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INDEPENDENCE OF HAYTI AND LIBERIA. 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 . ^ARLES SUMNER, 
 
 OF MASSACHUSETTS, 
 
 ON 
 
 THE BILL TO AUTHORIZE THE APPOINTMENT OF DIPLOMATIC REP- 
 RESENTATIVES TO THE REPUBLICS OF HAYTI AND LIBERIA, 
 
 WITH THE DEBATE THEREON; 
 
 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, APRIL 23 AND 24, 1862. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 PRINTED AT THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE OFFICE. 
 1862. 
 
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 i-liJ; 
 
 i 
 

SPEECH. 
 
 The Senate, as In Committee of the Whole, 
 proceeded to consider the bill (S. No. 184) to 
 authorize the President of the United States to 
 appoint diplomatic representatives to the republics 
 ■of Hayti and Liberia, respectively. 
 
 The bill proposes to authorise the President of 
 the United States, by and with the advice and 
 consent of the Senate, to appoint diplomatic rep- 
 resentatives of the United States to the republics 
 of Hayti and Liberia, respectively. Each of the 
 representatives so appointed is to be accredited 
 as commissioner and consul general, and is to 
 receive, out of any money in the Treasury not 
 otherwise appropriated, the compensation of com- 
 missioners provided for by the act of Congress 
 approved August 18, 1856; but the compensation 
 of the representative at Liberia is not to exceed 
 $4,00G. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. Mr. President, before pro- 
 ceeding with the statement which 1 am about to 
 make, I desire to move one or two small amend- 
 ments in the bill. In the eighth and ninth lines, 
 I move to strike out the words " out of any money 
 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated." If 
 these words do not amount to an appropriation, 
 they are superfluous; if they do amount to an 
 appropriation, I have no desire to have them in 
 the bill; therefore, I move to strike. them out. 
 
 The motion was agreed to. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. In line ten, instead of the 
 words " provided for by," I move to substitute 
 the words " according to." Itis merely a verbal 
 amendment. 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. That altera- 
 tion will be made according to the suggestion of 
 the Senator from Massachusetts, it being a mere 
 verbal amendment. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. In line twelve, after the word 
 "the," and before " compensation," I move to 
 insert the word " annual;" so that the sentence 
 shall read, " that the annual compensation of the 
 representative at Liberia shall not exceed $4, 000." 
 
 The amendment was agreed to. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. Mr. President, the independ- 
 ence of Hayti and Liberia has never yet been ac- 
 knowledged by our Government. It would at 
 any time be within the province of the President 
 to do this, either by receiving a diplomatic repre- 
 sentative from these republics, or by sending one 
 to them. The action of Congress is not necessary, 
 except so far as an appropriation may be needed 
 to sustain a mission. But the President has seen 
 fit, in his annual message, to invite such action. 
 By this bill Congress will associate itself with him 
 in the acknowledgment, which, viewed only as an 
 act of justice, comity, and good neighborhood, 
 must commend itself to all candid minds. 
 
 But, in proposing to appoint diplomatic repre- 
 sentatives, we necessarily contemplate the nego- 
 tiation of treaties and theestablishmentof friendly 
 relations with these two republics underthe sanc- 
 tions of international law and according to the 
 usage of nations. If it be important that such 
 treaties should be negotiated, and such relations 
 be established, then the present bill is entitled to 
 your support. Thus far our Government, ha- 
 bitually hospitable to all newly-formed republics, 
 has turned aside from Hayti and Liberia, although 
 the former has been an independent Power for 
 nearly sixty years, and the latter for nearly fifteen. 
 Of course, our national character has suffered 
 from this conduct, while our important commer- 
 cial relations with these countries have continued 
 without the customary support of treaties or the 
 active protection afforded by the presence of an 
 honored representative of our Government. It 
 is time to put an end to this anomalous state of 
 things. 
 ■It was my purpose, originally, to consider this 
 question at length in some of its general aspects; 
 to trace the character and history of the two re- 
 publics; to exhibit the struggles in our own coun- 
 try for the acknowledgment of their independence, 
 and to vindicate this act in all its manifest relations 
 to civilization. But such a disoussion is, I trust,, 
 unnecessary, and I shallcontent myself with afew 
 
considerations of a practical character — especially 
 in reply to the suggestion that diplomatic repre- 
 sentatives are not needed in our concerns with these 
 two republics. 
 
 Hayti is one of the most beautiful and import- 
 ant islands in the world, possessing remarkable 
 advantages in size, situation, climate, soil, produc- 
 tions, and mineral wealth. It is about three hun- 
 dred and thirty-eight miles in length from east to 
 west, and in breadth, from north to south, varies 
 from one hundred and forty-five miles to seventeen. 
 Its circumference, without including bays, meas- 
 ures eight hundred and forty-eight miles. Its sur- 
 face, exclusive of adjacent islands, is estimated at 
 thirty thousand five hundred and twenty-eight 
 square miles, being about the area of Ireland. In 
 size it is so considerable as to attract attention 
 among the islands of the world. In situation it is 
 commanding, being at the entrance to the Gulf of 
 Mexico, and within easy reach of all the islands 
 there. In climate, it issalubrious, with its natural 
 heats tempered by sea breezes. In soil, it is rich 
 with tropical luxuriance; various with mountains 
 and plains; watered by numerous rivers, and dot- 
 ted with lakes. In productions, it is abundant 
 beyond even the ordinary measure of such favored 
 regions. The mountains yield mahogany, satin- 
 wood, and lignum vitae, while the plains yield all 
 the bountiful returns of the tropics, including ba- 
 nanas, oranges, pine-apples, coffee, cocoa, sugar, 
 indigo, and cotton. Among the minerals are gold, 
 silver, platinum, mercury, copper, iron, sulphur, 
 and several kinds of precious stones. Such, in 
 brief, is the physical character of this wonderful 
 island, which, likelreland, is a " gem of the sea." 
 
 Originally discovered by Christopher Colum- 
 bus, who named it Hispaniola, or Little Spain, 
 this island was for a long time among the most 
 valued possessions of Spain, from which Power 
 it passed to France. Throwing off the Govern- 
 ment of the latter country, it has for nearly sixty 
 years maintained its independence before the 
 world, and performed honorably all its duties in 
 the family of nations. The republic of Hayti 
 once embraced the whole of the island. At pres- 
 ent it occupies a portion only, witli a population 
 of six hundred thousand souls. 
 
 The republic of Liberia extends along the west- 
 ern coast of Africa for a space of five hundred 
 miles, beginning at the British colony of Sierra 
 Leone, with an average breadth of fifty miles, 
 between latitude 4° 20' and 7° 30' north, embra- 
 cing an area of thirty thousand square miles, being 
 almost precisely the area of Hayti; so that these 
 two regions — one an island, and the other a strip 
 •of African sea-coast — are of the same size. I say 
 nothing of the origin of this republic, although it 
 •cannot be contemplated without the conviction 
 (that it is, perhaps, one of the most important 
 colonies ever planted. At last civilization has 
 obtained a foothold in Africa, almost under the 
 equator. 
 
