PACTS AND SUGGESTIONS, 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL, 
 
 HISTOKICAL, FINANCIAL, 
 
 AND 
 
 POLITICAL, 
 
 Mxtfm fa ftl mrnlt 01 tfc* liwiteil Jftattf* 
 
 - .- -1 - ,32^ 86 
 
 9 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 
 u 
 
 |tefo gork: 
 C. S. WESTCOTT & CC. S UNION PRINTING OFFICE, 
 
 NO. 79 JOHN STREET. 
 
 1866. 
 

 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year of our Lord 1866, by 
 DUFF GREEN, 
 
 in the Clerk s office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of 
 
 New York. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. PAGfi . 
 
 INTRODUCTORY 1 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 PERSONAL NARRATIVE 6 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 PERSONAL NARRATIVE 13 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 THE COALITION 27 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 THE ANTI-SLAVEBT CONSPIRACY 30 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 THE MONARCHISTS 34 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 JOHN ADAMS A MONARCHIST, AND WHY 36 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS PLAN OP MAKING THE GOVERNMENT A MONARCHY 39 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THE BOSTON FEDERALISTS A BRITISH DISUNION PARTY 42 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 FURTHER PROOF THAT THE EADICALS ARE BRITISH MONARCHISTS 45 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 5 
 
 FINANCIAL ... . , 
 
 CHAPTER XIH. 
 
 71 
 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 75 
 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 80 
 
 ENGUND AND TEXAS . . 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 84 
 
 342015 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XYII. 
 CONGRESS TO REGULATE THE VALUE OF MONEY 
 
 CHAPTER XVIH. 
 OP THE USE or BRITISH AND AMERICAN CEEDIT ................................... 93 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 SPECIE PAYMENTS ............................................................... 96 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 THE " MONEY MEECHANTS" OP EUROPE ........................................... 107 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 BKTTISH POLICY THE QUINTUPLE TREATY ......................................... 119 
 
 CHAPTER 
 LORD ASHBUETON S MISSION ..................................................... 142 
 
 CHAPTER XXTTT. 
 FINANCIAL ...................................................................... 165 
 
 CHAPTER XXIY. 
 THE TARIFF .................................................................... 184 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 POLITICAL ....................................................................... 202 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 POLITICAL ............................................................... . 215 
 
ite l^pfo 01 ite "MM <f teto : 
 
 THE chief purpose of this volume is to state, briefly, the origin and 
 progress of the conflict of interest and of opinion which superin 
 duced the late civil war ; that a knowledge of the past may have its 
 proper influence on the future. If, as I believe, the organization of a 
 sectional Northern party, for the purpose of a corrupt, sectional, polit 
 ical control of the government, in violation of the fundamental princi 
 ples of the Constitution, necessarily led to the organization of a 
 Southern party, in defence of the interest and principles which it was 
 the purpose of that Northern party to assail and subvert ; then, if the 
 civil war was the consequence of that conflict, the censure should rest 
 on the men, who, by organizing a sectional Northern party for the pur 
 pose of aggression, compelled the counter organization of a Southern 
 party in defence of the rights, interests, and principles thus assailed ; 
 and the fact that Mr. Lincoln was elected by less than a majority of 
 votes given, and that, availing themselves of the power of the Federal 
 government thus accidentally obtained, that Northern party, not content 
 with the emancipation of Southern slaves, now seek to deprive the 
 Southern States of the political rights guaranteed to them by the Con 
 stitution, and would enforce alterations of the Constitution, because 
 they know that without such alterations they cannot retain the political 
 control of the government, makes it the duty of the whole people to 
 inquire into the motives which actuate that minority, who, having thus 
 brought upon the country the calamity of civil war, are exerting their 
 influence to prevent the restoration of peace. One purpose of this 
 volume is to demonstrate that it is the duty of the whole country to 
 harmonize in a common effort to restore the Union, on the basis of our 
 common interests, and with this view I have endeavored to demonstrate 
 that a wise use of the public credit; stimulating our industrial progress, 
 as, by an abundant and cheap currency, we may do, will enable us suc 
 cessfully to compete with all other rival nations, in the markets of the 
 world, and especially in the markets of the Pacific and of Asia. For 
 the competition, in the progress of civilization, in commerce and 
 finance, is not between the North and the South, as rival and opposing 
 interests, but it is between the North and the South united, under a 
 
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 common government, organized as one people, for the promotion of 
 their common welfare, happiness, and prosperity, and for the protec 
 tion of their common rights and interests, as those rights and interests 
 may be affected by the industrial competition or the financial or politi 
 cal measures and policy of foreign nations. 
 
 I would appeal to the working men, and urge them to unite their 
 influence in support of an early restoration of the constitutional rights 
 of the people of the Southern states, because the laboring men can, 
 if they will, give peace and prosperity to the whole country, and thus, 
 and thus only, give to themselves constant and profitable employment. 
 " A fair day s wages for a fair day s work." 
 
 To the ladies of the United States, I would say, that the people of 
 the South aro compelled to contribute their proportionate part of the 
 fund appropriated by the Federal government for the maintenance of 
 the widows and orphans of Federal soldiers. We have accepted the 
 terms of peace, and intend cheerfully and in good faith to comply ; but 
 we have our own suffering poor the war has made orphans for whose 
 relief the Federal Congress has provided no fund, and for the mainte-* 
 nance and support of whom it is a gracious privilege to be enabled to 
 contribute. May I not ask you to aid me in doing this ? 
 
 A large part of this volume was dictated to and written by my 
 daughters while I was lying on a bed of sickness, and having given to 
 them the whole proceeds of the sales, beyond the cost of printing, 
 with the understanding that they will give one half of the sums, thus 
 to be realized, to a fund to be applied by female societies in aid of the 
 maintenance and education of female orphans in the Southern states, 
 I would appeal to the ladies in the North and in the South to aid them 
 in obtaining contributions to this fund. 
 
 Packages will be made up at the American Industrial Agency, 42 
 Broadway, New York, and forwarded by Adams & Co. s Express, and 
 the American Express Company, who have both agreed to convey such 
 packages free of charge. All orders and communications should be 
 addressed to the American Industrial Agency, 42 Broadway, New 
 York, who are charged with the gratuitous superintendence of the 
 publication. 
 
 DUFF GEEEN. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 AT no period of the world has the 
 history of mankind been marked 
 with incidents more interesting than 
 during the last hundred years. Of 
 these, among the most important, are 
 the Independence of the American colo 
 nies, the adoption of the Federal Con 
 stitution, and the progress of the Unitecl 
 States embracing the issues which 
 resulted in the late conflict of arms, 
 and upon the adjustment of which de 
 pend not only our own future welfare 
 and prosperity, but our relations to 
 the other people of the earth. 
 
 Although an humble citizen, it has 
 been my lot to be acquainted, person 
 ally and intimately, with the men who 
 have for many years controlled the 
 measures and policy of the United 
 States ; and hoping that a candid state 
 ment of facts, within my own knowl 
 edge, explanatory of the history of the 
 past, may tend to allay the bitterness 
 of sectional feeling, and to create that 
 unity of interest and of opinion, which, 
 if we are to live under one govern 
 ment, it is our incumbent duty to main 
 tain, I am encouraged to write a re 
 view of the past ; and inasmuch as the 
 value of my statements as to the mo 
 tives and conduct of others, will depend 
 much upon the estimate which the pub 
 lic may place upon my own, and as the 
 history of my own life is so intimately 
 connected with that of the govern 
 ment and of the men of whom I must 
 write, I trust that the generous reader 
 will excuse the egotism, which seems 
 
 indispensable in a narrative of events, 
 in which I myself took part, and the 
 chief merit of which narrative de 
 pends upon my personal knowledge of 
 the facts of which I write. 
 
 MAN S DUTY. 
 
 Why man, as created by God, was 
 permitted to eat the forbidden fruit, 
 and as a consequence was driven from 
 Paradise, are mysteries hidden in the 
 inscrutable will of the Creator we all 
 know that he is a sinner, and as such 
 is subject to pain and death, yet few, 
 if any there be, unenlightened by rev 
 elation, and the faith and hope which 
 that imparts, can reconcile the dispen 
 sations of God s providence with the 
 natural instincts of goodness, justice 
 and mercy (" for the carnal mind is 
 enmity against God 77 ). Yet, to the 
 humble, subdued Christian, who be 
 lieves that whom God loveth he chas- 
 teneth, and who sees in the afflictions 
 of men and of nations, the exercise of 
 his power and the indications of his 
 purpose, there is nothing in the calam 
 ity which has befallen this country, 
 great as are the afflictions which it 
 brings, which should make us despair. 
 I, for one, feel that I should be recon 
 ciled to the destiny which has befallen 
 us, and more zealous and earnest in 
 the faithful discharge of the duties in 
 cumbent upon me as a man, a parent, 
 a citizen, and a Christian ; ancl I feel 
 that in reference to my own antece 
 dents and personal and political train- 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 ing, it is not only my privilege, but 
 my duty, to aid in giving that direc 
 tion to pending political issues, which 
 will best promote the restoration of 
 peace, and the organization of a na 
 tional sentiment, which will tend to 
 unite the North and the South, in a 
 common effort for the promotion of our 
 common interests, by a proper and 
 kindly adjustment of all sectional 
 issues, the tendency of which may be 
 to prevent that union and concert of 
 action which are indispensable to the 
 proper discharge of the duties incum 
 bent upon us whom the Almighty has 
 endowed with blessings, temporal and 
 spiritual, such as he has given to no 
 other people. 
 
 THE REWARD OF LABOR. 
 
 " In the beginning God created the 
 heavens and the earth, and said, Let 
 the earth bring forth grass, the herb 
 yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yield 
 ing fruit after his kind, whose seed is 
 in itself upon the earth, and it was 
 so." 
 
 And after man s transgression, He 
 said unto Adam, " Because thou hast 
 hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, 
 and hast eaten of the tree of which I 
 commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt 
 not eat of it ; cursed is the ground for 
 thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of 
 it all the days of thy life ; thorns also 
 and thistles shall it bring forth to 
 thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of 
 the field. In the sweat of thy face 
 shalt thou eat bread, till thou return 
 unto the ground ; for out of it wast 
 thou taken ; for dust thou art, and 
 unto dust shalt thou return." 
 
 To labor is, therefore, the condition 
 upon which man is permitted to live, 
 and we find that although the grass 
 and the herb yield their seed, and the 
 fruit-tree yields its fruit, they are sub 
 
 ject to the influence of climate and of 
 seasons, in accordance with the laws, 
 which indicate the will and the pur 
 poses of the Creator. For He hath 
 said, "While the earth remaineth, 
 seedtime and harvest, and cold and 
 heat, and summer and winter, and day 
 and night, shall not cease." 
 
 Aa bread is indispensable to man s 
 existence, and as the only means of 
 obtaining it is by labor, it follows 
 that he who complies with the con 
 dition imposed by the Creator, is 
 entitled to the benefits which are 
 promised as the reward of his com 
 pliance. 
 
 THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT. 
 
 This is the natural right of man, for 
 the protection of which, as their num. 
 bers increased, it became necessary to 
 organize governments, the purpose and 
 objects of which should be the protec 
 tion of life and of property, which is 
 the reward of labor. 
 
 BABEL THE CONFUSION OF LANGUAGES. 
 
 We are told that " the whole earth 
 was of one language and of one 
 speech. And it came to pass, as they 
 journeyed from the east, that they 
 found a plain in the land of Shinar ; 
 and they dwelt there. And they said, 
 one to another, Go to, let us make 
 brick, and burn them thoroughly, and 
 they had brick for stone, and slime 
 had they for mortar. And they said, 
 Go to, let us build us a city, and a 
 tower whose top may reach unto heav 
 en ; and let us make us a name, lest we 
 be scattered abroad upon the face of the 
 whole -earth. And the Lord came down 
 to see the city and the tower, which 
 the children of men builded. And the 
 Lord said, Behold, the people is one, 
 and they have all one language ; and 
 this they begin to do ; and now nothing 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 3 
 
 will be restrained from them, which 
 they have imagined to do ; Go to, let 
 us go down, and there confound their 
 language, that they may not under 
 stand one another s speech. So the Lord 
 scattered them abroad from thence upon 
 the face of all the earth ; and they left 
 off to build the city. Therefore is the 
 name of it called Babel ; because the 
 Lord did there confound the language 
 of all the earth ; and from thence did 
 the Lord scatter them abroad upon all 
 the face of the earth." 
 
 THE JEWISH SLAVES INCOMPETENT TO OR 
 GANIZE A FREE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 What was written aforetime was 
 written for our learning. The charac 
 ter, the will, and the purposes of God, 
 are indicated in the Holy Scriptures. 
 His promise, that the seed of the woman 
 should bruise the, serpent s head, was re 
 newed to Abram, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 
 and fulfilled in the birth and crucifixion 
 of the Saviour. The Jews were a chosen 
 people ; yet Joseph was sold as a slave 
 by his brethren, and the Israelites 
 were in bondage four hundred years, 
 and although He required that those who 
 had been thus enslaved, and were there 
 fore unfit depositaries of civil liberty, 
 should wander in the wilderness until 
 they perished, and he had created a 
 people, educated and trained u-nder his 
 special guidance and instruction, quali 
 fied to organize a government, in which 
 t the rights of persons and of property 
 were defined and protected ; and al 
 though this people, thus cared for, like 
 our first parents, rebelled against God, 
 and as a punishment were carried into 
 captivity, they were permitted to re 
 build their temple and maintain their 
 nationality until Christ, upon the cross, 
 said, " IT is FINISHED." Then the great 
 purpose of the national organization 
 of the Jews being accomplished, the 
 
 Romans were permitted to run a plough 
 share over the foundations of the tem 
 ple, and they, as a people, were scat 
 tered throughout the earth, as wit 
 nesses of the truth of revelation. 
 Where is there a country on the face 
 of the globe, in which these living 
 witnesses, marked with characteristics 
 which all persons recognize, are not 
 to be found? Do we not meet them 
 in every street, in every village ? 
 What do these truths indicate, as the 
 duty of a Christian people ? 
 
 OUR DUTY AS A CHRISTIAN PEOPLE. 
 
 We find that when, after his resur 
 rection, having made himself known to 
 his disciples, the Saviour s last words, 
 as he ascended to the Father, were, 
 " Go ye and preach the gospel to all 
 nations." 
 
 I have prayerfully studied, that I 
 might ascertain, and earnestly endeav 
 ored to discharge, my duty in all the 
 relations of life, and especially as a 
 man and a Christian statesman. In 
 the contemplation of the bounteous 
 providence of God, I have realized the 
 weighty responsibility resting on the 
 United States, as a people. I have 
 compared our vast extent of territory, 
 the vast deposits of mineral wealth, 
 the abundance and extraordinary dis 
 tribution of water-powers, the peculiar 
 products of our climate, the fertility 
 of our soil, and the intelligent and 
 enterprise of our people, with the con 
 dition and progress of other nations,, 
 and I have seen, or thought I saw, that 
 as commerce must precede civilization, 
 and as civilization must precede Chris 
 tianity, we must become a manufactur 
 ing, that we may become a commercial 
 people. For commerce is the medium 
 through which civilization and Christi 
 anity are dispensed to the heathen 
 world ; and, deeply impressed: with 
 
INTKODUCTOEY. 
 
 this truth, I have labored for many 
 years to arouse the federal and state 
 governments to the necessity of such 
 a regulation of our commerce with 
 foreign nations as will protect the 
 value of our currency, and thus pre 
 vent the constant recurrence of the 
 monetary revulsions, which were, and 
 ever will be, the inevitable conse 
 quence of the control, which the Bank 
 of England has heretofore been per 
 mitted to have over the quantity and 
 value of our currency. For it will be 
 seen that under our regulation of com 
 merce, that bank, and not our Con 
 gress, has regulated the value of our 
 money and of our property, thus limit 
 ing and restraining the proper dis 
 charge of our duty as a Christian 
 people. 
 
 MANY NATIONS, WHY. 
 
 No one can doubt that it was the 
 purpose of God, in the confusion of 
 languages and in scattering abroad 
 on the face of all the earth those who 
 had said, " Go to, let us build us a city, 
 and a tower whose top may reach unto 
 heaven" not only to rebuke their arro 
 gance and presumption, but to break 
 them up into many different nationali 
 ties, and thus create those sectional 
 national interests which constitute the 
 peculiar characteristics of separate in 
 dependent .governments, including the 
 right of individual persons and of 
 property which it is the duty of 
 such governments to foster and pro 
 tect. 
 
 It becomes the duty of statesmen, 
 therefore, to consider, what are the re 
 lations which the individuals consti 
 tuting their separate communities bear 
 tp each other, and to their respective 
 governments, and what are the re 
 lations which each of these separate 
 governments bears to the rest of man 
 
 kind. These necessarily embrace all 
 the rights of persons and of prop 
 erty. 
 
 COMMUNITY OF NATIONS. 
 
 Few, very few of our statesmen 
 realize the fact that we are one of a 
 community of nations. They have been 
 so absorbed with party politics and 
 the conflicts of personal ambition and 
 individual interests, that few of them 
 have studied, as they should have 
 studied, the bearing which the mone 
 tary systems and commercial policy of 
 foreign nations have had upon the 
 separate interests and prosperity of 
 the United States. It must, therefore, 
 be seen that in treating of our public 
 policy it is indispensable that we 
 should take into the account our rela 
 tions with the other peoples of the 
 earth, and especially to consider the 
 fact that the great issue between the 
 more civilized nations of the earth, 
 who use machinery and have thus in 
 creased the productive power of their 
 industry, creating thereby a large 
 surplus beyond their home consump 
 tion, is how they can command the 
 markets of the less civilized nations 
 who do not use machinery, and are yet 
 the consumers of machine-made goods. 
 The people of Europe, and especially 
 of Great Britain, use machinery, and 
 are enabled to create a large surplus. 
 The people of Africa, South America, 
 India, and China, do not use machin 
 ery they exchange raw agricultural 
 products for European machine-made 
 goods. 
 
 DIVISION OF LABOR. 
 
 It has been argued that under the 
 general welfare clause of our consti 
 tution Congress has power to impose 
 duties for the protection of domestic 
 industry and this coDStruction of the 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 powers of the government and negro 
 slavery have been made the chief 
 sources of the sectional conflict be 
 tween the North and tho South. The 
 question of slavery has been disposed 
 of by the war, and the sum now requi 
 site to pay the interest on the public 
 debt and provide for an economical 
 administration of our public affairs is 
 so great, that the question of protec 
 tion of domestic industry is lost in the 
 necessity of maintaining the public 
 faith. Instead of an increase, the do 
 mestic industry must now demand a 
 reduction of taxation. The question 
 for statesmen now, therefore, is, how 
 can we lessen the burden of the pub 
 lic debt? Coupled with this is the 
 kindred question : how can we pro 
 vide for and increase the rewards of 
 labor ? The time once was when the 
 United States were comparatively free 
 from debt, and the local demand for 
 agricultural produce, caused by mi 
 gration to the new states, was such 
 that in the Northwest and in the South 
 the cultivation of the soil gave a more 
 profitable employment for labor than 
 manufactures ; that is, labor in Illi 
 nois and Georgia could make better 
 wages by producing wheat and cotton 
 than by spinning thread. But as the 
 population has increased, the greater 
 number of persons engaged in the 
 
 production of wheat and of cotton has 
 so augmented the supply beyond the 
 foreign as well as the home demand, 
 that an appropriate division of labor 
 so as to obtain constant employment 
 and the best compensation has become 
 indispensable. The time once was 
 when a free trade in provisions would 
 have greatly benefited the Northwest 
 because England could then consume 
 the surplus, which the Northwest could 
 then spare. But that time has passed. 
 We can now produce so much more 
 than England can consume, that we 
 are compelled to find a market else 
 where. As the value of our surplus 
 produce will necessarily be taxed with 
 the cost of sending it to the consumer, 
 it can require no argument to demon 
 strate that the profits of the producer 
 will be greater if we can so distribute 
 our labor as to create a home market 
 equal to the consumption of our sur 
 plus. A wise people should profit not 
 only by their own experience, but by 
 that of others. 
 
 Our relative condition being chang 
 ed, our measures and policy should 
 conform to the present and the future, 
 rather than to the past and yet a re 
 view and careful analysis of the past 
 is indispensable to a proper estimate 
 of the present or the future, and it is 
 therefore that I write. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 MY paternal great-grandfather, Rob- 1 
 ert Green, left seven sons, William, 
 Robert, Duff, John, Nicholas, James, 
 and Moses. He, with his cousin Sir 
 William Duff and a Mr. Hite, were, as I 
 have frequently heard my father say, 
 joint owners of large tracts of choice 
 land, some situated on James river, 
 some near Fredericksburg, and others 
 in the valley of the Shenandoah. Sir 
 William was unmarried, and dying left 
 his interest in these lands to his cous 
 in, whose seven sons were all married, 
 and many of their descendants now 
 remain in that part of Virginia. My 
 grandfather, Duff Green, married first 
 a Miss Barbour, who died leaving a 
 son and daughter, John and Elizabeth. 
 He then married a sister of Col. Lewis 
 Willis, of Fredericksburg. She was a 
 cousin of Gen. Washington, and nearly 
 related by marriage with the Lewises, 
 the Henrys, and Lees, of Virginia. My 
 grandfather died before the Revolu 
 tion. My grandmother had three sons, 
 Willis, Henry, and William, and one 
 daughter, Eleanor. My father, Wil 
 liam, the youngest son, was a volun 
 teer in the army of the Revolution, 
 and, when fifteen years of age, was 
 with Morgan in the battle of the Cow- 
 pens. 
 
 As the eldest son, John, was heir, 
 and, under the law of inheritance, as 
 it then was, took the greater part of 
 the property, the three younger broth 
 ers, through the influence of friends 
 and relatives of the family, made con 
 tracts to locate land warrants in Ken 
 tucky. Under this arrangement Wil- 
 
 is and Henry went to Kentucky, 
 soon after the termination of the war, 
 leaving my father in charge of his 
 mother and sister. Willis was elected 
 a delegate from Kentucky to the legis 
 lature of Virginia, and was appointed 
 register of the land office. He then 
 relinquished his interest in the land- 
 warrants to his brothers and sister. 
 Henry, having made his locations, re 
 turned to Virginia, sickened, and died. 
 This made it necessary that my 
 father should remove to Kentucky, 
 taking his mother and sister with him. 
 My aunt soon thereafter married John 
 Smith. 
 
 My maternal grandfather was Mark- 
 ham Marshall, who married Ann Bai 
 ley. They resided on the Shenandoah 
 until my mother, who was their second 
 child, was about ten years of age. He 
 removed to Kentucky in the fall of 
 1779, and settled near the Knob lick, 
 in Lincoln county. My father, after 
 his marriage, resided in Woodford 
 county, until I, his eldest child, was 
 about fourteen years old, when he re 
 moved to a large tract of land on the 
 Cumberland river, in Wayne county. 
 When I was about six years of age, I 
 was sent to a neighborhood school. 
 Most of the scholars were the children 
 of my father s tenants, or of persons 
 holding lands under an adverse title. 
 Humphrey Marshall, rny mother s cous 
 in, was my father s counsel, and Henry 
 Clay opposed to him. Mr. Marshall 
 had married his cousin, the eldest sis 
 ter of the chief justice ; and she and 
 my mother were intimate friends. He 
 
PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 had been a senator in Congress from 
 Kentucky, and voted for Jay s treaty, 
 which was bitterly denounced by Mr. 
 Clay and others. As party politics 
 were of absorbing interest, and the 
 political feeling was aggravated by 
 the pending- litigation, the prejudice 
 thus created had, doubtless, its influ 
 ence upon the estimate which I after 
 wards formed of Mr. Clay s conduct 
 and character. 
 
 My father was much from home. 
 I was the eldest child three years 
 the eldest. I was the companion of 
 my mother. I read to her the history 
 of Greece, of Rome, and of England. 
 I also read to her Plutarch, with other 
 miscellaneous books. Mrs. Humphrey 
 Marshall gave me the use of books 
 from her library, and upon my return 
 ing them, examined me upon what I 
 had read. When I was fourteen years 
 of age, I had studied, as they were 
 taught in our country schools, arith 
 metic, geography, and English gram 
 mar, and had read the first books of 
 Virgil in Latin. 
 
 TEACH SCHOOL. 
 
 When my father removed to Wayne, 
 there was no school near his residence. 
 Mr. Priestly, who had been teaching 
 in Baltimore, was induced to remove 
 to Danville, and I was placed in his 
 school, where I was eighteen months. 
 I reviewed my lessons in geography, 
 and read Virgil, Caesar, Horace, and 
 Cicero, in Latin. Finding that my 
 sisters and younger brother had no 
 other instruction but such as my 
 mother could give them, I induced my 
 father to permit me to remain at home 
 and teach them. I devoted four years 
 to this duty, prosecuting my own stud 
 ies as best I could. During the last 
 of these four years I took a few addi 
 tional scholars, and having earned 
 
 enough to buy me a watch, a horse, 
 bridle, and saddle, a suit of " Sunday- 
 clothes," and ten dollars in money, I 
 tendered my services to the trustees 
 of a school in Elizabethtown, Hardin 
 county, which were accepted, with the 
 understanding that in case of war 
 with England, I should be at liberty 
 
 to 
 
 JOIN THE ARMY. 
 
 William P. Duval, then a member of 
 Congress, afterward the governor of 
 Florida, had raised a volunteer com 
 pany of six months men, of whom 
 ten had been my schoolmates. They 
 formed a mess, with the understanding 
 that I would join them in case of their 
 receiving marching orders. On the 
 15th of August, 1812, the day on 
 which I was twenty-one years of age, 
 I was mustered into the service of the 
 United States, at Jeffersonville, by 
 General Harrison. Several of our 
 company had special letters of intro 
 duction to him, and he imprudently 
 appealed to us, in a public address, 
 complimenting us upon our standing 
 and character, and invoking us to be 
 come an example of order and disci 
 pline for the army. The effect was, to 
 excite the envy, jealousy, and ill-will 
 of the other companies. 
 
 INFLUENCE OF MY MOTHER. 
 
 My parents were both members of 
 the Baptist church. My mother was 
 my companion and friend. Her intel 
 ligent comment on the lessons in his 
 tory which I read to her, and upon 
 the events of the war of the Revolu 
 tion, and her description of frontier 
 life, did much to form my character. 
 She had a happy faculty of illustra 
 ting her advice by appropriate anec 
 dotes. One has often recurred to me, 
 and has been useful in my subsequent 
 intercourse with the world. Among 
 
8 
 
 PEKSONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 the residents in the fort, in which my 
 grandfather s family lived, was a Mr. 
 Miller and his wife. He was a quar 
 relsome, passionate man, and part of 
 his nose had been bitten off in a fight. 
 He was called, Nosey Miller. One day 
 he and his wife were quarrelling, using 
 unkind language, greatly to the annoy 
 ance of their neighbors, when an old 
 servant woman appealed to her mis 
 tress, saying, " Missis, missis, dar is a 
 rope thrown over de house, an you is 
 on one side an master is on tother, 
 both pullin ; now, you just let go 
 your eend, an go round tother side an 
 take holt long with master, and see 
 how soon it come over." What a les 
 son in domestic and social life ! Of 
 ten, often have I remembered and 
 profited by the old servant s advice ! 
 How much in public and in private 
 life depends upon our holding the 
 right end of the rope ! 
 
 THE TRUTH OF THE SCRIPTURES. 
 
 "While at school in Woodford, a 
 young Mr. Vawter, one of the elder 
 scholars, commenting on the Holy 
 Scriptures, said that the Bible was the 
 work of priestcraft, written as a sys 
 tem of morals, by persons selected by 
 one of the Roman Emperors. He de 
 nied its truth and divine inspiration. 
 Such was my respect for my parents, 
 and such my unwillingness to wound 
 my mother s feelings, that I dared not 
 let them know what I had heard, much 
 less did I communicate to them the 
 impression which his remarks had made 
 upon my mind. The idea that the 
 Scriptures were the work of man a 
 fable that the responsibility for, and 
 the punishment of, sin were imaginary, 
 was a relief. 
 
 PROMISE NOT TO LEARN TO PLAY CARDS. 
 
 When I was leaving home to go to 
 school in Danville, after I had taken 
 
 leave of my mother and my sisters and 
 brothers, my father walked with me 
 to the stile, and, as I was about to 
 get on my horse, he said, "My son, 
 you are leaving me to enter the world, 
 and before you go I have one request 
 to make, and wish you to promise 
 that you will faithfully comply with 
 it." I said, " I know you will not ask 
 what I should not perform, and I there 
 fore promise." He replied, " When I 
 was of your age, I was very fond of 
 playing cards, and, had I not become a 
 member of the church, I should proba 
 bly have become a professed gambler. 
 I wish you to promise me that you will 
 never learn to play cards." 1 unhesita 
 tingly gave the pledge. Several of my 
 class-mates were much older than I. 
 They boarded with Judge Bridges, a 
 son-in-law of General Adair, who lived 
 between my uncle s, where I lived, and 
 the school-house. They were fond of 
 playing cards, which was the subject 
 of frequent conversation. Upon one 
 occasion, school having been dismissed 
 earlier than usual, I was prevailed 
 upon to stop with them. We had 
 scarcely entered their room when cards 
 were produced, and I was urged to 
 take a seat with them and learn to 
 play. I thought of my father I re 
 membered my pledge. I was prompt 
 ed to tell them why I could not play, 
 but a false pride prevented ray doing 
 so. I took a seat at the table, I took 
 the cards in my hand, but before I had 
 taken my first lesson I heard my fa 
 ther s voice in the hall. I threw down 
 the cards, I sprang from my seat, I 
 upset the table, and, as I ran down 
 stairs renewed my pledge that I never 
 would learn to play cards, and I never 
 did learn. I did not know or suppose 
 that he was within sixty miles of me. 
 He was on his way to Frankfort in 
 great haste, to see the register of the 
 
PEESONAL NAKKATIVE. 
 
 9 
 
 land office. He stopped at my uncle s 
 for his dinner, and there heard that 
 the register, who was also a son-in- 
 law of General Adair, was then on a 
 visit to Judge Bridges, and came to in 
 quire for him, without the remotest 
 idea of seeing me. The incident, how 
 ever, connected with the influence of 
 my early training, made a deep and 
 lasting impression on my mind. 
 
 BECOME CONVINCED OF THE TRUTH OF DI 
 VINE REVELATION. 
 
 Upon my return home from Dan 
 ville, I again appropriated a part of 
 my time to the reading and study of 
 history My attention was arrested 
 by the following remarks of Kollin, 
 upon 
 
 THE TRANSLATION OP THE BIBLE. 
 
 " The tumult of the wars which a diver 
 sity of interest had kindled among the suc 
 cessors of Alexander throughout the whole 
 extent of their territories, did not prevent 
 Ptolemy Philadelphus from devoting his ut 
 most attention to the noble library which 
 he had founded in Alexandria, wherein he 
 deposited the most valuable and curious 
 books he was capable of collecting from ah 1 
 parts of the world. This prince, being in 
 formed that the Jews possessed a work 
 which contained the laws of Moses and the 
 history of that people, formed the design 
 of having it translated out of the Hebrew 
 language into Greek, in order to enrich his 
 library with that performance. To accom 
 plish this design, it became necessary for 
 him to address himself to the high priest 
 of the Jewish nation ; but the affair hap 
 pened to be attended with great difficulty. 
 There was at that time a very considerable 
 number of Jews in Egypt, who had been 
 reduced to a state of slavery by Ptolemy 
 Soter, during the invasion of Judea in his 
 time ; and it was represented to the king, 
 that there would be no probability of ob 
 taining from that people either a copy or a 
 faithful translation of their law, while he 
 suffered such a number of their country 
 
 men to continue in their present servitude. 
 Ptolemy, who always acted with the utmost 
 generosity, and was extremely solicitous to 
 enlarge his library, did not hesitate a mo 
 ment, but issued a decree for restoring all 
 the Jewish slaves in his dominions to their 
 liberty ; with orders to his treasurer to pay 
 twenty drams a head to their masters for 
 their ransom. The sum expended on this 
 occasion amounted to four hundred talents 
 (three hundred thousand dollars), w r hence 
 it appears that one hundred and twenty 
 thousand Jews recovered their freedom. 
 The king then gave orders for discharg 
 ing the children born in slavery, with 
 their mothers ; and the sum employed for 
 that purpose amounted to above half the 
 former. 
 
 " These advantageous preliminaries gave 
 Ptolemy hopes that he should easily obtain 
 his request from the high priest, whose 
 name was Eleazer. He had sent cmbassa- 
 dors to that pontiff, with a very obliging 
 letter on his part, accompanied with mag 
 nificent presents. The embassadors were 
 received at Jerusalem with all imaginable 
 honors, and the king s request was granted 
 with the greatest joy. Upon which they 
 returned to Alexandria with an authentic 
 copy of the Mosaic law, written in letters 
 of gold, given them by the high priest him 
 self, with six elders of each tribe, that is to 
 say, seventy-two in the whole ; and they 
 were authorized to translate that copy into 
 the Greek language. 
 
 " The king was desirous of seeing these 
 deputies, and proposed to each of them a 
 different question, in order to make a trial 
 of their capacity. He was satisfied with 
 their answers, in which great wisdom ap 
 peared, and loaded them with presents, and 
 other marks of his friendship. The elders 
 were then conducted to the Isle of Pharos, 
 and lodged in a house prepared for their 
 reception, where they were plentifully sup 
 plied with ah 1 necessary accommodations. 
 TJiey applied themselves to their work 
 without losing time, and, in seventy-two 
 days, completed the volume which is com 
 monly called the Septuagint version. The 
 whole was afterward read and approved 
 in the presence of the king, who particu- 
 
10 
 
 PERSONAL NABEATIVE. 
 
 larly admired the wisdom of the laws of 
 Moses, and dismissed the seventy-two depu 
 ties with extremely magnificent presents ; 
 part of which were for themselves, others 
 for the high priest, and the remainder for 
 the temple." 
 
 I read further in Rollin, as to 
 
 THE FALL OF BABYLON. 
 
 " God Almight} 1 " was pleased not only to 
 cause the captivity which his people were 
 to Buffer at Babylon to be foretold a long 
 time before it came to pass, but likewise to 
 set down the exact number of years it was 
 to last. The term he fixed for it was seventy 
 years, after which he promised he would 
 deliver them by bringing a remarkable and 
 irretrievable destruction upon the city of 
 Babylon, the place of their bondage and 
 confinement. * And these nations shall serve 
 the King of Babylon seventy years. Jer. 
 xxv. 11." 
 
 I turned to the prophecy and find 
 the following : 
 
 " Therefore, thus saith the Lord of Hosts : 
 Because ye have not heard my words, . . . . 
 Behold, I will send and take all the families 
 of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchad 
 nezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and 
 will bring them against ihis land. .. ... 
 And this whole land shall be a desolation 
 and an astonishment; and these nations 
 shall serve the king of Babylon seventy 
 years. And it shall come to pass, when 
 seventy years are accomplished, that I will 
 punish the king of Babylon and that nation, 
 saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the 
 land of the Chaldeans ; and will make it a 
 perpetual desolation." 
 
 I read further, and I found that 
 Rollin says of 
 
 CYEUS, KING OF PERSIA. 
 
 " In the first of these seven years, pre 
 cisely, expired the seventieth year of the 
 Babylonish captivity, when Cyrus published 
 the famous edict whereby the Jews were 
 permitted to return to Jerusalem. There is 
 no question but this edict was obtained by 
 the care and solicitations of Daniel, who 
 possessed great influence at court. That 
 
 he might the more effectually induce the 
 king to grant him this request, he showed 
 him undoubtedly the prophecies of Isaiah, 
 wherein, above two hundred years before 
 his birth, he w r as marked out by name as a 
 prince appointed by God to be a great con 
 queror, and to reduce a multitude of na 
 tions under his dominions ; and, at the same 
 time to be the deliverer of the captive 
 Jews, by ordering their temple to be re 
 built, and Jerusalem and Judea to be re 
 possessed by their ancient inhabitants." 
 
 And I turned to the forty-fourth and 
 forty-fifth chapters of Isaiah, and saw 
 that the prophet had said of the 
 
 REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. 
 
 " Sing, ye heavens ; for the Lord hath 
 done it : shout, ye lower parts of the earth ; 
 break forth into singing, ye mountains and 
 forests, and every tree therein; for the 
 Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified 
 
 himself in Israel That saith of 
 
 CYRUS, He is my shepherd, and shall per 
 form all my pleasure : even saying to Jeru 
 salem, Thou shalt be built ; and to the temple, 
 Thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith 
 the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose 
 right hand I have holden to subdue nations 
 
 before him And I will give 
 
 thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden 
 riches of secret places, that thou mayest 
 know that I the Lord, which call thee by thy 
 name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my 
 servant s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have 
 called thee by thy name : I have surnamed 
 thee though thou hast not known me." 
 
 I turned to Ezra, and read the fol 
 lowing 
 
 VERIFICATION OF THIS PROPHECY. 
 
 " Now, hi the first year of CYRUS, king of 
 Persia (that the word of the Lord, by the 
 mouth of Jeremiah, might be fulfilled), the 
 Lord stirred up the spirit of CYRUS, the 
 king of Persia, that he made a proclamation 
 throughout all his kingdom, and put it also 
 in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus, king 
 of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath 
 iven me all the kingdoms of the earth, 
 and he hath charged me to build him ct 
 
PEKSONAL NAEKATIVE. 
 
 11 
 
 house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who 
 is there among you of all his people ? his 
 God be with him, and let him go up to Jeru 
 salem, which is in Judah, and build the 
 house of the Lord God of Israel {He is the 
 God], which is in Jerusalem. And whoso 
 ever remaineth in any place where he so- 
 journeth, let the men of his place help him 
 with silver and with gold, and with goods 
 and with beasts, besides the free-will-offer 
 ing, for the house of God that is in Jerusa 
 lem. Then rose up the chief of the fathers 
 of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and 
 the Levites, and all them whose spirit God 
 had raised to go up to build the house of 
 the Lord which is in Jerusalem. And all 
 they that were about them strengthened 
 their hands with vessels of silver, with 
 gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with 
 precious things, besides all that was will 
 ingly offered. Also Cyrus the king brought 
 forth tho vessels of the house of the Lord, 
 which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth 
 out of Jerusalem, and put them in the house 
 of his gods ; even those did Cyrus, king of 
 Persia, bring forth by the hand of Mithre- 
 dath, the treasurer, and numbered them 
 unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah." 
 
 CONVICTION, FAITH, AND HOPE. 
 
 Here was proof conclusive proof 
 of the divine inspiration. I could no 
 longer doubt. The Scriptures were 
 the word of God. I was in despair. 
 I had refused to believe. I had re 
 fused to see or to hear the truth. My 
 conviction was deep and severe. I 
 tried to pray. I wrestled with the 
 spirit ; and the way of life and salva 
 tion through a crucified Redeemer was 
 made manifest. I had gone to a se 
 cluded place some distance from the 
 house. I wished to make my joy 
 known to my parents. I hastened, 
 but before I reached them, I was as 
 sailed by doubts, fearful doubts, but 
 I would not, I could not, relinquish 
 my hope or my joy. My father saw 
 me coming. He sprang from his seat 
 and ran to meet me. He clasped me 
 2 
 
 :o his bosom. My mother, my dear 
 mother, wept for joy, and I was happy. 
 Reader, the faith and hope thus given 
 to me in tender youth, remains with 
 me and sustains and encourages me 
 now in the feebleness of age. I be 
 lieve that there is a merciful, kind, 
 and good God, who, superintends and 
 in mercy, by his special providence, 
 controls the affairs of men and of na 
 tions, and that while he chasteneth he 
 will protect and provide for his people 
 to whom he will become reconciled, 
 through his loving-kindness ; and hence 
 should we trust him, and strive to 
 know his will, and labor unceasingly 
 to discharge our duty to him and to 
 each other, 
 
 POLITICS AND RELIGION. 
 
 As the events of which it is my 
 purpose to write are chiefly political, 
 and as there are many persons who 
 have a vague impression that there is 
 something in politics incompatible 
 with religion, or something in religion 
 incompatible with politics, and that 
 therefore religion and politics should 
 not be blended, it may be proper, in 
 the peculiar circumstances in which 
 this country is now placed, to say 
 that, while I admit that Christ s king 
 dom is not of this world, we, as men, 
 have our relations to temporal as well 
 as spiritual matters, and that as a good 
 government is the greatest of tem 
 poral blessings, it is no less our duty, 
 as Christian men, to resist Satan s in 
 fluence in the affairs of state, than to 
 resist it in the government of the 
 church ; and that inasmuch as that 
 the name and religion of Christ have 
 been invoked, and it is apparent are 
 still further to be used as a means of 
 the oppression and desolation of the 
 Southern states, I would invoke the 
 Christian faith and hopes of the whole 
 
12 
 
 PEESONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 people in support of the great princi 
 ples which constitute the foundation 
 of our system of government, by dem 
 onstrating, as I believe I can do, that 
 it is our duty to unite, as one people, 
 in support of the measures and public 
 policy which foster and protect Ameri 
 can interests, as distinguished from 
 those of all other peoples and govern 
 ments ; and that dark and mysterious 
 as the ways of Providence may seem, 
 the great sin of the North and of the 
 South has been an adherence to indi 
 vidual men, as leaders of party combi 
 nations, and a disregard of the great 
 principles of civil and religious lib 
 erty that we have substituted the 
 dictation of selfish political combina 
 tions of corrupt party leaders, as in 
 
 dicated in their manifestoes, in party 
 platforms, for the letter and spirit of 
 our written constitution ; and hence, 
 while I unmask the selfish and per 
 sonal motives which have governed 
 the conduct of leading public men, 
 and thus trace to its source the cause 
 which has spread gloom and despon 
 dency over the South, I would revive 
 and confirm the hopes of that suffer 
 ing people, by restoring their faith 
 and confidence in the goodness and 
 mercy and loving-kindness of God, 
 who assuredly will, at the same time, 
 subdue the wrath of their enemies, 
 and give efficiency to the sympathy 
 and support of their friends. But to 
 resume my personal narrative. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 UR regiment, under the command of 
 Colonel Wilcox, marched to Vin- 
 cennes. I had a large school in Eliza- 
 bethtown, and, by way of recreation, 
 organized the boys into a company, 
 and frequently drilled them, and after 
 we reached Vincennes, it was pro 
 posed, and I, although a private, reg 
 ularly drilled my own company. News 
 reached us that the Indians under Te- 
 cumseh had attacked Fort Harrison, 
 having defeated the Rangers. There 
 was a panic, and, soon thereafter, fir 
 ing was heard at the lower end of the 
 town, and the women and children 
 fled in great alarm to a small fort. 
 One of my mess was sick ; we had 
 placed him in a hotel, and I was his 
 nurse. He was in a profuse perspira 
 tion. I loaded his gun, and having 
 placed it by his bedside, told him I 
 must join my company, but that he 
 must remain in bed. As I ran to the 
 camp I found the regiment forming in 
 front of their camp-fires, on the bank 
 of the river. I gave the word to put 
 out the fires, and meeting the officer 
 of the day, suggested the propriety of 
 forming near a large picket fortifica 
 tion which had been erected by Gen 
 eral Harrison. He replied, " Will you 
 give the word, and move the regiment 
 there ?" I took the command, and 
 having placed the regiment, fell back 
 to my place in my own company. It 
 proved to be a false alarm. But a 
 force of some fifteen hundred of the 
 territorial militia, in addition to our 
 
 regiment, was soon organized and 
 marched to the relief of 
 
 FORT HARRISON. 
 
 There was a deficiency of transporta 
 tion, and we were compelled to leave 
 our surplus clothing and carry seven 
 days rations in our knapsacks, with 
 the understanding that supplies would 
 be forwarded after us. The Indians 
 had burned the block-house which con 
 tained the provisions, and the only 
 source of supply was a cornfield in 
 the prairie, distant about five miles. 
 The day after we reached the fort, 
 news came to us that the wagons, hav 
 ing supplies, had been attacked by the 
 Indians, the escort defeated, and the 
 provisions destroyed. This proved 
 that the enemy were between us and 
 the settlements, in what force we did 
 not know, but all admitted that the 
 greater part of the army should re 
 turn, and yet a part should remain to 
 defend the fort. The whole army were 
 formed in line ; I happened to be on 
 the extreme right. All the general 
 and field officers, with General Taylor, 
 then a captain, commencing on the 
 extreme left, marched in front of the 
 whole line, with music, appealing to 
 the respective commands for volun 
 teers to remain and defend the fort. 
 No one knew when we could hope 
 for a supply of food, except the 
 corn standing in the field, five miles 
 distant, and no one volunteered. 
 When they reached the extreme 
 
14: 
 
 PEBSONAL NAEBATIYE. 
 
 right they halted in front of my 
 company. Under the influence of the 
 moment, I stepped forward, and said, 
 " Colonel Wilcox, your regiment vol 
 unteers." Startled, he said, tartly, 
 " Who authorized you, sir, to volun 
 teer my regiment ?" I replied, " It 
 appears that some of us should remain 
 to protect the fort. All must admit 
 that the territorial troops should go to 
 the protection of their families there 
 is, therefore, no person to remain but 
 your regiment, and as I take it for 
 granted that every man in your regi 
 ment came here to do his duty, I as 
 sume that you will volunteer." And 
 without waiting for a reply, I wheeled, 
 and said in a voice to be heard by the 
 whole regiment, "Volunteers, shoulder 
 arms." My own company promptly 
 obeyed. I ran along the line and re 
 peated the command. The whole regi 
 ment having shouldered arms, I said, 
 " Volunteers, one pace in front, march." 
 My own company stepped forth, I 
 made them dress by the right and 
 again ran along the line, saying, 
 "Dress by the right, boys, dress by 
 the right." I then, standing midway 
 the regiment, said, "Attention, volun 
 teers ; order arms." I then walked up 
 to where the officers were all yet on 
 horseback, silent spectators. I made 
 a bow to Colonel Wilcox, and, without 
 saying a word, took my place in the 
 ranks. The regiment, including Colonel 
 Wilcox, remained. When, after his 
 election as President, I called with a 
 friend, who introduced me to General 
 Taylor, he said : " Oh, sir, I knew 
 General Green long before you did." 
 I replied, " I did not suppose that you 
 would recollect me." He said, " I 
 will never forget that you volunteered 
 your regiment to remain at Fort Har 
 rison." 
 
 COMMAND A SCOUT. 
 
 The territorial troops left us, and 
 next day, Captain Quigley, the officer 
 of the day, came to me and said, " I 
 wish you to take a scout of twenty 
 men and explore the opposite side of 
 the river." I replied, "I am but a 
 private." " I know that," said he, 
 " but, nevertheless, I wish you to com 
 mand the scout." Twenty volunteers, 
 and among them a lieutenant, were 
 immediately organized, and upon the 
 opposite bank of the river we found 
 a beaten Indian trail, and in the edge 
 of a branch we sa,w the fresh tracks 
 of Indian spies, in which the water 
 was yet muddy. After providing 
 against surprise, we followed the trail 
 up the river, until we came to a creek 
 in which the Indians had concealed a 
 number of canoes, and ascertained 
 that their principal encampment was 
 on the east side of the river. It was 
 then late, I had that morning baked 
 in the ashes, without salt, my last 
 morsel of flour, into a cake not larger 
 than a ship biscuit. I halted the 
 scout and said, "We will take our 
 dinner, and then return." "Yes," said 
 one, " if we had anything to eat." 
 " Well," said I, " let us each see what 
 we have." My ash cake was all. I 
 divided it into twenty-one pieces, and 
 each man took his piece. Never was 
 bread better disposed of. We next 
 day explored the eastern side of the 
 river, found and examined the old en 
 campment, and being satisfied that the 
 Indians were no longer in force in that 
 neighborhood, the men were permitted 
 to hunt, and those who had eaten part 
 of my ash cake often, very often, sent 
 me part of the game which they had 
 killed. As Captain Duval was brigade 
 inspector, and Ensign Harrison the 
 paymaster of our regiment, the com- 
 
PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 15 
 
 mand of the company devolved upon 
 Lieutenant Murray, and he and all the 
 non-commissioned officers united in a 
 request that I should take charge of 
 the company as orderly, and the proper 
 discharge of my duties detained me in 
 camp. I was rigid but just in my dis 
 cipline, and was rewarded by the con 
 fidence, good-will, and cheerful obedi 
 ence of every man in the company. 
 
 A MESSMATE RESOLVES TO QUIT SWEARING. 
 
 While in camp, one of my mess, 
 who had been my classmate at school, 
 said to me, " Green, do you know that 
 you have cured me of swearing ?" I 
 replied, " I am glad to know it ; but 
 how so ?" He said, " You never swear, 
 and no one doubts your word. I was 
 always calling God to testify the truth 
 of what I said, thus admitting that I 
 was unworthy of belief without a wit 
 ness to vouch for me. I have resolved 
 that I will swear no more." 
 
 THE SICK SOLDIERS. 
 
 As we had no food but the corn 
 without salt, the command suffered 
 very much from diarrhoea, and as we 
 had no assurance of receiving sup 
 plies, the colonel determined to fall 
 back upon Vincennes. We brought 
 corn from the field and prepared food 
 for the march. I was second in com 
 mand, and consequently the rear of the 
 left flanking company. We started 
 early in the morning, and soon there 
 after two of the company gave out and 
 lay by the wayside to die. I took 
 their knapsacks, and aided them, and 
 encouraged them to hope that, as the 
 army would be detained at a creek, 
 they could overtake their friends. We 
 did overtake them, and were met there 
 by General Hopkins with some three 
 thousand volunteers, who had conic to 
 our aid. We were soon surrounded 
 
 by friends ; the sick were cared for ? 
 and I was permitted to organize a few 
 volunteers, who purchased horses and 
 went with the mounted men as an 
 independent command. The Indians 
 burnt the prairies, and we were com 
 pelled to return to the fort, where I re 
 joined my company. The mounted men 
 returned to Kentucky. General Hop 
 kins marched wi th three regiments to 
 Tippecanoe. Here a scout of sixty- 
 two men, of whom I was one, under 
 the command of Colonel Miller, were 
 led into an ambuscade, and sixteen 
 were killed including Lieut. Murray, 
 of my company and seven wounded. 
 I was then elected to command the 
 company. I was soon after detailed, 
 and returned to Vincennes in charge 
 of a detachment of sick. Here I was 
 myself taken sick, and, but for the care 
 with which I was nursed by the mother 
 and sister of John Scott, of Missouri, 
 and one of my company whom, at his 
 request, I detailed for that duty, the 
 chance for my recovery would have 
 been very much against me. When I 
 returned with the mounted men, the 
 sick came to Vincennes, where my 
 nurse was made a hospital steward, 
 and on that account was enabled to 
 render me the more efficient aid. Here 
 again did a kind Providence reward 
 me most abundantly for a simple act 
 of kindness. I refer to the fact as il 
 lustrating a great truth, confirmed by 
 the frequent recurring incidents of a 
 long life. He who, in kindness, faith 
 fully discharges his duty to others, 
 hath not only the hopes and the re 
 wards of the life to come, but of this. 
 How often has some slight favor done 
 for another and it has been in my 
 power to do many been more than re 
 paid to me and mine. Gentle reader, 
 remember that Christian charity, kind 
 words, and kind actions, are among 
 
16 
 
 PEESONAL NABEATIYE. 
 
 the best investments we can make, 
 whether for this world or the next, 
 
 RETURN HOME. 
 
 When my health was sufficiently re 
 cruited, my nurse suggested that, as 
 the time of service would expire in a 
 few days, and I could get permission 
 for him to go with me, we had better 
 precede the returning troops. On the 
 first day after leaving Vincennes, he 
 exchanged his gun for a pony. He 
 said, " Now you can ride." When we 
 were about to separate in Louisville, 
 he was much affected, and, holding my 
 hand, said, " You do not know me." 
 I replied, "I know you as my kind 
 nurse, to whose care I probably owe 
 my life." He said, " Do you remember 
 one who had laid down on the road 
 side to die, and you took his knapsack 
 and aided him to overtake the army ?" 
 I replied, " I did not recognize you, al 
 though I remember the incident." " I," 
 said he, " knew you, and thought you 
 would die, and determined to render 
 you all the aid I could." And faithfully 
 did he do so. 
 
 MY DOG LION. 
 
 During the last four years which I 
 remained with my parents, I was in 
 the habit of frequently hunting squir 
 rels and turkeys. Lion, my faithful 
 dog, was my constant companion. On 
 my return, he had crossed the river 
 and met me at least two miles from 
 the house. He seemed as if he had 
 come to meet me. No one was with 
 him. He repeatedly sprang upon 
 my horse, and continued the demon 
 stration of his joy until I was sur 
 rounded by the family, and then, pla 
 cing his head upon the door-sill, by 
 the expression of his eye and the 
 wagging of his tail, indicated that he 
 participated to the full in the common 
 
 joy. Dear old Lion ; my mind s eye 
 sees thee now, and I well remember 
 thy kind, confiding, loving, happy look. 
 
 RESUME MY SCHOOL. 
 
 I found that the trustees had refused 
 to employ another teacher, and, after 
 a short visit to my parents, I again 
 took charge of the school, prosecuting, 
 at the same time, the study of medi 
 cine. On the 26th November, 1813, I 
 
 MARRIED 
 
 Lucretia Maria Edwards, of whose 
 parents Mr. Wirt, in an obituary no 
 tice, said : 
 
 OBITUARY OF BENJAMIN EDWARDS. 
 
 "Died on the 13th of November, 1826, 
 at his residence in Elkton, Todd coun 
 ty, Kentucky, Benjamin Edwards, in 
 the seventy-fourth year of his age, and 
 the fifty-sixth of his Christian life. 
 His venerable consort, Mrs. Margaret 
 Edwards, after a union of more than 
 fifty years, had preceded him to the 
 grave about three months before. 
 They both resigned this world with 
 that perfect composure and full as 
 surance of future happiness which re 
 ligion alone can inspire, and left be 
 hind them a numerous and respectable 
 family of children and their descend 
 ants to imitate their virtues and to 
 deplore their loss. Mr. Edwards was 
 a native of Stafford county, Virginia ; 
 and before he became of age, he inter 
 married with Margaret, the daughter 
 of Ninian Beall, of Montgomery coun 
 ty, Maryland, and resided, for nearly 
 twenty-five years, on his farm of 
 Mount Pleasant, about nine miles 
 above the court-house of that county. 
 His pursuits were those of agriculture 
 and merchandise, which he conducted 
 with industry and irreproachable in 
 tegrity. He had not the advantage of 
 
PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 17 
 
 a classical education, but nature had 
 given him a mind of extraordinary 
 force and comprehension, and a moral 
 character of uncommon elevation and 
 energy. He was one of nature s great 
 men ; and it had stamped this charac 
 ter most strikingly on his counten 
 ance and person. He was large and 
 well-formed ; his countenance strongly 
 marked with intelligence and benevo 
 lence ; his steps and movements un 
 commonly dignified and commanding, 
 and in his whole action there was an 
 easy, unaffected, natural gracefulness 
 which proclaimed the gentleman and 
 the man of feeling in a manner not to 
 be mistaken. Though his manners 
 were highly prepossessing, concilia 
 tory, and kind, yet such was the dig 
 nity that surrounded him, and the re 
 spect with which he impressed all who 
 approached him, that no man ever 
 dreamed of using irreverent liberty or 
 indulging a thoughtless levity in his 
 presence. His colloquial powers were 
 unrivalled in any company in which 
 the writer of this article ever saw 
 him. He had a manly and melodious 
 voice, a natural fluency and eloquence 
 that never hesitated, the most strik 
 ing originality and vigor of thought, 
 the aptest and happiest illustration 
 drawn from objects of nature around 
 him, and an sccuracy and integrity of 
 judgment which have never been sur 
 passed, on the subjects which called 
 for his decision. He had supplied the 
 deficiencies of youthful education by 
 careful reading, and had acquired a 
 correct style which was yet marked 
 with the native strength and original 
 ity of his thoughts, and he conversed 
 with great power even on subjects of 
 literature, taste, and science ; and 
 many have been the flippant scholars 
 and collegians, who, after the inter 
 change of a few remarks, have felt 
 
 themselves rebuked by his superior 
 mind, and learned to listen with in 
 stinctive reverence and delight. He 
 had made himself an excellent histo 
 rian, both in ancient and modern his 
 tory ; and to his children and their 
 young companions (of whom the wri 
 ter was one), with whom he always 
 took pleasure in conversing, he was 
 one of the most instructive compan 
 ions whom the kindness of Provi 
 dence could have sent them. Though 
 always pious, there was nothing aus 
 tere, obtrusive, or revolting, in his 
 religion ; and in his domestic cir 
 cle he would often indulge himself 
 with great playfulness, and with the 
 most successful humor ; yet no occa 
 sion was ever lost of instilling into 
 them pure and honorable, and lofty 
 sentiments and principles, and kind 
 ling in them the flame of patriotic and 
 virtuous emulation, holding up to 
 them, with great eloquence, the ex 
 amples of ancient patriots, orators, 
 and statesmen, with whom he was as 
 much enamored as if he were still in 
 his youth. He rose to considerable 
 distinction before he left Maryland, 
 which was about thirty years ago. 
 He represented the county of Mont 
 gomery for several years in the state 
 legislature ; was a member of the 
 state convention which ratified the 
 Federal Constitution, and afterwards a 
 member of Congress for the district 
 in which he lived. Though nature had 
 made him an orator of high order, he 
 was restrained by his unconquerable 
 diffidence from hazarding himself often, 
 in public debate. He spoke but rarely,, 
 and then only on local subjects, when, 
 forced forward by a high sense of. 
 duty ; yet on one of these occasions, 
 in the assembly of Maryland, with so 
 much force did he strike the house, 
 that the late Samuel Chase, and several 
 
18 
 
 PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 others of the most competent judges 
 of eloquence in that body, crossed the 
 floor of the house to congratulate him, 
 and to assure him that it rested with 
 himself to become one of the most 
 distinguished speakers of the age. 
 But he was restrained by diffidence 
 from profiting by this suggestion, and 
 a man who may be justly pronounced 
 to have been one of nature s happiest 
 efforts, has now passed away, to be 
 forgotten by the world. Never will 
 he be forgotten by the grateful heart 
 from which this humble tribute flows ; 
 nor that excellent woman, who was 
 the fit and happy counterpart of so 
 extraordinary a man.* They were 
 both an honor to their species, orna 
 ments to the church to which they be 
 longed, and are now among the spir 
 its of the blessed who surround the 
 throne on high. 
 
