Author . Title Imprmt. IG — i7372-2 GPO •-B- SPEECH 1^ HON. H. S. FOOTE, OF MISSISSIPPI, ow SUSPENDING DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS MTH AUSTRIA. DELIVERED IN SENATE OP THE UNITED STATES, JANUARY 8, 1849. WASHINGTOJ^: PRINTED AT THE GLOBE OFPICB. b'ife, 1849. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/speechonsuspendiOOfoot ■SPEECH OF MR. FOOTE, In reply to Mr. Clay, on the quesiion of suspending diplomatic relations with Austria. Mr. FOOTE said: Mr. President: It is with a feeling of strong reluctance that I throw myself upon the indulgence of the Senate and claim its atten- tion whilst I attempt to respond to a portion of the remarks offered on yesterday by the distinguished Senator from Kentucky upon the resolution on your table. Indeed, I should not be willing to do so at all, but that I have found other friends, who concur like myself in most of the views so eloquently stated by the honorable Senator from Michigan in our hearing a day or two since, wholly unwilling to participate in the debate at this stage of it; and I am a little apprehensive that if nothing further should be said by the friends of the resolu- tioj-), after the speech of the honorable Senator from Kentucky, more or less of misunderstanding might prevail in regard to the real object proposed to be attained by that resolution, as well as in rela- tion to the effects and consequences likely to arise from its adoption. The question before us, as I understand it, is a very simple one, and may be thus stated: Shall we instruct the Committee on Foreign Relations to inquire into the expediency of suspending diplomatic intercourse icith Russia and Austrial — (the original resolution offered by the Senator from Michigan having reference to Austria alone, whilst theamendment of the honorable Senator from New Hampshire proposes to embrace Russia also.) I am in favor of the original resolution, for the reasons already declared by the honorable Senator from Michigan; and I am opposed to theamendment, chiefly because I am apprehensive that, if incor- porated into the resolution, it will only serve to defeat it; such being doubtless the object of its mover. Mr. President, all will admit that the question before us for decision is one deeply involving the character of this nation, and the cause of civil liberty throughout the world. In my judgment, it is not a question of peace or war, nor can it be in fairness debated as such. Two gentlemen on the opposite side of the Chamber have been heard in opposition to the resolution — the honorable Sen- ators from Kentucky and New Hampshire. Mr. HALE. Will, the honorable Senator allow me to aisk him, why he says I have opposed the resolution ? Mr. FOOTE. I will state my reasons for sup- posing him hostile to the suspension of diplomatic iintercourse, as proposed by the honorable Senator from Michigan, if the gentlem&n who has just in- terrogated me shall desire it. Mr. HALE. I am in favor of the resolution. Mr, FOOTE. The honorable Senator from New Hampshire knows, as well as any man in Christen- dom, how to appear to he the rose, and yet he the ser- pent under it. Hie understands perfectly all the indirect and circumventive arts of debate, and can comprehend as easily as any member of the Senate in what manner hostility may be practised under the guise of friendship, and irreparable ruin may be inflicted without any previous menace of injury. I beg the worthy gentleman not to be uneasy, though, under the allusion which I have made to him; I can assure him that I do not desfgn respond- ing formally to anything which has been brought forward by him in debate. The slavery question, upon which he is perpetually ranting in this Cham- ber, I shall never more discuss here or elsewhere; being prepared, as is the State that I in part repre- sent here, for appropriate action upon it, when action shall become necessary. I would as soon think of pursuing the will-o'-the-wisp, over the perilous surface of some pestilent morass, as at- tempt to follow that gentleman in all his discursive and devious windings as a debater in this hall. I should consider it just as profitable to occupy my- self in efforts to extract sunbeams from cucumbers, as to controvert the slavery question with him, either here or elsewhere; and regarding him as only having made his accustomed abolition speech on this occasion, which I have often heard deliv- ered by him before, with very slight variations in- deed, I shall leave the honorable member to the satisfaction which he evidently feels at having per- formed his habitual task with about his usual adroitness and spirit, and proceed to the examina- tion of matters actually connected with the question under debate. Paulo majora canamus. I cannot enter, Mr. President, upon the strict and impartial examina- tion, which I am about to undertake, of the speech delivered in our hearing on yesterday by the hon- orable Senator from Kentucky, who sits over the way, [Mr. Ci..\y,] without paying to him a pre- liminary tribute of respect, which is no less prompt- ed by my heart than sanctioned by my under- standing. It has been nearly two years since the worthy predecessor of the honorable Senator, now no longer among us here, where he waa so univer- 4 sal a favorite in social life, took me rather pointed- ly to task for certain allusions in which I had in- dulged in reference to a noted visit made to this city by the honorable gentleman now in my eye; on which occasion a brilliant eulogy was pro- nounced upon the honorable gentleman, and he was quite ceremoniously and ra'.her unseasonably, as I then thought, and now think, consigned to private life as '' a retired statesman.''' When thus held to responsibility (or alleged injustice, I did not hesitate to disavow, as happily I had it in my power to do with perfect sincerity, all intentional disre- spect or unkindness; and I took occasion to speak very explicitly in praise of tlie honorable gentle- man, then absent but now present, venturing also to suggest an amendment to a Latin quotation ap- plied to him by his eloquent eulogist, already al- luded to, with a view of intimating the conviction which i felt of the extended power and influence possessed by the honorable gentleman commended. The Latin words, as originally brought forward, v/ere ''■ claruin et venerahile nomen;'' to which I added, ^'gentibus;" thus participating, to tlieextent of one word at least, in the application of the clas- sic extract once so sirikingly applied by Edmund Burke to the elder Chatham. Now, sir, I will not detain the Senate by a rep- etition of all I then said in praise of the honora- ble Senator, and indeed I could not well, without some appearance of indelicacy, do