t
i
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1
' TO.MY, CONSTITUENTS s-
' OTM-FITTl'l COjrGRESSIOKAlf district,
J
.owned, whilst Jadopting bis rccimtnendalibn, !
thai the plitMuomm.i t fi
pltshedin the form proposed under tU Federal
Konsltiuli n,cs it ttands';" or, in otfur voids,
! Composed of ihecountiuofj fanner, lienrico, j Pe,, hadf discovered that the President loi
.sJ"ew Kcfll, Charles" City, and thi ' City ofUnA'feenmenac(i.i;phn which i he j did not convi
'-i -Jlichiiton "CTr " ' ' rhii.k co jld be constitutionally or safely acxora- assao
lSaVe seen ? of irtof 7iame tfd norfi- V P" C"4f had adorned wit!, out ar 'n- their
1,w . -. f-..-.r. , ..-:v i,r r r tern pi to watsfyjihe measure, aod be not only da- ing li
ficalUm" a etier recently -wnttea by ibePreM f oi Ji.v.-iuiy.niliir h.ms-lf ht denies that d ; a
i J I m ' i ri. : i"- - -." . ',.vr ' ' 1 - - 'r. i r- ' - ,.- '-.v-. -.
S"l - ., J , - .- ' - ;-.. . , ' . .- - ' .' , ' i-j-j ;f --.. . a . t - -
v I ihi i :vLVt' V-;', :cLi:" Courl, !iTfh qhb
lfre.i4 iBeAliiqwiiKmof m trth ndinsf n?;f yompra in? - If tha iei inieifcienc?. .V ; - , ' ' ; 1
of .he -pfc'vld i in; Congress -tt. call .ah a II ha f g?nd giiMinff ? " l lhc H I find a letter published by Mr. Undue who
co..loir d 4 r caimaiatMF and Jibelkr. fiarh commended or f 1" L V uren out; of h.3 d.fficoUiev written
asaol8,Un!Rhchi,, Kendall and BI.Krad .. Mi. Paulding, and bearing, data April
their dinj dribblers. I utterly disregard, but cmn C thai ,mlf comWitie. did mean to J5tb,.1840, fourmontha afier, preceded by
e2: ar.!? CC.n donbt is what U cdttonal article vwhich with the usual
. deori;.tbVUon;;State' j he bad recomrofrided it j deaies that he had e
:irnit if apnlieinen in V.!iT.hth i'dtTrio 1 r tn li s difiia iV.at tt w matured' ("fiiark
which heehartresopon the and oiber gentlemen iua wora ! coni more man ttiree monms
sht vvs thai therab were furo nUnf. and that It
! - -.- - i ' - . .
an oiwnce wnicn,- ii luanoea ti fruui,
ly expose, me' to yonr censore, and to theamtnadj
teraions tf every liberal and - honora&le! gen tie -
Ha has charged w wiih hating "jBohscnberf
ntr nams to statements that he had, in his an-
" nnaf message, expressed his approbation of a
vlan." fmeaninz Mr,; Poinsett's n? :n!Qr the ot
,i-.nn of th miliiia. 1 nhicii nolnnlv ne-
er naiJ Deen auomuiea io mm, cuv whs nui even
matured until U.rea mptha alter ilja J inWf ga
Tvas sent to Congress, and an attemptj to 'prof a
the Qufoonded.assuQiption by the publication of a
gntrbied extract from that document; min liro
meaning f lsified b the suppression at a matert
al part." -'"H. 'V:- '7 ;
To avoid all difficulty or misconstruction, how-
. eve forgive helow; the. extract irona!S&jr.. van
Bren'8 leMer. - " -' : 1 ,
In sneakine of Mr. Poinsett's plan M what is
iTanarill na n nlan fnr i"i Slanrttnr
Army .the President saya ; -L
.7 Unfair- as these animadTersM.il are thos
shown lobe, this has not been erea tue worst as
" pect in which they hae. been presented. . . We
have ben compelled io see. not; I s'pirold think,
.wtfhuat sbame and muriiftaaiion on the pari of
r o a r v inrronnni. mtn i. wiixiv.pr inaw-tm ill. rui.
luteal preferencesj toe names! respectao'e cut
zena subscribed io 6tateraens that ! had in my
j ;c anbuaL message expressed yfy appfobaiioo of a
'plan, which not "only nw had bein 'sabmitted
to ir-p, bul'was not even iiatnred urvtil more than
. ' . . . . r . r
.three months alter the message was 6eni toon
gress ; aftd an attempt to proe tlie ;un founded
assumption by the pnblicalion of a rarbled ex-
tract from that document, with i s true meaning
I4.aifieu oy me soppression oia luairuai pin
Nor was the avowed obtact of thesA exlraordtna
ry proceedings - Irss remarkable than the acts
-fihemselTes, being nothing leas than an attempt
: to fix upon me tha design of establishing a stand
inc Armv nf tvn timidied thousand cien. Tor no
mtcai ; ano. persot.ai purposes, it i nan oen
T nhattred with the design of establishing arootig
yp-j,ai jhV public expense; a menUgeri of two
t hundred thwisand-witd beas'is, it woufd not hate
s sorprised roe more, nor would it, injmy judg
ment. hae been on" j)i more preposterous.
