.-:- &; i:
ji1 i-'y.
1
some dayril ourpose ofc: foraign intercoui-se , of the Executive; irrrtjsponSiblanIJrtie i'ioTation, oij5jrS)ettf and. , CiJS!jl
ids:if; the Whatsoever. Mr. J. Randolph Bounced' by- anlfreponsible.'ind;-;j j4r5pn of oijKcjuecs; within our AjM
r.fB.-)1.-ilso moved to limit the amount nviduav ana
Florida.1 or : t Krowil1' wlthf the: "nai A - W iH
tional pyrse into thjIeli;"i f
pHESIDBiNT'SECitElMKSSAGS a' tarv of the Tre?.sur' had
' f -Vv- - vji before put into tfieM hai
Chairman, : and vhicKhe.(1
that, he
fieciiis'i wvt concliiktdfrpm-aar last
. JL 11C. V'llMu v ir ,
was, ?$"W continuasce of tW, auiiesi the pr0:
.:& ot Mch . Fonstituted .the
afterwards. f- introduced
hoiieviz, a vote of twtarjUionsSc a
an d , a. w Uimg acquire i uunwj t Medlterreatl fuad. , , 1 1 w e
ly as; any, man,, ;Oqt sM.to -a and; thc chairman dited
nW, consent ,to .proceed in ths to 'draft the report .which has-been
care had been taken to cover the
reputauon 01 me ;auiuimi.wy.il
while congress- were cxpecieu 10
net as if ther had no character-to
lose : that- whilst ihT official; lan
guage pf,the executive was con
sistent and diKnined ; : white the
president warned usMfthe deter
minatlun of, Spain o advance upon
our possessions until she should be
repressed ov. an opposing force,1
and pronounced that thc,ptotefc
tion of our. citizens, as' well as "the
spirit & hQnout of our countrymen -dered
die interposition of that force
necessary declaring at vuc
timf. " his determination to pursue
the couneWhich.the wisdom ot
CongrVss,;$hot3ld prescribe ; con
eres& wWpnvily required to take
iheodium ot snrink-
udoii itself alii
aD from thenational honor and
nationalefcnce, and'of delivering
the public purse ,to the ,hrst cut
throat that demanded it.' lrom
tWp rtffirMl-'-rftrifiifikattons; from
he lace of the V record , jt would
annear that thia executive" had dis
charged bis 'duty in recommend
ins : manlv and vifforous measures
which he had been obliged to aban
don ' and compelled i congress
to pursue an opposite course, wht-n
in tact,congress. itself had; been act
ing all the while at exf.cutiye insti
gatioR.'' The ch'airmiiaf further
observed, u that he did not under
stand this double set of opinions
and principles f die one bjstekiw
bie, to go upon the . journals anti
befbreUhe pubiici the oiher eni,
citnt, ! arid the real motives to ac
tion -. that hejfjcld. truevwisdom
and cunning to be utterly incompa
tible in the conduct of great affairs ;
that he, had strong objection a? to
the measure, in itsell : but in tne
-fchape in which it waslpr2sentedhjifc
; t .
repugnance to it vvas msupcrauiG
printed with the secret journal,
and-ipublishcd in all the news-papers.
The committee saw, in the
multiplied aggressions of Spain,
ample tuse of waiy on the part c;"
a government with which th wel
fare of Its . citizens wasnot para
mount to every other considera
tion. But conceiving that the
true interests of the American peb
nlef which alone it beiioved t!iem to
consult) required peace, they lore-
no re to rccommcuvi. ujicuaiv -
sures. They believed it to he. our
polrcy toreap the .neutral hardest,
an'J seize the favorable occasion ot
cxtinguisliing the public debt, at
once the price of our liberties.: -the
hatlge of cur, ancient servitude.
So lone: as this debt ; remains un-
paidT'.we can scarcely be conside
red 'tisVa truly independent people.
