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AN APPEAL 
 
 TO 
 
 THE EMENDS OF PEACE. 
 
 There are always periods in the history of a country when every citizen, 
 however far removed from the strife and tumult of party, is bound by the 
 highest obligations of patriotism and duty, to assume an active part in the di- 
 rection of public affairs. That period we have now reached, if the cry of 
 popular discontent, which everywhere fills the land be not strangely decep- 
 tive. Our Government, if past experience teaches anything, has for all practi- 
 cal purposes, become almost intolerable to those who bear its burdens. Under 
 the form of free institutions, we have within a few years made rapid strides 
 towards a despotism, and unless the downward tendency of things be speedily 
 arrested, it is impossible to estimate the evils to which we may be subjected. 
 The will of the people has been crushed again and again by a dangerous 
 abuse of the Executive veto, and the plainest requirements of the Constitu- 
 tion prostituted to subserve the ends of reckless and misguided partisans. 
 The nation has been plunged into a useless and extravagant war merely to 
 o-ralify Presideniial schemes of glory and empire, by the conquest and an- 
 nexation of foreign territory. And, to crown all, this war, which was to " con- 
 quer a peace," has ended, after an enormous sacrifice of blood and treasure, 
 in territorial acquisitions, tlie chief use of which seems to be to alienate the 
 people and weaken t!ie bonds of the Union. 
 
 Such, briefly told, is our present condition ; and such is likely to be the 
 reward of patient forbearance in the fntnre, if we longer hesitate to rid our- 
 selves of those who have produced such unmitigated cause of complaint. 
 The remedy is at hand, and no excuse, so far as we can judge, will palliate, 
 much less justify its neglect. It is in revolution through the ballot-box — ■ 
 revolution which will preserve the Constitution from the assaults of its ene- 
 mies, and restore to the Government that character for simplicity and purity 
 with which it was originally impressed. To insure this, there must be per- 
 fect harmony and concert of action among those who desire a change of men 
 and measures. Armed with the omnipotent ballot, all, whatever their minor 
 differences on queslions of expediency, must stand fast by their faith and guard 
 the interest of the Republic. The right of suffrage is, perhaps, the proudest 
 ■privilege of a freeman ; and whoever fails to exercise it properly now, will 
 be for so much responsible for whatever disasters may befall us hereafter. 
 The Presidential election in November will decide the gravest issues which 
 have ever been submitted to a free people. It will decide whether war is, of 
 rio-ht, to be r.iade as the caprice or passion of the President may suggest ; 
 whether conquest and carnage be the legitimate pursnit of an enlightened 
 nation ; and last, though not least, whether the One-man Power is to over- 
 shadow and control all the functions of legislation, and reduce the represen- 
 lives of the People to the degrading level of Executive subordinates and 
 menials. These have been the practical workings of that corrupt system, of 
 which the present Administration claims the paternity, and in behalf of which 
 it invokes the popular judgment. Of this system with all it calamities, we 
 have in the candidate of the destructives, Gen. Cass, a faithful embodi- 
 ment while in Gen. Taylor we behold its antagonist. Between them a 
 choice for the Presidency is soon to be made, for one or the other is morally 
 certain to be the successor of Mr. Polk. The formation of third parties on a 
 sino^le idea however much in consonance with the inclination of many well- 
 meaning personj can in no contingency prevent this result. Every Vote 
 Towers, printer, Washington, / 
 
2 ^Vl-' 
 
 thrown against Gen. Ta3'lor, wheiher given to Gen. Cass or not, will streng'th- 
 en his chance of success. A liiird party may, perhaps, be made formidable 
 enough to work incalcnlable mischief, by aiding in the elevation of the man 
 its fgimation was designed specially to defeat. It certainly cannot do more. 
 The only question for consideration, therefore, is, who of these two shall be 
 chosen? And this leads usio inquire into their respective claims to the confi- 
 dence and support of the Friends of Peace. 
 
