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t ' v. jr Ouri are tbepIMffatdeligMf! peace, UwarpMbypwtyrgettoUellkbrthert. Vol. VII. Monday, September 22, 1806 j M 01 A1a I ,. .. ... 1 ... Nvrth&w mm - .. i . - Jrm -5c Richmond Enquirtr. REFLECTIONS uroN DECIUS- V Aii essay was some time ago published in this paper, which has commanded universal attention. .It is time for us to speak our own lopinion upon its contents. That opinioahas: been hitherto waved, because we wished it to be calm, deliberate and impartial. It becomes us, in making these remarks, to speak cf Mr. John Randolph, whose conduct is so of-t-n noticedby Decias. Of that gen tleman itisdifiicult to speak ;n terms adequately descriptiveNof our feel ings. u A nobler spirit, (we be. lievc) lives not among the sons of men. His intellectual powers are truly sublime, and his bosom burns with a godlike ambition." When the ardour of his feelings shall he tempered by experience we look to a harvest cf unrivalled utility for his country. Of such a man it is impossible not to believe, that his mistakes have I ten dictated by a spirit, that soars above suspicion. There are two obvious ways of replying to an argument : to denjr the facts which are assumed or the inferences drawn. The first part of the investigation we leave " to those intimate friends of Mr. Jef ferson who are acquainted with the history of the last session of Con gress. But admitting the facts as they are stated by Dtiiuv, wearc prepared to deny his contlubions. We mean not to criticise upon that part of Decius which re lates to( the measures of Congress. Our business is with that mot e in teresting part which relates to the conduct of the executive, in which the; charge of holding a wavering, fa doubtful, an unconstitutional courte constitutes the most dis tinguished features. . The-argument may be reduced to two geheral points, 1st. That Ir, Jt flferor did not comply with the constitutioniduty of 4k recom mending to the consderat:on, of congressj the purchase of the Flo rid.is; a measuir which he fudged 44 expedient and necessary S 2d. That he r,rivatelv recoinmendi this opinion to the members o congress. Frorh these two points Tt is inferred, that; Mr. J. attempt ed to throw off the responsibility of this measure from his own shoulders upon the members of CongerES. , As to the first point, - It may be -shewn from the evi dence of the members who denied the federal convention, that .those framcrs of the constitution'liad ne ver considered this artic.e under the vast latitude of interpretation, which the advocates of executive influence have pretended to give it; that it was at that time suppo,- eed --principally to embrace thast general matters, on which the pre sident " had formed conclusive opi- bnsv those oh which hehadnone1 v vdimehts to lav be fore congress? fjut which seemed to him to re quire legislative provision? and ic9c on which. the fcxecutive die tiot deem it advisable at the tinu-, to lay before congress all the irifor inaoh fie nosessed. It might Tk' tftown thlit thjs mode of in'erpre tation is by far the mo.st agreeable to the spirit of a repuhlicjan govern mcnt oV Urtdr. such a constitu tion, that less danger is to be ap prehended from the" undue erten ston of legislative tBanbf cxecut.vr influence; that: the ministeria powers of a President are alread) suiEciently great," without sulferin h:m to interfere, ' unlisUn partkt;; r s-ases. m tne deliberations c trations should terminate in acts ''ucivhc may deem. injurious, u Mf. country,, na ha? intmost cases. ivsuhic "s.thar.trt tKr - :ient Ddrtfrrr,nt4r1 in Ofistitutiosal rie Native , nvtr thei' . i- vr Wff 3i mac it !is ridi the officialinformation is equally admitted to them both, the wisdom of one man should be superior to the collective wisdom of many : that he is more easily corrupted and easily misled: and that his Elevated; situation excludes him him from, many of the means of bold, unshrinking and correct in formation. It may be shown that under a different mocfe of interpre tation, the constitutional duty of the president would be irksome, fatiguing and meddlesome be yond example ; ihat there would he not case, however, trivial, in which the pi esident wouM not deem it his duty to u recommend" his own opinion 4 to the considera tion" to congress, and in every case however comprehensive, to- snbnMt the general measure, in all the voluminous details necessary for its execution. It may be demonstrated, by a recurrence to executive records, that this has never been the uni form practice of the two last, or of the present administration ; that', they have adopted. 