T ; ' -v. : .-. ;;.s:::iv., .'i;-:- li
; ft-: ? - NORT11-C5.M&0WXA . (G ASETTE -:
' """S 'V it
VOL., XX.. . ,..s .-!' -; , ' V- v:;il;;': ..??lijl' f-; i-.':;;fl;wsi;i i.!; '
PES ATE ON , V
THE SEMINOLE :WAfc.l
Mr, Gays Speech concluded,
Tte principles which attached tojhe
r rs of Arbuthnot and AmbnsterVCbV
"stiitstcdthem merely participes inthe
war, supposing them to Have been com
batants, -whicli the former, was "Hot, 'he
ha"n5 been "taken' in a Spanish fortress,
without arms in his hands, all that we
comK possibly have a right: to do, -was to
pply to them jhe rules which we had a
xieht to enforce anst the JfidiansTheir
Encash character was only merged in
tiieir Indian character. ijJow,, if the law
regulating Indian hostilities', be establish
ed by long-nd . immemorial usage, that
vehave no raoral right ia retaljate upon
them, we consequently had net right ta re-
talUte upon Arouthrpt and Ambnsten
Even if it wer? admitted Lhatln.re'gard
to future 4 wars,' and to other foreigners,
their execution may have a good cftVct it
vould nofthence tcilovv J tuat you naa, a;
right to execute thenv It' is not always
jast to do what may be " advantageous.
And retaliation, during awar, mustliave
relation to the events cf.that.wai& must,
to be just, have an .operation 'upon tliat
yar, and upon the1 individuals 'only who
compose- the belligerentparty. It beT
came gentlemen, then, on the other side,
to shew, by some known, certain,' and re
cognized rule of public or municipaUow,
that the execution of these ineh was": j us-dfied.'-
Where is it? v He should be glad
'to see it,: We are told in a'pap'er, ema
fcating from the Department of State, j-e-eentlrlaid'
before this house"; distinguish
ed for.the fervor of its eloquence,, and of
vhich the honorable . gentleman from
Missachusetts. has supplied us in .part
uith a seqond:editioi in one' respect a
greeiug with the prototype, that they both
ought to be 1 inscribed tt the .'American
public we are'jrstlv lold in that paper,
; that this is theyi4 instance of the execu
tion of persons for the' crime of instigat
ing Indians to war". Sir, there; are two
topics which, in Europe, are constantly
employed by the friends and minions of
legitimacy against our country. The one
is an inordinate spirit of aggrandizement,
of coveting other people's goods,' The
other is the treatment, which we. extend
to the Indians Against both these char
ges, the puhlic serrants, who conducted
&t Ghent the negocntMons with the Bri-
! tish commissioners, 'endeavored to vindi
cateour country, and iri hoped with some
degree of success. What .will be the con
cition of future American negbciHt,ors,
vhen pressed upen this head; he knew ; j
cot, after the unhappy 'executions on our
southern border. The gentleman from
Massachusetts seemed on yesterday to
read, wjth a sortof triumph, the names of
the commissioners employed in the nego
tiation at Ghent. Will he. excuse me for;
saying, that I. thought be . pronouncedj
von ivitVi mrtr mm ri hrMirv Tl with." a !
-i
vvwiA niiu tiiwi - wimvv..wj . - - . - - - j i
aore rracious smile, the first name in the j l
commission, tnau neempnasieu iuak vi
the humble Individual who addresses you.
(Mr. Holmes desired'to explain., Mr. C.
said there was no occasion for explanation
he was perfectly satisfied. ' , Mr. H.
however proceeded to say that his inten-.
tion as, in pronduncing rthe gentleman's
name.- to add to the respect due to the
negotiator, that .which was due; to' the.
