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SPEECH OF MR. CALHOUN,
Tn reply lo Mr. Webster, on the Sub-Treas
ury Bill. Delivered in the Senate of the
United States, March 22, 1838.
[CONCLUDED.]
The Senator seems no! to be entirely unaware
wf the danger to which the system is exposed
from its freqaent vibrations and catastrophes.—
He mils us, by way of apology, that had it not
been for the specie circular the present catastro.
phe would not have occurred. That it has
tened if, I do not in the le; s doubt; but that
we should have escaped without it, 1 wholly de.
ny. The causes of the explosion lay deep—
fur beneath the circulars, and nothing but the
most efficient measures, during the session im
mediately after the removal of the deposites,
could have prevented it. That was the crisis,
which having passed without doing any thing,
what has since followed was inevitable. But
admitting what he says to be true, what a picture
of the system d'X-s it exhibit? Huw frail, how
wnstable must it be, when a single act of the
Executive could bring it to the ground, nnd
spread ruin over the country? And shall we
ngnin renew our connexion with such a system,
60 liable from the slightest cause to such disas
ters? Does it not conclusively show that there
is some deep nnd inherent defect in its very
■constitution, which renders it too unsafe to con
fide in without some radical and thorough re
form?
TIk Senator himself s -ems conscious of this.
Reentered into the question of its expansions
and contractions, and suggeested several rente-
dies to correct an evil, which none can deny, and
which all must see, if not corrected, must end
in the final overthrow of the system. He told
us that the remedy was to be found in the pro.
portion between bullion and circulation, and that
the' proper rule to enforce the due proportion be
tween the two, was, when exchange was against
us, for the banks to curtail. I admit that the
disease originates in the undue proportion, not
between bullion and circulation, but between
it and the liabilities ef the banks, including de-
posilcs ns well as circulation, (the former is even
snore important than the latter) and that the
remedy must consist in enforcing that proportion.
But two quest ions here present themselves: what
is that due proportion? and how is it, under our
system of banking to be enforced? There is
one proportion which we know to be safe, and
that is, when for every dollar of liability there is
one dollar in bullion or specie; but this would
bring us back again to the old, honest and sub
stantial bank of Amsterdam, so much abused by
all the advocates of banks of discount. If that
proportion be transcended—if we admit two, or
three, to one, to be the due proportion, or any
other that would make banking more profitable
nnd eligible than the more louning of money or
other pursuiis of society, the evil under which
we now sutler would continue. Too much cap-
ital would continue to How into banking, to he
again followed by the excess of the system, with
ull its train of disasters. But admit that such
would not be the fact, how are we to compel the
the twenty-six States of this Union to enforce
the due proportion, all <>f which exercise the
right of establishing banks at pleasure, and on
such principles as they may choose to adopt?—
It cau only be done by an amendment of the
Constitution; and is there any one so wild and
visionary as to believe that there i> the least pros
pect of such an amendment? Let gentlemen,
who acknowledges the defect, before they insist
on a renunion with a system acknowledged to be
exposed, as it now stands, to such frequent and
dangerous vicissitudes, first apply a remedy
and remove the defect, and then ask for our co
operation.
But the Senator tells us that the means of en
forcing the due proportion is to be found in the
regulation of the exchanges, and for this purpose
the only rule necessary to be observed is to cur
tail when the exchanges are against us, and,
as a counterpart, l suppose, to enlarge when in
our fiver. How much dependence is to bn put
on tliis rule, we have a strong illustration in the
late catastrophe, under which the country is now
«uflering. The exchanges remained in our fa
ster till the very last; and before the rule on
which the Senator so confiden’lv relies, could
be applied, the shock was felt and the I a iks en
gulfed; nnd til's will ever bo the case, when
preceded by a general expansion in the commer
cial world, such as preceded the late.
The cause of that commenced on the other
aide of the Atlantic, and originated mainly in
the provisions on which the recharter of the
Bank of England was renewed; which greatly
favored extension of banking operations in a
country which m y bo considered as the centre
of the commeicial system of the world. The
effect of these provisions was a depreciation of
the value of g> Kf and silver, there, and t!:c : r
Consequent cxpul-i m to other countries, and es
pecially to ours, whii h turned the exchange
witli England in oar favor; nnd which, in com
bination with e ther causes, the removal of the
dep sics and the exphatioi of tie charter of
the! ate Bank of ihe United States, wns fo 1 iwed
by a great corresponding expansion of our bank
ing system. The result of this state of things
was, a great increase of the liabilities of the
banks compared with their specie in both coun
tries, which laid the train for the explosion.—
The Bank of England first took the alarm, and
Fbcgan to prepare to meet the threatened calam
ity. It was unavoidable, and the only question
-wrs, where it should fall. The weakness of
our system, nnd the comparative strength of
theirs, turned the shock on ours, but of the ap
proach of which, the exchanges gave, as I have
c’ated, no ii dication* almost to the last moment.
And even then,so artificial are exchanges, and
end so liable to be influenced by other causes,
besides the excess of currency on one side and
Che deficit on the oilier, after it began to show
unfavorable indications, we all remember that
a single individual, at ihe head of a State institu
tion, 1 mean Mr. Biddle by appearing in New
York, and bringing into market bonds on Eng
land, diawn on time, turned the current and re
stored the exchange. All this conclusively
proves that when there is a general expansion
(the most dangerous of all) exchanges give no
indication of the approach of danger, and, of
course, their regulation, on which the Senator,
relies, affords no pioteciion against it.
I might go further, and show that at no time
is it to be relied on as the index of the relative
expansion or contraction indifferent countries,
and that it is liable to be influenced by many cir
cumstances besides those to which I have allud-
ed, some of which are fleeting, and others more
permaneut. It presupposes the perfect fluidity
of currency, and that it is not liable to be obsrtuct-
ed or impeded by natural or artificial causes in
its ebbs and flows, which is far from being true,
as ! have already shown in the instance of Mr.
