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DKHA I L IN IHE SEN A IE. j
fckfeVc\\ of lioifVjVW’ft I
SPEECH.
On the nomination of Mr, Van Unto i. '
[ Mr. FOKSY I K makes no npolngy for!
*lie rough sketch lie present* of (he remarks 1
made by him in the Secret Session of th* !
Senate, on the nomination of Mr. Van Bo
ren. The speeches agaiaaf a nomination!
having been, fur the first time in the history’
of this (1 ivernment, thrown upon the pen
pie, it i# due to the person assailed, that i
wlmt was suggested on the o'hcr side should |
be known. Mr, Foray th is well aware, that,
in executing his part of this duty, he has!
done justice neither to the subject nor to
himself.!
! Mr. President, that the Senator
from Mississippi, [Mr. Poindexter,] h.s
been so long absent (rum his seat, not only
because t.e has been suffering pain, but be
cause bad lie been here, he could hive es
caped the commission of numerous errors
into which he has been led. The friends of i
Mr, Van Huren have not obstructed inqui- I
rv into his conduct ; they have challenged !
investigation, offered it in every and anyji
tor tit consistent with the obligations of the]
senate to its own character. The Senator,*
trout Maine, [Mr. Holmes,] shrunk from <
tiia own resolution. It was laid aside by the; t
votes ot those opposed, contrary to (he *
votes and wishes of (he friends of those|i
friendly to the nomination. That Senator!'
was distinctly invited by one of tire Sena-!*
tors of New York, [Mr. Marcy,] tospeci-l*
fy any act dishonorable to the character of! I
Mr. Van Huron, and a pledge given that '
the inquiry into it should be made in the t
amplest manner l»y a Committee having all it
the powers necessary to the establishment l
of truth.—The Senator from Maine was dis- 1
tinclly told by (he Senator from S. Carolina,'! 1
I Mr. H.iyne,] on what terms he could com- c
jnand his vole. He was told to cover the t
ground indicated, by proof, and he would 1
join in the condemnation of the choice of *
the Picsident. T'te Senator from Maine !
dcliberaud on this i.ffT r, and, after deliber-j'
hi ion, abandoned his resolution, leaving all!*
to gr-pe their way to a conclusion, os acci-jl
dent or p- ju bce might direct them. Ajl
promise was nude, that he should have a •
Committee it he vvi-uld ven'ure upon it, and <
the cff'ei w is deliberately and most unequi
vocally declined. V i. after ail this, at '
this eleventh hour, the Senator from Missis
sippi says, if the tiien'a of Mr. Van Hu |
ren will solicit a Committee, he will give I
us whet he has collided, while confined to 1
lii>» sir.K chamber, and on which his own o- ’
pinion is formed, and if the Committee i- I
not raised, he will, with this matter in hi‘ 1
pocket, vote against the nomination, in or- 1
~ter (o preset V R Ob? morality us the na i i, I
eodanguied hy tile bestowal of a now uluc* 1 !
on a gambling politician. j
As the friend, personal and political, of j
Mr. Van Huren, I reject the liberal >'pr oil
the Senator, in d> fiance of his threatened i
negative upon the nomination. Lot hml
unite with h sc who, like him, are so anxi
ous to preserve the morality of *he country
by rejecting a mail whose most odious crime
is his rising popularity and Iran*Cendant a- !
bVlity. The friends us Mr. Van Huren will
not degrade him by asking a Committee, to
lice him In in ihu suspicions engendered n
Iho Senaior’s ni'r d, in his reach alter cor
rect information, from sources within his
reach. His character w ants no such jusu j
tkalion. Does the gentleman wisli tojusti |
fy las vote p Let him propose a Commit-)
tee ; his shall have our concurrence. Does
}»o desire to i.onvince the Senate? Let
him produce the private source. Inform.i
tion which I venture to say, like the only
one he speaks of Openly, is worthless in the
eye of any man who is nut so embittered by
prejudice Unit he canuut are truth. This
letter, by a former partisan, a paltry edi
tor of a paltry newspaper, and to prove
what ? that Mr. Van Huren said that the
la to Cabinet was dissolved by the conspira
cy of the Vice Pies;dent, to drive M tj- La
ion from the Cabinet, and that he withdrew
to escape the consequences of the dissolu
tion, Err, Mi. V.vn Huren holds bo such
conversations wiih prisons who were onee
bis partisans, and now his enemies.
