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THE 
 
 STATESMEN OF AMERICA 
 
 IN 
 
 - 1846 . 
 
 SARAH MYTTON MAURY. 
 
 " Veritas et Justitia laos xeddunt Honores." 
 
 1>X>H 
 5 - 30-7 3 
 
 E333 
 
 . 7^45 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, 
 PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 1847. 
 
LIVERPOOL. : 
 JOSEPH A. D. WATTS, 
 PRINTER. 
 
TO THE HONOURABLE 
 
 JAMES BUCHANAN, 
 
 SECRETARY OF STATE, 
 
 AT WASHINGTON. 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 At length I have the pleasure of presenting to 
 your acceptance the “ Statesmen of America 
 in 1846.” They will he succeeded by the 
 “ Opinions of an Englishwoman on Ame¬ 
 rica.” — Both of these works are indebted to 
 your suggestion for their origin; and for the 
 privilege of being inscribed with a name so dis¬ 
 tinguished as that of James Buchanan. 
 
 I have been anxious that the “Statesmen” 
 should appear in Washington during the Session 
 of Congress in 1847; presuming that most of 
 
 6916*90 
 
 
IV. 
 
 my friends will be there again assembled. Should 
 the Portraits he pronounced good likenesses, I 
 shall he proud and happy ; and even should they 
 be found hut faint in their resemblance, the 
 attempt itself to delineate them, will prove to 
 the valued originals how deeply engraven on my 
 memory are their names and features. 
 
 The Journals announce a change in the poli¬ 
 tical aspect of the country. It appears to me, 
 however, that the Whig elections in Pennsylvania, 
 Ohio, and especially in the Dictator State of 
 New York, have arisen out of questions purely 
 local, and affecting those sections alone. The 
 actual true majorities in the United States will 
 ever he vested in the Democratic ranks; natu¬ 
 rally and invariably the dominant party in a 
 Republic. It must he so;—though incidental 
 circumstances would sometimes cause it to appear 
 otherwise. I anticipate that the Americans will 
 make a Democratic President in 1848; and, 
 perhaps, a moderate or a Democratic Whig in 
 1852 . 
 
 But I will cease to interrupt you with my 
 
English fireside lucubrations; though I indulge 
 in them frequently for the sake of recalling my 
 pleasant residence at Washington, in the midst 
 of its frank and social circles. I trust to be 
 remembered, and sometimes to be wished for 
 by many of the actors in those brilliant scenes, 
 which their kindness rendered to me so fasci¬ 
 nating. 
 
 Will you, my dear Mr. Buchanan, present 
 to our mutual friends, in the name of my hus¬ 
 band, his most grateful acknowledgments for the 
 hospitality and protection accorded to his Wife 
 and Son by his faithful and generous country¬ 
 men;—and in my name, will you add, that I 
 anticipate with delight the time when I shall 
 return again to be among them. England is 
 my birthplace, and as such is dear; she is the 
 nursery of my earliest and tenderest affections, 
 and as such her name is sweet:— 
 
 “ Here my Father’s house was reared; 
 
 Here my Mother’s voice was heard; 
 
 Here my infant children played, 
 
 Beneath the oak’s wide spreading shade.” 
 
 But in all the essential advantages of life, Ame- 
 
rica is her superior; and these I wish to seek 
 for my Sons' and for my Daughters' sake. 
 
 You have promised me a welcome ; and well 
 you know the value of the boon you offer. The 
 Americans have already given me a place in 
 their homes and in their hearts, and soon I shall 
 come to claim it;—until then and always, I 
 remain, 
 
 My dear Sir, 
 
 Your faithful Servant, 
 
 And affectionate Friend, 
 
 SARAH MYTTON MAURY. 
 
 Liverpool, 31st December, 184 G. 
 
 Anniversary of the Day I arrived in Washington. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 The President and People of the United States. 1 
 
 James Buchanan. 11 
 
 William Henry Seward. 32 
 
 William H. Haywood. 65 
 
 Hugh White . 81 
 
 John Y. Mason . 85 
 
 Abbott Lawrence . 87 
 
 Thomas H. Benton.„. 95 
 
 Samuel D. Hubbard. 112 
 
 Martin Van Buren . 114 
 
 Robert C. Winthrop . 140 
 
 Roger B. Taney. 160 
 
 John M‘Lean . 164 
 
 Daniel Webster and Rufus Choat . 183 
 
 Edward A. Hannegan. 227 
 
 John Quincy Adams. 245 
 
 Albert Gallatin. 269 
 
 Oregon And Canada, Remarks on . 301 
 
 Charles Jared Ingersoll . 313 
 
 Edmund Gaines . 338 
 
 Matthew Fontaine Maury. 341 
 
 John Caldwell Calhoun . 345 
 
 * 
 
 Henry Clay. 422 
 
 Right Rev. John Hughes, Catholic Bishop of New York 482 
 
 Note on the Corps Diplomatique at Washington . 533 
 
 Essay on Free Trade, by the Authoress . 535 
 
 The Catholic Church in Oregon . 543 
 
 Notes on the Mexican War. ; . 545 
 
THE 
 
 STATESMEN OF AMERICA. 
 
 THE PRESIDENT AND PEOPLE OF THE 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 The first time I saw the President was on the 
 first of January, 1846, the morning after the 
 arrival of myself and my son (the Doctor,) at 
 Washington. On New Year’s day it is the privi¬ 
 lege of every American and his family to pay 
 their respects to the Chief Magistrate of the 
 country, at the White House. Wishing to see 
 this republican ceremony, so unlike any custom 
 of Europe, we repaired to the residence of the 
 President about one o’clock, and not having had 
 time to deliver any of our letters of introduction, 
 we went alone. The crowd was immense, but 
 perfectly well conducted; no pushing forward, no 
 
 B 
 
o 
 
 THE PRESIDENT AND PEOPLE 
 
 murmuring, no jostling; each was solicitous to 
 avoid, if possible, annoying his or her neighbour, 
 and anxiously apologised if such an accident 
 happened; all were neatly dressed, many of the 
 female portion with much elegance, and the men 
 carried their hats high up above their heads to 
 keep them out of the way. I have been in all 
 sorts of crowds, in England and France; at 
 theatres, operas, churches, balls, routs, elections, 
 and ceremonies of various kinds, both public 
 and private, but I have never seen any assem¬ 
 blage of persons so orderly, respectful, patient, 
 and well mannered as the American people on 
 that day. The Democracy behaved like a Lady. 
 
 The President stood in the Reception room, 
 and Mrs. Polk at a little distance; they received 
 their guests as they were able to approach; the 
 greeting was friendly and courteous on the one 
 side, and respectful and kind on the other. My 
 son and myself approached with the rest, and I 
 simply introduced myself as an English lady, 
 without even mentioning my name. I am 
 delighted, madam, to see you here,” said the Pre¬ 
 sident, shaking me cordially by the hand. I then 
 
OF THE UNITED STATES- 
 
 3 
 
 introduced my son, saying that I should hope to 
 see the President again. “ At all times, madam, 
 you will he most welcome. 55 And he has faith¬ 
 fully kept this encouraging promise; in public 
 and in private I have ever received from him and 
 from Mrs. Polk the utmost kindness and con¬ 
 sideration. 
 
 This was my first introduction in Washington, 
 and at this time it must be remembered that the 
 United States were at variance, and might soon 
 be at war, with Great Britain. Nor should it be 
 omitted that the Americans, a high minded and 
 sensitive people, jealous of their honour, have 
 been the subjects of vulgar and ignorant remark 
 by English travellers. But these circumstances 
 never seemed to recur to their recollection; or 
 rather they appeared additional reasons why they 
 should extend to me a more than ordinary share 
 of courtesy and hospitality. I was a stranger, a 
 woman, and an invalid:—this was enough for them. 
 In my various interviews with the President he 
 was ever cautious of making any remark which 
 might even by inference give me pain, and he 
 treated my feelings with respect as one devoted 
 
4 
 
 THE PRESIDENT AND PEOPLE 
 
 to the interests of my country, but as regarding 
 America with every hallowed sentiment of grati¬ 
 tude, admiration and love. And this conside¬ 
 ration for my position as an Englishwoman, was 
 universal throughout the Union. 
 
 The Honourable James Knox Polk entered 
 
 upon the office of President of the United States 
 
 / 
 
 on the 4th of March, 1845. He is a native of 
 North Carolina, and was born on the 2nd of 
 November, 1795. His father, who was a farmer, 
 removed to Tennessee in 1806, and in this state 
 Mr. Polk continues to reside. The ancestors of 
 this family, in common with those of many of our 
 distinguished men, emigrated from Ireland. He 
 received his professional education in the Univer¬ 
 sity of North Carolina, and was distinguished for 
 his great assiduity and success, particularly in the 
 study of mathematics. In 1820 Mr. Polk was 
 admitted to the bar, commencing his career in 
 Maury county. In 1825 he was chosen to repre¬ 
 sent his district in Congress, and in 1835 he was 
 elected speaker of the House of Representatives. 
 
 The President is of low stature; his address is 
 mild and perfectly unassuming, and the tones of 
 
OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 5 
 
 his voice are gentle and agreeable; his forehead is 
 broad and high; his eyes well set, of dark gray, 
 and the mouth is expressive of much firmness. 
 I should think that he is habitually grave and 
 thoughtful, for though I have often seen him smile, 
 I have never seen him indulge in laughter. The 
 President refuses a favour more kindly than any 
 one I have ever heard perform that most un¬ 
 gracious duty of one in power. I was, on one 
 occasion, present when a gentleman pressed 
 very hard for an answer to an application for a 
 con ulship. The President said that he had not 
 had dme to examine the list of candidates; that 
 it was a very long one, and that for the moment 
 he was wholly unable to give any reply. The gen¬ 
 tleman had the bad taste to reiterate his request; 
 three times the President repeated his original 
 words, and always with forbearance and patience. 
 The art of conferring a favour is as difficult as 
 the art of refusing it; but the sagacity and good 
 feeling which called into active service Slidell 
 M‘Kenzie and the veteran Major General Gaines, 
 are proofs that the President understands the one 
 as well as the other. 
 
6 
 
 THE PRESIDENT AND PEOPLE 
 
 Mr. Polk is attached to the Presbyterian 
 church; hut his sympathies extend to all deno¬ 
 minations, and during my residence in Wash¬ 
 ington he attended the Roman Catholic chapel, 
 when, I believe, a sermon for the relief of the 
 Irish poor was preached. I have understood that 
 his attendance at church is strict and constant, 
 and in every relation of private life he is exem¬ 
 plary and well beloved. 
 
 Though the individual reign of the President is 
 limited by the constitution of the country to a 
 certain term of years, no dynasty among the 
 sovereigns of the earth holds tenure on more im¬ 
 mutable grounds than the Presidents of America. 
 
 OPINIONS OF COLONEL POLK. 
 
 The following are extracted from Governor Polk’s 
 Inaugidar Address , delivered at Nashville on the 
 \Ath of October , 1839, in presence of the two 
 Houses of the General Assembly :— 
 
 UNITED STATES BANK. 
 
 " The federal government has at different times 
 assumed or attempted to exercise powers which, 
 
OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 7 
 
 in my judgment, have not been conferred upon 
 that government by the compact. Among these I 
 am free to declare my solemn conviction that the 
 federal government possesses no constitutional 
 power to incorporate a national bank. The advo¬ 
 cates of a bank insist that it would be convenient 
 and expedient , and that it would promote the 
 f general welfare;’ but they have, in my judgment, 
 failed to show that the power to create it is either 
 expressly granted, or that it is an incident to any 
 express p »wer that is f necessary and proper ’ 
 to carry tnat power into effect. The alarming 
 dangers of the power of such a corporation (vast 
 and irresponsible as experience has shown it to 
 be) to the public liberty, it does not fall within 
 the scope of my present purpose fully to examine. 
 We have seen the power of associated wealth in 
 
 the late Bank of the United States, wrestling with 
 
 * 
 
 a giant’s strength with the government itself— 
 and although finally overthrown, it was not until 
 after a long and doubtful contest. During the 
 struggle, it manifested a power for mischief which 
 it would be dangerous to permit to exist in a free 
 country. The panic and alarm, the distress and 
 
8 
 
 THE PRESIDENT AND PEOPLE 
 
 extensive suffering which, in its convulsive 
 struggle to perpetuate its power, it inflicted on 
 the country, will not soon he forgotten. Its no¬ 
 torious alliance with leading politicians, and its 
 open interference, by means of the corrupting 
 power of money, in the political contests of the 
 times, had converted it into a political engine, 
 used to control elections and the course of public 
 affairs. No restraints of law could prevent any 
 similar institution from being the willing instru¬ 
 ment used for similar purposes. The state of 
 Tennessee, through her legislature, has repeatedly 
 declared her settled opinions against the existence 
 of such an institution, and at no time in its favour. 
 She has instructed her senators and requested her 
 representatives in Congress to vote against the 
 establishment of such an institution. In these 
 opinions, heretofore expressed by the state, I en¬ 
 tirely concur.” 
 
 ABOLITION OF SLAVERY. 
 
 “ It becomes the duty of all the states, and 
 especially of those whose constitutions recognize 
 the existence of domestic slavery, to look with 
 
OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 ( J 
 
 watchfulness to the attempts which have been re¬ 
 cently made to disturb the rights secured to them 
 by the constitution of the United States. The 
 agitation of the abolitionists can by no possibility 
 produce good to any portion of the union, and 
 must, if persisted in, lead to incalculable mischief. 
 The institution of domestic slavery, as it existed at 
 the adoption of the constitution of the United 
 States, and as it still exists in some of the states, 
 formed the abject of one of the compromises of 
 opinion and of interest upon the settlement of 
 which all the old states became parties to the 
 compact, and agreed to enter the union. The 
 new states were admitted into the union upon an 
 equal footing with the old states, and are equally 
 bound by the terms of the compact. Any attempt 
 on the part of the Federal Government to act upon 
 
 the subject of slavery, as it exists within the 
 
 $■ 
 
 states, would be a clear infraction of the constitu¬ 
 tion ; and to disturb it within the district of 
 Columbia would be a palpable violation of the 
 public faith, as well as of the clear meaning and 
 obvious intention of the framers of the constitu¬ 
 tion. They intended to leave, as they did in fact 
 
10 
 
 THE PRESIDENT AND PEOPLE, &c. 
 
 leave, the subject to the exclusive regulation and 
 action of the states and territories within which 
 slavery existed or might exist. They intended to 
 place, and they did in fact place it beyond the 
 pale of action within the constitutional power 
 of the Federal Government. No power has been 
 conferred upon the general government, either 
 by express grant or necessary implication, to 
 take cognizance of, or in any manner or to any 
 extent to interfere with, or to act upon the sub¬ 
 ject of domestic slavery, the existence of which in 
 many of the states is expressly recognized by the 
 constitution of the United States.” 
 
THE HONOURABLE JAMES BUCHANAN, 
 
 Secretary of State at Washington. 
 
 It was at the annual ball given at Washington, 
 on the 8th of o muary, in commemoration of the 
 battle of New Orleans, that I was first presented 
 to Mr. Buchanan, and at once I knew that I had 
 looked upon a friend. During my residence in 
 that city I frequently appealed to him for advice, 
 and never in vain; he heard me with patience, 
 entered into the various considerations attendant 
 upon my happiness and comfort, granted me 
 every indulgence, and accorded my every wish. 
 Occasionally mistrust came over me, and the 
 dread of an unholy war, and the long animosity 
 which it would entail upon the rival countries, 
 became intolerable; at these times I have sought 
 consolation from Mr. Buchanan. At the depart¬ 
 ment of state, at his own residence, I was at all 
 
12 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 times instantly admitted, and received with wel- 
 come, and I ever left his presence with a light 
 and happy heart. 
 
 The Secretary is tall and well proportioned ; 
 his manners are gentle and composed, and his 
 articulation peculiarly slow and distinct. He looks 
 like an English nobleman of thirty or forty years 
 ago, when the grave and dignified bearing of men 
 in power was regarded as an essential attribute 
 of their office. This aristocratic address and 
 manner, however, are natural, not acquired, in 
 Mr. Buchanan, the result of an elevated character 
 and urbanity of disposition, united with the long 
 practice of office, and the habit of command. I 
 have had the honour of being admitted to his 
 presence when business of an arduous and re¬ 
 sponsible kind awaited his attention, when cir¬ 
 cumstances of vexatious and important tendency 
 required his care; but I have never, for one 
 instant, seen the least departure from that perfect 
 self possession which bestows so peculiar a grace 
 on him who can practise it, and which has ever 
 so singular an influence on him who witnesses it. 
 The fair and delicate, though fresh, complexion 
 
MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 13 
 
 of Mr. Buchanan, his eye of light blue, and full 
 
 j 
 
 blooded system, attest unequivocally his Anglo- 
 Saxon descent, and by this description I hope I 
 have clearly established my claim upon the out¬ 
 ward man as one of my country. But here I 
 must be content; the heart and soul of Buchanan, 
 each hour of life, each energy of mind, are given 
 to America. Cautious and deliberating, thoroughly 
 appreciating the extent of his power, and the 
 responsibility of bus position, this noble minded 
 man twice tendered his resignation when his 
 opinions conscientiously differed from those of the 
 administration. He is 'unquestionably the first 
 man in the existing government, and there is no 
 doubt that had he quitted office, the relations 
 between England and the United States would 
 have worn a much more hostile aspect, for though 
 Buchanan regarded the 54° 4(/ parallel as the 
 indisputable right of America, his humane and 
 sagacious policy yielded this right rather than 
 rush upon a war fraught with doubtful good and 
 certain evil. For this moderation he will be 
 applauded by every true lover of his country, both 
 in England and in America. It may be gratifying 
 
 c 
 
14 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 to Mr. Buchanan to learn that since the publi¬ 
 cation of the correspondence between the British 
 Minister and himself, many persons on this side 
 of the Atlantic have adopted his opinions, and 
 consider that the Americans shewed the better 
 claim. I have heard these convictions acknow¬ 
 ledged even by men of the high Tory regime. 
 Mr. Gallatin expressed personally to me his high 
 opinion of the merits of Mr. Buchanan’s letters. 
 
 In social life the Secretary of State is easy and 
 hospitable, and invariably receives with cordiality 
 the marks of attention and respect which are 
 paid to him. I have understood that his reading 
 in law and history is extensive, and study has 
 ever formed his principal recreation. In conver¬ 
 sation he is rather a listener than a speaker; but 
 he is always in advance of the subject as it 
 proceeds, and sometimes puts a startling question 
 when it is least expected. His opinions both of 
 the subject and of the speaker are founded very 
 much on the unpremeditated replies which he 
 elicits. This peculiarity is probably the result 
 equally of a legal education and of long official 
 habits; but it is ever attended with courtesy, and 
 
MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 15 
 
 always exhibits the earnest purpose and reasoning 
 mind which prompts such a mode of investigation. 
 There is one trait of Mr. Buchanan’s character 
 which cannot be too highly estimated, inasmuch 
 as it is rare in all men, and still more rare in 
 statesmen. He is faithful to a promise, and 
 regards his word as a bond. His friendships are 
 lasting, and he is said to possess the weakness 
 (and I believe it true) that clung to Mr. Canning 
 from youth to age, excessive and tenacious watch¬ 
 fulness of the affections of those to whom he is 
 attached. Public life, with its artificial system, 
 its selfish and worldly hopes and fears, has never 
 chilled the heart of the minister: he finds time, 
 through all his cares, to exercise his warm affec¬ 
 tions, his generous sympathies; to advise the 
 unprotected, to relieve the distressed. Never has 
 charity been asked of him in vain; and many a 
 daily prayer from the widow and the orphan 
 ascends to heaven for their generous though often 
 unknown benefactor. Though unmarried, Mr. 
 Buchanan has the most delicate and exalted 
 appreciation of the female character; and free from 
 those narrow prejudices which reduce a woman to 
 
16 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 a plaything, he does not disdain to honour her 
 worth, and to encourage her attempts at use¬ 
 fulness. Religion, to his honour be it spoken, is 
 the frequent subject of this statesman’s medi¬ 
 tation. In his private cabinet at home, on the 
 small table in daily use, and within arm’s reach, 
 are placed two volumes;—the one Jay’s Devout 
 Exercises, the other the New Testament. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan is a constant attendant on public 
 worship. He is a member of the Presbyterian 
 church, but he is too enlightened for bigotry, and 
 to his discriminating and liberal policy it is owing 
 that a Roman Catholic Prelate, of exalted repu¬ 
 tation for wisdom and piety, has been consulted 
 on the aspect of affairs between the United States 
 and Mexico. 
 
 I have frequently had the pleasure of con¬ 
 versing with Mr. Buchanan since the settlement 
 of the Oregon question (the articles of which will, 
 I have understood, be called the Treaty of Wash¬ 
 ington.) He exhibited no narrow minded feeling 
 of personal vexation, but congratulated me frankly 
 and cordially on the termination of this anxious 
 affair. The Secretary alluded to his retirement to 
 
MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 17 
 
 the Supreme Bench, as a thing contemplated, 
 though not immediate, for he wisely judged that 
 true magnanimity at that moment consisted in 
 holding and not in hastily escaping from office. On 
 the other hand, he dwelt with lingering pleasure 
 on the charms of rural life, its leisure, its amuse¬ 
 ments, its health and independence. But though 
 no retiring minister ever appeared in brighter 
 colours than Buchanan, I rejoice to hear that 
 he is still at the helm of government, and that 
 he probably will remain in this distinguished 
 post. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE SPEECH OF MR. BUCHANAN, 
 IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, 
 
 In favour of the treaty for the annexation of Texas 
 to the United States , delivered in the Senate of 
 the United States, 8th June , 1844 ( the injunction 
 of secresy removed.) 
 
 In order clearly to understand the origin and 
 nature of the question, it may here be proper to 
 present a brief sketch of the history of Texas. By 
 the treaty of Louisiana of 30th April, 1803, the 
 
18 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 United States acquired this province from France. 
 Every American statesman who has treated of the 
 subject, from Mr. Jefferson down to the distin¬ 
 guished senator from Missouri (Mr. Benton) is 
 clear and strong in this conviction. “The facts 
 and principles which justify this conclusion/ 5 say 
 Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney to the Spanish 
 commissioner; in 1805; “are so satisfactory to our 
 government as to convince it that the United 
 States have not a better right to the island of New 
 Orleans than they have to the whole district of 
 territory west to the Del Norte. 55 And what was 
 the eloquent language of the senator from Mis¬ 
 souri; in view of the negotiations pending in 1818; 
 and which resulted in the cession of Texas to 
 Spain ? “ The magnificent valley of the Missis¬ 
 
 sippi is ours/ 5 says he; “with all its fountains; 
 springs and floods; and woe to the statesman that 
 shall undertake to surrender one drop of its 
 water—one inch of its soil—to any foreign power. 55 
 Under this treaty of Louisiana; we entered into a 
 solemn agreement with France that the inhabitants 
 of the ceded territory “ should be incorporated 
 into the Union of the United States, as soon as 
 
MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 19 
 
 possible, according to the principles of the federal 
 constitution,” and should, in the meantime, be 
 protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, 
 property and religion. 
 
 In what manner have we redeemed our faith, 
 thus plighted to France? Texas was ours; but 
 it is ours no longer. In violation of the treaty of 
 Louisiana, we ceded Texas to Spain by the Florida 
 treaty of 1819. We thus dismembered the valley 
 of the Mississippi, and extended the boundary of 
 a foreign nation along our most weak and de¬ 
 fenceless frontier. 
 
 And, in the first place, therefore, Texas ought 
 to be annexed to the Union, because the pos¬ 
 session of this territory is necessary to our de¬ 
 fence, peace and security. The treaty of 1819, 
 with Spain, abandoned our natural limits. It 
 yielded up the boundary of a great river—the Del 
 Norte—of a desert, and of a chain of mountains, 
 for a mere arbitrary line. Whoever casts his eyes 
 upon the map will be convinced of this truth. 
 This treaty gave a foreign nation territory upon 
 the banks of two of our noblest rivers—the 
 Arkansas and the Red River—both tributaries of 
 
20 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 the Mississippi, and thus laid the foundation of 
 perpetual disputes concerning their navigation. 
 These disputes have already commenced between 
 us and Texas. Such river questions have ever 
 been a source of perpetual contest between con¬ 
 terminous nations. The republic of Texas now 
 approaches the immediate vicinity of New Orleans, 
 and thus our weakest frontier is exposed. All 
 will admit that General Jackson is a high autho¬ 
 rity on military questions. In his letter to Mr. 
 Brown, of the 12th February, 1843, he renders it 
 clear, that, should Texas form an alliance with 
 Great Britain, in case of war, our weak south 
 western frontier would be left open, and exposed 
 to the invasion of this powerful and hostile nation, 
 and that the means would thus be placed under 
 its control of exciting a servile insurrection within 
 our borders. On the other hand, if Texas were 
 annexed to the United States, “ our western 
 boundary (says the General) would be the Rio del 
 Norte, which is of itself a fortification, on account 
 of its extensive barren and uninhabitable plains. 
 With such a barrier on our west we are invincible. 
 The whole European world could not, in combi- 
 
MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 21 
 
 nation against us, make an impression on our 
 Union.” 
 
 In the second place, Texas ought to be annexed 
 to the United States, because this would greatly 
 increase our internal commerce, extend the market 
 for our domestic manufactures, and bind the 
 Union together by still stronger bonds; but, on 
 the other hand, should you reject Texas, she will 
 necessarily form a commercial alliance with our 
 great rival, England, who would thus secure to 
 herself the finest cotton growing region of the 
 earth at our expense, and to the lasting injury and 
 prejudice of all our great interests. 
 
 It has been estimated that our internal com¬ 
 merce, or home trade, is already fifteen times as 
 great as our commerce with foreign nations. The 
 acquisition of Texas would, in a very few years, 
 vastly increase this domestic trade. The manu¬ 
 factures of the North would here find an ever 
 growing market; whilst our commercial marine 
 and our steam vessels would obtain profitable em¬ 
 ployment in transporting the cotton, the sugar 
 and other agricultural productions of Texas, not 
 only throughout the Union, but over the world. 
 
22 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 Ours will be a glorious system of free trade, and 
 the only one which the jealousy and the interest 
 of foreign nations will ever permit us to enjoy. 
 Should Texas be annexed, and our Union pre¬ 
 served, there are human beings now in existence 
 who will live to see one hundred millions of free¬ 
 men within its limits, enjoying all the benefits of 
 free trade and unrestricted commerce with each 
 other. Henry the Great of France, more than 
 two hundred years ago, conceived the magnificent 
 idea—it was called his grand design—of dividing 
 Europe into fifteen confederated states, for the 
 purpose of preserving peace and promoting free 
 commerce among its different nations. He died 
 in the execution of this grand design, which was 
 alone sufficient to entitle him to the name of 
 Great. It is only thus that we can fulfil our high 
 destinies, and run the race of greatness for which 
 we are ordained. The time has passed away w r hen 
 serious fears can be entertained from an extension 
 of our Union, although I admit that the Del 
 Norte seems to be the boundary prescribed by 
 nature between the Anglo-Saxon and the Mexican 
 races. Within this limit, the more we extend our 
 
MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 23 
 
 system of confederated States, the greater will be 
 the strength and security of the Union; because 
 the more dependent will the several parts be upon 
 the whole, and the whole upon the several parts. 
 If there were no other bond to preserve our 
 Union, what State would forego the advantages of 
 this vast free trade with all her sisters, and place 
 herself in lonely isolation ? This system of con¬ 
 federated republics, under which the federal go¬ 
 vernment has charge of the interests common to 
 the whole, whilst local governments watch over 
 the concerns of the respective States, is capable 
 of almost indefinite extension with increasing 
 strength. This strength can never be impaired 
 but by the attempts of the federal government to 
 pass beyond its legitimate limits, and interfere 
 with interests belonging peculiarly to the States. 
 
 But suppose that we reject Texas, what will be 
 the consequences ? And here I invoke the patient 
 attention of the Senate. From the necessity of 
 the case, she must cast herself into the arms of 
 England. Both her interest and her safety render 
 this inevitable. I do not believe that Texas would 
 ever consent to become a colony of England, or 
 
24 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 that England desires to colonize Texas. England 
 could not make her a colony without certain war 
 with this country, unless we should abandon the 
 principle announced by Mr. Monroe in 1823, and 
 which was enthusiastically hailed by the American 
 people, that European nations shall no longer be 
 permitted to plant colonies on our continent. 
 No, sir, Texas will never become a colony of 
 England, but she will form a commercial alliance 
 with England; and to this we could not object 
 under any principle of the law of nations. Such 
 an alliance, in its consequences, would be equally 
 injurious to our peace and prosperity. 
 
 Permit me for a few moments to present this 
 branch of the subject in its different aspects. The 
 cotton manufacture is necessary not merely to the 
 prosperity, but almost to the very existence, of 
 England. Destroy it, and you ruin her prosperity. 
 She well knows that she is necessarily dependent 
 upon the nation which holds in its hands the raw 
 material of this manufacture. Such is our position 
 towards her at the present moment. To relieve 
 herself from this dependence, she has endeavoured 
 to promote the cultivation of cotton every where 
 
25 
 
 \) 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 throughout the world. Brazil, Egypt and the 
 East Indies have all, in turns, been the theatre of 
 her operations; but she has yet succeeded no¬ 
 where to any great extent. She has encountered 
 difficulties in the soil or in the climate of these 
 different countries which she has not been able to 
 overcome. Texas is now presented to her, with a 
 soil and a climate better adapted for the cultiva¬ 
 tion of cotton than any other region on the face 
 of the earth. England would not be true to her¬ 
 self if she did not eagerly desire to form a com¬ 
 mercial alliance with Texas. 
 
 Now, sir, annex Texas to the United States, 
 and we shall have within the limits of our broad 
 confederacy all the favoured cotton growing re¬ 
 gions of the earth. England will then for ever 
 remain dependent upon us for the raw material of 
 her greatest manufacture; and an army of one 
 hundred thousand men would not be so great a 
 security for preserving the peace between the two 
 nations as this dependence. 
 
 It is the very condition of England^ existence 
 as a powerful and prosperous nation that she shall 
 find consumers for her manufactures. The con- 
 
 D 
 
I 
 
 26 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 tinent of Europe is now, in a great degree, closed 
 against them, and she is traversing sea and land, 
 and exerting all her power, to open markets for 
 them throughout the other quarters of the globe. 
 A very long period of time must elapse even, if 
 ever, before Texas can become a manufacturing 
 nation. A commercial treaty will, then, be con¬ 
 cluded between the two nations founded on their 
 mutual interests, the basis of which will be free 
 trade, so far as this may be possible. England 
 will receive the cotton, sugar and other produc¬ 
 tions of Texas, whilst Texas, in return, will admit 
 the manufactures of England. And I ask what 
 could be more ruinous to all our interests than 
 such a free trade convention between these two 
 powers ? 
 
 British manufactures will be admitted into 
 Texas either entirely free or at a very low rate of 
 duty; and a system of smuggling will be organized 
 along our extended frontier which no vigilance can 
 prevent, and which will greatly reduce our revenue 
 and injure our domestic manufactures. 
 
 In arriving at the conclusion to support this 
 treaty, I had to encounter but one serious obstacle, 
 
MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 27 
 
 and this was the question of Slavery. Whilst I 
 ever have maintained, and ever shall maintain, in 
 their full force and vigour, the constitutional 
 rights of the southern States over their slave pro¬ 
 perty, I yet feel a strong repugnance, by any act 
 of mine, to extend the present limits of the Union 
 over a new slave holding territory. After mature 
 reflection, however, I overcame these scruples, 
 and now believe that the acquisition of Texas will 
 be the means of limiting, not enlarging, the do¬ 
 minion of slavery. In the government of the world, 
 Providence generally produces great changes by 
 gradual means. There is nothing rash in the 
 counsels of the Almighty. May not, then, the 
 acquisition of Texas be the means of gradually 
 drawing the slaves far to the south, to a climate 
 more congenial to their nature; and may they not 
 Anally pass off into Mexico, and there mingle with 
 a race where no prejudice exists against their 
 colour ? The Mexican nation is composed of 
 Spaniards, Indians and Negroes, blended together 
 in every variety, who would receive our slaves 
 on terms of perfect social equality. To this con¬ 
 dition they never can be admitted in the United 
 States. 
 
28 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 That the acquisition of Texas would ere long 
 convert Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, 
 and probably others of the more northern slave 
 States into free States, I entertain not a doubt. 
 In fact, public opinion was gradually accomplish¬ 
 ing this happy result, when the process was ar¬ 
 rested by the mad interference of the abolitionists. 
 A measure, having directly in view the gradual 
 abolition of slavery, came within one vote, if my 
 memory serves me, of passing the House of Dele¬ 
 gates of Virginia shortly before the abolition ex¬ 
 citement commenced. There was then in that 
 State a powerful, influential and growing party in 
 favour of gradual Emancipation, and they were 
 animated to exertion by the brightest hopes of 
 success; but the interference of fanatics from 
 abroad has so effectually turned back the tide of 
 public opinion, that no individual would now 
 venture to offer such a proposition in the Vir¬ 
 ginia legislature. The efforts of the abolitionists, 
 whether so intended or not , have long postponed 
 the day of emancipation . 
 
 But should Texas be annexed to the Union* 
 causes will be brought into operation which must 
 inevitably remove slavery from what may be called 
 
MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 29 
 
 the farming States. From the very best informa¬ 
 tion, it is no longer profitable to raise wheat, rye 
 and corn by slave labour. Where these articles 
 are the only staples of agriculture, in the pointed 
 and expressive language of Mr. Randolph, “ if the 
 slave don’t run away from his master, the master 
 must run away from the slave.” The slave will 
 naturally be removed from such a country, where 
 his labour is scarcely adequate to his own support, 
 to a region where he can not only maintain him¬ 
 self, but yield large profits to his master. Texas 
 will open such an outlet; and Slavery itself may 
 thus finally pass the Del Norte, and be lost in 
 Mexico. One thing is certain. The present num¬ 
 ber of slaves cannot be increased by the annexa¬ 
 tion of Texas. 
 
 I have never apprehended the preponderance of 
 the slave States in the counsels of the nation. 
 Such a fear has always appeared to me to be 
 visionary. But even those who entertain such 
 apprehensions need not be alarmed by the acqui¬ 
 sition of Texas. More than the one half of its 
 territory is wholly unfit for slave labour, and 
 therefore, in the nature of things, must be free. 
 
30 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 The Treaty itself ought to determine how many 
 free and how many slave States should be made 
 out of this Territory; or it ought; in express terms, 
 to leave the question of slavery to be decided by 
 those States in their constitutions, as they severally 
 apply for admission into the Union. 
 
 In the course of human .events, Texas has again 
 been presented to us for our acceptance. When 
 we ceded it to Spain, it was almost a wilderness; 
 but it is now peopled by our sons, our brothers, 
 and our kindred, who have convinced the world, 
 by their bravery, that they are worthy of their 
 breeding. They offer to return to our bosom 
 themselves, and to restore to us this fine and fer¬ 
 tile country which we had lost—a country more 
 extensive than France, and naturally as beautiful, 
 and blessed with almost every variety of soil and 
 climate. And shall we reject this munificent do¬ 
 nation ? They justly appreciate a union with us 
 as the highest privilege which any political com¬ 
 munity on earth can enjoy, and are willing to 
 surrender themselves and their all to become free 
 and sovereign States of our confederacy. 
 
 A proper regard for the opinion of mankind has 
 
MR. BUCHANAN. 
 
 31 
 
 hitherto wisely prevented our government from 
 treating for the annexation of Texas to this 
 country. That we might, years ago, have con¬ 
 cluded such a treaty, without any violation of 
 national faith or national honour, I entertain not 
 a doubt; but still we owed it to our own cha¬ 
 racter before the nations of the earth not to act 
 with precipitation on a question of such peculiar 
 delicacy. Throughout the war we have main¬ 
 tained a strict neutrality between the belligerent 
 powers. The Independence of Texas has now 
 been acknowledged by the principal commercial 
 nations of the earth. She has entered into treaties 
 with them and with us. No foot of an invading 
 enemy rests, or has ever rested, upon her soil 
 since the battle of San Jacinto. She still regards 
 her restoration to the bosom of our republic with 
 an eye of intense desire. She has never faltered 
 in this purpose, since the Declaration of her Inde¬ 
 pendence in 1836, when she determined, with en¬ 
 thusiastic unanimity, in favour of re-annexation. 
 The time has at length arrived when we may 
 receive her without any imputation upon our 
 honour. 
 
EX GOVERNOR WILLIAM H. SEWARD, 
 OF NEW YORK. 
 
 I shall again allude, in the succeeding portion 
 of this work, to Governor Seward ; but he is a re¬ 
 markable personage, and deserves peculiar notice. 
 Many men possess superior talents, in particular 
 and individual matters; but it is rare to meet with 
 a mind so generally comprehensive, and a heart so 
 full of various feeling. The law is his profession; 
 but politics are a profession in the United States; 
 and the influences of these two mighty powers, so 
 universal throughout the Republic, are constantly 
 to be distinguished reciprocating upon each other 
 in the motives and actions of this devoted lover 
 of his country and of her institutions. Sympathy 
 with his race, both with the mass and the indi¬ 
 vidual, with the virtuous and for the degraded, 
 with the happy and the unhappy, with the white 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 33 
 
 man and the black; sympathy intense, unresting 
 and universal, is the secret of Seward’s character. 
 Where weeps the destitute, there his voice is 
 heard; where pines the oppressed, there his spirit 
 lingers near; where groans the outcast, perchance 
 the murderer, there also he is present, seeking to 
 palliate, if not to save. I regard his perception 
 of the springs of action as intuitive, and have, 
 on more than one occasion, listened to his deli¬ 
 neation of the criminal’s progressive course in 
 vice, with gratified and curious interest; he has 
 sometimes shown me that even in the perpetration 
 of the most hideous crimes, the offender may yet 
 be human. Like most men of fervent character, it 
 is in criminal causes that Seward is pre-eminent; 
 in these his legal research, his acute perception, 
 and his just and merciful nature shine forth 
 in unrivalled lustre. In various civil causes he 
 has proved himself an able and effective lawyer, 
 and several distinguished members of the bar 
 have expressed much commendation of his argu¬ 
 ment in the highly important Patent Case, in 
 which he was eminently successful. Judge 
 M c Clean, of the Supreme Court of the United 
 
34 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 States, and the Honorable John Y. Mason, United 
 States 5 Attorney General, both gave most honour¬ 
 able testimony to his zeal and ability. His first 
 appearance in public life was as the opposer of 
 Masonic tyranny. He has been twice governor of 
 his native state, and was the man who withstood 
 the Administration in the affair of M‘Cleod. The 
 politics of Governor Seward perplex me; he is a 
 staunch supporter of the high Tariff; sided with 
 the Whigs who gave the notice on the Oregon 
 question; is the political adherent and devoted 
 friend of John Quincy Adams,* and is a sup¬ 
 porter of the Federal Government as opposed 
 to the division of interests by state rights. On 
 the other hand, he is an ultra democrat, active 
 in obtaining the immediate right of suffrage for 
 emigrants, and the privilege of an individual vote 
 for negroes ; he is besides pledged, as the first 
 principle of his political exertions, to the abo¬ 
 lition of slavery. In each of these opinions, save 
 one, I differ from him ; but such are his candour 
 
 * Nor is his friendship unreturned by the venerable Ex Pre¬ 
 sident, to whom I have often mentioned his name, for the pleasure 
 of observing the smile of affection which came over his counte¬ 
 nance whenever the Governor was presented to his recollection. 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 35 
 
 and ingenuity, that while I listen to his argu¬ 
 ments, I both esteem the man and admire the 
 politician the more heartily. This eminent person 
 is intimately versed in the history of his country, 
 and he expounds, in the most lucid manner, the 
 intricacies both of her past and present relations^ 
 whether party or political. 
 
 The address and manners of Governor Seward 
 are very agreeable, though his voice is guttural 
 and uncultivated, which possibly arises from an 
 absence of all pleasure in music 5 confessedly he 
 cannot distinguish a chant from a jig. His 
 appearance is very youthful for forty four; he is 
 of fair complexion, and possesses one peculiarity 
 of feature which is to me of singular interest. 
 In speaking or smiling the upper lip has a slight 
 nervous and tremulous motion, independent of its 
 action in articulation. This peculiarity I have 
 seen but twice before; it is, of course, involun¬ 
 tary, is observed only in men, and is always 
 accompanied by the most acute sensibilities. 
 
 The Governor is the constant and ardent ad¬ 
 vocate of universal education, and he is ever true 
 to the republican principle that all men are equal: 
 
36 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 indifferent to the accidental advantages of life, he 
 mingles with all who make virtue their inward 
 guide, and propriety their outward garb. 
 
 Such is my view of this interesting man; and 
 few have shared his confidence so intimately as I 
 have done; to his keeping I would confide my 
 most important interests, and to his friendship I 
 would entrust my life. Hereafter I hope to see a 
 darling son trained up by his guidance in the 
 principles and practice of that noble profession 
 which he himself so much adorns. As a brother to 
 a sister is dear, so to me is William H. Seward. 
 
 Since writing the above I have been present at 
 Auburn, during the trial of William Freeman, the 
 black boy, for the murder of the Van Nest family, 
 and have heard the wonderful pleading of Governor 
 Seward for the wretched and demented criminal. 
 In my humble judgment no being so evidently, 
 so palpably destitute of reasoning powers as Free¬ 
 man, should have been considered as responsible; 
 and according to this conviction the legal, consti¬ 
 tutional and righteous course would have been, 
 after proving that he had committed the crime, 
 to place him in close confinement for life. William 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 37 
 
 Seward w T as, perhaps, the only man who would 
 have undertaken the defence of this miscreant, 
 and he was induced to assume the task partly be¬ 
 cause it had been alleged that, in consequence of 
 the defence made for a criminal by him on a 
 previous occasion, the boy Freeman was led to 
 suppose that he might commit murders with im¬ 
 punity. Seward defended his abject client on the 
 best established grounds of mental derangement, 
 with all the zeal and ability which I expected 
 from him; but when he entered upon his own 
 justification he displayed an eloquence, indepen¬ 
 dence and elevation of character rarely equalled. 
 After commenting upon the insinuations against 
 him, he solemnly averred, “ before God and man, 
 (i that there was no single word which he had 
 “ ever uttered in any court of justice which he 
 “ would wish recalled.” This asseveration was 
 uttered in a manner noble and touching in the 
 extreme. 
 
 The eloquence of Governor Seward is of a kind 
 per se; it faithfully conveys those ardent sym¬ 
 pathies to which I have alluded in my feeble 
 attempt to pourtray a character so rare and so 
 E 
 
38 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 peculiar. His is an eloquent nature, and invokes 
 an eloquent interpreter; his words are flung forth, 
 simple, impassioned and searching; fresh and free 
 as the impulses of his breast. I do not seek to 
 analyse his powers; the following extract will 
 justify my comment. 
 
 EXTRACTS 
 
 FROM THE ARGUMENT OF WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 
 
 IN DEFENCE OF WM. FREEMAN, 
 
 On his Trial for Murder, at Auburn, on the 21st and 
 
 22nd July, 1846. 
 
 May it Please the Court, 
 
 Gentlemen of the Jury , 
 
 “ Thou shalt not kill,” and “ Whoso 
 
 SHEDDETH MAN*S BLOOD BY MAN SHALL HIS 
 
 blood be shed,” are laws found in the code 
 of that people who, although dispersed and dis¬ 
 tracted, trace their history to the creation ; a 
 history which records that murder was the first of 
 human crimes. 
 
 The first of these precepts constitutes a tenth 
 part of the jurisprudence which God saw fit to 
 establish, at an early period, for the government of 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 39 
 
 all mankind, throughout all generations. The 
 latter, of less universal obligation, is still retained 
 in our system, although other States, as intelligent 
 and refined, as secure and peaceful, have substi¬ 
 tuted for it the more benign principle that good 
 shall be returned for evil. I yield implicit sub¬ 
 mission to this law, and acknowledge the justice 
 of its penalty, and the duty of courts and juries 
 to give it effect. 
 
 In this case, if the prisoner be guilty of Murder, 
 I do not ask remission of punishment. If he be 
 guilty, never was murderer more guilty. He has 
 murdered not only John G. Van Nest, but his 
 hands are reeking with the blood of other and 
 numerous, and even more pitiable victims. The 
 slaying of Van Nest, if a crime at all, was the 
 cowardly crime of assassination. John G. Van 
 Nest was a just, upright, virtuous man, of 
 middle age, of grave and modest demeanor, dis¬ 
 tinguished by especial marks of the respect and 
 esteem of his fellow citizens. On his arm leaned 
 a confiding wife, and they supported, on the one 
 side, children to whom they had given being, and, 
 on the other, aged and venerable parents, from 
 
40 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 whom they had derived existence. The assassina¬ 
 tion of such a man was an atrocious crime, but 
 the murderer, with more than savage refinement, 
 immolated on the same altar, in the same hour, a 
 venerable and virtuous matron of more than three 
 score years, and her daughter, the wife of Van 
 Nest, mother of an unborn infant. Nor was this 
 all. Providence, which, for its own mysterious 
 purposes, permitted these dreadful crimes, in 
 mercy suffered the same arm to be raised against 
 the sleeping orphan child of the butchered parents 
 and received it into heaven. A whole family, 
 just, gentle, and pure, were thus, in their own 
 house, in the night time, without any provocation, 
 without one moment’s warning, sent by the 
 murderer to join the assembly of the Just; and 
 even the labouring man, sojourning within their 
 gates, received the fatal blade into his breast, and 
 survives through the mercy, not of the murderer, 
 but of God. 
 
 For William Freeman, as a murderer, I have no 
 commission to speak. If he had silver and gold 
 accumulated with the frugality of Croesus, and 
 should pour it all at my feet, I would not stand 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 41 
 
 an hour between him and the Avenger. But for 
 the innocent, it is my right, my duty, to speak. 
 If this sea of blood was innocently shed, then it is 
 my duty to stand beside him until his steps lose 
 their hold upon the scaffold. 
 
 I am arraigned before you for undue manifesta¬ 
 tions of zeal and excitement. My answer to all 
 such charges shall be brief. When this cause shall 
 have been committed to you, I shall be happy 
 indeed if it shall appear that my only error has 
 been, that I have felt too much, thought too 
 intensely, or acted too faithfully. 
 
 I plead not for a murderer. I have no induce¬ 
 ment, no motive, to do so. I have addressed my 
 fellow citizens in many various relations, when re¬ 
 wards of wealth and fame awaited me. I have been 
 cheered, on other occasions, by manifestations of 
 popular approbation and sympathy; and where 
 there was no such encouragement, I had at least 
 the gratitude of him whose cause I defended. 
 But I speak now in the hearing of a people who 
 have prejudged the prisoner, and condemned me 
 for pleading in his behalf. He is a convict, a 
 pauper, a negro, without intellect, sense, or 
 
42 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 emotion. My child, with an affectionate smile, 
 disarms my care worn face of its frown whenever 
 I cross my threshold. The beggar in the street 
 obliges me to give, because he says “ God bless 
 you,” as I pass. My dog caresses me with fond¬ 
 ness if I will but smile on him. My horse recog¬ 
 nizes me when I fill his manger. But what 
 reward, what gratitude, what sympathy and affec¬ 
 tion can I expect here ? There the prisoner sits. 
 Look at him. Look at the assemblage around 
 you. Listen to their ill-suppressed censures and 
 their excited fears, and tell me where among my 
 neighbours or my fellow men, where even in his 
 heart, I can expect to find the sentiment, the 
 thought, not to say of reward or of acknowledg¬ 
 ment, but even of recognition. I sat here two * 
 weeks during the preliminary trial. I stood here 
 between the prisoner and the Jury nine hours, and 
 pleaded for the wretch that he was insane and'did 
 not even know he was on trial: and when all was 
 done, the Jury thought, at least eleven of them 
 thought, that I had been deceiving them, or was 
 self-deceived. They read signs of intelligence in 
 his idiotic smile, and of cunning and malice in his 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 43 
 
 stolid insensibility. They rendered a verdict that 
 he was sane enough to be tried, a contemptible 
 compromise verdict in a capital case; and then 
 they looked on, with what emotions God and they 
 only know, upon his arraignment. The district 
 attorney, speaking in his adder ear, bade him rise, 
 and reading to him one indictment, asked him 
 whether he wanted a trial, and the poor fool 
 answered, No. Have you Counsel ? No. And 
 they went through the same mockery, the prisoner 
 giving the same answers, until a third indictment 
 was thundered in his ears; and he stood before 
 the Court, silent, motionless, and bewildered. 
 Gentlemen, you may think of this evidence what 
 you please, bring in what verdict you can, but I 
 •asseverate before Heaven and you, that, to the 
 best of my knowledge and belief, the prisoner at 
 the bar does not at this moment know why it is 
 that* my shadow falls on you instead of his own. 
 
 I speak with all sincerity and earnestness; not 
 because I expect my opinion to have weight, but 
 I would disarm the injurious impression that I 
 am speaking merely as a lawyer speaks for his 
 client. I am not the prisoner’s lawyer. I am 
 
44 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 indeed a volunteer in his behalf; but society and 
 mankind have the deepest interests at stake. I 
 AM THE LAWYER FOR SOCIETY, FOR MANKIND, 
 shocked beyond the power of expression, at the 
 scene I have witnessed here of trying a maniac 
 as a malefactor. 
 
 (The circumstances under which the question of 
 sanity was tried are thus described) :— 
 
 That Jury was selected without peremptory 
 challenge. Many of the jurors entered the pan- 
 nel with settled opinions that the prisoner was not 
 only guilty of the homicide, but sane, and all 
 might have entertained such opinions for all that 
 the prisoner could do. It was a verdict founded 
 on such evidence as could be hastily collected in 
 a community where it required moral courage to 
 testify for the accused. Testimony was excluded 
 upon frivolous and unjust pretences. The cause 
 was submitted to the jury on the fourth of July, 
 and under circumstances calculated to convey a 
 malicious and unjust spirit into the jury box. It 
 was a strange celebration. The dawn of the Day 
 of Independence was not greeted with cannon or 
 bells. No lengthened procession was seen in our 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 45 
 
 streets, nor were the voices of orators heard in our 
 public halls. An intense excitement brought a 
 vast multitude here, complaining of the delay and 
 the expense of what was deemed an unnecessary 
 trial, and demanding the sacrifice of a victim, who 
 had been spared too long already. For hours that 
 assemblage was roused and excited by denun¬ 
 ciations of the prisoner, and ridicule of his deafness, 
 his ignorance, and his imbecility. Before the jury 
 retired, the Court was informed that they were 
 ready to render the verdict required. One juror, 
 however, hesitated. The next day was the Sabbath. 
 The jury were called, and the Court remonstrated 
 with the dissentient, and pressed the necessity of 
 a verdict. That juror gave way at last, and the 
 bell which summoned our citizens to Church for 
 the evening service, was the signal for the discharge 
 of the jury, because they had agreed. Even thus 
 a legal verdict could not be extorted. The eleven 
 jurors, doubtless under an intimation from the 
 Court, compromised with the twelfth, and a verdict 
 was rendered, not in the language of the law, that 
 the prisoner was “ not insane, ” but that he was 
 “ sufficiently sane, in mind and memory, to dis- 
 
46 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 tinguish between right and wronga verdict 
 which implied that the prisoner was at least 
 partially insane, was diseased in other faculties 
 besides the memory, and partially diseased in that, 
 and that, although he had mind and memory to 
 distinguish between right and wrong in the 
 abstract, he had not reason and understanding 
 and will to regulate his conduct according to that 
 distinction ; in short, a verdict by which the jury 
 unworthily evaded the question submitted to 
 them, and cast upon the court a responsibility 
 which it had no right to assume, but which it did 
 nevertheless assume, in violation of the law. 
 That twelfth juror was afterwards drawn as a 
 juror in this cause, and was challenged by the 
 Counsel for the people for partiality to the prisoner, 
 and the challenge was sustained by the Court, 
 because, although he had, as the Court say, pro¬ 
 nounced by his verdict that the prisoner was sane, 
 he then declared that he believed the prisoner 
 insane, and would die in the jury box before he 
 would render a verdict that he was sane. Last 
 and chief of all objections to that verdict now, it 
 has been neither pleaded nor proved here, and 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 47 
 
 therefore is not in evidence before you. I trust 
 then that you will dismiss to the contempt of 
 mankind that jury and their verdict, thus equivo¬ 
 cating upon law and science, health and disease, 
 crime and innocence. 
 
 Again : an inferior standard of intelligence has 
 been set up here as the standard of the Negro 
 race, and a false one as the standard of the Asiatic 
 race. This prisoner traces a divided lineage. On 
 the paternal side his ancestry is lost among the 
 tiger hunters on the Gold Coast of Africa, while 
 his mother constitutes a portion of the small 
 remnant of the Narragansett tribe. Hence it is 
 held that the prisoner’s intellect is to be com¬ 
 pared with the depreciating standard of the African, 
 
 « 
 
 and his passions with the violent and ferocious 
 character erroneously imputed to the aborigines. 
 Indications of manifest derangement, or at least 
 of imbecility approaching to idiocy, are, there¬ 
 fore, set aside, on the ground that they harmo¬ 
 nize with the legitimate but degraded charac¬ 
 teristics of the races from which he is descended. 
 You, gentlemen, have, or ought to have, lifted 
 up your souls above the bondage of prejudices 
 
48 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 so narrow and so mean as these. The colour 
 of the prisoner’s skin, and the form of his 
 features, are not impressed upon the spiritual, 
 immortal mind which works beneath. In spite of 
 human pride, he is still your brother, and mine, 
 in form and color accepted and approved by his 
 Father, and yours, and mine, and bears equally 
 with us the proudest inheritance of our race—the 
 image of our maker. Hold him then to be a Man. 
 Exact of him all the responsibilities which should 
 be exacted under like circumstances if he belonged 
 to the Anglo-Saxon race, and make for him all the 
 allowances, and deal with him with all the tender¬ 
 ness which, under like circumstances, you would 
 expect for yourselves. 
 
 Although my definition would not perhaps be 
 strictly accurate, I should pronounce insanity to 
 be a derangement of the mind, character and con¬ 
 duct, resulting from bodily disease. If derange¬ 
 ment, which is insanity, mean only what we have 
 assumed, how absurd is it to be looking to detect 
 whether memory, hope, joy, fear, hunger, thirst, 
 reason, understanding, wit, and other faculties 
 remain ! So long as life lasts they never cease to 
 
✓ 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 49 
 
 abide with man, whether he pursue his straight 
 and natural way, or the crooked and unnatural 
 course of the lunatic. If he be diseased his 
 faculties will not cease to act. They will only act 
 differently. It is contended here that the prisoner 
 is not deranged because he performed his daily 
 task in the state prison, and his occasional labour 
 afterwards ; because he grinds his knives, fits his 
 weapons, and handles the file, the axe and the 
 saw, as he was instructed, and as he was wont to 
 do. Now the lunatic asylum at Utica has not an 
 idle person in it, except the victims of absolute 
 and incurable dementia, the last and worst stage 
 of all insanity. Lunatics are almost the busiest 
 people in the world. They have their prototypes 
 only in children. One lunatic will make a garden, 
 another drive the plough, another gather flowers. 
 One writes poetry, another essays, another orations. 
 In short, lunatics eat, drink, sleep, work, fear, love, 
 hate, laugh, weep, mourn, die. They do all things 
 that sane men do, but do them in some peculiar 
 way. It is said, however, that this prisoner has 
 hatred and anger, that he has remembered his 
 wrongs, and nursed and cherished revenge; where- 
 
 F 
 
50 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 fore, he cannot be insane. Cowper, a moralist 
 who had tasted the bitter cup of insanity, reasoned 
 otherwise:— 
 
 “ But violence can never longer sleep 
 Than Human Passions please. In ev’ry heart 
 Are sown the sparks that kindle fi’ry war; 
 
 Occasion needs hut fan them and they blaze, 
 
 The seeds of murder in the breast of man.” 
 
 Melancholy springs oftenest from recalling and 
 brooding over wrong and suffering. Melancholy is 
 the first stage of madness, and it is only recently 
 that the less accurate name of monomania has been 
 substituted in the place of melancholy. Melan¬ 
 choly is the foster mother of anger and revenge. 
 Until 1830, our statutory definition of lunatics was 
 in the terms ce disorderly persons, ivho, if left at 
 large, might endanger the lives of others .” Our 
 laws now regard them as merely disorderly and 
 dangerous, and society acquiesces, unless madness 
 rise so high that the madman slays his imaginary 
 enemy, and then he is pronounced sane. 
 
 The learned gentlemen who conduct this prose¬ 
 cution have attempted to show that the prisoner 
 attended the trial of Henry Wyatt, whom I de¬ 
 fended against an indictment for murder, in this 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 51 
 
 Court, in February last; that he listened to me 
 on that occasion in regard to the impunity of 
 crime, and that he went out a ripe and a complete 
 scholar. So far as these reflections affect me 
 alone, they are unworthy of an answer. I pleaded 
 for Wyatt then, as it was my right and my duty 
 to do. Let the Counsel for the People prove the 
 words I spoke, before they charge me with Free¬ 
 man’s crimes. I am not unwilling those words 
 should be recalled. I am not unwilling that any 
 words I ever spoke in any responsible relation 
 should be remembered. Since they will not recall 
 those words, I will do so for them. They were words 
 like those I speak now, demanding cautious and 
 impartial justice; words appealing to the reason, 
 to the consciences, to the humanity of my fellow 
 men ; words calculated to make mankind know 
 and love each other better, and adopt the benign 
 principles of Christianity, instead of the long 
 cherished maxims of retaliation and revenge. Re¬ 
 gardless as I have been of the unkind construc¬ 
 tion of my words and actions by my contem¬ 
 poraries, I can say in all humility of spirit, that 
 they are freely left to the ultimate, impartial con- 
 
52 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 sideration of mankind. You have now the fate 
 of this lunatic in your hands. To him as to me, 
 so far as we can judge, it is comparatively in¬ 
 different what be the issue. For aught that we 
 can judge, the prisoner is unconscious of danger, 
 and would be insensible to suffering, let it come 
 when it might. A verdict can only hasten or 
 retard, by a few months or years, the time when 
 his bruised, diseased, wandering and benighted 
 spirit shall return to Him who sent it forth on 
 its sad and dreary pilgrimage. 
 
 The circumstances under which this trial closes 
 are peculiar. I have seen capital cases where the 
 parents, brothers, sisters, friends of the accused, 
 surrounded him, eagerly hanging upon the lips of 
 his advocate, and watching, in the countenances 
 of the Court and jury, every smile and frown 
 which might seem to indicate his fate. But there 
 is no such scene here. The prisoner, though in 
 the greenness of youth, is withered, decayed, 
 senseless, almost lifeless. He has no father here. 
 The descendant of slaves, that father died a victim 
 to the vices of a superior race. There is no mother 
 here, for her child is stained and polluted with 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 53 
 
 the blood of mothers and of a sleeping infant; 
 and he Cfc ' looks and laughs so that she cannot bear 
 to look upon him.” There is no brother, or sister, 
 or friend here. Popular rage against the accused 
 has driven them hence, and scattered his kindred 
 and people. On the other side I notice the aged 
 and venerable parents of Van Nest and his sur¬ 
 viving children, and all around are mourning and 
 sympathising friends. I know not at whose in¬ 
 stance they have come. I dare not say they 
 ought not to be here. But I must say to you that 
 we live in a Christian and not in a savage state, 
 and that the affliction which has fallen upon these 
 mourners and us, was sent to teach them and 
 us mercy and not retaliation; that although we 
 may send this maniac to the scaffold, it will not 
 recall to life the manly form of Van Nest, nor re¬ 
 animate the exhausted frame of that aged matron, 
 nor restore to life, and grace, and beauty, the 
 murdered mother, nor call back the infant boy 
 from the arms of his Saviour. Such a verdict can 
 do no good to the living, and carry no joy to the 
 dead. If your judgment shall be swayed at all 
 by sympathies so wrong, although so natural, you 
 
54 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 will find the saddest hour of your life to be that 
 in which you will look down upon the grave of 
 your victim, and “ mourn with compunctious sor¬ 
 row^ that you should have done so great injustice 
 to the “ poor handful of earth that will lie moul¬ 
 dering before you.” 
 
 I have been long and tedious. I remember that 
 it is the harvest moon, and that every hour is 
 precious while you are detained from your yellow 
 fields. But if you shall have bestowed patient 
 attention throughout this deeply interesting inves¬ 
 tigation, and shall in the end have discharged 
 your duties in the fear of God and in the love of 
 truth, justly and independently, you will have laid 
 up a store of blessed recollections for all your 
 future days, imperishable and inexhaustible. 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 55 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE PROCEEDINGS IN THE SU¬ 
 PREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, ON THE 
 EXTENSION OF PATENT CASE. 
 
 James G. Wilson 
 versus 
 
 Lewis Rousseau and Charles Easton. 
 
 OPENING ARGUMENT FOR THE PLAINTIFF BY 
 WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 
 
 Where there is no assignment or testamentary 
 direction, choses in action, whether legal or equi¬ 
 table, and whether absolute or contingent, always 
 pass by mere operation of law to the personal 
 . representative of a deceased owner, without any 
 words of perpetuity. An administrator, although 
 not “ nominated 99 in the obligation, may sue on 
 a bond executed to his intestate, whether the 
 bond be for the payment of money, or for the 
 performance of a condition. So any personal right, 
 whether arising by express agreement or by mere 
 implication of law, whether absolute, or conditional, 
 or contingent, may be asserted with the same effect 
 by an executor as by the party to whom in life 
 the right belonged. No property becomes extinct 
 by operation of law on the death of the owner; 
 nor does the State seize any property, or transfer 
 
56 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 it to others than those to whom the owner ex¬ 
 pressly or impliedly devotes it. The adminis¬ 
 trators right of succession to personal property is 
 as absolute and universal as the right of succession 
 of heirs to real estate. These rights are essentially 
 the same in principle. Heirs at law succeed directly 
 to the inheritance of real estate. They succeed by 
 the intervention of the administrator to the enjoy¬ 
 ment of personal property. Andthis transmissibility 
 of all property and rights is so universal that it 
 has only one limitation. The law limits to a party 
 himself the right to redress for mere injuries to 
 his person or character. That right ceases on the 
 death of either the wrong doer or the sufferer, but 
 all other rights survive. The entire policy of 
 civilized communities, and even of despotic States, 
 is opposed to seizure or confiscation of the property 
 of the citizen at his death. On the other hand, 
 all property, whether real or personal, is permitted 
 to pass, in compliance with what seems to be a 
 dictate of natural justice, to those whom the owner 
 shall have elected as his successors or representa¬ 
 tives. And if he make no such election, the law 
 nevertheless, reads and regards his unexpressed 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 57 
 
 affection, and transfers his estate to those who, 
 by reason of their consanguinity, are presumed to 
 be nearest in his love. 
 
 Man, in a civilized State, cannot altogether die. 
 Administration is the execution of the last will 
 and testament, which the law infers every citizen 
 would have made had time and circumstances 
 favored. It is not an ordinance of human society, 
 but a decree of the Creator, which provides that, 
 as we bring nothing into the world, so we can take 
 nothing out of it. Society attempts to mitigate 
 the hardship of this law by giving to every member 
 of the state a legal continuance here after death; 
 and recognizes him in his children, his heirs, or 
 his creditors. And this is in harmony with all the 
 motives and affections of our race. It is not for 
 ourselves, chiefly, that we live or labour, but for 
 those whom Providence has committed to our care 
 and who are destined to survive us. 
 
 Is national injustice to the dead less censurable 
 than to the living ? Is living genius discouraged 
 less by neglect of the children and the memory of 
 public benefactors, than by neglect of such bene¬ 
 factors themselves? Is the Inventor stimulated 
 
58 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 less than other men by rewards of his labour 
 proffered to his children ? Far otherwise. There 
 is eminent justice in securing to the children of 
 authors and inventors the fruits of their genius, 
 for it is property acquired exclusively by their own 
 efforts. It confers distinction, and often, enduring 
 renown, while certainly no children in the com¬ 
 monwealth more deserve to be secured in their 
 paternal possessions than those of parents whose 
 intellectual labours were devoted to the improve¬ 
 ment and happiness of their countrymen and of 
 mankind. Indifference to wealth, and ill regulated 
 economy, are very common traits of men distin¬ 
 guished for genius and invention ; and it would be 
 
 # 
 
 a mockery of national magnanimity and justice to 
 offer the extension of a patent to the unrewarded 
 inventor while in life and yet plead his death in 
 abatement of an application for an extension on 
 behalf of his children. The construction insisted 
 upon by our adversaries does violence to our 
 sentiments of justice. The commonwealth has 
 received the consideration, a beneficial considera¬ 
 tion, by the discovery. It pays an equivalent to 
 the inventor. Would it not be absurd , would it 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 59 
 
 not be capricious , to say that the equivalent shall 
 be conferred on the inventor if he live fourteen 
 vears, but shall be denied him if he die before that 
 time ? This construction does violence to the 
 common sentiments of humanity. In all ages 
 mankind have been prone to continue their grati¬ 
 tude to the descendants of their benefactors. 
 Hence, reversals of attainder, restorations of con¬ 
 fiscated estates to the children of persons unjustly 
 convicted, hereditary titles and domains, and all 
 the splendid structures of monarchies and aristo¬ 
 cracies. Our constitution and laws have guarded 
 against all such abuses and dangerous institutions, 
 but it has not been thought necessary to select the 
 children of the great and the good and set them 
 apart for peculiar and distinguished injustice. 
 
 The American continent seems to be rapidly 
 falling under the political sway of our confederacy. 
 The habitations of an hundred millions of people 
 are to be erected by our artisans. Woodworttfs 
 machine reduces, in the proportion of seven tenths, 
 the labour and expense of a necessary part of every 
 structure, whether for use or ornament. If this 
 argument seem to have been prolonged to a great 
 
60 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 length, I hope the offence may find an apology in 
 the importance of securing to the children of the 
 inventor the reward allotted by a grateful country 
 for so distinguished a benefaction. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE INTRODUCTION TO THE 
 NATURAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK. 
 
 BY THE HONORABLE WM. H. SEWARD. 
 
 “ There is scarcely more resemblance between 
 the press as it now exists, and that institution as 
 
 it was at the close of the Revolution, than between 
 
 / 
 
 the present aspect of our inland regions and the 
 forest garb they wore while inhabited only by the 
 Iroquois. Then the art, employed chiefly in print¬ 
 ing the colonial statutes, almanacks, occasional 
 sermons, and volumes of devotional psalmody, 
 and publishing a semi-weekly record of events, 
 was only auxiliary, in the hands of its managers, 
 to the more important object of selling books, 
 pamphlets, stationery, and sometimes other mer¬ 
 chandise: now , labour saving machines, with 
 mechanical and brute power, are substituted for 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 61 
 
 the arm of the pressman, and with the aid of stereo¬ 
 type foundries, the press has departments, dis¬ 
 tinctly separated, and as numerous as the divisions, 
 and sub-divisions, classes, combinations, interests, 
 occupations, studies and tastes of society. The 
 book press seizes with avidity all new publications, 
 whether designed to instruct or only to amuse, 
 wdiether foreign or domestic, and prints and re¬ 
 prints, and scatters them over the continent with 
 inconceivable rapidity. Works of fiction most 
 adapted to the popular taste are now printed and 
 sold, at prices less than, fifty years ago, were 
 charged to subscribers for the perusal of such 
 volumes by circulating libraries. The commercial 
 press, morning and evening, records with accu¬ 
 racy every occurrence and every indication which 
 affects trade; and the advertising columns are in¬ 
 dispensable auxiliaries in every operation of com¬ 
 merce or finance. The political press, divided be¬ 
 tween contending parties, and again sub-divided 
 with nice adaptation to the tempers and the tastes, 
 the passions and the prejudices of the community* 
 conducts party warfare with energy, zeal and un¬ 
 sparing severity; and the combatants, faithful 
 
 a 
 
 G 
 
62 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 through all changes, abide the trials and share the 
 fortunes of their respective parties. The religious 
 press furnishes to Jew and Christian, Protestant 
 and Catholic, and to each of the sects and deno¬ 
 minations of those grand divisions of the Church, 
 a devoted organ more effective than an army of 
 Missionaries. The moral, the scientific, the lite¬ 
 rary, the legal, the medical, the agricultural, the 
 military, the abolition, the temperance, the colo¬ 
 nization and the association newspapers each 
 represent a portion of society desirous to inculcate 
 peculiar views of truth, and promote reforms which 
 it deems essential to the general welfare. The 
 emigrants from every foreign country communicate 
 with each other through organs furnished by the 
 press, and preserve mutual sympathies and endear¬ 
 ing recollections of their father lands. The press 
 was dependent on European facts, sentiments, 
 opinions, tastes and customs: now it is in all 
 things independent and purely American. It was 
 metropolitan: now it is universal. The newspaper 
 in each important town conveys intelligence of all 
 interesting incidents which occur within its vici¬ 
 nity, to the central press, and receives in return 
 
GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 63 
 
 and diffuses information gathered from all portions 
 of the world. 
 
 The press studies carefully the conditions of all 
 classes* and yields its reports with such a nice 
 adaptation of prices as to leave no portion of the 
 community without information concerning all 
 that can engage their curiosity or concern their 
 welfare. It no longer fears the odious informa¬ 
 tion , or the frowns of power; but dictates with 
 boldness to the government* and combines and 
 not unfrequently forms the public opinion which 
 controls every thing. Yet the press is not despotic. 
 Its divisions distract its purposes* and prevent a 
 concentration of its powers upon any one object . 
 That the newspaper press is capricious and often 
 licentious will scarcely be denied; yet if it assails* 
 it arms the party assaulted with equal weapons of 
 defence* and yields redress for the injuries it 
 inflicts. 
 
 The ability, learning and spirit with which the 
 press is now conducted* strikingly contrast with 
 the dulness and superficial learning of its earlier 
 period. Its editors* no longer regarded as mere 
 chroniclers of events or pains taking mechanics* 
 
(34 
 
 GOVERNOR SEWARD. 
 
 hold rank as a liberal profession, and exert a just 
 influence upon the multifarious interests of society. 
 Nor are the sweeping allegations of indecorum, 
 venality and violence brought against the press in 
 any sense just. That it sometimes offends pro¬ 
 priety, decency and candor, is unhappily too true, 
 but it reflects in all things the character of the 
 country; and while the ignorant, the prejudiced, 
 the malevolent and the vulgar cannot be deprived 
 of its weapons, it never withholds its resistless 
 influence from truth, wisdom, justice and virtue. 
 Every improvement of the public morals, and 
 every advance of the people in knowledge, is 
 marked by a corresponding elevation of the moral 
 and intellectual standard of the press; and it is at 
 once the chief agent of intellectual improvement, 
 and the Palladium of civil and religious Liberty / 5 
 
THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD, 
 
 Late Senator for North Carolina, and Chairman of the 
 Committee of Commerce in the Senate. 
 
 Mr. Haywood is a man of great elegance. His 
 deportment and address are very distinguished, 
 and he is perfect in all the recognised conven¬ 
 tionalisms of polished life. No one understands 
 better how to render social intercourse agreeable; 
 he encourages amusement, enjoys conversation, 
 both grave and gay, and his compliments are 
 always gratifying, for they are in good taste, and 
 never exceed the ee modesty of nature. ” He 
 speaks excellent English, his enunciation is fluent, 
 the liquids being fully articulated, and he possesses 
 one of those musical voices so usually heard in 
 southern climates. I have observed that the 
 vibration of the letter S is somewhat more audible 
 
66 
 
 THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 
 
 and prolonged in the dialect of the Southern 
 States of America than it is either in England or in 
 the other sections of the Union. Without knowing 
 that such is the fact* I should imagine Mr. Hay¬ 
 wood to be descended from the blood of the 
 cavaliers; his handsome features* his scrupulous 
 attention to dress* and especially the natural 
 (perhaps somewhat negligent) though graceful 
 ease of his manners* combined with his chivalrous 
 devotion to the fair sex* and success in the drawing 
 room* all remind me of the descriptions we read 
 of those high bred spirits. I quote Mr. Hay¬ 
 wood* therefore* as an admirable specimen* among 
 many * of that Chesterfield refinement and tact 
 which are so frequently supposed by Europeans 
 to have as yet no existence in America. This 
 prejudice is directed in a more especial manner 
 against the popular party, and I am proud to 
 controvert it by adding that the Senator from 
 North Carolina is not only an accomplished 
 gentleman* but that he is also an excellent and 
 true hearted Democrat. 
 