Biddle’s operation preceding the late shock.—
In fact, it may be laid down as a rule, that where
the currency consists of oonvertable paper, rest
ing on a gold and silver basis, the small portion
of specie which may be required to uphold the
whole has its fluidity obstructed by so many and
such powerful causes, as to afford no certain
criterion of the relative expansion of the cur-
renev between it and other countries, and of
course, afford no certain rule of regulating
banking operations. The subject is one that
would require more time to discuss than I can
bestow on the present occasion ; but of its truth
.we have a strong illustration in the state of
Mings preceding the late shock, when a* l have
Itated, tho exchanges remained favorable to the
banks, while the vast amount of our imports,
nnd the unusual character of many of thearti-
oles imported, clearly indicated that our currcn-
ey was relatively greatly expanded, compared
with those countries with which we have com
mercial relations.
To correct the defects of the system, the Se-
itator must go much deeper. The evil lies In its
Strong tendency to increase; and that again,in
fke extraordinary end vast advantages which am
conferred on it, beyond nil other pursuits of the
community, which, if not diminished, must ter
minate in its utter destruction, or an entire rev-
olution in our social and political system, it is
not possible that the great body of the commu
nity will patiently bear that the currency, and
that, t«o, in defiance of positive provisions in
the Constitution, which all acknowledge were
intended to give it the greatest possible stability.
The largest Peach tree probably in the world,
is in an orchard at the old Choctaw town of
!t(uckaluchu, Siate of Mississippi. The editor
of the Marengo (Ala.) Gazette says: ‘ We have
lately been on the spot, and saw the tree meas
ured; it was six feet nine inches in circumfer
ence. It cannot be ascertained from the Indians
when this orchard was planted. The tree is
dead, but perfectly sound.”
TIIE CHEROKEES.
[copy.]
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT/J
Milledgeville 30th May, 1838. • $
To the Hon. Wm. C. Dawson:
Sir:—I send you a letter addressed to the
owners of the land occupied by the Indians in
the Cherokee country, immediately before they
had acquired, by the law, the right to take pos
session. I confidently believe that the most of
them would have pursued the course recommen
ded. The very best feeiing prevailed every
where. The alarms and distrust which had ex
isted some time ago had subsided. This has
proceeded, in a great degree, lrom the inces
sant exertion which had been used, to prevent
any violation of the rights of the Indians, ar:
the assurances given to the people, that t
Government would remove the Indians as sooi
ns possible, and afford every one protection a-
ga'nst violence. In Gilmer, and Union coun
ties, where the Indians are twice as numerous
as the whites, the people were two weeks ago,
perfectly quiet, and travelling as safe as any
where. But for a lingering expectation that
Ross would ho able to retain their country for
them, it is confidently believed that a great pro
portion of the Cherokees would have been now
preparing to remove. So confident were the
people, that no difficulty or violence would oc
cur in the removal, that they were indicating a
disposition to complain against the Government
for sending so many troops among them. No
one has ever felt more satisfaction than 1 have
done at the result of my labours for the last
six months. No violence of any kind had oc
curred when Gen. Scott took command. I had
suffered gteat anxiety whilst the troops were in
preparation. Difficulties seemed to be over.—
No one who has ns! labored as I have done to
stive the lives, and prevent the suffering of a
whole community, can understand the deep mor
tification I have felt, in knowing that the happy
results of my exertions must certainly be de.
stroyed by the late proceedings of the President.
Our people have been so harrussed for a long
time by Indian disttn bailees, alarms, and wars,
that they will not bear it longer than the treaty
required them. To a>k them to suffer Ross
and itis friends to remain among them for two
years longer, with the knowledge that every
citizen of the Cherokee country has, that the
Indians would have been contented at home in
the West long before this but for the exertions
of Ross and his friends is utterly idle. When
I proposed to tho Secretary of War and John
Ross, two months ago, that Ross should remove
his people voluntarily before the time arrived
for their removal bv the army, upon a large
compensation lo be allowed him by the Govern,
ment, I received a direct refusal from Ross, and
my letter to the Secretary of War, was not
honored with an answer. That the Secretary
now, when the Government has no power over
the treaty, except to enforce it, should propose
to reward Ross for denouncing the Government
as dishonest, and faithless, by possession of the
lands of the people granted to them by the
State is indeed an act of dishonesty and faith-
lessness. The President will not he permitted
to sell the rights of the people of Georgia, to
buy votes elsewhere. The people will see to
that if the public authoritiis do not.
If my health permits, and the President de
termines that he will maintain the Indians in
their occupancy of the State, I shall proceed to
the Cherokee country, and try whether the
rights of the State are to be trampled upon, or
violated by military force. We have two thou
sand men in the field, under Gen. Floyd—: ot
one of whom will obey any order to set at defi
ance the sovereignty of the State. If the Uni
ted States troops shall attempt to resist our laws,
they will be required to leave the State, and
our troops be withdrawn from the United Stales
s rvice. The requisition under which they
went into service tvas lo remove the Cherokees,
not to maintain them upon our soil. The Go
vernment niav yet stop in its work of unmixed
mischief. The Indians c m be removed by the
United States Government and the troops now
assembled, with more ease, and less suffering,
than by the Suite, and I shall continue to insist
upon its proceeding to remove them at once.—
If the President refuses, the consequences must
be upon his head.
For the purpose of giving you ns much infor
mation as 1 readily can, as to the course taken
by the State and General Government, in remo
ving the Cherokees, 1 forward you the enclosed
copies and papers.
The requisition of Gen. Scott for troops from
this State. My order for raising them, and the
special commissions given to the officers, show
that these troops are only authorized to remove
the Indians and protect the people.