 The only objection anywhere urged against Gen. Taylor is, his connec- 
 tion with the army ; and the. inference drawn from this, mistakenly, as we 
 shall presently show, that he is unfit for civil station. It is true, that his 
 
 i military achievements have won for him a world-wide renown, but there are 
 points in his character which have done more to endear him to his country- 
 inen, than the iame of allhis battles. His honesty and singleness of purpose, 
 his rigid sense of justice, his unpretending modesty, and, above all, his hu- 
 manity, present a character which shrinks from no test, and challenges gene- 
 .iiral admiration. And it is to such a character, as rare as it is beautiful, that 
 
 .he is mainly indebted for his present position. As a soldier he is faithful 
 to his duty ; but much as he has been engaged in war, liis fondest wishes 
 have always been for the preservation of the peace of the country. He is, 
 indeed, in all respects a man of peace ; and there are few, whatever their pre- 
 judices, who have more openly rebuked the war spirit which has of late ta- 
 ken such deep hold of the public mind. At a dinner given him by the city 
 authorities of Lafayette, in his own State, he declared, in response to a com- 
 plin^.entary toast, that — 
 
 "The joy and exultation of the greatest victories were always, after the heat and excitement of 
 the l>attle, succeeded by feelings of poignant sorrow and pain ,• and that war, after all, was a. 
 GKKAT CALAMi'rr, «??(/ Ms the greatest glory who could tcj-nmiatt it." 
 
 And alluding to tlie war, from which he had then recently returned, he 
 £urther remarked : 
 
 «' The iibject nearest to his heart had been to bring the tvur to a speedy termination — to restore 
 peace and amity bcliveen two neighboring Republics, which had every motive to cultivate mutual 
 good will, and which he wmld ?iucii pklfeii ta sec vicing luith each other in the arts (f peace than 
 contending on the field of battle." — JS'ilts Register, vol. 73, p. 337. 
 
 A;zain : In a letter to the Hon. Truman Smith, of the House of Represen- 
 tatives, dated Baton llouge, March 4ih, 1S4S, he said : 
 
 " I need hardly reply to your concluding inquiry, that I am a peace mak, and that I deem a state 
 of peace to be absolutely necessary to the proper and healthful action of our republican institu- 
 tions." 
 
 The sentiment here so admirably expressed, is in perfect harmony with his 
 letter of April 22, to Capt. J. S. Allison, of New Orleans, wherein he wrote : 
 
 "My life has been devoted to arms, yet I look upon war, at all times and under all circum- 
 stances, AS A NATIONAL CALAMITY, to be avoided if compatible with national honor." 
 
 Such are Gen. Taylor's opinions on war ; and they are such, it strikes 
 us, as rnust satisfy every reasonable man. He is equally averse to territorial 
 acquisition by conquest. In his letter to Gen. Gaines, dated Monterey, No- 
 vember 9di, 1S4G, he said : 
 
 " If we are (i-n the language of Mr. Polk and Gen. Scott) under the necessity of " conquering a 
 peace," and that hj taking the capital of the country, we must go to Vera Cruz, take that place, 
 and then march on to the city of Mexico. To do so in any other direction I consider out of the 
 qucBlipn., But, admitting that w« c»nquer a peace by doing so— say at the end of the next twelve 
 moiilhs— will the amount of, blood and treasure which must be expended in doing so be coinpen- 
 dfttcd by 'the same; T think not— e^xeially if the country we subdue is te ie given up,- and I 
 imatnne thtrcai-a hul fen iiidividuMli in our country ioh» think of a.v.vexino Mexico to the Uni- 
 ted Wojka."— M/mV Regitter, Tul. 70, ;;, 342. 
 
 It was this manly avowal of sentiments so opposite to the will and pur- 
 pose of the Administration, that induced the reprimand which he received 
 ihiough the Secretary of War, Mr. Marcy. It was <' this disclosure of his 
 
views," that the Cabinet at Washingfon condemned, as likely to " disincline 
 the enemy to enter into eegotialions for peace," and which ihey revived an 
 old "order," the very existence of which was ahnost unknown, to character- 
 ize as " michievons in design and disgraceful to the army !"* His reply was 
 worthy of the man, the cause, and the age. He reiterated every word he 
 had written, and boldly told the Depariment, that, although he regretted its 
 determination to place him "in an attitude antagonisiical to the Govern- 
 ment," he should " ask no favor and shrink from no respomibUihj.^^ His 
 letter to Mr. Truman Smiili, from which we have already quoted, in refer- 
 ence to this subject, says : 
 
 " On this impbrtanl! question I freely confess myself to be the Mnqnalified advocate of tlie prinei-' •' 
 pies so otten laid down by the Father of hjs coinilry, and so urgently recommended by him in hisif 
 Farewell Address to the American people. Indeed, I think I may, safely say thai n9,{t;ianmn mt) 
 a more implicit faith than T do in the wisdom of his, advice when he urged wpon us tie- propriety , 
 of always standing vpon our ' own soil.'" '"' ''■ ' 
 
 And in the letter to Capt. Allison he tells us that— 
 
 .'•' The principles of our Government, as well as its true policy, are opposed to the suhjuzation of 
 other nations, and the dismemberment of other countries by conquest." 
 
