
Ritchie, proceeded from a generous motive,
viz.: to announce the personal liability of
Pleasants if called on ; without hostility to
the members of the family embraced in it.
If our views be correct, and are so admitted
by Mr. Ritchie and Mr. Pleasants so declar
ing, Pleasants shall retract his article of the
17th of January, and that Mr. W. F. Ritchie
withdraw his challenge which has been ac
cepted by Mr. Pleasants, and those gentle
men restored to their former relations.
J. W. PEGRAM,
JAMES LYONS.
January 21, 1843.
We acknowledge the correctness of the
above views, and accepting the proffered
meditation, respectively accede to the pro
posals made.
THOMAS RITCHIE.
JOHN 11. PLEASANTS.
WM. F. RITCHIE.
General Pegram was authorized by Mr.
W. F. Ritchie’s second, in case Mr. Pleas
ants’ second acceded to the above settle
ment, to withdraw Mr. W. F. ll’s. challenge.
Baltimore Patriot.
Important News. —The item of intelli
gence of the most importance which we re
ceived by the Northern mail of last night is
the following;
“ The Time Prolonged. —lt is understood
that Miller and his associates have recently
carefully reviewed the calculation upon
which they found the prophecy of the near
approach of the end of the world, when an
error was discovered, in the footing of one of
the columns of one thousand, years. This is a
very important discovery just now It will
dispel the uneasiness about so sudden a go
off - , and give promise that we are yet to wit
ness the filling of many a bubble, and real
ize the enjoyment of many a panic before
the end of all tilings. The “ ascension
robes” with which many of the Millerites
on Long Island had provided themselves,
are not likely to be wanted.” — Journal of
Commerce.
The Presbyterians, fold school.) —We
learn from the Presbyterian Almanac, for
1843, that there are attached to this branch
of tiie Presbyterians, 1399 ministers, 140,-
403 communicants (exclusive of 4 Presby
teries not reported,) ami 2025 churches.
The Methodists. —The members of the
Methodist Church in Boston have more than
quadrupled in the last fifteen years—more
than trebled with the last ten years—and
more than doubled within the last five years.
The Baptists. —According to the table in
the Baptist Almanac fur lS43t, there are, in
the United Slates and British Provinces
611,022 members of the Baptist Church, 5,-
398 ministers, and 8,383 churches. Adding
the more recent accession, the whole num
ber of communicants is estimated at 700,-
000.
“ What is Happiness ?" —Let man have
all the world can give him, he is still miser
able if he has a’ grovelling, undevoted mind.
Let him have his gardens, his fields, his
woods, his lawns, for grandeur, plenty, or
nament and gratification ; while at the same
time God is not in all his thoughts. And
let another have neither field nor garden, let
him only look at nature with an enlightened
mind—a mind which can see and adore the
Creator in all his works—can consider them
as demonstrations of his power, his wisdom,
his goodness, and his truth; —this man is
greater, as well as happier, in his poverty
than the other in his riches. The one a little
higher than a beast—the other a little lower
than an angel.
Water running up Hill. —Dr. Smith, in a
reepnf lecture on geology, at New York,
mentioned a curious circumstance connec
ted with the Mississippi river. It runs from
north to south, and its mouth is actually four
miles higher than its source, a result due to
the centrifugal motion of the earth. Thir
teen miles is the difference between the
equatorial and polar r adius ; and the river
in 2,000 miles has to rise one-third of this
distance, it being the height of the equator
above the pole. If this centrifugal force
were not continued, the rivers would flow
• back, and the ocean would overflow the
land.
B<DIBU'33IB St St filllS(DlßlLlbillt'Sr
Latefrom England. —We have the news
brought hy the Caledonia, to the 4th ultimo,
from Liverpool.
There was no further news from China-
Parliament is to meet on the 2nd of Fe
bruary. Sir Robert Peel, it is expected,
will introduce a salutary and wholesome al
teration of the restrictions hy which trade
is fettered.
The President’s annual message had been
received in England and France. It has
been severely handled by some of the Eng
lish, ami praised by the French papers.—
The English editors would have praised the
message if rite President had recommended
the assumption of State debts by the gene
lal government.