The letters to the owners of the lands occu-
I ied by the Indians, to Generals Scott and
Floyd, show the rights of the people, and at
the same tune the exertions which have been
made to prevent any collision between them
and the Indians, arid the general state of ti e
peace, and the confidence tliat the Indians, with
prudence, could be removed, without difficulty.
Tho proclamation of the 13th March, will
show the anxiety with which 1 have protected
the rights of the Indians.
The address of Gen. Scott to the Cherokees,
shows what his original instructions were, lie
says he has no rignt to grant them further de-
lay, and that within one month, every man,
woman, and child, u ust be moving from the
country.
My letters to tho secretary of War and Ross,
show that more than two months before the ar-
rival of the time for the removal of the Indians
by force, 1 proposed that Ross, should before
that time, remove them voluntarily. Ross’an
swer shows for itself. None was received from
Mr. Poinsett.
I send you the late instructions to Gen. Scott,
which show that the President is proceeding
without the consent of the States or Congress,
to stop the removal of the Indians by the troops,
and to rely upon contracts with Ross’ friends;
and the intention of the President to make the
owners of the lands in this Stale depend upon
Gen. Scott for possession.
In my letter of the 30th November, I reques-
ted Mr. Poinsett, to put an end to his correspon
dence with Ross. In his reply of the 9th De.
cember, he says it was continued with the hope
of inducing Ross to aid in the peaceable remo
val of the Indians; but when he was satisfied
that this could not be done, he would inform
me of it. In his letter of the 16th December
lie writes, that in conformity with that promise,
bis correspondence with Ross was at an end.
Several communications have been received
this morning from the Cherokee country. A
state of quiet prevails every where. I send you
an extract of Dr. Hamilton’s letter. I cannot
but hope that the friends of humanity will induce
the Government to retrace its steps.
Very respectfully, yours, dec.
GEORGE R. GILMER.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, >
Milledgeville, 5th March, 1838. \
To the lion. Joel R. Poinsett:
Sir:—I learn, from information received from
every part of-.he Cherokee country in this State,
that the Indians are still building and preparing
for another crop; and that they are not yet con
vinced that the treaty will be modified, or that
the Government will enforce it.
If force is applied to remove them, with their
present feelings and opinions, difficulty aud
bloodshed may be appieltended.
Now that Ross and the Cherokee Delegation
must have lost all hope of preventing the execu
tion of the treaty, is it not possible to induce them
to return home, convince their people that their
interest and safety require them to join their
friends in the West, and themselves undertake
to effect their voluntary removal in their own
way? The best informed persons residing a-
mong the Cherokees, express the opinion, that
Ross can, if he will, remove his people at once.
To avoid ihe great expense to the Government,
and preserve the lives an t property of our citi
zens and the Indians, which may be sacrificed
if the treaty is executed by force, the Govern
ment can well afford to pay a very liberal price
for the voluntary and immediate removal of the
Indians. To enable Ross and the chiefs to ef
fect this object, I believe it to be necessary fo
them to return home, see their people, and let
them be satisfied that their efforts to change the
treaty have been hones', though unavailing: the
Cherokees are so suspicious of their Chiefs, that
even Ross, as entirely as he has their confidence,
might loose all power to serve them, if he at-
..temped to make a contract with the Govern
ment for their emigration before they were con
sulted, aud their approval of the measure obtain
ed. If the Government should ascertain upon
Ross’ return home, that he has the power, and
will undertake the removal of his people, the
tern in of the contract could be agreed upon with-
out difficult}’ or delay. If the pertinacity of Ross
should create any difficulty, it might be obviated
by making no reference in his contract to the
treaty.
1’he very great interest which a portion of the
people of this state have in this subject, must
be my justification to you for these sugges
tions.
Very respect I v, yours, &c.
GEORGE R. GILMER.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
Milledgeville, 9th Marcli 1838.
To Mr. John Ross:
Sir:—The President having declined receiv
ing any further propositions of the Cherokee del
egation lor setting aside or altering the treaty,
and your memorial to Congress having been re
jected by the House of Representatives, all hope
of success in your efforts to effect that object
must be at an end. The policy which you may
adopt under these circumstances, is of great im
portance, not only to your own people, but the
numerous white population residing among
them.
The law of necessity, or if you please, the
harsh and unyielding will ofsuperior power, has
determined that the portion of the Cherokees re
maining iti the States, must remove to the coun
try provided for them in the West. How will
you meet this necessity, against which you can
no longer contend? Will you bend to the blast
to rise with renewed energies when it passes a-
way, or by resisting it sink beneath its force?—
If these were questions which concerned your-
self alone, the dictates of pride, or determined
self-will might disregard consequences. But
the peace and happiness of thousands may be In
volved in vour course. Your unwearied and
unwavering exertions in behalf of your people,
have been unavailing, except to secure to you
their highest confidence. The time has arrived
when that confidence enables you to render them
the most important service. You must be a-
ware that the Cherokees are not preparing to
emigrate; that they are ye.t hoping that you and
their other chiefs will obtain a modification oftlie
treaty, so as to permit them to remain where they
are; that when the time arrives for removin';
them, force must be applied—and ihe great suffer
ing, ihe loss of many lives, and the destruction
of much property, will probably be the conse
quence, unless in the meantime they can be con-
vinced that all expectations of retaining their
present possessions are delusory, and do volun
tarily what must otherwise be effected by coin-
pulsion.
It requires no strong invention to imagine the
suffering and distress which must be inflicted up
on your people, if hunted up by an undjsciplined
soldiery, and forced from their homes. You, at
least, stand in no need of the discretion. Your
people are looking to you to direct them in this
their greater difficulty. You can save them
from the evils that threaten them, by per.
suading them to unite with tlteir friends in the
West, before the time arrives when, by the terms
of the treaty, force can be used.