more than de- clare at present that all which I then uttered in honor of him is entirely correspondent with the sen- timents which I now entertain. I will take the liber- ty in addition, to avow the gratification which I feel as a personal friend of the honorable Senator, at seeing him here once more among us, enjo^/'ing apparentlj' so much health of mind and body, and prepared 10 enter with so much vigor and ac- tivity upon the arduous duties which are before us. Indeed, Mr. President, when the honorable Senator arose on yesterday and commenced his address to you, I was full of hope that the invoca- tion of my honorable friend from Michigan had proved successful, and that we should have the countenance and aid of the Senator from Kentucky in support of the resolution under discussion. Rev- eling in this anticipation, and perhaps with a fan- cy somewhat stimulated by the occasion, I could not help recurring to the august description given by Milton of one of his Pandemonean heroes, of whom he says: "With grave Asi)ectlierose, and in his rising seemed A pillar of static; tleep on his front engraven Deliheiation sat, and public care ; And princely counsel in his face yet shone Majestic." And now, sir, I proceed to the question before us; which, after all, as I understand it, is simply this: Shall we, as an American Senate, under the circumstances so vividly portrayed by the honor- able Senator from Michigan, venture to avow our sympathy for oppressed Hungary, and declare our indignation at the suii'erings to which her noble poople have been exposed, and at the violent over- throw of their free civil institutions which had subsisted for centuries, under the most solemn or- ganic guarantees, by the united energies of two despotic and unprincipled Despots, who have be- come associated for the abominable purpose of extinguishing Hungarian liberty, in the precious blood of patriots, heroes, and sages, and by the perpetration of every outrage which could awaken the wrath of Heaven, or justify the retaliatory vengeance of man .■' That we are entitled both to sympathize, and to censure, to the extent pro- posed by the resolution under consideration, I ■consider almost too obvious to be plausibly denied. Indeed, sir, in my opinion, there are certain well' known principles'of the law of nations which are of themselves decisive of this point, i will an- nounce them without special comment thereupon. And, L Man is a social being. 2. Universal society (as Vattel terms it) is an institution of nature her- self: and all men, in whatever stations placed, are bound to cultivate it and to discharge its duties. 3. As the object of natural society established among mankind is that they should lend each other mutual assistance, in order to attain perfec- I tion themselves, and to render their condition as perfect as possible; and since nations, considered as so many free persons living together in a state of nature, are bound to cultivate social intercourse with each other, it follows that the great object of the society established by Nature betweeti all na- tions is the interchange of tmitaal assistance for ihtir oion improvement and that of their condition. 4. The first general law 'which tve discover in the very object of the society of nations is, that each individiial na- tion is bound to coiitribute everything in her poxoer to the happiness and perfection of all the others. 5. The general and fundamental rule of our duties towards ourselves is, that every moral being ought to live in a manner conformable to his nature — naturiz convenienter vivere. These are well known maxims, laid down solemnly by Vattel, and ap- proved by every writer on national law to be found in our libraries; all of which, or the principal part of it, is perhaps embraced in a comprehensive pas- sage of Shakspeare, (part of the advice of Polonius to Laertes,) and which is equally applicable to nations as to individuals: *' This, above all, to thine own self be true ; And it must follow, as the day the night, Tliat thou canst not iie false to any man." Yes, sir, let us be true to ourselves, as a repub- lican people on this occasion. Let us show a be- coming respect for the free principles of govern- ment which we enjoy; let us be properly mindful of the importance of our example as the model republic of the world. Let us not be forgetful of our duty towards our fellow-men elsewhere with- in the sphere of civilization, in aiding them in all legitimate and authorized modes to perfect their own happiness and to secure their own freedom. Let us, above all, not overlook the direct interest which we have in facilitating the diffusion of free institutions, and in narrowing the domain of des- potism; and then, as it seems to me, we shall be but little inclined to doubt what our ti-ue policy is at the present moment in regard to discontinu- ing for a season — in other words suspending — diplomatic relations with Austria. No one will undertake to deny that we have a right, if we choose, to suspend diplomatic relations with Austria, or with any other Power, either in Europe, Asia, Africa, or America. The horora- ble Senator from Kentucky has not contended, nor will he contend, that the withdrawal of our minis- ter from the Austrian court, will furnish just cause of complaint against us. He will not assert that, if we do precisely what this resolution proposes, the Austrian Governrnent can regard itself as un- 5 justly dealt with, or that the law of nations will have been violated to its disadvantage. To be sure, in adopting this coiuse, we shall show to Austria and to all the world, that we are not ambi- tious of a very intimate association with her pres- ent imperial government; that we deem it expe- dient, and safe, and important to our good standing among the family of nations, not to be recognized as sympathizing with a tyrannical and perfidious government in all its enormous excesses of brutal- ity and of bloodshed; that in the great struggle be- tween tyrants and their su'ijecfs, we do not sym- pathize with the former, and look with indifference -or satisfaction upon the sufferings of the latter; and that we are desirous, by a single striking act, like that now proposed to our consideration, to testify to mankind' everywhere, and to all genera- tions, our. love of liberty and our hatred of oppres- sion. The honorable Senator from Michigan has gone minutely into the history of that system of diplo- ■ matic intercourse now existing in the worid, and has brought to our notice the recency of its origin, and the corruptions which have at different periods crept into it. I shall not enlarge upon this topic; it is unnecessary; but I beg leave simply to remind honorable Senators that the system