 " WILLIAM WIRT." . 
 
 BECOME A COUNTRY MERCHANT. 
 
 Shortly after my marriage, Mr. John 
 Helm, came to me and said, "You 
 have been very kind to my son. He 
 has profited much by your example and 
 instruction. I wish to place him in a 
 store with you. You have married 
 my brother s wife s sister. He is an 
 old experienced merchant. I have ten 
 thousand dollars, which I wish to lend 
 you as your part of the capital in a 
 partnership with him. He will ad 
 vance a like sum and go to the East 
 and buy the goods, with the under 
 standing that you will take charge of 
 the store, and when my son is old 
 enough, he is to become a partner. I 
 became a country merchant. My part 
 ner went to Philadelphia to make our 
 purchases, but being a prudent man, 
 and knowing that the effect of peace 
 would be to reduce prices, he loaned 
 .out to others a large part of our funds. 
 
 Our profits on that investment were 
 small. A lady who came to Kentucky, 
 from Philadelphia, in 1816, refused to 
 purchase a piece of muslin, saying that 
 the price was too high. I examined 
 our private mark, and told her the 
 cost was some twenty-five per cent, 
 more than I had asked. She said, re 
 provingly, " It is very hard to go to 
 heaven from behind a counter." The 
 suspended banks had not then resum 
 ed specie payments, and yet the loss, 
 caused by the reduction of prices was 
 a severe lesson in political economy 
 to be followed by another much more 
 severe shortly thereafter. 
 
 SURVEY LANDS IN MISSOURI. 
 
 In the fall of 1816, 1 obtained a large 
 contract for surveying public lands on 
 the south side of the Missouri river, 
 above Booneville. Many of the in 
 habitants were yet living in forts and 
 block-houses. Before my return to St. 
 Louis, Colonel Cooper, then an old 
 man, who had been in command of the 
 militia at Boon s lick, requested me to 
 write to the governor a letter, to be 
 signed by him, resigning his command. 
 I did so. After I reached St. Louis, 
 Governor Clark told me that he was 
 apprehensive that as soon as the mi 
 gration to that section had sufficiently 
 increased the white population, the 
 old settlers, whose property had been 
 destroyed, and whose relatives had 
 been killed by the Indians, would pro 
 voke an Indian war, and that it was 
 his wish to appoint some one in the 
 place of Colonel Cooper, who would 
 have the nerve to preserve peace ; and 
 that from what he had heard of my 
 character, he wished to appoint me. I 
 told him that I was then on my way 
 to Philadelphia, and did not know 
 when I could return. He said that he 
 would reserve the commission for me. 
 
PEESONAL NAKRATIVE. 
 
 19 
 
 PURCHASE GOODS FOR RENE PAUL AND 
 GUARANTEE PAYMENT. 
 
 My brother-in-law, Governor Edwards, 
 had advanced thirty thousand dollars 
 to Rene Paul, as a partner in a store in 
 St. Louis, and it was agreed between 
 them that I should purchase in the 
 name of Paul, in Baltimore and Phila 
 delphia, sixty thousand dollars worth 
 of goods, one half of which were 
 to be given by Paul in payment 
 of the advances made to him. 
 
 After I had made the purchase, and 
 the goods were packed, the merchants 
 in Philadelphia ascertained that his 
 brother, then residing in Baltimore, 
 had also made large purchases in 
 Paul s name, and said that they were 
 unwilling for the goods, I had bought 
 of them, to be delivered to Paul with 
 out a guarantee of payment ; and I 
 agreed that if Paul did not, upon my 
 reaching St. Louis, give a satisfactory 
 guarantee, I would retain the goods 
 and sell them and make payment. 
 When I reached St. Louis the market 
 was overstocked, and Paul, having an 
 ample supply through his brother s 
 purchases, insisted that I had given 
 the guarantee without his authority, 
 and demanded that I should keep the 
 goods, giving him security for pay 
 ment, which I did. The detention in 
 St. Louis made it so late in the season 
 that I was met, at St. Charles, by ice, 
 and compelled to remain there during 
 the winter. I therefore did not reach 
 my destination (Chariton) until next 
 spring. Desiring to make payment on 
 the goods as soon as funds could be 
 realized on them, I left a store in St. 
 Charles, and divided the remainder 
 between stores at Franklin and Chari 
 ton. Wishing to make prompt sales, 
 I asked prices so much below those 
 charged by others, that my stores 
 were crowded with customers. The 
 
 consequence was, ill feeling on the 
 part of other merchants, who could 
 not sell at the same prices. 
 
 APPOINTMENT AS MILITIA COLONEL. 
 
 Frederic Bates was the secretary of 
 the territory, and as the tendency 
 there, as elsewhere, was to organize 
 political parties, the discontents were 
 represented by him and a few of his 
 personal friends. Upon reaching St. 
 Louis, on my return, Governor Clark 
 gave me my commission, saying that 
 there had been numerous applicants, 
 and that as he was going to Ken 
 tucky, and Mr. Bates would become the 
 acting governor, and would probably 
 appoint some one else during his ab 
 sence, he wished to make the appoint 
 ment then, although my family had 
 not yet reached the county, which 
 then embraced all that part of the 
 territory west of Leuter lick. Early 
 in the spring I ordered the battalion 
 and regimental musters. As the coun 
 ty was so large, and the migration to 
 that section during the preceding 
 twelve months had been great, there 
 were twenty or more avowed candi 
 dates for the legislature, and the dis 
 appointed candidates for promotion in 
 the militia, united with the irritated 
 rival merchants, and the whole of the 
 candidates for the legislature, in de 
 nouncing my appointment by Gov 
 ernor Clark, as an act of favoritism, 
 insulting to the resident population ; 
 alleging that the commission had 
 been held back until the governor 
 could import a colonel from Kentucky. 
 As most of the candidates were new 
 comers, and Colonel Cooper was the 
 patriarch of that " settlement," he was 
 selected as the candidate for the sen 
 ate without opposition, and he and all 
 the candidates for the house of rep 
 resentatives united in making the re- 
 
20 
 
 PEESONAL NAEBATIVE. 
 
 peal of the act authorizing the gov 
 ernor to appoint the militia officers, 
 the issue before the people. 
 
 OPPOSITION HOW MET. 
 
 Matters went so far that meetings 
 were held, a committee organized, and 
 a regular protest against my appoint 
 ment published as the basis of the 
 canvass. My name, actions, and char 
 acter, were made the subjects of un 
 kind comments, and so great a preju 
 dice was excited against me that my 
 agent in Franklin closed my store, and 
 wrote to me at Chariton most despond- 
 ingly. I resolved to meet the crisis. 
 The battalion muster was to take 
 place at Franklin, the seat of the ex 
 citement, on the day after the next. I 
 put on my uniform, and rode to Frank 
 lin in full-dress on the next day. The 
 next morning, a Mr. Tompkins, one of 
 the leaders in the movement against 
 me, made an effort to provoke a per 
 sonal quarrel. I told him that my 
 purpose was to reply to their protest 
 before the parade that day, and that I 
 would meet him there. Some one 
 whispered to me that the lieutenant- 
 colonel was parading the battalion at 
 Fort Hempstead. I immediately mount 
 ed my horse and rode to the parade- 
 ground. I directed the lieutenant-col 
 onel to perform some evolution. He 
 could not give the word. I said, " If 
 you will permit me, I will 
 
 TAKE THE COMMAND." 
 
 I looked along the line and did not 
 see a single person whom I knew, save 
 a lieutenant, whom I had known in 
 Kentucky. I called him, and said, 
 " Can I rely on you ?" He replied, 
 " You can, sir." I said, " Can you de 
 tail a guard of twelve men on whom 
 you can rely ?" He said, " I can." I 
 then said, " Detail them." He did so, 
 
 and marched them in front of the 
 parade. I said, "Load your guns 
 with ball." They did so. I then 
 said to the lieutenant, " Detail a good 
 fugleman." He did so. I then said, 
 " Attention the parade ! I am told 
 that many persons in this battalion 
 have united in a protest against my 
 appointment as your colonel, and that 
 some have pledged themselves not to 
 obey my orders as such. The gov 
 ernor, in the exercise of his legitimate 
 authority, has given me the appoint 
 ment. I do not come before you now 
 to apologize or explain, but to dis 
 charge my duty as your commanding 
 officer, and to enforce obedience, and, 
 therefore, if any one in the ranks 
 dares to disobey my orders I will put 
 him under guard." I then, after tak 
 ing them through the manual exercise, 
 gave the word for several evolutions, 
 when, a shower coming on, I handed 
 over the command to Colonel Hickman, 
 who dismissed the parade. 
 
 APPEAL TO THE PEOPLE. 
 
 After the rain, I got upon a large 
 stump and called the attention of the 
 battalion. They all collected before 
 me. I took the printed remonstrance. 
 I read it, and replied to, and com 
 mented upon it. I proved that my 
 appointment had been made by the 
 governor in the proper exercise of his 
 official duty. To the charge that I 
 had been imported for the purpose, 
 and appointed to the exclusion of the 
 other aspirants, I showed that while 
 most of the many aspirants were in 
 their forts, or else in Kentucky, I had 
 surveyed the country which was then 
 occupied by Indian hunting parties, 
 and that I had resolved to remove to 
 the county, and was on my way for 
 my family when the appointment 
 was tendered to me ; and explained 
 
PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 21 
 
 the cause of my delay in coming. 
 In reply to the personal remarks 
 which had been made against me, I 
 pointed to the motives and conduct 
 of my accusers, one of whom, a Mr. Ben 
 son threatened that if I used his name, 
 he would drag me from the stump and 
 cowhide me. He had been an aspirant, 
 and when I came to speak of him, he 
 came rushing through the crowd with 
 a whip in his hand. I saw him com 
 ing. I drew my sword, poised myself 
 on the stump, and would, if he had 
 come near enough, have endeavored 
 to cut off his head. He saw my pur 
 pose, threw up both hands and retreat 
 ed. When I came to speak of 
 
 COLONEL COOPER. 
 
 And his letter, he came before me 
 much excited and said, " Do not 
 use my name, for if you do, I will 
 drag you from that stump." I stopped 
 speaking ; I looked him sternly in the 
 eye, until I saw that he faltered, and 
 I then said, " Colonel Cooper, you are 
 the patriarch of this settlement. You 
 have grown gray in the confidence 
 and respect of those who know you, 
 You are here, surrounded by your 
 friends and my enemies, who, to flatter 
 your vanity, and use your name and in 
 fluence to my injury, have tendered 
 you a nomination for the senate, and 
 you have no opposition. I am a young 
 man, just entering into life my char 
 acter has been assailed by a wicked 
 combination, and it is necessary that 
 I should use your name in my defence. 
 You know that what I am going to 
 say is true, and no threats or violence 
 shall prevent my using your name, 
 and stating the facts as they are." 
 A Mr. Hancock, Colonel Cooper s 
 brother in law, here said, " Go on, sir, 
 I ll stand by you." I continued ad 
 dressing the colonel. "It has been 
 
 charged that you did not request me 
 to write your letter of resignation. 
 You know that you did come to me 
 and request me to write, and that I 
 wrote precisely the words which you 
 wished to be written." He quietly 
 took a seat outside of the crowd, and 
 did not speak in reply. Two of the 
 committee, who had published the re 
 monstrance, replied to me. I then 
 said : " Gentlemen, you have now 
 heard me in reply to my accusers, 
 you have heard their response to my 
 reply. Under the circumstances you 
 cannot expect me to resign the com 
 mand, and I would not resign if every 
 one in the regiment were to request 
 me to do so. But I claim that an ex 
 pression of your opinion is no less due 
 to yourselves than to me, and it is 
 therefore my wish that you should 
 say whether you are willing that I 
 should continue in the command of the 
 regiment. Therefore, all of you who 
 wish me to command will please move 
 to the right, while those who are op 
 posed, if there are any, will please go 
 to the left. 
 
 THE BATTALION APPROVE MY APPOINT 
 MENT. 
 
 The men threw up their hats, and, 
 moving in a body to the right, shouted, 
 " Hurra, hurra for our colonel." Even 
 Benson went with them. Seeing him, 
 I said, " Mr. Benson, you don t belong 
 to that crowd ; please go to the left." 
 He said, " The men did not understand 
 you." I replied, " Gentlemen, Mr. 
 Benson thinks you do not know which 
 is to the right and which is to the 
 left ; to satisfy him that it is he who 
 is in the wrong, I renew the proposi 
 tion, and respectfully request all those 
 who wish me to command this regi 
 ment to move to my left, leaving Mr. 
 Benson where he is." With a shout 
 
22 
 
 PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 for "Our colonel," the whole mass 
 moved to the left. My triumph was 
 complete opposition to me ceased 
 my popularity and influence were 
 established, as indicated by my elec 
 tion as a member of the convention 
 which made the state constitution, 
 and then as a member of the house of 
 representatives and of the state sen 
 ate. 
 
 I have given this account thus in 
 detail, partly because it is an illustra 
 tion of the force and power of truth ; 
 and of the generous sympathy, with 
 right and justice, on the part of the 
 people, which has been a ruling prin 
 ciple of my life, and because it tends 
 to explain the state of parties as then 
 organized in the territory, and espe- 
 pecially my relations to Colonel Ben- 
 ton, whose malevolent influence, as it 
 will hereafter be seen, has contributed 
 so much to the disasters which have 
 fallen upon this country. 
 
 COL. BENTON AND JAMES CRUTCHER. 
 
 Colonel Miller, of Hardin county, 
 commanded one of the regiments which 
 were with me at Tippecanoe. Crutcher 
 and Wintersmith were merchants in 
 Elizabethtown. After the return of 
 the regiment, Crutcher induced the 
 paymaster to resign, and he (Crutcher) 
 was appointed. His partner came to 
 Washington, drew the funds, and paid 
 them for goods. Instead of paying 
 the money which he had received, he 
 required the soldiers to take a large 
 part or the whole in goods. He be 
 came a candidate for Congress. I 
 wrote and published a handbill censur 
 ing his conduct ; and as he and Tho 
 mas Speed, of Bardstown, his competi 
 tor, had a series of appointments at 
 which they made speeches, I attended 
 several of the meetings, and enforced 
 my charges against Crutcher from the 
 
 stump. Mr. Speed was elected. The 
 canvass was exciting and very bitter. 
 When I reached St. Louis, in 1816, as 
 I entered the hotel, I met Benton in 
 the door, and the likeness to Crutcher 
 was such that I started as if I had met 
 an enemy. My instincts of distrust 
 were then so much excited that al 
 though I afterward voted for him as a 
 candidate for the United States Sen 
 ate, I always felt a conviction that he 
 was a dangerous, unreliable man, 
 against whose machinations I should 
 ever be on my guard. 
 
 HOW AND WHY HE WAS MADE A SENATOR. 
 
 Am I asked why, with such an in 
 stinct of his character, I voted for 
 him ? The answer is, that he was the 
 editor of an influential paper ; that, in 
 the division of parties, he sustained 
 Governor Clark ; that he opposed the 
 Missouri restriction ; and that, upon 
 the organization of the state govern 
 ment, a seat in the United States Sen 
 ate was allotted to him as a reward 
 for his partisan services, and that, re 
 luctantly yielding to party influence, I 
 gave a party vote. 
 
 My experience is that man is selfish, 
 that he is more under the influence of 
 animosity than of friendship, and that 
 passion and prejudice control his judg 
 ment and his conduct ; that the ten 
 dency of party organization is to sub 
 ordinate the masses to the governing 
 influence of a few party leaders, who 
 are thus enabled to substitute party 
 platforms for the written constitution, 
 and gratify their personal animosities 
 in disregard of the public interest and 
 of the principles of public liberty. I 
 have, therefore, always endeavored to 
 regulate my own conduct, and to judge 
 of the motives and conduct of others, 
 by the test of truth, right, and justice. 
 It was resentment, jealousy, hatred 
 
PEESONAL NAKKATIVE. 
 
 23 
 
 against the Creator, which prompted | self that I would go to the village and, 
 Satan to tempt Eve. It was jealousy, | by a talk with the chief and warriors, 
 
 hatred, resentment, disappointed ambi 
 tion, which brought upon us a civil 
 
 prevent any further depredations, they 
 were induced to return. I went to the 
 
 war. It is my purpose to trace the village, and explained to the Indians 
 working of these evil passions, that, I that I was their friend ; that it was 
 by unmasking their idols, I may wean i better for them to live in peace. I ob- 
 the people from their idolatry. tained their confidence, and not only 
 
 prevented depredations on the whites, 
 
 THE INDIANS. but i induced the tribes who had been 
 
 The Sac and Fox Indians, who then j at war to live in peace with each other. 
 
 resided on both sides of the Missis- ! There was no conflict with tho In 
 
 dians so long as I was in command on 
 that frontier. 
 
 ELECTED A MEMBER OF THE MISSOURI CON 
 VENTION. 
 
 Congress having passed the act au 
 thorizing- Missouri to organize a state 
 government, I was a candidate for the 
 
 stealing horses, I would require them convention, and then wrote and pub- 
 
 to appoint chiefs who could prevent it, 
 
 they pledged themselves that there 
 
 should be no further cause of com- 
 
 sippi, near Rock Island, were in the 
 habit of hunting on the Missouri, and, 
 returning home in the spring, they 
 stole horses from the frontier settle 
 ments. I sent for their chiefs, and, 
 after explaining to them that I would 
 hold them responsible, and that, if they 
 could not prevent the young men from j 
 
 lished my first political essay, in which 
 I vindicated the institution of African 
 slavery, and denied the power of Con- 
 
 plaint. The lowas, who resided on gress to impose the restriction. Young 
 the Chariton, were restrained in the i as I then was, my address was exten- 
 same way, with like favorable results, sively published, and favorably no- 
 And I am satisfied, from my own ex- ticed, in some of the leading republi- 
 perience, that all our Indian wars may | can papers, and especially by the Eich- 
 be traced to some misconduct on the i mond Enquirer. I was elected, and 
 part of the whites, or to mismanage- 1 took an active part in the convention, 
 ment of government agents. I have and there took my first lesson as to 
 
 risen from my bed at night, and, with 
 no other guide but the stars and my 
 general knowledge of the country, 
 without even a pathway, I have been, 
 the next morning at sunrise, thirty 
 miles from my home, and intercepted 
 an armed mob moving upon an Indian 
 village, under the command of one of 
 the old settlers, whose brother had, 
 during the war, been killed by the In 
 dians. The pretence was that the In 
 dians had stolen a horse the purpose 
 was to avenge the wrongs which the 
 Indians had previously committed. I 
 called a council, and, by pledging my- 
 
 the distribution of party patronage. 
 The candidates for the several judicial 
 appointments wished to so restrict the 
 power of the legislature, by a consti 
 tutional provision, that the salaries of 
 the judges should never be less than 
 three thousand dollars. I voted in the 
 negative, and the clause was defeated. 
 General Rector, the surveyor-general, 
 had been personally kind to me, and 
 under a pressing appeal made through 
 him I was induced, against my own 
 judgment, to reconsider the measure, 
 and it was adopted. As a member of 
 the committee on printing, I had given 
 
PERSONAL NARRATIVE. 
 
 offence to one of the candidates for 
 patronage, and my vote was made the 
 pretence for a bitter criticism, which, 
 on the day of the election of the mem 
 bers of the legislature, was distributed 
 at most, if not all, the election pre 
 cincts. The effect was to defeat my 
 election by a few votes. One of the 
 members elected died before the meet 
 ing of the legislature. I replied to 
 the publication, and was elected by a 
 large majority. 
 
 THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE MR. CLAY 
 
 THE BANK. 
 
 When the bill authorizing Missouri 
 to organize a state government was 
 before Congress, Mr. Clay was the 
 Speaker of the House of Representa 
 tives. Maine applied for admission at 
 the same time. Ninian Edwards and 
 Jesse B. Thomas were the Senators, 
 and Daniel P. Cook was the member 
 
 qj 
 
 from Illinois. Crawford, Adams, and 
 Calhoun, were then prominent as 
 pirants for the presidency, and all 
 were members of Mr. Monroe s cab 
 inet. Thomas was the active parti 
 san of Crawford, Cook of Adams, 
 and Edwards of Calhoun, Edwards 
 was a slave owner, and most decided 
 ly opposed to the restriction ; Cook 
 was his son-in-law, and among the 
 most zealous advocates of it. Fearing 
 that Thomas might be induced to 
 unite with Cook, Mr. Edwards prepared 
 an amendment, uniting Maine and Mis 
 souri in the same bill, and also the 
 amendment known as the compromise 
 line of 36 30 , and gave them to 
 Thomas on whose motion they were 
 adopted. The constitution of Missouri 
 contained a clause, which made it the 
 duty of the legislature to pass laws 
 preventing the migration of free ne 
 groes and mulattoes to the state. The 
 pressure for money created through 
 
 the Bank of the United States, had 
 rendered the bank unpopular in the 
 Southern and Western states, and 
 Ohio, under the lead of Charles Ham 
 mond, had imposed a heavy tax, and 
 levied on the branch at Chillicothe. 
 Mr. Clay was induced to resign his 
 seat as speaker, and when Congress 
 met he was in Ohio, in charge of a 
 negotiation with Hammond. In the 
 meantime, the National Gazette, of 
 Philadelphia, the organ of the bank, 
 took the ground that free negroes and 
 mulattoes were citizens of the United 
 States, and as such were entitled to 
 all the rights and privileges of citi 
 zens, and made a question against the 
 admission of our Senators and mem 
 ber to their seats. Mr. Sargeant, the 
 lawyer of the bank, and the leading 
 member from Pennsylvania, took the 
 same ground in Congress, and John 
 W. Taylor, of New York, was elected 
 Speaker as an opponent to the admission 
 of Missouri. The opposition was kept 
 up in the House, until Mr. Clay had 
 converted Charles Hammond, from a 
 bitter opponent of the bank and of 
 Henry Clay, into a warm partisan of 
 both, and, having obtained a concession 
 that the bank was authorized to estab 
 lish branches in the states, without 
 the consent of the states, came to 
 Washington and resumed his seat as 
 a member of the House. The bank 
 wishing to prevent any further dis 
 cussion of her power to establish 
 branches, and Mr. Clay, seeking popu 
 larity as a candidate for the presiden 
 cy, the partisans of the bank saw that, 
 as Mr. Clay was thus identified with 
 the bank, to give him the credit of 
 compromising the Missouri question, 
 would tend to prevent discussion or 
 comment on the arrangement which 
 he had made at Chillicothe, and there 
 fore they united in support of a 
 
PEESONAL NAEKATIVE. 
 
 25 
 
 resolution, offered by Mr. Clay, pro 
 viding that the Senators and Repre 
 sentative from Missouri, should be 
 permitted to take their seats upon con 
 dition that the legislature of Missouri 
 should, by a solemn act, declare that 
 the constitution of the state should 
 not be so construed as to authorize 
 the legislature to pass any act which 
 would deprive any citizen of the United 
 States of the rights to which they may 
 be entitled under the Constitution of 
 the United States ; or, in other words, 
 Mr. Clay s compromise was that the 
 legislature of Missouri should by a 
 solemn act declare that, inasmuch as 
 they are required to take an oath to 
 support the Constitution of the United 
 States, they would not pass an act 
 which may be a violation of the oath 
 they had taken. 
 
 COL. BENTON S ATTEMPT TO GET A CAUCUS 
 NOMINATION OF MR. CLAY. 
 
 In December, 1823, I was a member 
 of the state senate. Colonel Benton 
 had sold the St. Louis Inquirer to a 
 Mr. Ford. The legislature were in 
 session at St. Charles. Benton was a 
 relative and active partisan of Mr. 
 Clay. He came to St. Charles, and 
 Ford came to me and said that Ben- 
 ton s purpose was to get a caucus 
 nomination of Mr. Clay, and urged me 
 to unite in the support of Mr. Clay, 
 saying that my position was such in 
 the state that if I would but identify 
 myself with Mr. Clay s friends, there 
 was nothing in their power to grant 
 that I might not command. The cau 
 cus met. I opposed the nomination, 
 and notified Colonel Benton that if he 
 was in St. Charles when the senate 
 met the next day, I would introduce a 
 resolution for a committee to inquire 
 why, instead of being in Washington 
 attending to his duties as a Senator, 
 
 he was in St. Charles, seeking to ob 
 tain the electoral vote of Missouri as 
 so much capital to be disposed of by 
 him in the political market. I de 
 feated the nomination, and Colonel 
 Benton left St. Charles before the 
 senate met the next day. 
 
 BECOME AN EDITOR. 
 
 In the latter part of December, 
 I purchased the St. Louis Inquirer, 
 and supported the election of Gen 
 eral Jackson. Mr. Clay and his 
 friends became satisfied that he could 
 not be elected by the electors, and 
 made extraordinary efforts to get suf 
 ficient votes to place him as one of 
 the three, from whom the House 
 of Representatives would elect one. 
 Benton came back to Missouri and 
 canvassed the state for Mr. Clay. 
 Wherever he went he found my paper 
 urging the election of General Jack 
 son. We carried the southern dis 
 trict against Mr. Clay, but his half- 
 brother (Watkins) was a returning- 
 officer, and suppressed the return. It 
 was urged by Mr. Clay and his promi 
 nent friends that, if one of the three 
 having the greatest number of votes, 
 he would be elected by the House of 
 Representatives, and inasmuch as that 
 might depend upon a single vote, Ben- 
 ton and the other partisans of Mr. 
 Clay induced the legislature to de 
 clare the election of electors illegal, 
 and gave the three votes of Missouri 
 for Mr. Clay. At the same time a 
 leading friend of Mr. Clay was at Al 
 bany negotiating for part of the vote 
 of New York ! 
 
 ELECTION OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS." 
 
 There was no choice by the electors. 
 General Jackson, Mr. Adams, and Mr. 
 Crawford, were .the three who having 
 
26 
 
 PERSONAL NARKATIVE. 
 
 received the greater number of votes, 
 were returned to the House, and Mr. 
 Adams was elected ; Mr. Clay, Mr. 
 Cook, of Illinois, and Mr. Scott, of 
 Missouri, voting- for him. 
 
 It so happened that as the attorney 
 for parties having large claims against 
 the government for Indian depreda 
 tions, I reached Washington a few 
 days after the election, and it was 
 deemed of so much importance to se 
 cure the influence of my press, that 
 Mr. Cook and Mr. Scott were deputed 
 to make the arrangement. 
 
 My wife s cousin and John Q.uincy 
 Adams had married sisters. My per 
 sonal influence, sustained by my press, 
 was such, that Benton, fearing that I 
 would become his competitor for the 
 Senate, had made Mr. Clay s vote for 
 Mr. Adams a pretence for the concilia 
 tion of General Jackson, who had 
 driven him from Tennessee as a per 
 sonal enemy ; and it was urged that 
 by uniting with the friends of Clay 
 and Adams, and thus securing their 
 support, aided as I would be by the 
 control of the federal patronage which 
 was tendered to me, contributing so 
 much as I could do to the success and 
 permanence in power of the new party, 
 there was nothing in the power of the 
 
 government to give which I might not 
 confidently expect to receive. 
 
 "INTRIGUE, BARGAIN, AND MANAGEMENT." 
 
 Mr. Clay s partisans during the can 
 vas had urged his pretensions upon the 
 ground that he was the representative 
 and friend of the West and of Western 
 interests, and that Mr. Adorns was un 
 friendly to the interests and prosperity 
 of the West ; and yet he endeavored 
 to justify his vote upon the ground 
 that Mr. Adams was more favorable 
 to the West than General Jackson. I 
 saw that the tendency of the coalition 
 between Clay and Adams was to 
 strengthen the sectional anti-slavery 
 party, by introducing the tariff and in 
 ternal improvements as parts of their 
 system of measures. High duties to 
 create a large surplus revenue, to be 
 expended by a log-rolling, sectional, 
 corrupt party majority in Congress ; 
 high duties for the benefit of Eastern 
 manufacturers, and a large surplus 
 revenue to build turnpike roads in the 
 Northwest and Western States. I 
 saw that the ten millions of dollars ap 
 propriated as a sinking fund would 
 soon pay off the national debt, and 
 that, therefore, instead of increasing 
 the duties, they should be reduced.- 
 
CHAPTER IT. 
 
 THE COALITION. 
 
 DURING- the preceding summer, Mr. 
 Clay s Central Committee had is 
 sued a circular, in which they said : 
 
 " And let them [tlio people] remember 
 that, after the choice of electors once takes 
 place, their voice will no more be heard in 
 the contest. ALL WILL BE CARRIED BY IN 
 
 FLUENCE AND INTRIGUE, BARGAIN AND MANAGE 
 MENT. He who has the most extensive 
 means of influence, and will promise the 
 most favors, will have the best prospect of 
 success ; and the nation will receive the 
 President, not from the pure hands of the 
 people, but from a CLUB OP POLITICAL MAN 
 
 AGERS AND INTRIGUERS." 
 
 And believing that the prediction 
 of Mr. Clay s committee had been veri 
 fied by the election of Mr. Adams, and 
 that the inevitable tendency of the 
 
 " INTRIGUE, BARGAIN, AND MANAGEMENT," 
 
 between Messrs. Adams and Clay, 
 would be to 
 
 ORGANIZE A CORRUPT NORTHERN PARTY, 
 
 Predicated upon 
 ofplundering and oppressing the South, 
 and that the inevitable consequence 
 would be a counter-organization of the 
 South in defence of the rights and in 
 terests of the South, and that the sec 
 tional conflict would necessarily en 
 danger the peace and perpetuity of the 
 Union ; and, therefore, tempting as the 
 inducements were, I refused to unite 
 in support of the coalition. 
 
 GENERAL JACKSON. 
 
 "While then in Washington, I be 
 came personally acquainted with Gen- 
 3 
 
 eral Jackson, and on my return to St. 
 Louis, travelled in company with him as 
 far as Louisville. He then urged me to 
 remove to Washington and take charge 
 of a paper opposed to the re-election 
 of Mr. Adams. I had established the 
 first line of stages west of the Missis 
 sippi. I had a profitable contract for 
 carrying the mail. I had placed the 
 line under the charge of trustworthy 
 partners who paid me a large fixed in 
 come. I had a valuable business as an 
 attorney. I was the editor and pro 
 prietor of a leading paper, giving me 
 considerable profit, and I was invest 
 ing my income in and adjoining the 
 city of St. Louis. I had a young 
 and interesting family, and my social 
 and political position was second to 
 that of no man in the state. I had re 
 fused to exchange my position for a 
 seat in the Senate of the United 
 States, and I did not consent to be 
 come the editor of a party paper in 
 Washington. But the next year I 
 came to Washington on professional 
 business. 
 
 PURCHASE OP THE UNITED STATES TELE 
 GRAPH. 
 
 It so happened that I boarded in the 
 same house with Mr. Agg, the editor 
 of the Washington Journal, then the 
 acknowledged organ of Mr. Adams. 
 Having leisure I wrote several articles 
 which were adopted by Mr. Meehan, 
 the editor and proprietor of the Tele 
 graph, and published as editorials. 
 
28 
 
 THE COALITION. 
 
 One morning, while at breakfast, I 
 read in the Journal a reply, assuming 
 that I was the writer, and assailing 
 me personally with scurrilous abuse. 
 Agg sat opposite to me at the table, 
 and his look and manner were offen 
 sive. I arose from the table and went 
 directly to Mr. Median s office and 
 asked him for what price he would 
 sell me his paper. He named the 
 price, and I drew a check for the 
 money. I went back to St. Louis. I 
 sold my property in and near the city, 
 at a great sacrifice. I relinquished 
 my profession. I sold my paper. I 
 afterwards sold my line of stages and 
 mail contract, and concentrated my 
 resources and my energies to defeat 
 the re-election of Mr. Adams, by demon 
 strating that his election was, as fore 
 told by Mr. Clay s Kentucky com 
 mittee, the result of BARGAIN, INTRIGUE, 
 AND MANAGEMENT, between Mr. Clay 
 and Mr. Adams, and by defeating his 
 re-election, prevent that sectional 
 northern party organization, which, by 
 restoring the FEDERAL party to power, 
 would endanger the peace and per 
 petuity of the Union. 
 
 I was not an adventurer, purchased 
 by promises of plunder or patronage 
 I was a devotee, sacrificing my own 
 private interests in the effort to main 
 tain the rights of the people, and to 
 assert and enforce the responsibility 
 of their public servants. 
 
 Among other property sold at a 
 nominal price, for funds to purchase 
 and support a free press in Washing 
 ton, -were one square, then in the heart 
 of the city, and two hundred and fifty 
 arpens of land adjoining Choteau s pond 
 on the south, which I am told is now 
 in city lots of great value. Had I re 
 mained in St. Louis investing, as was 
 my purpose, my surplus earnings in 
 lands in and adjoining the city, I 
 
 would have been, long ere this, one of 
 ;he most wealthy men in this country. 
 I acted under a sense of public duty, 
 and now refer to the sacrifice as one of 
 the incidents which strengthen my 
 laim upon the public confidence. 
 
 REMOVE TO WASHINGTON. 
 
 Having hastily, and consequently 
 at a great sacrifice, arranged my busi 
 ness in Missouri, I came with my wife, 
 four children, and a few family ser 
 vants, to Kentucky. When we reached 
 Hopkinsville we heard of the death of 
 my mother-in-law, and upon reaching 
 Elkton we found my father-in-law so 
 ill that Mrs. Green preferred to remain 
 with him, and that I should precede 
 her to Washington to make arrange 
 ments for housekeeping. Her father 
 survived but a few weeks. She nursed 
 him until his death, and then, accom 
 panied by one of her nephews, came 
 in a carriage to Washington. 
 
 I had two brothers-in-law living in 
 Russellville, and, wishing to see Gen 
 eral Jackson before I came to Wash 
 ington, I came that far on my way 
 to Nashville. The next morning the 
 stage took up another passenger, who 
 was also going to Nashville. He was 
 scarcely seated before he said, " Duff 
 Green has come to town." " Ah," said 
 I, " what of him ?" " Why," said he, 
 " he is going to Washington to abuse 
 Mr. Clay." Finding that he was dis 
 posed to be communicative, I encour 
 aged him to talk, and was much more 
 than usually polite to him. When we 
 reached Nashville, one of the Nash 
 ville committee, who had been notified 
 of my coming, asked the driver if 
 General Green was in the stage. 
 Upon my replying in the affirmative, 
 I was received and welcomed by the 
 committee and others who had met at 
 the hotel for the purpose. My fellow- 
 
THE COALITION. 
 
 29 
 
 traveller, as soon as he could well do 
 so, came to me and said, " I owe you an 
 apology." " For what ?" said I. He 
 replied, " I did not know who you 
 were, or I never would have talked to 
 you as I did to-day." I said, " I am 
 aware of that, and therefore your com 
 ments gave me no offence." " You 
 are not," said he, " the man I thought 
 you were, and you must send me your 
 paper, and I will do all I can to aid 
 you." He became a valuable corre 
 spondent. 
 
 GENERAL JACKSON JOHN POPE WM. T. 
 
 BARRY AMOS KENDALL. 
 
 I spent a day with General Jackson 
 at the Hermitage, and, when leaving 
 him for Nashville, he rode with me to 
 his gate ; he held my hand, and hav 
 ing again said that he was much grat 
 ified at my having purchased the Tele 
 graph, and renewed his promise of 
 friendship and personal regard, he con 
 cluded, by way of encouragement, 
 saying, " Truth is mighty and will 
 prevail." 
 
 From the Hermitage I went to visit 
 my own father, intending to call on 
 Mr. Monroe, who had married one of 
 the daughters of General Adair. The 
 chief purpose of my visit to General 
 Jackson was to ascertain whether I 
 could aid in restoring friendly rela 
 tions between him and General Adair. 
 I saw Mr. Monroe, and enlisted his 
 co-operation ; I then went to Louis 
 ville. Worden Pope told me that Mr. 
 Kendall, the editor of the Argus, was 
 much inclined to support the election 
 of General Jackson, and advised me 
 
 to go to Frankfort to see him. When 
 I reached Frankfort, Mr. Kendall was 
 sick. I saw Judge Bibb, who advised 
 me to go to Lexington and see Judge 
 Barry, who had been a candidate on 
 Mr. Clay s electoral ticket. I found 
 him hesitating, and apprehensive that 
 John Pope, who was the brother-in-law 
 of Mr. Adams, and who, during the 
 canvass, had sustained General Jack 
 son as against Mr. Clay, and had 
 taken a decided part against the new 
 court, of which Mr. Barry was a judge, 
 would unite with the partisans of Mr. 
 Clay, and that their influence in the 
 state would preponderate. As Mr. 
 Pope happened to be in Lexington, I 
 invited him and Judge Barry to dine 
 with me, and, a mutual understanding 
 of concert and co-operation having 
 been agreed upon, Judge Barry went 
 with me to see Colonel Eichard M. 
 Johnson, who told us that he had had 
 a confidential conversation with Mr. 
 Kendall, who had borrowed fifteen hun 
 dred dollars from Mr. Clay as the ex 
 ecutor of Morrison, and that the Argus 
 would oppose the re-election of Mr. 
 Adams, as soon as Mr. Kendall could 
 arrange for funds to pay Mr. Clay. I 
 thereupon authorized Colonel Johnson 
 to say to him, that I would advance 
 the fifteen hundred dollars, which I 
 did. Mr. Kendall had been an active 
 and confidential friend of Mr. Clay, 
 and, as such, had taken an active part 
 against the election of Mr. Adams. 
 He and the Argus became warmly en 
 listed in support of the election of 
 General Jackson, and were influential 
 auxiliaries in that evenful contest. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 THE ANTI-SLAVERY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 TN 1816, Daniel Pope Cook, who had 
 studied law with Judge Pope, of 
 Illinois, upon the recommendation of 
 Ninian Edwards, my brother-in-law, 
 then a Senator in Congress, was ap 
 pointed by Mr. Monroe bearer of de 
 spatches to notify Mr. Adams, then our 
 minister in London, of his appointment 
 as Secretary of State. He brought me 
 a letter of introduction, and told me 
 that, being in delicate health, his pur 
 pose was to try the effect of a sea 
 voyage, intending, upon his return, to 
 remove to the South. I saw him in 
 Washington city in October, 1817, 
 when he told me that Mr. Adams had 
 satisfied him that the migration to the 
 north of the Ohio would be so great 
 that the anti-slavery party would soon 
 obtain the political control of this 
 country ; and that, under the advice 
 of Mr. Adams, he had abandoned the 
 idea of going South to practise law, 
 and would go back to Illinois, with a 
 a view of becoming a candidate for 
 Congress for the purpose of agitating 
 the slavery question. lie said that he 
 had already commenced the agitation, 
 and gave me a pamphlet containing 
 two letters, which he had addressed to 
 Mr. Monroe, and published in Meade s 
 Register. 
 
 The following is a quotation from 
 
 MR. COOK S SECOND LETTER. 
 
 u A great similarity in manners, habits, 
 aud mode of thinking, must bo preserved, 
 as the strongest cement of our Union and 
 
 safeguard of our tranquillity. But slavery 
 destroys this similarity in each of those par 
 ticulars. Idleness, with its train of vices, 
 will ultimately become habitual to the slave 
 holder, while the necessity of industry will 
 secure the virtue of the other. The love of 
 equality will be the predominant principle 
 of the one, while a familiarity with do 
 mestic power I may say, tyranny will be 
 get a love of distinction, a love of aristoc 
 racy, in the other. This circumstance, added 
 to the difference of climate, will tend much, 
 as has already been witnessed, to estrange 
 the Southern from the Northern people. In 
 the South, the people are more under the 
 influence of feeling than in the North ; they 
 are, consequently, more hasty in their de 
 liberations. In the North they are a more 
 cool and calculating people, and are more 
 apt to view things through the medium of 
 interest. Hence there is, from the differ 
 ence in climate, a dissimilarity in the con 
 struction of their minds ; and the adventi 
 tious circumstance of slavery will increase 
 this difference. The motto of a republic 
 should be PEACE. But a people who 
 are under no necessity of pursuing habits 
 of industry, will naturally acquire a taste 
 for war. Hence the people of the South, 
 where slavery prevails, will be more ready 
 to embark in a war than those of the North, 
 and Hartford Conventions more baleful 
 in their results than that which has already 
 been experienced will be as frequently re 
 peated as we are engaged ih war. 
 
 " Slavery is confined to particular states, 
 and they must, therefore, remain in a nar 
 rower compass than the white population. 
 By this means, their number will increase 
 in those sections of the country, so as ulti 
 mately to exceed that of the whites. In 
 this state of things, when they shah 1 have 
 
THE ANTI-SLAVEBY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 31 
 
 been enlightened by one solitary ray of 
 knowledge when their own numbers shall 
 be known to them and which we cannot 
 conceal from them like the stream that 
 has been feebly dammed, they will rise in 
 the majesty of their strength, and burst 
 those chains with which they are bound ; 
 and like the deluge which leaves desolation 
 behind it, their progress will be known by 
 their ravages. This cannot be looked up 
 on as mere speculation. Tis the ordinary 
 course of nature. It was by that grand 
 operation of nature, that we became free 
 and independent ourselves. And if we 
 place the same fetters on the works of na 
 ture, may we not fairly expect she will 
 make the same exertion to throw them off? 
 We were favored by Heaven in our Revolu 
 tionary struggle and believing ourselves 
 injured, we even appealed to the Divinity 
 to aid and assist us we were lighting for 
 our natural rights ; those rights which we 
 believed the God of Nature intended all 
 should equally enjoy. To that appeal the 
 Heavens bowed propitiously and the ty 
 rant s scourge was no longer allowed to be 
 visited upon us. With this recent example 
 of the justice of Heaven before us, can we, 
 with any well-founded hope of escaping a 
 similar visitation of Divine justice, expect 
 to go on, inflicting more unwarrantable op 
 pressions upon others than were inflicted 
 upon us ? No ! the ways of Heaven are 
 alike, are unalterable, and for us they will 
 not swerve from their altered course. In 
 the Revolution we were unable to achieve 
 our freedom without foreign assistance 
 and so sweet was the name of liberty so 
 musical did it sound in the ears of foreign 
 ers, that they rallied around our standard, 
 and offered up their lives as a volun 
 tary sacrifice at the altar of that god 
 dess under whose banners they were fight 
 ing. And when the manacles of slavery 
 shall become intolerable to these people, 
 and they shall be found bleeding in the 
 cause of freedom will not the same flame, 
 which then warmed the trans-Atlantic bos 
 om, again shed its genial warmth upon 
 them, and invite them to rally around then- 
 sable standard ? So long as the same cause 
 
 will produce the same effect, so long may 
 this be expected. 
 
 " Let us now dwell for a moment on the 
 effect which Algerine captivity has had on 
 the civilized world for holding in cap 
 tivity and slavery, the subjects of Christian 
 powers. Has not the united resentment of 
 all Christian nations been levelled against 
 them ? Have they not had to withstand the 
 thunder of civilized warfare, for those gross 
 and flagrant impositions ? And yet we, 
 we who have acted a distinguished part 
 in punishing this outrage, are daily in 
 flicting it upon almost millions. Ameri 
 cans, look at this picture ! does it not 
 arouse your sensibility and wound your 
 high-blown pride ? Does it not disturb 
 you in your daily occupations, and haunt 
 your midnight dreams ? Or, are you callous 
 to the feelings of humanity and deaf to the 
 voice of justice ? 
 
 When that secret monitor, which dwells 
 in every bosom, shall call us to an account 
 for our conduct, for this outrage upon the 
 rights of humanity, unless the feelings are 
 steeled against remorse and compunction, 
 their poignant shafts will be levelled 
 against us, and all the joys of life must 
 be embittered. 
 
 " But this is not all, let those states which 
 have imbrued their hands in tho blood of 
 their fellow-beings, for attempting to throw 
 off the galling yoke of slavery, put on the 
 weeds of mourning. Let them make atone 
 ment by the emancipation of those whose 
 meekness and forbearance have shielded 
 them against a future accountability for 
 similar iniquity. Apply not that odious 
 epithet of insurgent, of rebel, of trai 
 tor, to the man who strives to gain his 
 liberty ; remember that it was but yester 
 day that you were in the same predica 
 ment and yet your venerable Congress de 
 clared you free, and no longer subject 
 to the disgraceful epithet of traitor to 
 your country. Who is a traitor ? Not the 
 man who is bound in the iron chains of slav 
 ery, and strives to break his fetters I Not 
 the man who is actuated by the noblest 
 feeling of our nature to secure his happi 
 ness and his freedom. But it is he who, 
 
32 
 
 THE ANTI-SLAVERY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 from ambitious or malignant motives, aims 
 at the destruction of social happiness, by 
 raising the hostile hand against that gov 
 ernment which protects him, and to which 
 he owes his allegiance. 
 
 " But can a government be said to protect 
 a people which it enslaves ? and can they 
 be said to owe allegiance to that govern 
 ment which enslaves them? If so, away 
 with such protection, and with such alle 
 giance. They are terms indefinite and in 
 applicable to the social state. 
 
 " It is to be hoped that, through your in 
 fluence, the general government will take 
 some measures preparatory to the comple 
 tion of this work, and that individuals and 
 the state governments will ultimately com 
 plete it. 
 
 " D. P. C. 
 
 " WASHINGTON, September 14, 1817." 
 
 It will be seen that letters were 
 
 THE TEXT FOR THE SLAVERY AGITATION J 
 
 That in them Mr. Cook drew a dis 
 paraging picture of Southern society, 
 of the habits, education, and general 
 character of the Southern people ; 
 that he boldly declared the right of 
 the slaves to rebel and make war on 
 their masters ! He said : " Let those 
 states which have imbrued their hands 
 in the blood of their fellow-beings, for 
 attempting to throw oft" the galling 
 yoke of slavery, put on the weeds of 
 mourning. Let them make atonement 
 by the emancipation of those whose 
 meekness and forbearance have shield 
 ed them against a future accountabil 
 ity for similar iniquity." Here we see 
 Mr. Cook, under the prompting of John 
 Quincy Adams, as far back as 1817, 
 openly asserting that the " meekness 
 and forbearance" of our slaves would 
 shield them from " a future accounta 
 bility" for imbruing their hands in the 
 blood of their masters ! Startle not, 
 reader I These letters, avowedly pub 
 lished under the promptings of John 
 Quincy Adams, then Secretary of State 
 
 of the United States, as the text for 
 the organization of a party, for the 
 purpose of giving the political con 
 trol of our government to the federal 
 party, then openly asserted the broad 
 doctrines afterward avowed by the 
 British government in the case of the 
 murder of the crew of the Creole by 
 insurgent slaves, viz. : that a slave 
 may rightfully do whatever may be 
 necessary to obtain his freedom, and 
 that hence if the murder of the crew 
 was necessary to enable the slaves to 
 get command of the ship, then the 
 slaves, so committing murder, ought 
 not to be punished. Hear John Quin 
 cy Adams, speaking through Mr. Cook, 
 on the 14th of September, 1817 : "Ap 
 ply not the odious epithet of insur 
 gent, of rebel, of traitor, to the man 
 who strives to gain his liberty." He 
 exclaims : " Who is a traitor ?" and 
 replies, " Not the man who is bound in 
 the iron chains of slavery and strives 
 to break his fetters ! Not the man 
 who is actuated by the noblest feel 
 ings of our nature, to secure his hap 
 piness and his freedom. Can a gov 
 ernment be said to protect a people 
 which it enslaves ? and can they bo 
 said to owe allegiance to that govern 
 ment which enslaves them ? If so, 
 away with such protection and with 
 such allegiance." Mr. Cook did go 
 to Illinois, was elected to Congress, 
 and took a leading part in support of 
 the Missouri restriction. He, in the 
 meantime, had married a daughter of 
 Governor Edwards, who was then a 
 Senator in Congress, and took an ac 
 tive and decided part against the re 
 striction. 
 
 BUPUS KING S AVOWAL. 
 
 After his return home, I asked Mr. 
 , Edwards how it was that he, a slave- 
 1 holder, and so much opposed to the 
 
THE ANTI-SLAVEEY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 33 
 
 restriction, a Senator from the state, 
 so much older than and the father-in- 
 law of Mr. Cook, could not control 
 him ? His reply was, that Mr. Cook 
 was a young man of fine talents and 
 great ambition ; that he had become 
 much attached to Mr. Adams, and had 
 identified his hopes of future political 
 promotion with the election of Mr. 
 Adams to the Presidency, and that he, 
 although his father-in-law, had no right 
 to dictate to or control him. He fur 
 ther said, that he had messed with 
 Rufus King, then a Senator from New 
 York ; that they had conversed freely 
 on the subject, and that Mr, King had 
 told him that the federal party looked 
 to the agitation of the slavery ques 
 tion as the certain means of regaining 
 political power ; and that so confident 
 were they of success that a son of 
 Rufus King had gone to Ohio and a 
 ! son of Alexander Hamilton had gone 
 j to Illinois to be in position to avail 
 
 themselves of it. I am thus enabled 
 to trace back as far as 1817, the delib 
 erate purpose of organizing the anti- 
 slavery party as a sectional political 
 influence, whereby the federal party, / 
 under the leadership of John Quincy 
 Adams, had then resolved to array the 
 North against the South, and thus 
 create a sectional Northern majority, 
 which, by that sectional organization, 
 could and would govern the North 
 and South I I saw that it was no re 
 gard for the rights of the slave no 
 sympathy for the condition of the ne 
 gro which stimulated their zeal, but a 
 thirst for power, regardless of the 
 letter or the spirit of the Constitution, 
 which I feared would embitter the 
 South against the North and endan 
 ger, if it did not dissolve, the Union. 
 To prevent this, I have made many 
 sacrifices, personal, social, political, 
 and pecuniary. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE MONARCHISTS. 
 
 IT will be seen that the votes 
 Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, Cook of 
 Illinois, and Scott of Missouri, each 
 of whom represented states opposed 
 to the election of Mr. Adams, put in 
 issue : 
 
 1. The motives which led them to 
 disregard the will of their constitu- 
 
 of ernment which they wished to estab 
 lish? 
 
 We are at no loss for the names of 
 the leaders, nor for the form of govern 
 ment which they proposed to organ 
 ize. Alexander Hamilton and John 
 Adams were the representative men of 
 that party. 
 
 ents ; and 
 
 2. The character and purposes of 
 the party to be organized under the 
 auspices of the coalition between 
 Messrs. Clay and Adams. 
 
 Believing, as I do, that the late civil 
 war was the bitter fruit of the section 
 al organization of the federal party of 
 the North, and that their pretence of a 
 desire to benefit the African is but a 
 mask to cover their purpose of enslav 
 ing the white man, by the centraliza 
 tion of a corrupt, irresponsible power 
 in the federal government, in open vio 
 lation of the fundamental principles 
 of the Constitution, I turn to the 
 history of the past, and trace jthe 
 connection between the old federal 
 party, whom it was the avowed pur 
 pose, as declared by Rufus King, 
 to reinstate in power, and the radical 
 party who now control the legislation 
 of Congress. 
 
 WHO WERE THE MONARCHISTS ? 
 
 Who were the leaders of the old 
 federal party, and what were their 
 avowed and well-ascertained princi 
 ples ? and what was the form of gov- 
 
 ALEXANDER HAMILTON S PLAN. 
 
 The plan for a government proposed 
 by Alexander Hamilton was as fol 
 lows : 
 
 1. The supreme legislative power of 
 the United States of America to be 
 vested in two different bodies of men ; 
 the one to be called the assembly, the 
 other the senate, who, together, shall 
 form the legislature of the United 
 States, with power to pass all laws 
 whatsoever, subject to the negative 
 hereafter mentioned. ^ 
 
 2. The assembly to consist of per 
 sons elected by the people, to serve for 
 three years. 
 
 3. The senate to consist of persons 
 elected to. serve during good behav 
 ior. Their election to be made by 
 electors chosen for that purpose by the 
 people in order to this the state to be 
 divided into election districts. On the 
 death, removal, or resignation of any 
 senator his place to be filled out of the 
 district from which he came. 
 
 4. The supreme executive authority 
 of the United States to be vested in a 
 governor, to be elected during good 
 
THE MONARCHISTS. 
 
 35 
 
 behavior, the election to be made by 
 electors chosen by the people, in the 
 election districts aforesaid ; the au 
 thorities and functions to be as fol 
 lows : To have a negative upon all 
 la.ws about to be passed and the exe 
 cution of all laws passed ; to have the 
 direction of war when authorized or 
 begun ; to have, with the advice and 
 consent of the senate, the power of 
 making all treaties ; to have the sole 
 appointment of the heads or chief offi 
 cers of finance and foreign affairs ; to 
 have the nomination of all other offi 
 cers, ambassadors to foreign nations 
 included, subject to the approbation or 
 rejection of the senate ; to have power 
 of pardoning all offences except trea 
 son, which he shall not pardon without 
 the approbation of the senate. 
 
 5. On the death, resignation, or re 
 moval of the governor, his authorities 
 to be exercised by the president of the 
 senate till a successor be appointed. 
 
 6. The senate to have the sole pow 
 er of declaring war, the power of ad 
 vising and approving all treaties, the 
 power of approving and rejecting all 
 appointments of officers, except the 
 heads or chiefs of departments, finance, 
 war, and foreign affairs. 
 
 7. The supreme judicial authority of 
 the United States to be vested in 
 judges, to hold their offices during 
 good behavior, with adequate and per 
 manent salaries ; the court to have 
 original jurisdiction in all cases of 
 capture, and an appellate jurisdiction 
 
 in all causes in which the revenues of 
 the general government or the citizens 
 of foreign nations are concerned. 
 
 8. The legislature of the United 
 States to have power to institute 
 courts in each state, for the de 
 termination of all matters of general 
 concern. 
 
 9. Governors, senators, and all offi 
 cers of the United States, to be liable 
 to impeachment for corrupt conduct, 
 and, upon conviction, to be removed 
 from office, and disqualified for hold 
 ing any office of public trust and profit ; 
 and all impeachments to be tried 
 by a court, to consist cf the chief or 
 judge of the superior court of law of 
 each state, provided such judge hold 
 his place during good behavior, and 
 have a permanent salary. 
 
 10. All laws of the particular states, 
 contrary to the Constitution or laws of 
 the United States, to be utterly void ; 
 and the better to prevent such laws 
 being passed, the governor or presi 
 dent of each state shall be appointed 
 by the general government, and shall 
 have a negative upon the laws about 
 to be passed in the state of which he 
 is governor or president. 
 
 11. No state to have any force, 
 land or naval, and the militia to be 
 under the sole and exclusive direction 
 of the United States, the officers of 
 which to be appointed and commis 
 sioned by them." 
 
 Such was the plan of Alexander 
 Hamilton. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 JOHN ADAMS A MONARCHIST, AND WHY. 
 
 HpHE plan of John Adams was given 
 -- in a work published immediately 
 before the adoption of the Federal Con 
 stitution, from which the following are 
 extracts : 
 
 GENTLEMEN AND COMMON PEOPLE. 
 
 " The people in all nations are naturally 
 divided into two sorts, the gentlemen and 
 the simple men, a word which is here cho 
 sen to signify the common people. By tho 
 common people we mean laborers, me 
 chanics, husbandmen, and merchants in 
 general, who pursue their occupations and 
 industry withoat any knowledge in liberal 
 arts and sciences, or in anything but their 
 own trades and pursuits." See vol. 3, p. 
 458. 
 
 WHY CHILDREN OF ILLUSTRIOUS FAMILIES ARE 
 PREFERRED. 
 
 " It must be acknowledged in every state 
 Massachusetts for example there are in 
 equalities which God and nature have plant 
 ed there, and which no human legislature 
 can ever eradicate. " Inequality of birth. 
 Let no man be surprised that this species 
 of inequality is introduced here. Let the 
 page of history be quoted where any na 
 tion, ancient or modern, civilized or savage, 
 is mentioned among whom no difference was 
 made between the citizens on account of 
 their extractions. The children of illustri 
 ous families have generally greater advan 
 tages of education, and earlier opportuni 
 ties to be acquainted with public characters 
 and informed of public affairs than those of 
 meaner ones, or even those in middle life ; 
 and, what is more than all, an habitual na 
 tional veneration for their names and the 
 character of their ancestors, described in 
 
 [ history, or coming down by tradition, re 
 moves . them further from vulgar jealousy 
 and popular envy, and secures them, in 
 some degree, the favor, the affection, and 
 respect of the public." See vol. 1, pages 
 109-19. 
 
 " The son of a wise and virtuous father 
 finds the world about him, sometimes, as 
 much as he is disposed himself, to honor 
 the memory of his father ; to congratulate 
 him as the successor of his estate ; and to 
 compliment him with election to the places 
 he held." Same vol., p. 116. 
 
 POOR PEOPLE SHOULD WORK, AND SHOULD HAVE 
 A KING. 
 
 " The distinctions of poor and rich are as 
 necessary in states of considerable extent 
 (such as the United States) as labor and 
 good government ; the poor are destined to 
 labor, and the rich, by the advantages of 
 education, independence, and leisure, are 
 qualified for superior stations." Same vol., 
 p. 360. 
 
 " It has been the common people, then, 
 and not the gentlemen who have established 
 simple monarchies, all over the world." See 
 vol. 3, p. 451. 
 
 " It is the true policy of the common peo 
 ple to place the whole executive power in 
 the hands of one man." Vol. 3, p. 460. 
 
 " By kings and kingly power is meant the 
 executive power in a single person." See 
 vol 3, p. 461. 
 
 " The people themselves, if uncontrolled, 
 will never long tolerate a freedom of in 
 quiry, debate, or writing ; their idols must 
 not be reflected on, nor their schemes and 
 actions scanned, upon pain of popular ven 
 geance, which is not less terrible than des 
 pots or sovereign senators." Vol. 3, p. 
 326. 
 
THE MONARCHISTS. 
 
 37 
 
 COMMON PEOPLE CORRUPT, AND THEREFORE A 
 NOBILITY MUST AND WILL EXIST. 
 
 "The whole history of Rome shows that 
 corruption began with the people sooner 
 than the senate." Vol. 3, p. 327. 
 
 " Sobriety, abstinence, and severity, were 
 never remarkable characteristics of democ 
 racy, or the democratic branch or mixture 
 in any constitution. They have oftener been 
 the characteristics of aristocracy and oli 
 garchy." " Athens, in particular, was never 
 conspicuous for these qualities ; but, on the 
 contrary, from the first to the last of her 
 democratic constitution, levity, gayety, in 
 constancy, dissipation, intemperance, de 
 bauchery, and a dissolution of manners, 
 were the prevailing characteristics of the 
 whole nation." Same vol., p. 344. 
 