Hut supposing he had declared, or does
entertain, the opinion imputed to him Is
if u crime which disqualifies him for a high
office, i!nt he believes the charge made and
sought to be established by (he lute Secreta
ry us War? if such be the Senator’s opin
ion, can he tall us how far the exclusion ex
tends ? The Senator's letter story is con
tfadicted by his previously expressed opin
ion, \V imt, Sir, the most artful man in
the world, proclaim to a paltry Editor that
he acted in the manner indicated, to escape
the stsrm consequent on the dissolution ot
the Cabinet ! It it hid been true—if such
had been his motive, he would have sought
to conceal it from himself. No degree ol
confidential intimacy could have tempted
an er.lul intriguer to such a disclosure.
I tie story it true, proves a man whose ex
traordinary prudence, under ail ctrcunt
s'aticea, through a long life in the atormy
j) lilies ot a vexed and turbulent State, has
gained him the confidence of his friends, fit
sailed down upon him (he charge of con
sutnma'e artifice trom his enemies, to be a
silly driveller, a simpleton, opening his bud
jet ut petty motive to one whose trade
vas, to thrive by making himself importan*
by oonlldential and eraiular disclosures m
his unknown journ *1.
Mrs Vao Huren standi iu a strange con \
, - " * ~ —rrTTg-Vi ;.,ls
t Administration, u re ~c came to the post!
i-ssigned to him, until the present hour, he'
li 1 fin'd accountable by p certain description!
j d political men in this country for all the!
j ’vil that has been alone and all (tie good!
■ithat has been omitted.
Now, Sir, if ti» k accountable for every
i thing, if his hand is to be. traced every where,
ft him have credit for the good that has, and
’he evil that has not, t. en done. H ilance the
j account us the admitted good and evil impu
jted, tnd he result will fid the hearts of hta
; enemies with die bitterest disappointment.—
I Hut, nir, this is not the jus ,c' in ended for
him. He is responsible for all that is com -
.plained of. Lot us see the Senator from Mis
sissippi fVI r. F dndextei’s) r a'alogue. There
weri* no La bine* Councils—did the count' y
tuff r I l inn this failure to follow the example
of iu e iidmmistxations, from this adherence
>« the i x,unple of Gen. Washington. But
the:eone Cabinet Council called to set,
on a Ja'tdy’* reputation, Indeed! anti this i
Mr. Van Boren is also answerable for. And'
is it true, s c, that the honorable members ofi
the late Cabinet, who remained so tranquilly |
at their posts, enjoy ing nil their emolumentsl
and honor s with becoming gratification, suf-,
sered themselves so be deprived of their ac
customer! rights of a seat and voice atllm!
Council B 'aid o| deliberations on great mat-j
ters of vital interest to the public sic yet obey-'
etl the beck and call of M r. Van Umen, to set
upon a lady’s reputation ! Os what stuff were
they am le, that they did not distinctly e>s
cet'Uin if this restriction of claimed rigid, 6c
this insulting call upon them to step out of
their appropriate spheres, was the work of
Mr. Van Boren or the act of the President.!
as the first, Why did they not demand his dis
mission, and, if refused, indignantly throw
their commissions in the teeth of the Chief
Magistrate. The omitted Cabinet Councils,
and the single call, were no such dreadful
offences until obliged to follow Mr. Van Bu
ren’s example and resign. The history of the j
last year establishes the wisdom of the Pre-,
sident in calling no Cabinet Council to de-'
liberate, as there could have been no harmo-'
ny in lheir consultations, and on the single
question said to have been submitted (he
Ex-Cabinet have shown themselves incom
petent to decide. He is not competent to de
cide on a Lady’s reputation, who throws out
of view, on the question of how she should be,
treated, her guilt or innocence I will not!
condescend further to relcr to the trash with;
which the public press has been loaded and!
polluted for months, and unless the Senator
fcoin Mississippi has better gevidence than
the public has yet seen, (he h ipe of implies-!