of entertaining resident ministers at the different courts of nations is one to which most of our earlier statesmen were decidedly hostile, as calculated to lead to unprofit- able entanglement in the domestic affairs of other nations, and as likely to involve us in the wars which the different JPowers of the earth are so much inclined to carry on with each other. Those who are familiar with the views of Mr. .Tefferson onthis subject will not fail to recollect his oppo- sition, as repeatedly avowed, to sending ministers abroad at all, except upon special exTgencies of State, as they might from time to time arise, and that he ever dreaded more or less of mischief as likely to result even from the formal negotiation of treaties. He retained his orisjinal views on this subject up to the close of his life, as no one will doubt who will examine his immortal writings. The last two of his letters in which he reiterates his favorite doctrines are, one of them, a letter to Mr. Mazzei, in the year 1304, and the other a letter to Mr. Monroe, then President, so late as the year 1815. The language of the earlier of these letters is as follows": " On the suhject of treaties our syptom is, to have nnnfi with any nation, as far as can be avoided. The treaty with England ha?, therefore, not to be renewed, and all ovfrt'.sres for treaty with other nations have been declined. We be- lieve that, with' nations as wirh individuals, dealings may be carrifid on as advantageously, perhaps .more so' while their continuance depRnd,-; on a voluntary good treatnipnt, as if fixed by a contract, which, when it becomes injurious to either, is madre, by forced constructions, to me^ii what suits tht-ni, ai.d becomes a cause of war instead of a bond of pfacfi. We wish.to be on the closest terms of friendship with Naple.«, and we will prove it hy giving to Jier citizens, vessels, and goods, all the privileges of the most favored nation; and, while we do this voluntarily, we cannot doubt they will voluntarily do the same for us. Our in- terests against the Barharesques being also the same, we have little doubt she will give us every facilitv to ensure them which our situation may ask and' hers admit, ft is not, tiien, from a want of friendship that we do not propose a treaty with Naples, but because it is asainst our system ro embarrass ourselves with treaties, or to" entangle o'urselves at all with the atlairs of Europe. The kind offices we re- ceive from that Governirient arc more sensiblv felt, as S'ich, than they wcmid be if rendered only as due' to us by lireaty." In his letter of 1815, he reiterates the same views in the most emphatic manner, as all may see who choose to look into the 4th volume of his writings. I will content rnyself with citing only one para- graph: "Indeed we areinfinitely better without such treaties with any nation. We cannot too distiuctiv detach ourselves from the European systeni, which is es.sentiallv belligerent, nor too sedulously cultivate an American system, essentially pa- cific."— Sr possibly, before we again assemble in this hall, acknowledge that independence — is it not fit and becoming in this Hou.'^e to make provision that our President shall t>e among the foremost, or at least not among the last, in that acknowledgment.' So far from this resolution being ikely to whetthe vengeance of the Turk against his Grecian victims, I believe its tendency will be directly the reverse. Sir, with all his unlimited power, and in all the elevation of his despotic throne, he is at last but man, made as we are, of flesh, of muscle, of bone, and sinew. He is susceptible of pain, and can feel and has felt the uncalculating valor of American freemen in some of his dominions ; and when he is made to understand that the Executive of this Govern- ment is sustained by the representatives of the people — that our entire political fabric, base, column, and entablature, rulers and people, with heart, soul, mind, and strength, are all on the side of the gallant people whom be would crush — he will become more likely to restrain than to increase his atrocities upon sufferingand bleeding Greece." * * * The' honorable Senator will allow me to use his own language in the case of the Greeks upon the present occasion, and doubtless he will himself respect it also when he hears it again enunciated in a ease so strikingly analogous. Then I say to the honorable Senator, in his own former words: " The Emperor of Austria, with ali his unlimited power, and in all the elevation of his despotic throne, is at last but man, made, as we are, of flesh, of muscle, of bone, and sinew. He is sus- ceptiiale of pain, and can feel the uncalculating valor of American freemen; and when he is made to understand that our entire political fabric, base, column, and entablature, rulers and people, with heart, soul, mind, and strength, are all on the side of the gallant people whom he would crush, he will be more likely to restrain than increase his atrocities upon suffering and bleeding" Hungary. It chances to be quite convenient to multiply authority upon the main point to be decided by na. The honorable Senator from Massachusetts, already mentioned as the author of the movement of sympathy in favor of the Greeks, expressed himself on the occasion with all his accustomed eloquence, and avowed sentiments as noble as those which he is reported as having enunciated recently upon the subject of Hungarian wrongs. I will recreate the Senate for a few moments by reading a few extracts from the speech delivered by him: "'T wish to take occasion of the struggle of an interesting and gallant people, in the cause of liberty and Christianity, to draw the attention of the House to the circumstances which have accompanied that struggle, and to the principles which appear to have governed the conduct of the great States of Europe in regard to it ; and to the etfects and con- sequences of these principles upon the independence of na- tions, and especially upon the institutions of free govern- ments. What I have to say of Greece, therefore, concerns the modern, not the ancient; the living, and not the dead. It regards her not as she exists in history, triumphant over time, and tyranny, and ignorance, but as she now is, con- tending against fearful odds for being and for the common privilege of human nature. "Aslt is never difficult to recite commonplace remarks arid trite aphorisms, so it may be easy, I am aware, on this occasion to remind me of the wisdom which dictates to men a care of their own alfairs, and admonishes them, instead of searching for adventures abroad, to leave other men's con- cerns in their own hands. It may be easy to call this reso- lution Quixotic, the emanation of a crusading or