 In soil and productions, if not in climate, this 
 region seems hardly less favored than Hayti. 
 Though so near the equator, the mercury seldom 
 ■rises above ninety degrees in the shade, and 
 ■never falls below sixty degrees. Most of the pro- 
 ductions which are found in the one are also found 
 
 in the other. But Liberia abounds in iron ore, 
 and it is said that copper and other metals exist 
 in the interior. It is, however, in sugar, cotton, 
 coffee, and palm-oil that Liberia seems destined 
 to excel. It has been said by a person familiar 
 with the country that it " bids fair to become one 
 of the greatest sugar-producing countries in the 
 world." The population embraces some fifteen 
 thousand persons, emigrants or their children, 
 from the United States, with a large native popu- 
 lation, held in subjection and already won to- 
 ward civilization, amounting to more than two 
 hundred thousand souls. 
 
 The argument for treaties with two countries 
 like these is strong, without pursuing the inquiry 
 further. But it becomes irresistible when we con- 
 sider the positive demands of our commerce in 
 these quarters. Even in spite of coldness, neglect, 
 and injustice, our commercial relations with these 
 countries have grown to a great importance. If 
 assured of the customary protection afforded by 
 treaties and the watchful presence of a diplomatic 
 representative, they must become of greater im- 
 portance still. 
 
 I have in my hands a tabular statement of the 
 commerce and navigation of the United States 
 with foreign countries, arranged in cyder accord- 
 ing to their amount, so that the country with the 
 largest commercial intercourse stands first. This 
 authentic statement has been prepared under my 
 directions at the Treasury Department for this 
 occasion. It will be found most interesting and 
 instructive. It is, however, too minute to be read 
 in debate. Here, under one head, will be found the 
 exportsfrom the United States; underanotherhead 
 the imports; and under other heads the number 
 of ships and tonnage; the whole so classified that 
 we may see at a glance the relative importance of 
 foreign countries in their commercial relations 
 with the United States. Such a statement is in 
 itself an argument. 
 
 It is in order to exhibit the precise position of 
 Hayti and Liberia in the scale that I have intro- 
 duced this table. When it is said that out of sixty 
 countries Hayti stands the twenty-seventh, and Li- 
 beria at least helps to make the twenty-ninth, this 
 is not enough. It must be observed that there 
 are no less than nine countries, like Canada and 
 Cuba, which, though enumerated separately, yet 
 belong to othernationalities. If these are excluded, 
 or added to their proper nationalities, Hayti will 
 rank as the sixteenth, and Liberia will take her 
 place underthe eighteenth. But if we examine this 
 table in its details, we shall find the important rel- 
 ative position of these two countries amply sus- 
 tained. Confining ourselves for the present to 
 Hayti, we have these remarkable results. 
 
 Hayti, in the exports which she receives from 
 us, stands next to Russia. The exports to Hayti 
 are $2,073,682; while those to Russia amount to 
 $2,744,219. But the imports from Hayti are 
 $2,062,723, while those from Russia are only 
 $1,532,190. In the number of vessels employed 
 Hayti is much the most important to us. Only 
 88 vessels are employed between the United States 
 and Russia, while 490 vessels, with correspond- 
 ing tonnage, are employed between the United 
 States and Hayti. So that, in the importance of 
 
commercial relations, Hayti stands above Russia, 
 where we have always been represented by a 
 minister plenipotentiary of the highest class, with 
 a secretary of legation, and have at this moment 
 no less than eight consuls besides. 
 
 It appears from the table that there are no less than 
 thirteen countries with which the United States 
 maintain diplomatic relations, although lower than 
 Hayti in the scale of commerce and navigation. 
 But this is not all. In point of fact, there are no 
 less than eight other countries, where we are now 
 represented by a minister resident, which do not 
 appear in any commercial tables. I refer to Swit- 
 zerland, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Hon- 
 duras, the Argentine Confederation, Paraguay, 
 and Bolivia. So that there are twenty-one coun- 
 tries of less commercial importance than Hayti, 
 with which the United States are now in diplo- 
 matic relations. 
 
 The exports to Austria, (including Venice,) 
 where we are represented by a minister plenipo- 
 tentiary of the first class, with a secretary of lega- 
 tion, and four consuls, are less than one half of 
 our exports to Hayti, while the number of ships 
 in this commerce is only 45, being 450 less than 
 in our commerce with Hayti. The exports to 
 Peru, wher* we are represented also by a minis- 
 ter of the first class, with a secretary of legation 
 and five consuls, are still less than those to Austria 
 
 Hayti, in this scale of commerce and naviga- 
 tion, stands above Sweden, Turkey, Central 
 America, Portugal, the Papal States, Japan, Den- 
 mark, Prussia, and Ecuador, where we are rep- 
 resented by ministers resident. It also stands 
 above the Sandwich Islands, where we are repre- 
 sented by a commissioner. Out of these countries 
 there are several whose united commerce with the 
 United States is inferior to that of Hayti. This 
 is the case with Turkey, Portugal, Denmark, and 
 Prussia, which altogether do not equal Hayti in 
 commercial relations with our country. 
 
 Our exports to Turkey in Europe and Turkey 
 in Asia combined are nearly two millions less than 
 to Hayti; and yet, with this Mohammedan Gov- 
 ernment we have felt it important within a few 
 weeks to negotiate a treaty of commerce. 
 
 The commerce with China is among the most 
 valuable we possess, and the ships engaged in it 
 are of alargesize; butin number they are inferior 
 to those engaged in the trade with Hayti. And 
 yet at China we have a minister of the first class, 
 with a salary of $12,000, an interpreter with a 
 salary of $5,000, two consuls, with salaries each 
 of$4,000, oneother consul, withasalary of$3,500, 
 twootherconsuls with salaries each of$3,000,and 
 two other consuls paid by fees. 
 
 Perhaps the comparison between Hayti and the 
 Sandwich Islands is the most instructive. Both 
 are islands, independent in government. Hayti 
 has a population of 600,000; the Sandwich Islands 
 have a population of little more than 70,000. The 
 exports to Hayti, as we have already seen, are 
 $2,673,682, while the exports to the Sandwich 
 Islands are only $747,462. And the difference in 
 navigation is as great. In commerce with Hayti 
 there are 489 ships, with an aggregate of 82,360 
 tons, while in commerce with the Sandwich Isl- 
 ands there are only 85 ships, with an aggregate 
 
 of 35,368 tons. And yet, at the Sandwich Islands, 
 with this inferior population, inferior commerce, 
 and inferior navigation, we are represented by a 
 commissioner, with a salary of $7, 500, one consul 
 with a salary of $4,000, another consul with a 
 salary of $3,000, and still another who is paid by 
 fees. 
 
 Nor is the interest in the trade with Hayti con- 
 fined to any particular State or section of the Uni- 
 ted States. From other authentic tables it appears 
 that the New England States send fish and cheap 
 cottons; Pennsylvania and the western States 
 send pork; Vermont, New York, Ohio, and Illi- 
 nois send beef, butter, and cheese; Philadelphia 
 and Boston send soap and candles; while Maine 
 sends lumber, and southern States, in times past, 
 have sent rice and tobacco. 
 