 This Senator was highly esteemed for his atten- 
 
THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 67 
 
 tion to public business, and for singular industry 
 in the discharge of its duties. He possesses many 
 attainments, and is a scholar of taste and dis¬ 
 crimination. 
 
 The conduct of Mr. Haywood on the Free 
 Trade question is highly honourable to him, ex¬ 
 hibiting alike a conscientious respect for the 
 opinions of his constituents, and an independent 
 assertion of his personal irresponsibility as a 
 member of the Legislature. “ He was elected to 
 the Senate at the close of the year 1842,” says the 
 National Intelligencer, “when the disagreements 
 between the actual President and the Whig party 
 having for the time distracted and disheartened 
 the Whigs of North Carolina, the Democratic 
 party obtained a casual majority in the Legislature 
 of the State. The political power of that State is 
 now in the hands of the Whigs, and Mr. Hay¬ 
 wood, had he voted for the new Tariff bill, would 
 have voted against the known sentiments of his 
 State. Had he, on the other hand, voted against 
 it, in order to conform to that sentiment, he would 
 have voted, if not against his own opinion, against 
 
68 
 
 THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 
 
 the prevailing opinion of his party. He resigned 
 his seat, rather than violate his conscience on the 
 one hand; or his obligations on the other.” 
 
 Again : Mr. Webster remarks, in his speech on 
 the 27th July, 1846 :— 
 
 “ I infer that the honourable member left his 
 seat here from an inability to support the measure 
 of the administration now before us, and from a 
 great unwillingness to disoblige his party, friends 
 and connections by voting against it.” 
 
 When the Tariff bill first came to the Senate, 
 Mr. Haywood told Colonel Benton that he was 
 opposed to it, and could not vote for it, unless it 
 could be postponed and rendered perfect. 
 
 Much as I grieved over one seceder from the 
 side of the noble Calhoun, I cannot refuse my 
 approbation to Haywood. 
 
 Mr. Haywood’s speech on the Oregon question 
 produced an immense sensation, for he was re¬ 
 garded as the intimate personal friend of the Pre¬ 
 sident. I have always been of opinion that the 
 President and the Secretary of State pursued the 
 only wise and prudent course left to their choice. 
 
THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 
 
 69 
 
 Fully impressed as I am with the conviction that 
 the ce whole of Oregon ” is rightfully an American 
 possession, and that at no distant period it will be 
 so,* I am also equally of opinion that compromise 
 was the sole line of policy which they would have 
 been justified in adopting. And, though steadfast 
 in my faith on this point, I yet rejoice that 
 Christian precept, good feeling, and good sense 
 prevailed, and prevented the evils which for a 
 period seemed to threaten the two countries. The 
 vindication of the President is done by an able, 
 faithful, and friendly hand. 
 
 ABSTRACT FROM THE 
 
 SPEECH OF HONOURABLE WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD, 
 
 OF NORTH CAROLINA, 
 
 On the Oregon Question, delivered in the Senate of 
 the United States, 4th and 5th March, 1846. 
 
 The joint resolution for giving the notice to ter¬ 
 minate the convention between the United States 
 
 * These opinions I have held from first to last, and have ex¬ 
 pressed them in high places, both in America and in England. 
 
7o 
 
 THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 
 
 and Great Britain, relative to the Oregon Terri¬ 
 tory, being under consideration— 
 
 Mr. Haywood addressed the Senate as follows: 
 
 Mr. President: The subject before the Senate 
 is an important one. It will take me some time 
 to explain my sentiments; but I throw myself 
 upon the patience of the Senate, with a pledge 
 that my heart shall be opened sincerely, at this 
 the council board of our common country. 
 
 The President of the United States, who is 
 authorized by the Constitution to make, but not 
 to unmake treaties, has a negotiation on foot which 
 was commenced or opened before his term of office 
 began. The object of it has been to fix a line of 
 division, by compromise, between the United States 
 and Great Britain, and thereby to adjust the con¬ 
 flicting claims of the two Governments to the 
 territory lying west of the Stony Mountains, com¬ 
 monly called Oregon. I assume for the pre¬ 
 sent—hereafter I will demonstrate—that in the 
 view of our President, as well as the British 
 Minister, the negotiation is still a pending one. 
 The assumption is warranted by every incident of 
 the subject in this country and in Great Britain; 
 
THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. Jl 
 
 and it is confirmed beyond all fair doubt by the 
 silence of the President upon that point, when, if 
 the negotiation had terminated , executive silence 
 would be unpardonable; the more especially as 
 his jurisdiction over the subject will cease the 
 moment negotiation ends. The negotiation once 
 closed, concluded, put an end to, by the executive, 
 all the remaining questions about Oregon will 
 become forthwith subjects of legislation by Con¬ 
 gress exclusively. 
 
 First, we all know that the President—whose 
 assent is indispensable—will not agree to an 
 arbitration. I do not stop to defend or to accuse 
 him for this; it belongs to some other occasion. 
 If, in the providence of God, this Oregon contro¬ 
 versy should terminate in a conflict, the responsi¬ 
 bility of having rejected arbitration will be a 
 fearful one, and he will have to meet it. But the 
 responsibility has been taken by him. The Senate, 
 therefore, must now proceed upon it as a fact, a 
 u fixed fact,” that arbitration is out of the ques¬ 
 tion. We cannot help it if we would, and I owe 
 it to candour to say, that I would not if I coidd. 
 
 Well, then, we have seen in his Message that 
 
72 THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 
 
 Great Britain made an offer of compromise, which 
 was rejected by the American Government, in 
 August, 1844, and the President has informed 
 Congress plainly and distinctly that this British 
 proposition to us cannot be entertained by him, 
 but that it is “wholly inadmissible.” So far there 
 is no difficulty. Everything is plain and directly 
 to the point, as it ought to be. 
 
 Next, we are informed by the Message that the 
 President himself made an offer to Great Britain 
 by which the territory of Oregon between the 
 parallels of 42° and 54° 40' was proposed to be 
 divided by a compromise on the line of 49°, and that 
 the British Minister rejected it without submitting 
 any other proposition, &c. This offer of our Presi¬ 
 dent was made on 12th of July, 1845—refused on 
 the 29th of the same month. But on 30th of 
 August, 1845, the President withdrew his rejected 
 proposition, and re-asserted, by his letter to the 
 British Minister, our claim and title to the whole 
 of Oregon— which letter has not been answered! 
 
 The President does not say that the negotiation 
 has been abandoned, nor that it will be concluded 
 by him without waiting to receive another offer. 
 
THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 
 
 73 
 
 No such thing. He does not inform Congress 
 that he will or will not renew , or that he will or 
 will not entertain , his own offer, which he adopted 
 as that of the nation, for a compromise. I repeat, 
 that it was, under the circumstances, impossible 
 for him to do that, provided he considered com¬ 
 promise still admissible. But he does say that 
 he has receded, notwithstanding his opinion as 
 to title, to the line of 49° as a compromise , and 
 his reasons for it are given—reasons quite as con¬ 
 clusive in favor of accepting the offer now as they 
 were for making it last year! And as I understand 
 the President’s position, he stands this day upon 
 that line of 49° as a compromise , if compromise is 
 to be had. Once for all, let me explain, that when 
 I have spoken, or shall hereafter speak, of the 
 6i compromise line of 49° ” I do by no means intend 
 to be understood literally. But I mean that line 
 in substance —not “every inch.” I mean the same 
 compromise substantially which this Government 
 has frequently offered, without regard to slight 
 variations; which may be left for settlement by 
 “equivalents.” I do not measure my own or 
 other people’s patriotism by the “ inch.” I shall 
 
 H 
 
74 
 
 THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 
 
 not recognise that measurement in deciding upon 
 the merits of the administration or the wisdom of 
 a treaty—not at all, at all. 
 
 Mr. President: I disavow any authority to speak 
 for the President. I have already said that he 
 could not speak for himself, nor authorize another 
 to speak for him, so long as negotiation was pend¬ 
 ing or not concluded. Oh ! I wish it were so that 
 he could speak out. But I must be allowed to 
 speak for myself since the Administration has been 
 so perseveringly put where I ought not to stand 
 by it; and I will dare to speak to the President, 
 and of the President and his Messages, from my 
 station upon this floor, as I judge him and them. 
 And I say, in answer to certain Senators of my 
 party, that the President did right, exactly right, 
 in continuing this negotiation for a compromise 
 which he found on foot, and in renewing the offer 
 of 49° as a line of compromise . And in reply to 
 them further, I say that he ought not, and my con¬ 
 victions are as strong as death itself that he cannot, 
 will not, disgrace himself and his Administration 
 by refusing his own offer , should it be returned 
 upon him —refusing, I mean, to entertain it; re- 
 
THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 
 
 75 
 
 pulsing it, and rashly putting a final termination 
 to his negotiation for a peaceful compromise; and 
 madly forcing his country into a war, without even 
 consulting his constitutional advisers, the Senate, 
 who are this day assembled. Yet that is said of 
 him day after day in this Senate. A ivar for what ? 
 Why, Mr. President, a war between two great 
 Christian nations upon the meaning of the word 
 settlements in the Nootka convention! A war, 
 perhaps, of twenty years, to determine which of 
 these Christian Governments shall enjoy the pri¬ 
 vilege of cheating the poor Indians out of the 
 largest portion of Oregon. No, sir; no sir. The 
 President will not do that. As he loves his 
 country, and values his own fame, he dare not 
 think of it. 
 
 Again : He found that these persevering efforts 
 to fix our northern boundary in Oregon at the 
 forty ninth parallel by a compromise —these well 
 considered instructions to our Ministers, and often 
 repeated propositions to the adverse claimants for 
 a compromise, made before Spain had released her 
 rights, and repeated afterwards, were long since 
 exposed to the public eye ; and that neither the 
 
76 
 
 THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 
 
 People’s Representatives in Congress, nor the 
 States, nor the People themselves, had complained 
 against the Presidents, and Statesmen and Senators 
 who had been endeavouring to accomplish a 
 compromise at 49° for nearly half a century. No, 
 sir. Until very recently indeed, the complaints, 
 when made at all, were aimed at Great Britain for 
 refusing to accept this reasonable and just com¬ 
 promise of our conflicting claims. Memorials, 
 when sent at all, were applications to settle and 
 adjust the controversy; and our efforts to legislate 
 over the subject were confined to the valley of the 
 Columbia river, this side of 49°. 
 
 Well might the President pause then, notwith¬ 
 standing his own individual opinion that our title 
 to the whole of Oregon was “ clear and unques¬ 
 tionable, ” ere he took the responsibility, in view 
 of all this, of abruptly putting a stop to the 
 negotiation which he found on foot, as it had been 
 begun by his immediate predecessor upon a nego¬ 
 tiation for a compromise . Well might he feel that 
 the nation was committed to a compromise. 
 Well might he dread that for him to put his 
 personal opinion upon the strength of our paper 
 
THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 77 
 
 title , however “ clear and unquestionable,” against 
 all these solemn acts of the Government, and 
 against this concurrent action and acquiescence of 
 all our Presidents from Jefferson inclusive, and of 
 all our Statesmen, and of all our Senators, and of 
 all our People and their Representatives for two 
 generations, constituting, as it were, a nations 
 opinion, would be sacrificing the faith, con¬ 
 sistency, sincerity and honour of this country to 
 preserve the personal consistency of himself—a 
 single man! A mere politician might have 
 halted, but a statesman could not. He lifted 
 himself above himself, and showed how well he 
 merits the office his country has appointed him to 
 fill. God grant he may stand firm to his position ! 
 
 I honour that Statesman who can go whither 
 the honour of his country carries him, forgetful of 
 himself and his personal convenience, or the con¬ 
 sistency of his mere opinion. Had Mr. Polk 
 repeated his opinion of our (i clear and unquestion¬ 
 able” title for an Amen to his daily prayers for 
 years and y6ars together, it would still have been 
 the duty of the president to go to the line of 
 49° as a compromise, if he believed, as he says he 
 
 H 2 
 
78 THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. 
 
 did, that his country was “ committed/’ and the 
 honour and faith of the nation bade him go there. 
 
 Without going into our title to the territory, 
 (which, if the Senate choose, can be done here¬ 
 after, and whenever the bill for taking jurisdiction 
 over Oregon, or “ any portion of it/’ comes up 
 for consideration) I will tell you, in very few 
 words, the ground of right upon which (if there 
 were no other) I would put my vindication. I 
 believe it is the political right of my country to 
 stretch itself, without any interruption by foreign 
 Governments, from the Atlantic to the Pacific— 
 from sea to sea on this continent—according as we 
 ourselves shall judge it expedient or not. That 
 we acquired that right upon this continent when 
 our Independence was established, subject only to 
 the proviso, that we must not do it so as to deny 
 the like privilege to our neighbours, nor interfere 
 with settlements permanently made before our 
 Independence was established, nor with similar 
 rights belonging to or acquired by them, nor act 
 with injustice to the Aborigines, What we claim 
 a right to do, we must not deny to the Canadas. 
 It is a sort of national pre-emption right to both. 
 
THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD. ?9 
 
 Great Britain cannot righteously complain so long 
 as we do not deny to her, as the mother country 
 of the Canadas, the same right equally with 
 ourselves. She cannot rightfully interrupt our 
 enjoyment of that right. And if she does, then 
 we cannot submit to it. Our dividing line is at 
 49° on this side of the mountains; and if it is 
 straightened to the Pacific on the other in har¬ 
 mony, we ought to be satisfied. In settling that 
 line between the two Governments, the great law 
 of “love and good will to man” requires con¬ 
 cessions for equivalents, to be agreed for by 
 mutual consent, and they should be mutually 
 made for the convenience of each other; and these 
 are fit subjects for friendly negotiation. 
 
 The bill for extending our jurisdiction over 
 Oregon need not to be, as it ought not to be, 
 adopted, until we see, what more the President 
 will do, and what Great Britain means to do. 
 And this Senate ought not to adjourn until we 
 
 •4 
 
 know whether we are to have peace or a sword. 
 It shall not by my vote. 
 
 Mr. President: My hands are clean—my heart 
 is easy—my conscience is unburdened; and if I 
 
80 
 
 THE HON. WILLIAM H. HAYWOOD, 
 
 have done any thing for good, I shall rejoice—if 
 not, I have tried to do it. And having confidence 
 in God stronger than any u confidence in princes,” 
 I pray that He who rules the destiny of nations 
 may guide our counsels so as to save the peace of 
 my beloved country, and protect it for ever by 
 His mighty arm in the enjoyment of liberty and 
 religion. 
 
THE HONOURABLE HUGH WHITE, 
 
 Of the State of New York, Member of Congress for the 
 Districts of Saratoga Schenectady, Fulton, and part of 
 Hamilton. 
 
 The history of Mr. White, as I have received it 
 from himself, is the best clue to his character; 
 developing, as it does at once, his honest inde¬ 
 pendence and his success in life. 16 Until the age 
 of nineteen,” said he, 66 I followed the plough. 
 About that time an incident occurred which pro¬ 
 bably has contributed much to the formation of 
 my character, and, by the aid of the free institu¬ 
 tions of this country, to the attainment of my 
 present position in life. 
 
 “ I set off one summer morning in my best 
 attire, and with a small knapsack on my back, to 
 visit the Falls of Niagara. As a matter of course 
 I took up my abode at the Hotel, and at dinner, 
 as a matter of course also, I seated myself at the 
 
82 
 
 THE HON. HUGH WHITE. 
 
 table, neither knowing nor heeding who were my 
 neighbours. A gentleman (I believe I must ac¬ 
 knowledge that he was an Englishman) imme¬ 
 diately called the proprietor of the Hotel, and told 
 him that he would not sit at table with me . I 
 presume that the ungenteel cut of my coat, maybe 
 my toilworn hands, offended his delicacy. Be this 
 as it may, the host declared that he could not 
 separate his guests; that I paid the same sum 
 that others did, and that he could dismiss no man 
 from his table except for ill conduct. The gentle¬ 
 man then desired his servant 4 to send me off/ I 
 rose from my seat to defend myself, and thus re¬ 
 plied to the insolent stranger. * I know not whom 
 I address; but the moment your servant ap¬ 
 proaches me , I shall knock down his master, who 
 is responsible for this gross insult to an honest 
 man/ My sturdy rustic frame and determination 
 recalled this gentleman to his senses; he retired 
 from the contest, and reseated himself: we re¬ 
 sumed our respective places. Dinner passed over; 
 supper passed over in silence, but without an¬ 
 noyance on either side. In the morning the good 
 sense of the man prevailed, and coming up to me, 
 
THE HON. HUGH WHITE. 
 
 83 
 
 he apologised for his rudeness, and, in terms of 
 friendship, requested my hand, which I need not 
 say was given in the same spirit. By this trial I 
 was strengthened in self-respect and the con¬ 
 sciousness of worth, and I acquired a feeling of 
 ambition. Returning home, I applied with dili¬ 
 gence to the improvement of my fortune and the 
 advancement of my station. How far my efforts 
 have been crowned with success, it is for others, 
 not for me, to say.” 
 
 To this modest and truthful relation I have to 
 add, that Mr. White, in personal appearance, 
 dress, manners, and mode of speaking, is truly a 
 gentleman; that he is considered a man of perfect 
 faith and integrity; that he ever defends the 
 absent; that he blames none for holding opinions 
 different to his own, and that he is a sincere lover 
 and upholder of justice. 
 
 Mr. White is a Whig, and his principles are 
 very strongly impressed upon his mind, and also 
 very strongly put forth in argument. I have a 
 suspicion that he thinks Whigs in general better 
 men than Democrats; but if the cause of humanity 
 or friendship is to be served, these feelings weigh 
 
84 
 
 THE HON. HUGH WHITE. 
 
 not in the balance. He has warmly espoused the 
 cause of the Indians, and proposed that they 
 should be allowed to appoint their own preachers 
 and officers; also that provision be made for pay¬ 
 ing the money appropriated for them faithfully, 
 and securing it to their use. Dr. Loras, the 
 Roman Catholic Bishop of Dubuque, in the Ter¬ 
 ritory of Iowa, obtained his friendly aid in behalf 
 of the hapless Winnebagos. 
 
THE HONOURABLE JOHN Y. MASON, 
 
 Late Attorney General of the United States, 
 Now Secretary of the Navy. 
 
 Mason is the idol of Washington; ever spoken of 
 with respect and esteem, ever welcomed with 
 pleasure. He is a Virginian by birth as well as by 
 residence; hospitable, generous, and confiding. 
 His conversation is replete with excellent sense 
 and social gay good humour; and his countenance, 
 without regularity of feature, or pretension to 
 good looks, is lighted up by the most charming 
 expression imaginable. The slightest attention 
 which he offers derives, from the kindness of his 
 manner, an inexpressible grace; and though my 
 own acquaintance with the Judge has been less 
 intimate than with many other distinguished men 
 in Washington, I have found that all who possess 
 the privilege of knowing him, concur in these 
 feelings and impressions of mine. 
 
 Judge Mason was called from the Bench to 
 
 i 
 
86 
 
 THE HON. JOHN Y. MASON. 
 
 take the post of Secretary of the Navy in Mr. 
 Tyler’s Cabinet, and in his administration of this 
 department he is said to have excelled. The 
 officers of the service are universally attached to 
 him.* He is the only member of Mr. Tyler’s 
 Cabinet who was invited to a seat in Mr. Polk’s; 
 and during the interval of his removal from the 
 Navy Department and his return to it, he dis¬ 
 charged the office of Attorney General of the 
 United States. 
 
 The Secretary of the Navy is, of course, a fol¬ 
 lower of the Democratic banner; but his views 
 are not extreme, and he is entirely free from the 
 narrow jealousies of party feeling. The south of 
 Virginia is his home; he is the father of a 
 numerous family, and the owmer of slaves, who 
 are happy in his service, and would not change it 
 for their freedom. 
 
 * In corroboration of this remark I have extracted the following 
 from a New York paper:— 
 
 Visit to the Secretary of the Navy. —A Washington letter, 
 of the 14th instant, says:—A large number of the officers of the 
 Navy, of all grades, were received by the Hon. J. Y. Mason, in 
 his room, at the Navy Department, this morning. Never did man 
 receive a heartier welcome, nor one more deserved. The juniors 
 would have huzzaed if the seniors had given the command. 
 
THE HONOURABLE ABBOTT LAWRENCE, 
 OF BOSTON. 
 
 How many delightful recollections are awakened 
 by this name, and how many happy hours have I 
 spent in the house and in the society of this 
 accomplished gentlejnan and princely merchant. 
 The author of his own fortunes, Mr. Lawrence 
 makes the wisest and most liberal use of his 
 wealth; his purse is ever open to aid in support¬ 
 ing public charities and improvements; in pro¬ 
 moting objects of national usefulness and honour, 
 and in adorning the metropolis of New England, 
 the Corinthian pillar of the State, with institutions 
 for the increase alike of her beauty and of her 
 prosperity. Nor are his private benefactions on 
 a less liberal scale; they are equally honourable 
 to his heart, and becoming the position of so dis¬ 
 tinguished and influential a citizen of the Republic ; 
 
88 
 
 THE HON. ABBOTT LAWRENCE. 
 
 he is as earnest to pour the oil and wine upon 
 the wounded stranger by the way side, as he is to 
 raise up enduring and useful monuments to 
 science.* The residence of Mr. Lawrence is 
 adorned with finished taste; no vulgar display of 
 overloaded magnificence, but that subdued ele¬ 
 gance and exquisite attention to comfort which 
 the most refined of French authors describes as 
 the chief attractions of luxury ; books and sculp¬ 
 ture are here the constant every day companions 
 of the dwellers in those pleasant halls: and every 
 domestic arrangement is faultless. 
 
 Mr. Lawrence has read and travelled much; he 
 is well versed in the science of human life; has a 
 thorough knowledge of statistics, and the expe¬ 
 rience which he has derived from comparing the 
 institutions and society of other countries with 
 those of America, renders his conclusions highly 
 interesting. He formerly represented the city of 
 Boston in Congress, but delicacy of health obliged 
 
 * Amherst College. —Hon. Abbott Lawrence, of Boston, has 
 recently made a donation of 1000 dollars towards the erection of a 
 fire proof Cabinet and Observatory, which it is proposed to build 
 on the hill in front of Amherst College. Amherst is a town nearly 
 a hundred miles distant from Boston, where Mr. Lawrence resides. 
 
THE HON. ABBOTT LAWRENCE. 
 
 89 
 
 him to resign this duty, to the great regret of his 
 fellow citizens. He is of graceful address; the 
 expression of his face highly intelligent and 
 amiable, and his features very handsome. The 
 American forehead is almost always well formed, 
 and that of Mr. Lawrence clearly denotes the im¬ 
 mense superiority of the intellectual over the 
 physical nature. His language is well chosen, 
 and his ideas always expressed with clearness ; 
 his politics are Whig; his religion Episcopalian. 
 But the opinions he entertains on all subjects 
 result from careful investigation and deliberate 
 conviction. No bigotry, intolerance, party feeling 
 or blind passion could ever darken a mind so 
 patient in reflection, so scrupulous in inquiry, and 
 so just and generous in its conclusions. The 
 name of this excellent man and citizen is known 
 and respected throughout the Union, and strangers 
 esteem it a privilege to be admitted to his in¬ 
 timacy; they are ever justly appreciated and hos¬ 
 pitably entertained. 
 
 Powers and Healy have each exerted their skill 
 in pourtraying Mr. Lawrence; the one in marble 
 and the other on canvass: both have been sue- 
 
90 
 
 THE HON. ABBOTT LAWRENCE. 
 
 cessful; but as I prefer form to colour, the chisel 
 to the pencil, I admire the marble most. 
 
 It may be said that Mr. Lawrence has more 
 repose of character than is usual in the men of 
 America, for they are the most excitable of all 
 nations; and this peculiarity in him may perhaps 
 be traced to his early success in life, and to his 
 comprehensive knowledge of the world; ere he had 
 yet attained the meridian of life, wealth, honour, 
 love, obedience, troops of friends had waited on 
 him. During a recent visit to the Metropolis I 
 had the pleasure of seeing the distinguished 
 namesake of Mr. Lawrence of Boston, William 
 Lawrence, Esq. of White Hall Place, London. 
 We spoke of our mutual friend across the Atlantic. 
 
 He is indeed,” said he, c ‘ a most remarkable 
 man; one who would be striking in all companies: 
 I recall with the greatest pleasure his visit to 
 Ealing, when he and his family were in London.” 
 Certainly if these two admirable men are not re¬ 
 lated to each other they ought to be. 
 
THE HON. ABBOTT LAWRENCE. 
 
 91 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM MR. LAWRENCE’S LETTER TO 
 MR. RIVES, ON THE TARIFF. 
 
 Boston, 1 6th January, 1846. 
 
 There is a prevalent idea abroad, that the capital 
 of the country will suffer exceedingly by a revul¬ 
 sion in its business, and that the tariff of 1842 
 has operated in favour of the capital, and not the 
 labour, of the country. There can be no doubt 
 that capital is generally profitably and safely em¬ 
 ployed, and well paid. The profits of capital are 
 low when wages are low ; but capital has usually 
 had the power to take care of itself, and does not 
 require the aid of Congress to place it in any other 
 position than to put the labour in motion. Con¬ 
 gress should legislate for the labour, and the 
 capital will take care of itself. * * * * * 
 
 In Virginia and other Southern States, and 
 even at the West, many persons have believed 
 that the protective system was made by and for 
 New England,, and that New England, and par¬ 
 ticularly Massachusetts, could not thrive without 
 it. Now this is an error; the South and West 
 
9- 
 
 THE HON. ABBOTT LAWRENCE 
 
 began the system of high protective duties for the 
 purpose of creating a market for their produce, 
 although the principle of discrimination was re¬ 
 cognized and established when the first tariff was 
 enacted. It is not true that we are more depen¬ 
 dent on a protective tariff than the Middle. 
 Western, or Southern States. Those States that 
 possess the smallest amount of capital are the 
 most benefited by a protective tariff. We have in 
 New England a great productive power : in Mas¬ 
 sachusetts far greater than any other, in state 
 proportion to population. We have a hardy, in¬ 
 dustrious and highly intelligent population, with a 
 perseverance that seldom tires, and we have also 
 acquired a considerable amount of skill, which is 
 increasing everv dav: besides, we have alreadv 
 accomplished a magnificent system of intercom¬ 
 munication between all parts of this section of the 
 country by railroads ; this is the best kind of pro¬ 
 ductive power, having reduced the rate of carriage 
 to a wonderful extent: this being done, we have 
 money enough remaining to keep all our labour 
 employed, and prosecute our foreign and domestic 
 commerce without being in debt beyond the limits 
 
THE KOy aEEOTT LA WHEN CE. 
 
 93 
 
 of cur own Stare. Xow. I ask. how we shall 
 stand, compared with Pennsglvama. Ohio. Ala¬ 
 bama. Georgia or Louisiana when the dav of 
 
 financial trial shah come : I do nor den - that we 
 
 •» 
 
 shall suffer: but. as it has been in rimes past, we 
 maL zo into and come out of the troubles far 
 strtnger than in7 other State out of New England. 
 It :s ucr tnppurpose to present to 70u the balance 
 sheet w£ Massachusetts, but it is due to her cba- 
 racter en d her Lanir - that she should stand before 
 
 _ m 
 
 too. in her true position. I ha - e never advocated 
 1 protective tarirr for mp om or the New England 
 >n:es excltisvelv. nor have those aentlemen with 
 whom I have been associated in this cause, at anv 
 time entertained a narrow or sectional view of the 
 question, have believed it to be for the in¬ 
 
 terest :f the whole countrv that its labour should 
 be protected, and so tar as 1 have had to do with 
 the adjustment of those difficult combinations em¬ 
 braced in 1 tariff bill. I have endeavoured to take 
 care that the interests of all the States were pro¬ 
 tected. whether thev were larse or small. I sav 
 
 . • 
 
 now to vou. and it should be said hi Congress, 
 and to the countrv. that Massachusetts asks no 
 
94 
 
 THE HON. ABBOTT LAWRENCE. 
 
 exclusive legislation. If Pennsylvania, New York 
 and Ohio, the three great States, with Kentucky, 
 Georgia, Missouri, Alabama and Louisiana, wish 
 to try an experiment on iron, coal, hemp, cotton 
 bagging, sugar, &c. &c. I am ready, as one citizen 
 of Massachusetts, to meet it, and await in patient 
 submission the result, which I doubt not will be 
 found, within eighteen months, in the realization 
 of all I have predicted. I say again, I would not, 
 if I could, have a tariff made for Massachusetts 
 alone. If, however, there should be a new one, 
 let our interests, with those of every other in the 
 Union, share that protection to which we are all 
 entitled, and of which we claim our full share. I 
 can with confidence assure you, that we shall go 
 upward and onward. We will work. If twelve 
 hours* labour in the twenty four will not sustain 
 us, we can and will work fourteen ; and at the 
 same time feel that Congress cannot take the 
 sinews from our arms, or rob us of the intelligence 
 acquired from our system of public schools, 
 established by the foresight and wisdom of our 
 fathers. 
 
THE HONOURABLE THOMAS H. BENTON, 
 
 Member of the Senate for the State of Missouri. 
 
 The name of Mr. Benton is inseparably connected 
 with that of Missouri. To him the West, the fair 
 land of promise, is deeply indebted, for wisely and 
 lovingly he has ever watched over her interests, 
 and devoted his energies to her cause. None is 
 more thoroughly versed in the circumstances, 
 historical, political and actual, of her position, and 
 with effective eloquence he has vindicated her 
 rights; with lofty faith and hope he has antici¬ 
 pated the eventful future, and has traced, in hues 
 of light, the dawn of that day when the American 
 race shall be one name, one language, and one 
 people, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
 
 Mr. Benton has been, for a period of twenty 
 seven years, a representative in the Federal 
 
96 
 
 THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 Government of the United States. He possesses 
 much weight in the Senate, and is considered a 
 man of excellent judgment, of bold and original 
 views and of statesmanlike practice. He is at¬ 
 tached to the Democratic side, and is more of a 
 sectional than of a party politician. The con¬ 
 siderations of national power and extension are, 
 perhaps, more highly estimated by Mr. Benton 
 than those of wealth ; he is the representative of 
 a peculiar policy, arising naturally from the situa¬ 
 tion of an infant country, whose instincts, in the 
 first stages of developement, must be those of 
 growth and occupancy. Mr. Benton, neverthe¬ 
 less, has too much experience and too much 
 wisdom to indulge in extremes, and his expecta¬ 
 tions and demands on the Oregon Question were 
 marked by great moderation. 
 
 In his public deportment, and especially when 
 speaking, he has much senatorial dignity—is rarely 
 excited ; his action and gesture are expressive ; 
 his speech slow. In personal appearance lie has 
 much of the Englishman; is of robust and mus¬ 
 cular frame, somewhat inclined to corpulency; his 
 features have also more of the English than of the 
 
THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 97 
 
 American character :* the nose is broader, the 
 nostrils more expanded, the lips more full, and the 
 mouth less wide than is usual in the American 
 contour. The habitual expression of his coun¬ 
 tenance is calm and elevated. The forehead is 
 very massive; and I have seen in New York, at 
 an artistes house, a bust of Mr. Benton, in which 
 the neck and chest were of very large proportions ; 
 he has that gentle self-possession of manner which 
 is so usual in those who are conscious of superior 
 strength. 
 
 * If asked to define the general characteristics of the American 
 face and figure, I should say that they are a taller and slighter race 
 than the English; their hands and feet are more delicately formed, 
 the shoulders are more falling, the neck has more length and less 
 thickness, their limbs are longer, and the step is more rapid than 
 that of their forefathers. The mouth appears to me the most dis¬ 
 tinguishing feature; it is wider, and the lips are thinner, than is 
 observed here; the nose is handsomer, being better defined from 
 the cheek than the English nose. An intelligent eye, the usual 
 result of education, is almost universal in the United States; and 
 as every American is a thinking being, so the forehead bears the 
 impression of the ideas within; the cheek is less exuberant, and the 
 form of the face, from the ear to the chin, is angular rather than 
 rounded. The hair is of luxuriant growth, and generally brown in 
 colour. On the whole, I have thought that there is more per¬ 
 vading national resemblance among the Americans than among 
 the English, which is singular, because they are a more recent , as 
 well as a more varied , amalgamation of many nations than we are. 
 Of the women I shall now say no more than that they are very , 
 very lovely. 
 
 K 
 
98 
 
 THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 Mr. Benton possesses great acquirements: the 
 various studies of language, history, philosophy 
 and the belles lettres he has made doubly his own 
 by acquirement and by use. He speaks on all 
 topics openly and freely, and invariably listens 
 with attention to the remarks of others. A 
 daughter of the Senator from Missouri is married 
 to the able and spirited Captain Fremont, whose 
 “ Exploring Expeditions to the Rocky Mountains” 
 are so full of interest. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE SPEECH OF MR. BENTON, 
 ON THE OREGON QUESTION. 
 
 Delivered in the Senate, in May, 1846. 
 
 The value of the country, I mean the Columbia 
 river and its valley, (I must repeat the limitation 
 every time, lest I be carried up to 54° 40') has 
 been questioned on this floor and elsewhere. It 
 has been supposed to be of little value, hardly worth 
 the possession, much less the acquisition, and 
 treated rather as a burden to be got rid of, than as 
 a benefit to be preserved. This is a great error. 
 
THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 99 
 
 and one that only prevails on this side of the 
 water; the British know better, and if they held 
 the tithe of our title they would fight the world 
 for what we depreciate. It is not a worthless 
 country, but one of immense value, and that under 
 many aspects, and will be occupied by others, to 
 our injury and annoyance, if not by ourselves for 
 our own benefit and protection. Forty years ago 
 it was written by Humboldt that the banks of the 
 Columbia presented the only situation on the 
 north west coast of America fit for the residence 
 of a civilized people. Experience has confirmed 
 the truth of this wise remark. 
 
 It is valuable, both as a country to be inhabited 
 and as a position to be held and defended. I 
 speak of it, first, as a position, commanding the 
 North Pacific ooean, and overlooking the eastern 
 coast of Asia. The North Pacific is a rich sea, 
 and is already the seat of a great commerce; 
 British, French, American, Russian, and ships of 
 other nations frequent it. Our whaling ships 
 cover it, our ships of war go there to protect our 
 interest, and, great as that interest now is, it is 
 only the beginning. Futurity will develop an 
 
100 
 
 THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 immense and various commerce on that sea, of 
 which the far greater part will be American. That 
 commerce, neither in the merchant ships which 
 carry it on, nor in the military marine which pro¬ 
 tects it, can find a port, to call its own, within twenty 
 thousand miles of the field of its operations. The 
 double length of the two Americas has to be run, 
 a stormy and tempestuous cape to be doubled, to 
 find itself in a port of its own country, while here 
 lies one in the very edge of its field, ours by right, 
 ready for use, and ample for every purpose of 
 refuge and repair, protection and domination. 
 Can we turn our back upon it? and, in turning 
 the back, deliver it up to the British ? Insane 
 and suicidal would be the fatal act! 
 
 To say nothing of the daily want of such a port 
 in time of peace, its want in time of war becomes 
 ruinous. If we abandon, England will retain! 
 And her wooden walls, bristling with cannon, and 
 issuing from the mouth of the Columbia, will give 
 the law to the North Pacific, permitting our ships 
 to sneak about in time of peace—sinking, seizing, 
 or chasing them away in time of war. As a position, 
 then, and if nothing but a rock or desert point, 
 
THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 101 
 
 the possession of the Columbia is invaluable to us; 
 and it becomes our duty to maintain it at all 
 hazards. 
 
 Agriculturally the value of the country is great; 
 and; to understand it in all its extent, this large 
 country should be contemplated under its different 
 divisions—the threefold natural geographical divi¬ 
 sions under which it presents itself: the maritime, 
 the middle, and the mountain districts. 
 
 The maritime region, the fertile part of it, is 
 the long valley between the Cascade and the coast 
 ranges of mountains, extending from the head of 
 the Wah-lah-math, near the latitude of 42 degrees, 
 to the Straits of Fuca, near latitude 49. In this 
 valley lies the rich tide water region of the 
 Columbia. It is nearly five hundred miles long, 
 north and south, and above one hundred wide, 
 rich in soil, grass and timber, sufficient of itself to 
 constitute a respectable State, and now the seat of 
 the British commercial and military post of Van¬ 
 couver, and of their great farming establishment 
 of Nisqually. 
 
 The middle district, from the Cascade range to 
 near the base of the Rocky Mountains, is the 
 
102 
 
 THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 region called desert, and which, in the imaginations 
 of many, has given character to the whole country. 
 In some respects it is a desert; barren of wood, 
 sprinkled with sandy plains, melancholy under the 
 sombre aspect of the gloomy artemisia, and 
 desolate from volcanic rocks, through the chasms 
 of which plunge the headlong streams. But this 
 desert has its redeeming points—much water, 
 grass, many oases, mountains capped with snow 
 to refresh the air, the land and the eye, blooming 
 valleys, a clear sky, pure air and a supreme 
 salubrity. It is the home of the horse! found 
 there wild in all the perfection of his first nature, 
 beautiful and fleet, fiery and docile, patient, 
 enduring and affectionate. General Clark has 
 told me that of the one hundred and seventy 
 horses which he and Lewis obtained in this district 
 he had never seen their match in any equal number, 
 and he had seen the finest which the sporting 
 course or the warlike parade had exhibited in 
 Virginia. It is the home of that horse, the horse 
 of Persia, which gallops his eighty miles a day, 
 swimming the rivers as he comes to them; finds 
 his own food at night, the hoof scraping away the 
 
THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 103 
 
 snow when it hides the grass; gallops his eighty 
 miles again the next day, and so on through a long 
 and healthy life; carrying his master in the chase 
 or the fight; circumventing the game and pursuing 
 the foe with the intelligence of reason and the 
 fidelity of friendship. General Clark has informed 
 me that it was necessary to keep a scout ahead to 
 drive away the elk and buffalo, at the sight of 
 which all their horses immediately formed for the 
 chase, the loose ones dashing off to surround and 
 pursue the game. 
 
 The mountain division has its own peculiar fea¬ 
 tures, and many of them as useful as picturesque. 
 At the base of the mountains a long, broad and 
 high bench is seen, three hundred miles long, fifty 
 miles wide, the deposite of abraded mountains of 
 snow and verdure through thousands of years. 
 Other and smaller benches of the same character 
 are frequently seen, inviting the farmer to make 
 his healthy habitation and fertile field upon it. 
 
 Entering the gorges of the mountains, a suc¬ 
 cession of everything is found which is seen in 
 the alpine regions of Switzerland, glaciers only 
 excepted. Magnificent mountain scenery, lakes, 
 
104 
 
 THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 grassy valleys, snow capped mountains, clear 
 streams and fountains, coves and parks, hot and 
 warm springs, mineral waters of many varieties, 
 salt in the solid and fluid state, salt lakes and 
 even hot salt springs, wood, coal and iron. Such 
 are the Rocky Mountains in the long and broad 
 section from the head of the Rio Grande del Norte 
 of the sunny South to the head of the Athabasca 
 of the Frozen ocean. This ample, rich and 
 elevated mountain region is deemed by those 
 unacquainted with the Farthest West, to he, and 
 to be for ever, the desolate and frozen dominion of 
 the wild beast and the savage. On the contrary, 
 I view it as the future seat of population and 
 power, where man is to appear in all the moral, 
 intellectual and physical endowments which en¬ 
 noble the mountain race, and where liberty, inde¬ 
 pendence, and love of virtue are to make their last 
 stand on earth. 
 
 Thus, agriculturally, and as producing the means 
 of human subsistence, as sustaining a population, 
 and supplying the elements of wealth and power, 
 as derived from the surface and the bowels of the 
 earth, I look upon the region drained by the waters 
 
THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 105 
 
 of the Columbia as one of the valuable divisions of 
 the North American continent. 
 
 Commercially, the advantages of Oregon will 
 be great—far greater than any equal portion of the 
 Atlantic States. The eastern Asiatics, who will 
 be their chief customers, are more numerous than 
 our customers in western Europe, more profitable 
 to trade with, and less dangerous to quarrel with. 
 Their articles of commerce are richer than those 
 of Europe; they want what the Oregons will have 
 to spare, bread and provisions, and have no sys¬ 
 tems of policy to prevent them from purchasing 
 these necessaries of life from those who can supply 
 them. The sea which washes their shores is every 
 way a better sea than the Atlantic; richer in its 
 whale and other fisheries ; in the fur regions which 
 enclose it to the north; more fortunate in the 
 tranquillity of its character, in its freedom from 
 storms, gulf streams and icebergs; in its perfect 
 adaptation to steam navigation ; in its intermediate 
 or half w r ay islands and its myriad of rich islands 
 on its further side; in its freedom from maritime 
 Powers on its coasts, except the American which 
 is to grow up at the mouth of the Columbia. As 
 
106 
 
 THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 a people to trade with, as a sea to navigate, the 
 Mongolian race of eastern Asia, and the North 
 Pacific ocean, are far preferable to the Europeans 
 and the Atlantic. 
 
 a. 
 
 'I' 'T' 
 
 The effect of the arrival of the Caucasian, or 
 White race, on the western coast of America, 
 opposite the eastern coast of Asia, remains to be 
 mentioned among the benefits which the settle¬ 
 ment of the Columbia will produce; and that a 
 benefit, not local to us, but general and universal 
 to the human race. Since the dispersion of man 
 upon earth, I know of no human event, past or 
 present, which promises a greater and more bene¬ 
 ficent change upon earth than the arrival of the 
 van of the Caucasian race (the Celtic-Anglo-Saxon 
 division) upon the border of the sea which washes 
 the shore of the eastern Asia. The Mongolian, 
 or Yellow race, is there, four hundred millions in 
 number, spreading almost to Europe; a race once 
 the foremost of the human family in the arts of 
 civilization, but torpid and stationary for thou¬ 
 sands of years. It is a race far above the Ethio¬ 
 pian, or Black ; above the Malay, or Brown, (if 
 
THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 107 
 
 we must admit five races,) and above the American 
 Indian, or Red: it is a race far above all these, but 
 still far below the White; and, like all the rest, 
 must receive an impression from the superior race 
 whenever they come in contact. It would seem 
 that the White race alone received the divine 
 command to subdue and replenish the earth! for 
 it is the only race that has obeyed it—the only 
 one that hunts out new and distant lands, and 
 even a New Worlds to subdue and replenish. 
 Starting from western Asia, taking Europe for 
 their field, and the Sun for their guide, and leaving 
 the Mongolians behind, they arrived, after many 
 ages, on the shores of the Atlantic, which they lit 
 up with the lights of science and religion, and 
 adorned with the useful and the elegant arts. 
 Three and a half centuries ago, this race, in obe¬ 
 dience to the great command, arrived in the New 
 World, and found new lands to subdue and re¬ 
 plenish. For a long time it was confined to the 
 border of the new field (I now mean the Celtic- 
 Anglo-Saxon division); and even fourscore years 
 ago the philosophic Burke was considered a rash 
 man because he said the English colonists would 
 
108 
 
 THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 top the Alleganies, and descend into the valley of 
 the Mississippi, and occupy without parchment if 
 the Crown refused to make grants of land. What 
 was considered a rash declaration eighty years 
 ago is old history, in our young country, at this 
 day. Thirty years ago I said the same thing of 
 the Rocky Mountains and the Columbia: it was 
 ridiculed then; it is becoming history to-day. 
 The venerable Mr. Macon has often told me that 
 he remembered a line low down in North Caro¬ 
 lina, fixed by a royal governor as a boundary be¬ 
 tween the Whites and the Indians: where is that 
 boundary now ? The van of the Caucasian race 
 now top the Rocky Mountains, and spread down 
 to the shores of the Pacific. In a few years a 
 great population will grow up there, luminous 
 with the accumulated lights of European and 
 American civilization. Their presence in such a 
 position cannot be without its influence upon 
 eastern Asia. The sun of civilization must shine 
 across the sea: socially and commercially the van 
 of the Caucasians and the rear of the Mongolians 
 must intermix. They must talk together, and 
 trade together, and marry together. Commerce is 
 
THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 109 
 
 a great civilizer, social intercourse as great, and 
 marriage greater. The White and Yellow races 
 can marry together, as well as eat and trade to¬ 
 gether. Moral and intellectual superiority will do 
 the rest: the White race will take the ascendant, 
 elevating what is susceptible of improvement, 
 wearing out what is not. The Red race has dis¬ 
 appeared from the Atlantic coast: the tribes that 
 resisted civilization met extinction. This is a 
 cause of lamentation with many. For my part, I 
 cannot murmur at what seems to be the effect of 
 Divine law. I cannot repine that this Capitol has 
 replaced the wigwam—this Christian people re¬ 
 placed the savages—white matrons the red squaws, 
 and that such men as Washington, Franklin, and 
 Jefferson have taken the place of Powhattan, 
 Opechonecanough, and other red men, howsoever 
 respectable they may have been as savages. Civi¬ 
 lization, or extinction, has been the fate of all 
 people who have found themselves in the track of 
 the advancing Whites, and civilization, always the 
 preference of the Whites, has been pressed as an 
 object, while extinction has followed as a con¬ 
 sequence of its resistance. The Black and the 
 
 L 
 
110 
 
 THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 Red races have often felt their ameliorating in¬ 
 fluence. The Yellow race, next to themselves in 
 the scale of mental and moral excellence, and in 
 the beauty of form, once their superiors in the 
 useful and elegant arts, and in learning, and still 
 respectable though stationary; this race cannot 
 fail to receive a new impulse from the approach of 
 the Whites, improved so much since so many 
 ages ago they left the western borders of Asia. 
 The apparition of the van of the Caucasian race, 
 rising upon them in the east after having left 
 them on the west, and after having completed the 
 circumnavigation of the globe, must wake up and 
 re-animate the torpid body of old Asia. Our 
 position and policy will commend us to their hos¬ 
 pitable reception : political considerations will aid 
 the action of social and commercial influences. 
 Pressed upon by the great Powers of Europe— 
 the same that press upon us—they must in our 
 approach see the advent of friends, not of foes ; of 
 benefactors, not of invaders. The moral and in¬ 
 tellectual superiority of the White race will do the 
 rest; and thus, the youngest people, and the 
 newest land, will become the reviver and the re¬ 
 generator of the oldest. 
 
THE HON. THOMAS H. BENTON. 
 
 Ill 
 
 It is in this point of view, and as acting upon 
 the social, political, and religious condition of Asia, 
 and giving a new point of departure to her ancient 
 civilization, that I look upon the settlement of the 
 Columbia river by the van of the Caucasian race 
 as the most momentous human event in the 
 history of man since his dispersion over the face 
 of the earth. 
 

 THE HONOURABLE SAMUEL D. HUBBARD, 
 
 Member of Congress for New Haven and Middlesex, 
 State of Connecticut. 
 
 This is a man who has compelled me against all 
 my prejudices, against all my sympathies, to love, 
 esteem and respect him. In religion, politics, 
 social habits and manners we are the very anti¬ 
 podes of one another. He is a Puritan,—I am a 
 Puseyite;—he is a frequenter of the Meeting 
 House,—I worship in Cathedrals;—he respects 
 the Independent Preacher,—at home I recognise 
 the Hierarchy of the Church of England; while 
 in America I have fallen in love with the virtues 
 and good works of the Jesuit Fathers;—he is a 
 Whig,—I am an ultra Democrat;—he is a strict 
 Protectionist,—I am a Free Trader;—he abhors 
 Slavery,—I hold it but a name;—he condemns 
 dancing,—I hop about like a French Grand¬ 
 mother;—he is quite natural,— I am quite arti- 
 
THE HON. SAMUEL D. HUBBARD. 
 
 113 
 
 ficial;—he despises the pomps and vanities,— 
 while I, alas! am their loving, faithful votary. 
 Surely no man was ever so maliciously good as 
 this representative of stern old Connecticut; and 
 I can only account for it by supposing that he 
 originally came out of the Mayflower, and landed 
 with the Pilgrim Fathers;—he is their very ex¬ 
 press image. I envied the Whigs and Puritans 
 such intelligence, judgment and virtue, and have 
 tried all arts to beguile him from their ranks, but 
 in vain; he will neither be persuaded nor con¬ 
 vinced, and he walks along with head erect, con¬ 
 scious of inflexible integrity ;—and, sooth to say, 
 if I wished to speak an evil word of him, I 
 could not. 
 
 L 
 
 •? 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN, 
 
 Of Kinderhook, State of New York, ex-President of the 
 
 United States. 
 
 On arriving at the village of Kinderhook, the 
 Doctor and I hired a nice little carriage to Lin- 
 denwood, the residence of Mr. Van Buren; it is 
 distant three or four miles from the hamlet. It 
 was the 12th of J uly, and a lovely evening; the 
 drive was extremely pretty, through a fertile farm¬ 
 ing country, studded with fine forest trees. The 
 house stands at a pleasant distance from the road, 
 and the shady limes, then in the rich luxuriance of 
 summer foliage, precluded it from view until we 
 arrived at the door. On ringing the bell, a gen¬ 
 tleman stepped from the parlour; and with that 
 feeling of true unaffected politeness which would 
 not permit a lady, female or woman (they are the 
 same person in America, and are all regarded with 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN 
 
 115 
 
 the same courtesy), to wait until the arrival of an 
 attendant, advanced himself to receive us. From 
 the resemblance to his pictures, I immediately re¬ 
 cognised the ex-President. I had received my hus¬ 
 band’s positive command to pay my respects to 
 Mr. Van Buren, but I had no letter of introduction, 
 for, on requesting this favour from some of my 
 friends in New York, they mentioned that they 
 had recently differed from him on political grounds, 
 and should feel diffident upon the subject; but I 
 had with me a letter of introduction from Lord 
 Aberdeen, then Secretary of State for ForeignAffairs, 
 in London, to the British Minister in Washington? 
 to be sure it was sealed up, but that did not signify; 
 so I presented it to Mr. Van Buren, observing that 
 it would certify that I was not an impostor. The 
 ex-President’s manners are bewitching, he took 
 me by the hand, laughed heartily at my mode of 
 self-introduction, himself lifted from the carriage 
 my travelling bandbox, first ordered the driver 
 home, and then said, — “ The name you bear, 
 Madam, is of itself a sufficient introduction; of 
 course you will stay here, for it will give us the 
 greatest pleasure.” Of course , it gave the Doctor 
 
116 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 and myself the greatest pleasure ; we sat down in a 
 cool and pleasant parlour; iced water, lemonade, 
 and wine* were immediately presented; wc were 
 introduced to the family of Mr. Van Buren, and 
 after tea rambled through the garden and the 
 farm. The ex-President gathered flowers for me, 
 led us to look at his potatoes, presented me with 
 a branch of delicious red currants, and delighted 
 me by calling my boy “ Doctor/’ and walking 
 along the fields with his arm round the little fel¬ 
 low’s neck. The child was perfectly happy, and 
 I retired at half after eleven, forgetful of rest 
 and sleep; for I had listened with delighted 
 ear to the discourse of my accomplished host. 
 And yet I could not define the charm which this 
 magician flings upon his words; they are natural, 
 and of common use; and he speaks of common 
 things, and of common feelings; his opinions, 
 sentiments, and thoughts are expressed in lan¬ 
 guage which all men understand, for it appeals 
 perpetually to their own nature; he clothes their 
 own perceptions and desires, their knowledge and 
 their wisdom, in hues so fair that they become 
 
 * There was, also, I remember, some unfermented wine. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 117 
 
 enamoured of the wit and worth which he so skil¬ 
 fully places to their account. His conversation 
 is like a strain of varied music, now grave, now 
 gay, now learned, now simple; generally new and 
 original, hut sometimes blending in its harmonies 
 the chords of other minstrels ; and by this union, 
 imparting to their sounds a grace transcending 
 their own. Being somewhat of a humourist, he 
 tells a story most happily, and likes to hear a good 
 one. Often, unexpectedly, a new view of a subject 
 is presented, unconsciously as it were, by the 
 speaker, who never for one moment seems to think 
 of display ; self is annihilated in the wish to make 
 others happy and at ease; no temptation could 
 induce this most amiable of men to utter a wit¬ 
 ticism at another’s expense; he praises the de¬ 
 serving of all parties and of all countries with 
 generous candour, and with discerning justice; 
 and speaks of himself with that unreserved con¬ 
 fidence, which is so attractive in a distinguished 
 man. His voice is very agreeable, it has a cheerful, 
 kindly sound, and varies with the theme he speaks 
 upon; combined with the inexpressible charm of 
 his manner and conversation, it is, doubtless, a 
 
118 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 powerful agent in enabling him to conjure men’s 
 hearts out of their bosoms. 
 
 He spoke of many whom he had known in 
 England; and observed that he ee should like to 
 visit the Old Country again as a private traveller, 
 divested of the insignia of office, and thus to observe 
 more at his ease the various peculiarities of society.” 
 But, added he, smiling, “ I am sixty-four, and I 
 am here in the midst of my family,—my children 
 and my friends are all around me, and I am happy.” 
 “ It is impossible to describe a more affectionate 
 family,” says one* who knows him well, and loves 
 him much, “ than the home circle at Kinderhook. 
 The intercourse between the father and his sons 
 is of the most confidential and endearing kind. 
 The amiable disposition of Mr. Van Buren, his 
 invariable good humour and indulgence, make 
 every inmate of his household happy.” 
 
 I remember well the emotion of Mr. Van Buren, 
 while relating to him, during my second visit in 
 July last, the death of one, gentle and good, 
 
 * The Hon. Henry D. Gilpin, who filled the office of Attorney- 
 General of the United States during the Presidency of Mr. Van 
 Buren. 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 119 
 
 whom he had known and loved from her infancy. 
 At first he was unable to speak, but when he 
 recovered his self possession, he dwelt with ex¬ 
 quisite tenderness on the various scenes of her 
 life, on the sorrow of her husband and family, and 
 on the general loss to the society of Washington 
 occasioned by the death of this amiable woman. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren’s reading is very extensive, and 
 his mind is stored from the choicest authors both 
 in prose and verse ; the usages of the most courtly 
 society are those of his familiar and habitual 
 practice; the comforts and elegancies of his resi¬ 
 dence exactly resemble those we find in the country 
 house of an English gentleman of fortune who 
 lives upon his estate. His garden and his farm 
 constitute his chief amusement and occupation 
 when at home; and the ex-President is much 
 interested in all agricultural improvements. 
 
 Mr. Van Buren was brought up to the law; he 
 has filled the offices of Minister to England and 
 Vice-President of the United States; and suc¬ 
 ceeded General Jackson, in the Presidential Chair, 
 on the 4th March, 1837. His political principles 
 are the same as those which were held, and to a 
 
120 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 great measure carried out, by his predecessor. 
 He was the declared enemy of a National Bank 
 and of paper money. Mr. Van Buren introduced 
 the celebrated measure for the establishment of 
 an Independent Treasury, more generally known 
 as the Sub-Treasury Bill. He adhered (though a 
 northern man) to the constitutional principle of 
 non-interference with Slavery; he did much to 
 effect the removal of the Indian Tribes, and 
 guarded them from suffering, so far as the difficult 
 circumstances of the case would permit. 
 
 The opinions of Mr. Van Buren on the question 
 of the Texas were opposed to Annexation. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 December 4 , 1837 . 
 
 The aggravating circumstances connected with 
 our claims upon Mexico, and a variety of events 
 touching the honour and integrity of our govern¬ 
 ment, led my predecessor to make, at the second 
 session of the last Congress, a special recom¬ 
 mendation of the course to be pursued to obtain a 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 121 
 
 speedy and final satisfaction of the injuries com¬ 
 plained of by this government and by our citizens. 
 He recommended a final demand of redress, with 
 a contingent authority to the executive to make 
 reprisals, if that demand should be made in vain. 
 From the proceedings of Congress on that recom¬ 
 mendation, it appeared that the opinion of both 
 branches of the legislature coincided with that of 
 the executive, that any mode of redress known to 
 the law of nations might justifiably be used. It 
 was obvious, too, that Congress believed, with the 
 President, that another demand should be made, 
 in order to give undeniable and satisfactory proof 
 of our desire to avoid extremities with a neigh¬ 
 bouring power; but that there was an indisposition 
 to vest a discretionary authority in the executive 
 to take redress, should it unfortunately be either 
 denied or unreasonably delayed by the Mexican 
 government. 
 
 So soon as the necessary documents were pre¬ 
 pared, after entering upon the duties of my office, 
 a special messenger was sent to Mexico, to make 
 a final demand of redress, with the documents 
 required by the provisions of our treaty. The 
 
 M 
 
122 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 demand was made on the 20th of July last. The 
 reply^ which bears date the 29th of the same month, 
 contains assurances of a desire, on the part of that 
 government, to give a prompt and explicit answer 
 respecting each of the complaints, but that the 
 examination of them would necessarily be deli¬ 
 berate ; that in this examination it would be guided 
 by the principles of public law and the obligation 
 of treaties; that nothing should be left undone 
 that might lead to the most speedy and equitable 
 adjustment of our demands; and that its deter¬ 
 mination, in respect to each case, should be com¬ 
 municated through the Mexican minister here. 
 
 Since that time, an envoy extraordinary and 
 minister plenipotentiary has been accredited to this 
 government by that of the Mexican republic. He 
 brought with him assurances of a sincere desire 
 that the pending differences between the two go¬ 
 vernments should be terminated in a manner 
 satisfactory to both.. He was received with reci¬ 
 procal assurances, and a hope was entertained that 
 his mission would lead to a speedy, satisfactory, 
 and final adjustment of all existing subjects of 
 complaint. A sincere believer in the wisdom of 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 123 
 
 the pacific policy, by which the United States have 
 always been governed in their intercourse with 
 foreign nations, it was my particular desire, from 
 the proximity of the Mexican republic, and well 
 known occurrences on our frontier, to be instru¬ 
 mental in obviating all existing difficulties with 
 that government, and in restoring the intercourse 
 between the two republics to that liberal and 
 friendly character by which they should always be 
 distinguished. I regret, therefore,the more deeply, 
 to have found in the recent communications of 
 that government, so little reason to hope that any 
 future efforts of mine for the accomplishment of 
 
 those desirable objects would be successful. 
 
 » 
 
 Although the larger number, and many of them 
 aggravated cases of personal wrongs, have been 
 now for years before the Mexican government, 
 and some of the causes of national complaint, and 
 those of the most offensive character, admitted of 
 immediate, simple, and satisfactory replies, it is 
 only within a few days past that any specific com¬ 
 munication in answer to our last demand, made 
 five months ago, has been received from the 
 Mexican minister. By the report of the secretary 
 
124 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 of state, herewith presented, and the accompanying 
 documents, it will be seen, that for not one of our 
 public complaints has satisfaction been given or 
 offered; and that but four cases of both des¬ 
 criptions, out of all those formally presented, and 
 earnestly pressed, have as yet been decided upon 
 by the Mexican government. 
 
 Not perceiving in what manner any of the powers 
 given to the executive alone could be further use¬ 
 fully employed in bringing this unfortunate con¬ 
 troversy to a satisfactory termination, the subject 
 was, by my predecessor, referred to Congress, as 
 one calling for its interposition. In accordance 
 with the clearly understood wishes of the legis¬ 
 lature, another and formal demand for satisfaction 
 has been made upon the Mexican government, with 
 what success the documents now communicated 
 will show. On a careful and deliberate examination 
 of their contents, and considering the spirit mani¬ 
 fested by the Mexican government, it has become 
 my painful duty to return the subject, as it now 
 stands, to Congress, to whom it belongs to decide 
 upon the time, the mode, and the measures of 
 redress. Whatever may be your decision, it shall 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 125 
 
 be faithfully executed, confident that it will be 
 characterized by that moderation and justice which 
 will, I trust, under all circumstances, govern the 
 
 counsels of our country. 
 
 ^ 
 
 The report of the commissioner of the general 
 land office, which will be laid before you by the 
 secretary of the treasury, will show how the affairs 
 of that office have been conducted for the past 
 year. The disposition of the public lands is one 
 of the most important trusts confided to Congress. 
 The practicability of retaining the title and control 
 of such extensive domains in the general govern¬ 
 ment, and at the same time admitting the terri¬ 
 tories embracing them into the federal Union, as 
 co-equal with the original states, was seriously 
 doubted by many of our wisest statesmen. All 
 feared that they would become a source of discord, 
 and many carried their apprehensions so far as to 
 see in them the seeds of a future dissolution of 
 the confederacy. But happily our experience has 
 already been sufficient to quiet, in a great degree, 
 all such apprehensions. The position at one time 
 assumed—that the admission of new states into 
 
 m 2 
 
126 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 the Union on the same footing with the original 
 states, was incompatible with a right of soil in the 
 United States, and operated as a surrender thereof, 
 notwithstanding the terms of the compacts by 
 which their admission was designed to be regulated, 
 has been wisely abandoned. Whether in the new 
 or the old states, all now agree that the right 
 of soil to the public lands remains in the federal 
 government, and that these lands constitute a 
 common property, to be disposed of for the com¬ 
 mon benefit of all the states, old and new. Ac¬ 
 quiescence in this just principle by the people of 
 the new states has naturally promoted a disposition 
 to adopt the most liberal policy in the sale of the 
 public lands. A policy which should be limited 
 to the mere object of selling the lands for the 
 greatest possible sum of money, without regard to 
 higher considerations, finds but few advocates. 
 On the contrary, it is generally conceded, that 
 while the mode of distribution adopted by the 
 government should always be a prudent one, yet 
 its leading object ought to be the early settlement 
 and cultivation of the lands sold; and that it 
 should discountenance, if it cannot prevent, the 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 127 
 
 accumulation of large tracts in the same hands, 
 which must retard the growth of the new states, 
 or entail upon them a dependent tenantry and its 
 attendant evils. 
 
 A question embracing such important interests, 
 and so well calculated to enlist the feelings of the 
 people in every quarter of the Union, has very 
 naturally given rise to numerous plans for the 
 improvement of the existing system. The dis¬ 
 tinctive features of the policy that has hitherto 
 prevailed, are, to dispose of the public lands at 
 moderate prices, thus enabling a greater number 
 to enter into competition for their purchase, and 
 accomplishing the double object of promoting 
 their rapid settlement by the purchasers, and at 
 the same time increasing the receipts of the trea¬ 
 sury ; to sell for cash, thereby preventing the 
 disturbing influence of a large mass of private 
 citizens indebted to the government which they 
 have a voice in controlling; to bring them into 
 the market no faster than good lands are supposed 
 to be wanted for improvements, thereby prevent¬ 
 ing the accumulation of large tracts in few hands; 
 and to apply the proceeds of the sales to the 
 
128 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 general purposes of the government, thus diminish¬ 
 ing the amount to be raised from the people of the 
 states by taxation, and giving each state its portion 
 of the benefits to be derived from the common fund 
 in a manner the most quiet and at the same time, 
 perhaps, the most equitable that can be devised. 
 
 These provisions, with occasional enactments in 
 behalf of special interests deemed entitled to the 
 favour of government, have, in their execution, 
 produced results as beneficial upon the whole as 
 could reasonably be expected in a matter so vast, 
 so complicated, and so exciting. Upwards of 
 seventy millions of acres have been sold, the 
 greater part of which is believed to have been 
 purchased for actual settlement. The population 
 of the new states and territories created out of the 
 public domain increased, between 1800 and 1830, 
 from less than sixty thousand to upwards of two 
 millions three hundred thousand souls, constituting 
 at the latter period, about one fifth of the whole 
 people of the United States. The increase since 
 cannot be accurately known, but the whole may 
 now be safely estimated at over three and a half 
 millions of souls, composing nine States, the repre- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 129 
 
 sentatives of which constitute above one third of 
 the Senate, and over one sixth of the House 
 of Rep resentatives of the United States. 
 
 Thus has been formed a body of free and inde¬ 
 pendent landholders, with a rapidity unequalled 
 in the history of mankind; and this great result 
 has been produced without leaving anything for 
 future adjustment between the government and 
 the citizens. The system under which so much 
 has been accomplished cannot be intrinsically 
 bad, and with occasional modifications, to correct 
 abuses and adapt it to changes of circumstances, 
 may, I think, be safely trusted for the future. 
 There is, in the management of such extensive 
 interests, much virtue in stability; and although 
 great and obvious improvements should not be 
 declined, changes should never be made without 
 the fullest examination, and the clearest demon¬ 
 stration of their practical utility. 
 
130 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE SECOND ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 December 4 , 1838 . 
 
 The present year closes the first half century of 
 our federal institutions; and our system, differing 
 from all others in the acknowledged practical and 
 unlimited operation which it has for so long a 
 period given to the sovereignty of the people, has 
 now been fully tested by experience. 
 
 The constitution devised by our forefathers as 
 the framework and bond of that system, then 
 untried, has become a settled form of government; 
 not only preserving and protecting the great prin¬ 
 ciples upon which it was founded, but wonderfully 
 promoting individual happiness and private in¬ 
 terests. Though subject to change and entire 
 revocation, whenever deemed inadequate to all 
 these purposes, yet such is the wisdom of its 
 construction, and so stable has been the public 
 sentiment, that it remains unaltered, except in 
 matters of detail, comparatively unimportant. It 
 has proved amply sufficient for the various emer¬ 
 gencies incident to our condition as a nation. A 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 131 
 
 formidable foreign war; agitating collisions between 
 domestic, and in some respects rival, sovereignties; 
 temptations to interfere in the intestine commotions 
 of neighbouring countries; the dangerous influ¬ 
 ences that arise in periods of excessive prosperity; 
 and the anti-republican tendencies of associated 
 wealth;—these, w ith other trials not less for¬ 
 midable, have all been encountered, and thus 
 far successfully resisted. 
 
 It was reserved for the American Union to test 
 the advantages of a government entirely dependent 
 on the continual exercise of the popular will; and 
 our experience has shown that it is as beneficent 
 in practice as it is just in theory. Each successive 
 change made in our local institutions has con¬ 
 tributed to extend the right of sufferage, has 
 increased the direct influence of the mass of the 
 community, given greater freedom to individual 
 exertion, and restricted more and more the powers 
 of government; yet the intelligence, prudence and 
 patriotism of the people have kept pace with the 
 augmented responsibility. In no country has 
 education been so widely diffused. Domestic 
 peace has nowhere so largely reigned. The close 
 
132 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 bonds of social intercourse have in no instance 
 prevailed with such harmony over a space so vast. 
 All forms of religion have united, for the first time, 
 to diffuse charity and piety, because for the first 
 time in the history of nations, all have been totally 
 untrammelled and absolutely free. The deepest 
 recesses of the wilderness have been penetrated; 
 yet, instead of the rudeness in the social con¬ 
 dition consequent upon such adventures elswhere, 
 numerous communities have sprung up, already 
 unrivalled in prosperity, general intelligence, in¬ 
 ternal tranquillity, and the wisdom of their political 
 institutions. Internal improvements, the fruit of 
 individual enterprise, fostered by the protection of 
 the states, have added new links to the confede¬ 
 ration, and fresh rewards to provident industry. 
 Doubtful questions of domestic policy have been 
 quietly settled by mutual forbearance; and agri¬ 
 culture, commerce, and manufactures, minister to 
 each other. Taxation and public debt, the burdens 
 which bear so heavily upon all other countries, 
 have pressed with comparative lightness upon us. 
 Without one entangling alliance, our friendship is 
 prized by every nation; and the rights of our 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 133 
 
 citizens are everywhere respected, because they 
 are known to be guarded by a united, sensitive, 
 and watchful people. 
 
 vL» *1* vly vl>» 
 
 ^ 
 
 It affords me sincere pleasure to be able to 
 apprize you of the entire removal of the Cherokee 
 nation of Indians to their new homes west of the 
 Mississippi. The measures authorized by Congress 
 at its last session, with a view to the long standing 
 controversy with them, have had the happiest 
 effects. By an agreement concluded with them by 
 the commanding general in that country, who has 
 performed the duties assigned to him on the 
 occasion with commendable energy and humanity, 
 their removal has been principally under the con¬ 
 duct of their own chiefs, and they have emigrated 
 without any apparent reluctance. 
 
 The successful accomplishment of this important 
 object; the removal, also, of the entire Creek 
 nation, with the exception of a small number of 
 fugitives amongst the Seminoles in Florida; the 
 progress already made toward a speedy completion 
 of the removal of the Chickasaws, the Choctaws, 
 the Pottawatamies, the Ottawas, and the Chip- 
 
1.34 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 pewas, with the extensive purchases of Indian 
 lands during the present year, have rendered the 
 speedy and successful result of the long established 
 policy of the government upon the subject of 
 Indian affairs entirely certain. The occasion is, 
 therefore, deemed a proper one to place this policy 
 in such a point of view as will exonerate the go¬ 
 vernment of the United States from the undeserved 
 reproach which has been cast upon it through 
 several successive administrations. That a mixed 
 occupancy of the same territory, by the white and 
 red man, is incompatible with the safety or hap¬ 
 piness of either, is a position in respect to which 
 there has long since ceased to be room for a dif¬ 
 ference of opinion. Reason and experience have 
 alike demonstrated its impracticability. The bitter 
 fruits of every attempt heretofore to overcome the 
 barriers interposed by nature, have only been 
 destruction, both physical and moral, to the 
 Indian ; dangerous conflicts of authority between 
 the federal and state governments; and detriment 
 to the individual prosperity of the citizens, as well 
 as to the general improvement of the country. 
 The remedial policy, the principles of which were 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 135 
 
 settled more than thirty years ago, under the 
 administration of Mr. Jefferson, consists in an 
 extinction, for a fair consideration, of the title to 
 all the lands still occupied by the Indians within 
 the states and territories of the United States; 
 their removal to a country west of the Mississippi 
 much more extensive, and better adapted to their 
 condition than that on which they then resided; 
 the guarantee to them, by the United States, of 
 their exclusive possession of that country for ever, 
 exempt from all intrusions by white men, with 
 ample provisions for their security against external 
 violence and internal dissensions, and the exten¬ 
 sion to them of suitable facilities for their ad¬ 
 vancement in civilization. This has not been the 
 policy of particular administrations only, but of 
 each in succession since the first attempt to carry 
 it out under that of Mr. Monroe. All have laboured 
 for its accomplishment, only with different degrees 
 of success. The manner of its execution has, it 
 is true, from time to time given rise to conflicts of 
 opinion and unjust imputations; but in respect 
 to the wisdom and necessity of the policy itself, 
 there has not, from the beginning, existed a doubt 
 
136 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 in the mind of any calm, judicious, disinterested 
 friend of the Indian race, accustomed to reflection 
 and enlightened by experience. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE THIRD ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 December 2 , 1839 . 
 
 I regret to be obliged to inform you that no 
 convention for the settlement of the claims of our 
 citizens upon Mexico has yet been ratified by the 
 government of that country. The first convention 
 formed for that purpose was not presented by the 
 President of Mexico for the approbation of its 
 Congress, from a belief that the King of Prussia, 
 the arbitrator in case of disagreement in the joint 
 commission to be appointed by the United States 
 and Mexico, would not consent to take upon him¬ 
 self that friendly office. Although not entirely 
 satisfied with the course pursued by Mexico, I 
 felt no hesitation in receiving, in the most conci¬ 
 liatory spirit, the explanation offered, and also 
 cheerfully consented to a new convention, in order 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 137 
 
 to arrange the payments proposed to be made to 
 our citizens in a manner which, while equally just 
 to them, was deemed less onerous and inconvenient 
 to the Mexican government. Relying confidently 
 upon the intentions of that government, Mr. Ellis 
 was directed to repair to Mexico, and diplomatic 
 intercourse has been resumed between the two 
 countries. The new convention has, he informs 
 us, been recently submitted by the President of 
 that republic to its Congress, under circumstances 
 which promise a speedy ratification ; a result which 
 I cannot allow myself to doubt. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE FOURTH ANNUAL MESSAGE OF 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 December 5 , 1840 . 
 
 The suppression of the African Slave Trade has 
 received the continued attention of the government. 
 The brig Dolphin and schooner Grampus have 
 been employed during the last season on the coast 
 of Africa, for the purpose of preventing such 
 portions of that trade as were said to be prosecuted 
 
 N 2 
 
138 
 
 MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 under the American flag. After cruising on those 
 parts of the coast most usually resorted to by 
 slavers, until the commencement of the rainy 
 season, these vessels returned to the United States 
 for supplies, and have since been despatched on a 
 similar service. 
 