a propa- gandist spirit. All this, and more, may be readily said ; but all this, and more, will not be allowed to fix a character upon this proceeding uritil that is proved which it takes for grant- ed. Let it first be shown that in this question there is nothing which can affect the interest, the character, or ihe duty of this country. Let it be proved that we are not called upon, by either of these considerations, to express an opinion on the subject to which the resolution relates. Lfl this be proved, and then it will indeed be made out that neither onglit this resolution to pass, nor ought the subject of it to have been mentioned in the communicalionofthe President to us. But, in my opinion, this cannot be shown. In my judgment, the subject is interesting to the People and the Government of this country, and we are called upon, by con- siderations of great weight and moment, to express our opin- ions uponit. These considerations, I ili ink, spring from a sense of our own duty, our character, and our interest. I 8 wish to treat tlie subject on such grounds exclusively as are truly American ; but then, in considering itas an American question, I cannot forget the age in which we live, the pre- vailing spirit oftlie age, the interesting questions which agi- tate it, and our own pecuhar relation in regard to these interesting questions. Let this be, then— and, as far as I am ooncerned.I hope it will be — purely an American discussion; hut let It embrace, nevertheless, everything that fairly con-, cerns America ; let it comprehend, not merely her present advantage, but her permanent interest, her elevated char- acter, as one of the free Slates of the world, and her dutv towards those great principles which have hitherto main- tained the relative independence of nations, and which have, more especially, made her what she is." * * * "In the next place, I take it for granted, that the policy of this country, springing from the nature of onr govern- ment, and the spirit of afi our institutions, is, so far as it re- spects the interesting questions which agitate the present age, on the side of liberal and enlightened sentiments. The age is extraordinary, the spirit that actuates it is peculiar and marked; and our own relation to the limes we live in, and to tiie questions which interest them, is equally marked and peculiar. We are placed by our good fortune, and the wisdom and valor of our ancestors, in a condition in which we can act no obscure part, Be it for honor, or be it for dis- honor, whatever we do is not likely to escape the observa- tion of the world. As one of the free States among the nations, as a great and rapidly rising Republic, it would be impossible fur us, if we were so disposed, to prevent our principles, our sentiments, and oure.varaple, from producing some effect upon the opinions and hopes of society through- out the civilized world. It rests probably with ourselves to determine wliether the influence of these shall be salutary or pernicious. " it cannot be denied that the great political question of the age, is that between absolute and regulated Govern- ments. The substance of the controversy is, whether soci- ety shall have any part in its own government. Whether the form of government shall be that of limited monarchy, with more or less mixture of hereditary power, or wholiy elective, or representative, may, perhaps, be considered as subordinate. The main controversy is between that abso- lute rule, which, while it promises to govern well, means nevertheless to govern without control, and that regulated or constitutional system, which restrains sovereign discre- tion, and asserts that society may claim, as a matter of riaht, some effective power in the establishment of the laws which are to regulate it. The spirit of the times se s with a most powerful current in favor of these last-mentioned opinions. It is oppo_-ed, however, whenever or wherever it shows itself, by certain of the great potentates of Europe; and it is opposed on grounds as applicable in one civilized nation as in another, and which would justify such opposition in je- lation to the United States, as well asin relation to any other State ornatron, if time and ciicumstance should render such opposition expedient. "What part it becomes this country to take on a question of this sort, so far as it is called upon to take any part, can- not be doubtfii!. Our side of this question is scuttled for us, even without our own volition. Our history, our situation, our character, necessarily decide our position and our course before we have even time to ask whether we have an opinion. Our place is on the side of free institutions. From the earliest .settlement of these States their inhabit- ants were accustomed, in a greater or less degree, to the enjoyment of the powers of self-government;" and for the last half century Ihey have sustained systems of government entirely representative, yielding to themselves the greatest possible prosperity, and not leaving them without distinc- tion and respect among the nations of the earth. This sys- tem we are not likely to abandon ; and while we shall no further recommend its adoption to other nations, in whole or in part, thuii it may recommend itself by its visible influ- ence on our own growth and prosperity, we are neverthe- less interested to resist the establishment of doctrines which deny the legality of its foundations. We stand as an equal among nations, claiming the full, benefit of the established international law ; and it is our duty to oppose, from the earliest to the latest moment, any innovations tipon that code, which sh.iil bring into doubt or question our own equal or independent rights." But the honorable Senator from Kentucky was pleased to suggest a striking want of sympathy betv/een the premises and conclusion of the hon- orable Senator from Michigan. These are his words: " Sir, I tliink that the question ought to be treated as if it were a direct proposition to suspend diplomatic intercourse with the Power indicated in the original resolution. And, sir, I have been at first very much struck with the want of sympathy between the premises and conclusions of the honorablt* Senator from Michigan. In his premises he depicted the enormities of Austrian despotism. Who doubts the perpetration of those enormities } In the most glowing strains of eloquence he portrayed to us the wrongs ofsulTering Hungary. Who doubts them? He speaks of the atrocio'us executions committed by her — the disgrace of the age, and, above all, of Austria. Who doubts it .' These were the premises' of the honorable Senator ; but what was his conclusion? It was requiring the recall of a little charge d'affaires that we happen to