The sense of the committee was,
neither to make war, nor purchase
nearzv but to nrovidc for the.-d?-:'.
fenqe of our actual t?rritor which
the biffhest authority had announ-
ced to have J beeiv violated ancyta
be menaced with fresh mvaijop.
On this point, they conceive there
could be but one sentiment, vhat-
ever. difference of opinion might
exist as to the wisdom of pledging
the nation to protect its flag in re
mote seas, or its ability to afford
such protection. A poor attempt
has been made to rep"oacK tne
committee with a want of reliance
on th; mnitia, and a preference for
the standing army. When it is
considered that all the protection
then and since extended to. the
coontry in question consists o re
gular trqpps, and that the nearest
states from which the militia could
be marched for its defence, are se
parated from it by mnny hundred
miles of intervening Indian coun
trv fnot to mention that the estates
themselves are amongst the weakest
And m aquecoi incompetency
witn thepresiacntnim,eii,,in 6 tl
those obiections were recapit
ted., he declared " that he to had
a crfaracteto support, and prihei
rles to maintain, and avowed his
determined Oppbsition to the whole,
-acheme"
The committee now assembled;--and
instructed their chairman to
write to the secretary ol war for
his opinion as to the force which it
tyou'd be requisite to raise for th
defence OF the southern 'vntier,
aad requesting, at the same time.
to be informed what nurnoer or
troops were stationed in that quarter-
In his auswefvnhe minister
stated the force which the United
States had, on the Mississippi' and
its branches, ready to descend hc
river at a short notice, to be some
what less than a, thousand men :
that he had intelligence that Spain
vas collecting an afwiy on the frbn-
tiers of New-Mexico, and trans
portinp: troopa from the Havauna
to Pensacoia, and that trie force. r-j
quisite on our part, wouldIepehd
npon that which would be opposed
to ui, which he estimated (vaguely)
to he superior to our own. 1
About this period the news of
the searfig toff Trafalgar reached
America, tfie event of which alarm
ing the) Spj nisli ministry for: the
-safety opti eir WTest-lndiaGolonies,
lornaaetne vreacemnsr oi tnc,im;
portant po$ t of tHe ilaVannpand
suspended ;the hostile .movements
n the part of. Spain against the U.
States; A: i to this circumstance
we have bet a. probably indebted ffor
theundistuj : )cd pcasessipnpf New
Orleans am 1 its dependencies;-!;
WlfcuHr e, Secretary '6P3V'&T&
ietter wai laid be fore , the .torn-,
mittee, 5 Ir. BidWcllfmoveflJ-tlie;!
"hoie proi iosition whicli the Secre-V
the militia to the service in quesT
tion, and the futility of the ojec-
tion, mast become mamtvist toau.
Besides, the president had no oc.
cation to apply Xb congress lor
power to cail out theaia, to rev
pel invasion, that fore effing, un
der such circumstances, already
at his disposal ; and it ia worthy; of
remark, that the iar create rvnum-
Kr nf tbpcirt would be partizahs of
the miUtia, refused, to adopttha
measiifes recommended by the cx
ectitiv, or ideetl any other) fcr
giving ehicient operation to tiiat
great constitutional defence. :
I The report of the conamittec, al-
unison wnu
oulate ' to nav for the territory in
question ; upon the ground, that if
congress were disposed to acquire
Florida Jb' purchase, they should
1x the extent to which' thevvere
willing to go, and; thereby furnish
our ministers -.mtva safeguard a
gainst the rapacity of France ; that
:here was no probability ol our obtaining-the
country for less, hut
every-reason to believe, that, v.-"uhv
out S'iicha precaution on our part,
she would extort more. This motion
wai overruled. When the biUjcame
?j'nder discussion, various object
Vions were urged against it by . the
!iafhe gentleman : Among others
that it was in direct opposition to
the views of the Executive, as ex
bressed in the official communica
tion, (it., was on this occasion that
GeneraEVarnum declared the mea
sure to be consonant to the secret
wishes of the executive,) that it was
a prostration of the national honor
at the feet of our adversary : that,
a concession so humiliating would
naralvse our efforts ac:ainit:Great-
ilritain, in , case the negotiation
ihen and now pending between that
-government and ours should prove
abortive: that a partial appropria
'.ion toivards the purchase of Flo
rida without limiting the president
to some specific amount, would
give a previous sanction to any ex
pence which he might incur for
that object, and which congress
vouldxand pledged to make good:
that, it the executive, ajting en
nreiy upon its own responsibility,
and exercising its acknowledgi?.d
can-.titutioual powers, should ne
gociatc for the purchase of FlcVid:,
the house of Representatives would
n that case, be left iree to ratiiy
or annul the contract: but that the
course which was proposed to be
pursued, (and which eventually
was nursued)wouid reduce tne dis-
i - i
cretion of the legislature tola mere.