 " Powerful and crafty underminers have 
 nowhere such rare sport as in a simple de 
 mocracy, or single popular assembly. No 
 where, not in the completest despotisms, 
 does human nature show itself so complete 
 ly depraved ; so nearly approaching an 
 equal mixture of brutality and de vilishism, as 
 in the last stages of such a democracy, and 
 in the beginning of despotism, which always 
 succeeds it." Same, vol. 2, p. 329. 
 
 " Every passion and prejudice of every 
 voter will be applied to, every flattery and 
 menace, every trick and bribe that can be 
 bestowed and will be accepted, will be 
 used, and what is horrible to think of, that 
 candidate or that agent who has fewest 
 scruples, who will propagate lies and slan 
 der with most confidence and secrecy, who 
 will wheedle, flatter, and cajole ; who will 
 debauch the people by treats, feasts, and 
 diversions, with the least hesitation, and 
 bribe with the most impudent front which 
 can consist with hypocritical concealment, 
 will draw in tools and worm out enemies 
 the fastest unsullied honors, sterling integ 
 rity, real virtue, will stand a very unequal 
 chance. When vice, folly, impudence, and 
 knavery, have carried an election one year, 
 they will acquire in the course of it fresh 
 influence and power to succeed the next !" 
 Vol. 3, p. 275. 
 
 " A nobility must and will exist." " De 
 scent from certain parents and inheritance 
 of gertain houses, lands and other visible 
 
 objects [titles] will eternally have such an 
 influence over the affections and imagina 
 tions of the people, as no arts and institu 
 tions will control ; time will come, if it is 
 not now, that these circumstances will have 
 more influence over great numbers of minds 
 than any considerations of virtue and tal 
 ents, and whatever influences numbers, is 
 of great moment in popular governments 
 and in all elections." Vol. 3, p. 377. 
 
 HEREDITARY FIRST MAGISTEATES AND SENATORS. 
 
 " There is not in the whole Roman history 
 so happy a period as this under their kings ; 
 the nation was formed, their morality, their 
 religion, their maxims, their government, 
 were all established under their kings the 
 nation was defended against numerous war 
 like nations of enemies ; in short, Rome 
 was never so well governed or so happy." 
 Vol. 3, p. 305. 
 
 " I only contend that the English consti 
 tution is, in theory, the most stupendous 
 fabric of human invention." Vol. 1, p. 70. 
 
 tm In future ages, if the present states be 
 come a great nation, their own feelings and 
 good sense will dictate to them what to do ; 
 they may make transitions to a nearer re 
 semblance of the British constitution. 
 Sarno, p. 71. 
 
 "It [the aristocracy] is a body of men 
 which contains the greatest collection of 
 virtue and character in a free government ; 
 is the brightest ornament and glory of the 
 nation ; and may always be made the great" 
 est blessing of society, if it be judiciously 
 managed in the constitution." SaniQ vol., p. 
 116. 
 
 " This hazardous experiment [election of 
 their first magistrate] the Americans have 
 tried, and if elections are soberly made, it 
 may answer very well ; but if parties, fac 
 tions, drunkenness, bribes, armies, and de 
 lirium come in, as they always have done, 
 sooner or later, to embroil and decide every 
 thing, the people must again have recourse 
 to conventions, and find a remedy for this 
 hazardous experiment/ Neither philoso 
 phy nor policy has yet discovered any other 
 cure than by prolonging the duration of 
 the first magistrate and senators. The 
 evil may be lessened and postponed by 
 
38 
 
 THE MONAECHISTS. 
 
 elections for longer periods of years till 
 they become for life ; and if this is not 
 found an adequate remedy, there will re 
 main no other but to make them hereditary. 
 The delicacy or the dread of unpopularity 
 that should induce any man to conceal this 
 important truth from the full view of the 
 people, would be a weakness if not a vice." 
 Vol. 3, p. 296. 
 
 "Mankind have universally discovered 
 that chance was preferable to a corrupt 
 choice, and have trusted Providence rather 
 than themselves. First magistrates and 
 senators had better be made hereditary at 
 once, than that the people should be univer 
 sally debauched and bribed." Vol. 3, p. 
 283. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 JOHN Q. ADAMS PLAN OF MAKING THE GOVERNMENT A 
 
 MONARCHY. 
 
 rpHESE extracts show that Hamilton 
 -*- and Adams, the acknowledged lead 
 ers of the federal party, were monarch 
 ists that both were opposed to an 
 elective government ; that Mr. Adams 
 believed that the " people of all nations 
 are naturally divided into two sorts, 
 the gentlemen and the simple men/ a 
 term used by him to designate " the 
 common people, the laborers, mechan 
 ics, husbandmen, and merchants ;" that 
 "there are inequalities that God and 
 nature planted in every state, which no 
 legislature can ever eradicate ;" that 
 "the children of illustrious families" 
 are further removed from " popular 
 envy" and " vulgar jealousy ;" that 
 " the poor are destined to labor, and 
 the rich, by advantages of education, 
 independence, and leisure, are qualified 
 for superior stations ;" that " it is the 
 true policy of the common people to 
 place the whole executive power in 
 the hands of one man," and that " by 
 kings and kingly power is meant the 
 executive power in a single person," 
 and that the American people, " would 
 not be happy without an hereditary 
 chief magistrate and senate, or at least 
 for life." And I call the special atten 
 tion of the reader to the fact, that in 
 his letter of the 21st of February, 
 1804, to Wm. Cunningham, the elder 
 Adams said : " I have always been of 
 opinion, that in popular governments 
 the people will always choose their 
 officers from the most ancient and re 
 
 spectable families." " The more deino- 
 cratical the government, the more uni 
 versal has been the practice. If a 
 family which has been high in office, 
 and splendid in wealth, falls into decay 
 from profligacy, folly, vice, or misfor 
 tune, they generally turn democrats, 
 and court the lowest of the people with 
 an ardor, an art, a skill, and conse 
 quently with a success, which no vul 
 gar democrat can attain. If such 
 families are numerous, they commonly 
 divide. Some adhere to one party, 
 some to another ; so that whichever 
 prevails, the country still finds itself 
 governed by them ;" and connect this 
 with the fact, that in the spring of 180T, 
 Mr. John Q. Adams, in a conversa 
 tion with political friends, deplored 
 " the fearful progress of the democratic 
 party and of its principles, and de 
 clared that he had long meditated the 
 subject, and had become convinced 
 that the only method by which the 
 democratic party could be destroyed 
 was by joining with it, and urging it 
 on with the utmost energy to the com 
 pletion of its views, whereby the result 
 would prove so ridiculous and so ruin 
 ous to the country, that the people 
 would be led to despise the principles, 
 and to condemn the effects of demo 
 cratic policy ; and then," said he, " we 
 can have a form of government better 
 sutted to the genius and disposition of 
 our country than our present Consti 
 tution." 
 
40 
 
 THE MONARCHISTS. 
 
 PRETENDS TO TURN DEMOCRAT AND CHARGES 
 THE FEDERALISTS WITH TREASON. 
 
 I beg the reader to connect with this 
 the further fact, that during the next 
 session of Congress Mr. Adams, being 
 a Senator, was riding in the same car 
 riage with Gov. Giles of Virginia, and 
 became very serious, seeming weighed 
 down with care, at length told Gov. 
 Giles he had a matter of great im 
 portance, which he thought it his duty 
 to relate to Mr. Jefferson, then Presi 
 dent, but did not know how to approach 
 him, and desired Mr. Giles to make 
 the communication; the latter encour 
 aged him to do it himself ; and also that, 
 during the canvass in 1828, Mr. Jeffer 
 son wrote a letter, which he authorized 
 to be published, in which he gave the 
 purport of the communication which 
 Mr. Adams did make to him. In the 
 National Intelligencer of the 21st of 
 October, 1828, is an article published 
 by authority of Mr. Adams, as explan 
 atory of the charges then made against 
 the federalists of New England, which 
 not only admits his interview with Mr. 
 Giles and Mr. Jefferson, but admits 
 that, in 1808, he wrote to Mr. Giles 
 and other members of Congress, and 
 that, commenting upon the measures 
 and purposes of the leaders of the fed 
 eral party of Massachusetts of that 
 day, he said (I use his own words as 
 given in the Intelligencer) : " He [Mr. 
 Adams] urged that a continuance of 
 the embargo much longer would cer 
 tainly be met by forcible _ resistance, 
 supported by the legislature, and prob 
 ably by the judiciary of the state. 
 That, to quell that resistance, if force 
 should be resorted to by the govern 
 ment, it would produce a civil war, 
 and that in that event he had no doubt 
 the leaders of the party would secure 
 the co-operation with them, of Great 
 
 Britain ; that their object was, and 
 had been for several years, the disso 
 lution of the Union and the establish 
 ment of a separate confederacy. He 
 knew this from unequivocal evidence, 
 although not proveable in a court of 
 law ; and that in case of a civil war, 
 the aid of Great Britain to effect that 
 purpose would be as surely resorted 
 to as it would be indispensably neces 
 sary to the design." 
 
 Mr. Adams, in a subsequent notice, 
 reiterates the same charge, and says : 
 " This design [of dissolving the Union 
 and forming a new confederacy under 
 the auspices and protection of Great 
 Britain] had been formed in the winter 
 of 1803 and 1804, immediately after, 
 and as a consequence of, the acquisi 
 tion of Louisiana ;" and adds : 
 
 " That project, I repeat, had gone to the 
 length of fixing upon a military leader for 
 its execution, and although the circumstan 
 ces of the times never admitted of its exe 
 cution, nor even of its full development, I 
 had yet no doubt (in 1808 and 1809), and 
 have no doubt at this time (30th December, 
 1828), that it is the key to all the" great 
 movements of these leaders of the federal 
 party in New England from that time for 
 ward till its final catastrophe in the Hart 
 ford Convention." 
 
 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS PRETENDED CONVER 
 SION A FRAUD. 
 
 The elder Adams, in his letter to 
 Cunningham, of December, 1808, says : 
 
 " I may mention to you, in confidence, 
 that considerable pains have been taken to 
 persuade your friend John Quincy Adams 
 to consent to be run by the republicans. 
 Yet he is utterly averse to it, and so am I, 
 for many reasons, among which are : 1st 
 The office, though a precious stone, is but 
 a carbuncle shining in the dark. 2d. It is 
 a state of perfect slavery. The drudgery 
 of it is extremely oppressive. 3d. The 
 compensation is not a living for a common 
 gentleman. 4th. He must resign his pro- 
 
THE MONARCHISTS.. 
 
 fessorship. 5th. He must renounce his 
 practice at the bar. 6th. He must stand 
 in competition with Mr. Lincoln, who would 
 divide the republican interest and certainly 
 prevent the election of either. 7th. It 
 would produce an eternal separation between 
 him and the federalists, at least that part of 
 them who now constitute the absolute oli 
 garchy: 
 
 Connect with these facts the toast 
 of his relative, Josiah Quincy, "Those 
 who fell with the first Adams will rise 
 
 with the second," and that soon after 
 his appointment as Secretary of State 
 he gave the public printing 1 to the Bos 
 ton Centinel, and that as soon as he 
 became President he gave the mission 
 to England to Rufus King, and no one 
 can doubt the purpose of the disclo 
 sures made to Mr. Giles and to Mr. Jef 
 ferson nor can any one doubt his thirst 
 for power, or his fellowship with the 
 monarchists. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BOSTON FEDERALISTS A BRITISH DISUNION PARTY. 
 
 DOES any one ask further proof that 
 the federal abolition party of Boston 
 is a disunion, British party ? If so, 
 I refer them to the following ex 
 tracts from the message of the Presi 
 dent of the United States (Mr. Madi 
 son) to Congress, communicating the 
 disclosures made by John Henry, the 
 agent employed by the Governor-Gen 
 eral of Canada, etc., on a political mis 
 sion to the United States. 
 
 [Extract from John Henry s memorial 
 to Lord Liverpool of the 13th of 
 June, 1811.] 
 
 " Soon after the affair of the Chesapeake 
 frigate, when his Majesty s Governor-Gen 
 eral of British America had reason to be 
 lieve that the two countries would be in 
 volved in a war, and had submitted to his 
 Majesty s ministers the arrangements of the 
 English party in the United States for an 
 efficient resistance to the general govern 
 ment, which would probably terminate in a 
 separation of the Northern states from the 
 general confederacy, he applied to the un 
 dersigned to undertake a mission to Boston 
 where the whole concerns of the opposition 
 were managed. The object of the mission 
 was to promote and encourage the federal 
 party to resist the measures of the general 
 government ; to offer assurances of aid and 
 support from his Majesty s government of 
 Canada, and to open a communication be 
 tween the leading men engaged in that op 
 position, and the Governor-General upon 
 such a footing as circumstances might sug 
 gest ; and finally, to render the plans then 
 in contemplation subservient to the views 
 of his Majesty s government." 
 
 [Extract of a letter from John Henry 
 to Sir James Craig, Governor-Gen 
 eral of British America, dated March 
 7, 1809.] 
 
 " SIR : I have already given a decided 
 opinion that a declaration of war is not to 
 be expected ; but, contrary to all reasonable 
 calculation, should tho Congress possess 
 spirit and independence enough to place 
 their popularity in jeopardy by so strong a 
 measure, the legislature of Massachusetts 
 will give the tone to the neighboring states, 
 will declare itself permanent until a new 
 election of members ; invite a congress, to 
 be composed of delegates from the federal 
 states, and erect a separate government 
 for their common defence and common in 
 terest." 
 
 [Extract from the same to the same, 
 dated Boston, March 20, 1809.] 
 
 " Since the plan of an organized opposi 
 tion to the projects of Mr. Jefferson was 
 put into operation the whole of the New 
 England states have transferred their politi 
 cal power to his political enemies, and the 
 reason that he has still so many adherents 
 is, that those who consider the only true 
 policy of America to consist in the cultiva 
 tion of peace, have still great confidence, 
 that nothing can force him (or his succes 
 sor who acts up to his system, or rather by 
 it) to consent to war. 
 
 "A war attempted without the concur 
 rence of both parties, and the general con 
 sent of the Northern states, which consti 
 tute the bone and muscle of the country, 
 must commence without hopes and end in 
 disgrace. It should, therefore, be the pecu 
 liar care of Great Britain to foster division 
 between the North and the South, and by 
 
THE MONARCHISTS. 
 
 succeeding in this she may carry into effect 
 her own projects in Europe, with a total dis 
 regard of the resentments of the democrats 
 on this continent. 
 
 THE RADICALS ARE MONARCHISTS AND DI3- 
 
 UNIONISTS. 
 
 If there be any who doubt that the 
 radicals in the present Congress are 
 monarchists, and that their purpose is 
 to perpetuate a military despotism, fur 
 ther proof will be given as I progress. 
 
 THE DISUNION PARTY. 
 
 The Boston Centinel was the organ 
 of the old federal party, and in its issue 
 of December 10, 1814, that paper said : 
 
 "We must demand that no new states 
 with feelings and sentiments foreign to our 
 own, shall be cut out of the distant wilds 
 
 and admitted into the Union Those 
 
 who startle at the danger of a separation, 
 tell us that the soil of New England is hard, 
 sterile, &c. Do these men forget what na 
 tional energy can do for a people ? Have 
 they not read of Holland ? Do they not 
 remember that it threw off the yoke of 
 Spain (our Virginia), and that its chapels 
 became churches, and its poor men s cot 
 tages princes palaces ?" 
 
 Again, on the 17th of December, 
 1814, it said : 
 
 " Our course is so easy and plain, that 
 I know not how the most timid can pause 
 at the entrance upon it. It gives us the 
 start of the Southern states ; finds employ 
 ments for our impoverished mechanics, 
 brings revenue to our treasury, spreads ac 
 tivity and wealth through the country. A 
 peace with England for a single year would 
 ; bring every state east of Virginia into our 
 confederacy. A strict neutrality will give 
 only temporary relief. It leaves govern 
 ment to make peace for us, and with that 
 peace, such as it will be, it holds us in its 
 power. We will then be too late to de 
 mand alterations in the representations and 
 security to our rights as the only condition 
 upon which we will adhere to the Union. 
 
 " It is said that to make a treaty of com 
 merce with the enemy is to violate the Con 
 stitution and sever the Union ? Are they 
 
 not both already destroyed ? Or in what 
 stage of existence would we be should we 
 declare a neutrality, or even withhold taxes 
 and men ? Let us leave it to the schools to 
 put this question to rest, while we are 
 guarding the honor and independence of 
 New England. 
 
 "By a commercial treaty with England 
 which shall provide for the admission of 
 such states as may wish to come into it, 
 and which shall prohibit England from 
 making a treaty with the South and West, 
 which does not grant us at least equal 
 privileges with herself, our commerce will 
 be secured, our standing in the nation 
 raised to its proper level. If peace leaves 
 us at the mercy of the Western states, we 
 may dream of freedom, but we shall be in 
 bonds. 
 
 " We must no longer suffer our liberties 
 to be made the sport of theorists, the sub 
 ject of speculation of men of cold hearts 
 and muddy understandings ; neither allow 
 that region of the West, which was a wil 
 derness when New England wrought the 
 independence of America, to wrest from us 
 those blessings which we permitted them 
 to share." 
 
 THE BOSTON FEDERALISTS AND THE HARTFORD 
 CONVENTION DISUNIOXISTS. 
 
 Mr. Monroo, then President of the 
 United States, in a letter to Mr. Jef 
 ferson, dated Washington, May, 1820, 
 brings down this conspiracy to a later 
 date. Mr. Monroe, writing on the sub 
 ject of the Florida treaty, says : , 
 [Extract from a letter from Mr. Mon 
 roe to Mr. Jefferson, dated Washing- 
 ton, May, 1820.] 
 
 " DEAR SIR : I have received your letter 
 of the 14th, containing a very interesting 
 view of the late treaty with Spain,, and 
 of the proceedings respecting it here. If 
 the concurrence involved in it nothing 
 more than a question between the United 
 States and Spain, or between them and the 
 colonies, I should entirely concur in your 
 view of the subject. I am satisfied that 
 we might regulate it in every circum 
 stance as we thought just, and without 
 war ; that we might take Florida as an. in- 
 
THE MONAKCHISTS. 
 
 demnity, and Texas for some trifle, as an 
 equivalent. Spain must soon be expelled 
 from this continent; and with any new 
 government which may be formed in Mexi 
 co, it would be easy to arrange the boun 
 dary in the wilderness so as to include as 
 much territory on our side as we might de 
 sire. No European power could prevent 
 this, if so disposed. But the difficulty does 
 not proceed from these sources. It is alto 
 gether internal, and of the most distressing 
 nature and dangerous tendency. You 
 were apprized by me, on your return from 
 Europe, of the true character of the nego 
 tiation which took place in 1785 and 1786, 
 with the minister of Spain, for shutting up 
 the mouth of the Mississippi, a knowledge 
 of which might have been derived, in part, 
 from the secret journal of Congress, which 
 then came into your hands. That was not 
 a question with Spain in reality, but one 
 among ourselves, in which her pretensions 
 were brought forward in aid of the policy 
 of the party at the head of that project. It 
 was an effort to give such a shape to our 
 Union as would secure the dominion over 
 it to its eastern section. It was expect 
 ed that dismemberment by the Alleghany 
 mountains would follow the occlusion of the 
 river, if it was not desired ; though the lat 
 ter was then and still is my opinion. The 
 Union then consisted of eight navigating and 
 commercial states, with five productive, 
 holding slaves ; and, had the river been shut 
 up, and dismemberment ensued, the divis 
 ion would always have been the same. At 
 that time Boston ruled the four New Eng 
 land states, and a popular orator in Faneuil 
 ,Hall ruled Boston. Jay s object was to 
 make New York a New England state, 
 which he avowed on his return from Eu 
 rope, to the dissatisfaction of many in that 
 state, whose prejudices had been excited 
 in the Revolutionary war, by the contest 
 between New York and those states, re 
 specting interfering grants in Vermont. It 
 was foreseen by those persons that if the 
 Mississippi should be opened, and new 
 states, should be established on its waters, 
 the population would be drawn thither, 
 the number of productive states be pro 
 portionately increased, and their hope of do 
 
 minion on that contracted sectional scale 
 be destroyed. It was to prevent this that 
 that project was formed. Happily it failed ; 
 and since then our career in an opposite 
 direction has been rapid and wonderful. 
 The river has been opened, and all the terri 
 tory dependent on it acquired. Eight states 
 have already been admitted into the Union 
 in that quarter ; a ninth is on the point of 
 entering, and a tenth provided for, exclu 
 sive of Florida. This march to greatness 
 has been seen with profound regret by those 
 in the policy suggested; but it has been 
 impelled by causes over which they have 
 no control. Several attempts have been 
 made to impede it ; among which the Hart 
 ford convention in the late war, and the 
 proposition to restrict Missouri, are the 
 most distinguished. The latter measure 
 contemplated an arrangement on the dis 
 tinction, solely between slaveholding and 
 non-slaveholding states ; presuming that, 
 on that basis only, such a division might 
 bo founded as would destroy, by perpetual 
 excitement, the usual effects proceeding 
 from difference of climate, the produce of 
 the soil, the prosperity and circumstances 
 of the people, and marshal the states differ 
 ing in that circumstance in unceasing op 
 position and hostility with each other. To 
 what account this project, had it succeeded 
 to the extent contemplated, might have been 
 turned, I cannot say. Certain, however, it 
 is, that since 1786, 1 have not seen so vio 
 lent and persevering a struggle, and on the 
 part of some of the leaders in the project, 
 for a purpose so unmasked and dangerous. 
 They did not hesitate to avow that it was 
 a contest for power only ; disclaiming tho 
 pretext of liberty, humanity, &c. It was 
 also manifest that they were willing to risk 
 the Union on the measure, if, indeed, as in 
 that relating to the Mississippi, dismem 
 berment, was not the principal object. You 
 know how this affair terminated, as I pre 
 sume you likewise do, that complete suc 
 cess was prevented by the patriotic devo 
 tion of several members of the non-slave- 
 holding states, who preferred the sacrifice 
 of themselves at home to a violation of the 
 obvious principles of the Constitution and 
 the risk of the Union. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 FURTHER PROOF THAT THE RADICALS ARE BRITISH 
 MONARCHISTS. 
 
 TN the preface to Mr. M. Carey s 
 *- Olive Branch, second edition, page 
 6, he says : 
 
 "It cannot bo any longer doubted that 
 there exists a conspiracy in New England 
 among a few of the most influential and 
 wealthy citizens to effect a dissolution of 
 the Union at every hazard, and to form a 
 separate confederacy. This has been as 
 serted by some of our citizens for years and 
 strenuously denied by others, deceived by 
 the mask the conspirators wore, and their 
 hollow professions. But it requires more 
 than Bo3otian stupidity and dullness to hes 
 itate on the subject, after the late extra 
 ordinary movements, which cannot possibly 
 have any other object. It is eighteen years 
 since the dangerous project was promul 
 gated. [In a series of essays published 
 under the signature of Pelham, in "The 
 Connecticut Courant," 1796.] From that 
 period to the present it is not one hour 
 out of view. And unholy and pernicious 
 as was the end, the means were at least as 
 unholy and pernicious. Falsehood, decep 
 tion, and calumny, in turn have been called 
 in to aid the design," &c. 
 
 I quote further from Mr. Carey s 
 Olive Branch. He says : 
 
 " For eight years, the most unceasing ef 
 forts have been used to poison the minds 
 of the people of New England toward, and 
 to alienate them from, their fellow-citizens 
 of the Southern states. The people of the 
 latter section have been portrayed as de 
 mons incarnate, and destitute of all the 
 qualities that dignify and adorn human 
 nature ! Nothing can exaeed the violence 
 of these caricatures, some of which would 
 have suited the ferocious inhabitants " of 
 
 New England, rather than a civilized or 
 polished nation." Page 253. 
 
 And commenting upon the publica 
 tions of Pelham, he says : 
 
 " The unholy and demoniac spirit that 
 inspired the writer of the above vile libel 
 has been from that hour to the present 
 (vide speeches of radicals in the present 
 Congress) incessantly employed to excite 
 hostility between the different sections of 
 the Union. To such horrible length has this 
 spirit been carried, that many paragraphs 
 have continually appeared in the Boston 
 papers, intended and calculated to excite 
 the negroes of the Southern states to rise 
 and massacre their masters. This will un 
 doubtedly appear incredible- to the reader ; 
 it is nevertheless sacredly true. It is a 
 species of turpitude and baseness of which 
 the world has few examples !" Page 254 
 
 Mr. Carey further says : 
 
 " I am tired of this exposure ; I sicken 
 for the honor of the human species. What 
 idea must the world form of the arrogance 
 of the pretensions of the one side [Eastern 
 states] , and on the other, of the folly and 
 weakness of the rest of the Union, to have 
 so long suffered them to pass without ex 
 posure and detection. The naked fact is, 
 that the demagogues in the Eastern states, 
 not satisfied with deriving all the benefits 
 from the Southern states, which they could 
 from so many wealthy colonies, with making 
 princely fortunes by the carriage and trans 
 portation of their bulky and valuable pro 
 ductions, and supplying them with their 
 own manufactures, and the manufactures 
 and productions of Europe and the East 
 and West Indies to an enormous amount, 
 and at an immense profit have uniformly 
 
46 
 
 THE MONARCHISTS. 
 
 treated them with outrage, insult, and in 
 jury." -Page 269. 
 
 " I repeat it, and hope the solemn truth 
 will be borne in constant remembrance, 
 that the Southern states are virtually colo 
 nies to those states whose demagogues 
 have never ceased slandering and perse 
 cuting them." Page 280. 
 
 UNQUESTIONABLE PROOF THAT THE BOSTON 
 MONARCHISTS ARE DISUNIONISTS. 
 
 The Centinel was not only the organ 
 of the old federal, monarchical party, 
 under the reign of the elder Adams, 
 and of the "British party" in 1809, 
 and of the Hartford convention, 1814, 
 but it was the organ of the same party 
 in 1825, under the leadership of John 
 Quincy Adams, who, as soon as he be 
 came Secretary of State, made the 
 Centinel his official organ, and as soon 
 as he was elected President appointed 
 Rufus King our resident minister in 
 London. 
 
 SUMNER AND DISUNION. 
 
 Does any one pretend to deny the 
 identity of that party with the pres 
 ent radical Congress ? If there be any 
 such I refer them to the proceedings 
 of a meeting held in Worcester, Mass., 
 just before the war, as given in the 
 publications at the time : 
 
 " Mr. Higginson now took the floor. He 
 dissented from Mr. Garrison s tribute to 
 Mr. Bird for his courage in standing on the 
 convention platform. It was a thing to be 
 proud of, to be grateful for, that one had 
 been permitted to stand there, or to sign 
 his name to the call of the convention. 
 The day will come back to Worcester when 
 the meeting of this convention will be con 
 sidered the proudest day in her history. 
 There was no Union upon which those who 
 were in convention could stand, unless it 
 was disunion. He did not realize, until 
 after he had signed the call, now near the 
 people of Massachusetts were to disunion. 
 As for the Constitution, it meant nothing, 
 or it might mean anything. Mr. Higginson 
 
 passed to talk of Charles Sumner. He had 
 a talk with the Senator in Athenseum hall, 
 in Boston, last week, and when he asked 
 him if, when he got back to Washington, 
 he would reiterate his words against slav 
 ery, Mr. Sumner replied, Reiterate, reiter 
 ate. If when I get back to Washington, I 
 make the speech I expect to make, it will 
 be like fourth proof brandy to molasses 
 and water. When asked what result he 
 expected from it, he replied, * I expect to 
 be shot ; there is nothing else left for them 
 to do. Good God ! exclaimed Mr. Hig 
 ginson, and has it come to this the fore 
 most statesman in all the land to be an 
 swered with a bullet because he has spoken 
 the truth. He spoke despairingly of the 
 prospects of the republican party. It was 
 a futile expectation that the party would 
 recover in 1860. There are no hopes for 
 them. According to Mr. Banks, the last 
 election decided the politics of the United 
 States for the next thirty years ; and ac 
 cording to Senator Wilson, defeat in 1856 
 would place the party beyond resuscita 
 tion. The democratic party know that this 
 position was the true one. Mr. Higginson 
 eontinued : Disunion is not a desire mere 
 ly it is a destiny it is the destiny of this 
 nation. It was needful that we should ex 
 haust the political power of the North to 
 prepare the people of the North for dis 
 union. The free soil power have performed 
 that work, and now begins our destiny. It 
 is coming, and, in God s name, let it come 
 quickly. 
 
 "William Lloyd Garrison apoke for an 
 hour, and was listened to with great atten 
 tion, and was frequently applauded. 
 
 "After some remarks by the chairman, 
 Wendell Phillips spoke at some length. 
 The Hutchinsons sang, and at six o clock 
 the convention adjourned till 7:30 to Brin- 
 ley hall. 
 
 " 8:15 p. M. Wendell Phillips is speak 
 ing in Brinley hall. No steps have yet 
 been taken to dissolve the Union. 
 
 " The business committee submitted the 
 following resolutions : 
 
 " Resolved, That the meeting of a state 
 disunion convention, attended by men of 
 various parties and affinities, gives occasion 
 
THE MONARCHISTS. 
 
 for a new statement of principles and a new 
 platform of action. 
 
 "Resolved, That the cardinal American 
 principle is now, as always, liberty ; while 
 the prominent fact is now, as always, sla 
 very. 
 
 " Resolved, That the conflict between this 
 principle of liberty and this fact of slavery 
 has been the whole history of the nation 
 for fifty years ; while the only result of this 
 conflict has thus far been to strengthen 
 both parties and prepare the way for a yet 
 more desperate struggle. 
 
 "Resolved, That in this emergency we 
 can expect little or nothing from the South 
 itself, because it too is sinking deeper into 
 barbarism every year ; 
 
 " Nor from a supreme court which is al 
 ways ready to invent new securities for 
 slaveholders ; 
 
 " Nor from a President elected almost sole 
 ly by Southern votes ; 
 
 " Nor from a Senate which is permanently 
 controlled by the slave power ; 
 
 " Nor from a new House of Representa 
 tives which, in spite of our agitation, will 
 be more pro-slavery than the present one, 
 though the present one has at length grant 
 ed all which slavery asked ; 
 
 " Nor from political action, as now con 
 ducted. For the republican leaders and 
 press freely admitted, in public and pri 
 vate, that the election of Fremont was, po 
 litically speaking, the last hope of free- 
 
 acter and condition of the two sections of 
 the country in their social organization, 
 education, habits, and laws in the dangers 
 of our white citizens in Kansas, and of our 
 colored ones in Boston in the wounds of 
 Charles Sumner and the laurels of his as 
 sailant and no government on earth was 
 ever strong enough to hold together such 
 opposing forces. 
 
 " Resolved, That this movement does not 
 seek merely disunion, but the more perfect 
 union of the free states by the expulsion of 
 the slave states from the confederation, in 
 which they have ever been an element of 
 discord, danger, and disgrace. 
 
 " Resolved, That it is not probable that 
 the ultimate severance of the Union will be 
 an act of deliberation or discussion, but 
 that a long period of deliberation and dia- 
 cussion must precede it, and this we meet 
 to begin. 
 
 " Resolved, That henceforward, instead of 
 regarding it as an objection to any system 
 of policy, that it will lead to the separation 
 of the states, we will proclaim that to be 
 the highest of all recommendations, and the 
 grateful proof of statesmanship ; and will 
 support, politically, or otherwise, such men 
 
 d measures as appear to tend most to 
 this result. 
 
 " Resolved, That by the repeated confes 
 sion of Northern and Southern statesmen, 
 the existence of the Union is the chief 
 
 dom, and even could the North cast a S uarantee of slavery ; and that the despots 
 united vote in 1860, the South has before it j of the whole world have everything to fear, 
 
 and the slaves of the whole world every 
 thing to hope, from its destruction, and the 
 rise of a free Northern republic. 
 
 "Resolved, That the sooner the separa 
 tion takes place the more peaceful it will 
 be ; but that peace or war is a secondary 
 consideration, in view of our present per 
 ils. Slavery must be conquered, peace- 
 
 four years of annexation previous to that 
 time. 
 
 "Resolved, That the fundamental differ 
 ence between mere political agitation and 
 the action we propose, is this that the 
 one requires the acquiescence of the slave 
 power, and the other only its opposition. 
 
 " Resolved, That the necessity for dis 
 
 union is written in the whole existing char- 1 ably if we can, forcibly if we must." 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ANTI-SLAVERY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 THE identity of names, and of the de 
 clared purposes of the radical lead 
 ers, with men who are thus proved to 
 be a British party in America their 
 warfare upon the South their unscru 
 pulous abuse of power and their 
 avowed purpose to subvert the previ 
 ous government, by so changing the 
 Constitution as to make it conform to 
 the monarchy which they prefer, iden 
 tify them as the traitors who were in 
 treaty with the British agent Henry. 
 He said, in 1809, that " The legislature 
 of Massachusetts will give the tone to 
 the neighboring states, will declare 
 itself permanent until a new election of 
 members, invite a congress to be com 
 posed of delegates from the federal 
 states, and erect a separate govern 
 ment for their common defence and 
 common interest," and in proof of the 
 truth of what he wrote, and of the 
 treasonable purposes of his Boston as 
 sociates, we need do no more than re 
 fer to the Hartford convention, and 
 the warfare they waged upon Mr. Mad 
 ison, the Constitution and the Union in 
 1814 their plan was then, as the rad 
 ical plan now is, to declare themselves 
 permanently in power. Then they 
 were allied with England, and their 
 measures and principles were so much 
 identified with the purposes and in 
 terests of England, that Henry, the 
 confidential agent of England, called 
 them " the English party in the United 
 States." 
 
 I would call the attention of the 
 
 reader to the following extract from 
 one of Henry s letters. He said : " It 
 should therefore be the peculiar care of 
 Great Britain to foster division between 
 the North and the South, and by succeed 
 ing in this, she may carry into effect 
 
 HER OWN PROJECTS IX EUROPE, With a total 
 
 j disregard of the resentments of the DEMO 
 CRATS of this country. " 
 
 We arc at no loss to determine what 
 were the " PROJECTS," which it was then 
 the purpose of England to carry into 
 effect in Europe. Their purpose was 
 to establish the maritime and com 
 mercial supremacy of England, and to 
 make the Boston monarchists aid in 
 the accomplishment of that purpose, 
 by stimulating them to make war upon 
 the interests and welfare of the South. 
 
 WHY ENGLAND WAS OPPOSED TO AFRICAN 
 SLAVERY. 
 
 By the 16th article of the treaty of 
 Utrecht, in 1713, England confirmed 
 the contract between the English 
 Guinea Company and the king of 
 Spain, whereby that company gave to 
 Spain two hundred thousand crowns, 
 and to Spain and England, each, one 
 quarter share of the profits for the 
 privilege of importing slaves into 
 the Spanish American provinces, and 
 yet, in 181*7, she gave to Spain two 
 millions of dollars to abolish the slave 
 trade / The motive for this change of 
 policy was explained by Wilberforce, 
 who, in the debate in the House of 
 Commons on this treaty, said : " I can- 
 
ANTI-SLAVEEY COKSPIKACY. 
 
 not but think that the grant to Spain 
 will be more than repaid to Great 
 Britain in commercial advantages, by 
 the opening of a great continent to British 
 industry an object which will be en 
 tirely defeated if the slave trade is to 
 be carried on by Spain. Our com 
 mercial connection with Africa will 
 much more than repay us for any 
 pecuniary sacrifices of this kind, 
 myself will live to see Great Britain 
 deriving the greatest advantages from 
 its intercourse with Africa." 
 
 THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, 
 
 In the debate on the corn laws in 1842, 
 said : 
 
 " I am sure no man regrets more than I 
 do that commerce or manufactures should 
 be depressed; but I believe, if the corn 
 laws were repealed to-morrow not a yard of 
 cloth or a pound of iron more would be 
 sold in any part of Europe, or of the world, 
 over which this country does not exercise a 
 control. My lords, the greatest number of 
 European nations, and of the nations of the 
 globe, have adopted measures for the en 
 couragement of home manufactures. These 
 measures were not taken, as stated by sonje> 
 in consequence of the English corn laws. 
 They are attributable to the example of 
 this country. They had their rise in the 
 spectacle which this country exhibited dur 
 ing the late war, and in the great and noble 
 exertions by which her power and strength 
 were displayed on every occasion. Those 
 who contemplated those exertions, as well 
 as those who were relieved and assisted by 
 them, thought they might as well follow 
 the example of our power, of our industry 
 and our system of commerce. They have 
 followed our example, and have established 
 among themselves manufactures, and given 
 a stimulus to their commerce." 
 
 LORD PALMERSTON, 
 
 In the debate on the state of the 
 country, on the 6th July, 1842, having 
 explained that the markets of France 
 
 and Germany were closed to British 
 manfactures, said : 
 
 " I therefore look to more distant regions 
 fox future prosperity. We must look to the 
 rising nation which inhabits the North 
 American continent. There we are met by 
 our corn laws, and, until we alter these, we 
 will be crippled in our commercial inter 
 course. We must also look to South Amer 
 ica. There again we are met by heavy du 
 ties on sugar, and, until these are modified, 
 we cannot expect to carry on commerce 
 with South America to the extent it is pos 
 sible. We must look again to AFP.ICA, and 
 we must look especially to INDIA and to 
 CHINA." 
 
 And why must Great Britain look to 
 AFRICA, and especially to INDIA and to 
 CHINA, for her future prosperity? Is 
 it not because, to use the words of the 
 Duke of Wellington, Africa, and India, 
 and China, are under the "control" of 
 England ? And how has she exercised 
 her control ? Let us see. I quote 
 from the Edinburgh Review of 1825 : 
 
 BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY. 
 
 " The act of 1650, passed by the Repub 
 lican Parliament, laid the foundation of the 
 monopoly system, by confining the import 
 and export trade to the colonies exclusively 
 to British or colony-built ships. But the 
 famous Navigation Act of 1660 (12 Charles 
 II., cap. 18) went much farther. It enacted 
 that certain specified articles, the produce 
 of the colonies, and since well known in 
 commerce as enumerated articles, should 
 not be exported directly from the colonies 
 to any foreign country ; but that they should 
 first be sent to Britain, and there unladen 
 [the words are, laid upon the sJiore), before 
 they could be forwarded to their final des 
 tination. Sugar, molasses, ginger, fustic } 
 tobacco, cotton, and indigo, were originally 
 enumerated ; and the list was subsequently 
 enlarged by the addition of coffee, hides 
 
 and skins, iron, corn, &c But the 
 
 insatiable rapacity of monopoly was not to 
 30 satisfied with compelling the colonists to 
 sett their produce exclusively in the English 
 markets. It was next thought advisable 
 
50 
 
 ANTI-SLAVERY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 that they should be obliged to buy such 
 foreign articles as they might stand in need 
 of, exclusively from the merchants and 
 manufacturers of England. For this pur 
 pose it was enacted, in 1G63, that no com 
 modity of the growth, production, or manu 
 facture of Europe shall be imported into 
 the plantations, but such as are laden and 
 put on board in England, Wales, or Berwick- 
 upon-Tweed, and in English-built shipping, 
 whereof the master and three fourths of the 
 crew are English It was also a lead 
 ing principle in the system of colonial poli 
 cy, adopted as well by England as by the 
 other European nations, to discourage all 
 attempts to manufacture such articles in the 
 colonies as could be provided for them by 
 the mother-country. The history of our 
 colonial system is full of attempts of this 
 sort; and so essential was the principle 
 deemed, to the idea of a colony, that even 
 Lord Chatham did not hesitate to declare, in 
 his place in Parliament, that the British 
 colonists in North America, had NO EIGHT 
 to manufacture even a nail for a horseshoe! 
 And when such were the enactments made 
 by the legislature, and such the avowed 
 sentiments of a great parliamentary leader 
 and a friend to the colonies, we need not be 
 surprised at a declaration of a late Lord 
 Sheffield, who did no more indeed than ex 
 press the decided opinion of all the mer 
 chants and politicians of his time, when he 
 affirmed thus : The ONLY use of American 
 colonies or West India islands is the MONOPO 
 LY of their consumption and of the carriage 
 of their produce .... Were it not for the 
 perverse and most injurious regulations to 
 which this system has given rise, we might 
 supply ourselves with sugar from the East 
 Indies or South America for a great deal 
 less than it now costs to buy it from the 
 West India planters. This is a much more 
 serious loss than is generally supposed. 
 Sugar has become a necessary, equally in 
 dispensable to the poor and the rich. The 
 quantity of West India sugar annually con 
 sumed in Great Britain may, we believe, be 
 taken on an average at about three hundred 
 and eighty million pounds weight. And it 
 has been repeatedly shown, that a reduc 
 tion of the duties on sugar from the East 
 
 Indies and South America to the same level 
 with those laid on West India sugar, would 
 enable us to obtain as good sugar for 4%d 4 
 per pound as now costs 6d. ; but taking the 
 difference at only Id. per pound, it would 
 make, on the above-mentioned quantity, a 
 saving of no less than 1,588,000 (7,915,- 
 
 000) a year Not only, however, do 
 
 we exclude the sugars of the Dutch colo 
 nies, Brazil, and Louisiana, but we actually 
 lay 10s. a cwt. of higher duties on the 
 sugar imported from our own dominions in 
 the East Indies than on that which is im 
 ported from the West. Not satisfied with 
 giving the West India planters a monopoly 
 of the home market against foreigners, wo 
 have given them a monopoly against our 
 own subjects in the East. It is impossible 
 to speak too strongly in condemnation of 
 this arrangement not that we mean to in- 
 inuate that the East Indies have any right 
 whatever to be more favorably treated than 
 the West Indies ; but we contend that they 
 have as clear and undoubted right to be as 
 favorably treated. To attempt to enrich the 
 latter, by preventing the former from bring 
 ing their produce to our market, or by load 
 ing it with higher duties, is not only to 
 prefer the interests of one million, and 
 those we do not say it disparagingly of the 
 planters mostly slaves, to the interests of 
 one hundred millions of subjects ; but it is 
 totally inconsistent with, and subversive of, 
 every principle of impartial justice and 
 sound policy. It is said, however, that 
 slavery exists in Hindostan as well as in 
 Jamaica, and that by reducing the duties on 
 East India sugar and facilitating its cultiva 
 tion, by allowing Europeans to purchase 
 and farm lands, we should not get rid of the 
 evils of slavery, but would be merely sub 
 stituting the produce of one species of 
 slave labor for another. Now, admitting 
 for a moment that this statement is well 
 founded, still it is certain, from the cheap 
 ness of free labor in Hindostan, no slaves 
 ever have been, or ever can be, imported 
 into that country. And hence it is obvious 
 that by substituting the sugars of the East 
 for those of the West, we should neither 
 add to the number, nor deteriorate the con 
 dition of the existing slave population iu 
 
ANTI-SLAVEKY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 51 
 
 our dominions, while we should save above 
 a million and a half in the purchase of one 
 of the principal necessaries of life, at the 
 same time that we subverted a system of 
 monopoly and laid the foundation of a new 
 and extensive intercourse with India a 
 market whicli may be enlarged to almost any 
 conceivable extent" (See Edinburgh Review 
 for 1825.) 
 
 I would entreat the reader to note 
 and consider the facts disclosed by the 
 extracts given above, as connected 
 with other known facts. The Duke of 
 Wellington tells us that the repeal of 
 the corn laws would not enable Great 
 Britain to sell a yard of cloth or a 
 pound of iron more in any part of 
 Europe or of the world, over which 
 Great Britain does not exercise a control, 
 and why ? Because the greatest num 
 ber of European nations, and of the 
 nations of the globe, have adopted 
 measures for the encouragement of 
 home manufactures. And Lord Pal- 
 merston told us, that being no longer 
 able to sell to the other European 
 nations, they were compelled to look 
 to Africa, and especially to India and 
 to China, for a market for their surplus 
 manufactures. 
 
 The extract from the Edinburgh Re 
 view shows us the purpose and the 
 manner in which England has used her 
 power in the countries over which she 
 has had a " control," and explains why 
 she emancipated her West India slaves. 
 When England was engaged in the 
 slave trade, with a view to increase 
 the profits, and thus stimulate the trade 
 in African slaves, she gave to the 
 West India proprietors a monopoly of 
 the supply of the home market in the 
 shape of discriminating duties favor 
 ing West India produce, and that mo 
 nopoly was continued until the compe 
 tition of the other European nations 
 compelled England to look to Africa, 
 
 India, and China, to use the words of 
 Lord Palmerston, for "future prosper 
 ity." And the fact that having the 
 same power to emancipate her slaves 
 in Hindostan, that she had to emanci 
 pate the slaves in the West Indies, 
 and that she has not yet, and does not 
 propose, to emancipate her East India 
 slaves, is conclusive to show that the 
 one hundred millions of dollars, which 
 she gave to the West India proprietors, 
 under pretence of compensating them 
 for the emancipation of their slaves, 
 was, in truth, given as compensation 
 for the repeal of the discriminating 
 duties which gave them a monopoly of 
 the supply of the home market with 
 West India produce ; and no one can 
 believe otherwise than that the induce 
 ment was, as in the case of the sum 
 paid to Spain for abolishing the African 
 slave trade, the " commercial advan 
 tages" to be obtained by exchanging a 
 market of one million, mostly slaves of 
 West India consumers, for the markets 
 of Africa, India, and China, where 
 there are more than seven hundred 
 millions of consumers, over the greater 
 part of whom Great Britain exercises 
 a control, more or less direct. 
 
 EFFECT OF EMANCIPATION IN THE WEST 
 INDIES. 
 
 In confirmation of this view, I again 
 refer to the debates in the British Par 
 liament. In the debate on the condi 
 tion of the West Indies in 1842, Lord 
 Stanley, then a member of the govern 
 ment, said, that on sixty-two sugar 
 estates, from the 1st January, 1841, to 
 December, the actual loss was nine hun 
 dred and eighty-three thousand dollars 
 on an outlay of twelve hundred and fifty 
 thousand, and the London Times, com 
 menting on this speech, said that the 
 result of abolition in the West Indies 
 was the ruin or approaching ruin of 
 
52 
 
 ANTI-SLAVERY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 the planter, who was thus compelled 
 to incur a clear loss of three fourths 
 of the sum expended in the cultiva 
 tion of his estate ; and added : " The 
 abolition act is fairly sweeping away 
 a whole class of men who thought 
 themselves in possession of comforta 
 ble, perhaps handsome incomes ; anni 
 hilating, or at lqast rendering unavail 
 ing to its owners, the whole mass of 
 the English West India Islands, and 
 compelling them to hand over their en 
 tire property, on the most ruinous 
 terms, to another race a race, too, 
 which has obtained ita purchase money 
 out of the pockets of the present own 
 ers during the two or three last years, 
 which will have completed their ruin," 
 and then admitted that the inevitable 
 consequence of the abolition act was 
 to convert the West India Islands into 
 "black colonies, because the white 
 man is not suited to labor in that cli 
 mate, and cannot resist its terrible dis 
 eases." 
 
 And the London Courier of April 23, 
 1842, said : 
 
 " The Tay steamer brought an immense 
 quantity of correspondence and papers 
 which have been long accumulating at the 
 various islands. Jamaica apparently con- 
 
 petition addressed to the House of 
 Commons in 1842, praying for an 
 equalization of the duties on foreign 
 and colonial sugars, which asserted 
 that, by comparing the average ga 
 zette price of Muscovado sugar with 
 Brazilian in 1840, the people of the 
 paid the sum of 
 
 United 
 
 Kingdom 
 
 tinues in a disturbed state, which is mainly 
 attributable to the growing demoralization of 
 the negro population. 
 
 enlightened portion of the inhabitants had 
 been drawn to tins fact, and means were 
 being devised to ameliorate the evil if pos 
 sible. Commercial affairs continued in a 
 very embarrassed condition ; and it was 
 doubted if some property, which was ad 
 vertised for sale under a late bankruptcy, 
 would find purchasers. It is mentioned, 
 with regret, that the event had been caused 
 by keeping up these very estates." 
 
 SIR ROBERT PEEL ON EMANCIPATION. 
 
 $24,789,365 more for colonial than the 
 average price of Brazilian sugar. Sir 
 Robert Peel, then the head of the gov 
 ernment, said : 
 
 " To open our markets to the sugars of 
 Cuba and Brazil will detract from the high 
 character which this country [England] 
 has acquired, in its efforts and sacrifices to 
 
 put down the slave trade I hold 
 
 in my hand a letter from an intelligent 
 naval officer, who, speaking of the state of 
 feeling in Cuba, says that he understands 
 there is a strong feeling prevailing on the 
 subject of emancipation, and that the con 
 sequence is much embarrassment and mis 
 trust among the proprietors. This is in 
 Cuba where slavery exists in its most un 
 mitigated form; and when we consider 
 that such feelings exist in that island, let 
 us ask ourselves, if they are not likely to 
 prevail also in the Brazils, where the sys 
 tem is less rigid ? And more than all, are 
 they not likely to prevail with great, very 
 great force among the intelligent and en 
 lightened people of the United States ? 
 
 We are in peculiar circumstan 
 ces. Our efforts on the coast of Africa 
 The attention of the mav be described as failures. [Oh, oh !] 
 
 I refer to those two vessels which were 
 sent out last year, and whose expedition 
 lias closed without success. [An ironical 
 hear hear !] Yes, but great importance 
 has been attached to that expedition." 
 
 He then referred to the position of 
 France, the refusal, under the protest 
 of General Cass, to ratify the Quintu 
 ple treaty, and of the importance of 
 preserving a high character for disin 
 terestedness (?), urged that this could 
 
 Such were the inducements to, and not be done if they repealed the duty 
 such were the results of, British West j on Cuban and Brazilian sugar, and 
 India emancipation ; and yet, on a proceeded : 
 
ANTI-SLAVEEY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 53 
 
 " "What I say is, make the attempt try 
 to get concessions from those from whom 
 we get our supply. You may depend on 
 it, there is a growing conviction among the 
 people of those countries that slavery is 
 not unaccompanied by great dangers. In 
 Cuba, in the United States, in the Brazils, 
 there is a ferment on the subject of sla 
 very, which is spreading, and will spread. 
 Some from humane and benevolent motives 
 some on account of interested fears be 
 gin to look at the great example we have 
 set, and have begun to look at the conse 
 quences which may result from that ex 
 ample nearer home. It is impossible to 
 look to the discussions in the United 
 States, and especially to the conflicts be 
 tween the Northern and Southern states, 
 without seeing that slavery in that nation 
 stands on a precarious footing." 
 
 FREE LABOR CANNOT COMPETE WITH SLAVE 
 LABOR. 
 
 Why did Sir Robert Peel oppose 
 the repeal of the discriminating duties 
 on Cuban and Brazilian sugars, upon 
 the ground that, by continuing those 
 duties, Cuba, Brazil, and the United 
 States, could be induced to emancipate 
 their slaves, and how was England to 
 be benefited by the emancipation of 
 our slaves ? He gave the answer. 
 The Duke of Wellington had said that 
 the repeal of her corn-laws would not 
 enable England to sell a yard of cloth 
 or a pound of iron more in any country 
 over which England did not exercise 
 a control ; and Lord Palmerston had 
 said that, being no longer able to sell 
 to European countries, England must 
 look to Africa, and especially to India 
 and China, for her " future prosperity." 
 It is apparent that the " prosperity" 
 to be derived from Africa, India, and 
 China, depends upon the ability of 
 Africa, India, and China, to pay for 
 the manufactures which it was the 
 purpose of England to sell ; and it is 
 equally apparent that Africa, India, 
 
 and China, could not pay for British 
 manufactures unless Great Britain 
 would receive their agricultural prod 
 uce in payment. We have seen that 
 the estimate of the Edinburgh Review 
 in 1825 was, that the repeal of the 
 monopoly given to the West India 
 planters, to enable them to purchase 
 African slaves when England was a 
 slave trader would open a market in 
 India, which might be " enlarged to al 
 most any conceivable extent." 
 
 EFFECT OF THE WEST INDIA EMANCIPATION" 
 ON THE EAST INDIES. 
 
 Now, what are the facts ? The acts 
 emancipating the West India slaves, 
 modifying the West India monopoly, 
 and opening the trade of the East 
 Indies to British commerce, all passed 
 in 1835. In 1814, India sent to Eng 
 land 1,266,608 pieces of cotton goods, 
 made without the use of improved 
 machinery. In 1837, England sent to 
 India 64,212,633 pieces of cotton goods, 
 the product of her improved machin 
 ery 1 and, having the control over^the 
 commerce of India, she jmposed aiclutyj ~ 
 of twenty per cent, on India goods 
 sent to England, and of three per cent, 
 only on British goods sent to India. 
 The result was, that in the town of _, 
 Daca alone, where two hundred thou 
 sand persons had been employed in 
 the manufacture of cotton goods, the 
 entire population was reduced in one" 
 year to about thirty thousand, wholecA* 
 families having perished for want of 
 food, and many thousands more per 
 ished by famine than were emancipa 
 ted in the West Indies. The governor- 
 general of India, in his report, said : 
 
 " The sympathy of the court is deeply 
 excited by tho report of the board of 
 
 i trade, exhibiting the gloomy picture of the 
 effects of a commercial revolution, produo 
 
 tive of so much suffering to numerous 
 
ANTI-SLAVERY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 classes in India, and hardly to be paralleled 
 in the history of commerce." 
 
 WHY THIS FAMINE IN INDIA? 
 
 Sir Robert Peel gave the answer. 
 He said : 
 
 " / have my doubts if a colony, in whicJi 
 slavery has been abolished by law, can, at 
 present, enter into successful competition 
 with a district in which the system con 
 tinues to exist. .... The honorable mem 
 ber for Montrose announced his wish to 
 maintain our colonial dependencies, but 
 said that his object is to see each colony 
 paying for itself. I apprehend that the 
 proposal of the honorable and learned mem 
 ber for Bath, to admit to an unlimited com 
 petition with slave-possessing colonies, is 
 not the way to insure that object. The 
 honorable member has said that if the 
 weavers of Lancashire were asked what 
 benefit they derived from the duty on for 
 eign sugar, they would answer None. 
 But I put it to the honorable member, 
 whether that is the test by which any great 
 question affecting the country is to be de 
 cided? If I ask a Lancashire weaver, 
 what benefit he derives from Jamaica, and 
 his reply is none, ought that to induce 
 me to abandon my measure ? Is the hon 
 orable gentleman prepared to test the ad 
 vantages derived from our connection with 
 India in the same manner ? or should we 
 abandon our colonial dependencies alto 
 gether, upon the assurance of a distressed 
 weaver of Lancashire, that he is not aware 
 that any benefit is conferred upon the 
 country by our dependencies ? If that is 
 the principle of the honorable gentleman, it 
 is quite clear, that in order to conform to it, 
 we must resolve ourselves into the narrow 
 limits of our own resources, and try what 
 England can do against the world, after 
 having abandoned all those dependencies 
 which she has established to her glory." 
 
 COMMENT ENGLAND AND NAPOLEON. 
 
 We have seen that, to use the words 
 of the Duke of Wellington and Lord 
 Palmerston, the other European na 
 tions having established for themselves 
 
 a system of manufactures and of com 
 merce, England is compelled to look 
 to Africa, and especially to India and 
 China, for her "future prosperity." 
 We have seen that the effect of 
 the introduction of her machine-made 
 goods into India was such that the 
 governor-general, in his comment on 
 the report of the board of trade of 
 India, said, that it exhibited " the 
 gloomy picture of the effects of a 
 commercial revolution, productive of 
 so much suffering to numerous classes 
 in India, and hardly to be paralleled 
 in the history of commerce," and that 
 Sir Robert Peel urged the continuance 
 of the discriminating duty on Cuban 
 and Brazilian sugars, because he 
 hoped, by tendering the repeal of that 
 duty as an inducement, he could pre 
 vail on Cuba and Brazil to emancipate 
 their slaves, and that then the United 
 States, for fear of the consequences, 
 would emancipate ours. We have 
 seen that Sir Robert said that he was 
 unwilling to repeal the duty on slave- 
 grown sugar, because he had ascer 
 tained that " a colony in which sla 
 very had been abolished by law could 
 not successfully compete with a dis 
 trict in which the system continues to 
 exist," and we know that for more 
 than two hundred and fifty years 
 Great Britain has been increasing her 
 dominions and extending her power 
 and commerce in India that, as a 
 means of maintaining her own su 
 premacy, it has been "the peculiar 
 care of Great Britain to foster divis 
 ion between" the local governments 
 and people in India, that she may so 
 excite local prejudice and sectional 
 feeling, as that her influence, consist 
 ing of native troops, led by British 
 officers, aided by a few, very few, 
 British auxiliaries, became the pre 
 
 ponderating 
 
 power. 
 
ANTI-SLAVERY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 55 
 
 know that the commerce of .India has 
 enriched the several nations, who 
 have possessed the " control" of it, 
 from the days of Solomon the Por 
 tuguese, the Dutch, the French, and the 
 English. We know that the tradi 
 tionary policy of Russia, from the 
 days of Catharine, has been to seize 
 upon Constantinople and the Darda 
 nelles as the gate to the commerce of 
 Jndia^ and that to prevent this, the 
 ruling policy of England was to inter 
 pose the countervailing power of Aus 
 tria and Turkey. For this, her royal 
 princes and princesses have intermar 
 ried with the petty princes of Ger 
 many for this she made war on 
 France and the elder Napoleon for 
 this she organized the holy alliance, 
 and having aided to restore the Bour 
 bons, finding that she could better 
 " carry into effect her own projects in 
 Europe," she aided in placing upon the 
 throne of France the present emperor, 
 and was thus enabled to use the pow 
 er of France in the Crimea and in 
 China, as she had used the power and 
 resources of Russia and Germany at 
 Waterloo, to confirm, increase, and 
 perpetuate her power and dominion in 
 India. Every intelligent observer of 
 passing events must see that this 
 union and concert between France 
 and England is the result of the far-, 
 seeing and ever-vigilant commercial 
 policy of England, and that the pur 
 pose of both England and France is 
 to organize a European combination 
 which, their jealous rivalry prompts 
 them to believe, is necessary to pre 
 vent the preponderance of American 
 wealth, power, and influence, among 
 the nations of the earth. In proof of 
 this truth, a few pertinent extracts 
 are submitted : 
 
 MR. COBDEN ENGLAND AND AMERICA COM 
 PARED. 
 