 Offish, Hayti took from us in 1860, 55,652 cwt., 
 being much more than was taken by any other 
 country except Cuba, which took 59,719 cwt.; 
 and much more than was taken by all the rest of 
 the West Indies. Of cotton manufactures, Hayti 
 took from us goods to the value of $228,000, being 
 more than was taken by many other countries to- 
 gether, and much more than was taken by Cuba 
 and Porto Rico together, the two remaining, but 
 most valuable American possessions of Spain. Of 
 butter, Hayti took 211,644 pounds; of cheese, 
 121,137 pounds; of lard, 675,163 pounds. But of 
 soap she took 2,602,132 pounds, being more than 
 twice as much as was taken by any other country. 
 Cuba, which stands next, took only 867,823 
 pounds, while Mexico took only 66,874 pounds. 
 
 Such are some of the articles, and I mention 
 them that you may see the distribution of this 
 commerce in our own country, as well as the ex- 
 tent to which, though pursued under difficulties, 
 it has already gone. (See Report of Secretary of 
 Treasury on Commerce and Navigation for 1860, 
 Statement No. 1.) 
 
 The practical advantages to be derived from the 
 recognition of Hayti were directly urged upon our 
 Government by one of its agents, even under the 
 unfriendly administration of President Pierce. I 
 refer to the consular return of John L. Wilson, 
 commercial agent at Cape Haytien, under date of 
 June 5, 1854, as follows: 
 
 " By a recognition of the independence of Hayti, our com- 
 merce would be likely to advance still more. Our citizens 
 trading there would enjoy more privileges, besides standing 
 on a belter fooling. Many decided advantages might also be 
 obtained through treaty, and our own Government exercise a 
 wholesome influehceover theirs, of which it stands much 
 in need." — Commercial Relations, vol. 4, p. 509. 
 
 Of course, this is to be regarded as testimony; 
 and, when we consider his political relations, testi- 
 mony from an unwilling witness. But there is 
 other testimony of a similar character. In the 
 text of the elaborate report by the Department of 
 State, from which the above is taken, will be 
 found the following weighty opinion: 
 
 " There being no treaty between the United States and 
 Hayti, the commerce between the two countries is gov- 
 erned by such local laws and regulations as may from time 
 to time be enacted. These are always subject to changes 
 and alterations, sometimes so sudden — decrees of to-day 
 superseding the laws in force but yesterday — that commer- 
 cial interests, especially those of the United States, have 
 been in many instances most seriously affected." — Com- 
 mercial Relations, vol. 1, p. 559. 
 
6 
 
 It appears that as late as June 25, 1850, a law 
 was in force subjecting- the vessels of all countries 
 that had not acknowledged the independence of 
 Hayti to an additional duty often percent. Amer- 
 ican vessels, being within the operation of this law, 
 could not compete with the vessels of other na- 
 tions which had satisfied its requirements, even 
 in exporting to Hayti our own staples. Then, 
 again, there was a tariff, which took effect in Jan- 
 uary, 1850, according to which certain articles 
 were not to be sold above certain fixed prices, the 
 effect of which was to make a most injurious dis- 
 crimination against our trade. A dispatch from 
 Aux Cayes at that period to the Department of 
 State, says: "While the citizens of Prance are 
 scarcely affected in their importations to Hayti, 
 the Americans here import, and our merchants at 
 home export, scarcely any article that is free." 
 (Commercial Relations, vol. l,p.560.) And yet, 
 in the face of these annoyances, and notwithstand- 
 ing the embarrassments which they must have oc- 
 casioned, our merchants have secured at least one 
 moiety of the foreign trade of Hayti. With the 
 same encouragements which we give to our rela- 
 tions with other countries, it cannot be doubted 
 that we shall enjoy a much larger proportion. 
 
 If any additional motive were needed, it might 
 be found in the political condition of the West 
 India Islands, and the present movements in Mex- 
 ico. Spain, quickened by ancient pride, has begun 
 to recover her former foothold, and it is some- 
 times supposed that France is willing to profit by 
 an imagined change of sentiment in her favor. 
 Thus far the republic of Hayti has been left with- 
 out sympathy or support from our country. That 
 it has been able to sustain itself so well gives as- 
 surance of still greater strength when surrounded 
 by more auspicious circumstances. Nor is the 
 influence of Hay ti to be neglected in adjusting that 
 balance of power which is becoming of daily im- 
 portance in the West Indies. It may be of value 
 to us that this republic should be among our 
 friends, while it cannot be doubted that our friend- 
 ship will contribute to its. security against danger 
 from any quarter whatsoever. It will be remem- 
 bered thatMr.Canningboastedsomewhatgrandly 
 that he called a new world into existence to re- 
 cover the balance of the old — alluding in this way 
 to the acknowledgment of the independence of the 
 Spanish colonies. In the same spirit and without 
 any exaggeration it may be said that by the ac- 
 knowledgment of Hayti, we shall provide a check 
 to the schemes of ambition at a distance, which 
 have latterly seemed to menace an undue predom- 
 inance in the West Indies. In this view, the present 
 proposition has a political importance which it is 
 difficult to measure. It becomes a pledge of per- 
 manent peace, as well as of commerce; but it can 
 have this character only if made effective, sin- 
 cerely and honestly, according to the usage of 
 nations. 
 
 Of the many colonies who, following our ex- 
 ample, have declared their independence, Hayti 
 was the first; and yet, by a strange perversity, it 
 is not yet recognized by our Government. We 
 are told that the last shall be first and the first 
 shall be last. This surely is a case where the first 
 ie the last. But it remains to be seen if, under 
 
 the genial influence of such a recognition, Hayt 
 may not become, among all independent colonies: 
 first in importance to us, as it was first in follow- 
 ing our example. 
 
 In acknowledging the independence of Hayti, 
 we follow too tardily the example of other nations. 
 France for a long time hesitated, as Spain hesi- 
 tated, to acknowledge the independence of its colo- 
 nial possessions. But in 1825 thiaconcession was 
 made under Charles X, while Hayti, on its part, 
 by treaty, stipulated to pay 150,000,000f.,as well 
 on account of the recognition as for an indemni- 
 fication to colonial proprietors. It was natural 
 that the mother country should hesitate ; but when 
 France abandoned all claims, every objection to the 
 recognition by other nations ceased. Accordingly, 
 this republic has been recognized, if noicordiall}'' 
 welcomed, by Great Britain, Spain, Denmark, 
 Holland, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Hanover, 
 and even by Austria, all of whom have represent- 
 atives there, duly chronicled in the Mmanach de 
 Gotha. 
 
 Thus far I have confined myself to the case of 
 Hayti. But Liberia has claims of its own. If our 
 commercial relations with this interesting country 
 are less important, they are nevertheless of such 
 consequence as to require protection , while this re- 
 public may properly look to us for parentalcare. 
 
 The commercial tables by which I have illus- 
 trated so completely the relative importance of 
 Hayti, are less precise with regard to Liberia, in- 
 asmuch as this republic, owing to unhappy pre- 
 judices in recent Administrations, was not allowed 
 a separate place in the tables, but was concealed 
 under the head of " other ports in Africa." But 
 from authentic sources I learn that the exports 
 from the single port of Monrovia for the year 
 1860, amounted to near $200,000, while those from 
 the whole republic amounted to as much as 
 $400,000. 
 