'different modes to different cases ; some tunes sub mitting their o wn opinions as to the courses to be pursued, as well as alUhe acts necessary for the infor mation of congress ; sometimes suggesting whether such and such course pight not be worthy of the consideration of congress, without positively determining between them ; and sometimes mtrcly sub mitting the facts without a single commentary on them, without a single opiuion as to the course to be pursued, and leaving it with congress to nronounce, what shall be done. " Thtr ministers oi. the1 two last administrations, couk! -t tte a vast variety of measures a- i proved of by the rxvcutive, which: con It may be shown, that 6' r in a variety of important cases ' the execu ive has adopted the two latter courses, preferring (in the i words for General Washington's j ftrst inaugural speech) " to substi-1 tute, in! place of a recomnenfla-j tion of .particular measures, thctri- j fbute that is due to the talents, the rectitude, and the patriotism which- adoril the characters seJectea to devise and adopt thdm ;" that even when they have gune Onto i iy their own opinions belore congre, !t was not their custom to launcii forth into the particular details of their project, but to confine them- j selves to its general outlines. It may be shown tnatthis is the precise course pursucu ov tpe rre- ;t sidint in the lvestnt instance ; th.it i having given them all the informa. jt tion which he possessed, and. suj?- j posinc tnem to oe at ieascHas wen qualified as himstlf tojjive a cor-' rect opinion upon them, he had forborne to express his own in all? its details, even. admut:ng that ne had conclusively -farmed oic : To them, (says he) I commun- cate every fact material ror their -information, and the documents necesc.ry to enable them to ju!ge rcrthemselvcs : but thitt ihougli at had forborne to express his own opinion in all it details, he still xpiessed a general one as to th ourse to be pursued ; that this o xpiessed a general one as to the jinion was, that the present was the moment 4t for pressing" a u set- r?-mnt" witn Sn.in. nt the same tune that force should be inter- j it tn fontrrs to cleciUe UDon tne particular course, which the nego- lation was to arsume, and the particular force that was to be in terposedt But it is unnecessary '.irbrds'i the invest! g tion of this point:urthcrince evenDeciushim ot make it a charge against the a j ministration. . v that his official i feneUi'a violation of its coosti tutiBnsl dlitlesr i ' ' iUiVh-it then, doss Uejcmscqro - 41 -KittMrv r TlhtttitK HrMidentalten i.til - n5; xpmpjup-w i5vwuwwnw; purchase of the Floridas in his of' ficial message did not hesitate to enforce that idea in a secret and unofficial manner, that he had not only forborne to recommend this pacific mocle of adjustment, but that the whole complexion of his message went to the enforcing, manly and vigorous measures." " From th. official communica tions, from the face of the record, (says Mr. Randolph to the secre tary of the treasury) it would ap pear, that the executive had dis chat ged his duty in recommending manly and vigorous measures, which he had been obliged to aban don, and compelled by congress to pursue an opposite course, when in fact, congress irsclf had been acting all the while at executive instigation." The chairman fur ther observed, w that he did not understand this double set of opi nions and principles." . The asser tion of Mr. R m !o'rh is most ex plicitly and pereinpiorilv denied In what part of the mri d com munications d-es Mr. Randolph discover this ujcontrolably hostiu spirit of the execu.ive ; a spirit, that was at war with jnv p.v:ifi adjustment of (ur inferences? ; spirit, that would not have deigned to propose the purchase of Flori dasf. Refer to the public or the private messages of the president we demand wnere is this processed manifestation of hott.iitie - ... Decius na witM no little inge nuity quotes such pa - ts only ol the public message, as breathed a w manly inl vigorous" sentiment. Why did he not go further? WThy not also have thro n into inverted comm. s and Italics every other pai t which breathed the language or Pea e ? Ti e reason i?, that the verv next pa'rip:i of the mcs s ge wouLi tiAve overthrown his proud, air built astes. in reviewing theso injuries from some of ihr beiligerent pow ers, the moderation, the firmness and the wistlom oi the legi.lature will all be called into action. vV c ought stiil to h