shadow; that at its ensuing session
eongn-ss wmld find itself, in rela
tion to this subject, a deliberative
body but in name: that 't could
not, witoout a manuest aireucuon
of its own principles, and perhaps
without a violation ot public taith,
refuse to sanction any treaty enter
ed into by the Executive under the
auspices of the legislature, and
with powers so unlimited: that,
however great his confidence in the
chief magistrate, he would never,
consent to! give anv president
so dangerous a proot of it : that his
duties as a member of that house,
ts the independent representative
of an independent people, were
paramount to every other conside
ration ; and that he would never
preclude himself, by any previous
sanction, from the unbiassed ex
ercise of his judgment on measure
j which .thereafter were to come ber.
that the house hadjnoi
recommendation from the
e for the step which they
f-prdpriate, J-4dollarsrfor the pur- d proposed to take, on the contrary,
pose of defraying anyextraordinary J it was in direct opp
v ,i r r : ; .. . ..
expenccs oi ioreigu . niucn.uuia,
thouch in! strict
- j t k r- - m
official recommendation ot the ex-.. b lore him:
et utive. Was rciected bvT2 to 58 Jiofiicial
- - r sj . i I i
votes; and the piopos.tioa to a; 'iEr.ecutiv
which had been, previously laid on
the table by a member of that com
mittee, before their report wai'
nWriV. to the home, was immedi-i
atelytaken up. . l!he avowed ob
jeet.of this measure was to enable
the yjresident to open anegocia-.
tion fori tHevpurchase of Florida,
A motipnwas then, made hy.iyir.-,
J. Uandhtph. to confine' the appro
priation td that obj&t, and agreed
to, yeas 78, nys 5S. An6therJ
motion was made by theiame gen
tlercfa'ri to render the debt :hkh
w as'.-' proposal obc. incurred , . re-.
deemableat the pleasure of tlje-U:
:Stite's; ' :Fhisys. carried without
a'divjsjqn? 'But aftervvar ds, when"
ihcTbiU was ' brought in, the houc
rescinjed'itsyote for a specific ;p
propnalidn, & the money was leh
unDltcable at tne tnscretion oi tac
Executive,- to:, any extraordinar
opposition to its
sentiments as expressed in the con
fidential message, that the respon
sibility would be exclusively their
own : that if the president deemed
it advisable to purchase toreign ter-1
ritory.fr he was free to enter into
stipulations ; or that it he thought
proper to ask &jc an appropriation
tor that, object, ",the responsibility
dfjheA measure, would, rest ,upon
him.: but wheii the legislaturejan
tlettpok w to pr escribe the csur&e
izhich he shoul& hursue, and which
h&had fledged i himself to pursue?
thexase wasehtirelv c hanged: that
tHtfi6use' ibblald have no chaniiel
tnror whicV it . could4 be made ac
attainted i&iih the opiniotis of the
stnution ; and that it was a prosti
tution of its higli and solemn func-:
it- j ticiis to actupon an unconstitution-
y Ral suggestion of ih&frivate '&ixkt$
To every. objection, the-VXn--stttfta
precedent?, as it was- called.