 I forbear from entering into details with regard 
 to the commerce of Liberia. It is enough that it 
 is already considerable, and that it is increasing 
 in value. Already Great Britain, by a treaty, and 
 the cultivation of friendly relations, has done 
 something to divert this commerce from the Uni- 
 ted States. But it is not too late for us also to enter 
 into a treaty, and to establish similar friendly re- 
 lations. If beyond the impulse of self-interest we 
 needed anything to quicken us, we should find it in 
 the example of Henry Clay, who, in a letter dated 
 Ashland, October 18, 1851, uses these positive 
 words: 
 
 " T have thought for years that the independence of Li- 
 beria ought to be recognized by our Government, and 1 have 
 frequently urged it upon persons connected with the Ad- 
 ministration, and 1 shall continue to do so if I have suita- 
 ble opportunities." 
 
 In taking this step , and entering into a treaty with 
 Liberia, we shall only follow the example of the 
 larger part of the commercial nations of the globe. 
 Nor can I doubt that we shall in this way essen- 
 tially promote ourown commercial interests. Li- 
 beria is so situated, that, with the favor of our 
 Government, it may become the metropolitan 
 Power on the whole African coast, so that the 
 growing commerce of that continent will be to a 
 great degree in its hands. 
 
ft 
 
 I do not dwell at length on the advantages which 
 will proceed from the recognition of these two 
 Governments, nor do I enlarge on the motives of 
 ustice. I; mean to state the case simply, without 
 introducing any topic which can justly cause de- 
 bate in this body. It is enough that the acknowl- 
 edgment is required for our own good. Happily, 
 in benefiting ourselves, we shall promote the inter- 
 ests of others. 
 
 But there is one consequence which I cannot 
 forbear to specify. Emigrants to these republics 
 will be multiplied by such a recognition. But 
 every emigrant, when happily established, will 
 create an additional demand for the productions 
 of our commerce, and contribute to the number 
 of American keels which plow the ocean. 
 
 And there is yet one other consequence, which 
 ought expressly to be presented. Our commerce 
 will at once be put under the solemn safeguard of 
 treaties, so that it will enjoy that security which 
 is essential to its perfect prosperity, and can no 
 longer suffer from discriminating duties or hostile 
 legislation, aroused by a just sensibility at our 
 persevering illiberality. If you would have such 
 treaties, you must begin by an acknowledgment 
 of independence. 
 
 Sir, ther,e#s one business only which can suf- 
 fer by this measure. I mean that of counterfeit 
 money. You know, sir, that by a familiar rule of 
 international law, declared by the Supreme Court 
 of the United States, (Kensett vs. Chambers, 14 
 Howard's Reports, 38,) it belongs exclusively to 
 the political department of the Government to 
 determine our relations with a foreign country. 
 And. since our Government has refused to ac- 
 knowledge Hayti, our courts of justice have been 
 obliged to do so likewise; and when criminals 
 have been arraigned for counterfeiting the money 
 of 'Hayti, they have declined all jurisdiction of 
 the offense. As Hayti was not a nation, it could 
 not have money. Such has been the reasoning, 
 and the counterfeiters have gone free. It is said 
 that during the past thirty years millions of false 
 dollars have in this way been put in circulation. A 
 case has occurred only recently, where the coun- 
 terfeiter was promptly discharged, while the wit- 
 ness seemed alone to be in danger. Surely, it is 
 time that such an outrage should be stopped. 
 
 It may be said that the same objects might be 
 obtained by consuls, instead of commissioners. 
 But it is clear that it has not been the habit of the 
 United States to enter upon negotiations and open 
 friendly relations with foreign States through 
 consuls. And it is also clear that, according to the 
 usage of nations, consuls would not be entitled to 
 the same consideration with diplomatic represent- 
 atives. Their influence would l}e less, whether 
 in dealing with the Government to which they 
 were addressed, or with the representatives of 
 other Powers at the same place. On this point I 
 content myself by reading the words of Mr. 
 Wheaton: 
 
 " Consuls are not public ministers. Whatever protection 
 they may be entitled to in the discharge of their official du- 
 
 ties, and whatever special privileges may be conferred upon 
 them by the local laws and usages, or by international com- 
 pact, they are not entitled, by the general law of nations, to 
 the peculiar immunities of embassadors. No State is bound 
 to permit the residence of foreign consuls, unless it has 
 stipulated, by convention, to receive them. They are to be 
 approved and admitted by the local sovereign, and, if guilty 
 of illegal or improper conduct, are liable to have the exe- 
 quatur which is granted them withdrawn, and may be pun- 
 ished by the laws of the State where they reside, or sent 
 back to their own country, at the discretion of the Govern- 
 ment which they have offended. In civil and criminal cases, 
 they are subject to the local law in the same manner with 
 other foreign residents owing a temporary allegiance to the 
 State." — Wheaton' s Elements of International Law, p. 304. 
 
 It may be true that negotiations have sometimes 
 been conducted by consuls, but very rarely, and 
 the exceptions testify to the prevailing policy. 
 Ministers are the received agents of diplomacy. 
 Any other agent must be inferior in weight and 
 character. If this be true, and it is undeniable, it 
 is obvious that the objects now proposed can be 
 most fitly and effectively accomplished only by 
 diplomatic representatives. And since what is 
 worth doing is worth well doing, I hope there will 
 be no hesitation on the present occasion. Here 
 again the example of the great Powers of Europe 
 may properly influence us. England, France, and 
 Spain all have diplomatic representatives at Hayti, 
 who are reputed to discharge their responsible 
 duties with activity and ability. But all these have 
 already the advantage of subsisting treaties. Our 
 treaty remains to be negotiated. To do this in 
 such a way as to secure for our various interests 
 all proper advantages must be our special aim. 
 Surely any further neglect to do this can be noth- 
 ing less than an open abandonment of these va- 
 rious interests. Too long already this sacrifice 
 has been made. 
 
 Mr. President, a full generation has passed 
 since the acknowledgment of Hayti was urged 
 upon Congress. As an act of justice too long de- 
 ferred, it aroused even then the active sympathy 
 of multitudes, while as an act for the benefit of 
 our commerce it was ably commended by emi- 
 nent merchants of Boston and New York without 
 distinction of party. It received the authoritative 
 support of John Gluincy Adams, whose vindica- 
 tion of Hayti was associated with his best labors 
 in the other House. The right of petition, which 
 he steadfastly maintained, was long ago estab- 
 lished. Slavery in the national capital is now 
 abolished. It remains that this other triumph 
 shall be achieved. Petitioners, who years ago 
 united in this prayer, and statesmen who pre- 
 sented the petitions, are dead. But they will all 
 live again in the good work which they generously 
 began. 
 
 Mr. President, this is the statement I have to 
 make on this important question. As 1 know that 
 the Senator from Kentucky [Mr. Davis] desires 
 to move an amendment to this bill, I shall not ask 
 a vote upon it to-day, but I move that its further 
 consideration be postponed until to-morrow at 
 half past twelve o'clock, when I hope we may 
 have a vote upon it. 
 