 From the reports of the commanding officers, 
 it appears that the trade is now principally carried 
 on under Portuguese colours; and they express the 
 opinion that the apprehension of their presence on 
 the Slave coast has, in a great degree, arrested the 
 prostitution of the American flag to this inhuman 
 purpose. It is hoped that, by continuing to 
 maintain this force in that quarter, and by the 
 exertions of the officers in command, much will 
 be done to put a stop to whatever portion of this 
 traffic may have been carried on under the Ame¬ 
 rican flag, and to prevent its use in a trade which, 
 while it violates the laws, is equally an outrage on 
 the rights of others and the feelings of humanity. 
 The efforts of the several governments who are 
 anxiously seeking to suppress this traffic must, 
 however, be directed against the facilities afforded 
 by what are now recognised as legitimate com- 
 
MARTIN VAN BUREN. 
 
 139 
 
 mercial pursuits, before that object can be fully 
 accomplished. 
 
 Supplies of provisions, water-casks, merchandise, 
 and articles connected with the prosecution of the 
 Slave Trade, are, it is understood, freely carried by 
 vessels of different nations to the Slave factories ; 
 and the effects of the factors are transported openly 
 from one Slave station to another, without inter¬ 
 ruption or punishment from either of the nations 
 to which they belong, by ships engaged in the 
 commerce of that nation. I submit to your judg¬ 
 ments, whether this government, having been the 
 first to prohibit by adequate penalties , the Slave 
 Trade—the first to declare it piracy —should not 
 be the first, also, to forbid to its citizens all trade 
 with the Slave factories on the coast of Africa; 
 giving an example to all nations in this respect, 
 which, if fairly followed, cannot fail to produce 
 the most effective results in breaking up those 
 dens of iniquity. 
 
THE HONOURABLE ROBERT C. WINTHROP, 
 
 Member of Congress for Boston. 
 
 This is a name which I delight to honour. 
 Graceful^ gallant, and accomplished, Winthrop is 
 the rising glory of the Whigs; and, by his truth 
 and worth, he well has merited this high and 
 distinguished position. Possessing the prestige 
 that naturally arises from gentle birth and ample 
 fortune, this promising member has no interest to 
 serve, no favour to seek. His politics are those of 
 his party, but modified by enlarged reason and 
 enlightened judgment; he has stepped beyond 
 the narrow boundary of New England policy, and 
 if I mistake not, the remark that men of that 
 section of the Union are unskilled in the Art of 
 Government will in his case be refuted. Already 
 he has foreseen the imperative necessity of re¬ 
 ducing the scale of commercial restriction, and in 
 

 THE HON. ROBERT C. W1NTHROP. 141 
 
 the Session of 1846 declared his willingness to 
 accept^ under certain conditions, a modification 
 of the Tariff of 1842.* 
 
 The general views of the Member for Boston on 
 the Oregon Question were explicitly laid down in 
 his speech upon the subject in the House of 
 Representatives as early as the 3rd of January. 
 The impression produced by his remarks was 
 greatly increased by the fact of his voting against 
 giving the Notice , contrary to the opinion and 
 vote of his colleague, Mr. Adams. cc I have no 
 hesitation” observes the Hon. Member “ in saying 
 “ that I honestly think, upon as dispassionate a 
 <c review of the correspondence as I am capable 
 “ of, that the American title to Oregon is the best 
 “ now in existence. But I honestly think also 
 “ that the whole character of the title is too 
 “ confused and complicated to justify any arbi- 
 “ trary and exclusive assertions of right, and that 
 
 * We may not, however, claim Mr. Winthrop as a Free Trader, 
 for I remember that when alluding to the possibility of Mr. 
 Calhoun’s accepting the mission to England, after speaking of that 
 illustrious Senator in terms of the highest esteem and veneration, 
 he added, smiling, “ But we ” (that is, the Whig party generally,) 
 
 (< cannot allow Free Trade to be a part of his instructions. ” 
 
142 
 
 THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP, 
 
 “ a compromise of the question is every way con- 
 “ sistent with reason, interest and honour.” 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 He adds, in conclusion “As a friend, then, to 
 “ Oregon, with every disposition to maintain our 
 “just rights to that territory, with the most 
 “ sincere desire to see that territory in the pos- 
 “ session of such of our own people as desire 
 “ to occupy it—whether hereafter as an inde- 
 “ pendent nation, as was originally suggested by 
 “ a distinguished Senator from Missouri, (Mr. 
 “ Benton,) and more recently by a no less dis- 
 “ tinguished Senator from Massachusetts, (Mr. 
 “ Webster,) or as a portion of our own wide 
 “ spread and glorious republic—I am opposed 
 “ to the steps which are now about to be so 
 “ hotly pursued.* 
 
 “ Sir, I feel that I have a right to express 
 “ something more than an ordinary interest in this 
 “ matter. There is no better element in our title 
 “ to Oregon than that which has been contributed 
 c< by Boston enterprise. You may talk about the 
 
 * i.e. Giving the Notice to Great Britain that the convention of 
 joint occupation be at an end. 
 
THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 143 
 
 “ old navigators of Spain, and the Florida treaty, 
 “ and the settlement at Astoria, and the survey 
 4< of Lewis and Clarke, as much as you please, 
 “ but you all come back, for your best satis- 
 “ faction, to “ Auld Robin Gray” in the end. 
 “ Captain Robert Gray, of Boston, in the good 
 “ ship Columbia, gave you your earliest right of 
 ec foothold upon that soil. 
 
 “ I have seen, within a few months past, the 
 C( last survivor of his hardy crew, still living in 
 “ a green old age, and exhibiting with pride a 
 “ few original sketches of some of the scenes of 
 “ that now memorable voyage. My constituents 
 “ all feel some pride in their connection with the 
 ct title to this territory. But in their name I pro- 
 “ test against the result of their peaceful enter- 
 “ prise being turned to the account of an un- 
 “ necessary and destructive war. I protest against 
 “ the pure current of the river which they dis- 
 covered, and to which their ship has given its 
 ee noble name, being wantonly stained with either 
 “ American or British blood ! 
 
 But while I am thus opposed to war for 
 a Oregon, or to any measures which, in my judg- 
 
144 
 
 THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 ££ ment, are likely to lead to war, I shall with- 
 ££ hold no vote from any measure which the friends 
 66 of the administration may bring forward for the 
 ££ defence of the country. Whether the bill be for 
 “ two regiments or for twenty regiments, it shall 
 “ pass all unopposed by me. To the last file, to 
 ££ the uttermost farthing, which they may require 
 ££ of us, they shall have men and money for the 
 ££ public protection. But the responsibility for 
 “ bringing about such a state of things shall be 
 ££ theirs, and theirs only. They can prevent it if 
 £( they please. The Peace of the country and the 
 66 Honour of the country are still entirely com- 
 i£ patible with each other. The Oregon question 
 “ is still perfectly susceptible of an amicable 
 “ adjustment, and I rejoice to believe that it may 
 ££ still he so adjusted. We have had omens of 
 “ peace in the other end of the Capitol, if none 
 “ in this. But, if war comes, the Administration 
 “ must take the responsibility for all its guilt 
 (C and all its disgrace/’ 
 
 Mr. Winthrop made an electrifying speech on 
 the question of granting to the President a sum 
 of two millions of dollars for the purpose of ar- 
 
THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 145 
 
 ranging affairs between the United States and 
 Mexico. He voted in favour of granting the 
 supply. 
 
 The mental qualifications of this member are of 
 a very high order; and,, moreover, they are under 
 the rigid discipline of a strong understanding, and 
 therefore are eminently calculated for usefulness. 
 He impartially weighs a man’s worth before he 
 yields his esteem; perhaps it may be said that 
 his approaches in friendship would be slow; and 
 that he would not be blinded by affection, even 
 in his appreciation of his dearest friend. No im¬ 
 pulses, no exaggerations, no gigantic aspirations 
 hurry him beyond the bounds of reasonable, prac¬ 
 ticable, common sense measures. But I would 
 confide in his zeal when he is once convinced of 
 the rectitude of his cause, as implicitly as I would 
 trust in the caution with which he chooses his 
 course. The temper of Mr. Winthrop is proud 
 and enduring; not hasty or petulant; and I have 
 seen him listen in cold and haughty silence to 
 taunts directed against himself which would render 
 an ordinary man furious; but this calm and un¬ 
 bending spirit fails him when he is attacked 
 
 o 
 
146 
 
 THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 through the fair name of his friends ; then his 
 generous indignation is instantly aroused, and 
 valiantly he hurries on to the rescue. Honoured 
 and happy is the man who has Winthrop for his 
 defender. 
 
 Mr. Winthrop is the lineal descendant of John 
 Winthrop, the first Governor of the State of 
 Massachusetts, and the founder of Boston. He 
 came over in 1630. Mr. Bancroft, in his History 
 of the United States, gives us many highly in¬ 
 teresting and peculiar anecdotes of the family of 
 Mr. Winthrop, and I have been delighted in read¬ 
 ing the history of these early settlers, to compare 
 his character with theirs, and to find how truly he 
 is the heir of their virtues as well as of their name. 
 In stern religious and moral feeling, in the love of 
 freedom and independence, in moral and physical 
 courage, in honesty, in fidelity, in charity, in pati¬ 
 ence, he resembles strongly the first Fathers of 
 Massachusetts; and on these elder virtues he has 
 engrafted all the accomplishments of later times. 
 The honours which his ancestors have won, by 
 him will be maintained, pure and unsullied as they 
 were received. I have traced, with curious in¬ 
 terest, a likeness in Mr. Winthrop to the features 
 
THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 147 
 
 of JohnWinthrop (the first Governor), in a portrait 
 painted by Vandyke; and should I revisit America, 
 as I hope, I shall be strangely tempted to ask his 
 permission to try how becomingly he would look 
 in a starched lace ruffle, such as adorns the neck 
 of the Pilgrim Governor. The landing of these 
 interesting adventurers, the kindred of our own 
 forefathers, in their new and unknown home, is 
 the subject of many efforts on the canvass ; hut 
 what charming tableaux vivants for Thanksgiving 
 Day might be constructed from the history of their 
 progress; the actors in the imaginative scene being 
 the actual descendants of the heroic men and 
 women who performed so important a drama on 
 the theatre of the world. What mingled pictures 
 of the sublime, the heroic, the pathetic, the 
 amusing, nay of the ludicrous, might be conjured 
 up from these spirited narratives; and it would 
 be so delightful thus to dramatise the past, and to 
 annihilate the space of two centuries. The ladies 
 of the family of Endicott, of Salem, Massachusetts, 
 bear also a striking resemblance to the handsome 
 features of their magnanimous and intrepid pre¬ 
 decessor. I shall never forget their sweet faces. 
 
148 
 
 THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 Mr. Winthrop is fair, and his colour comes and 
 goes when he is speaking; his bearing is highly 
 aristocratic. In conversation, the natural and 
 cultivated resources of his mind give him great 
 advantages; his language is very refined, and his 
 taste in reading is of the best kind; he has 
 charmed me by his devoted love of Shakspeare. 
 His public speeches are ever dictated by a sense 
 of duty, and by the truest patriotism; their popu¬ 
 larity or unpopularity is a part of them which 
 never concerns him. In private life he is uni¬ 
 versally esteemed and respected. Massachusetts 
 may well be proud, both of his present promise, 
 and of his future fame. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM MR. WINTHROP’S SPEECH 
 Before the Boston Mercantile Association. 
 
 vL» >J/ si/ 
 
 *p« 
 
 If one were called on to say, what upon the 
 whole, was the most distinctive and characterizing 
 feature of the age in which we live, I think he 
 might reply, that it was the rapid and steady 
 
THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 140 
 
 progress of the influence of Commerce upon the 
 social and political condition of man. The policy 
 of the civilized world is now every where and 
 eminently a commercial policy. No longer do the 
 nations of the earth measure their relative conse¬ 
 quence by the number and discipline of their 
 armies upon the land, or their armadas upon the 
 sea. The tables of their imports and exports, the 
 tonnage of their commercial marines, the value 
 and variety of their home trade, the sum total of 
 their mercantile exchanges, these furnish the 
 standards by which national power and national 
 importance are now marked and measured. Even 
 extent of territorial dominion is valued little, save 
 as it gives scope and verge for mercantile trans¬ 
 actions ; and the great use of colonies is what 
 Lord Sheffield declared it to be half a century ago, 
 “the monopoly of their consumption, and the 
 carriage of their produce/ 5 
 
 Look to the domestic administration, or the 
 foreign negotiation of our own, or any other 
 civilized country. Listen to the debates of the 
 two houses of the Imperial Parliament. What 
 are the subjects of their gravest and most frequent 
 o 2 
 
150 
 
 THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 discussions ? The succession of families ? The 
 marriage of princes? The conquest of provinces? 
 The balance of power?—No, the balance of trade, 
 the sliding scale, corn, cotton, sugar, timber—these 
 furnish now the home-spun threads upon which 
 the statesmen of modern days are obliged to string 
 the pearls of their parliamentary rhetoric. Nay, 
 the Prime Minister himself is heard discoursing 
 upon the duties to be levied upon the seed of a 
 certain savoury vegetable—the use of which not 
 even Parisian authority has rendered quite genteel 
 upon a fair day—as gravely, as if it were as true 
 in regard to the complaints against the tariff of 
 Great Britain, as some of us think it is true in 
 reference to the murmurs against our own Ame¬ 
 rican tariff, that “all the tears which should water 
 this sorrow, live in an onion !” 
 
 Cross over to the continent. What is the great 
 fact of the day in that quarter ? Lo, a convention 
 of delegates from ten of the independent states of 
 Germany, forgetting their old political rivalries 
 and social feuds, flinging to the winds all the fears 
 and jealousies which have so long sown dragon’s 
 teeth along the borders of neighbouring states 
 
 
THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 151 
 
 of disproportioned strength and different forms of 
 government—the lamb lying down with the lion— 
 the little city of Frankfort with the proud kingdom 
 of Prussia—and all entering into a solemn league 
 to regulate Commerce and secure Markets ! What 
 occupy the thoughts of the diplomatists, the 
 Guizots, and Aberdeens, and Metternichs? Re¬ 
 ciprocal treaties of commerce and navigation— 
 treaties to advance an honest trade, or sometimes 
 (I thank Heaven!) to abolish an infamous and 
 accursed traffic—these are the engrossing topics 
 of their protocols and ultimatums. Even wars, 
 when they have occurred, or when they have been 
 rumoured, for a quarter of a century past, how 
 almost uniformly has the real motive, whether of 
 the menace or of the hostile act, proved to be— 
 whatever may have been the pretence—not, as 
 aforetime, to destroy, but to secure, the sources of 
 commercial wealth. Algiers, Affghanistan, China, 
 Texas, Oregon, all point more or less directly, to 
 one and the same pervading policy throughout the 
 w r orld—of opening new markets, securing new 
 ports, and extending Commerce and Navigation 
 over new lands and new seas. 
 
152 THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 But the most signal and most gratifying illus¬ 
 tration of the predominating influence of Commerce 
 in the affairs of the world, is to be drawn not from 
 the consideration of wars, but of peace. It is a 
 common form of remark, that the protracted and 
 general peace, which the world has of late enjoyed, 
 has been the cause of that vast extension of com¬ 
 merce which is every where witnessed. And, 
 doubtless, there is much truth in the idea intended 
 to be conveyed by it. Certainly, too, there has 
 been, and always will be, much of action and re¬ 
 action in these coinciding circumstances, and 
 much to account for various readings in the as¬ 
 signment of cause and consequence. Yet I cannot 
 but think that the time has at length fully come, 
 when the mode of stating the relations between 
 these great interests, should be changed; and 
 when Commerce may fairly be considered as 
 having substantiated its claim to that highest of 
 all titles, the great Conservator of the world's peace, 
 instead of being represented as a helpless de¬ 
 pendent on peace for the liberty of prosecuting 
 its own pursuits. 
 
 Indeed, Commerce has, in all ages, been the 
 
THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 153 
 
 most formidable antagonist of war. That great 
 struggle for the mastery, which has been going on, 
 almost from the earliest syllable of recorded time, 
 upon the theatre of human life, and which has 
 been variously described and denominated, accord¬ 
 ing to the aspect in which it has been regarded, 
 or the object with which it was discussed—now as 
 a struggle between aristocracy and democracy, and 
 now as between the few and the many—has been 
 little more than a struggle between the mer¬ 
 cantile and the martial spirit. 
 
 For centuries, and cycles of centuries, the 
 martial spirit has prevailed. The written history 
 of the world is one long bloody record of its 
 triumph. And it cannot have escaped any one, 
 how, during the periods of its sternest struggles, 
 it has singled out the commercial spirit as its 
 most formidable foe. Look at ancient Sparta for 
 example; the state which, more than any other, 
 was organized upon a purely war principle; 
 though, to the credit of its founder be it spoken, 
 with the view of defending its own territories, 
 and not of encroaching upon the dominions of 
 others. What was the first great stroke of policy 
 
154 
 
 THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 adopted by the Lacedaemonian lawgiver to secure 
 the supremacy of the martial spirit ? What did 
 he primarily aim to accomplish by his extraordi¬ 
 nary enactments in relation to food, currency, 
 education, honesty, and labour of all sorts ? A 
 Lacedaemonian happening to be at Athens when 
 the court was sitting, was informed of a man who 
 had just been fined for idleness. ee Let me see 
 the person,” exclaimed he, “ who has been con¬ 
 demned for keeping up his dignity ! ” What was 
 the philosophy of the black broth, the iron 
 money, the consummate virtue of successful theft, 
 the sublime dignity of idleness ? It was the war 
 system, entrenching itself, where alone it could 
 be safe, on the ruins of commerce ! The annihi¬ 
 lation of trade, and all its inducements, and all 
 its incidents—the extermination of the mercantile 
 spirit, root and branch—this was the only mode 
 which the sagacious Lycurgus could devise for 
 maintaining the martial character of Sparta. 
 
 Plato, who knew something of the practical 
 value of commerce, if it be true that it was by 
 selling oil in Egypt that he was enabled to defray 
 the expenses of those travels and studies, by 
 
THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 155 
 
 which he prepared himself to be one of the great 
 lights of the world, bore witness to the wise 
 adaptation of this policy to the end to be accom¬ 
 plished, when he declared that in a well regulated 
 commonwealth, the citizens should not engage in 
 commerce, because they would be accustomed to 
 find pretexts for justifying conduct so incon¬ 
 sistent with what was manly and becoming, as 
 would relax the strictness of the military spirit; 
 adding, that it had been better for the Athenians 
 to have continued to send annually, the sons of 
 seven of their principal citizens to be devoured by 
 the Minotaur, than to have changed their ancient 
 manners, and become a maritime poiver. 
 
 It is this irreconcilable hostility between the 
 mercantile and the martial spirit, which has led 
 heroes, in all ages, to despise and deride the pur¬ 
 suits of trade—from the heroes of the Homeric 
 age of ancient Greece,, with whom a pirate is said 
 to have been a more respected character than a 
 merchant, to him of modern France, who could 
 find no severer sarcasm for his most hated foes, 
 than to call them ce a nation of shopkeepers.” 
 
 But, from the discovery of the new world, the 
 
156 
 
 THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 mercantile spirit has been rapidly gaining upon 
 its old antagonist; and the establishment upon 
 these shores of our own Republic, whose Union 
 was the immediate result of commercial neces¬ 
 sities, whose Independence found its original 
 impulse in commercial oppressions, and of whose 
 Constitution the regulation of commerce was the 
 first leading idea—may be regarded as the epoch, 
 at which the martial spirit finally lost a supremacy 
 which, it is believed and trusted, it can never 
 re-acquire. 
 
 vl* vL* nU 
 
 'v* «<x» *T* 
 
 I honour the advocates of peace wherever they 
 may be found; and gladly would I hail the day, 
 when their transcendent principles shall be con¬ 
 sistent with the maintenance of those organized 
 societies which are so clearly of Divine original 
 and sanction; the day, when 
 
 “ All crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shall fail, 
 Returning Justice lift aloft her scale; 
 
 Peace o’er the world her olive wand extend, 
 
 And white-rob’d Innocence from Heaven descend.” 
 
 In the mean time, let us rejoice that the great 
 interests of international commerce are effecting 
 practically, what these sublime principles aim at 
 
THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 157 
 
 theoretically. It is easy, I know, to deride these 
 interests as sordid, selfish, dollar-and-cent in¬ 
 fluences, emanating from the pocket, instead of 
 from the heart or the conscience. But an en¬ 
 lightened and regulated pursuit of real interests 
 is no unworthy policy, either on the part of 
 individuals or nations, and a far sighted selfish¬ 
 ness is not only consistent with, but is often itself, 
 the truest philanthropy. Commandments of not 
 inferior authority to the Decalogue, teach us, that 
 the love of our neighbour, a duty second only in 
 obligation to the love of God, is to find its mea¬ 
 sure in that love of self, which has been implanted 
 in our nature for no unwise or unwarrantable 
 ends. Yet, gentlemen, while I would vindicate 
 the commercial spirit from the reproaches which 
 are too often cast upon it, and hail its triumphant 
 progress over the world as the harbinger of free¬ 
 dom, civilization and peace, I would by no means 
 intimate an opinion, that it is not itself susceptible 
 of improvement—that it does not itself demand 
 regulation and restraint. The commercial spirit 
 has rendered noble service to mankind. Its influ¬ 
 ence in promoting domestic order, in stimulating 
 
 p 
 
158 
 
 THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 
 
 individual industry, in establishing and developing 
 the great principle of the division of labour — 
 its appropriation of the surplus products of all 
 mechanical and all agricultural industry for its 
 cargoes—its demand upon the highest exercise of 
 invention and skill for its vehicles—its appeal to 
 the sublimest science for its guidance over the 
 deep—its imperative requisition of the strictest 
 public faith and private integrity—its indirect, 
 but not less powerful operation in diffusing know¬ 
 ledge, civilization and freedom over the world— 
 all conspire with that noble conquest over the 
 spirit of war which I have described, in com¬ 
 mending it to the gratitude of man, and in stamp¬ 
 ing it with the crownmark of a divinely appointed 
 instrument for good. But that it requires to be 
 tempered, and chastened, and refined, and ele¬ 
 vated, and purified, and Christianized, examples 
 gross as earth, and glaring as the sun, exhort us 
 on every side. May you all be inspired with the 
 ambition of securing for our own country and for 
 our own city, so far as in you lies, some share in 
 that noble tribute which was paid by the cele¬ 
 brated Montesquieu, a century ago, to the land of 
 
THE HON. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 159 
 
 our Fathers :— e£ They know (said he, speaking of 
 the People of England) better than any other 
 people upon earth, how to value, at the same 
 time, these three great advantages, Religion, 
 Commerce and Liberty!” 
 
THE HONOURABLE ROGER B. TANEY, 
 
 Chief-Justice of the United States. 
 
 I had the pleasure of seeing the Chief-Justice at 
 Baltimore, in July: he was from home and occu- 
 
 * v 
 
 pied; but on my being presented, immediately 
 accompanied me to his house, and indulged myself 
 and my Doctor with an interview. I asked many 
 questions relating to the forms of government, to 
 legal institutions, the tendency of certain political 
 questions then pending, &c. The Judge explained 
 all with that professional clearness and precision 
 which makes the most intricate matter easy, and 
 that courteous patience which encourages the 
 ignorant to further inquiry. I thought there was 
 great originality in all his remarks; his opinions 
 were his own, and exhibited much breadth and 
 power of thought, and an entire freedom from 
 
THE HON. ROGER B. TANEY. 
 
 161 
 
 prejudice. In speaking of several distinguished 
 men, he alluded particularly to Mr. Webster, of 
 whom he said, “Mr. Webster, when animated, is 
 the first of living orators.” In political principle 
 he is firmly attached to the Democratic band, and 
 was appointed by General Jackson to the offices 
 of Attorney-General of the United States in 1831 ; 
 of Secretary of the Treasury in 1833; and of 
 Chief-Justice in 1835. 
 
 When in Court he has the appearance of an 
 invalid; he is thin, and pale, and stoops, and 
 looks as if his midnight lamp had waned less often 
 on his slumber, than on severe and laborious 
 study. He looks, in fact, like the Chief-Judge of 
 all the Land; like him upon whose anxious head 
 reposes the trust of millions, and presses the daily 
 and the nightly burthen of ceaseless responsibility. 
 But this delicate, and care-worn, and almost suf¬ 
 fering aspect, disappears in society, and his man¬ 
 ners and conversation are cheerful and animated: 
 so kind, so familiar did he seem, so well at once 
 to know me, that I still reproach myself for not 
 seeking his friendship before I was already on the 
 wing for England. But, as if penetrating my 
 
162 
 
 THE HON. ROGER B. TANEY. 
 
 thoughts, he said on parting, “ I knew well who 
 you were in Washington, and I often wished to 
 call upon you; I was then much harassed with 
 professional business, and could not ; but re¬ 
 member, Madam, when you return among us, 
 that I shall claim my privilege of renewing and 
 encouraging this intercourse between us. And 
 may Heaven be your guide across the ocean, to 
 your home, and to your country \" How truly 
 was this benediction in accordance with that spirit 
 of affectionate good will so universal in the Ca¬ 
 tholic Church ;—for the present head of the Law 
 in America, the Fountain of Justice, the Mode¬ 
 rator appointed by the Constitution between the 
 citizen and the ruler, the Judge of the Chief- 
 Magistrate himself, should the President be ar¬ 
 raigned of High Treason ;—Roger B. Taney, Chief- 
 Justice of the United States, is a professor of the 
 Roman Catholic Religion. He is attached with 
 fervent zeal to that ancient, learned, and enduring 
 Faith, whose disciples have excelled all others in 
 divine and in human knowledge, and he is a native 
 of that Catholic Maryland whose glorious destiny 
 appointed her the first among believing nations to 
 
THE HON. ROGER B. TANEY. 
 
 163 
 
 engraft religious freedom upon civil law, and 
 thus to render her code of Christian Jurisprudence 
 the theme of praise, and the model of imitation 
 for all the People of the Earth. 
 
THE HONOURABLE JOHN M‘LEAN, 
 
 Associate-Justice in the Supreme Court of the United States. 
 
 cc If you Whigs make a President, in 1848,” said 
 I one day to a friend, “ let it be Judge M‘Lean.” 
 “ Do not wish that , Mrs. Maury,” was the reply, 
 “ Judge M f Lean is canonized; if he were taken 
 away from the Supreme Court, where is the 
 Guardian of the Constitution?” Such was the 
 compliment paid to the virtue and talents of this 
 good and great man by one of the most eminent 
 of the Whig leaders, and his public and private 
 life, presenting one fair page of integrity and 
 honour, fully justify the words. I frequently 
 visited the Supreme Court, sometimes spending 
 many hours in listening to the able advocates 
 engaged in the business going on; and, before I 
 had ever been presented to Judge M‘Lean, was 
 honoured by his protection, and gratified by his 
 
/ 
 
 THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 165 
 
 « 
 
 notice. My little son was, on general occasions, 
 my only escort; he attended me to my seat, and 
 then took leave, generally returning every hour to 
 enquire if I was ready to retire. I was thus alone 
 in the Court, and might probably have felt some¬ 
 what embarrassed, being unknown, and in the 
 midst of strangers ; but Judge MfLean entering at 
 once into the delicacy of my position, always 
 bowed to me from the Bench, as well on my de¬ 
 parture as on my entrance. The compliment was 
 the more gratifying, because M‘Lean was usually 
 at that time the presiding Judge on the Bench.* 
 Immediately, by this recognition, I felt myself in 
 the society and under the protection of the grace¬ 
 ful and benignant Judge, and no words can 
 express the relief afforded me by this most delicate 
 and refined attention; the impulse of a heart 
 filled with that charity which surpasses compre¬ 
 hension. 
 
 In 1829, when General Jackson was elected to 
 the Presidency, Mr. M f Lean was the Postmaster- 
 
 * This arrangement took place in consequence of some causes 
 coming before the Court, in which Judge McLean had had much 
 previous opportunity of obtaining information. 
 
166 
 
 THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 General; “ and he was/ 5 said Charles J. Ingersoll, 
 “ the very best Postmaster that the country ever 
 “ had; he discharged the office with industry, 
 “ punctuality and economy, and displayed great 
 “ ability in the arrangements. Judge M f Lean 
 u employed many females, in various small towns, 
 “ and found the Postmistresses quite as efficient 
 ee as the Postmasters. 55 General Jackson appointed 
 Mr. M‘Lean to the Bench of the Supreme Court 
 in 1829, consequently, he has been a Judge seven¬ 
 teen years. He is universally respected for the 
 unbiassed justice of his decisions ; his politics are 
 rather Whig than Democratic, but his impartiality 
 is unimpeachable, and men of all parties join to 
 praise his public career. 
 
 Judge M f Lean is remarkably handsome; his 
 person is tall and dignified, and the sweep of his 
 black silk gown is quite graceful; he is fifty-seven, 
 of fair complexion, light blue eyes, somewhat bald, 
 (Judges in America are wise, and look so too, 
 without the help of wigs,) and with a profile of 
 admirable proportions, the forehead, nose, mouth, 
 and chin, being perfect in their outline; the ex¬ 
 pression is of the noblest moral character, mingled 
 
THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 167 
 
 with somewhat of playfulness. The Judge pos¬ 
 sesses the advantage of a very harmonious voice ; 
 his manners on the Bench are perfectly affable 
 and respectful^ both to the Judges and the Ad¬ 
 vocates, and I have never, even in the most weari¬ 
 some causes, seen him betray one symptom of 
 impatience. 
 
 On my arrival in Cincinnati, I was most hospi¬ 
 tably received by Judge M f Lean, and had then 
 the opportunity of witnessing his amiable and 
 benevolent character, his domestic happiness, and 
 his social habits. 
 
 Residing in the free state of Ohio, separated 
 from the slave state of Kentucky only by the Ohio 
 river, the opinions of this calm and disinterested 
 statesman, founded as they are upon personal 
 observation, must have great value in the question 
 of the abolition of Slavery; I was curious to learn 
 them ,—“ If you touch Slavery,” replied he, “ you 
 risk a separation of the Union.” These words are 
 oracular, and were uttered by a man whom no 
 abolitionist can surpass in the genuine love of 
 freedom and of right. If one so well informed, so 
 full of benevolence as John McLean, anticipates 
 
168 
 
 THE HON. JOHN M‘LEaN. 
 
 so vast an evil both to the white man and the 
 black from the agitation of this question, as 
 the breaking up of the Union, how can men 
 wholly ignorant of the real nature of the subject 
 venture to promulgate their baseless, impracti¬ 
 cable visions, to the outrage of common sense, 
 and the injury of charity? But thus it is, “that 
 fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” 
 
 The Methodist Church has the honour of num¬ 
 bering Judge M c Lean among her votaries. I 
 accompanied him twice to church, for having seen 
 him in the most exalted, as well as in the most 
 endearing, of human relations, I wished (and I 
 hope with no idle curiosity) to see him in the 
 presence of his God. The Judge kneeled reve¬ 
 rently before the altar of the Almighty, for it 
 was the time of prayer; his eyes were closed, but 
 his fine countenance became impressed with 
 mental devotion, and when the preacher entered 
 upon his eloquent discourse, for truly eloquent 
 it was, and described the blessed effects of 
 brotherly love, tears flowed down his cheeks, and 
 the motion of his lips informed me, though his 
 voice was inaudible, that he was in communion 
 
THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 169 
 
 with his Creator. Need I say with what reverence 
 I looked upon him. 
 
 I have recently read with much surprise the 
 remarks of Mr. Wyse on the Profession of the 
 Law, in the United States, and I would venture 
 to express my hope that some of the patriotic 
 members of the Bar in America should take up 
 the gauntlet, and vindicate their country’s honour 
 and their own. It gives me unfeigned pleasure 
 that one learned Judge, at least, should speak for 
 himself, and I offer with confidence his whole 
 charge to the Grand Jury at the anxious period 
 of 1838. 
 
 A CHARGE TO THE GRAND JURY, 
 
 At December Term, 1833. 
 
 In regard to aiding or favouring unlawful military 
 combinations by our citizens , against any foreign 
 government , or people, with whom we are at peace. 
 
 Your particular and most serious attention is 
 requested to the provisions of an act entitled “ An 
 Act to punish certain offences against the United 
 States.” 
 
 Q 
 
1/0 
 
 THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 By the first section of this act it is declared, 
 tc that if any citizen of the United States shall, 
 within the territory or jurisdiction thereof, accept 
 and exercise a commission to serve a foreign prince, 
 state, colony, district, or people, with whom the 
 United States are at peace, he shall be deemed 
 guilty of a high misdemeanor, and be fined not 
 more than two thousand dollars, and imprisoned 
 not exceeding three years/’ 
 
 And in the sixth section, it is provided u that if 
 any person shall, within the territory or jurisdic¬ 
 tion of the United States, begin to set on foot, or 
 provide or prepare the means for, any military 
 expedition or enterprise to be carried on from 
 thence, against the territory or dominion of any 
 foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, 
 or people, with whom the United States are at 
 peace, every person, so offending, shall be deemed 
 guilty of a high misdemeanor, and shall be fined 
 not exceeding three thousand dollars, and impri¬ 
 soned not more than three years.” 
 
 There are many other acts prohibited by this 
 
 law, which relate to foreign powers, and which. 
 
 * ( 
 
 may be presented for your examination ; hut the 
 
THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 171 
 
 above sections are considered the most important. 
 
 The offence in the first section consists in “ ac¬ 
 cepting and exercising a commission/* to carry on 
 war against any people or state with whom we are 
 at peace. 
 
 The commission may be conferred by any dis¬ 
 trict of country, or association of people, whose 
 right to confer it shall be recognized by the person 
 appointed. And it is immaterial whether the 
 commission has been conferred by the popular 
 voice, or by the representatives of such district, 
 or association of people. 
 
 It must have been accepted and exercised, to 
 come within your jurisdiction, within this State, 
 by a citizen of the United States. Some overt 
 act, under the commission, must be done; such 
 as raising men for the enterprise, collecting pro¬ 
 visions, munitions of war, or any other act which 
 4 shows an exercise of the authority which the com¬ 
 mission is supposed to confer. 
 
 Under the ninth section, the offence consists in 
 beginning to set on foot, or providing or preparing 
 the means for any military expedition or enter¬ 
 prise, to be carried on from the United States, 
 
172 
 
 THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 against the territory or dominions of a foreign 
 people or state. 
 
 To a begin to set on foot a military expedition/’ 
 is not actually setting on foot such expedition; 
 but it is making such preparation for it, as shall 
 show the intent to set it on foot. 
 
 To “ provide or prepare the means for any 
 military expedition or enterprise/’ within the law, 
 such preparation must he made as shall aid the 
 expedition. The contribution of money, clothing 
 for the troops, provisions, arms, or any other 
 contribution which shall tend to forward the 
 expedition, or add to the comfort or maintenance 
 of those who are engaged in it, is considered to 
 be in violation of the law. 
 
 These acts must all be done under such circum¬ 
 stances as to show the criminal intent, unless such 
 intent shall be avowed. And it is hardly to be 
 expected, that when an individual is about to 
 violate the laws of his country, he will openly 
 declare his intention to do so. 
 
 Where the act and the attendant circumstances 
 show the criminal intent, no subterfuges or mo¬ 
 tives avowed, should screen the citizen from the 
 consequences of such an act. 
 
THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 173 
 
 To come within your cognizance, every violation 
 of this law must have been committed within this 
 State; and by a citizen of the United States. 
 
 These provisions are highly important, and they 
 should be faithfully executed against all who 
 violate them. 
 
 Great excitement is known to exist, at this 
 time, in Canada, from certain hostile movements 
 contemplated by citizens of this country, in con¬ 
 junction with the disaffected subjects of that 
 country. It is said, on high authority, that asso¬ 
 ciations of citizens of the United States have been 
 formed along the whole extent of our northern 
 boundary, with a view, at a fixed time, to make 
 a descent upon Canada. That these associa¬ 
 tions embrace an immense number of individuals, 
 who are known to each other by certain signs and 
 passwords. That they are actively engaged in 
 collecting the materials of war, and raising men. 
 That their military officers are appointed; and 
 that, in anticipation of success, they have appointed 
 civil officers. 
 
 I cannot but think these accounts have been 
 greatly exaggerated, and that they may have 
 
 Q 2 
 
174 THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 caused an unnecessary degree of alarm. But that 
 there is ground for apprehension of danger no 
 one can doubt. 
 
 During the past winter, many of our citizens 
 were engaged in this lawless enterprise. This is 
 proved by the records of our own courts, and 
 the courts of Canada, and by well authenticated 
 accounts which have been published. Indeed, it 
 is notorious that organized bodies of men, though, 
 perhaps, not bearing arms, were marched through 
 the northern part of this and other states on our 
 northern boundary, with the known intention of 
 invading Canada, who were permitted to pass 
 without molestation. And, it is believed, that in 
 some instances they were encouraged in their 
 enterprise by contributions of money, provisions, 
 and other necessaries. 
 
 This state of things is deeply to be lamented. 
 When our citizens, generally, shall cease to respect 
 the laws, and the high duties they owe to their 
 own government, there is but a slender ground of 
 hope that our institutions can be long maintained. 
 
 An obedience to the laws is the first duty of 
 every citizen. It lies at the foundation of our 
 
THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 175 
 
 noble political structure; and when this great 
 principle shall be departed from, with the public 
 sanction, the moral influence of our government 
 must terminate. 
 
 If there be any one line of policy in which all 
 political parties agree, it is, that we should keep 
 aloof from the agitations of other governments. 
 That we shall not intermingle our national con¬ 
 cerns with theirs. And much more, that our 
 citizens shall abstain from acts which lead the 
 subjects of other governments to violence and 
 bloodshed. 
 
 We have a striking instance of the wisdom of 
 this policy in the early history of our government. 
 
 During the administration of our first President 
 the French Revolution burst forth, and astonished 
 the civilized world. All Europe combined in arms 
 against republican France. That France which 
 had mingled her arms and her blood with ours 
 in our struggle for independence. 
 
 That this country should deeply sympathize with 
 so noble, brave and generous an ally, in such a 
 struggle, was natural. Bursts of enthusiasm were 
 witnessed in her behalf, in almost every part of 
 
176 
 
 THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 our country, and an ardent desire was evinced to 
 make common cause with her in favour of liberty. 
 And this was claimed of our country as a debt of 
 gratitude, and on the ground of treaty stipulations. 
 
 Had this tide of popular feeling, which threat¬ 
 ened to bear down everything in its course, not 
 been checked, our destinies would have been 
 united with those of France. We might have 
 participated in her military glory, and in the 
 renown of her heroes. And the struggles in 
 which we would have been involved might have 
 given birth to a race of heroes in our own country, 
 whose deeds of chivalry would have been cele¬ 
 brated in history. But our country would have 
 been wasted by war and rapine; and the pen of 
 the historian, which recorded the deeds of our 
 heroes, would, also, have told, in all probability, 
 that our country, like France, was driven to take 
 refuge from the turbulence of party factions, under 
 a splendid military despotism. 
 
 Fortunately for the country, Washington lived, 
 and the veneration in which his name was held, 
 and the authority he exercised, mainly contributed 
 to check the excitement, and preserve the peace 
 and lasting prosperity of the country. 
 
THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 177 
 
 The struggles of the people of South America 
 against the oppressions of their own government, 
 again awakened the sympathies of our country, 
 and produced a strong desire in many to unite 
 our fortune with theirs. But this feeling was 
 controlled, and the neutrality and peace of our 
 country were preserved. 
 
 A government is justly held responsible for the 
 acts of its citizens. And if this government be 
 unable or unwilling to restrain our citizens from 
 acts of hostility against a friendly power, such 
 power may hold this nation answerable, and de¬ 
 clare war against it. Every citizen is, therefore, 
 bound by the regard he has for his country, by 
 his reverence for its laws, and by the calamitous 
 consequences of war, to exert his influence in 
 suppressing the unlawful enterprises of our citizens 
 against any foreign and friendly power. 
 
 History affords no example of a nation or 
 people, that uniformly took part in the internal 
 commotions of other governments, which did not 
 bring down ruin upon themselves. These preg¬ 
 nant examples should guard us against a similar 
 policy, which must lead to a similar result. 
 
178 
 
 THE HON. JOHN MCLEAN. 
 
 In every community will be found a floating 
 mass of adventurers, ready to embrace any cause, 
 and to hazard any consequences, which shall be 
 likely to make their condition better. And, it is 
 believed, that a large portion of our citizens, who 
 have been engaged in military enterprises against 
 Canada, are of this description. 
 
 That many patriotic and honourable men were 
 at first induced, by their sympathies, to counte¬ 
 nance the movement, if not to aid it, is probable. 
 But, when these individuals found that this course 
 was forbidden by the laws of their country, and 
 by its highest interests, they retraced their steps. 
 But, it is believed that there are many who perse¬ 
 vere in their course, in defiance of the law and 
 the interests of their country. Such individuals 
 might be induced to turn their arms against their 
 own government, under circumstances favourable 
 to their success. 
 
 These violators of the law should not escape 
 with impunity. The aid of every good citizen 
 will be given to arrest them in their progress, and 
 bring them to justice. They show themselves to 
 be enemies of their country, by trampling under 
 
THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 1/9 
 
 foot its laws, compromising its honour, and in¬ 
 volving it in the most serious embarrassment with a 
 foreign and friendly nation. It is, indeed, lament¬ 
 able to reflect that such men, under such circum¬ 
 stances, may hazard the peace of the country. 
 
 If they were to come out in array against their 
 own government, the consequences to it would be 
 far less serious. In such an effort they could 
 not involve it in much bloodshed, or in a heavy 
 expenditure ; nor would its commerce and general 
 business be materially injured. But, a war with a 
 powerful nation, with whom we have the most 
 extensive relations, commercial and social, would 
 bring down upon our country the heaviest calamity. 
 It would dry up the sources of its prosperity and 
 deluge it in blood. 
 
 The great principles of our republican institu¬ 
 tions cannot be propagated by the sword. This 
 can be done by moral force, and not physical. 
 
 If we desire the political regeneration of 
 oppressed nations, we must show them the 
 simplicity, the grandeur, and the freedom of our 
 own government. We must recommend it to the 
 intelligence and virtue of other nations by its 
 
180 
 
 THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 elevated and enlightened action, its purity, its 
 justice, and the protection it affords to all its 
 citizens, and the liberty they enjoy. And if, in 
 this respect, we shall he faithful to the high 
 bequests of our fathers, to ourselves, and to 
 posterity, we shall do more to liberalize other 
 governments and emancipate their subjects, than 
 could be accomplished by millions of bayonets. 
 
 This moral power is what tyrants have most 
 cause to dread. It addresses itself to the thoughts 
 and the judgments of men. No physical force 
 can arrest its progress. Its approaches are unseen, 
 but its consequences are deeply felt. It enters 
 garrisons most strongly fortified, and operates in 
 the palaces of kings and emperors. 
 
 We should cherish this power as essential to 
 the preservation of our own government; and as 
 the most efficient means of ameliorating the 
 political condition of our race. And this can only 
 be done by a reverence for the laws, and by the 
 exercise of an elevated patriotism. 
 
 But if we trample under our feet the laws of 
 our country; if we disregard the faith of treaties, 
 and our citizens engage without restraint in 
 
THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 181 
 
 military enterprises against the peace of other 
 governments, we shall be considered and treated, 
 and justly too, as a nation of pirates. 
 
 Punishments, under the law, can only be inflicted 
 through the instrumentality of the judicial depart¬ 
 ment of the government. The federal executive 
 has shown a zeal worthy of the highest com¬ 
 mendation in his endeavour to check the career of 
 these enemies of social order. He has very pro¬ 
 perly employed a part of the military force of the 
 country in this service; and he has solemnly 
 warned and admonished these deluded citizens, 
 who seem ready to carry devastation into the 
 neighbouring province of a foreign and friendly 
 power. These efforts of the president are in aid 
 of the civil power, which, I trust, will not be found 
 wanting on this, or any other emergency, in the 
 discharge of the great duties which have been 
 devolved upon it by the constitution and laws. 
 But in vain will the civil authority be exerted 
 unless it shall be aided by the moral force of the 
 country. If the hands of the ministers of justice 
 were not strengthened by public sentiment, how 
 ineffectually would they be raised for the suppres- 
 
 R 
 
182 
 
 THE HON. JOHN M‘LEAN. 
 
 sion of crime. If the open violator of the law be 
 cherished by society, he may, with impunity, set 
 at defiance the organs of the law. The statute 
 book which contains the catalogue of offences 
 would then become a dead letter, and would be a 
 standing monument of deeply seated corruption in 
 the public. 
 
 I invoke, in behalf of the tribunals of justice, 
 the moral power of society. I ask it to aid them 
 in suppressing a combination of deluded or aban¬ 
 doned citizens, which imminently threatens the 
 peace and prosperity of the country. And I have 
 no fears, that when public attention shall be 
 roused on this deeply important subject ; when 
 the laws are understood, and the duties of the 
 government; and when the danger is seen, and 
 properly appreciated, there will be an expression 
 so potent from an enlightened and patriotic people, 
 as to suppress all combinations in violation of the 
 laws, and which threaten the peace of the country. 
 
THE HONOURABLE DANIEL WEBSTER, 
 Member of the Senate for Massachusetts, 
 
 AND 
 
 THE HONOURABLE RUFUS CHOAT, 
 
 Of Boston. 
 
 It was to my extreme regret that Mr. Webster, 
 whose powerful eloquence has so frequently been, 
 in my own country, the theme of applause, both 
 from the lips of Englishmen and of Americans, 
 did not once, during my stay in Washington, 
 speak in the Senate; and only once, for a very 
 short time, in the Supreme Court; and he was 
 even at that time suffering from a severe attack 
 of indisposition. His speeches on the Oregon 
 Question, and on Free, or rather on Fettered , Trade, 
 were delivered, unhappily for me, after I had left 
 the City. I was able, however, from the short 
 specimen I heard in the Patent Case,* to form 
 
 * Mr. Webster was associated with Mr. Seward in the Patent 
 Case. An extract from Seward’s brief is given at page 55 . 
 
184 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 some faint conception of his overpowering influ¬ 
 ence, when in the full tide of argument and feeling 
 he pours forth that irresistible volume of words, 
 which, by many, has been said to rival, and by 
 some, to excel, the torrent of Demosthenes. His 
 English, pure, and bold, and massive, is moulded 
 by severe and classic taste, to convey the con¬ 
 ceptions of a mind of vast proportions. In the 
 knowledge and comprehension of all subjects con¬ 
 nected with the sciences of Law and Government, 
 he is a master, and has attained the distinguished 
 appellation of expounder of the Constitution.” 
 Instinctively perceiving at a glance the bearings 
 of a doctrine, the results of a principle, the future 
 power of a precedent, nay, even the value of a 
 word, a syllable, a letter, Mr. Webster, like the 
 watch-dog, is ever awake, and listening for the 
 sounds of trespass; he observes, with scrutinizing 
 eye, the perpetual variations and their effects 
 which inevitably spring up in the progressive 
 developement of a youthful government, the forms 
 of which are, as yet, experimental, though the 
 elements are fixed and incapable of change. The 
 examination of the existing powers and limits of 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 185 
 
 the Constitution of the Republic, and of the future 
 influences of these powers and limits upon extended 
 territory and increased population, does now, and 
 must continue to form, a highly important subject 
 of inquiry. To enlarge and adapt according to 
 the successive requirements of the country, the 
 original model so admirably propounded by the 
 Founders of the Republic, is a study demanding 
 the prophetic wisdom of Ulysses; and in this 
 great purpose the mighty energies of Webster find 
 their appointed mission. Eminently conservative , 
 (if the Senator will permit this English epithet,) 
 it is his most earnest wish to prevent, on the side 
 of power, any infraction of rational liberty, and 
 on the side of the people, any advance beyond that 
 modified restraint which results in the benefit of 
 all. I have sometimes reflected with regret, that 
 Mr. Webster has not a seat on the Supreme 
 Bench; but the Bar would thus lose one of its 
 most popular advocates, and the Senate one of her 
 noblest pillars. 
 
 The abilities of Mr. Webster, as a Statesman, 
 are highly estimated by the English, by his Party, 
 and by the State of Massachusetts, of whose policy 
 
1S6 
 
 7HE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER 
 
 lie has ever been the strenuous, though not 
 uncandid. defender. His wishes on the Oregon 
 Question were those of Peace, and he threw into 
 the scale all the weight of his great name. His 
 celebrated speech at Boston touched the heart of 
 everv Englishman. With regard to the North 
 
 Eastern Boundarv. I have heard all Americans 
 
 » * 
 
 say, that America had the worst of it. and all 
 Englishmen say precisely the same thing of 
 England, consequently; there can be no reasonable 
 doubt that it was the most just and even handed 
 Treaty that could be made, equally creditable to 
 the Commissioners on either side. 
 
 Mr. Webster is the son of an Estatesman, or 
 
 - 
 
 Farmer, in Xew Hampshire: he has fulfilled many 
 public offices with zeal and ability, and may justly 
 be called a chief in that band of illustrious states¬ 
 men whose lives are given to their country, and 
 whose highest hope is her applause. 
 
 The admirable head, and powerful form of Mr. 
 M ebster, make him every where conspicuous: 
 the brow Is ample; the eye deep sunk, and dark, 
 and seated immediatelv below the stronsrlv marked, 
 and shaggy eyebrow; the features and contour 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 18 ? 
 
 denote, most expressively, the strength of every 
 mental faculty, reflection, judgment, memory, 
 analysis, all are there ; the countenance, in repose, 
 sometimes becomes absent and thoughtful, and 
 has the expression of an inward employment of 
 the reasoning powers, independent of all external 
 objects, and for the time wholly forgetful of their 
 presence, and then, as if the mental exercise had 
 resulted in the most undoubted conviction, the 
 whole face becomes radiant with intelligence and 
 animation. The contrast and transition of expres¬ 
 sion are very fine. The busts of Mr. Webster, 
 to my taste, represent him more truly than his 
 portraits ; there is a marble head in the Athenaeum, 
 at Boston, which is magnificent. He is always 
 prepared, his mind is full charged with knowledge, 
 and his information is always at hand. 
 
 On one occasion, I was struck with the admira¬ 
 tion he evinced for a brother advocate. The scene 
 was imposing. Rufus Clioat, of Boston, was 
 pleading against a sister state for Massachusetts. 
 Rhode Island contested her Boundary Line, and 
 each state sent forth her ablest champions to 
 defend her rights. For two successive davs Mr. 
 
188 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 Choat vindicated the claims of Massachusetts in 
 the Supreme Court of the United States. I have 
 no words to describe the extraordinary effort of 
 this remarkable man. The fluency, rapidity, and 
 beauty of his language, his earnest manner, his 
 excited action, and his whole being, conflicting 
 with the most intense emotion; he was all nerve, 
 each sense, each faculty was absorbed in the great 
 duty of the day; and sometimes it seemed that 
 tears alone could relieve the uncontrollable agita¬ 
 tion which thrilled through his frame, and quivered 
 on his lip, and trembled in his voice ; the strong 
 nerve of a man alone enabled him to command his 
 struggling feelings ; for an instant he paused, and 
 then again gushed forth his words clothed in each 
 form of argument and persuasion, that the reach 
 of mind and knowledge can suggest or use. His 
 memory supplied quotations, learned and to the 
 point; his imagination called each poetic fancy 
 quick to his aid; and his voice of music attuned 
 itself to all the varied tones of his discourse, 
 awakening in every breast the sentiments and 
 impressions of his own. He is the Proteus of 
 Eloquence. Nor are his legal knowledge and 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 189 
 
 research less remarkable than his natural talents ; 
 his study of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island 
 Case must have been most laborious and most 
 profound; he spoke for four hours on two succes¬ 
 sive days.* The subject was magnificent—the 
 Boundary Line of rival states; involving public 
 and private rights, vested interests, family and 
 local attachments, individual feelings, all these 
 were to be preserved or sacrificed; and, above all, 
 fame and honour were at stake, and he who was 
 sustaining the heat and burthen of the day, he 
 must be either signally vanquished or signally 
 triumphant. The Supreme Court was crowded, 
 the Senate and the House being absolutely deserted. 
 Judge M‘Lean presided on the Bench, listening 
 with profound attention and graceful benignity. 
 Mr. Webster sat near Mr. Choat, with eyes rivetted 
 on the speaker, and his fine countenance expressing 
 the most eager interest, and the highest admiration. 
 I was near them all, in my favourite seat on the 
 left hand of the Judges, and close to the desk at 
 
 * In this cause, the efforts of Mr. Choat obtained their deserved 
 success. It is much to be regretted that this speech has not been 
 preserved. 
 
190 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 which Mr. Webster was seated. It is next to 
 impossible that I should ever again behold such a 
 scene. I cannot say what interested me the most. 
 The important subject, its learned and enthusiastic 
 advocate, the benignant Judge, or the generous 
 Webster, hanging with delighted ear upon the 
 accents of his gifted friend. Never, certainly, had 
 I been before in so high a presence; and never 
 shall I forget the impressions left upon my mind 
 by these three wondrous men. 
 
 Mr. Webster, unless when greatly occupied by 
 business, always acknowledged me in Court, and 
 seemed amused with my frequent attendance there; 
 he once complimented me on my good taste and 
 devotion to the Law. At the Astor House he 
 dined with me, and, for about two hours, I enjoyed 
 the undivided privilege of his society; these are 
 things for an Englishwoman to remember, and to 
 tell of, with complacency. Mr. Webster is sixty- 
 four or five, but looks seven years younger; in 
 society he is convivial; it is said that he can work 
 with the severest application, and prepare for any 
 occasion with wonderful precision and rapidity. 
 Many traits of his profound mind, his attainments. 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 191 
 
 the character of his eloquence, his zeal in main¬ 
 taining the purity of the Constitution, his love of 
 peace, remind me forcibly of what I have heard 
 and read of the Charles James Fox, of England. 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM THE SPEECH OF MR. WEBSTER, 
 In the Senate of the United States, 
 
 On the Resolution of Mr. Foote, respecting the Sale, 
 fyc. of Public Lands — January , 1830. 
 
 The resolution was introduced on the 29th of 
 December , 1829, as follows :— 
 
 “Resolved,—That the committee on Public Lands 
 be instructed to inquire and report the quantity of 
 public lands remaining unsold within each State 
 and Territory. And whether it be expedient to 
 limit, for a certain period, the sales of the public 
 lands to such lands only as have heretofore been 
 offered for sale, and are now subject to entry at 
 the minimum price. And, also, whether the offices 
 of Surveyor General, and some of the land offices, 
 may not be abolished without detriment to the 
 
192 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 public interest; or whether it be expedient to 
 adopt measures to hasten the sales, and extend 
 more rapidly the surveys of the public lands” 
 
 On the 18 th of January, Mr. Benton of Missouri 
 addressed the Senate ; and on the 19th, Mr. 
 Hayne, of South Carolina, proceeded in the debate 
 and spoke at considerable length. After he had 
 concluded, Mr. Webster rose to reply, but gave 
 way, on the motion of Mr. Benton for an adjourn¬ 
 ment. 
 
 On the 20th, Mr. Webster took the floor, and 
 after some introductory remarks, spoke as follows : 
 
 In the first place, sir, the honourable gentleman* 
 spoke of the whole course and policy of the govern¬ 
 ment, towards those who have purchased and 
 settled the public lands ; and seemed to think this 
 policy wrong. He held it to have been, from the 
 first, hard and rigorous; he was of opinion that the 
 United States had acted towards those who had 
 subdued the western wilderness, in the spirit of a 
 stepmother; that the public domain had been 
 improperly regarded as a source of revenue; and 
 that we had rigidly compelled payment for that 
 
 * Mr. Hayne. 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 193 
 
 which ought to have been given away. He said 
 we ought to have followed the analogy of other 
 governments, which had acted on a much more 
 liberal system than ours, in planting colonies. He 
 dwelt; particularly, upon the settlement of America 
 by colonies from Europe; and reminded us, that 
 their governments had not exacted from those 
 colonists payment for the soil; with them, he said, 
 it had been thought that the conquest of the 
 wilderness was, itself, an equivalent for the soil, 
 and he lamented that we had not followed that 
 example, and pursued the same liberal course 
 towards our own emigrants to the West. 
 
 Now, sir, I deny altogether that there has been 
 anything harsh or severe in the policy of the go¬ 
 vernment towards the new states of the West. On 
 the contrary, I maintain that it has uniformly 
 pursued towards those states a liberal and enlight¬ 
 ened system, such as its own duty allowed and 
 required, and such as their interest and welfare 
 demanded. The government has been no step¬ 
 mother to the new states. She has not been 
 careless of their interests, nor deaf to their requests; 
 but from the first moment, when the territories 
 
 s 
 
194 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 which now form those states were ceded to the 
 Union, down to the time in v/hich I am now 
 speaking, it has been the invariable object of the 
 government to dispose of the soil according to the 
 true spirit of the obligation under which it received 
 it; to hasten its settlement and cultivation as far 
 and as fast as practicable; and to rear the new 
 communities into equal and independent states, 
 at the earliest moment of their being able, by their 
 numbers, to form a regular government. 
 
 I do not admit, sir, that the analogy to which 
 the gentleman refers us, is just, or that the cases 
 are at all similar. There is no resemblance between 
 
 I 
 
 the cases upon which a statesman can found an 
 argument. The original North American colonists 
 either fled from Europe, like our New England 
 ancestors, to avoid persecution, or came hither at 
 their own charges, and often at the ruin of their 
 fortunes, as private adventurers. Generally speak¬ 
 ing, they derived neither succour nor protection 
 from their governments at home. Wide, indeed, 
 is the difference between those cases and ours. 
 From the very origin of the government, these 
 western lands, and the just protection of those 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 195 
 
 who had settled or should settle on them, have 
 been the leading objects in our policy, and have 
 led to expenditures, both of blood and treasure, 
 not inconsiderable ; not, indeed, exceeding the im¬ 
 portance of the object, and not yielded grudgingly 
 or reluctantly, certainly; but yet not inconsiderable, 
 though necessary sacrifices, made for high proper 
 ends. The Indian title has been extinguished at 
 the expense of many millions. Is that nothing ? 
 There is still a much more material consideration. 
 These colonists, if we are to call them so, in passing 
 the Alleghany, did not pass beyond the care and 
 protection of their own government. Wherever 
 they went, the public arm was still stretched over 
 them. A parental government at home was still 
 ever mindful of their condition and their wants, 
 and nothing was spared which a just sense of their 
 necessities required. Is it forgotten that it was 
 one of the most arduous duties of the government, 
 in its earliest years, to defend the frontiers against 
 the north western Indians? Are the sufferings 
 and misfortunes under Harmar and St. Clair not 
 worthy to be remembered? Do the occurrences 
 connected with these military efforts show an 
 
196 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 unfeeling neglect of western interests ? And 
 here, sir, what becomes of the gentleman’s analogy ? 
 What English armies accompanied our ancestors 
 to clear the forests of a barbarous foe ? What 
 treasures of the Exchequer were expended in 
 buying up the original title to the soil ? What 
 governmental arm held its aegis over our fathers’ 
 heads, as they pioneered their way in the wilder¬ 
 ness ? Sir, it was not till General Wayne’s victory, 
 in 1794, that it could be said we had conquered 
 the savages. It was not till that period that the 
 government could have considered itself as having 
 established an entire ability to protect those who 
 should undertake the conquest of the wilderness. 
 And here, sir, at the epoch of 1794, let us pause, 
 and survey the scene. It is now thirty-five years 
 since that scene actually existed. Let us, sir, look 
 back, and behold it. Over all that is now Ohio, 
 there then stretched one vast wilderness, unbroken, 
 except by two small spots of civilized culture, the 
 one at Marietta, and the other at Cincinnati. At 
 these little openings, hardly each a pin’s point 
 upon the map, the arm of the frontier man had 
 levelled the forest, and let in the sun. These 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 197 
 
 little patches of earth, and themselves almost 
 overshadowed by the overhanging boughs of that 
 wilderness, which had stood and perpetuated itself, 
 from century to century, ever since the creation, 
 were all that had then been rendered verdant by 
 the hand of man. In an extent of hundreds and 
 thousands of square miles no other surface of 
 smiling green attested the presence of civilization. 
 The hunter’s path crossed mighty rivers flowing 
 in solitary grandeur, whose sources lay in remote 
 and unknown regions of the wilderness. It struck, 
 upon the north, on a vast inland sea, over which 
 the wintry tempests raged as on the ocean; all 
 around was bare creation. It was fresh, untouched, 
 unbounded, magnificent wilderness. And, sir, 
 what is it now ? Is it imagination only, or can it 
 possibly be fact, that presents such a change as 
 surprises and astonishes us, when w r e turn our 
 eyes to what Ohio now is? Is it reality or a 
 dream, that in so short a period even as thirty-five 
 years there has sprung up, on the same surface, 
 an independent state, with a million of people ? 
 A million of inhabitants ! an amount of population 
 greater than that of all the cantons of Switzerland ; 
 
198 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 equal to one-third of all the people of the United 
 States when they undertook to accomplish their 
 independence. This new member of the republic 
 has already left far behind her a majority of the 
 old states. She is now by the side of Virginia and 
 Pennsylvania; and, in point of numbers, will 
 shortly admit no equal but New York herself. If, 
 sir, we may judge of measures by their results, 
 what lessons do these facts read us upon the policy 
 of the government? What inferences do they 
 authorize upon the general question of kindness 
 or unkindness ? What convictions do they enforce 
 as to the wisdom and ability, on the one hand, or 
 the folly and incapacity, on the other, of our general 
 administration of western affairs ? Sir, does it not 
 require some portion of self respect in us to imagine, 
 that if our light had shone on the path of govern¬ 
 ment, if our wisdom could have been consulted in 
 its measures, a more rapid advance to strength 
 and prosperity would have been experienced ? For 
 my own part, while I am struck with wonder at 
 the success, I also look with admiration at the 
 wisdom and foresight which originally arranged 
 and prescribed the system for the settlement of 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 199 
 
 the public domain. Its operation has been, without 
 a moment’s interruption, to push the settlement of 
 the western country to the full extent of our utmost 
 means. 
 
 We approach, at length, sir, to a more important 
 part of the honourable gentleman’s observations. 
 Since it does not accord with my views of justice 
 and policy to give away the public lands altogether, 
 as mere matter of gratuity, I am asked by the 
 honourable gentleman on what ground it is that I 
 consent to vote them away in particular instances ? 
 How, he inquires, do I reconcile with these 
 professed sentiments, my support of measures 
 appropriating portions of the lands to particular 
 roads, particular canals, particular rivers, and 
 particular institutions of education in the West? 
 This leads, sir, to the real and wide difference in 
 political opinion between the honourable gentleman 
 and myself. On my part, I look upon all these 
 objects as connected with the common good, fairly 
 embraced in its object and its terms; he, on the 
 contrary, deems them all, if good at all, only local 
 good. This is our difference. The interrogatory 
 which he proceeded to put at once explains this 
 
200 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 difference. What interest,” asks he, ££ has South 
 Carolina in a canal in Ohio ?” Sir, this very 
 question is full of significance. It developes the 
 gentleman’s whole political system ; and its answer 
 expounds mine. Here we differ. I look upon a 
 road over the Alleghany, a canal round the falls of 
 the Ohio, or a canal or railway from the Atlantic 
 to the western waters, as being an object large and 
 extensive enough to be fairly said to be for the 
 common benefit. The gentleman thinks otherwise, 
 and this is the key to open his construction of the 
 powers of the government. He may well ask 
 what interest has South Carolina in a canal in 
 Ohio ? On his system, it is true, she has no 
 interest. On that system, Ohio and Carolina are 
 different governments and different countries ; 
 connected here, it is true, by some slight and ill 
 defined bond of union, but, in all main respects, 
 separate and diverse. On that system, Carolina 
 has no more interest in a canal in Ohio than in 
 Mexico. The gentleman, therefore, only follows 
 out his own principles; he does no more than 
 arrive at the natural conclusions of his own 
 doctrines ; he only announces the true results 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 201 
 
 of that creed which he has adopted himself, and 
 would persuade others to adopt, when he thus 
 declares that South Carolina has no interest in a 
 public work in Ohio. Sir, we narrow minded people 
 of New England do not reason thus. Our notion 
 of things is entirely different. We look upon the 
 states not as separated, but as united. We love 
 to dwell on that union, and on the mutual happi¬ 
 ness which it has so much promoted, and the 
 common renown which it has so greatly contributed 
 to acquire. In our contemplation, Carolina and 
 Ohio are part of the same country; states, united 
 under the same general government, having in¬ 
 terests, common, associated, intermingled. In 
 whatever is within the proper sphere of the con¬ 
 stitutional power of this government, we look upon 
 the states as one. We do not impose geographical 
 limits to our patriotic feeling or regard; we do 
 not follow rivers and mountains, and lines of 
 latitude, to find boundaries beyond which public 
 improvements do not benefit us. We who come 
 here as agents and representatives of these narrow 
 minded and selfish men of New England, consider 
 ourselves as bound to regard, with an equal eye, 
 
202 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 the good of the whole in whatever is within our 
 power of legislation. Sir, if a railroad or canal, 
 beginning in South Carolina and ending in South 
 Carolina appeared to me to be of national import¬ 
 ance and national magnitude, believing, as I do, 
 that the power of government extends to the 
 encouragement of works of that description, if I 
 were to stand up here, and ask, what interest has 
 Massachusetts in a railroad in South Carolina, I 
 should not be willing to face my constituents. 
 These same narrow minded men would tell me 
 that they had sent me to act for the whole country, 
 and that one who possessed too little comprehen¬ 
 sion, either of intellect or feeling; one who was 
 not large enough, both in mind and in heart, to 
 embrace the whole, was not fit to be entrusted 
 with the interest of any part. Sir, I do not desire 
 to enlarge the powers of the government by 
 unjustifiable construction, nor to exercise any not 
 within a fair interpretation. But when it is believed 
 that a power does exist, then it is, in my judgment, 
 to be exercised for the general benefit of the whole. 
 So far as respects the exercises of such a power, 
 the states are one. It was the very object of the 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 20.3 
 
 constitution to create unity of interests to the 
 extent of the powers of the general government. 
 In war and peace we are one, in commerce one* 
 because the authority of the general government 
 reaches to war and peace, and to the regulation of 
 commerce. I have never seen any more difficulty 
 in erecting lighthouses on the lakes than on the 
 ocean; in improving the harbours of inland seas 
 than if they were within the ebb and flow of the 
 tide; or of removing obstructions in the vast streams 
 of the West, more than in any work to facilitate 
 commerce on the Atlantic coast. If there be any 
 power for one, there is power also for the other; 
 and they are all and equally for the common good 
 of the country. 
 
 Consolidation 1 — that perpetual cry both of 
 terror and delusion—Consolidation ! Sir, when 
 gentlemen speak of the effects of a common fund 
 belonging to all the states as having a tendency to 
 consolidation, what do they mean ? Do they 
 mean, or can they mean, anything more than that 
 the union of the states will be strengthened by 
 whatever continues or furnishes inducements to 
 the people of the states to hold together ? If they 
 
204 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 mean merely this, then, no doubt, the public lands, 
 as well as everything else in which we have a 
 common interest, tends to consolidation; and to 
 this species of consolidation every true American 
 ought to be attached; it is neither more nor less 
 than strengthening the union itself. This is the 
 sense in which the framers of the constitution use 
 the word consolidation ; and in which sense I 
 adopt and cherish it. They tell us in the letter 
 submitting the constitution to the consideration 
 of the country, that “In all our deliberations 
 on this subject, we kept steadily in our view 
 that which appears to us the greatest interest 
 of every true American, the consolidation of 
 our union, in which is involved our prosperity, 
 felicity, safety, perhaps our national existence. 
 This important consideration, seriously and deeply 
 impressed on our minds, led each state in the 
 convention to be less rigid on points of inferior 
 magnitude, than might have been otherwise ex¬ 
 pected.” 
 
 This, sir, is General Washington’s consolida¬ 
 tion. This is the true constitutional consolidation. 
 I wish to see no new powers drawn to the general 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 205 
 
 government; but, I confess I rejoice in whatever 
 tends to strengthen the bond that unites us, and 
 encourages the hope that our union may be per¬ 
 petual. 
 
 I shall not .acknowledge that the honourable 
 member goes before me in regard for whatever of 
 distinguished talent, or distinguished character. 
 South Carolina has produced. I claim part of the 
 honour, I partake in the pride of her great names. 
 I claim them for countrymen, one and all. The 
 Laurenses, the Rutledges, the Pinckneys, the 
 Sumpters, the Marions—Americans all—whose 
 fame is no more to be hemmed in by state lines, 
 than their talents and patriotism were capable of 
 being circumscribed within the same narrow limits. 
 In their day and generation they served and 
 honoured the country, and the whole country; 
 and their renown is of the treasures of the whole 
 country. Him, whose honoured name the gentle¬ 
 man himself bears, does he esteem me less capable 
 of gratitude for his patriotism, or sympathy for 
 his sufferings, than if his eyes had first opened 
 upon the light of Massachusetts, instead of South 
 Carolina? Sir, does he suppose it in his power 
 
 T 
 
206 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 to exhibit a Carolina name so bright as to produce 
 envy in my bosom ? No, sir, increased gratification 
 and delight rather. I thank God, that if I am 
 gifted with little of the spirit which is able to raise 
 mortals to the skies, I have yet none, as I trust, 
 of that other spirit which would drag angels down. 
 When I shall be found, sir, in my place here, 
 in the Senate, or elsewhere, to sneer at public 
 merit because it happens to spring up beyond the 
 little limits of my own state or neighbourhood; 
 when I refuse for any such cause, or for any cause, 
 the homage due to American talent, to elevated 
 patriotism, to sincere devotion to liberty and the 
 country; or, if I see an uncommon endowment 
 of Heaven, if I see extraordinary capacity and 
 virtue in any son of the South, and, if moved by 
 local prejudice, or gangrened by state jealousy, 
 I get up here to abate the tithe of a hair from his 
 just character and just fame, may my tongue cleave 
 to the roof of my mouth ! 
 
 Sir, let me recur to pleasing recollections—let 
 me indulge in refreshing remembrance of the past— 
 let me remind you that in early times no states 
 cherished greater harmony, both of principle and 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER 
 
 207 
 
 feeling, than Massachusetts and South Carolina. 
 Would to God that harmony might again return ! 
 Shoulder to shoulder they went through the 
 revolution—hand in hand they stood round the 
 administration of Washington, and felt his own 
 great arm lean on them for support. Unkind 
 feeling, if it exist, alienation and distrust are the 
 growth, unnatural to such soils, of false principles 
 since sown. They are weeds, the seeds of which 
 that same great arm never scattered. 
 