The formal occupation of the Marquesas
Islands hy the French had been officially
announced in the Paris Monteur. The
French admiral had hoisted the standard of
France on two groups, the Marquesas and
Washington.
The Barcelona insurrection appears to
have been entirely put down.
Austria and the United States. —There is
every reason to believe that a commercial
treaty will shortly be concluded, between
the Austrian Government and the United
States of North America. The negjut'ia
tions between Prince Metternieh and the
American Ambassador, Mr. Jenifer, are so
far advanced that no doubt can he enter
tained of their speedy conclusion. Upon
this the editor of the Hamburg Neuc Zei
tung remarks, that as a treaty between North
America and Austria has been many years
existing, the treaty here alluded to must be
merely a supplementary one.
On the other hand, the negotiations in Ber
lin for a similar treaty cannot proceed very
speedily. Mr. Wheaton, who is unquestion
ably the most able of all the American di
plomatists in Europe, lias made great efforts
to push the business forwaid, but without
much success. Independently of other im
pediments, the lingering and circumstantial
nature of the proceedings of the Zollver
ein tends to retard such negotiations. But
the example of Austria cannot fail to leave
a favorable influence.— Neue Zcitung.
— .4 . itY . A N.
The. Tailor and Dean Swift. —A Tailor
in Dublin near the residence of Dean, took
it into the “ ninth part” of his head, that he
was specially the hook of Revelation, (flirt
ing the shop hoard, he turned out a preach
er, or rather a prophet, until his customeis
had left his shop, and his family was likely
to famish. His monomania was well knoWn
to Dean Swift, who benevolently watched
for some convenient opportunity to turn the
current of his thoughts. One night the tai
lor, as he fancied, got especial revelation to
go and convert Dean Swift, and next morn
ing took up the line of march to the deane
ry. The Dean, whose study was furnished
with a glass door, saw the tailor approach,
and instantly surmised the nature of his er
rand. Throwing himself into an attitude
of solemnity and thoughtfulness, with the
Bible open before him, and his eye fixed on
the 10th chapter of Revelation, he tfwaited
his approach. The door opened', and . the
tailor announced in an unearthly voice the
message—“ Dean Swift, lam sent by the
Almighty to announce to you” “ Come
in, my friend,” said Dean, “ I am in great
trouble, and no doubt the good Lord has
sent you to help me out of difficulty.”
This unexpected welcome inspired the
tailor, and strengthened greatly his assur
ance in his own prophetical character, and
disposed him to listen to the disclosure.—
“ My friend,” said the Dean, “ 1 have just
been reading in the tenth chapter of Reve
lation, and am greatly distressed at a diffi
culty I have met with, and you are the ve
ry man sent to help me out. Here is an ac
count of an Angel that came down from
Heaven, who was so large that he placed
one foot on the sea, and the other on the
earth, and lifted his hands to heaven. Now
my knowledge of mathematics,” continued
the Dean, “ lias enabled me to calculate ex
actly the size and form of this Angel, but ]
am in great difficulty, for I wish to ascertain
how much cloth it will take to make him a
pair of breeches, and as that is exactly in
your line of business, I have no doubt the
Lord has sent you to show me.” This ex
position came like an electric shock to the
tailor—he rushed from the house, ran to his
shop, and a sudden revulsion of thought and
feeling came over him. Making breeches
was exactly in his line of business. He re
turned to his occupation thoroughly cured
of his prophetical revelations by the wit of
the Dean.
The Sil/omcter. —This is an instrument
designed to indicate the number of miles
that a vessel gains per hour. It shows
therefore the effect which every alteration
in the sails or trim of the-ship has on its ve
locity. Consequently it enables vessels fit
ted with it to maintain the speed agreed up
on in order to keep company together, and
the same relative position, when owing, to
darkness or fog, they cannot see each other.
Experiments made at Gravesend, on
board of 11. M. steamer Lightning, have
demonstrated the efficacy of the instrument.