 If these declarations of Gen. Taylor be sincere, and he is more than rash 
 whoAvill question them, (here is no room to doubt that his election to the" 
 Presidency will forever banish from our national councils that lust of con-t!' 
 quest and dominion, which the evil spirits of the land have siffully aimed'to 
 
 inculcate amono- the people. But how stands the case with Gen! Cass? 
 
 Have the friends of peace any thing to expect of a man whose history, a.9 
 a,Sena;or, has been signalized by the sternest advocacy of the war policy of 
 the Administration ? On the Oregon riuesiion, he was the most ultra of those 
 ultraists who planted themselves on the declaration of " 54° 40' or fight." He 
 was against all negotiation and all compromise, and for preparing The hearts 
 of the people for war— v/ar against England, and, if need be, the world ! So 
 fai', indeed, did he push these views, ihat he held out to the last against the ■ 
 treaty by which the dispute was amicably adjusted. His course as to the 
 Mexican war was not less remarkable. He defended it tlrroughout, and 
 the greater the outrage on public justice and popular rights, tlie higher it ; 
 seemed to rise in his favor. He was for " vigorous prosecution" always, that 
 we: might conquer a peace and secure " indemnity for the pastaiid security for 
 the future," by seizing Mexiean provinces and by dismembering the Mexican!' 
 Republic. Elevate him to the Presidency, audit is not unlikeliy that the 'i 
 man who thought "rye might swallow the whol'^ of Mexico wiTH'- 12. 
 OUT BEING HURT BY IT," wiU speedily open new paths to his ambition in'! 
 the line of conquest, dismemberment, and annexation. If true to the party 
 "platform" to which he has subscribed, he will be bound by honor and of 
 necessity, to involve us in a war with England for Canada or Jamaica; or at 
 all events to "swallow" Yucatan or Cuba, under the shallow pretence, that 
 British dominion must be checked in its progress. 
 
 As a humane man, Gen. Taylor has {q\y equals. His heart isiilled with!j| 
 the tenderest sympathies, and prompts him always to comfort nnd console thej 
 suffering and sorrowful. Faithful to all the duties of his position, there isnou 
 duty which more cheerfully engages him than attention to the wounded',''' 
 whether of his own men or those "of the enemy^ It was this spirit of liii- 
 manitjr — a desire to spare he] piess women and children, and stop the effusion- 
 of blood, that induced him in a great degree, to grant terms less rigorous thad^ 
 
 •Marcy's letter tp Gen. Taylor, January 28, 1847, Executive doc, No. 60, 1st sesd. 3{lth Cdng.,y-, I 
 p. 391. 
 
were first demanded at the capitulation of Monterey. In reference to that 
 measure, in liis letter to Gen. Gaines, of Koven^ber 9th, 1846, he said : 
 
 " Had we been put to the alternative of taking the place by storm, (which there is no doubt we 
 should have succeeded in doing,) we should in all probability have lost fifty or a hundred men in kill- 
 ed, besides the wounded, which I wished to avoid, as there appeared to be a prospect of peace, 
 even if a distant one. I also wished to avoid the destruction of women and children, winch must 
 have been very great had the storming process been resorted to." 
 
 He held the same language in a letter to the Secretary of War. And yet) 
 it was for this exhibition of feeling honorable alike to his country and him- 
 self, that Gen. Cass voted to censure him ! Yes, to censure him ; for what 
 else than censure could be intended by a qualified vote of thanks ; what else 
 could it convey, tlian a disposition to wound, and humble, and mortify ? Let 
 us note the facts. On the 30th of January, 1847, a resolution of thanks to 
 Gen. Taylor, " and, through him, to the brave officers and soldiers under 
 his command, for their courage, skill, fortitude, and good conduct, in storm- 
 ing the city of Monterey," was taken up in the House of Representatives. It 
 was amended, on the motion of a friend of the Administration, as follows : 
 
 " Provided, That nothing herein contained, shall be construed into an approbation of the terms 
 of the capitulation of Monterey." 
 