 Mr. President, I shall enter on no encomiums 
 upon Massachusetts ; she needs none. There she 
 is—behold her, and judge for yourselves. There 
 is her history; the world knows it by heart. The 
 past, at least, is secure. There is Boston, and 
 Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker’s Hill, and 
 there they will remain for ever. The bones of her 
 sons,falling in the great struggle for Independence, 
 now lie mingled with the soil of every state from 
 New England to Georgia, and there they will lie 
 for ever. And, sir, where American Liberty raised 
 its first voice, and where its youth was nurtured 
 and sustained, there it still lives in the strength ot 
 its manhood, and full of its original spirit. If 
 
208 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 discord and disunion shall wound it; if party 
 strife and blind ambition shall hawk at and tear 
 it; if folly and madness; if uneasiness under 
 salutary and necessary restraint shall succeed to 
 separate it from that union by which alone its 
 existence is made sure, it will stand in the end 
 by the side of that cradle in which its infancy was 
 rocked ; it will stretch forth its arm with whatever 
 of vigour it may still retain over the friends who 
 gather round it; and it will fall at last, if fall it 
 must, amidst the proudest monuments of its own 
 glory, and on the very spot of its origin. 
 
 vl f vl> vl/ 
 
 v 
 
 This leads us to inquire into the origin of this 
 government, and the source of its power. Whose 
 agent is it ? Is it the creature of the state legis¬ 
 latures, or the creature of the people ? If the 
 government of the United States he the agent of 
 the state governments, then they may control it, 
 provided they can agree in the manner of controlling 
 it; if it be the agent of the people, then the people 
 alone can control it, restrain it, modify, or reform 
 it. It is observable enough that the doctrine for 
 which the honourable gentleman contends leads 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 209 
 
 him to the necessity of maintaining not only that 
 this general government is the creature of the 
 states, but that it is the creature of each of the 
 states severally; so that each may assert the power 
 for itself of determining whether it acts within the 
 limits of its authority. It is the servant of four 
 and twenty masters, of different wills and different 
 purposes, and yet bound to obey all. This absurdity 
 (for it seems no less) arises from a misconception 
 as to the origin of this government and its true 
 character. It is, sir, the people’s constitution, 
 the people’s government; made for the people, 
 made by the people, and answerable to the people. 
 The people of the United States have declared that 
 this constitution shall be the supreme law. We 
 must either admit the proposition or dispute their 
 authority. The states are unquestionably sove¬ 
 reign, so far as their sovereignty is not affected by 
 this supreme law. But the state legislatures as 
 political bodies, however sovereign, are yet not 
 sovereign over the people. So far as the people 
 have given power to the general government, so 
 far the grant is unquestionably good, and the 
 government holds of the people, and not of the 
 

 210 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 state governments. We are all agents of the 
 same supreme power, the people. The general 
 government and the state governments derive their 
 authority from the same source. Neither can, in 
 relation to the other, be called primary, though 
 one is definite and restricted, and the other general 
 and residuary. The national government possesses 
 those powers which it can be shown the people 
 have conferred on it, and no more. All the rest 
 belongs to the state governments or to the people 
 themselves. So far as the people have restrained 
 state sovereignty by the expression of their will 
 in the constitution of the United States, so far, it 
 must be admitted, state sovereignty is effectually 
 controlled. I do not contend that it is or ought 
 to be controlled farther. The sentiment to which 
 I have referred propounds that state sovereignty 
 is only to be controlled by its own “ feeling of 
 justice;” that is to say, it is not to be controlled 
 at all; for one who is to follow his own feelings is 
 under no legal control. Now, however men may 
 think this ought to be, the fact is, that the people 
 of the United States have chosen to impose control 
 on state sovereignties. There are those, doubtless, 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 211 
 
 who wish they had been left without restraint; 
 but the constitution has ordered the matter dif¬ 
 ferently. To make war, for instance, is an exercise 
 of sovereignty; but the constitution declares that 
 no state shall make war. To coin money is 
 another exercise of sovereign power; but no state is 
 at liberty to coin money. Again, the constitution 
 says that no sovereign state shall be so sovereign 
 as to make a treaty. 
 
 The people, then, sir, erected this government. 
 They gave it a constitution, and in that constitu¬ 
 tion they have enumerated the powers which they 
 bestow on it. They have made it a limited govern¬ 
 ment ; they have defined its authority; they have 
 restrained it to the exercise of such powers as are 
 granted ; and all others, they declare, are reserved 
 to the states, or the people. But, sir, they have 
 not stopped here. If they had, they would have 
 accomplished but half their work. No definition 
 can be so clear as to avoid possibility of doubt; 
 no limitation so precise as to exclude all uncer¬ 
 tainty. Who, then, shall construe this grant of 
 the people ? Who shall interpret their will where 
 it may be supposed they have left it doubtful? 
 
212 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 With whom do they repose this ultimate right of 
 deciding on the powers of the government ? Sir, 
 they have settled all this in the fullest manner. 
 They have left it with the government itself, in its 
 appropriate branches. Sir, the very chief end, the 
 main design for which the whole constitution was 
 framed and adopted, was to establish a government 
 that should not be obliged to act through state 
 agency, or depend on state opinion and state dis¬ 
 cretion. The people had had quite enough of that 
 kind of government under the confederacy. Under 
 that system the legal action, the application of 
 law to individuals, belonged exclusively to the 
 states. Congress could only recommend; their 
 acts were not of binding force till the states had 
 adopted and sanctioned them ? Are we in that 
 condition still ? Are we yet at the mercy of state 
 discretion and state construction? Sir, if we are, 
 then vain will be our attempt to maintain the 
 constitution under which we sit. 
 
 But, sir, the people have wisely provided in the 
 constitution itself a proper, suitable mode and 
 tribunal for settling questions of constitutional 
 law. There are in the constitution grants of 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 213 
 
 powers to Congress, and restrictions on these 
 powers. There are also prohibitions on the states. 
 Some authority must, therefore, necessarily exist, 
 having the ultimate jurisdiction to fix and ascer¬ 
 tain the interpretation of these grants, restrictions 
 and prohibitions. The constitution has itself 
 pointed out, ordained and established that autho¬ 
 rity. How has it accomplished this great and 
 essential end ? By declaring, sir, that “ the con¬ 
 stitution and the laws of the United States , made 
 in pursuance thereof shall be the supreme law of 
 the land , anything in the constitution or laws of 
 any state to the contrary notwithstanding ” 
 
 This, sir, was the first great step. By this the 
 supremacy of the constitution and laws of the 
 United States is declared. The people so will it. 
 No state law is to be valid which comes in conflict 
 with the constitution, or any law of the United 
 States passed in pursuance of it. But who shall 
 decide this question of interference? To whom 
 lies the last appeal? This, sir, the constitution 
 itself decides also, by declaring, (e that the judicial 
 power shall extend to all cases arising under the 
 constitution and laws of the United States ” These 
 
214 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 two provisions, sir, cover the whole ground; they 
 are, in truth, the keystone of the arch. With 
 these it is a constitution ; without them it is a 
 confederacy. In pursuance of these clear and 
 express provisions, Congress established, at its 
 very first session in the judicial act, a mode for 
 carrying them into full effect, and for bringing all 
 questions of constitutional power to the final deci¬ 
 sion of the supreme court. It then, sir, became 
 a government; it then had the means of self-pro¬ 
 tection, and, but for this, it would in all proba¬ 
 bility have been now among things which are 
 past. Having constituted the government and 
 declared its powers, the people have further said, 
 
 that since somebodv must decide on the extent of 
 
 * 
 
 these powers, the government shall itself decide— 
 subject, always, like other popular governments, 
 to its responsibility to the people. And now, sir, 
 I repeat, how is it that a state legislature acquires 
 any power to interfere ? Who or what gives them 
 the right to say to the people, “We, who are 
 your agents and servants for one purpose, will 
 undertake to decide that your other agents and 
 servants, appointed by you for another purpose, 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 215 
 
 have transcended the authority you gave them.” 
 The reply would be, I think, not impertinent— 
 “ Who made you a judge over another’s servants ? 
 To their own masters they stand or fall.” 
 
 Sir, I deny this power of state legislatures alto¬ 
 gether. It cannot stand the test of examination. 
 Gentlemen may say that, in an extreme case, 
 a state government might protect the people from 
 intolerable oppression. Sir, in such a case, the 
 people might protect themselves without the aid 
 of the state governments. Such a case warrants 
 revolution. It must make, when it comes, a law 
 for itself. A nullifying act of a state legislature 
 cannot alter the case, nor make resistance any 
 more lawful. In maintaining these sentiments, 
 sir, I am but asserting the rights of the people. 
 I state what they have declared, and insist on their 
 right to declare it. They have chosen to repose 
 this power in the general government, and I think 
 it my duty to support it like other constitutional 
 powers. 
 
 Mr. President, I have thus stated the reasons 
 of my dissent from the doctrines which have been 
 advanced and maintained. I am conscious of 
 
216 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 having detained you and the Senate much too 
 long. I was drawn into the debate with no pre¬ 
 vious deliberation such as is suited to the discussion 
 of so grave and important a subject. But it is a 
 subject of which my heart is full, and I have not 
 been willing to suppress the utterance of its spon¬ 
 taneous sentiments. I cannot, even now, persuade 
 myself to relinquish it, without expressing, once 
 more, my deep conviction, that, since it respects 
 nothing less than the union of the states, it is of 
 most vital and essential importance to the public 
 happiness. I profess, sir, in my career hitherto, to 
 have kept steadily in view the prosperity and honour 
 of the whole country, and the preservation of our 
 federal union. It is to that union we owe our 
 safety at home, and our consideration and dignity 
 abroad. It is to that union that we are chiefly 
 indebted for whatever makes us most proud of our 
 country. That union we reached only by the 
 discipline of our virtues in the severe school of 
 adversity. It had its origin in the necessities of 
 disordered finance, prostrate commerce, and ruined 
 credit. Under these benign influences these great 
 interests immediately awoke as from the dead, and 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 217 
 
 sprang forth with newness of life. Every year of 
 its duration has teemed with fresh proofs of its 
 utility and its blessings; and, although our terri¬ 
 tory has stretched out wider and wider, and our 
 population spread farther and farther, they have 
 not outrun its protection or its benefits. It has 
 been to us all a copious fountain of national, 
 social, and personal happiness. I have not allowed 
 myself, sir, to look beyond the union, to see what 
 might lie hidden in the dark recess behind. I 
 have not coolly weighed the chances of preserving 
 liberty when the bonds that unite us together 
 shall be broken asunder. I have not accustomed 
 myself to hang over the precipice of disunion, to 
 see whether, with my short sight, I can fathom 
 the depth of the abyss below ; nor could I regard 
 him as a safe counsellor in the affairs of this go¬ 
 vernment whose thoughts should be mainly bent 
 on considering, not how the union should be best 
 preserved, but how tolerable might be the condition 
 of the people when it shall be broken up and 
 destroyed. While the union lasts, we have high, 
 exciting, gratifying prospects spread out before 
 us, for us and our children. Beyond that I seek 
 
 u 
 
218 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 not to penetrate the veil. God grant that in my day, 
 at least, that curtain may not rise. God grant, that 
 on my vision never may be opened what lies behind. 
 When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the 
 last time, the sun in heaven, may I not see him 
 shining on the broken and dishonoured fragments 
 of a once glorious union ; on states dissevered, 
 discordant, belligerent; on a land rent with civil 
 feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood ! 
 Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather 
 behold the gorgeous ensign of the republic, now 
 known and honoured throughout the earth, still 
 full high advanced, its arms and trophies stream¬ 
 ing in their original lustre, not a stripe erased or 
 polluted, nor a single star obscured; bearing for 
 its motto no such miserable interrogatory as, 
 What is all this worth ? Nor those other words 
 of delusion and folly, Liberty first, and Union 
 afterwards; but everywhere, spread all over in 
 characters of living light, blazing on all its ample 
 folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, 
 and in every wind under the whole heavens, that 
 
 other sentiment, dear to every true American 
 
 ✓ 
 
 heart—Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one 
 and inseparable ! 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 219 
 
 EXTRACT FROM A DISCOURSE 
 
 Delivered at Plymouth , in Commemoration of the 
 First Settlement of New England. Dec. 22, 1820. 
 
 Let us rejoice that we behold this day. Let us 
 be thankful that we have lived to see the bright 
 and happy breaking of the auspicious morn which 
 commences the third century of the history of 
 New England. Auspicious indeed; bringing a 
 happiness beyond the common allotment of Pro¬ 
 vidence to men; full of present joy, and gilding 
 with bright beams the prospect of futurity, is the 
 dawn that awakens us to the commemoration of 
 the landing of the Pilgrims. 
 
 Living at an epoch which naturally marks the 
 progress of the history of our native land, we have 
 come hither to celebrate the great event with which 
 that history commenced. For ever honoured be 
 this, the place of our fathers’ refuge ! For ever 
 remembered the day which saw them, weary and 
 distressed, broken in everything but spirit, poor 
 in all but faith and courage, at last secure from the 
 dangers of wintry seas, and impressing this shore 
 with the first footsteps of civilized man ! 
 
220 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 It is a noble faculty of our nature which enables 
 us to connect our thoughts, our sympathies and 
 our happiness with what is distant, in place or 
 time; and, looking before and after, to hold 
 communion at once with our ancestors and our 
 posterity. Human and mortal although we are, 
 we are nevertheless not mere insulated beings, 
 without relation to the past or the future. Neither 
 the point of time, nor the spot of earth in which 
 we physically live, bounds our rational and intel¬ 
 lectual enjoyments. We live in the past by a 
 knowledge of its history; and in the future, by 
 hope and anticipation. By ascending to an asso¬ 
 ciation with our ancestors; by contemplating their 
 example, and studying their character ; by 
 partaking their sentiments, and imbibing their 
 spirit ; by accompanying them in their toils; by 
 sympathizing in their sufferings, and rejoicing in 
 their successes and their triumphs, we mingle our 
 own existence with theirs, and seem to belong to 
 their age. We become their contemporaries, live 
 the lives which they lived, endure what they 
 endured, and partake in the rewards which they 
 enjoyed. And in like manner, by running along 
 
THE IION. DANIEL WEBSTER. 221 
 
 the line of future time, by contemplating the 
 probable fortunes of those who are coming after 
 us; by attempting something which may promote 
 their happiness, and leave some not dishonourable 
 memorial of ourselves for their regard when we 
 shall sleep with the fathers, we protract our own 
 earthly being, and seem to crowd whatever is 
 future, as well as all that is past, into the narrow 
 compass of our earthly existence. As it is not a 
 vain and false, but an exalted and religious imagi¬ 
 nation, which leads us to raise our thoughts from 
 the orb, which, amidst this universe of worlds, 
 the Creator has given us to inhabit, and to send 
 them with something of the feeling which nature 
 prompts, and teaches to be proper among children 
 of the same Eternal Parent, to the contemplation 
 of the myriads of fellow beings with which his 
 goodness has peopled the infinite of space;—so 
 neither is it false or vain to consider ourselves as 
 interested and connected with our whole race 
 through all time; allied to our ancestors ; allied 
 to our posterity; closely compacted on all sides 
 with others ; ourselves being but links in the great 
 
 chain of being, which begins with the origin of 
 u 2 
 
222 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 our race, runs onward through its successive 
 generations, binding together the past, the present, 
 and the T future, and terminating at last with the 
 consummation of all things earthly, at the throne 
 of God. 
 
 There may be, and there often is, indeed, a 
 regard for ancestry which nourishes only a weak 
 pride; as there is also a care for posterity which 
 only disguises an habitual avarice, or hides the 
 workings of a low and groveling vanity. But there 
 is also a moral and philosophical respect for our 
 ancestors which elevates the character and improves 
 the heart. Next to the sense of religious duty and 
 moral feeling, I hardly know what should bear 
 with stronger obligation on a liberal and en¬ 
 lightened mind than a consciousness of alliance with 
 excellence which is departed ; and a consciousness, 
 too, that in its acts and conduct, and even in 
 its sentiments and thoughts, it may be actively 
 operating on the happiness of those who come 
 after it. Poetry is found to have few stronger con¬ 
 ceptions, by which it w'ould affect or overwhelm 
 the mind, than those in which it presents the 
 moving and speaking image of the departed dead 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 223 
 
 to the senses of the living. This belongs to poetry 
 only because it is congenial to our nature. Poetry 
 is in this respect but the handmaid of true philo¬ 
 sophy and morality; it deals with us as human 
 beings naturally reverencing those whose visible 
 connexion with this state of existence is severed, and 
 who may yet exercise we know not what sympathy 
 with ourselves ;—and when it carries us forward, 
 also, and shows us the long continued result of 
 all the good we do in the prosperity of those who 
 follow us, till it bears us from ourselves, and absorbs 
 us in an intense interest for what shall happen to 
 the generations after us, it speaks only in the 
 language of our nature, and affects us with senti¬ 
 ments which belong to us as human beings. 
 
 Standing in this relation to our ancestors and 
 our posterity, we are assembled on this memorable 
 spot to perform the duties which that relation, and 
 the present occasion, impose upon us. We have 
 come to this Rock to record here our homage 
 for our Pilgrim Fathers ; our sympathy in their 
 sufferings; our gratitude for their labours; our 
 admiration of their virtues; our veneration for 
 their piety ; and our attachment to those principles 
 
224 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 of civil and religious liberty, which they encoun¬ 
 tered the dangers of the ocean, the storms of 
 heaven, the violence of savages, disease, exile, and 
 famine, to enjoy and to establish.—And we would 
 leave here, also, for the generations which are 
 rising up rapidly to fill our places, some proof that 
 we have endeavoured to transmit the great inherit¬ 
 ance unimpaired; that in our estimate of public 
 principles and private virtue; in our veneration 
 of religion and piety; in our devotion to civil and 
 religious liberty; in our regard to whatever ad- 
 * vances human knowledge, or improves human 
 happiness, we are not altogether unworthy of our 
 origin. 
 
 There is a local feeling connected with this 
 occasion too strong to be resisted—a sort of genius 
 of the place —which inspires and awes us. We 
 feel that we are on the spot where the first scene 
 of our history was laid; where the hearths and 
 altars of New England were first placed; where 
 Christianity and civilization and letters made their 
 first lodgement in a vast extent of country, 
 covered with a wilderness, and peopled by roving- 
 barbarians. We are here at the season of the year 
 
THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 225 
 
 at which the event took place. The imagination 
 irresistably and rapidly draws around us the prin¬ 
 cipal features and the leading characters in the 
 original scene. We cast our eyes abroad on the 
 ocean, and we see where the little bark, with the 
 interesting group upon its deck, made its slow r 
 progress to the shore. We look around us, and 
 behold the hills and promontaries where the 
 anxious eyes of our fathers first saw the places of 
 habitation and of rest. We feel the cold which be¬ 
 numbed, and listen to the winds which pierced 
 them. Beneath us is the Bock on which New 
 England received the feet of the Pilgrims. We 
 seem even to behold them, as they struggle with 
 the elements, and, with toilsome efforts, gain the 
 shore. We listen to the chiefs in council; we see 
 the unexampled exhibition of female fortitude and 
 resignation : we hear the whisperings of youthful 
 impatience; and we see, what a painter of our own 
 has also represented by his pencil, chilled and 
 shivering childhood, houseless but for a mother’s 
 arms, couchless but for a mother’s breast, till our 
 own blood almost freezes. The mild dignity of 
 Carver and of Bradford ; the decisive and 
 
226 
 
 THE HON. DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 soldierlike air and manner of Standish ; the 
 devout Brewster ; the enterprising Allerton ; 
 the general firmness and thoughtfulness of the whole 
 band; their conscious joy for dangers escaped; 
 their deep solicitude about dangers to come; their 
 trust in Heaven; their high religious faith, full of 
 confidence and anticipation;—all of these seem 
 to belong to this place, and to be present upon 
 this occasion, to fill us with reverence and 
 admiration. 
 
THE HONOURABLE EDWARD HANNEGAN, 
 
 Senator for the State of Indiana. 
 
 This is a genuine son of the West; ardent, 
 impulsive and undaunted; thinking, acting and 
 daring with the most perfect freedom. His spirit 
 is youthful and buoyant, and he is ever sanguine 
 of success, though he feels acutely the bitterness 
 of disappointment. The character of the Western 
 men has been greatly misunderstood, even by the 
 other sections of the Union; they have their faults 
 like all the world beside, but they are the faults of 
 youth, and are corrigible, because they proceed 
 not from neutrality, but from exuberance of cha¬ 
 racter ; not from the deficiency, but from the 
 abundance of material. If they are hasty and 
 impetuous, they are also generous and forgiving; 
 indifferent to money, but eager of enterprise, 
 patient of endurance, full of courage, regardful of 
 
THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 the feelings of others, and above all men they are 
 respectful and considerate to the female sex.* 
 They are fluent of speech, quick in action, and 
 ready in expedients; they are, in fact, the very 
 men required for the position they hold, that of 
 Borderers of the Republic. They are a new power, 
 whose interests, although inseparably blended 
 with those of the other sections of the Union, are 
 yet distinct and individual; the West but now 
 begins to assert herself, to exhibit her strength, 
 and, though yet an infant, to claim her share in 
 the “balance of power;” a political mystery, 
 which exists no less in a Confederation of Re¬ 
 publics such as the United States of America, 
 than among the several compact Monarchies of 
 Europe. The West has found a devoted lover in 
 her Hannegan, and many a fervent vow he made 
 to win for her the Oregon, nor will these vows 
 remain unanswered ; so sure as rivers run into the 
 sea, so sure as mountains hide their heads in 
 
 * This trait of character is said by the sages to contain the germ 
 of every virtue, and some assert that it is the highest attribute of 
 civilization. But 1 am a woman, not a philosopher, and these 
 things are too high for me. 
 
THE IION. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 229 
 
 clouds, so surely will Oregon become the in¬ 
 heritance of the Americans, for it is theirs by right 
 as well as by inevitable necessity. 
 
 The robust character of the Western men, and 
 their remoteness from that peculiar kind of civi¬ 
 lization which belongs to sea board and manu¬ 
 facturing districts, have induced an idea that they 
 are deficient in the proprieties and gentle moods of 
 polished life. But, on the contrary, the very 
 circumstances of their condition produce these 
 virtues. 
 
 Show me a gentler, more affectionate nature 
 than Edward Hannegan you cannot; and, believe 
 me, the Western men in general resemble him. 
 Shall I relate some anecdotes of this, my friend ? 
 When Mr. H. made his speech on the Oregon 
 Question, he alluded, in terms of graceful approval, 
 to Mr. Calhoun, and,] after differing from the 
 policy of that Senator, he apostrophized, in terms 
 of generous and manly eulogy, his genius and his 
 virtues. I was in the gallery immediately above 
 with a large party of ladies, for the wives and 
 friends of those Members who spoke always took 
 great interest in their success; these ladies ever 
 
 x 
 
230 
 
 THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 regarded me as one of themselves, and I shared in 
 their anxious hopes and fears that our many 
 favourites should go through the ordeal with 
 honour. We always went together to the Supreme 
 Court, the Senate, or the House to listen to their 
 speeches, and to cheer them by our presence; to 
 walk home with them, to sympathize in their dis¬ 
 appointments and their victories, and to con¬ 
 gratulate them when the trial was over. The 
 intercourse between the statesmen and politicians 
 of all parties and the ladies was of the most 
 agreeable kind, and to the latter it was a source of 
 great instruction and improvement, for nothing 
 elevates and corrects the female mind more than 
 the friendship and confidence of distinguished 
 men. On the occasion above alluded to, the party 
 in the gallery were highly gratified, for Calhoun is 
 precious in the sight of all; to me these words of 
 praise were delightful for the sake of both the 
 Senators. In the excitement of the moment I 
 threw down my glove to the Speaker ; it fell at his 
 side. The chivalrous Hannegan instantly picked 
 it up, pressed it to his lips, looked gratefully up to 
 the gallery, bowed and placed it in his bosom. 
 
THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 231 
 
 The fortunate glove was transmitted by the next 
 day’s post to the Lady of the Senator, then in 
 Indiana. I preserve the less happy fellow to it.. 
 When the speech was ended and the Senate 
 adjourned, the ladies went down to the floor. I 
 accompanied Mr. Hannegan to shake hands with 
 Calhoun, and expressed my wish to publish that 
 speech in England. So much for the gallantry of 
 the Senator from Indiana to an Englishwoman. 
 Another anecdote exhibits him in a still more 
 amiable light. I had a careless trick of leaving 
 my purse upon the table in my parlour. Mr. 
 Hannegan, and almost all Americans, have a 
 frank and ingenuous habit of imparting advice 
 gratuitously to those with whom they are on terms 
 of intimacy. Having often found the offending 
 purse thus thoughtlessly left, the Senator had 
 several times reminded me of the indiscretion in 
 vain ; I was almost incorrigible. At length, during 
 an illness in Baltimore, he came to see me, and, 
 on entering my parlour, found the old green purse 
 on the table as usual, full of five dollar pieces (in 
 gold). Upon my appearance he held it up, and, 
 after wishing me good day, thus once again, and 
 
232 THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 for the last time, admonished me. u You pray 
 that you may not be led into temptation ; do unto 
 others as you would they should do unto you.” 
 Since then I have never transgressed against this 
 precept, and surely I never received a more 
 efficient moral lesson. 
 
 One of the most agreeable evenings I spent in 
 Washington was at an ice cream party given by 
 Mr. Hannegan in honour of a Lady’s birthday : 
 he was ever glad to make us happy. 
 
 This Senator was not born in the State he 
 represents, but in Kentucky, in the city of 
 Lexington ; consequently in the very atmosphere 
 of Henry Clay, and I cannot well tell how he 
 escaped being a Whig. He is a Presbyterian, but 
 has committed his only son to the care of Dr. 
 Hailandiere, Catholic Bishop of Vincennes, in 
 Indiana, to be educated at the College in that city. 
 A devoted lover of the country and of its in¬ 
 dependence, he so pined at last in Washington, 
 that he was compelled to go home for a fortnight 
 to refresh his spirits and recruit his health. I met 
 him on the Ohio on his way. “ Come home 
 “ with me,” said he, to the Doctor and myself. 
 
THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 233 
 
 £C come home with me, and I will show you the 
 “ lovely valley of the Wabash. I can endure 
 “ those hot and crowded halls no longer. I must 
 “ have free air and space to roam in; I like to 
 “ hunt when I please, and to shoot when I please, 
 <c and to fish when I please, and to read when I 
 “ please. Come home with me, and see how I 
 (e live in Indiana.” But we were bound to the 
 Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky, and could not. 
 
 In the Democratic Review, No. 96, there is an 
 excellent likeness of Mr. Hannegan : while I write 
 it is open before me. So true an index is his 
 countenance of his mind, that, w r hen the Senate 
 were deliberating with closed doors upon the 
 Oregon Treaty, I only wished to look at him for 
 one moment in order to know how things were 
 progressing. I think he is scarcely forty; brown 
 hair, wears neither heard nor whiskers, of middling 
 height, but broad shouldered, and very pleasant of 
 address. 
 
234 
 
 THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE SPEECH OF MR. HANNEGAN, 
 ON THE OREGON QUESTION. 
 
 Delivered in the Senate of the United States. 
 
 February 16, 1846. 
 
 v!/ vL* vL> 
 
 Oh, what a picture would the secret history of 
 English diplomacy present! I speak not in cen¬ 
 sure of the master spirits who for centuries have 
 controlled her councils, leading her step by step 
 to the mastery of the world. Their far sightedness 
 and their devotion to her interests is worthy of 
 commendation and emulation. Perhaps no stronger 
 instance of forecast was ever given than that which 
 sixty years ago saw the vast importance that the 
 desert coast of the Pacific was ultimately to attain 
 in the scale of empire. 
 
 The Nootka Sound convention gave to England 
 the right w to land on the coasts in places not 
 already occupied, for the purpose of carrying on 
 their commerce with the natives of the country, 
 or of making settlements there,” with the sole 
 intention of affording her facilities in such inter- 
 
THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 235 
 
 course with the natives, and to enable her to 
 repair her vessels. These secondary and permissive 
 rights, in no manner involving the sovereignty, 
 were all she acquired by that convention ; all that 
 her statesmen then claimed; all that Spain con¬ 
 ceded. And yet she has at this hour the effrontery 
 to assert, in the face of history, that she thus 
 acquired the right of paramount occupation and 
 settlement. I say all that her statesmen claimed; 
 for Mr. Fox, in the British Parliament, whilst the 
 convention was under discussion, denounced it as 
 “a treaty of concessions and not of acquisitions .” 
 In another passage he asserts, that u we had given 
 up all right to settle, except for temporary purposes, 
 to the south of the Spanish settlements or in the 
 intervals between them, where they happened to 
 be distant.”— Par . His. vol. 28 , p. 995. 
 
 And in confirmation of this language, Mr. Pitt, 
 under whose auspices as Prime Minister the con¬ 
 vention had been negotiated, replied by saying 
 that England “ had gained no new rights, but that 
 she had gained new advantages.” These new 
 advantages, in the language of Mr. Pitt, consisted 
 simply in the acknowledgment by Spain “ of the 
 
236 
 
 THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 right of England to carry on fisheries in the Pacific 
 ocean, and to trade on the coast of any part of it 
 northwest of America.” 
 
 Immediately after the execution of this conven¬ 
 tion, England fitted out one or two ships, and 
 intrusted the command to Captain Vancouver, 
 to proceed on a voyage of discovery; yes, of 
 discovery to the Pacific ocean, and, as is alleged, 
 to procure restitution of English property in com¬ 
 pliance with the convention. What were the 
 occurrences of that voyage ? If Spain had intended, 
 by this convention, to deliver Nootka Sound to 
 England, or if England had understood it as thus 
 acquired, would it not have been promptly en¬ 
 forced by the one if refused by the other ? Most 
 assuredly. But what is the fact ? When Vancouver 
 reached Nootka Sound, did he make any demand 
 for restoration ? None that I ever heard of. And 
 if so, it was not complied with ; for so far from 
 delivering to him possession of Nootka Sound, 
 which is between the parallels of 49° and 50°, the 
 Spanish commandant refused to allow him to 
 proceed around the island of Quadra or Vancouver, 
 by the straits of Fuca, the gulf of Georgia, and 
 
THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 237 
 
 Queen Charlotte’s Sounds which all combine to 
 separate it from the main land, until he could 
 get vessels ready to accompany him, and he did 
 accompany him. 
 
 And here let me pause to mark a point in 
 English diplomatic artifice. Upon the arrival of 
 Vancouver at Nootka Sound, the island which 
 forms the Sound was called Quadra, and had been 
 for years; the Spaniards were in possession ; a 
 Spanish commandant, he whose name the island 
 bore, held possession in the name of Spain, and a 
 flourishing Spanish settlement, with the consent 
 and approbation of the natives, was established. 
 Without a word on the subject of restoration, or 
 of sovereignty, or right to the island, but silently 
 and without the knowledge of any one, but doubt¬ 
 less with the secret sanction of the English ministry, 
 Vancouver in his journal and chart christens the 
 island by his own name, in order that England, 
 half a century afterwards, might have another 
 point on which to rest her random and vagrant 
 claim. The flagrancy of this act is more striking 
 when it is recollected that Spain held possession, 
 not only at Nootka Sound, but of the entire island 
 
238 
 
 THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 of Vancouver, undisturbed, undisputed possession, 
 from that period until the year 1795, when she 
 voluntarily abandoned it, because the disturbed 
 condition of Europe was such as to prevent her 
 or any other European power from extending or 
 protecting such remote settlements during the 
 succeeding twenty years. 
 
 But did England after this abandonment by 
 Spain come forward with her claim ? Did she 
 attempt a settlement? Certainly not. No senator 
 can show, for England herself cannot, that between 
 the parallels of 42° and 54° 40' she never made a 
 settlement or asserted a “ claim ” to a single inch 
 of ground until it had been previously owned and 
 occupied by others. 
 
 Notwithstanding her uniform course all over the 
 world of claiming and holding by discovery as her 
 own right, she requires something more in others, 
 whenever it suits her purposes, than mere dis¬ 
 covery. 
 
 Shall the mailed hand of England dictate to us 
 another Nootka Sound convention? Shall it do 
 more?—shall it force us to surrender that for 
 which Spain prepared to struggle? Shall the 
 
THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 239 
 
 twenty millions who now people free America, 
 with energies unfathomed, and as I believe un¬ 
 fathomable, with resources unsurpassed in the 
 history of nations; shall we, thus endowed, abandon 
 a position in defence of which Spain was willing • 
 to hazard a contest, the result of which to her was 
 not even doubtful, and upon it was staked her 
 national existence ? Even the effeminate mind of 
 Charles IV. held his nations honour as dear as 
 his nation’s existence. I know it is sometimes 
 sneeringly asked, what has honour to do with 
 Oregon ? and why should there be so much talk 
 about honour ? Mr. Fox, whose authority I dearly 
 love to quote, for I reverence his memory, said in 
 the debate in Parliament I have before quoted 
 from :— 
 
 44 Honour to nations was perhaps the only 
 justifiable or rational ground of contest. Wars 
 for the sake of conquest, of acquiring dominion or 
 extending trade, were equally unjust and impolitic. 
 He who vindicated the honour of a country was 
 the advocate of its dearest interests, because to 
 vindicate its honour was to secure its peace.” 
 
 And this authority will stand good when the 
 
240 
 
 THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 memory of those who ask u why talk of honour ?” 
 shall he forgotten. 
 
 The honourable senator* has arrayed before us 
 the mighty naval power of England, the number 
 of her ships of war, her sailors and her guns, and 
 the comparatively diminutive force we present. I 
 think a close scrutiny would lessen the exhibit of 
 her available force, and increase that of ours ; but 
 that is not to my purpose at present. If that 
 senator by this intended to awe us into a com¬ 
 promise, by the surrender of our territory, it was 
 certainly both ill timed and ill planned: that 
 would better have become a secret session. The 
 idea of surrendering without an effort, because of 
 the numerical superiority of the enemy, whether 
 in guns or men, is new to me in military history. 
 I admit that it is right and proper to examine the 
 force of Great Britain, but at the same time we 
 ought not to forget or undervalue our own. The 
 American people cannot be alarmed; they are 
 not to be awed by any such representations. 
 
 Were all the fleets of England gathered in one 
 body, their approach would create no terror in the 
 * Mr. Clayton, of Delaware. 
 
THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 241 
 
 American heart. Our people remember, that, 
 more than sixty years ago, one small American 
 frigate, commanded by John Paul Jones, made its 
 way through her navies, to ravage England’s 
 coasts and pillage her palaces, and returned in 
 triumph. They have not forgotten the names of 
 Decatur, Hull, Perry, Porter, the Joneses, 
 McDonough, Stewart, and a glorious host beside, 
 who united to indomitable courage and lofty 
 heroism, a burning love for their country and its 
 free and happy institutions. Though England’s 
 guns were a hundred to one, the heart of the 
 nation would not tremble, while her eye was on 
 the roll of these bright and undying names, and 
 her memory full of their deeds of noble daring. 
 
 But the senator from South Carolina* is wedded 
 to a different plan—a plan which avoids all action. 
 He is for leaving the whole matter to the silent, 
 quiet, noiseless operation of time, and the gradual 
 encroachments of our hardy and enterprising 
 settlers, who have gone, and are going, into the 
 territory. Does not every one know, that all the 
 while they are making these very noiseless and 
 
 Mr. Calhoun. 
 
242 
 
 THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 quiet encroachments, they are exposed to the 
 British bayonet ? And whilst so exposed, you 
 refuse them the protection of American laws, and 
 American tribunals. Such a state of things 
 would inevitably produce repetitions of the Caro¬ 
 line affair. 
 
 But do gentlemen flatter themselves that we 
 can thus take Oregon, and England know nothing 
 of it. Will they not understand this policy as 
 well as we ? And when they perceive the plan 
 likely to take effect, will they not be on their 
 guard ? If we press our population upon them, 
 w ill they not, in turn, press their pauper popula¬ 
 tion upon us ? Which of the two plans will most 
 consult the honour of this country ? Which story 
 shall we rather leave on record as a heritage to our 
 posterity—the plan of the honourable senator, to 
 get the territory by silent encroachment, or that 
 advocated by gentlemen on the other side, who 
 are for demanding the territory, because it is ours? 
 Shall we take it openly and boldly by a straight¬ 
 forward manly course?—or shall we get it covertly, 
 slily, stealthily? No, I will not say stealthily; I 
 will not employ any term that may imply the 
 
THE HON. EDWARD 11 ANN EGAN. 24.1 
 
 slightest disrespect to the honourable senator; I 
 will not say stealthily, but I will say circuitously; 
 yes, that is the word—circuitously. I would not 
 
 say anything that could be a cause of offence to 
 the honourable gentleman from South Carolina. I 
 have no such feeling toward him. I hold that 
 honourable senator in too much respect; I have 
 too much esteem and regard for him. I would 
 not for the world pluck one leaf from the laurel 
 that enwreatlies his venerated brow. lie has ably 
 served his country in many and various important 
 stations. I hope and trust he will do nothing 
 that shall mar the page in this nation’s history 
 which he is destined to fill. I respect his acqui¬ 
 sitions ; above all, I venerate his virtues—the 
 spotless purity of his private life. It is on these 
 that the future American Plutarch will most 
 delight to dwell. But the senator’s course is cir¬ 
 cuitous ; ours is direct. Which, I ask, will do 
 most honour to a country like this ? Which will 
 read the best ? Sir, how will it read along side of 
 the history of ’JG ? Then the whole population 
 of a range of Atlantic colonies, sooner than submit 
 to the exaction of a slight tax, took up arms and 
 
244 
 
 THE HON. EDWARD HANNEGAN. 
 
 went into the appeal of battle. They stood for 
 their rights in many a bloody field; and they 
 conquered those rights from the mightiest and the 
 haughtiest power the world ever saw. Such was 
 the first chapter of our history, read and studied 
 by the nations of the Old World. But what is 
 to be the second chapter ? At first we had but three 
 millions of people; now we have twenty millions. 
 Our wealth, our power, our energy, have increased 
 in more than a like proportion. And now the 
 same old enemy claims a great empire on our 
 western coast; and the descendants of that same 
 people resolve, sooner than resist, to surrender 
 their rights, and let her take it. I trust no such 
 chapter is to be written in our history. 
 
 Mr. President, I have but uttered the rights of 
 my country, and by their side I plant myself, 
 ready to abide the issue—come peace, come war. 
 
 For the singleness and sincerity of my motives 
 I appeal to Heaven. By them I am willing to be 
 judged now and hereafter, so help me God, when, 
 prostrate at thy foot, I falter forth my last brief 
 prayer for mercy on an erring life. 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, 
 
 Ex-President of the United States, Member of the House 
 of Representatives for Norfolk, Massachusetts. 
 
 The Whig ex-President, true to his own inde¬ 
 fatigable nature, still assists in the Councils of his 
 Country; he not unfrequently speaks and delivers 
 his original and independent opinions with his 
 wonted energy and courage, and with singular 
 vigour for his years. He is most punctual in his 
 attendance at the House, having missed but one 
 day, I believe, during the Session of 1845-6. Mr. 
 Adams is the representative of the opinions, 
 and the recorder of the events of earlier days; 
 his memory is very tenacious, and his know¬ 
 ledge universal. Is a question mooted, a sub¬ 
 ject started for investigation, a former transaction, 
 or the actors therein alluded to, Mr. Adams 
 can describe the attendant circumstances, can 
 give the name of each man concerned, and 
 the time in which he lived, and moved, and 
 
246 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 had his being, in Congress or before his country. 
 His seat is placed about mid-way between the 
 Speaker’s chair and the outer circle of the House 
 of Representatives, and on the left hand of the 
 Speaker. Unaffected apparently by heat, and 
 cold, and fatigue, he gives his undivided and un¬ 
 wearied attention to all that goes forward; and I 
 have understood that he records, at home, the 
 proceedings of every day. Sometimes the venerable 
 statesman is attacked by a member of opposition, 
 and then he rises in self defence with all the indig¬ 
 nant warmth of youth, and the consciousness of 
 an integrity which none can gainsay. I was present 
 in the House, and seated in the gallery immediately 
 above Mr. Adams, when Mr. Rhett, of South 
 Carolina, made some remarks on the policy pur¬ 
 sued by Mr. Adams in 1812-13. During Mr. 
 Rhett’s speech, I observed the emotion which 
 gradually became evident in the countenance of 
 the patriotic New Englander; his cheek flushed, 
 his veins swelled, and the fervent blood of twenty 
 summers rushed to his temples; at length he rose, 
 and spoke just at the moment when he ought; 
 when he knew not whether he felt more surprise 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 247 
 
 or indignation at the insinuation of British pre¬ 
 dilection flung suddenly against himself and his 
 party ; he had no time for preparation, hut entered 
 at once into an extempore history of the political 
 affairs of that period, and concluded by completely 
 vindicating himself individually, and the Whigs 
 generally, from such vexatious censure. The sym¬ 
 pathy of all was with him; and, doubtless, reflection 
 made, the better nature of the gentleman from South 
 Carolina led him to regret that he had assailed a 
 Statesman who so ably defended himself; whose 
 years and services entitled him to the highest 
 respect; and the purity of whose administration, 
 during his Presidency, displays his disinterested¬ 
 ness and patriotism in the most honourable light. 
 Mr. Adams is said never to have removed any man 
 from office on account of his political opinions. If 
 requested to change an officer, he asked the honest 
 question —■“ Does he know and practise his duty 
 in his post ?” If the reply was in the affirmative, 
 the President answered, “ Then he cannot be 
 touched. u If he fulfils his duty in his office with 
 u industry, talent, and fidelity, I cannot consent 
 u to his removal.” 
 
248 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 Governor Seward, whose love and respect for 
 the personal character of Mr. Adams are only 
 equalled by his admiration of the public life of 
 this eminent man, had frequently excited my 
 anxious desire to have an opportunity of seeing 
 Mr. Adams, when, the cares of the day being 
 ended, he received the visits of his friends, and 
 unbent his mind in social intercourse. I was as 
 much gratified when admitted to these “ Attic 
 Nights” as the intellectual Governor had predicted; 
 and listened with delight to those instructive and 
 fascinating lectures, in which learning and taste 
 were so eloquently combined; poetry, painting, 
 music, history, criticism, all in turn were the 
 themes of his discourse; each Muse attended at 
 his call. The question was one evening discussed, 
 whether is it easier to render sculpture and 
 painting into poetry, or poetry into sculpture and 
 painting ?—assuming each to be perfect in its 
 kind: that is, the poetry rendered into sculpture 
 or painting must become material, and the sculp¬ 
 ture or painting rendered into poetry must become 
 spiritual. The subject expanded, and I was amazed 
 at the range of knowledge displayed by Mr. Adams, 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 249 
 
 and the perfect system with which it was hived and 
 stored for seasonable use. Languages, metaphysics, 
 philosophy, the nature of essence and of matter, 
 mechanical art, with many more incidental sub¬ 
 jects, were all handled by him with the same 
 ease and familiarity that Euclid would demonstrate 
 two halves to be equal to the whole. During the 
 discussion, I remember that Mr. Adams, with 
 singular frankness, declared that he had never 
 admired the Venus de Medici. He gave the pre¬ 
 ference to Painting over Sculpture, as being a 
 higher art, and requiring a greater variety of 
 knowledge and talent in its exercise. 
 
 Mr. Adams was inaugurated President of the 
 United States 1825—Mr. Calhoun being elected 
 Vice-President. 
 
 During his Administration, Treaties were made 
 with the Kansas, and Great and Little Osages, 
 and, after some difficulty, with the Creeks; by 
 which these Indian Tribes withdrew into the 
 Territory west of the Mississippi. Internal Im¬ 
 provements proceeded with great vigour; manu¬ 
 factures flourished; nearly eight millions of dollars, 
 the surplus of the revenue, were applied to the 
 
250 
 
 J0HN_QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 reduction of the public debt, and three millions 
 and a half to the payment of interest. Various 
 arrangements for the better adminstration of the 
 departments of the Government were entered 
 into; new Treaties of Amity, Commerce, and 
 Navigation, were made with Foreign Nations; 
 and during the whole term the United States 
 enjoyed uninterrupted peace with all the world. 
 
 Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Adams are next door 
 neighbours to each other in Washington, and are 
 excellent friends. At a ball given by Mr. Adams, 
 Mr. Buchanan conducted me to pay respects to 
 
 the Venerable Host. The Secretary, with all the 
 
 » 
 
 gentle, kindly courtesy which marks his manner, 
 offered his cordial wishes; and added, that he had 
 given directions to be summoned to the House of 
 Representatives, the moment Mr. Adams should 
 begin his promised speech on Oregon. He was 
 accordingly present. 
 
 Of this ball I have some delightful memories 
 of my own to record; for it was there, and not 
 five minutes after my entrance, that the idea of 
 the present work originated. 
 
 Mrs. Governeur (this lady is the grand daughter 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 251 
 
 of President Monroe) reproached me playfully for 
 having omitted to call upon her. I replied, “ that 
 “ I spent all day, and every day, at the Capitol, 
 “ hearing and seeing the distinguished men assem- 
 “ bled there.” 
 
 “And then,” said she laughing, “ you will go 
 “ home to England and write a book, and abuse 
 “ them, and all the rest of the Americans.” 
 
 “ Never,” said Buchanan, on whose arm I leaned, 
 “ never; I answer for her. If she puts pen to 
 “ paper it will be to do us justice.” 
 
 It was then my turn to speak, and to accept 
 this generous challenge. 
 
 “ And to show,” I quickly added, “ that an 
 “ Englishwoman has the sense to appreciate your 
 “ virtues, to admire your greatness, and to return 
 “ with gratitude your affection,—permit me to offer 
 “ to you , Mr. Buchanan, the dedication of such a 
 “ book ?” 
 
 “ Beautifully said,” returned the Secretary, “and 
 “ I accept it with the greatest pleasure as a proof 
 “ of your regard; but what will become of your 
 “ dear friends, Calhoun and Ingersoll?” 
 
 “ Mr. Buchanan,I replied, “ the Secretary of 
 
252 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 “ State is the representative of the Americans in 
 “ Foreign Nations, and, therefore, my Guardian 
 “and my Friend will both approve my choice.” 
 
 This was the first time that the actual conviction 
 ever suggested itself to my mind that I should 
 write a book , and during the rest of the evening 
 I was somewhat startled; I have never yet been 
 before the Public; I have no notes, and trust to 
 my memory alone. If this Work have any merit, 
 it belongs to the origin and the subject; its faults 
 are, doubtless, many and great; but its preparation 
 has been to me a labour of love, and I offer it to 
 Mr. Buchanan, in the name of the American 
 people, as a tribute of affection and of gratitude 
 for all the happiness, friendship, and hospitality 
 which they bestowed on me. 
 
 INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 March 4 , 1825 . 
 
 In compliance with a usage coeval with the 
 existence of our federal constitution, and sanctioned 
 by the example of my predecessors in the career 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 253 
 
 upon which I am about to enter, I appear, my 
 fellow citizens, in your presence, and in that of 
 Heaven, to bind myself, by the solemnities of a 
 religious obligation, to the faithful performance of 
 the duties allotted to me in the station to which I - 
 have been called. 
 
 In unfolding to my countrymen the principles 
 by which I shall be governed in the fulfilment of 
 those duties, my first resort will be to that con¬ 
 stitution which I shall swear, to the best of my 
 ability, to preserve, protect, and defend. That 
 revered instrument enumerates the powers and 
 prescribes the duties of the executive magistrate; 
 and, in its first words, declares the purposes to 
 which these, and the whole action of the govern¬ 
 ment instituted by it, should be invariably and 
 sacredly devoted—to form a more perfect Union, 
 establish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, pro¬ 
 vide for the common defence, promote the general 
 welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to the 
 people of this Union in their successive generations. 
 Since the adoption of this social compact one of 
 these generations has passed away. It is the work 
 of our forefathers. Administered by some of the 
 
 z 
 
254 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 most eminent men who contributed to its formation 
 through a most eventful period in the annals of 
 the world, and through all the vicissitudes of 
 peace and war incidental to the condition of asso¬ 
 ciated man, it has not disappointed the hopes and 
 aspirations of those illustrious benefactors of their 
 age and nation. It has promoted the lasting wel¬ 
 fare of that country so dear to us all; it has, to 
 an extent far beyond the ordinary lot of humanity, 
 secured the freedom and happiness of this people. 
 We now receive it as a precious inheritance from 
 those to whom we are indebted for its establish¬ 
 ment, doubly bound by the examples which they 
 have left us, and by the blessings which we have 
 enjoyed as the fruits of their labours, to transmit 
 the same, unimpaired, to the succeeding generation. 
 
 In the compass of thirty-six years, since this 
 great national covenant was instituted, a body of 
 laws, enacted under its authority and in confor¬ 
 mity with its provisions, has unfolded its powers, 
 and carried into practical operation its effective 
 energies. Subordinate departments have distri¬ 
 buted the executive functions in their various 
 relations to foreign affairs, to the revenue and 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 255 
 
 expenditures, and to the military force of the 
 Union^ by land and sea. A co-ordinary depart¬ 
 ment of the judiciary has expounded the consti¬ 
 tution and the laws; settling, in harmonious 
 coincidence with the legislative will, numerous 
 weighty questions of construction, which the 
 imperfection of human language had rendered 
 unavoidable. The year of Jubilee, since the first 
 formation of our Union, has just elapsed; that of 
 the Declaration of our Independence is at hand. The 
 consummation of both was effected by this con¬ 
 stitution. Since that period a population of four 
 millions has multiplied to twelve. A territory 
 bounded by the Mississippi has been extended 
 from sea to sea. New states have been admitted 
 to the Union, in numbers nearly equal to those of 
 the first confederation. Treaties of peace, amity, 
 and commerce have been concluded with the 
 principal dominions of the earth. The people of 
 other nations, inhabitants of regions acquired, 
 not by conquest, but by compact, have been 
 united with us in the participation of our rights 
 and duties, of our burdens and blessings. The 
 forest has fallen by the axe of our woodsman; the 
 
256 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 soil has been made to teem by the tillage of our 
 farmers ; our commerce has whitened every ocean. 
 The dominion of man over physical nature has been 
 extended by the invention of our artists. Liberty 
 and law have marched hand in hand. All the 
 purposes of human association have been ac¬ 
 complished as effectively as under any other 
 government on the globe; and at a cost little 
 exceeding, in a whole generation, the expenditures 
 of other nations in a single year. 
 
 Such is the unexaggerated picture of our condition 
 under a constitution founded upon the republican 
 principle of equal rights. To admit that this 
 picture has its shades, is but to say that it is still 
 the condition of men upon earth. From evil, 
 physical, moral and political it is not our claim 
 to be exempt. We have suffered sometimes by 
 the visitation of Heaven through disease; often 
 by the wrongs and injustices of other nations, 
 even to the extremities of war ; and, lastly, by dis- 
 sentions among ourselves—dissentions, perhaps, 
 inseparable from the enjoyment of freedom, but 
 which have more than once appeared to threaten 
 the dissolution of the Union, and with it the 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 257 
 
 overthrow of all the enjoyments of our present 
 lot, and all our earthly hopes of the future. The 
 causes of these dissentions have been various, 
 founded upon differences of speculation in the 
 theory of republican government; upon conflicting 
 views of policy in our relations with foreign 
 nations ; upon jealousies of partial and sectional 
 interests, aggravated by prejudices and prepos¬ 
 sessions which strangers to each other are ever 
 apt to entertain. 
 
 It is a source of gratification and of encourage¬ 
 ment to me to observe, that the great result of 
 this experiment upon the theory of human rights 
 has, at the close of that generation by which it 
 was formed, been crowned with success, equal to 
 the most sanguine expectations of its founders. 
 Union, justice, tranquillity, the common defence, 
 the general welfare, and the blessings of liberty,—* 
 all have been promoted by the government under 
 which we have lived. Standing at this point 
 of time, looking back to that generation which 
 has gone by, and forward to that which is ad¬ 
 vancing, we may at once indulge in grateful 
 exultation and in cheering hope. From the expe- 
 z 2 
 
258 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 rience of the past; we derive instructive lessons 
 for the future. Of the two great political parties 
 which have divided the opinions and feelings of 
 our country, the candid and the just will now 
 admit, that both have contributed splendid talents, 
 spotless integrity, ardent patriotism, and disin¬ 
 terested sacrifices, to the formation and adminis¬ 
 tration of this government; and that both have 
 required a liberal indulgence for a portion of 
 human infirmity and error. The revolutionary 
 wars of Europe, commencing precisely at the 
 moment when the government of the United States 
 first went into operation under this constitution, 
 excited a collision of sentiments and of sympathies 
 which kindled all the passions, and embittered the 
 conflict of parties, till the nation was involved 
 in war, and the Union was shaken to its centre. 
 This time of trial embraced a period of five and 
 twenty years, during which the policy of the 
 Union, in its relations with Europe, constituted 
 the principal basis of our political divisions, and 
 the most arduous part of the action of our federal 
 government. With the catastrophe in which the 
 wars of the French revolution terminated, and our 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 259 
 
 own subsequent peace with Great Britain, this 
 baneful weed of party strife was uprooted. From 
 that time no difference of principle, connected 
 either with the theory of government or with our 
 intercourse with foreign nations has existed or 
 been called forth in force sufficient to sustain a 
 continued combination of parties, or give more 
 than wholesome animation to public sentiment or 
 legislative debate. Our political creed is, without 
 a dissenting voice that can be heard, that the will 
 of the people is the source, and the happiness of 
 the people the end, of all legitimate government 
 upon earth. That the best security for the bene¬ 
 ficence, and the best guaranty against the abuse 
 of power consists in the freedom, the purity, and 
 the frequency of popular elections. That the 
 general government of the Union and the separate 
 governments of the states are all sovereignties 
 of legitimated powers ; fellow servants of the 
 same masters, uncontrolled within their respective 
 spheres, uncontrollable by encroachments upon 
 each other. That the firmest security of peace is 
 the preparation during peace of the defences of 
 war. That a rigorous economy and accountability 
 
260 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 of public expenditures should guard against the 
 aggravation, and alleviate, when possible, the bur¬ 
 den of taxation. That the military should be kept 
 in strict subordination to the civil power. That 
 the freedom of the press and of religious opinion 
 should be inviolate. That the policy of our country 
 is peace, and the ark of our salvation, union, are 
 articles of faith upon which we are all agreed. If 
 there have been those who doubted whether a 
 confederated representative democracy were a 
 government competent to the wise and orderly 
 management of the common concerns of a mighty 
 nation, those doubts have been dispelled. If there 
 have been projects of partial confederacies to be 
 erected upon the ruins of the Union, they have 
 been scattered to the winds. If there have been 
 dangerous attachments to one foreign nation, and 
 antipathies against another, they have been ex¬ 
 tinguished. Ten years of peace, at home and 
 abroad, have assuaged the animosities of political 
 contention, and blended into harmony the most 
 discordant elements of public opinion. There 
 still remains one effort of magnanimity, one sacri¬ 
 fice of prejudice and passion, to be made by the 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 261 
 
 individuals throughout the nation who have here¬ 
 tofore followed the standards of political party. 
 It is that of discarding every remnant of rancour 
 against each other; of embracing as countrymen 
 and friends; and of yielding to talents and virtue 
 alone that confidence which, in times of contention 
 for principle, was bestowed only upon those who 
 wore the badge of party communion. 
 
 The collisions of party spirit which originate 
 in speculative opinions or in different views of 
 administrative policy are in their nature transitory. 
 Those which are founded on geographical divisions, 
 adverse interests of soil, climate, and modes of 
 domestic life, are more permanent, and therefore 
 perhaps more dangerous. It is this which gives 
 inestimable value to the character of our govern¬ 
 ment, at once federal and national. It holds out 
 to us a perpetual admonition to preserve alike, 
 and with equal anxiety, the rights of each individual 
 state in its own government, and the rights of the 
 whole nation in that of the Union. Whatever is 
 of domestic concernment, unconnected with the 
 other members of the Union, or with foreign lands, 
 belongs exclusively to the administration of the state 
 
262 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 governments. Whatsoever directly involves the 
 rights and interests of the federative fraternity, or 
 of foreign powers, is of the resort of this general 
 government. The duties of both are obvious in 
 the general principle, though sometimes perplexed 
 with difficulties in the detail. To respect the 
 rights of the state governments is the inviolable 
 duty of that of the Union ; the government of 
 every state will feel its own obligation to respect 
 and preserve the rights of the whole. The pre¬ 
 judices every where too commonly entertained 
 against distant strangers are worn away, and the 
 jealousies of jarring interests are allayed by the 
 composition and functions of the great national 
 councils annually assembled from all quarters of 
 the Union at this place. Here the distinguished 
 men from every section of our country, while 
 meeting to deliberate upon the great interests of 
 those by whom they are deputed, learn to estimate 
 the talents and do justice to the virtues of each 
 other. The harmony of the nation is promoted, 
 and the whole Union is knit together by the senti¬ 
 ments of mutual respect, the habits of social 
 intercourse and the ties of personal friendship 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 263 
 
 formed between the representatives of its several 
 parts in the performance of their service at this 
 metropolis. 
 
 Passing from this general review of the purposes 
 and injunctions of the federal constitution and 
 their results, as indicating the first traces of the 
 path of duty in the discharge of my public trust, 
 I turn to the administration of my immediate 
 predecessor as the second. It has passed away in 
 a period of profound peace; how much to the 
 satisfaction of our country, and to the honour of 
 our country’s name, is known to you all. The 
 great features of its policy in general concurrence 
 with the will of the legislature have been:—To 
 cherish peace while preparing for defensive war; 
 to yield exact justice to other nations, and maintain 
 the rights of our own; to cherish the principles 
 of freedom and of equal rights, wherever they were 
 proclaimed; to discharge with all possible prompti¬ 
 tude the national debt; to reduce within the 
 narrowest limits of efficiency the military force; 
 to improve the organization and discipline of the 
 army; to provide and sustain a school of military 
 science ; to extend equal protection to all the great 
 
264 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 interests of the nation ; to promote the civilization 
 of the Indian tribes; and to proceed in the great 
 system of internal improvements within the limits 
 of the constitutional power of the Union. Under 
 the pledge of these promises, made by that eminent 
 citizen at the time of his first induction to this 
 office, in his career of eight years, the internal 
 taxes have been repealed ; sixty millions of the 
 public debt have been discharged; provision has 
 been made for the comfort and relief of the aged 
 and indigent among the surviving warriors of the 
 revolution; the regular armed force has been 
 reduced, and its constitution revised and perfected; 
 the accountability for the expenditures of public 
 moneys has been made more effective; the Floridas 
 have been peaceably acquired, and our boundary 
 has been extended to the Pacific ocean; the inde¬ 
 pendence of the southern nations of this hemisphere 
 has been recognised, and recommended by example 
 and by counsel to the potentates of Europe ; pro¬ 
 gress has been made in the defence of the country by 
 fortifications and the increase of the navy, toward 
 the effectual suppression of the African traffic in 
 slaves, in alluring the aboriginal hunters of our 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 265 
 
 land to the cultivation of the soil and of the mind, 
 in exploring the interior regions of the Union, and 
 in preparing, by scientific researches and surveys, 
 for the farther application of our national resources 
 to the internal improvement of our country. 
 
 In this brief outline of the promise and per¬ 
 formance of my immediate predecessor, the line 
 of duty for his successor is clearly delineated. To 
 pursue to their consummation those purposes of 
 improvement in our common condition, instituted 
 or recommended by him, will embrace the whole 
 sphere of my obligations. To the topic of inter¬ 
 nal improvement, emphatically urged by him at 
 his inauguration, I recur with peculiar satisfaction. 
 It is that from which I am convinced that the 
 unborn millions of our posterity, who are in 
 future ages to people this continent, will derive 
 their most fervent gratitude to the founders of 
 the Union ; that in which the beneficent action 
 of its government will be most deeply felt and 
 acknowledged. The magnificence and splendour 
 of their public works are among the imperishable 
 glories of the ancient republics. The roads and 
 acqueducts of Rome have been the admiration of 
 
266 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 all after ages, and have survived thousands of 
 years, after all her conquests have been swal¬ 
 lowed up in despotism, or become the spoil of 
 barbarians. Some diversity of opinion has pre¬ 
 vailed with regard to the powers of Congi’ess for 
 legislation upon objects of this nature. The most 
 respectful deference is due to doubts originating 
 in pure patriotism, and sustained by venerated 
 authority. But nearly twenty years have passed 
 since the construction of the first national road 
 was commenced. The authority for its construc¬ 
 tion was then unquestioned. To how may thou¬ 
 sands of our countrymen has it proved a benefit ? 
 To what single individual has it ever proved an 
 injury ? Repeated, liberal, and candid discussions 
 in the legislature have conciliated the sentiments, 
 and approximated the opinions of enlightened 
 minds upon the question of constitutional power. 
 I cannot but hope that, by the same process of 
 friendly, patient, and persevering deliberation, all 
 constitutional objections will ultimately be re¬ 
 moved. The extent and limitation of the powers 
 of the general government in relation to this 
 transcendently important interest will be settled 
 
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 267 
 
 and acknowledged to the common satisfaction of 
 all; and every speculative scruple will be solved 
 by a practical public blessing. 
 
 Fellow citizens, you are acquainted with the pecu¬ 
 liar circumstances of the recent elections, which 
 have resulted in aifording me the opportunity of 
 addressing you at this time. You have heard the 
 exposition of the principles which will direct me 
 in the fulfilment of the high and solemn trust 
 imposed upon me in this station. Less possessed 
 of your confidence in advance than any of my 
 predecessors, I am deeply conscious of the pros¬ 
 pect that I shall stand more and oftener in need 
 of your indulgence. Intentions upright and pure, 
 a heart devoted to the welfare of our country, and 
 the unceasing application of the faculties allotted 
 to me to her service, are all the pledges that I can 
 give to the faithful performance of the arduous 
 duties I am to undertake. To the guidance of 
 the legislative councils ; to the assistance of the 
 executive and subordinate departments ; to the 
 friendly co-operation of the respective state 
 governments; to the candid and liberal support 
 of the people, so far as it may be deserved by 
 
268 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 
 
 honest industry and zeal, I shall look for what¬ 
 ever success may attend my public service; and 
 knowing that, except the Lord keep the city, the 
 watchman waketh but in vain, with fervent suppli¬ 
 cations for his favour, to his overruling providence 
 I commit, with humble but fearless confidence, 
 my own fate, and the future destinies of my 
 country. 
 

 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 Mr. Gallatin is eighty-seven ; and in the winter 
 of 1845 - 6 , when I saw him in New York, was in the 
 full enjoyment of excellent bodily health and mental 
 vigour. In the previous June I had been gratified 
 by a long interview with this enlightened and 
 sagacious Statesman; his piercing and original 
 remarks, his shrewd criticisms of men and things, 
 his erudition, his charming raillery, and, above 
 all, his perfect kindness, made this visit delightful; 
 but I think the morning I sat with him in Decem¬ 
 ber, after my return from Canada and the West, 
 was more memorable still, for I knew the countrv 
 and the people more intimately, and was able to 
 enter more fully into his political explanations, and 
 his spirited anecdotes. From these two interviews 
 and my intermediate travels to the Mississippi and 
 the Western States, there arose a whimsical report 
 
 aa 2 
 
270 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 that I was a spy in the employ of Sir Robert Peel! 
 and that the little Doctor, with his delicate health, 
 was a mere ruse de guerre . I was once asked by 
 a party in the railroad, “ What remuneration Sir 
 Robert gave me?” The question was demanded 
 in a sort of doubting earnest that was irresistibly 
 droll. The period of both visits and excursion 
 was propitious for this amusing delusion; the 
 Oregon Question being then (December 15th) 
 before Congress. 
 
 The pamphlet published by Mr. Gallatin, on 
 this subject, is one of the most interesting essays 
 I have ever read, and it derives a higher claim to 
 admiration from the circumstances under which it 
 was written. To America is presented in its pages 
 the last tribute probably which can ever be offered 
 to her acceptance by the devoted and venerable 
 son of her adoption—by her Statesman ancient of 
 days; it breathes his parting wishes, conveys his 
 latest benediction to the land which his talents 
 have eminently served in public life, and his virtues 
 have adorned in private. Nor is it less valuable 
 for its research, extent of knowledge, and concen- 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 271 
 
 tration of argument, than for the calm and dignified 
 tone of feeling and moderation which it displays; 
 throughout the laws of humanity prevail. It is 
 an effort of patriotism worthy of him whose early 
 personal sacrifices for the sake of justice are 
 known to all. “ I had been a pioneer in collecting 
 
 “ facts and stating the case.”-“ An aged man, 
 
 “ who for the last thirty years has been detached 
 “from party politics, and who has now nothing 
 e( whatever to hope or to fear from the world, has 
 “ no merit in seeking only the truth, and acting 
 “ an independent part.” 
 
 Mr. Gallatin is by birth a native of Switzerland, 
 and fled from his country in early life on account of 
 his attachment to liberal principles; he first landed 
 in Boston, and struggled with various pecuniary 
 difficulties, to which he accommodated himself 
 with the independence of the Swiss, and the happy 
 philosophy of the French. In America, talent 
 and good conduct never fail of obtaining their 
 reward; the abilities of Mr. Gallatin were soon 
 discovered; he married advantageously; by his 
 sagacity he was enabled materially to improve his 
 
272 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 fortune, and while yet in the prime of life, scarcely 
 forty years of age,* he had risen to confidential 
 and pre-eminent posts in the Administration of 
 the Federal Government. By Mr. Jefferson and 
 Mr. Madison he was held in the highest estimation ; 
 his versatility of mental gifts rendered him pecu¬ 
 liarly useful, and his financial talents were of the 
 highest order. Mr. Jefferson said of Mr. Gallatin, 
 “ that he should not be measured by the standard 
 “ applied to other men so highly did he value his 
 ability. 
 
 In 1813, Mr. Gallatin was appointed one of the 
 Commissioners sent to Europe to negociate the 
 Peace with Great Britain. The Treaty was con¬ 
 cluded at Ghent, in 1814. In appearance Mr. 
 Gallatin is European; his figure is tall and thin; 
 his manner full of vivacity; he speaks rapidly, 
 and evidently many thoughts while in conversation 
 
 * In 1793 we find him returned as a Senator by the State of 
 Pennsylvania, and pronounced disqualified on the ground that he 
 had not been a citizen a sufficient time to enable him to hold a 
 seat in the Senate. He was then thirty-three, and had sought 
 refuge in the United States from persecution, fortuneless and 
 friendless. 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 2?3 
 
 rush into his head which he has not even time to 
 utter; his eye still sparkles, and his countenance 
 is full of spirit. When I saw him in winter, he wore 
 a black velvet cap which was very characteristic, and 
 black velvet slippers. His son and grandson were 
 present besides myself and son; two gentlemen 
 waited upon him on business,, and his Amanuensis 
 sat at his side. Finding him occupied I would 
 have retired^ but he would on no account permit 
 this, and he proceeded to converse with us all in turn 
 on affairs of amusement or business, occasionally 
 to dictate to the Amanuensis, and occasionally to 
 find a little fault with the writing; and, finally, 
 when I was left alone with him he spoke almost 
 incessantly for two hours on every variety of sub¬ 
 ject, with all the wit, and learning, and spirit ima¬ 
 ginable. He paid me one of the most graceful 
 compliments I have ever received. After hearing 
 how much I had been gratified by my visit to the 
 West, and how I had found all America te couleur 
 de rose,” he gently alluded to my romance, as 
 he had done the day before in the very elegant 
 note, which I cannot resist the pleasure of tran¬ 
 scribing below. “ I believe,” said he, “ you possess 
 
274 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 “ and practice the very best romance in the worlds 
 “ that of making the best of every thing/ 5 * 
 
 “ My dear Madam,—Was I not confined by 
 “an obstinate cold, I would do myself the plea- 
 “ sure to wait on you. 
 
 “ To-morrow (Saturday) two gentlemen will 
 “ call upon me on business, at twelve o’clock. 
 “ With that single exception, you will find me at 
 “ home on any day, and at any hour that may 
 “ suit your convenience; and I need not say how 
 “ much I will be gratified by your kind intended 
 “ visit. 
 
 “ I am happy to hear that you were pleased 
 “with your late journey through the United 
 “States. Yet, although we enjoy most solid 
 “ advantages, and, as I think, a greater mass of 
 “ happiness diffused through all the classes than 
 “ is to be found any where else, I have not disco- 
 “ vered much romance in America; and I suspect, 
 
 * Once, in England, walking home with a friend from a party, 
 we were caught in a violent hail storm; I laughed; "this,” said 
 my companion, “ is kissing the dew drops from the lion’s mane.” 
 I do not think that Belinda received from her poet prettier 
 thoughts than these, and whenever I am disposed to repine, I 
 recollect them, and I do “ make the best of every thing.” 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 275 
 
 “ or, as a Yankee, I guess, that you brought it 
 “ with you. ' 
 
 “ Please to accept the assurances of my high 
 “ regard, and believe me to be, with great respect, 
 “ My dear Madam, 
 
 “ Your obedient and faithful servant, 
 “Albert Gallatin. 
 
 “57, Bleeker-street, 12th December, 1845. 
 
 “ Mrs. W. Maury/ 5 
 
 The above is beautifully written in a fair Italian 
 hand, the letters being generally disconnected. 
 
 “The English are proud , 55 observed Mr. Gal- 
 “ latin, “the French are vain; the Americans 
 “have somewhat both of pride and vanity . 55 
 
 “ It is the most difficult thing in the world to 
 “ persuade Statesmen and Governments to do 
 “ nothing. Neither America nor England should 
 “ have said any thing about Oregon. The letters 
 “ of Mr. Buchanan have greatly the advantage. 
 “ I have abstained from entering into the discus- 
 “ sion until all should have been said on both 
 “ sides. 
 
 “ I have learned the Spanish language very 
 
27 6 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 “ often, and as often forgotten it. Once acquire 
 “a language fundamentally, and you may easily 
 “ resume it.” 
 
 The discoveries in Yucatan interested Mr. Gal¬ 
 latin extremely; he showed me Catherwood’s 
 plates, and spoke in high terms both of that 
 gentleman and of Mr. Stephens, whom I had 
 afterwards the pleasure of seeing at Albany. Mr. 
 Gallatin’s “ Notes on the semi-civilized Nations 
 “ of Mexico, Yucatan and Central America” are 
 considered to possess the highest merit. 
 
 The lot of Mr. Gallatin, in spite of exile, has been 
 singularly fortunate; to have been an active and 
 successful participator in the permanent estab¬ 
 lishment of the republican principles which 
 originally caused his banishment ; and thus to 
 have assisted in rearing a new and noble edifice 
 on the very foundations which had, in his native 
 country, slipped from beneath his feet, has 
 been the allotted destiny of few. Sprung from 
 the same soil with that extraordinary body of men 
 denominated the “French school of philosophers,” 
 Mr. Gallatin possesses all their love of liberty 
 and their elegant acquirements, combined with 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 277 
 
 practical good sense and spotless morality ; he 
 is a perfect specimen of the union of American 
 and European character in the same individual. 
 The republican of Switzerland found beyond the 
 Atlantic a sphere in which his conceptions were 
 realized, and his doctrines reduced to practice. 
 He has been happier far than the early promul¬ 
 gators of the Free Political Creed; for his life 
 has been extended long enough to satisfy him 
 that the liberty he so loved was no chimera; that 
 it already constitutes the happiness of millions, 
 and that it is advancing progressively under the 
 wide spread Banner of Reform in every country 
 of the world, both savage and civilized; and 
 though he leaves his ashes in a land which is not 
 that of his birth, still it has long been that of his 
 most cherished household gods. As a citizen he 
 is highly esteemed and respected; and though he 
 mingles less frequently in society than he did in 
 years gone by, the privileged few are still charmed 
 to find how lightly time lays his finger on that 
 honoured brow. Mrs. Madison gave me a most 
 touching account of her last visit to New York, 
 and of the hours she passed in the society of Mr. 
 
 n b 
 
2/8 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 Gallatin, who was the friend of the virtuous and 
 gifted President, to whom in life she was united, 
 and whom for years she has lamented. Many 
 and affecting were their appeals to the sacred 
 memories of the past. 
 
 EXTRACTS 
 
 FROM LETTERS ON THE OREGON QUESTION. 
 
 I have not the honour of a personal acquaintance 
 with the President; I respect in him the First 
 Magistrate of the Nation ; and he is universally 
 represented as of irreproachable character, sincere, 
 and patriotic. Every citizen has a right to differ 
 with him in opinion ; no one has that of supposing 
 that he says one thing and means another. I feel 
 an intimate conviction of his entire sinceritv. 
 
 New York, January 7? 1846. 
 
 I had been a pioneer in collecting facts and 
 stating the case. The only materials within my 
 reach consisted of the accounts of voyages pre¬ 
 viously published, (including that of Maurelle, 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 279 
 
 in Barrington’s Miscellanies,) of the varied and 
 important information derived from Humboldt’s 
 New Spain, and of the voyage of the Sutil and 
 Mexicano, the introduction to which contains a 
 brief official account of the Spanish discoveries. 
 The statement of the case was the best I was able 
 to make with the materials on hand, and may be 
 found defective in many respects. Since that time 
 manuscript journals of several of the voyages have 
 been obtained at Madrid. New facts have thus 
 been added; others have been better analyzed, 
 and some errors rectified. Arguments which had 
 been only indicated have been enforced, and new 
 views have been suggested. The subject, indeed, 
 seems to be exhausted, and it would be difficult 
 to add any thing to the able correspondence 
 between the two Governments which has been 
 lately published. 
 
 Ministers charged with diplomatic discussions 
 are not, however, in those official papers intended 
 for publication, to be considered as philosophers 
 calmly investigating the questions, with no other 
 object but to elicit truth. They are always, to a 
 certain extent, advocates who use their best 
 
280 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 endeavours to urge and even strain the reasons 
 that may be alleged in favour of the claims set up 
 by their Governments, and in the same manner 
 to repel, if not to deny, all that may be adduced 
 by the other party. Such official papers are in 
 fact appeals to public opinion, and generally 
 published when there remains no hope to conclude 
 for the present an amicable arrangement. 
 