Speaker of this House. , Will the prin
ciple of these men having been instigators
of the war, justify their execution fit was
a new oae ; there were no land marks to
guide us ' in its adoption, ."or Ho prescribe
limits in its application! Jf William Vitt
had been taken Jjy the Freiich army,dur
ingthe late European war, could France
have justifiably-executed him, on the"
pound of his having notoriously iustigat
ed the continental powcis u war against
Trance. Would France, if she had stain
ed her character by. executing blm, have
Stained the sanction of the world toythe
ct, by appeals to the passious and pre
hdicesi bv Dointins to the cftics sacked,
. .- i : i i 'i r
the countries laid waste, the human lives
wcriiiced in toe Avars wiiicii e- uaa -&m-d.and
by exciaimingto the unfortu
tte captive, you miscreant, you monster,,
tave occasioiicd all these scenes of devas
tation and "blood? What had been Ihe
conduct- even!' of Euglnd towards the
greatest instigator of all 'the wars : of the
picsent ie ? The condemnation of that
illustrious man to the rock of Su- Helena,
wa great blot on the English name.-
I i , - . . i ' -rx :
rtnu ivir. v,. rer.eattd. wnat ne uau once
before saitl, that if Chatliam -or Fox, or
;cn William Pitt himselfiud been irime
ister, in England"' Bonaparte uever
wl bten so condt mned. - On thatlrans-.
tpienaul Career he, is chargcd,Ayith
. i vv.tmIuueu lue greatest airociues,
griceful to himself and to human naf
rle wen his life has been spared!
ic . um uPon ground of his be.
?..?". "ugatcrctwars; :z.- 'r; . :.
u-..uV '"tiujiana sentenemg
tit"--, i . wmci, na tuuajlV VCT-
Zl,d , w w,tu lue principles on whicn
ea attempted to shew a forfeiture
jcufj history wHl one day pass its severe
Jast censure. - Yes, although Napole
3." tad desolated half Eune : altht'usrh
$ fjOT ineir lives. rxe Knew, ne saiu, mc wn- 1 1 witnessess ine wniicu ucicuvc vii .nc i rv,v- vr jrr- - -."l :rcr-ruM ""-wiuiiimniriiti atrru . iA
I of their lives V He knew, he said, the lau
dable spirit which prompted the ingenu
ity displayed in findinRouf a justification
for these proceedings. J He " wished most
sincerely that, he could rrecencile them to
his conscience; ; It' had been attenipted to
vindicate the General upon grounds which
he vas -pertnaded he would bftn self dis
own. ; Itrhad h??n , asserted that he ' was
guilty of a mistake ini '-calling upon ? the
court to try them; and that he might have
at once ordered thefte'xecution, -withput
that formality. ' He denied that there was
anv such absolute rierhtin the commander
of "any portion of our armyv The right of
rmauauon is an i aiiviouie pi snjvcrciguijr.
It is. comprehended; in the war-making
power;.that , Congress possesses It be
longs to this f)ody not only to deelare wan
but to raise i armies and to make jrules and
regulations for their goveramcnt. It was
in vain ; for gentlemen to look to. the law
of nations fpr instancejsfin which " retalia
tion, is lawful. The 1 a ws of nations mere
ly laid down Xh&firihciples or rule v and.it
belongs to the"governmentrto constitute
the tribunal for applying that principle
or rule, s There was", for example, no in
stance 1 1n which thp : death of a captive
was more" certainly declared by the law
of nations to 'be justifiable, than in the" case
of spies. -Congress lias accordingly pro
vided, invthe rules'and articles of war, a
tribunal for therial of spies, and corise
qiiently for.the application of the princi
ple of the national law. ; The Iegisljiture
had not left the power over spies undefin
ed, to the mere discretion of the comman
der in chief, or of any subaltern officer in
! the'army. For, if the doctrines now con
tended tor .were, true, they-wouiel apply
to the commander cf any corps, hweVei
small, acting as a detachment. v.Suppose
Congress had' not legislated iirthe case of
spies, what would have. been their condi
tion ? It would have ben a casus omissus,
and although the public law pronounced
their doom it could not be executed, be
cause Congress had assigned lio tribunal
for enforcing that public Ihw. No man
could be executed in this free country
without two things; being, shewn t First,
' that the law condemns hini to death : and
sectihflly, that his death is pronounced by ;
tnat trinunai wnicn i$,auinorsea uy me
law. to try him. These principles would
; reach every man's case, native or foreign
? cr, citizen or alien. The instant quarters
are granted to a prisoner, the majesty -of
the iaw surrunds ami sustains him, and !