 In a pamphlet published by Mr. Cob- 
 den, in 1835, he said : 
 
 " We are upon the verge of a novel com 
 bination of commercial necessities that will 
 altogether change the relation in which we 
 have hitherto stood with our colonies ; we 
 call them necessities, because they will be 
 forced upon us, not from conviction of the 
 wisdom of such changes, but by the irre 
 sistible march of events. The New World 
 is destined to become the arbiter of the 
 commercial policy of the Old 
 
 " It is to the industry, the economy, and 
 peaceful policy of America, and not to the 
 growth of Russia, that our statesmen and 
 politicians of whatever creed ought to 
 direct their most anxious study ; for it ia 
 by these and not by the efforts of barbarian 
 force that the power and greatness of Eng 
 land are in danger of being superseded; 
 yes, by the successful rivalry of America 
 shall we, in all probability, be placed second 
 in the rank of nations. * 
 
 " We allude to the danger in which we 
 are placed of being overshadowed by the 
 commercial and naval ascendency of the 
 United States. It has been through the 
 peaceful victories of mercantile traffic, and 
 not by the force of arms, that modern states 
 have yielded to the supremacy of more 
 successful nations ; thus the power and 
 civilization of maritime Italy succumbed to 
 Spain and Portugal ; these again were super- 
 ceded by the more industrious traders of 
 Holland, who, in their turn, sank into insig 
 nificance before (lie gigantic growth of tlie 
 MANUFACTUKINQ industry of Great Britain ; 
 and the latter power now sees in America 
 a competitor, in every respect calculated to 
 contend with advantage for the sceptre of 
 naval and commercial dominion. Whether 
 we view the rapid advance of the United 
 States during the last forty years in respect 
 to population or wealth, it is equally un 
 paralleled in any country, and making no 
 allowance for the probable increase of emi 
 gration from Europe, will, in seventy years 
 
56 
 
 AKTI-SLAVEKY CONSPIEACY. 
 
 from this time, that is, during the lifetime 
 of individuals now arrived at maturity, ex 
 ceed one hundred millions. These circum- 
 Etances demonstrate the rapid tendency to 
 ward a superiority as far as numbers go, 
 but we apprehend that in respect to the 
 comparison of our commercial prospects 
 with those of America, the position of Great 
 Britain does not, according to the facts 
 which we have to state, wear a more flat 
 tering aspect This republican 
 
 people present the only example of past, as 
 we believe it will prove of future history, 
 in which a nation has honorably discharged 
 
 its public debt The results 
 
 may be seen, not only in the unparalleled 
 advances of wealth and civilization at home, 
 but in the fact that we have just demonstra 
 ted, and which we doubt not will surprise 
 most of our readers, that even the foreign 
 commerce of this people is as great or 
 greater than our own." 
 
 ENGLAND DEPENDENT ON AMERICA FOR -RAW 
 PRODUCTS. 
 
 This was in 183 5, and shows that this 
 far-seeing British statesman then fore 
 saw that "by the successful rivalry of 
 America," England would " be placed 
 second in the rank of nations," and 
 bearing this fact in mind, I would call 
 the attention of the reader to the fol 
 lowing extracts from the same pam 
 phlet: 
 
 " Bearing in mind that the supply of the 
 raw material of nearly one lialf of our ex 
 ports is derived from a country that threat 
 ens to eclipse us by its rival greatness, we 
 cannot, while viewing the relative positions 
 of England and the United States at this 
 moment, avoid recurring to the somewhat 
 parallel cases of Holland and Great Britain, 
 before the latter became a manufacturing state; 
 when the Dutchman purchased the wool of 
 this country and sold it to us again in the 
 form of cloth. Like as the latter nation 
 became at a subsequent period, we are 
 now overwhelmed with debt, contracted in 
 wars or the acquisition of colonies ; while 
 America, free from all burdens as we were 
 
 at the former epoch, is prepared to take up, 
 with far greater advantage, the fabrication 
 of their own cotton, than we did of our 
 wool. The Americans possess a quicker 
 mechanical genius than even ourselves. 
 Such again was the case of our ancestors 
 in comparison with the Dutch (as witness 
 their patents and improvements for which 
 we are indebted to individuals of that coun 
 try) in mechanics, such as spinning, en 
 graving, &c. We gave additional speed to 
 our ships, by improving upon the naval 
 architecture of the Dutch, and the simili 
 tude again applies to the superiority which, 
 in comparison with British models, the 
 Americans have, for all the purposes of ac 
 tivity and economy, imparted to their ves 
 sels." 
 
 FRANCE IN ACCORD WITH ENGLAND. 
 
 It will be seen that in 1835, Mr. Cob- 
 den laid great stress upon the fact that 
 England was indebted for the " supply 
 of the raw material of nearly one half 
 of her exports," to a country which 
 even then threatened to eclipse her by 
 its rival greatness, and, looking to her 
 previous and subsequent measures and 
 policy, who can fail to see that her 
 contemporaneous emancipation of her 
 West India slaves, repeal of the West 
 India monopoly, modification of the 
 charter, and abrogation of the monopo 
 lies of the East India Company, were 
 all arid each intended to relieve her of 
 her dependence upon her great com 
 mercial rival for a supply of the raw 
 material, so essential to her maritime 
 and commercial supremacy, and who 
 so blind as not to see, in the fact that 
 from that time she has been an aboli 
 tionist in Boston and a freetrader in 
 Charleston, a deliberate and matured 
 purpose of substituting the raw prod 
 ucts of India for those of America? 
 And who that has noted the fact that 
 France has been permitted, with the 
 consent of England, to extend her con 
 quests in Africa and in Cochin-China, 
 
ANTI-SLAVEBY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 57 
 
 and to take quiet possession of Egypt 
 and the Suez canal, and was associated 
 with England in the Crimean and 
 Chinese wars, can hesitate to believe 
 that France and England were in ac 
 cord, and that the occupation of Mexico 
 and the colonization of the Isthmus 
 and South America, were parts of a 
 . deliberate jsy stem of measures intended 
 to arrest the progress and prevent the 
 maritime and commercial supremacy 
 of the United States? If there be 
 any so incredulous as to doubt this, 
 they are referred to the following 
 
 EXTRACT FROM LIST S POLITICAL ECONOMY, 
 
 A work which has become a standard 
 authority in France. He says : 
 
 " In all ages tliero have been cities or 
 countries surpassing others in manufac 
 tures, trade, and navigation ; but the world 
 has never witnessed a supremacy to be com 
 pared with that existing in our time. In 
 all ages states have aspired to domination, 
 but no edifice of power lias ever been con 
 structed upon so broad a base. How mis 
 erable appears the ambition of those Who at 
 tempted to establish universal domination 
 upon the power of arms, in comparison with 
 the great attempt of England to transform 
 her whole territory into an immense manu 
 facturing and commercial city, into an im 
 mense port, and to become to other nations 
 what a vast city is to the country, the 
 centre of arts and knowledge, of an im 
 mense commerce, of opulence, of naviga 
 tion, of naval and military power ; a cos- 
 mopolitic country supplying all nations with 
 manufactured products, and asking in return 
 from each country its raw materials and 
 commodities ; the arsenal of extensive cap 
 ital, the universal banker, regulating, if not 
 controlling, the circulating money of the 
 whole world, and making all nations tribu 
 tary to her by loans and the payment of in 
 terest The maxims of state, 
 
 by aid of which England has become what 
 she is at present, may be reduced to the 
 following formulas : 
 
 " To prefer constantly the importation of 
 productive power to that of commodities. 
 
 " To maintain and carefully protect the 
 development of productive power. 
 
 " To import only raw materials and agri 
 cultural products, and to export only man 
 ufactured articles. 
 
 " To employ, in founding colonies and 
 reducing to her rule barbarous tribes, only 
 the surplus of her productive power. 
 
 " To reserve exclusively for the mother- 
 country the supplying of the colonies and 
 conquered territories with manufactured 
 articles ; in compensation for which re 
 ceiving in preference their raw materials, 
 and particularly their tropical commod 
 ities. 
 
 " To reserve also the coasting trade and 
 the navigation between the mother-coun 
 try and the colonies ; to encourage mari 
 time fisheries by aid of premiums ; to ob 
 tain the greatest possible share of interna 
 tional navigation. 
 
 " To become thus the chief naval power, 
 and by means of that supremacy to extend 
 her external commerce and enlarge con 
 stantly her colonial establishments. 
 
 " To grant commercial facilities, whether 
 colonial or relating to navigation, only to 
 such extent and in that way which most 
 favored her own interest, not yielding any 
 reciprocity in matters of duties upon ship 
 ping, except when the advantage was on 
 the side of England, or as a means of pre 
 venting foreign powers from imposing mari 
 time restrictions for their own benefit. 
 
 "Not to make concessions to indepen 
 dent nations, except touching the importa 
 tion of agricultural products, and only 
 upon condition of analogous concessions 
 relatively to the exportations of manufac 
 tured products. 
 
 "When such concessions could not be 
 obtained by w*ay of treaties to attain the 
 same end by smuggling. 
 
 " To declare war, or to conclude allian 
 ces, with an exclusive view to the interests 
 of manufactures, commerce, shipping, and 
 colonies; to extract, in this way, profit 
 from friends and foes ; from the latter by 
 interrupting their trade ; from the former 
 by running their manufactures through 
 
58 
 
 ANTI-SLAVEKY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 subsidies and loans, paid in the products of 
 her manufactures." 
 
 " If we compare the total amount of the 
 manufacturing product and capital of Eng 
 land with that of its agricultural products 
 and capital, we find that the chief part of 
 the wealth of the country consists in the 
 value of the real estate. McQueen fur 
 nishes the following table of wealth and 
 annual income of England : 
 
 1. NATIONAL CAPITAL. 
 
 Capital invested in 
 agriculture, land, 
 mines and fisher 
 ies 2,604,000,000 
 
 Circulating capital, 
 in cattle, imple 
 ments, provisions, 
 and money 655,000,000 
 
 Total of agricultur 
 ists 52,000,000 
 
 3,311,000,000 
 
 Capital invested in 
 manufactures and 
 commerce, manu 
 factures and in 
 ternal trade in 
 manufactured 
 goods 
 
 Commerce in colo 
 nial goods 
 
 Commerce in manu 
 factured goods, 
 with foreign coun 
 tries 
 
 To which may be 
 added for increase 
 since 1836, when 
 this estimate was 
 made . . . 
 
 Town buildings of 
 every kind, and 
 buildings for man 
 ufactures 
 
 Ships 
 
 Bridges, canals, rail 
 roads 
 
 Horses, other than 
 those for agricul 
 ture 
 
 Total of the nation 
 al capital, deduct 
 ing what is invest 
 ed in the colonies, 
 foreign loans, and 
 the public debt of 
 England 
 
 178,500,000 
 11,000,000 
 
 16,500,000 
 
 12,000,000 
 
 605,000,000 
 33,500,000 
 
 118,000,00,0 
 20,000,000 
 
 218,000,000 
 
 776,500,000 
 
 4,305,500,000 
 
 2. GROSS NATIONAL INCOME. 
 Agriculture, mines, and fisheries. . . 539,000,000 
 Manufacturing industry 259,500,000 
 
 Total 798,500,000 
 
 " From this table it results 
 " 1st. That the value of the soil devoted 
 to agriculture, comprehends twenty-six 
 forty-thirds of the total wealth of Eng 
 land, and is nearly twelve times greater 
 than that of the whole capital invested in 
 manufactures and commerce. 
 
 " 2d. That the sum employed in agricul 
 ture comprehends more than three fourths 
 of the capital of England. 
 
 "3d. That the whole value of fixed 
 property in " England, viz., lands, etc., 
 
 is 2,604,000,000 
 
 Towns, buildings, and manu 
 factories 605,000,000 
 
 Canals and railroads 118,000,000 
 
 Total 3,327,000,000 
 
 composing more than three quarters of that 
 capital. 
 
 "4th. That the manufacturing and com 
 mercial capital, including ships, does not ex 
 ceed 241,500,000, and constitutes, there 
 fore, about one eighteenth of the national 
 wealth. 
 
 "5th. That the agricultural capital of 
 England, which is 3,311,000,000, produces 
 a gross income of 539,000,000, that is, 
 about thirteen per cent., while the manu 
 facturing and trading capital, which is but 
 218,000,000, yields a yearly gross product 
 of 259,500,000, or one hundred and twenty 
 per cent. It must not be overlooked here 
 above all, that 218,000,000 of manufactur 
 ing capital, yielding a yearly income of 
 259,500,000, is the main cause which 
 swells the agricultural capital to the enor 
 mous sum of 3,311,000,000, with its yearly 
 product of 539,000,000. By far the greater 
 portion of agricultural capital consists in 
 the value of the land and cattle. 
 
 " By doubling and tripling the population 
 of the country, by sustaining an immense 
 external commerce, by furnishing a vast 
 quantity of shipping, by acquiring and em 
 ploying a multitude of colonies, manu&o- 
 turers have increased in the same propor- 
 
ANTI-SLAVEEY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 59 
 
 tion the demand for food and raw material ; 
 they have created in cultivators the desire, 
 and furnished the means of indulging to 
 that increased extent; they have raised 
 the exchangeable value of agricultural 
 products, and thus determined a propor 
 tional increase in quantity and exchange 
 able value of the rent of land, and of the 
 value of the soil. Destroy that manufac 
 turing and commercial capital of 218,- 
 000,000, and not only the income of 259,- 
 000,000 would disappear, but also far the 
 greater part of the 3,311,000,000 of agricul 
 tural capital, and, consequently, of the in 
 come of 539,000.000 derived from that 
 capital. The income of England will be 
 diminished not merely 259.500,000, the 
 value of the manufacturing production, but 
 the exchangeable value of the soil will fall 
 to the rate it bears in Poland, that is, to 
 the tenth or to the twentieth of its present 
 value. 
 
 " Hence, it follows that the capital use 
 fully employed in manufactures by an ag 
 ricultural nation increases in time the val 
 ue of the soil ten fold 
 
 " By his continental- system, Napoleon 
 wished to organize a coalition against the 
 maritime and commercial preponderance of 
 England. To succeed in this, he ought to 
 have first secured the continental nations 
 against the fear of being conquered by 
 France. He failed, because among those 
 nations the fear of his continental prepon 
 derance far exceeded the disadvantages of 
 English maritime supremacy. With the 
 fall of the empire the great alliance ceased 
 
 to have an object Since that time 
 
 the continental powers have neither been 
 threatened by revolutionary tendencies 
 nor by the conquests of France. On the 
 other hand, the superiority of England in 
 manufactures, shipping trade, colonies, and 
 naval power, increased immensely during 
 the struggle against revolution and con 
 quest. From that time it became the in 
 terest of the continental powers to unite 
 with France against that commercial and 
 maritime supremacy The commod 
 ities of the torrid zone being chiefly pur 
 chased with the products of temperate 
 climes, the consumption of the former depend- 
 5 
 
 ing on the market for the latter, and every 
 manufacturing nation being interested, con 
 sequently, to open and prosecute its own 
 trade with tropical countries, if the manu 
 facturing nations of the second rank should 
 ascertain their own interests and prosecute 
 them earnestly, the monopoly of the colo 
 nial or tropical trade will cease to exist." 
 
 After speaking 1 of the British mo 
 nopoly in India, he proceeds : 
 
 "Wherever the decaying civilization of 
 Asia begins to be touched by the fresh 
 winds of Europe, it falls into dust ; and 
 Europe will, soon or late, be under the ne 
 cessity of taking all Asia under guardian 
 ship, as England has already done with the 
 East Indies. In all this pell-mell of terri 
 tories and populations there is not a single 
 nationality worthy of being regenerated or 
 capable of any prolonged duration. The 
 complete dissolution of Asiatic nations 
 seems, therefore, unavoidable, and the re 
 generation of Asia seems possible only by 
 means of an infusion of European life by the 
 gradual introduction of Christianity, of our 
 manners, and our culture, by European emi 
 gration and the guardianship of European 
 governments. 
 
 " Reflecting on the course which this re 
 generation may take, we are favorably 
 struck at once by the fact that the great 
 est part of the East is abundantly supplied 
 with natural wealth ; that it is capable of 
 producing for the manufacturing nations of 
 Europe large quantities of the raw material 
 and food, especially commodities of the tor 
 rid zone ; thus opening an immense market 
 for the products of their manufactories. 
 .... European nations should, therefore, 
 begin by admitting the principle, that no 
 one of them should retain any exclusive 
 commercial privileges in any part of Asia 
 that no one should be favored to the ex 
 clusion of others. 
 
 " All the continental powers have a com 
 mon and powerful motive to prevent the 
 two routes, the Mediterranean by the Red 
 sea, and that by the Persian gulf, from be 
 coming the exclusive possession of Eng 
 land ; or their remaining inaccessible in 
 the hands of Asiatic barbarism. It is 06- 
 
60 
 
 ANTI-SLAVEBY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 vio-us that the solution offering the safest guar 
 antee to Europe would be in making Austria \ 
 the guardian of these important points. 
 
 ;> The idea of a continental system will ! 
 never be given up. The necessity of the real- i 
 ization will be the more felt by the continen- i 
 tal nations as England s industry, wealth, 
 and power, increase. This is evident in our 
 day, and will become more so as time pro 
 gresses. But it is not less certain that no 
 continental alliance can be successful untH 
 France shall be willing to avoid Napoleon s 
 errors. It may undoubtedly be painful to 
 the English, greedy of supremacy, to see 
 the continental nations developing, by mu 
 tual commercial facilities, their manufac 
 turing industry, strengthening their mer 
 chant marine and their naval power, seek 
 ing participation everywhere, in the cul 
 ture and colonization of barbarism and un 
 cultivated countries; enjoying full com 
 merce with the torrid zone, and thus reap 
 ing their rightful portion of the advan 
 tages which nature has bestowed on them, 
 but a glance at the future may console 
 them for their supposed losses, and the 
 
 / good fortune of their rivals the very same 
 causes indeed to which England owes her pres 
 ent elevation will raise America, probably in 
 the course of the next century, to a degree of 
 industry, wealth, and power, which will place 
 her as far above England as England is now 
 above Holland. By the force of events the 
 United States will in the meanwhile have 
 attained to a population of a hundred mil 
 lions. They will extend their population, 
 their constitution, their culture, and their 
 spirit, over all Central and South America, 
 as they have already extended them over 
 the border provinces of Mexico. The 
 federal bond will unite all those -immense 
 countries ; a population of several hundred 
 millions of souls will develop the power 
 and resources of a continent, the extent 
 and the natural wealth of which will vast 
 ly exceed those of Europe; and the mari 
 time power of the western world will then 
 exceed that of Great Britain in the same 
 proportion , as its seacoast and its rivers 
 surpass the seacoast and the rivers in size 
 and grandeur." 
 
 "At no very distant period, then, the same 
 
 necessity which now urges the French and 
 the Germans to establish a continental al 
 liance against British supremacy, will make 
 it necessary for the English to organize a 
 European coalition against the supremacy 
 of America. Great Britain will then seek 
 and find in the control of the united Eu 
 ropean powers, her security against the 
 preponderance of America, and an indem 
 nity for her lost supremacy. England will 
 act wisely if she accustoms herself in good 
 time to the idea of resigning her suprem 
 acy ; and if she secures by timely con 
 cessions the friendship of the European 
 powers, among whom she must soon be 
 content .to hold the place of first among 
 equals." 
 
 NAPOLEON AND MEXICO. 
 
 With these extracts before us, and 
 in explanation of the occupation of 
 Mexico by France, the letter of the 
 Emperor Napoleon to General Forey 
 is given. The date is important. 
 
 " FONTAINEBLEAU, July 3, 18G2. 
 
 " MY DEAR GENERAL : At the moment 
 when you are on the point of setting out 
 for Mexico, charged with the political and 
 military powers, I think it useful to let you 
 know my ideas. This is the line of conduct 
 you will have to follow : 
 
 "1. To issue, on your arrival, a proclam 
 ation, the principal points of which will be 
 indicated to you. 
 
 " 2. To welcome with the utmost cordi 
 ality all Mexicans who offer themselves to 
 you. 
 
 " 3. To side with the quarrels of no 
 party, to declare that everything is provis 
 ional so long as the Mexican nation has not 
 pronounced itself, and to show great defer 
 ence for religion, but to reassure at the 
 same time the holders of national property. 
 
 " 4. To feed, pay, and arm, according to 
 your means, the auxiliary Mexican troops, 
 i and to make them play a principal part in 
 I the battles. 
 
 "5. To maintain among your troops, and 
 
 among the auxiliaries, the severest disci- 
 
 j pline ; to vigorously repress any act or word 
 
 | insulting to the Mexicans, for you must not 
 
 
ANTI-SLAVEKY CONSPIKACY. 
 
 61 
 
 forget their proud nature ; and to secure 
 the success of the undertaking, the dis 
 position of the people must be conciliated 
 above all things. 
 
 " When you shall have reached the city 
 of Mexico, it would be desirable for the 
 principal persons of all parties who have 
 embraced our cause, to come to an under 
 standing with you, with the view of organ 
 izing a provisional government. That gov 
 ernment will submit to the Mexican people 
 the question of the political system to be 
 definitively established. An assembly will 
 be afterwards elected in accordance with 
 Mexican law. You will assist the new 
 powers in introducing into the administra 
 tion, and especially into the finances, that 
 regularity of which France affords the best 
 example. With this view persons capable 
 of assisting its new organization will be 
 sent out. 
 
 " The object to be attained is not to im 
 pose upon the Mexicans a form of govern 
 ment which they dislike, but to aid them 
 in their endeavors to establish according to 
 their inclinations, a government which may 
 have some chance of stability, and which 
 can secure to. France the redress of the 
 grievances of which she has had to com 
 plain. It is obvious, that if they prefer a 
 monarchy it is to the interest of France to 
 support them in that view. 
 
 " There will not be wanting people who will 
 ask you why we go to lavish men and money to 
 found a regular government for Mexico. 
 
 " In the present state cf the civilization of 
 the world the prosperity of America is not a 
 matter of indifference to Europe, for it is she 
 who feeds our manufactories and gives life to 
 our commerce. We have an interest in the 
 repihlic of the United Slates Icing power fill 
 and prosperous, but not that she should take 
 possession of the whole Gulf of Mexico, and be 
 the sole disburser of the products of the New 
 World. We now see "by sad experience, how 
 precarious is the fate of an industry, which is 
 reduced to seeking its chief raw material in a 
 single market, to all the vicissitudes to which it 
 has to submit. 
 
 " If, on the other hand, Mexico maintains 
 her independence and the integrity of her 
 territory ; if a stable government be there 
 
 constituted with the assistance of France, 
 we shall have restored the Latin race, 
 on the other side of the Atlantic in all its 
 strength and prestige ; we shall have guar 
 anteed security to our West India colonies, 
 and to those of Spain ; we shall have estab 
 lished our beneficent influence in the centre 
 of America ; and that influence by present 
 ing immense openings for our commerce, 
 will produce us the raw materials indispensa 
 ble to our industry. Mexico, thus regener 
 ated, will always be well disposed towards 
 us, not only from gratitude, but also be 
 cause her interests will be in harmony with 
 ours ; and because she will find a powerful 
 support in her friendly relations with the 
 European powers. 
 
 "At present, therefore, our military 
 honor engaged, the necessities cf our policy, the 
 interests of our industry and commerce, all 
 combine to make it our duty to march upon 
 Mexico, to boldly plant our flag there, and 
 to establish either a monarchy, if not incom 
 patible with the national feeling, or at all 
 events a government which may promise some 
 stability. 
 
 " NAPOLEON." 
 
 RESISTANCE TO THE EUROPEAN COALITION. 
 
 These extracts prove that the same 
 "unsatiable rapacity of monopoly," 
 which induced the British Parliament 
 to compel the colonists to sell their 
 surplus products in the British market, 
 and also to buy whatever they might 
 purchase of foreign articles " exclu 
 sively from the merchants and manu 
 facturers of England, 7 constitutes now 
 as it did in the days of Lord Chatham 
 and Lord Sheffield, the ruling policy, 
 not only of the " merchants and pol 
 iticians" of England, but of Germany, 
 as indicated by the extracts from List, 
 and of France as indicated by the 
 letter from Napoleon to General Forey; 
 and the latter, with the contemporane 
 ous history of events, proves that the 
 purpose of organizing " a European coa 
 lition against the supremacy of Amer 
 ica," as recommended by List, under 
 
62 
 
 ANTI-SLAVEEY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 the guardianship of France and Ger 
 many combined, had become & leading 
 feature of European policy. That this 
 coalition" had been precipitated by 
 the late unhappy conflict between the 
 North and the South, no intelligent 
 observer of passing events can ques 
 tion. Our ability to resist that " coa 
 lition" depends upon our UNION upon 
 bringing the united resources and the 
 united energies of the whole united 
 American people to the support of 
 American principles and of American 
 interests, whenever any one or all of 
 those interests are or may be assailed 
 by any one, or all of the several com 
 binations which it is the declared pur 
 pose of the "European coalition" to 
 array against us ; whether that combi 
 nation be made under the leadership of 
 England, of France, or of Germany; or 
 whether it be the creature of the power 
 and influence of all combined. 
 
 Before proceeding to speak more 
 fully of the necessity and of the 
 mariner of preparing to resist the Eu 
 ropean combination against the su 
 premacy of the United States, a few 
 short 
 
 EXTRACTS FROM FRAZIER s MAGAZINE, 
 
 For 1841, will show the animus which 
 stimulated the zeal of the British abo 
 litionists. In an article headed " WAR 
 WITH AMERICA A BLESSING TO MANKIND," 
 Frazier said : 
 
 " The United States are England s only 
 
 rival on the seas France is burning 
 
 for an opportunity of striking a blow at her 
 ancient enemy Russia is foment 
 ing mischief in the East; and the very 
 moment that sees England fully occupied 
 in other directions will see a Russian force 
 
 on its way to Northern India On 
 
 all these points, then, and on others which 
 might be added, we should look on our en 
 tanglement with America., as the too prob 
 able commencement of our national humili 
 
 ation, dismemberment, and ruin 
 
 But America has three millions of slaves, 
 and these slaves are America s foemen; 
 this is the sin and the weakness of Amer 
 ica. What possible doubt can exist as to 
 the propriety, the expediency, nay the 
 absolute duty of making a war subservient 
 6 the great and permanent object of free 
 ing these three millions of cruelly op 
 pressed human beings? Policy, too, not 
 less than philanthropy, prescribes such a 
 course of warfare. By this mode, and this 
 only, a war with America may be brought 
 to a speedy and inevitably a triumphant 
 close. As we have already observed, a 
 struggle between the people of England 
 and their descendants in America must be 
 a fearful, a protracted, and a lamentable 
 one. But if assailed in this quarter, a vital 
 part is instantly and surely reached. Die 
 Union is dissolved and the war is at an end. 
 .... In one morning, a force of ten thou 
 sand men could be raised in Jamaica for the 
 enfranchisement of their brethren in Amer 
 ica. Such a force, supported by two bat 
 talions of Englishmen and twenty thousand 
 muskets, would establish themselves in 
 Carolina, never to be removed. In three 
 weeks from their appearance, the entire 
 South will be in one conflagration. The 
 chains of a million of men would be broken, 
 and by what power could they ever again 
 be riveted. We say that this course is dic 
 tated alike by self-preservation and by phi 
 lanthropy" 
 
 COMMENT. 
 
 Blackwood s Magazine, for 1842, says 
 that Bishop Butler, on one occasion, 
 remarked, " I was considering wheth 
 er, as individuals go mad, whole na 
 tions may not also go mad," and adds : 
 " It will be seen that men may act en 
 masse as much in contradiction to com. 
 mon sense, to common interest and ex 
 perience, as if they were mistaking 
 crowns of straw for crowns of jewels, 
 and that millions of men may be as 
 easily duped, chicaned, and plundered, 
 as the simplest dreamer of waking 
 dreams who takes counters for guineas 
 
ANTI-SLAVEBY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 63 
 
 and canvas for cloth of gold." Now 
 why did Frazier say that the emanci 
 pation of American slaves, by means 
 of a servile war on America, was, to 
 England, dictated "alike by self -preser 
 vation and by philanthropy ?" He him 
 self gave the answer. He said : " The 
 United States are England s only RIVAL 
 on the seas." And hence a servile war 
 and the emancipation of American 
 slaves was dictated to England as a 
 measure of " self-preservation," as well 
 as of "philanthropy." But why of 
 philanthropy? Why incite a servile 
 war to emancipate American slaves, 
 when England herself held many mil 
 lions more in India in a more abject 
 and oppressive slavery ? The answer 
 is, the maintenance of English slavery 
 in India was indispensable to the "fu 
 ture prosperity," and to the maritime 
 and commercial supremacy of England, 
 and the emancipation of American 
 slaves, was a part of the system of 
 measures, indispensable to prevent 
 " the successful rivalry of America," 
 from placing England " second in the 
 rank of nations." 
 
 HOW BID ENGLAND BECOME THE FIRST IN 
 THE RANK OF NATIONS? 
 
 How did she acquire her maritime, 
 commercial, and financial supremacy ? 
 How is she enabled to produce so great 
 a surplus of manufactured goods ? It 
 is by the use of her improved machin 
 ery. And how did she obtain her ma 
 chinery ? It was by converting her pub 
 lic debt into capital, and using it to 
 pay the wages of labor and purchase 
 machinery. Of the fifty-six millions 
 eight hundred thousand spindles in use, 
 in Europe and America, in 1864, it is 
 estimated that Great Britain had thirty- 
 four millions. And in 1842, it was esti 
 mated that she had in her machinery a 
 creative power equal to the labor of 
 
 six hundred millions of men ; and Ure 
 says that one little girl can tend four 
 hundred and eighty of these spindles, 
 revolving at the rate of four thousand 
 times per minute 1 ! It was, therefore, 
 with the product of her machinery, pro 
 tected by her insular position and her 
 command of the ocean, that she subsi 
 dized her allies and conquered and im 
 prisoned the elder Napoleon. And it 
 is the same "insatiable rapacity of 
 monopoly" which induced her to unite 
 with his nephew in the wars on Russia 
 and China, to divide with him the com 
 merce of Africa and Asia, and to unite 
 with France and Germany in the 
 organization of a " European coalition 
 against the supremacy of America." 
 
 That such a coalition was formed we 
 have proof in the letter from Napoleon 
 to the commander of his army in Mexi 
 co, in which he declares his purpose to 
 be to establish a government in Mexi 
 co, which, being in "harmony" with 
 France, and supported by the " Euro 
 pean powers," will circumscribe our 
 power and influence in the "New 
 World." 
 
 WE MUST USE OUR CREDIT AS CURRENCY. 
 
 How are we to counteract this coa 
 lition ? How are we to compete with 
 this powerful combination ? and what 
 is the prize for which we are to con 
 tend ? With the facts before us, the 
 answer to these important questions 
 are on the surface we must unite our 
 people, economize our expenditures, 
 and increase our resources, by giving 
 the greatest possible activity to our 
 productive industry. England has 
 made her public debt the basis of her 
 currency, the support of her credit, 
 and the source of her manufactures 
 and her commerce. What is the Bank 
 of England ? Debt, nothing but Brit- 
 sh debt (fourteen millions of pounds 
 
64: 
 
 ANTI-SLAVEBY CONSPIRACY. 
 
 of three per cents.). And yet the 
 notes of that bank are a legal tender 
 in England. They purchase property 
 and pay debts. They build railroads, 
 create machinery, pay wages, con 
 struct ships, and sustain the commerce 
 of England. They are now converti 
 ble, it is true, into gold, and a class of 
 political economists argue that their 
 value consists in the fact that they 
 are so convertible. The bank sus 
 pended specie payments in 1797, and 
 did not resume until 1825, and yet 
 bank notes were at par with gold in 
 1800, and the subsequent depreciation 
 was caused, it is well known, by the 
 
 demand for specie to pay the expendi 
 tures of the war and the subsidies re 
 mitted to the continent and yet dur 
 ing no period of her existence as a na 
 tion has the progress of the material 
 prosperity of England been greater 
 than it was during the suspension of 
 the bank. And we may refer to a 
 parallel fact in the great development 
 of the industrial prosperity of Scot 
 land, whose system of banks, resting 
 chiefly on the national credit and the 
 products of the industry created by 
 the use of bank credits, dispenses al 
 most entirely with the use of specie. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 IT is proper that at this point we 
 should pause and inquire, what have 
 been the motives which have regulated 
 the measures and policy of the bank 
 of England ? And what has been the 
 effect of the financial management of 
 that bank ? It originated in a loan, 
 at eight per cent., of six millions of 
 dollars to the government, and became 
 the agent for the collection and dis 
 bursement of the public revenue. Be 
 sides the eight per cent, as interest on 
 the sum advanced, the bank received 
 twenty thousand dollars per annum as 
 the expense of management. 
 
 The capital is now seventy-two mill 
 ions seven hundred and sixty-five thou 
 sand dollars, all of which is lent to the 
 government at a rate of about three per 
 cent, per annum, and yet it pays a 
 dividend of seven per cent. ! Its notes 
 are a legal tender, except at its own 
 counter, and it is the only company 
 which can issue notes or accept bills 
 of exchange in London, or within 
 sixty-five miles of it. It receives the 
 public revenues, and holds the deposits 
 
 of the various public offices being 
 not less than twenty millions of dollars. 
 For discharging these duties and regis 
 tering transfers, and paying the divi 
 dends on the public debt, it now re 
 ceives six hundred and forty thousand 
 dollars. It is a close corporation, man 
 aged by twenty-four directors, who fur 
 nish no accounts to the proprietors. 
 Eight go out every year and eight come 
 in. When the period of election draws 
 near, the directors make out what is 
 termed a house list, giving the names 
 of those whom they wish to have as 
 colleagues, and this list is uniformly 
 elected. This body is absolute in the 
 extreme, and perfectly free to act as it 
 sees fit under all circumstances. It is 
 led by no authority and restrained by no 
 responsibility. 
 
 The following table, carefully pre 
 pared from official data, shows the 
 amount of exchequer bills and public 
 deposits, the bank notes in circulation, 
 the commercial bills discounted, and 
 the actual taxation, from 1808 to 1831 
 inclusive : 
 
 
 Exchequer Bills. 
 
 Public Deposits. 
 
 Circulation. 
 
 Bills Discounted. 
 
 Actual Taxation. 
 
 1808. 
 
 $74,781,970 
 
 $58,807,240 
 
 $85,556,450 
 
 $64,750,500 
 
 $310,733,605 
 
 1809. 
 
 76,538,865 
 
 55,468,240 
 
 97,870,900 
 
 77,377,500 
 
 319,399,410 
 
 1810. 
 
 85,983,385 
 
 59,750.233 
 
 123,969,950 
 
 100,353,000 
 
 339,126,985 
 
 1811. 
 
 109,421,240 
 
 50,959,270 
 
 116,534,250 
 
 71,777,000 
 
 326,355,500 
 
 1812. 
 
 105,825,950 
 
 51,950,650 
 
 115,134,400 
 
 71,458,000 
 
 323,760,625 
 
 1813. 
 
 127,956,800 
 
 51,967,020 
 
 124,140,600 
 
 61,651,000 
 
 241,514,300 
 
 1814. 
 
 174,912,425 
 
 60.791,135 
 
 141,141,450 
 
 66,429,000 
 
 351,201.765 
 
 1815. 
 
 130,970.430 
 
 58,687,180 
 
 136,243,350 
 
 74,735,500 
 
 355,015,710 
 
 1816. 
 
 130,487,155 
 
 54,038,300 
 
 133,793,600 
 
 57,082,000 
 
 313,203,355 
 
 1817. 
 
 135,491,190 
 
 43,495,655 
 
 147,718,900 
 
 19,803,000 
 
 260,678,745 
 
 1818. 
 
 136,285,060 
 
 35,334,435 
 
 131,010,750 
 
 21,826,000 
 
 269,836,090 
 
 1819. 
 
 127,095,740 
 
 22,684,865 
 
 126,263,420 
 
 32,575,000 
 
 256,455,5-10 
 
66 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 
 Exchequer Bills. 
 
 Public Deposits. 
 
 Circulation. 
 
 Bills Discounted. 
 
 Actual Taxation. 
 
 1820.. 
 
 95,869,985 
 
 18,567,210 
 
 121,496,700 
 
 19,418,000 
 
 275,319,465 
 
 1821. 
 
 78,864,765 
 
 19,600,785 
 
 111,476,500 
 
 13,383,500 
 
 277,650,365 
 
 1822. 
 
 68,344,795 
 
 20,539,265 
 
 87,323,950 
 
 16,833,500 
 
 226,278,072 
 
 1823. 
 
 59,313,385 
 
 27,633,175 
 
 96,156,200 
 
 15.619,000 
 
 272,234,845 
 
 1824. 
 
 73,245,935 
 
 36,110,835 
 
 100,660,600 
 
 19,849,000 
 
 277,282,375 
 
 1825. 
 
 87,072,830 
 
 20,786,570 
 
 96,994,200 
 
 24,607,500 
 
 268,857,500 
 
 1826. 
 
 87,569,405 
 
 21,071,355 
 
 107,817,800 
 
 24,541,500 
 
 156,574,650 
 
 1827. 
 
 90,048,975 
 
 21,119,335 
 
 213,788,000 
 
 6,222,000 
 
 256,558,585 
 
 1828. 
 
 103,413,880 
 
 19,108,485 
 
 106,787,550 
 
 5,317,000 
 
 263,715,950 
 
 1829. 
 
 100,302,200 
 
 19,313,280 
 
 97,786,900 
 
 11,253,500 
 
 251,188,915 
 
 3830. 
 
 104,558,080 
 
 23,809,760 
 
 107,223,500 
 
 4,599,500 
 
 253,541,925 
 
 1831. 
 
 92,282,760 
 
 19,700,510 
 
 92,633,150 
 
 7,668,000 
 
 233,097,870 
 
 
 $2,451,493,265 
 
 877,252,000 
 
 $2,720,183,100 
 
 $881,449,500 
 
 $7,330,022,260 
 
 COMMENT. 
 
 The first thing 1 deserving notice in 
 this table, is the fluctuation in the 
 amount of bills discounted varying 
 from $100,353,000 to $4,599,500, and 
 to the fact, that at the time of this 
 severe contraction of the loans and 
 discounts, the bank held $104,558,080 
 in exchequer bills, and $23,809,160 in 
 public deposits 1 The bank is the 
 agent for tho collection, and is the 
 depository of the public revenue. It 
 frill be seen that the exchequer bills 
 and public deposits are more than the 
 whole amount of notes in circulation, 
 and nearly four times the sum of the 
 commercial bills discounted. It is 
 obvious, therefore, that a large, a very 
 large, part of the circulation had been 
 used in advances on exchequer bills, 
 and that the advances thus made were 
 repaid through the revenue ! It is 
 also apparent that the chief value of 
 the bank note consisted in the fact 
 that it was receivable as a legal tender 
 in payment of taxes. Now why should 
 the government pay interest on the 
 $2,451,493,265 of exchequer bills, at the 
 same time that the bank was owing the 
 government $7,330,022,260 on its notes 
 received in payment of taxes ? It 
 is obvious that the $2,120,183,100 in 
 bank notes were used as the basis on 
 
 which $88 1,449,500 of commercial bills 
 were discounted, and that the $7,330,- 
 022,260 of taxes were levied and coir 
 lected in bank notes. Why should the 
 merchants and people of England pay 
 interest, to the bank, on this $2,720*- 
 183,100 of bank notes, when the gov*- 
 ernment, by the issue of a like sum in 
 " greenbacks," receivable in payment 
 of the $7,330,022,260 of taxes, could 
 have given to the people of England a 
 better currency more stable in value, 
 because, not being money elsewhere, 
 it would not, like gold, be subject to the 
 foreign demand ? Is it not apparent, 
 that if, instead of borrowing the credit 
 of the bank, the government of Eng 
 land had issued its certificates, receiv 
 able in the payment of taxes, and fund- 
 able at a proper rate of interest, the 
 value of the public credit would have 
 been equal to the value of the notes of 
 the bank of England ? The table shows 
 that the annual average of 
 
 THE EXCHEQUER BILLS HELD BY THE BANK, 
 
 Upon which government paid interest, 
 was $102,145,552 
 
 and the average public de 
 posits, was 35,552,166 
 
 and the average sum of 
 taxes, was 305,446,758 
 
 making a fund of $444,144,476 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 67 
 
 placed by the government with the bank 
 as its agent, and which sum was used 
 by the bank as the basis of its issues. 
 If the government had applied these 
 resources to sustain its own credit, and 
 that credit had been made a legal 
 tender, instead of making the notes of 
 the bank a tender, inasmuch as the 
 public credit of England would not 
 have been subject to the laws which 
 regulate the export and import of 
 specie, the quantity of public credit, 
 in circulation, could have been regu 
 lated by Parliament, and the value of 
 the currency would have been much 
 more uniform and stable than it has 
 been under the regulations of the bank. 
 Is it not also apparent that, in that 
 case, there would have been no such 
 fluctuations in the quantity and values 
 of money and of credit ; no such sus 
 pension of banks ; no such deprecia 
 tion in the values of property and of 
 labor ; and no such individual distress 
 and bankruptcies as the management 
 of that bank has caused, not only in 
 England, but throughout the commer 
 cial world ? 
 
 WHY DID THE GOVERNMENT PAY INTEREST 
 ON THE EXCHEQUER BILLS ? 
 
 Was it not because these bills, instead 
 of being a tender, represented the un 
 funded debt, and the payment of interest 
 was necessary to make them of equal 
 value as bank notes, which were a ten 
 der ? If so, by making the public cred 
 it, issued as certificates, receivable in 
 payment of taxes, a tender (that is, con 
 verting them into money), the payment 
 of interest would no longer be requisite 
 to maintain the value of so much as 
 was requisite for use as money ? Is it 
 not further apparent that such a use of 
 the public credit would save the people 
 and the government the whole of the 
 interest on the sum used as currency? 
 
 If we assume that the sum thus used 
 would be no more than the annual 
 taxes, as this average, as given in the 
 table, was $305,446,758, the interest 
 upon that sum, at three per cent, only, 
 would be an annuity of $9,163,402 74, 
 which, if compounded at three per 
 cent., would create a sinking fund 
 which would soon absorb the whole 
 public debt of England ! This, how 
 ever, is apart from the ruinous effect 
 which the management of the bank 
 has had, and will have, upon individual 
 credit and upon the progress of indi 
 vidual industry and the general pros 
 perity of the kingdom. 
 
 That England herself is not satisfied 
 with that system appears in the fact 
 stated by Hardcastle, in his treatise up 
 on banks and bankers, that the bare ti 
 tles of the acts of Parliament, passed up 
 on the subject of the affairs of the bank, 
 " occupy more than two hundred pages 
 of the index of the statutes at large." 
 Surely there must be some defect in a 
 system which requires so much tinker 
 ing and I, for one, am unwilling that 
 the tinkers who have so botched their 
 own system shall be permitted to regu 
 late ours. And that is the very danger 
 which threatens us. 
 
 Let me be distinctly understood. I 
 do not complain of or censure the bank 
 as a bank. It is not the bank, but the 
 system as regulated by Parliament, 
 and those who manage the bank under 
 that system, which I believe rests upon 
 
 THREE FUNDAMENTAL ERRORS. 
 
 1st. That the paper circulation should 
 at no time exceed the value of the gold 
 and silver of which it supplies the 
 place. 
 
 2d. That the paper circulation should 
 depend upon the quantity of the bullion 
 in the bank, and be regulated by the 
 foreign exchange. 
 
68 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 3d. That whenever there is a foreign 
 demand for gold, the bank, by refus 
 ing to discount commercial paper, and 
 the sale of exchequer bills, shall di 
 minish the quantity of bank paper in 
 circulation, and so increase the demand 
 for gold, as a means of payment, as to 
 render gold of more value in England 
 than it may be in the country to which 
 it may have gone, and thus coerce its 
 reflux to the bank. 
 
 These, we believe, are fundamental 
 principles in the management of the 
 bank, and we believe them to be fun 
 damental errors, as the history of the 
 bank and of the world, so far as the 
 world has been under the influence of 
 the bank, demonstrates. This error is 
 the more striking, when we take into 
 consideration the causes which induce 
 the export of gold. In case of wars, 
 gold may be in greater demand else 
 where, and being at a premium, will 
 be sent abroad. In case of foreign 
 loans, a premium will be given which 
 will cause it to be exported. In case 
 of bad harvests, foreign wheat must 
 be paid for in gold. In all such cases 
 the bank refuses to renew discounts. 
 If this docs not produce a sufficient 
 pressure, then she goes into the market, 
 sells exchequer bills in exchange for 
 bank notes, and thus renders the de 
 mand for gold so severe as to compel 
 the reflux. That some idea may be 
 formed of \ > 
 
 THE EFFECT OF THIS TURNING OF THE BAN& 
 SCREW, 
 
 I quote from Hardcastle. He says : 
 " Our banking system is bad in the ex*- 
 treme ; it has been everything by turns, 
 but what it ought to be, and nothing long. 
 It is not only bad itself, but it communi 
 cates evil to everything around it. It is an 
 epidemic that arrests and affects all classes ; 
 a plague that corrupts and kills high and 
 low, poor and affluent, without distinction 
 
 a thousand incidents have taken place in 
 this city, within a year [London in 1842] 
 which exhibit our monetary affairs in .a 
 
 most deplorable condition I have 
 
 seen, last spring, a bill broker go from house 
 to house of an afternoon, with the bills of a 
 country bank, accepted by first-rate firms 
 in Lombard street, and cash could not be 
 got for them at five per cent, interest and 
 one and a half per cent, commission. I 
 have known, about the same time, a man 
 with ten thousand pounds in exchequer bills, 
 unable to raise four thousand pounds upon 
 them at his banker s, and that bank one of 
 the best in Lombard street. I have known 
 a city banker, at the beginning of last year, 
 confess, in a mixed company, that he would 
 be glad to allow ten per cent, for money 
 for six months to come. At the same time, 
 I have known another banker in Lombard 
 street pay eight per cent, for an advance of 
 money on exchequer bills ; and ten per 
 cent, to be charged on the discount of a 
 bill of exchange, the acceptor of which was 
 then and still is, a bank director. These 
 are facts that tell the true story of our bank 
 ing system these are realities that prove 
 
 our distress While they last, credit 
 
 is prostrate, labor fails of its marlrct, and 
 
 property almost ceases to be wealth 
 
 Our currency has resembled the shift 
 ing sands that impede the navigation of 
 some of our most capacious harbors, and 
 defy the skill of the most experienced mar 
 iners. We have been dealing with a series 
 of experiments, and each succeeding writer 
 has distinguished himself by showing where 
 and how it was that the last experiment 
 had proved a particular failure . , . ^Js*-^ 
 The bank of England had the complete con 
 trol and absolute management of the finan 
 ces of the whole country, and the losses 
 which the country has now for fifty yeara 
 or so, sustained by repeated abuses of that 
 currency in the hands of the bank, have 
 been incalculable ; so wild and extravagant 
 have been the alternate expansions and 
 contractions ; so suddenly and capriciously 
 have the value of money and prices been 
 jerked up and tossed down^tliatit is not un 
 reasonable to compare the bank directors to 
 a set of awkward showmen at a fair, with the 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 69 
 
 trading interests of the nation in a great ill- 
 conceived swing-swong, which at one mo 
 ment they fling up high in the sky, and at 
 another bring down so low as to drag the 
 
 ground and rake the gutters with it 
 
 The habit of tampering with the currency 
 was contracted by these gentlemen at an 
 early period. We can trace it distinctly as 
 far back as 1782, and find it persevered in 
 up to 1839, invariably with the same per 
 nicious results A heavy panic, 
 
 fraught with great commercial distress, 
 ran through the years 1783 and 1784, 
 which has been brought home to the bank 
 by more than one conclusive witness. 
 
 In 1814, the Dutch ports were 
 
 opened, the harvest was deficient ; and 
 that most searching of the calamities, to 
 which our artificial condition is exposed 
 no sooner visited the land, than the importa 
 tion of foreign corn occasioned a great de 
 cline in the price of this principal article 
 of agricultural produce, which graduaUy ex 
 tended to the prices of commodities gene 
 rally. Unprecedented suffering now took 
 place ; the storm swept the country through, 
 and raged with increasing violence until 
 1819, by which time the agricultural and 
 banking interests, generally were reduced 
 to the lowest pitch of distress. Farmers 
 were insolvent everywhere ; mercantile 
 firms became bankrupt by thousands and 
 levelled their connections indiscriminately 
 in the dust ; while as . to the bankers, be 
 tween those who either partially suspended 
 business or wholly broke, in the year 1815 
 or 1816, there was a diminution of no less 
 than two hundred and forty firms. . .... 
 
 In noticing the moving causes of the calam 
 ities of 1816, we should bear in mind that 
 the cessation of hostilities on the continent 
 was an established condition of the long- 
 promised resumption of cash payments. 
 Much of the panic then existing is referable 
 to a proposal for carrying that measure into 
 effect, in 1818." 
 
 The bank made some preparations 
 for the change by a partial contrac 
 tion of its issues. But the depression 
 of all the leading interests of the 
 country was too intense, and the no 
 tion was quickly abandoned. 
 
 He quotes Mr. Atwood, in 1818, 
 as saying : 
 
 "In the midst of this fall of prices, what 
 operation in business could proceed with 
 out loss or ruin ? There has been no form 
 in which the capital of the merchant, none 
 in which the capital of the manufacturer, 
 could be invested without the half of it 
 being sacrificed during this calamitous 
 period. We have been thrown back upon 
 a condition of events in which all industry 
 and enterprise have been rendered perni 
 cious or ruinous, and where no property 
 has been safe, unless hoarded in the shape 
 of money, or lent to others on double se 
 curity." 
 
 He quotes further from Mr. At- 
 wood s evidence before a committee : 
 
 " The reward of labor being destroyed, 
 the laborers, who can each produce four 
 times as much of the comforts of life as 
 they and their families could possibly con 
 sume, are starving while superabundance 
 reigns around them. They find no em 
 ployment, because the organ of industry, 
 which is money, does not exist in sufficient 
 quantities to give the productive classes a 
 reward for their exertions. The peasant 
 idly wanders about, and looks over the 
 hedge of the uncultivated farm, where the 
 land is suffering for want of his labor, but 
 at the same time the farmer has neither the 
 profit nor the labor to bring the land into 
 cultivation." 
 
 Speaking of the crisis in 183G, Hard- 
 castle says : 
 
 " Of the bankruptcies that then took 
 place, and of the extreme depression of our 
 manufactures and commerce, it would be 
 impossible to give any exact account. Pri 
 ces fell forty per cent. In the manufactur 
 ing districts there was no employment for 
 the workmen ; merchants stopped payment 
 in numbers, not because they were insol 
 vent, and had no property, but because no 
 market was to be had for their goods, no 
 discount for their bills, no advance upon 
 their stocks. It was a rare and melancholy 
 sight to behold English merchants going 
 through the Gazette in numbers, while 
 their warehouses were full of commodities, 
 
70 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 and their characters unimp cached for know 
 ledge of business, integrity, and exemplary 
 conduct ; yet such were the incidents that 
 characterized the panic of 1836. 
 
 . . . . " There was another panic in 1839, 
 which may be said to have extended it 
 self by a series of fits and convulsions all 
 through the years 1840 and 1841, at which 
 date our commercial system was reduced to 
 the lowest ebb of distress. The number of 
 banks which stopped or disappeared during 
 this interval was unusually great, the diffi 
 culty of getting money as rigid as ever, 
 and the stagnation of our commerce, the 
 scarcity of good mercantile paper, extreme. 
 .... Late in 1840 began the storm which* 
 continuing to rage all through 1841, and not 
 even as yet [in 1842] blown over, has 
 swept away, during its protracted and ruin 
 ous course, an unusual number of banking 
 establishments. A history of these misfor 
 tunes, in their various details, is here out of 
 the question ; to trace the separate cases to 
 their source, and detail at length their con 
 sequences, would fill a volume, and then, in 
 all probability, leave the subject unexhaust 
 ed. I had prepared a summary of the losses 
 occasioned by the different failures among 
 the private and joint-stock banks during the 
 last two years, but the amount appears so 
 formidably large on the one side and so 
 small on the other, that it would be invidi 
 ous to publish it." 
 
 The cause of these disasters is ex 
 plained by the eminent banker, Jones 
 Loyd, who, speaking of the crisis of 
 1840, said : 
 
 " Against the actual exhaustion of its 
 treasure by a drain through the foreign ex 
 changes, the bank, under almost any cir 
 cumstances, has the power of protecting 
 herself ; but to do this she must produce 
 upon the money market a pressure ruinous 
 from its suddenness and severity ; she must 
 save herself by the destruction of all around 
 her." 
 
 FOREIGN LOANS. 
 
 I have said that, among other causes, 
 the creation of foreign loans in Eng 
 land will cause a demand for bullion 
 for export, and, consequently, cause 
 fluctuations in the quantity and value 
 of money, and, in proof of this, I refer to 
 the Edinburgh Review, of 1826, which 
 gives a table showing in detail the sums 
 advanced by England on loans to Prus 
 sia, Spain, Naples, Denmark, Colom 
 bia, Chili, Poyais, Peru, Portugal, 
 Austria, Greece, Buenos Ayres, Bra 
 zil, Mexico, Guatemala, Guadalaxara, 
 which, with other advances on French, 
 Russian, and American securities, made 
 the sum $522,692,500 advanced by Eng 
 land, on foreign account, during the 
 eight years, from 1818 to 1825 inclu 
 sive. It is apparent that the advances 
 made upon these loans must have 
 created an extraordinary demand for 
 specie in England, and it is obvious 
 that, as the loss of five and a half mil 
 lions of dollars, in 1857, by the banks 
 of New York, created results so dis 
 astrous, as described by Gibbon, the 
 export of so large an amount to pay 
 off the foreign loans, produced the 
 overwhelming losses, bankruptcies and 
 distress, so forcibly referred to by 
 Hardcastle and the Edinburgh and 
 London Quarterly Reviews, and that 
 that monetary crisis was caused by 
 the fact that the currency of England 
 was convertible into specie, and that 
 the demand for specie thus produced, 
 compelled the bank, to use the words 
 of Jones Loyd, quoted above, to 
 "save herself by the destruction of 
 all around her." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 I 
 
 GIVE the following from the Lon 
 don Quarterly, of September, 1832, 
 illustrating the effect of 
 
 CHANGING A PAPER INTO A METALLIC 
 CURRENCY. 
 
 " As a single specimen of the condition 
 of our internal trade, we give the memorial 
 of the iron and coal masters of Shropshire, 
 Staffordshire, and Wales, presented to Earl 
 Grey by a deputation in October last, after 
 being signed by more than three fourths of 
 the trade in those great manufacturing dis 
 tricts : 
 
 " We, the undersigned, iron masters and 
 coal masters of the Staffordshire iron and 
 coal districts, think it our duty respectfully 
 to represent to His Majesty s government 
 the following facts : 
 
 " 1. That, for the last five years, ever 
 since what is called the panic of 1825, we 
 have found, with very slight intermissions, 
 a continually increasing depression in the 
 prices of the products of industry, and 
 more particularly in those of pig and bar 
 iron, which have fallen respectively from 
 upward of eight pounds per ton to under 
 three pounds per ton, and from fifteen 
 pounds per ton to under five pounds per 
 ton. 
 
 " 2. Against this alarming and long-con 
 tinued depression, we have used every pos 
 sible effort in our power to make bread. 
 We have practised all manner of economy, 
 and have had recourse to every possible 
 improvement in the working of our mines 
 and manufactories. Our workmen s wages 
 have in many instances been reduced, and 
 such reduction has been attended with, and 
 effected by, very great distress ; but the 
 royalties, rents, contracts, and other engage 
 ments, under which we hold our respective 
 
 works and mines, have scarcely been re 
 duced at all, nor can we get them effectually 
 reduced, because the law enforces the pay 
 ment in full. 
 
 " 4 3. The prices of the products of our 
 industry having thus fallen within the range 
 of the fixed charges and expenses which the 
 law compels us to discharge, the just and 
 necessary profits of our respective trades 
 have ceased to exist, and in many cases a 
 positive loss attends them. 
 
 " 4. Under these circumstances, we have 
 long hesitated in determining what line of 
 conduct our interest and our duties require 
 us to adopt. If wo should abandon our 
 respective trades, our large and expensive 
 outlays in machinery and erections must be 
 sacrificed at an enormous loss to ourselves, 
 and our honest and meritorious workmen 
 must be thrown, in thousands, upon par 
 ishes already too much impoverished by 
 their present burdens to support them ; 
 and, if we should continue our present 
 trades, we see nothing but the prospect of 
 increasing distress and certain ruin all 
 around us. 
 
 " 5. In our numble opinion, the great 
 cause which has been mainly instrumental 
 in producing this depression and distress 
 in our respective trades, and among the 
 productive classes of the country generally, 
 is the attempt to render the rents, taxes, 
 royalties, and other various engagements 
 and obligations of the country, convertible, 
 by law, into gold, at three pounds thirteen 
 shiUings and ten and a halfpence per ounce. 
 This low and antiquated price of the 
 metallic standard of value is no longer 
 capable of effecting a just and equitable 
 distribution of our products between the 
 producer and the consumer ; it renders 
 incompatible the permanent existence of 
 
72 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 remunerating prices, without such a reduc 
 tion of taxation as we cannot hope to see 
 effected in time to afford us any relief and 
 it thus tends, ultimately and surely, to de 
 stroy the industry, and the peace and happi 
 ness of the country. 
 
 " 6. That, until the establishment of a cir 
 culating medium of a character better suited 
 to the various and complicated demands of 
 society, and to the increased transactions 
 and population of the country, and more 
 competent to effect an interchange, and pre 
 serve a remunerating level of prices in the 
 products of industry generally, we can see 
 no prospect of any permanent restoration 
 of the prosperity of our trades, or of the 
 country being able to escape the most fright 
 ful sufferings and convulsions. 
 
 " * "We, therefore, most respectfully, but 
 very earnestly, request the early attention 
 of His Majesty s government to these great 
 facts and considerations, and we insist that 
 they will recommend to Parliament the 
 speedy establishment of some just, adequate 
 and efficient currency, which may properly 
 support the trade and commerce of the 
 country, and preserve such a remunerating 
 level of prices as may insure to the employ 
 ers of labor the fair and reasonable profits 
 of their capital and industry, as well as the 
 means of paying the just and necessary 
 wages to their workmen. " 
 
 Such arc the views of practical 
 working" men in England of the opera 
 tion of contracting a debt in paper 
 money at the rate of one hundred 
 and fifty dollars for one hundred, 
 and paying the interest of three per 
 cent, on it in specie. If such was the 
 effect there, what will be the effect 
 here of paying the interest, in specie, 
 on so large a debt as we have con 
 tracted, at the rate of two for one ? 
 