N. Y. Jour. Com.
Confidence. —There is something very
winning and endearing in confidence. —
Who could take away the life of a bird that
fled to his bosom from the pounce of the
hawk] Or, who would take advantage of
having him in his hand, to deprive the little
trembler even of his liberty? Nothing is
ever lost by trusting in the ingenious and
noble mind : they always feel a responsi
bility to repay the confidence in them—
What, then, may vve not expect from the God
of all comfort ? William Jay. >
Confidence in the Captain. — The steam
boat Neptune lately struck a snag in the
Mississippi, and being in a sinking condi
tion, the Captain rushed into the cabin, ex
claiming, “ Gentlemen, by heavens, the boat
will be under in five minutes.” Some fel
low engaged in rolling out a box of specie,
roared out in imploring tones, “ Good gra
cious, Captain, can't, you give us ten t”
“ There’s no knowing; what might hap
pen !” as the old maid said when she bought
the gold fringed garters !
Pretty Good. —The celebrated Mrs. Rob
inson had written a poem entitled “ Sappho
and Phaon.” Anxious, as all literary la- 1
dies are, to have their charming effusions I
put favorably before the world, Mrs. R.
wrote a confidential note to a leading news
paper in London in which she said—■
“ Dear Sir : l)o let me have a few puff’s
for Sappho and Phaon.
Yours, M. R.”
The note was dispatched to the office in
the Strand. Close by the printers, a popu
lar pastry-cook, named Boaben, to whom
by seeing the name over the door, Mrs. R’s
man took the note ; to which she received
this answer;
“ J Boaben’s respects to Mrs. Robinson ;
having sent so late, all the puff’s are gone; but
he forwards a dozen gooseberry tarts, which
he hopes will do for the young ladies as
well.”
A Dutchman once wanted to wed a wi
dow, and his manner of making known his
intention was as follows : “ If yon ish con
tent to get better for worse, to be happy for
miserable ; and if you smokes and drinks
ale, I shall take you for no better, and much
worse.” T T pon which the lady said, “yaw.”
©mD©o M A L-
For the “Southern Miscellany.”
EULOGY
On the Life, -public Sendees and Death of
Han. John Forsyth. Delivered before the
Athens Independent Lyceum.
Scarce had tiie people of the United
States recovered from the shock occasioned
by the death of General Harrison, when
again the fountains of sorrow were broken
up, and they were called to mourn the exit
from life’s stage, of Georgia’s noblest son.
When the sapling is bowed by the force of
the storm, we heed it not, but if the electric
fluid shatter the gnarled oak whose foliage
has sheltered us from sun and storm, we
feel we are indeed bereaved. So when
common men die, the crowd follow them to
their grave, as a mark of respect to surviv
ing kindled ; bat when the knell sounded
that John Forsyth was no more, it found a
silent echo in a nation’s tears, fit requieum
for departed greatness.
In speaking of the merits due to such a
man, we must lay aside, as much as possi
ble, his character, as the organ of a party,
and view him in the light of a patriot and
statesman. To him belongs the claim of
having vindicated our national honor, when
it was jeopatdized in a foreign court —of
having stepped bravely in the breach, and
prevented the haughty Spaniard from dis
honoring the American name. Indepen
dent of his life, a series of acts for his coun
try’s welfure ; this one act alone is enough
to give him a place in the hearts of his coun
trymen.
To form a just estimate of the length of
time in which John Forsyth was the servant
of the United States, we must look at the
condition of our country when lie entered
on public life, and compare it with the
mighty change, which has taken place since
that time to the day tis his death. When
this is done, it will be seen that it must have
required many years to effect such an alter
ation ; notwithstanding our country is cele
brated for the disproportion in shortness of
time occupied to great effects produced.
In ISO3 John Forsyth first entered on his
duties, as Attorney General of Georgia. At
this period our State was glorying in its ab
original forests ; while only here and there
the clearing and the cabin ofa settler mark
ed the advance of civilization. The simple
sons of the forest then roamed these hills in
all their stately majesty of form, and knew
not what it was to see another race supplant
and drive them from their ancestral homes.
How different a prospect does 1542 present!