 But, though acting in that respect as advocates, 
 diplomatists are essentially ministers of peace, 
 whose constant and primary duty is mutually to 
 devise conciliatory means for the adjustment of 
 conflicting pretensions, for the continuance of 
 friendly relations, for preventing war, or for the 
 restoration of peace. It has unfortunately happened 
 that, on this occasion, both Governments have 
 assumed such absolute and exclusive grounds, as 
 to have greatly increased, at least for the present, 
 the obstacles to an amicable arrangement. 
 
 It is morally impossible for the bulk of the 
 people of any country thoroughly to investigate 
 a subject so complex as that of the respective 
 claims to the Oregon territory; and, for obvious 
 reasons, it is much less understood by the great 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 281 
 
 mass of the population in England than in the 
 United States. Every where, when the question 
 is between the country and a foreign nation, the 
 people at large, impelled by natural and patriotic 
 feelings, will rally around their Government. For 
 the consequences that may ensue, those who are 
 entrusted with the direction of the foreign relations 
 are alone responsible. Whatever may be the 
 cause, to whomsoever the result may be ascribed, 
 it appears, from the general style of the periodical 
 press, that, with few exceptions, the people, both 
 in Great Britain and in the United States, are 
 imbued with the belief that the contested territory 
 belongs exclusively to themselves, and that any 
 concession which might be made would be a boon 
 to the other party. Such opinions, if sustained 
 by either Government, and accompanied by cor¬ 
 responding measures, must necessarily lead to 
 immediate collisions, and probably to war. Yet, 
 a war so calamitous in itself, so fatal to the general 
 interests of both countries, is almost universally 
 deprecated, without distinction of parties, by all 
 the rational men w'ho are not carried away by the 
 warmth of their feelings. 
 
 b b 2 
 
1 
 
 282 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 At the time when America was discovered the 
 law of nations was altogether unsettled. More than 
 a century elapsed before Grotius attempted to lay 
 its foundations on Natural Law and the moral pre¬ 
 cepts of Christianity; and when sustaining it by 
 precedents he was compelled to recur to Rome 
 and Greece. It was in reality a new case, to 
 which no ancient precedents could apply,* for 
 which some new rules must be adopted. Gradu¬ 
 ally some general principles were admitted, never 
 universally, in their nature vague and often con¬ 
 flicting. For instance, discovery varies from the 
 simple ascertaining of the continuity of land, to 
 to a minute exploration of its various harbours, 
 rivers, &c. and the rights derived from it may 
 vary accordingly, and may occasionally be claimed 
 to the same district by different nations. There 
 is no precise rule for regulating the time after 
 which the neglect to occupy would nullify the 
 right of prior discovery; nor for defining the 
 extent of coast beyond the spot discovered to 
 which the discoverer may be entitled, or how far 
 
 * Grotius, however, sustains the right of occupation by a maxim 
 of the Civil Roman Code. 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 283 
 
 inland his claim extends. The principle most 
 generally admitted was, that, in case of a river, 
 the right extended to the whole country drained 
 by that river and its tributaries. Even this was 
 not universally conceded. This right might be 
 affected by a simultaneous or prior discovery and 
 occupancy of some of the sources of such river 
 by another party; or it might conflict with a 
 general claim of contiguity. This last claim, when 
 extending beyond the sources of rivers discovered 
 and occupied, is vague and undefined; though it 
 would seem that it cannot exceed in breadth that 
 of the territory on the coast originally discovered 
 and occupied. A few examples will show the 
 uncertainty resulting from those various claims 
 when they conflicted with each other. 
 
 The old British charters extending from sea to 
 sea have already been mentioned. They were 
 founded beyond the sources of the rivers emptying 
 into the Atlantic on no other principle than that 
 of contiguity or continuity. The grant, in 1G21, 
 of Nova Scotia, by James the First, is bounded 
 on the north by the river St. Lawrence, though 
 Cartier had more than eighty-five years before 
 
284 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 discovered the mouth of that river, and ascended 
 it as high up as the present site of Montreal; and 
 the French, under Champlain, had several years 
 before 1621 been settled at Quebec. But there 
 is another case more important, and still more in 
 point. 
 
 The few survivors of the disastrous expedition 
 of Narvaez, who, coming from Florida, did, in a 
 most extraordinary way, reach Culiacan on the 
 Pacific, were the first Europeans who crossed the 
 Mississippi. Some years later Ferdinand de Soto, 
 coming also from Florida, did, in the year 1541, 
 reach and cross the Mississippi, at some place 
 between the mouth of the Ohio and that of the 
 Arkansas. He explored a portion of the river and 
 - of the adjacent country; and, after his death, 
 Moscoso, who succeeded him in command, did, in 
 the year 1543, build seven brigantines or barques, 
 in which, with the residue of his followers, he 
 descended the Mississippi, the mouth of which he 
 reached in seventeen days. Thence putting to 
 sea with his frail vessels he was fortunate enoug-h 
 to reach the Spanish port of Panuco, on the 
 Mexican coast. The right of discovery clearly 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 285 
 
 belonged to Spain; but she had neglected for 
 near one hundred and fifty years to make any 
 settlement on the great river or any of its tributaries. 
 The French, coming from Canada, reached the Mis¬ 
 sissippi in the year 1680, and ascended it as high up 
 as St. Anthony’s Falls; and La Salle descended 
 it in 1682 to its mouth. The French Government 
 did, in virtue of that second discovery, claim the 
 country, subsequently founded New Orleans, and 
 formed several other settlements in the interior, 
 on the Mississippi or its waters. Spain almost 
 immediately occupied Pensacola and Nacogdoches, 
 in order to check the progress of the French east- 
 wardly and westwardly; but she did not attempt 
 to disturb them in their settlements on the Mis¬ 
 sissippi and its tributaries. We have here the proof 
 of a prior right of discovery being superseded, 
 w r hen too long neglected, by that of actual occu¬ 
 pancy and settlement. 
 
 The French, by virtue of having thus disco¬ 
 vered the mouth of the Mississippi, of having 
 ascended it more than fifteen hundred miles, 
 of having explored the Ohio, the Wabash, and 
 the Illinois, from their respective mouths to their 
 
286 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 most remote sources, and of having formed several 
 settlements as above mentioned, laid claim to the 
 whole country drained by the main river and its 
 tributaries. They accordingly built forts at Le 
 Bosuf, high up the Alleghany river, and on the 
 site where Pittsburg now stands. On the ground 
 of discovery or settlement, Great Britain had not 
 the slightest claim. General, then Colonel Wash¬ 
 ington, was the first who, at the age of twenty-two, 
 and in the year 1754, planted the British banner 
 on the Western waters. The British claim was 
 founded principally on the ground of contiguity, 
 enforced by other considerations. The strongest 
 of these was, that it could not consist with natural 
 law, that the British colonies, with a population 
 of near two millions, should be confined to the 
 narrow belt of land between the Atlantic and the 
 Alleghany Mountains, and that the right derived 
 from the discovery of the main river should be 
 carried to such an extent as to allow the French 
 colonies, with a population of fifty thousand, 
 rightfully to claim the whole valley of the Missis¬ 
 sippi. The contest was decided by the sword. 
 By the treaty of peace of 1763, the Mississippi, 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 287 
 
 with the exception of New Orleans and its imme¬ 
 diate vicinity, was made the boundary. The French 
 not only lost all that part of the valley which lay 
 east of that river, but they were compelled to 
 cede Canada to Great Britain. 
 
 Beyond the naked assertion of an absolute right 
 to the whole territory, so little in the shape of 
 argument has been adduced, and so much warmth 
 has been exhibited in the discussion of the subject, 
 that it cannot be doubted that the question has 
 now become, on both sides, one of feeling rather 
 than of right. This, in America, grows out of the 
 fact that, in this contest with a European nation, 
 the contested territory is in America and not in 
 Europe. It is identic with the premature official 
 annunciation that the United States could not 
 acquiesce in the establishment of any new colony 
 in North America by any European nation. This 
 sentiment was already general at the time when it 
 was first publicly declared; and now that it has 
 been almost universally avowed, there can be no 
 impropriety in any private citizen to say, as I now 
 do, that I share in that feeling to its full extent. 
 For the Americans, Oregon is or will be home; 
 
288 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 for England, it is but an outpost which may afford 
 means of annoyance rather than be a source of 
 real power. In America all have the same ultimate 
 object in view; we differ only with respect to the 
 means by which it may be attained. 
 
 Two circumstances have had a tendency to 
 nourish and excite these feelings. The British 
 Fur Companies, from their position, from their 
 monopolizing character, from their natural influence 
 upon the Indians, and from that, much greater 
 than might have been expected, which they have 
 constantly had upon the British Government in 
 its negotiations with the United States, have for 
 sixty years been a perpetual source of annoyance 
 and collisions. The vested interests of the Hudsoffs 
 Bay Company are at this moment the greatest 
 obstacle to an amicable arrangement. It is at the 
 same time due to justice to say that, as far as is 
 known, that company has acted in Oregon in 
 conformity with the terms of the convention, and 
 that its officers have uniformly treated the Ameri¬ 
 cans, whether visitors or emigrants, not only 
 courteously, but with great kindness. 
 
 If the British colonies on the continent of 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 289 
 
 America were an independent country, or were 
 they placed in their commercial relations, at least 
 with the United States, on the same footing as 
 the British possessions in Europe, these relations 
 would be regulated by the reciprocal interests and 
 wants of the parties immediately concerned. Great 
 Britain has an undoubted right to persist in her 
 colonial policy; but the result has been extremely 
 vexatious, and to the United States injurious. All 
 this is true. But feelings do not confer a right, 
 and the indulgence of excited feelings is neither 
 virtue nor wisdom. 
 
 The Western States have no greater apparent 
 immediate interest in the acquisition of Oregon 
 than the States bordering on the Atlantic. These 
 stand in greater need of an outlet for their surplus 
 emigrating population, and to them exclusively 
 for the present will accrue the benefit of ports on 
 the Pacific for the protection of the numerous 
 American ships employed in the fisheries and 
 commerce of that ocean. It is true that in case 
 of war the inhabitants of the Western States will 
 not, if a naval superiority shall be obtained on the 
 Upper Lakes, feel those immediate calamities of 
 
290 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 war to which the country along the sea shore is 
 necessarily exposed ; but no section of the United 
 States will he more deeply affected by the impossi¬ 
 bility of finding, during the war, a market for the 
 immense surplus of its agricultural products. It 
 must also be remembered that a direct tax has 
 heretofore been found more productive than the 
 aggregate of all the other internal taxes levied by 
 the General Government; that, in case of war, it 
 must necessarily be imposed ; and that, as it must 
 in conformity with the Constitution be levied in 
 proportion to the respective population of the 
 several States, it will be much more oppressive on 
 those which have not yet accumulated a large 
 amount of circulating or personal capital. The 
 greater degree of excitement which prevails in the 
 West is due to other and more powerful causes 
 than a regard for self interest. 
 
 Bordering through the whole of their northern 
 frontier on the British possessions, the Western 
 people have always been personally exposed to 
 those annoyances and collisions already alluded 
 to ; and it may be that the hope of getting rid of 
 these by the conquest of Canada has some influence 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 291 
 
 upon their conduct. Independent of this, the 
 indomitable energy of this nation has been and is 
 nowhere displayed so forcibly as in the new States 
 and settlements. It was necessarily directed to¬ 
 wards the acquisition of land and the cultivation 
 of the soil. In that respect it has performed 
 prodigies. Three millions of cultivators of the 
 soil are now found between the Lakes and the 
 Ohio, where, little more than fifty years before, 
 save only three or four half Indian French settle¬ 
 ments, there was not a single white inhabitant. 
 Nothing now seems impossible to those men; 
 they have not even been sobered by fresh expe¬ 
 rience. Attempting to do at once, and without an 
 adequate capital, that which should have been 
 delayed five and twenty years, and might have 
 then been successfully accomplished, some of those 
 States have had the mortification to find themselves 
 unable to pay the interest on the debt they had 
 contracted, and obliged to try to compound with 
 their creditors. Nevertheless, undiminished activity 
 and locomotion are still the ruling principles; the 
 Western people leap over time and distance; 
 a-head they must go; it is their mission. May 
 
292 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 God speed them, and may they thus quietly take 
 possession of the entire contested territory! 
 
 It may not be possible to calculate with any 
 degree of certainty the number of citizens of the 
 United States who, aided by these various mea¬ 
 sures, will, within any given period, remove to 
 the territory beyond the Stony Mountains. It is 
 certain that this number will annually increase, 
 and keep pace with the rapid increase of the 
 population of the Western States. It cannot be 
 doubted that ultimately, and at no very distant 
 time, they will have possession of all that is worth 
 being occupied in the territory. 
 
 Whether more or less prompt, the result is 
 nevertheless indubitable. The snowball sooner 
 or later becomes an avalanche; where the culti¬ 
 vator of the soil has once made a permanent 
 establishment game and hunters disappear; within 
 a few years the fur trade will have died its natural 
 death, and no vestige shall remain, at least south 
 of Fuca’s Straits, of that temporary occupancy of 
 those vested British interests which the British 
 Government is now bound to protect. When the 
 whole territory shall have thus fallen in the posses- 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 293 
 
 sion of an agricultural industrious population, the 
 question recurs, by what principle will then the 
 right of sovereignty, all along kept in abeyance, 
 be determined ? 
 
 The answer is obvious. In conformity with 
 natural law, with that right of occupancy for which 
 Great Britain has always contended, the occupiers 
 of the land, the inhabitants of the country, from 
 whatever quarter they may have come, will be of 
 right, as well as in fact, the sole legitimate sove¬ 
 reigns of Oregon. Whenever sufficiently numerous, 
 they will decide whether it suits them best to be 
 an independent nation or an integral part of our 
 great Republic. There cannot be the slightest 
 apprehension that they will choose to become a 
 dependent colony; for they will be the most 
 powerful nation bordering on the American shores 
 of the Pacific, and will not stand in need of pro¬ 
 tection against either their Russian or Mexican 
 neighbours. Viewed as an abstract proposition, 
 Mr Jefferson’s opinion appears correct, that it will 
 be best for both the Atlantic and the Pacific 
 American nations, whilst entertaining the most 
 friendly relations, to remain independent, rather 
 
 c c 2 
 
294 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 than to be united under the same Government. 
 But this conclusion is premature; and the decision 
 must be left to posterity. 
 
 It is certainly true that England is very power¬ 
 ful, and has often abused her power, in no case in a 
 more outrageous manner than by the impressment 
 of seamen, whether American, English, or other 
 foreigners, sailing under and protected by the 
 American flag. I am not aware that there has 
 ever been any powerful nation, even in modern 
 times, and professing Christianity, which has not 
 occasionally abused its power. The United States, 
 who always appealed to justice during their early 
 youth, seem, as their strength and power increase, 
 to give symptoms of a similar disposition. Instead 
 of useless and dangerous recriminations, might not 
 the two nations, by their united efforts, promote a 
 great object, and worthy of their elevated situation? 
 
 With the single exception of the territory of 
 Oregon, which extends from 42° to 54° 40' north 
 latitude, all the American shores of the Pacific 
 Ocean, from Cape Horn to Behring’s Straits, are 
 occupied, on the north by the factories of the 
 Russian Fur Company, southwardly by semi- 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 295 
 
 civilized States, a mixture of Europeans of Spanish 
 descent, and of native Indians, who, notwithstand¬ 
 ing the efforts of enlightened, intelligent, and 
 liberal men, have heretofore failed in the attempt 
 to establish governments founded on law, that 
 might ensure liberty, preserve order, and protect 
 persons and property. It is in Oregon alone that 
 we may hope to see a portion of the western shores 
 of America occupied and inhabited by an active 
 and enlightened nation, which may exercise a 
 moral influence over her less favoured neighbours, 
 and extend to them the benefits of a more advanced 
 civilization. It is on that account that the wish 
 has been expressed that the Oregon territory may 
 not be divided. The United States and England 
 are the only Powers who lay any claim to that 
 country, the only nations which may and must 
 inhabit it. It is not, fortunately, in the power of 
 either Government to prevent this taking place; 
 but it depends upon them whether they shall unite 
 in promoting the object, or whether they shall 
 bring on both countries the calamities of a useless 
 war, which may retard, but not prevent, the ulti¬ 
 mate result. It matters but little whether the 
 
296 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 inhabitants shall come from England or from the 
 United States. It would seem that more import¬ 
 ance might be attached to the fact that, within a 
 period of fifteen years, near one million of souls 
 are now added to the population of the United 
 States by migrations from the dominions of Great 
 Britain ; yet, since permitted by both Powers, 
 they may be presumed to be beneficial to both. 
 The emigrants to Oregon, whether Americans or 
 English, will be united together by the community 
 of language and literature, of the principles of law, 
 and of all the fundamental elements of a similar 
 civilization. 
 
 The establishment of a kindred and friendly 
 Power on the northwest coast of America is all 
 that England can expect, all perhaps that the 
 United States ought to desire. It seems almost 
 incredible that, whilst that object may be attained 
 by simply not impeding the effect of natural 
 causes, two kindred nations having such powerful 
 motives to remain at peace, and standing at the 
 head of European and American civilization, should, 
 in this enlightened age, give to the world the 
 scandalous spectacle, perhaps not unwelcome to 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 297 
 
 some of the beholders, of an unnatural and unne¬ 
 cessary war; that they should apply all their 
 faculties and exhaust their resources in inflicting, 
 each on the other, every injury in their power, 
 and for what purpose ? The certain consequence, 
 independent of all the direct calamities and miseries 
 of war, will be a mutual increase of debt and tax¬ 
 ation, and the ultimate fate of Oregon will be the 
 same as if the war had not taken place. 
 
 If it be any consolation, it is certain that, 
 although we may not invade England, the evils 
 arising from the war will be as sensibly and more 
 permanently felt by Great Britain than by the 
 United States. Her efforts must be commensurate 
 with those of the United States, should be much 
 greater by sea in order to be efficient, and will be 
 in every respect more expensive on account of her 
 distance from the seat of war. Such is the rapidly 
 progressive state of America, that the industry of 
 the people will, in a few years of peace, have 
 repaired the evils caused by the errors of Go¬ 
 vernment. England will remain burthened with 
 additional debt and taxation. 
 
 An aged man, who has for the last thirty years 
 
298 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 been detached from party politics, and who has 
 now nothing whatever to hope or to fear from the 
 worlds has no merit in seeking only the truth and 
 acting an independent part. But I know too 
 well; and have felt too much the influence of party 
 feeling; not to be fully aware that those men will 
 be entitled to the highest praise, who, being really 
 desirous of preserving peace, shall on this mo¬ 
 mentous occasion dare to act for themselves, not¬ 
 withstanding the powerful sympathies of party. 
 Yet no sacrifice of principles is required: men 
 may remain firmly attached to those on which 
 their party was founded and which they conscien¬ 
 tiously adopted. There is no connexion between 
 the principles or doctrines on which each party 
 respectively was founded, and the question of war 
 or peace with a foreign nation which is now 
 agitated. The practice which has lately prevailed 
 to convert every subject, from the most frivolous 
 to the most important, into a pure party question, 
 destroys altogether personal independence, and 
 strikes at the very roots of our institutions. These 
 usages of party, as they are called, make every 
 man a slave, and transfer the legitimate authority 
 
ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 299 
 
 of the majority of the nation to the majority of a 
 party, and, consequently, to a minority of the 
 sovereign people. If it were permitted to appeal 
 to former times, I would say that, during the six 
 years that I had the honour of a seat in Congress, 
 there were hut two of those party meetings, called 
 for the purpose of deliberating upon the measures 
 proper to be adopted. The first was, (after the 
 House had asserted its abstract right to decide on 
 the propriety of making appropriations necessary 
 to carry a treaty into effect,) whether such appro¬ 
 priations should be made with respect to the treaty 
 with England of 1794. The other was in the 
 year 1798, respecting the course proper to be 
 pursued after the hostile and scandalous conduct 
 of the French Directory. On both occasions we 
 were divided; and on both the members of the 
 minority of each meeting were left at full liberty 
 to vote as they pleased, without being on that 
 account proscribed or considered as having aban¬ 
 doned the principles of the party. This, too, took 
 place at a time when, unfortunately, each party 
 most erroneously suspected the other of an im¬ 
 proper attachment to one or the other of the great 
 
300 
 
 ALBERT GALLATIN. 
 
 belligerent foreign nations. I must say that I 
 never knew a man belonging to the same party as 
 myself, and I have no reason to believe that there 
 was any in the opposite party, who would have 
 sacrificed the interests of the country to those of 
 any foreign power. I am confident that no such 
 person is to be found now in our councils or 
 amongst our citizens; nor am I apt to suspect 
 personal views, or apprehensive of the effect these 
 might produce. My only fear is that which I 
 have expressed, the difficulty for honourable men 
 to disenthral themselves from those party sym¬ 
 pathies and habits, laudable and useful in their 
 origin, but which carried to excess become a 
 tyranny, and may leave the most important mea¬ 
 sures to be decided in the National Councils by 
 an enthusiastic and inflamed minority. 
 
REMARKS ON OREGON AND CANADA, 
 
 By the Authoress. 
 
 After presenting to my English readers the 
 foregoing comprehensive Extracts from Haywood, 
 Hannegan, and Benton, and, lastly, those from 
 the Letters of the venerable Gallatin, I may be 
 permitted to ask the question, “ Of what use could 
 the Oregon ever be to England ?” 
 
 Grant that every right, and every power, that 
 of occupancy alone excepted, belonged indisputably 
 to Great Britain, (which they do not,) the right 
 and power of occupancy being exclusively in the 
 hands of the Americans, the territory is de facto 
 already theirs. From this right and power there 
 is no appeal. And had the common sense of 
 England, instead of her false pride, been enlisted 
 in the cause, her people never would have scared 
 themselves with the phantom of a war. Had the 
 
 D D 
 
302 
 
 OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 uselessness and the danger of such a possession 
 been truly represented to them by those com¬ 
 missioned for such purposes, the just and clear 
 headed English Public would have replied to the 
 claim, C£ Let the Americans have the whole; 
 England does not want it, and any insignificant 
 rights we may possess we will dispose of for equi¬ 
 valents.” Such would have been their decision, 
 wise for themselves, just towards America, had 
 they been truly informed upon the subject, and 
 allowed to understand the merits of the case. 
 England in going to war for Oregon would have 
 had all to lose, nothing to gain ; she would have 
 wasted time and life, and toil and treasure, would 
 have increased her countless millions of debt, have 
 compelled her already famishing multitudes to die 
 of hunger for want of the corn and cotton of 
 America; and might thus have risked a revolution 
 in the heart of her empire. And the gasping 
 Emigrants who leave her thronged and naked 
 hungry shores in eager haste to seek for bread, 
 where could they have sought an asylum ? At 
 home they are ready to devour each other; I 
 speak literally, not figuratively, for the horrors 
 
OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 303 
 
 of the besieged Jerusalem, which we read of in 
 Josephus, do not surpass those we daily see 
 detailed in the English and Irish journals. 
 
 And in case war had ensued—England would 
 have carried her arms to the Pacific, as once she 
 carried them to the Atlantic Coasts, some seventy 
 years ago —and with the same success; three 
 millions of men, undisciplined, almost unarmed, 
 vanquished her then ; now , twenty millions would 
 oppose her, improved in the art of war, and pro¬ 
 vided with all its means and appliances. And 
 supposing even that by some mysterious agency 
 she had been successful, what would it avail her ? 
 Surrounded by a rival and indigenous population, 
 would she enjoy it in peace ? Near residents, and 
 especially those who spring from the same family, 
 are not the most harmonious neighbours; and 
 Border warfare has been ever proverbial. In 
 twenty years the people of Oregon may, possibly, 
 (for who can read their destiny) proclaim them¬ 
 selves Free and Sovereign States. To what 
 purpose, then, this turmoil for a distant, uncertain, 
 useless, and refractory possession ? There is no 
 question that for the first two, three, or more 
 
304 
 
 OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 ' • - • v i 
 
 years of war, England would have had the ad¬ 
 vantage, she would have distressed America most 
 cruelly; but in so doing she would have turned 
 the poisoned chalice to her own lips $ for while 
 success itself would be her destruction, would 
 assist in leading her to irretrievable bankruptcy, 
 or its alternative, repudiation , America would 
 arise from the contest like a young giant; in 
 twenty years after the cessation of hostilities, she 
 would have forgotten them and their effects; her 
 cities would have arisen from their ashes, more 
 fair to look upon than they were before, and 
 her people would again be rejoicing in lavish 
 abundance. 
 
 England, unhappily for her, has more than 
 enough to do in India and in Africa; she has, be¬ 
 sides, her difficulties at home; and these considera¬ 
 tions, were they the only ones, should have dictated 
 the policy of her letting Oregon alone now and for 
 ever. Should she unwisely sound the war whoop 
 in North America, Canada will instantly respond 
 to the challenge. The tenure of Great Britain 
 in that province daily becomes more and more 
 frail. By a singular justice they who first re- 
 
OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 305 
 
 deemed these Territories from a state of nature still 
 possess them. England holds the Canadas by the 
 influence of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy alone. 
 The Sulpicians of Montreal are her Vice-g events ; 
 the Governor has only am honourable and trouble¬ 
 some sinecure . The enormous wealth of this magni¬ 
 ficent Priesthood, who have possessed the Island 
 of Montreal for upwards of two centuries, their 
 wisdom, benevolence, and power keep the pro¬ 
 vinces under sway; and the home Government 
 acts well and wisely to leave them in possession 
 of all their immunities, and all their privileges. 
 All the charitable institutions and the educational 
 establishments are conducted by them on the best 
 arrangements; and I have seen two thousand 
 children at their studies in the Schools of the 
 Christian Brothers. In the Priesthood also, as is 
 the case in all Catholic countries, is vested the 
 keeping and guiding of the consciences of the 
 people. The wisdom and statesman-like prudence 
 of Lord Metcalfe, saw perfectly this position of 
 Canada. When I had the honour of dining with 
 that exalted personage, M. Quiblier, the Vicar 
 General of the Order, and the Superior of the 
 
 d d 2 
 
306 
 
 OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 Seminary, with his Secretary, were present, and 
 none of the guests at that hospitable table were 
 more honoured than the accomplished Priest.* 
 
 The French Canadians abhor the British whether 
 they are of English or of Canadian descent and 
 birth; they never call them Canadians, and in 
 Montreal the two nations form a distinct local 
 society; of which the French or Canadian is 
 esteemed the best, independently of the officers of 
 the Vice-Government. The Military, as far as I 
 could understand, were eminently unpopular. 
 
 The slightest encouragement on the part of this 
 all powerful Priesthood would induce the Canadians 
 to declare themselves independent of the Mother, 
 or more truly of the Step-Mother country (for the 
 Canadians do not owe their birth to England, but 
 
 * Since his return to Canada, M. Papineau has been a guest at 
 Monklands, and has also accepted a Government office. I had the 
 pleasure of seeing this gentleman the day after his arrival at 
 Montreal, in the society of M. Louis La Fontaine, with whose 
 charming wife I was intimately acquainted. M. Papineau is a 
 man of mild manners and pleasing conversation. M. La Fontaine 
 bears an extraordinary resemblance to the busts and portraits of 
 Napoleon Buonaparte. He has the same spiritual paleness of 
 complexion. Madame La Fontaine had the kindness to accom¬ 
 pany me in my visits to the Catholic Communities in Montreal. 
 I was placed under her care by the amiable Bishop Bourget, of 
 that Diocese. 
 
OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 307 
 
 to France; they are merely English by cession). 
 I do not imagine that they would at first annex 
 themselves to the United States, because they were 
 originally children of France, called by her name,* 
 and still revere the names of Francis the First, 
 and of Louis the Great. The national admiration 
 for the person and state of the Grand Monarque, 
 obsolete in all the world, save here, combined with 
 a certain prejudice against the Americans, would 
 in all probability keep them for some time a sepa¬ 
 rate People, under another and a less republican 
 form of government. 
 
 The Canadas are suffering* from the ill effects 
 of a deputed Government; a system inherently 
 vicious; they cost England immense sums annu¬ 
 ally—more than their commerce is worth; and 
 since the universal adoption of Free Trade measures, 
 
 it is difficult to assign a reason for keeping them. 
 
 / 
 
 Canada herself would be infinitely more prosperous 
 as an independent country than as a colony of 
 England. The Canadians are not blind to this; 
 they are patiently waiting till English capital shall 
 have completed their public works, and as soon as 
 
 * La Nouvelle France. 
 
30S 
 
 OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 opportunity is granted they will rally round the 
 Golden Lilies. Many more causes than I could here 
 enumerate, and probably many more than lam aware 
 of, are gradually leading to this result; it only bides 
 its time; but, in the meanwhile, any war in North 
 America, (either in Mexico or the West Indies,) in 
 which the English were a party concerned, would 
 present the opportunity. I have understood that 
 a rumour is afloat that the Lower Canadians wish 
 to remove the Seat of Government once more ; to 
 carry it again to Quebec, and to make it a Vice- 
 Royalty. As a private individual I have no means 
 of knowing more than the Journals convey; but, 
 if it is true, I should regard it as a rash and (sup¬ 
 posing that England considers it desirable to retain 
 these provinces,) a perilous measure on our part to 
 permit this change; it is not only putting the sword 
 into the hands of the Canadians, but teaching them 
 how to use it. Quebec was the original seat of the 
 French Government; it is endeared by the exquisite 
 beauty of its site, and its historic recollections, and 
 is recommended by its strong citadel; and a Vice¬ 
 roy would be the most popular of titles for their 
 ruler to assume with the Canadians. Nor would 
 
OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 309 
 
 a division of the United Canadas into departments 
 or states, each having its local legislative arrange¬ 
 ments, be less hazardous to the permanent dominion 
 of England. 
 
 To return to Oregon. There is an unseen ele¬ 
 ment at work in the remote wilderness of the 
 Oregon, whose success is guaranteed by all the 
 precedents of history; it is the agency of the 
 Catholic Church; the Missionaries of that Faith 
 made Canada French; and they will make the Ore¬ 
 gon American. If the limited powers of the United 
 States Government admitted of their granting a 
 million of dollars annually to the Roman Catholic 
 Bishop of New York, that energetic and enlightened 
 Prelate would make it theirs in less than three 
 years; and he w r ould return it to their hands, 
 organized both civilly, morally, and religiously. 
 The Pope by dividing the Territory into an Arch¬ 
 bishopric and eight Bishoprics, of which three 
 Prelates are already consecrated, has done more to 
 establish the right and power of occupancy for the 
 Americans than any thing they have done, or could 
 have done, for themselves. The Irish and German 
 Emigrants will flock thither in innumerable hordes; 
 
310 
 
 OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 and already the Indian Tribes begin to hail “ the 
 beautiful feet of the messengers of glad tidings 
 upon the mountains.” 
 
 In a subsequent part of this work, I shall cause 
 to be printed the description and announcement 
 of the College of Notre Dame du Lac, in the State 
 of Indiana, which institution I have visited; and 
 which, I presume, will be the model upon which 
 similar establishments will be formed in the still 
 more distant West. A review of his wishes and in¬ 
 tentions with respect to the College and its future 
 enlargement, will also accompany the sketch of the 
 life of M. Sorin, the Superior. The French Jesuits 
 stand pre-eminent, as they ever have done, in the 
 work of civilization ; I have perused with delight 
 many of the relations of these Missionary Fathers; 
 and, in particular, the Letters of the accomplished 
 Father de Smet, whose efforts extend to the im¬ 
 provement of his barbarous converts,* in the 
 
 * The French still call the Indians Sauvages and Sauvagesses ; 
 originally Salvages. The French nation, whether as Missionaries 
 or Settlers, have always been more popular with the Indians than 
 any other Europeans, probably from their happy manner and 
 cheerful endurance of inconveniences. The finest race of half 
 breeds is acknowledged to spring from the intermarriages of the 
 French and Indians. 
 
OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 311 
 
 useful arts of agriculture, carpentry, &c. as well 
 as in religious knowledge ; he travels through this 
 wilderness with a quantity of ploughs, hatchets, 
 and other instruments, which he distributes among 
 them. These Letters have the two-fold interest of 
 convincing us of the truthfulness of the narratives 
 of the first explorers of these wilds, whose religious 
 and adventurous spirit their successors in the field 
 inherit; and of proving that all difficulties are to 
 be overcome by zeal and faith, united with dis¬ 
 cretion. The modern Missionaries possess one 
 mighty and marvellous ally which the early la¬ 
 bourers in the vineyard never dreamed of. Steam, 
 and the vast machinery it actuates ; Railroads are 
 the wings of the Catholic Church in America; 
 for they are constructed by the European emigrants 
 who, most generally, are of that suffering religion. 
 Wherever there is a body of Catholic workmen 
 assembled, there also is a Priest to succour and 
 counsel them; and soon he raises an altar unto 
 God; and however humble be the tenement, it 
 bears the sacred symbol of the Cross, and is looked 
 upon with reverence by the worshippers, and with 
 benignity by Him, whose temple is in their hearts. 
 
312 
 
 OREGON AND CANADA. 
 
 One remark more. The American project of 
 carrying a Railroad from the Great Lakes, or from 
 St. Louis or elsewhere, from the Mississippi to 
 the Rocky Mountains, is virtually to take posses¬ 
 sion of the Oregon; little doubt remains of its 
 practicability, and it is a far more legitimate mode 
 of obtaining the country than that of planting on 
 its hills by fierce and horrid war, the banner of 
 the Republic whose acknowledged constitutional 
 policy is peace within her own bosom, and peace 
 with all the world.* 
 
 * Another Arrival from Oregon. —The Independence Expo¬ 
 sitor , of the 3rd inst. says :—Mr. W. B. Bonney, of Oxford, Ohio, 
 arrived in our town* on Wednesday last, from Oregon. He left 
 Oregon on the 13th May, and represents the people there as being 
 prosperous and generally well satisfied with their new homes. The 
 elections were to take place in June, for members of the Legis¬ 
 lature of Oregon ; and considerable interest was felt as to the 
 result. The grand question at issue was whether the sale of ardent 
 spirits should be permitted in the territory, or not. Quite a new 
 question for a new country. Mr. Bonney brought in 125 letters 
 for persons in various parts of the Union, principally from the 
 Oregon and California emigrants, who started the present year. 
 He says the emigrants he met were generally healthy and in good 
 spirits, and their teams looking well. He met 500 wagons on his 
 route in. Some were going to Oregon and some to California. 
 The emigrants to the points above named separated at Independence 
 Rock, on the 12th July last. Mr. Bonney is now on his way to 
 Ohio, where he resides. 
 
 * Probably St. Louis. 
 
THE HONOURABLE CHARLES JARED INGERSOLL, 
 
 Member of Congress from Pennsylvania, 
 
 And Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Relations in 
 the House of Representatives. 
 
 And how shall I describe my pleasant Guardian ? 
 Amiable, sensible, brilliant, and witty; Ingersoll 
 is charming at sixty three. 
 
 That gentleman on the Speaker’s left, dressed 
 in the old revolutionary costume of buff and blue is 
 the Chairman of Foreign Relations; by reason of 
 which Office, his own true grace and favour, and 
 my free will and duty, he assumed the responsi¬ 
 bilities of my Guardianship; and in consequence 
 became my almost constant companion during the 
 greater portion of my residence in Washington. In 
 conversation he eminently excels, and is the delight 
 of every dinner party ; he is extensively acquainted 
 with English and French literature, an excellent 
 
 E E 
 
314 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 classical scholar, quick in quotation, and fond of 
 drawing comparisons ; he is curious in seeking the 
 motives of men, and has frequently given me the 
 key of the characters of those around us with much 
 acuteness and felicity ; and I have ever found him 
 inclined to praise rather than to censure. He has 
 no secrets, and can keep none; the only error of 
 his nature being an uncontrollable impulse to 
 utter at once, regardless of time and place, the 
 thing he feels, or knows, or even suspects. If this 
 excess of candour sometimes leads him beyond the 
 bounds of caution, it displays also the most noble 
 and most generous sentiments that can animate 
 the breast of man; open to conviction, ready to 
 acknowledge an indiscretion, and earnest to ask 
 as he is happy to grant forgiveness, his character 
 exhibits all the warm uncalculating sensibilities of 
 youth. Equally would he suffer and regret with 
 the offending Son of Holy Writ; equally would 
 he rejoice and forgive like the tender Father. 
 Headlong and rash, et brave comme son epee , three 
 score years and three have failed to cool that hot 
 impetuous blood, which dances rather than flows in 
 his veins; but again, a silken cord can lead him; 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 315 
 
 can check his haste and curb his anger; and in¬ 
 duce him to feel and practise the magnanimity 
 of forbearance. To me he accorded his constant, 
 unreserved, and most intimate confidence; and I 
 declare, and solemnly as I hope for mercy, that 
 the breast of Ingersoll is guiltless of all wilful 
 malice, and free from all vindictive passions ; but 
 happier would he be had he more cunning to 
 be more discreet. This much I trust he will per¬ 
 mit from me, in all the sincerity of affection and 
 respect. So gentle, so easily affected is he, that I 
 have sometimes invented a pathetic story that I 
 might see my Guardian weep; and on a public 
 occasion, one of the most interesting of my life, 
 the emotion which he who sat at my side displayed, 
 was among the most touching events of that proud 
 and happy day.* In a serious indisposition which 
 I suffered from at Baltimore, he spent two days with 
 me, and most faithfully discharged the responsi¬ 
 bilities he had so kindly undertaken; providing 
 in every way for my comfort, and sustaining my 
 spirits with cheerful and unwearied solicitude. The 
 obedient creature of his feelings, he is exquisitely 
 
 * A Dinner given to me by the Ladies at Washington. 
 
316 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 alive to friendship, and gives utterance in the 
 presence of those he loves, to all his thoughts ; he 
 will listen to their objections to his views or inten¬ 
 tions, candidly reply to them, and will often accept 
 and act upon the advice of those younger and 
 inferior to himself, when he knows that true regard 
 has prompted it. 
 
 From the above it may be inferred how inte- 
 resting is the Chairman in private life. When 
 first I knew him, he was possessed of all the 
 relationships of kindred that man can create for 
 himself, or that he inherits at his birth; he ful¬ 
 filled the duties of a son, a husband, brother, 
 father, and grandfather. In June he was sum¬ 
 moned to Philadelphia to attend the death bed of 
 his mother; I saw him immediately on his return 
 to Washington; the harassing events of the Session 
 of Congress had failed to depress his spirits, or to 
 affect his health; they had no power upon his 
 elastic and spirited character; but his mother’s 
 death subdued the heart of Ingersoll; he returned 
 to Washington so changed in aspect, so full of 
 grief, that it made one mournful to look upon his 
 face. “ My spirits are almost at ebb ; but it is 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 317 
 
 not their wont thus to continue long.” So writes 
 he in a letter which I shortly afterwards received 
 from him ; but he never resumed his cheerfulness 
 while I remained in America. 
 
 In his habits and manners, and in his tastes, he 
 is fastidious to a curious degree ; admiring the 
 beautiful in every form, the slightest departure 
 from the moralities and proprieties of educated 
 society disgust and irritate him. Temperate, or 
 rather abstemious in his diet, simple in his forms 
 of life, he prefers the modest, though well ap¬ 
 pointed table, spread with frugal fare, around 
 which echo wit and sense, to all the stupid and 
 oppressive luxuries of ostentatious wealth. He is 
 an early riser, and a pattern of industry, constantly 
 getting up at four o’clock in the morning to 
 employ himself in business or in study ; and then 
 returning to these pursuits, after a slight breakfast, 
 until nine or ten, when he repairs to the Com¬ 
 mittee Rooms, and thence to the House of Re¬ 
 presentatives, where he often conducted me. At 
 half-past three the House adjourns, and at four, 
 Mr. Ingersoll generally dined with me and the 
 Doctor, in the Ladies’ Ordinary, at Coleman’s 
 
 e e 2 
 
318 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 Hotel. The evenings were variously spent, some¬ 
 times at the Drawing Room, sometimes at the 
 numerous entertainments given in Washington, 
 sometimes in friendly visits to the Observatory, 
 and often to the Rev. Mr. Matthews, the Vicar 
 General of the Catholic Diocese of Baltimore. 
 And here let me pay a tribute of esteem to that 
 most able and excellent man; venerable by his 
 years and his virtues, learned, and pious, and wise, 
 long may he yet remain to grace society, and to 
 be a pillar of that most Holy Church which he 
 professes. We generally reached home about 
 nine, and separated to meet again the following 
 day on the same terms of friendly intercourse. 
 
 Charles Ingersoll is a Democrat of the first 
 water, and is the leader of his party in the Lower 
 House; he is a Member of long standing, and of 
 tried fidelity to his State.* “ Beshrew me!” quoth 
 he, but I do love the blind Giant as she is called ” 
 
 In most of his political tenets (I do not 
 allude to particular events, but to general prin- 
 
 * Mr. Charles J. Ingersoll has been elected a representative in 
 the next Congress, for his old district, in the State of Pennsylvania 
 by the largest majority he ever had. 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 319 
 
 ciples,) he approaches more nearly to those of Mr. 
 Calhoun than of any other public man, with the 
 exception of Free Trade, which, I grieve to write, 
 is the sole free thing which my Guardian does not 
 patronize; and this not from disapprobation of 
 the doctrine, but from an idea that the application 
 of it is not at present adapted to the commercial 
 circumstances of the United States, and particu¬ 
 larly to those of Pennsylvania. In his support of 
 the Mexican war, the Chairman certainly differed 
 most widely from the great Apostle of the South. 
 
 In religious principles, Mr. Ingersoll is an adhe¬ 
 rent of the Presbyterian Church ; but his toleration 
 and charity are extended to all; he is a strenuous 
 admirer of the eminent properties of Dr. Hughes, 
 the Catholic Bishop of New York, who for several 
 years was his near neighbour in the city of Phila¬ 
 delphia. 
 
 His talents are quick ; he is fond of argument, 
 but equally good humoured whether he wins or 
 loses; he has much imagination, and his very 
 nonsense hath its pleasant mood; he is always 
 amusing and instructive, for his fancies are elegant 
 and original, and his acquirements solid. 
 
320 
 
 THE HON. C. J. 1NGERS0LL. 
 
 Wit may be regarded as the attribute of nations 
 long accustomed to their existence and position, 
 and habitually acquainted with their government 
 and laws, their social state, and national character. 
 These preliminaries being settled, a people acquire 
 time and leisure for less important, though equally 
 interesting, matters ; and literature, attended by 
 knowledge, fancy, humour, and last of all by tvit, 
 begins to claim a portion of their time and thoughts. 
 The American People, still engaged in the important 
 considerations which are to decide their place and 
 station, their future peace and power, have not had 
 time, as yet, fully to develope and ascertain their 
 literary capacities and attributes. Neither must 
 it be forgotten that the Americans do not possess 
 the advantages of those extensive and classical 
 libraries which have been for centuries accumu¬ 
 lating in Europe. In the profound Sciences and 
 the inventive Arts, the Americans in various ways 
 already excel the Europeans; but we retain our 
 pre-eminence in the Drama, in Poetry, Painting, 
 and in Music, as well as in polite literature ; in 
 fancy literature also, the puerile, tawdry, and 
 corrupt taste of this reading age, we still possess 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 321 
 
 an unenviable superiority. I may observe, inci¬ 
 dentally, that learning and knowledge are far 
 more generally disseminated in the United States, 
 than in England; probably the number of pro¬ 
 fessed, accomplished, exclusive literary men, in 
 fact, of scholars known only as such, is less with 
 them than with us, but the amount of knowledge 
 and of education is greater. To return, however, 
 to my original remarks; it would therefore seem 
 that wit is rare among the Americans, in part 
 because they have not yet had time to exercise it; 
 they have not had leisure, like Falstaff, to be either 
 witty themselves, or to be the cause of the wit that 
 is in other men: and in part, because their society 
 being on an equality, does not exhibit the differ¬ 
 ences of character, distinctions of rank, distances in 
 fortune, and comparisons of good and evil, dis¬ 
 played in ours; all of which are the genuine food 
 of wit. 
 
 I have been led into this digression by remem¬ 
 bering the sparkling sallies of Ingersoll. He is 
 the only witty man that I have conversed with in 
 America. His mots will, doubtless, lose by trans¬ 
 lation ; but still I shall try how they will read :— 
 
322 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 At a ball, after keeping him at least an hour, 
 during which time nobody asked me to dance, I 
 observed, “that for his sake I was sorry that I 
 had had no offers.” “ Madam,” rejoined he, “ I 
 should instantly have repudiated them.” It must 
 be remarked that the witty Member is the Repre- 
 sentative of Pennsylvania. 
 
 “Do tell me,” said I, “what you think of 
 Slavery ?” “As I think of musquitoes, and other 
 visitations of Providence,” said he, “the less said 
 about them the better; besides, they are always 
 the most intolerable in the hottest places.” 
 
 I received a letter from Mr. Smith, the Attorney 
 General of the Canadas, dated Montreal, in the 
 middle of January, 1845 ; the snow was then 
 fifteen feet deep at Quebec. 
 
 Ingersoll was present when I received the letter, 
 and I read it aloud to him, as the most suitable 
 person to give a reply. 
 
 “ When,” said Mr. Smith, “ when are the 
 Americans coming to take Canada ?” “ When¬ 
 
 ever it’s thawed,” carelessly returned the Chairman 
 of Foreign Relations, taking up his hat and gloves 
 to go away, as if for the purpose. 
 
THE HON. C. J. 1NGERSOLL. 
 
 323 
 
 A somewhat singular circumstance took place 
 on the evening of Mr. Buchanan’s State Ball, 
 about a week after I had arrived in Washington. 
 I was accompanied by Mr. Ingersoll; we had 
 been in the room about half an hour, when Mr. 
 Pakenham, the British Minister, came up and 
 addressed to me the courtesies usual on such 
 occasions. He remained near me some minutes, 
 speaking of the Ladies, their dress and beauty, 
 the room, &c.; during this time he never once 
 looked at Mr. Ingersoll, who, on his side, never 
 looked at Mr. Pakenham; I was somewhat per¬ 
 plexed and embarrassed at being thus addressed 
 by two gentlemen at the same moment, who did 
 not appear to recognize each other. Presently I 
 began to think of introducing them, but was 
 checked by the absurdity of such a step, mentally 
 ejaculating, the Minister from England , and the 
 Chairman of Foreign Relations in the House , must 
 certainly know each other. Still they continued 
 to look askance, and my position became one of 
 such excessive and ludicrous awkwardness, that I 
 proceeded formally to present them to each other; 
 they bowed, (I do not remember if they shook 
 
324 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 hands,) exchanged a few passing words, and Mr. 
 Pakenham shortly left us to the society of our other 
 friends in the room. The next morning I men¬ 
 tioned this curious incident to several gentlemen 
 at the breakfast table, and so extraordinary did the 
 whole proceeding appear to them and to me, that 
 we concluded the two official gentlemen must 
 have known each other; that it was impossible 
 to be otherwise; and, finally, we decided my 
 civility to have been a work of supererogation, 
 and all joined in a hearty laugh at my expense. 
 At ten o’clock, however, my Guardian came to 
 enquire after my health, and I then said to him, 
 “ Tell me candidly one thing, will you ?” “ Any 
 
 thing you would wish to know.” “ Are you upon 
 terms with Mr. Pakenham ?” “ We have not 
 
 spoken for two years before last night, when, a lady 
 being the mediator , we could do no less” 
 
 I believe these gentlemen, whose relative offices 
 should, of necessity, have brought them frequently 
 together, have remained on speaking terms. 
 
 Ingersoll wears his hair closely cut to his head, 
 as short before as it is behind; a most unusual 
 fashion in America; it is of lively brown, and I 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 325 
 
 do not think there are ten grey hairs in the whole. 
 He has a peculiar taste in hats; sometimes he 
 wore an old black shovel; sometimes I have seen 
 his head enveloped up to the eyes in a huge 
 fur cap of villainous form and figure; sometimes 
 the crown is just touched by a straw broad brim 
 of gigantic dimensions ; sometimes a dust coloured 
 chapeau, shaven and shapeless, like a Yankee stage 
 driver’s, in the Prairies. In vain I remonstrated 
 against each of these varieties; in hats he was 
 perfectly unmanageable, and resisted most tri¬ 
 umphantly the “ dominion of the Foreign Petticoat .” 
 I doubt not that while he is reading this History 
 he has one or other of the offending articles on 
 his head. His figure is active and well made, 
 though slight; his address cordial and completely 
 self possessed; his countenance bright and ani¬ 
 mated. He is a distinguished lawyer; and, among 
 other trusts, has the management of the estate 
 of the Prince of Musignano, the son of Joseph 
 Buonaparte, who was his dear and intimate friend. 
 My Guardian’s character is a mixture of English 
 sense, of French excitement, and of American 
 independence; I believe that he is more attached 
 
 F F 
 
326 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 to the French, as a nation, than to the English; 
 and I attribute this predilection, not only to the 
 part taken by the latter in the American struggle 
 for independence, but likewise to his admiration 
 for their literature, language and character. He 
 is, however, the strong advocate of classical edu¬ 
 cation, and affirms without reservation “ that the 
 “dead languages and Ancient History are preferable 
 “ to all modern sciences for information, for juvenile 
 tc training, for exercising the memory, and for dic- 
 “ tion; likewise for inculcating the precepts and 
 “ practice of virtue, they are far superior to all 
 “ modern instruction, and inferior only to the 
 “ Bible.” 
 
 EXTRACT 
 
 FROM THE HISTORY OF THE LATE WAR. 
 
 The East, commercial and navigating, for whose 
 vindication the war was undertaken, opposed 
 it; Massachusetts, (then including Maine,) New 
 Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut, with 
 a large part of New York, and the majority of New 
 Jersey. The West and South, with nothing but 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 327 
 
 principles to fight for, together with the large Cen¬ 
 tral States, Virginia and Pennsylvania, supported 
 it. Vermont, a frontier state, was the only one 
 of New England for the war. As the most violent 
 and influential moral resistance to it came from the 
 Eastern clergy, a view of that curious offspring of 
 freedom, the American Church, is one of the first 
 points for philosophical attention. Not the Church 
 of England or of Rome, the Presbyterian, Metho¬ 
 dist, Baptist, or any other particular sect of 
 Christian worship, hut the whole, in all their 
 many varieties and modifications, as developed by 
 American institutions and influences, and combined 
 in what may be denominated the American Church, 
 or the voluntary religion of the United States. 
 The political influences of this Church are felt 
 every day throughout this country; its action 
 upon the war of 1812 is among the most striking 
 and memorable of its circumstances. 
 
 European misconception or misrepresentation 
 disparages American religion. Liberty is always 
 accused by hierarchies of infidelity and immorality ; 
 the want of ecclesiastical rectitude being inferred 
 from the want of political power. Such was the 
 
328 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 Pagan^ such is the Mahometan dogma; and until 
 exploded by American devotion, it was a Christian 
 doctrine. The origin of the United States of 
 America was more ideal, identical, primordial, and 
 pious, than that of any European nation. Emi¬ 
 grants from various countries sought America from 
 sympathetic motives, and these colonial settlements 
 were not merely accidental, or their governments 
 convulsive, as those of most other nations, but 
 were of one mind. Political and religious freedom 
 was their pervading impulse. Jesuits, Puritans, 
 Quakers, Huguenots, Calvinists, they were all 
 missionaries, and many of them martyrs, fugitives 
 for conscience, not crime. Bringing with them the 
 free thoughts just beginning to arise in Europe, 
 the Bible was the code of many, Christianity the 
 common law of all; and when the French and 
 English colonists were led to war against each 
 other, their religious and political predilections 
 continued still the same, notwithstanding their 
 hostility. 
 
 Similarity of language, much more perfect in 
 the United States of America than in any other 
 nation, is not a more effectual amalgamation than 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 329 
 
 unity of religious and political sympathy. Instinct 
 with devotional and polemical fervour, American 
 religion passed through the successive stages from 
 ecclesiastical domination to toleration, and from 
 that to divorce of Church and State, till the 
 dominion of religious liberty has become more 
 potent than that of absolute hierarchy, and religion 
 seems destined to greater supremacy than where 
 Church and State are united. Voluntary religion, 
 always progressive with civil liberty, was in the 
 grain of American institutions before its incor¬ 
 poration with the federal and state constitutions 
 of the United States. Religious freedom preceded 
 the Revolution. The Church of England was the 
 established church, but tithes and glebes were 
 hardly known. While nearly the whole of a vast 
 scarcely inhabited country was part of the See of 
 London, Church democracy was working its inde¬ 
 pendence of all the old jurisdictions. In that 
 respect so little cause of complaint existed that 
 the Declaration of Independence, in its catalogue 
 of grievances, mentions no religious abuse. No 
 Unitarian scruple prevented Franklin and Adams 
 from signing the definitive treaty of peace with 
 
330 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 Great Britain, in the name of the most holy and 
 undivided Trinity, nor did repugnance to Slavery 
 forbid Jay, together with them, from subscribing 
 to the English stipulation that negroes are pro¬ 
 perty. The Articles of Confederation hound the 
 states to assist each other against all attacks upon 
 any of them on account of religion. But the last 
 line of the federal constitution merely declares that 
 no religious test shall ever be required as a quali¬ 
 fication for any office or public trust; to which 
 sparing salvo the first amendment adds, that Con¬ 
 gress shall make no law respecting the establish¬ 
 ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise 
 thereof. The state constitutions, more appropriate 
 repositories of such provisions, abound with inter¬ 
 dicts of all connection between Church and State 
 and with protections for the rights of conscience. 
 
 Christianity is claimed throughout the United 
 States as the religion of self government, the 
 appropriate faith of republicanism. Spontaneous 
 piety produces ecclesiastical establishments of all 
 kinds, and pastoral influences are at least as 
 numerous and effectual as wherever religion is part 
 of politics. Toleration is an American reality; 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 331 
 
 mere sufferance is unknown. States, society, 
 seminaries of education, families, experience no 
 annoyance from variety of creeds. Most of the 
 education proceeds from clergymen; and is equally 
 acceptable, whether the teacher be a Presbyterian, 
 a Jesuit, or a Quaker. The teacher’s merit is, 
 that he is qualified to teach, not that he is of any 
 particular creed. The extensive school system 
 begun in New r England and extending everywhere, 
 fortifies clerical authority by uniting the powder of 
 knowledge to the strongest of feelings. Religious 
 principle thus strengthened by toleration, political 
 separation of Church from State has had the further 
 unlooked for result of aggrandizing the Church by 
 irresistible influence, beyond that of political 
 government. So intense is religious feeling that 
 political rights are even rejected by some because 
 Christianity is not acknowledged by the constitu¬ 
 tion. It is inseparably connected with the whole 
 frame of society. American separation of Church 
 and State binds them together more closely than 
 ever. Religion is the essence of governing, though 
 government be dissevered from it. Its authority 
 in America exceeds that of the political govern- 
 
332 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 ment. As government forbears, religion interposes 
 and becomes the cement of the community. The 
 divorce of Church from State, while it annuls 
 compulsive obedience and support, substitutes the 
 stronger tie of voluntary attachment, which is 
 often enthusiastic. It is only necessary to observe 
 how the Sabbath day is kept holy throughout the 
 United States, to be sensible of the extensive, 
 nearly universal predominance of Church discipline. 
 Free religion has raised up a predominant Church, 
 composed of all creeds, which rivals, if it does not 
 regulate, the commonwealth. The American 
 Church is as well if not better organized than the 
 American State. It has its polity, its officers, its 
 constituency, its numerous sects and controversies; 
 all moving together for religious supremacy. It 
 is a dynasty of more unity, perhaps of greater 
 perpetuity, than the State. Religious associations, 
 charitable and beneficial institutions, combine 
 masses of intelligence, wealth and zeal; all the 
 elements of union, activity and control. The 
 Church has more seminaries of learning than the 
 State; more constant, ardent and able advocates; 
 its offices are mostly filled by educated men; 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 333 
 
 there is no rotation in office among them; the 
 incumbent is always so by life tenure; if he behaves 
 well, from eighteen to eighty years of age his 
 services, influence, and maintenance do but in¬ 
 crease. Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is universal, 
 active and uncontradicted, while that of the State 
 is limited, forbearing, timid and often frustrated. 
 The State does not interfere with the Church ; 
 while the Church is continually regulating the 
 State. Religion in the United States is avocation 
 more attractive, absorbing and profitable than 
 politics. The pecuniary contributions to ecclesi¬ 
 astical purposes, and their affiliated objects in the 
 United States exceed many millions of dollars a 
 year; probably as much as an established State 
 Church would cost, perhaps as much as the federal 
 government does cost. Church missionary estab¬ 
 lishments, both foreign and domestic, are more 
 extensive and expensive than any relations main¬ 
 tained by the federal government. Bible, tem¬ 
 perance, abolition of slavery societies, and various 
 other combinations, open, ardent, opulent and 
 numerous, are constantly in energetic action. 
 They rival, check, and control political government. 
 
334 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 Yet the Church has its schisms and feuds 
 when distraction vents itself in division; without 
 superior authority to quell or regulate them, the 
 church is as liable to commotions as the civil 
 government. The most peculiar, if not the most 
 peaceable of all governments, the Church is yet 
 without any discipline beyond that of reason 
 and of inward faith. Churches are every day in 
 America raised and built by popular or polemical 
 preachers. Eloquence is Capital as reliable as 
 Orthodoxy. Not only clergymen, but many others 
 of the devout of both sexes go, as it were, armed 
 with controversial talent. Some sects, by printed 
 homilies, war on others. Not one is passive, 
 not one obedient to government. Many deem it 
 a duty to denounce as sinful whatever political 
 or social error they deem such. Thousands of 
 popes excommunicate. The scaffold, stake, and 
 incarceration are supplanted by anathemas which, 
 with overwhelming influence, attack all backslidings 
 doomed to reprobation. Freedom prevails in the 
 Church, both as regards the press and speech ; and 
 the results of the experiment are wonderfully 
 working out. 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 335 
 
 This element of American political influence 
 has been but little attended to. Politics, parties, 
 government^ society, manners, habits, education, 
 feel the meddlesomeness of a voluntary Church, 
 whose numberless creeds are propagated by innu¬ 
 merable enthusiasts, all in restless activity, at great 
 expense and at every hazard. 
 
 The most frequent disparagement cast by 
 Europeans on American republicanism, is its 
 alleged tendency to degenerate; a downward ten¬ 
 dency, which is to swallow up learning, wealth, 
 liberty, and refinement, and establish a despotism 
 of mere vulgarity ; that public life is less sought 
 by respectability than elsewhere, or formerly, and 
 that talents avoid it. Whether this be so in 
 America, is it more so than elsewhere? Great 
 talents are the creations of great conjunctures; 
 and the tranquillity of the United States has been 
 almost uniform under the present forms of go¬ 
 vernment. In such circumstances, commercial, 
 professional, and other lucrative pursuits are more 
 attractive than politics; and with the growth of 
 luxury, which has been prodigious since the intro- 
 
336 
 
 THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 duction of paper money, there will always be 
 a large class preferring fashionable idleness to 
 political notoriety. Mdme. de Stael says, in her 
 considerations on the French Revolution, that 
 many of the old nobility of Europe despised the 
 Emperor Alexander as an upstart, not to be 
 received into good society. Social and ancestral 
 distinction, a strong desire, more prevalent in 
 Europe, is not without acknowledgement in 
 America. Descendants of celebrated Americans 
 are often chosen into political life for that reason. 
 Congress and the state'legislaturcs abound with 
 members boasting some family merit, such as 
 kindred with soldiers of the Revolution ; and it is 
 common to meet with Americans who preserve 
 their ancestors’ certificates of service in the Revo¬ 
 lutionary army, as if they were patents of nobility. 
 Besides the merits of personal pedigree, Burke 
 eloquently vindicates those of honourable national 
 lineage. Yet the country attorneys, village lawyers, 
 notaries, brokers, traders, and clowns whom he 
 enumerates as the majority of the third estate of 
 the French National Assembly, inferior, in his 
 judgment, to the noblemen and gentry he extols 
 
THE HON. C. J. INGERSOLL. 
 
 337 
 
 as hereditary legislators, enacted laws which 
 reformed the crumbling basis of society, and re¬ 
 constructed France so as to render that declining 
 kingdom not only freer, but incomparably happier, 
 richer, and greater than it was before the days of 
 what Burke calls its downfall. If De Tocqueville’s 
 idea be true, that American democracy is irre¬ 
 sistibly swallowing up everything else American, 
 and such be the decline which Europe imputes to 
 this country; at all events, Great Britain, France, 
 and all the freer kingdoms of Europe, are passing 
 down the same declivity with more violence and 
 precipitation than this country, one of whose con¬ 
 solations is Jefferson’s maxim, that government, 
 at best, is but relative good, and that, with all the 
 faults of which it is accused, democracy is at least 
 a less injurious and more durable state than 
 royalty, since one of the unquestionable conse¬ 
 quences of the American Revolution is,—that re¬ 
 volutionary movements, with equality and liberty, 
 have begun throughout the Old World. 
 
MAJOR GENERAL EDMUND GAINES, 
 
 Commander of the Eastern Division of the American Army. 
 
 At New Orleans I became acquainted with General 
 Gaines, who was then one of the notabilites of the 
 celebrated St. Charles* Hotel. Since I left the 
 United States (in the ill fated Great Britain, on the 
 1st of August,) the General’s name has frequently 
 appeared in the public prints, in consequence of 
 his being summoned to take his trial before a 
 Court Martial, for raising Volunteers to serve in 
 the Mexican War on his own responsibility. The 
 veteran General received a slight reprimand, in¬ 
 tended rather to act as a check on the impetuosity 
 and unconstitutional assumption of military autho¬ 
 rity on the part of others, than as a serious reproof 
 to one who had given nearly three parts of a century 
 to the service of the Republic, and whose residue 
 of life would cheerfully be yielded for her safety 
 
MAJOR GENERAL GAINES. 
 
 339 
 
 or her welfare. He has since been appointed to 
 active service, and ordered to proceed to the seat 
 of war. It is a usual; perhaps it is a natural pre¬ 
 supposition; to connect the idea of youthful military 
 men with this youthful Republic; we forget that 
 though three score years and ten are as one day 
 in the age of a nation, yet that they comprise the 
 life of man. On first seeing General Gaines, had 
 I not known his name, I should have supposed 
 him a Marechal of France, of the Regime of 
 Napoleon, and should have sought on his breast 
 the ce Star of the Brave,” and the riband of the 
 Legion of Honour. He has aided in protecting the 
 cradle of American Independence; and though 
 years of service have told their tale upon his earthly 
 frame, the soldier’s heart is still unchilled, his 
 spirit unsubdued. This gallant Officer is eighty 
 three; he is pale and white haired, tall and emaci¬ 
 ated ; but his habits are punctual and early,* and 
 so strict is his adherence to discipline, that a 
 gentleman told me that having heard General 
 
 * I remember, with shame, an appointment to accompany the 
 General to the cupola of the St. Charles, one morning at five 
 o’clock, to see the sun rise. The Doctor and I both overslept 
 ourselves. 
 
340 
 
 MAJOR GENERAL GAINES. 
 
 Gaines was indisposed, he went to see him, and 
 found him lying on the bed with his military collar 
 on, and his sword by his side; he was with diffi¬ 
 culty prevailed on to resign the badges of a soldier 
 even while suffering. He is the mirror of courtesy 
 to the fair sex, and no gentleman handles a lady’s 
 fan with greater dexterity ; either sitting or stand¬ 
 ing he never forgets to relieve her from the onerous 
 task of fanning herself. 
 
 In every relation of private life General Gaines 
 is exemplary; a most amiable and excellent man ; 
 and doubtless the President and the country, in 
 the services of this faithful Officer, will reap the 
 reward of the confidence they have reposed in him. 
 
LIEUTENANT MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY, 
 
 Of the United States Navy. 
 
 Principal Officer at the Observatory, at Georgetown, 
 District of Columbia. 
 
 Haying thus introduced a gallant soldier, I cannot 
 refuse myself the pleasure of presenting also an 
 American Sailor to my English friends. Lieu¬ 
 tenant Matthew Fontaine Maury is one of my 
 husband’s family; a Virginian, proud of his birth¬ 
 place and his State ; of generous, high bred nature, 
 and of democratic politics. He is a man of science, 
 equally well versed in the secrets of the sea and 
 of the sky ; an accomplished mariner, an admirable 
 astronomer and mathematician, and a superior 
 author on many subjects; he writes excellent 
 English. In spite of a certain utilitarian antipathy 
 to a very profound study of the dead languages, 
 a heresy which has most unaccountably become 
 
 g g 2 
 
342 
 
 LIEUTENANT M. F. MAURY. 
 
 possessed of the Lieutenant in these latter years, 
 he has a very classic taste both in reading and 
 composition ; owing, doubtless, though he would 
 fain deny it, to his former intimate acquaintance 
 with those worthy Greek and Latin Masters, 
 whom he now despises for no other reason than 
 that they did not speak English, and were dead 
 and buried some hundreds of years before the 
 Anglo Saxon race began. He is a great favourite 
 with his brother officers, both for his ability and 
 his kindly nature ; they are proud of the one, and 
 love the other; and he is held in great estimation 
 at Washington for his admirable regulations at 
 the Observatory, his eminent professional know¬ 
 ledge and industry, his good judgment in political 
 affairs, and his exceeding moral worth. u Pray 
 ask him to come and see me often,” said Mr. 
 Calhoun, 66 he is a man of most excellent thought.” 
 
 Some years ago Lieutenant Maury was thrown 
 from a stage coach in Ohio, and broke his leg. 
 I have understood that a country practitioner 
 was sent for, who being fortunately ignorant 
 of the fatal art of amputation, set to work to save 
 the leg, and succeeded. Maury is lame; but to 
 
LIEUTENANT M. F. MAURY. 
 
 343 
 
 this accident is owing the developement of the 
 most touching traits of his character, and perhaps 
 of his choicest talents. Incapable of a murmur, 
 suffering with manly resolution, and applying 
 himself to every useful and philanthropic purpose, 
 his life is a model of the best and truest heroism. 
 I have never seen his temper ruffled, nor that 
 serene and intelligent countenance overcast; his 
 philosophy is that of the Christian, enduring, 
 elevated, and manly. I love to think of his cordial 
 welcome to me, his foreign stranger cousin, and 
 of the honest pride he felt in seeing me so well 
 beloved among his countrymen; and I know that 
 he will not forget the pleasant time that we have 
 spent together in familiar converse about those so 
 dear whom I had left on England’s shores. Many 
 were the evening hours we sat upon the roof of 
 the Observatory, watching the kindling lights of 
 Washington and Georgetown, the Capitol glittering 
 in the moonlight, and the stealthy course of the 
 gentle Potomac ; we gazed upon the planets, 
 comets, stars, and nebulae. We spoke of all the 
 objects that surrounded us, and marvelled if in 
 future times we might again behold them in the 
 
344 
 
 LIEUTENANT M. F. MAURY. 
 
 society of those so distant, yet so tenderly remem¬ 
 bered. 
 
 The advantages of a tour in Europe would 
 render the Lieutenant one of the mosc accomplished 
 professional men living. He cordially approved 
 of the Mexican war, and was zealous that the Navy 
 should share the glory of the strife. He himself, 
 forgetful of the bruised and suffering limb, and of 
 a constitution injured by its effects, would instantly 
 seize the boarding pike and cutlass, and leap to 
 the oar.* 
 
 * And fling away that mystical blue and scarlet night cap which, 
 in half a second, converts our handsome Lieutenant of the Navy 
 into a quaint old Astrologer. 
 
THE HONOURABLE JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN, 
 
 Member of the Senate for South Carolina. 
 
 ct A reasoning, high, immortal thing.” 
 
 Calhoun is my Statesman. Through good report 
 and through evil report; in all his doctrines, 
 whether upon Slavery, Free Trade, Nullification, 
 Treasury and Currency Systems, active Annexa¬ 
 tion, or masterly inactivity , I hold myself his avowed 
 and admiring disciple. If this distinguished 
 Statesman could be prevailed upon to visit Eng¬ 
 land, either in a public or in a private capacity, 
 he would command more admiration, and attract 
 more interest than any other man of Europe or of 
 America. The very anomaly of his position, -the 
 curious coincidences by which he becomes the 
 representative of interests which, nominally at 
 least, are in contra position to each other, and the 
 
346 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 skill and determined fidelity with which he unites 
 and guards each several one of these interests; 
 preserving entire the integrity of all; these attri¬ 
 butes together compose a character so unique, an 
 attitude so extraordinary as to be unparalleled 
 either in his own or in any other country of the 
 world. To know, to understand, and to appreciate 
 him, it is requisite rapidly to review the measures 
 of which he is the acknowledged expounder and 
 advocate. The champion of Free Trade ; a Slave¬ 
 holder and Cotton Planter; the vindicator of State 
 Rights, and yet a firm believer in the indestructi¬ 
 bility of the Federal Union; now the advocate of 
 war, and now of peace; now claimed as a Whig; 
 now revered as a Democrat; now branded as a 
 Traitor; now worshipped as a Patriot; now 
 assailed as a Demon; now invoked as a Demi-god; 
 now withstanding Power, and now the People; 
 now proudly accepting office, now as proudly 
 spurning it; now goading the Administration, 
 now resisting it; now counselling, now defying 
 the Executive;—but in all changes of circum¬ 
 stance, all trials of patience, in smiling or in 
 adverse fortune, ever forgetful of self, and faithful 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 347 
 
 only to the inspirations of the genius and the 
 virtue of which his name is the symbol. No vice, 
 no folly, no frailty has soiled his nature, consumed 
 his life, or extorted his remorse; his Country has 
 been his sole engrossing passion; loved with the 
 devotion of a Brutus, and served with the fidelity 
 of a Regulus; he has never wasted time; each 
 moment has been and is employed in usefulness; 
 his public hours in the advancement of just and 
 wise measures of policy, and his moments of 
 solitude in the study of all subjects which tend to 
 elucidate those measures. Politics thus may be 
 considered to have almost exclusively occupied the 
 life of this great Statesman; not the sordid intrigue 
 of partizanship, not the venal craving of place and 
 pay, not the debasing sacrifice of honesty to 
 popularity; his soul disdains such base employ¬ 
 ment of her faculties ; nay, I question if, with all 
 its keenness, his mind could comprehend such 
 schemes of politics. His are not even the tactics 
 of a state or section, nor alone those of the United 
 States, or America: but they comprise those 
 exalted views which, deduced from philosophy 
 and history, and proved by practical experience, 
 
348 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 are found to constitute the true policy of all 
 nations, and to be the universal principles of all 
 righteous governments. They are the Decalogue 
 of Republics. And the impressions produced 
 by the single mind of this man; by the principles 
 he has advocated; by the positions he has assumed; 
 
 0 
 
 and by the latent rights to which he has given 
 form and substance; will exercise throughout all 
 time an influence more deeply based, and more 
 abiding upon the Institutions of the United States, 
 than any systems or movements which have yet 
 been enunciated from the Constitution and pre¬ 
 dicated upon its Laws. 
 
 These principles from youth to manhood, and 
 from manhood in its prime to advanced maturity, 
 he has advocated with dauntless courage and 
 unwearied constancy; no temptation, however 
 dazzling, could lure him from the path of duty; 
 and difficulty and danger in vain opposed him. 
 To deny that he has ambition, the sole passion 
 which men and angels share in common, would be 
 to accuse him of stupidity; the weak, the dull, and 
 the unfeeling alone are insensible to its instincts ; 
 a mind so excpiisitely constituted as that of Calhoun 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 349 
 
 could not be ignorant of its own powers, nor 
 indifferent to their effects for evil or for good, 
 both in his own and in future generations. But 
 few there are of mortal birth whose secret 
 aspirations might, like his, be unfolded to the 
 curious and sinister gaze of his fellow men, and 
 yet found blameless. And what has he to gain 
 by mere external dignities, even the highest in the 
 gift of his fellow citizens ; the ephemeral glories of 
 the Presidency can add no lustre to his virtue, no 
 honour to his name. A higher renown, a noble, 
 immortality are his. 
 