" it II f M - I I 1 . . . al... . B
. i aui, iur.unaicij, jcnueiiirii, uj ocii .
'i'iir.oiiDii'L-9 h( ihia ftfrnraclAr. 'jnd hnv with
af, an abiding confilence in the in:teligence of
ibe people, which rehdrrs thein proofjagainst all
6ut; aueiupis w ueceiTt? iuwlq ii i unuersiiiii'i
, my own feelings, my chiet regret in jwiinef-sing
such degrading exhibitions, arises fronia'consid
eraliiiii of the opinion, which foreigners, who
hare not the same reasons to respect' pur politic
' alinstitotions that we hare, are likely to form
of the ebaracler of our people, whin) they see
tha t conspicuous men among us can promise them
- 6s.Tes any advantages from attempts Uo delude
' iiioir iBnujw-ciuicns, oy uibhiis vi suuiij uiuusiruus
absnrdities. ; This regret is, however, I confess,
materially diminished, by the conviction that the
fore dime, convince thuse who attjstiipt in this
manner to operate upon their credulity, of the
fylly of seeking to accomplish, m this . coqntry,
ntjlmcal ohiects bv.siich discreditable Jmeans."
i ----- - - j, - j - - -
i -The resoectabld citizens here SDoken of. are
understood to be the Executtve Committee, as it
tia been called, of which 1 was a member ; and
if I have been guilty of the crTence charged upon
inet l have dooe that which no honorable man
isjhe other pan, which no eye has
tt.il Iia i.Kir.l I il tin .-nnm man A Ml ft
f a u M iuicuuc
ever seen,
nd he BhaM charge upon me no s.urb offence
witn impunity, npweyer ctstinguisuea pisetauwii
may be fo, jwrie from what quarter itmay i
pronounce it false, basely and unqualifiedly false,
as far as it applies to me - -v f
Thus far, fellow cittzens, bad I v proceeaea in
vindicating! m vself. as tour lepresentaiiye, from
tr prssume thai
rot been maturfd. and which be knew netntng
about. Then, khat are we to think of the Quali
fications of a nraa to fill the high vffice of Chief
tt to tecommend, we are bound the charge.ptefet red against me by ihe indtvidu
H n.it.ABlan that he says had I al who fills the hiah i station of President,- and
r-- . - . . i . t. t i
w&onow stands, beforp you aoi.ciung auo eu
treating yo Suffrages for an other term, and re
sort in tr to means for ibe accomplishment if his
purposes, that should make a gentleman blosb,
when my attention was arrested by a correspfin
dence that has occurred between the Hon. Rica
Garland, of4 llonisiana,: and the Hon. John C.
Clirk.of Neivi Yorli. two members of tha .Ex-
ooniiva Pfimmii tp. nd the President, which I
Maaistrate i f the United Stales, who will tec
ommend,and in sueb strong and ounsoal terms,
a measure for the adoption ox tne country, anu
wbicn, if adopted on hi3 Tecommendaliw, ne
would be cumpeilod, by his calb of office, to re
ject as onconstldUonal 7
This coold oily be reconciled by the conclusion, subjoin as being! in perfect character and keep-
that he had in all .respects, followed in the foot
steps of his illustrious predecessor, and was not
in the habit oH prepanog his own messages to
Congress, and did oot understand them wnen
prepared, and therefore Itke him, bad ?o send in
explanatory messages of what he meaut, and to
deny the only lirational and sensible cons'r-ictton
Ibat could be piut upou H. liut ne cenies inai
the plan was niodured until the month of March.
This raises a question of veracity between Mr
Van Baren and Ihis tJcretary on the one band,
and the Hon-f Bamnel S. Phelps, a Senalor of
lbs Uniiad States from the btate of Vermont,
ine; with w!ba(tiver lama nates from that distin-
goished citizen It states wnat mj. vau. wu
rn did nnt rnpau. ibut fails lo state precisely
what be did mean : and aftei reading the whole
I shall leave it to you to determine, whether
there is any fa tber disposition manifested to e-
nniTncati. Ill I
Messrs. GaVland and Clark enclosed to the
President the (bctraci above quoted, from his let
ter of the Slst' puly, with the following note :
VashIngton Citt, Ang. 13tb, 1840.