 The motion was agreed to. 
 
8 
 
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DEBATE. 
 
 The Senate, as in Committee of the Whole, re- 
 sumed the consideration of the bill (S. No. 184) 
 to authorize the President of the United States to 
 appoint diplomatic representatives to the repub- 
 lics of Hayti and Liberia respectively. 
 
 Mr. DAVIS. I move an amendment in the 
 nature of a substitute to the bill, to strike out all 
 after the enacting clause, and insert: 
 
 That the President of the United States be, and hereby 
 is, authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the 
 Senate, to appoint a consul to the republic of Liberia, and 
 a consul general to the republic of Hayti, respectively, with 
 powers to negotiate treaties of amity, friendship, and com- 
 merce between the United States and those republics. 
 
 Mr. President, I am weary, sick, disgusted, 
 despondent with the introduction of the subject of 
 slaves and slavery into the Chamber; and if I had 
 not happened to be a member of the committee 
 from which this bill was reported, I should not 
 have opened my mouth upon the subject. 
 
 I opposed in committee the form of the bill 
 which has been reported, and then gave notice 
 that I would resist the bill in the Senate ; but at the 
 same time I signified my willingness to do some- 
 thing, and , indeed, offered a measure in substance 
 the same as the bill the committee reported, so far 
 as commercial relations are concerned. In ordi- 
 nary times this bill would have no particular in- 
 terest, and it is only as a series of a system of 
 measures that manifest a deliberate purpose to as- 
 sail the institution of slavery in the slave States 
 everywhere, and to push that assault to final suc- 
 cess, that this measure has any interest, according 
 to any opinion which I can form of it. What 
 does the bill propose to do in addition to what is 
 offered to be done by the substitute which I have 
 presented ? It is to establish diplomatic relations 
 between the negro republics of Liberia and Hayti 
 and the United States. I have not the least objec- 
 tion to the recognition by our Government of the 
 existence of those two republics as independent 
 Powers, and I have no objection to any extent of 
 commercial relations between our country and 
 those two republics. I have no objection to the 
 negotiation of a treaty of amity and commerce and 
 friendship between our Government and the Gov- 
 ernments of those countries; but I oppose the 
 sending of embassadors of any class from our 
 Government to theirs, upon this consideration: it 
 would establish, diplomatically, terms of mutual 
 and equal reciprocity between the two countries 
 and us. If, after such a measure should take effect, 
 
 the republic of Hayti and the republic of Liberia 
 were to send their ministers plenipotentiary or 
 their charges d'affaires to our Government, they 
 would have to be received by the President and 
 by all the functionaries of the Government upon 
 the same terms of equality with similar represent- 
 atives from other Powers. If a full-blooded ne- 
 gro were sent in that capacity from either of those 
 countries, by the laws of nations he could demand 
 that he be received precisely on the same terms 
 of equality with the white representatives from the 
 Powers of the earth composed of white people. 
 When the President opened his saloons to the re- 
 ception of the diplomatic corps, when he gave his 
 entertainments to such diplomats, the represent-, 
 atives, of whatever color, from those countries 
 would have the right to demand admission upon 
 terms of equality with all other diplomats; and if 
 they had families consisting of negro wives and 
 negro daughters, they would have the right to ask 
 that their families also be invited to such occa- 
 sions, and that they go there and mingle with the 
 whites of our own country and of other countries 
 that happened to be present. We recollect that a 
 few years ago the refined French court admitted 
 and received the representative of Soulouque, who 
 then denominated himself or was called the Em- 
 peror of Dominica, I think. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. Of Hayti. 
 
 Mr. DAVIS. Well, a great big negro fellow, 
 dressed out with his silver or gold lace clothes in 
 the most fantastic and gaudy style, presented him- 
 self in the courtof Louis Napoleon, and, I admit, 
 was received. Now, sir, I want no such exhi- 
 bition as that in our capital and in our Government. 
 The American minister, Mr. Mason, was present 
 on that occasion, and he was sleeved by some 
 Englishman — I have forgotten his name — who 
 was present, who pointed him to the embassador 
 of Soulouque, and said, "What do you think of 
 him?" Mr. Mason turned round and said, "I think, 
 clothes and all, he is worth $1,000." [Laughter.] 
 
 Now, Mr. President, I am friendly to both these 
 infant negro republics. Both of them are, to a 
 greater or less extent, mixed. I see it announced 
 in the papers this morning that England has 
 brought over Spain to her view in relation to the 
 attack upon Mexico, by promising not to inter- 
 fere in the enterprise of Spain in the reconquest 
 and subjugation of the whole island of San Do- 
 mingo. In such a controversy'.my sympathies 
 would be with the negro and against Spain. I 
 
11 
 
 should want the present power and government 
 of that island to maintain its independence. That 
 would be my judgment and my feeling in relation 
 to the matter. I am not less, but a great deal 
 more, friendly to the republic of Liberia. I con- 
 sider that an offshoot from our country. I have 
 long contemplated the enterprise of establishing 
 a negro republic upon the western coast of Africa 
 with feelings of the greatest interest and hope. I 
 have contributed my money towards the enter- 
 prise, and I expect still to do so. I. want this 
 Government and the people of the United States 
 to extend all sympathy and all aid consistent with 
 our power under the Constitution to that infant 
 republic, in building it up, and developing it to a 
 great degree of power and of civilization, if it be 
 practicable. I would want our Government, like 
 a true mother does to her own natural offspring, 
 when it is crawling upon the floor, to take that 
 offspring by the hand and lift it upon its feet and 
 teach it to walk. I would want our Government 
 to tend and to nurse that republic in its infancy, 
 and to give it all theassistanceandprotection that 
 it possibly can, except upon the terms of equality. 
 If that republic should be menaced by a foreign 
 Power or by foreign attack, or should desire to 
 suppress the slave trade, I should want our ships 
 and our cruisers, and our arms, if need be, to be 
 sent there to give it all assistance to protect it 
 against such aggression. I do not believe that 
 the scheme will ever succeed to the extent of the 
 hopes of the benevolent and great founders of the 
 enterprise. I trust that I may be disappointed, 
 and more than disappointed, in the opinion which 
 I have formed. The growth of that colony has 
 been slow, but nearly as rapid as that of Ply- 
 mouth, and that of the colony in Virginia when 
 it was planted at Williamsburgh first. It may 
 be that the slowness of this growth will give it a 
 more vigorous and a protracted existence when it 
 has reached somewhat to maturity. I hope so. 
 I wish as many colored people, to use the mild 
 term, as can be induced to go there, to go and to 
 cast their destinies in the land of their fathers. If 
 they and their friends can succeed in building up 
 a self-sustaining negro republic or empire, that 
 will bear back to the benighted and pagan regions 
 of Africa the civilization and the Christianity of 
 their masters, be it so. It would be a noble retri- 
 bution to that race. But any legitimate assist- 
 ance which we can render to such an enterprise 
 and such a philanthropic object, we can render 
 without the passage of the measure under consid- 
 eration to place these two republics on a perfect 
 equality diplomatically with our own. I there- 
 fore propose, with. a view not to excite prejudice 
 anywhere in the United States against these re- 
 publics, that the measure shall pass in the form 
 of the amendment which I have offered. The in- 
 dependence of these republics can be recognized 
 as well in that form as in that proposed by the 
 original bill, and every friendship, every favor, 
 every protection that they can properly receive 
 from our country can be given under the substi- 
 tute as well as under the original bill. 
 