 In this form it went to the Senate, where Mr. Speight, a Democratic Sena- 
 tor, who said, " he was not the man to thank with one hand and censure with 
 the other," pronounced it "a direct vote of censure" on Gen. Taylor,* and 
 moved, on the 3d of February, to strike it out of the resolution. The mo- 
 tion was carried by a majority of more than two to one, but Lewis Cass 
 voted in the negative. The following is the negative vote : 
 
 Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Alherton, Bagby, Breese, Bright, CASS, Dix, Hanneaan, Niles, 
 Sevier, Sturgeon, Turney, and Yulee — 15." — Senate Journal, '2d sess. 29tA Cong., p. I(i3. 
 
 Thus it seems, considerations of humanity, " a wish to avoid the destruc- 
 tion of women and children, and spare the sacrifice of life," which out- 
 weighed, in the mind of the honest old soldier, all the temporary advantages 
 to be gained by sacking a ciiy, had no influence with Gen. Cass and his 
 fourteen associates. 
 
 Gen. Taylor is also strictly moral and temperate in his habits. He is not 
 profane, nor does he swear or gamble ; in fact, in all the relations of life, wher- 
 ever placed, and under every ciicumstance, he is a model of a man. He is 
 neither bigoted nor intolerant in his opinions, and pays the highest respect to 
 the rights of conscience. His is the reliw'ion of charily, benevolence, and 
 tolerance, a religion broad enough to embrace all his fellow-men without re- 
 gard to their creed or form of worship. To show that we indulge in no idle 
 picture to suit the occasion, we subjoin the following testimonial : 
 
 General Taylor's character, as drawn hy the Beterend Mr. Lamb, one of his chaplains. 
 " At the conference of the Congregational and Presbyterian ministers of Hillsboro' county, N. H., 
 assembled on the 14th of June, the Rev. Mr. Lamb, who was formerly a chaplain in the army un- 
 der General Taylor, at Fort Jcsup, said that the opening far him to do good in the army was through 
 General 'I'aylor, and through the General's influence a temperance society was formed, by means 
 of which GUU drunkards were reformed ; that the Cnueral told him that it was all a shain for a 
 man to pretend he could not stand the damps and hcnts of the South without spirituous liquors. 
 General Taylor was a total abstinence man, and the only commanding officer wIiq did not drill his 
 troops on the Sabbath. Mr. Lamb also stated that General Taylor attended his church regularly, 
 and used no profane language." 
 
 This is from a minister of the Protestant persuasion ; let us hear now from 
 a Catholic chaplain, who was near him through his most trying scenes in 
 Mexico. Father McEhoj'-, who is confessedly among the most enlightened 
 and devoted philanthropists of the day, in a recent conversation with Thur- 
 low Weed, Esq., of the " Albany Evening Journal," says Gen. Taylor is 
 
 »NileB' Register, vol. 71., p. 357. 
 
truly " a great and good ma7i." " Courage, guided bij prudence, and jus- 
 tice, tempered with humanily, are his prominent cliaracieristics. Temperance 
 and simph'city of habit and manner, mark his intercourse with society. In- 
 tegrity and patriotism stand out boldly in all his official acts. In a word, Fa- 
 ther McEhoy expresses his conviction that in the elements that form his char- 
 acter, and the motives and objects which prompt and guide him, he bears a 
 strong and marked resemblance to Wasliinjiton." 
 