' Sir : The Globe of the 10th iost. bas been
shewn to os, and otir attention directed to a por-
CHalSB iu ! fr-.7'- . r
eyeijr memberoi n
i. a. that fie cia mean iq -
for if he did not mean mai - no
for there was nothing else to recommend, but that
one idenucaplan that as transmtttea fi w
annbali report to tba &enaie, ana i.iu
MilitiatCqmmiiteaf that body; and wbPJ1'
never been suppressed. .. , t ; ,
1 fee) conscious that I have vindicated myself
JnA m .Bciata on that Commitlee. from ihe
fuol aspersions of the President, and fixed opun
him stYeast jquatiij for which his h. Illustrious
Predecessor' was not remarkable, that ot sum
flina, dbdgibg and evadiog responstbiluyr -.
j If the President in his letter to Messrs. uar
land and Clark intended tp exhonerate the hx
ecotite Committee that has been so violently as
sailed in his official organ and other presses
under bis ingoence. from all censure for what
they have done am sorry he did not express
himself in such terms as to leave no doubt of his
true meaning, particularly! as he finds his wri
tings generally liable to gross misconsuucuona ,
decencs of that print,' is headed. " Ae ntr
gtr bulmiss Uom whichT make the fol-
TbHast Vffr
origifiated, irtih Jonri m Botts, a member
of Conaress from tbia District, m the shape
of a resolution of nqmry into the rocetd.
;pcs of a certain Court il atlial, held on board
.t-fe'KSliipr.-.Warni'fee
I. -.orninff'reiia!n charges against Lieut
n M Hooa of the Navy. - 1 b charge?
drawn Irpra these i proceedings ?hd as set
forth in the Whig of the lyili.eaiionaii),
arid by a congressional correspondent, none
other we doobt not than the Hon.: Mr. Bolts
himself, (about which bye the, bye Mr.
Ritchie was mistaken) tV tbat Mr. Van
Buren has sahctipned and approved the in
troduction and reception of negro testimo
ni aoainst white persons, m he South, in
tiolation of law and usage thus furnishing
scornfully trif;t
stKh testuiumv
and his decisic
idem If this ,
did not the Va
.Why - has not t'
Blair, Kendall
free access to i
shewn a case ?
tell
- - - - - v k
before t Do
could cite a r:
content therm
it is the pra;".
practice has !
Jackson stt c:
grounds ? I)
place at whir!,
. . . w ...... ia . 1 niib Tf II ud, m
and a member of the; Wiliua commtuee latnai 0f a letter 'published in it. purporting" to be
body.on the aiher, ear what wr. rnetps fr bj . .j dal;d lbe 31sl Julff i840,ad
savs in a letter written on the 20ih of Jane, . tZmJ? J,a n FiiTaKih Citw ca..
Virginia. The pari of ihe letter lo which we
wish to call jyour attention, is contained in the
slip now enclosed, cut from the newspaper. W e
submit it to yob in this manner, as we wisb you
to see the letter as published
' We desijre? to be informed if the language
used in the. slip, or extract, from the Globe, is
yours, and also to be informed if the pamphlet
published in ftb'is city on the 26th of May, 1840,
by oureelvesand others, entitled Plan of the
Standing AWy of 200,000 men,' &c, 4c , a
copy of which jwe enclose, is one of the stale
men5 to which yoo allude.
We n quest a reply as soon as convenient. ;
Very respectfully,
. uYour obedient servants,
more than a month before the adjournment of
Congress, wbpq has not yet been contradicted,
denied or noticed, except in the manner denied
by the President in hi letter. No member of
that ComrotltS?ein the Senate, either during the
session of Corjress or since, bas denied itjand
he eslablishesfbayond alt doubt, that a plan iden
tical With thalf djobmiued on ihe 20th March to
Congress, wa!sp5mjued wiih the anouil report
which aacomparlied the President's message: if
not true, wberp ii the Chairman and administra
tion members fjf hat Committee ? Why have
the not spoken! ? ,
HarU's Ferrt, June 20th, 1840.
Dear ir j tn answer to youi enquiry, I Have
only lime to sayl that ,very early i tb present
session of Congress, aiill in form epianatiogjas 1
understood, from: ihe Secretary of War, was laid
before the committee rf the Senate on the .Mil
tia,of which cbmmittea I amamemaer. That
bill, which I suppose accompanied the annual
cnmtnonication'ot the Secretary of War to Con
gress, was- in all important features, identical
with the phn communicated by the Secretary to
the coramirteeirithe H. of Representatives on
der date of the 20 h March last. The bill to
which I allude icasfor some time the suhjeet of
enamrxi bv the Committee. What has become
R. GARLAND,
J. C. CLARK.
Hon. Martin Van Buren. Wasbinoton.
The President returned the following reply :
Gentlemen : ( bave received your note of
the 13th instapt. Vhen my letter of the 81st
of July an extract of which you have enclosed
to me was written j I had not seen the pamph
let to which you have called my attention, and
of course, could not have alluded to it.