'ing Mr. Van Huren in the disturbances that;
preceded the dissolution of (tie Cabinet, is
forlorn. Ep. us gee the next crime in the
catalogue of the Senator from Mississippi,
[Mr. Poindexter.] Mr. Van Huren intrigued
[the dis®"Jytjon Ol the late Cabinet, taking
j Care previously to secure a safe and promin
ent retreat in the mission to England. It is
known to every well informed man in this
j District, that Mr. V. B. by his admirable
I temper, his conciliating manners and un
wearied exertions, kept the Cabinet together ,
long after its discordant materials were so f
well ascertained that its dissolution sooner 1
or later was a matter of common speculation. |
Sir, nobody doubted that (he parlies could
nut got on together, and the only surprise
was, that the President did not proceed to
restore harmony by the removal of those
whose disagreements produced the discord.
, But Mr, V. U. had the unparalleled effron
jtery to resign on motives of delicacy and
[disinterestedness, aiid as this inode of cou
, duct was so unusual it has excited a vast
deni of surmise and wonder. The Senatoi
from Mississippi [Mr. 15.]I 5 .] has however sat
, mfaetnrily to himself solved the mystery.
. Mr. Van Huron arranged himself into a pro
minent place before he resigned, and a new
J Cabinet to suit his ambitious views. Now,
sir, aa to the proof ot this preconcerted ar
, range men t for his accommodation and elc -i
, vation, Ihe President told somebody who!
*jwa» a late Secretary, that Mr. Van Hurenl
was to go to England, ami named to him the 1
~ Secretaries, who were to come in; but this'
was after Mr. V. B. had resigned. In the
, interview', it is acknowledged that Mr. Van
t Buren’a lettar of resignation was handed
to this volunteer repeater of confidential
conversation with the Chief Magistrate.
* Hut the Senator say* it was before the Idler
*\was published— [hence he concludes Mr.
JjV. U. had made a cal’s paw of the Pre
j sident, for the promotion of his own views:
'{a most logical inference, truly. And this
' new Cabinet arranged to further Mr. Van
B's unholy ambition, [s there man, woman,
or eitild in the country, wlm does not know
and (eel that (he change has been beneficial
! 1° lh® public, (hat there is now more strength,
more virtue and more harmony than there
f was before ? Is mere any man who will haz
-1 aid his reputation, by asserting that the pre
-1 sent Secretaries are capable of being made
* the instruments of any man’s ambition, or
so subject to the undue bias of individual in
fluence, as the late? Partizans are not sub
* stituled (or pure, disinterested patriots; and
let me say, sir, that more partizaus have
gone out than have come in. Hut this mis
' »ion to England was not sought by Mr. V,
’ 0. his friends know that it was pressed on
1 him by the President, and that it was reluc
tantly accepted at the earneat solicitations
of ft lends who were satisfied it would pro
mote !iis own reputation, and redound to the
honor and welfare of *hc nation. I will not
follow, further, the Senstoi’s lead. Long!
known to me as a politician vi as » mau,j
acting together in the hoar • political ad-j
(versify, whoa we bad loaf alt but honor—a
jvVitueaa of his movements when elevated to
.power, and in the possession of the tonfi
dence of the Chief Magistrate, and of the
| great majority of the people, 1 have never
aught in Mr. V. B which require*
; concealment, pallia'ion or coloring—never
'any thing to leaden his character as a patii
j«t and a man—•nothing which he might not
Jdesifelo sec excused to the scrutiny ofeve
1 ry member of !liihotly, wi h the calm con
. fidence of unsullied integrity. He is called;
ui iirtlul man— a giant of sr'ilice—a wily j
(i magician, F. in whom does he receive these
;opprobi ious nami ■■. T Pi orn open enemies and |
* pretended friend*. In the inid-,1 of all tiiej
charge« t at Live been brought against him,!