 His honesty and rectitude are as lofty, too, as his sense of justice is scrupu- 
 lous and exact. He scorns everything that is not fair and upright, and no man, 
 says the distinguished Gen. Persifer F. Smith, (who is politically opposed co 
 ■him,) " however corrupt or base himself, could, after tive minutes conversa- 
 tion witli him, dare to propose, or even hint at anything dishonest or mean." 
 As President, he will lose nothing of these invaluable prerequisites to a proper 
 administration of the Government. He will be what he has always been 
 from his earliest boyhood, plain, direct, and honest. His views are in all 
 things eminently conservative and practical, and lie will bear himself in his 
 high office, not as a partisan seeking to build up and perpetuate power by 
 rewardng parasites and flatterers, and by securing the triumph of selfish 
 schemes and sectional measures, but as an American patriot, determined to be 
 the President of the People, to consult their wishes and bow to their will. 
 Hi? principles are the principles of Wasliington, and his Administration will 
 be fashioned after that of the earlier Presidents of the Republic. He has no 
 sectional prejudices, and nothing could induce him to attempt to foster or 
 strengthen one portion of the country to the injury or sacrifice of another. 
 He will know no Noith and no South, but stand by the glorious Union of a 
 free people, cemented by ties of a common kindred, a common interest, and 
 conuTion duty. The rights of the whole people will be strictly regarded, 
 and the interests of the whole Union, however conflicting, harmonized and 
 protected. 
 
 The objection to General Taylor, that he has no fitness for civil 
 station, is entirely without force. He has all the intellect and all the learn- 
 ing necessary to grace the highest. His whole military life gives evidenceof 
 this. No man, if he had not mind, and mind too of the first order, could 
 have produced such splendid results. He has that within him, strong com- 
 mon sense united with sound judgment, which alone is valuable in practical 
 life. He has proved, wherever put, equal to any emergency, and never in 
 the course of his long and eventful career has he made a mistake, or commit- 
 ted a blunder. All his public duties have been rigidly fulfilled, and whatever 
 has been required of him has been done not only to the satisfaction of the 
 country, but done as no one else could do it. Examine the history of his 
 undertakings and achievements as you will — view them as a combination or 
 in detail, and they evince far-reaching sagacity and the greatest ability. 
 Whoever comes in contact with him is in a moment impressed with this con- 
 viction. Gen. Persifer F. Smith, who knows him well, writing to a friend 
 under dale of Mexico, April 8, 1S4S, pays the following compliment to his 
 character : 
 
 •' General Taylor's military exploits (said he) are not the causes of his popularity ; they are only 
 the occasion for the display of his sound judgment, energy of character, lofty and pure sense of 
 justice, and incorruptible honesty. He ha.5 as much reputation for what he has written as for what 
 he has done, because even where the composition is not his own, the sentiments, motives, and 
 feelings are ; and everything he says, as everything hs does, is marked by the purity and loftiness 
 of his own character. « * * I remember your asking me, at the time he was put in command 
 at Corpus Christi, whether he was equal to the circumstan»es. I told you of his sound judgment 
 and inexhaustible energy, as I had learned them in Florida, but I did not then estimate properly 
 the other and higher points of his character. In the campaign on the Rio Grande, I saw him tried 
 under all circumstances, and he always came out pure gold." 
 
But, it is said, " he acknowledges his awn iinfitiSess' for|the Presider^tJy^ i 
 and this of itself should present an impassable barrier to his election. He 
 knows the responsibilities of the Executive office, and feels how much is 
 expected and should be accomplished in its wise and j.ust administration, He " 
 therefore distrusts his powers, fearin;^ that an honest zeal for the public wet- 
 fare may fall short of the public expectation. Aild in this he has a notable 
 example — Washingtox himself. That great man, in reply to Mr. Thonip- 
 son,wh.o bore him the intelligence of his first election, said : '" " '"^ 
 
 " While I realize the arduous nature of the task which is imposed upon me, and feel my ow;u ,. 
 INABILITY to perform it, I wish that there maj' b$ no reason for regretting the choice ; for indeed' 
 all I can promise i&binly to accomplish that vdiich can be done by an hbriest'^eil."— 10th volume 
 Sparks, p. 4G0. ,; ; ->,• ! i ■ .S : 
 
 A month later, writing to General Schuyler, he repeated the sentiment: 
 
 " It is only from the assurances of support wh'ch I have- received from the respectable and wor- 
 thy characters in every part of tlie Union, that I am able t9 overcome the difBdence which I have . 
 IN 3IT OWN abilities' to executc mj' great and important trust to the best interest of our country;. - 
 An honest zenl and an unremitting attention to the interests of the United States, are all I dsire ' 
 promise." — lOih vol. Sparks, p. 2. — where will also be found a similar letter to General Wayne. 
 