 THE LONDON QUARTERLY SAYS : 
 
 " Our country gentlemen must learn to 
 penetrate the arcana of the exchanges, and 
 fathom the depths of the banking system, 
 if they mean to preserve their broad acres 
 from the grasp of the mortgagee, and their years past, of silently but forcibly transfer- 
 title deeds and mansions from the blaze of ! ring a vast amount of property from the 
 
 revolutionary fires. Difficult and obscure, 
 indeed ! Yes, the subject is difficult, just as 
 difficult to the public comprehension as is a 
 juggler s trick, by which, with a heigh, 
 presto ! he conjures the half-crown we 
 thought we had safe in our pocket into his 
 own. How the money vanished it is not so 
 easy to say ; but it is nevertheless certain 
 that we had it, and ought still to have it, 
 but he has got it. So it was exactly with 
 the currency juggle. Few of the sufferers 
 can explain or understand how it happened, 
 but the fact is very plain to them that they 
 have somehow lost a great deal of money, 
 and other persons have got hold of it. A 
 little consideration, however, may, we think, 
 render the nature of the trick intelligible to 
 the simplest. It is very clear that those 
 who are in business pay nearly the same 
 sum in taxes, at present, as when the goods 
 they deal in sold for double their present 
 prices ; so that they really pay two hundred 
 weight of wool, or of cheese, or of sugar, 
 or two pieces of cloth, linen, or calico, or 
 two tons of iron or hardware, to the tax- 
 gatherer, for one that they formerly paid ; 
 and the taxes, reckoned in goods, which is 
 the only sure way of knowing their cost to 
 the producers of goods, by whom they are 
 paid, are clearly twice as high at the end of 
 sixteen years of peace, as they were at the 
 close of a long war ! Is it wonderful, then, 
 that the productive classes are laboring 
 under severe distress? That Peace, who 
 usually brings plenty, has thrown away her 
 emblematic horn, and selected hunger for 
 her motto ? And can there be any doubt 
 that the fall in prices, which has wrought 
 this fearful evil, is the necessary result, 
 foretold by ourselves and many others at 
 the time, of the legislation of 1819 and 
 1826, which, by crippling the banking sys 
 tem of England and attempting a currency 
 of dear metal for one of cheap paper, has 
 caused a continually increasing scarcity of 
 
 money and contraction of credit ? 
 
 If we succeed in showing that the un 
 just restrictions, kept up by the present 
 laws, on the circulating medium of ex 
 change, have had the effect, within a few 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 possession of one class to that of another, 
 who had no just right or title to it of cov 
 ertly despoiling, in short, one portion of the 
 community, namely: the persons engaged 
 ir industry , for the benefit of another por 
 tion, the owners of fixed money obliga 
 tions, payable out of the labor and capital 
 of the former it will be acknowledged 
 that, until the laws which have perpetuated 
 and continue to sanction this wholesale 
 swindling are repealed, there io is no safety 
 for property ; nor can there be any reliance 
 on the stability of those institutions, of 
 which a confidence in the security of prop 
 erty is the indispensable foundation." 
 
 Remarking upon the Staffordshire 
 memorial, the Review says : 
 
 "The sufferers here most correctly at 
 tribute their losses to the late increase in 
 the value of money, but they seem to look 
 for relief in a deterioration of the standard. 
 In this view we do not concur with them, 
 only because we think so desperate a 
 remedy is not necessary, for that other and 
 unexceptional plans may be resorted to for 
 the relief of industry Next to a di 
 rect increase of the supply of the precious 
 metals, the most obvious resource seems 
 to . be to augment the efficiency of that 
 which we possess, by a degradation of the 
 standard in other words, by diminishing 
 the intrinsic value of the coinage ; cutting, 
 for instance, our sovereigns, shillings, and 
 other pieces of money, into two or more 
 parts, which should each, by law, retain the 
 nominal value of the whole. This is, in 
 substance, the proposal which seems to find 
 most favor with the persons who have 
 spoken or written on the subject of the 
 currency for some years past. It is this, as 
 we have seen, that is advocated by the iron 
 trade, and by their powerful champions, the 
 Messrs. Atwood. It is this to which Mr. 
 Weston, and a large body of agriculturists, 
 have been long pointing as the only prac 
 ticable mode of permitting them to come 
 to an equitable adjustment with their cred 
 itors public and private We 
 
 acknowledge, indeed, the force of the re 
 torts levelled by the advocates of this al 
 teration against their opponents, when the 
 
 necessity of preserving the national faith 
 inviolate is thrown in their teeth. They 
 ask, with bitterness, and with justice too : 
 
 " Is faith to be kept only with the 
 moneyed interests ? Was no good faith to 
 be kept with the landholder, the merchant, 
 the manufacturer, the vast laboring popu 
 lation who bore the weight of the national 
 struggle, who cheerfully made great anjl 
 numerous gacrifices during the war, and 
 who continue the real strength and great 
 ness of the kingdom ? No faith whatever 
 was kept with them. They, through their 
 representatives, engaged themselves to a 
 debt of so many pound notes but not to the 
 same number of sovereigns to a debt con 
 sisting of money, at its then value, but they 
 protest against being held responsible for the 
 same annual sum now that its value, has 
 been artificially doubled. Does not good 
 faith require that the scale should be held 
 fairly between debtor and creditor ? Was 
 it consistent with the national faith, upon 
 the plea of arresting the progress of de 
 preciation in 1819, to turn the tables wholly 
 the other way, and, by reviving an obsolete 
 standard, to give to moneyed obligations a 
 value that is a command over the produce and 
 property of others, which the persons origi 
 nally forming those contracts could never 
 have contemplated, and which consigned at 
 once to overwhelming and unmerited ruin, 
 the commerce, the manufactures, and agri 
 culture of the empire ? 
 
 " We freely admit the weight of these 
 remonstrances. We acknowledge that, 
 through an overstrained anxiety for observ 
 ing the letter of the national faith, the 
 spirit of the obligation was disregarded, 
 and a gross injustice committed on the 
 great body of producers throughout the 
 kingdom, as well as on all debtors. It is 
 true 
 
 " Nothing could be more honorable than 
 the feeling which induced our statesmen to 
 return to the ancient standard ; but, to our 
 sorrow, their estimate of its effects was 
 much below the mark. They did not see 
 what a revolution of property would ensue. 
 They consulted our honor, our reputed 
 solvency, but not our real means. Mr. 
 Pucardo told them the change would be 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 five per cent. Events have proved it fifty. 
 
 There remains another course for 
 
 consideration; one which we have urged 
 for some time past upon the public, as the 
 true mode of relief from our monetary dif 
 ficulties We mean the removal 
 
 of the mischievous restrictions which now 
 fetter the circulation of credit through this 
 country, and the concession of the free 
 right of commerce to provide itself with 
 whatever instruments it may require for 
 effecting its exchanges uninterfered with 
 by those officious legislative intermeddlings 
 which experience has sufficiently proved to 
 be fatal to almost everything they touch, 
 but to nothing so much so as to the cur 
 rency. It is physically impossible to carry 
 on the commerce of the civilized world by 
 the aid of a purely metallic currency no, 
 not though our gold and silver coins were 
 every tenth year debased to a tenth ! Why, 
 in London alone, five millions sterling 
 ($25,000,000) are daily exchanged at the 
 clearing-house in the course of a few hours. 
 We should like to see the attempt made to 
 bring this infinity of transactions to a set 
 
 tlement in coined money. Credit money, 
 ia some shape or other, always has, and 
 must have, performed the part of a circula 
 ting medium to a very considerable extent. 
 And (by one of those wonderful compen 
 satory processes which so frequently claim 
 the admiration of every investigation of 
 civil as well as of physical economy) there 
 is in the nature of credit an elasticity 
 which causes it, when left unshackled by 
 law, to adapt itself to the necessities of 
 commerce and the legitimate demands of 
 
 the market The only measures 
 
 which appear to us to be needed upon the 
 expiration of the bank charter, are : 1st. 
 That all banks be required to deposit secu 
 rity in government stock to the full amount 
 of the notes they issue. 2d. That the law 
 be repealed which forbids the issue of notes 
 under five pounds. 3d. We would make 
 the notes of metropolitan banks only con 
 vertible into bars of bullion, on the plan of 
 Mr. Ricardo, and allow the notes of country 
 banks to be paid in those of the metropol 
 itan banks. 5 " 
 
CHAPTER XIY. 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 THE following table, compiled from 
 data, given by John Taylor, Jr., and 
 Ayres Financial Register, gives the 
 amount of debt bonded, the equivalent 
 
 created for one hundred pounds in 
 money, the highest and the lowest 
 prices for consols, and the market 
 value of paper currency per cent., 
 
 in three per cent, consols, the stock | from 1800 to 1824 inclusive : 
 
 
 Amount of 
 
 Equivalent 
 
 Stock crea 
 
 The 
 
 The 
 
 Market Valuo of 
 
 Years. 
 
 Debt 
 
 in 3 per cent. 
 
 ted for 100 
 
 Highest 
 
 Lowest 
 
 Paper Cur 
 
 
 Bonded. 
 
 Bonds. 
 
 in Money. 
 
 Price. 
 
 Price. 
 
 rency per cent. 
 
 1800.. 
 
 20,500,000 
 
 32,185,000 
 
 158 50d 
 
 67X 
 
 60 
 
 100 OOs. 2d 
 
 1801 .... 
 
 36,910,000 
 
 63,578,100 
 
 174 54 
 
 70 
 
 54M 
 
 91 12 6 
 
 1802.... 
 
 25,000,000 
 
 32,990,630 
 
 132 17 
 
 79 
 
 66 
 
 91 14 2 
 
 1803.... 
 
 12,000,000 
 
 20,483,330 
 
 173 65 
 
 75 
 
 501^ 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 1804.... 
 
 14,500,000 
 
 26,390,000 
 
 185 00 
 
 56% 
 
 53% 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 186.... 
 
 22, 500, COO 
 
 41,800,000 
 
 177 20 
 
 62 
 
 57 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 1806.... 
 
 20,000,000 
 
 33,200,000 
 
 1G7 70 
 
 64% 
 
 5S& 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 1807.... 
 
 15,700,000 
 
 24,798,290 
 
 159 20 
 
 64% 
 
 57% 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 1808.... 
 
 14,500,000 
 
 23,530,622 
 
 102 67 
 
 69^ 
 
 22% 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 1809.... 
 
 22,532,100 
 
 35,218,740 
 
 161 39 
 
 70% 
 
 63% 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 1810. . . . 
 
 21,711,000 
 
 33,112,106 
 
 152 67 
 
 71 
 
 63)| 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 1811.... 
 
 21,000,000 
 
 39,724,620 
 
 166 53 
 
 66% 
 
 61 M 
 
 86 10 6 
 
 1812 ... 
 
 34,721,325 
 
 57,198,380 
 
 180 CO 
 
 63 
 
 65)1 
 
 92 3 2 
 
 1813.... 
 
 64,755,700 
 
 118,736,690 
 
 184 87 
 
 67> 
 
 54i^ 
 
 79 5 8 
 
 1814.... 
 
 24,007,400 
 
 36,839,930 
 
 154 17 
 
 72M 
 
 61K 
 
 77 2 
 
 1815.... 
 
 54,135,589 
 
 102,787,340 
 
 191 52 
 
 65% 
 
 57% 
 
 74 16 6 
 
 1816 . 
 
 
 
 
 64^1 
 
 59M 
 
 83 5 8 
 
 1817.... 
 
 
 
 
 62 
 
 62 
 
 70 6 10 
 
 1818 . 
 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 73 
 
 95 11 
 
 1819 ... 
 
 
 
 
 79 
 
 64% 
 
 97 8 
 
 1820 
 
 
 
 
 70U 
 
 65 K 
 
 108 
 
 1821... 
 
 
 
 
 78?2 
 
 68% 
 
 100 
 
 1822.... 
 
 
 
 
 83 
 
 r-~T/ 
 7i)% 
 
 100 
 
 1823 
 
 
 
 
 85% 
 
 72 
 
 100 
 
 1824.... 
 
 
 
 
 96% 
 
 83K 
 
 100 Q 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total . . . 
 
 427,473,114 
 
 723,570,672 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Average 
 
 
 
 167 60 
 
 73 
 
 63 
 
 93 15s Id 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 It will be seen that, although tho 
 bank of England suspended payment 
 in 1197, the notes were at par with 
 gold in 1800, and again in 1820, and 
 continued at par until it resumed pay 
 ment in 1825, the average deprecia- 
 6 
 
 tion during the suspension being less 
 than seven per cent. It is a striking 
 fact that the greater part of this de 
 preciation was during the years from 
 1810 to 1815 inclusive, when the loans 
 and subsidies given to her allies, and. 
 
76 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 the expenditures of the French war, 
 created an extraordinary demand for 
 specie to be disbursed on the continent 
 (these loans and subsidies amounting 
 to the enormous sum of $301,041,813 1) 
 McCulloch, in a note, (p. 78 }, says : 
 " So early as December, 1794, the Court 
 of Directors (of the bank) represented to 
 government their uneasiness on account 
 of the debt due by the government to the 
 bank, and anxiously requested a repayment 
 of at least a considerable pait of what had 
 been advanced. In January, 1795, they re 
 solved to limit their advances upon treas 
 ury bills five hundred thousand pounds ; 
 and, at the same time, they informed Mr. 
 Pitt that it was their wish that he would 
 adjust his measures for the year, in sucJi a 
 marine?*, as not to depend on any assistance 
 from them. On the llth of February, 1796, 
 they resolved, that it is the opinion of this 
 court, founded upon the experience of the 
 late Imperial loan, that if any further loan 
 or advance of money to tJie Emperor, or to 
 any of (he foreign states, should, in the pres 
 ent stale of affairs, take place, it will, in all 
 probability, prove fatal to the Bank of Eng 
 land: " 
 
 COMPARATIVE VALUE OF MONEY. 
 
 If we recur to the value of money, 
 as compared with the value of the mass 
 of circulating commodities, it will be 
 seen that this difference between the 
 value of bank notes (paper money) 
 and specie indicates an increased value 
 of the precious metals rather than a 
 decreased value of paper money. 
 
 By reference to the table given 
 above, it will be seen that, in 1814, 
 the public credit was depreciated 
 nearly eighty-four per cent., and that 
 the value of paper, as compared with 
 gold, fluctuated between seventy-two 
 and a .half and sixty-one and a half 
 per cent., and yet, the Edinburgh Re 
 view, speaMng of the effect of the 
 causes then operating on prices in 
 England, says ; : 
 
 " The bank failures that then occurred 
 were the more distressing, as they chiefly 
 affected the industrious classes, and fre 
 quently swallowed up in an instant the 
 fruits of a long life of unremitting and la 
 borious exertion. Thousands upon thou 
 sands, who had, in 1813, considered them 
 selves as affluent, found they were desti 
 tute of all real property, and sunk, as if by 
 enchantment, and without any fault of their 
 own, into the abyss of poverty ! The late 
 Mr. Horner, the accuracy and extent of 
 whose . information on such subjects will 
 not be disputed, stated in his place in the 
 House of Commons, that the destruction of 
 the country bank paper, in 1815 and 1816, 
 had given rise to a universality of wretch 
 edness and misery, which had never been 
 equalled, except, perhaps, by the breaking 
 up of the Mississippi scheme in -France." 
 
 BRITISH SUBSIDIES. 
 
 Engaged, as England was, in a 
 struggle upon which, as she believed, 
 depended her maritime and commer 
 cial supremacy, she was compelled to 
 advance loans and subsidies to her 
 allies, and hence we find that the bank 
 was allowed to suspend specie pay 
 ment in 1797, and that in the years 
 1814 and 1815, England advanced, in 
 loans and subsidies, to Spain, Portu 
 gal, Sicily, Sweden, Russia, Prussia, 
 Austria, France, Hanover, Denmark, 
 and other minor powers of the conti 
 nent, 19,366,307 15s. 9d. (or $96,- 
 831,539), and it is, therefore, appa 
 rent, that inasmuch as the current ex 
 penditures of the British army on the 
 continent, as well as these large loans 
 and subsidies, were paid in specie, the 
 demand for specie to meet these pay 
 ments caused the relative depreciation 
 of bank notes, the fall of prices, the 
 destruction of the country banks, and 
 the consequent failures, bankruptcies, 
 and distress. Had England used her 
 credit, as I propose, instead of using 
 the bank credit, there would have 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 77 
 
 been no suck failures of her banks, 
 and no such fall of prices or deprecia 
 tion of the values of property. Is it 
 not obvious that, inasmuch as the 
 whole capital of the bank consisted 
 of the public credit, the government, 
 having the power of taxing and fund 
 ing, could have purchased gold at the 
 same price, or less, than that which 
 the bank paid for it ? Why, then, did 
 the government give her credit bear 
 ing interest in exchange for bank 
 notes bearing no interest ? 
 
 As bank notes were not current on 
 the continent the government could 
 not pay the loans and subsidies to 
 their allies in bank notes, and were, 
 therefore, compelled to give a pre 
 mium for gold ; and hence the depre 
 ciation of bank notes as compared 
 with gold. 
 
 PAPER MOXEY. 
 
 McCulloch, in his article upon the 
 general principles of banking, says : 
 
 " Every country has a certain number of 
 exchanges to make ; and whether these are 
 effected by the employment of a given num 
 ber of coins of a particular denomination, 
 or by the employment of the same number 
 of notes of th,e same denomination, is, in 
 this respect, of no importance whatever. 
 Notes which have been made a legal ten 
 der, and are not payable on demand, do not 
 circulate because they are of the same real 
 value as the commodities for which they 
 are exchanged, but they circulate because 
 having been selected to perform the func 
 tions of money, they are as such received 
 by all individuals in payment of their debts. 
 Notes of this description may be regarded 
 as a sort of tickets or counters to be used 
 in computing the value of property, and in 
 transferring it from one individual to anoth 
 er. And as they are nowise affected by 
 fluctuations of credit, their value, it is ob 
 vious, must depend entirely on the quantity 
 of them in circulation as compared with the 
 payments to be made through their instru 
 mentality, or the business they have to per 
 
 form. By reducing the supply of notes be 
 low the supply of coins that would circu 
 late in their place were they withdrawn, 
 their value is raised above the value of gold; 
 while by increasing them to a greater ex 
 tent it is proportionally lowered. 
 
 "Hence, supposing it were possible to 
 obtain any security other than convertibili 
 ty into the precious metals, that notes de 
 clared to be a legal tender would not be is 
 sued in excess, but that their number afloat 
 would be so adjusted as to preserve their 
 value as compared with gold nearly uni 
 form, the obligation to pay them on demand 
 might be done away. But it is needless to 
 say that no such security can be obtained. 
 Whenever the power to issue paper, not im 
 mediately convertible, has been conceded 
 to any set of persons it has been abused, or, 
 which is the same thing, such paper has 
 been uniformly over issued or its value de 
 preciated by excess." 
 
 EXCESS OP PAPER MONEY. 
 
 It will be seen that McCulloch s ob 
 jection to an unconvertible paper is 
 limited to the fact that whenever the 
 power to issue such paper has been 
 conceded to any set of persons they 
 have uniformly issued it in excess. It 
 is apparent that he refers to an issue 
 of such paper by banks and bankers, 
 and not to an issue by government 
 under such a system of taxation and 
 funding as would limit the sum in cir 
 culation to the sum wanted as money. 
 I agree that an over-issue will depre 
 ciate the value of such a paper, and 
 therefore I propose not that it shall 
 be issued by the banks but by the 
 government, and that the excess be 
 funded, and that the funding shall be 
 coerced by a judicious system of tax 
 ing. He adds : 
 
 " In 1793, 1814, 1815, 1816, and in 1825, a 
 very large proportion of the country banks 
 were destroyed, and produced by their fall 
 an extent of ruin that has hardly been 
 equalled in any other country. And when 
 such disasters have already happened it is 
 
78 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 surely the bounden duty of government to 
 hinder by every means in its power their 
 recurrence." 
 
 BARS OF GOLD. 
 
 McCulloch was the partisan of the 
 bank of England, and his remedy 
 for the evils of which he complains was 
 to strengthen that bank by making 
 large bars of gold instead of the cur 
 rent coins a tender, and to prevent an 
 issue of small notes by the country 
 banks. He believed that the large 
 dealers would not run upon the bank 
 for specie, and that the holders of small 
 
 the government had issued its own 
 credit, in a shape suitable for currency, 
 which was a legal tender, and receiva 
 ble in payment of the public dues, and 
 fundable at a proper rate of inter 
 est and reconvertible into currency, 
 and had required each bank to place 
 in the treasury an amount of the re- 
 convertible funded debt as a security 
 for the payment of their notes, there 
 would have been no such speculations 
 in foreign loans ; no such deprecia 
 tion of the value of credit or of prop 
 erty would have then occurred : and 
 
 notes were liable to become alarmed j consequently there would have been 
 and demand payment. His remedy no such bankruptcies and distress, 
 was suspension on small sums and 
 masses of bullion for large. I would 
 recur to the large sums remitted by 
 the government to the continent, for 
 the support of the armies and in the 
 payment of subsidies, as the cause of 
 the demand for gold in 1814, 1815, and 
 in 1816, and I would explain the mone 
 tary crisis of 1825, by the fact that 
 
 PAPER MONEY PREFERABLE TO AN INCREASED 
 ALLOY. 
 
 The power to coin money and regu 
 late its value is vested in the British and 
 French governments as in ours, and as 
 the French lime of 1789 contains only 
 the seventy-eighth part of the original 
 lime of the year 800, and the English 
 
 the foreign loans contracted, and the P? und unii contains but a small frac- 
 
 vast speculations entered into in Eng 
 land after the war, and before the re 
 sumption of specie payments created 
 so great a demand for specie, to comply 
 with the engagements then entered 
 into, that the pressure upon the bank, 
 and the contraction of the currency 
 below the specie level produced, then 
 the ruinous depreciation of the values 
 of property as compared with gold. 
 For, as before remarked, it is obvious 
 that it was the increased value of gold, 
 and not the decreased value of bank 
 notes, which caused the disasters so 
 forcibly described. If, instead of pla 
 cing in the bank an annual average of 
 
 exchequer bills of. $102,145,552 
 
 and of deposits 36,552,166 
 
 and of public revenue. . . 305,446,344 
 
 making of public resources$444,044,062 
 
 tion more than a fourth part of the 
 original pound sterling, and the indi 
 vidual obligations, as well as the 
 public debt of England, had been con 
 tracted when the currency was abun 
 dant and cheap, instead of urging the 
 issue of the public credit as money 
 regulated as proposed, an effort was 
 made to reduce the value of the coin 
 age by increasing the alloy or dimin 
 ishing its weight, and the issue before 
 the British public was the use of bank 
 notes, or of a metallic coin thus de 
 preciated, they preferred a bank note 
 convertible into specie ; I would re 
 store the value of our currency by 
 making it convertible, not into specie, 
 but into a four per cent, reconverti 
 ble bond : instead of depreciating the 
 value of metallic coins by increas 
 ing the alloy or reducing the weight. 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 79 
 
 Few, I presume, will deny the pow 
 er of Congress thus to depreciate 
 the coins of gold or silver ; and 
 as in that case the depreciated dol 
 lar would still be a dollar, it is 
 clearly in the power of Congress to 
 reduce the value of metallic coins 
 much "below what would be the value 
 of the currency under the system which 
 I propose. If the alloy in the metallic 
 coins was so increased, or the weight 
 was so reduced, as that it? exchange 
 
 able value would be no more than the 
 value of the paper dollar issued by 
 government, the dollar would be a dol 
 lar still, and as much a legal tender 
 as it now is. If Congress can so re 
 duce the value of gold, as a tender, 
 the argument that Congress cannot 
 make paper a tender, because to do so 
 would impair the obligation of con 
 tracts, by authorizing payment in a 
 less valuable medium, is untenable. 
 
CHAPTER XT. 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 T HAVE devoted the energies of a 
 -*- long and eventful life in a continued 
 effort to reform the system of credit, 
 finance, and currency, of the United 
 States. One of the first acts of my 
 public life, as chairman of a committee 
 of the legislature of Missouri, was to 
 examine into and report upon the 
 causes of the 
 
 SUSPENSION OF THE BANK OF MISSOURI. 
 
 One of the measures adopted in 1812 
 by " the English party in the United 
 States," to enable England " to carry 
 into effect her own projects in Europe," 
 was the organization, in Boston, of a 
 combination to depreciate the credit of 
 the government of the United States, 
 and it was found necessary to permit 
 the banks in the Middle, Southern and 
 Western states to suspend specie pay 
 ments, that they might lend their notes 
 to the government, in exchange for 
 treasury notes. It was with the notes 
 of these suspended banks that the gov 
 ernment fed, clothed, and paid our 
 armies, and gave protection to the 
 " beauty and booty" of New Orleans, 
 and to our women and children, who 
 were exposed to the tomahawk and 
 scalping-knife of the merciless allies of 
 Great Britain. The war of 1812, car 
 ried many volunteers into the Indian 
 territory, the Indian title to much of 
 which was extinguished by the treaties 
 of peace. The revival of our foreign 
 trade, and the sales of public land, 
 placed a large amount of the notes of 
 the suspended banks in the public 
 
 treasury, and the bank of the United 
 States was chartered to aid in the pro 
 cess of resumption. Under the pres 
 sure thus produced, the Southern and 
 Western banks did resume, but the 
 bank of the United States being the 
 depository, and required to convert 
 into specie the notes received for cus 
 toms and for the public lands, the 
 pressure for specie became so severe, 
 that Mr. Cheves, who had been elected 
 president of the bank, made an ar 
 rangement with Mr. Crawford, then 
 Secretary of the Treasury, under which 
 it was agreed that large sums, nearly 
 equal to the whole amount of their own 
 circulation, should be left as deposites, 
 with certain selected state banks, upon 
 condition that they would convert the 
 notes of other banks, received in pay 
 ment for public lands, and remit the 
 specie to the branches of the bank of 
 the United States. And thus we found 
 that the bank of Missouri, in St. Louis, 
 and the bank of Edwardsville, in Illi 
 nois, both being deposit banks situated 
 on opposite sides of the river, were re 
 quired to convert the notes of each 
 other into specie, to be sent, by the 
 same steamer, to the branch of the 
 bank of the United States in Louisville. 
 The committee ascertained this fact. 
 We saw that the arrangement was in 
 tended to relieve the bank of the 
 United States from the odium, by mak 
 ing the local deposit banks war upon 
 each other for the benefit, as we then 
 supposed, of the bank of the United 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 81 
 
 States. We did not then realize, nor did 
 I do so until long thereafter, that the 
 bank of the United States and, indeed, 
 the whole banking system of the United 
 States was but a part, and the weaker 
 part, of the financial system which, as 
 then organized, enabled England, at 
 will, " to carry into effect her own proj 
 ects in Europe." The specie which 
 the bank of the United States then took 
 from the Southern and Western banks, 
 was remitted, through the agency of 
 our commerce, to London, to aid the 
 bank of England to resume specie pay 
 ments. The effect was to reduce the 
 exchangeable value of land and other 
 western property more than one half 
 the government of the United States 
 compelling the purchasers of public 
 land, from whom unpaid instalments 
 were due under the then existing sys 
 tem of land sales, to relinquish their 
 purchases, for which they were unable 
 to make payment, at a loss of more 
 than fifty per cent, on the sums pre 
 viously paid. 
 
 THE POWER OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND. 
 
 With the knowledge which I then 
 had, I attributed the monetary pressure 
 upon the South and West, and the 
 fluctuations in the values of property, 
 to the controlling influence of the bank 
 of the United States ; and believed 
 that the power of that bank consisted 
 chiefly in her control of the public de 
 posits. I was, therefore, no less op 
 posed to the system of pet banks, 
 organized, upon the removal of the de 
 posits in 1833, as a party measure, in 
 tended to promote the election of Mr. 
 Van Buren. It was not until I visited 
 London in 1841, and conversed with 
 Mr. Wiggin, that I came to under 
 stand the power and influence which 
 the bank of England had exerted and 
 could at any time exert, over our 
 
 monetary system, by the export of our 
 specie. I then saw that the crisis of 
 1837 and 1840 was the result of a de 
 liberate combination to revolutionize 
 the machinery of the American trade. 
 
 THE BANK OF THE UNITED STATES THE 
 
 CAUSE OF ITS FAILURE. 
 
 The failure to renew the charter by 
 Congress compelled the bank of the 
 United States to accept a charter from 
 the state of Pennsylvania, which made 
 it necessary for that bank to sell out 
 its branches. The funds thus obtained, 
 were chiefly in the notes of the pet 
 banks, the payment of which in specie 
 would have created a monetary crisis. 
 The directors, therefore, invested the 
 greater part in state bonds, and in ad 
 vances upon cotton and American ex 
 ports, relying upon the sale of these 
 in Europe to reinstate the capital of 
 the bank. With this view, the produce 
 was consigned to a house established 
 in Liverpool for that purpose, and Mr. 
 Jaudon, the cashier of the bank, was 
 sent to London with the state bonds. 
 Relying upon the sales of cotton and 
 state securities for funds to make the 
 paymeirffcthe bank drew bills on their 
 correspondents in London and Paris to 
 enable the merchants, who had lost by 
 the great fire in New York, to pay their 
 European creditors.. Fully aware of the 
 arrangements made by the bank of the 
 United States, and that the produce held 
 by Biddle and Humphries, apart from 
 the much larger amount of state securi 
 ties held by Mr. Jaudon, was more than 
 ample to meet the bills drawn by the 
 bank of the United States, the bank of 
 England passed an order that no bill 
 predicated on the purchase of any 
 American produce should be discounted. 
 The consequence was that Biddle and 11 
 Humphries could not sell cotton, nor 
 could Mr. Jaudon sell state bonds, and 
 
82 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 on the last hour of the last day he had 
 to go forty miles into the country to 
 get Morrison & Co. to lend him the 
 funds, on an hypothecation of state 
 bonds, to save the bank from protest. 
 The process of hypothecation and re 
 newal, at ruinous rates, was continued 
 until the balance was paid by a sur 
 render of securities, at rates so much 
 below their par that the increased 
 value was estimated in 1843, by the 
 American correspondent of Messrs. 
 Morrison & Co., at two and a half mil 
 lions of dollars. 
 
 We have seen the effect of that com 
 bination upon the interests of the 
 people of the South, as illustrated in 
 the depreciation of the market value 
 of cotton caused by the utter destruc 
 tion of American credit. But no es 
 timate has been or can be made of the 
 aggregate losses of the American 
 people, by the surrender, to the bank 
 of England and the money changers of 
 Europe, of the entire control of our 
 currency and of credit, including, as 
 that surrender does, the control of the 
 value of our industry and our com 
 merce and of their products. 
 
 THE MONETARY CRISIS OF 18&(p-BARON 
 ROTHSCHILD. 
 
 That we may form some imperfect 
 estimate of the effect of that " con 
 trol," we refer to the monetary crisis 
 of 1851, and of the causes which pro 
 duced it. As we have said the tradi 
 tionary policy of Russia has been to 
 seize upon Constantinople and the 
 Dardanelles, as the gate to the com 
 merce of India. It so happened that I 
 was in Paris in the winter of 1841-2. 
 England, wishing to so adjust the 
 boundary of Maine as to obtain a 
 more direct communication between 
 Halifax and Quebec, had just announ 
 ced the appointment of Lord Ashbur- 
 
 ton as a special envoy to Washington ; 
 having made a treaty with other pow 
 ers, the purpose of which was to so 
 modify the law of nations as to enable 
 her to seize American ships suspect 
 ed of being engaged in the slave trade, 
 to be condemned by a British court, 
 and thus enable her to monopolize the 
 trade of Africa, the ratification of 
 which was then pending before the 
 French Chamber of Deputies. A few 
 days after I reached Paris, I was in 
 vited to a diplomatic dinner, by Gen. 
 Cass, who introduced me to Baron 
 Rothschild, saying that I was just 
 from the United States, and could give 
 more information about American se 
 curities than any person then in Eu 
 rope. "Ah," said Rothschild, rising 
 from his seat, " what can you say about 
 your country ?" I replied, " What about 
 my country?" He said, "About paying 
 your debts paying your debts, sir. My 
 London correspondent writes to me 
 to-day asking whether you can bor 
 row any money on the continent, and 
 my reply is not a dollar, sir, not a dol 
 lar." "Ah," said I, "if you suppose that 
 we are like the kings of Europe, com 
 pelled to come to you to ask permission 
 to go to war, you arc under a great 
 mistake, sir : a very great mistake." 
 "How so ?" said he. I replied : "No one 
 knows better than you do, the value 
 of credit ; you know that we have 
 paid our national debt. You know 
 that we have all the elements of war 
 within our own control, and that hav 
 ing the power of taxation, we can com 
 mand the requisite resources, with 
 our treasury notes. We have no wish 
 to go to war, and do not intend to 
 make war, but we have more than 
 three millions of freemen, whoso priv 
 ilege it is to fight in defence of their 
 country, in case we are invaded ; and 
 more than that, sir, we can, in a very 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 83 
 
 short time, create a fleet of steamships 
 which would drive back the whole 
 piratical fleets of Europe, if you dare 
 send them with your money, to invade 
 us. You greatly mistake, if you sup 
 pose that we want your money to en 
 able us to defend our country." "Ah," 
 said he, " will you come and see me ? 
 I would like to talk with you." 
 
 SIR HEXRT ELLIS. 
 
 At dinner, I was seated between an 
 American on my left and an English 
 man on my right, and repeated to the 
 American the substance of what had 
 been said, and added, that it seemed 
 that the purpose of England was war, 
 as a means of emancipating our slaves, 
 but that, in case of war, we would 
 form a European alliance which would 
 emancipate her East India subjects, 
 and open the trade of India to the 
 world. I noticed that the atten 
 tion of the Englishman was excited. 
 On the next day, General Cass said : 
 " Do you know the gentleman who sat 
 next you, on the right, at dinner yes 
 terday ? I inquired who he was. 
 General Cass said : " Sir Henry Ellis, 
 the brother-in-law of Mr. Eobinson, the 
 president of the board of trade. He 
 was one of the governors of India, and 
 British embassador to Persia. He is 
 a chosen diplomat of England, and is 
 now attached to the British embassy 
 in Paris, because Paris is the centre 
 of European diplomacy." " Then," said 
 I, "he heard that at dinner which 
 interested him." "Yes," said General 
 Cass, " he asked me who you were ; 
 and you lost nothing by passing 
 through my hands." 
 
 A few days afterwards, Sir Henry 
 called on me, and we had a full and 
 frank conversation, in which I told 
 him that our desire was to maintain 
 peaceful relations with England, but 
 
 that instead of uniting with England 
 to emancipate our slaves, it was 
 manifestly the interest of the other 
 powers of Europe to unite with us in 
 abolishing her monopoly^ of the trade 
 with India. He urged me to write 
 out the substance of my remarks, say 
 ing that he wished to communicate 
 what I had said to Lord Aberdeen. I 
 hesitated, saying, that I was but a pri 
 vate citizen, and doubted the pro 
 priety of making such a communica 
 tion. He insisted, saying that I was 
 not aware how important it might be. 
 Thus urged, I assented, and began to 
 write, but before I had finished, re 
 flecting upon the remarks of Baron 
 Rothschild, and the conversation with 
 Sir Henry, and the tone of the London 
 press, I became so mucl ^xcited that 
 I could not write in terms sufficiently 
 respectful, and called upon 
 
 COUNT MEYENDORF, 
 
 Who was then in Paris^as a special 
 confidential agent of the Emperor of 
 Russia, who explained to me, that 
 Russia was building a railroad from 
 St. Petersburg, through Moscow to 
 Odessa, and had then commenced 
 building a fleet at Sevastopol with a 
 view to the command of the Black 
 Sea, and the occupation of the Darda 
 nelles, and gave mo letters to the pres 
 ent Emperor and others at St. Peters 
 burg, with the understanding that in 
 case of a rupture with England, 1 
 would go to St. Petersburg to aid in 
 the organization of a European and 
 American coalition against the mari 
 time supremacy of England. Upon 
 communicating what 1 had done and 
 heard to the President, Mr. Tyler, he 
 forwarded to me, in Paris, an auto 
 graph letter, instructing Mr. Todd, 
 then our minister in Russia, to intro 
 duce me to the Emperor. 
 
CHAPTER XVI, 
 
 ENGLAND AND TEXAS. 
 
 HpHE progress of the negotiations at 
 - Washington, promising a peaceable 
 adjustment of pending issues, I return 
 ed to London, and having been furnished 
 by the State Department with an ab 
 stract of the statistics cf the census of 
 1840, and having been invited by Mr. 
 Delane to write for the London Times, 
 my letters led to an intimate acquaint- 
 with Mr. Cobden, Joseph Hume, Mr. 
 McGregor, and other influential per 
 sons, and brought me into direct com 
 munication with Sir Robert Peel, Lord 
 Aberdeen, Lord Palmerston, and Lord 
 John Russell. I was told that the 
 Queen had said to Lord Melbourne, 
 that, when he would say to her that 
 the whigs could maintain themselves 
 in power, she would authorize him to 
 organize a government of which Lord 
 John Russell should be the chief. I 
 was told who were to form his cabinet, 
 and saw and conversed with them as 
 to the means of maintaining friendly 
 relations between the United States 
 and England. I conversed upon this 
 subject with Lord Jobn Russell him 
 self ; and, at the request of one of his 
 intimate and confidential friends, who 
 now holds a high, confidential trust, 
 spent two weeks at his residence, that 
 we might the more fully discuss the 
 relations between the two countries. 
 
 EXGLAXD AND TEXAS. 
 
 I had ascertained that a negotiation 
 was pending for a loan of five mil 
 lions of dollars to the Texan govern 
 
 ment, on a pledge of land in Texas, 
 and on the condition that, if Great 
 Britain would guarantee the payment 
 of the interest, Texas would stipulate 
 that she would emancipate her slaves, 
 and give a pledge that she would not 
 be annexed to the United States. I 
 remonstrated against such an interfer 
 ence in our relations with Texas, and 
 complained that the purpose of Eng 
 land seemed to be to place a barrier 
 between us and the Pacific, and asked 
 why did not Lord Ashburton adjust 
 the Oregon as well as the northeast 
 ern boundary. To this the reply was, 
 that if I would look upon the map of 
 the world I would see that Oregon is 
 the most remote part of the habitable 
 globe to England, and that, therefore, 
 England did not want Oregon ; be 
 cause " the policy of our government 
 [meaning Lord John Russell s govern 
 ment] will be rich customers rather than 
 poor colonies, we, therefore, don t want 
 Oregon, but, as no British government 
 can sacrifice any British interest, if 
 you want Oregon you must pay us a 
 sum sufficient to satisfy the North 
 west Fur Company." A sum then not 
 estimated at more than five hundred 
 thousand dollars, or, at most, one mil 
 lion of dollars. In a subsequent con 
 versation with Lord John Russell, he 
 said : " Tell Mr. Tyler, that I cannot 
 take power now, because I wish Sir 
 Robert Peel to adjust the Irish ques 
 tion, but that the first act of my 
 government, when I do take power, 
 
ENGLAND AND TEXAS. 
 
 85 
 
 will be to place the relations between 
 the United States and England on the 
 most friendly basis. If you want 
 Texas, take it. If you want Mexico, 
 take it. Our policy will be rich cus 
 tomers rather than poor colonies, and 
 we know that both Texas and Mexico 
 will be worth much more to us if you 
 have them than if we have them our 
 selves." 
 
 MR. CALHOUN, TEXAS AND MEXICO. 
 
 These facts and conversations were 
 communicated from London to Mr. 
 Tyler and Mr. Calhoun, in letters urg 
 ing upon the President the appoint 
 ment of Mr. Calhoun as Secretary of 
 State, and upon the latter, that it was 
 his duty to accept, that he might con 
 duct the negotiation for the annexation 
 of Texas, the purchase of California, 
 and the adjustment of our northwest 
 ern boundary. 
 
 The following is an extract from a 
 letter to Mr. Calhoun, dated London 
 29th September, 1843 : 
 
 " If you go into Mr. Tyler s cabinet you 
 can control events. It will not do for you 
 to say that you cannot consent to take a 
 subordinate station. That is placing your 
 self above the public interests. As a citi 
 zen of the republic you owe your services 
 wherever they can be available. The 
 crisis in which the relations between the 
 United States and England are placed, 
 is such as to demand of you any sacrifice. 
 I do not believe that there is any man who 
 can render as much service to the country, 
 especially to the cause in which you have 
 so long labored, as you can do by coming 
 into the State Department, and it is mani 
 fest that being there you can do much if 
 you cannot accomplish all that we desire 
 in relation to England. If you are in the 
 State Department, and invite that govern 
 ment to send a commission, and they fail 
 to send them, or sending them fail satis 
 factorily to adjust all the points of difficult} 1 - 
 between us, it will, I am sure, cause the 
 
 overthrow of the present ministers, and 
 bring in men prepared and pledged to grant 
 us all that we ask, both in relation to trade 
 and to boundary. 1 
 
 Mr. Calhoun was tendered and ac 
 cepted the appointment as Secretary 
 of State, and reference to his negotia 
 tion will show that his purpose was to 
 maintain our right in Oregon up to 
 49, intending, that being conceded, 
 to extinguish the British claims on the 
 Pacific coast by purchase. At his re 
 quest I went to Mexico to aid in con 
 ducting the negotiation for the acquisi 
 tion of Texas, New Mexico, and Cali 
 fornia, and upon handing me his letter 
 of instructions, he remarked : "If you 
 succeed in this negotiation our com 
 merce in the Pacific will, in a few 
 years, be greatly more valuable than 
 that in the Atlantic." 
 
 INTERFERENCE OF THE BRITISH CHARGE. 
 
 Upon reaching Mexico I found Santa 
 Anna at the head of an army opposed 
 to Herera, who was at the head of 
 Congress, and as nothing could be 
 done without the concurrence of the 
 President and Congress, an arrange 
 ment was made for a movement in 
 Texas which would enable the United 
 States to interpose, and thus obtain 
 the concessions wanted. I came to 
 Texas, explained to the President of 
 Texas and to the Congress, the meas 
 ures which had been agreed on, and 
 which would have been approved and 
 adopted but for the interference of Mr. 
 Elliot, the British Charge to Texas, who 
 induced the President, Mr. Jones, to 
 believe that he could and would induce 
 the Mexican government to recognize 
 the independence of Texas ; and hav 
 ing, by that assurance, defeated the 
 pending measures, did go to Mexico 
 I and obtained a proposition of the 
 ! Mexican government to treat with 
 
86 
 
 ENGLAND AND TEXAS. 
 
 Texas, for the recognition of her in 
 dependence, upon the condition that 
 Texas should not be annexed to the 
 United States. (See Appendix.) 
 
 THE PURPOSE OF THIS REFERENCE 
 
 To the past history of this country, 
 as connected with the measures and 
 policy of England, is to connect that 
 past history with subsequent events. 
 The war in the Crimea, and the de 
 struction of the Russian fleet by the 
 combined armies and navies of Eng 
 land and France, and the closing of 
 the Black sea and the Dardanelles, com 
 pelled Russia to look to the naviga 
 tion of the Amoor river (the Mississippi 
 of Northern Asia), and a railroad con 
 necting that navigation with Moscow 
 and St. Petersburgh, as the only means 
 of participating in the trade with In 
 dia and China ; and therefore the ink, 
 upon the treaty of Paris, was scarcely 
 dry before the agents of Russia were 
 found in Japan and China, and pro 
 posals were issued for a loan of two 
 hundred and fifty millions of dollars 
 to construct a railroad connecting St. 
 Petersburg and Moscow with the 
 Amoor and the Russian territory newly 
 acquired from China. It will be re 
 membered that during the Crimean war 
 the British fleet were repulsed in their 
 attack on the Russian fleet at the 
 mouth of the Amoor, and with this 
 knowledge of the purposes of Russia, 
 and of England and France, we are at 
 no loss to account for the wars in In 
 dia and China. Who so blind as not 
 to see 
 
 THE INCREASED VALUE OF VANCOUVER S 
 ISLAND AND PUGEl s SOUND? 
 
 Oregon is no longer the most remote 
 part of the habitable globe to England. 
 Its value is no longer estimated by the 
 fur trade. It has become the depot 
 
 whence the British navy, which is 
 to enforce and protect British mari 
 time and commercial supremacy in the 
 Pacific, is to communicate with and 
 receive the orders of the admiralty 
 in London ; and hence, Sir Morton 
 Peto and his associates expended more 
 than seventy millions of dollars in the 
 construction of the Grand Trunk Rail 
 road of Canada. Hence, the elder son 
 of the Queen of England crossed the 
 ocean and laid the capstone of the 
 Victoria bridge ; and hence, again, 
 Sir Morton and his associate capitalists 
 have appropriated their hundreds of 
 millions to build railways connecting 
 their Grand Trunk Railway with the 
 Pacific ; and hence, they promise to 
 give any sum that may be required to 
 facilitate their communications with 
 their navy and their commerce on the 
 Pacific. Does any one ask what con 
 nection there is between the Grand 
 Trunk Railroad of Canada, Sir Morton 
 Peto and the Pacific road, the British 
 naval depot in Pu get s Sound, the 
 French movement in Mexico, and the 
 anti-slavery conspiracy ? In reply we 
 refer to the fact, that France united 
 with England in the wars in the Crimea 
 and in China that while England 
 arrests the progress of Russia by a 
 bloody and expensive war, she not only 
 tolerates the acquisitions of France, 
 including the Suez canal, and her con 
 quests in Cochin-China, but she recog 
 nises and approves the occupation and 
 appropriation of Mexico, as part of 
 the measures, which are intended to 
 prevent the maritime and commercial 
 supremacy of the United States, who 
 are admitted to be her only rival on 
 
 the seas. 
 
 / 
 
 TRIBUTE TO FOREIGN CREDITORS. 
 
 Let us pause for a moment and sur 
 vey our position. We have seen that 
 
ENGLAND AND TEXAS. 
 
 87 
 
 the annual contributions levied upon 
 us by our foreign creditors, in the 
 shape of interest and dividends on 
 federal and state bonds, and railroad 
 bonds and shares, are at least one 
 hundred millions of dollars, which 
 sum, compounded at six per cent. cr 
 annum for thirty-two years, will give 
 nine thousand and eighty-eight millions 
 dollars. Suppose that by the use of 
 foreign capital to build our roads, 
 we treble this annual tribute, we will 
 pay three hundred millions of dollars 
 per annum for the privilege of riding 
 on American railroads owned by Brit 
 ish capitalists, and paying British 
 rates for the transportation of Ameri 
 can produce, purchased by British 
 agents at British prices ! ! Will not 
 such a system convert us into hewers 
 of wood and drawers of water for the 
 benefit of British capitalists ? We 
 have seen that the time once was 
 when our ancestors were compelled to 
 sell and to buy from our British task 
 masters and from them only. When 
 " it was the decided opinion of almost 
 all the merchants and politicians of 
 
 England," that " the only use of Ameri 
 can colonies or West India islands is the 
 monopoly of their consumption and the 
 carriage of their produce." Then our 
 ancestors were compelled to send their 
 "sugar, molasses, ginger, fustic, to 
 bacco, cotton, indigo, coffee, hides, 
 skins, iron, corn, lumber/ &c., &c., " in 
 British-built ships, to be laid upon the 
 British shore, before they could be for 
 warded to their final destination." The 
 plan of restoring the control of the 
 bank of England and of the " money 
 merchants" of England, over our credit 
 and our currency, and surrendering to 
 them the construction and control of 
 our railroads, will enable them to levy 
 and collect a tribute upon our travel 
 and transportation by land, like unto 
 the tribute they levied and collected 
 from our ancestors upon their travel 
 and transportation by%ea. Why should 
 we go to England and pay her a 
 tribute for the privilege of using her 
 public debt to build our railroads? 
 Why should we not use our public 
 debt as she has used hers ? 
 
CHAPTER XYII. 
 
 CONGRESS TO REGULATE THE VALUE OF MONEY. 
 
 npHE Constitution gives to Congress j sole power to determine whether our 
 * power to coin money and to reg- \ money shall be metallic or paper, 
 ulate its value, and of foreign coins. 
 
 It also provides that no state shall I OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 
 
 coin money, emit bills of credit, or As a further elucidation of the pur- 
 make anything else than gold and sil- 1 pose of the Constitution, the same 
 ver coin a legal tender in payment of j clause which gives the power to coin 
 debts, and it is obvious that, in the j money and to regulate its value, gives 
 construction of these provisions, we to Congress power to fix a standard of 
 
 should refer to the contemporaneous 
 history of the times, as explanatory of 
 their purpose. In doing this, we find 
 that each of the states had issued 
 paper money, which under the Consti 
 tution they were forbidden to do. We 
 also find that the confederate congress 
 had issued paper money, which, by 
 the federal constitution, the federal 
 Congress were not forbidden to do. 
 It is, therefore, obvious that as the 
 unrestricted power to coin money and 
 regulate its value, whether metallic or 
 paper, was given to Congress, and 
 that although the states were forbid 
 den to issue paper money, no such re 
 striction was placed on the power of 
 Congress, therefore Congress may is 
 sue paper money. And why were the 
 states forbidden to issue paper money ? 
 It was because, if each of the states 
 were permitted to issue " bills of 
 credit," neither Congress nor the states 
 could regulate their value. The pur 
 pose was to create a common money 
 of like value in all the states, and the 
 sole power of coinage and of regula 
 ting its value was, therefore, given to 
 Congress, leaving with Congress the 
 
 weights and measures. It is manifest 
 that the purpose was to give to Con 
 gress the control over the standard of 
 values and of quantities so as to en 
 able contracting parties to know pre 
 cisely what the one is bound to de 
 liver and the other is entitled to re 
 ceive for money bears the same rela 
 tion to the values of property that the 
 yard-stick does to the quantity of 
 cloth, and that weights and measures 
 do to commodities. 
 
 CAN CONGRESS REGULATE THE VALUE OF 
 GOLD AND SILVER COIN, 
 
 So long as the Bank of England, by 
 refusing to renew the discount of com 
 mercial paper, and raising the rate of 
 interest, can so increase the value of 
 gold in London as to cause large ship 
 ments of gold from New York to Lon 
 don ? Would it be a proper discharge 
 of their duty if Congress were to per 
 mit the Bank of England to reduce the 
 length of the yard stick one half when 
 we buy English cloths, and double the 
 weights when we sell them American 
 cotton ? If Congress permits the Bank 
 of England to quadruple the value of 
 
CONGEESS TO REGULATE THE VALUE OF MONEY. 
 
 89 
 
 money, and to thus cause a correspond 
 ing depreciation in the exchangeable 
 value of property, would that be a 
 proper exercise of the power to regu 
 late the value of money ? 
 
 In view of the obligations devolved 
 upon Congress by the Constitution, 
 and the exigencies of the political, 
 financial, commercial, and industrial 
 crisis in which we are placed, I pre 
 pared and submitted to the Secretary 
 of the Treasury the following 
 
 PLAN FOR NATIONAL BANKS AND NATIONAL 
 CUREENCY. 
 
 1st. All payments by the United 
 States to be made in gold or" silver, or 
 else in exchequer bills or four-per-cent. 
 coupon bonds. 
 
 2d. The exchequer bills to be re 
 ceivable in payment of all dues to the 
 United States ; to be of denominations 
 suited for currency ; to be a legal 
 tender in payment of debts, unless 
 otherwise stipulated by special con 
 tract ; and at all times convertible, at 
 the will of the holder, into four-per 
 cent, coupon bonds of the United 
 States. 
 
 3d, The bonds to be of denomina 
 tions i$t less than five hundred dol 
 lars, payable at the pleasure of the 
 government, bearing interest, at the 
 rate of four per cent., payable semi- 
 annually, in exchequer bills, and at all 
 times convertible, at the will of the 
 holder, into exchequer bills. 
 
 4th. Any person, or association of 
 persons, who may have deposited fifty 
 thousand dollars or more with the 
 Treasurer of the United States, in the 
 four-per-cent. coupon bonds of the 
 United States, as a collateral security 
 for the redemption of their bank notes, 
 to be authorized to become bankers 
 and to receive from the Comptroller of 
 the Currency bank notes, payable in 
 
 gold or silver or in exchequer bills, 
 for an amount equal to the sum of the 
 four-per-cent. bonds deposited for their 
 redemption. 
 
 5th. No one to be authorized to issue 
 bank notes who shall not have de 
 posited the requisite four-per-cent. cou 
 pon bonds as a security for their re 
 demption in exchequer bills. 
 
 6th. The bonds deposited as a secur 
 ity for the redemption of bank notes, 
 the exchequer bills held by a bank, the 
 capital stock and the profits of banks, 
 to be exempt from taxation by author 
 ity of the federal or state government. 
 
 Tth. The rate of interest charged by 
 banks on loans and on advances of 
 money, never to be more than five per 
 cent, per annum. 
 
 8th. Any person to be permitted to 
 deposite gold or silver in the Treasury 
 of the United States, and, with the as 
 sent of the Secretary, receive certifi 
 cates payable in specie, which certifi 
 cates shall always be receivable at par 
 in payment of customs duties. 
 
 9th. Customs duties to be payable 
 with the assent of the Secretary of 
 the Treasury, in exchequer bills, at 
 their current market value in gold. 
 
 COMMENT. 
 
 A bank note is worth as much as gold 
 if it be convertible into gold, and it is 
 worth as much as gold because it is 
 so convertible. The convertibility 
 into gold, is therefore the principle 
 which regulates its value ; and there 
 fore the value depends upon the value 
 of the gold into which it may be con 
 vertible. We know that Mr. Cobb, 
 while Secretary of the Treasury, paid 
 off part of the national debt, at twenty 
 per cent, premium ; and therefore if our 
 bank notes had then been convertible in 
 to our six per cents., then our bank notes 
 would have been worth twenty per 
 
90 
 
 CONGEESS TO EEGULATE THE VALUE OF MONEY. 
 
 cent, more than gold. The PLAN pro 
 poses to make our bank notes con 
 vertible at all times into exchequer 
 bills, which are convertible into four 
 per cent, coupon bonds which bond 
 being the only basis of the issue oJ 
 bank notes, will give four per cent, on 
 their coupons, and five per cent, on 
 their bank notes, making nine per 
 cent. And hence, I assume, that as 
 before the war our six per cents, were 
 worth, in the Europeon market, twenty 
 per cent, more than gold, an arrange 
 ment which will give the holders nine 
 per cent, on our four per cents, will 
 make them worth as much as gold. If 
 so, then, as our exchequer bills would 
 be convertible into four per cents., 
 and as the bank notes would repre 
 sent four per cents., and be payable in 
 exchequer bills, our bank notes would 
 be worth as much as gold. And I 
 argue that although the fact, that gold 
 and exchequer bills would each be a 
 legal tender, will equalize their value 
 as money, yet, inasmuch as neither 
 our four per cents., our bank notes, nor 
 our exchequer bills, will be a legal 
 tender in England, and our bank notes 
 will represent four per cents., which 
 are convertible into exchequer bills 
 which are a legal tender here, and no 
 pressure of the bank screw in London 
 can export our bank notes or our ex 
 chequer bills, and the amount of our 
 public debt is such as to enable us at 
 all times to command the amount of 
 four per cent, which may be required 
 as the basis for bank issues ; therefore, 
 our four per cents, will be a better 
 basis for a national currency than 
 gold and silver. It will be more abun 
 dant and therefore cheaper and yet 
 as it will represent our four per cents., 
 which under the plan will yield nine 
 per cent., and cannot be exported as 
 gold would be, it will be more stable 
 
 in value, and therefore a better money 
 than gold. 
 
 Gold and the treasury note are both 
 a legal tender, and the value of both 
 as money consists in that fact. Gold 
 has a speculative commercial value, 
 because it is a legal tender in London, 
 which the treasury note is not. If 
 Congress were to make the treasury 
 note the only legal tender in the 
 United States, and gold should cease 
 to be a tender elsewhere, then gold 
 would cease to be money, and as our 
 treasury note would be money here 
 although it would not be money in 
 London, yet then the treasury note 
 would be more valuable than gold, be 
 cause it is money, and only so because 
 it is money. The value, therefore, of 
 gold as money as well as of paper, de 
 pends upon the fact that it is a legal 
 tender, and is therefore money ; and 
 the value of both gold and paper de 
 pends upon the uses to which they are 
 applied and the relative demand for 
 them. 
 
 THE PURPOSE OF THE PLAN. 
 
 1st. To divorce the government 
 from the banks, except that as inas 
 much as bank notes will be used as 
 money, and it is the duty of Congress 
 to regulate the value of money, by re 
 quiring the bank notes to be redeemed 
 witll the national currency, and requir- 
 
 ng the banks to deposit with the 
 
 Comptroller of the Currency, a suffi 
 cient amount of four per cent, convert- 
 
 ble, to redeem the bank notes put into 
 circulation, Congress will regulate the 
 value of bank notes, by providing the 
 
 und for their redemption. 
 2d By refusing to receive bank notes 
 
 n payment of public dues, Congress 
 will increase the demand for, and will 
 consequently increase the value of the 
 national currency. 
 
CONGRESS TO REGULATE THE VALUE OF MONEY. 
 
 91 
 
 3d. By receiving the national cur 
 rency, and that currency or gold and 
 silver only, in payment of public dues 
 
 cents, that may be wanted as a basis 
 of banking, the inducement to invest 
 in the four per cents, should be such 
 
 and in payments from the Treasury, | as to command all the capital required 
 the interest on the sum thus used will for that use ; and hence, as the rate of 
 be saved to the government, and to j interest paid upon the bonds is to be 
 that extent lessen the burden of the ; but four per cent., and the interest 
 public debt. charged by the banks five per cent., 
 
 4th. By authorizing the organiza- 1 the reduction of the rate of interest 
 tion of national banks upon a deposit ! upon the bonds and upon bank loans 
 of four per cent, convertible federal j will be so much saved by the people, 
 bonds, and upon such deposit only, i and should therefore exempt the banks 
 there would be a reduction of two 
 per cent, upon the whole of the bonds 
 thus deposited, which would be an 
 additional diminution of the public 
 debt, and to that extent diminish the 
 taxes. 
 
 5th. As by this process the whole 
 sum of the four per cents, thus used, 
 would be converted into capital, and 
 be more valuable, as a basis of banking, 
 than so much gold, the fund thus de 
 posited should be made payable at the 
 pleasure of the government, and inas 
 much as the demand for it as the basis 
 for banking would be permanent, there 
 would be no inducement to pay it, and 
 thus the people would be relieved from 
 so much taxation, which the advocates 
 of a specie basis would impose upon 
 them. 
 