The forests melted away, the humble hut
of the squatter giving place to the planter’s
magnificent dwellings, many of which now
•stand among us decaying and crumbling to
ruins, while here and there a red knoll sur
mounted by a skeleton pine, attests the blind
devotion of the people to cotton, the god of
their idolary. And of all the race that once
made the forest seem alive, not one remains
to claim a burial ground among us. Du
ring the time required to produce this trans
formation, John Forsyth was the uncorrupt
ible servant ofa free people. This illustri
ous statesman was born at Fredricksbtug,
Virginia, in October, 1781. \\ idle yet an
infant, bis father removed to South Caroli
na, and subsequently Georgia claimed him
as a citizen, when in the year 1755, we find
him a resident of Augusta. When the Fed
eral Government was organized, President
Washington conferred on him the office of
Marshal of the district. Having held it for
several years, he came to a violent death in
the execution of its duties. The circum
stances attendant on his death were so hon
orable to his intrepidity and firmness, that
Congress saw fit to pass an act for the relief
of his widow and children, by a pecuniary
appropriation. His son, the future Govern
or of the State, received the rudiments of
his education at a classical school in Wilkes
County, which district from its devotion to
the patriotic cause, obtained from the tories
the highly humorous appellation of the
“ Hornet’s Nest.” His instructor, Mr.
Springer, was a clergyman of considerable
attainments and eminent for his piety. Leav
ing this place he entered Princeton College
in 1795, and in 1799 graduated. He then
entered the law office of Mr. Anderson at
Augusta, and in 1802 he commenced prac
tice. In a short time, appointed Attorney
General of the State, he rapidly rose to dis
tinction as a professional and public man.—
The land commissioners committing a fraud
in the sale of fractions, gave him an oppor
tunity of exercising his abilities and placed
him in such a favorable light before the peo
ple that in the election for Representatives
to Congress in 1812, upon offering himself
he was elected by a considerable majority.
On the twenty-fourth of May, 1813, we
find Mr. Forsyth taking his seat at the com
mencement of the first session of the thir
teenth Congress. Tlte administration of
President Madison received from him an ef
ficient support as a member of the select
committee appointed to enquire into the
spirit and manner in which hostilities were
waged hv Great Britain, taking no part how-
ever, in the debates of this unusual session.
The able report of the committee at the end
of the session, was understood to proceed
from his pen. At the following session,with
a single exception, he maintained the same
silence, a remarkable course when we con
sider the promptness afterwards displayed,
and the leading, and conspicuous position
he has since occupied in the legislative
councils.
The first occasion on which his talents, as
a debater shone forth, was in support ofa
bill to authorize the loan of twenty-five mil
lions which had been reported by the com
mittee of Ways and Means, on the first of
February, 1814, as a measure essential to
the prosecution of the loan, and which after
a long and exciting debate passed the House
on the third of March following. The Re
port of his speech shows that it was an in
dignant answer to those of the opposition
which arraigned in unmeasured terms the
whole justice, conduct and policy of the war,
and at once placed Mr. Forsyth high in the
estimation of the Congtess and people of
the United States. We must now pass over
many of his acts —as being 100 much ofa
party nature —when we arrive at the peri
od in which he was chairman of the com
mittee of Foreign Relations and advocated
at the close of the war with Great Brittain,
the adoption of vigorous measures to pun
ish the outrages on the official Representa
tives and citizens of the United States by
the Dey of Algiers. He displayed his usu
al energy in the debate, and a bill was pass
ed granting adequate power to the Presi
dent. This led to a gallant enterprise on
the part of our navy and an immediate ad
justment of the difficulties.
Early in the second session of the four
teenth Congress it was perceived that diffi
culties would arise from the manner in which
much of the stock of the National Bank bad
been subscribed. It was understood that a
large portion of the instalments payable by
the terms of the charter in coin, was in fact
paid by the proceeds of notes discounted by
the Bank itself on a pledge of stock. Mr.
Forsyth called the attention of the House
to the subject and urged an inquiry as well
as the adoption of measures to check the
proceeding in the outset, and he followed it
a few days afterwards by a resolution di
recting a withdrawal of the public deposites
if this did not take place. His suggestions
were not adopted, had they been at that
time, it may be reasonably averred that
many if not all the difficulties which called
for the interposition of Congress two years
afterwards would have been avoided. A
mong the useful measures he urged upon
the House at this session was a bill for the
relief ofdistressed American seamen in for
eign ports ; another to strengthen the re
sources for naval warfare by requiring the
employment of a certain number of boys on
board of every merchant vessel, and a third
growing out of the unrestrained system of
privateering practised under color of South
American flags which laid the foundation of
the existing laws to prevent the arming or
selling vessels of war to belligerent nations.