 Mr. President, I regretto have felt myself forced 
 to speak the words upon this subject I have. I 
 do begin to nauseate the subject of slaves and sla- 
 
 very in debate in this Chamber; and it was only 
 because this measure has been perseveringly and 
 uniformly opposed from the slave States hereto- 
 fore, and I know is distasteful, to a very consid- 
 erable extent, to the people of those States, and 
 because the measure, in the form in which it has 
 been reported, would have the effect, in my opin- 
 ion, to increase this feeling,. that I have thought 
 it incumbent on me to say a word. I have not 
 any idea that the measure which I have offered 
 will in the present Senate receive such a vote as 
 will cause it to be adopted. Perhaps it will re- 
 ceive no vote at all of any consequence between 
 the two extremes. I have discharged what I have 
 felt I was required to do under the force of the 
 opposition which I gave to the measure when it 
 was under consideration in the Committee on 
 Foreign Relations, and my pledge then to oppose 
 it when it came into the Senate. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. Mr. President, the Senate will 
 bear me witness that in presenting this important 
 question yesterday, I made no allusion to the 
 character of the population of the two repub- 
 lics. I made no appeal for them on account of 
 their color. 1 did not allude to the unhappy cir- 
 cumstance in their history, that they had once 
 been slaves. It is the Senator from Kentucky 
 who has introduced this topic into debate. And 
 not only this, sir, he has followed it by alluding 
 to some possible difficulties — I hardly know how to 
 characterize them — which may occur here in so- 
 cial life, should the Congress of the United States 
 undertake at this late day, simply in harmony 
 with the law of nations, and following the policy 
 of civilized communities, to pass the bill now un- 
 der discussion. I shall not follow the Senator on 
 those sensitive topics. I content myself with a 
 single remark. I have more than once had" the 
 opportunity of meeting citizens of these repub- 
 lics, and I say nothing more than truth when I 
 add that I have found them so refined and so full 
 of self-respect that I am led to believe no one of 
 them charged with a mission from his Govern- 
 ment will seek any society where he will not be 
 entirely welcome. Sir, the Senator from Ken- 
 tucky may banish all anxiety on that account. 
 No representative from Hayti or Liberia will 
 trouble him. 
 
 But the proposition of the Senator makes a 
 precise objection to the bill, which I am ready 
 to meet. He insists that we shall be repre- 
 sented at these two republics by consuls only, 
 and not by diplomatic agents. Yesterday, in the 
 remarks 1 had the honor of addressing to the Sen- 
 ate, 1 anticipated this very objection. I quoted 
 then the authoritative words of Mr. Wheaton in 
 his work on the law of nations, where he sets forth 
 the distinction between ministers and consuls, and 
 shows the greater advantage to be derived from a 
 representation by one rather than by the other. I 
 follow up that quotation now by reading a pas- 
 sage from another work. It is a treatise on inter- 
 national law and the laws of war, by General 
 Halleck; andas Iquotethisauthority,whichisnot 
 yet much known, 1 venture to remark that I doubt 
 if there is any recent contribution to the literature 
 of the law of nations which, upon the whole, is 
 of more practical value. In a few words he states 
 
12 
 
 the character of consuls. 1 quote from him as 
 follows: 
 
 " Consuls have neither the representative nor diplomatic 
 character of public ministers. They have no right of ex- 
 territoriality ; and therefore cannot claim either for them- 
 selves, their families, houses, or property, the privileges of 
 exemption which, by this fiction of law, are accorded to 
 diplomatic agents who are considered as representing, in a 
 greater or less degree, the sovereignty of the State which 
 appoints them. They, however, are officers of a foreign 
 State, and when recognized as such by the exequator of the 
 State in which they exercise their functions, they are under 
 the special protection of the law of nations. Consuls are 
 sometimes made also charges d'affaires, in which cases 
 they are furnished with credentials, and enjoy diplomatic 
 privileges ; but these result only from their character as 
 charges, and not as consuls." — International Law or Rules 
 Regulating the Intercourse of States in Peace and War, by 
 H.^W. Halleck, Ji. M., p. 242. 
 
 The committee who had the subject in charge, 
 taking it into most careful consideration, as I 
 believe the Senator from Kentucky will confess, 
 deliberately reached the conclusion that it was 
 advisable for the United States at this moment 
 to be represented at each of those republics by a 
 person of diplomatic character. The committee 
 put aside the proposition that we should be repre- 
 sented merely by a consul. It was felt that such 
 an officer would not adequately do all that our 
 country might justly expect to have done. Nor 
 was this all. We were guided also by the pre- 
 cedents of our Government. There are twenty- 
 three different States lower down in the scale of 
 commerce and navigation with the United States, 
 where we are now represented by diplomatic 
 agents. One of these, as I explained yesterday, 
 is the Sandwich Islands, with a population of only 
 eighty thousand people, and with a commerce 
 and navigation vastly inferior to that between the 
 United States and Hayti. 
 
 Mr. DAVIS. I think we have too many. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. Possibly. I go into no in- 
 quiry on that point. Suffice it to say we already 
 have these twenty-three diplomatic representa- 
 tives, and one of these is at the Sandwich Islands, 
 with a population, a commerce, and navigation 
 inferior to that of Hayti. Besides, at the Sand- 
 wich Islands we have three consuls highly paid. 
 If we have too many, let us reduce the list, but 
 do not commence our economies on Hayti and 
 Liberia. 
 
 Nor is this all, sir. The committee in their con- 
 clusion followed the usage of nations, and also the 
 example of the great Powers at this moment, at 
 Hayti. In presenting this measure, I make no 
 appeal on account of an oppressed race. 1 urge 
 it simply as an act for our own good. We go 
 about the world hunting up the smaller Powers, 
 where to enter into treaties and to place diplo- 
 matic representatives, under the temptation of 
 petty commercial advantages. Thus far we have 
 stood aloof from two important opportunities, as 
 I would characterize them, of extending and 
 strengthening our influence. It is time to change. 
 
 In Hayti we are represented now by what" is 
 called a commercial agent, not enjoying even con- 
 sular powers or privileges, a gentleman of my 
 own State, an intelligent, active, instructed, care- 
 ful observer of men and of things. I have in my 
 hand a dispatch very recently addressed by him 
 to the Department of State, and as it presents an 
 
 idea of the actual condition of things in Hayti at 
 this moment, I shall send it to the desk and ask 
 that it be read. Let the Senate listen to this let- 
 ter, and they will see something of the embarrass- 
 ments to which our interests are now exposed 
 from the absence of a diplomatic representative 
 there. 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The hour of 
 one o'clock having arrived the further considera- 
 tion of this bill is superseded 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. I think we can dispose of this 
 bill in a short time. 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair will 
 state the condition of the question. The hour of 
 one o'clock having arrived, the special order for 
 that hour comes up, which is the bill (S. No 151) 
 to confiscate the property and free the slaves of 
 rebels. The direct question upon that bill is a mod- 
 ification of the original bill, moved as an amend- 
 ment by the Senator from Ohio, [Mr. Sherman.] 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. I hope that by general con- 
 sent we shall proceed with this question now. I 
 think we can come to a vote upon it very soon. 
 