hecannot la fully be punisljed with death
wuhout tue concurrence1 ot tue two cir-
1 1 cumst?inces just insisted upon. He deni
'v evT that airy commander in chiei. in -this
; countTy,uitu mis aubunue power oi irtc j
I and death, at his sole discretion. It was 4
contrary to tne genius or an our laws anu
j institutions. . To concentrate in the per
Vsoif of one individual the powers to niake
the rule"; to judge, and to execute the ruK
or to judge, and ' execute the rule only,
was utterly irreconcilable with every
principle of i free government!. . and w as
the verv definition of tvrannv itself : and..
he trusted thatvthis House would never
give even a tacit assent to such a principle.-
Siippos$ytbe commander had made
reprisals ch property, would that proper
ty have belonged to the natron, or could
he";have disposed of it as, he 'pleased ?
"Had he moie power,' would gentlemen tell
him, over the livesbf human beings, than
over properfy j? Tiie assertkm of such a
powe!;to the commaOderin chief, was
kdontrarv' tothe1 practice of the govern
ment, isy an act oi congress wiucn pass
ed in 17 9p vesting the; power of retal
iation, "in certain cases,, in the. (President
c-f the lJnited States" -an act which pass
ed during the quasi :war with France, the
President is authorised Co retaliate upon
any citizens of the French republic, the
enormitieii which may rbe practised in
certain cases, upon j)ur citizens, . Under,
what administration waif this act passed ?
It was under that which i has been justly
charged' with stretchmc: ithe constitution
to enlarge the executive
during the mad career
powers. r.ven
of Mr.' Adams,
when even' means was' resorted'to for
the purpose of infusing vigor into the, Ex
ecutive arm, no one 'thougnt' of claiming
for him the inherent right of. retaliation
He would not trouble ahe - House with
readinganotherlaw.which passed thirteen
or fourteen. ears after, during the late
war with G.Britain.under the administra
tion.ofstiiat great constiiutional President,
the fatheroftheiustrumentitself,by which
Mr. Madison vas empowered to retaliaie
on the British: in certain ia stances.
It was net only contrary: to the genius of
cur institutioiis and to the uniform prac
tice of the government,' but it was contra
rv to the obvious urincioles on which th
general hi rosdd proceeded ; for, in
forming the 1 ie nad eA'idently in-
iu.i.M, C.nrr., yrltlJ"- articles of Xe extreme "number
aaLn4 xX i - 5W whichiheyproKdor, thirteen, pre
v7 dux although in , the course of ,vaV ajuu Aft Xl:
cisely that which is detailed in the in
staiice..': The coiirt "proceeded, ; not; by; a
bareplurality, but by a majority uf two-
Jhirds. In the general orders Issued trom
the Adjutant Xijencrirs office, iat head;
quartersY'it'fe-descri
tialv ' The prisoners 1 arelsaid In thoseor--
ders to havelbee'n tied,r on the following
charees'' andU sbecificatioris.'.v:The court
! understood ritseJf-to be 'acting, 'as a court
j martial. T It was. so orgahized--it so pro
ceedxd, havina ; edge advocate; bearing'
witnessess! the written defence of the mi
serablc trembling prisoners, t -who spemed
to have a presentiment:"bf then; ddom.-
Ann the court washnaiiv aissotvea. i iiie
w.hole proceed ihWfmani
all parties considered itc as a court mar-
liai.-convened and actmsr unger. iue ruies
and artiples r of war. Irs his letter to the
Secretary of War, noticing the transae-
tion,v-the general says : ? i nese individu
als were tried under my ordefrs legally
convicted a exciters ox xui5 sitviigv auu
negro war, legally condemned,; and'most
iusdv nunished for their iniquities." The
Lord deliver us froni such , legaj convic-
crenerai " himself considered tfie laws of
iiuiM auu mwii ivt.in ijuuvtM"""- -
his country to have iustified his proceed
ings. It was" in vain then to talk of a : pow
er in him beyond the-law, and above the
law, wherrhe himself does not assert it.