 For a period of twenty two years Mr. Calhoun 
 has been the strenuous supporter of unrestricted 
 commercial regulations; this policy is becoming 
 universal throughout the trading world, and so 
 far the experience of every day has fully confirmed 
 the expectations of its advantages. In advocating 
 this system with regard to America, this stern 
 republican, in addition to his conviction of its 
 innate excellence, and expediency, and truth, was 
 besides urged forwards by his dread of a surplus 
 revenue, the natural consequence of protective 
 
 H H 
 
350 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 duties, and the evil uses to which such surplus 
 revenue might be directed in the unconstitutional 
 usurpation and extension of the governing powers. 
 The distribution of the excessive Treasury funds 
 threatened, moreover, to establish a correspondence 
 and union of monied interests between the Federal 
 and the States’ Governments, which would have 
 been fatal to all the free institutions of the Repub¬ 
 lic. To prevent these most pernicious, most 
 destructive influences, Mr. Calhoun denounced 
 the Tariff of 1828; and, supported by South 
 Carolina alone, “ his beloved and virtuous State,” 
 he stood opposed in the Session of 1830 in open, 
 undaunted, and single handed resistance against 
 the scheme of “ a permanent distribution of the 
 “ surplus revenue, sustained by a perpetual pro- 
 “ tective Tariff.” The attitude assumed by the 
 State and Mr. Calhoun, is the act of Nullifi¬ 
 cation. “ This right of interposition, said Mr. 
 “ Calhoun, be it called what it may, State Right, 
 “Veto, Nullification, or by any other name, I 
 “ conceive to be the fundamental principle of our 
 “ system resting on facts historically as certain as 
 “ our Revolution itself, and deductions as simple 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 351 
 
 “ and demonstrative as that of any political or 
 Cf moral truth whatever.”* 
 
 The principle of the State Veto is regarded by 
 Mr. Calhoun as the strongest consolidating bond 
 of the Union while any State can defend herself 
 
 * “ Nullification, as declaring null an unconstitutional act of 
 “the General Government, so far as the State is concerned; 
 “ Interposition or State Right, as throwing the shield of protection 
 “between the citizens of a State and the encroachments of the 
 “ Government; and Veto, as arresting or inhibiting its unauthorized 
 “acts within the limits of the State.” 
 
 + Third Resolution of Mr. Calhoun, moved in the Senate:— 
 “ Resolved, That the assertions, that the people of these United 
 States, taken collectively as individuals, are iioav, or ever have 
 been, united on the principle of the social compact, and, as such, 
 are now formed into one nation or people, or that they have ever 
 been so united in any one stage of their political existence; or 
 that the people of the several states comprising the Union have 
 not, as members thereof, retained their sovereignty; or that the 
 allegiance of their citizens has been transferred to the General 
 Government; or that they have parted with the right of punishing 
 treason through their respective state governments; or that they 
 have not the right of judging, in the last resort, as to the extent 
 of the powers reserved, and, of consequence, of those delegated : 
 are not only without foundation in truth, but are contrary to the 
 most certain and plain historical facts, and the clearest deductions 
 of reason; and that all exercise of power on the part of the General 
 Government, or any of its departments, deriving authority from 
 such erroneous assumptions, must of necessity be unconstitutional; 
 must tend directly and inevitably to subvert the sovereignty of the 
 States, to destroy the federal character of the Union, and to rear 
 on its ruins a consolidated government, without constitutional 
 check or limitation, and which must necessarily terminate in the 
 loss of liberty itself.” 
 
 “ I am not ignorant that those opposed to the doctrine have 
 
352 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 individually, so long is there safety for the whole 
 against aggression. And also ; 
 
 The power of the Veto^ or of individual State 
 resistance^ generally understood by the term 
 Nullification j involves, besides the power of self- 
 
 always, now and formerly, regarded it in a very different light, 
 as anarchical and revolutionary. Could I believe such in fact 
 to be its tendency, to me it would be no recommendation. I 
 yield to none, 1 trust, in a deep and sincere attachment to our 
 political institutions, and the union of these states. I never 
 breathed an opposite sentiment; but, on the contrary, I have ever 
 considered them the great instrument of preserving our liberty, 
 and promoting the happiness of ourselves and our posterity; and, 
 next to these, I have ever held them most dear. Nearly half my 
 life has passed in the service of the Union, and whatever public 
 reputation I have acquired is indissolubly identified with it. To 
 be too national has, indeed, been considered by many, even of my 
 friends, to be my greatest political fault. With these strong 
 feelings of attachment, I have examined, with the utmost care, the 
 bearing of the doctrine in question; and so far from anarchical or 
 revolutionary, I solemnly believe it to be the only solid foundation 
 of our system and of the Union itself, and that the opposite 
 doctrine, which denies to the states the right of protecting their 
 several powers, and which would vest in the General Government 
 (it matters not through what department) the right of determining, 
 exclusively and finally, the powers delegated to it, is incompatible 
 with the sovereignty of the states and of the Constitution itself, 
 considered as the basis of a Federal Union. As strong as this 
 language is, it is not stronger than that used by the illustrious 
 Jefferson, who said, to give to the General Government the final 
 and exclusive right to judge of its powers, is to make ‘ its discretion 
 and not the Constitution y the measure of its powers and that, ‘ in 
 all cases of compact betiveen parties having no common judge , each 
 party has an equal right to judge for itself asicell of the inf raction 
 as of the mode and measure of redress' ” 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 353 
 
 defence, the distinctive preserving principle of 
 the united Commonwealths, the vital germ of 
 Federal regeneration ; for so long as one individual 
 State recognizes the infallible and Sovereign Will 
 of the People, the “ Constitution making-power,” 
 so long will there exist the principle of renewal 
 for the whole; the model on which mav be re- 
 constructed, should destiny permit, or corruption 
 induce it to perish, the glorious fabric of the 
 Federal Government. 
 
 The exercise of the power of Nullification arose, 
 therefore, in resistance to the appropriation by 
 the Federal Government of the surplus revenue 
 of the States ; and this abuse was provided against 
 by reducing the high protective system, which had 
 supplied the state coffers with a revenue beyond 
 the necessities of the Government; and South 
 Carolina asserted her right of opposition by re¬ 
 sisting the imposition of the Tariff of 1828. 
 When the noble State first took her stand, the 
 very existence of States* Rights was almost for¬ 
 gotten in the Union. That a great and cheering 
 change has since taken place, all must admit; and 
 that it may be attributed in a great measure to 
 
 II h 2 
 
354 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 the conduct of South Carolina, cannot be doubted. 
 A “ Compromise” on the subject of the Tariff was 
 effected; which ee Compromise,” whether it regards 
 Free Trade, or Nullification, the time being or 
 the future, must be considered as a triumph, by 
 the Republican or non-Federalist party.* Nor is 
 this their only triumph. The strong-nerved policy 
 of Free Trade stands every hour upon more solid 
 ground, and will shortly annihilate in every quarter 
 of the Globe its powerless and imbecile rival— 
 the prohibitory system. I am the daughter, wife, 
 and mother, the sister and friend of merchants; 
 in the atmosphere of Commerce I was born and 
 nurtured; in the principles of Free Trade I was 
 instructed from my youth upwards ; and I rejoice, 
 
 * I copy from a publication on the United States the following 
 note:—“ In connection with this subject, we quote the following 
 “ remarks, as expressive of the opinions of a large class of the people 
 ‘‘ at this time:—It will be seen, by reference to Mr Calhoun’s letter, 
 u and the speech of Governor Hayne and General Hamilton, that an 
 “exercise of the ‘Right of Nullification’ by the state of South 
 “ Carolina, having caused the recent adjustment of the Tariff, is 
 “ hereafter to be held as the e rightful remedy ’ in either of the 
 “ twenty four States, for the redress of any real or imaginary evil 
 “ arising out of the laws of the United States, or the decisions of 
 “the Supreme Court. And though Nullification has not been 
 ‘ formally acknowledged in Congress as the ‘ rightful remedy,’ it 
 “ certainly has been respected as an efficient one.”— Niles’ Register. 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 355 
 
 though a woman, to see them at last triumphant, 
 beyond the power of Tariffs, and Prohibitions, and 
 Imposts, which a few years more must consign to 
 the grave of all the Capulets. 
 
 These two great doctrines are identified with 
 the name of Mr. Calhoun. To prove that time 
 and continued reflection, and additional experience 
 have only contributed to attach him more and 
 more strongly to each and both of them, I will 
 mention two remarks which this extraordinarv 
 man made to me personally; the last was uttered 
 on an occasion to me most memorable, during a 
 farewell visit which I received from him on the 
 morning I left Washington. 
 
 “ I cannot describe to you,” said he, <c I cannot 
 “ express the indifference with which I regard the 
 “ Presidential Chair, compared to the honour and 
 the usefulness of establishing this great measure 
 (( of Free Trade/ 5 
 And the second:— 
 
 “ If you should ask me the word that I would 
 “ wish engraven on my tombstone, it is Nulli- 
 
 “ FICATION.” 
 
 The course pursued by Mr. Calhoun on the 
 
356 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 various questions arising out of the Bank and 
 Currency arrangements, was still the same unre¬ 
 served adherence to true republicanism. He has 
 never shrunk from denouncing the union of the 
 Government and the Bank; from opposing the 
 establishment of a National Bank, and the con¬ 
 traction of Loans; and of State Debts, “ which 
 “ are/’ says he, “ little short of frauds upon the 
 “ Public. My aversion to them is deep and 
 “ durable.” Economy in every branch of the 
 Administration, and no surplus revenue, have 
 been always the recommendations of this incorrup¬ 
 tible appreciator of the value, and the power, and 
 the evil of money. No man more truly fears the 
 embarras de richesses , and the tyranny of an 
 Oligarchy. 
 
 With regard to the Currency, the words of Mr. 
 Calhoun himself will best explain his views. 
 
 “ I intend merely to throw out suggestions, in 
 “ order to excite the reflection of others on a sub¬ 
 ject so delicate and of so much importance, 
 “ acting on the principle that it is the duty of all, 
 “ in so great a juncture, to present their views 
 “ without reserve. 
 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 357 
 
 “ It is, then, my impression that, in the present 
 “ condition of the world, a paper currency, in some 
 “ form, if not necessary, is almost indispensable in 
 “ financial and commercial operations of civilized 
 “ and extensive communities. In many respects 
 “ it has a vast superiority over a metallic currency, 
 “ especially in great and extended transactions, by 
 “ its greater cheapness, lightness, and the facility 
 “ of determining the amount. The great deside- 
 “ ratum is to ascertain what description of paper 
 “ has the requisite qualities of being free from 
 ££ fluctuation in value, and liability to abuse, in the 
 ££ greatest perfection. I have shown, I trust, that 
 f( the bank notes do not possess these requisites in 
 ci a degree sufficiently high for this purpose. I go 
 ££ farther. It appears to me, after bestowing the 
 “best reflection I can give the subject, that no 
 “ convertible paper, that is, no paper whose credit 
 “ rests upon a promise to pay , is suitable for cur- 
 “ rency. It is the form of credit proper in private 
 “ transactions between man and man, but not for 
 “ a standard of value to perform exchanges gene- 
 “ rally, which constitutes the appropriate functions 
 “of money or currency. The measure of safety in 
 
358 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 “ the two cases are wholly different. A promissory 
 “ note, or convertible paper, is considered safe so 
 “ long as the drawer has ample means to meet his 
 “ engagements, and, in passing from hand to hand, 
 “ regard is had only to his ability and willingness 
 “ to pay. Very different is the case in currency. 
 “ The aggregate value of the currency of a country 
 “ necessarily bears a small proportion to the aggre¬ 
 gate value of its property. This proportion is 
 “ not well ascertained, and is probably subject to 
 “ considerable variation in different countries, and 
 “at different periods in the same country. It 
 “ may be assumed conjecturally, in order to illus- 
 “ trate what I say, at one to thirty. 
 
 “ Assuming this proportion to be correct, which 
 “ probably is not very far from the truth, it follows, 
 “ that in a sound condition of the country, where 
 “ the currency is metallic, the aggregate value of 
 “ the coin is not more than one in thirty of the 
 “ aggregate value of the property. It also follows 
 “ that an increase in the amount of the currency, 
 “ by the addition of a paper circulation of no 
 “ intrinsic value, but increases the nominal value of 
 “ the aggregate property of the country in the same 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 359 
 
 “ proportion that the increase bears to the whole 
 “ amount of currency; so that, if the currency be 
 “ doubled, the nominal value of the property will 
 “ also be doubled. Hence it is, that when the 
 “ paper currency of a country is in the shape of 
 “ promissory notes, there is a constant tendency 
 “ to excess. We look for their safety to the ability 
 “of the drawer; and so long as his means are 
 “ ample to meet his engagements, there is no 
 “ distrust, without reflecting that, considered as 
 “ currency, it cannot safely exceed one in thirty 
 “ in value compared to property ; and the delusion 
 “ is farther increased by the constant increase in 
 “ value of property with the increase of the notes 
 “ in circulation, so as to maintain the same relative 
 “ proportion. It follows that a government may 
 “ safely contract a debt many times the amount of 
 “ its aggregate circulation ; but if it were to 
 “attempt to put its promissory notes in circula¬ 
 tion in amount equal to its debts, an explosion 
 “ in the currency would be inevitable. And hence, 
 “ with other causes, the constant tendency to an 
 “ excessive issue of bank notes in prosperous 
 “ times, when so large a portion of the community 
 
360 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 “ are anxious to obtain accommodation, and who 
 “ are disappointed when good negotiable paper is 
 refused by the banks, not reflecting that it would 
 “ not be safe to discount beyond the limits I have 
 “ assigned for a safe circulation, however good the 
 “paper offered. 
 
 “ On what, then, ought a paper currency to 
 “rest? I would say on demand and supply, 
 “ simply, which regulates the value of everything 
 “ else—the constant demand which the Govern- 
 “ ment has on the community for its necessary 
 “supplies. A medium resting on this demand, 
 “ which simply obligates the Government to 
 “receive it in all its dues, to the exclusion of 
 “everything else except gold and silver, and which 
 “ shall be optional with those who have demands 
 “ on Government to receive or not, would, it 
 “seems to me, be as stable in its value as those 
 “metals themselves, and be as little liable to 
 “ abuse as the power of coining. It would con- 
 “tain within itself a self regulating power. It 
 “could only be issued to those who had claims 
 “ on the Government, and to those only with their 
 “consent, and, of course, only at or above par 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 361 
 
 “ with gold and silver, which would be its habitual 
 “ state; for, as far as the Government was con- 
 “ cerned, it would be equal in every respect, to 
 “gold and silver, and superior in many, particu- 
 “ larly in regulating the distant exchanges of the 
 “ country. Should, however, a demand for gold 
 “ and silver from abroad, or other accidental causes, 
 “ depress it temporarily, as compared with the 
 “precious metals, it would then return to the 
 “ Treasury; and as it could not be paid out during 
 “such depression, its gradual diminution in the 
 “market would soon restore it to an equality, 
 “ when it would again flow out into the general 
 “circulation. Thus there would be a constant 
 “ alternate flux and reflux into and from the 
 “ Treasury, between it and the precious metals ; 
 “ but if at any time a permanent depression in its 
 “ value be possible, from any cause, the only effect 
 “ would be to operate as a reduction of taxes on 
 “the community, and the only sufferer would be 
 “ the government itself. Against this, its own 
 “ interest would be a sufficient guarantee.” 
 
 The abduction of a man from his country is 
 unjustifiable both by the laws of God and Man. 
 
362 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 So Slavery as an abstract principle is repugnant 
 to our nature, and opposed to every right of the 
 human race. But the continuance and maintenance 
 of the political and social institution of Slavery as it 
 now exists in the Southern States of America, is a 
 matter to be considered under wholly different 
 relations, and aspects, and consequences. 
 
 Mr. Calhoun is the determined upholder of the 
 existing system of Slavery , and of Slave holding 
 rights; his opinions are founded upon constitutional 
 and legal government acts; upon the rights of 
 property; upon the necessity of Slave labour in 
 certain sections of the Union; upon the balance 
 of power between the several States; upon the 
 prosperity and means of life of the white popula¬ 
 tion ; and lastly, upon the welfare , happiness , and 
 existence of the Slave ;—for Calhoun loves his Slave. 
 He would not yield his faithful, affectionate, born, 
 hereditary Slave and friend to the tender mercies 
 of either American or English Abolitionists. And 
 here let me say a few words on the merits of the 
 Slaveholder, in general; of him whom the Aboli¬ 
 tionists would sweep away from the face of nations, 
 because he is the guardian of more rights and 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 363 
 
 feelings than they can understand, the source of 
 more happiness to a greater number of men, 
 women, and children, than all their pharisaical 
 sentiment could imagine. He watches his Slaves 
 in their sickness, provides for their hunger, thirst, 
 and age ; protects their wives, and nourishes their 
 children; addresses them with kindness, reproves 
 their faults, and punishes their vices; like the 
 patriarchs of old, he is the Father as well as the 
 Master of his people; and I candidly and boldly 
 say, that I have never seen the Masters of free 
 white men behave towards them so justly or so 
 mercifully, so familiarly, so confidingly, as the 
 Slave owner behaves to those who are his property. 
 The fanatics (I beg their pardon, the philan¬ 
 thropists,) who preach emancipation, would they 
 succour the liberated slave ? would they share with 
 him, his wife, and children, the growth of their 
 fields, the produce of their farms ? They shrink 
 from the responsibility of providing for him, though 
 not from the responsibility of ruining him. Not 
 one practical remedy have the whole posse of 
 Abolitionists ever conceived in their united wisdom. 
 I have repeatedly asked the question of noted 
 
364 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 leaders of this schism, “ If I gave you the whole 
 “ Slave population into your hands at this moment, 
 “ what would you do with them?” “ Send them 
 “ to Liberia,” says one. 66 Aye, but will they go ?” 
 “ No.” “ And could you send them if they would ?” 
 “No,” still. “ Educate them,” says another, “and 
 “disperse them throughout the States.” “And 
 “ would the States receive them ?” Ohio answers 
 (honestly enough,) for all the rest, “ Why, no.”* 
 And some, even more irrational than the rest, 
 declare that they would deliver up the Sovereignty 
 of the Southern States of the Union to the black 
 population. Quem Deus vult perdere , prius de¬ 
 ment at. God forbid, for all our sakes, that either 
 they or I should ever live to see the day. Some 
 would buy them; and I have been positively 
 assured that New England would become the pur¬ 
 chaser; I guess , if put to the proof, these thrifty 
 States would never spend their ineffable dollars 
 upon Slaves, which, they know well, would prove 
 bitter thorns in possession. Besides, the fatal ex- 
 
 * Four hundred liberated Slaves, belonging to the late John 
 Randolph, of Roanoke, were recently refused permission to enter 
 the State of Ohio. 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 365 
 
 periment of the English West Indies is before 
 them; and is a signal proof that the very best 
 intentions, even when backed by twenty millions 
 sterling, do not always result in success. 
 
 By the universal acknowledgement of the Aboli¬ 
 tionists themselves, the Slaves of the United States 
 are the happiest of all the labouring classes upon 
 the face of the earth; the best fed, best clothed, 
 and least oppressed with work. They acknowledge 
 what we all must see, that the sole advantage 
 possessed by the white Slaves of Europe over the 
 black Slaves of America is, that the former have 
 permission (if they can obtain the power,) to drag 
 their sorrow and their suffering from one spot to 
 another; to change each naked, hungry, and in¬ 
 tolerable bondage for a worse ; and this the white 
 man must call Liberty ! The latter must enjoy their 
 comfort in the home of their birthright; they are 
 compelled to serve one master, and unless the 
 bitter necessity of that master, or their own vice, 
 should compel him to banish his Slaves,* the 
 latter must eat of his bread and drink of his cup, 
 
 * The saddest sight a planter can behold is the sale of his Slave, 
 and it is the last alternative to which his poverty consents. 
 
366 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 and depend upon his prudence, and share his 
 abundance while they both shall live; and this 
 the black man must call Slavery!” 
 
 “That which we call a rose, 
 
 “ By any other name would smell as sweet: 
 
 “ So Slavery would, were it not Slavery called, 
 
 “ Retain the gentle charities it owes 
 “ Without that title.” 
 
 It is acknowledged, then, that poverty and 
 privation are the inheritance of all the serving 
 classes in the world—the American Slave alone 
 excepted;—then why, I would solemnly ask of 
 you, vain glorious, hollow, and pretended advo¬ 
 cates of liberty, why, in the name of that remnant 
 of contented bondsmen, why do you perplex 
 yourselves and them? For Heaven’s fair sake 
 leave these negroes, the few remaining happy 
 labourers who yet exist, to eat the bread of peace, 
 and to dance and sing in the groves which they 
 have planted. 
 
 Does any man in his senses believe that the 
 Emancipation of the Slave is the object so dear to 
 the heart of these agitators ? We know perfectly 
 well that it is not. Emancipation is only the cheval 
 de bataille on which they mount when any ulterior 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 367 
 
 purposes require some extra pompous paces to be 
 exhibited. The American Abolitionists mount him 
 to trample down, if possible, the political power and 
 influence of the antagonistic Slaveholding States 
 and the English Abolitionists, I blush to say it, 
 for a meaner purpose still—that of self parade 
 and glorification. Bid the former look at the 
 emancipated Slaves in Boston, New York, and 
 Philadelphia, and be careful how they, by their 
 schemes of ambition, increase the numbers of those 
 victims of folly, and of misery and vice. Free 
 negroes are the only beggars in the United States ! 
 
 And for the latter, the English Abolitionists, 
 bid them return to Ireland, and to England, and 
 to London, the famishing and enslaved abode of 
 a Queen, and let them there learn and practise 
 the Christian and rational charity that begins at 
 home. 
 
 * But suffer me to turn aside for a few seconds, while I record 
 one bright exception to this clause. There is a man of pure and 
 modest nature, “ of character fertile in each good and great quali¬ 
 fication,” whose deep toned and peculiar humanity advocates 
 Emancipation for Liberty's sake alone. That man is William 
 Henry Seward. Even while I detail the strong and truthful ex¬ 
 pression of my sentiments on Slavery, the sorrow which my pen 
 inflicts on him, the adopted brother of my love, awakens sensa¬ 
 tions of exceeding pain. 
 
368 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 Until Providence shall have developed in a 
 more obvious, clear, and decided manner, its 
 future dispensations in regard to Slavery; until 
 some fresh and prominent feature shall be made 
 manifest, and shall distinctly indicate to man a 
 destined change in this institution, the self evident 
 part of wisdom is forbearance from all action. 
 
 Mr. Calhoun was in favour of the Annexation 
 of the Texas to the United States, and recom¬ 
 mended that the Oregon should be left to take 
 care of itself—which it will do. u There is often, 
 “ in the affairs of Government,” says he, “ more 
 u efficiency and wisdom in non-action than in 
 “ action. In the period of thirty-two years which 
 “ have elapsed since I took my seat in the other 
 “ house, the Indian frontier has receded a thousand 
 “ miles to the West. The tide of our population 
 “ will soon—far sooner than anticipated—reach 
 66 the Rocky Mountains, and be ready to pour into 
 “ the Oregon Territory, when it will come into 
 “ our possession without resistance or struggle; 
 “ or, if there should be resistance, it would be 
 “ feeble and ineffectual.” He was vehemently 
 opposed to the present Mexican War, and during 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 369 
 
 the hasty discussion which occurred upon the 
 Declaration, he was agitated by the most intense 
 emotions. Singly and alone he stood in the 
 Senate, and called on every good man to avert so 
 ignominious a war; he asked for explanations, 
 implored for time, and declared that the relative 
 position of the two countries was not such as to 
 justify the Bill. In vain. In hot haste the deed 
 was done. The united Senate was against him, 
 and the hostile measures prevailed; but in this 
 act the name of Calhoun is not recorded. “ They 
 “ would not give me time,” said he, ee to under- 
 “ stand what they were doing; and therefore I 
 (£ refused my vote : it was never given upon that 
 “ Bill.” 
 
 Thus, once upon the internal policy of the 
 country, and once upon her foreign policy, has 
 this undaunted statesman stood personally and 
 individually opposed to the Executive. 
 
 The attack of the English frigate Leopard on 
 the American frigate Chesapeake was the cause 
 which brought Mr. Calhoun into public life, 
 in the year 1807- He was then twenty-three 
 years of age. He was elected a member of the 
 
370 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 State Legislature of South Carolina, and served 
 two Sessions. In 1811 he took his seat in the 
 councils of the nation, with two distinguished 
 colleagues, Mr. Lowndes and Mr. Cheves, who, 
 like himself, had been eleced in reference to the 
 critical condition of the country, especially with 
 regard to Great Britain. He was immediately 
 placed on the Committee of Foreign Relations. 
 In 1817> Mr. Calhoun accepted an invitation from 
 Mr. Monroe to take a place in his Cabinet as 
 Secretary at War, which position he occupied for 
 more than seven years, to the great advantage 
 both of the Department and the country. In 
 1825 he was elected Vice-President, and fulfilled 
 the arduous duties of that office until the year 
 1832-3. At the commencement, therefore, of the 
 struggle which ended in the triumph of the State 
 Rights party, Mr. Calhoun held the office of Vice- 
 President, when he resigned this honourable post 
 for the still more honourable one of Representative 
 and Guardian of South Carolina in the Senate, 
 In his career in that body he continued, on the 
 various questions of the Bank, the Tariff, and the 
 distribution of the Public Lands, to adhere to the 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 371 
 
 principles of Republicanism which he has during 
 his life contributed so courageously to assert, and 
 so triumphantly to vindicate. 
 
 In Mr. Tyler’s Administration, he held the post 
 of Secretary of State ; and was removed from the 
 Cabinet on the formation of the existing Admini¬ 
 stration. “ On the occasion of his removal,” said 
 Charles Ingersoll, 66 Mr. Calhoun behaved like an 
 angel.” 
 
 He came into the Senate, in the Congress of 
 1845-6, to preserve the peace between the two 
 mightiest nations of the earth; and he proved 
 himself equal to the emergency, by his fulfilment 
 of the trust that a nation had reposed in him. 
 
 The private position of Mr. Calhoun is as 
 remarkable as his public station. An hereditary 
 Slave owner, he was born and educated a ruler; 
 he sways his people with justice and mercy, and 
 the habitual possession of power has revealed to 
 him the secrets of the art of Government. His 
 gracious, princely nature accustomed to give com¬ 
 mand without appeal, is equally accustomed to 
 receive submission without reserve; hence his 
 gentleness ; hence his indulgence; hence his com- 
 
372 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 passion; no vulgar upstart display of authority is 
 traced in his intercourse with those who own 
 him for their Lord; (C he saith to one man, come, 
 and he cometh; and to another, go, and he goeth 
 and he is served with the perfect love that casteth 
 out fear. 
 
 And to this education in the art of Government, 
 as Slaveholders, at home, and from their birth, it 
 is mainly owing that the Statesmen of the Southern 
 Sections display such rare, such excelling wisdom 
 in their discharge of the Offices of the Republic. 
 Of eleven Presidents, three only have been from 
 other portions of the Union; two from Massa¬ 
 chusetts, and one from New York. To the 
 Northern and Eastern States may be awarded 
 many attributes essential to the prosperity of a 
 country and the increase of wealth ; but from the 
 South have sprung the helmsmen that have steered 
 the Ark of the Republic. Their minds are more 
 universal, as well as more concentrating, more 
 deliberative, as well as more daring; and to these 
 latter is also accorded the pre-eminence in the 
 study of mathematics, and the power of analysis. 
 Doubtless, origin, climate, and constitution con- 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 373 
 
 tribute powerfully to organize the faculties of man ; 
 but I assign the system of Slavery as one of the 
 most vital influences in forming that capacity for 
 rule so characteristic of the Southern race. 
 
 The cotton planters of the United States possess 
 a monopoly, bestowed upon them by nature, which 
 places in their hands an immense controlling 
 power, both in America and in England; and as 
 Free Trade advances, this power will extend to 
 other European countries. Suppose our own 
 case ; if in any dispute these States should refuse 
 to grow a sufficiency of the staple, or should lay 
 an embargo upon it, Manchester, Bolton, Glasgow', 
 and other manufacturing districts, would be revo¬ 
 lutionized and ruined. It is true that the planters 
 themselves would suffer to a certain degree, but 
 they possess within their estates all the means of 
 life. Without money , they could exist—and with¬ 
 out any difficulty; for they could always provide 
 for their own consumption, corn, pork, cotton, 
 sugar, and other necessaries. There is, perhaps, 
 no race of men in the world so independent of his 
 neighbour as the American planter, and none so 
 powerful as a regulator of the prosperity of his 
 
 K K 
 
374 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 own and other nations. However mortifying it 
 may be to haughty England to acknowledge it. 
 no other sources can supply her wants. 
 
 The first time I saw Mr. Calhoun was in the 
 Senate. A western member was urging war for 
 Oregon; Calhoun sat silent, but was visibly chafed. 
 The first time I heard him speak, the words were 
 words of peace and praise for England. This was 
 the only time during the space of a month that the 
 name of my country had been uttered except in 
 anger,—and the voice of Calhoun was as the voice 
 of an angel;—and for many minutes I wept, 
 overcome by feelings which it were a vain attempt 
 to describe. His appearance is unlike that of 
 other men. His person is tall and thin, and I 
 have always seen him dressed in black. His 
 action is quick, and both in society and in the 
 Senate very expressive. He speaks with the 
 utmost rapidity, as if no words could convey his 
 speed of thought; his face is all intellect, with 
 eyes so dazzling, black, and piercing that few can 
 stand their gaze. Sixty-four years have left their 
 dark centre yet undimmed, and the surrounding 
 blue liquid and pure as the eye of childhood. I 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 375 
 
 have seen but one alone with eyes so beautiful. 
 Sometimes their intense look is reading each 
 thought of your bosom ; sometimes they are beam¬ 
 ing with the inspirations of his own. I believe 
 they give out light in the dark. And I have often 
 beheld them suffused with emotion, when the 
 feelings of that ingenuous breast have been excited 
 by honest praise, or moved by sympathy. Mr. 
 Calhoun’s general expression is that of unceasing 
 mental activity and great decision. His forehead 
 is broad and full; a deep furrow extends quite 
 across, and above the eyebrows there is conside¬ 
 rable fulness. His hair is thick, and long, and 
 straight, and grey, and is thrown back from his 
 face ; the eyebrows are very near to the eye, and 
 the cheeks are denuded of flesh. The mouth is 
 thin, and somewhat inclined downwards at the 
 corners : it is the proud and melancholy lip of 
 Dante. His complexion is bronzed by the sun of 
 the South. 
 
 I was often at the house of Mr. Calhoun, and 
 if I admired his public career, I honoured even 
 more his pure and lovely private life. I have 
 understood that one reason of his declining the 
 
376 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 mission to England, in 1845, was the indisposition 
 of his daughter, whom he had himself attended 
 during the arduous period that he was Secretary 
 of State. He is adored in his family, and his 
 manners, at all times agreeable, at home are capti¬ 
 vating. “ Would you wish me,” said he, “to 
 “leave my family, to sacrifice one tenth part of 
 “ the portion of life that yet remains to me, to go 
 “ to England ? I have made an allotment of these 
 “ years; a portion for America, a portion for my 
 “ own private affairs, (for I am a planter, and can- 
 “not afford to be idle,) and a portion I have 
 “ reserved for peculiar purposes connected only 
 “ with myself. But convince me that my Duty is 
 “ involved in any measure, and as that has been 
 “ through life my guide, so will I yield ’.” (He is 
 the most unpersuadable of men). 
 
 “ Mr. Calhoun,” said I, speaking of America, 
 “ you are a great experiment.” 
 
 “We are more,” said he, “ we are a great hit.” 
 
 “ Will the Atlantic and the Pacific States be 
 “ divided into separate Republics ?” 
 
 “ They cannot be; the Mississippi, a great 
 “ inland sea, will keep them united. The Union 
 “ is indissoluble.” 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 377 
 
 On the 5th of February, I enquired, “ Mr. 
 “ Calhoun, what is in the future ?” 
 
 “ Peace and Free Trade,” said he. And Peace 
 we have, and he made it; and Free Trade we 
 have, and to him we owe it. Both measures are 
 emphatically his work. 
 
 “ What is the crop of cotton ?” 
 
 “ Below tvjo millions of bales” 
 u I have eight sons in England.” 
 
 “ Bring them all here; we are an exulting 
 “ nation; let them grow up with the country; 
 “ besides, here they do not want wealth. I would 
 u not be rich in America, for the care of money 
 “ would distract my mind from more important 
 “ concerns.” ^ 
 
 “ Give the Planters Free Trade, and let every 
 ee Planter be the parent as well as the master of his 
 “ Slaves; that is, let the Slaves be made to do 
 u their duty, as well as to eat, drink, and sleep; 
 “ let industry and morality be taught them, and 
 “ the Planter will have reason to be satisfied; he 
 “ will always obtain seven or eight per cent upon 
 “ the value of his Slaves; and need never be 
 compelled to the distressing alternative of parting 
 
 lv k 2 
 
373 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 “ with them, unless he allows them, by over indul- 
 “ gence, to waste his substance.” 
 
 “ Sir Robert Peel,” observed Mr. Calhoun, “ is 
 “ the great Minister of Transition.” 
 
 “ I fear his Income Tax will render England a 
 “ more extreme Oligarchy than she already is,” 
 said I. 
 
 “ Very probably ; still, there is much Freedom 
 “ in your England.” 
 
 “ The past is gone; the present is no more ; the 
 “ future alone is ours.” This was said, one day, 
 in reference to the general maxims of life and 
 living. 
 
 “ I like balls, they are beautiful things; but 
 “ now I have a cough, (which I caught at the 
 “ Convention of Memphis,) and I fear the evening 
 
 air.” 
 
 “ Ladies should always be dressed in white, and 
 “ wear a girdle.” 
 
 Mr. Calhoun has great respect for such external 
 forms as tend to promote order and dignity; and 
 I believe that it was he who established the rule, 
 (during his Vice-Presidency,) that the Members of 
 the Senate should be addressed by their distinctive 
 appellation of ee Senators.” 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 379 
 
 “ We Americans are the most excitable people 
 “ on earth : we have plenty to eat and to drink, 
 “ so we seek war for sport, that we may exhaust 
 “ ourselves and our exuberance.” 
 
 “ Look at the mighty Mississippi ! Twenty 
 “ hundred miles you may travel on his waters; go 
 “ on for days and nights,- and see no change; it is 
 “ a valley that would contain all Europe.” 
 
 On the morning after the Free Trade measures 
 were carried in the House, I saw Mr. Calhoun for 
 the last time. After a struggle of two and twenty 
 years, Truth and He had been successful, but no 
 personal exultation sparkled in his eye, or tri¬ 
 umphed in his words. The measure and its great 
 consequences alone occupied his thoughts.'' “ And 
 ee there will be no re-action,” said he, “ which 
 “ ought always to be avoided; I have ever most 
 “ carefully guarded against it.” 
 
 66 1 refused the Mission to England, because the 
 “ Peace was to be made here; England did not 
 “ want war. I should have been of no use there ; 
 
 here I could do much.” It is generally acknow¬ 
 ledged that Mr. Calhoun was prevailed upon to 
 re-enter the Senate to effect this object, and that 
 
380 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 the generality of the Whigs had coalesced with his 
 party upon this point; certain it is that they (the 
 Whig party) voted with Mr. Calhoun during the 
 Session of 1845-6, on every subject, Free Trade 
 alone excepted. 
 
 “ Mr. Calhoun, you are very dear to England 
 “for the sake of this Peace and this Free Trade.” 
 “ I did not think,” he answered, “ that my name 
 “ was even known in England, where I myself 
 “ have never been.” 
 
 “ The British government has exhibited the 
 “ greatest wisdom, judgment, and magnanimity. 
 “ Had there been the least false step on the other 
 “side—had the speeches in Parliament, or the 
 “ articles in the public journals, been of an exas- 
 “ perating character—we could not then have 
 “ arranged matters on this side as we have done. 
 “No two men could have displayed more integrity 
 “ of purpose, more forbearance, and more sagacity, 
 “ than Lord Aberdeen and Sir Robert Peel.” 
 
 From a singular coincidence of circumstances, 
 I had the happy fortune to convey to Mr. Calhoun 
 the testimonies offered to his worth by many 
 leading men. 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 381 
 
 “ The President declares that you possess his 
 “ perfect confidence and his highest personal 
 “ esteem. Buchanan pronounces you pre-eminent 
 “ in talent and in virtue. Mr. Crittenden, Mr. 
 “ Winthrop, Mr. Benton, Mr. Hannegan, have all 
 “ expressed for themselves and their respective 
 “ parties, the highest encomiums that men can 
 “ utter of each other.”* And Calhoun spoke 
 not; but his eye glistened, and in silence he 
 took my hand, and pressed it. How few have 
 been indulged with such a privilege; a stranger 
 and a sojourner among them, to me it was per¬ 
 mitted to convey the tribute awarded by these 
 distinguished Americans to the virtues of thei^ 
 fellow citizen. 
 
 Inflexible, self sacrificing, and proud, this extra¬ 
 ordinary personage is akin to the great names of 
 antiquity; his sentiments are proverbs; his fore¬ 
 cast is prophecy. He is self made; no external 
 advantages have contributed to the formation of 
 his mind and character; he received no elaborate 
 
 * Mr. Crittenden is the representative of the politics of Mr. 
 Clay, in the Senate. Mr. Winthrop is the Whig leader in the 
 Lower House. Mr. Benton and Mr. Hannegan are the Democratic 
 representatives of different sections and parties of the west. 
 
382 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 
 college education ; derived no advantages from 
 extensive foreign travel; no thoughts nor words 
 from the prompting of other gifted men; he has 
 never crossed the Ocean. Simple and frank, no 
 secrets, no mystery, exist in his presence ; all that 
 he thinks, or hopes, or observes, is expressed in 
 unreserved and natural truthfulness ; no suspicion 
 clouds his bright mind, and his remonstrance is 
 administered openly and directly, for he deals not 
 in the vulgarity of calumny. He is pledged to 
 no party : I am the partisan of no class, nor, let 
 “ me add, of either political party. I am neither 
 cc of the opposition nor administration.” He holds 
 in supreme contempt all arts to obtain popularity ; 
 independence and integrity to him are of priceless 
 worth : 
 
 “ His honour is his life, both grow in one, 
 
 “ Take honour from him, and his life is done.” 
 
 Twice he has turned aside his footsteps from the 
 Presidency; once for friendship’s, once for duty’s 
 sake.* “ I will not sacrifice the shadow of a 
 
 * “ During the second term of Mr. Monroe’s administration, the 
 names of six candidates were presented to the people of the United 
 States for the Presidentialoffice—Mr. Adams, Mr. Crawford, General 
 Jackson, Mr. Clay, Mr. Lowndes, and Mr. Calhoun. The names of 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 383 
 
 tc principle for its possession; and never, never 
 
 the two latter had been brought forward, the former by South 
 Carolina, and the latter by Pennsylvania, and both nearly at the 
 same time, without its being known to either that it was intended. 
 They were warm and intimate friends, and had been so almost 
 from their first acquaintance. They had both entered Congress at 
 the same time, and had rarely ever differed in opinion on any poli¬ 
 tical subject. Mr. Lowndes was a few years the oldest, and the 
 first nominated. Mr. Calhoun’s nomination followed almost imme¬ 
 diately after. As soon as he heard of it, he called on Mr. L. and 
 stated that it had been made without his knowledge or solicitation, 
 and that he called to say that he hoped the position in which they 
 had been placed by their friends towards each other would not 
 affect their private and friendly relations. That he would regard 
 it as a great misfortune should such be the effect, and was deter¬ 
 mined on his part to do everything to avoid it. Mr. Lowndes 
 heartily reciprocated the same sentiment. It is unnecessary to 
 state that they faithfully adhered to their resolutions; and these two 
 distinguished citizens of the same state, and nearly of the same age, 
 set the noble and rare example of being placed by friends as rivals ✓ 
 for the highest office in the gift of a great people, without permitting 
 their mutual esteem and friendship to be impaired.” 
 
 “ In the progress of the canvass the talented and lamented 
 Lowmdes died, in the prime of life, and Mr. Calhoun’s friends in 
 Pennsylvania, with his acquiescence, withdrew his name, rather 
 than subject the state to a violent contest between them and the 
 friends of General Jackson. They had maintained throughout the 
 ctmvass the most friendly relations, and were both decidedly 
 opposed to the caucus. On his withdrawal, he was taken up by 
 the friends both of General Jackson and Mr. Adams for the Vice- 
 Presidency.” ****** 
 
 “ The Senate was so nearly equally divided at one time,* that it 
 was believed that the friends of the administration would inten¬ 
 tionally so arrange it as to make a tie, and throw the casting vote 
 on the Vice-President, in order to defeat General Jackson’s election. 
 His friends became alarmed, and some of them intimated a desire 
 that Mr. Calhoun should leave his seat to avoid the effect, stating, 
 
 * Upon the Tariff of 1828. 
 
384 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 “ will I be nominated by a Caucus.”* And the 
 smile of bitterest scorn was revealed on the re¬ 
 proachful lip of the noble South Carolinian. 
 
 Never was man so adored as Calhoun by his 
 State. “ South Carolina alone stood by me.” 
 “ She is my dear and honoured State.” “ South 
 Carolina has never mistrusted nor forsaken me.” 
 
 as an inducement, that, in the event of a tie, the bill would be 
 defeated without his vote. He promptly refused, and replied that 
 no consideration could prevent him from remaining and doing his 
 duty by voting against it; but added, it should not hurt Genera] 
 Jackson’s election, for in that event his name should be withdrawn 
 from the ticket as Vice-President. Such was the interest he took 
 in his success, and so strong, and, at the same time, so patriotic, 
 was his opposition to the bill of abominations; and yet many have 
 been so unjust as to attribute his after opposition to the bill to 
 disappointed ambition. On the contrary, he was ready to sacrifice 
 every object of ambition, at a time when not a cloud darkened 
 his prospects, to defeat a measure he believed to be so fraught with 
 mischief. He was then the second officer in the Government, and 
 stood, without opposition, for re-election to the same place, on the 
 ticket of General Jackson, whose success was then certain ; nor 
 was there any other man in the party of equal prominence and 
 popularity, except the General himself. Nothing was wanting on 
 his part but to accommodate himself to the course of events, 
 without regard to their effects on the country, to have attained the 
 highest office, which lay within a single step from the place where 
 he then stood. This he could not but plainly see; but his resisting 
 temptation on this occasion is but one instance of self sacrifice 
 among many in a long life, the whole course of which abundantly 
 proves that office, even the highest, has ever been with him 
 subordinate to his sense of duty and the public welfare.” 
 
 * A Caucus is a Convention assembled to nominate the candidates 
 for the Presidency. 
 
I 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 385 
 
 <e Mine she faithfully has ever been / 5 And as he 
 hung upon her memory and her devotion, her 
 Statesman evinced the tenderness and pride with 
 which a lover dwells upon the constancy of his 
 mistress. His breath came quick and short, his 
 proud head was flung back, and his voice was 
 subdued by emotion. 
 
 At this moment he is the most powerful man in 
 the Union, and holds the most commanding and 
 dignified position, from the success of the mea¬ 
 sures he has advocated, and the correctness with 
 which his predictions have been verified;— 
 
 Peace and Free Trade are achieved; and 
 Mexico is still unconquered; and 
 Calhoun is Lord of the Ascendant. 
 
 Such is this great citizen and Statesman. So 
 exalted in genius, so excellent in virtue; I part 
 from him now with sorrow, as I did before in 
 Washington, when he twice returned to say— 
 Farewell—before he left me ; but well I know, that 
 however distant from him and from his country, 
 I shall ever hold fast my place in his memory and 
 in his affections. His sentiments and character, 
 
 L L. 
 
386 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 as I trace them in his speeches, form a portion 
 of my daily study. 
 
 EXTRACT 
 
 FROM SPEECH ON THE RESTRICTIVE SYSTEM. 
 
 “ The restrictive system,” he said, “ as a mode 
 of resistance, or as a means of obtaining redress, 
 has never been a favourite one with me. I wish 
 not to censure the motives which dictated it, or 
 attribute weakness to those who first resorted to 
 it for a restoration of our rights. But, I object 
 to the restrictive system because it does not suit 
 the genius of the people, or that of our Govern¬ 
 ment, or the geographical character of our country. 
 We are a people essentially active; I may say we 
 are pre-eminently so. No passive system can suit 
 such a people; in action superior to all others, in 
 patient endurance inferior to none. Nor does it 
 suit the genius of our Government. Our Govern¬ 
 ment is founded on freedom, and hates coercion. 
 To make the restrictive system effective, requires 
 the most arbitrary laws. England, with the severest 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 387 
 
 penal statutes, has not been able to exclude pro¬ 
 hibited articles ; and Napoleon, with all his power 
 and vigilance, was obliged to resort to the most 
 barbarous laws to enforce his Continental system.” 
 
 After showing how the whole mercantile com¬ 
 munity must become corrupt by the temptations 
 and facilities for smuggling, and how the public 
 opinion of the commercial community (upon which 
 the system must depend for its enforcement,) 
 becomes opposed to it, and gives sanction to its 
 violation, he proceeds— 
 
 “ But there are other objections to the system. 
 It renders Government odious. The farmer in¬ 
 quires why he gets no more for his produce, and 
 he is told it is owing to the embargo, or com¬ 
 mercial restrictions. In this he sees only the 
 hand of his own Government, and not the acts of 
 violence and injustice which this system is intended 
 to counteract. His censures fall on the Govern¬ 
 ment. This is an unhappy state of the public 
 mind; and even, I might say, in a Government 
 resting essentially on public opinion, a dangerous 
 one. In war it is different. Its privation, it is 
 true, may be equal or greater; hut the public 
 
388 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 mind, under the strong impulses of that state of 
 things, becomes steeled against sufferings. The 
 difference is almost infinite between the passive 
 and active state of the mind. Tie down a hero, 
 and he feels the puncture of a pin ; throw him into 
 battle, and he is almost insensible to vital gashes. 
 So in war. Impelled alternately by hope and 
 fear, stimulated by revenge, depressed by shame, 
 or elevated by victory, the people become invin¬ 
 cible. No privation can shake their fortitude; 
 no calamity break their spirit. Even when equally 
 successful, the contrast between the two systems 
 is striking. War and restriction may leave the 
 country equally exhausted; but the latter not 
 only leaves you poor, but, even when successful, 
 dispirited, divided, discontented, with diminished 
 patriotism, and the morals of a considerable portion 
 of your people corrupted. Not so in war. In that 
 state, the common danger unites all, strengthens 
 the bonds of society, and feeds the flame of pa¬ 
 triotism. The national character mounts to energy. 
 In exchange for the expenses and privations of 
 war, you obtain military and naval skill, and a 
 more perfect organization of such parts of your 
 
 
 
. THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 389 
 
 Administration as are connected with the science 
 of national defence. Sir, are these advantages to 
 be counted as trifles in the present state of the 
 world ? Can they be measured by moneyed 
 valuation ? I would prefer a single victory over 
 the enemy, by sea or land, to all the good we shall 
 ‘ever derive from the continuation of the Non¬ 
 importation Act. I know not that a victory would 
 produce an equal pressure on the enemy; but I 
 am certain of what is of greater consequence, it 
 w r ould be accompanied by more salutary effects on 
 ourselves. The memory of Saratoga, Princeton, 
 and Eutaw is immortal. It is there you will find 
 the country^ boast and pride—the inexhaustible 
 source of great and heroic sentiments. But what 
 will history say of restriction ? What examples 
 worthy of imitation will it furnish to posterity ? 
 What pride, what pleasure, will our children find 
 in the events of such times ? Let me not be con¬ 
 sidered romantic. This nation ought to be taught 
 to rely on its courage, its fortitude, its skill and 
 virtue, for protection. These are the only safe¬ 
 guards in the hour of danger. Man was endued 
 with these great qualities for his defence. There 
 
390 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 is nothing about him that indicates that he is to 
 conquer by endurance. He is not incrusted in a 
 shell; he is not taught to rely upon his insensi¬ 
 bility, his passive suffering, for defence. No, sir; 
 it is on the invincible mind, on a magnanimous 
 nature, he ought to rely. Here is the superiority 
 of our kind; it is these that render man the lord 
 of the world. It is the destiny of his condition 
 that nations rise above nations, as they are endued 
 in a greater degree with these brilliant qualities.” 
 
 EXTRACT 
 
 FROM THE SPEECH AGAINST THE FORCE BILL. 
 
 Here I must pause for a moment to repel a 
 charge which has been so often made, and which 
 even the President* has reiterated in his proclama¬ 
 tion ; the charge that I have been actuated in the 
 part which I have taken by feelings of disappointed 
 ambition. I again repeat that I deeply regret the 
 necessity of noticing myself in so important a 
 discussion; and that nothing can induce me to 
 
 * General Jackson. 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 391 
 
 advert to my own course but the conviction that 
 it is due to the cause at which a blow is aimed 
 through me. It is only in this view that I notice it. 
 
 It ill became the Chief Magistrate to make this 
 charge. The course which the State took, and 
 which led to the present controversy between her 
 and the General Government, was taken as far 
 back as 1828 , in the very midst of that severe 
 canvass which placed him in power, and in that 
 very canvass Carolina openly avowed and zealously 
 maintained those very principles which he, the 
 Chief Magistrate, now officially pronounces to be 
 treason and rebellion. That was the period at 
 which he ought to have spoken. Having remained 
 silent then, and having, under his approval, implied 
 by that silence, received the support and vote of 
 the State, I, if a sense of decorum did not prevent 
 it, might recriminate with the double charge of 
 deception and ingratitude. My object, however, 
 is not to assail the President, but to defend myself 
 against a most unfounded charge. The time alone 
 at which the course upon which this charge of 
 disappointed ambition is founded, will of itself repel 
 it, in the eye of every unprejudiced and honest 
 
392 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 man. The doctrine which I now sustain, under 
 the present difficulties, I openly avowed and main¬ 
 tained immediately after the act of 1828 ; that 
 “bill of abominations,” as it has been so often and 
 properly termed. Was I at that period disappointed 
 in any view's of ambition which I might be sup¬ 
 posed to entertain ? I was Vice-President of the 
 United States, elected by an overwhelming majo¬ 
 rity. I was a candidate for re-election on the ticket 
 with General Jackson himself, with a certain pros¬ 
 pect of a triumphant success of that ticket, and with 
 a fair prospect of the highest office to which an 
 American citizen can aspire. What was my course 
 under these prospects ? Did I look to my own ad¬ 
 vancement, or to an honest and faithful discharge of 
 my duty ? Let facts speak for themselves. When 
 the bill to which I have referred came from the 
 other house to the Senate, the almost universal 
 impression was, that its fate would depend upon 
 my casting vote. It was known that, as the bill 
 then stood, the Senate was nearly equally divided; 
 and as it was a combined measure, originating with 
 the politicians and manufacturers, and intended 
 as much to bear upon the Presidential election as 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 393 
 
 to protect manufactures, it was believed that, as a 
 stroke of political policy, its fate would be made 
 to depend on my vote, in order to defeat General 
 Jackson^s election, as well as my own. The friends 
 of General Jackson were alarmed, and I was 
 earnestly entreated to leave the chair in order to 
 avoid the responsibility, under the plausible argu¬ 
 ment that, if the Senate should be equally divided, 
 the bill would be lost without the aid of my casting 
 vote. The reply to this entreaty was, that no 
 consideration personal to myself could induce me 
 to take such a course; that I considered the measure 
 as of the most dangerous character, and calculated 
 to produce the most fearful crisis; that the payment 
 of the public debt was just at hand; and that the 
 great increase of revenue which it would pour into 
 the Treasury would accelerate the approach of that 
 period, and that the country would be placed in 
 the most trying of situations, with an immense 
 revenue without the means of absorption upon any 
 legitimate or constitutional object of appropriation, 
 and would be compelled to submit to all the cor¬ 
 rupting consequences of a large surplus, or to make 
 a sudden reduction of the rates of duties, which 
 
394 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 would prove ruinous to the very interests which 
 were then forcing the passage of the bill. Under 
 these views I determined to remain in the chair, 
 and if the bill came to me to give my casting vote 
 against it, and in doing so, to give my reasons at 
 large; but at the same time I informed my friends 
 that I would retire from the ticket, so that the 
 election of General Jackson might not be embar¬ 
 rassed by any act of mine. Sir, I was amazed at 
 the folly and infatuation of that period. So 
 completely absorbed was Congress in the game 
 of ambition and avarice, from the double impulse 
 of the manufacturers and politicians, that none 
 but a few appeared to anticipate the present 
 crisis, at which now all are alarmed, but which is 
 the inevitable result of what was then done. As 
 to myself, I clearly foresaw what has since followed. 
 The road of ambition lay open before me—I had 
 but to follow the corrupt tendency of the times ; 
 but I chose to tread the rugged path of duty. 
 
 It was thus that the reasonable hope of relief 
 through the election of General Jackson was 
 blasted; but still one other hope remained, that 
 the final discharge of the public debt—an event 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 395 
 
 near at hand—would remove our burden. That 
 event would leave in the treasury a large surplus; 
 a surplus that could not be expended under the 
 most extravagant schemes of appropriation, having 
 the least colour of decency or constitutionality. 
 That event at last arrived. At the last session of 
 Congress, it was avowed on all sides that the public 
 debt, for all practical purposes, w as in fact paid, 
 the small surplus remaining being nearly covered 
 by the money in the treasury and the bonds for 
 duties, which had already accrued; but with the 
 arrival of this event our last hope was doomed to 
 be disappointed. After a long session of many 
 months, and the most earnest effort on the part of 
 South Carolina and the other Southern States to 
 obtain relief, all that could be effected was a small 
 reduction in the amount of the duties; but a 
 reduction of such a character, that, while it dimi¬ 
 nished the amount of burden, distributed that 
 burden more unequally than even the obnoxious 
 act of 1828: reversing the principle adopted by 
 the bill of 1816, of laying higher duties on the 
 unprotected than the protected articles, by re¬ 
 pealing almost entirely the duties laid upon the 
 
396 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 former, and imposing the burden almost entirely 
 on the latter. It was thus that, instead of relief, 
 instead of an equal distribution of the burdens 
 and benefits of the Government, on the payment 
 of the debt, as had been fondly anticipated—the 
 duties were so arranged as to be, in fact, bounties 
 on one side and taxation on the other: thus 
 placing the two great sections of the country in 
 direct conflict in reference to its fiscal action, and 
 thereby letting in that flood of political corruption 
 which threatens to sweep away our Constitution 
 and our liberty. 
 
 This unequal and unjust arrangement was pro¬ 
 nounced, both by the Administration, through its 
 proper organ, the Secretary of the Treasury, and 
 by the Opposition, to be a permanent adjustment; 
 and it was thus that all hope of relief through the 
 action of the General Government terminated, 
 and the crisis so long apprehended at length 
 arrived, at which the State was compelled to choose 
 between absolute acquiescence in a ruinous system 
 of oppression, or a resort to her reserved powers; 
 powers of which she alone was the rightful judge, 
 and which only, in this momentous juncture, can 
 save her. She determined on the latter. 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 397 
 
 The consent of two thirds of her Legislature 
 was necessary for the call of a convention, which 
 was considered the only legitimate organ through 
 which the people, in their sovereignty, could 
 speak. After an arduous struggle, the State 
 Rights’ party succeeded : more than two thirds of 
 both branches of the Legislature favourable to a 
 convention were elected; a convention was called, 
 the ordinance adopted. The convention was suc¬ 
 ceeded by a meeting of the Legislature, when the 
 laws to carry the ordinance into execution were 
 enacted : all of which have been communicated by 
 the President, have been referred to the Committee 
 on the Judiciary, and this bill is the result of 
 their labour. 
 
 Having now corrected some of the prominent 
 misrepresentations as to the nature of this con¬ 
 troversy, and given a rapid sketch of the move¬ 
 ment of the State in reference to it, I will next 
 proceed to notice some objections connected with 
 the ordinance, and the proceedings under it. 
 
 The first and most prominent of these is directed 
 against what is called the Test Oath, which an 
 effort has been made to render odious. So far 
 
 M M 
 
398 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 from deserving the denunciation which has been 
 levelled against it, I view this provision of the 
 ordinance as but the natural result of the doctrines 
 entertained by the State, and the position which 
 she occupies. The people of that State believe 
 that the Union is a union of States, and not of 
 individuals; that it was formed by the States, and 
 that the citizens of the several States were bound 
 to it through the acts of their several States; that 
 each State ratified the Constitution for itself, and 
 that it was only by such ratification of a State 
 that any obligation was imposed upon the citizens: 
 thus believing, it is the opinion of the people 
 of Carolina that it belongs to the State which has 
 imposed the obligation to declare, in the last resort, 
 the extent of this obligation, as far as her citizens 
 are concerned; and this upon the plain principles 
 which exist in all analogous cases of compact 
 between sovereign bodies. On this principle the 
 people of the State, acting in their sovereign 
 capacity in convention, precisely as they adopted 
 their own and the Federal Constitution, have 
 declared by the ordinance, that the acts of Congress 
 which imposed duty under the authority to lay 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 399 
 
 imposts, are acts, not for revenue, as intended by 
 the Constitutions, but for protection, and therefore 
 null and void. The ordinance thus enacted by 
 the people of the State themselves, acting as a 
 sovereign community, is as obligatory on the 
 citizens of the State as any portion of the Consti¬ 
 tution. In prescribing, then, the oath to obey the 
 ordinance, no more was done than to prescribe an 
 oath to obey the Constitution. It is, in fact, but a 
 particular oath of allegiance, and in every respect 
 similar to that which is prescribed under the Con¬ 
 stitution of the United States, to be administered 
 to all the officers of the State and Federal Govern¬ 
 ments ; and is no more deserving the harsh and 
 bitter epithets which have been heaped upon it 
 than that or any similar oath. It ought to be 
 borne in mind, that, according to the opinion 
 which prevails in Carolina, the right of resistance 
 to the unconstitutional laws of Congress belongs 
 to the State, and not to her individual citizens; 
 and that, though the latter may, in a mere question 
 of meum and tuum , resist, through the courts, an 
 unconstitutional encroachment upon their rights, 
 yet the final stand against usurpation rests not 
 
400 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 with them, but with the State of which they are 
 members; and such act of resistance by a State 
 binds the conscience and allegiance of the citizen. 
 But there appears to be a general misapprehension 
 as to the extent to which the State has acted under 
 this part of the ordinance. Instead of sweeping 
 every officer by a general proscription of the 
 minority, as has been represented in debate, as far 
 as my knowledge extends, not a single individual 
 has been removed. The State has, in fact, acted 
 with the greatest tenderness, all circumstances 
 considered, towards citizens who differed from the 
 majority; and, in that spirit, has directed the oath 
 to be administered only in cases of some official 
 act directed to be performed, in which obedience 
 to the ordinance is involved. 
 
 It has been farther objected that the State has 
 acted precipitately. What! precipitately! after 
 making a strenuous resistance for twelve years; 
 by discussion here and in the other house of 
 Congress ; by essays in all forms; by resolutions, 
 remonstrances, and protests on the part of her 
 Legislature; and, finally, by attempting an appeal 
 to the judicial power of the United States? I say 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 401 
 
 attempting^ for they have been prevented from 
 bringing the question fairly before the court, and 
 that by an act of that very majority in Congress 
 who now upbraid them for not making that 
 appeal; of that majority who, on a motion of one 
 of the members in the other House, from South 
 Carolina, refused to give to the act of 1828 its 
 true title, that it was a protective , and not a revenue 
 act. The State has never, it is true, relied upon 
 that tribunal, the Supreme Court, to vindicate its 
 reserved rights; yet they have always considered 
 it as an auxiliary means of defence, of which they 
 "would gladly have availed themselves to test the 
 constitutionality of protection, had they not been 
 deprived of the means of doing so by the act of 
 the majority. 
 
 Notwithstanding this long delay of more than 
 ten years, under this continued encroachment of 
 the Government, we now hear it on all sides, by 
 friends and foes, gravely pronounced that the 
 State has acted precipitately—that her conduct 
 has been rash ! That such should be the language 
 of an interested majority, who, by means of this 
 unconstitutional and oppressive system, are annu¬ 
 
 li M 2 
 
402 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 ally extorting millions from the South to be 
 bestowed upon other sections, is not at all sur¬ 
 prising. Whatever impedes the course of avarice 
 and ambition will ever be denounced as rash and 
 precipitate; and had South Carolina delayed her 
 resistance fifty instead of twelve years, she would 
 have heard from the same quarter the same 
 language; but it is really surprising that those 
 who are suffering in common with herself, and 
 who have complained equally loud of their griev¬ 
 ances, who have pronounced the very acts which 
 she has asserted within her limits to be oppressive, 
 unconstitutional, and ruinous, after so long a 
 struggle—a struggle longer than that which pre¬ 
 ceded the separation of these States from the 
 mother country—longer than the period of the 
 Trojan war—should now complain of precipitancy ! 
 No, it is not Carolina, which has acted precipi¬ 
 tately ; but her sister States, who have suffered in 
 common with her, have acted tardily. Had they 
 acted as she has done, had they performed their 
 duty with equal energy and promptness, our 
 situation this day would be very different from 
 what we now find it. Delays are said to be dan- 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 403 
 
 gerous ; and never was the maxim more true than 
 in the present case, a case of monopoly. It is the 
 very nature of monopolies to grow. If we take 
 from one side a large portion of the proceeds of its 
 labour and give it to the other, the side from which 
 we take must constantly decay, and that to which 
 we give must prosper and increase. Such is the 
 action of the protective system. It exacts from 
 the South a large portion of the proceeds of its 
 industry, which it bestows upon the other sections, 
 in the shape of bounties to manufactures, and 
 appropriations in a thousand forms; pensions, 
 improvement of rivers and harbours, roads and 
 canals, and in every shape that wit or ingenuity 
 , can devise. Can we, then, be surprised that the 
 principle of monopoly grows, when it is so amply 
 remunerated at the expense of those who support 
 it ? And this is the real reason of the fact which 
 we witness, that all acts for protection pass with 
 small minorities, but soon come to be sustained 
 by great and overwhelming majorities. Those 
 who seek the monopoly endeavour to obtain it in 
 the most exclusive shape; and they take care, 
 accordingly, to associate only a sufficient number 
 
404 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 of interests barely to pass it through the two 
 houses of Congress, on the plain principle that 
 tlie greater the number from whom the monopoly 
 takes, and the fewer on whom it bestows, the 
 greater is the advantage to the monopolists. 
 Acting in this spirit, we have often seen with what 
 exact precision they count: adding wool to 
 woollens, associating lead and iron, feeling their 
 way, until a bare majority is obtained, when the 
 bill passes, connecting just as many interests as 
 are sufficient to ensure its success, and no more. 
 In a short time, however, we have invariably found 
 that this lean becomes a decided majority, under 
 the certain operation which compels individuals 
 to desert the pursuits which the monopoly has 
 rendered unprofitable, that they may participate 
 in those pursuits which it has rendered profitable. 
 It is against this dangerous and growing disease 
 that South Carolina has acted; a disease whose 
 cancerous action would soon have spread to every 
 part of the system, if not arrested. 
 
 There is another powerful reason why the action 
 of the State could not have been safely delayed. 
 The public debt, as I have already stated, for all 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 405 
 
 practical purposes, has already been paid; and, 
 under the existing duties, a large annual surplus 
 of many millions must come into the treasury. 
 It is impossible to look at this state of things 
 without seeing the most mischievous conse¬ 
 quences ; and, among others, if not speedily cor¬ 
 rected, it would interpose powerful and almost 
 insuperable obstacles to throwing off the burden 
 under which the South has been so long labouring. 
 The disposition of the surplus would become a 
 subject of violent and corrupt struggle, and could 
 not fail to rear up new and powerful interests in 
 support of the existing system, not only in those 
 sections which have been heretofore benefited by 
 it, but even in the South itself. I cannot but 
 trace to the anticipation of this state of the trea¬ 
 sury the sudden and extraordinary movements 
 which took place at the last session in the Vir¬ 
 ginia Legislature, in which the whole South is 
 vitally interested.* It is impossible for any 
 rational man to believe that that State could 
 seriously have thought of effecting the scheme to 
 
 * Having for their object the Emancipation and Colonization of 
 Slaves. 
 
406 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 which I allude by her own resources, without 
 powerful aid from the General Government. 
 
 It is next objected that the enforcing acts have 
 legislated the United States out of South Carolina . 
 I have already replied to this objection on another 
 occasion, and will now but repeat what I then 
 said: that they have been legislated out only to 
 the extent that they had no right to enter. The 
 Constitution has admitted the jurisdiction of the 
 United States within the limits of the several 
 States only so far as the delegated powers authorize; 
 beyond that they are intruders, and may rightfully 
 be expelled; and that they have been efficiently 
 expelled by the legislation of the State through 
 her civil process, as has been acknowledged on all 
 sides in the debate, is only a confirmation of the 
 truth of the doctrine for which the majority in 
 Carolina have contended. 
 
 The very point at issue between the two parties 
 there, is, whether Nullification is a peaceable and 
 an efficient remedy against an unconstitutional act 
 of the General Government, and which may be 
 asserted as such through the State tribunals. 
 Both parties agree that the acts against which it 
 
J 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 407 
 
 is directed are unconstitutional and oppressive. 
 The controversy is only as to the means by which 
 our citizens may be protected against the acknow¬ 
 ledged encroachments on their rights. This being 
 the point at issue between the parties, and the 
 very object of the majority being an efficient pro¬ 
 tection of the citizens through the State tribunals, 
 the measures adopted to enforce the ordinance of 
 course received the most decisive character. We 
 were not children to act by halves. Yet for acting 
 thus efficiently the State is denounced, and this 
 bill reported to overrule, by military force, the 
 civil tribunals and civil process of the State ! Sir, 
 I consider this bill, and the arguments which have 
 been urged on this floor in its support, as the most 
 triumphant acknowledgement that Nullification is 
 peaceful and efficient, and so deeply intrenched 
 in the principles of our system, that it cannot be 
 assailed but by prostrating the Constitution, and 
 substituting the supremacy of military force in 
 lieu of the supremacy of the laws. In fact, the 
 advocates of this bill refute their own argument. 
 They tell us that the ordinance is unconstitutional; 
 that they infract the Constitution of South Caro- 
 
408 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 lina, although to me, the objection appears absurd, 
 as it was adopted by the very authority which 
 adopted the Constitution itself. They also tell 
 us that the Supreme Court is the appointed arbiter 
 of all controversies between a State and the General 
 Government. Why, then, do they not leave this 
 controversy to that tribunal? Why do they not 
 confide to them the abrogation of the ordinance, 
 and the laws made in pursuance of it, and the 
 assertion of that supremacy which they claim for 
 the laws of Congress ? The State stands pledged 
 to resist no process of the court. Why, then, 
 confer on the President the extensive and unlimited 
 powers provided in this bill ? Why authorize 
 him to use military force to arrest the civil process 
 of the State ? But one answer can be given : 
 That, in a contest between the State and the 
 General Government, if the resistance be limited 
 on both sides to the civil process, the State, by 
 its inherent sovereignty, standing upon its reserved 
 powers, will prove too powerful in such a con¬ 
 troversy, and must triumph over the Federal 
 Government, sustained by its delegated and limited 
 authority ; and in this answer we have an acknow- 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 409 
 
 ledgment of the truth of those great principles for 
 which the State has so firmly and nobly con¬ 
 tended. 
 
 Having made these remarks, the great question 
 is now presented-—Has Congress the right to pass 
 this bill ?* which I will next proceed to 'consider. 
 The decision of this question involves the inquiry 
 into the provisions of the bill. What are they? 
 It puts at the disposal of the President the army 
 and navy, and the entire militia of the country; it 
 enables him, at his pleasure, to subject every man 
 in the United States, not exempt from militia duty, 
 to martial law: to call him from his ordinary 
 occupation to the field, and under the penalty of 
 fine and imprisonment, inflicted by a court martial, 
 to compel him to imbrue his hand in his brothers 
 blood. There is no limitation on the power of the 
 swords and that over the purse is equally without 
 restraint $ for, among the extraordinary features of 
 the bill, it contains no appropriation, which, under 
 existing circumstances, is tantamount to an un¬ 
 limited appropriation. The President may, under 
 its authority, incur any expenditure, and pledge 
 
 * The Force Bill. 
 
410 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 the national faith to meet it. He may create a 
 new national debt, at the very moment of the 
 termination of the former—a debt of millions, to 
 be paid out of the proceeds of the labour of that 
 section of the country whose dearest constitutional 
 rights this bill prostrates ! Thus exhibiting the 
 extraordinary spectacle, that the very section of 
 the country which is urging this measure, and 
 carrying the sword of devastation against us, are, 
 at the same time, incurring a new debt, to be paid 
 by those whose rights are violated; while those 
 who violate them are to receive the benefits, in the 
 shape of bounties and expenditures. 
 
 And for what purpose is the unlimited control 
 of the purse and of the sword thus placed at the 
 disposition of the Executive ? To make war against 
 one of the free and sovereign members of this 
 confederation, which the bill proposes to deal 
 with, not as a State, but as a collection of banditti 
 or outlaws. Thus exhibiting the impious spectacle 
 of this Government, the creature of the States, 
 making war against the power to which it owes its 
 existence.. 
 
 The bill violates the Constitution, plainly and 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 411 
 
 palpably, in many of its provisions, by authorizing 
 the President, at his pleasure, to place the different 
 ports of this Union on an unequal footing, con¬ 
 trary to that provision of the Constitution which 
 declares that no preference shall be given to one 
 port over another. It also violates the Constitution 
 by authorizing him, at his discretion, to impose 
 cash duties on one port while credit is allowed in 
 others; by enabling the President to regulate 
 commerce, a power vested in Congress alone ; and 
 by drawing within the jurisdiction of the United 
 States’ courts, powers never intended to be con¬ 
 ferred on them. As great as these objections are, 
 they become insignificant in the provisions of a 
 bill which, by a single blow, by treating the States 
 as a mere lawless mass of individuals, prostrates all 
 the barriers of the Constitution. I will pass over 
 the minor considerations, and proceed directly to 
 the great point. This bill proceeds on the ground 
 that the entire sovereignty of this country belongs 
 to the American people, as forming one great 
 community, and regards the States as mere frac¬ 
 tions or counties, and not as an integral part of 
 the Union ; having no more right to resist the 
 
412 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 encroachments of the Government than a county 
 has to resist the authority of a State ; and treating 
 such resistance as the lawless acts of so many 
 individuals, without possessing sovereignty or 
 political rights. It has been said that the bill 
 declares war against South Carolina. No. It 
 decrees a massacre of her citizens! War has 
 something ennobling about it, and, with all its 
 horrors, brings into action the highest qualities, 
 intellectual and moral. It was, perhaps, in the 
 order of Providence that it should be permitted 
 for that very purpose. But this bill declares no 
 war, except, indeed, it be that which savages wage; 
 a war, not against the community, but the citizens 
 of whom that community is composed. But I 
 regard it as worse than savage warfare—as an 
 attempt to take away life under the colour of law, 
 without the trial by jury, or any other safeguard 
 w'hich the Constitution has thrown around the 
 life of the citizen ! It authorizes the President, 
 or even his deputies, when they may suppose the 
 law to be violated, without the intervention of a 
 court or jury, to kill without mercy or discrimina¬ 
 tion ! 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 413 
 
 It has been said by the Senator from Tennessee 
 (Mr. Grundy) to be a measure of peace ! Yes, 
 such peace as the wolf gives to the lamb—the kite 
 to the dove ! Such peace as Russia gives to Poland, 
 or death to its victim ! A peace, by extinguishing 
 the political existence of the State, by awing her 
 into an abandonment of the exercise of every 
 power which constitutes her a sovereign com¬ 
 munity. It is to South Carolina a question of 
 self preservation ; and I proclaim it, that, should 
 this bill pass, and an attempt be made to enforce 
 it, it will be resisted, at every hazard—even that 
 of death itself. Death is not the greatest calamity; 
 there are others still more terrible to the free and 
 brave, and among them may be placed the loss of 
 liberty and honour. There are thousands of her 
 brave sons who, if need be, are prepared cheerfully 
 to lay down their lives in defence of the State, and 
 the great principles of constitutional liberty for 
 which she is contending. God forbid that this 
 should become necessary ! It never can be, unless 
 this Government is resolved to bring the question 
 to extremity, when her gallant sons will stand 
 prepared to perform the last duty—to die nobly. 
 
 N N 2 
 
414 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 EXTRACT 
 
 FROM SPEECH IN SUPPORT OF THE VETO POWER 
 
 28th February, 1842. 
 