 Mr. TRUMBULL. I cannot consent to that. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. I ask the Senator to consent 
 to it for fifteen minutes. 
 
 Mr. TRUMBULL. I trust not. 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Senate bill No. 
 151 is, of its own force, by order of the body, now 
 before the Senate for consideration. Itsupersedes 
 the previous question without motion. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. I hope the Senator from Illi- 
 nois will allow us a few minutes to dispose of this 
 bill. 
 
 Mr. TRUMBULL. If I was merely asked to 
 allow a vote to be taken, I should not object; but 
 it is evident that will not be arrived at very soon. 
 Other things have crowded the confiscation bill 
 out of place so often, and the Senator from Mas- 
 sachusetts has had it postponed so many days that 
 I do not think it is proper for him to ask that it 
 should be postponed for any other business. I 
 insist on the order of the day. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. Mr. President 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator 
 from Massachusetts will allow the Chair to state 
 the proper question before the body. The object 
 of the Senator from Massachusetts can only be 
 reached now by a motion to postpone, for the 
 time being, Senate bill No. 151. That is the bill 
 of its own force, under the rule of the Senate, 
 before the body for consideration. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. Should there be any discus- 
 sion occupying any time, I shall cheerfully allow 
 the bill which has been under debate this morn- 
 ing to go over until to-morrow. 
 
 Mr. TRUMBULL. If I am asked simply to 
 yield to allow a vote to be taken, I have no objec- 
 tion to that. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. I merely wish to have the 
 letter read, and then I shall call for a vote; and 
 should there be a promise of discussion after that, 
 I will consent to a postponement. 
 
 Mr. TRUMBULL. I am willing, for one, to 
 allow the vote to be taken on this proposition; 
 but I am not willing to allow the discussion to be 
 continued. If the Senate is ready and willing to 
 vote, I have no objection. 
 
13 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. If no objec- 
 tion be interposed , the letter sent to the Secretary 'a 
 desk by the Senator from Massachusetts will be 
 read, and the question put upon the amendment 
 offered by the Senator from Kentucky to Senate 
 bill No. 184. 
 
 Mr. TRUMBULL. That is with the under- 
 standing that I may call up the confiscation bill in 
 case the vote cannot be taken, I suppose. 
 
 Mr. SAULSBURY. I do not propose to dis- 
 cuss this measure; but I propose to assign, very 
 briefly, some reasons why I shall vote against it. 
 
 Mr. TRUMBULL. Then I insist on the order 
 of the day. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. Then I move that the Senate 
 postpone all prior orders, in order to proceed with 
 the consideration of Senate bill No. 184. 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Senate bill 
 No. 151, to confiscate the property and free the 
 slaves of rebels, is the bill before the Senate, by 
 special order of the Senate, at this hour, and the 
 Senator from Massachusetts now moves to post- 
 pone that special order for the consideration of 
 the bill indicated by him which has been under 
 debate during the morning. 
 
 Mr. TRUMBULL. I trust that will not be 
 done. 
 
 The motion was not agreed to. 
 
 [After the consideration of the confiscation bill, 
 at a later hour of the day the debate on the Hayti 
 and Liberia bill was resumed.] 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. Perhaps the Senate, before pro- 
 ceeding to the consideration ofexecutive business, 
 in which I am interested also as much as the Sen- 
 ator from Illinois, would take the vote on the Hayti 
 bill which we had under discussion during the 
 morning hour. 
 
 Mr. BROWNING. I have no objection to that, 
 if it is supposed the vote can be reached. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. I think it can be. The Sen- 
 ator from Delaware [Mr. Saulsbury] proposes 
 to make a few remarks, but I understood from 
 him it would be only for a moment. 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The pending 
 question must be disposed of before another bill 
 can be taken up for consideration. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. I will move that the present 
 bill be postponed until one o'clock to-morrow and 
 made the special order for that hour. 
 
 The motion was agreed to; two thirds of the 
 Senate concurring therein. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. Now, I move that the Senate 
 proceed to consider the bill authorizing diplomatic 
 relations with Hayti and Liberia. 
 
 The motion was agreed to; and the Senate, as 
 in Committee of the Whole, resumed the consid- 
 eration of the bill (S. No. 184) to authorize the 
 President of the United States to appoint diplo- 
 matic representatives to the republics of Hayti 
 and Liberia respectively. 
 
 Mr. SUMNER. There is a letter from the 
 commercial agent of the United States at Hayti 
 which I sent to the desk to be read just as the dis- 
 cussion closed this morning. 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The question 
 pending is on the amendment, in the form of a 
 substitute, proposed by the Senator from Ken- 
 tucky, [Mr. Davis.] The Senator from Massa- 
 
 chusetts sends forward to the desk, as a part of 
 his argument, a letter, which will be read: 
 The Secretary read it, as follows: 
 
 United States Commercial Agency, 
 Port ao Prince, Hayti, December 12, 1861. 
 
 Sir: Not being in receipt of any of your favors, I have 
 tlic lionor to inform the Department that since the date of 
 my last dispatch this country has been perfectly tranquil. 
 No further sign of insurrection has appeared; the commer- 
 cial movements of the country have not been disturbed, 
 and the public funds and currency have not fallen. 
 
 I deem it my duty to call the earnest attention of the De- 
 partment to the activity of European Powers in this place, 
 and to the determined and concerted attempt which is ap- 
 parently being made to drive American trade from the island 
 and to destroy our influence among the Haytien people. 
 
 In the first place an almost entire change has just been 
 made in the personnel of the foreign legations here. England 
 has just recalled Mr. Spencer St. John from the East In- 
 dies, and appointed him charge d'affaires and consul gen- 
 eral here. His vice consul is Mr. Henry Byron, who is 
 thoroughly acquainted with Haytien affairs, having been 
 here many years, and identified himself with the country by 
 marrying a Haytien wife. The Marquis de Forbin Janson 
 has just arrived at Port au Prince as French charge and con- 
 sul general, together with a new chancellor and secretary 
 of legation. Signor Antonio Alvarez, with a new secretary 
 of legation, has likewise just been made charge and consul 
 general for Spain. He has been transferred from St. Do- 
 mingo City, where he represented Spain when she occupied 
 Dominica. 
 
 These are all able men, much more so than their prede- 
 cessors, and they are acting in union wherever they can, 
 to cripple the power and interest of the United States in 
 Hayti. Their liberal salaries enable them to assume a style 
 of living and a place in the social world of H.iyti entirely 
 beyond my reach; and there is nothing, or next to nothing, 
 to counteract their activity. 
 