Letit be conceded - thathe . was clothed
wiui ansoiute autnornv over iuc ivv:& m
these individuals, and that upon his own
fiat,, without trial, without defence, be
might have commatided their execution..
Now if an absolute sovereign',, in any par
ticular respect; promolgAtes a rule which
he pledges himself to observe, iif hesub
sequentlv deviates from that "rule, he "sub
jects himself td the imputation! of odious
tyranny. ;If Gen ."Jack. ?Qn had tne power,
without a court,, to condemn these men,
he had also the power to appoint u' tribu
nal. I He. "did appoint a tribunal, and he
became, t h e re fo re, " m orally boil n d t o ob
serve and execute the sentence of that
tribunal, dn regard to Ambrister. it; was
with grief and pain he was compelled to
say, that he was executed in defiance of
all law ; in defiance of the law; to which
General Jackson had voluntarily, if you
Kplease; submitted himself, and given, by
i mil onnool t A rrn f lite i rvi rl (r t ilr! trt tn
fobserve. He - knew but little of military
j law, and he had not a tstste by what had
happened, createdin him for acquiring
! a knowledee of more : but he believed )
there was no example on record, where
the sentence of the court has. been erased,
and a sentence-wit "pronounced by it car
ried into execution. It had been suggest
ed that the court had pronounced two sen
tences, and that ; the general had a right
to select either! Two seiUejicesl .Two
verdicts I It was not so. The first, by be
ing revoked,' was as though it had never
been pronounced. ' And there; remained
only one sentence," which was put aside
upon the sole authority of the commander,
and the execution of the prisoner ordered.
He either had or had not a right to decide
upp'n the fate of that man, without 'the in
tervention of a court. , If he had the right,
he Waved it; "and, having violated the sen--tence
of the court, there was brought up
on the judicial administration xif the army
a reproach, which must occasioti the megv
lasting regret, ' :' ' ... .
However guilty these men were, they
should not have been condemned or exe -cuted,
without the authority of the law.
He would hot dwell, at this time, on the
effects of these precedents in foreign
countries, bufhe would not pass Unnoticed
tiieir dangerous influence in jt,pur own
country. Bad examples are; generally
set In the cases of bad meji, and .often, re
wdte from) the central government. It
was in the provinces were laid the abuses
and the seeds of the ambitious projects
which overturned the liberties of Rome.
He beseeched the committee not to be ta-.
ken captiye by the, charms of eloquence,
and the appeals made to our passions and
our sympatnies, so as to torget tne iuu
damental principles of our goverrrmerits.
The influence of a bad exam ple Would
often be felt when its authors and allthe
ci rcum st ance conn ected w ith ; it w ere no
longer remembered. He ; knew of but
one analagous instance of the execution,
of a prisoner,, and that had brought more
odium, than almost any other incident, on
the unhannv Emoeror of France. He
alluded to lfte instance of the execution
of the unfortunate member of the Bour
bon house.' He had sought an asylotn in
ther territories of Baden. Bonaparte 4
patched . a. corps of gen'd'arines to the
place of his retreat, seized hini & brought
Jiim tos the j dungeons Vof ; Vipcennes. . He
wa there tried by a court martial, con
demned and fchbt 1 here, as here, was a
violation of neurrai' territory there the
neutral ground'Vas" not stained with .the
blood of ;him whom it should have pro
tected. ' And there was auother most linr
fortunate difference, : for the American
example. The Due 0'Engheiri was ex
ecuted' according to Absent ence: It is
iaid by the defenders-ot Napoleon that
the Dukej; had I beenmachinattng' hot
merely;, 'to? overturn the French vgaveriv--ment,
but against the'-Jife of its chief. If
that were true, die might, if taken in
France havebeen legally execute4.uch
was the .odium brought ppon. 'the instru
ments of this transae tiop that those per
sons 'who have;: been ,eyenv suspected r of
participation in it )ia ve sought to vindi
cate themselves, from what they appear"
io haver considered as an aspersion, before'
fureigo courts. vIn conclusion of tliis paru
of the subject Mr, C. said,-: that most
cheerfully and entirely acquitted General
Jackson" of any intention tor. violate the
laws of hb country, -'or the obligations of
humanity.; He was persuaded, from all
that he had h eard th at he thought- him
self equally respecting and observing both.i
With
tions, therefore, he yas, disposed o allow
itjin the most extensive degree, c. Of hts
am, aidMr. Cit iar voy xluty tpspeilc
with the freedom 'which belongs Aomy
stjation, Aod I -shall now-prledtoconl
sider .some.of them, of the most momeht
tciuschafactervds regards the distribu
tion of the powers of government. '
r . X)f all thepowers conferred by the con
stitution of the United States; hot one is
.more exuressivt- auu eAViuivpjy jcvtuitcu
! than that is to Congress of declaring war.