ipe, that time; and a more correct estirn.ue t. interest as ive 1 as character, Avill prrjdu": the Juiti :e we are bousd to expect l Some of these injuries nviv perhaps admit peac :eabt: remedy.'' Is there heredisplaycdao sentiment T 1 r 1.." ot peace: lo nope oi adjusting our differences ? No wish.to at tempt it by negociation ? Must the man who holds this kind of language, be necessarily accused of iucon.sisu n'v, of maintaining a double set of opinions and princi- ment inch ied towards a peaceable purchase ? A."e negotiations for 'j ytarc anci prep.irauous iui wi i- I together incompatible ? vvhile we Im!1 oat the olive branch, may J we not sharpen the sword? Or mu-t the man, who maintains tne consis-encv of those two measures be charg d with holding a coutra- diicfor) course : Let us now refer to the secret message, that triumphant source of consolation, to the minority, and . i what does that 'tell us ? Does that s; breathe nothing but the language r, of military defiance ? Is there not a single - nuigc, ui juujj, iu iwg ) a doubt on," of t peaceable dis. position of the President? But anah ze : take to pieces this much agitated, tins mucn aouieu mcs- . 1.1- I l sae 1 ' D c oi criticism, anu see oi hh.u ! materials it is composed. The whole of the mesJgeicontains but five paragrapsvMTie 1st points out the sources ot our diiterences with Spain, as also the disposition mm fasted by her, up to the per iod f sending a u special mission " Ihe 2d declares the "unfavorable I resii't of this negociation. new 1 1 steps which Spain had subsequent- .11 Jv taken, and the defensive svstem ; t wpun tne presunit nau aeiermjf i r.rl tt mivcne. witn tne OaUtlt&T muuaijmv . WW the first time discloses the general conclusions of the executive on iheseifacts, and the last paragraph consults congress as to the course to be pursued and demands the necessarv means. What then is the very pith and constitution of this message ? That the three first long paragraphs are a mere history of the facts, which have occurred, interspersed with one or two sim ple inferences as to the course which Spain might pursue ; facts, nefcone of which shuts out the idea of a peaceable compromise ; .and that in one short paragraph alone, does the president 'recommend to their consideration" a course to be pursued. And what course is that ? Does it breath nothing but manly and vigorous measures? Let us refer to the paragraph itr f tor a satisfactory answer. quote the one belore it, as being necessary to the understanding of the word k such." 14 On t fit contrary, we Inve rea son to believe that she (France J .vas disposed to effect a settlement on a plan analagous to what our minUt-r had proposed, and so comprehensive as to remove as far possible the grounds of future col iision and controversy on the eas tern as well as the western side oi the Mississippi. fct 1ie present crisis in Europe ts favorable for pressing such a setilc menty and not a moment ahould be lout in avail! nj our selves cf it. Should it pass unimproVed, our si tuation would become more difii cult. Formal wa s not necessary, it is not probable that it will follow; but the protection of our citizens the spirit and honor of our country require that force should be inter posed in a certain degree. It ivdl probably contribute to advance the abject of peace" Can any one doubt that the man who heid this language was the ;rtend of negotiation? A neg cia'ion which in the present r.sr of Europe would be immediately pressed. But it may be said that a certain degree of force was to bt interposed, and how can this mea sure be reconciled to the negocia- ;ion for peace ? Of what species,, however, was this foce to be ? It was no regular army to wge an offensive war against Spain, be cause the president expressly ob serves, that formal war is hot ne cessary ; it is improbable that it will fo low.7 The president only appealed to congress for military means " which it btlons to con gress exclusively toyield or deny." His own constitutional powers were limited. He was .without power to encrcase the regular army i bv new enlistments. He had not at that moment even the means to call out the militia of the country . for the law to authorise a detach ment of the militia was not passed until some time in April : four months at least after the communi cation of the message. 