I know how easily the motives of the best ac
lions may be misrepresented. The Cheiokees
have been rendered so suspicious of all contracts
with the Government, that 1 believe it to be im
portant even to your success in removing them,
to return home and convince th-m that all hopes
of retaining their present possessions are vain;
that your efforts for that purpose have proved
fruitless, and that a proper regard for their inter
est and safety require that they should no longer
resist the views of the Government. If, upon
doing so, you find an acquiescence (as 1 am sat-
isfied you will) upon the parfofyour people, the
Government will unquestionably furnish ample
means to remove them, and a liberal compensa
tion in addition, if they go without the aid of
contractors and agents. •
Sir, 1 conlrl not write to you upon this subject,
but with the fullest consciousness that what 1 say
is in good faith, and my motives such as your
own people would approve. It is my anxious
desire, that the Cherokees should be treated with
humanity. I am using every exertion to pre-
vent all violations of their rights of possession
and property. It is true that 1 have long been
thoroughly convinced that their present situation
is not the best suited for their continued im
provement and preservation as a distinct people,
but I believe I have at all times adopted the
kindest policy towards them which my official
station would permit.
Very respectfully, yours, Ac.
GEORGE R. GILMER
Copy of a letter from the Hon. Joel R. Poinsett
to Governor Gilmer.
Department oe War,
Dec. 16,1837.
Sir—In my letter of the 9th inst. 1 had Ihe
honor to inform your Excellency, that you
should be timely advised of the termination of
the correspondence with John Ross. That cor
respondence I now consider at an end.Hiid trans
mit you copies of it for your information.
Very respectfully,
Your most ob’t serv’t
J. R. POINSETT.
His Excellency George R. Gilmer,
Governor of Georgia, Milledgeville, Ga.
utmost extei t of her desire among us, from the
remotest pretext ol employing force. It is my
wish to settle all difficulties by amicable treaty,
and on perfect reasonable terms. 1 sincerely
hope that my earnest efforts for that end may
ultimately prosper, as one word of the Execu
tive is now enough to save the expense and ine
vitable danger which must result from the em
ployment of an uncalled-for army. Should
blood bespiit, therefore, which I trust can never
be the case, the blame can never rest on us.
With regard to my immediate return into the
Cherokee nation, 1 differ with your Excellency,
and am sustained in my dissent by many who
have better opportunities than cither of us, to
understand any tiling which bears upon the
case. If i were to desert a post assigned me
by the Cherokees, and a line of duty prescribed
by their understood expectations, they would be
lost in wonder and distrust. They expect me to
siqierintend their interests here at tiie seat of
the United States Government, as the source
from which their weal or woe must emana'e
and as the only source to which they can look
for protection, in case of need. They would
be sorry to see me among them while our af
fairs remain thus unsettled. Indeed my appear
ance among them, on the mission you suggest
would, at this moment,produce inextricable con
fusion, of widen the consequences might be
awful.
Executive Department,
Milledgeville, April 14, 1838.
To the lion. Joel R. Poinsett:
Sir—I hope that your severe illness, about
which every one having business to transact
with the War Department, must like myself
feel great concern, will have passed away be
fore this time.
1 send you an extiact of a letier just received
from Ross, in answer to a communication which
1 addressed him at the same time 1 wrote to
you, I am oonviticed that I was mistaken in
my endeavor to make him an instrument for
doing good.
The loss of all hope of attaining the co oper-
a tion of Ross, in removing the Cherokees, has
added to my anxiety that the most ample means
should be used to secure our citizens from the
effects of his machinations. The troops which
are ordered into the Cherokee county, from
tins and the adjoining States, being raw and
undisciplined, and scattered over the country in
small detachments, will stand very much in
need of a regular force, to give confidence and
success to their movements.
Permit me to urge the importance of concen
trating in the Cherokee country, in as short
time as possible, the whole of the United States
army, which can with propriety be drawn from
any other service.
The Indians arc as yet entirely quiet, but they
are not enrolling for emigration. Those who
have enrolled are refusing to leave the country,
and they are generally continuing their prepa
rations for another crop- Ross’ refusal to re
turn home after tho conclusive action of botli
Houses of Congress upon his memorial, renders
it certain that force must he used in removing
his people. The more controlling that force
may be, the less will be the mischievous ef-
fecis of the opposition of Ross and his friends.
Very respecifullv, vours, Ac.
GEORGE R. GILMER.
Extract of a letter from John Ross to the Gover
nor.
Washington City, April 6,1838.
To his Excellency George R. Gilmer:
Sir—Your Excellency, I hope, will long ere
now have been aware of the reasons why I have
not sooner, personally acknowledged the receipt
of your letter of the 9th of March. To the
Honorable Mr. Dawson, who called upon me to
say he had received a copy by the same post, I
explained myself fully. I presume he has men
tioned my conversation. 1 need therefore only
repeat in general let ms, that I can see no neccs-
sity whatever for any collision between your ci
tizens and the Cherokees, as I am making every
effort in my power to accomplish such arrange
ments os may relieve Georgia, in obtaining the
From the Globe, June 8.
GOVERNOR GILMER AGAIN!