 Let me not be misunderstood. I object not to 
 that structure of the Government which makes 
 the numerical majority the predominant element: 
 it is, perhaps, necessary that it should be so in all 
 popular Constitutional Governments like ours, 
 which excludes classes. It is necessarily the ex¬ 
 ponent of the strongest interest, or combination 
 of interests, in the community ; and it would seem 
 to be necessary to give it the preponderance, in 
 order to infuse into the Government the necessary 
 energy to accomplish the ends for which it was 
 instituted. The great question is;—How is due 
 preponderance to be given to it, without subjecting 
 the whole, in time, to its unlimited sway ? Which 
 brings up the question ;—Is there anywhere in our 
 complex system of government, a guard, check, or 
 contrivance, sufficiently strong to arrest so fearful 
 a tendency of the Government? Or, to express it 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 415 
 
 in more direct and intelligible language ;—Is there 
 anywhere in the system a more full and perfect 
 expression of the voice of the people of the States, 
 calculated to counteract this tendency, to the con¬ 
 centration of all the powers of the government in 
 the will of the numerical majority, resulting from 
 the partial and imperfect expression of their voice 
 through its organs ? 
 
 Yes, fortunately, doubly fortunately, there is; 
 not only a more full and perfect, but a full and 
 perfect expression to be found in the Constitution, 
 acknowledged by all to be the fundamental and 
 supreme law of the land. It is full and perfect, 
 because it is the expression of the voice of each 
 State, adopted by the separate assent of each, by 
 itself, and for itself; and is the voice of all, by 
 being that of each component part, united and 
 blended into one harmonious whole. But it is 
 not only full and perfect, but as just as it is full' 
 and perfect; for, combining the sense of each, 
 and therefore all, there is nothing left on which 
 injustice, or oppression, or usurpation can operate. 
 And, finally, it is as supreme as it is just; because, 
 comprehending the will of all, by uniting that of 
 
416 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 each of the parts, there is nothing within or above 
 to control it. It is, indeed, the vox populi vox 
 Dei —the creating voice that called the system into 
 existence, and of which the Government itself is 
 but a creature, clothed with delegated powers to 
 execute its high behests. 
 
 We are thus brought to a question of the deepest 
 import, and on which the fate of the system 
 depends. How can this full, perfect, just, and 
 supreme voice of the people, embodied in the 
 Constitution, be brought to bear habitually and 
 steadily in counteracting the fatal tendency of the 
 Government to the absolute and despotic control 
 of the numerical majority ? Or, if I may be 
 permitted to use so bold an expression;—How is 
 this, the deity of our political system, to be suc¬ 
 cessfully invoked, to interpose its all powerful 
 creating voice to save from perdition the creature 
 of its will and the work of its hand ? If it cannot 
 be done, ours, like all free governments preceding 
 it, must go the way of all flesh; but if it can be, 
 its duration may be from generation to generation, 
 to the latest posterity. To this all important 
 question I will not attempt a reply at this time. 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 417 
 
 It would lead me far beyond the limits properly 
 belonging to this discussion. * * * * 
 
 Let me add, in conclusion, that this is a 
 question, in its bearings, of vital importance to 
 that wonderful and sublime system of government 
 which our patriotic ancestors established, not so 
 much by their wisdom, wise and experienced as 
 they were, as by the guidance of a kind Providence, 
 who, in his divine dispensations, so disposed events 
 as to lead to the establishment of a system of 
 Government wiser than those who framed it. The 
 Veto of itself, as important as it is, sinks into 
 nothing compared to the principle involved. It 
 is but one, and that by no means the most con¬ 
 siderable, of those many devices which I have 
 attempted to explain, and which were intended 
 to strengthen the popular basis of our government, 
 and resist its tendency to fall under the control of 
 the dominant interest, acting through the mere 
 numerical majority. The introduction of this 
 resolution may be regarded as one of the many 
 symptoms of that fatal tendency, and of which we 
 had such fearful indications in the bold attempt 
 at the late extraordinary session, of forcing through 
 
418 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 a whole system of measures of the most threatening 
 and alarming character, in the space of a few 
 weeks, on the ground that they were all decided 
 in the election of the late President; thus attempt¬ 
 ing to substitute the will of a majority of the 
 people, in the choice of a Chief Magistrate, as the 
 legislative authority of the Union, in lieu of the 
 beautiful and profound system established by the 
 Constitution. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM SPEECH 
 ON THE WAR AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN, 1814. 
 
 se This country is left alone to support the rights 
 of neutrals. Perilous is the condition, and arduous 
 the task. We are not intimidated. We stand 
 opposed to British usurpation, and by our spirit 
 and efforts, have done all in our power to save the 
 last vestiges of neutral rights. Yes, our embargoes, 
 non-intercourse, non-importation, and, finally, 
 war, are all manly exertions to preserve the rights 
 of this and other nations from the deadly grasp of 
 British maritime policv. But (say our opponents) 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 419 
 
 these efforts are lost; and our condition hopeless. 
 If so, it only remains for us to assume the garb 
 of our condition. We must submit, humbly 
 submit, crave pardon, and hug our chains. It is 
 not wise to provoke where we cannot resist. 
 But first let us be well assured of the hopelessness 
 of our state before we sink into submission. On 
 what do our opponents rest their despondent and 
 slavish belief? On the recent events in Europe ? 
 I admit they are great, and well calculated to 
 impose on the imagination. Our enemy never 
 presented a more imposing exterior. His fortune 
 is at the flood. But I am admonished by universal 
 experience, that such prosperity is the most pre¬ 
 carious of human conditions. From the flood the 
 tide dates its ebb. From the meridian the sun 
 commences his decline. Depend upon it, there is 
 more of sound philosophy than of fiction in the 
 fickleness which poets attribute to fortune. Pros¬ 
 perity has its weakness, adversity its strength. 
 In many respects our enemy has lost by those 
 very changes which seem so very much in his 
 favour. He can no more claim to be struggling 
 for existence; no more to be fighting the battles 
 
420 
 
 THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 of the world in defence of the liberties of mankind. 
 The magic cry of c French influence* is lost. In 
 this very hall we are not strangers to that sound. 
 Here, even here, the cry of f French influence/ 
 that baseless fiction, that phantom of faction 
 now banished, often resounded. I rejoice that 
 the spell is broken by which it was attempted 
 to bind the spirit of this youthful nation. The 
 minority can no longer act under cover, but must 
 come out and defend their opposition on its own 
 intrinsic merits. Our example can scarcely fail 
 to produce its effects on other nations interested 
 in the maintenance of maritime rights. But if, 
 unfortunately, we should be left alone to maintain 
 the contest, and if, which may God forbid, neces¬ 
 sity should compel us to yield for the present, yet 
 our generous efforts will not have been lost. A 
 mode of thinking and a tone of sentiment have 
 gone abroad which must stimulate to future and 
 more successful struggles. What could not be 
 effected with eight millions of people will be done 
 with twenty. The great cause will never be 
 yielded ; no, never, never ! Sir, I hear the future 
 audibly announced in the past—in the splendid 
 
THE HON. J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 421 
 
 victories over the Guerriere, Java, and Macedo¬ 
 nian. We, and all nations, by these victories, are 
 taught a lesson never to he forgotten. Opinion 
 is power. The charm of British naval invinci- 
 bilitv is gone.” 
 
 k' O 
 
 () o 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 Such as was George Washington at Mount 
 Vernon, retired from the scenes of public excite¬ 
 ment and service, such is Henry Clay at Ashland. 
 I had seen Calhoun at Washington in the early 
 spring of 1846, calm amidst the strife and hurry 
 of political warfare; I saw Henry Clay in the May 
 following, in Kentucky, serene in “the mild majesty 
 of private life.” Side by side these illustrious 
 Americans had, for many years, proceeded in their 
 separate courses; their ages not far dissimilar; 
 their characters strongly contrasted; their politics 
 invariably opposed, their various powers equally, 
 though with different views, ardently devoted to 
 the service of their country. Each spoke of the 
 other with high esteem, and each inquired with 
 earnest solicitude if health and cheerfulness were 
 still the portion of his admired rival. Many 
 sympathies, indeed, had bound them together; 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 423 
 
 each had rejoiced with the same triumph in the 
 happiness of the Republic; each had partaken of 
 the same exalted anguish in her difficulties. Clay 
 and Calhoun are the master spirits of America* 
 Mr. Clay is the most popular man in the 
 United States; his very name is a spell, and no 
 sooner is it heard than all mankind rise up to 
 praise it; nor all mankind only—but all woman¬ 
 kind; for, as in England, ladies par metier are 
 Conservatives, so they are in America, for the same 
 reasons, doubtless, generally attached to the Whig 
 standard; a lovely and graceful ornament, the 
 ladies of America are the chaplet of roses in which 
 is wreathed the name of Henry Clay. “You 
 “ cannot go back to your country without going 
 “to Ashland.” “ You never heard such a voice, 
 £< you never knew such a man in England, as our 
 “ Mr. Clay.” All the children born in 1845-6, 
 are, I believe, called after him; there is a little 
 generation of two year old Henry Clays. Some 
 ladies at Ithaca had lavished upon me every sort 
 of hospitality and kindness, “ How,” said I on 
 parting, “shall I repay you for so much goodness?’’ 
 “ You are going to see Mr. Clay, ask him for an 
 
424 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 “ autograph, and send it to us ; you will have done 
 “ much more for us than we have done for you.” 
 I mentioned my pledge to Mr. Clay, who at once 
 redeemed it, and with interest; adding besides, on 
 the same page, a most graceful message to my 
 husband and myself. I have seen men of firm and 
 manly minds weep at the recollection of Mr. Clay’s 
 defeat. If it were possible, that circumstance has 
 increased his popularity, and has won for him 
 the most universal and extraordinary attachment 
 throughout the Union, that probably ever fell to 
 the lot of any man, except the revered Washington. 
 His character, manners, appearance, voice, nay, 
 even his dress, have been minutely described to 
 me long before I saw him ; every anecdote of his 
 life is public property; his house, his farm, his 
 domestic circle, all belong to society at large, to 
 the country, I might say; and many could relate 
 a few words or syllables uttered to them or their 
 friends, or perhaps to indifferent persons, which 
 they had, by some fortunate chance, caught as 
 they fell from his honied lips. Thus prepared, 
 we arrived late one evening at Lexington, and 
 were ushered into a parlour at the hotel, on the 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 425 
 
 door of which was painted Henry Clay ; it had 
 been his committee room during the election. I 
 scarcely slept for impatience; and as early as 
 propriety would permit, the next morning the 
 Doctor and I entered a carriage, and set off for 
 Ashland. iC We carry visitors there, Madam, 
 every day, at all hours,” said the host; on the 
 road, I had a thousand fears, Mr. Clay might be 
 occupied, might be absent, might be ill; the way 
 (a mile and a half,) seemed interminable. I had 
 no time to observe the far famed landscape beauty 
 of Kentucky; I was going to see “ the foremost 
 man of all the world ;” to visit him of whom my 
 husband had said ,— (( I shall esteem your mission 
 unfulfilled if you return to me without having 
 “ seen Mr. Clay.” I never answered the various 
 queries of the Doctor, so utterly absorbed was I 
 in the purpose of my destination. At length we 
 arrived ; a carriage stood before the steps,—my 
 anxiety increased,—he must be engaged,—we 
 knocked at the door, and were saluted as old 
 friends by the faithful negro, who opened it. 
 C( Master was at homey—was not engaged,—would 
 he happy to see us” In a moment Mr. Clay 
 
 o o 2 
 
426 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 appeared, and with that voice of surprising and 
 surpassing melody, with winning smile, and open 
 hands, himself tendered to us the courtesies of 
 welcome. Assisting me to alight, he accompanied 
 us to the sitting room, and read the introductory 
 letters that I had brought him. Here, five and 
 twenty years before, my husband had been his 
 guest; here, five and twenty years ago he had 
 imbibed, and been confirmed in those principles 
 of American politics which. Free Trade alone 
 excepted, have since formed the articles of his 
 unchangeable creed. Thus are we a divided 
 house,—and yet a united one. We both serve 
 Clay and Calhoun, regarding them not as the men 
 of a State, a section, or a party, but as Americans, 
 free of thought, and pure in heart. Quickly 
 Mr. Clay spoke of all that I loved and revered; 
 many of Mr. Maury’s family were familiarly 
 known to him; his son Henry had married 
 one of our relatives; and my father-in-law, the 
 venerable James Maury, of Liverpool, possessed 
 his highest esteem. “You have about five thou¬ 
 sand relations in Virginia and Kentucky,” observed 
 he, laughing, “ Are you going to see them all ? I 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 427 
 
 have known many of them, and they are all 
 endorsed with virtue.” These words I have 
 treasured as an armorial motto for my sons. We 
 spoke of affairs public and private, the past, the 
 present, and the future; freely and fearlessly I 
 spoke with this great man, as with other illustrious 
 Americans, and he conversed with me freely and 
 indulgently, forgetful of my sex and inferiority. 
 
 “ What can I do for you ?” 
 
 “ Nothing, but to suffer me to be with you as 
 “ much as possible.” 
 
 ee That you shall be.” 
 
 And charming were these hours, for we were 
 of his family and of his household. The little 
 Doctor was wild with spirits, and never knows 
 which to prefer, his visit to Ashland or to Kinder- 
 hook; they were the choicest days he spent in 
 America. And I sat, and talked, and listened, 
 between Mr. and Mrs. Clay; and when many 
 were present, “ Take him,” said she, “ into the 
 “ garden, and talk with him there, for I know you 
 “ wish it, and I will trust him with you.” And 
 into the garden we went, and Mr. Clay pointed 
 out to me the trees that his own hands had planted, 
 
428 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 cut for me every flower I looked upon or touched,, 
 conducted me to see his stock of cattle, of which 
 he seemed very proud, and pointed out his pets; 
 showed me the direction in which his farm 
 extended, and explained many of his agricultural 
 views. The flowers, roses red, and white, and 
 yellow, amaranth, magnolia and others, are all 
 preserved; they are laid in a cedar box with those 
 from Kinderhook, and a rose bud given to me by 
 Mrs. Madison with her farewell kiss. 
 
 In the garden during our walk, Mr. Clay in 
 conversation alluded to his own health and present 
 enjoyment of life. “ I have not been so thoroughly 
 “well/* said he, “so cheerful, so composed, for 
 “ many years as during the last eighteen months.” 
 
 In speaking of the state of parties, he alluded 
 to the Presidential Election once or twice, en 
 passant , as that “ event so unexpected by us all,” 
 that “ untoward circumstance,” or in terms to that 
 effect; wholly free from passion or from prejudice. 
 “ Sometimes,” said he, and with solemnity, “ I am 
 “ led to think of the future prospects of the country 
 “ with apprehension.” And here he stopped, and 
 turning towards me, added in the most impressive 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 429 
 
 manner, and with a voice of affecting* tenderness, 
 and eyes raised to Heaven, “And yet, and yet, 
 “ why should I despair ? Providence has so many 
 “ ways of saving nations.” 
 
 I experienced myself a remarkable proof of the 
 influence of the name and character of Mr. Clay. 
 During my voyage to America I had witnessed 
 the distressing effects arising from the want of 
 medical attendance on board ship, and both my¬ 
 self and son had suffered from the small pox. I 
 made an attempt to pass a Bill through Congress 
 to compel Passenger Vessels to carry Surgeons. 
 The Bill was frustrated by the blind and ignorant 
 selfishness of the shipowners, who were repre¬ 
 sented by a Whig Member of Congress for New 
 Bedford, in the Committee of Commerce in the 
 House of Representatives. Upon learning that the 
 Committee might bring in a majority report against 
 the Bill, I requested an interview with my opponent 
 from New England, who alleged various reasons for 
 his opposition. He first endeavoured to persuade 
 me that I had “ never had the small pox ! that it 
 was some other complaint!” Fortunately for my 
 veracity, there is one small mark on my forehead 
 
430 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 which all medical men would recognize as small 
 pox. Next, he said, that the ship captains were 
 the most efficient medical practitioners imaginable; 
 in fact, that a sea-faring life is the best possible 
 education for doctors and surgeons. Then he 
 resorted to the miserable personality of saying, 
 that the Americans were very glad to see me as a 
 guest, but that they would not allow me to mingle 
 in the Councils of the country. To which I 
 replied, “ That the Americans were too generous 
 “to regard the means where the end was good, 
 “ or to despise the instrument where the intention 
 “ was useful/ 5 At length he had recourse to 
 Congress, and gravely assured me, “ that Congress 
 “ had no power to legislate on the subject/ 5 “ And 
 “ whose authority, pray, sir, 55 said I, “ will you 
 “ accept for that? For Judge M c Lean, and Mr. 
 “Buchanan, and Henry Clay, have all assured me 
 “ that Congress has full control over the Avhole 
 “question. 55 “Oh ! 55 said the Honourable Mem¬ 
 ber, “they only told you so, in order to satisfy 
 “ and get quit of you” “And how, sir, 55 rejoined 
 I, “how dare you say that such men as these 
 “ could commit themselves to a legal opinion merely 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 431 
 
 “ to get quit of a woman ? And, besides, they 
 “ love me; they do not wish to get quit of me. 
 “ From Buchanan I receive daily proofs of regard ; 
 “to him I am ever a welcome guest. I have just 
 “passed ten days at Cincinnati, where I was in 
 “care of Judge M f Lean ; and I have but now 
 “"returned from Ashland, where I received from 
 “ Henry Clay each courteous act of kindness; 
 “ he esteemed my father-in-law, and my husband, 
 “ and to me and all my family his friendship has 
 “ been solid and unceasing.” I saw the chord 
 which I had struck, for, at the first mention of 
 Mr. Clay’s name, my Whig opponent betrayed 
 some awkwardness, and I had the malice to trifle 
 with his susceptibilities. “ And,” pursued I, 
 apparently unconscious of these sufferings, “ Mr. 
 “ Clay approved of my suggestion as an act of 
 “humanity, and would have rejoiced in the success 
 “ of my Bill.” And, at this, the Honourable 
 Member looked (in vulgar parlance,) nine ivays at 
 once ; and when I said “ that I should see each 
 “ Member of the Committee of Commerce, and 
 “ that Buchanan had given his consent that I 
 “ should do so,” he burst forth with obsequious 
 
432 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 deference and said, “ Perhaps, Madam, you would 
 “wish to see these gentlemen when they are 
 “ assembled in Committee to-morrow. 55 
 
 “ If you please, 55 rejoined I, “the time and 
 “ place ? And you will, perhaps, have the kind- 
 “ ness to introduce me ? 55 
 
 “ Assuredly. They meet in the Committee 
 “ Room, in the Capitol, at ten in the morning. 55 
 
 “ At ten in the morning I will be there. 55 
 
 I shall never forget the countenance of the 
 Honourable Member from New Bedford during 
 this most extraordinary conversation, while I, 
 wickedly, prolonged his torment, by dwelling on 
 the name of Mr. Clay. 
 
 I cannot dismiss this anecdote without observing 
 that I have travelled sixteen thousand miles in the 
 United States, and resided among her citizens 
 nearly fifteen months, have mingled in every 
 description of society, and have this single instance 
 alone to record of want of courtesy. This Hon¬ 
 ourable Member from New England is the one 
 solitary American who possesses the peculiar 
 distinction of ever having treated myself or my 
 son with the shadow of rudeness. 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 433 
 
 “ Free Trade,” said Mr. Clay, “ is the true 
 “ policy of England, and she is perfectly right to 
 “ insist upon it. In her position I should do 
 (C so too.” 
 
 “ Then all in which you differ from Mr. Calhoun 
 “ is time and circumstance ?” 
 
 “ Is time and circumstance,” answered he. 
 
 He thinks that America is ready; you do not?” 
 
 “ Precisely so.” 
 
 “ My opinions on the Annexation of Texas 
 a keep me at home in Kentucky.” 
 
 Mr. Clay is a Slaveholder. On the subject of 
 Slavery, his opinions and wishes are in favour 
 of gradual Emancipation, chiefly by means of 
 Colonization. 
 
 The following correspondence between Bolivar 
 and Mr. Clay, is full of interest; while it exhibits 
 the unwearied and benevolent efforts of the latter 
 in the cause of Universal Freedom, it proves that 
 no flattery can blind, no deceptive arts escape 
 him :— 
 
 “ Bogota, November 21, 1827* 
 
 “ Sir,—I cannot omit availing myself of the 
 opportunity offered me by the departure of Colonel 
 
 p p 
 
434 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 Watts, charge d'affaires of the United States, of 
 taking the liberty of addressing your Excellency. 
 This desire has long been entertained by me, for 
 the purpose of expressing my admiration of your 
 Excellency’s brilliant talents and ardent love of 
 liberty. All America, Colombia, and myself, owe 
 your Excellency our purest gratitude for the 
 incomparable services you have rendered to us, 
 by sustaining our course with a sublime enthu¬ 
 siasm. Accept, therefore, this sincere and cordial 
 testimony, which I hasten to offer to your Excel¬ 
 lency, and to the Government of the United States, 
 who have so greatly contributed to the Eman¬ 
 cipation of your Southern brethren. 
 
 “ I have the honour to offer to your Excellency 
 my distinguished consideration. 
 
 <f Your Excellency’s obedient servant, 
 
 “ Bolivar.” 
 
 (reply.) 
 
 “ Washington, October 2J, 1828. 
 
 “ Sir, —It is very gratifying to me to be assured 
 directly by your Excellency, that the course which 
 the Government of the United States took, on this 
 memorable occasion, and my humble efforts, have 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 435 
 
 excited the gratitude, and commanded the appro¬ 
 bation of your Excellency. I am persuaded that 
 I do not misinterpret the feelings of the people of 
 the United States, as I certainly express my own, 
 in sayings that the interest which was inspired in 
 this country by the arduous struggles of South 
 America; arose principally from the hope , that , 
 along with its independence, would he established 
 free institutions , insuring all the blessings of civil 
 liberty . To the accomplishment of that object we 
 still anxiously look. We are aware that great 
 difficulties oppose it; among which not the least is 
 that which arises out of the existence of a large 
 military force; raised for the purpose of resisting 
 the power of Spain. Standing armies, organized 
 with the most patriotic intentions, are dangerous 
 instruments. They devour the substance, debauch 
 the morals, and too often destroy the liberties of 
 the people. Nothing can be more perilous or 
 unwise than to retain them after the necessity has 
 ceased which led to their formation, especially if 
 their numbers are disproportionate to the revenues 
 of the State. 
 
 u But, notwithstanding all these difficulties, we 
 
436 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 had fondly cherished, and still indulge the hope, 
 that South America would add a new triumph to 
 the cause of human liberty; and that Providence 
 would bless her, as he had her Northern sister, 
 with the genius of some great and virtuous man to 
 conduct her securely through all her trials. We had 
 even flattered ourselves that we beheld that genius 
 in your Excellency. But I should be unworthy 
 of the consideration with which your Excellency 
 honours me, and deviate from the frankness which 
 I have ever endeavoured to practise, if I did not 
 on this occasion state , that ambitious designs have 
 been attributed by your enemies to your Excellency , 
 which have created in my mind great solicitude . 
 They have cited late events in Colombia as proofs 
 of these designs. But, slow in the withdrawal of 
 confidence which I have once given, I have been 
 most unwilling to credit the unfavourable accounts 
 which have from time to time reached me. I can 
 not allow myself to believe that your Excellency 
 will abandon the bright and glorious path which 
 lies plainly before you, for the bloody road passing 
 over the liberties of the human race, on which the 
 vulgar crowds of tyrants and military despots have 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 43? 
 
 so often trodden. I will not doubt that your 
 Excellency will, in due time, render a satisfactory 
 explanation to Colombia and the world, of the 
 parts of your public conduct which have excited 
 any distrust ; and that, preferring the true glory 
 of our immortal Washington to the ignoble fame 
 of the destroyers of liberty, you have formed the 
 patriotic resolution of ultimately placing the free¬ 
 dom of Colombia upon a firm and sure foundation. 
 That your efforts to that end may be crowned 
 with complete success, I most fervently pray. 
 
 “ I request that your Excellency will accept 
 assurances of my sincere wishes for your happiness 
 and prosperity. 
 
 “II. Clay.” 
 
 “ Mr. Clay, which of your public speeches do 
 “ you consider the most effective and powerful ?” 
 
 te There is a portion of the Speech on the Veto 
 “ of Mr. Tyler, on the Bank Bill, in reply to Mr. 
 “ Rives, which produced the most electrifying 
 “ effect of any thing I ever uttered. The immediate 
 “ subject was Patriotism. Nature,” added he, 
 smiling, “ had singularly favoured me by giving 
 “ me a voice peculiarly adapted to produce the 
 p p 2 
 
438 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 “ impressions I wished in public speaking • now/’ 
 said he, “ its melody is changed, its music gone !” 
 (And this was said as if in mockery, in sounds of 
 exquisite sweetness.) The effects of his manner 
 and utterance in the Senate, were most striking. 
 
 But when he speaks, what elocution flows, 
 
 Soft as the fleeces of descending snows ; 
 
 The copious accents fall with easy art, 
 
 Melting they fall, and sink into the heart. 
 
 “ I shall be happy if yourself and son will 
 “ accompany us to Church to-morrow. It is our 
 i( general practice to attend.” 
 
 The next morning we proceeded, in Mr. Clay’s 
 carriage, to the Episcopal Church. Being some 
 minutes before the time of service, Mrs. Clay and 
 I conversed in gentle whispers. u Considering 
 “ all,” said she, cc Mr. Clay’s health is singularly 
 “ good, and his spirits cheerful; for we have been 
 “ sorely afflicted; we have had eleven children, 
 “ and of six daughters, not one has been spared to 
 “ us; two died in infancy, two in the first years of 
 u youth, and two in married life. The last, indeed, 
 “ was one that parents well might be proud of; 
 “ Mr. Clay has never recovered her loss. You 
 “ have the same number that once filled our 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 439 
 
 “ household; may you be more favoured than we 
 cc have been, and keep them all / 5 
 
 During the service, Mr. Clay leaned his face 
 down upon his hands, which rested on his stick, 
 in the attitude in which he has been painted. He 
 almost constantly carried in his hand a full blown 
 rose, with a short stem, and frequently addressed 
 himself to its perfumed cup. I, too, am a pas¬ 
 sionate lover of the fragrance of flowers. 
 
 On our return to Ashland, the members of Mr. 
 Clay 5 s family, residing in the neighbourhood, had 
 all assembled at the parent house; an infant grand 
 daughter, his very image, with light blue eyes, 
 and bright complexion, climbed upon his knee 
 when he sat down, and thence ascended to his 
 shoulder, and put her arm around his neck, and 
 played with his hair, and kissed his head and face 
 all over. And when he walked, she clasped his 
 knees ; and he called her “ Sophy , 55 in the softest 
 accents ever heard, and she ran away in childish 
 playfulness, so to be called again. 
 
 And now the hour of parting had arrived; and 
 we took leave of this attractive group. Mr. 
 Clay handed me to the carriage; and, holding 
 
440 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 both my hands in the strong grasp of friendship, 
 
 ✓ V 
 
 “ Let us trust,” said he, “ that we may meet again, 
 “ either here or elsewhere; and send those boys of 
 “ yours to St. Louis, and let them come to me, 
 « and I will do all I can for them; and God in 
 “ Heaven bless you .” Such were his farewell 
 words, and still they linger on my ear, and still 
 they dwell in my heart. 
 
 As the carriage swept through the trees, I 
 turned to look once more at Ashland, and Henry 
 
 Clay still stood upon the threshold — — — 
 
 ***** 
 
 This illustrious American was born April 12, 
 1777? i n Hanover County, Virginia, in a neigh¬ 
 bourhood called “The Slashes” (a swamp). 
 
 “ The millboy of the Slashes,” a name which has 
 kindled so much sentiment in the bosoms of the 
 American people, and the mimicry of which consti¬ 
 tuted a part of every public political pageant of the 
 Whig party in the Presidential campaign of 1844, 
 and which will still be poetic when the generation 
 which first felt its power shall have passed away— 
 which, indeed, will never cease to be so, while poetry 
 is natural to man—had its foundation in the filial 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 441 
 
 and. fraternal duty of Henry Clay, who, after he 
 was big enough, was seen, whenever the meal 
 barrel was low, going to and fro on the road 
 between his mother’s house and Mrs. Darricott’s 
 mill, on the Pamunkey river, mounted on a bag 
 that was thrown across a pony that was guided 
 by a rope bridle; and thus he became familiarly 
 known, by the people living on the line of his 
 travel, as iS The millboy of the Slashes.” 
 
 The following extract from his early history is 
 given in his own words :— 
 
 et In looking back upon my origin and progress 
 through life, I have great reason to be thankful. 
 My father died in 1781, leaving me an infant of too 
 tender years to retain any recollection of his smiles 
 or endearments. My surviving parent removed to 
 this State in 1792, leaving me, a boy of fifteen 
 years of age, in the office of the High Court of 
 Chancery, in the city of Richmond, without 
 guardian, without pecuniary means of support, 
 to steer my course as I might or could. A neg¬ 
 lected education was improved by my own irregular 
 exertions, without the benefit of systematic in¬ 
 struction. I studied law principally in the office 
 
442 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 of a lamented friend, the late Governor Brooke, 
 then Attorney General of Virginia, and also under 
 the auspices of the venerable and lamented Chan¬ 
 cellor Wythe, for whom I had acted as amanuensis. 
 I obtained a license to practise the profession 
 from the Judges of the Court of Appeals of Vir¬ 
 ginia, and established myself in Lexington, in 
 1797> without patrons, without the favour or 
 countenance of the great or opulent, without the 
 means of paying my weekly board, and in the 
 midst of a bar uncommonly distinguished by 
 eminent members. I remember how comfortable 
 I thought I should be if I could make one hundred 
 pounds, Virginia money, per year, and with what 
 delight I received the first fifteen shillings fee. 
 My hopes were more than realized. I immediately 
 rushed into a successful and lucrative practice.” 
 
 Mr. Clay, whenever disengaged from public 
 duties, practised the law with distinguished success; 
 it is said that no client, in peril of life, ever ad¬ 
 dressed himself to the zeal and abilities of this 
 unwearied advocate without being saved. 
 
 Early in life Mr. Clay became a Statesman, and 
 his familiarity with public events, at periods of 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 443 
 
 great national excitement, chastened his ardent 
 character, and expanded his judgment. The con¬ 
 ciliatory spirit of this able leader has, on various 
 occasions, been eminently useful in calming the 
 panics of the country, and in pouring oil upon the 
 troubled waters of her Councils. 
 
 Mr. Clay was one of the five Commissioners 
 sent to Ghent, in 1814 : he was attached to the 
 war party. 
 
 Coinciding without reserve, as I do, with Mr. 
 Calhoun, in the grand doctrine of Nullification, I 
 still behold the patriotic efforts of Mr. Clay to 
 produce a Compromise, and thus to restore the 
 internal peace of the country, with the highest 
 admiration. 
 
 i( I rise on this occasion,” said Mr. Clay in the 
 Senate, “ actuated by no motives of a private 
 nature, by no personal feelings, and for no personal 
 objects; but exclusively in obedience to a sense 
 of the duty which I owe to my country—I am 
 anxious to find out some principle of mutual 
 accommodation, to satisfy, as far as practicable, 
 both parties. As I stand before my God, I 
 declare, I have looked beyond those considerations 
 
444 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 (party feelings and party causes), and regarded 
 only the vast interests of this whole people. If I 
 had thought of myself, I should never have brought 
 it (the bill) forward. I know well the perils to 
 which I expose myself. I might have silently 
 gazed on the raging storm, enjoyed its thunders, 
 and left those who are charged with the Vessel of 
 State to conduct it as they could. Pass this bill, 
 tranquillize the country, restore confidence and 
 affection in the Union, and I am willing to go 
 home to Ashland, and renounce public service 
 for ever. I have been accused of ambition. Yes, 
 I have ambition; but it is the ambition of being 
 the humble instrument in the hands of Providence 
 to reconcile a divided people—once more to revive 
 concord and harmony in a distracted land—the 
 pleasing ambition of contemplating the glorious 
 spectacle of a free, united, prosperous, and fra¬ 
 ternal people. I say, Save the Country, save 
 the Union, save the American System.” 
 
 On the Missouri question, which arose when 
 the Territory of Missouri, in 1818, asserted its 
 claim to be incorporated as a State ; and which 
 question threatened the Union with convulsion, 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 445 
 
 Mr. Clay came forward with the resolutions which 
 harmonized the conflicting parties. The Territory 
 claimed to be received as a State on the same 
 footing with other Slaveholding States; it was 
 objected to this that the compromise of the Federal 
 Constitution, regarding Slavery, respected only 
 its limits at the time; and that it was most remote 
 from the views of the parties to this arrangement, 
 to have the domain of Slavery extended on that 
 basis. 
 
 The opposition which the people of Missouri 
 had encountered had roused their anger; they 
 inserted a clause in their Constitution which was 
 most obnoxious to the rest of the Union. It ran 
 as follows :— 
 
 “ It shall be the duty of the General Assembly, 
 “ as soon as may be, to pass such laws as may be 
 <c necessary to prevent free negroes and mulattoes 
 “from coming to or settling in this State , under 
 “ any pretext whatsoever.” 
 
 On the 10th of February, Mr. Clay reported 
 and submitted the following resolution :— 
 
 “ Resolved,—That the State of Missouri be 
 “ admitted into the Union on an equal footing 
 
446 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 “ with the original States, in all respects whatever, 
 “upon the fundamental condition , that the said 
 u State shall never pass any law preventing any 
 “ description of persons from coming to and settling 
 ‘‘ in the said State, who now are, or may hereafter 
 “ become, citizens of any of the States of this 
 “ Union.” 
 
 The Compromise was founded on this Resolu¬ 
 tion, and w T as mainly effected by the temper, 
 sagacity, and indefatigable zeal of Mr. Clay. 
 
 Thus on these two important, as w r ell as on other 
 minor occasions, has Mr, Clay fulfilled the Chris¬ 
 tian behest of Mediation ; his justice respected 
 the rights of all parties, and his wisdom knew ho^v 
 to satisfy them. 
 
 Mr. Clay is tall and of muscular frame; walks 
 firmly, and looks as if he rejoiced in healthful 
 vigorous exercise; he is nearly seventy years old, 
 but I have seen many men of fifty show more of 
 age than the Statesman farmer of Kentucky. His 
 eye is not large, but bright; his forehead high 
 and broad; his mouth is large and wide, and 
 firmly compressed; the pictures of Mr. Clay are 
 provoking in their dissimilitude; the painters 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 447 
 
 usually flattering art has never done him even 
 common justice; his limners have painted only 
 the earthly, not the heavenly, Clay. 
 
 Mr. Clay was elected Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives of the United States seven times. 
 He was Secretary of State during the Presidency 
 of Mr. Adams, and on the close of that Admi¬ 
 nistration, remained in private life two years. In 
 1831 he was elected to the United States Senate, 
 where he held his seat till 1842, having spent 
 forty years, save one, in the public service. 
 
 It may be desirable to remark that the appli¬ 
 cation of the English term of Whig was first 
 assumed, in the United States, by the Opposition 
 to the principles and Administration of General 
 Jackson. By degrees, in consequence of the ever 
 varying modification of party denominations, this 
 term has now become exclusively appropriated to 
 the system of politics of which Air. Clay is the 
 acknowledged representative. 
 
 The following beautiful extracts are taken from 
 Mr. Clay’s Farewell Address to the Senate, in 
 1842 
 
 “ Full of attraction, however, as a seat in the 
 
448 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 Senate is, sufficient as it is to satisfy the aspirations 
 of the most ambitious heart, I have long deter¬ 
 mined to relinquish it, and to seek that repose 
 which can be enjoyed only in the shades of private 
 life, in the circle of one’s own family, and in the 
 tranquil enjoyments included in one enchanting 
 word— HOME. 
 
 “ I emigrated from Virginia to the State of 
 Kentucky now nearly forty-five years ago; I went 
 as an orphan boy who had not yet attained the 
 age of majority; who had never recognized a 
 father’s smile, nor felt his warm caresses ; poor, 
 penniless, without the favour of the great; with 
 an imperfect and neglected education, hardly suffi¬ 
 cient for the ordinary business and common 
 pursuits of life ; but scarce had I set my foot upon 
 her generous soil when I was embraced with 
 parental fondness, caressed as though I had been 
 a favourite child, and patronised with liberal and 
 unbounded munificence. From that period the 
 highest honours of the State have been freely 
 bestowed upon me; and when, in the darkest hour 
 of calumny and detraction, I seemed to be assailed 
 by all the rest of the world, she interposed her broad 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 449 
 
 and impenetrable shield, repelled the poisoned 
 shafts that were aimed for my destruction, and 
 vindicated my good name from every malignant 
 and unfounded aspersion. I return with inde¬ 
 scribable pleasure to linger a while longer, and 
 mingle with the warm hearted and whole souled 
 people of that State; and, when the last scene 
 shall for ever close upon me, I hope that my 
 earthly remains will be laid under her green sod 
 with those of her gallant and patriotic sons. 
 
 “ That my nature is warm, my temper ardent, 
 my disposition, especially in relation to the public 
 service, enthusiastic, I am ready to own ; and those 
 who suppose that I have been assuming the dic¬ 
 tatorship, have only mistaken for arrogance or 
 assumption that ardour and devotion which are 
 natural to my constitution, and which I may have 
 displayed with too little regard to cold, calculating, 
 and cautious prudence, in sustaining and zealously 
 supporting important national measures of policy 
 which I have presented and espoused. 
 
 u In the course of a long and arduous public 
 service, especially during the last eleven years in 
 which I have held a seat in the Senate, from the 
 
450 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 same ardour and enthusiasm of character, I have 
 no doubt, in the heat of debate, and in an honest 
 endeavour to maintain my opinions against adverse 
 opinions alike honestly entertained, as to the best 
 course to be adopted for the public welfare, I may 
 have often inadvertently and unintentionally, in 
 moments of excited debate, made use of language 
 that lias been offensive, and susceptible of injurious 
 interpretation toward my brother Senators. If 
 there be any here who retain wounded feelings of 
 injury or dissatisfaction produced on such oc¬ 
 casions, I beg to assure them that I now offer the 
 most ample apology for any departure on my 
 part from the established rules of Parliamentary 
 decorum and courtesy. On the other hand, I 
 assure the Senators, one and all, without exception 
 and without reserve, that I retire from this chamber 
 without carrying with me a single feeling of 
 resentment or dissatisfaction to the Senate or any 
 one of its Members. 
 
 “ I g° fr° m this place under the hope that we 
 shall mutually consign to perpetual oblivion 
 whatever personal collisions may at any time 
 unfortunately have occurred between us; and 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 451 
 
 that our recollections shall dwell in future only 
 on those conflicts of mind with mind, those intel¬ 
 lectual struggles, those noble exhibitions of the 
 powers of logic, argument, and eloquence, honour¬ 
 able to the Senate and to the Nation, in which 
 each has sought and contended for what he deemed 
 the best mode of accomplishing one common 
 object, the interest and happiness of our beloved 
 country. To these thrilling and delightful scenes 
 it will be my pleasure and my pride to look back 
 in my retirement with unmeasured satisfaction. 
 
 “ May the most precious blessings of Heaven 
 rest upon the whole Senate, and each Member of 
 it, and may the labours of every one redound to 
 the benefit of the nation and the advancement of 
 his own fame and .renown. And when you shall 
 retire to the bosom of your Constituents, may you 
 receive that most cheering and gratifying of all 
 human rewards—their cordial greeting of ‘Well 
 done, good and faithful servant.’ 
 
 “ And now, Mr. President, and Senators, I bid 
 you all a long, a lasting, and a friendly farewell.” 
 
 This Address was heard by the crowded Senate 
 
 4 r 
 
 Chamber with profound feeling. When Mr. Clay 
 
452 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 ceased to speak, many rose to take him by the 
 hand. His noble rivals Mr. Calhoun, walked 
 across the floor, and offered his hand; it was 
 cordially taken; but it is said that their mutual 
 feelings overcame them; and they separated 
 without the power of uttering a word. 
 
 And Henry Clay, in the full tide of popularity, 
 returned to seek repose and happiness at Ashland. 
 I trust that he will not refuse to an Englishwoman 
 the privilege of mingling her vows with those of his 
 countrymen, that length of days, and health, and 
 peace, may wait upon him. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM 
 
 MR. CLAY’S SPEECH ON THE SEMINOLE WAR. 
 
 Mr. Clay first takes up the treaty of Fort Jack- 
 son, of August, 1814, which he regarded as the 
 cause of the war. After reading enough of it to 
 show its character, he said :— 
 
 u I have never perused this instrument until 
 within a few days past, and I have read it with 
 the deepest mortification and regret. A more 
 dictatorial spirit I have never seen displayed in 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 453 
 
 any instrument. I would challenge an examina¬ 
 tion of all the records of diplomacy,, not excepting 
 even those in the most haughty period of imperial 
 Rome^ when she was carrying her arms into the 
 barbarian nations that surrounded hep, and I do 
 not believe that a solitary instance can be found 
 of such an inexorable spirit of domination pervad¬ 
 ing a compact purporting to be a treaty of peace. 
 It consists of the most severe and humiliating 
 demands —of the surrender of a large territory— 
 of the privilege of making roads through the 
 remnant which was retained—of the right of 
 establishing trading houses—of the obligation of 
 delivering into our hands their prophets ! And 
 all this of a wretched people reduced to the last 
 extremity of distress^ whose miserable existence 
 we have to preserve by a voluntary stipulation to 
 furnish them with bread ! When did all-con¬ 
 quering and desolating Rome ever fail to respect 
 the Altars and the Gods of those whom she subju¬ 
 gated? Let me not be told that these prophets 
 were impostors^ who deceived the Indians. They 
 were their prophets; the Indians believed and 
 venerated them, and it is not for us to dictate a 
 
454 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 religious belief to them. It does not belong to 
 the holy character of the religion which we profess, 
 to carry its precepts, by the force of the bayonet, 
 into the bosoms of other people. Mild and gentle 
 persuasion was the great instrument employed by 
 the meek founder of our religion. We leave to 
 the humane and benevolent efforts of the reverend 
 professors of Christianity to convert from bar¬ 
 barism those unhappy nations yet immersed in its 
 gloom. But, spare them their prophets! spare 
 their delusions ! spare their prejudices and super¬ 
 stitions ! spare them even their religion, such as it 
 is, from open and cruel violence. When, sir, was 
 that treaty concluded ? On the very day after 
 the protocol was signed, of the first conference 
 between the American and British Commissioners, 
 treating of peace, at Ghent. In the course of 
 that negociation, pretensions so enormous were 
 set up by the other party, that, when they were 
 promulgated in this country, there was one general 
 burst of indignation throughout the Continent. 
 Faction itself was silenced, and the firm and 
 unanimous determination of all parties was, to fight 
 until the last man fell in the ditch, rather than 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 455 
 
 submit to such ignominious terms. What a con¬ 
 trast is exhibited between the contemporaneous 
 scenes of Ghent and of Fort Jackson ! What a 
 powerful voucher would the British Commissioners 
 have been furnished with if they could have got 
 hold of that treaty \” 
 
 “ The first circumstance which, in the course of 
 his performing that duty, fixed our attention, has 
 filled me with regret. It was the execution of the 
 Indian chiefs. How, I ask, did they come into 
 our possession ? Was it in the course of fair, and 
 open, and honourable war? No; but by means 
 of deception ; by hoisting foreign colours on the 
 staff from which the stars and stripes should alone 
 have floated. Thus ensnared, the Indians were 
 taken on shore ; and without ceremony, and with¬ 
 out delay, were hung. Hang an Indian ! 
 
 4* vL* 4* 4 
 
 4 •'v* 4* 4* 4 s 
 
 But, sir, I have said that you have no right 
 to practise, under colour of retaliation, enormities 
 on the Indians. I will advance in support of this 
 position, as applicable to the origin of all law, the 
 principle, that whatever has been the custom, 
 from the commencement of a subject, whatever 
 
456 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 has been the uniform usage, coeval and coexistent 
 with the subject to which it relates, becomes its 
 fixed law. Such is the foundation of all common 
 law; and such, I believe, is the principal foun¬ 
 dation of all public or international law. If, 
 then, it can be shown that from the first settle¬ 
 ment of the colonies, on this part of the 
 American continent, to the present time, we 
 have constantly abstained from retaliating upon 
 the Indians the excesses practised by them to¬ 
 ward us, w r e are morally bound by this invariable 
 usage, and cannot lawfully change it without the 
 most cogent reasons. So far as my knowledge 
 extends, from the first settlement at Plymouth or 
 at Jamestown, it has not been our practice to 
 destroy Indian captives, combatants, or non-com¬ 
 batants. I know of but one deviation from the 
 code which regulates the warfare between civilized 
 communities, and that was the destruction of 
 Indian towns, which was supposed to be authorized 
 upon the ground that we could not bring the 
 war to a termination but by destroying the means 
 which nourished it. With this single exception, 
 the other principles of the laws of civilized 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 457 
 
 nations are extended to them, and are thus 
 made law in regard to them. When did this 
 humane custom, by which;, in consideration of 
 their ignorance, and our enlightened condition, 
 the rigours of war were mitigated, begin? At 
 a time when we were weak, and they com¬ 
 paratively strong ; when they were the lords of the 
 soil, and we were seeking, from the vices, from 
 the corruptions, from the religious intolerance, 
 and from the oppressions of Europe, to gain an 
 asylum among them. And when is it proposed 
 to change this custom, to substitute for it the 
 bloody maxims of barbarous ages, and to inter¬ 
 polate the Indian public law with revolting 
 cruelties ? At a time when the situation of the two 
 parties is totally changed—when we are power¬ 
 ful and they are weak-—at a time when, to use a 
 figure drawn from their own sublime eloquence, 
 the poor children of the forest have been driven 
 by the great wave which has flowed in from the 
 Atlantic ocean almost to the base of the Rocky 
 Mountains, and overwhelming them in its terrible 
 progress, has left no other remains of hundreds 
 of tribes, now extinct, than those which indicate 
 
 R R 
 
458 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 the remote existence of their former companion, 
 the mammoth of the new world ! Yes, sir, it is at 
 this auspicious period of our country, when we 
 hold a proud and lofty station among the first 
 nations of the world, that we are called upon to 
 sanction a departure from the established laws 
 and usages which have regulated our Indian hos¬ 
 tilities. And does the honourable gentleman from 
 Massachusetts expect, in this august body, this 
 enlightened assembly of Christians and Americans 
 by glowing appeals to our passions, to make us 
 forget our principles, our religion, our clemency, 
 and our humanity ? Why is it that we have not 
 practised toward the Indian tribes the right of 
 retaliation, now for the first time asserted in regard 
 to them ? It is because it is a principle proclaimed 
 by reason, and enforced by every respectable 
 writer on the law of nations, that retaliation is 
 only justifiable as calculated to produce effect in 
 the war. Vengeance is a new motive for resorting 
 to it. If retaliation will produce no effect on the 
 enemy, we are bound to abstain from it by every 
 consideration of humanity and of justice. Will 
 it then produce effect on the Indian tribes? No ; 
 
hp:nry clay. 
 
 459 
 
 they care not about the execution of those of their 
 warriors who are taken captive. They are con¬ 
 sidered as disgraced by the very circumstance of 
 their captivity, and it is often mercy to the 
 unhappy captive to deprive him of his existence. 
 The poet evinced a profound knowledge of the 
 Indian character, when he put into the mouth of 
 the son of a distinguished chief, about to be led 
 to the stake and tortured by his victorious enemy, 
 the words— 
 
 ‘ Begin, ye tormentors ! your threats are in vain : 
 
 The son of Alknomook will never complain.’ 
 
 I will not trespass much longer upon the time 
 of the Committee ; but I trust I shall be indulged 
 with some few reflections upon the danger of 
 permitting the conduct on which it has been my 
 painful duty to animadvert, to pass without a 
 solemn expression of the disapprobation of this 
 House. Recall to your recollection the free nations 
 which have gone before us. Where are they now? 
 
 ‘ Gone glimmering through the dream of things that were, 
 
 A school boy’s tale, the wonder of an hour.’ 
 
 And how have they lost their liberties ? If we 
 could transport ourselves back to the ages when 
 
460 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 Greece and Rome flourished in their greatest pros¬ 
 perity, and, mingling in the throng, should ask a 
 Grecian, if he did not fear that some daring mili¬ 
 tary chieftain, covered with glory, some Philip or 
 Alexander, would one day overthrow the liberties 
 of his country, the confident and indignant Gre¬ 
 cian would exclaim, f No ! no ! we have nothing 
 to fear from our heroes ; our liberties will be eter¬ 
 nal.* If a Roman citizen had been asked, if he 
 did not fear that the conqueror of Gaul might 
 establish a throne upon the ruins of public li¬ 
 berty, he would have instantly repelled the un¬ 
 just insinuation. Yet Greece fell; Caesar passed 
 the Rubicon, and the patriotic arm even of Brutus 
 could not preserve the liberties of his devoted 
 country! The celebrated Madame de Stael, in 
 her last and perhaps her best work, has said, that 
 in the very year, almost the very month, when the 
 President of the Directory declared that monarchy 
 would never more show its frightful head in France, 
 Buonaparte, with his grenadiers, entered the palace 
 of St. Cloud, and dispersing, with the bayonet, 
 the Deputies of the People, deliberating on the 
 affairs of the state, laid the foundation of that vast 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 461 
 
 fabric of despotism which overshadowed all Europe. 
 I hope not to be misunderstood. I am far from 
 intimating that General Jackson cherishes any 
 designs inimical to the liberties of the country. I 
 believe his intentions to be pure and patriotic. I 
 thank God that he would not, but I thank him 
 still more that he could not, if he would, over¬ 
 turn the liberties of the republic. But precedents, 
 if bad, are fraught with the most dangerous con¬ 
 sequences. Man has been described, by some 
 of those who have treated of his nature, as a bundle 
 of habits. The definition is much truer when ap¬ 
 plied to Governments. Precedents are their habits. 
 There is one important difference between the for¬ 
 mation of habits by an individual and by Govern¬ 
 ments. He contracts it only after frequent re¬ 
 petition. A single instance fixes the habit and 
 determines the direction of Governments. Against 
 the alarming doctrine of unlimited discretion in 
 our military commanders when applied even to 
 prisoners of war, I must enter my protest. It 
 begins upon them; it will end on us. I hope our 
 happy form of Government is to be perpetual. 
 But, if it is to be preserved, it must be by the 
 
 r r 2 
 
462 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 practice of virtue, by justice, by moderation, by 
 magnanimity, by greatness of soul, by keeping a 
 watchful and steady eye on the executive; and, 
 above all, by holding to a strict accountability the 
 military branch of the public force. 
 
 “We are fighting a great moral battle, for the 
 benefit, not only of our country, but of all man¬ 
 kind. The eyes of the whole world are in fixed 
 attention upon us. One, and the largest portion 
 of it, is gazing with contempt, with jealousy, and 
 with envy; the other portion, with hope, with 
 confidence, and with affection. Everywhere the 
 black cloud of legitimacy is suspended over the 
 world, save only one bright spot, which breaks 
 out from the political hemisphere of the west, to 
 enlighten, and animate, and gladden the human 
 heart. Obscure that, by the downfall of liberty 
 here, and all mankind are enshrouded in a pall 
 of universal darkness. To you, Mr. Chairman, 
 belongs the high privilege of transmitting, unim¬ 
 paired, to posterity, the fair character and liberty 
 of our country. Do you expect to execute this 
 high trust, by trampling, or suffering to be 
 trampled down, law, justice, the Constitution, and 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 463 
 
 the rights of the People ? by exhibiting examples 
 of inhumanity, and cruelty, and ambition ? When 
 the minions of despotism heard, in Europe, of the 
 seizure of Pensacola, how did they chuckle, and 
 chide the admirers of our institutions, tauntingly 
 pointing to the demonstration of a spirit of injustice 
 and aggrandizement made by our country, in the 
 midst of an amicable negociation. Behold, said 
 they, the conduct of those who are constantly 
 reproaching kings. You saw how those admirers 
 were astounded and hung their heads. You saw, 
 too, when that illustrious man, who presides over 
 us, adopted his pacific, moderate, and just course, 
 how they once more lifted up their heads with 
 exultation, and delight beaming in their coun¬ 
 tenances. And you saw how those minions them¬ 
 selves were finally compelled to unite in the general 
 praises bestowed upon our Government. Beware 
 how you forfeit this exalted character. Beware 
 how you give a fatal sanction, in this infant period 
 of our Republic, scarcely yet two score years old, 
 to military insubordination. Remember that 
 Greece had her Alexander, Rome her Caesar, 
 England her Cromwell, France her Buonaparte, 
 
464 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 and that if we would escape the rock on which 
 they split, we must avoid their errors. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 “ I hope gentlemen will deliberately survey the 
 awful isthmus on which we stand. They may 
 bear down all opposition; they may even vote 
 the General the public thanks; they may carry him 
 triumphantly through this House. But, if they 
 do, in my humble judgment, it will be a triumph 
 of the principle of insubordination, a triumph of 
 the military over the civil authority, a triumph 
 over the powers of this House, a triumph over the 
 Constitution of the land. And I pray most de¬ 
 voutly to Heaven, that it may not prove, in its 
 ultimate effects and consequences, a triumph over 
 the liberties of the people.” 
 
 EXTRACT FROM MR. CLAY’S SPEECH ON MR. TYLER’S 
 VETO OF THE BANK BILL. 
 
 “On the fourth of April last, the lamented 
 Harrison, the President of the United States, paid 
 the debt of nature. President Tyler, who, as Vice- 
 President, succeeded to the duties of that office, 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 465 
 
 arrived in the city of Washington, on the sixth of 
 that month. He found the whole metropolis 
 wrapped in gloom, every heart filled with sorrow 
 and sadness, every eye streaming with tears, and 
 the surrounding hills yet flinging back the echo of 
 the bells which were tolled on that melancholy 
 occasion. On entering the Presidential Mansion, 
 he contemplated the pale body of his predecessor 
 stretched before him, and clothed in the black 
 habiliments of death. At that solemn moment, I 
 have no doubt that the heart of President Tyler 
 was overflowing with mingled emotions of grief, 
 of patriotism, and of gratitude—above all, of 
 gratitude to that country, by a majority of whose 
 suffrages, bestowed at the preceding November, 
 he then stood the most distinguished, the most 
 elevated, the most honoured, of all living Whigs of 
 the United States. 
 
 “ Notwithstanding all our concessions, made in 
 a genuine and sincere spirit of conciliation, the 
 sanction of the President could not be obtained, 
 and the bill has been returned by him with his 
 objections. 
 
 “And I shall now proceed to consider those 
 
466 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 objections, with as much brevity as possible, but 
 with the most perfect respect, official and personal, 
 toward the Chief Magistrate. 
 
 ‘ 4 After stating that the power of Congress to 
 establish a National Bank, to operate jjer se, has 
 been a controverted question from the origin of 
 the government, the President remarks :— 
 
 “ 4 Men most justly and deservedly esteemed 
 for their high intellectual endowments, their virtue 
 and their patriotism, have, in regard to it, enter¬ 
 tained different and conflicting opinions. Con¬ 
 gresses have differed. The approval of one 
 President has been followed by the disapproval 
 of another/ 
 
 “From this statement of the case it may be 
 inferred, that the President considers the weight 
 of authority, pro and con, to be equal and balanced. 
 But if he intended to make such an array of it, 
 if he intended to say that it was an equilibrium, 
 
 I must respectfully, but most decidedly, dissent 
 from him. I think the conjoint testimony of 
 history, tradition, and the knowledge of living 
 witnesses proves the contrary. How stands the 
 question as to the opinions of Congresses ? The 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 46/ 
 
 Congress of 1791, the Congress of 1813—’14, the 
 Congress of 1815—’16, the Congress of 1831— ’32, 
 and, finally, the present Congress, have all re¬ 
 spectively and unequivocally, affirmed the existence 
 of a power in Congress to establish a National 
 Bank to operate per se. We behold, then, the 
 concurrent opinion of five different Congresses on 
 one side. And what Congress is there on the 
 opposite side? The Congress of 1811 ? I was a 
 member of the Senate in that year, when it decided, 
 by the casting vote of the Vice-President, against 
 the renewal of the charter of the old Bank of the 
 United States. And I now here, in my place, 
 add to the testimony already before the public, by 
 declaring that it is within my certain knowledge, 
 that that decision of the Senate did not proceed 
 from a disbelief of a majority of the Senate in the 
 power of Congress to establish a National Bank, 
 but from combined considerations of expediency 
 and constitutionality. A majority of the Senate, 
 on the contrary, as I know, entertained no doubt 
 as to the power of Congress. Thus the account, 
 as to Congresses, stands five for, and not one, or, 
 at most, not more than one, against the power. 
 
468 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 “ Let us now look into the state of authority 
 derivable from the opinions of Presidents of the 
 United States. President Washington believed in 
 the powers of Congress, and approved a Bank bill. 
 President Jefferson approved acts to extend 
 branches into other parts of the United States, 
 and to punish counterfeiters of the notes of the 
 Bank—acts which were devoid of all justification, 
 whatever, upon the assumption of the unconstitu¬ 
 tionality of the Bank. For how could branches 
 be extended, or punishment be lawfully inflicted 
 upon the counterfeiters of the paper of a corpora¬ 
 tion which came into . existence without any 
 authority, and in violation of the constitution of 
 the land ? James Madison, notwithstanding those 
 early scruples which he had entertained, and which 
 
 i 
 
 he probably still cherished, sanctioned and signed 
 a bill to charter the late Bank of the United States. 
 It is perfectly well known that Mr. Monroe never 
 did entertain any scruples or doubts in regard to 
 the power of Congress. Here, then, are four 
 Presidents of the United States who have directly or 
 collaterally borne official testimony to the existence 
 of the Bank power in Congress. And what 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 469 
 
 President is there, that ever bore unequivocally 
 opposite testimony—that disapproved a Bank 
 charter* in the sense intended by President Tyler ? 
 General Jackson, although he did apply the Veto 
 power to the bill for re-chartering the late Bank of 
 the United States in 1832, it is within the perfect 
 recollection of us all, not only testified to the 
 utility of a Bank of the United States, but declared, 
 that, if he had been applied to by Congress, he 
 could have furnished the plan of such a Bank. 
 
 a Thus, Mr. President, we perceive, that, in 
 reviewing the action of the legislative and execu¬ 
 tive departments of the Government, there is a vast 
 preponderance of the weight of authority main¬ 
 taining the existence of the power in Congress. 
 But President Tyler has, I presume unintentionally, 
 wholly omitted to notice the judgment and deci¬ 
 sions of the third co-ordinate department of the 
 Government upon this controverted question—that 
 department, whose interpretations of the Consti¬ 
 tution, within its proper jurisdiction and sphere of 
 action, are binding upon all; and which, therefore, 
 may be considered as exercising a controlling 
 power over both the other departments. The 
 
470 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 Supreme Court of the United States, with its late 
 Chief Justice, the illustrious Marshall, at its head, 
 unanimously decided that Congress possessed this 
 Bank power; and this adjudication was sustained 
 and re-affirmed whenever afterward the question 
 arose before the court. 
 
 te After recounting the occasions, during his 
 public career, on which he had expressed an opinion 
 against the power of Congress to charter a Bank 
 of the United States, the President proceeds to 
 say 
 
 “ Entertaining the opinions alluded to, and 
 having taken this oath, the Senate and the country 
 will see that I could not give my sanction to a 
 measure of the character described, without sur¬ 
 rendering all claim to the respect of honourable 
 men—all confidence on the part of the people, all 
 self respect, all regard for moral and religious 
 obligations; without an observance of which no 
 Government can be prosperous, and no people 
 can be happy. It would be to commit a crime, 
 which I would not wilfully commit to gain any 
 earthly reward, and which would justly subject 
 me to the ridicule and scorn of all virtuous men.’ 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 471 
 
 “ Mr. President, I must think, and hope I may 
 he allowed to say, with profound deference to the 
 Chief Magistrate, that it appears to me he has 
 viewed with too lively sensibility the personal 
 consequences to himself of his approval of the 
 Bill; and that, surrendering himself to a vivid 
 imagination, he has depicted them in much too 
 glowing and exaggerated colours, and that it 
 would have been most happy, if he had looked 
 more to the deplorable consequences of a Veto 
 upon the hopes, the interests, and the happiness of 
 his country. Does it follow that a Magistrate who 
 yields his private judgment to the concurring 
 authority of numerous decisions, repeatedly and 
 deliberately pronounced, after the lapse of long 
 intervals, by all the departments of Government, 
 and by all parties, incurs the dreadful penalties 
 described by the President? Can any man be 
 disgraced and dishonoured, who yields his private 
 opinion to the judgment of the nation? In this 
 case, the country (I mean a majority), Congress, 
 and, according to common fame, a unanimous 
 Cabinet, were all united in favour of the Bill. 
 Should any man feel himself humbled and degraded 
 
472 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 in yielding to the conjoint force of such high autho¬ 
 rity ? Does any man, who at one period of his life 
 shall have expressed a particular opinion, and at a 
 subsequent period shall act upon the opposite 
 opinion, expose himself to the terrible consequences 
 which have been pourtrayed by the President? How 
 is it with the Judge, in the case by no means rare, 
 who bows to the authority of repeated precedents, 
 settling a particular question, while in his private 
 judgment, the law was otherwise ? How is it with 
 that numerous class of public men in this country, 
 and with the two great parties that have divided 
 it, who, at different periods, have maintained and 
 acted on opposite opinions in respect to this very 
 Bank question. 
 
 u How is it with James Madison, the Father of 
 the Constitution—that great man whose services 
 to his country placed him only second to Wash¬ 
 ington ; whose virtues and purity in private life, 
 whose patriotism, intelligence, and wisdom in pub¬ 
 lic councils, stand unsurpassed ? He was a mem¬ 
 ber of the National Convention that formed, and of 
 the Virginia Convention that adopted, the Consti¬ 
 tution. No man understood it better than he did. 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 473 
 
 He was opposed, in 1791, to the establishment of 
 the Bank of the United States, upon constitutional 
 ground ; and, in 1816, he approved and signed the 
 charter of the late Bank of the United States. It 
 is a part of the secret history connected with the 
 first Bank, that James Madison had, at the in¬ 
 stance of General Washington, prepared a Veto for 
 him in the contingency of his rejection of the bill. 
 Thus stood James Madison, when, in 1815, he ap¬ 
 plied the Veto to a bill to charter a Bank upon 
 considerations of expediency, but with a clear and 
 express admission of the existence of a constitu¬ 
 tional power of Congress to charter one. In 1816, 
 the bill which was then presented to him being 
 free from the objections applicable to that of the 
 previous year, he sanctioned and signed it. Did 
 James Madison surrender c all claim to the respect 
 of honourable men, all confidence on the part of 
 the people, all self-respect, all regard for moral and 
 religious obligations ? 5 Did the pure, the virtuous, 
 the gifted James Madison, by his sanction and 
 signature to the charter of the late Bank of the 
 United States, commit a crime which justly sub- 
 
 s s 2 
 
474 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 jected him 6 to the ridicule and scorn of all virtu¬ 
 ous men ?’ ” 
 
 sj/ vLf 5}^ vI/ si/ 
 
 *T» *1* 'T' *^j-* 
 
 “ If it were possible/’ (says Mr. Clay,) to dis¬ 
 inter the venerated remains of James Madison, re¬ 
 animate his perishing form, and place him once 
 more in that chair of state, which he so much 
 adorned, what would have been his course, if this 
 bill had been presented to him, even supposing him 
 never to have announced his acquiescence in the 
 settled judgment of the nation? He would have 
 said that human controversy, in regard to a single 
 question should not be perpetual, and ought to have 
 a termination. This, about the power to establish a 
 Bank of the United States, has been long enough 
 continued. The nation, under all the forms of its 
 public action, has often and deliberately decided it. 
 A Bank, and associated financial and currency 
 questions, which had long slept, were revived, and 
 have divided the nation during the last ten years 
 of arduous and bitter struggle; and the party 
 which put down the Bank, and which occasioned 
 all the disorders in our currency and finances, has 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 475 
 
 itself been signally put down by one of those great 
 moral and political revolutions which a free, a pa¬ 
 triotic people can but seldom arouse itself to make. 
 Human infallibility has not been granted by God ; 
 and the chances of error are much greater on the 
 side of one man, than on that of the majority of a 
 whole people and their successive legislatures 
 during a long period of time. I yield to the irresis¬ 
 tible force of authority. I will not put myself in 
 opposition to a measure so imperatively demanded 
 by the public voice, and so essential to elevate my 
 depressed and suffering countrymen/’ 
 
 The conclusion of Mr. Clay’s reply to Mr. Rives 
 rightfully claims a place here:— 
 
 <C I rose not to say one word which should 
 wound the feelings of President Tyler. The 
 Senator says, that, if placed in like circumstances, 
 I would have been the last man to avoid putting 
 a direct Veto upon the Bill, had it met my disap¬ 
 probation ; and he does me the honour to attribute 
 to me high qualities of stern and unbending intre¬ 
 pidity. I hope, that in all that relates to personal 
 firmness, all that concerns a just appreciation of 
 the insignificance of human life—whatever may 
 

 476 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 be attempted to threaten or alarm a soul not easily 
 swayed by opposition, or awed or intimidated by 
 menace—a stout heart and a steady eye, that 
 can survey, unmoved and undaunted, any mere 
 personal perils that assail this poor, transient, 
 perishing frame, I may, without disparagement, 
 compare with other men. But there is a sort of 
 courage, which, I frankly confess it, I do not 
 possess, a boldness to which I dare not aspire, 
 a valour which I cannot covet. I cannot lay 
 myself down in the way of the welfare and happi¬ 
 ness of my country. That I cannot, I have not 
 the courage to do. I cannot interpose the power 
 with which I may be invested—a power conferred, 
 not for my personal benefit, nor for my aggran¬ 
 dizement, but for my country’s good—to check 
 her onward march to greatness and glory. I have 
 not courage enough, I am too cowardly for that. 
 I would not, I dare not, in the exercise of such a 
 trust, lie down, and place my body across the path 
 that leads my country to prosperity and happiness. 
 This is a sort of courage widely different from 
 that which a man may display in his private con¬ 
 duct and personal relations. Personal or private 
 
HENRY CLAY. 477 
 
 courage is totally distinct from that higher and 
 nobler courage which prompts the patriot to offer 
 himself a voluntary sacrifice to his country’s good . 
 
 “ Nor did I say, as the Senator represents, that 
 the President should have resigned. I intimated 
 no personal wish or desire that he should resign. 
 I referred to the fact of a memorable resignation 
 in his public life. And what I did say was, that 
 there were other alternatives before him besides 
 Vetoing the Bill; and that it was worthy of his 
 consideration whether consistency did not require 
 that the example which he had set when he had a 
 constituency of one State, should not be followed 
 when he had a constituency commensurate with 
 the whole Union. Another alternative was, to 
 suffer the Bill, without his signature, to pass into 
 a law under the provisions of the Constitution. 
 And I must confess, I see, in this, no such escaping 
 by the back door, no such jumping out of the 
 window, as the Senator talks about. Apprehen¬ 
 sions of the imputation of the want of firmness 
 sometimes impel us to perform rash and incon¬ 
 siderate acts. It is the greatest courage to be able 
 to bear the imputation of the want of courage. 
 
478 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 But pride, vanity, egotism, so unamiable and offen¬ 
 sive in private life, are vices which partake of 
 the character of crimes in the conduct of public 
 affairs. The unfortunate victim of these passions 
 cannot see beyond the little, petty, contemptible 
 circle of his own personal interests. All his 
 thoughts are withdrawn from his country, and 
 concentrated on his consistency, his firmness, him¬ 
 self. The high, the exalted , the sublime emotions of 
 a patriotism, which, soaring toward heaven, rises far 
 above all mean , low, or selfish things, and is absorbed 
 by one sold transporting thought of the good and the 
 glory of one’s country, are never felt in his impene¬ 
 trable bosom. That patriotism which, catching its 
 inspirations from the immortal God, and leaving at 
 an immeasurable distance below all lesser, grovel¬ 
 ling, personal interests and feelings, animates and 
 prompts to deeds of self-sacrifice, of valour, of devo¬ 
 tion, and of death itself-—that is public virtue; that 
 is the noblest, the sublimest of all public virtues ! 
 
 “ I said nothing of any obligation on the part 
 of the President to conform his judgment to the 
 opinions of the Senate and House of Represen¬ 
 tatives, although the Senator argued as if I had, 
 
HENRY CLAY. 
 
 479 
 
 and persevered in so arguing, after repeated cor¬ 
 rections. I said no such thing. I know and 
 respect the perfect independence of each depart¬ 
 ment, acting within its proper sphere, of other 
 departments. But I referred to the majorities in 
 the two Houses of Congress as further and strong 
 evidence of the opinion of the people of the United 
 States in favour of the establishment of a Bank of 
 the United States. And I contended that, ac¬ 
 cording to the doctrine of instructions which 
 prevailed in Virginia, and of which the President 
 is a disciple, and, in pursuance of the example 
 already cited, he ought not to have rejected the 
 Bill. 
 
 cc I have heard that, on his arrival at the seat of 
 the General Government, to enter upon the duties 
 of the office of Vice-President, in March last, 
 when interrogated how far he meant to conform, in 
 his new station, to certain peculiar opinions which 
 were held in Virginia, he made this patriotic and 
 noble reply :— ( l am Vice-President of the United 
 States, and not of the State of Virginia; and I 
 shall be governed by the wishes and opinions of 
 my Constituents . 5 When I heard of this encou- 
 
480 
 
 HENRY CLAY. 
 
 raging and satisfactory reply, believing, as I most 
 religiously do, that a large majority of the people 
 of the United States are in favour of a National 
 Bank, (and gentlemen may shut their eyes to the 
 fact, deny, or dispute, or reason it away as they 
 please, but it is my conscientious conviction that 
 two thirds, if not more, of the people of the 
 United States, desire such an institution), I thought 
 I beheld a sure and certain guaranty for the 
 fulfilment of the wishes of the people of the 
 United States. I thought it impossible, that the 
 wants and wishes of a great people, who had 
 bestowed such unbounded and generous confi¬ 
 dence, and conferred on him such exalted honours, 
 should be disregarded and disappointed. It did 
 not enter into my imagination to conceive, that 
 one, who had shown so much deference and 
 respect to the presumed sentiments of a single 
 State, should display less toward the sentiments 
 of the whole nation. 
 
 ce I hope, Mr. President, that, in performing the 
 painful duty which had devolved on me, I have 
 not transcended the limits of legitimate debate. I 
 repeat, in all truth and sincerity, the assurance to 
 
IIENRY CLAY. 
 
 481 
 
 the Senate and the country, that nothing but a 
 stern, reluctant, and indispensible sense of honour 
 and of duty could have forced from me the response 
 which I have made to the President’s objections. 
 But, instead of yielding without restraint to the 
 feelings of disappointment and mortification ex¬ 
 cited by the perusal of his message, I have anxiously 
 endeavoured to temper the notice of it, which I 
 have been compelled to take, by the respect due 
 to the office of Chief Magistrate, and by the per¬ 
 sonal regard and esteem which I have ever enter¬ 
 tained for its present incumbent.” 
 
 T T 
 
 
THE RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of New York. 
 
 “ Be just, and fear not; 
 
 Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy Country’s, 
 Thy God’s, and Truth’s.” 
 
 The Bishop is the historical man of his day. He 
 assumes his position among the Statesmen of 
 America, not as an active politician, but as the 
 Representative, Priest, Controller and Guardian 
 of a powerful body now incorporated in the 
 Democracy of the Republic; I allude to the 
 Roman Catholics, both native and foreign. It is 
 a high and responsible capacity. His power over 
 his people is without limit ; and they revere alike 
 his person and his office; they behold him Supreme 
 in wisdom and in virtue; his wisdom devoted 
 incessantly to their earthly and their heavenly 
 weal; while in the exercises of his Virtue are 
 displayed, for their instruction, the exalted Faith, 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 483 
 
 and holy Hope, and Christian Charity becoming 
 him who is at once the example of their lives, and 
 the Pastor of their souls. 
 
 The Bishop is the greatest temporal Prince in 
 America , and he is the greatest spiritual Prince in 
 the world . And his reign is more immutable than 
 that of Kings and Presidents, because it is not 
 merely an earthly, but a heavenly bond that unites 
 him to his flock;—Kings rule by inheritance, and 
 Presidents by election; but this man rules alone 
 through the mighty influences of Religion. And 
 marvellous are its effects, not only upon the people 
 committed to his charge, but on those also whose 
 religious and political prejudices have been and 
 are arrayed against them. The discipline of the 
 Catholic Church, fortified by experience, sanc¬ 
 tioned by time, justified by its results, does even 
 now exert its guardian influences upon the moral 
 character of the American people. As education 
 proceeds in its glorious mission, this long perse¬ 
 cuted, much enduring faith, is gradually restored 
 to its honours and to its privileges of usefulness. 
 