 6th. It would 
 
 from taxation, because that exemption 
 will tend to increase the capital en 
 gaged in the business of banking, and 
 thus render it more available for the 
 development of the resources of the 
 country. 
 
 8th. By organizing a system of free 
 banking, on a deposit of four per cent, 
 bonds, and making their notes payable 
 in exchequer bills, it will give a com 
 mon currency, and create a communi 
 ty of interests, identified with the pub 
 lic credit, and blending our sectional 
 feeling in support of our common 
 country. 
 
 9th. It will create an American 
 money, resting upon and sustaining 
 American credit, which will be more 
 valuable than gold, because it will be 
 American, and therefore not liable to 
 be exported as gold would be. Say 
 that the current annual expenditure be 
 reduced to four hundred millions of 
 dollars, the revenue should be the 
 same. Say that, of the four hundred 
 millions, paid out in the current ex 
 penditure, two hundred millions bo 
 converted into four per cents., as a 
 basis of banking, and that fifty mil 
 lions more be held in reserve by the 
 banks to redeem their bank notes; j; 
 there would remain but one hundred, 
 and fifty millions of exchequer bills to. 
 
 value, and therefore, as the public debt j pay four hundred millions of taxes.. 
 
 is ample to create all the four per The deficiency of exchequer bills. 
 7 
 
 convert so much of 
 the public debt into capital, and 
 through its agency create a currency 
 so abundant and consequently so 
 cheap, as to stimulate the industry 
 and enterprise of the whole country, 
 by enabling every one who has suffi 
 cient intelligence and can give the 
 requisite guarantees for integrity, to 
 obtain, for any required term, suffi 
 cient funds to enable him to undertake 
 arid prosecute any proper enterprise. 
 7th. To create a currency stable in 
 
92 
 
 CONGEESS TO REGULATE THE VALUE OF MONEY. 
 
 would soon bring them on a par with 
 gold. Hence the necessity of autho 
 rizing the six per cents, to be convert 
 ed into four per cents., and permitting 
 the four per cents., and the four per 
 cents only, to be used as the basis of 
 banking, and convertible into exche 
 quer bills. The purpose is to create a 
 currency more stable in value than 
 gold, and yet to regulate its exchange 
 able value by the proper value, not the 
 fluctuating commercial value, of gold. 
 Hence the bank note should be con 
 vertible into an exchequer bill; which 
 should be convertible into a bond, 
 which should be worth as much, but 
 not more than the proper value of gold. 
 And the merit of the plan consists in 
 the fact, that while the privilege of 
 banking which is a bonus given by 
 the government, but which costs the 
 public nothing, reduces the interest 
 on the six per cents, which may be 
 converted into four per cents, as a ba 
 sis of banking, that privilege, so to 
 use them, enables the holders to make 
 at least three per cent, per annum, 
 profit, by converting the six per cents, 
 into four per cents., and thus secures 
 a supply of bank notes, equal to the 
 demand ; and regulates the demand 
 by the value of the public credit, and 
 the benefits derived from a proper use 
 of private credit. 
 
 THE CHIEF VALUE OF THE REFORM, 
 
 For reform it will be, is, that it will 
 give an abundant and cheap currency, 
 uniform and stable in value, which 
 will cultivate our fields, open and 
 work our mines, construct our machi 
 nery, erect and operate our factories, 
 build and navigate our ships, dig our 
 
 canals, improve our rivers and make 
 our railroads. Ay, it will make us 
 one people, by making the public credit 
 i the basis of the industry and prosper- 
 I ity of the whole country regulating and 
 sustaining the values of our property. 
 By enabling us to build our own 
 railroads, and stimulating domestic in 
 dustry it will enable us to create a 
 large surplus for export, and thus pav 
 our foreign debt, and relieve us from 
 the tribute which we now pay to fop- 
 | eigners in the shape of interest and 
 dividends. It is believed that the in 
 terest and dividends paid to foreigners 
 on federal and state bonds and on rail 
 road bonds and shares, now amount 
 to at least one hundred millions of dol 
 lars per annum. This is an annuity, 
 and as an annuity of one dollar com 
 pounded at six per cent., will, in thirty- 
 two years give ninety dollars and 
 eighty-eight cents, it will be seen that 
 the tribute thus to be paid, will, in 
 thirty-two years be nine thousand and 
 eighty-eight millions, being more 
 than twice the sum of our national 
 debt ! And what has Europe given 
 us that we should pay her such a 
 tribute ? She has not given us gold. 
 We are the producers and we send 
 our gold to them they do not send 
 theirs to us. What, then, have they 
 given us ? A small percentage of the 
 profits which they have charged or 
 the goods which they have made, by 
 using the machinery, purchased by 
 the use of their credit, to convert our 
 cotton into cloth, and a much less part 
 of the profits which they have made 
 by the use of their credit in the pur 
 chase and sale of our cotton and other 
 exports. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 OP THE USE OP BRITISH AND AMERICAN CREDIT. 
 
 HERE again, facts become important, agen 
 Before 1835, the date when England 
 found that she must look to Africa, to 
 India, and China, for her " future pros 
 perity/ any American merchant who 
 could get an acceptance of Wilde, 
 Wiggins, or Wilsons, three American 
 houses established in London, in con 
 nection with the American trade, 
 could purchase British goods on a 
 credit of six and twelve months, and, 
 under our revenue system as it then 
 was, he could, upon custom-house 
 bonds, get time to sell the goods for 
 funds to pay the duties ; but contem 
 poraneous with the emancipation of 
 her West India slaves and the open 
 ing of the trade of India to British 
 enterprise, the Bank of England, uni 
 ting with the "money merchants" made 
 a systematic warfare on American 
 credit the three W. s became bank 
 rupts, and the American merchants 
 could no longer buy British goods on 
 credit. The American planters had 
 been accustomed to anticipate the sale 
 of their cotton by bills drawn on their 
 factors, which being endorsed, were dis 
 counted by the Southern banks and the 
 funds used to purchase slaves. The in 
 telligent financiers who had combined to 
 emancipate the West India slaves, and 
 open the trade of India as the source 
 of future prosperity to England, and 
 as part of their system of finance had 
 made war on American credit, knew 
 full well the value of the American 
 trade, and hence they established 
 
 cies in New York and in the South 
 ern ports, who, finding the Southern 
 cotton in the hands of factors who 
 had endorsed the notes of the South 
 ern planters, and who were compelled 
 to sell the cotton to meet the payment 
 of their notes and protect their own 
 credit, were, therefore, enabled to fix 
 the price. They purchased and paid 
 for it, not in money, but in bills upon 
 New York, which bills were discount 
 ed by the Southern banks because the 
 Southern merchants, no longer able to 
 purchase goods in Manchester, bought 
 in New York, and money in New 
 York was, therefore, worth more than 
 money in Mobile. When the bills 
 upon New York became due they 
 were paid, not with money, but by bills 
 upon London, and as the New York 
 merchants dealt in Manchester, money 
 in London was worth more than money 
 in New York, and therefore the New 
 York banks discounted the second 
 bills. In the meantime the cotton had 
 been shipped to Liverpool, and sold at 
 ninety days credit, and as the first and 
 second bills were each at sixty days, the 
 British banker was enabled, by this 
 change in the machinery of the Ameri 
 can trade, to convert his credit at 
 seven months into capital in the shape 
 of American cotton. A small part of 
 the profits thus realized has been in 
 vested in American securities and in 
 American railroads, but at what cost 
 to the American planter ? 
 
 It appears, from the published sta- 
 
BEITISH AND AMERICAN CItEDIT. 
 
 ti sties, that the average price of 
 American cotton from 1790 to 1835 
 was twenty-five cents per pound, and 
 that the product from 1836 to 1860, 
 inclusive, was 25,703,464,900 pounds, 
 which if sold at twenty-five cents per 
 pound, would have produced $6,425,- 
 866,225. The market value at the 
 prices for which it was sold was 
 $1,770,790,000, making a loss by the 
 depreciation of $4,955,076,225, giving 
 an annual loss of $198,202,249, which 
 as an annuity, at compound interest of 
 eight per cent., would in twenty-five 
 years be $15,846,169,807 55, and com 
 pounded at seven per cent, would give 
 in twenty-five years $12,334,310,225 76, 
 and compounded at six per cent, would 
 give in twenty-five years $10,635,375,- 
 215 56. Who does not see that the 
 producers of cotton in the Southern 
 states are deeply interested in prevent 
 ing the recurrence of a system of 
 trade which so much reduced the value 
 of their labor ? This, it is sincerely 
 believed, the proposed system of cur 
 rency and. credit will do. 
 
 REDUCTION OP TAXES. 
 
 We have debt enough of our own and 
 to spare. We can greatly economize 
 on the British system of using the 
 capital invested in the public credit. 
 Instead of borrowing and using bank 
 notes in the payment of our current ex 
 penditures, we can use our own treas 
 ury notes receivable in payment of 
 public dues and, by making these 
 notes the legal money of the United 
 States, and making all bank notes 
 payable in this money or in specie, the 
 treasury notes will soon approximate 
 the value of gold. By the substitu 
 tion of these legal tender notes for 
 bank notes and specie in payments to 
 and from the Treasury of the United 
 States, we may safely estimate that 
 
 the amount outstanding will at least 
 be twice the sum of the current rev 
 enue, but say that it is six hundred 
 millions of dollars only, this will 
 be a saving of thirty-six millions 
 of dollars per annum. If the prin 
 ciple of making a deposit of four 
 per cent, convertible bonds, and four 
 per cent, only, the basis of the issue of 
 bank notes be adopted, and we assume 
 that the amount of bank capital is but 
 fifty per cent, more than in 1860, we 
 have $632,835,096 of bank capital, and 
 the reduction of the rate of interest on 
 the bonds deposited will be $12,656,- 
 701 92, which added to the $36,000,000 
 (the interest saved by the issue of 
 legal tender certificates), and we have 
 a saving of $48,656,701 92 this sum 
 as an annuity compound, at six per 
 cent., would give in thirty-two years 
 $4,421,921,070 48, a sum sufficient to 
 build and equip one hundred and forty- 
 seven thousand three hundred and 
 seventy-seven miles of railroad ; esti 
 mating the cost at thirty thousand dol 
 lars per mile ! being nearly five times 
 as many miles of roads as there are 
 now in the United States. But the 
 plan proposed does not rest its chief 
 claims for approval on the reduction of 
 the interest on the public debt. I 
 affirm and believe that its 
 
 CHIEF MERIT CONSISTS IN REDUCING THE 
 RATE OF INTEREST CHARGEABLE ON LOANS 
 AND DISCOUNTS, 
 
 In giving an abundant and cheap 
 currency, and the stimulus which it 
 will give to our productive industry, 
 by enabling every man, whose habits 
 of sobriety and industry are such as 
 to command the confidence of capital 
 ists, to obtain the means of profitable 
 empl oyment. Does any one own land ? 
 He could obtain the means to pay the 
 wages of labor to make it productive. 
 
BEITISH AND AMERICAN CKEDIT. 
 
 95 
 
 Does he own a mine ? He could ob 
 tain the funds to open and work it. 
 Does he own a water power ? He could 
 obtain the funds to erect a factory, to 
 purchase machinery, and to pay the 
 wages of labor. Does he wish to build 
 a railroad ? All that will be required 
 will be an exhibit showing that such a 
 road will benefit the public, and pay 
 more than five per cent, dividends. 
 Does he wish to build ships to compete 
 with European combinations for the 
 trade of the Pacific ? All that will be 
 required will be to show that the pro 
 ductive industry of America has so 
 far progressed in the manufacture of 
 articles suited to the trade of China, 
 Northern Asia, and the South Pacific 
 Islands, as to require American ships 
 to carry our surplus manufactures to 
 an appropriate market ; and the six 
 per cents, will become four per cent, 
 convertible bonds, and furnish the 
 funds to build the ships, and, if neces 
 sary, to furnish and maintain the navy 
 that may be required to protect them 
 in every sea against every combina 
 tion, whether English, French, or Gcr- 
 man, or all combined. 
 
 AX ABUNDANT AND CHEAP CURRENCY. 
 
 That some estimate may be formed 
 of the saving which will result from 
 the reduction of the rates of interest 
 
 on loans and discounts to five per cent, 
 per annum, I refer to the fact, stated 
 by Colwell in his able work on the 
 ways and means of payment. He esti 
 mates the payments made through the 
 banks, in 185T, at ninety thousand 
 millions of dollars. If we divide this 
 sum by six, estimating the several dis 
 counts at sixty days, it will give the 
 sum of fifteen thousand millions of dol 
 lars under discount ; the saving upon 
 which, at the rate of two per cent, per 
 annum, will be three hundred millions 
 of dollars per annum ; and this sum, as 
 an annuity compounded at six per cent., 
 will give twenty-seven thousand two 
 hundred and sixty-four millions of dol 
 lars, a sum sufficient to build nine hun 
 dred and eight thousand eight hundred 
 miles of railroad, estimating the cost 
 at thirty-thousand dollars per mile, as 
 the saving in thirty-two years on the 
 discount on bank loans, without tak 
 ing into account the immense amount 
 of interest paid on transactions which 
 do not go into the bank accounts. 
 These arc sums which may well startle 
 persons accustomed to estimate the 
 transactions of the whole people of the 
 United States by the standard of their 
 own private dealings. But the data 
 are within the comprehension of the 
 simplest intelligence, and the conclu 
 sions are deduced by the plainest rules 
 of arithmetic. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 TTTITH such data and these conclu- 
 sions before us, the question of 
 the currency resolves itself into the 
 inquiry of whether we should resume 
 specie payments before, by fostering 
 our home industry, we have created a 
 foreign export trade, creating a bal 
 ance in our favor, which will prevent 
 the export of specie in payment of the 
 large tribute which we would other 
 wise pay to foreign creditors. 
 
 Jacobs says : 
 
 " The gold and silver in a country, con 
 trary to the opinions of the vulgar, are the 
 the least part of its wealth. They can 
 scarcely, under any of the changes of metal 
 lic value which they may cause in other 
 commodities, amount to a hundredth part 
 of the wealth of the country; and in a 
 prosperous state, they will bear a much less 
 proportion. The possession of them is real 
 wealth only in a small degree, though every 
 addition to them produces real wealth by 
 the stimulus which the apparent advance of 
 prices gives to every kind of industrious 
 exertion." 
 
 Adam Smith says : 
 
 " The gold and silver which circulates in 
 any country, and by means of which the 
 produce of its land and labor is annually 
 circulated and distributed to the proper 
 consumers, is, in the same manner as the 
 ready money of the dealer, all dead stock ; 
 it is a very valuable part of the capital of 
 the country which produces nothing to the 
 country. The judicious operations of bank 
 ing by substituting paper in the room of a 
 great part of this gold and silver, enables 
 the country to convert a great part of this 
 
 dead stock into active and productive stock, 
 which produces something to the country." 
 
 Mr. Calhoun, in his speech on the re- 
 charter of the bank in March, 1834, 
 said : 
 
 "If we take the aggregate property of 
 a community, that which forms the currency 
 constitutes in value a very small proportion 
 of the whole. What this proportion is in 
 our country and other commercial and trad 
 ing communities is somewhat uncertain. I 
 speak conjecturally in fixing it as one to 
 twenty-five or thirty, though I presume this 
 is not far from the truth." 
 
 Adam Smith tells us that : 
 " A paper money consisting in bank notes, 
 issued by a people of undoubted credit, 
 payable on demand without any condition, 
 and in fact always readily paid as soon as 
 presented, is, in every respect, equal in value 
 to gold and silver money." 
 
 Ricardo says : 
 
 "If there was perfect security that the 
 power of issuing paper money would not 
 be abused ; that is, if there was perfect 
 security for its being used in such quanti 
 ties as to preserve its value relatively to the 
 mass of circulating commodities nearly uni 
 form, the precious metals might be entirely 
 discarded from circulation." 
 
 This we assume to be the real and 
 
 PROPER TEST OF THE VALUE OF PAPER 
 MONEY. 
 
 Is the quantity such as to maintain 
 its value relatively to the mass of cir 
 culating commodities f If the quantity 
 n circulation, be so restricted by mak 
 ing it convertible into specie, or into 
 
SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 97 
 
 four per cent, convertible bonds, as to 
 preserve the same relative value to the 
 mass of circulating commodities, then 
 the fact that the same quantity of paper 
 will purchase the same quantity of 
 these commodities, is proof that the 
 quantity is not in excess, and vice versa. 
 By making the bank note convertible 
 into currency, we prevent an over 
 issue of bank notes ; and by making 
 the currency convertible into four per 
 cent, convertible bonds, we prevent an 
 over-issue of currency ; and by mak 
 ing the bonds convertible into currency, 
 we prevent a ruinous contraction of 
 the currency ; and, by maintaining the 
 proper quantity in circulation, we pre 
 vent the depreciation of the exchange 
 able values of property ; which was 
 the purpose of the Constitution when 
 the power of regulating the value of 
 money was given to Congress. And 
 as the value of money depends on the 
 quantity, the question is, can Congress 
 so regulate the action of the bank of 
 England, and of the " money mer 
 chants" of Europe, as to prevent an 
 undue export of specie, under a sys 
 tem of specie payments ? I believe 
 that Congress cannot do this other 
 wise than by giving us a legal tender, 
 which will not be a legal tender in 
 London. We need not go beyond the 
 crisis of 1857 to demonstrate this. 
 
 THE CRISIS OF 1857. 
 
 The money unit of England is gold. 
 In France it was silver, until the dis 
 covery of gold in California and Aus 
 tralia. The average annual coinage 
 of silver in France, for a series of 
 years preceding 1848, was $16,200,000. 
 During the eight yea-rs ending Decem 
 ber, 1857, it was but $8,091,400 per 
 annum, and from January, 1852, to 
 January, 1858, the export of silver was 
 $225,400,000 more than the import ; 
 
 and although the coinage of gold for 
 the year 1857 was $114,512,245, the 
 bank of France was compelled, be 
 tween the 1st of July, 1855, and the 
 1st of January, 1858, to purchase 
 $212,000,000 in gold. Whence did 
 France get her supply of gold, and 
 why did she export her silver ? The 
 custom-house returns show that dur 
 ing the seven years ending July, 1857, 
 the export of gold from the United 
 States was $320,000,000 ; and the offi 
 cial statements show that, during the 
 years 1856 and 1857, England sent to 
 India, by one steamboat company, 
 chiefly in silver, $154,591,885. Eng 
 land took the French silver to pay the 
 expense of her war in India, and she 
 took our gold to pay for it. 
 
 WHAT WAS THE EFFECT OF THIS LARGE EX 
 PORT OF OUR GOLD ? 
 
 Gibbon, in his account of the crisis 
 of 1857, says : 
 
 "Tho regular discount of bills by the 
 banks had mostly been suspended, and the 
 street rates for money, even on unquestion 
 able securities, rose to three, four, and live 
 per cent, a month. On the ordinary securi 
 ties of merchants, such as promissory notes 
 and bills of exchange, money was not to be 
 had at any rate. House after house, of high 
 commercial repute, succumbed to the panic, 
 and several heavy banking firms were added 
 to the list of failures." 
 
 The New York Commercial Agency 
 tells us that they had on their books 
 statements showing the commercial 
 transactions and condition of 204,081 
 firms ; and that the loss by 337 fraudu 
 lent firms was $5,222,500 ; by 542 
 firms unable to pay, was $20,300,000 ; 
 by 5,123 failures, $143,780,000 ; that 
 the commercial debt of the country 
 merchants was $2,282,000,000 ; and 
 that the business transactions during 
 the year was $4,564,000,000. Now 
 
98 
 
 SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 what was the cause of these ruinous 
 losses? Gibbon tells us that "the 
 banks suffered depletion in coin to the 
 amount of $5,483,864 ; and that they 
 could not withstand such an on- 
 
 in the several industrial employments 
 of a prosperous community. 
 
 Thus we find that, by the census of 
 1860, the population of the state of 
 Virginia was 1,593,199 
 
 slaught I" The cause of the crisis is I That they had sixty-five banks, 
 
 manifest. The loans, on August 8, 
 1857, were $122,077,252 ; on Novem 
 ber 23, they were reduced to $94,963,- 
 130. The loans were predicated, not on 
 the ability of the borrowers to pay their 
 indebtedness in specie, but upon the 
 exchangeable values of the mass of 
 commodities under their control, and 
 upon the sale of which they relied for 
 the means of payment. The pressure 
 for money in London caused by the 
 
 EXPENDITURES OF THE ARMY IN INDIA, 
 
 Caused so great a demand for specie 
 to be remitted to London, as to so re 
 duce the exchangeable value of the 
 commodities which were the means of 
 payment, as to destroy that private 
 
 with a capital of $16,205,156 
 
 That their loans and discounts 
 
 were 24,975,792 
 
 That their specie fund was but 2,943,652 
 
 And that their circulation was 
 but 9,812,197 
 
 The value of her real estate 417,952,228 
 
 The value of her personal prop 
 erty was 239,089,103 
 
 The value of farms was 371,693,211 
 
 The value of farming imple 
 ments and machinery 7,021,772 
 
 The value of live etock 47,794,256 
 
 That her product of wheat was 
 
 (in bushels) 11,212,616 
 
 That her product of rye was (in 
 bushels) 794,024 
 
 That her product of Indian 
 
 corn was (in bushels) 38,380,704 
 
 That her product of oats was 
 
 (in bushels) 10,184,865 
 
 credit upon which the $4,564,000,000 
 
 of the business transactions of that That her product of tobacco 
 
 w r as (in pounds) 123,967,757 
 
 animals 
 $11,438,441 
 
 year were predicated. If we assume 
 
 that the Depreciation of the price of| That tllG valuo of 
 
 the products of the soil, and of labor j slaughtered was . 
 
 given in payment by the consumers of i WHY THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD PROTECT 
 
 the $4,564,000,000 worth of commod 
 ities was but twenty-five per cent., it 
 will be seen that the loss of less than 
 six millions of dollars in specie by the 
 banks of New York, caused a depreci 
 ation in the exchangeable values of 
 American property of more than one 
 thousand millions of dollars. 
 
 RELATIVE SUM OF CASH AND 
 PROPERTY. 
 
 OTHER 
 
 That the sura in cash required to pay 
 wages and develop the agricultural, 
 mineral, and manufacturing resources 
 of the country is much less than many 
 
 VALUE OF CREDIT. 
 
 If to this vast aggregate of capital 
 be added $51,300,000, given as the 
 product, in 1860, of 33,050 males and 
 3,540 females, employed in manufac 
 tures in the state, and we compare the 
 transactions connected with the capital 
 thus invested in this mass of property, 
 with the sum of the specie held by, and 
 the circulation of the banks, we will 
 see how small is the sum of money as 
 compared with the credit used in these 
 
 transactions ; proving 
 that the business and 
 
 conclusively 
 credit of the 
 
 country is not predicated on the specie 
 
 .believe, will appear by a careful analy- 1 held by the banks, nor upon the bank 
 :sis of the uses of money and of credit j notes, but upon the property, the prod- 
 
SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 99 
 
 net of the soil and of labor, in transitu 
 from the producer to the consumer. It 
 should be the especial duty of the 
 government to protect and sustain the 
 value of this credit while engaged in 
 the production of the mass of commod 
 ities which constitute the elements of 
 commerce, and to maintain the values 
 of those commodities while they are 
 being placed upon the market. For it 
 is upon the maintenance of the value 
 of the credit thus used, and not upon 
 the small sum of specie held by the 
 banks, that the stability of the values 
 of property, and, consequently, the 
 prosperity of the community, depends. 
 Their credit rests upon the mass of 
 their property the credit of the banks 
 is made to rest on the pitiful sum of 
 specie held by the banks ! I again 
 ask the reader to contrast the value of 
 the specie held by the banks with the 
 value of the few articles as given in 
 the above extract from the census ; 
 and I ask emphatically ask whether 
 that is a wise system of finance which 
 attempts to regulate the value, not 
 only of the mass of property indicated 
 by the extract, but of all our property, 
 by the small sum of specie held by the 
 banks, and leaves that small sum of 
 specie subject to a foreign moneyed 
 corporation, managed and controlled 
 by an association of foreign capital 
 ists, jealous of our progress, our rivals 
 in power, in manufactures and com 
 merce ? Such I assert and maintain 
 would be the inevitable consequence 
 of compulsory specie payments. 
 
 WHAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE CRISIS OF 1857 ? 
 
 The city banks of New York re 
 duced their loans in a few days from 
 one hundred and twenty millions of 
 dollars to ninety-four millions of dol 
 lars. Why did these banks so reduce 
 their loans ? They feared that their 
 
 eight millions of specie would be taken 
 and sent to London, under the pressure 
 created by the bank of England. 
 
 It is estimated that eac*a ventricle 
 of the heart contains one ounce of 
 blood. The heart contracts four thou 
 sand times every hour, consequently 
 there passes through it two hundred 
 and fifty pounds of blood every hour. 
 The blood is the vital principle of ani 
 mal life, and, therefore, as the heart, 
 by the force of its contraction, drives 
 the whole of the blood of the human 
 system, ten times every hour, through 
 all the thousand ramifications of veins 
 and arteries, so does a proper use of 
 the money of the country, acting 
 through the avenues of trade, main 
 tain the vitality of credit, as the me 
 dium of commercial exchanges, giving 
 a healthful stability to the values of 
 property ; and, therefore, as the sud 
 den loss of blood will prevent the ac 
 tion of the heart and cause the system 
 to sink until, by air and food, the 
 requisite quantity is restored, so an 
 undue export of the money of any 
 country will so depress the prices of 
 commodities as to destroy the credit 
 which is the indispensable agent in 
 the transfer of the products of the soil 
 and of labor from the producer to the 
 consumer. 
 
 JACOBS TELLS US THAT THE QUANTITY 
 
 Of money, as compared with the values 
 of the property of a prosperous commu 
 nity, is not more than one per cent., and 
 hence, although the average quantity 
 of specie in the bank of England, 
 requisite to maintain its value at the 
 proper level, is not more than ten mil 
 lions of pounds sterling, there were at 
 one time in 1857 in circulation, as ap 
 pears by the official statement of the 
 stamp-office, nine hundred millions of 
 dollars of bills of exchange ; and by 
 
100 
 
 SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 reference to Gibbon s account of the 
 banks of New York, we find that the 
 average specie in the banks of New 
 York, from* January 1, 1853, to Janu 
 ary 1, 1858, was about eleven millions 
 of dollars, the loans were as much as 
 one hundred and twenty millions of 
 dollars, and the settlements between 
 the banks, at the clearing-house, were 
 thirty millions of dollars daily, or near 
 ly nine hundred millions of dollars per 
 month, or ten thousand millions of dol 
 lars per annum ; and Colwell tells us that 
 an analysis of the payments through 
 the banks in the United States, in 1857, 
 ehows that the sum thus paid was 
 ninety thousand millions of dollars. 
 Is it necessary to illustrate further the 
 necessity of protecting this mass of 
 credit, so as to prevent its deprecia 
 tion? 
 
 The means of preventing the recur 
 rence of such a crisis is not the vain 
 and costly process of piling up useless 
 millions of unproductive gold in the 
 vaults of our banks, to await the re 
 curring demand for specie caused by 
 the " money merchants" of London, 
 operating through the bank of Eng 
 land, but it is to convert the capital, 
 of which we have an abundance in the 
 shape of the public debt, into a fund 
 to be always held in reserve and al 
 ways convertible into money, with 
 which the consumer may purchase and 
 pay for the " mass of circulating com- 
 ^modities" which constitute the availa 
 ble basis of credit. If we had had 
 such a currency in 1857, the export to 
 London of all our gold, as well as of 
 so large a part of the silver of France, 
 would not have caused a panic in New 
 York. 
 
 ROTHSCHILD. 
 
 While I write, the European mails 
 bring me a statement of the exam 
 ination of Baron James de Rothschild ! 
 
 before an Imperial Commission at 
 Paris. I make a few extracts : 
 
 " PRESIDENT : So you think there has been 
 a little excess, either because the resources 
 of the country, created by the labor and 
 economy, have not been in proportion with 
 the expenditure, or because the circulation 
 of money has been such in Europe that the 
 long time it takes to return has been out of 
 proportion to the issue of paper, that there 
 have been issues remaining unpaid owing to 
 a delay in the return of specie ? Is there 
 not a loss of specie almost absolute for Eu~ 
 rope with regard to Hie extreme East a loss 
 whicli has been compensated by the discovery 
 of gold in America? 
 
 " BAEON ROTHSCHILD : It is precisely those 
 discoveries which came to our relief. 
 3ut for them we should not have been able 
 ;o do what we have done. TJiere 7ias been 
 a substitution of Australian gold, new or old, 
 n place of the specie which we have sent to 
 China or to India, and which will be long 
 )efore it returns, if it ever does return. 
 
 " PRESIDENT : A time may come, perhaps, 
 when those countries will have a monetary 
 circulation, and be able to effect exchanges 
 with us. At present we pay them in specie : 
 t is to be hoped that some day we shall 
 pay them in merchandise. 
 
 "BARON ROTHSCHILD: Indeed that is to 
 hoped ; for there was a moment when I 
 trembled for a crisis in Germany, becauoo 
 silver had disappeared. So much had been 
 bought to send to China and India ; it had 
 become so scarce at Hamburg, Frankfort, 
 and in many other towns in Germany where 
 silver is the only circulating medium, as in 
 China and India, that we knew not what to 
 do. Silver was at one time at from thirty 
 francs to forty francs premium per mille." 
 (See an account of Baron Rothschild s ex 
 amination given in the New York Herald.) 
 
 By reference to the rer/ort of that ex 
 amination, it will be seen that Baron 
 Rothschild urged that it was necessary 
 to authorize the bank of France to raise 
 the rate of interest, and curtail her 
 discounts, and thus make money scarce 
 and dear in France, as a means of pre- 
 
SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 101 
 
 Tenting the export of specie to India tions fehall OUF -paper money be issued ? 
 and China. On the 4th of April, 1860, 1 If it shall appear that in the great 
 I submitted struggle in which the more civilized 
 
 nations of the earth are now engaged, 
 it is impossible for our Congress, to so 
 regulate a metallic currency as to 
 maintain its value relatively to the 
 value of the mass of circulating com 
 modities, and that Congress can so 
 regulate the issue of paper money, as 
 to give it a fixed and uniform value, 
 relatively to the exchangeable value 
 of those commodities ; then, the rela 
 tive value of paper money being much 
 more stable, than the fluctuating value 
 of gold, it is the duty of Congress, 
 under the power " to coin money, and 
 to regulate the value thereof," to pass 
 such laws as are necessary to regulate 
 the value of paper money. 
 
 A MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS 
 
 (Senate Mis. Doc. 48), in which I re 
 ferred to the fact, that, instead of re 
 lying upon Australia and America for 
 a supply of the precious metals to re 
 place the specie sent to India and 
 China, it was then necessary to adopt 
 measures to counteract the disastrous 
 consequences of permitting the bank 
 of England to regulate the quantity 
 of our currency and of our credit, and, 
 consequently, to regulate the value of 
 our property. We have seen that the 
 loss of less than six millions of specie 
 in 1857, by the banks of the. city of 
 New York, caused so great a reduction 
 of the exchangeable values of prop 
 erty, that the loss by five thousand one 
 hundred and thirty-three commercial 
 failures was $143,780,000. This was 
 apart from the general effect upon the 
 industry and the values of the other 
 property of the country. 
 
 The purpose of the Constitution, in 
 giving to Congress power to coin 
 money and to regulate its value, was 
 to give 
 
 STABILITY TO THE VALUES OF PROPERTY J 
 
 And the preference was given to 
 a metallic over a paper currency, be 
 cause it was then supposed that it 
 Would be less difficult to regulate the 
 quantity of specie than of paper, and 
 that, therefore, the precious metals 
 would be more stable in value than 
 paper money. The question is not 
 whether Congress will forbid the use 
 of paper money (for in the present 
 state of the progress and civilization of 
 the world, no one would forbid the use 
 of paper money). The question is, in 
 what shape, and under what restric- 
 
 WHY PAPER MONEY IS BETTER THAN GOLD. 
 
 It is admitted by all that the value 
 of a metallic as well as a paper cur 
 rency is regulated by the quantity. 
 It is admitted that whenever the ten 
 dency of the foreign exchange is to 
 dimmish the specie in the vaults of 
 the bank of England, that bank raises 
 the rate of interest and curtails her 
 discounts that is, the bank so regu 
 lates her discounts as to create a 
 greater demand for money, at the 
 same time that they increase the rate 
 of interest, and thus coerce an export 
 of our specie to London. Congress 
 cannot prevent this. Therefore the 
 regulation of the value of our metallic 
 currency is vested in the bank of Eng 
 land and not in our Congress. To il 
 lustrate this fact, I submit a diagram, 
 prepared after a careful examination 
 of the official returns of the bank of 
 England, showing the fluctuations in 
 the quantity of bullion in the bank 
 from January, 1852, to September, 
 1859, and the rates of interest charged 
 
102 
 
 SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 
 
 S 
 
SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 103 
 
 by the bank. The marginal figures 
 from thirty-five to one hundred, indi 
 cate the bullion, in millions of dollars, 
 which was in the bank at the dates, 
 when the irregular line, which shows 
 the fluctuation of the amount of bul 
 lion in the bank intersects the corre - 
 spending horizontal lines thus, on the 
 1st of January, 1852, the bullion in 
 the bank was- eighty-five millions of 
 dollars. It rose, in July, to nearly 
 one hundred and five millions, and fell, 
 on tho 10th December, 1857, to thirty- 1 
 five millions and rose again, in Octo 
 ber, 1858, to ninety-five millions. The 
 figures on the irregular line indicate 
 the rate of interest charged. Thus, in 
 September, 1852, interest was two per 
 cent., and on the 10th of December, 
 1857, it was ten per cent. And why? 
 Because, in September, 1852, the bank 
 had more than a hundred millions, and 
 on tho 10th December, 1857, it had but 
 thirty-five millions of dollars. Does 
 any one pretend that, after resuming 
 specie payments, our Congress can 
 prevent this fluctuation in the quanti 
 ty of specie in the bank of England ? 
 Or that failing to do this, they can 
 prevent the fluctuations in the quanti 
 ty of specie or in the relative values 
 of property in London or in New 
 York? 
 
 WHY CANNOT CONGRESS REGULATE THE 
 QUANTITY OR THE VALUE OF SPECIE 
 
 Or of property in London or in New 
 York ? It is because specie is money 
 in New York as well as in London, and 
 because being money in London as 
 well as in New York, our specie will 
 go from New York to London, when 
 ever the bank of England, by refusing 
 to renew her discounts and increasing 
 her rates of interest, makes the de 
 mand for specie in London so great, 
 that the " money merchants" can make 
 
 a profit by sending specie from New 
 York to London. Our national cur 
 rency is money in New York, but it is 
 not money in London, and, therefore, 
 no pressure of the bank screw can ex 
 port our paper money to London. Con 
 gress, therefore, can regulate the quan 
 tity, and, consequently, the value of 
 our national currency not by mak 
 ing it convertible into specie, but by 
 a proper system of funding into con 
 vertible bonds bearing not more than 
 four per cent, interest, and making that 
 interest payable in currency, instead 
 of making it payable in gold. 
 
 For it should be borne in mind that 
 the purpose is not to make our cur 
 rency convertible into specie, which 
 must fluctuate in value as the quantity 
 of specie fluctuates in the bank of 
 England, but to regulate its value DO 
 that it shall at all times bear a uniform 
 value, as compared with the value of 
 the mass of circulating commodities. 
 Thus, if Congress shall make the cur 
 rency convertible, at will, into a four 
 per cent, convertible bond, then the 
 bond will regulate the value of the 
 currency, and the currency will regu 
 late the value of the bond. 
 
 The importance of 
 
 REDUCING THE RATE OF INTEREST 
 
 So as to prevent our bonds from 
 going abroad, is illustrated by the 
 fact that England, by issuing her 
 stock at a low rate of interest, kept 
 her public debt at home, and hence, 
 what she pays as interest she receives 
 as dividends. She pays little or no 
 tribute to foreigners in the shape of 
 interest on her debt no combination 
 of foreign " money merchants," by 
 sending home a large amount of her 
 public stocks, can export her specie and 
 prostrate her credit private or public. 
 What would be the effect upon our 
 currency, if we resume specie pay- 
 
104 
 
 SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 merits, and a combination, formed to 
 depreciate our credit, were to send to 
 New York one hundred millions of the 
 fourteen hundred millions of dollars of 
 our securities, now held abroad, to be 
 sold for the purpose of exporting- our 
 specie ? Will it not be unwise in us 
 to provoke the attempt before, by the 
 use of our national currency, we have 
 so increased our industry as to give 
 us sufficient surplus exports to create 
 a balance in our favor, and thus pre 
 vent the export of our specie ? The 
 public debt was created by an issue of 
 paper money. The effect of an early 
 resumption of specie payment will be to 
 
 INCREASE THE BURDEN OF TAXATION, 
 
 while it will diminish the means of 
 payment ! The amount of taxation 
 will be the same whether it be paid in 
 specie or in paper while all must see 
 that the wages of labor and the price 
 of commodities must be reduced in the 
 ratio of the difference between the 
 priceof gold and of paper. Why should 
 Congress pass laws to reduce the 
 market value of the poor man s labor 
 and the farmer s corn? Is it to in 
 crease the price of United States bonds 
 held by the rich speculators in the 
 public credit ? Why should Congress 
 make the rich richer, by making the 
 poor poorer? Who does not know 
 that when the foreign demand for gold 
 has compelled our banks to suspend 
 specie payment, the whole country, 
 with one accord, has used paper money 
 as a substitute for gold ? And why ? 
 Is it not because every one knows 
 that "If there was perfect security 
 that the power of issuing paper 
 money would not be abused, that is, 
 if there was perfect security for its 
 being issued in such quantities as to 
 preserve its value relatively to the 
 mass of circulating commodities nearly 
 uniform, the precious metals may be 
 
 entirely discarded from circulation 1" 
 Can Congress BO regulate the issue 
 of paper as to "preserve its value 
 relatively to the mass of circulating 
 commodities nearly uniform" ? If so, 
 then there is no sufficient reason 
 why they should again give to the 
 bank of England the power to regulate 
 the value of our money and of our 
 property a power which has been so 
 often used to our injury and which 
 will be greatly increased by the large 
 sum in our public securities now held 
 ! abroad, and which, under the pressure 
 j of the bank screw, will be sent to New 
 i York and sold, and the proceeds re 
 mitted to London in specie. 
 
 THE EFFECT OF AN ATTEMPT TO MAINTAIN 
 SPECIE PAYMENTS, 
 
 Under such circumstances, is illus 
 trated by a diagram, copied from Gib 
 bon s book on the banks and banking 
 in New York, showing that the loss of 
 less than six millions of dollars by the 
 banks in New York, in 1857, caused a 
 reduction in bank loans from one hun 
 dred and twenty to ninety-four millions 
 of dollars, which, as we have ex 
 plained, caused the loss by commercial 
 failures alone of one hundred and forty- 
 three millions, seven hundred and 
 eighty thousand dollars ! ! ! Surely it 
 cannot be necessary to do more than 
 refer to the fact, that the dates given 
 in the diagrams showing the fluctua 
 tions in the quantity of bullion in the 
 bank of England, and of bank loans in 
 the city of New York, prove conclusive 
 ly that so long as that bank can ex 
 port our specie at will, and our banks 
 are compelled to pay specie, the regu 
 lation of the value of our money, of 
 our credit, and of our property, will 
 be placed in the discretion of the bank 
 of England and not, as the Constitu 
 tion has said it should be r in the power 
 of our Congress. 
 
SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 105 
 
106 
 
 SPECIE PAYMENTS. 
 
 By comparing the diagram, showing 
 the fluctuation in the quantity of bull 
 ion in the bank of England with the 
 diagram, illustrating the diminution 
 of the bank loans in New York, it will 
 be seen that the loss of specie and the 
 increased rate of interest charged by 
 the bank of England, caused a cor 
 responding reduction in the loans and 
 
 discounts in the banks of New York, 
 and that the fearful depreciation in 
 the values of property and the over 
 whelming commercial losses, which 
 then occurred, were produced by the 
 pressure of the bank screw in Lon 
 don, and the fruitless effort to continue 
 specie payments by the banks in New 
 York. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE " MONEY MERCHANTS OF EUROPE. 
 
 E have spoken of the proposals j enterprise of his subjects, and the effect 
 issued by Russia for a loan of I throughout France is great. Any traveller 
 two hundred and fifty millions of dol-j in the most outlying^ provinces perceives - 
 lars for the purpose of building a rail 
 road from Moscow to the Amoor river. 
 I quote from the London Spectator of 
 the llth April, 1857, the following no 
 tice of that loan : 
 
 THE NEW POWER IN EUROPE. 
 
 " The present state of affairs on the Con 
 tinent suggests the existence of some in 
 fluence wliicli is not generally recognized, 
 though its power must be overruling and its 
 operation universal. It is not seen, yet it 
 reverses the councils of governments which 
 appear to be supreme ; it disregards equally 
 public opinion and the interests of the 
 states in which it has its agents. The 
 monetary condition of France and of North 
 ern Europe draws attention once more to 
 the irregular and dangerous speculation 
 which the most powerful man in Europe 
 tries in vain to curb ; it would seem that 
 there is some greater power than he, irre 
 sponsible, and absolute j and when we turn 
 to ascertain the fact, we are not long in 
 discovering at least to create uneasiness 
 and to demand scrutiny. We perceive 
 some corroborative proof that such an in 
 fluence does exist, that its power is becoming 
 supreme, that it is now doing mischief, and 
 that it may become dangerous alike to the 
 material condition, the political independence, 
 
 and tlie domestic order of states. Nor are we 
 
 speaking of any imaginary or mere moral 
 influence; we speak of a powerful com 
 bination more than political, more personal 
 than a congress of diplomatists or princes. 
 " The Emperor Napoleon has long been 
 engaged in the endeavor to draw out the 
 8 
 
 remarkable change in the aspect, action, 
 and condition of the people. The trading 
 class, as well as the industrious classes, are 
 animated by a spirit of energy hitherto un 
 known to the Celtic population. They 
 have learned not only to employ their time 
 with more vigor, but employ their sav 
 ings to venture that which they once 
 hoarded. In that economical sense France 
 was almost a virgin soil y and the effect is 
 described by the traveller as marvellous. 
 Thus far a blessed change. But look be 
 yond. The very capitalists who fostered if 
 they did not implant the idea in the Impe 
 rial mind, have seized the same opportuni 
 ty to project movements for the further 
 development of capital, its power and pro 
 ductivity. The great speculator in this 
 sense differs in some degree from the 
 ordinary trader. TJie money merchant ob 
 tains his projit entirely from the simple act of 
 exchange, and he does so equally whether the 
 original holders are profiting in the transac 
 tion or not. He may be the broker between two 
 communities who are ruining each other ; and 
 build his fortune upon their downfall. And. 
 the individual trader in this merchandise will be 
 instigated by the desire -principally to grasp 
 large and prompt profits. He is not a safe 
 councillor for those who have in charge the 
 permanent interests of states. For the wel 
 fare of a community, immensely accumu 
 lated wealth, hoards of gold, are not so, 
 essen&al as well-diffused supplies of. the 
 necessaries of life and its enjoyments. 
 But the same movement which gave; 
 
 an impulse to the 
 France made the 
 
 commercial spirit in. 
 largest opening that 
 
 the world has ever seen, for a forward 
 
108 
 
 THE " MONEY MERCHANTS" OF EUROPE. 
 
 movement of great capitalists; and they in every capital : S. Gwyer, member of the 
 have snatched it. Alarmed at the vast | Council of Commerce, Earnest Sillem, a 
 proportions which these joint-stock com- partner in the house of Pope & Co., at 
 binations have attained in France, the ! Amsterdam ; Guillaume Borski, banker in 
 Emperor and his political ministers have j Amsterdam ; Francis Baring, banker in 
 issued their protest against excesses in ! London ; Henri Hottinguer, banker in 
 that direction ; they have followed up prot- | Paris ; Isaac Pereire, administrator of the 
 ests with restrictive imposts ; but still the j Paris and Lyons Ptailway ; Baron Seillere, 
 movement goes on. j banker in Paris ; M. Auguste Thurneyssen, 
 
 " The commercial activity directed to the i administrator of the West of France Rail- 
 development of real trade would with as i way ; and M. Louis Fould, brother of the 
 much steadiness as rapidity increase the i well-known state financier. Some of those 
 available means of the French people ; are the names ice so constantly encounter in 
 would make them more independent of the that comparatively small list of men who are 
 casualties of the seasons would make ] administering the greatest financial operations 
 them more comfortable, more orderly, more ! in Paris, Vienna, St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, 
 capable of supporting their ruler, more i and London. The object of this company 
 obedient to his decrees. It is easily to be is to take forty-five millions of capital a 
 understood why the Emperor Napoleon de- sum which could easily be raised for re- 
 sires to add that element of English order ! productive purposes, but which they intend 
 to the military capabilities and energy of to sink in railways through the Russian 
 
 the French. He has in great part suc 
 ceeded. But the excess of speculation in 
 volved by those who have stood ready to 
 take advantage of the impulse, has, again 
 in the present moment, as it did in the 
 autumn of last year, threatened to defeat 
 the improvement by overdoing it ; and we 
 
 deserts; while the actual state of the 
 whole world of Europe, England, America, 
 and the far East proves that we cannot 
 spare that forty-five millions, nor even the 
 first instalment of it. Yet these few gen 
 tlemen, who rule the world at present, have 
 determined that it shall be taken, despite 
 
 in England are under the same commercial i the Emperor of the French, the bank of 
 pressure which visited us in the autumn. England, or the commercial public of this 
 
 country. 
 
 At the same time there appears to be no 
 suspense in developing, extending, and mul 
 tiplying the immense joint stock combina 
 tions which the French Emperor has en 
 deavored to restrain ; though at such a time 
 such operations ought to be entirely sus 
 pended. We see on the stocks the new 
 International Society of Commercial Credit, 
 whose founders are connected with the 
 great money corporations in every capital 
 of Europe the banks of France, England, 
 Amsterdam, &c. The list of the Council 
 of Administration of the great company 
 lies before us. Of the great Russian Rail 
 way Company half of the members short 
 of one are Russians, and the greater num 
 ber in that half are Councillors of State 
 and -officers in the service of the Emperor 
 Alexander. In that Russian half, how- 1 more poicerful, because its members are com- 
 ever, w.e see the name of " Thomas Baring, parativcly limited, proceeds in its action inde- 
 banker, in London." The other half con- pendently of those ordinary political move- 
 sistsof .men whose names are well known | ments, and shows Use 1 / pursuing its course 
 
 " It is said that the position of M. de 
 Moray is not satisfactory either to the 
 Emperor of all the Russias or to the Em 
 peror of the French ; but M. de Moray is 
 fulfilling a corner which has become inde 
 pendent of Emperors. lie has attached 
 himself to the Grand Council of the In 
 ternational Finance, and it is that Grand 
 Council at present which arranges the 
 affairs of the world by the power of the 
 purse, let potentates and parliaments think 
 what they may. The Emperor of the 
 French is at present engaged in attempting 
 to restrain the use of fictitious titles 
 counties, vis-counties, and baronies bau 
 bles at which the aristocracy of wealth may 
 laugh. The poicer of that order, which is the 
 
THE "MONEY MERCHANTS" OF EUEOPE. 
 
 109 
 
 uninterrupted, undiverted, ichatever may be the 
 state of the commercial world, ichatever may 
 be the mood of the Imperial mind, ichatever 
 may be the action of ordinary statesmen. 
 
 " We are not considering the diversion 
 of capital, the dangers that may arise from 
 over-speculation, the ruin that may visit 
 shareholders in these huge joint stock com 
 panies, from which the directors always 
 withdraw before the crash. We are not 
 considering the commercial disturbance 
 created by the necessity which is forced 
 upon Europe just at present, of undergoing 
 a high rate of interest for ordinary com 
 mercial accommodation, while millions are 
 lavished upon the fancies or the schemes of 
 those millionnaire statesmen. We are simply 
 considering the magnitude and the inde 
 pendence of that power of combined mill 
 ions. It is a new order, a new adminis 
 tration in the world. The names most con 
 spicuous in it are remarkable for certain 
 characteristics. Read them again Rothschild, 
 Baring, Steiglitz, Pereire, Hottinguer, and 
 Fould; with a second order, comprising the 
 Weguelins, the Hopes, and the Seilliercs. 
 They form a grand council of small numbers, 
 that could all be assembled in a dining-room. 
 They are remarkable for being closely con 
 nected with the governments of all the princi 
 pal states in the world, while at tlie same time 
 they are not closely connected with tlie states 
 under those governments. You would not 
 accept a Baring as being peculiarly repre 
 sentative of England; you must choose 
 many other names before it the Russels, 
 the Stanleys, the Salts, the Crawshays, 
 Cobdens, and Tyrells. France would cer 
 tainly not be represented by Pereire, no 
 country by a Rothschild ; a Steiglitz is by 
 no means exclusively Russian, any more 
 than Fould is French. The class is alien to 
 any particular country, and yet is deeply 
 rooted in the administration of each coun 
 try. It can. command not only a mass of 
 capital enough to determine the financial 
 operations of a government, tlie success or 
 failure of a state loan, but it can influence, 
 beneficially or fatally, the course of trade, by 
 turning upon any one branch the combined 
 mass of capitals from states elsewhere, just 
 as the five potentates of Europe can muster 
 
 an army which would crush the people of 
 any one empire mutinying against any one 
 of the five. But this grand council of miUion- 
 naires has proved that it is superiorly the 
 political administration of the separate coun 
 tries. It is at once alien to the aristocracy of 
 any country, and yet becoming more power 
 ful, and therefore more respected, than any 
 one aristocracy. Unlike any order which we 
 have yet seen, it has its home equally in 
 Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Amsterdam, St. 
 Petersburg, or London. It is republican, 
 but of the aristocratic republic, more close 
 than the Grand Council of Venice, infinitely 
 more arbitrary. Like that commercial re 
 public, kings bow down to it; but the kings 
 that now bend are the giant emperors of our 
 day, not the brawling leaders of the middle 
 ages. Tlie debates of this council are not re 
 ported; its constitution is as yet unascer 
 tained and undetermined. We fed its pow 
 er before we can define it. It is independent 
 of political councils, higher than political 
 responsibilities, ignorant of constitutional 
 checks. It stands confessed in the actual 
 events of the present week ; and in its in 
 dependence, perhaps disregard of the in 
 terests which it overrides, it extorts from 
 us the question whether any account has 
 yet been taken of the immense institution 
 that has sprung up while emperors and 
 common politicians were thinking to settle 
 the world with armies and treaties." 
 
 I have marked parts of this article 
 in italics, and quote it thus at length, 
 because it is conclusive proof not only 
 of the existence of that 
 
 COMBINATION OF " MONEY BROKERS," 
 
 To which I have referred, but is a 
 graphic description of that combina 
 tion, and of their purpose and mode of 
 action ; and proves, not only that 
 France and England are in accord as 
 to the measures and policy by which 
 they seek to promote their own manu 
 factures, as the source of their "fu- 
 tuc prosperity/ but that this " NEW 
 POWER" is in accord with them, and is 
 one of the most potent agents through 
 
110 
 
 THE "MONEY MEKCHANTS" OP EUROPE. 
 
 which they act, for the advancement 
 of their " projects in Europe ;" and 
 upon which they rely, to arrest and 
 control the progress of " rival" na 
 tions. We know that the combined 
 influence of England and France de 
 feated the loan to Russia, and fearing 
 that Russia, although defeated in that 
 means of participating in the trade of 
 India, Japan, and China, would never 
 theless obtain a preponderating influ 
 ence in Japan and China. France and 
 England united in the 
 
 WAR IN CHINA. 
 
 No one can doubt the motive or the 
 purpose of that war, nor with the facts 
 I have stated, and the authorities I 
 have quoted before him, can any in 
 telligent American doubt that there is 
 a purpose to "organize a European 
 coalition against the supremacy of 
 America ;" nor can he doubt that this 
 " new power in Europe," which it was 
 said " is becoming supreme" and " may 
 become dangerous alike to the material 
 condition, the political independence and 
 the domestic order of states" will be en 
 listed on the side of the " European 
 powers" in the struggle which is to 
 prevent our " taking possession of the 
 whole gulf of Mexico," and becoming 
 " the sole disburser of the products of 
 the New World ?" 
 
 Is it necessary that I should remind 
 the intelligent reader, that "the money 
 merchant obtains his profit entirely 
 from the simple act of exchange, and 
 he does so equally whether the original 
 holders are profiting in the transaction 
 or not. He may be the broker be 
 tween two communities who are ruin 
 ing each other ; and build his for 
 tunes upon their downfall. And the 
 individual trader in this merchandise 
 will be instigated principally by the 
 desire to grasp large and prompt 
 
 profit," and that there has been no 
 period in the history of specula 
 tion when stronger inducements were 
 offered to the " money merchant" than 
 he can now find in the Southern states, 
 and that, therefore, the proposition to 
 
 ORGANIZE THE LAND OWNERS IN AN 
 ASSOCIATION, 
 
 which will identify their homes, their 
 industry, their credit, their property 
 with the public credit of the United 
 States, and make that public credit 
 the basis of their " future prosperity," 
 merits and should receive the approba 
 tion of the people of the United States. 
 For while I refer to the fact, that the 
 purpose of European governments, as 
 indicated in the extracts I have quoted, 
 is "to organize a European coalition 
 against the supremacy of America," 
 I do not make that reference in any 
 feeling of hostility to the people or 
 the governments of Europe, nor do I 
 refer to the "money merchants," " the 
 new power in Europe," in any feeling 
 of hostility to them. It is the duty of 
 the governments of Europe to protect 
 and foster the interests and welfare of 
 their respective peoples, and in the ex 
 hibition I have given, of the measures 
 and policy of the European govern 
 ments, and in the fact that they believe 
 that it is necessary for them " to or 
 ganize a European coalition against 
 the supremacy of America," I would 
 argue the necessity, and, consequently, 
 the imperative duty of our own gov 
 ernment to foster and protect the in 
 terests and welfare of the American 
 people, and hence, I urge the necessity 
 of so organizing our system of cur 
 rency and finance as to deprive the 
 bank of England, aided as it has been 
 and will be by the " money merchants" 
 of Europe, of the power to regulate 
 the quantity of our money, and, con- 
 
THE "MONEY MEECHANTS" OF EUBOPE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 sequently, of the power to regulate 
 the value of our credit and of our 
 property ; and I argue that that it is 
 impossible to do this otherwise than 
 by using the public credit as our 
 money of account, and making it the 
 basis of our private credit, of our in 
 dustry and of our progress, of our 
 power, of our wealth, our union and 
 prosperity. 
 The use of public credit is of com- 1 
 
 paratively recent origin. The extent 
 to which it may be used by an en 
 lightened people, is illustrated by the 
 progress of the public debt of Eng 
 land. We are indebted to Ayres Fi 
 nancial Register, of 1857, for a series 
 of tables derived from official sources. 
 The following shows the aggregate 
 amount of the public debt of the 
 United Kingdom, at different periods, 
 with the amount of the public revenue : 
 
 I 
 
 PERIODS. Debt. 
 
 i 
 
 Interest. 
 
 Pub. Revenue. 
 
 1 
 
 Public Debt at the Revolution in 1686 
 
 $3,321,315 
 78,652,195 
 81,973,510 
 188,753,305 
 270,726,815 
 10,265,640 
 260,461,175 
 25,688,060 
 234,773,115 
 156,693,445 
 391,466,560 
 18,607,360 
 372,859,200 
 360,555,020 
 733,414,220 
 53,698,965 
 679,715,255 
 512,709,095 
 1,192,424,350 
 23,756,305 
 1,168,668,045 
 3,655,444,160 
 
 4,824,112,205 
 
 $199,325 
 6,355,430 
 6,554,760 
 10,202,080 
 16,756,840 
 669,035 
 16,087,805 
 1,267,630 
 14,820,175 
 5,484,895 
 20,305,070 
 3,321,385 
 16,983,685 
 12,220,520 
 29,204,205 
 1,820,000 
 27,384,205 
 19,215,420 
 46,599,625 
 717,945 
 45,881,680 
 115,244,740 
 
 161,126,420 
 
 $10,009,425 
 19,476,000 
 29,459,000 
 33,810,000 
 34,370,000 
 34,615,000 
 30,635,000 
 42,617,220 
 51,325,000 
 59,820,000 
 83,294,070 
 
 370,000,000 
 
 Debt contracted during the reign of William III . 
 at the accession of Queen Anne, in 1702. . . 
 
 at the accession of George I., in 1714. . . . 
 reduced during this reign 
 
 at the accession of George II., in 1727. 
 
 reduced during 12 years peace, ending 1739 
 at commencement of Spanish war in 1739.. 
 increased during seven years war 
 
 at the end of the Spanish war, in 1748. 
 
 reduced during eight years of peace. 
 
 
 increased durin ar seven years of war .... 
 
 at the end of the war in 1763 
 
 reduced during thirteen years of peace .... 
 at opening of the American war, in 1775. .. 
 increased during eight years of war 
 
 reduced during ten years of peace 
 at commencement of French war, in 1793 
 contracted during French war, ending 1815 
 of the United Kingdom at the consolida- ) 
 tion of the English and Irish Exchequer, V 
 in 1817 ) 
 
 
 The entire amount of the public 
 debt of the United Kingdom is made 
 up of several distinct items, under the 
 heads of funded debt, in the shape of 
 loans contracted, or by funding secur 
 ities, of terminable and life annuities, 
 and of the unfunded debt, consisting 
 of exchequer bonds and exchequer 
 bills. The following table, compiled 
 from parliamentary documents, shows 
 the total amount of debt funded and 
 unfunded, and the total annual charge 
 from 1820 to 1855, inclusive : 
 
 
 Total Amount of 
 
 
 Years. 
 
 Debt Funded and 
 
 Total Annual 
 
 
 Unfunded. 
 
 Charge. 
 
 1820.. 
 
 $4,162,656,050 
 
 $158,198,885 
 
 1821.. . 
 
 4,134,396,585 
 
 159,334,500 
 
 1822 . . 
 
 4,164,056,475 
 
 148,596,190 
 
 1823.. . 
 
 4,132,216,820 
 
 148,020,035 
 
 1824.. . 
 
 4,067,608,360 
 
 145,784,065 
 
 1825.. . 
 