On an examination ef that pamphlet, I find
ii y rtlinrt ia 1m in thatp U'nrria Plan nf the
tfit or why it has not been printed; l know hot Standing army of 200,000 men submitted to
out insistfciftiq out was reporicu, anu mo mi- Congress by the Sedrelary of War, and recom
fed with the annual report, is not to be question- j meDded by the President of the United States,'
and in the note of the 27th r'SGthV of Mav last.
I would explain further, bat havio? already signed by youjself artd others, you spoke cf the
ed.
made a wrttienistateaient which is now in the
hinds of the publisher, and which will pribabiy
be published, 1 jrefor you io tbat when it shall ap
Pear- f , 1.11 n ' I
In haste yonrs,
Ml SAMUEL S. PHELPS.
What, then, does the President mean by say
ing the plan was not matured' for more than
3 months aft? -Does be mean, that as ihe
Secretary originally proposed to divide the Uni
led Mates into emhl military districts, and that
leeommendations and projet of the Secretary of
ar ior ine j re-organ ization oi ine miinia oi
the United States,! with the approval of the
President.!) I also find that the extract from
my message of lbe 2d of December, 1839, io
which the project of the Secretary for a ia or
gamzaiion of the militia, contained in his report
of the 30th of November, 1839, is recommend
ed to the ' tonsidtration1 of Congress, is cor
rtctly taken. Inasmuch as the tetter of the
Secretary of War, giving the details of his plan,
contained liMlsParaphlet, and occupying ihir
but his partu&Aus still assert, on hit authority, evidence r f bis disposition to ole-
that we have garbled. iaisineo,ou ui..,...- the blacks to lbe level cr ' white men."
r,.;i".: 1 wm if he-trhHiot most pitiful humbug Kvety thingcotinec ed
choose, to assume the responsibtlitrotj saying to I with it will no doubt shortly ppear in shape
whomhedidrefer,EtIeaitohaveexhoneraieiJus, of a report from ihe. Wavy liepartment to
which surejy is not dona by imply saying he did Congress. ; In the mean time e subjoin a
not allude to a parapblei that he bad never seen. et wnicj1 j, been banded us by a gen-
a President, however,as defended tleman, received from Mr i PauMtrigduring
his hurh station, with unbecoming and bomiliat- f t s$aMtr ..h tZ
" tn the last spring, which of xUelf exculpates
iny oosenaiuusuess, iaw mcf"iii -w i , , . r, - ' r
penly no, 1 should ratner say,cov-1 i; rnjww "z, -
Idiously for lbe prize at which he fair J,v';S 1
. Then follows tne letter ot wnicn ine ioi
lowing is the :1cpncludiog, paragraph Und
this it is, that exculpates the President and
dissipates the whole aflairi x
It is not deemed necessary, (says the
Secretary to go further into' this subject than
merely to add, that the President had iiu-
thxng to do with the court or its proceed
trigs ine jucgement oi . ine, court was.
approved and carried into etlcct by order
of this Department the apj roval of opiDr
ioo of any higher power was not necessary:
Very respectfully, . ; ; r
Youi obd'nt servant. v
J. K. PAULDING.
r:On the 14tb December 1839, the Secre
tary himself addresses a letter, enclosing a
report of the case, and memorial of Mr.
not ascertain with certainty, but have understood J Hooe to the President as the appellate court,
electioneer open
ertlv and insid
aims Ha bas written three electioneering lei
tere in the course of a month . one of which re
lates to a subject wilb which I have bad some
concern, and which I shall here notice. I mean
the Hooa case a brief history of which I pro
pose to give, and to show that the shuffling and
evasion on this subject, has been no less than
that on the Army Bill;
In the spring of 1839. Lieut. George Mason
Hoae was arrested and put upon his trial, before
a Naval Comt Martial, on charges and specifica
tions preferred by Commander Uriah P Levy;
' The Court was formed of Captain William
B.Shubrich,of South Carolina,Captain Laurence
Rousseau of Louisiana, Captain Beverley Ken
noo of Virginia, Commander Benjamin Page a
nati ve of England, Commander Hiram Pa old mg
of New York, Commander William EvMcKed
neyt whose name I do not find registered any
where among the officers of the Navy in the
Blue Book, and whose nativity I therefore can
he is from one of ibe free States, and Lieut. Ja.
P. Wilow of Maryland. -
Mr. Hooe was put oc his trial, aod on the
30th May, James Mitchell, fa negro,) the Cap
tain's steward and private servant, as the rec
ord shows, was called and sworned. Mr. Hooe
objected to lbe examination of the witness, on
the ground that he wis a colored man. The
Court, after deliberation, overruled the objection,
Pens act)! a rtf
ny in the ca??
There is no ?
do not believ.
stance upor. 1 1
istration. I ;
court were
hesitate as to i
Suppose thi '
the whole S ;i
of law, becv.
men can be .