.ji" shapes mote varying than those of Prole i
.;tis, and thick as the autumnal leaves thnt;
rjStiew the v.ile ol V.ilarnbroaa, where is thel
false friend nr malignant enemy that has
fixed upon him one dishonorable or degrud
,n>g net? It ipimcence id artifice, if govern
jed by a high sense of honor, and regulating
ihis conduct by elevated principles, this is
not wonderful; hut, if the result of skill, of
,thc ars celare artem, he must be more cun
;nii;g than 'lie Devil himself, to have thus si
|voided the snares ol eiiemie and the trea
chery of pretended ftiends.
it is not possible, sir, that he should have
( e9C«ped, had he been utherwise than pure.
■ fhosu, ignorant of his unrivalled knowledge
of human character, his power of penetrating
into (he designs, and defeatinp the purposes
dtf his adversaries, seeing his rapid advance:
to public honors and popular confidence, im
pute to art what is a natural result of those'
simple causes. Extraordinary talent, unti-|
ring industry, incessant vigilance, the hap-i
jpiest temper, which success cannot corrupt,'
nor disappointment sour; these aie the sour-j (
ces of his unexampled success—-the magic I
arts—the artifices of intrigue, te which only"
he has resorted in his eventful life. Those! l
who envy his success, may learn wisdom 1 !
from his example. j 1
I Having disposed of the catalogue of the!
.Senator from Mississippi, let me advert to 1
j the grounds occupied by a little army of 1
■ objections on the other side of this Cham- 1
ber:—How many sacrifices of feeling to (
duty, are we not about to witness it all; the 1
honorable Senators, of Maryland, Connec- 1
ticu*, Delaware, Massachusetts, Ohio and 1
Kentucky, are constrained by duly to vote I
against his nomination—and all, on public,
grounds—no private feelings; Oh no !
thing like it : public duty against private ‘
feeling, is the order of the day. And what 1
is the dreadful public crime be, Mr. Van (
Boren, has committed ? Hear—Sir, hear. *
| Ha has degraded the country by giving'
,instructions to the late Minisier to Great
Britain, Mr. McLane, about {hs West India *
trade. What instructions ? Can it be I
those on which the act of 1830 passed— j
those which have been among our printed
documents for thc«e twelve months, forming)"
part ot the Presidents oommunication to
Congress of Jan. 1831 P Have those honors- £
blc gentlemen who are now so shocked at the !
public degradation, so eager to punish the au
thor of this national disgrace, been sleeping f
at (heir pos's—no one to cry out to ritlg (he. I
alarm at the dangers to which the public '
honor was exposed—no one tq interfere to
prevent the United States from being placed '
jat the foot stool of the British throne ? Qui- *
etly witnessing the consummation of the 4
crime, passing an act with the knowledge *
of these instructions, to secure the boon, lf
which they now see was begged in the name 1
of party from the British crown ; wc are J
now electrified by buista of indignation at 1
this first act of degradation in the history of *
American Diplomacy What a spectacle is 1
here.—How long is it since he who was the !
instrument to bow us down before Great 1
Britain, was unanimously confirmed to a
post of honor and important (rust P But'
the instrument by whom he was ordered to
act, is to boar the punishment. The author 1
(of the instructions, he by whom they were'
'given, is too high to be reached at present ;
Mthe author of the crime, he who ordered it,
j escapes—he who commits it, by order, goes J
‘ free ;he who conveys the order, answers
* tor both, and upon his head falls all the
■, indignation of these incensed Senators,
I I acting upon public grounds, and reluctantly
-1; pei forming a rxisruL— painful— duty !!!