; fThe immortal convention '.who. framed
1 that, instrument had abundant reason for
confiding this tremendous power to' the
ueiiDerate judgment or me. iiepreseiua
I. tiyes of ilie people, drawnftom every
page ot history. Tit was there seen that
nationare oft.en. precipitated into ru
war. from folly, from pride, from ambition.
and from the desire of. military fame. ; Jt
j was Relieved; ho; doubt,, irr committing
-tnis great subject to the Legislature pt
tne union, we should be sate iron the
mad wars, that have afflicted and desola
ted and ruined other poiihtrics, . It was
supposed that before any- w ar Was de :
clared.the nature of the injury.complain
ed of would be carefully examined, the
prjwer'and resoulrces of the enemy esti
mated, and the power and the resources
of our country, as well as the probable is
sue and consequences of the war. : It was
to, guard Tour cbuntryagainst-' precisely
that species of rashness, which has been
manifested in Florida, that the constitu
trfh was so framed, If then this power,
thus-Cautiously and clearly bestowed up
on; Congress, has been assumed and ex
ercised by any other functionary; the
goyerhment, t is cause ef serious alarnr,
and it became that, body to vindi6ate and
maintain its authority by all the means in
its power, and yet there, are some gentle men,
who would have us not merely to
vield a tame and silent acquiescence in
the encroachment, but to pass evena vote
ot tnauKs to tne autnor.
ph the 25th
continued, the
of March, -18i8, Mr. C.
President of the United
States com municated a mesagedeclaring,
that, although,:' in the prosecution' of iti
orders had been given to - pass - into the
Sp'anish territory, they weretso guarded
as : that the focal . authorities of Spain
should be respected. , Howrespected
The President by the documents accom
panying "the; message, the orders them
selves which issued from the Department
of War to the commanding general, , had
assured the' Legislature that,? even tf the
enemy should take shelter under a ' Spa
nish fortress, the fortress was not to be
attacked, but the fact to be reported . to
the Department for further orders. Con
gress saw, therefore, that there' was no
dapgerS of violating the existing peace;
And yeC on the same 55th dajr of March,
(a most singula!- Concurrence jpf dates,)
when the:Representatives of the people
receive this solemn message, announced
in the presence , of the nation and in the
face of the world, and in the midst of a
friendly rtegociatiori with Spain, does Gen.
L Jacksortj write from his head nuaiteVs.
that he shall take. St. Marks as a neces
sary' depot for his military operations fc
The General states, in his letter; what he
had heard about the threat on the part of
the Indians - and Negroes; to occupy the
fort, and declares his purpose to possess
Iriniself of it in eith 0 of the two; contin
gencies of its being in their hands or in the
hands of the- Spaniards. . He assumed a
right to judge what Spain" was bound to
dp by her treatyr, and judged very cor
rectiy ; . but; then he also assumed thej
po wer, belonging toCongress alone, of de-
term injng w hat should ' be the effect and
consequence of her breach of engagement.
tren..jcfcson.generally performs what he
intimates his intention" to do.S Accordihe-
ly, finding Stj Marks yet in the hands of
me Spaniards, he seized and occupied it.
Was ei-er he asked," the iust Confidence
of the Legislative body in the assurances
of the Chief Magistrate, more abused ?