have at Vienna. Why, the natural conclusion would be to declare war immediately against Austria, if she had committed such enormities"; tliough, from the impossibility of coming in contact with her, this resource might be difficult of accomplishment." Now, sir, observe, if you please, that the hon- orable Senator from Kentucky himself admits all the " enormities" charged, and asks " who doubts their perpetration.'" He admits " the wrongs of suffering Hungary," and asks again " who doubts ' them.'" He refers to the " atrocious executions" committed by Austria, calls them " the disgrace of the age," and asks, a third time, " who doubts it?" And then he says " these were the premises of the honorable Senator; but what was his conclusion: It was requiring the recall of a little charge d'af- faires that we happen to have at Vienna." And, he adds, " Why, the natural conclusion would be to declare war immediately against Austria, if she had committed such enormities." Ah! and is the honorable Senator in favor of our declaring war against Austria.' Has he abandoned his pacific ground, and resolved on embarkmg the country in transatlantic hostilities.' Such is the plain import of his words, since all the facts are admitted to ex- ist, which would, according to him, nnake war the " nattirAl" result. I beg leave to differ with the honorable Senator, and instead of declaring war outright, I prefer withdrawing our charge, whether big or little, and thus avoiding all possibility of hostile collision. But I beg you to bear testimony, Mr. President, that I did not call Gen, James Wat- son Webb " our little charge,'^ nor suggest that we ^'■happen" simply to have such a personage at the Court of Austria, These terms, so well calculated to detract from the dignity of our august Minister at the Court of Vienna, and, per chance, to eclipse the lustre which at present encircles his nanne, I could scarcely have ventured to employ, at least in presence and hearing of his redoubtable advocate and champion over the vvray, [Mr. Seward.] The honorable Senator from Kentucky has, I well know, formally declined exercising in behalf of the present Administration a parliamentary leadership; and I had no suspicion, until I listened to his speech of yesterday, that he meditated the commencement of a regular course of hostilities against those in power. And yet such would seem to be his design, judging from his words, which I am about to read, and which surprised me not a little at the time of their utterance: " Why, sir, great is the incongruity between the premises of the honoraijie Senator and his conclusion. To recall our charge d'affaires. Sir, I think, instead of pursuing that course, by which we shall close the door of intercourse with Austria, by which we shall gain nothing in behalf of the suffering Hungarians, and the snftering exiles from Hungary: a very different course, indeed, would have been the one that ought to have been suggested by the honorable Senator. Instead of suspending our diplomatic intercnuise, I would have sent from this country some eminentand distinguished and enlightened citizen, some one who possessed the confi- dence oi'ihe country — the honorable Senator himself woultj have been a very fit and suitable representative on such an interesting occasion — I would have sent him to the Court of Russia, to plead the nobie cause of the Hungarians, and if she would not open her ears to the dictatea of humanity, which might be infused into her through an agent such as I have described, I would have instructed him to remonstrate in the name of suffering humanity — in the name of Christi- anity—to rebuite her for her inhumanity." So, the honorable Senator from Kentucky, "in- stead of suspending diplomatic intercourse, would have sent from this country some eminent, distin- guished, and enlightened citizen — some one who possessed the confidence of the country," "to the Court of Russia, to plead the noble cause of the Hungarians." This is what the honorable Senator would have done. Well, sir, this is pre- cisely what was not done. No such minister has been sent to Russia, nor, in fact, any minister at all. Really, I am afraid that the President and his Cabinet will fee! that they have a right to think a little hard of this severe indirect rebuke, administered to them by the Senator from Ken- tucky, for not doing what he plainly says they ought to have done, and for neglecting to do which , in .the judgment of the honorable Senator, at least, they must be altogether censurable. I am not au- thorized to become the regular defender of the Administration against the assaults of its o°wn recognized friends; but I must really beg leave to protest against the imposition of censure upon the gentlemen in power, i'or not sending a minister to Russia for the purposes named. _ Mr. CLAY. Will the Senator from Mississip- pi allow me to say here that in the paragraph which he has read, it was not "Russia," but = ' Austria, "to which I said it would be preferable to send a minister, rather than to suspend our in- tercourse .' I take the occasion, sir, of saying that I did not see the report of my remarks in the Sen- ate yesterday until I rfead them in the Intelligencer to-day. I found it, in general, to be remarkably accurate, but there were one or tv/o errors, one of which is, that in this paragraph the word " Rus- sia" is substituted for " Austria." I thank the Senator for giving way for this explanation. Mr. FOOTE. I assure the honorable Senator that I should not have so confidently taken it for granted thathe.had been reported accurately, but for the fact that I found him reported in both the Union and Intelligencer as employing the phrase- ology upon which I have been commenting. Mr. CLA^. Will the Senator allow me to sav that I find, upon looking at the report in the Union, that it reads in the same way; that both the re- porters for the Union and for the Intelligencer have represented me as saying "Russia." Whatever was the fact, I intended to say " Austria," and so my friends understood me. it is a matter of very little consequence, but I wished to be understood. Mr. FOOTE. Well, sir, I am happy "to have given occasion to the honorable Senator for the correction which he has now administered. But really that seems not to better the matter very much; for no such person as the one described by the honorable Senator has been sent even to the Court of Austria— no " eminently distinguished and enlightened citizen" has, in my judgment, or in the judgment of the country at large, been yet Kent to the Court of Austria. But, admitting that just such a personage as ihe honorable Scliator from Kentucky seems to think ought to have been dispatched to the Court of Vienna, has