 I must say with frankness to the Department, that I find 
 my position much embarrassed by the failure of our Gov- 
 ernment to take any step towards acknowledging the na- 
 tionality of Hayti, or entering into the usual relations of 
 comity which exist between neighboring peoples. The 
 Haytiens believed that when the present Administration 
 came into power in the United States, our former coldness 
 and neglect would cease; and they feel, and do not hesi- 
 tate to express, a bitter disappointment that nothing has 
 yet been done. This makes itself felt in a thousand ways, 
 difficult to describe, in the intercourse of the Haytien Gov- 
 ernment with me, though they treat me personally with 
 entire respect. 
 
 Our commercial and navigation interests are very large 
 in Hayti, and they are suffering from the present state of 
 things. Apart from the depressing effectof the war, a still 
 greater depression of our Haytien trade has been caused by 
 the circumstances I have named. Few Haytiens will now 
 charter an American vessel, or transact their business with 
 American houses, unless absolutely necessary. And in spite 
 of what little I can do as commercial agent this feeling is 
 increasing. It is a feeling of very recent growth, and one, 
 as I have named, that has been to a great degree stimulated 
 by the foreign representatives here ; but, in my judgment, 
 it threatens the most serious consequences to the perma- 
 nency and stability of our commerce with Hayti, and unless 
 something is done to check it, we shall probably be sub- 
 stantially driven from the island. 
 
 As an example of this feeling, I would state that about a 
 month ago our vice commercial agent at Gonaivcs, who had 
 been in the habit of hoisting an American flag at his coun- 
 try house, just outside the town, on Sundays and holidays, 
 without interruption from the authorities, was ordered to 
 take down his flag-staff" at that place, and requested to con- 
 fine himself, so far as hoisting his flag went, to his consu- 
 late in the town. I looked into the matter, and not being 
 able to satisfy myself that, under the former practice and 
 general police regulations of Hayti, he had anything which 
 could be insisted on as aright to have a flag there, I did not 
 make a point of it with the Government. The occurrence 
 is significant, and would not have happened three months 
 ago. 
 
 I beg leave to repeat to the Department my conviction 
 that our Government ought to lose no time in acknowledg- 
 ing the independence of Hayti, and sending a diplomatic 
 legation here, to counteract the schemes of foregn Powers. 
 
14 
 
 Situated as I am, merely tolerated, without diplomatic 
 powers, without even consular powers, an'd cramped in 
 every way by a mere pittance of a salary, in a city which is 
 most expensive to live in, while I promise the Department 
 to use my utmost exertions to protect and extend the com- 
 mercial and political interests of our country in the island, 
 I can, nevertheless, do little good at present. 
 I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, 
 
 SETH WEBB, Jr., 
 United States Commercial Agent. 
 Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State. 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore.. The question 
 is on the amendment of the Senator from Ken- 
 tucky, in the form of a substitute for the entire 
 bill. 
 
 Mr. POWELL. On that I demand the yeas 
 and nays. 
 
 The yeas and nays were ordered. 
 
 Mr. POWELL. I will ask to have the amend- 
 ment reported. 
 
 The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair will 
 put the question to the Senate. It is not in the 
 province of a single Senator to demand the read- 
 ing of any paper after it has once been read. The 
 Senator from Kentucky asks for the second read- 
 ing of the amendment. Shall it be again read ? 
 
 The question being put, it was decided in the 
 affirmative. 
 
 The Secretary read the amendment, to strike 
 outall of the original bill after the enacting clause, 
 and to insert in lieu thereof the following: 
 
 That the President of the United States be, and hereby 
 is, authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the 
 Senate, to appoint a consul to the republic of Liberia, and 
 a consul general to the republic of Hayti, respectively, witli 
 power to negotiate treaties of amity, friendship, and com- 
 merce between the United States and those republics. 
 
 The question being taken by yeas and nays, 
 resulted — yeas 8, nays 30; as follows: 
 
 YEAS — Messrs. Davis, Henderson, Latham, Powell, 
 Saulsbury, Stark, Thomson, and Willey — 8. 
 
 NAYS— Messrs. Anthony, Browning, Chandler, Clark, 
 Collamer, Cowan, Dixon, Doolittle,Fessenden, Foot, Fos- 
 ter, Grimes, Hale, Howard, Howe, King, Lane of Indiana, 
 Lane of Kansas, McDougall, Morrill, Pomeroy, Sherman, 
 Simmons, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkin- 
 son, Wilson of Massachusetts, and Wright — 30. 
 
 So the amendment was rejected. 
 
 The bill was reported to the Senate as amended , 
 and the amendments were concurred in. 
 
 The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third 
 reading, and it was read the third time. 
 
 Mr. SAULSBURY. After the vote just taken 
 
 in the Senate I shall not trespass upon their atten- 
 tion, as I intended to do, only for a brief period 
 however. It is evident that this bill is going to 
 pass. I want the country, however, to know that 
 according to the rules of the Senate foreign minis- 
 ters have a right upon this floor, and we have set 
 apart a portion of the gallery for the ministers and 
 their families. If this bill should pass both Houses 
 of Congress and become a law, I predict that in 
 twelve months some negro will walk upon the 
 floor of the Senate of the United States and carry 
 his family into that gallery which is set apart for 
 foreign ministers. If that is agreeable to the taste 
 and feeling of the people of this country it is not 
 to mine; and I only say that I will not be respons- 
 ible for any such act. With this I will content 
 myself. 
 
 Mr. POWELL. I ask for the yeas and nays 
 on the passage of the bill. 
 The yeas and nays were ordered. 
 Mr.McDOUGALL. I am not altogether pleased 
 with this bill, for I consider this one of the many 
 measures that I think inopportune; but I must say 
 as the expression of my opinion and the reason 
 that will govern my vote, that I do not understand 
 why in the relations of nations the people of Hayti 
 and Liberia may not officially communicate with 
 us. I am not able to find any sentiment or any 
 opinion that justifies my refusing them the privi- 
 lege of being represented in our Court, if you please 
 to call the President of the United States and his 
 surroundings a Court. I do not know why we 
 have the right to deny to them that privilege; and 
 although I regret that this bill should be brought 
 forward now as a disturbing influence, and I db 
 not think the chairman of the Committee on For- 
 eign Relations has adopted a wise policy; still, at 
 the same time, believing it right in itself, I must 
 sustain the proposition. 
 
 The question being taken by yeas and nays, 
 resulted — yeas 32, nays 7; as follows: 
 
 YEAS— Messrs. Anthony, Browning, Chandler, Clark, 
 Collamer, Cowan, Dixon, Doolittle,Fessenden, Foot, Fos- 
 ter, Grimes, Hale, Henderson, Howard, Howe*, King, Lane 
 of Indiana, Lane of Kansas, Latham, McDougall, Morrill, 
 Pomeroy, Sherman, Simmons, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Trum- 
 bull, Wade, Wilkinson, Wilson of Massachusetts, and 
 Wright— 32. 
 
 NAYS— Messrs. Bayard, Carlile, Davis, Powell, Sauls- 
 bury, Stark, and Thomson — 7. 
 
 So the bill was passed. 
 
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