formed the only answer; although
ill the latter stage,s of the discus
sion, no reply was attempted;. The
doors were closed, an the mino
rity whose motives were impeach
ed, and whose persons were almost
denounced, were vted down with
o ut d eba t e . In reply t the -case
of Louisiana, it was said.hat! it
was no precedent at all ; that every
argumenttdrawn from tliatsbtirce
was . u tterljr incnclusi ve'irjjthe
present instance that no two ca
ses vyere, more dissimilar: that ex-
j cept:theparties being .the same;"
there was no poic ot resemblance;
thatwhen, Spain- withheld from
usvhe, .right of deposit at New-Or-leanfeCenfrrcss
had acted" on its
ownVmUtffatipn alohej.they had
not been apprized oy tne executive
of any hostile mbyemcnt on the
part of Spain ; the territory of the
United States had, iibt been imultedy
nor the persons' of-, cur citizens
within our own jurisdiction viola
ted: It had hot been offidaliy
announced to Congress , kt that
their protection, as well as the spi
rit and honor of 0uc0un.tr y tender
ed the interposition o f the national
force indispensible? The chief
magistrate ol the union had not
officially declared that the act of
aggression in question vvas com
mitteiJ iby persons acting by "the or
ders and under the sanction of the
court of Madrid : on the contrary,
the house of representatives had
expressed -by. a formal resolution,
their belief, that the wrong in ques
tion had proceeded from the unau
thorised misconduct of a certain Spa
nish officer, and declared their
determination, in case H shouldbe'
sanctioned by their governmht
to redress the injuries, andvindi-1
cate the rights or our citizens. Un
thatoccasioncongres1 avowed, that
they resorted in the first instance
to an amicable explanation with
the Spanish court ; on this, the fair
experi ment of negociation had been
tried, and 4 after five months of
fruitless endeavour, on our part,
to bring them to some definite and
i5itiartorrrfii!t harl ntirrlv fail-
j cd". And it must be remembered,
that the 'acquisition dt JLouuianaj
which pat fstop to these aggres
sions of S ain,(rorwhich no satisfac.
tion had as yet been rendered) was
made, not from the party by whom
those offences hadljeen offered, but
from one in nrK'wise connected
with them. y ;1
And .admitting at the juncture,
the propriety;pf our making oycr
; tures for the purchase pf a country,
the possession o-zhich, it vvas
conceded on ad hands, was highly
desirable to us : vet, what mca
surcs had we taken, or did we
Propose to take, for the refusal on
1 the part of Spaih, to " ratify her
converi'thn with sighed by her
ozun mtmsier unacr me eye ej -ms
sovereign, pledging her t$ make
compensation for i spoliation c$m
milled on our 'jcommerce during1 a
preceding war , to indemnify iour
large majority.
then made to ttanrh!tf bycbm ,
1 mitteer the foUqvmg,nSessa t;
ttie benate Jv.'f U7y:-
u By thcr Hmisebf Rerescnt ,
tive'jan. :'0thi'ijt5: v
Genilcmerr of ihe -SenateJ . v' .'' '. '
.v Wetrahsmit you a bill which ji as (
passed th'e House,! entitfcd''iAttl''M;.,
actxaak'ng provision for defraying ": ,Jj
am' etraoiJdiiiary einences attend- ' :
ing the intercourse, between. the ,Lu ;
States jnd foreign nations, and ta-'-ix'1!
wnicn we re
Xhis-bilihas' been' passed -
t enaSle-tbe-: President;ov'
, 11
qu?rc-y
rence
by us to
die United States to commence,
with more effect, a negdeiaton for
the purchase of the Spanish tcrrito ' " V; ;
rie Ivintr on thr A t1mtf Clr4r " . -i
and Guipii ci Mexico, and east
ward of the M i ssissippi The na
ture ana Knportancc of-themea
sure contemplated :have indutcd
us to act upon the subject with clo
sed doors. .Yo'u'will pfconse.; -quence,
consider this communica- .