On the twenty-third of November 1818,
Mr. Forsyth resigned his seal in the House
of Representatives, and took his place in tiie
Senate of the United Slates to which he had
been recently elected. Although he re
mained in this body less than three months,
yet he participated largely in the debates
and business. A report has been preserv
ed of only one of his speeches. It was on
the resolution proposing an amendment to
the constitution by which each State was to
he divided into districts embracing a popu
lation as nearly equal as might he for the
purpose of choosing a Representative to
Congress and an election of the Chief Mag
istrate. This resolution was opposed by
Mr. Forsyth because it connected, contrary
to the spirit of the Constitution, the Nation
al Legislature and Executive, besides con
trolling the States in the exercise of their
own legitimate influence in the Federal
Government, and magnifying the chances of
an election of the President by a minority
of the popular votes of the United States.
This resolution passed the Senate but was
not adopted by the House.
We come now to the period when the di
plomatic firmness of Mr. Forsyth was to be
tried by a severe test. In the winter of
1818, the negotiation between the United
Stales and Spain for the settlement of exist
ing differences and the cession of the Flori
das was actively prosecuted at Washington-,
and on the fifteenth of February 1819, the
project of a treaty having been definitively
arranged, the President determined to send
a minister immediately to Madrid. In ac
cordance with this determination, Mr. For
syth was nominated by the Senate and cho
sen. On the twenty-fourth the treaty was
ratified, and the time for the exchange of
ratifications being limited to six mouths it
wa3 necessary for him to proceed to Spain
without delay. On his arrival there instead
of the speedy settlement of the treaty, he
met with only embarrassment and refusal.
An angry controversy was the consequence,
which was prolonged until October, 1820,
and it was not until a revolution and the or
ganization of the Cortez by the change that
the treaty was transmitted to the United
States. The point at issue may be very
easily understood. The offer to cede Flor
ida to the United States was made by Don
Louis De Onis at Washington on the twen
ty-fourth of January 1818. His instructions
to this effect could not have been of a later
date than sometime in the proceeding No
vember. An important feature of the trea
ty was that in consideration of the cession
of the Floridas, the United States should as
sume the settlement of claims to a large
amount which her citizens held on Spain,
the justice of which had been acknowledg
ed as far back as 1804. In the winter of
ISI7, some of the favorite courtiers of the
Spanish king petitioned their master for
grants of these same Florida lands, and in
the months of February and April most
enormous giants comprising the greaterpart
of the whole weie made to the Duke of Al
agon, Count Punon Rostro, and Senor Var
gas. These became known abroad only
through general rumor. The treaty was
signed on the twenty-second February 1819,
by the plenipotentiaries at Washington, and
was ratified on our part on the twenty-fourth
of the same month. Its eighth article de
clared all grants of land in the Floridas sub-
sequent to the date of twenty-fourth of J an
uary 1818, null and void. A rumor having
become current at Washington lhatthe three
grants above referred to were of the twen
ty-third January, thus evading the impor
tant stipulation of the eighth article, the
Secretary of State, Mr. Adams, applied to
Don Onis to know whether there had not
been a full and distinct understanding
throughout the negotiations that those thref
particular grants were expressly excluded
by the eighth article as having been of sub
sequent date to the tw-enty-fourth January
The Spanish ambassador did not hesitate in
his reply to assent unequivocally to this un
derstanding. Mr. Forsyth was instructed
in presenting the treaty for ratification to
make an explicit written statement of thi
understanding in relation to the three grants
of A1 agon, Punon Rostro and Vargas. Oj,
the eighteenth of May, Mr. Forsyth at Mad
rid requested that the exchange of ratifies
tions might take place, as eavly'as conven
ient, as a vessel of war was waiting at Cadiz
to carry the ratified treaty hack. It was
not till after a month that he received the
reply that his Majesty “ was under the in
dispensable necessity of examining it with
the greatest caution and deliberation besom
lie proceeded to ratify it.” It was here ex.’