been actu- ally accredited to Austria, there seems to be another very serious objection to this part of the honorable Senator's speech, which it will be ex- ceedingly difficult to meet. He says he would have sent this minister to the Court of Austria, to plead the noble cause of the Hungarians; and if she would not open her ears to the dictates of hu- manity, which might be infused into her through such an agent as the one described, " he would have instructea him to rebuke her for her inhu- manity !" Nov/, sir, it does really strike me that such amission as this v/ou!d have been well calcu- lated to involve us in a war with the Austrian Em- pire; and, as Austria and Russia seem to be in close union, for all the atrocious purposes against which this solemn protest was to be made and this fierce "■rebuke''' vocifsrated, we should, in all prob- ability, have had a double war on our hands with the two fraternizing Emperors. Surely, sir, the honorable Senator must perceive that our resolu- tion, which simply proposes, to employ his own words, " to recall a little charge," is not near so likely to bring' on war and its dread conse- quences as would be a mission set on foot for the purpose of direct interference in the most delicate concerns of a proud and sensitive nation, and with a view to the utterance of language of insulting and public rebuke to one of the haughtiest despots that has ever yet borne rule in Christendom. In- deed, sir, I am disposed to think that the honora- ble Senator, as a lover of peace, had better, after all, come over to the support of our resolution to suspend diplomatic relations merely. But, Mr. President, why should this proposal of the honorable Senator from Michigan awaken any alarm.? The President of the United Stales has recently determined it to be expedient to recall our minister to the Central Government of Ger- many, and the gentleman lately accredited there, who iias the misfortune, if misfortune it may be called, of being an excellent Democrat, has already returned to this country. I take it upon myself to say, too, that this mission to Central Germany has been actually suppressed. Yes, sir, suppressed, at a period when, as I believe could be easily proved, the presence of an American minister at Frankfort was of the utmost importance both to the commercial concerns of this country and the cause of liberal principles in our venerated father- land; and when even a suspension of diplomatic intercourse for a short period of time might be possibly productive of serious inconvenie'nce, if not injury. I say this mission has been sup- pressed, and I know, that this statement will not be denied. But I do not say this for the purpose of censuring the Administration. No, sir, not at all. The transaction is one to be scrutinized, to be sure; and if it should turn out upon investiga- tion, that it is expedient to restore the suppressed mission, I have no doubt that the proper means will be adopted for its restoration. I will not deny that the course of the Administration was directed by good motives, though I fear that a mistake of quite a serious character has been committed. I cite this case with a view to shovy, that the Admin- istration itself perceives no ground for the ap- prehension of such consequences as have been depicted, from the mere suspension of diplomatic relations with any foreign Power, nor even from the absolute suppression of a mission. The honorable Senator from Kentucky has at- tempted to distinguish between the case of the South American Republics, recognized by this Government as sovereign States many years ago, chiefly at the instance of the gentleman himself, and the case of HLungary as now presented to our notice; he says that he was then laboring " to bring new nations into existence," whereas, by our resolution, we seek to " blot out of existence" a- nation which has been long established. Why, sir, it does seem to me that the honorable Senator has committed a serious error in taking this view of the subject; for, in the first place, it is impossi- ble for that honorable Senator, or any other person, to prove that the mere withdrawal of a minister can have the effect of denationalizing the Power with whom diplomatic intercourse is thus sus- pended for a season; and, secondly, the sympathy which we propose to express for Hungary, and the encouragement which we desire to administer to the strugglers for freedom in that unhappy coun- try, cannot but have considerable influence in facilitating the ultimate establishment of a new nation — another republic in Europe — to cooperate with us, in coming centuries, in sustaining the holy cause of civil and religious liberty in the world, by example, by precept, and by all moral in- fluences which may be legitimately put in ac- tion. The honorable gentleman is, in my opinion, greatly in error also, in supposing that the strug- gle for freedom is at an end in Hungary. It is not true, as he seems to suppose, and as he has expressly declared, that Hungary is "subdued," "crushed." His accomplished friend, Madame de Stael, whose authority he invoked, as we have seen, in 1824, upon the Greek question, would tell him, if living, as she did on a former occasion, that no nation is ever subdued who really desires freedom, and is willing to exert herself in the prop- er manner for its acquisition, and maintenance; in the language of poetry, I may venture to tell him, that "Freedom's battle, oiice begun, Bequeathed by bleeding sire to sen, Tliough baffled oft, is^ever won." No, sir, no; if the free States of the world, in- cluding among the foremost our own country, perform their duty towards Flungaryat this crisis, the struggle for freedom will be renewed and pros- ecuted with an energy and persevering valor which ■will forever terminate the debasing thraldom in which her heroic sons are at present so wofully involved. I hope to be pardoned for here alluding to a somewhat delicate point. My honorable friend from Michigan, with that modesty which belongs to his character, appears to be willing to yield to the honorable Senator from Massachusetts the credit of having originated this movement, or at least of having verji' distinctly suggested in his New Hampshire speech, so freely quoted from on this occasion, views and sentiments altogether in harmony with the proposition before us. Now, sir, in all frankness, I must confess, without the least inclination to av/aken sectional rivalry about this matter, that a 'distinguished southern states- man is entitled to the honor of flrst recommend- ing, in a specific manner, the measure now in progress. John Tyler, of Virginia, than whom, m my judgment, no American, living or dead, has received more injustice at