It will be seen from a letter given below,
which Gov. Gilmer has addressed to the Goor.
gia delegation in Congress, that his Excellency
was not content to take the field against the Sec
retary at War for complying with his wish to
conciliate the malcontent Cherokees, and pro-
duce a voluntary emigration, but he resol>ed
lo enlist the whole Georgia delegation in the
c r usade against the Administration. Having
himself taken it for granted, in his commu-
nicatinn with the Department, that the force
under Gen. Scott was sent to protect the Indians
in holding possession in Georgia against the
treaty, and making a bravado of attacking both
Gen. Scott and the Indians upon this presump
tion, he next writes to the Georgia delegation
to make a demand on the President, by way of
forcing a retreat from tho position which he
takes it for granted the General Government
had assumed. He tells the Georgia delegation
to ascertain from the President “whether it is
his intention to maintain the Indians by force
upon the soil of Georgia, in opposition to the
will of the. State and the right of its citizens, to
whom the lands have been granted; and that you
communicate to me his determination/”
Now, why should Gov. Gilmer, huving made
this demand dirccMv himsell, ns Governor, on
the Secretary, send another despatch at the
same time to the delegation in Congress? No
man can mistake the motive. By affecting to
misunderstand the motives ol the President,
and enlisting the Republican delegation to press
for explanations, he supposed he would effect-
uallv rivet on the minds of the people interested
the idea that Gen. Scott was sent to maintain
the Indians in possession of the property of the
citizens of Georgia, at the very moment when
he was removing them, and when new induce
ments were held out to them to go voluntarily,
peaceably, and rapidly. But we leave the Go
vernor’s letter to the plain, simple reply of Mr.
Poinsett—perfectly satisfied that the honest-
minded people of Georgia will convince Mr.
Gilmer that their good sense, is quite equal to
his small cunning.
Executive Department, )
Milledgeville ; May 30, 1838. $
Sib: I enclose to you my answer to the letter
of the Secretary of War, upon the subject of
his proposals to JohA Ross, and late instructions
to Gen. Scott.
All here concur in the opinion that these pro
ceedings of the Government are in violation of
the rights of the State, and calculated to pro
duce the most extensive and serious evils in the
Cherokee country.
Permit me to request that the delegation in
Congress from this State will unite in ascertain
ing from the P:esident whether it is his inten
tion lo continue the present delay in removing
the Cherokees by the troops under Gen. Scott,
for the purpose of effecting that object by con-,
tracts to be made with the agents of Ross and
his friends, or for any other purpose? And
whether it is his intention to maintain the In
dians by force upon the soil of Georgia, in op-
position to the will of the State, and the rights
of its citizens, to whom the lands have been
granted? and that you communicate to me his
determination.
Very respectfully, vours, etc.
GEORGE R. GILMER.
Hon. Seaton Grantland,
House of Representatives, United States.
spatches, since received, show that he took the
proper measures to obey his instructions with
h's characteristic promptness and energy.—
When the conciliatory proposals of the Exec
utive lo the Cherokee delegation were submit
ted to Congress, the General was again instruct
ed to continue the prosecution of the measures
he had adopted for the removal of the Indians,
and whether it was to be conducted by the
troops under his command or by the Cherokees
themselves, whether it was to be compulsory or
voluntary, to permit no unnecessary delay in
its execution.
His Excellency desires still further to know,
“whether his (the President’s) intention to main-
tarn the Indians bv force upon the soil of Geor
gia in op|K«ilion to the will of the State and
the rights of its inhabitants, to whom the lands
have been granted?”
In reply to the proposition of the Cherokee
delegation for an extension of time, they were
told in express terms, that where the rights and
interests of sovereign States were concerned,
the President could not enter into any engage
ment with the Cherokees, and that no delav
could be granted without the assent of the States
interested in the execution of the treaty. In
asking that assent the States are merely request
ed not to press their claims in a manner lo oc
casion unnecessary discomfort and inconvenience
to the Indians; and Gen. Scott is at the same
time instructed to commence his operations in
that part of the territory where the lands have
been disposed of, meaning Georgia, and to con
duct them in such a manner ns to place the pro
prietors in possession of their estates with as
little delay as possible. The Department is,
therefore, utterly at a loss to understand how
the President’s views should have been so mis
apprehended as to give rise to these questions,
and now begs leave, through you, explicitly to
deny that such are or ever have been the in
tentions of the Government.
Very respectfully, your most obedient ser-
vant. J. R. POINSETT.
Hon. Wilson Lumpkin, A. Cuthberl, Jabez
Jackson, C E. Haynes, S. Grantland, Hop
kins Holsei/, and Wm. C. Damson, M. C,
Washington.
Department of War,
June 7, 1839.
Gentlemen: 1 have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your communication of the 5th
instant, covering a letter from the Governor of
Georgia, and asking a reply to the inquiries it
contains. Although they have been substan
tially answered in the reply of the Department
to his excellency’s letter of the 28th ultimo, the
tenor of these interrogatories manifests such an
extraordinary misapprehension of the intentions
of the Government, that it becomes necessary,
again to explain them. His Excellency desires
to be informed if it is the President’s “intention
to continue the present delay in removing the
Cherokees by the troops under Gen. Scott lor
the purpose of effecting that object by contract
with the agents of Ross and his friends, or any
other purpose?” The department does pot un*
derstand what is meant by the present delay.—
When Gen. Scott left Washington, he carried
with him instructions to proceed without delay
in ?he removal of the Cherojcees, and his de-
From Augusta Constitutionalist, 9th inst.
Will be found in another column of this day’s
paper, the letter of Gov. Gilmer to Mr. Daw
son. We have not a word to say against the
letter addressed by the Executive of the State
to the Secretary of War, and against the one
addressed to the Georgia delegation in Congress.
But it is with regret that we find such a letter,
ns that addressed to Mr. Dawson, in the public
prints. Gov. Gilmer thought proper to publish
that letter, which should have been strictly con
fidential; lie of course desired that his expres
sions should be taken as official, and publicly
known. We approve the spirit which dictated
the letters to Mr. Poinsett and to our members-
ofCongress; we are sorry to say. that the spirit
which dictated the letter to Mr. Dawson, is
hly reprehensible, uncalled for, and undigni
fied, and does not comport with the station which
Governor Gilmer now holds- We shall not
comment Portlier on the temper in which that
letter was written . it is before our readers; thev
can judge for themselves. We must, however,
call attention to an acknowledgment made by
Gov. Gilmer, which is somewhat connected with
the intermeddling of certain individuals, with
Ross, in regard to the removal of the Cherokees
to the west, and to an extension of time for that
removal.