 Tlii? is precisely what General Taylor says, and were he to say less hp 
 would lose much of the general esteem he enjoys; for no man who would 
 approach such a high calling in any other than a spirit of humility and diffi- 
 dence should be honored with it, because he would be least likely (o adorn it. 
 
 Far be it from us, to reflect on the honOr or honesty of General Cass, be- 
 tween whom and General Taylor, as we have elsewhere remarked, thd deci- 
 sion is to be made. But we are frank to confess, that we distrust him. He- 
 is too much of a partisan, is too ultra in his views, has too many friends td 
 reward and too mnny enemies to punish, and is too far pledged to particu- 
 lar and sectional interests, to bid us. hope for anything wise or good froiW- 
 his election. He has not the firmness nor the fortitude for the times. Hei-' ' 
 is surrounded by courtiers, and must be governed by cliques and cabals. Afe- 1 
 a private citizen he^ may, perhaps, have no superiors ; biit as'a celebrated Eng- 
 lish writer, who had a clear conception of the human mind and 'its besetting' 
 passions, has well said, ^' men are geneially more honest in (heir private thafi' - 
 in their public capacity." Honoris a great check upon luankind ; but where'- 
 a man Ijecomes a pariisnn, this check is in a great meastu'e removed,'since ia' ■■ 
 man is sure to be approved of by his own pai'ly, for what promotes their iti'-"'- 
 terest ; and he soon learns to despise the clatuors of adversaries. Such is'-' 
 General Gass. He could iiot, nay, he dare not if lie would, so strong are fh6'' 
 influences that control him, look lo the clamors of his adversarie^-^He^^drfe ' 
 not consult the public good. Party, parly, and its interest -would' rtll6'4!l''i' 
 his actions and guide the destin-y, evil though it be, of the Reptiblfcl . '''i""' ' 
 
 There is. however, what should be with every friend of peace an in=upe'i*'>" = 
 able objection to sustaining him, either directly or otherwise. He hasshoWnJ*' 
 him=olf again and again hostile to their petitions, and by hia votes, at leasl!,»''' 
 invaded the rights of conscience. The Society of Friends, as a peaceful^'"/ 
 peace-loving people, \<'ere opposed to the Mexican' war, and obeying the dib^"^ 
 lates of duty they petitioned Congress " to devise and adopt such lueasitres*' ' 
 as would put a speedy end to its existence, with the multiplied evils and dirfe- 
 fnl calamities attendant upon it." And how was this prayer, so respectful iti : 
 itself, and so free from all political prejudice, received? The luemorials were,'? 
 laid on the table and their printing refused, Gen. Citss being of those who 
 gave them this summary disposition. We find the follovying in the Senate*3 
 Journal of proceedings of Wednesday, December 23(1^ 1840 : 
 
 " Mr. Atherton, from the Committee on Printing, to whom was referred a memorial of the rep-' 
 reBentalives of the Society of Friends of New England, reported that the same be not prints^.''- 
 The Senate proceeded to consider the report. 
 
On motion by ^Ir. Davis to amend the report, by striking out tlie word ••' not," it was determin- 
 -3<ed in the negative, yeas, 21, nays, 21. 
 
 ^ov On motion by Mr. Davis, the yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators present, 
 ^pthose who voted in the negative are — - ' 
 
 Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Atherton, Bagby, Benton, Breese, Bright, Butler, CASS, Chal- 
 ^^itners, Dickinson, Dix, Houston, Lewis, Semple, Sevier, Sturgeon, Turliey,. Westcott,'Y'U'.ee. 
 (01' The Senate being equally divided, the t'ice Pve^dent deterrained the question in the negative." 
 P,tSenaie Journal, 2d sess, 2[)ih Cong. p. CC-67. ' , . . ; 
 
 And on Wednesday, the 3d of Febmary, 1S47, the following proceedings 
 were had in the same body : 
 
 " The Senate proceeded to consider the report of the Committee on Printing on the motion to 
 _£; print the memorial of the BaltLinore yearly meeting of Friends, the memorial of the yearly meet- 
 ^ ling of Friends held in Philadelphia, and the memorial of the religious Society of Friends of In- 
 ' ^iana yearly meeting, to wit: " That the memorials be not printed ;"' and, on the question to con- 
 
 ^i)^Mr"in the report, it was determiftod in the affirmative, yeas, 2.3 ; nays, 21. 
 floi: ^1 itiotion by Mr. Atherton, the yeas and nays being desired by one-fifth of the Senators pTes- 
 erit, those who voted in the atBrmative are — 
 
 . ''Messrs. Allen, Ashley, Atchison, Atherton, Bagby, Benton, Breese, Bright, Butler^ Calhoun, CASS, 
 ' Chalmers, Dix, Hannegari, Houston, Niles, Rusk, Soule, Speight, Sturgeon, Turney, Westcott, Yulee. 
 