the hands of his coun- trymen of the present generation, but whose no- ble republican Administration is destined, 1 doubt not, to shine most brilliantly in our national annals, on the 16th day of July last, wrote and published the beautiful and soul-stirring letter whicli I hold in my hand, and of which I will, with the consent of the Senate, read to you a short extract. These are Mr. Tyler's words : " I have been highly gratified to learn that your coarse on the Hungarian question has been so entirely in consonance with my own feelings, although I have taken no occasion heretofore to express them. That noble people are entitled to the deepest sympathy of every lover of his race; and if they ultimatelygHceeed, they will have done more for the cause of humanity than has been achieved since our Revo- lution. What prudence and wisdom in counoii, and what consummate generalship have they not already eshibited. The elevation to their Presidency of one of the greatest men of the age; the humanity, the observance of which is always wise, wliieh they manifest upon all occasions ; their undaunted bravery and gallant bearing, entitle them to the first place among nations ripe for liberty. " What shall he said of their opponents in this great strug- gle for freedom? Wherever they move, 'desolation marks their progress.' In prosecuting the war, tliey seem to have laid aside the attributes of civilized men, and to have be- come little better than demons. Acts disgraceful to the worst ages of the world signalize their smallest victories. Villages sacked and plundered; the noblest of the people marked out for disgraceful executions, and women of the first class exposed in their persons and subjected to the scourge ! Such are the accounts that reach us. As a people, we can give no aid in arms and men to the Hunga- riar.s; but as one of the community of nations, we have a right to enforce and a duty to perform. We are interested in seeing that the rules which civilization has prescribed for the conduct of war shall be observed by nations at war. When Austria subjects to the scourge women of worth and character, thus trampling civilization in the dust, and re- verting to days of worse than Gothic darkness and barbarity, it becomes our duty, as it is that of every civilized State, to protest against such proceedings ; and, if our protest is un- availing, to manifest our displeasure by v\ithdrawing all diplomatic intercourse. The United States should not be left in a doubtful position. We are responsible to the world and to posterity for the aid we may give in the advancemehl of society to the highest state of civilization and refinement; and we lint poorly acquit ourselves of our duty, if we keep company with thoae who war both against the one and the other. This would not be taking part in the struggles of Europe, no stepping out of our sphere of neutrality; it would be but the enforcernent of those conventional rules, in the preservation of which the interests of all nations are alike involved. What are the views of our Government on this subject I have no means of knowing. I express my ovm opinions for your deliberation and reflection." As a native son of the South, Mr. President, I. am glad that this noble letter was written by Ex- President Tyler; as a Virginian myself, in birth, and as I trust I may say without the appearance of egotism, in principle also, 1 am proud that one of her cherished statesmen first suggested this idea of discontinuing our diplomatic relations with Aus- tria. I can assure honorable gentlemen that the- sentiments of Mr. Tyler will be as warmly re- sponded to in the States south of Mason and Dixon's line as in the States north of it; nor shall we fail to sympathize with our Hungarian breth- ren, because individuals, inimical bo our ov/n domestic institutions, and seeking to violate our constitutional rights, (somewhat, by the way, after the manner of Austria herself towards Hun- gary,) think proper to profess a peculiar sort of abolition sympathy for the heroic defenders of freedom upon Hungarian soil. No, sir, we per- fectly understand the arts of our adversaries, and so does the country; and we shall not be swerved either to the right or the left a hair's-breadth by .all the hypocritical and ambidextrous advocacy with which unscrupulous political managers may seek to discredit and defeat a proposition intrinsically so meritorious as that now under consideration. I 11 cannot dismiss this topic without remarking, that those who suppose that the people of the southern States will evince a cold indifference to the pros- tration of free institutions in Hungary, know very- little of the lofty characteristics which belong to the slaveholding population of the Union ; of whose ancestors Mr. Burke said, in one of his most profound speeches, that "the spirit of liberty was still more high and haughty" among them, than among their brethren of the North, by rea- son, as he supposes, of "the multiUide of slaves" possessed liy them ; declaring in addition that where a system of domestic slavery, like that of the South, exists " in any part of the world, those who are free are by far the most proud and jealous of their freedom ;" for, he says ; '^Freedom is to them not only an enjoyment, bxU a kind of rank and privilege. " But, sir, in thus avowing my confident expectation that the res- olution of the honorable Senator from Michigan will meet with approval in the South, I am far from intending to say anything in disparagement of our northern brethren, who (remove fanati- cism and demagogical trickery from among them) are doubtless worthy of all the commendation which we hear So often bestowed upon them by their representatives upon this floor. I have not forgotten the noble movements which were made in several of our populous northern cities in behalf of the Hungarians whilst yet their war with com- bined Russia and Austria was in progress, it is with the highest satisfaction that 1 read an account, a few m.onihs since, of the proceedings of a large popular meeting in Philadelphia, over which a distinguished son of the Keystone State, who for- merly adorned the seat which you now occupy, presided in a manner so imposing. Nor have I for- gotten that it was a high-spirited and accomplished son of Pennsylvania, that immortalized himself, and added greatly to the honor of his country by magnanimously assuming the responsibility of welcoming the young French Republic into the family of nations. These fects, so hoiorable to Pennsylvania, have filled my heart with gratitude and with rejoicing. And now we learn, in addi- tion, that the Legislature of this noble State has already instructed her Senators here to support the resolution upon your