T
i nave shewn
far. as couhJ I
ern gentlerr:
aud one from
the birth-p!:..-bers.
sticJi t - -
tt be receive.'
statue, I am .
lo the two r
ber, wotil l c
prebend, f ro
was precis lv
was dividf
ing ihe Pti -not
hesitnte.'
gets his sj
from the rv:
of the Jut'ics
to sav,thrt l!
ready crowd
was not rcfir
July, arid C
of the sarr. n :
discharged f
subject, fur I
it. Now ::
and Mr U '
for what t!,ry
speak disrc
for I have t
what value
subject ?
so muen
and Seer ci
ure nor act i
by the Pre
vocates sir.
the last supreme tribunal to which tt;coud
be referred. The President affirms the de
cision of the court below, sees nothing in
the proceedings to object to. or to tfq'iire
nis intenerence, anu; on mo 10m oi yipru ioujuac
following, when there was no expectation I Governor
that the whole proceedings would ever reach its ruins, :
the public eye, the Secretary certifies that jshoukl be
per, which was spread upon the record at bis re
quest :
t
' "J J ' - r - -'J l l l aW-.Ai An t Kill lalat a hAnneiH I
in shame whenever an honest man looked me in V jv-- 'een rft, pages, is dated March 20.
theface; H oiv.oe i. inw pn, inat mererore ...e as iS4te Bs after ray message, quoted
I bold it to be not only my privilege, there- 001 XVV rT1?' f Pclcdf "lllhe b, fyjti Congress, tba intelligent
fore. ibut my duty, to reply lihis assault on my m.on J ' &"ch a qu.bole or subterfuge anweffaderVill not fail toper-
rl.sracrer.as well on 7o",mnnl as! my owrl l be.rr; coftteinptibla and unworthy of eiMcSf 'J.on and introductory note can
aVd a painful Wnty 1 prof ess it is for I cannot the h.g-h statipo he occupies than another he noiWii Bliirginr me wi-h having
treat tboh3tter,of the P.esulent.or the President has resorted tnji not at the insi gatton ofhtsown r.conieofcX)pproved the intents of tha'
hhnIC with t ho respect that i3.nceded to be cunsc.ence orudgmeot, but at the suggestion of Whether the caption of your pamphler,
due to one wbo fills the highest tffice in thelgift Jha West of bis pandarers.. It i thai the Pres- JoVar as itiimblies that ihe Secretary of War
km- r i "Jenl did not feive his sanction, or m the language w w.cLi i n, .il.. t k,.. .i lmMA .
iia uiuin;ovu vi sf a I iiaio j CUVUIIUCUUCU . a
. Pho President, herrt directly deojes that he
iVid express bis approbation (f the plan of Mr
Puineet, whtih, he says, never was Submitted
to nun, , ana wnicti as not matured ior
;re3. , Let s see, then, what lis ihe pr .
language usedby the Prtsidenija bis annu-
WW...
nun h n as uui utaiuiu iuj iiiviic
than three monihs afier his Mcsaase was cent to
Con 2
else 1
al llessaje.
(.It re is the extract from the Message, t)geth
er with the cirtificaie of Mr! Hugh A- Garland,
Clerk of ihe Housed Representatives, which 1
appeud, because lbe original Message cannot be
in the hands of all those who may reed this fet
ter, nnd because, in the absence of some such
proof, a q'testtoh of veracity might be raised by
ih partiauns of the President, as hej himself has
denied that he did express his apprubation of the
plan, and it would not be strange, therefore, that
those who bave never seen bis Message, should
deny-it for hirn : rf;-, "t j . --. ) "
of his letter, Bid not express his approbation of
. L I I i !-. II-.. I
me fnan, as ne oniy recoromenaea ii to ine
consideratio)iij of Congress. Not for its adop
tion f Oh tico! Tbat never entered into his
brain He only recommended it to their consid
ration, to see: how prosperous, how impractica
ble, and unconstitutional the measure was, and
for this par pose he could not 'recommend tf too
strongly1 ll r
JJoes the Resident not know yes, he knows,
Standing Army ot 200,000 men," does justice!
to him and myself, tbe public wilt decide.!
i Yours, respectfully,
II ; M. VAN BUREM.
"To the Hon. Rice Garland and John C
Clabk. ; J
" WASHINi3TON,AogOSt 15, 1840."
Upon this, the Madisonian remarks .
"It will be! seen that the Presinent axnreselv
becausefhe bid his eye to that when be penned ytxeuipls the publication pot forth by the commit-
his message, hut do not his uaterers and his a-
pol'gits know that in recommending ibis plan
to ihe coiisvitration'' of Congress he followed
the languageof the constitution, and did precise
ly what that instrument authorized aod required
him to do? 5 Let u3 look 1 e the Constitution.
What is its language. ?