 So the motion to print the memorials was not agreed to. — Senate Journal, 2d sess., 23th Con- 
 -\v^f^^.'.i!vlG2. 
 
 "io I .We cajinot always failiom men's motives, perhaps, nor is it right to impugn 
 
 5t{jhem ; but '\i a man wishes to escape suspicion, if he would stand fair in the 
 judgment of the world, he must shape his conduct- aright, and keep aloof 
 from those whom (here is reason to adjudge guilty. We cannot avoid the 
 conclusion, however, that Gen. Cass, in voting against printing these memo- 
 rials at the last session of Congress, was operated on by the same motives 
 which induced one of his .parly friends of the Touse of Representatives, to 
 speak and vote against printing a simih^r memorial at this session. On the 
 10th of February, 1848, Mr. King, of Massachusetts, presented the memorial 
 of the representatives of the yearly meeting of the Society of Friends of 
 New England. It was referied to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, when 
 the question recurred on the motion to print it. The memorial being read. 
 
 '^•-Mr. Henley, of Indiana, addressed the House in opposition to the motion. 
 
 V His speech was as follows: 
 
 "Mr. Speaker : (said he) This is not the first time since this war began, that memorials of this 
 character have been presented to this House, containing the same views. And what do these me- 
 morialists ask for ? They pray Congress to feel the responsibility of the situation it occupies be- 
 fore the country, and to take measures to bring about a peace. When they come and ask us to 
 feel our responsibility before the country and bring about a peace, they charge us with not feeling 
 our responsibility, and with having no desire for peace. And in charging it they charge a falsehood 
 on this Congress ; or on that particular party against which they mean to make it. It is for this 
 reason that I desire to make a few remarks. I admit they are respectable people — I admit they are 
 good citizens. I am proud to acknowledge that there are many «f them in my own State and in my 
 own district. There are some of that class of people amongst my own relatives. Many of my 
 connexions are of that denomination of people. I know them, and they know they have been op- 
 posed to this country in every contest. In the holy war of the Revolution they were against their 
 country because of their peculiar notions on the subject of war. They may have been honest ; 
 but the fault oi this people is that they permit their peculiar notions to overcome their patriotism 
 and love of country. That is the fault they have committed. They may charge the fault on othera, 
 but I say we may charge it on them. They know that they were opposed to this country in the 
 last war with Great Britain. That every one will acknowledge. This people then prayed for 
 peace, and on what conditions ? Not because peace would secure the honor and glory of the na- 
 tional character, but they desired a peace at all hazards. And that is what these memoriahsts now 
 ask." * * '* " Though they are very honest and conscientious people, perhaps it may 
 be that on the subject of var they are not so conscientious as tliey might be. I know well that 
 they profess to be opposed to military chieftains as the oecupauts of the high offices of this Republic, 
 ^^ but they have voted for military chieftains for high office ; and may they not do it again 1 When 
 p^.they deemed it necessary, they could vote for a military chieftain of the Federal party, and may 
 they not at some period be brought to support a war ] Sir, I am opposed to the motion to print." — 
 National Intelligencer, February 11, 1848. 
 
 Whether it be calumnious or not to denounce a people as against their coun- 
 try in the Revolutionary war and the war of 1812, who gave Nathaniel Greene 
 to one and Jacob Brown to another, we shall leave the nation, and not Mr. 
 