1 Well, sir, to this degradation. It is
.1 found in the instructions to Mr. McLane,
and to make out their case, the Honorable
. Senators from Massachusetts and Kentucky
have given us a sketch of the history of the
: West India negotiation. Both brought
».down their narratives to the taunting reply
l ot Mr. Canning to Mr. Gallatin, given du
, ring the late administration. From this
> point, both these Honorable Senators found
lit convenient to slide—no, sir, to leap, over
. all intervening events to the instructions to
b Mr, McLane.—With permission, 1 will fill
-up this little unimportant chasm. The
- terms of the British act of Parliament not!
* having been accepted by the U. States, Arne
r rican vessels were excluded, by an order in
- council, from the British West India ports,
•i liy this important interest was neglected,
J we have been just told by the Senator from
- Kentucky, “the late administration were
!ignorant of the act of Parliament until it
. ,was casually seen by them.” "It was not
i.officially communicated by the English
■ iGovermmet to our Government.” “ Even
i when we were colonies, wo were not bound
■ by British acts of Parliament ; unless sped-!
: ally named in them’* Indeed : is it possible
■i that the late admin.stratum did not know
,'inact of Parliament affecting important
i interests. Where were all our accredited
Ministers and commercial agents in Great!
Britain, that (his govermnaut wa» net i»*
funned of this measure, known to all Eu
rope, and taken advantage of by most of
the powers interested in it } But it was
not officially communicated to us. Well,
sir, was it officially communicated to any
j oilier Government, interested in its contents
us we weie P
flu* British Government, I apprehend,
would have considered such a communica
tion a gross 11 flection Hp.,n our accredited;
agents. It wiuld have compelled them to
Jsiy, m effect, we communicate to you an
supposing your agents are too negligent
|u( their duly to send it to you. What were
|"iir Ministers and agents about ; how were
they employed, that they did not send to
jilieir Government this important informa
tion.
But the last excuse is worst than all, even
when Colonies, we were not butfyd by acts
of Parliament in which we ware not named
specially. What a discovery ; and it is con
cluded from tlits wise recollection, that we
are not now bound to take notice ot acts of
Parliament not specialty and officially com
muniaaled to us. 1 imagine we are not bound
by them, communicated to us or nut, but
we are bound to know’all those touching
our interests, and any administration is
severely reprehensible fir ignorance of!
them, and for failing to attend those that
bear injuriously upon the interests of the
people. The act was, however, at last
known, and when Mr. Gallatin presented
himself to negotiate, with instructions to
'waive all claims that were formerly pre
sented, and had prevented an arrangement,
■he was tauntingly told, you have lost your
day in court—tho privilege, the boon offer
,eel, had nut been secured by accepting the
(conditions ; taken our course, ne
gotiation is not our plan. Well, Sir, what
.said the administration, of which the hon
jorable Senator, from Kentucky, formed a
'part. There was an act of Congress, re- i
i quiring, on the shutting of the British W.
j India ports against us. an interdict by Pro
clamation. Smarting under this taunting'
refusal to negotiate, what was done ? the 1
execution of an act of Congress positively
directing the proclamation, was suspend
ed by Executive authority for two mouths '
before the meeting of Congrest and during
the whole succeeding session, to see if Con
gress who bad been prevented the preced- 1
ing session from long legislating—the ad- 1
ministration preferring the eclat of a nego
tiation—could not legislate the Executive
out of the difficulty into which he had pla- 1
ced the country by negligence; or, if the 1
Senator from Kentucky pleases, ignorance' 1
ol the act of Parliament. We alt knowj l
how that effort terminated—The two Houses 1
disagreed about the mode of effecting the I
purpose ; both, however, willing to take 1
the privilege on the conditions proposed by 1
Oreat-Britain. The Senate passed a bill 1
—tbs House, under the influence of the !