'Phe 3d section of the 2d article declares! :
' He shall from time to lime give to the Con-
tt;-j infnrmJiiinn itlhn atnlp uf lK ITi.i.in anA
Extract from the message oftheiPrcsidentofthc recommend to their consideration such measures
oe to inc two nouses o congress as he shall jtide nwessary and expedient. Now
. ZJeccmier 21839. J wherein hasjithe President departed from the
' " The present condition of tha defences of our langoage of the constitution -except by stiying ha
prhieiput seaports end navy yars, as reyresent could not fo strongly recommend, which, is to
fd by the accompaniag report of the iSecretary of say, it so entirely meets wiih my approbation
War, calls for the early and serious latteoiion of that I not only recommend, but press, urgently
Congress ; and. as connecting itself intimatplv ores?, noon Ibur consideraii'in the nlan nmriosed.
lit. 1 1. : ... 1 1 . . 1 1 . . ts t
tec of which Messrs. Garland and Clark are
members,! from the charge of containing
any
, j with this subject, 1 cannot recommend loostrontr
u ly lo your consideration the plan sjubtniited by that
officer for-tba rorganizition of the nilitia of the
Orntfd States " . ' .' "
' Office House of REPRESENtATivks, May 23.
At ihe; rrquest of a membet! of iConsress. 1
have compared ihe above extract frum ihe Prtst
denl's message with the original on die in my of
fire, and find it lobe correct, and tojbe all i-on-Uined
in the message that relates lol tbe subject
i -of the extract. . i .
H. A. GARLAND, Clerk Ho Reps fj. S
The President, then, not only pcommends
the plan, bat he lecommends ii in terms out osu
ally employed ; in lerms which leajve no doubt
of its luviog met with his entire and ucqnalified
appmbattun.
VVhat plan was it that he thus recommended
to Congress ? Why, the plm submitted by that
:.. officerthe Secretary ol War, f,r iheorgan'za--1
ion of tha Militia. Submitted lo whom to
a Congress ? No ! for the Secretary had nnde
- report and submitted no plan ! tu Cunrress
bad made his annual report to ihi President
of the United plates, in whici he suggests the
Subject of the organisation of the militia, but says
tha details had better b leftsubjeet 4o regula
li.in a plan of which I am prepared to submit
lo you, (the President) tchich pUn for ihere
" tMs neer been bot one be cann!t too strongly
rcmmend.! If this waj not the !an he rectim-
meaded, what plan did he recommend t Why
are we kept in ignorance and darkness as to the
tree phn recommended .? The j President dis
. fiveySi on eSlit July, afrergepsiets had ad-
which ho niW savs be-ne-ersaW, never appruv
ed, and bei.efves to bs uneonstitutionat ? He is
only author:d to recommend to the considera
itnt) of Congress surh measures as he may dtem
expedient and necessary . j
I vt ili noijaiidertakt to characterize the con
duct of the Chief Magistrate of the Niibm ;
whether it he a pettif. g?ing quibble, a gross e
quivocalidn,jor whether it deserves narsher ep
ithet, when he denies that he had expressed
his approbation of ihe plan. I leave to jthose
who have topassopoii hiscunduc'j to determine.
But the President savs : We haveattempt-
eu Jo prove he unfounded assumption, (t. e. cf
h s hating recommended the plan) by the pub!
cilum of a garbled extract frtmthat document,
:.t"a 2 at a
wnn us iruv meaning tawnu oy ine suppress
iin of a material pan : this, of coarse, if the Pres
ident writes; g'od English, relates to his mes-
sage, tor it twas nly by an extract from his: mes
sage that we .undertook to prove, 'that it did
meet witn nts approoauon. ajow i navel pro
duced the certificate of the Cletk ofthe House
of Representatives that " lbe extract je eopit-d
was not ouly correct, but that it teas all in the
message thai related to the subject If thlere is
any ihing esa that does relate toll, why did nm
ibe President in his letter furnish the suppressed
part ? An then what was bis twe meaoing ?
and ha seems to have entered the political
aren wiihj sotoe earnestness, and jladly
ails hunsef of every opportunity Tio appear in
public print i I call upon him now, inrsbew! what
part we have sappressedfso as to falsify his ime
meaning ; tnd if hednes not think proper to an-
swciUM, tf lo exculpav that eummittee of w bicb
-1 " - -
whereupon Mr. Hobe offered tha following pa- the President bad nothing to do wiih the j becentctn, I
court or its proceedings, anu that tne ap- pey, .vir. .
proval or opinion of Bny higher power than Mr Gilpir .
himself was not necessary And thus proves t regard to
the whole afnir a most pitiful humbug, ex
culpates the President, and 'dissipates the
whole charge attempted to be made by the
member from tms district, that Mr. Van
Buren had sanctioned and approved the in
troduction and reception of negro testimony print3 of t!
against white men. ; - man in t!ie
(l would be an insult to your integrity .noxious to
and intelligence to doubt what youi verdict question oi
must be upon this recital of facts. . -, trict At tor:
The President in his letter sets up sever- pbrtance-sl,
al grounds of defence for bis conduct, 1st : Now ia r
. .... l a m f
that there is no act oi Conoresa which oro- i al : iMr i
...
as mucli w
blacks end
and it r.r
onlv hearJ i:
tion, but J; ; .