7he purport of this secret mes sage then seems to be in complete unison with thatpt the public one. It recommends to u an attitude of defence, at the same moment that we "are to press our plans for negociatiou. uut it neither pro- j ceeds to point out the particular force that is to be interposed, nor; theparticular course that this nego tiation ought to assume. From the observatiotij that the course to be pursued'Svill require thecom rriand of means which it belougs to Congress exclusively to yie'd or deny' it ma indeed, with"some show of probability be inferrcc, that Mr. Jefferson wa not averse to the purchase ot the Fioridas ; because that measure wouldtequire pecuniary means which it belongs exclusivelylo congress to yield or deny. To conclude any other ttiode of negociation, the power of the president we re of themselves tndnt9 complete, and ia ,pxtlu6iv Qi congress. This complaint of Decins the rt least resolve- itself into this pro- pbsitron; not that Mr. Jefferson has v ever maintained " a double srt of opinions and princip'es,' for which ; ; : j insinuation cin no longer be justi jfiedbythe1'o9tcialcommunic3rJorii,, ;: but that he. expressed his own opi nions as to the course, which the negociation should be made to as, sume, in a private and inofficial manner ; thus attempting to throw .upon congress all the responsibility ; of adopting pacific measures ; a responsibility which he should havo himself assumed in a constitutional -shape? And measures which he should never have attempted to ' introduce by secret and irrespemsi- -ble influence. ' But on this subject, it might be shewn, that the inferences of De cius are not supported by his facts ; . that had the President proceeded. to tamper with the different menn bers of the republican partVj to ife , iur.teer his opinions as to the pr6- per course to be pursued, and at tempted to gui Jc the opinions and votes of the individual members he would have deserved a much severer rebukey than flows from the pen of Decius. It may be shewn, that a very obvious distinc tion is here To 1e taken, " wnich, Decius has co mpletcl forgotten ; that the President would have been to .blame, had he soKcitou&ty attempted to influence the opinions of Congress, but that the mere gi ving ofhis own opinion when he was consulted by any one who had a right to ask his assistance, was at : least an innocent if not a comment aaoie course, ana trat tne wnote?c pithot Decius sstatementamounts at last to one accusation. It may bs shswn that in the support of this charge, Djc'ius has brought, for vard but three relevam fa-tts Mr. J. Randolph's secret concrsaticn vith the President ; h;s commu nici'tson on .this-subject with the. Secretary of the Treasury ; and Gen. Varnum's aHc'gd declare-, tion on the fl.r of A'n--gresc Vith respe( t to che first, ic may oe shewn f om the very staremtnt advanced by Decius himself,- that Mr. Jefferson did nt express hia jwn opinions to Mr. kndotph, until the latter gentleman had :h; 't ? proper to consult him : it was not unfl Mr. Randolprt had expressed' " his willingness and reacJir,sf to co-operate, as far as his principles and judgment wou'd permit, ir such plans as the executive miffht 1 have devised for the occasion,' that he u thm learned, not without some surprise, that an appropria tion of two millions Wa3 w. ntincto purchase. Florida and that had: Air. Jefferson on such an occasion forborne to express his views howi ixpre: ever imperfect to Mr. Randolph, v the very leader of the republican party m Congress, and the chair man of the secret committee, not only Mr. Randolph himself, but the whole country . would have rea son to condemn his silence. iWjth respect to Mr. Gallatin's fpr6posi- tion, even aamitunc that it? was presented ct th rmurxt (or direction) of the President, it may be shewn, that it was nor pre sented to JIr. Randolph until se veral days after he himself had con sulted the President as to the the course to be,, pursued ; that it not evin'then preseiUedundvr -ili the i mposing dignity of the Pre sident Si name -t that M was nor de clarcd to br hi wish, or t-ven fri cone usive opinion ; that MrJ Q latin expressly rejected the!i'diJt of being understood ho'rcttm'iiexit the mtasure ; but if the commit ee should deem it advisable &c hacl devised a plaa far raising ' the ue -essarr, supplies, r as 'he hid been requested (or. directed) in that ca to do. With.respect ia Cen.ral Varnum's aledged assertion, it is e nough to ol locrve that he h m sel f on the ftpor of Congress expressly dejtied the ideaoi cvr having tsad - ii l;- v - . .
The Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, N.C.)
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Sept. 22, 1806, edition 1
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