The Spanish! comniander ihtimated' his
wuiingness tnat tne American army should
t ake post tneatV him , until he could have
instructions: from' his superior officer and
, promised to maintain , in the' mea h tiro e,
the most. friendly relations." NolvSu
Marks ,was a convenient pst for the Ai
mericah army, and delay- was inadmissi
ble.! He had always understocfd that the
Indians; but y rarely taktr or- defend Jbr
tresses,' because hey:;are unskilled in the
mbdes of attack & defence. The threat
therefore,B on their part, to seize oh $t.
Markg, must bive been empty, and would
probably; have; been; impracticable; At
all events - iviieniGen. Jackson arrived
there, no danger any . longer threatened
the Spaniards from the miserable fugitive
Indians, who fled on all sides, upon his ap
proach. Ahd,v sir," upon what plea js this
yiolado&i:of-!orderdtthisc
upon a' fbreknpowerttemped :t)be
justified ?: Upon the grounds of the con ve
niency of jhe depot and the Indian threat.
The iirst be would net seriously examine
auu cAjjwsc.; j tne sjpamsn cnaracter or
the tot had been: totally merged in the
Indian character, t might avebeen jus
tifiablel to seize it, " But that f was not the
I facrand thMa'rcosatrdittT
fbrciblyi; taken by the'Tudjans eouldnbt
fjusiify ouranticipauntheirblow Of aU
-vub uuivjtua , vuvjictuviuiK,- w iiiuu . occurreu
during 'the late war between France and
gUnd, none was more, copeinaed In
Eu i rorjCarid in .6 is' country than her seV dr.
zure ot the fieep of Denmajr'at Gopephar
genvvAnd "nViamentedto bebbhed to :f'
fences matje of the: two easesv Ifbisrr-v y ;
col lectidndid deceive -hini,. Bonaparte. '."
had passed the Rhine and thev AlrisJ Jiad v '
conquered Italy; tfie .Netherlands,,. JTol- ;
lanfl, ,Hanover, Jubec, and : HambuVg 1?; -;a
rio.extendecl his empire. a$Yar asAitonft ' i'- V
on: the side 1Deiin3 ark.'
march : would have'i carried hi nr' throtie-h 1 !
tlolstein, over the. two Beltsthrong!V.'Fu-r .
lien anu mco me iiano orceaiaiKi' vv nat ;
then was the codu of England ? 7t Vi
my lot; Hr GaidVtp tall intpJcohyersaN "
tion withah ;irrteilgent: Englhrii'odp ; -this
subject. r We kne w ( said he) that r.
:we were'figHtih for our ;existehceVIfc:
was absqlureiy necessary . that we shhnldV :
preserve the com mArid of the seasi Tfthe
fleer of Den markJ fjbll jn
hahds combined
Command' rnieht be renderedrdoiibtfuh--: '
Denmark had only a .nominal-! indenen-
. j . ..... j ,r. -1
dence. ": She ' was' iri truth, siiblrf in fii k ' ' A
Sway., W e said to ritK giye'us youp fleet r "
t, wili;othertwise be taken possession ofby .
yOur secret and our open enemy..; "vWe '
win
preserve " it jand -est6relit to" you? I ' "
whenever the danger shall be over., j, Pen
mark refused.; Copenhagen wasbo'nit-
barded, gallantly defended, ddt the fleet
of England Was censured : and the nairta
eyenf the negetiatbr.who-was erii ployed ' .
by her, ;and ; wliovlis subequentiythe Mi- ,
nister,.near this government; was scarcely; .
eerronounted here : ;yyithout coupling ' C'
tion Th'the disgraceful transact ion: : And :
yet we; are going ;to.sihctiqn acti
lence, committed by ourselves wliiclibutc :
too jnuch resemble it , What khjmporr ; -'
tari t di fference, too', betvveen tiie relative
condition of England and oFthisioiintrv !r -'.