Tha accused begs leave to state to tha Court
most distinctly, that he solemnly protests against
the evidence of this witness being received and
recorded. It is tar from the wuh ofthe accused
to object to any evidence which the Court may
deem legal, but the witness is a colored man,
and therefore, io the opinion of the accused, is
not a competent witness even before Ibis tribu
nal ?'
The examination of the witness proceeded,
and he testified to one of the charges on which
Mr. Hooe was found guilty, to wit . of treating
with contempt his superior officer.
Daniel VValers, another negro, and one that
had recently been flogged by order of Mr. Hooe,
for violating the roles of the ship, and for lying
about it, who was the private servant and cook j hibits the admission of coloured persons as fact, when !
nr i na rrmprnmr. man 1 n i rnn nnan in i : .... . i rt i t . : i vj ,,,., i
" - J . ... , a iiira... I II CUUTIS 111 111131. 14 II . 11131 II IS I UFl CK11
garbling, oppression, or falsification of bis lan
guage. He declares that ha did not allude to it
at all. He states tbat oa an examkiation' of it.
he finds that the extract from his message of
jjecemoer Xd, tqaa, is correctly quoted. That
extract, -bMr readers, will temember, cantaios
the following emphatic recommendation of that
most monstrous and overshadowing scheme of
rauuary oespousm me plan lor raising a stand
ing army! of 300,000 men The President's
own words are. I cannot recommend TOO
STRONGLY to toor cosideration the
plan submitted ly thai officer (the Secretary of
traTijor:ineqrganizauofrir ine miiuia or ine
United .afef.M j s
Here, (heo the President first admits that he
had nevei seen the docoment to which our
names re appended, for which he bad so un
justly held us op to tbe reprobntioo of every
inwenuocs'miind whatever bis political prefer
ences might be; and secondly, be admits that
the extracts: from bis message of the 2d De
cembrr, 18S9, in which the project of the Se
cretary fbr a j re; organization of ihe militia, con
tained in ;bis report of lbe SOlh November 1S39,
is recommended iq ihe 4 consideration of Con
gress, is correctly taken. If the President bad
said he had no reference to us, I shoold have
been content bat he only says be had no refer
ence to itiat pamphlet which be bad never seen:
but we had affixed oor names to another paper,
(commonly called the garbled document or slip)
containing the saae extract which he had seen,
and to which I suppose he alluded. He does not
S3 he had ri6 reference to oor names, because
there were no okher names jo which be could bave
same objection was made to him as bad been
made to Mitchell, and the accused very proper
ly refused to cross-examine either of tham. He
also testified lo one of the charges on which Mr.
Hooe was found guilty. It is true that other
witnesses also testified to the same charges, but
that does not affect the principle in the slight
est degree ; fur when ihe court would receive
such testimony as competent, no man could tell
but that they attached mora importance io the
statements of the black than the white wi!ness
es. Tbe Court sentenced Mr. Hooe to be dismiss
ed from tbe West India squakren, after having
been reprimanded in general orders by tba Sec
retary of the Navy. The proceedings were
sent on lotbe Secretary, who endorsed, simply,
approved.' J. K Paulding. When he ap
proved, does not appear bot Mr. Key's let
ter, which is now made the foundation ofthe
decision, bears date June 26th. 1839. At ibis
time the President had left tbe seat of Govern-
of ihe Cm.:
Juno, 18:;:!
is suppose!
but certainly
ber of that v
the uniform practice to receive it. 3d, that
a Urge majority of theoflicers constituting the
court were Soul hern gentlemen.and that they
did not hesitate as to their legality. 4ih,
that the Judiciary commitlee, to which thu
subiect was referred, was silent on the suh- I annealeo t
ject. 5ih,tbat Mr Francis S. Key, the dt3- ted June, 1
trict attorney, and Mr.. Henry D. Gilpin,
the Attorney General,,'were called on by
the Secretary for their opinions, and both
recognized them as'fcga! witnesses. And
a . m a 4 - - I " " f
lastly, that the resolutions introduced by ?nU ju5tny
me, Malthoufih denouncing the nroceedmts I and -51 r. (J
wuh great vehemence, did not, he believes,
allege that the admission of these witnesses
was illegal.' ; i , 1
1st, there is no set prohibiting the ad
mission of colored persons, as witnesses in
courts martial. This I believe to he true :
the Secret :.