Gov. Gilmer admits that he wrote to Ross,
proposing that the Indians should remove, vol-
utarily, before the time stipulated in the treaty.
We hope this letter to Ross, with his reply, and
the letter to the Secretary of War on the same
subject, will be given to the public.
hat prompted Gov. Gilmer to write to Ross?
What object had he in view in proposing to Ross
to remove to the west, before the time allowed
in the treaty, especially when it is considered
that this Ross was an inveterate enemy to Geor
gia, a z alous and influential opponent lo the
emigration of the Cherokees, and a violent an.
tagonistto ihe Indian party which agreed to the
treaty of 1835 ? Was it to avoid difficulties on
the part of the Indians, when the time should
arrive? Gov. Gilmer, knew that thpre were
agents among the Cherokees fully authorized
by the U. S. Government, to facilitate the emi
gration of such Indians, as were wilting to re
move before the time stipulated in the treaty.
Gov. Gilmer knew that a number of the Indians
had been enrolled for emigration, and conveyed
to the other side of the Mississippi. Gov. Gil.
mer knew that tho State of Georgia had nothing
to do with the stipulations and obligations of the
treaty, except so far as the law of Georgia was
connected with {lie surrender of ihe land in the
occupancy of the Indians, on the 25th of May
of this year. The fact is, Georgia had, and has
nothin." to d° with the means and measures cm-
ployed for the removal of the Indians from her
territory. The Federal Government may ap-
propriate millions of dollars for i. 1 '? removal of
the Cherokees; it may station an army Cf ten
thousand men in the Cherokee territory; it may
negotiate with Ridge or Ross, or with whom
they please; all this must be a matter of perfect
indifference to Georgia. Georgia has extended
her laws over the territory occup ed by the In-
dians; she has organized that territory into
counties; she had parted with her title to the
land, by issuing grants to her citizens under the
great seal of the State; and she has ordained, by
law, that on the 25lh of May, 1838, the gran
tees of such lands as should then be in the occu
pancy of the Indians, would be put in possession
of their fee simple property. All these are
fac.s known to Gov. Gilmer to the Federal Go
vernmerit, to Mr. Lumpkin and to Mr. Daw.
son. Could Gov. Gilmer by making propo-
sitions to Ross; could Mr. Dawson, by laboring
day and night, to bring Ross to a reasonable
proposition; and could Mr. Lumpkin, by com
muning with the late nnd present President; we
say, could they change the.absolute obligations
of the laws of Georgia ? The Secretary of War,
himself, is obliged«to admit, that nothing can be
changed in the stipulations of the treaty, and in
the obligation of the Indians to remove on the
23d of May, two days sooner than required by
the law of Georgia, but by the consent of the
parties interested. Georgia, ns a State, is not
only one of the parlies interested, from whom a
consent for a delay in the removal of the Indians
should be obtained. The consent of the own
ers of the lots, now occupied by the Cherokees,
must first be asked and obtained By law they
were to have the possession of their property on
tiie 25th May : no other force but that of the
bayonet could deprive them of their right to take
possession of their land. And yet, Mr. Gilmer,
as Governor of the State, attempts to negotiate
with John Ross; nnd members of Congress,
instead of standing aloof, and rejecting every
attempt to induce them to enter into some com
promise witii Ross, labor day and night to bring
this nrlful chief to a reasonable proposition !
If Gov. Gilmer, Mr. Dawson, and Mr. Lump
kin, bad succeeded in bringing John Ross to
some reasonable proposition, who were lo sanc
tion the arrangement made by the contracting
parties? Did Gov. Gilmer possess the power
to carry into effect nnv reasonable proposition
made by Ross? Were Mr. Dawson and Mr.
Lumpkin duly appointed ministers plenipoten
tiary on the part nfthe Federal nr State Govern
ment, to treat with the chief John Ross? Those
gentlemen had no business to meddle with the
object of the visit of John Ross to Washington;
thev should have rejected every proposition
made to them to confer with that Indian Chief.
We have no d<*ubt ip oqr minds, that this inter
meddling with Ross, had tho effect of leading
him to stand firm in the rejection of the treaty
o(;iS35. If Ross had been notified by the
Federal authorities, that Georgia would not hear
of any compromise, in regard to the removal
of the Indians on the 33d of May, he would
have recommended to his people to emigrate be.
fore the time specified.
We deeply regret the publication of the letter
of Gov. Gilmer to Mr. Dawson. He should
have been above the expression oi those parti
san feelings employed by newspaper editors in
his State for political effect, against the Fede
ral administration. He should not have said
that the President will not be pern itted to sell the
rights of the people of Georgia, to buy voles else
inhere, especially when strong suspicions exist
that the proposition of the Secretary of War to
the Cherokee delegation, was suggested by the
interference and intermeddling of individuals
who, intentionally deceived the Secretary of
War, or were themselves deceived, as to the
influence they possessed in Georgia, and as to
the benefits which the political party to which
they belong might derive from the course they
recommended. IfGov. Gilmer had not pub
lished that loiter, we would have given him our
feeble aid with the utmost pleasure and cheer
fulness, for we believe him to be devoted to
Georgia, and to be zealous and patriotic in the
discharge of his official duties; but as we find that
he is not generous enough to wait until the mys
tery connected with the recent pjoposition of
the War Department is revealed, before he as-
cribes to tho worst of motives the conduct of the
President, the Governor will not be surprised
if in the course of the coming events, arising out^
ofourCherokee affairs, we administer to alU
parties nothing else but simple justice, without
indulging in praises, which it is a pleasure for us
to bestow, when political friends, and even po-
litical opponents, give us. the opportunity to do so
with propriety. We approve the letters of Gov.