Henley, to decide. The same tribunal can also decide, whether (hose who sus- 
 tained'Washinglon's drooping army at Valley Forge, and succored and relieved 
 the sick and wounded at Princeton and Trenton, at Brandy wine, and German- 
 town, and Guilfoid Court House, '' permit their peculiar notions to overcome 
 (heir patriotism and love of country." The more important question here, 
 as there can be no mistake as to this, is, why the petitions from a tjody of peo- 
 ple as industrious, as thriving, and as respectable as any in our country — pe- 
 tititions couched in the most decorous and inoffensive terms, were refused to 
 be printed, especially when the cost of printing would, in no instance, have 
 exceeded five dollars? Why did Gen. Cass so wound the feelings of such a 
 people? Was it, that like his friend and supporter, Mr. Henley, he thought 
 that " on the subject of war they are not so conscientious as they nu'ght be," 
 or that he also, had an account to settle with them for having voted for such 
 " military chieftains" as Washington and Harrison? At tliis particular time 
 this becomes a very pertinent inquiry, and we greatly fear, if fairly brought 
 to trial. Gen. Cass could, no more than Mr. Henley stand its test. Be that as 
 it may, it is a somewhat singular coincidence, that v^diile he and his Denioa^a- 
 tic friends formed a unit in the Senate, Mr. Henley, at another session of 
 Congress, came within an ace of rallying them, with like unanimity, to the 
 charge in which he played the leader. 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 " During the war against the Seminole Indians in Florida, Gen. Jcsup entered into an arrange- 
 jnent with the friendly Creeks who were in the service of the United States, by which it was stip- 
 ulated that they sfeouid retain for their services,, all the negroes they might capture. There was a 
 considerable number captured, and the Creeks, as it appears from the public document, to which we 
 shall presently refer " refused the $'8,000 offered them iiuder the direction of Gen. .Tesup, for their 
 interest in these negroes." Mr. Nathaniel F. Collins, of Alabama, was then appointed their attorney, 
 in fact to receive them. And an order was issued to the commanding oiilcer in Florida to deliver 
 them to him. The order went to Gen. Taylor, as he had succeeded Gen. .Tesup in the chief 
 command, subsequent to the time of its issue. He very positively refused, nevertheless, to comply 
 with its requirements, and the negroes never were delivered. The following is the correspondence 
 between the Adjutant General and Taylor : 
 
 Adjutant General's Office, Washington, May, 1838. 
 Sir : Herewith you will receive a copy of a communication made to the Secretary of War by the 
 Commissioner of Indian Affairs. The request contained therein having been approved by the Sec- 
 retary, you will please to give tho necessary attention to the matter, so far as you are concerned, 
 and comply with the requisition of Mr. Collins. 
 
 I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, R. JONES, Adjutant General. 
 
 Major General Jesup, Commanding Army in Florida, Tampa, Florida. 
 Brevet Major Zantzinger, Fort Fike, Louisiana, 
 
 Headquarters Army of the South, Tampa, Florida, June 2, 1838. 
 
 General: I have the honor to acknowledge your communication of the 10th of May, 1838, ac- 
 companied by one of the 9th, from the commissioner of Indian affairs, addressed to Capt. Cooper, 
 acting Secretary of War, on the subject of turning over certain negroes captured by the Creek 
 warriors in Florida, to a Mr. Collins, their agent, in compliance with an engagement of Gen. Jesup. 
 
 I know nothing of the negroes in question, nor of the subject, farther than what is contained in 
 the communication above referred to ; but I must state distinctly, for the information of all con- 
 cerned, that while I shall hold my.self ever ready to do the utmost in my power to get the Indians 
 and their negroes out of Florida, as well as to remove them to their homes west of the Mississippi, 
 I cannot for a moment consent to meddle in this transaction, or lo be concerned, for the benefit of 
 Mr. Collins, the Creek Indians, •r any one else ; or to interfj re in any way between the In- 
 dians AND their negroes, WHICH MAY HAVE A TENDENCY TO DEPRIVE THE FORMER OF THEIR I'ROHERTY, 
 
 AND REDUCE THE LATTER FROM A COMPARATIVE STATE OF FREEDOM TO 
 THAT OF SLAVERY; at the same time I shall take every means to obtain and restore to his 
 lawful owner nny slave among the Indians who has absconded or been captured by them. 
 
 Very respectfully, 1 have the honor to be, General, your obedient servant, Z. TAifLOR. 
 
 Brevet Brig. U. S. Army, Commanding. 
 Gen. R, Jomejb, Adjutant Gen. U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. 
 
 {Exeaieive Document %Z5, 3d sessic-n, 2bth Congress, pages 39 and 30.) 
 
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