ScnatiM from Massachusetts, amended it, !
and the question was, whether one or '
the other oblique path should be trodden. 1
Ilie sessioa terminated without legislative 1
enactment, and then, and not till then, the ■
proclamation of interdiction was issued. 1
Thus, sir, smarting under the taunt cf the 1
British Minisier, our administration left the 1
whole trade in the hands of Great Britain 1
for six or eight months, sought to cover it
self from censure by invoking legislative in- :
torposition, and then, was compell«d to act
on the suspended statute. The interdict be- 1
ing proclaimed,.the trade stood upon the ve
ry advantageous footing, according to the
Senator’s judgment, which wo have lost by
the negotiation. Notwithstanding we were
enjoying ssch eminent advantages, the late
administration, in spite of the taunt, direc
ted Mr. Gallatin to try again to procure
what is now disparaged, by opening the door
of negotiation after it had been shut in his
face. He was again repulsed. But this hu
miliation was not enough; Mr. Barbour was
sent to London, and he too had his instruc-j
tions, and went, cap in hand, knocking at,
the closed door for negotiation. Sir, he
knocked at the door of the British Minidry,
under circumstances humiliating in (he ex
treme. If a gentleman should go a second
time to a house, the proprietor of which,
speaking from his window, had directed his
porter to deny him to the visiter, his visit
would have been somewhat like Mr. Bar
bour’s second call. Yes, Sir: yet the hu
miliation was vain—the second as fruitless
as the first. ’*
Such was the condition of this question
when Gen. Jackson was placed at the head
‘of the country. One of the first objects of
his administration was the recovery of the
British West India Trade, an arragement ol
it upon terms of just reciprocity, satisfacto
ry to both parties, and therefore promising
, to be permanent. Mr. McLane was select
ed logo to England, and these much abus
i ed instructions prepared by the late Secre
: tary of State. Let it be remembered, sir,
these are instructions from the President
; of the United States to the American Min
ister, never intended for the eye of the
British Government, and which in no other
country but ours would ever have seen the
light.
The opening of this negotiation was the
chief difficulty. To remove it, two grounds
are taken. It will be remembered that our
refusal to accede to the terms of the act of
Parliament, was made the ground of refus
ing to treat with Mr. Gallatin and Mr. Bar
bour, both of whom went prepared to offer
an arrangement by reciprocal legislation
taking the act of Patiiament as the British!
legislation. To obviate the difficulty, after]
a fair and full history of the transaction,
these suggestion* are
lLanc to oppressed *o far as he might deem
Fit useful and proper so to do, ll the Bri
i tish persist in refusing to hear you, on this
, subject, remind them of the circumstances
I that have occurred ; of the difference of o
i pinion among ourselves on it ; of the aban
donment by the admiiiisiraiion of those pre
( lencea that had prevented an adjustment of
it ; that they are not to he again brought
1; forward ; that the past administration waa
i not amenable to ths British Government,
II nor to any o her, than the people of the U.
.[States, who had passed open nil their acts,
|Say to (he British, il it make pretensions
■ (formerly advanced the pretext for still de
tjclining to negotiate, the sensibility of the
( American people will be deeply awakened.