proceedi::
llc or it II
ment or cf :
ment on a visit of pleasure, aod did not return i lne law is silent on the subiect. and there
until near the commencement of the session of fore it does not recognize them as compe-
Cnaress,and on the 14th December, ajsspect- tent witnesses, and left the President free to
ful remonstrance from Mr. Hooe is sent to him, rprrup him nmn A, tr uu a u
asking him to set aside the proceedings as iW! er"se t?" )wn discretion. If he had cho-
ular and illegal, and his attention most empbat- se" ! . Ine Proceeings aside, be could
icaiiy canea io ue ntgro testimony, which be
charges as a proceeding illegal and eirolieous
on the part of the Court, which; according to es
tablished law and precedent, must vitiate and
set aside their whole proceedings and it is in
reply to this complaint against tbe proceedings
of the Court io receiving neg-ro testimony, that
ibe President, betraying as little regard for tba
must know,
than his v'
United Sr.:
annum wa
der such cir
ferent op it '
But I tlo nr ;
ferent opin
l)irlh,and h
limony all !
noth'.ng mf
to testily z:,
testimony r
This is
m in v -
the ground
which let? i
negroes, n .
those whn.T
prosecute.
. v v. ..viv-Vl
referred.; ppfljjl what was it that hedid refer to?
Did we eyerjSign our names lo any other extract
from hii rie isage iban the one qoo:ed in that
pamphlei f 1 aver that we did not; But firid
tng himself entrapd, and called on for sn ex
planatid.i that be could not render, he endeavors
io evade the rue question at issue, indirect ly ex
colpaieil dsi jit is true, from all blsme, wiihout
having the jroanliness to acknowledge tbe injus
llce heHasJdonej us. and sajs the intelligent and
dcrfmibatin reader will not fil tu "perceive
that the camion and imrodnciory note cannot be
underfttoodi as charging him with having recom
mended or(apprTd be -euoients f that paper.
Then, wirnjalt his regard fur. the intelligence
and discriifiinaiiii.f bis enhghtened fellow citi
i.e endenw. 1 vtni to .be ,on. m, con- ,,,ner? of xb Jai""TU
the coantry.
From the published proceedings of the trial of
ir. none, l copy the following letierT written1
m December last by Mr. Paulding himself, and
wu uie id nis uepartment :
, Naw Department, Dec. 14, 1839. j
SlR In obedience tr ronr dirpriinna I i. Li
the honor to transmit a report in the case of
! l'x George Mason Hooe, and to return
f memorial arfdresei to you by bim in relation
to the proceedings of the Coart in bis trial.
. .. ' ' K. PAULDING.
me rresiacnt oj the U. S:
not hive been charged with a violation of
a law that had no existence, and more par
ticularly as he makes it appear himself, that
if it had been a trial at common law in the
con its of the U. S. in a State where by the
State laws such testimony would have been
rejected, then by statutory provision, it
feelings of a gentleman -s ntxphmont trtK,.rt.k cou,d not hive been received ; but because
ern principles, endorses mist laconical!?" The the stalutc says nothing about courts mar. - 10 be al!
i irbineni unos noiniog in the proceedings in the "' ne rresiceni establishes n rule diUer- ueiieve
case of Lieut Hooe which requires his mterfer- ent from tbat which the Judiciary act of Gtlpin, I ;
ence.' And now. like bis recommends i inn i.f i7o c,m,.KP. ;ft all .l-. ... ... nh .-until !
iUm i . . r I w-' . ...... .asca ,iui arc nri ii ""'
o.-.,u,..s a.ujj, ne wriiesa letter, and Rt I tirtAH-Tnr Rt m..t,-4 r...l.:- I Pr.l nf ihe (
w a a. majaV aal M a B Ull 111 " I
believe that the
Act and the Con-
stitnents and friends, how mattpr 9 rm tT,..' gre" that passed it. intended one rule of
in ! Washington, and how raoch confidenee is id eidence to apply to seamen and another to
be pot in the men who control the destinies! landsmen? It is not rjretended ihat ihe
law authorized it itCdid notl prohibit it ;
and, therefore; Mr-i Van Duren thinks ,il
would have been in violation of a law that
had no exist ence, ii j he had interfered. But
tt is the uniform practice I - f J :- '
would thank the President to shew a
single case1 (before he was installed in of
rice) where such lestimocy was admitted
and sanctioned by the President there are
numerous cases; I undeisland, in which it
has been rejected. The firsV'case ; thai I
have heard of was in 1810, in the MeditVr-
A . J .. . . . -
ii.; ".n, Tn r11 lhal ,he 1 r"'dent reioms ranean wlien Commodore Chauncy presi
the pcrr, and endorses that ha finds nothing i! ded ; and although a! Noribirq man, he
adelphia, t!.
in a sing'? ?
phia, but w
clerkship i )
. i
nev Genrr:
IIWI a- v '
negro teti
Inttons I i
ccedinir v.
allege th'.t'.'
haps neii!
contained t'
I It rll n !l 1 II I .
to exprej. !
tjee sanfti"
he jusiiii"d,
by SojiI.' .
Suu'hern