ident that they did not intend to ratify the
treaty, but to play off on the United States
the solemn farce of Spanish diplomacy with
the view to evade entirely the promise of
its plighted faith. The reply of the Amer
ican minister proved that lie could not hut
be aware of the manner in which they wish
ed to blind him until they could effect their
purpose; and showed the Spanish court
that, as the Representative of the American
people, he intended to preserve their rights
inviolable. The following, from his letter
to their Government is a specimen of this
great man’s mind :
“ Among the subjects of Spain, those who
best know the integrity of the King and the
purity of his councils, it is asserted, that an
act required by the policy of this govern
ment, essential to the interests of this king
dom and demanded by the honor of the
King will not be performed. Yes, sir, the
King is calumniated in his very capital by a
most unjust surmise, that there will be a re
fusal to do that which the reputation of
Spain requires—that which Spain dare not
refuse to do. Your excellency will not un
derstand this as threatening His Majesty’s
Government with the consequences which
might ensue from the resentment of the
United States if it were possible for Spain
to act in this business with bad faith.—
Threats are used by conscious weakness
not by conscious strength. I know’ too well
the abundant resources, theexpanding pow
er, the youthful vigor of my country to de
grade her character by using language un
worthy of it; if not by my respect for Spain,
I should be prevented by the fear of the de
seived resentment of my own country. I
should not he easily forgiven for condescend
ing to say bow she would punish an act of
perfidy.”
The English and Russian Ministers in
terfered in the negotiation to induce the
Spanish court to comply with the stipula
tions of the treaty; but could effect nothing.
The latter of whom remarked to Mr. For
syth that there was “ no reasoning with ig
norance and presumption.” It was intend
ed by Spain to induce the United Stales not
to recognize the independence of the South
Ameiican Republic. After evasion on the
part of Spain the treaty was finally ratified
through the influence of Mr. Forsyth on the
fifteenth of October 1820. It would be in
justice to Mr. Forsyth, did we not (petition
that notwithstanding the severity which
marked the correspondence and the relation
in which it placed him, few Americans have
left behind them in Spain, a more agreeable
personal impression than himself.
In 1523 lie again took his seat in Con
gress as Chairman of the committee of For
eign affairs,which responsible station he fill
ed as long as he remained in the House.
While in this situation, ho vindicated the
right of Georgia to exercise authority over
the residents within her own limits and re
sisted the notion that the spirit of the con
stitution intended to permit the independent
existence of a savage tribe in the heart of
one of the States of the Union ; not partici
pating in its institutions, nor amenable to
any of its laws.
Being elected in October 1827, Governor
of G eorgia, he was called on by his official
position to sustain on behalf of the State the
ground he had taken in Congress relative to
the Indian question, and it formed the most
prominent and important subject of his ex
ecutive duties. It will be doubted by no
one that the plan pursued was the best that
could have been chosen, preserving as it
does the faith of the Federal Government
towards one of its members as pledged
twenty years before, and substituting for
an unnatural and uncertain relation between
civilized and savage communities, a seper
ate existence equally conducive to the pros
perity of both. After filling the honorable
post of Governor for two years, Mr. For
syth again returned to Washington. He
was elected in the fall of 1829 as the suc
cessor of Mr. Berrien in the Senate of the
United States. That office was filled by
him until the summer of 1834. In the dis
cussions relative to the Tariff’, he strongly
advocated the reduction of the revenue to
the absolute wants of the Government, de
nying the principle of protection and seek
ing to adopt such measures as would pre
vent the accumulation of a surplus revenue
in the Treasury.
On the resignation of Mr. McLane as Se
cretary of State,in the summer of 1834, Mr.
Forsyth was called to that department by
President Jackson. He filled it during the
residue of his executive term, and contin
ued to hold it under his successor. While
lie held this office the difficulties with France
were settled in a manner justly accordant
with international justice and in every re
spect gratifying to the American people.
Os Mr. Forsyth’s talent as a debater, we
have already spoken. His manner was re
markable for ease and self possession, and
when his feelings became interested he
spoke with eloquence and fervor. The
characteristics of his state papers ai#their
brevity, a direct, candid expositition ofhis
views and a vigorous style. His thorough
acquaintance with the Legislative and po-