 4,030,612,335 
 
 144,099,895 
 
 1826. . 
 
 4,041,837,950 
 
 145,437,170 
 
 1827.. . 
 
 4,025,118,710 
 
 144,857,700 
 
 1828.. . 
 
 3,999,897,700 
 
 144,587,025 
 
 1829.. . 
 
 3,983,712,410 
 
 144,009,615 
 
 1830.. . 
 
 3,915,483,230 
 
 138,720,245 
 
 1831.. . 
 
 3,905,476,170 
 
 139,930,930 
 
 1832.. . 
 
 3,898,982,745 
 
 139,859,140 
 
112 
 
 THE -MONEY MERCHANTS" OF EUKOPE. 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 i 
 
 pated her national bankruptcy ; but 
 
 Years. 
 
 i Total Amount of 
 Debt Funded and 
 
 Total Annual ** * s an important fact that the people 
 
 
 Unfunded. 
 
 charge. O f England are themselves the credit 
 
 
 
 ors, as well as the debtors, and that 
 
 1833.... 
 
 $3,897,828,915 
 
 $140,767,835 1 they are enabled to bear this immense 
 
 1834.... 
 1835... 
 
 3,860,984,245 
 3,937,632,330 
 
 * o(\ /*QO >4QK 
 
 144*837 450 "burden, great as it is, because the im- 
 
 1836... 
 
 3,941,992,850 
 
 144,525,565 mense sums paid by themselves as 
 
 1837... 
 1838... 
 
 ^,931,598.690 
 3,926,868,700 
 
 145 J 248 o75 taxes are received ^J themselves as 
 
 1839... 
 
 3,923,562,670 
 
 146,791^005 i dividends. This fact is so important 
 
 1840... 
 1841 . . . 
 
 3,937,240,375 
 3,954,373,040 
 
 145,856,905 -n , ,< - ^ 
 147 077 355 as "I JStrating the capacity ot an m- 
 
 1842... 
 
 3,956,252,200 
 
 14-6,281,860 i dustrious and intelligent people to 
 
 1843... 
 1844.. 
 
 3,952,881,960 
 3,937,990,725 
 
 14l|947|495 absorb a domestic public debt, that we 
 
 1845... 
 
 3,925,265,110 
 
 140,246,525 give a table, showing the number of 
 
 1846... 
 1847 . . . 
 
 3,914,594,920 
 3,951,743,755 
 
 140 780 090 P ersoiis entitled to receive dividends 
 
 1848... 
 
 3,059,046.690 
 
 142/238 300 j on the public debt of the United King- 
 
 1849... 
 1850... 
 
 3,954,635,985 
 3,935,145,81^ 
 
 139 301 650 domj which P roves tnat > l ar e as tnat 
 
 1851 . . . 
 
 3,914,346,910 
 
 138 ,9lo ,810 debt is, it has been absorbed and is 
 
 1852... 
 
 1853... 
 1854. . 
 
 3,896,826,020 
 3,854,115,005 
 3,873,986,090 
 
 137 jJo^045 i held by the masses by the persons of 
 135 , 466^700 small incomes by t-he people, who 
 
 , 1855.... 
 
 4,017,476,975 
 
 140,929,790 h avc placed their surplus earnings in 
 
 
 
 1 J_"L J. J? J J* J j. * 
 
 
 
 mat lunci, as a saic anu permanent in- 
 
 We know that many persons, specu- ; vestment, and who have thus becom-a 
 lating on the immense weight of the interested in the stability of the gov- 
 public debt of England, have antici- ; ernment. There were, in 1856 : 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEBT. 
 185,181 persons entitled to dividends of $25 and under. 
 
 86,401 
 
 179,884 
 
 46,596 
 
 26,204 
 
 7,400 
 
 4,981 
 
 2,391 
 
 780 
 
 448 
 
 Giving 540,166 as the number of all 
 classes entitled to dividends. 
 
 As a further illustration of the ca 
 pacity of a people to place large sums 
 in the shape of a funded debt, bearing 
 a low rate of interest, we refer to the 
 savings banks of Great Britain and 
 Ireland. 
 
 THE FIRST SAVINGS BANK 
 
 In England originated in 1804, with a 
 woman, Mrs. Priscilla Wakefield, who, 
 
 50 and exceeding $25 
 
 250 50 
 
 500 250 
 
 1,000 500 
 
 1,500 1,000 
 
 2,500 1,500 
 
 5,000 2,500 
 
 10,000 5,000 
 exceeding 10,000 
 
 I in charity, agreed to receive pennies 
 i from the laboring poor during the sum- 
 | mer, to be repaid at Christmas, with five 
 i per cent, interest. The sums deposited 
 ! in savings banks had so increased that 
 Parliament required the amount to be 
 i placed under the control of commis 
 sioners, by whom it was invested in 
 the public debt ; and the following 
 statement shows the number of de- 
 ! positors with the amount of deposits 
 !in November, 1855. There were : 
 
TEE "MONEY MERCHANTS" OF EUROPE. 
 
 113 
 
 185,310 pei 
 249,876 
 
 sons depo 
 
 siting $5, and 
 5, 
 
 sums not 
 
 exceeding $5, raal 
 25, 
 
 ing 8283,590 
 3,170,700 
 
 169,638 
 
 
 25, 
 
 
 50, 
 
 5,895,255 
 
 122,787 
 
 
 *" 50, "" 
 
 
 75, 
 
 7.345,605 
 
 75,501 
 
 
 < 75, 
 
 
 100, 
 
 6,474,285 
 
 130,154 
 
 
 100, 
 
 
 150, 
 
 15,590,080 
 
 105,614 
 
 
 150, 
 
 
 200, 
 
 17,671,815 
 
 51,459 
 
 
 200, 
 
 
 250, 
 
 11,416,850 
 
 86,229 
 
 
 250, 
 
 
 350, , , 
 
 26,187,520 
 
 41,285 
 
 
 350, 
 
 
 500, 
 
 17.889,015 
 
 27,036 
 
 
 500, 
 
 
 575, 
 
 15,013,340 
 
 16,508 
 
 
 575, 
 
 
 750, 
 
 11,247,225 
 
 25,200 
 
 
 750, 
 
 
 3,000, 
 
 21,422,480 
 
 1,480 
 
 
 TT nro than . . . 1.000. 
 
 1,655,410 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,288,077 individuals who deposited 
 
 <?1fil.243. 220 
 
 14 148 charitable institutions which deposited - 3 ?,8n 1 QO 
 
 8,758 friendly societies " " 
 
 6,686,265 
 
 
 1,300,983 total number of depositors who deposited. $171,315,675 
 
 These depositors received but 2.94 
 per cent, per annum as interest the 
 difference between 2.94 and 3 per cent, 
 being charged for management. Surely 
 if the working classes of England can 
 absorb so large a part of the public 
 debt of England, and the depositors in 
 the savings banks can place to the 
 use of the government more than one 
 hundred and seventy millions of their 
 surplus earnings, the peorJie of the 
 United States need not ask the " money 
 merchants" of Europe to buy any part 
 of their public debt. 
 
 SUBSIDIES. 
 
 A more significant feature of the 
 financial strength of the people of 
 England is, that during the war with 
 France, they advanced as loans and 
 subsidies to Hanover, Hesse Cassel, 
 Sardinia, Prussia, Hesse Darmstadt, 
 Baden, Germany, Brunswick, Portu 
 gal, Prince of Orange, Bavaria, Rus 
 sia, Sweden, Spain, Sicily, Austria, 
 Morocco, Denmark, Holland, and to 
 France! the sum of $301,047,813. 
 
 The imagination may well be start 
 
 led at the magnitude of these sums, 
 and accustomed, as we have been, to 
 consider the Bank of England as the 
 regulator of the monetary system and 
 credit of the world, we naturally as 
 sume that it is to the financial strength 
 and great resources of that bank that 
 the people of England are indebted 
 for the ability to sustain the weight of 
 such a burden of taxation. We are 
 the more inclined to do this because it 
 is known that the bank is the financial 
 agent of the government, and that 
 Parliament, in 179t, passed an act re 
 quiring the bank to suspend specie 
 payment as a means of enabling the 
 bank to aid in sustaining the public 
 credit. 
 
 In this connection, the following 
 table, showing the .equivalent of 
 three per cent, stock for the amount 
 of debt funded, the stock created for 
 one hundred pounds in money, the 
 market value of the paper pound in 
 gold, and the value per cent, of the 
 paper currency, with the average cir 
 culation of Bank of England notes, is 
 given : 
 
THE "MONEY MERCHANTS" OP EUROPE. 
 
 Years. 
 
 Amount of 
 Debt 
 funded. 
 
 Equivalent in 
 three per cent. 
 Stock. 
 
 Stock crea 
 ted for 100 
 in Money, 
 
 Market Value 
 of Paper 
 in Gold. 
 
 Market Value per 
 cent, of Papor 
 Currency. 
 
 Average Circa* 
 htiou of Bank 
 of Lug. NoUju. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 s. a. 
 
 s. d 
 
 
 
 1800.. 
 
 20,500,000 
 
 32,185,000 
 
 158.50 
 
 20 0.0 
 
 100 
 
 15,160,000 
 
 1801.. 
 
 36,910,450 
 
 63,578,100 
 
 174.54 
 
 18 3.8 
 
 91 12 4 
 
 15,800,000 
 
 1802.. 
 
 25,000,000 
 
 32,990,630 
 
 132.17 
 
 18 6.5 
 
 92 14 2 
 
 16,427,000 
 
 1803.. 
 
 12,000,000 
 
 25,483,330 
 
 173.55 
 
 19 5.6 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 16,500,000 
 
 1804.. 
 
 14,500,000 
 
 26,390,000 
 
 185.00 
 
 19 5.6 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 17,408,000 
 
 1805.. 
 
 22,500,100 
 
 41,800,000 
 
 177.20 
 
 19 5.6 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 16,876,000 
 
 1806.. 
 
 20,000,000 
 
 33,200,000 
 
 167.70 
 
 19 5.6 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 16,791,000 
 
 1807.. 
 
 15,700,000 
 
 24,798,290 
 
 159.20 
 
 19 5.6 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 16,705,000 
 
 1808.. 
 
 14,500,000 
 
 23,530,622 
 
 162.67 
 
 19 5.6 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 17,128,000 
 
 1809. . 
 
 22,532,100 
 
 36,218,740 
 
 161.39 
 
 19 5.6 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 18,917,000 
 
 1810.. 
 
 21,711,000 
 
 33,112,100 
 
 152.67 
 
 17 6.3 
 
 86 10 6 
 
 22,541,000 
 
 1811.. 
 
 24,000,000 
 
 39,724,520 
 
 166.53 
 
 18 5.1 
 
 92 3 2 
 
 23,282,000 
 
 1812.. 
 
 34,721,325 
 
 57,198.380 
 
 180.00 
 
 16 3.7 
 
 79 6 3 
 
 23,437,000 
 
 1813.. 
 
 64,755,700 
 
 118,736.690 
 
 184.87 
 
 15 5.4 
 
 77 2 
 
 24,523,000 
 
 1814. . 
 
 24,007,400 
 
 36,839,930 
 
 154,17 
 
 14 11.7 
 
 74 17 6 
 
 26,901,000 
 
 1815.. 
 
 54,135,589 
 
 102,787,340 
 
 191.52 
 
 16 7.8 
 
 83 5 9 
 
 26,887,000 
 
 1816 
 
 
 
 
 16 7.8 
 
 83 5 9 
 
 26,574,000 
 
 1817 
 
 
 
 
 19 5.6 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 28,274,000 
 
 1818 
 
 
 
 
 19 5.6 
 
 97 6 10 
 
 27,221,000 
 
 1819 
 
 
 
 
 19 1.3 
 
 95 11 
 
 25,227,000 
 
 1820 
 
 
 
 
 19 5.8 
 
 97 8 
 
 23,569,000 
 
 1821 
 
 
 
 
 20 0.0 
 
 100 
 
 22,471,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 These tables show that in 1800, three 
 years after the bank of England had 
 suspended specie payments, the bank 
 note was at par, although the public 
 credit was fifty-eight and a half per 
 cent, below par ; and that although the 
 value of the paper pound was in 1814 
 reduced to 14 shillings 11.1 pence, it 
 was again at par with gold in 1821, 
 although the bank did not resume 
 specie payment until 1825. And an 
 other striking fact is, that while the 
 average depreciation of the bank of 
 England notes, as compared with gold, 
 was less than two per cent, the de 
 preciation of the public credit as com 
 pared with the bank notes, was 61. GO 
 per cent. Yet in 1806 the whole capi 
 tal of the bank was but $58,212,000, 
 which was then increased to $72,765,- 
 000, of which $70,000,000 was invest 
 ed in the very securities which were 
 thus depreciated. Can any one doubt 
 that 
 
 THE CAUSE OF THIS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 
 THE VALUE OF THE BANK NOTES AND THE 
 PUBLIC CREDIT 
 
 Was, that the bank notes were money, 
 while the public credit was a com 
 modity to be purchased and paid for 
 with money. The use of money is to 
 purchase property and pay debts and 
 hence he who held the bank notes 
 could purchase property or pay debts 
 with the notes, while he who held the 
 public credit was compelled to ex 
 change it for bank notes, because he 
 could not buy property or pay debts 
 without money ? By making the 
 United States four per cents, converti 
 ble into money, in the shape of cur 
 rency, the value of the bond is equal 
 to currency, because it will bo con 
 vertible into money at the will of the 
 holder. As the bank note converti 
 ble into gold is worth as much as 
 gold because it is so convertible ; 
 and the fact that the four per cent, in- 
 
THE MONEY MERCHANTS" OF EUROPE. 
 
 115 
 
 terest will be payable in currency in 
 stead of specie, will act as a further 
 reduction of interest, being at the 
 present price of gold, less than three 
 per cent, instead of six per cent., and 
 this will further tend to prevent the 
 export of United States bonds as an 
 investment of foreign capital. The 
 effect of this reduction of interest to 
 be paid in currency will be to lessen 
 the burden of the public debt and in 
 crease the means of payment, while 
 the early resumption of specie pay 
 ment will be to more than double the 
 burden of the public debt, and to re 
 duce the means of payment more than 
 fifty per cent. In this connection, I 
 would quote the following appropriate 
 extract from the late 
 
 LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF THE 
 TREASURY 
 
 to the committee of ways and means : 
 " In regard to the other important fea 
 ture of the bill the authority to with 
 draw United States notes I have merely 
 to remark, that I conceive it to be of great 
 importance to the business of the country, 
 the welfare of the people, and the credit 
 of the nation, that such a financial policy 
 should be adopted by this Congress as will 
 prepare the way for a return to specie pay 
 ment. When this can be brought about 
 will depend on the condition of national 
 industry and the trade relations between 
 the United States and foreign nations. It 
 is not desirable that species payments 
 shall be restored until that restoration 
 can be made permanent by increased in 
 dustry and a proper adjustment of the 
 trade with Europe. The tendencies now 
 are all in the right direction, and if they 
 shall be adjusted by judicious legislation, I 
 shall be hopeful that the currency of the 
 country may be brought up to the specie 
 standard without a large reduction of it. 
 The apprehension which exists, that if 
 power is given to the Secretary to retire 
 United States notes, the circulation of the 
 country will be ruinously contracted, is 
 
 without any substantial foundation. If no 
 reliance can be placed upon the discretion 
 and carefulness of the Secretary, the very 
 condition of finances of the country will 
 prevent such a reduction of the currency 
 as k will make either a tight money market 
 or depress business. Authority to reduce 
 the currency will go very far to prevent 
 the necessity for a reduction. The battle 
 will te more than half fought when the 
 government shall adopt a healthy financial 
 policy." 
 
 The purpose of the Secretary is here 
 declared to be to prepare for a return 
 to specie payments, " by increased in 
 dustry and a proper adjustment of our 
 trade with Europe." Can we increase 
 our industry without the means of pay 
 ing the wages of labor ? And can we 
 properly adjust our trade with Europe 
 so long as the bank of England can, 
 at will, compel us to pay, in gold, the 
 large balances due and to become due 
 to European creditors ? 
 
 The following extract from the Lon 
 don News of December 27, 1856, shows 
 
 | THE EFFECT OF THE EXPORT OF SILVER 
 TO INDIA AND CHINA 
 
 Upon the money market of Europe, and 
 its bearing on the values of money 
 and of property in the United States. 
 He is blind to the purpose and tend 
 ency of the war in Europe who docs 
 not see that extraordinary efforts will 
 be made to consummate the measures 
 recommended by List, as quoted in a 
 previous chapter, and that Prussia in 
 tends to participate in, if she does not 
 monopolize a large part of, the trade of 
 Asia, and that the inevitable tendencj" 
 of that trade will be to increase the de 
 mand for the precious metals placing 
 the quantity of our specie more under 
 the control of the " money merchants," 
 and, consequently, rendering it more 
 necessary for us to adhere to our sy&- 
 tern of paper money. 
 
116 
 
 THE " MONEY MERCHANTS" OF EUROPE. 
 
 (Extract.) 
 
 "IMMENSE DRAIN OF BULLION TO THE EAST. 
 " The constant flow of silver to the East 
 forms one of the most remarkable com 
 mercial movements of the day. Its im 
 portance consists in the fact that it is not 
 a mere temporary feature, exercising a mo 
 mentary influence upon the money market. 
 On the contrary, the efflux has been stead 
 ily increasing for some years, and has now 
 assumed such proportions as to challenge 
 general attention. Its effect upon our 
 money market is direct and important, for 
 it causes the instant diffusion over the con 
 tinent of the gold which is imported in 
 such enormous quantities from Australia 
 and the United States, and which would, 
 in all probability, be retained here to a 
 considerable extent if it were not used to 
 pay for the silver which we import from the 
 continent in order to be transported to the 
 East. Nor is the interest felt in the ques 
 tion confined to this country, for a serious 
 monetary derangement has been created 
 nearly throughout Europe by this silver 
 movement. We see it estimated, that in 
 some instances upward of a hundred thou 
 sand pounds worth of silver has been con 
 veyed to this country in a single steamer 
 from Antwerp. Very recently it was men 
 tioned in the Belgian Chambers that three 
 millions of francs, or about 120,000, in 
 silver, had left Antwerp by one vessel for 
 London. Of the 488,085, in silver, taken 
 out by the Indus on the 20th inst., about 
 450,000 is estimated to have been drawn 
 direct from the continent, chiefly in coin. 
 Of course, when we, as purveyors of silver 
 to the East, obtain the metal from the con 
 tinent, we make payment for it in some 
 shape, either in gold or in other commod 
 ities. As the commerce of Europe is un 
 deniably increasing year by year, it is rea 
 sonable to assume that for all the silver 
 coin withdrawn from circulation a propor 
 tionate quantity of gold is coined. Never 
 theless, it is quite evident that this process 
 of the displacement of silver by gold in many 
 European countries cannot go on at the present 
 rate without seriously disturbing the money 
 market, and, in many cases, deranging the bal 
 ance of commercial transactions. The con 
 
 stant movement of gold and silver in large 
 masses from place to place of itself involves 
 a considerable demand for money. Besides, 
 the exchange of gold for silver in the con 
 tinental cities is not effected by means of 
 one single transaction. For instance, we 
 will suppose a circumstance which happened 
 lately, namely, the receipt in London of 
 news of a rise in the exchanges in India. 
 Large buyers of silver for the East imme 
 diately come forward, and our market being 
 very scantily supplied with the metal, there 
 is no resource but to transmit orders for 
 the collection of the requisite quantity upon 
 the continent. Among the market.-, thus 
 applied to will be, probably, Hamburg. In 
 that city the English demand, coming in 
 addition to the demands of other markets, 
 has in several instances of late caused a 
 sudden, though perhaps temporary rise 
 in the value of money. The pressure at 
 Hamburg reacts in a still more violent 
 manner upon other contiguous but more 
 limited markets. For example, within the 
 last fortnight, the rates of discount for good 
 bills rose at Copenhagen to eight and ten 
 per cent., owing chiefly to the extensive 
 withdrawals of silver. Doubtless the equiva 
 lent of the commodity withdrawn will be 
 eventually restored in due course of trade, 
 but this consideration does not tend to 
 diminish the pressure for the time. The 
 inconvenience sometimes occasioned being 
 thus severe, it is not surprising that the 
 silver movement is watched almost as nar 
 rowly on the continent as in London. The 
 great current of silver flowing constantly 
 to the East is mainly fed, so to speak, by 
 rivulets from every country in Europe; 
 and there is reason to believe that within 
 a few years the monetary system of many 
 continental states will be subjected to 
 important modifications arising out of this 
 one potent case. 
 
 "We have remarked that the drain of 
 silver eastward is increasing in severity. 
 Means for proving the assertion are afforded 
 by some remarkable tables compiled by 
 Mr. James Low, the deta ik of which are 
 given in our city article. During the year 
 now dbout to close tlie direct shipments of silver 
 alone from England to the various Eastern 
 
THE -MONEY MERCHANTS" OF EUEOPE. 
 
 117 
 
 ports have amounted to more than twelve mill 
 ions sterling ; the exact sum is 12,118,985. 
 It would be an important point to ascer 
 tain how much of this immense mass of 
 silver has been drawn from the metallic 
 circulation of the continent, but no reli 
 able statistics upon this subject are obtain 
 able. There is ground to believe, however, 
 that the larger proportion of these twelve 
 millions has consisted of continental silver 
 coins, chiefly of French and Belgium five- 
 frank pieces. During the first six months 
 of the year the total shipments of silver 
 were 4,898,908. During the last six 
 months they have increased to 7,220,077. 
 In the former period the monthly remit 
 tances varied from 481,516 to 944,319, 
 and in May reached 1,152,013. In the 
 latter half of the year the minimum 
 monthly amount has been 1,104,882; 
 and the largest amount 1,286,716, has 
 been shipped in the current month of De 
 cember. While the aggregate shipments 
 of 185G, as already stated, were 12,118,985, 
 the sum in 1855 was 6,409,889 ; in 1854, 
 3,132,003; in 1853, 4,710,665 ; in 1852, 
 2,630,238; and in 1851, 1,716,100. 
 During the last six years the English bul 
 lion dealers have thus supplied the East with 
 30,717,880 in silver. It is well known 
 that this branch of business pays well ; 
 and the profits realized by the collectors, 
 exporters, carriers, and consignees of this 
 vast mass of treasure must represent a very 
 important sum. England will probably 
 always remain the greatest market in the 
 world for the precious metals; but the 
 French dealers show also an increased dis 
 position to embark in the Eastern bullion 
 trade. In addition to the sums already 
 recorded, 5,813,532 in silver has been re 
 mitted during the last four years direct to 
 the East from the Mediterranean. In 1856, 
 the sum has been 1,989,916, of which 
 1,842,010 was despatched from Marseilles 
 alone. 
 
 " It will be noticed that of the 12,118,- 
 985 in silver sent direct from England to 
 the East in the year now about to close, 
 the proportion despatched to China was 
 3,167,014, the rest being absorbed by 
 India and the Straits settlements. At 
 
 certain periods of the year the demand for 
 j China has been extremely animated, while 
 that for India has slackened. At other 
 periods and this seems to be the case 
 now the Indian demand has proved ac 
 tive, and the Chinese moderate. From 
 one source or another, however, there has 
 been a continual demand throughout the 
 year ; and the probability is that the drain 
 both to China and to India will continue 
 j heavy for a considerable time to come. 
 The great houses engaged in the tea and 
 silk trade seem unanimous in thinking 
 that, in the present state of China, cash 
 must be remitted to a great extent in pay 
 ment for the supplies of these articles of 
 produce. That populous country is still in 
 ternally distracted ; and the native dealers 
 want silver, not goods, in exchange for 
 their commodities. The failure of the 
 French silk crop, and tlie extraordinarily 
 high price ichich that article commands, 
 must render considerable shipments of bul 
 lion to China a matter of certainty for many 
 months to come. Within the last few weeks, 
 moreover, there has been a sensible rise in 
 the price of tea; and this circumstance 
 will also exercise some influence in the 
 same direction, though to a minor ex 
 tent. 
 
 " But it is to India that the bulk of the 
 silver flows ; and ta the social and com 
 mercial progress of India we must look 
 for the explanation. Statistics previously 
 quoted have proved that a great proportion 
 of the silver introduced into that country 
 is at once converted into its most useful 
 form that of coin and conveyed into the 
 interior. All the commercial details trans 
 mitted from India tend to show that the 
 absorption of silver is a necessary conse 
 quence of the steady development of trade. 
 The last annual report on the trade of Cal 
 cutta, extending to May last, showed an 
 increase of some eight millions sterling in 
 the aggregate movement of the commerce 
 of that port, as compared with the previous 
 year. All the staple articles of export, 
 especially indigo, rice, silk, both raw and 
 manufactured), jute, &c., present largely 
 increased totals. Increased exports of pro 
 duce involve, of course, increased payments 
 
118 
 
 THE "MONET MERCHANTS" OF EUROPE. 
 
 to the producer j and the Indian producer 
 must be paid in silver. Turning our atten 
 tion to another portion of our Indian em 
 pire the lately acquired province of Pegu 
 we find that the exports of rice last 
 season amounted to two thirds of the aver 
 age annual exports of Bengal, exclusive 
 only of the year 1855-50. Considering 
 how recently Pegu has been brought under 
 British rule, this result is very remarkable. 
 For a large portion of these supplies of rice 
 settlement must have been made in silver. 
 At the opposite extremity of our Indian 
 possessions the Punjaub and contiguous 
 provinces the field awaiting development 
 is still more important. In that quarter 
 the Scinde Railway is being rapidly pushed 
 forward, and, in conjunction with contem 
 plated extensions, and with a well-devised 
 system of steam river transit, will soon, in 
 all likelihood, give an immense stimulus to 
 trade. When we find that in the year 
 1853-54 the price of wheat in the Punjaub 
 averaged about 16s. per quarter, in the fol 
 lowing year 14s., and in the year 1855-56 
 twelve shillings per quarter, delay in the 
 providing of means of transport in that 
 region would indeed be reprehensible. The 
 capacity of some of these districts is de 
 scribed as almost unlimited. While com 
 mercial developments upon this immense 
 scale are in progress almost throughout 
 India, is it not perfectly natural that in 
 creased quantities of coin should be re 
 quired. Each mail from India brings ac 
 counts of progress in the construction 
 
 of roads, railways, bridges, and other 
 means of communication, all involving 
 large local disbursements. Nor must we 
 overlook another consequence of the im 
 provement which is gradually taking 
 place in the condition of the native popu 
 lation. The passion of many classes espe 
 cially of the artisans, shopkeepers, $-c., for 
 personal ornament, is surprising; and this 
 deeply-rooted tendency would of itself ac 
 count for the absorption of a large quantity 
 of the precious metals annually. But we 
 have said enough to prove that the efflux 
 of silver to the East must be regarded 
 as an ordinary and necessary feature of 
 commerce." See London News, December 
 27th, 1856. 
 
 I quote this article thus at large be 
 cause it forcibly illustrates the eflect 
 of an increased trade with India, 
 China, and other parts of Asia, which 
 is the chief inducement to the read 
 justment of the map of Europe, con 
 templated as the result of the war be 
 tween Prussia and Austria. It will 
 be seen that instead of absorbing the 
 specie of Europe, as the trade of India 
 will do, we, as the producers of gold 
 and silver, can, by a proper use of 
 paper money, furnish gold to supply 
 the deficiency of specie caused by the 
 drain to India. Europe will be de 
 pendent upon us for the life-blood of 
 her credit and her commerce. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 BRITISH POLICY THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 HAVING referred to the Quintuple 
 treaty as one of the measures in 
 tended to increase and perpetuate the 
 maritime and commercial supremacy 
 of England for the better understand 
 ing of that measure and the comments 
 in relation to it, I give the text as sub 
 mitted to the French chambers and 
 published in Galignani s Messenger of 
 March 1, 1842 : 
 
 SUPPRESSION OF THE SLAVE TRADE. 
 
 The following is the text of the 
 Quintuple treaty for the suppression 
 of the African slave trade, signed in 
 London, Dec. 20, 1841 : 
 
 ART. I. Their Majesties the Emperor of 
 Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, the 
 King of Prussia, and the Emperor of all the 
 Russias, engage to prohibit all trade in 
 slaves, either by their respective subjects, 
 or under their respective flags, or by means 
 of capital belonging to their respective sub 
 jects; and to declare such traffic piracy. 
 Their Majesties further declare that any 
 vessel which may attempt to carry on the 
 slave trade shall, by that fact alone, lose all 
 right to the protection of their flag. 
 
 ART. II. In order more completely to ac 
 complish the object of the present treaty, 
 the high contracting parties agree by com 
 mon consent that those of their ships-of- 
 war which shall be provided with special 
 warrants and orders, prepared according to 
 the forms of the annex A of the present 
 treaty, may search every merchant-vessel 
 belonging to any one of the high contract 
 ing parties which shall, on reasonable 
 grounds, be suspected of being engaged in 
 
 out for that purpose, or of having been en 
 gaged in the traffic during the voyage in 
 which she shall have been met with by the 
 said cruisers ; and that such cruisers may 
 detain, and send, or carry away such ves 
 sels in order that they may be brought to 
 trial in the manner hereafter agreed upon. 
 
 Nevertheless, the above-mentioned right 
 of searching the merchant-vessels of any 
 one or other of the high contracting parties 
 shall be exercised only by ships-of-war 
 whose commanders shall have the rank of 
 captain or that of lieutenant in the royal or 
 imperial navy, unless the command shall, 
 by reason of death or otherwise, have de 
 volved upon an officer of inferior rank. 
 The commander of such ship-of-war shall 
 be furnished with warrants according to 
 the form annexed to the present treaty, 
 under letter A. 
 
 The said mutual right of search shall not 
 be exercised within the Mediterranean sea. 
 Moreover, the space within which the ex 
 ercise of the said right shall be confined 
 shall be bounded, on the north, by the 32d 
 parallel of north latitude ; on the west, by 
 the eastern coast of America, from the point 
 where the 32d parallel of north latitude 
 strikes that coast, down to the 45th parallel 
 of south latitude ; on the south, by the 45th 
 parallel of south latitude, from the point 
 where that parallel strikes the eastern coast 
 of America, to the 80th degree of longitude 
 east from the meridian of Greenwich ; and 
 on the east, by the same degree of longi 
 tude, from the point where it is intersected 
 by the 45th parallel of south latitude up to 
 the coast of India. 
 
 ART. III. Each of the high contracting 
 parties which may choose to employ cruis 
 ers for the suppression of the slave trade, 
 
 the traffic in slaves, or of having been fitted I and to exercise the mutual right of search, 
 
120 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 reserves to itself to fix, according to its own 
 convenience, the number of the ships-of-war 
 which shall be employed on the service stip 
 ulated in the second article of the present 
 treaty, as well as the stations on which the 
 said ships shaU cruise. 
 
 The names of the ships appointed for this 
 purpose, and those of their commanders, 
 shall be communicated by each of the high 
 contracting parties to the others ; and they 
 shall reciprocaUy apprize each other every 
 time that a cruiser shall be placed on a sta 
 tion, or shall be called thence, in order that 
 the necessary warrants may be delivered 
 by the governments authorizing the search, 
 and returned to those governments by the 
 government which has received them, 
 when those warrants shall no longer be 
 necessary for the execution of the present 
 treaty. 
 
 ART. IV. Immediately after the govern 
 ment which employs the cruisers shall have 
 notified to the government which is to 
 authorize the search the number and the 
 names of the cruisers which it intends to 
 employ, the warrants authorizing the search 
 shall be made out according to the form an 
 nexed to the present treaty, under letter A, 
 and shall be delivered by the government 
 which authorizes the search to the govern 
 ment which employs the cruiser. 
 
 In no case shall the mutual right of search 
 be exercised upon the ships-of-war of the 
 high contracting parties. 
 
 The high contracting parties shall agree 
 upon a particular signal, to be used exclu 
 sively by those cruisers which shall be in 
 vested with the right of search. 
 
 ART. Y. The cruisers of the high con 
 tracting parties authorized to exercise the 
 right of search and detention in execution of 
 the present treaty shah 1 conform themselves 
 strictly to the instructions annexed to the 
 said treaty, under letter B, in all that relates 
 to the formalities of the search and of the 
 detention, as well as to the measures to be 
 taken, in order that the vessels suspected 
 of having been employed in the traffic may 
 be delivered over to the competent tribu 
 nals. 
 
 The high contracting parties reserve to 
 themselves the right of making in these in 
 
 structions, by common consent, such altera 
 tions as circumstances may render neces 
 sary. 
 
 The cruisers of the high contracting par 
 ties shah 1 mutually afford to each other as 
 sistance in all cases where it may be useful 
 that they should act in concert. 
 
 ART. VI. Whenever a merchant-vessel, 
 sailing under the flag of one of the high 
 contracting parties, shall have been detained 
 by a cruiser of the other, duly authorized 
 to that effect, conformably to the provisions 
 of the present treaty, such merchant-vessel, 
 as well as the master, the crew, the cargo, 
 and the slaves who may be on board, shall 
 be brought into such place as the high con 
 tracting parties shall have respectfully des 
 ignated for that purpose, and they shall be 
 delivered over to the authorities appointed 
 with that view by the government within 
 whose possessions such place is situated, in 
 order that proceedings may be had with 
 respect to them before the competent tri 
 bunals in the manner hereafter specified. 
 When the commander of the cruiser shall 
 not think fit to undertake himself the bring 
 ing in arid the delivery up of the detained 
 vessel, he shall intrust that duty to an officer 
 of the rank of lieutenant in the royal or 
 imperial navy, or at least to the officer who 
 shah 1 at the time be the third in authority 
 on board the detaining ship. 
 
 ART. VII. If the commander of a cruiser 
 of one of the high contracting parties should 
 have reason to suspect that a merchant-ves 
 sel sailing under the convoy of, or in com 
 pany with, a ship-of-war of one of the 
 other contracting parties, has been engaged 
 ii the slave-trade, or has been fitted out for 
 that trade, he shall make known his sus 
 picions to the commander of the ship of 
 war, who shall proceed alone to search the 
 suspected vessel ; and in case the last-men 
 tioned commander should ascertain that the 
 suspicion is wcU founded, he shall cause the 
 vessel, as well as the master, the crew, the 
 cargo, and the slaves who may be on board, 
 to be taken into a port belonging to the 
 nation of the detained vessel, to be there 
 oroceeded against before the competent tri 
 bunals, in the manner hereafter directed. 
 
 ART. Vin. As soon as a merchant-vessel^ 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 121 
 
 detained, and sent in for adjudication, shall 
 arrive at the port to which she is to be car 
 ried in conformity with annex B to the 
 present treaty, the commander of the cruiser 
 which shall have detained her, or the officer 
 appointed to bring her in, shall deliver to 
 
 in tanks, than is requisite for the consump 
 tion of the crew of such merchant-vessel. 
 
 6. An extraordinary number of water- 
 casks, or of other receptacles for holding 
 liquid, unless the master shall produce a 
 certificate from the custom-house at tho 
 the authorities appointed for that purpose a! place from which he cleared outward, 
 copy, signed by himself, of all the lists, i stating that sufficient security had been 
 declarations, and other documents specified | given by the owners of such vessel that 
 in the instructions annexed to the present such extra number of casks or of other re- 
 treaty, under letter B ; and the said author- ceptacles should only be used to hold palm 
 
 oil, or for other purposes of lawful com 
 
 ities shall proceed, in consequence, to the 
 search of the detained vessel, and of her 
 cargo, as also to an inspection of her crew, 
 and of the slaves who may be on board, 
 after having previously given notice of the 
 time of such search and inspection to the 
 commander of the cruiser, or to the officer 
 who shall have brought in the vessel, in 
 order that he, or some person whom he ma}*- 
 appoint to represent him, may be present 
 thereat. 
 
 A minute of these proceedings shall be 
 drawn up in duplicate, which shall be signed j the flour of Brazil manioc, or cassada, com- 
 by the persons who shall have taken part I monly called farina, or of maize, or of In- 
 in, or who shall have been present at, the ! dian corn, or of any other article of food 
 same ; and one of those documents shall be whatever, beyond the probable wants of 
 delivered to the commander of the cruiser, the crew ; unless such quantity of rice, fa- 
 
 merce. 
 
 7. A greater quantity of mess tubs or 
 kids than are requisite for the use of the 
 crew of such merchant-vessel. 
 
 8. A boiler, or other cooking apparatus, 
 of an unusual size, and larger, or capable of 
 being made larger, than requisite for the 
 use of the crew of such merchant-vessel ; 
 or more than one boiler, or other cooking 
 apparatus, of the ordinary size. 
 
 9. An extraordinary quantity of rice, of 
 
 or to the officer appointed by him to bring 
 in the detained vessel. 
 
 ART. IX. Every merchant vessel of any 
 one or other of the five nations, which shall 
 be searched and detained in virtue of the 
 provisions of the present treaty, shall, un 
 less proof be given to the contrary, be 
 
 cargo of 
 
 rina, maize, Indian corn, or any other arti 
 cle of food, should be entered on the mani 
 fest, as forming part of the trading 
 the vessel. 
 
 10. A quantity of mats or matting great 
 er than is necessary for the use of such 
 merchant-vessel, unless such mats or mat- 
 
 deemed to have been engaged in the slave- ting be entered on the manifest as forming 
 
 trade, or to have been fitted out for that 
 traffic, if in the fitting, in the equipment, or 
 on board the said vessel during the voyage 
 in which she was detained, there shall be 
 found to have been one of the articles here 
 after specified, that is to say 
 
 1. Hatches with open gratings, instead of 
 the close hatches which are used in mer 
 chant-vessels. 
 
 2. Division or bulk-heads, in the hold or 
 
 part of the cargo. 
 
 If it is established that one or more of 
 the articles above specified are on board, 
 or have been on board during the voyage 
 in which the vessel was captured, that fact 
 shall be considered as prima facie evidence 
 that the vessel was employed in the traffic ; 
 she shall in consequence be condemned, 
 and declared lawful prize, unless the mas 
 ter or the owners shall furnish clear and 
 
 on deck, in greater number than are neces- j incontrovertible evidence, proving to the 
 
 sary for vessels engaged in lawful trade. 
 
 3. Spare plank fitted for being laid-down 
 as a second O r slave deck. 
 
 4. Shackles, bolts, or handcuffs. 
 
 satisfaction of the tribunal that at the time 
 of her detention or capture the vessel was 
 employed in a lawful undertaking, and that 
 such of the different articles above speci- 
 
 5. A larger quantity of water, in casks or I fied as were found on board at the time of 
 
122 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TEEATY. 
 
 detention, or which might have beeu em 
 barked during the voyage on which she 
 was engaged when she was captured, were 
 
 of its royal navy, at the price fixed by a com 
 petent person, selected for that purpose by 
 the said tribunal. The government whose 
 
 indispensable for the accomplishment of i cruiser shall have made the capture shall 
 the lawful object of her voyage. have a right of preference in the purchase 
 
 ART. X. Proceedings shall be imme 
 diately taken against the vessel detained, 
 as above stated, her master, her crew, and 
 her cargo, before the competent tribunal of 
 the country to which she belongs ; and they 
 shall be tried and adjudged according to 
 the established forms and laws in force in 
 that country ; and if it results from the pro 
 ceedings that the said vessel was employed 
 in the slave-trade, or fitted out for that 
 traffic, the vessel, her fittings, and her car 
 go of merchandise, shall be confiscated, and 
 the master, the crew, and their accomplices, 
 shall be dealt with conformably to the laws 
 by which they shall have been tried. 
 
 In case of confiscation, the proceeds of 
 the sale of the aforesaid vessel shall, within 
 the space of six months, reckoning from 
 the date of the sale, be placed at the dispo 
 sal of the government of the country to 
 which the ship which made the capture 
 belongs, in order to be employed in confor 
 mity with the laws of that country. 
 
 AET. XI. If any one of the articles speci 
 fied in Article IX. of the present treaty is 
 found on board a merchant-vessel, or if it is 
 proved to have been on board of her during 
 the voyage in which she was captured, no 
 compensation for losses, damages, or expen 
 ses, consequent upon the detention of such 
 vessel, shall in any case be granted, either 
 to the master, or to the owner, or to any 
 other person interested in the equipment or 
 in the lading, even though a sentence of 
 condemnation should not have been pro 
 nounced against the vessel, as a consequence 
 of her detention. 
 
 AET. XII. In all cases in which a vessel 
 shall have been detained in conformity with 
 the present treaty, as having been employed 
 in the slave-trade, or fitted out for that traf 
 fic, and shall, in consequence, have been 
 tried and confiscated, the government of 
 the cruiser which shall have made the cap 
 ture, or the government whose tribunal 
 shall have condemned the vessel, may pur 
 chase the condemned vessel for the service 
 
 of the vessel. But if the condemned vessel 
 should not be purchased in the manner 
 above pointed out, she shall be wholly 
 broken up immediately after the sentence 
 of confiscation, and sold in separate por 
 tions after having been broken up. 
 
 AET. XHI. When, by the sentence of the 
 competent tribunal, it shall have been ascer 
 tained that a merchant-vessel detained in 
 virtue of the present treaty was not en 
 gaged in the slave-trade, and was not fitted 
 out for that traffic, she shall be restored to 
 the lawful owner or owners. And if, in the 
 course of the proceedings, it shall have 
 been proved that the vessel was searched 
 and detained illegally, or without sufficient 
 cause of suspicion ; or that the search and 
 detention- were attended with abuse or 
 vexation, the commander of the cruiser or 
 the officer who shall have boarded the said 
 vessel, or the officer who shall have been 
 intrusted with bringing her in, and under 
 whose authority, according to the nature of 
 the case, the abuse or vexation shall have 
 occurred, shall be liable in costs and dam 
 ages to the masters and the owners of the 
 vessel and of the cargo. 
 
 These costs and damages may be awarded 
 by the tribunal before which the proceed 
 ings against the detained vessel, her master, 
 crew, and cargo, shall have been instituted ; 
 and the government of the country to which 
 the officer who shall have given occasion 
 for such award shah* belong shall pay the 
 amount of the said costs and damages with 
 in the period of six months from the date of 
 the sentence, when the sentence shall have 
 been pronounced by a tribunal sitting in 
 Europe ; and within the period of one year 
 when the trial shall have taken place out of 
 Europe. 
 
 AET. XIV. When in the search or deten 
 tion of a merchant-vessel effected in virtue 
 of the present treaty any abuse or vexation 
 shall have been committed, and when the 
 vessel shall not have been delivered over to 
 the jurisdiction of her own nation, the mas- 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TKEATY. 
 
 123 
 
 ter shall make a declaration upon oath of 
 the abuses or vexations of which he shall 
 have to complain, as well as of the costs 
 and damages to which he shall lay claim ; 
 and such declaration shall be made by him 
 before the competent authorities of the first 
 port of his own country at which he shall 
 arrive, or before the consular agent of his 
 own nation at a foreign port, if the vessel 
 shall in the first instance touch at a foreign 
 port where there is such an agent. 
 
 This declaration shall be verified by 
 means of an examination upon oath of the 
 principal persons amongst the crew or the 
 passengers who shall have witnessed the 
 search or detention; and a formal statement 
 of the whole shall be drawn up, two copies 
 whereof shall be delivered to the master, 
 who shall forward one of them to his gov 
 ernment, in support of his claim for costs 
 and damages. 
 
 It is understood, that, if any circumstance 
 beyond control shall prevent the master 
 from making his declaration, it may be 
 made by the owner of the vessel, or by any 
 other person interested in the equipment or 
 in the lading of the vessel. 
 
 On a copy of the formal statement above- 
 mentioned being officially transmitted to it, 
 the government of the country to which 
 the officer to whom the abuses or vexations 
 shall bo imputed shall belong, shall forth 
 with institute an inquiry ; and if the valid 
 ity of the complaint shall be ascertained, 
 that government shall cause to be paid to 
 the master or the owner, or to any other 
 person interested in the equipment or lading 
 of the molested vessel, the amount of costs 
 and damages which shall be due to him. 
 
 ART. XV. The high contracting parties 
 engage reciprocally to communicate to each 
 other, when asked to do so, and without 
 expense, copies of the proceedings institu 
 ted, and of the judgment given, relative to 
 vessels searched or detained in execution of 
 the provisions of this treaty. 
 
 ART. XVI. The high contracting parties 
 agree to insure the immediate freedom of 
 all the slaves who shall be found on board 
 vessels detained and condemned in virtue 
 of the stipulations of the present treaty. 
 
 ART. XVII. The high contracting parties 
 9 
 
 agree to invite the maritime powers of 
 Europe which have not yet concluded trea 
 ties for the abolition of the slave-trade to 
 accede to the present treaty. 
 
 ART. XVIII. The acts or instruments an 
 nexed to the present treaty, and which it is 
 mutually agreed to consider as forming an 
 integral part thereof, are the following : 
 
 A. Forms of warrants of authorization, 
 and of orders for the guidance of the crui 
 sers of each nation, in the searches and de 
 tentions to be made in virtue of the present 
 treaty. 
 
 B. Instructions for the cruisers of the 
 naval forces employed in virtue of the 
 present treaty, for the suppression of the 
 slave-trade. 
 
 ART. XIX. The present treaty, consisting 
 of 19 articles, shall be ratified, and the rati 
 fications thereof shall be exchanged at Lon 
 don at the expiration of two months from 
 this date, or sooner, if possible. 
 
 In witness whereof, the respective pleni 
 potentiaries have signed the present treaty, 
 in English and French, and have thereunto 
 affixed the seal of their arms. 
 
 Done at London, the 20th day of Decem 
 ber, in the year of our Lord 1841. 
 ABERDEEN ; KOLLER ; SAINT 
 
 AULAIRE ; SCHLEINITZ ; BRUNOW. 
 
 ANNEX. INSTRUCTIONS TO CRUISERS. 
 
 1. Whenever a merchant-vessel belong 
 ing to, or bearing the flag of, any of the 
 high contracting parties, shall be visited by 
 a cruiser of any one of the other high con 
 tracting parties, the officer commanding; the 
 cruiser shall, before he proceeds to the 
 visit, exhibit to the master of such vessel 
 the special orders which confer upon him 
 by exception the right to visit her ;: and he 
 shall deliver to such master a certificate,, 
 signed by himself, specifying his rank in 
 the navy of his country, and the name of 
 the ship which he commands, and declaring 
 that the only object of his visit is to ascer 
 tain whether the vessel is engaged in the 
 slave-trade, or is fitted out for the purpose 
 of such traffic, or has been engaged in that . 
 traffic during the voyage in which she has 
 been met with by the said cruiser. When 
 the visit is made by an officer othe cruiser; 
 
124 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TKEATY. 
 
 other than her commander, such officer shall 
 not be under the rank of lieutenant in the 
 navy ; unless he be the officer who at the 
 time is second in command of the ship by 
 which the visit is made ; and in this case, 
 such officer shall exhibit to the master of 
 the merchant-vessel a copy of the special 
 orders above mentioned, signed by the 
 commander of the cruiser ; and shall like 
 wise deliver to such master a certificate, 
 signed by himself, specifying the rank 
 which he holds in the navy of his country, 
 the name of the commander under whose 
 orders he is acting, the name of the cruiser 
 to which he belongs, and the object of his 
 visit, as heretofore recited. 
 
 If it shall be ascertained by the visit 
 that the ship s papers are regular, and her 
 proceedings lawful, the officer shall certify 
 upon the log-book of the vessel that the 
 visit took place in virtue of the special or 
 ders above mentioned ; and when these 
 formalities shall have been completed the 
 vessel shall be permitted to continue her 
 course. 
 
 2. If, in consequence of the visit, the offi 
 cer commanding the cruiser shall be of 
 opinion that there are sufficient grounds for 
 believing that the vessel is engaged in the 
 slave-trade, or has been fitted out for that 
 ^traffic, or has been engaged in that traffic 
 -during the voyage in which she is met with 
 by the cruiser ; and if he shall in conse 
 quence determine to detain her, and to have 
 her given up to the jurisdiction of the com 
 petent authorities, he shall forthwith cause 
 a list to be made out, in duplicate, of all the 
 papers found on board, and he shall sign 
 this list and the duplicate, adding, after his 
 own name, his rank in the navy, and the 
 name of the vessel under his command. 
 
 He shall, in like manner, make out and 
 sign, in duplicate, a declaration, stating the 
 place and time of the detention, the name 
 of the vessel, and that of her master, the 
 names of the persons composing her crew, 
 and the number and condition of the slaves 
 found on board. 
 
 .This declaration shall further contain an 
 exact description of the state of the vessel 
 and her cargo. 
 
 3. ..The commander of the cruiser shall, 
 
 without delay, carry or send the detained 
 vessel, with her master, crew, passengers, 
 cargo, and the slaves found on board, to 
 one of the ports hereinafter specified, in 
 order that proceedings may be instituted in 
 regard to them, conformably to the laws of 
 the country under whose flag the vessel is 
 sailing, and he shall deliver the same to the 
 competent authorities, or to the persons 
 who shall have been specially appointed 
 for that purpose by the government to 
 whom such port shall belong. 
 
 4. No person whatever shall be taken 
 out of the detained vessel; nor shall any 
 part of her cargo, nor any of the slaves 
 found on board, be removed from her, until 
 after such vessel shall have been delivered 
 over to the authorities of her own nation ; 
 unless the removal of the whole or part of 
 the crew, or the slaves found on board, 
 shall be deemed necessary, either for the 
 preservation of their lives, or from any 
 other consideration of humanity, or for the . 
 safety of the persons who shall be charged 
 with the navigation of the vessel after her 
 detention. In any such case, the com 
 mander of the cruiser, or the officer ap 
 pointed to bring in the detained vessel, 
 shall make a declaration of such removal, 
 in which he shall specify the reasons for 
 the same ; and the masters, sailors, passen 
 gers, or slaves BO removed, shall be carried 
 to the same port as the vessel and her cargo, 
 and they shall be received in the same man 
 ner as the vessel, agreeably to the regula 
 tions hereinafter set forth. 
 
 Provided always, that nothing in this 
 paragraph shall be understood as applying 
 to slaves found on board of Austrian, Prus 
 sian, or Russian vessels ; but such slaves 
 shall be disposed of as is specified in. the 
 following paragraphs : 
 
 5. All Austrian vessels which shall be 
 detained on the stations of America, . or 
 Africa, by the cruisers of the other con 
 tracting parties, shall be carried and de 
 livered up to the Austrian jurisdiction at 
 Trieste. 
 
 But if slaves shall be found on board any 
 such Austrian vessel at the time of her de 
 tention, the vessel shall, in tho first in 
 stance, be sent to deposit the slaves at that 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 125 
 
 port to which she would have been taken 
 for adjudication if she had been sailing un 
 der the English or French flag. The vessel 
 shall afterwards be sent on, and shall be 
 delivered up to the Austrian jurisdiction at 
 Trieste, as above stipulated. 
 
 All French vessels which shall be detain 
 ed on the western coast of Africa by cruis 
 ers of the other contracting parties shall be 
 carried and delivered up to the French 
 jurisdiction at Goree. 
 
 All French vessels which shall be detain 
 ed on the eastern coast of Africa by the 
 cruisers of the other contracting parties 
 shall be carried and delivered up to the 
 French jurisdiction at the Isle of Bourbon. 
 
 All French vessels which shall be detain 
 ed on the coast of America to the south 
 ward of the 10th degree of north latitude, 
 by the cruisers of the other contracting 
 parties, shall be carried and delivered up 
 to the French jurisdiction at Cayenne. 
 
 All French vessels which shall be detain 
 ed in the West Indies, or on the coast of 
 America to the northward of the 10th de 
 gree of north latitude, by the cruisers of 
 the other contracting parties, shall bo car 
 ried and delivered up to the French juris 
 diction at Martinique. 
 
 All British vessels which shall be detain 
 ed on the western coast of Africa by the 
 cruisers of the other contracting parties 
 shall be carried and delivered up to the 
 British jurisdiction at Bathurst, on the river 
 Gambia. 
 
 All British vessels which shall be detain 
 ed on the eastern coast of Africa by the 
 cruisers of the other contracting parties 
 shall be carried and delivered up to the 
 British jurisdiction at the Cape of Good 
 Hope. 
 
 All British vessels which shall be detain 
 ed on the coast of America by the cruisers 
 of the other contracting parties shall be 
 carried and delivered up to the British 
 jurisdiction at the colony of Demerara, or 
 at Port Royal, in Jamaica, according as the 
 commander of the cruiser may think most 
 convenient 
 
 All British vessels which shall be detain 
 ed in the West Indies by the cruisers of 
 the other contracting parties shall be car 
 
 ried and delivered up to the British juris 
 diction at Port Royal, in Jamaica. 
 
 All Prussian vessels which shall be de 
 tained on the stations of America or Africa 
 by the cruisers of the other contracting 
 parties, shall be carried and delivered up 
 to the Prussian jurisdiction at Stettin. 
 
 But if slaves shall be found on board any 
 such Prussian vessel at the time of her de 
 tention, the vessel shall, in the first instance, 
 be sent to deposit the slaves at that port to 
 which she would have been taken for adju 
 dication if she had been sailing under the 
 English or French flag. The vessel shall 
 afterwards be sent on, and shall be de 
 livered up to the Prussian jurisdiction at 
 Stettin as above stipulated. 
 
 All Russian vessels which shall be de 
 tained on the stations of America or Africa 
 by the cruisers of the other contracting 
 parties shall be carried and delivered up 
 to the Russian jurisdiction at Cronstadt, or 
 at Revel, according as the season of the 
 year may allow the one cr the other of 
 those ports to be reached. 
 
 But if slaves shall be found on board any 
 such Russian vessel at the time of her de 
 tention, the vessel shall, in the first instance, 
 be sent to deposit the slaves at tnat port to 
 which she would have been taken for adju 
 dication if she had been sailing under the 
 English or French flag. The vessel shall 
 afterwards be sent on, and shall be de 
 livered up to the Russian jurisdiction at 
 Cronstadt, or at Revel, as above stipulated. 
 
 6. As soon as a merchant-vessel, which 
 shall have been detained as aforesaid shall 
 arrive at one of the ports or places above 
 mentioned, the commander of the cruiser, 
 or the officer appointed to bring in such 
 detained vessel, shall forthwith deliver to 
 the authorities, duly appointed for that pur 
 pose by the government within whose ter 
 ritory such port or place shall be, the vessel 
 and her cargo, together with the master, 
 crew, passengers, and slaves found on 
 board, and also the papers which shah 1 have 
 been seized on board the vessel, and one of 
 the duplicate lists of the said papers, re 
 taining the other in his own possession. 
 Such officer shall at the same time deliver 
 to the said authorities one of the original 
 
126 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 declarations, as hereinbefore specified, ad 
 ding thereto a statement of any changes 
 which may have taken place from the time 
 of the detention of the vessel to that of 
 the delivery, as well as a copy of the state 
 ment of any removals which may have 
 taken place, as above provided for. 
 
 In delivering over these several docu 
 ments the officer shall make, in writing and 
 on oath, an attestation of the truth. 
 
 7. If the commander of a cruiser of one 
 of the high contracting parties, who shall 
 be duly furnished with the aforesaid spe 
 cial instructions, shall have reason to sus 
 pect that a merchant-vessel sailing under 
 convoy of, of in company with, a ship-of 
 war of any of the other contracting parties, 
 is engaged in the slave-trade, or has been 
 fitted out for the purpose of that traffic, or 
 has been engaged in the traffic in slaves 
 during the voyage in which she is met 
 with by the said cruiser, he shall confine 
 himself to communicating his suspicions to 
 the commander of the ship-of-war ; and he 
 shall leave it to the latter to proceed alone 
 to visit the suspected vessel, and to deliver 
 her up to the jurisdiction of her own coun 
 try, if there should be cause for doing so. 
 
 8. By Article IV. of the treaty it is stipu 
 lated, that in no case shall the mutual right 
 of visit be exercised upon ships-of-war of 
 the high contracting parties. 
 
 It is agreed that this exemption shall 
 apply equally to vessels of the Russian- 
 American Company, which, being com 
 manded by officers of the imperial navy, 
 are authorized by the imperial govern 
 ment to carry a flag which distinguishes 
 them from the merchant navy, and arc 
 armed and equipped similarly to transports- 
 of-war. 
 
 It is further understood that the said 
 vessels shah 1 be furnished with a Russian 
 patent, which shall prove their origin and 
 destination. The form of this patent shall 
 be drawn up by common consent. It is 
 agreed that this patent, when issued by 
 the competent authority in Russia, shall be 
 countersigned at St. Petersburgh by the 
 consulates of Great Britain and France. 
 
 9. In the 3d clause of Article IX. of the 
 treaty it is stipulated that, failing proof to 
 
 .the contrary, a vessel shall be presumed to 
 be engaged in the slave-trade, if there be 
 found on board spare plank fitted for being 
 laid down as a second or slave-deck. 
 
 In order to prevent any abuse which 
 might arise from an arbitrary interpreta 
 tion of this clause, it is especially recom 
 mended to the cruisers not to apply it to 
 Austrian, Prussian, or Russian vessels em 
 ployed in the timber trade, whose manifests 
 shah 1 prove that the planks and joists which 
 they have, or have had, on board are, or 
 were, a part of their caxgo for trade. 
 
 Therefore, in order not to harass lawful 
 commerce, cruisers are expressly enjoined 
 only to act upon the stipulations contained 
 in the 3d clause of Article IX., when there 
 shall be on board the vessel visited spare 
 plank evidently destined to form a slave- 
 deck. 
 
 The undersigned plenipotentiaries have 
 agreed, in conformity with the 18th article 
 of the treaty signed by them this day, that 
 these instructions shall be annexed to the 
 treaty signed this day between Great Brit 
 ain, Austria, France, Prussia, and Russia, 
 for the suppression of the African slave- 
 trade, and shall be considered as an integral 
 part of that treaty. 
 
 In witness whereof, the plenipotentiaries 
 of the high contracting parties have signed 
 this annex, and have thereunto affixed the 
 seal of their arms. 
 
 Done at London, the 20th day of Decem 
 ber, in the year of our Lord 1841. 
 
 ABERDEEN ; KOLLER ; ST. AULAIRE ; 
 SCHLEINITZ ; BRUXOW. 
 
 GENERAL CASS AND THE TREATY. 
 In explanation of this, and as part 
 of the history of that eventful period, 
 I give a brief statement. The acknowl 
 edged, controlling wish of the king of 
 the French (Louis Philippe) was to 
 perpetuate his dynasty, and England, 
 availing herself of the influence, which 
 the question of the succession was 
 known to have on the measures of his 
 government, had negotiated the treaty. 
 Knowing that there was yet a con 
 siderable slavehol ding interest in the 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TBEATY. 
 