tion as confidential Mr. Joha
Randolph then moved to strike cut'
the words " river Mississippi ,
and to insert " Biy of Perdido
upon this ground, that thejcountry ,
between the ' Mississippi "'and th
Perdido wasun d epute bctweeti"
the U. States" and .jpain, being a
part of Louisiana, 4 such as it was
as possessed by France," and con-,
veyed by the treaty of Paris of 30th s
of April, 1803, to the TJ.-States.
The territory in question (embra
cing the banks of the Mobile, and
Allf iff :.trU S l. ,' ll V ' 1 V"
vu vi wuiui aii' Dur uuierences
withSpa'm, on the subject of boun
dary on this side of the Mississippi
had gl-own) the Executive had ad
vanced what they deemed an un-
undoubted. clmnV, - -Upon thin - s"-:f
t claim Conirress had alrarlir i.;, . s 1
lated, havinsr passed a law. mr't-''
I
: )
! 1
ing the shore and waters of the H-t?H V-f '
ver Mobile into i collection disiftfe
met, and it' was deemed., that thv?i!'.;
' 1
citizens fir the renewal of theJavik
practices, already of great amwukt,
during the present war ; jor the ob
struction of the navigation of the
Mobile ; for rejasing to contejo any
fair and amicable adjustment of the
hfsundaries of Louitian ; and ford
daring violation, by persons acting
unacr tne aurnorny oj apatn aa
no doubt apprized oj her sentiments j
and views of our undisputed Urntti
which she hack, sqleiiuiiy recognized
bytrej3tyrKUN-& JThtlehi
alof the, stipulated compensation
for the spoliations of a former, war ;;
the reiteration of the same practi
ces dunhgilthe- 'present j the' bb
Istruction of tthe Mobile ; the per-
etnptory rexusauo aumst tne ooun-
aanes ot .
committed
authoritinir thePresiderit to niir-V.feV;
chtise that portion; of the country.
ot the national? hoQcrV.'but might , s -"
fairly be considered as surrender
pn our part pf ali;;retensions to -Jthe
disputed territory; Th'k rao- . ,,;
tion however, . was ncgatid--.
Y eas 53Nays 68. It isperhaps 1
worthy of remembranCe,Mhat,;oti -this;,
as on rnost of the bther,aue. ' "
tions arising out of thissubjept,
the measures eventuallytpursued :
were in the-minority. . . (See the 'k
secret journal, Vmce published, '
page 33.) , But to the message it-? '
self,, as well as to 'the general':.'
course of r proceeding, this strong; J
and (a it is presumed) unanswera-
bie objection was taken : That the-, f
direction which the House of Re- ? "
psentativeshlfdcWen'fdursue '
was: to be prescribed, notvto the
Seaate, but to the President: and
that it would be impossible for
(the Executive, even with the in
genuity df Oedipus himself; to di
vine, from a message to the Se-
nate; what was the real intentions
of the Rpresentatives of the peo
ple: that this message was not to
be announced to him, btt to the
other branch, of the leirislature-
and that, even if it wre. hia duty
was to execute- tne laws, which ;-.
should be. enacted, o and which""-."
coufd not be 4njarged, restrained
or modified in any degree what
soever, by any message from one?
hcu ie of Congress totKe other 5 '
and the appropriation being for Gnijj
indef nitepurse of extraordinary 1
fareignJntertihfrsr-i and not made?
in consequence 01 any intimation '
or recQPimcudation from the Pre
ir!nr ' bf rii'it h iTmr4 tr.T .
; of-'Lomsjaria ; the,, insults iotclyiathe jdark as to the je
llied QVLQii 'territory, , and .cri,, of Vae Senate & Hovj ,
rih,
j " ; ..,. ij tr
i1 - p.'-V .