table. But be assured that Pennsylvania will not be permitted to enjoy a mo- nopoly of glory. Other States, I doubt not, v/ill speedily imitate her example. Among our twenty millions of freemen but one voice will be heard; and that will declare, in language not to be misun- derstood, our unanimous sympathy for downtrod- den Hungary, and our measureless contempt for her tyrannical oppressors. Allow me to read to you, Mr. President, a por- tion of a letter which has just been placed in my hands, written by a leading British statesman, whose name is closely associated with all that is sound in principle and wise in statesmanship. I allude, of course, to Mr. Cobden, who, writing to the Austrian Minister of the Interior, a few weeks since, employed the following bold and manly language: " These lines are not addressed to'you in. your character as a nietnlier of thft Austrian Govcrnnienl; llifiy are ad- dri^gstd to ynu personally, as 3 gentleman wlioi-e liberal ar.d enlig!)tHiifcd views left u lasting impression on my mind, wlipii 1 iiad the pU^asure of making your acquainlance in Vienna. An excuse for this step you will find in the prin- ciples of humanity and civilization, which, at that time. were equally cherished by lis both. Mindful, then, of the opinions which reconunended me to j'our friendly attention in the year 1847, 1 cannot suppose that ynu are now less favorably inclined toward thenri than you were then, "Pul)lic opinion, in my country, is horror-struck at the cold-blooded cruelties which have been .exercised on the fallen leaders of Uie Hungarians. The feeling is not confined to one class or to one particular party, for there is not a man in England who has defended, either in writing or by word of mouth, the acts of Austria. The opinions of the civilized States of the Continent will have already reached you, while that of America will very soon be Known in Vienna. You are too enlightened not to be aware that the unanimous ver- dict of contemporaries must also be the judgment of history. But have you considered that history will not deal with the j^ brutal soldiery, the creatures of cruelty, but with the minis- ters, who are responsible for their crimes.'' I should not like to appeal to less important motives than those of an honor- able ambition ; but have you well considered the dangers which threaten you in your present course? " You, who are so well read in English history, must re- member that four years after Jeffries's "bloody assizes," not only he himself, but his royal master was a miserable fugi- tive before the avenging hand of justice. Or do we live in a time when the public conscience can be treated wUh con- tempt, without fear of the punishment that followed in the nineteerfth century.' Is it not, on the contrary, the peculiar characteristic of our time that deeds of violence, whether committed by governments or by the people, are followed by reaction with astonishing celerity ."■ But I am taking too great a liberty in offering to defend your reputation or in permitting myself to be interested in your personal safety. " I appeal to you in the name of humanity, to make an end to this renewed reign of terror, which, not mnteiit with butchering its victims, must also put to rack all ihe b-pi- ter feelings of humanity ; for the world has advanced too \'.ir in civilization long to permit upon its stages heroes like Alva and Haynau. J conjure you publicly to protest against the judicial butchering oVprisoners of war; against the still more disgraceful whipping of females ; and, finally, against the practice of kidnapping, in order that you may be acquitted of all participation in the respnnsibihty for acts whichmust brand with shame their authors." Yes, sir, the promise which Mr. Cobden has made for us in advance will be redeemed. The " opinion of America will be very soon known in Vienna." 'That opinion will, in my judgment, be most appropriately declared by adopting the resolution of the honorable Senator from Michi- gan, and following up its adoption by correspond- ent action. And now, Mr. President, before I bring my re- marks to a conclusion, I will venture to take a slight personal libertf with the honorable Senator from Kentucky. With that graceful sportiveness of manner for which he is so much distinguished, he was pleased to allude to a topic of rather a delicate character, and to propound several rather embar- rassing queries to the honorable Senator from Michigan relative to the number of ladies to be found in a certain magnificent palace of the Turk- ish Sultan, which I do not choose to name. The honorable Senator from Michigan, in reply,' pro- fessed entire ignorance on the subject, but suggested that the honorable Senator from Kentucky, were he to visit Constantinople, would, in all probability, be inclined to satisfy his own curiosity by some- thing of personal inspection and formal enumera- tion. Now, sir, it might chance that such a visit of the honorable Senator might awaken more or less of suspicion in some minds; and, if discovered to be engaged in his adventurous attempt to pene- trate the mysteries of this Elysian abode, he might find it convenient to avow, for the object of his visit, the execution of a sweeping and thorough moral reform in the whole establishment referred to; in which case he might appropriately repeat the famous exclamation which he is reported to have uttered when on a visit to the city of New York 12 some t\\o years since, when, on the presentation of a warm-hearted Irish Democrat to him, who labored under visible embarrassment at being brought into contact with so distinguished a Whig leader, he relieved him by saying: '^ I came not to call the righteous, but sinnerr' to repentance. " I will add that, should an occasion arise, and if the hon- orable Senator should be accused of unauthorized! y kissing the lips of the fair ladiae of the mansion alluded lo, he might easily justify his conduct in the premises, in this liberal and loving generation. * by quoting from the pages of anacreontic poetry, and announce, as these beautiful and glowing lines: '■ "Twere a shame, when flowers around us rise, To make (ijiht of the rest, if the rose is not there, And the world is so rich in resplendent eyes, 'Twere a pity to limit one's loves to a pair; Love's wings and the peacock's are nearly alike, They are bothof them bright, but they are changeable too. And whenever a new Ijeam of beauty can sU'ike, It will tincture love's plume with a dilTerent hue. Then oh ! how sweet, where'er we rove, To be doom'd to find something still that is dear; And when we are far from the lips that we love, We have but to make love to the lips we are near." 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