She perhaps was struggling for her cxis-'
tence Me was combatting;sjngle-hanuK
e, the most enonhoiis'single lioWerthat ; ' "
tHe Ayorlti - has ever lhown. Vho were - '
we cbntendJn'g With I Witli- a fey : half- :
starved,' half-cldtlied- wretp.hed Indjahs '
and fugitiyefslaves.j iAndi Whilst carry mg
on this inglorious warringlorioui as it re
gards the laurels or!renpwonlhit-i-:
we violate neutral! rights which the go-; ' '
yernmerit. had ?oIemiy: pledgedvitself io -'
respect, upon the pf ihpplepf convenience- Y 4
or: upon the IJghtf presumption that, by ....
possibility, a - pbst miht be takeh by thU
miserable Conibinatioh ofr Indians and
slaves.:4 ; ; ;,,-;:;J-::- A. ' v " .;
:jpp thetrlof April; tGenial writes '
from St. Marks, that hehall march for
the.Suwaney rlverif the destroying i.f. the
estabHshments oh which will, in his opUk '
nion, bring tiie wa- to losev Accord-
ingly,hayingreffete
wrues;von theA20th of April;-that he be-
lieves he may. say the warHs at an end for'. , '
the present; , He repeats the same opinion
id his letterta-the Secretary of War, writ-
ten six days: aftelv The war- being thui :
ended,- it miht have' beeri hoped- thatnjo r
further 'hbtilitiekau!d have;D
nutted. v But, oh the.Sd of May, on hii
way home, he receives a letter from the '
conimandant of Pesac6la;:intimatmK.:his ; :
surprize at the invasion of the;SbanisIi.
territory,; and heacts of ? hostility: perr; '
ftrmed.by :the;me4can Carmyrj and;hii:'K' ?
determination, r if persisted id,-to empjoy ,
force Xo f repel them. Let usspause and r -examine
thiiprpceedin of the Povernorr ,
so very hostile and afTrontive in the view ,
of GeBeralfes6h: 2.Beolleci: that he":
was:Goverrrpr. of Florida ; that he had ' C
receiyed nb orders from Ms superiors; to.
allow a passage to fthe American' Army ;
that he hadheard of the reduction of St; '
Marks ; and hatCxen; Jackson; rthe '
head of his army, ws apprbachmg in the-v ,
direction of -Pensacohu 4 He had seehiho '
EresiditMessag o the 25th arch;' -and
reminded General Jackson ;bf f it; to
satisrihiniiatthe American Vveriv- 1 r V
rneht could not" have authorized alLthos ; : -imeasures.
;Mr. I CT? .said? he, fcbuldnot
read the 'allusion. madeyby tiie foverno"r
to that message, without feelincr tliat -th .
charge of insincerity; yyhicK it implied, .
hadt least but too much Iheappearance
of truth in it.- XJbu Id the Gove rn or. ha
done Jess than write some such letter ?, V
We have only; to reverse, situatiops and v
to suppose him tb have been aci American ' -Jpbvernor;i
General: Jackson says;, that , i .
whennhe'Teceiyed that letter; he ho ion -
iger besiuted; to; sirhe did no longer 1
hesitate f H& recei ved it on the 23d ;- he r
i
tta m r cu$4uiu uu iuc iii! una inline
diately; after 1 set himself before thfe fof
tress San Carlos; de.Barancas. wliich he
hbrtiy iducedv iVnvidvicLc ; ;, 1
jderful eneigyKdmhrablepr6niptrt ; :;l
Alii 1. that ithad not been an enertrV' krid
a promptitude within the paJe ofe Con i
stitutiou, and .cbrdingo their crdersb" !
the Chief -Magistrate i fit VsimDOssibli! '
o give any definition ; of Var.that would-
uttot comprehjsnd these acUr Cwasopenv ' v f
undisguised aml'uoattihorized hostility; i .
The honbiie,genttenj frdm Ma'ssii-
cnutfsvnadentieayored to.derive some ,
fiirthoritypt Genackironrahe mesi- :
SheIcntVthe letter tfih
message Ures that the pauistl autho : ; v
noes are to tye respected wheWver main" ' ? J
taioed. Whatvthe irestaentv means'-.bV 't : ' 'X
thftir ug ,nainiained; is-expfained ja r ' V
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