 The dearest and warmest friends of the Republic 
 look with fear and trembling on her sectional 
 
484 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 divisions, her party jealousies; upon the various 
 and conflicting interests which are enclosed within 
 her bosom; upon the strange and anomalous 
 divisions, sub-divisions, and minor sub-divisions 
 of her interminable and contending religious deno¬ 
 minations; and with greater apprehension still 
 upon the varieties of national character and feeling 
 which are daily becoming more strongly marked 
 in feature, and which require more urgently every 
 hour some amalgamating influence of higher origin, 
 of more harmonizing tendency than the civil or 
 the legal code. The equality enjoyed, and the 
 freedom exercised by every individual of the United 
 States in the choice of their religion, moral 
 views, commercial enterprises, habits, manners, 
 and society, is their birthright;—and were men 
 angels, or still lived in the blessed ignorance of 
 evil that was the lot of our first parents in Para¬ 
 dise ;—then, then indeed this freedom would be 
 as heavenly in its effects as in its origin. But 
 Man, Alas ! is still apparelled in his coil of clay;— 
 he is born in sin, and a child of wrath, and his 
 very virtues themselves are embued with a taint 
 of the earth from which his mortal body was 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 485 
 
 compounded ; his ardour becomes ambition, his 
 hope grows into confidence, his repentance sinks 
 into despair, his wisdom is folly, his liberty licen¬ 
 tiousness ; and since the commission of that pristine 
 sin which “ first brought death into the world, 
 and all our woe,” he who was created in the simi¬ 
 litude of God, pursues his weary footsteps begirt 
 with woe, deformed with vice, a frail and darkened 
 image. 
 
 The Gospel of Christ indeed sheds on us all 
 its hallowed rays ;—but the experience of all ages 
 has shown that even the Gospel, the inspired 
 word of God himself, must be moulded into a 
 tangible form to be available in its effects on our 
 degraded nature; that believers must practise 
 certain pre-concerted external modes of worship 
 extracted from its promulgations, and must unite 
 in one universally acknowledged Confession of 
 Faith; in order to establish and perpetuate 
 religious observances among men. The primitive 
 Christians, guided by that light from Heaven, 
 which like the Star in the East upon the path of 
 the expectant Shepherds, shone upon their fond 
 inquiries, elicited from the New Testament, 
 
486 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 the precious Legacy which they had received from 
 Christ and his Apostles, those forms and habitudes 
 of prayer which in after and happier years were 
 ratified by the Fathers, and confirmed by the 
 Councils of the Church. 
 
 These are the forms and habitudes 
 
 WHICH CONSTITUTE THE CREED AND WORSHIP; 
 OR, IN OTHER WORDS, THE RlTUAL OF THE 
 
 Catholic Religion. 
 
 Modified in after ages by accidental causes, 
 sometimes in honour, sometimes in dishonour, 
 sometimes in wisdom, sometimes in folly, these 
 forms have, notwithstanding, been the true, essen¬ 
 tial, and unchangeable canons on which all other 
 denominations have reared their faith; and it is 
 somewhat curious that the nearer these recusant 
 denominations approach to the Roman Catholic 
 ordinances, whether of Creed or form, the more 
 exalted are the claims they put forth to Orthodoxy. 
 But vain is the assumption, and false the claim; 
 there is no stronger, more impregnable point in 
 Orthodoxy, than Unity —and it is precisely this 
 Unity which is the brightest jewel in the diadem 
 of the Catholic Church;—it is this Unity, in all 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 487 
 
 her attributes, that has not only enabled her to be 
 the mightiest, most extended, and most apostolic 
 of Christian Communities, but it has carried her 
 through centuries of sorrow with unrepining 
 patience and submission. Her ministers have 
 endured the Cross , despising the shame ;—it is this 
 Unity which creates the attachment of her disciples 
 to her Faith;—her Priests teach as men having 
 authority; they preach the Gospel assisted by the 
 light of tradition; they study and they know; it 
 is, moreover, her Unity, that quickening spirit 
 which has at length enabled her to cast off her 
 sackcloth and ashes, to put on the whole Armour 
 of Light, and in a new hemisphere the gift of her 
 disciples to the elder world, to arise in Glory 
 and in Majesty;—universal, spiritual, and in¬ 
 corruptible. 
 
 But of all the consequences which result from 
 the Unity of the Church, the most important, the 
 most needful in the existing state of society, is the 
 Discipline of the heart of man; the reduction 
 of his nature to the laws of Heave7i and of Humanity. 
 It is of this Discipline and its Effects that I would 
 briefly speak. 
 
488 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 I have alluded above to the apprehensions 
 entertained by many of the best and wisest citizens 
 of America with regard to the various intersectional 
 causes which may estrange her people from each 
 other, springing, as they do, in countless multi¬ 
 tudes from North, and South, and East, and West. 
 The impending result is alienation or disruption. 
 Where then is the Union ? I have also remarked 
 upon the privileges exercised alike in common by 
 the young and by the aged, by the learned and by 
 the ignorant, by the high and by the low; by the 
 master and his servant, by the teacher and the 
 pupil—by the parent and the child; equal terms 
 
 exist between all these unequal relations of life ; 
 
 \ 
 
 and the natural consequence is insubordination. 
 Where then is prosperity; where is peace, or the 
 rational liberty and protection of the citizen ? 
 And I have commented upon the extraordinary 
 spectacle presented by the religious denominations 
 in America, and the dramatic aspects they present 
 in their zealous efforts, each to emblazon majority 
 upon their banner. They are separated into 
 invisible fractions. (£ As a house divided against 
 itself must fall,” so these various creeds must be 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 489 
 
 extinguished by their own ambitious and restless 
 aspirations. And the effect must be their gradual 
 extermination . What then becomes of Religion ? 
 
 From these momentous causes the difficulties 
 to be anticipated are many, and manifest; they 
 need not be enlarged upon. 
 
 And where is the remedy ? not in the Institutions 
 of a Democracy; in them is the origin of the evil; 
 not in parental authority,— the youth of America 
 is impatient of restraint; not in self correction,— 
 the masses any where rarely practise it; not in 
 the mechanical instruction of the schools,—they 
 o’er inform the mind , and leave the spirit in its 
 ignorance; not in the abridgment of Liberty, 
 either public or private,—God forbid ! — — 
 
 — — — — — And looking round in 
 
 anxious and enquiring solicitude, for dear, unutter¬ 
 ably dear to me is that America where my children’s 
 children will be reared, I behold, with grateful 
 heart, provision made by the Supreme Regulator 
 of human things against these ripening dangers; 
 dangers which the mind dares scarcely pause to 
 look upon. A scheme of infinite Mercy has been 
 divulged and committed to the wisdom and energy 
 
490 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 of appointed Messengers to be fulfilled. The 
 Clergy of the Catholic Church of Europe, 
 the Heirs of the first Pilgrims of the 
 Cross in the Western Hemisphere, seek 
 their inheritance ; they rest their claims 
 upon the Gospel which they preach, upon the 
 services which they render, and the examples 
 which they give; taking neither purse nor scrip 
 across the ocean, they carry with them the inesti¬ 
 mable boon which maketh men wise unto Salvation. 
 They have laid the foundation stone of real educa¬ 
 tion ; education of the heart; the formation of 
 character; without which liberty is licentiousness; 
 and compared to which the mere accomplishments 
 of the mind and fingers are airy nothings, unsub¬ 
 stantial in possession and useless in application. 
 In the numerous and crowded Catholic Schools 
 of the United States are taught the exercise of 
 prayer, the practice of morality, the laws of 
 obedience and responsibility ; and self sacrifice 
 and moral and spiritual humility,' and good 
 works as well as saving faith , and charity, and 
 brotherly love, and tolerance ; and here the strong 
 hand of Discipline is felt and respected. Many 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 491 
 
 well judging persons of different religious per¬ 
 suasions have assured me that the only really 
 useful and corrective education is that of the 
 Catholic Schools and Colleges. So far as I have 
 known, these Seminaries are crowded not only 
 with pupils of their own Creed, but with those of 
 all other Sects. And I have high official authority 
 for saying that the Ministers and Missionaries of 
 the Roman Catholic Church are at this moment 
 doing more good for the cause of virtue and 
 morality, throughout the whole continent of 
 America, than those of any other religious deno¬ 
 mination whatever. 
 
 The Constitution provides that no religious sect 
 shall be incorporated with the Government . This 
 wise and wholesome prohibition can never be 
 infringed;—every American heart would rebel, 
 every American hand would be raised at so foul 
 a usurpation. The Union of Church and State, 
 unnatural in all governments, would be monstrous 
 in a Republic, and must, of necessity, end in the 
 corruption of both, and the destruction of one. 
 In such an event, the weaker must yield to the 
 stronger, the Church to the State, and any Church 
 
492 
 
 RIGHT REY. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 in America, by seeking aggrandizement in wealth or 
 political power, would shortly and inevitably dis¬ 
 cover that it had drawn upon itself hopeless and 
 endless ruin. It is the general opinion among the 
 enlightened Catholic Clergy that the greatest trial 
 the Church has ever endured has been its union 
 with the State ; and they regard its emancipation 
 from such an alliance as the most certain assurance 
 of its future rapid increase, and permanent 
 establishment. Excess of wealth, excess of power, 
 corrupt the Church as they do mundane Com¬ 
 munities. 
 
 But the professors of the Catholic Religion in 
 America, are too wise, too well instructed in the 
 history of past ages, and too observant of the 
 present aspect of both hemispheres of the world, 
 to be still ignorant that all forms of Religious 
 Administration must be engrafted upon national 
 character; that they must reflect the civil insti¬ 
 tutions of a country, so far as the laws of God 
 permit , and not oppose or rival them—that their 
 ministers must teach submission; not usurp 
 power. And it is the most extraordinary feature 
 of this wonderful Religion that it is adapted to all 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, DJD. 
 
 493 
 
 Governments, all nations, all periods, all climates, 
 all characters; with their vicissitudes and their 
 attributes. In Europe, both Monarchies and 
 Republics have professed its Creed; and in 
 America, the purest of Democracies is gradually 
 recognizing its perfections. 
 
 The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the 
 United States seek not endowment; they love 
 their independence; they seek not power; they 
 prize their purity; they seek not sinecures ; they 
 value their high prerogative of usefulness. And 
 thus as saintly men do they pursue their steady 
 way, void of offence before God and Man, approved 
 on earth, and registered in Heaven. 
 
 I am an Episcopalian, or Protestant of the 
 Church of England by my profession of religious 
 Faith—in this Creed was I born, in this Creed 
 was I baptized, confirmed, and married; and in 
 this Creed I hope to die; it is the prevailing 
 worship of my country; for nineteen years I have 
 knelt by my husband’s side at the same Altar; 
 its excellent and indefatigable Minister,* is our 
 neighbour, friend, and relative ; one by one our 
 * The Rev. John Tobin, of Liscard, in Cheshire. 
 
 U U 
 
494 
 
 RIGHT REY. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 children have been presented at its sacred font; 
 year by year our sympathies have strengthened, 
 and our trust has been confirmed in its rites and 
 promises; and I can suppose no circumstance to 
 which its principles and its ceremonials may not 
 to me be all sufficient. But I am not, cannot be 
 blinded to the many excellencies of the Catholic 
 Church; and especially as its Institutions regard 
 America; they are, beyond comparison, the best 
 adapted to curb the passions of a young, a fierce, 
 impetuous, intelligent, generous and high minded 
 Democracy ;*—to protect the Religion of a Re¬ 
 public from annihilation ; to subdue the struggling 
 and discordant interests of an immense Territory 
 into harmony, and to enchain the sympathies of 
 a whole people in one magnificent scheme of 
 morality and devotion. “ They shall be one fold 
 under one Shepherd.” 
 
 The Institutions besides, of this Church, are 
 themselves based upon that very equality which 
 their discipline so efficiently modifies. There is 
 one common law, and one alone, for all—in the 
 
 * And of that Democracy I am the proud adherent, the faithful 
 advocate, and the devoted admirer. 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 495 
 
 words of the Old Testament, so admirably adapted 
 to the description of the Catholic Faith;—“Here 
 the wicked cease from troubling; and here the 
 weary are at rest; here the prisoners rest together; 
 they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The 
 small and great are there; and the servant is free 
 from his master.” These words cannot be said 
 to the same extent of any other Church whatever. 
 
 The celibacy of the Catholic Clergy (a matter 
 about which all this busy gossiping world concerns 
 itself infinitely more than they do themselves,) is 
 another great advantage in the wilds of this great 
 continent, and in her populous cities. No do¬ 
 mestic or personal anxieties distract or lead them 
 from their flock; t{ Des qu 9 un Pretre se marie , 
 il n’est plus Pretre observed the Marquis de 
 Talaru, to me one day, upon the Mississippi. 
 And I frequently experienced the truth of the 
 remark. 
 
 I yield this tribute of just and high commen¬ 
 dation to the professors of this Faith with pleasure 
 mingled with pain; for I owe them much excuse;— 
 I blush for my former weak and contemptible 
 
 * As soon as a Priest marries, he is no longer a Priest. 
 
496 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 intolerance. I was reared in the vulgar prejudices 
 of ignorance against Catholic teachers and their 
 disciples :—in England,, I knew them not;—sought 
 them not;—loved them not; but among the many 
 benefits derived from my visit to America, has 
 been that one of exceeding value, the acquaintance 
 and friendship of the excellent and enlightened 
 Bishop of New York, who holds so high a place 
 in his adopted country.* 
 
 Struck with his high qualities, for but to see 
 him is to discover them, I began to seek his con¬ 
 verse, and to wish his friendship; freely and 
 faithfully these favours were asked, freely and 
 faithfully they were given. And from him I 
 learned to believe that other Catholics were good 
 and true ; to think that Popish Priests and Jesuits 
 
 * I had a favour to ask from him on the behalf of a friend, and 
 called upon him, simply introducing myself as the friend of Dr. 
 Lingard, the Historian of England. It was a matter of the highest 
 gratification to me to find the name of this revered and gifted 
 person as widely known, and his talents and character as highly 
 appreciated in America as they are in England. I have described 
 his person, way of life, and manners, to numerous readers and 
 admirers of his Works throughout my travels;—on the noble St. 
 Lawrence, on the lovely Lake of the Hurons, on the beloved 
 Mississippi, in Canada, throughout the United States, (even in 
 Connecticut,) the Americans, with their free and independent 
 habit of praising merit, all ascribe honour to Dr. Lingard. 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 49? 
 
 were not altogether bigots, and hypocrites, and 
 licentious livers ; and thence I asked the generous 
 Bishop to give me the means of judging for myself, 
 by putting into my hand the suitable introductions. 
 He gave me a letter to Dr. Ignatius Bourget, 
 Bishop of Montreal, in Canada. With this as a 
 general passport I presented myself throughout 
 the United States, and visited, probably, more 
 thoroughly the Catholic Institutions, both of that 
 country and of Canada, than any other traveller 
 ever possessed the means of doing. I saw their Col¬ 
 leges and Seminaries, their Schools and Churches; 
 I saw those angelic women the Sisters of Charity 
 and of Mercy serving the Hospitals, curing the 
 insane, attending the poor and vile, and pouring 
 balm into every affliction of mind or body with 
 which an inscrutable Providence visits humanity; 
 I saw the learned Jesuit Fathers fulfilling their 
 vows of self annihilation, and making the cause 
 of education peculiarly their own; wonderful in 
 their resources, and raising up the means of good 
 even in the desert; I saw the accomplished and 
 graceful Ursufines training up their young and 
 lovely pupils in meekness, in modesty, in cheerful- 
 
 t t 2 
 
498 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 ness and knowledge; and I heard the eloquent 
 preachers of this eloquent Faith, denouncing crime 
 and encouraging virtue, and surpassing in vigour, 
 and attraction, and influence, the preachers of all 
 other sects of Religion. 
 
 And thus by their works do I judge them,—for 
 these things I have seen with my eyes, and heard 
 with my ears, and I know them for truth. And 
 I have arisen from their contemplation impressed 
 with the conviction that in the increasing pre- 
 vailment of the Catholic Religion, lies the best 
 safeguard for this great country of America 
 against the evils , both public and private , which 
 spring from the excess of liberty , (the natural 
 result of a Democracy;) and from the unavoidable 
 and conflicting differences which may in future 
 rend asunder the golden chain of the Union. 
 
 This interesting and most curious subject is 
 capable of being extended through volumes; to 
 have dwelt upon it incidentally, through a few 
 pages, is but to awaken without satisfying inquiry. 
 I am not aware that any previous writer (for I have 
 never read the works of anv traveller whatever on 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 499 
 
 America,)* has taken the same views that I have 
 here presented; the popularity or unpopularity of 
 these views affects me not; the remarks which 
 I have made presented themselves to my mind 
 during my travels, and I narrate them simply and 
 faithfully, indifferent to the criticisms they may 
 provoke, or the surprise they may elicit. But the 
 powers of a woman are inadequate to treat of 
 matters so high and so profound. To some abler 
 hand than mine I shall hope to see committed the 
 more elaborate discussion of considerations and 
 facts which, like these above referred to, involve 
 the present and future destinies of an Empire. 
 
 These introductory remarks will have assisted, 
 in some measure, to point out and explain the 
 exalted station held by the Bishop of the Diocese 
 of New York. He is the master mind of that 
 Hierarchy which is the main instrument in pro¬ 
 ducing the results I have alluded to ; and I learned 
 from the highest authority in Canada, that by the 
 Ecclesiastical Court of Rome, he is considered as 
 
 * The remarks of Mr. Wyse, alluded to at page 169,1 happened 
 to alight upon in the Economist Newspaper, where they were 
 published as Extracts. 
 
500 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 the Right Arm of the Catholic Faith throughout 
 the Worlds and that there is no Dignitary in the 
 whole sphere of the Church whose movements are 
 the subject of such intense and anxious interest 
 as those of this modest; retiring; and illustrious 
 Prelate. 
 
 It is a common proverb that circumstance makes 
 the hero; but no circumstance has made the 
 Bishop; on the contrary; he has himself carved 
 out the circumstance of his position. His native 
 country* is oppressed; his Religion persecuted ; 
 his birth obscure, and friends unknown ; no great 
 event presented to his ambition the means and 
 opportunity of self elevation ; genius and poverty 
 were his only portion; but “ sweet are the uses 
 of adversity;” the apparent drawbacks became 
 the stepping stones of his advancement; he cast 
 behind him persecution and obscurity, and in the 
 unconscious nobleness and enthusiasm of his 
 youth, he sought and found a sphere worthy of 
 his life and of his virtue. Mere change of country 
 is all the circumstance that has befriended his lot; 
 and it is to his own indefatigable self-subduing 
 
 * Ireland. 
 
RIGHT REY. JOHN HUGHES, DJD. 
 
 501 
 
 mind that we must attribute his progressive for¬ 
 tunes ; his comprehensive faculties at once grappled 
 with his position, and the laborious but exemplary 
 labours which it involved ; and every energy has 
 been applied to the vast range of duty which he 
 has allotted as his own appointed task. No man 
 ever struggled for an earthly, as he for a heavenly, 
 crown. 
 
 Evil and ill informed men have, for their own 
 purposes, accused him of attempts to mingle in 
 politics, because he dared to assert, in free 
 America, the civil and religious privileges of his 
 people.* Cruel attacks were made upon his 
 
 * To avoid prolixity, the whole case is resolved into the 
 following brief statement. Bishop Hughes addressed the School 
 Commissioners of New York, and requested, as the guardian of the 
 faith of Catholic children, that the Bible, that is, the version of 
 King James, or as it is commonly called, the Protestant Bible, 
 might not be used for a reading book in the Public Schools; and 
 that if it would not be dispensed with, that then, as the Catholic 
 population were taxed to support the system, he might be allowed 
 to have them separately instructed, and be allowed the same sum 
 for the education of Catholic children as was paid by the public 
 for the instruction of the others. This is a fair, honest statement 
 of the request. Bishop Hughes did not ask that the Catholic Bible 
 (the Douay) should be introduced instead of that of King James. 
 He never intimated such a thing. He asked that his children 
 might not be compelled to listen to the reading of a version of the 
 Bible which he considered incorrect; he did not require that the 
 Vulgate should be used, but he presented the request that he 
 
502 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 character, and had he not been steeled in conscious 
 rectitude, his sensitive nature must have sunk 
 beneath these ungenerous insinuations. Seven 
 successive days saw him sustaining the unequal 
 contest, for his single voice was opposed to multi¬ 
 tudes ; but the cause was righteous, and affected 
 the Salvation of his flock; and neither intolerance 
 nor bigotry were suffered to prevail against him. 
 He was triumphant in the result of every argument, 
 and left his opponents equally dismayed and 
 humiliated by his talents and his victory. His 
 constancy is equal to his courage, and were the 
 same ordeal to be repeated, this brave Priest 
 would be found, despite injurious calumny and 
 
 might remove the Catholic scholars from the Public Schools, 
 promising to have them fully educated in all the secular branches, 
 and that he should have an appropriation, per capita , et pro rata, 
 with the public expense of teaching. 
 
 This communication of the Right Rev. Gentleman fanned into 
 a more furious flame the war which had already been waged against 
 the Roman Catholics. The School Commissioners declined granting 
 the prayer of the Bishop, and it was finally referred to the decision 
 of the ballot boxes, or a popular election. “ Protestantism and 
 No Popery” became arrayed against “Catholicism and Bishop 
 Hughes,” and the struggle was warm and animated. Its final issue 
 was the granting of the petition of Bishop Hughes ; and the 
 Catholic children are now educated separately.— Extract from a 
 Pamphlet entitled “ The Truth Unveiled ,” by a Protestant and a 
 Native Philadelphian . 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 503 
 
 bigoted opposition, firm at the post of danger and 
 of honour. 
 
 But these events developed the vast influence 
 
 he possesses, by the singling out of parties, and by 
 
 % 
 
 showing in bold and striking relief the ascendancy 
 of the magnificent Prelate; men were suddenly 
 awakened and surprised into a sense of his over¬ 
 whelming authority. 
 
 Venal minds are incapable of comprehending the 
 possession and consciousness of power as distinct 
 from its exercise or its abuse; and the host of poli¬ 
 tical intriguers at once inferred that, the Bishop 
 being all-powerful , must, of necessity, be all-mis¬ 
 chievous. Selfish and active demonstration is, in 
 their crude apprehension, the sole attribute of 
 dominion ; they cannot understand that Power 
 does oft-times love to slumber; that to forbear is 
 mightier than to execute;—to will, than to act; 
 that the first is the prerogative of the Supreme; 
 the second the portion of the delegate. In their 
 vulgar, self instructed capacity, they judged the 
 Bishop; and presumed that he would bow his 
 Mitre before the God of their vile world, and bend 
 his Crozier at the altar of their base Mammon. 
 
504 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 The glorious Prelate heard these false charges 
 with pity and disgust; he kept his own high way, 
 and turned not to the right hand, neither to the 
 left. Disdaining to reply to his injurious accusers, 
 he appealed, in dignity and in respect, to the 
 candid, enlightened, and generous spirit of the 
 people of America; and thus, before a righteous 
 and august Tribunal, he pleaded for himself:— 
 u My public and private life has been devoted 
 sedulously to the duties of my station. 
 
 I have never, in my life, done any action, or 
 uttered any sentiment, tending to abridge a human 
 being of all or any of the Rights of Conscience, 
 which I claim to enjoy myself, under the American 
 Constitution. 
 
 I have never asked or wished, that any deno¬ 
 mination should be deprived of the Bible, or such 
 version of the Bible, as that denomination con¬ 
 scientiously approved—in our Common or Public 
 Schools. 
 
 “ I have never entered into intrigue , or collusion 
 with any political party , or individual—and no 
 political party , or individual , ever approached me 
 with so insulting a proposition. 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 505 
 
 u In all my public life in New York, I have 
 done no action—uttered no sentiment, unworthy 
 of a Christian Bishop and an American citizen. 
 
 <e I have always contended for the Right of 
 Conscience, for all men, as universally as they are 
 recognized in the American Constitution. 
 
 u ' I have always preached that every denomi¬ 
 nation, Jews, Christians, Catholics, Protestants, 
 of every sect and shade, were all entitled to the 
 entire enjoyment of the Freedom of Conscience, 
 without let or hindrance, from any other denomi¬ 
 nation, or set of denominations—no matter how 
 small their number, or how unpopular the 
 doctrines they professed. 
 
 I have always preached, both publicly and 
 privately, the Christian obligation of peace and 
 good will toward all men , even when they hate 
 and persecute us. 
 
 ei I have been accustomed to pray publicly, in 
 our churclies, for the constituted authorities of the 
 United States; for the welfare of my fellow citizens 
 of all denominations, and without distinction. 
 u I have never given but one vote since I 
 
 x x 
 
506 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 became a citizen, and that on an occasion wholly 
 unimportant. 
 
 “ I have never, in the whole course of my life, 
 influenced my people, either individually or col¬ 
 lectively, in their vote. 
 
 “ You, who must know something of human 
 nature, need not be informed, that in all social 
 outbreaks, particularly of a riotous character, the 
 moral incendiary first fires the passions, and then 
 the victims of those inflamed passions are prepared 
 to apply the torch, or wield the murderous instru¬ 
 ment against the objects of their fury. 
 
 et Alas ! alas ! that men cannot be content to 
 worship God according to the dictates of their 
 conscience, without preventing their fellow mortals 
 from enjoying the same privilege. On the school 
 question, nothing more than the recognized legal 
 Rights of Conscience has been claimed for the 
 Catholic children. These rights, the Catholics, 
 even under the most intolerant Governments, have 
 never given up, and never will relinquish. They 
 have been deprived of them by intolerant laws. 
 If the American people are willing to enact such 
 laws, we shall submit to pains and penalties. We 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 507 
 
 interfere with no other denomination of citizens— 
 we wish them to enjoy the same privileges that 
 we claim for ourselves. Is not this the principle 
 of the American Government? Is it not the 
 pride, and the boast, and the glory of the American 
 people? And if it be all this, why is it that 
 Americans are opposed to it? 
 
 “ I am not a man of strife and contention. 
 My disposition is, I trust, both pacific and bene¬ 
 volent. As a proof of this, I may mention that I 
 have never had a personal altercation with a human 
 being in my life—that I have never had occasion 
 to call others—or be called myself before any civil 
 tribunal of the earth. It is true, that public duty 
 has not unfrequently forced upon me the necessity 
 of taking my stand in moral opposition to prin¬ 
 ciples which I deemed injurious and unjust. But 
 even then, I trust, I have made the distinction 
 which Christian feeling suggests, between the 
 cause and the person of the advocate arrayed 
 against me. And though I have sometimes, per¬ 
 haps, been severe on my opponents, I trust, that 
 it proceeded not from any malice in the heart—it 
 came on me rather as a species of intellectual 
 
508 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 indignation at witnessing bad logic employed to 
 defend worse bigotry.” 
 
 It is said that the Bishop is a stern preacher in 
 his pulpit, but a merciful Priest in his confessional. 
 I have felt his influence in the one, and, strange 
 to say, I have also felt it in the other. I have 
 heard him reason of righteousness and judgment 
 to come, until I have trembled as Felix before 
 Paul; and beside my couch of nervous, fevered 
 anguish, promoted by many anxieties, he stood a 
 ministering angel; with that penetration which is 
 the attribute of his order, he saw at once that the 
 poor tortured body was afflicted by the excited 
 mind; and thus he reproved my vain, my mur¬ 
 muring, irritable temper:—“ Does this become a 
 “ Christian lady ? Is this worthy of one who is 
 “ a wife and mother in Israel ? Is this the example 
 “ you should place before your sons and your 
 “ daughters ? Do you repine, even to sickness, 
 “ because you cannot possess, this hour, the trifle 
 “ that you have fixed your heart upon ? Think 
 “on this folly, think on this ingratitude, and 
 “repress that fretful and unwomanly temper, and 
 “ determine to subdue it; and to-morrow you 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 509 
 
 “ shall arise from this bed in health and peace.” 
 And the Bishop left me to reflection; and in the 
 morning I arose in health, and, I hope, improved 
 in virtue. His preaching is very impressive ; and 
 his voice, language, and manner, are all excellent. 
 I could occasionally detect a dash of the soft 
 dialect of his countrv in his flexible and varied 
 tones. His action is subdued by good taste, and 
 is wholly subservient to the dignity of his subject. 
 Of course, his discourses are extempore. 
 
 To me the daily intercourse of a Priest was in 
 itself a novelty, and I examined into his character, 
 and analyzed its component parts, with the intense 
 curiosity of a child struck at the sight of a flower 
 he has never seen before. It was charming to 
 observe his dress and habits; his violet robe, and 
 garments of delicate lace,* his mystic signet ring 
 of contrite amethyst, his chain and crucifix of 
 gold. His manners so gentle, but so distant, so 
 courteous, yet so reserved, seemed to me unusual 
 and quite peculiar. His conversation is delightful, 
 and he is singularly well informed on many 
 
 * I have understood that he has the peculiar and inherent love 
 of fine linen, which often distinguishes men of exalted character. 
 
 x x 2 
 
510 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 subjects unconnected with his profession. The 
 pictures of the Bishop have been chiefly painted 
 since he became a “man of battle,” and convey 
 an impression of anxious, and somewhat stern 
 deportment. There is one, however, of earlier 
 date, by Neagle, in the house of the Jesuits of St. 
 Joseph’s, in Philadelphia, where he long resided. 
 The youthful Priest is painted in his robe of white 
 and stole of silver; the sacred book lies open 
 before him; the complexion is fair and ruddy; 
 the forehead thoughtful; the lip severe ; the hair 
 in profusion, light and curling; the countenance 
 is benign, full of sweetness, and possessing that 
 elevated and uneartliy expression which is so 
 frequent among the Superior Priesthood of the 
 Catholic Church ; the picture reminded me of the 
 beloved Evangelist, whose name he bears. But 
 changed is this face of youth and hope since he 
 was torn from the peaceful labours of the cloister, 
 and compelled to run the gauntlet through the 
 ranks of prejudiced and angry politicians. It is now 
 a face of care, of age, and sometimes of suffering. 
 The Bishop somewhat stoops, but not from age, 
 for he has not yet numbered fifty winters; nor 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 511 
 
 from infirmity, for his make is muscular, though 
 not of large proportions; but study, prayer, and 
 other priestly duties have laid their impress on 
 his frame; and he yields not to the requirements 
 made upon his time for needful repose, or ease ; 
 “ Sleep, nature’s soft nurse,” is oftentimes by him 
 unsought; his frugal meal is consumed in haste, 
 like the Passover; the heat of summer, and the 
 cold of winter are both by him alike unheeded; if 
 the infant require baptism; the young instruction ; 
 the betrothed their marriage ; the pious their com¬ 
 munion ; if the guilty desire to unburthen his 
 conscience, the penitent to be absolved from his 
 sin; or the dying to be consoled with the last 
 affecting sacrament of his religion ; for all and 
 each of these, this Catholic Priest is ready and 
 willing to devote each hour, to surrender all 
 personal comfort, to risk his health or safety, and 
 even to die in the fulfilment of his duty.—And 
 this is the universal spirit of the admirable Clergy, 
 of which he is the Prototype. 
 
 Each interview which I had with this singular 
 and exalted personage, was in itself an event, 
 marked with new features ; and I never ceased to 
 
512 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 feel his superiority; he was ever one above me; 
 and I constantly recognised the influence which 
 he is acknowledged to exercise over the minds 
 of others. I have never known any man who 
 possessed this inexplicable and mysterious element 
 of power in so eminent a degree, and who used it 
 so habitually and so unconsciously. None ever 
 regarded him with indifference; by some he is 
 hated; by some feared; and by many loved ; but 
 his name is never pronounced unattended by some 
 striking and expressive epithet. I approach him 
 with reverence and with diffidence, for separated 
 from him by my Country, my Religion, and my 
 sex, the usual intimacies of society never seemed 
 in accordance with his station. Serene, apart, 
 and passionless,—and high, and pure, and holy, 
 I cannot mingle him with things material. Fami¬ 
 liarity intrudes not into his presence ; and worldly 
 objects become divested of their importance, and 
 sink into insignificance. Deeply conscious of the 
 divinity of his mission, he clothes Religion with 
 majesty and beauty; never have I discerned even 
 a momentary weakness in his nature ; never heard 
 an unguarded word escape his lips; never, for an 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 513 
 
 instant^ beheld his reason unseated from her 
 throne. An habitual elevation of mind and senti¬ 
 ment prevails in his discourse and correspondence ; 
 and in all that concerns himself, may be remarked, 
 the most refined and sensitive delicacy; he shrinks 
 with innate disgust from even the involuntary 
 thought of a dereliction from the most scrupulous 
 morality. The untrodden snow, fresh from the 
 clouds of Heaven, is not more pure than is his 
 conscience, nor more spotless than the record of 
 his life; and if human feeling, with unbidden 
 presence, does sometimes penetrate the recesses 
 of his bosom, it there is separated from earthly 
 and corrupting influences, and becomes a heavenly 
 sentiment. 
 
 Among the few ordinary attributes of character 
 which belong to him, are a certain love of adventure 
 and admiration of the picturesque. He enjoys 
 the Ocean and its dangers; to him they are delight; 
 “'As rises the tempest, so does my spirit.”— 
 “ Niagara by moonlight, and the surrounding 
 “ landscape crisped with hoary frost .”—“ I love my 
 “ beautiful, tormented birth place with fond, and 
 “ pitying, and undying memory.”— u Sweet to 
 
514 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 “ me were my years of study on the Mountain. 57 *— 
 cc Lady, I would fain have been your companion 
 ee on the Mississippi and on the Great Lakes, and 
 “ on the St. Lawrence; and, had I time, I should 
 “ delight to trace the footsteps of Cartier, Mar- 
 “ quette, La Salle, and Hennepin ; to kneel before 
 “ I die upon the soil hallowed by the labours, the 
 u success, the lives and martyrdom of the Jesuit 
 
 Fathers, the chartered Nuncios of the Cross; 
 “ to look upon De Soto’s grave ;f—each spot of 
 “ earth washed by these Lakes and Streams, is 
 “ classic ground to the Catholic.” 
 
 In May, 1846, the triennial Convention of the 
 Catholic Church was held in Baltimore. The 
 Bishop of New "York at this time received an 
 official communication from Washington to the 
 effect that the Government required his presence 
 on ec affairs of State.” As soon as he could be 
 released from the arduous duties of the Con¬ 
 vention, he obeyed the summons. On his arrival 
 
 * Mount St. Mary’s, Emmetsburg. 
 
 + De Soto sleeps beneath the Mississippi; he who had been the 
 discoverer of the “ Father of Waters” found a befitting burial place 
 within his bosom. No soil of earth would have concealed his death 
 so faithfully, nor guarded his memory so fondly, so sacredly, as 
 the grateful river. 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 515 
 
 in the Metropolis, he was immediately introduced 
 by the Secretary of State to the President, who 
 received him with the highest distinction, and at 
 once carried him to the Cabinet Council then 
 assembled. The Mission to Mexico was offered 
 to his acceptance. It is said that the wisdom and 
 penetration of Buchanan suggested this statesman¬ 
 like step; and that he discerned all the advantages 
 that would accrue by appointing a Catholic Prelate 
 of such distinction and influence, as Ambassador 
 to Mexico. The Mexicans added to their other 
 apprehensions of the consequences of a war with 
 the Americans, that of a desecration of their 
 temples for the purpose of carrying away the 
 precious vessels and ornaments belonging to the 
 Altars. The presence of a high Dignitary of their 
 National Church, would have allayed this dread, 
 sufficient of itself to rouse the indignation of a 
 Catholic people. The Bishop unites with his 
 Christian calling, all the distinguished properties 
 necessary to meet an important crisis; he can be 
 as great a Statesman as he is a Priest. And there 
 is no doubt that had this Mission been carried 
 into effect, it would, under his auspices, have 
 
516 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 resulted in the pacific adjustment of all subjects 
 of irritation between the belligerent Nations. 
 
 The Bishop of New York is thus the first Catholic 
 Dignitary who has ever been called to the Councils 
 of the United States .* This incident derives 
 peculiar interest, from the historical reminiscences 
 which it awakens, of ecclesiastical Ambassadors 
 employed between the different Courts of Europe ; 
 and at this moment, when men and nations seek 
 to tarnish and villify the name of Priest, the bold 
 and unusual step taken by Mr. Buchanan exhibits 
 his moral courage, and his manly confidence in 
 the most honourable light. The Mission would 
 have been as successful as it was august. 
 
 I saw the distinguished Prelate the morning 
 after his return from Washington; he was gratified 
 by the confidence reposed in his talents and pa¬ 
 triotism, and touched by the conduct of Buchanan; 
 but no desire existed in his mind to go to Mexico; 
 to have left his Diocese would have been painful 
 and inconvenient; and he sought no personal 
 
 * The excellent and amiable Dr. Carroll, the first Archbishop of 
 Baltimore, accompanied Dr. Benjamin Franklin, Mr. Chase, and 
 Mr. Carroll of Carrollton, on a Mission to Canada ; but not in an 
 official capacity. 
 
RIGHT REY. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 517 
 
 consideration from the Mission. “ As a citizen of 
 ei the United States I am bound to serve my 
 “ country with all the energies that I possess ; and 
 “ as a Christian Bishop I am bound to be the 
 “ Messenger of Peace; but I have no favours to 
 “ ask from any, and I have important objects to 
 “ fulfil at home/’ 
 
 Politically, as well as morally, he strongly con¬ 
 demned the Mexican War,* and to me he has re¬ 
 peatedly, from first to last, prophesied its expense, 
 duration, and perplexities. “ Their irregular 
 “ warfare/ 5 said he, “will harass the Americans, 
 “ and Mexico, in all human probability, never 
 
 * It is a curious feature in the history of the Mexican war, that 
 the Roman Catholic Volunteers deserted from the United States’ 
 army. The Administration requested the Bishop of New York to 
 send down Chaplains. He at once complied, and in two or three 
 days the Rev. Mr. M‘Elroy, of the Jesuits’College, at Georgetown, 
 was on his way to Mexico. This excellent personage is sixty-eight 
 years of age, but ready for service, and was accompanied by a 
 brother priest of less advanced years. The venerable Mrs. Madison, 
 whose name is heard throughout the United States with affection 
 and respect, had for many years been acquainted with Mr.M‘Elroy. 
 She gave him letters of introduction to General Taylor, of whom 
 she is a relative, and the Catholic Chaplains were received by him 
 with every mark of respect. Since their arrival in the camp no 
 more deserters have been reported. 
 
 The Bishop was also applied to for Chaplains for the Navy—he 
 replied that “ at present the appointment would be a sinecure; but 
 “ that whenever the Navy should be called into action, the Chap- 
 “ lains should be ready.” 
 
 V Y 
 
518 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 “ will be conquered . The Mexicans have Spanish 
 “ blood in their veins.” So far as politics are 
 admitted into his thoughts, the Bishop is a Con¬ 
 servative, and inclined to the principles of Mr. 
 Clay; they are the appropriate principles of his 
 order. Owing, I suspect, to his twelve years 3 
 residence in Philadelphia, he is attached to Pro¬ 
 tection. 
 
 On the question of Slavery, the Bishop takes 
 neutral , or rather Scriptural , ground ; he looks 
 upon it as a subject entirely removed from the 
 jurisdiction and interference of the Clergy of all 
 denominations. 
 
 On the 14th July, the Doctor and I were 
 present at the opening of the College of St. John’s, 
 at Fordham, about ten miles from New York. 
 This Institution is indebted to the Bishop alone 
 for its existence; he purchased the land and 
 buildings, and improved them; he had for three 
 or four years sedulously attended to its progress, 
 but becoming at length too deeply engaged in 
 the other duties of his Diocese, he invited over a 
 Society of Jesuits, chiefly from Bardstown, in 
 Kentucky; and it was on this occasion that he 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 519 
 
 confided his charge into their practised hands. 
 The Bishop, in resigning his trust, announced 
 that he had obtained a Charter of Incorporation 
 for the College, from the State Government. 
 ee This Charter,” added he, “ was signed unani- 
 “ mously by the Legislature of New York. Let no 
 u man henceforward assert that the Americans have 
 “ refused to the Catholics, the equal privileges of 
 “ citizens.—Let no man say they do not love 
 (i them.” The scene of the College and grounds 
 is very beautiful, an opening in the midst of fine 
 forest trees ; a running stream is near ; the build¬ 
 ings are handsome and capacious; the exterior of 
 the Chapel is in excellent taste, and there are some 
 fine painted glass windows. The Ecclesiastical 
 Seminary is very complete, being divided into 
 separate apartments; and already there is a good 
 library. The Bishop is occupied in the formation 
 of a Picture Gallery at this College, which will, I 
 believe, be the first attempt ever made of the kind 
 in America. We penetrated into the Retreat, or 
 private apartment of this excellent person, to 
 which, in obedience with the observances of his 
 Church, he retires at stated periods to perform 
 private acts of devotion, to commune with his own 
 
520 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 heart, and with Him who seeth in secret. The 
 sole ornaments are the Sacred Volume, and 
 several books of devotion, chiefly in the Latin 
 tongue. The walls are hung with fine engravings 
 of sacred subjects ; the few articles of domestic use 
 are of the simplest form and fashion. But the spot 
 is hallowed by the humble prayers and inward 
 meditations of one who, upon earth, is the “ ob¬ 
 served of all observers.” In this solitude he 
 acquires that strength which enables him to be 
 all sufficient for the innumerable and incessant 
 demands made upon him by his people for aid 
 and counsel. 
 
 The Bishop is by birth an alien in the land he lives 
 in. To the persecutions of England against Ireland, 
 is America indebted for this loyal, and illustrious 
 citizen, whose life and calling exert so extraordinary 
 and advantageous an influence on her moral, social, 
 and religious character; nor for him alone, but 
 for many other of the pillars of this Religion. 
 That melancholy, which is the inheritance of the 
 stranger, may be traced in the character of Dr. 
 Hughes ; and it subdues many traits which other¬ 
 wise would be prominent in his varied mind; the 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 521 
 
 love of music, of refined society, strong powers of 
 imagination, a shade of irony, and a graceful vein 
 of humour. All these are only called into play 
 by accidental circumstances or allusions, and on 
 rare occasions. But perhaps that very melancholy 
 which veils their lustre is the most endearing 
 trait which dwells in the wounded, and weary, 
 and often broken heart of the exile. The poet 
 has divined and allotted his sole consolation— 
 
 — — — — (( This must my comfort be, 
 
 That sun that warms you there shall shine on me; 
 
 And those his golden beams to you there lent, 
 
 Shall point on me, and gild my banishment.” 
 
 On the first of August the Doctor and I took 
 passage in the Great Britain steam ship, to seek 
 our home once more. The Bishop remained with 
 me during the last hour I lingered on the soil of 
 America. We spoke of those I went to seek, of 
 those I left behind ; of our own separate countries, 
 religion, character, and destiny; in all of these, 
 each was essentially removed from the other. 
 We spoke of our sudden and brief acquaintance, 
 of our hasty, though enduring friendship ;—and 
 marvelled if we might meet again on this side of 
 the grave; and I breathed my hope that in the 
 
 YY 2 
 
522 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 hour of departure to the home of my spirit, though 
 I am a stranger to his faith, he might be near to 
 minister to my dying weakness, and to comfort 
 those that will weep around my couch; and the 
 Priest pledged his sacred word, if still he breathes 
 the breath of life, if time and distance may by 
 man be overcome;—that in that hour he will 
 
 be with me. * * * * 
 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 And the Bishop bade me kneel;—and I knelt 
 beside him,—he laid his hand upon my head,—and 
 then from his lips gushed forth in mingled power 
 and beauty, the full strong tide of human affection; 
 in accents strange and new, for I had dreamed 
 not of the love that I had won from that exalted 
 nature;—and with faltering voice he blessed me 
 and my way, and those that I held dear, to him 
 unknown;— — — and for many minutes he 
 
 was silent,—but the vows, unheard by me, were 
 accepted at the throne of Him who rideth on the 
 whirlwind, and who saith to the waters, “ Peace 
 be still.” 
 
 In health and safety the gallant but devoted 
 vessel conveyed me and my son to the shores of 
 England. 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 5 23 
 
 \ 
 
 EXTRACT FROM 
 
 A LETTER TO THE HONOURABLE JAMES HARPER, 
 
 Mayor of New York. 
 
 Sir,—I am in the receipt of a letter from a 
 young “ Native American,” signed with his proper 
 name, in which he advises me, that he has provided 
 himself with a “ poniard,” by which I am “ to 
 bite the dust.” If he had not put his name to 
 this document I should have destroyed it, as my 
 rule is with all anonymous communications, with¬ 
 out even glancing at its contents. I cannot answer 
 such a correspondent ; but, placing his letter in 
 your hands, if you wish it, I shall pursue the even 
 tenour of my way, to be found wherever my duties 
 as a Catholic Bishop, and a citizen of the United 
 States, require me to be. I hope that I am at 
 peace with God—know that I am at peace, so far 
 as in me lies, with all men; and thus, I am ready 
 to yield my life into the hands of its adorable 
 Author, when, and as, He may dispose. 
 
 But if my correspondent should execute his own 
 
524 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 prophecy, as he says, I deem it proper to have put 
 on record such matters as are due to my reputation, 
 and to my country, at a moment like the present. 
 I shall be somewhat tedious, hut I bespeak your 
 patience, for I wish to say all, and it may not be 
 so convenient at another time. I shall use no 
 term of reproach or bitterness, in reference to 
 matters of recent occurrence, on which too many 
 here have already been uttered. No man deplores 
 more deeply the melancholy results of intemperate 
 discussion, whether on one side or on the other, 
 in a sister capital, than I do ; and for months 
 past it has been my study to avert similar scenes 
 in this city. From the moment when a new party 
 was commenced, based on the principle of hostility 
 to a particular religion and to foreigners, even the 
 naturalized, I anticipated the results with the 
 deepest apprehension, for the peace of the com¬ 
 munity and the honour of the country. Not that 
 I dispute the right of men, in the abstract, to form 
 themselves into combinations on any principle, 
 which their duty to their country sanctions ; but 
 topics of this description were, as I conceived, too 
 exciting in their nature. From a very early period 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 525 
 
 I prevented the only papers which affect to repre¬ 
 sent Catholic interests, from opposing either the 
 principles or the progress of the party. When 
 the private interests, or enterprise of individuals 
 urged them to establish newspapers, intended 
 expressly to oppose the progress of “Native 
 Americanism,” and to uphold the constitutional 
 rights of foreigners, of all religions, I peremptorily 
 refused to give either patronage or approbation— 
 foreseeing, as I imagined, to what point such 
 antagonism must lead. I even caused certain 
 articles to be published, which should fall under 
 the eyes of a large portion of my own flock, and 
 which might caution them against the temptation 
 of retaliating insult, in arraying themselves in 
 opposition to the principles of this new party. I 
 caused them to be thus reminded that, if those 
 principles were wrong, time and the good sense 
 of the community would be the best remedy; 
 while Catholics, and above all Irish Catholics, were 
 entirely unfitted to apply a corrective. I had the 
 consolation to witness the good effects of this 
 advice, so that boys and young men could march, 
 even in the night, through streets almost entirely 
 
 9 
 
 / 
 
526 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 occupied by Irish Catholics, with fife and drum 
 before them, and with illumined banners bearing 
 such inscriptions as that of “ No Popery,” as a 
 public and political device. It is not for me to 
 say whether the Native American party had, or 
 had not, a right to adopt such devices, and display 
 them through such a population. But even sup¬ 
 posing they had the right, was there not something 
 due to the weakness of poor human nature ?—to 
 the religious rights and feelings of men under our 
 Constitution ?—to the peculiar susceptibility of the 
 Irish, and especially in reference to this identical 
 subject, which reminded them of the hereditary 
 degradation from which they thought to have 
 escaped when they touched these shores ? 
 
 I am grateful to Almighty God, that notwith¬ 
 standing these injudicious exhibitions, no accident 
 or disturbance has occurred during the progress 
 of the movements which have placed you in your 
 present honourable station. And I would to God ! 
 that under all provocation, a similar forbearance 
 had been practised in Philadelphia. Yet, notwith¬ 
 standing all my solicitude and efforts, so feverish 
 and morbid, so bewildered and diseased, had the 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 5 27 
 
 public mind become, in certain quarters, on the 
 subject of Popery, that a lie of not more than 
 five lines, circulated through any of our papers 
 which might desire to create riots, would have 
 been sufficient to have produced the most fearful 
 results. 
 
 My name and character were assailed in every 
 public meeting of your special constituents. I 
 was abused as a politician;—as a meddler with 
 the laws;—as an intriguer with parties; and a 
 man not only capable, but actually designing to 
 invade the liberties of the country. The fearful 
 crisis, which I claim the merit of having prevented, 
 in this city, but which has left its melancholy 
 stigma in another city, equally dear to me, has 
 rendered these calumnies against my character so 
 important, that I now meet my accusers in the 
 triumphant manner which you will see, before 
 the close of this communication. But before I 
 enter further upon my subject, I must tell you a 
 few words respecting myself, which, being of so 
 little importance to the public at large, I shall 
 make as brief as possible. It is twenty-seven 
 years since I came to this country. I became a 
 
528 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 citizen, therefore, as soon as my majority of age 
 and other circumstances permitted. My early 
 ancestors were from Wales; and very possibly 
 shared with Strongbow and his companions, in 
 the plunder which rewarded the first successful 
 invaders of lovely, but unfortunate Ireland. Of 
 course, from the time of their conversion from 
 Paganism, they were Catholics. You, sir, who 
 must be acquainted with the melancholy annals 
 of religious intolerance in Ireland, may remember 
 that, when a traitor to his country, and for what 
 I know, to his creed also, M‘Mahon, Prince of 
 Monnaghan, wished to make his peace with the 
 Irish Government of Queen Elizabeth,' the traitor’s 
 work which he volunteered to accomplish was 
 ec to root out the ivhole Sept of the Hughes .” He 
 did not, however, succeed in destroying them, 
 although he (£ rooted them outproving, as a 
 moral for future times, that persecution cannot 
 always accomplish what it proposes. In the year 
 1817, a descendant of the Sept of the Hughes, 
 came to the United States of America. He was 
 the son of a farmer of moderate but comfort¬ 
 able means. He landed on these shores friend- 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 529 
 
 less, and with but a few guineas in his purse. 
 He never received of the charity of any man; he 
 never borrowed of any man without repaying; he 
 never had more than a few dollars at a time ; he 
 never had a patron, in the Church or out of it; 
 and it is he who has the honour to address you 
 now, as Catholic Bishop of New York. 
 
 I entered the College* the first day, an utter 
 stranger to Bishop Dubois until then. I was to 
 superintend the garden, as a compensation for my 
 expenses in the house, until a vacancy should 
 occur, by wdiich I might be appointed a teacher 
 for such classes as I should be fit to take charge 
 of. I continued in this way, during the first nine 
 months of my stay at the College, prosecuting my 
 studies under a private preceptor. The rest of 
 my time, between seven and eight years, I con¬ 
 tinued to prosecute my own studies, and at the 
 same time, to teach the classes that were assigned 
 to me. At the end of that period, I was ordained 
 Priest, and stationed in Philadelphia. Here my 
 
 * The Theological Seminary at Mount St. Mary’s, near 
 Emmetsburg, Maryland. This Institution is under the charge 
 of the Sulpicians. 
 
 Z Z 
 
530 
 
 RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 public life commenced. After eleven years from 
 this time^ I was sent, not by my own choice, to 
 be the Assistant Bishop of New York. I had 
 formed, during these years, friendships, ever to be 
 cherished, in many of the most respectable families, 
 Protestant as well as Catholic, in Philadelphia. I 
 refer to them, without distinction of creed, for 
 what was my character, as a clergyman and as a 
 citizen. if, sir, you will weigh all these circum¬ 
 stances, you will perceive immediately, that were 
 I a person of the character assigned to me, in the 
 late denunciations of those who assail me, it is 
 hardly probable that I should be now occupying, 
 by the judgment of others, the situation in which 
 I am placed. I am a citizen. I understand the 
 rights of a citizen, and the duties also. I under¬ 
 stand the genius, and Constitution, and history 
 of the country. My feelings, and habits, and 
 thoughts, have been so much identified with all 
 that is American, that I had almost forgotten I 
 was a foreigner, until recent circumstances have 
 brought it too painfully to my recollection. This, 
 and other matters yet to be treated of, must be my 
 apology for bringing into public notice anything 
 
RIGHT REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 531 
 
 so uninteresting as my personal or private affairs. 
 The retrospect, however, has brought back to my 
 mind the recollections of youth. I perceived then 
 that the intolerance of my own country had left 
 me no inheritance, except that of a name which, 
 though humble, was untarnished. In the future, 
 the same intolerance was a barrier to every hope 
 in my native land; and there was but one other 
 country in which I was led to believe the rights 
 and privileges of citizens rendered all men equal. 
 I can even now remember my reflections on first 
 beholding the American flag. It never crossed 
 my mind that a time might come, when that flag, 
 the emblem of the freedom just alluded to, should 
 be divided, by apportioning its stars to the citizens 
 of native birth, and its stripes only as the portion 
 of the foreigner. I was, of course, but young and 
 inexperienced; and yet, even recent events have 
 not diminished my confidence in that ensign of 
 civil and religious liberty. It is possible that I 
 was mistaken; but still I clung to the delusion, if 
 it be one, and as I trusted to that flag, on a Nation’s 
 faith , I think it more likely that its stripes will 
 disappear altogether; and that before it shall be 
 
532 
 
 RIGHT- REV. JOHN HUGHES, D.D. 
 
 employed as an instrument of bad faith., toward 
 the foreigners of every land, the white portions 
 will blush into crimson; and then the glorious 
 stars alone will remain. New Yovky \*Jth NLuy^ 
 
 1844. 
 
THE CORPS DIPLOMATIQUE. 
 
 It may be remarked that the Corps Diplomatique, 
 resident at Washington, have not been alluded to in 
 the preceding pages. It is equally due to the respect 
 which I owe to the people of America, and to myself, 
 to mention, that I carried out letters of introduction 
 from Lord Aberdeen, the then Secretary of State for 
 Foreign Affairs, in London, to Mr. Pakenham. These 
 letters were procured at the personal request of Lord 
 Sandon, and, I believe, were drawn in the most favouring 
 terms. I called twice on Mr. Pakenham, on affairs of 
 business, once accompanied by my son, and once by 
 Governor Seward, of New York. We found him civil, 
 and he made an offer of his services. But I was in 
 high hands, and required them not. The President 
 himself, the Secretary of State, and every American 
 took care of me. 
 
 I never became acquainted with any other Minister 
 or Ambassador, with the exception of M. Serruys, the 
 Belgian Minister, whom I had the pleasure of meeting 
 at the house of the late General Van Ness. 
 
 The time has arrived when the Courts of Europe 
 will find it imperative upon them to send to Washington 
 their most talented, influential, and popular Statesmen 
 as their Representatives, 
 z z 2 
 
ON COMMERCE. 
 
 The following pages were written at the request 
 of a lady, who one day asked me ce What is Free 
 Trade ?” Before presenting her with this reply, 
 I submitted it to the scrutiny of Mr. Calhoun, who 
 returned it with an approval, and an assurance 
 that the 66 doctrines were all quite sound.” Fie 
 had added nought thereto—neither diminished 
 aught therefrom. Perhaps a few of my readers 
 may feel the same interest in it that my American 
 friend expressed. 
 
“ WHAT IS FREE TRADE ?” 
 
 Commerce is an affair of climate;—and the Sun, the 
 disseminator of light and heat is its regulating power. 
 These gifts of his are dispensed in various degrees of 
 duration and intensity, according to the various posi¬ 
 tions of the countries of the globe. This is a law of 
 nature. In like manner soil and production are suited 
 to each other, and to the position or climate which they 
 occupy upon the earth. This also is a law of nature. 
 
 “ God Almighty first planted a gardenand the 
 first pursuit of an infant people is Agriculture. Until 
 that period arrives, when, owing to the improvements in 
 agriculture, a 'portion of the people is able to cultivate 
 sufficient for the consumption of the whole , so long 
 must the inhabitants of any country continue to be 
 purely agricultural; and so long must they remain satis¬ 
 fied with the products of their own soil. But when 
 population increases, and labour becomes redundant, 
 adventure commences, and Commerce begins to occupy 
 a portion of their attention ; then they seek the variety 
 
536 
 
 “WHAT IS FREE TRADE?” 
 
 of productions which is found in other countries. They 
 exchange their own abundant and familiar articles for the 
 novelties of another land. This Barter was originally 
 and practically Free Trade , in its earliest and simplest 
 form. It supposed and developed not only the obvious 
 advantage arising from a mere exchange of commodities, 
 but the latent advantage resulting from the profitable 
 employment of the (otherwise useless) surplus home 
 production, in procuring the surplus of foreign production. 
 This latent profit is the vital principle of commerce. 
 
 By degrees the system became more artificial; the 
 amount of latent profit began to be calculated, and to be 
 expressed by money, the constituted representative of 
 value. Its accumulations formed the nucleus and in¬ 
 crease of capital, which speedily became the prime 
 mover and lever of all commerce. 
 
 Then men, and nations, and governments, perceiving 
 the advantages of capital and its results—greedy of 
 gain themselves, and jealous of the gains of others— 
 imposed duties and restrictions on commodities, both 
 imported and exported, that they might thus be enabled 
 to employ their own capital to greater advantage. These 
 imposts unavoidably became, in time, from various con¬ 
 tingencies, unjust and impolitic in their application, 
 corrupt and partial in their exercise, and injurious and 
 
“WHAT IS FREE TRADE 1” 
 
 537 
 
 fatal in their effects. It has been found necessary, for 
 this cause alone, to remove many such restrictions. Of 
 this nature of relief is the repeal of the Corn importing 
 Laws in England. 
 
 But restriction has arisen from another cause. When 
 Agriculture and Barter become insufficient for the pro¬ 
 gressive developement of a nation’s energies, invention 
 is awakened, and manufactures spring up. Individuals 
 employ their talents, risk their wealth, and bestow their 
 time on machinery and its results. New sources are 
 discovered, which will contribute to the prosperity of all. 
 But the enterprise and sagacity of the pioneers in the 
 way deserve reward; and the imposition of duties on 
 the same species of manufactured articles imported from 
 other countries, in order to procure an abundant market 
 and higher prices for the home manufacturer, is equally 
 wise and just. But in process of time, this home manu¬ 
 facturer will have reaped the well earned and liberal 
 reward of his exertions ; and then the people should be 
 permitted to share in the good which the individual has 
 hitherto derived from his privileges. Nor is this a con¬ 
 cession on the part of the monopolist, but a right on 
 the part of the people. The multitude have a common 
 portion with him in the country, in the material, and in 
 the government, which has awarded to him, for a definite 
 
538 
 
 “WHAT IS FREE TRADE?” 
 
 period, exclusive advantages. The Law of Monopoly, 
 like the Law of Patent, is designed, ultimately , to 
 benefit the multitude ; and, like the Law of Patent, 
 restricts the period of individual privilege to a term suf¬ 
 ficient for just and faithful repayment of the enterprise, 
 talent, time, and capital, which have been expended in 
 some novel and beneficial discovery or invention. 
 
 That term expired, that repayment made, the people 
 claim the restoration of their own inherent right in the 
 invention or improvement. They have now purchased 
 it, and paid for it; and it has become, both according 
 to law and equity, a vested right. In this position are 
 the manufacturers and the people of the United States 
 at the present moment. The manufacturers have been 
 amply reimbursed, and justice and policy and honesty 
 alike require that they should at once give up their pro¬ 
 tective privileges. 
 
 The objections to Free Trade on the score of Govern¬ 
 ment Revenue are utterly fallacious. The necessities of 
 the British Government are incomparably greater than 
 those of the United States Government; and the expe¬ 
 rience of England, since her adoption of the non-restric- 
 tive policy, has been found, in every article, entirely in 
 favour of the abolition of protective duties. Such, 
 doubtless, will also be the result in the United States ; 
 
“ WHAT IS FREE TRADE ?” 
 
 539 
 
 for her manufactures are now too firmly established to 
 be injured by any importations of manufactured articles 
 from England or elsewhere; they are full of strength 
 and vitality, and may set their competitors at defiance. 
 Besides, it is a self evident fact, admitting of no evasion, 
 of no argument, of no denial, that America can afford to 
 be a Free Trader better than any nation of the earth; 
 because her natural produce exceeds her consumption; 
 and, therefore, she must of necessity be the gainer. 
 
 But, in addition to the above incontrovertible reason, 
 there are many others, equally important and convincing; 
 and, 
 
 Firstly,—The Southern States of America contain, to 
 the exclusion of all other countries, the staple of the 
 whole manufacturing world. The Planters of Cotton 
 regulate, in a great measure, the internal peace of Eng¬ 
 land ; and they form the basis of all the manufacturing 
 prosperity of America. The Southern States are the 
 “thews and sinews” of the New England States ; and 
 they have the right, as well as the power (if they chose 
 to exert it) of compelling a reduction in the Tariff; for 
 where would be those boasted factories, without the 
 commodity to be manufactured? These powerful con¬ 
 trollers of the manufacturing interests require to send 
 their surplus cotton and corn to England; and they 
 
540 
 
 “ WHAT IS FREE TRADE ? ” 
 
 therefore demand that England shall be induced to 
 receive these productions, by the permission to exchange 
 for them, on fair terms, her manufactured articles. This 
 exchange is obviously less fav our able to England than to 
 the cotton growing States; because, the first cost of 
 natural produce is less than the first cost of manu¬ 
 factured articles; consequently, the latent profit must 
 be greater on the former than on the latter. 
 
 Secondly,—The Manufactures of the United States 
 can now stand alone, independently of their foster nurse, 
 the high Tariff. They are old enough, and strong 
 enough, to derive more benefit from competition, than 
 from a superfluous and unprofitable guardianship. 
 
 Thirdly,—Because now is the appointed time. Eng¬ 
 land has opened her ports ; let America hasten to pursue 
 the advantages offered by this measure of sound policy. 
 In the wise allotments of nature, it will be found that 
 she has distributed her good gifts equally, though vari¬ 
 ously, throughout the earth ; leaving it to Man’s mutual 
 goodwill and usefulness so to interchange them that all 
 collectively may share in those blessings which she has 
 bestowed on each severally. And it is a fact admitting 
 of mathematical demonstration, that the annual average 
 production of food on the earth is in exact proportion 
 to the wants of the aggregate number of the inhabitants 
 
“ WHAT IS FREE TRADE?” 
 
 541 
 
 thereof. The capabilities of America to furnish bread 
 stuffs are exhaustless ; those of England are limited. 
 Let England, therefore, cease to torture her soil into the 
 production of grain, which her climate refuses to ripen, 
 and let her import it from the granaries of the West. 
 Let her arable lands again become pasture fields, their 
 legitimate and natural state; let her farmers return to 
 the dairy and the feeding of cattle, and let her labouring 
 classes partake of pure butter and cheese, and fresh and 
 invigorating beef and mutton. Of all articles of con¬ 
 sumption, grain sustains the least injury from transporta¬ 
 tion, and animal food the most. 
 
 Fourthly,—The inland or domestic trade of the United 
 States is far more extensive and more profitable than 
 her foreign trade—because it is wholly unrestricted. Let 
 foreign trade, therefore, be allowed the same encourage¬ 
 ment. 
 
 Fifthly,—There is yet another consequence attendant 
 upon Free Trade, and one which may be regarded as a 
 recommendation in all countries, but especially where a 
 republican government prevails. This is the equaliza¬ 
 tion of commercial profits. The oligarchical influence 
 will in a great measure be destroyed, and a greater num¬ 
 ber will become moderate partakers in those benefits 
 
 AAA 
 
542 
 
 “ WHAT IS FREE TRADE!” 
 
 which have hitherto accrued, in such vast disproportion, 
 to the few holders of extensive capital. 
 
 To conclude,—the Principles of Free Trade emanate 
 alike from the Laws of Nature, and from the conclusions 
 deduced by Philosophy from those laws ; and, more¬ 
 over, they can be clearly and immediately traced to the 
 Ordinations of Providence. The advocate of these prin¬ 
 ciples legislates not for the partial, hut for the universal 
 benefit of mankind : he would dispense, through the 
 medium of commerce, “ the great Civilizer,” the blessings 
 of Religion, Morality, Abundance, and Peace throughout 
 all ages yet to come. If any measure of political wisdom 
 can perpetuate the present prosperity of America; if 
 any effort of human legislation can renew the energies 
 of England, it is the emancipation of commerce from the 
 barbarism and bondage of the false and injurious system 
 of Protective Duties. 
 
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN OREGON. 
 
 The following statistics of the Catholic Church of 
 Oregon will he read with interest:— 
 
 VICARIATE OF OREGON. 
 
 This territory was erected into an Apostolic Vicariate, 
 by his Holiness Gregory XVI, on the 1 st of December, 
 1843, and Rev. F. N. Blanchet, missionary in that 
 country, was appointed Vicar Apostolic. His conse¬ 
 cration took place at Montreal, about the middle of last 
 year. 
 
 There are fourteen Chapels, viz.: two in the Willamette 
 Valley; one at Vancouver; one at Cowlitz; one at 
 Whitbay ; two in New Caledonia; four among the Flat 
 Head Indians—St. Mary’s, St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s, 
 St. Michael’s; one at Oregon city; one at Yamhill, and 
 one at Twalate. The three last are for the accommoda¬ 
 tion of settlers from the United States, many of whom 
 are Catholics, and others disposed to embrace the faith. 
 These various missions are served by the following 
 clergymen :— 
 
 Right Rev. F. N. Blanchet, D.D. Vicar Apostolic. 
 
544 
 
 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN OREGON. 
 
 Very Rev. Modest Demers, Vicar General , and 
 Administrator during Dr. Blancliet’s absence. 
 
 Rev. Accolti, Michael, 
 
 De Smet, Peter J. 
 De Yos, Peter, 
 Iloecken, Adrian, 
 Joset, Joseph, 
 Mengarini, Gregory, 
 Nobili, John, 
 
 Rev. Point, Nicholas, 
 Ravalli, Anthony, 
 Soderini, Tiberius, 
 Vereruysse, Aloysius, 
 Zerbinatti, Peter, 
 Bolduc, John Baptist, 
 Langlois, Anthony. 
 
 All the above mentioned gentlemen are members of 
 the Society of Jesus, with the exception of the two last 
 named, and the Very Rev. Mr. Demers. The Superior 
 of the Jesuits in Oregon resides at Willamette. 
 
 The institutions that have been commenced in Oregon, 
 consist—1. Of an Academy at St. Mary’s, among the 
 Flat Heads ; 2. Of a College at Willamette ; and 3. Of 
 an Academy for Girls, at the same place, under the 
 charge of six Sisters of Notre Dame. The Superior is 
 Sister Loyola. Other establishments have been set on 
 foot. 
 
 The total number of savages in the territory is about 
 110,000, of whom six thousand have been converted to 
 the true faith. The number of Catholics among the 
 settlers amounts to about 1,500, most of whom are 
 Canadians. 
 
 RECAPITULATION. 
 
 Chapels. 14 
 
 Clergymen. 16 
 
 Academies. 3 
 
 Religious institutions. 1 
 
 Catholic population, about. 7500 
 
THE MEXICAN WAR. 
 
 The War between the United States and Mexico arose 
 from various subjects of just complaint on the part 
 of the United States against Mexico. I have traced 
 these complaints in the Presidential Messages of Monroe,, 
 John Quincy Adams, General Jackson, and Martin 
 Van Buren, and have been struck with the forbearance 
 which the American Government exercised towards their 
 weaker foe ; chiefly in consideration of the disturbed 
 state of the internal policy of the newly organized and 
 perplexed Republic. 
 
 The subjects of complaint were these :— 
 
 Piracies against American citizens. 
 
 Delays in arranging Commercial Treaties. 
 
 Some feelings of distrust on the part of the Mexicans, 
 so long ago as 1829, of the then American Minister in 
 Mexico. 
 
 Errors in regard to claims upon Territorial lands. 
 
 Excessive, vexatious, and causeless delays in the 
 arrangement of the Boundary Line, and disputes in 
 consequence of these delays. 
 
546 
 
 THE MEXICAN WAR. 
 
 The seizure of American ships and property in 
 Mexico; the claims having been adjusted by Commis¬ 
 sioners ; they were made payable by instalments, one 
 of which only has been paid. 
 
 All these were points in dispute before the Annexation 
 of the Texas, having been commented upon for twenty 
 years at least, by successive Presidents. 
 
 From the method of argument, or rather of vitupera¬ 
 tion, against the American Government, pursued by the 
 English Journalists, it would seem that they have either 
 never known, or else that they have forgotten, these 
 circumstances. 
 
 The Journals in England crowd their columns on one 
 side with histories of the British wars in India, and on 
 the other, with histories of the American war in Mexico. 
 
 It may he instructive, as it is certainly amusing and 
 curious, to compare a few of the features which these 
 
 two wars present in common,—premising only the su¬ 
 
 perior eclat of the Anglo Asiatic over the Anglo American 
 ideas of conquest:— 
 
 THE MEXICAN WAR 
 
 Has cost the United States 
 about a thousand lives. 
 
 Has cost a few millions of 
 dollars. 
 
 Has lasted six months. 
 
 THE INDIAN WAR 
 
 Has cost England mil¬ 
 lions of her people. 
 
 Has cost countless mil¬ 
 lions of pounds sterling. 
 
 Has lasted nearly 100 
 years. 
 
THE MEXICAN WAR. 
 
 547 
 
 The Americans claim the 
 adjustment of the Boundary 
 Line of their State of Texas 
 annexed to their Republic 
 by her own desire—andhave 
 therefore proved just claims 
 against the Mexicans. 
 
 The Americans plead guilty 
 to the charge of being land 
 stealers. 
 
 The Mexicans will be im¬ 
 proved by their present alli¬ 
 ance, and by their future 
 Union and amalgamation 
 with the Americans.Twenty- 
 two years ago they banished 
 from the soil of Mexico, 
 where it had ruled three 
 hundred years, the proud 
 Standard of Castille. What 
 has the Republic since 
 achieved? Nothing but re¬ 
 volutions. 
 
 The English, for 246 
 years, have been struggling 
 to dispossess the native 
 Hindoo Princes of their 
 Territory, and they have 
 been eminently successful 
 in this meritorious under¬ 
 taking. They have no ex¬ 
 cuse beyond that of the 
 bewitched Macbeth:— 
 
 “ I am in blood, 
 Stepped in so far, that, should I 
 wade no more, 
 
 Returning were as tedious as go 
 o’er.” 
 
 An infirmity very power¬ 
 fully developed in their pro¬ 
 genitors—like father—like 
 son. 
 
 The Hindoos are ex¬ 
 changed from Native Sub¬ 
 jection to English Govern¬ 
 ment; that is, they become 
 the slaves of their conque¬ 
 rors; they are swept away 
 and leave no name behind. 
 Nothing in the future can 
 ever make amends to the 
 Hindoos for the spoliation 
 they have suffered and the 
 indignities they have en¬ 
 dured. 
 
548 
 
 THE MEXICAN WAR. 
 
 The present Adminis¬ 
 tration of the United States, 
 wise in their Commercial 
 policy, will perceive the su¬ 
 perior advantages of Trade 
 over War, and will make a 
 speedy Peace, either by 
 Conquest or by Treaty. 
 
 No victory, no concession, 
 no acquisition has ever pro¬ 
 duced Peace for the vic¬ 
 timized Hindoos.—To them 
 the living tiger of their 
 native desert is less appalling 
 than the pictured lion of 
 England. It brings no peace 
 to them—save that of ex¬ 
 termination. 
 
 Certain it is, therefore, that the English can condemn 
 the Americans upon no law of honesty, justice, or 
 mercy, which they themselves acknowledge. It is not 
 my desire however to excuse this war of the United 
 States against Mexico, because it was evidently a war of 
 temper; an element unworthy to enter into the policy 
 of any nation, whether great or small. Patience and 
 negociation would, in time, have effected between the 
 United States and Mexico, a pacific arrangement of all 
 their differences; as patience and negociation have 
 recently effected pacific arrangements between America 
 and Great Britain; witness the case of M £ Leod—the 
 North East and North Western Boundaries. 
 
 The expenses of the Mexican war will be paid by 
 the Americans with ease ; such burthens lie lightly upon 
 a people who are free from permanent and direct taxation, 
 and on whose fields the God of Harvests forgets not to 
 scatter the continual gift of abundance. 
 
 FINIS.