lhat the tone of public feeling, hy a course
i so unwise and untenable, will be oggravat
i ed by the known fact that Great. Britain had
opened her colonial ports to Russia and
France, notwithstanding a similar omission
i on their parts to accede in time to the terms
offered by the act of Parliament. And this,
sir, is represented as the language of en
treaty, as (he begging of a boon. This me
, nace of the public indignation ; this decla
; ration that the late administration was nei
ther to be censured or praised by foreign na
tions was amenable for their conduct to
no earthly tribunal but the people of the
United States, is tortured into a claim of
privileges, on party grounds, for party pur
poses, and as a disgraceful attempt to throw
upon a previous administration unmerited
disgrace, for the sake of currying favor with
a foreign power, and that power of all oth
ers, Great Britain. Great Britain could
not resist this frank and open and manly
appeal. Commiltce by their concession in
favor of France and Russia, and the Min
istry distinctly told Mr. McLane, that he
would not remain if they declined negotia
tion, or placed their refusal upon any other
ground than an open declaration, that their
interests could not permit them to enter in
to a reciprocal engagement with the United
States, the English cabinet reluctantly yield
ed ; and then came the most odious feature
in this transaction, lhat which has sharpened
the intellect of the opposition, to discover
dishonor, in truth, and a want of dignity,
in a frank exposition of fads, Us crowning
success. Mr. McLane and Mr. Van Bu
ran, under General Jackson, succeeded in
effecting an object of public lolicitude, that
Mr. Adams, and Mr, Clay and Mr. Galla
tin and Mr. Barbour could not obtain. The
country waa humiliated by the preceding ad
ministration without success ; hence the
.charge against Mr. Van Buren , hence, the
[overwhelming anxiety to prove, that the
success of the late negotiation has been
purchased by humiliation. The British
Cabinet desired not to make the arrange
ment, it interfarred with great local in
terests, and if they could, without a manl
iest and unjust distinction to our prejudice,
they would have declined admitting the U.
Suites to (he privileges granted to the other
maritime powers. Not satisfied with his con
demnation of Mr. V. B’s instructions, the
Senator from Kentucky attempts to shew u»
by referrinjjj to anolhcr'letter of instructions,
how this bflair should have been conducted
consistently with his ideas of national honor
and dignity. The letter from which he has
read, to the Senate, extracts, is, I think,
signed H. Clay. Will the Senator tell us
who is responsible for ilf If ho is, then he
exhibits himself in the singular position of a
man triumphantly contrasting the work of
his own hand, with that of a rival author.—
The Senate knows that there were two oth
er instructions, written by himself, one to
Mr. Gallatin after Congress failed to legis
late, and another to Gov. Harbour, neither
of which cj before us, and therefore not to bo
contrasted with Mr. Van Buren’s work. I
am content to abide by the result of a con
trast of the instructions he has condemned,
with those he has quoted. Let us see hovr
(the gentleman’s letter will stand the lest of
examination. Mr, Gallatin, he says. was not
'instructed to abandon a right; we were to
be at liberty at a more convenient season to
r £2iin!? it. Mr Gallon was to give a strong
proof of our desire to conciliate by a tempo
rary concession of what we had previously
claimed throughout the whole negotiation.—
Was Mr. G. instructed tossy to the British
Government, this is a temporary concessions
No sir, he was authorized to waive the claim
and make an arrangement on the British ba
sis. Fut this into plain language, and what
was it; strip'it ol its diplomatic drapery and
verbiage, and it is neither more nor les*
than an abandonment of a pretension which
though we had supported by argument, we
were resolved not to enforce by power. Sir,
this covering up of a plain troth is the com
mon (rick of diplomacy; it deceives no one,
i and had .Mr. Gallatin presented these con
ciliatory concessions, they must have been
received as a virtual and total abatement of
our pretension. The honeyed words of right,
waived from a conciliatory spirit, ami with
the hope of corresponding friendly disposi
tions, would have been received with a
sneer, lurking in the official—artificial
smile of a—-thorough bred diplomatist.
The Senator insists, huwever, it was a right
and not a pretension. If it was a right, why
: was it waived or suncmlered -For con
ciliation sake. Why, sir, v/e were the of.
fended party—England had taunted us.
England had refused once, twice, thrice to
negotiate, and yet to conciliate England, ws
were waiving a well grounded ngut. For
what purpose wero we thus conciliating ?
(To place the trade oa its present footing, te
.the great injury of the navigation sod com
[roerce of the United States, Such is th#
view now taken by several honorable 3ena
• tsrs who ha*® favored as with th*ir opiums