Gilmer to the Secretary of'War, and to the
Georgia delegation. We censure and condemn
the spirit which dictated the letter of Gov. Gil.
mer to Mr. Dawson: and if we arc not egregi-
ously mistaken in our opinion, the time is not far
distant when the publication of that letter will
be regretted as much by Gov. Gilmer and his
friends, as by us,
From the Southern Banner, 16lh inst.
GOV. GILMER AND CHEROKEE AF
FAIRS.
Agreeably to an intimation given last week, we
insert,.to-day, Gov. Gilmer’s letters to the Geor-
gia Delegation and to Col. Dawson, on the sub
ject of our Cherokee Affairs. The letter to
the Delegation simply requests them to ascertain
whether the Secretory of War contemplates us
ing force to keep the Cherokees on our soil.—
This is a duplicate of his own question to the
Secretary, which we showed, in our last was a
gross and unprovoked insult to-that functionary,
inasmuch as the Secretary had disclaimed before
hand any such intention. But the letter tn Col.
Dawson will most attract the reader’s attention,
not only for the matter it contains, and the tern-
peril displays, hut because of its being address
ed to an individval, and published bv its author
before that individual could have received it.—
ty; but we cannot blindly follow him in every
tilt he mny choose to run against nothing. And
we are mistaken, if the people do not s.-e in this
whole matter, reason to believe that an unwor
thy attempt has been made to inflame their
s:ons and impose upon their credulity.
pas-
From the Augusta Constitutionalist, 19th inst.
Since our last publication \vc received
the subjoined epistle from our Senator in
Congress, Mr. Lumpkin. If it is not cour
teous in feeling and language, it must be
ascribed to the total absence, at the lime
it was written, of that equanimity of tem
per, and that prudence and caution, for
which the writer has been so remarkable
in his political life. To have lost his tem
per on this occasion, might be considered
as an evidence of the correctness of the
charges alledged against them; while, if
he had remained cool, and continued to>
explain all the circumstances connected!
with the Cherokee controversy, the peo
ple of Georgia would have been willing
to give him credit for honesty of purpose,,
if not for a bold and independent course
of conduct. If Mr. Lumpkin had not lost
his temper, this letter to us would nop
have been written, and we would have 1
spared our readers the task of perusing
such an unbecoming production.
Mr. Lumpkin should have known that,
as public journalists, we have duties to per
form which are paramount to personal con
siderations. And he must know that it i*
with us a subject of regret and reluctance
whenever we feel it our duty to censure on
condemn the conduct of public men, and,
especially political friends. In the case-
of the removal of the Cherokees, when,
the message of the President reached us,
with the letter of the Secretary of War
to the Cherokee delegation, we did not
hesitate one moment as to the course we
hadto pursue. And neither did we hesi
tate, when the information reached us that
Mr. Lumpkin, Mr. Dawson, and Governor
Gilmer, were concerned in the proposition
laid before Congress by the President. If.
we had acted otherwise than we did, we
would have deserved to lose our reputa
tion for indepence, and the confidence of
our political friends. In adopting the
course we did, we placed on the same foot
ing Mr. Van Buren, Mr. Poinsett, and Mr..
Lumpkin, with Mr. Gilmer and Mr. Daw—
And we can assure Mr. Lumpkin,,
that, whenever the occasion will require-
it, we will act in the same independent
nurt ,, ,, u ,, manner regardless of consequences, pro—
Why Col. Dawson ahouldte'shigl^outby'his I . vitled we discharge our duty as .public
Excellency as the medium of the Governor’s e- journalists. Notwithstanding his ill-tem
pered letter, Mr. Lumpkin canidepend on,
justice being rendered tohirmby us. Be—
foie receiving that letter, we had published!
his speech, for which, in our introductory:
remarks, we gave him credit for frank
ness. But we must advise him to re
strain his anger, and to keiep cool;. by us*
intemperate language is always treated
with contempt, while an opposite course
draws from us a respectful consideration.
Washington, June 11th, 1838.
Messrs. Guicu Sf Thompson.
The insinuation and - imputation con
tained in your editorial- article of tho Sikh
instant, that I have many way whatever;
at any time, or to any person, advised or-
consulted, that the Cherokee Indians should'
remain a single day longer ir> the Siutc of
Georgia, than may be necessary to remova.
ittem with humanity and reasonable comfort{.
is utterly and wholly false. And if cvcqr
editor in the State of Georgia should eon-i-
tinue to withhold from the people, all that!
I have said and done to relieve the State
from its Indian population, and insidiously
attempt to reverse the most arduous labours
of my public life, 1 shall still indulge the
hope, that the people of Georgia cannot*
he thus imposed upon.
Your obedient servant, *
WILSON LUMPKIN.
lectioneering address to the public, we cannot di
vine, unless it grew out of the Colonel’s efforts,
which lie says have been unremitting, “night
and day,” to conclude some arrangement with
John Ross—or from, his own good nature in al
lowing any of his friends to command his
name or services in effecting their own disgrace.
Certain it is, that the latter object will be most
signally accomplished by the letter in question.
We have not time to enter upon a minute re
view of this curious document; and although it
furnishes material for the severest criticism, we
shall only glance at two or three points, leaving
to the reader the task of noticing its other nume
rous defects. The Governor, it will be seen,
felicitates himself upon the arduous labors he
has undergone to save the lives of our people.—
Now, what these labors have been, is as yet un
known; but if they consist in his disbanding the
troops organized by Gov. Schley; or refusing to
Commission officers elected by the volunteers
raised under an ael oftlie last Legislature; or in
distrusting the humanity and patriotism of thes»-
troops, by refusing to call them into actual ser
vice, fur fear they would oppress the Cherokees
—then we say the people of Georgia will not va
lue these labors as highly as his Excellency ap
pears to rate them. And what else did he do,
until he was called upon by tho General Govern
ment to send troops-into ihe field? Nothing, ex
cept to co: respond with’tiie Secretary of War,
John Ross and others, in order to procure an al
teration in the treaty. The truth is, all Gov.
Gilmer’s Herculean labors exist only in his er
ratic imagination, for he cannot show one net in
which he has been guilty of anv great exertion
to promote the interest of Georgia on this ques-
tion.
It may strike the reader as somewhat singu*
Tar that the Governor commences his letier by
describing the peacefulness of the Cherokees,
and the calm and quiet which prevailed through
out the entire territory occupied by and
contiguous to them; and then, a few sentences af
ter, alludes to “Indian disturbances, alarms and
wars,” in that quarter. But it is perfectly in
consC ,r aace with the acts of his who’e public life
—scarcely 2 sentiment has he ever uttered,
which he has not, sC°ner or later, by word or by
-deed, contradicted. We are rot surprised at it,
and only point it out now, to show muc!.* confi
dence should be reposed in his Excellency’s rhet
orical flourishes.
We proved last week, from this letter and the
one addressed to the Secretary of War, that
Gov. Gilmer had himself recommended the same
measures substantially, as those now proposed
to Congress. Confirmation of this will be found
in the extract read to the Senate by Gov. Lump
kin, which appears in our columns to day. It
exposes some of the secret history of this matter,
and accounts for the Secretary’s declaration to
Ross, that he had o doubt the States would ac
quiesce in the proposed arrangement. It was
made at Gov. Gilmer's suggestion, and well
might the Secretary huve believed that he would
agree to his own recommendations. But Mr.
Poinsett was ignorant ot the profoundly diploma
tic character of our puissant Governor—sirait,
forward, candid and honest himself, he presum
ed the Chief Magistrate of a State would possess
the same qualities—hence his recommendation
and disap(>ointment. How much reason we
have “to feel proud of our Executive,” for such
an exhibition of duplicity, his friends must explain
—we can see no room for any other feeling
than mortification and regret.
The insinuation that the President wishes to
buy votes elsewhere at our expense, is decidedly
in bad taste. It is false, undignified and malig
nant. The Governor’s constituents will be a-
shamed of him.
But the Governor is going up to see if “the
rights of the State are to be trampled on, or vio.
lated by military force!” Good! Did the rea
der ever see a cowardly bully at a Justice’s
Court Ground, when there was no chance of a
fight, knocking his heels together, swearing he
could whip the best man in two districts, and
daring the crowd to combat—and did ever such
an exhibition establish the bully’s reputation for
courage? And is not our Governor in a posi.
tion somewhat similar? No one is disposed to
fight him; no movement, trampling upon our
rights, has been made; but on the contrary, the
best feeling has been manifested towards us.—
The Secretary’s Letter of the 3d inst. to the
Governor, is most positive in its declarations
that no interference with our rights was intend
ed; and indeed, all this was apparent before, to
every unprejudiced mind. But the Governor is
valorous, and like the Knight of La Mancha, he
must have something for his chivalry to feed up
on, ifitbebut a wind-will.
When the rights of Georgia are threatened or
invaded, it will make no difference to us who is
our Governor—if he be true to the people and
firm to resist aggression, we pledge oursell to
sustain him to the extent of our power nnd abili-
From the N. Y. Journal of Commerce.
THE METHODISTS vs. ABOLITION.
The New York Annual Conference, wbiebi
had been in session daily since the 16th May,,
adjourned at a late hour on Wednesday evening..
We copy from a contemporary the annexed ac
count of the proceedings ol the Conference ou
the subject of Abolition, to which we alluded
briefly in our last. Now look out for “a hurri
cane” from the un-common scolds of the Libera
tor, Emancipator, &c.
From the Commercial Advertiser,
Several of the members of the Conference,,
having attended the late Methodist anti-slavery
convention, at Utica, were arraigned on the
charge of “contumacy and insubordination,” in
view of the ground taken by the prosecution,,
that said convention, in its character and doings,,
was “unauthorized, schismatic and revolutiona
ry.” The charges were still farther maintain
ed on.the ground, that in attending said conven
tion, as well as in other respects agitating the
church, on the subject of abolitionism, the ac
cused had violated their pledges, and contemn
ed the authority of the General Conference, who
have advised all the preachers “wholly to re
frain from all abolition movements and associa
tions.” In some of the cases, other specifica
tions were alleged besides attending conventions,,
such as writing for abolition papers and pamph
lets; misrepresenting their brothers; false state
ments, verbal and written, and otherwise
disturbing the peace and harmony of the
ohurch.
The trials have been conducted publicly, and
each of the accused has had every opportunity
of defence. The result has been, that two of
the number were suspended from the ministry,
until they give satisfactory evidence to the Con-
fercnce that they will cease from disturbing tho
harmony ofthe church.
It affords us great pleasure to be enabled to
slate that both these gentlemen gave yesterday,
full assurance that they would, in every particu
lar, conform to the will of the Conference—con
sequently they were restored to their ministe
rial office.
Charges were proved against two other mem
bers, but having promptly conformed to the re
quisition of the Conference, no penalty was in
flicted.
Some others have been reproved by the pre
siding officer, and all have been required to ab
stain from interfering with the exciting subject
of abolitionism.
Resolutions have passed the Conference, re
probating the paper published in this city called
“Zion’s Watchman,” and prohibiting the mem
bers of the Conference from acting as its agents,.
&c. on account of its schismatical and revolu
tionary character.
The great body of ministers belonging to thi*
Conference are evidently determined to exclude
abolitionists from their pulpits, and the decision*
made, as well as the votes taken, show that the
agitating measures by which the church has.
been disturbed, have beep confined to a ver ?
ft! We
ReacJut ions were adopted, iqcemmendrng the
American Colonization Society to the patronage
of (he churchy and another prqhibjltng the mota*