 127 
 
 French West Indies, and that the meas 
 ures proposed by England were ad 
 verse to the manufacturing and com 
 mercial interests of Germany and of 
 France, I went from London to Paris 
 and nrged General Cass to protest 
 agaidst the ratification of the treaty. 
 I wrote a series of articles which were 
 published in the Paris Journal of Com 
 merce, then the organ of the Bona- 
 partists. I wrote an essay which was 
 published in the Revue Des Mondes, 
 which was translated and extensively 
 circulated in Germany. In these pub 
 lications I illustrated the fact, that the 
 purpose of England in her warfare on 
 African slavery and the slave-trade, 
 was to monopolize and give greater 
 value to her trade with Africa and 
 India. My arguments were repro 
 duced in the French Chamber of 
 Deputies, and Mr. Guizot, under the 
 pressure of public opinion, assented 
 that General Cass should send in his 
 protest, which was then urged as an 
 argument against the treaty. Such 
 was the force of the public opinion 
 thus created, that Gallignani, in his 
 issue of 1st March, 1842, said : 
 
 " The treaty of 1842 for the suppression 
 of the slave-trade, and the affair of M. 
 Isambert, again form the burden of the 
 original columns of our Paris contempora 
 ries. On the first of these subjects, which 
 furnishes an opportunity to some of the 
 journals to attack the prerogative of the 
 crown, under cover of the responsibility 
 of the ministry, there is the same violence 
 displayed against M. Guizot as was evinced 
 immediately after the discussion on the 
 subject in the Chamber of Deputies, and 
 the evident, indeed avowed, object of the 
 writers, is to keep up such an excitement 
 in the country as shall compel M. Guizot 
 either to retire from office or declare in 
 the Chamber that he will not, under any 
 circumstances, ratify the treaty ; for either 
 of these results would be a signal triumph 
 for the opposition. * 
 
 The question, then, of absorbing in 
 terest in England being the extension 
 of her commerce and the increased 
 consumption of her manufactures, Sir 
 Robert Peel and the tories urged that 
 the emancipation of the slaves in Cuba, 
 Brazil, and the United States, was the 
 measure which would best promote the 
 " future prosperity" of England, while 
 Mr. Cobden and the anti-corn-law 
 league urged that the repeal of the 
 corn laws would give laborers cheap 
 bread, and that with cheap bread Eng 
 land could command the markets of 
 the world. I saw that the nature of 
 the conflict would predispose 
 
 JIR. COBDEN AND THE POWERFUL PARTY, 
 
 Of whom he was the representative, to 
 receive favorably the arguments which 
 I was prepared to suggest against the 
 measures urged with so much perti 
 nacity by Sir Robert Peel, and I wrote 
 and published in London a series of 
 letters which it is my purpose hereafter 
 to republish. The application of the 
 following is so appropriate that they 
 are* inserted here : 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES SLAVERY 
 AND THE RIGHT OF SEARCH. 
 
 To Editor of Morning Chronicle : 
 
 When, in a former letter, I gave my 
 thanks to her Majesty s government 
 for the special mission of Lord Ashbur- 
 ton, and to the Times for its modera 
 tion in relation to American affairs, I 
 did so under a hope that these events 
 indicated a sincere desire to adjust the 
 matter in dispute. I had not then read 
 the declaration of Lord Palmerston 
 that: 
 
 " Her Majesty s government have decided 
 that the flag of the United States shall ex 
 empt no vessel (whether American or not) 
 from search by her Majesty s cruisers in 
 the African seas, unless such vessel shall 
 be found provided with papers entitling 
 
128 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 her to the protection of the flag she wears, 
 and proving her to be United States prop 
 erty, and navigating the ocean according to 
 law" 
 
 Nor had I read Lord Aberdeen s dec 
 laration reaffirming and asserting the 
 same right ; nor had I then read the 
 declaration of the Times of the 7th of 
 January, that the question concerns 
 the enforcement of a necessary right, 
 which the British Government " are de 
 termined not to yeld" 
 
 The Times proceeds to say : 
 
 " Our [the British] government, after 
 great and praisworthy exertions, has man 
 aged to conclude treaties with almost every 
 maritime power, by which the slave-trade, 
 among the subjects of these powers, is pun 
 ishable as piracy, and a right of search is 
 mutually conceded to secure the firm exe 
 cution of the law." 
 
 It then argues that the United States 
 having refused to become a party to 
 the treaty, or to concede the right of 
 search, other vessels are navigated by 
 subjects of the contracting parties, 
 who, if arrested, would be punishable 
 as pirates, may escape by hoisting the 
 American flag, and hence insists on 
 enforcing the right to search American 
 vessels. 
 
 There has been no period of the civ 
 ilized world when the interests of na 
 tions were so much blended, and at no 
 former time was their responsibility to 
 public opinion so great. Hence these 
 declarations of Lords Palmerston and 
 Aberdeen, and of the Times in its pe 
 culiar relation to the mission of Lord 
 Ashburton, are doubly important. 
 
 I can readily see that the mission is 
 important, whether the purpose of her 
 Majesty s government be peace or 
 war and the more so if war has been 
 firmly resolved upon for such are the 
 relations between the two countries 
 so varied and direct are the interests 
 
 to be sacrificed, that no British minis 
 ter will venture on a war with the 
 United States without first preparing 
 public opinion at home to sustain it. 
 Hence, it is wise in Sir Robert Peel to 
 send a special mission ; and wiser 
 still, perhaps, to have selected as the 
 minister one whose relations to the 
 United States have been such as to 
 justify him in asserting that all has 
 been done that could be done to pre 
 serve peace. All must foresee that, 
 should Lord Ashburton return without 
 adjusting pending difficulties, it will 
 be charged that the fault is ours, and 
 that Great Britain is compelled to go 
 to war, or be dishonored. 
 
 If the Times be right, and war has 
 been resolved upon if the great exer 
 tions to manage other powers into con 
 ceding a right of search, in which they 
 had comparatively no interest, was to 
 pave the way for enforcing it on us, 
 knowing that, with us, speaking as we 
 do the same language, it involves the 
 right of impressment, and that, conse 
 quently, it would be resisted then 
 this mission of Lord Ashburton, so far 
 as we are concerned, is a most insult 
 ing mockery. The purpose is not 
 peace, but war : it is not to negotiate, 
 for the British government, we are 
 told, have " determined not to yield" 
 If this be so, the mission is not to us, 
 but to you ; it is not to preserve peace, 
 but to prepare for war ; it is part of 
 the management deemed necessary in 
 carrying out a foregone conclusion, 
 and is but a means to arouse British 
 pride and British patriotism, that you 
 may yourselves be united and rally 
 around your own government. 
 
 Hence, although I cannot permit 
 myself to believe that the Times truly 
 represents the British government, 
 although the character of Sir Robert 
 Peel forbids a suspicion that he is 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 129 
 
 capable of acting such a part, yet, as 
 I before remarked, the declarations of 
 Lords Palmerston and Aberdeen in 
 their official correspondence, and the 
 relation which the Times is supposed 
 to bear to the administration, to Lord 
 Ashburton and to his mission, will 
 give a kind of official sanction to its 
 declarations, and will arouse in the 
 United States one common sentiment 
 of resistance ; and my apprehension 
 is, that war may become inevitable 
 unless the good sense of the British 
 people shall intervene and turn aside 
 so great a calamity. 
 
 Let us pause for a moment and ex 
 amine the question as presented by 
 the Times. I quote its own words : 
 
 " It is no question in which English in 
 terests alone are concerned, it concerns the 
 enforcement of a necessary right which we 
 claim as inherent in all nations equally, and 
 which we are as ready to submit to as we 
 are determined not to yield. It has arisen, 
 however, upon the slave trade treaties, in 
 the following shape : 
 
 " Our government, after great and praise 
 worthy exertions, has managed to conclude 
 treaties with almost every maritime power, 
 by which the slave trade, among the sub 
 jects of these powers, is punishable as pi 
 racy, and a right of search is mutually con 
 ceded to secure the firm execution of this 
 law. To a treaty of this kind it was, of 
 course, hoped that America would become 
 a party. Such, however, has not been the 
 case," &c. 
 
 Now, here is the question as made 
 and presented by the Times for your 
 government and their minister. Let 
 us put it into plain English. It will 
 then read thus : 
 
 Great Britain is the first maritime 
 power in the world. It is her pride, 
 and she arrogates to be the " MISTRESS 
 OF THE OCEAN." Claiming the right of 
 impressment, she insisted upon the 
 right of search. It was resisted by 
 
 the United States, and led to the last 
 war between the two countries. Peace 
 was concluded without a concession of 
 that right, and Great Britain herself 
 has since admitted it to be a violation 
 of the law of nations. The United 
 States are progressing in wealth and 
 population, and it is manifest that such 
 is the extent of her territory, and so 
 ample are her resources, that she will 
 soon exceed Great Britain herself in 
 commerce and manufactures. This is 
 the more palpable because your pro 
 ductive industry, the real source of 
 wealth and greatness, no longer able 
 to find profitable employment at home, 
 are migrating to the United States, 
 thus detracting from your power and 
 adding to ours as a people. Under 
 these circumstances, your sole reliance 
 is your mines and manufactories ; with 
 out these you cannot give employment 
 to your surplus population. They must 
 migrate or starve. It is equally ap 
 parent that you cannot employ them in 
 your mines or your manufactories 
 unless you find markets for the sale of 
 their products. Upon this subject you 
 are divided among yourselves some, 
 looking to us as consumers, advocate 
 free trade and a mutual interchange of 
 the products of labor ; others, consid 
 ering us to be rivals, look to the East 
 Indies and to China. It was found 
 that, to enable the East Indies to con 
 sume your manufactures, you must 
 take their agricultural products that 
 they could not purchase your calicoes 
 but by an exchange of cotton, rice, and 
 sugar ; and then, [for the first time, 
 were the sympathies of yoiir govern 
 ment enlisted in behalf of the perse 
 cuted African. / It was in vain that 
 Virginia, as a colony, protested against 
 the slave trade. You compelled her to 
 receive the slaves whom you carried 
 to her. In vain did Wilberforce clank 
 
130 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 their chains. The voice of philan 
 thropy could not be heard until avarice 
 contrasted the hundreds of millions of 
 Asiatic subjects with the eight hun 
 dred thousand of West India slaves, 
 and demonstrated that it was your in 
 terest, as a question of dollars and 
 cents, to become abolitionists. Then, 
 and not until then, those who, even yet, 
 are so blind that they cannot see the 
 wretchedness, and so deaf that they 
 cannot hear the cries of misery even 
 at their own doors, were enlisted in 
 the crusade against the slave-trade. 
 Slavery in the West Indies was abol 
 ished the commerce of the East, as 
 well as of the West Indies, was placed 
 under new regulations tons of Amer 
 ican cotton seed, and experienced 
 American cotton planters, were trans 
 ported to India under an openly- 
 avowed purpose of ^substituting^ the 
 cotton and rice, and the pauper labor of 
 India for the cotton, and rice, and 
 ,slave labor of America. But all this 
 did not increase your territory, nor 
 did it retard the onward progress of 
 America. Wherever the necessities 
 of British commerce may force a 
 British ship, there, too, has Yankee 
 enterprise carried the Yankee cruiser ; 
 and what is more germain to this 
 question, that same cruiser, wherever 
 it goes, bears with it conclusive proof 
 that the cheap bread, low taxes, and 
 superior intelligence of the American 
 are gradually enabling him to super 
 sede the British laborer in the markets 
 of the world. Again, these facts 
 could not be concealed from your 
 own people. The example and the 
 influence and condition of America 
 were becoming subjects of comment 
 in the lowest as well as in the highest 
 classes of your society. Your suffer 
 ing poor, especially the aged, the sick, 
 the widow and the orphan, were made 
 
 to envy the lot of our slaves,* and 
 many of your manufacturers look to 
 us as the consumers of their manufac 
 tures ; many of your merchants look 
 to us as their best customers ; many 
 of your retired officers, your widows 
 and orphans, persons of small means 
 wanting large returns, look to our 
 stocks as the surest and safest invests 
 ment ; many of your laboring and 
 starving poor look to our granaries for 
 bread ; many of your liberal states 
 men look to ours as the freest and best 
 of governments, and urge our pros 
 perity as an argument in favor of those 
 improvements which they would en 
 graft on your own constitution ; Ire 
 land, suffering Ireland, looks to us for 
 sympathy, and as a refuge when driven 
 houseless and destitute, to earn that 
 subsistence, which neither industry 
 nor economy, nor both combined, can 
 wring from their heartless oppressors ;)* 
 many of your divines look to us as 
 
 * See report of the poor-law commissioners 
 on the destitute condition of the poor of Ire 
 land. 
 
 f Extract from the Report of the Poor Law 
 Commissioners. Eobert Darcy, Esq., a man 
 of landed property, says: "His servant 
 counted one hundred and twenty beggars 
 that called at his door in the day." "Va 
 grants are ejected tenants from the absentee 
 estates." 
 
 " They pay high rents for holdings which, 
 if they had them for nothing, would not sup 
 port them. 
 
 "When you ask them why they beg, they 
 will answer, ice were turned out into bogs 
 and swamps, and when we had reclaimed our 
 little spots, we were sent in further, till we 
 were beggared at last, else we would be now 
 comfortable. 
 
 "They all attribute their misfortunes to 
 high rents, and low prices for produce, and 
 the consequent want of employment. 
 
 The small farmers have no motive for in 
 dustry ; they are afraid to improve either 
 their land or houses ; the moment they do so 
 the rent will be raised." 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TKEATY. 
 
 131 
 
 Protestants, they sympathize with us 
 as living- in the same faith, and pro 
 tecting 1 all those who are persecuted 
 for opinion s sake ; and, in addition to 
 all this, the spirit of the age is for 
 peace ; we are your descendants ; your 
 brothers, your sisters, your sons, and 
 your daughters, have gone out from 
 among you, they have entered into our 
 doors which were open to receive them, 
 and they and we have become one and 
 the same people. A war on us, there 
 fore, will be a war on your own inter 
 ests, on your own sympathies, on your 
 own opinions, and upon your own 
 children. Yet, if the Times is to be 
 believed, that war is determined upon, 
 and has been long and long ago the 
 settled purpose of your government ! ! 
 If the quotation before us means any 
 thing, it means that the question has 
 not been war or peace, but upon what 
 pretence that war should be com 
 menced ! ! It is true that the question 
 of boundary is open, but a war for 
 the possession of part of Maine, or 
 even of the mouth of the Columbia 
 river, might not be so popular at home 
 or with the civilized world, as a war 
 for the suppression of the slave-trade. 
 The first would be charged to a spirit 
 of conquest, a thirst for dominion, and 
 might excite the jealousy, certainly 
 it would not enlist the sympathy, of 
 other powers and hence we are told 
 that by great exertions your government 
 has managed to make most of the other 
 maritime powers, parties to the treaty 
 interpolating the right of search into 
 the law of nations, and that having 
 done so, they are now determined to 
 compel us to submit to it, although they 
 well knew from the first, that we would 
 not do so, and that it must end in 
 war ! ! 1 
 
 Take this question as presented by 
 the Times, examine it in any and in all 
 
 its aspects, and does it not amount to 
 this and to this only that Great 
 Britain, having resolved on war, has 
 made "great exertions" to create an 
 issue, upon which the other pow 
 ers of Europe and her own people 
 could bo united against us ; that for 
 this purpose she "has managed" to 
 make other maritime powers, having 
 comparatively no interest in the ques 
 tion, parties to the treaties on the 
 slave-trade, and that having done this 
 she now sends Lord Ashburton, as 
 part of the same system of manage 
 ment, not to accomplish peace, but, 
 by a show of conciliation, to enlist 
 against us the public opinion and the 
 sympathies of those powers, and of the 
 British people ? 
 
 I repeat that my respect for Sir 
 Robert Peel and for the British peo 
 ple will not permit me to attribute to 
 them such purposes, but it is time that 
 Lie and that they should know that 
 such is the construction that will be 
 put on the language of the Times in 
 America, and that recent events ren 
 der it impossible to preserve the peace 
 of the two countries, unless you be 
 sincerely desirous of peace, and recede 
 from the pretension which, it is ad 
 mitted, is now, for the first time, made. 
 It is proper that you should know that 
 no question could be presented upon 
 which the people of the United States 
 are more resolved or united. If one 
 drop of blood be shed in this cause, 
 one thrill of indignant animosity will 
 3ass through every American bosom. 
 War once begun will not end but with 
 the deepest disgrace and lasting hu 
 miliation of one of the parties. Are 
 you sure that, after all your manage 
 ment, you have secured either the 
 sympathy or the co-operation of the 
 ther powers of Europe. If you go to 
 war with us, it is because you fear our 
 
132 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 rivalry. Are you sure that France, or | the master and of his slave identical, 
 Austria, or Eussia, wish to see your i until under the influence of religion, 
 power increased at our expense ? Are benevolence, affection, and law, the con- 
 
 you sure that these other powers will 
 not avail themselves of their neutral 
 rights to increase their commerce and 
 their navies ? Arc you sure that they, 
 too, will not look to the east, and unite 
 with us in emancipating your colonies, 
 that they may be permitted to pur 
 chase of them free from the conditions 
 you now impose ? Do you not know 
 that a war, and especially one giving 
 a common sentiment to our people, 
 
 dition of the black man in the United 
 States is better than it could be under 
 any other regulation of society it is 
 incomparably better than that of your 
 own laboring poor, if one half of your 
 official statements be true. 
 
 And is it possible that under such 
 an aspect of the case you can be so 
 blinded by prejudice, misguided by 
 fanaticism, or warped by a false con 
 ception of your interests, as not to 
 
 will give new life to our manu- know that a war upon us, under a pre- 
 factures, and that it may end in tence of ameliorating the condition of 
 your ruin ? I am well aware that I Africa, so far from enlisting the sym- 
 
 the tone and language of this letter 
 are not such as are usually addressed 
 to the British public. But seeing as I 
 do that the danger is imminent, I fear 
 that the only means of preserving 
 peace is to expose the consequences, 
 and by holding up, in its deformity, 
 the pretence on which, if the Times is 
 to be believed, it has been determined 
 to wage war, give a new direction to 
 the benevolent sympathies of your own 
 people, by whose influence it is to be 
 hoped your government may be in 
 duced to provide for the necessities of 
 their own subjects before they enter 
 upon this crusade, the end of which is 
 a fruitless effort to excite a servile war 
 among our slaves. 
 
 I say fruitless, because, when you 
 engrafted domestic slavery, as a part 
 of our social system when against 
 our remonstrances you compelled us 
 to purchase the slaves whom your 
 avarice forced upon your then depend 
 ent colonies, we did all that we could 
 do to alleviate their condition. We 
 enacted laws for their comfort and 
 protection, and as soon as your power 
 to enforce it ceased, WE abolished the 
 slave-trade. We made the interest of 
 
 pathy of other nations, will expose 
 your treatment of free white men to 
 the most humiliating comparison with 
 our treatment of the black slave ? 
 Indeed it was but the other day that 
 the Times boldly asserted that Mr. 
 O Connell and the repeal association 
 must be put down by law, and that if 
 the law be not strong enough it must 
 be made stronger for that purpose. 
 The purpose of O Connell is to feed and 
 clothe his starving and naked country 
 men. No one denies that they are 
 naked and starving, yet there is no 
 plan of relief mingled with the pro 
 scription of O Connell ! ! 
 
 Now hear what your poor law 
 commissioners say of these Irishmen. 
 They say : 
 
 " As to animal food except once a year 
 (at Christmas), even those that are by com 
 parison called comfortable people, not only 
 never eat it, but never 
 it." 
 
 Mr. Cotter, rector of Templcton, says 
 that he has seen women gather the 
 cabbage-stumps thrown out of his 
 kitchen, and that, after the fowls and 
 pigs had first picked them bare. He 
 says : 
 
 think of eating 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 133 
 
 " I saw myself, six or seven poor women 
 turn their faces to the wall and eat the 
 stumps the pigs had picked." 
 
 The Rev. Peter Ward states that in 
 his parish 
 
 " In the year 1831 six persons died of 
 actual want. Since that period I take 
 upon myself to say that of every five per 
 sons who have died three always die of 
 starvation, brought on by bad food ; bad 
 clothing, and bad or no bedding !" 
 
 One witness says : 
 
 "I have not had a new coat or small 
 clothes for the last six years ; this hat I 
 found cast behind a ditch four or five years 
 ago and 1 have worn it ever since." 
 
 Yes, such is the condition of the 
 suffering* poor in Ireland whose hopes 
 of deliverance are to be extinguished 
 by law, and which law, if it is not 
 strong- enough to bind them in their 
 SLAVERY must be made strong enough, 
 not only to rivet their chains, but 
 to hush every whisper of complaint 
 they must not only suffer, but 
 they must suffer in silence, and 
 the leading organ of the administra 
 tion, which speaks thus of suffering 
 Ireland, tells us that that administra 
 tion have determined to enforce the 
 right of search, even at the expense 
 of a war, under a pretence of suppres 
 sing the slave-trade ! ! ! Manacles, 
 starvation, and death, for Ireland, but 
 millions and sympathy for Africa ! ! 
 
 Is it possible that any one can be so 
 blinded as to suppose that, under such 
 circumstances, such a war can be jus 
 tified in the face of the civilized world ? 
 Or, can any one believe the real motive 
 to be benevolence ? 
 
 I will tell you what we in the United 
 States will think of it : We have 
 56,000 of our people on the ocean. 
 Comparatively all of these arc from 
 New England, many of them are in 
 
 the Pacific. The question involves, 
 necessarily, the right of impressment, 
 as well as the right of search ; and 
 there is not a man, women, or child, 
 among us who will not believe that 
 your real purpose is the dominion of 
 the seas that your wish is to monop 
 olize the Pacific ocean, and there 
 will be but one sentiment from Maine 
 to Louisiana. The devoted wife, whose 
 husband rides upon the stormy wave 
 the affrighted mother who starts, and 
 in every noise hears the yell of the 
 ruthless savage, and the timid virgin 
 who dreams of brutal outrage, will 
 unite in one voice of execration. They 
 will call down Heaven s vengeance, 
 and unite, by the highest motives that 
 can actuate a people, a love for our 
 country, a love for woman and our 
 tender offspring ; a common sentiment 
 of unmitigated hatred will pervade our 
 whole community. Such a war can 
 end but by the deepest humiliation of 
 one of the parties. We fear not the 
 issue. But to return to the slave- 
 trade : 
 
 A friend has just placed in my hands 
 a pamphlet, addressed to Lord Stanley. 
 It says : 
 
 " To your Lordship, as colonial minister 
 of this great country, fell the pleasing task 
 of proposing the extinction of slavery 
 throughout tho Queen s dominions. To 
 your Lordship the colonists now look for 
 the ultimate success of this eventful meas 
 ure. Finish, then, the work which it is 
 the most distinguished honor of your polit 
 ical career to have begun ; extend to the 
 benighted African the blessings which have 
 been procured for his brethren in the 
 West ; prove to the world that justice and 
 sound policy are one, and let posterity ap 
 plaud as well the wisdom as tlio magna- 
 limity of this great experiment." 
 
 The great experiment thus spoken 
 of is the abolition of slavery in the 
 West Indies, of which the writer says : 
 
134 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TKEATY. 
 
 " As a great national sacrifice to interest 
 it stands alone, a triumph in the cause of 
 humanity, of which the people of this coun 
 try [England] have more reason to be proud 
 than all their victories by land and sea." 
 
 Yet it will be seen that the work is 
 not finished ; there is more yet to be 
 done. Let this same writer tell what 
 that is. He says : 
 
 " The startling fact that the exports of these 
 colonies have diminished nearly one half 
 since the change intrudes itself upon us." 
 
 The statistics are then given, and 
 after verifying this statement, he pro 
 ceeds : 
 
 " The high wages which, in most of the 
 islands, the negro peasantry have received, 
 have enabled them, in a remarkably pro 
 pitious climate, to obtain in abundance all 
 the requisites of life. But the same wages, 
 encroaching, as they have done, upon the 
 capital of the planter, have compelled him 
 to limit the cultivation proportionately ; nor 
 would anything but the late high prices of 
 sugar have preserved a majority of them 
 from ruin" 
 
 This is plain enough. The planter, 
 having his capital invested, is com 
 pelled to surrender it to the negro ; 
 that is, he is compelled to give such 
 wages that all the capital remaining 
 to the West India planter is in the 
 gradual process of being absorbed by 
 the high wages paid for labor. In Ire 
 land the peasantry is in the power of 
 the landlord, because land is scarce 
 and labor abundant, and the poor la 
 borer is compelled to work for dry 
 potatoes and clothe himself ; if he gets 
 sick or aged he must beg or starve. 
 In the West Indies land is plenty and 
 labor scarce, and the negro preys upon 
 the land owner. Now, this same writer 
 proceeds to point out the remedy, 
 which is, "to import FREE NEGROES/TWI 
 Africa until free labor shall be cheaper 
 than slave labor? and then the work 
 which is the most distinguished honor 
 
 of Lord Stanley s career, of which you 
 have more reason to be proud than of 
 all your victories by land and by sea, 
 will be complete ! I That is : you 
 must reduce the black peasantry of the 
 West Indies to the condition of the 
 white peasantry of Ireland ! 1 ! you 
 must substitute the lash of hunger and 
 nakedness for the lash of the taskmas 
 ter, and then you can do what ? Unr 
 der-scll the slave labor, because your 
 free labor will be cheaper ! ! ! 
 
 And this is British philanthropy ! ! ! 
 Is it for this and for the honors to be 
 gained in such a cause, that the Times 
 would enforce the right of search, at 
 the expense of millions of treasure 
 and oceans of blood ? Is it for this 
 that the slave is to be armed and 
 bribed, with the promise of such free 
 dom, to murder the master who clothes 
 and feeds him, and nurses and com 
 forts him in sickness and old age ? 
 
 Indeed, we are told that this new 
 system of slavery has already com 
 menced, and that ten thousand Africans 
 have been or are being transferred 
 from Sierra Leone to your colonies by 
 the order of your government 1 ! 
 
 Is it possible that a government 
 thus countenancing the worst possible 
 form of slavery and of the slave-trade 
 will make war on us under the pre 
 tence of suppressing the slave-trade ? 
 I repeat, that whatever may be the 
 purpose of your government there is 
 no hope of peace but in the immediate 
 and satisfactory adjustment of the 
 points in issue. 
 
 Much will be done towards doing so 
 if the American people can be satisfied 
 that the Times does not represent the 
 British government or the British 
 people. I am fully convinced, that 
 whatever your ministers may have 
 determined to do, the feeling of your 
 people is for peace, and that they will 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 135 
 
 be the first to be stricken with horror 
 at the true question presented in its 
 naked deformity. I have some striking 
 facts and forcible illustrations which 
 I must reserve for another letter. 
 
 AN AMERICAN IN LONDON. 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Will there be war between England 
 and the United States, and what will 
 be the effect of a war on the interests 
 of the two countries ? 
 
 These are grave questions, the an 
 swers to which depend upon the British 
 government. 
 
 Such is the nature of the conflict 
 now waged between classes in Eng 
 land, that there is great cause to fear 
 that the attempt to reconcile local in 
 terests may bring on collision with the 
 United States. 
 
 On the other hand, such is the pecu 
 liar relation of society in America, and 
 such the nature of the questions be 
 tween the two countries, that it is to 
 be feared a war once begun will not 
 be terminated short of the dismember 
 ment and ruin of the British Empire. 
 
 In the late debate in the House of 
 Lords on the corn-laws, it was admitted 
 that the prosperity of England depends 
 upon the extension of her commerce, 
 and that this depends upon an in 
 creased consumption of her manufac 
 tures. One party insists upon a repeal 
 of the corn-laws and free trade ; on 
 the other hand, the Duke of Welling 
 ton declared his belief that, a repeal 
 of the corn-laws would not enable you to 
 sell a yard of cloth or a pound of iron 
 in Europe, or any part of the world over 
 ivhich England does not exercise a con 
 trol 
 
 Let us see the bearing which these 
 opinions have on the questions pend 
 ing between the United States and 
 England ? 
 
 It is admitted that your population 
 has out-grown your means of sub 
 sistence, that Great Britain cannot 
 grow bread for the people of Great 
 Britain, and the question is, how are 
 you to employ your surplus popula 
 tion ? The Marquis of Lansdowne says : 
 " Repeal your corn-laws and get bread 
 by exchanging your manufactures 
 with the people of the United States/ 
 The Duke of Wellington says : " No ; 
 if you repeal your corn-laws you can 
 not sell a yard of cloth or a pound of 
 iron more }n Europe, or in any part of 
 the world over which you do not exer 
 cise a control ; because," he adds, 
 "other nations profiting by your ex 
 ample now manufacture for them 
 selves." 
 
 Is it not therefore apparent that the 
 real question is, by what means can 
 England increase the consumption of 
 her manufactures ? 
 
 The Duke of Wellington tells us, 
 and he is the organ of the tory ad 
 ministration, "that you must rely on 
 the consumption in those countries 
 over which you exercise a control ; 
 that is, that your sole reliance is upon 
 your colonies, and upon these only, 
 because you exercise a control over 
 them. 
 
 Reduced to a dependence upon your 
 colonies, the next questions are, why 
 cannot India, with her one hundred and 
 forty millions of population, consume 
 more of your manufactures, and why 
 are you now dependent on the United 
 States for raw cotton to be manufac 
 tured in England and sold in India, 
 when, thirty years ago, you imported 
 the cotton produced and manufactured 
 in India to be sold in the United 
 States? 
 
 The Duke of Wellington answers : 
 he tells us that the introduction of 
 machinery has produced the re volution j 
 
136 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TBEATY. 
 
 that labor cannot compete with ma 
 chinery, and it follows, that as the eigh 
 teen millions of people in England con 
 trol the one hundred and forty millions 
 in India, and prevent the use of ma 
 chinery in India, India has ceased to 
 manufacture. 
 
 But it may well be asked why, if 
 India has ceased to manufacture, she 
 does not produce the raw material. 
 The answer to this is that slave labor 
 in the United States, in Cuba and 
 Brazil, is more productive than the 
 slave labor of India, and that India, 
 cheap as labor is in India, cannot com 
 pete with the clave labor of Cuba, 
 Brazil and the United States. The 
 consequence is that other manufactur 
 ing states receive their supplies of 
 these staples from Cuba, Brazil and 
 the United States, whereas, could In 
 dia sell at a lower rate, then those 
 states would purchase India cotton, 
 rice, sugar and coffee from the British 
 merchants who would receive them in 
 exchange for British manufactures. 
 
 It is apparent that measures which 
 would destroy the culture of these 
 staples in Cuba, Brazil and the United 
 States, or which would increase the 
 cost of production above what would 
 be a remunerating jprice in India, 
 would enable England, by her control 
 of India, to monopolize the supply of 
 cotton, rice, sugar, and coffee. Is it 
 necessary to ask what would be the 
 effect on the condition of England, if 
 she could accomplish this ? Would it 
 not enable her to destroy all rival 
 manufacturers by enabling her to com 
 pel all other nations to pay her own 
 prices for these articles of first ne 
 cessity ? 
 
 Now it is the deliberate opinion of 
 well-informed statesmen in the Uni 
 ted States that such is the purpose of 
 England, and that she seeks to accom 
 
 plish it by the abolition of slavery in 
 the United States, Cuba, and Brazil. 
 
 We admit that there are many pious 
 and benevolent persons in England 
 who sincerely believe that, inasmuch 
 as the mother-country compelled the 
 colonies against their remonstrance, to 
 receive slaves, it is now the duty of 
 England to do all that she can do to 
 abolish slavery; but if, in the face of 
 admitted facts, with a perfect knowl 
 edge that the experiment in the West 
 Indies has failed, and that the effect 
 has been, as declared by the London 
 Courier and the Times, to compel the 
 planter to hand over his entire prop 
 erty to the emancipated slaves, and to 
 convert these fertile islands into black 
 colonies, while the demoralization of 
 the black progresses ; we repeat, if, in 
 the face of these admitted facts, Eng 
 land perseveres in her attempt to 
 emancipate the slaves in Cuba, Brazil, 
 and the United States if, under the 
 pretence of benevolence, she adheres 
 to a system the inevitable effect of 
 which would be to hand over Cuba, 
 Brazil, and the Southern States of the 
 American Union, to the black race, 
 degenerating as they must, and cer 
 tainly would do, becoming more and 
 more demoralized as the emancipated 
 blacks in Jamaica and Demarara have 
 done, it would be impossible to per 
 suade the enlightened people of the 
 United States that the real motive 
 was not the aggrandizement of Eng 
 land at the expense of all the rest of 
 the world. 
 
 Your aristocracy, rolling in wealth 
 and steeped in luxury, may well be 
 enamored with a system of benevolence 
 which magnifies their power and in 
 creases their rent rolls, but it is pre 
 sented in a very different aspect to 
 the American planter, who, inheriting 
 the institution of slavery from your 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TEEATY. 
 
 137 
 
 ancestors, sees in it no alternative but 
 poverty, coupled with exile, from the 
 home of his fathers. 
 
 What is there in the institution of 
 slavery, as it now exists in the United 
 States, to warrant your attempt to 
 abolish it ? Or by what right does 
 England obtrude her sympathies be 
 tween the master and his slave ? By 
 what right have you established orders 
 and classes in society ? Why is it 
 that the elder son inherits and takes 
 the position as well as the estates of 
 his ancestors ? Why is it that the 
 tenant labors for his landlord, and 
 that the poor man upholds the gov 
 ernment that oppresses him ? By 
 what right does England control her 
 colonies, and by what right does her 
 eighteen millions compel the one hun 
 dred and forty millions in India to 
 consume her manufactures ? 
 
 These questions are dictated by no 
 feeling of impertinence. They are in 
 tended to show that the constituent 
 elements of all society are such as of 
 necessity to create distinctions. The 
 question before us is not whether the 
 relation between the master and slave 
 is the best that could be organized 
 is it such that England would be jus 
 tified in an attempt to dissolve it ? 
 
 Whatever may be the mask assumed 
 by her diplomacy, such, in the belief of 
 the people of the United States, is the 
 only motive that could induce Eng 
 land to go to war with them; and what 
 ever may be the opinion in England, 
 the manner in which the question of 
 slavery in India has been treated will 
 confirm that belief ; for a clause abol 
 ishing slavery having been inserted 
 in the charter of the East India Com 
 pany, the Duke of Wellington is re 
 ported to have urged the House of 
 Lords to reconcile themselves to the 
 existence of slavery if they wished to 
 
 continue their control over India, and 
 the clause was stricken out with an un 
 derstanding that that company would 
 take effectual measures for carrying 
 silently into effect the wishes of the 
 government; and accordingly the Gov 
 ernor-General, in his despatch dated 
 6th of May, says that, as " the ob 
 ject is the earliest possible extinction, 
 first practically, and in the end even 
 avowedly, of slavery," with a view to 
 avoid all " claims of consideration and 
 compensation," he recommends "pro 
 hibiting every kind of coercion by the 
 master over the person, and all sum 
 mary interference of authority for the 
 return of a person claimed as a slave 
 to his assuming owner," and his lord 
 ship adds, " We shall, in truth, do 
 away with all such practices, for no 
 one will be found to purchase that of 
 the continued possession of which he 
 can have no assurance." 
 
 The measures adopted for the 
 abolition of slavery in the United 
 States, Cuba, and Brazil, are, under 
 existing circumstances, precisely in 
 character with those recommended 
 for India. It is to do " silently " fivst, 
 "practically " that which may be " after 
 ward " " avowed" when property in the 
 slave shall become valueless. The 
 mode in India is to withhold from the 
 master the protection of the law. It 
 is to stimulate the slave to abandon 
 the service due to the master, and to 
 deny to the master the means of 
 coercion. And why does the benevo 
 lence of England assume this shape ? 
 Why is this silent mode adopted of 
 doing "practically " that which it 
 is not deemed prudent now to avow ? 
 Is it not to avoid " claims of consider 
 ation and compensation ?" 
 
 We cannot close our eyes to the fact 
 that this is the act of the British gov 
 ernment, and that it is admitted that 
 
138 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TKEATY. 
 
 an increased consumption of her manu 
 factures is indispensable to her pros 
 perity, and that the Duke of Welling 
 ton admits that her sole dependence 
 is on those countries under her con 
 trol. 
 
 Am I asked to reconcile the aboli 
 tion of slavery in India with the effect 
 of abolition in the United States, and 
 the purposes attributed to England ? 
 That purpose is to monopolize the prod 
 uct of raw cotton, &c., &c., by abol 
 ishing slavery in the United States, 
 Cuba and Brazil. How can that be 
 done by the abolition of slavery in 
 India ? 
 
 The purpose of England is to monop 
 olize the product of cotton, abolition 
 is but an incident. 
 
 When, after the peace, she found 
 that other nations, profiting by her 
 example, were manufacturing for them 
 selves,, she saw the necessity of open 
 ing new markets ; she turned her 
 attention to her East India posses 
 sions, but she soon found that the 
 ability of India to purchase was limit 
 ed to the products of India which she 
 could receive in exchange. Her West 
 India planters had a monopoly, a re 
 peal of which became indispensable, 
 and the one hundred millions paid, 
 under pretence of abolishing slavery, 
 was, in fact, an indemnity for abolish 
 ing the West India monopoly. 
 
 You must well recollect that it was 
 said that free labor is cheaper than 
 slave labor, and that the philanthro 
 pists of that day argued that the eman 
 cipated slave would do more labor, and 
 on better terms, as a freeman than as 
 a slave. Time has demonstrated the in 
 feriority of the African race. The soil 
 of Africa is as rich, yet the African in 
 Africa cannot compete with the Indian 
 in India. It is only when the labor of 
 the black man is guided by the skill 
 
 and energy of the white that it is more 
 productive than that of the East In 
 dian. It follows, therefore, that all 
 that is required to enable England to 
 produce cotton in India cheaper than 
 it will be produced in the United 
 States, is to emancipate the negro and 
 separate him from the white man. 
 When England can purchase in India 
 cheaper than other nations can pur 
 chase in the United States, she will 
 have achieved a monopoly at a higher 
 price it is true, but it is a question of 
 monopoly and not of price. 
 
 By what mode can England eman 
 cipate the slaves in the United States ? 
 
 If her public writers are to be be 
 lieved, her mode of operations is, 
 first, as in India, practically to 
 destroy the value of the slave by 
 bringing the public sentiment of the 
 world to bear against it ; and next, 
 avowedly, by sending her black regi 
 ments to invade our Southern States, 
 and thus create a servile insurrection. 
 
 The real question is not whether 
 such is the purpose of England. It is 
 what would be the effect of a sincere 
 belief in the United States, and on the 
 continent of Europe, that it is. Would 
 it not give color to the war, and would 
 it not lead to combinations formed to 
 disrobe England of the power to ac 
 complish that purpose ? 
 
 This brings us to speak of the ele 
 ments that would combine for the dis 
 memberment of the British Empire, 
 and first of the United States. The 
 United States desire peace, but they 
 do not fear a war. With a population 
 of three millions without resources 
 without means of creating a navy, or 
 of clothing an army, they achieved 
 their independence. They have now 
 near twenty millions of population ; 
 they have all the elements of war with 
 in themselves, and will grow in 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TEEATY. 
 
 139 
 
 strength and resources in war or in 
 peace. They have room to grow, and 
 a war will bind them more closely 
 together, while the other European 
 states will, of necessity, become par 
 ties. They will declare the colonies 
 independent, and stripped of her de 
 pendencies, England will be left with 
 the burden of her enormous debt, 
 greatly increased, to depend on her 
 own individual resources. If her 
 manufacturers are now transferring 
 their capital and skill to the continent 
 and to the United States, to avoid her 
 ruinous system of taxation, what will 
 they do when the power to compel 
 India and her present colonies to con 
 sume her products shall have ceased ? 
 If the repeal of the corn-laws would 
 not enable England to sell a yard of 
 cloth or a pound of iron more, because 
 other countries, over which England 
 does not exercise a control, manufac 
 ture for themselves and at a cheaper 
 rate, how can England subsist her 
 population when she no longer has the 
 power to compel India and her colonies 
 to purchase her manufactures ? 
 
 It is manifest that England can have 
 no motive for a war with the United 
 States but that which is here ex 
 plained the alternative of that war 
 will be the desolation of the South, 
 and the ruin of the manufactures of the 
 North, or else the entire overthrow of tlie 
 dominion of England. If England is 
 wise we will have peace. 
 
 THE NOMINATION 1 OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 
 
 In 1836 I received a letter from 
 my friends, J V. L. McMahon, and 
 James W. McCulloch, of Baltimore, 
 informing me that they had partici 
 pated in the nomination of General 
 Harrison for President, and Willie P. 
 Mangurn, of North Carolina, for Vice- 
 President, and asking my co-operation. 
 10 
 
 I wrote to them, in reply, that I was 
 opposed to the election of Van Buren, 
 and would unite in support of General 
 Harrison, if they would place upon the 
 ticket as Vice-President, a proper rep 
 resentative of our state rights, and 
 suggested that Mr. Tyler, of Virginia, 
 had remained in the Senate, and given 
 the single vote against General Jack 
 son s force bill. They acted on my 
 suggestion, and substituted Tyler for 
 Mangum. Mr. Van Buren was elect 
 ed in 1836, and Harrison and Tyler 
 were rcnominated and elected in 1840. 
 The death of General Harrison 
 made Mr. Tyler President. When 
 he came to Washington he sent for 
 me, and said that Mr. Tazewell had 
 advised him to make an address, in 
 which he would declare that he would 
 not be a candidate in 1844, and asked 
 my advice. He said that he was anx 
 ious to adjust the currency question, 
 and had a plan of a bank, which he 
 believed he could carry through Con 
 gress, if he could prevent the opposi 
 tion of the rival aspirants for the 
 Presidency. I replied that the decla 
 ration that he would not be a candi 
 date, would be taken as an evidence of 
 weakness ; that no one had asked 
 him to be a candidate, and that, if 
 asked, he could then decline, or not, 
 as he might then deem expedient. 
 
 It became necessary to convene 
 Congress in an extra session. I re 
 ceived a letter from my brother which, 
 made it necessary for me to go to 
 Kentucky. I called on the President,, 
 who said, " Congratulate me." " Upon 
 what?" said I. He replied, "We 
 have agreed upon the plan of a bank.. 
 The Cabinet have, after consultation, 
 agreed, and the Secretary of\ the 
 Treasury is preparing the bill.! I 
 asked, " What is your plan ?" He said, 
 " We have agreed to charter a nation- 
 
140 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 al bank for the District of Columbia, 
 with the privilege of establishing 
 branches in the states, with the con 
 sent of the states." I asked, " Have 
 you consulted Mr. Clay?" He said, 
 " No, why should we consult him ?" 
 I said, " Mr. Clay and Mr. Van Buren 
 are rival candidates for the Presi 
 dency. The bank is Mr. Clay s capital, 
 upon which he most relies to secure 
 his election. Anti-bank is Mr. Van 
 Buren s capital, upon which he and 
 Benton most rely. Mr. Clay has as 
 serted the power of Congress to char 
 ter a bank, with power to establish 
 branches in the states, without the 
 .consent of the states. Neither Mr. 
 Clay nor Benton will consent to an 
 adjustment of the currency question 
 by you, and unless you will consent- to 
 become the active partisan of Mr. Clay, 
 and devote the patronage of the gov 
 ernment to promote his election, he 
 will make an issue with you on the 
 right to establish branches." He re 
 plied, "You never did like Clay, and 
 you shall not abuse him to me." 
 " Very well," said I, " time will very 
 soon show whether you or I have the 
 best appreciation of his character and 
 action." 
 
 I left the next morning for Ken 
 tucky. I was detained there but a 
 few days, and, on my way back, called 
 on my friend, Charles A. Wickliffe, 
 where I read, in the paper of the day, 
 a notice of Mr. Clay s bank bill, in 
 which, as I had anticipated, he had 
 made an issue on the power to estab 
 lish branches. At breakfast I asked 
 Miss Wickliffe, now Mrs. Merrick, of 
 Maryland, if she would like to live in 
 Washington, and upon her reply in 
 the affirmative, I told her that I be 
 lieved that the President would veto 
 Mr. Clay s bank bill, and that some of 
 the .Cabinet would, as I believed, re 
 
 sign, in which case her father, as 
 a friend of the President, would be 
 probably tendered a seat in the Cab 
 inet. 
 
 I hastened to Washington, and, on 
 my arrival, was told that, before re 
 porting his bill to the Senate, Mr. 
 Clay had submitted it to a caucus of 
 his friends, at which all the members 
 of Mr. Tyler s Cabinet were present, 
 and each of the Cabinet had said that 
 if Mr. Tyler vetoed the bill, he would 
 resign. Having assured myself of the 
 truth of this statement, I called on the 
 President the next morning, and told 
 him what I had heard. He said that 
 he could not believe that gentlemen, 
 members of his Cabinet, who had been 
 consulted, and who, knowing that 
 he did not believe that Congress had 
 power to establish branches in the 
 states, without first obtaining their 
 onsent, and had, after full discus 
 sion, agreed with him on the details 
 of his bill, could so far forget what 
 was, under the circumstances, due to 
 him and themselves, as to give such a 
 pledge to Mr. Clay. I became satisfied 
 that he would veto the bill, and went 
 from him directly to the State Depart 
 ment. 
 
 I SAID TO MR. WEBSTER, 
 
 You may think what I am about to 
 say to you is not appropriate to the 
 relations heretofore existing between 
 us. I am, as you know, the personal 
 friend of the President. You are Sec 
 retary of State, and as such a member 
 of his cabinet. I do not call on you 
 as Mr. Webster, but as the Secretary 
 of State ; and my purpose is to discuss 
 with you, what it will be proper for 
 you, as Secretary of State, to do in a 
 given contingency. I do not wish 
 you to say to me whether what I have 
 heard be true or not. It is not of the 
 past, but of the future that I wish to 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TEEATY. 
 
 141 
 
 confer with you. I am told that you 
 and all the other members of the cab 
 inet were consulted by Mr. Clay before 
 he reported his bank bill to the Senate, 
 and that you all pledged yourselves to 
 him, that you would resign in case 
 Mr. Tyler vetoed the bill. I come to tell 
 you that Mr. Tyler will veto it," He 
 sprang from his seat, and after walk 
 ing the room in great excitement, he 
 came to me, and said, " General Green, 
 Mr. Tyler must not veto that bill." I 
 replied " The question is not whether 
 Mr. Tyler shall veto the bill, but it is 
 what should Daniel Webster, his Sec 
 retary of State, do when he does veto 
 it?" He took his scat and listened 
 while I endeavored to present to him 
 a brief review of the condition of the 
 country and of parties, and his duty 
 as the representative of the interests 
 of New England. Mr. Tyler did veto 
 the bill. The other members of the 
 cabinet resigned. Mr. Webster did 
 not. 
 
 MR. TYLER SENT FOR ME, 
 
 And said, " I know your value, and 
 want you near me, say what office 
 in my gift you will accept, and you 
 shall have it." I replied, thanking him 
 for his confidence, and the favor he 
 tendered me, but said that my own 
 private affairs were such as to make 
 it impossible for me to accept any of 
 fice, adding, that I had negotiations 
 pending which would take me to Lon 
 don, and that as he would be sending 
 despatches, I would accept the appoint 
 ment of messenger of the State Depart 
 ment, and that if he would furnish the 
 abstract of the census of 1840, which 
 had not then been published, I would, 
 while in London, prepare a series of 
 letters for the London press explana 
 tory of our resources, and tending to 
 restore American credit. To this he 
 
 assented. It will be seen that, although 
 I was in Europe as a private citizen, 
 my relations to the government and 
 to public men, and to the great issues 
 then pending, were such, as to make 
 it no less my duty than my privilege 
 to take the part which I did in the 
 discussion of, and comment upon, the 
 questions, affecting the interests and 
 credit of the United States. 
 
 It is my purpose hereafter to pub 
 lish more in detail my correspondence 
 with the press and prominent persons 
 in England and in the United States, 
 bearing on the great questions which 
 have led to the late calamitous conflict 
 between the North and the South, and 
 I regret that the want of time prevents 
 my doing so now. My present pur 
 pose is to present a few facts and sug 
 gestions illustrating the tendency and 
 effect of the issues in question, omit 
 ting as far as practicable the mention 
 of the names and conduct of individ 
 uals, who are greatly responsible for 
 the war and its consequences, but who, 
 or at least some of whom, under the 
 pressure of present circumstances, 
 may be induced, either by a desire to 
 atone for past errors, or from a hope of 
 profiting by taking part in the restor 
 ation of the Constitution, to exert 
 their influence in behalf of peace. Yet 
 it is deemed necessary to explain the 
 issues involved, and that 
 
 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE RADICAL PARTY 
 
 And their past and present measures 
 and policy, arc subordinate to the meas 
 ures and policy of England, in direct 
 violation of the letter and spirit of our 
 Constitution, and subversive of the in 
 terests and prosperity of the United 
 States. The intelligent reader will 
 not fail to see that the letters and pub 
 lications now reproduced tend to de 
 monstrate these truths. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 LORD ASHBURTON S MISSION. 
 
 MR. WEBSTER had given me a let 
 ter to Mr. Bates, and, a few days 
 after my arrival in London, I was invited 
 to dine with him. The party consisted 
 of Messrs. Bates, Baring, and myself. 
 During the dinner, they indicated a 
 very earnest desire to ascertain the 
 probable result of the border difficul 
 ties between Canada and the United 
 States, and, among other questions, 
 Mr. Bates asked, " What about our 
 friend, Mr. Webster?" I replied 
 " To tell you the truth, some of us in 
 the United States think that the time 
 has come when we should be better 
 friends or open enemies. We desire 
 peace, but are tired of your continued 
 warfare on our interests and our credit, 
 and we are, therefore, anxious to know 
 what your purpose is, and whether the 
 pending issues can be peaceably ad 
 justed, and I should not be surprised 
 if the next arrival informs us that Mr. 
 Webster will come here as a special 
 minister. I saw that Messrs. Bates 
 and Baring telegraphed each other, and 
 considered the information sufficiently 
 important to be immediately commu 
 nicated to others. They hurriedly 
 arose from the table. I said to Mr. 
 Bates, that one purpose of my coming 
 to London was to write, for publica 
 tion, a series of letters, which, I hoped, 
 would tend to promote a better feeling, 
 and allay the irritation then existing 
 between the two countries ; and that, 
 with this view, I had obtained an ab 
 stract of the statistics of the census, 
 
 in advance of its publication, which, 
 I hoped, would be interesting to the 
 British public, and tend to restore 
 confidence and good will ; and that, 
 as I wished to avail myself of the 
 Times for that purpose, he would 
 oblige me by giving me a letter to 
 the editor. He replied, " If you can 
 get into the Times it will be more 
 than I could ever do," and thus de 
 clined giving mo the letter. I replied, 
 " If I cannot get into the Times, 
 you will see that I can get at it, or 
 I greatly mistake." They manifested 
 so much impatience that I left imme 
 diately after rising from the table. 
 The next day, or the next but one, 
 
 LORD ASHBURTON S APPOINTMENT 
 
 on a special mission was announced. 
 Mr. Everett called on me, and ex 
 pressed his surprise that the ap 
 pointment had been made without 
 any intimation of such a purpose hav 
 ing been given to him. I told him 
 what had been said at the dinner, and 
 we both believed that the appointment 
 was intended to anticipate the prob 
 able announcement of the purpose of 
 the government of the United States, 
 to send Mr. Webster to London, and 
 that the sending Lord Ashburton to 
 Washington indicated a consciousness 
 on the part of ministers that the anti- 
 corn law league and the opposition 
 were opposed to war, and that the 
 j sending a special envoy to the United 
 States was intended as an assurance, 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TKEATY. 
 
 143 
 
 on the part of ministers, of their de 
 sire to preserve peace, and to charge 
 any failure of the negotiations, if fail 
 ure there should be, as the fault of the 
 United States. 
 
 The conversations with Baron Roths 
 child and Sir Henry Ellis, and the 
 tone of the British press, especially of 
 the London Times, led me to apprehend 
 that the best, if not the only, means of 
 preserving peace, was to show that 
 England had much more than the 
 United States to apprehend from war ; 
 and acting on this impression, I wrote 
 the letters to Mr. Everett, to the Presi 
 dent, and to Mr. Calhoun, which are 
 given below. More : I saw that, as 
 the purpose of England was to enlist 
 the principal European powers in sup 
 port of her measures, so prejudicial to 
 the United States, it was of the first 
 importance to defeat the proposed 
 combination by unmasking the 
 
 SELFISH POLICY OF ENGLAND, 
 
 And demonstrating that it was the 
 interest of the continental powers, 
 and especially of France and Ger 
 many, to take part with the United 
 States upon the issues pending be 
 tween them and England ; and, be 
 lieving that I could make this so ap 
 parent, not only to France and Ger 
 many, but to England herself, in these 
 letters, and in the publications through 
 the French and English papers, I ap 
 pealed directly to and contrasted these 
 interests. More : After consulting 
 General Cass, I prepared a letter to 
 Admiral Duperre, the French minister 
 of marine (which I also give), intend 
 ed to awaken France to the value of 
 our trade and the necessity of a sys 
 tem of railways which would give 
 great facilities to out intercourse with 
 northern and western Europe. The 
 result of this communication was a 
 proposition on the part of the French 
 
 government, for a treaty for a co-oper 
 ation in the establishment of a direct 
 trade, and maintaining a line of steam 
 ers. This was then defeated because 
 Congress would not make the appro 
 priation. With this explanation, the 
 intelligent reader will be at no loss to 
 appreciate the following 
 
 LETTERS TO MR. EVERETT. 
 
 PARIS, January 20, 1842. 
 
 DEAR SIR : I send you a letter which 
 is written, that you may, if you think 
 proper, show it to Lord Ashburton, as 
 indicating the opinion of one who is 
 well informed on the state of parties 
 and of opinions at home. I have done 
 so because the more I reflect on the 
 subject, the more I am satisfied that 
 the only means of avoiding a war is 
 for the British government to recede, 
 and because I fear that no one in Eng 
 land rightly appreciates the question 
 as it is now made. 
 
 You must remember Mr. Pickens re 
 port. That report indicates the feel 
 ing of a much more powerful mind 
 than of the reputed author. 
 
 I have seen the letter of the Ameri 
 can correspondent of the Chronicle. 
 The man does not understand the a b c. 
 He tells us that we cannot go to war 
 because forty-four of the one hundred 
 and two millions of exports of last year 
 came to England. Does he not know 
 that these same exports will go to the 
 continent, and that a war now, before 
 England has matured her East India 
 policy, will build up for us customers 
 who have no colonies, and that con 
 tinental Europe will unite with us 
 in dissolving her colonial system, and 
 thereby open markets for our manu 
 factures ? But enough. I will write 
 to you more at large on this subject. 
 Yours, DUFF GREEN. 
 
 To Hon. EDWARD EVERETT, 
 
 American Minister at London. 
 
144 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TBEATY. 
 
 FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. 
 
 PARIS, January 18, 1842. 
 
 DEAR SIR : When I last saw you I 
 promised to write to Mr. Calhoun and 
 other members of Congress, urging 
 them to contribute, as far as they 
 could, toward an early adjustment of 
 the matters in dispute between the 
 United States and Great Britain, and 
 I gave you an assurance that Mr. Cal 
 houn would do so. 
 
 I had not then read the correspond 
 ence between Mr. Stephens on and her 
 majesty s government, nor had I read 
 the report of the Secretaries of the 
 Treasury, of the War and Navy De 
 partments. It is now apparent to my 
 mind that that correspondence has 
 created a feeling in the United States 
 which renders it impossible to avoid a 
 war, unless the British government 
 immediately, and in the most unequivo 
 cal manner recedes from the ground 
 assumed in relation to the right of 
 search. 
 
 The President s message is explained 
 by the reports from the heads of the 
 departments, and, knowing as I do, 
 the sentiment of leading men in the 
 South, and believing that they, many 
 of them, desire a war, I fear that they 
 will seize the occasion to blend the 
 case of the Creole with the question 
 of the right of search and the bound 
 ary, and thus embarrass the negotia 
 tion. 
 
 It may be proper to point out to 
 you some facts in relation to our local 
 politics, which will have a most im 
 portant bearing on this question. 
 
 You know that there has been for 
 many years a sectional jealousy be 
 tween the North and the South, and 
 that there has been much excitement 
 upon the subject of slavery. You 
 know that the organization of the 
 
 present cabinet has recognized that 
 sectional prejudice. Mr. Webster and 
 Mr. Spencer being from the North, 
 there is no sectional discontent. The 
 question of the right of search in 
 volves the right of impressment, and 
 is a question with New England, and 
 hence the pretension put up by Great 
 Britain will be resisted by Mr. Web 
 ster and Mr. Spencer with a zeal equal 
 to that of any Southern man. But 
 there is this in the question in the 
 present aspect which cannot be fully 
 appreciated in England. There are 
 many intelligent men in the South 
 who believe that the true secret of the 
 abolition of West India slavery was 
 jealousy of our manufactures and of 
 our commerce ; that the war on our 
 credit was an effort to divert British 
 capital to the East Indies, and that 
 the late treaties in relation to the 
 slave-trade were intended to pave the 
 way for a monopoly of the ocean, and 
 especially of the Pacific. 
 
 Do you not see, therefore, that a 
 war on the pretence that the right of 
 search is necessary to suppress^ the 
 slave-trade, will be understood in the 
 United States to be a war on our man 
 ufactures, on our fisheries (especially 
 in the Pacific), and upon our com 
 merce as well as upon slavery that 
 it is indeed but following up the 
 same system of which the shipment of 
 cotton-seed and experienced cotton- 
 planters to India was part, and that 
 the belief in the United States 
 will be nniversal, thatj finding herself 
 unable to compete with us on equal 
 terms, in the cultivation of cotton, and 
 fearing the competition of our manu 
 factures, Great Britain has resolved 
 upon a war, under a belief that she 
 can thereby retard our progress, ; and 
 that having resolved on war, she has 
 selected the slave-trade as the pre- 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 145 
 
 tence, under a belief that we are divi 
 ded on the question of slavery, and 
 that she can cover her real designs 
 under a pretence of benevolence. 
 
 Some of us in the United States 
 have, for years past, had our eyes on 
 this abolition movement, and no one 
 has noted its progress with a more in 
 tense interest than Mr. Calhoun. I 
 have had many conversations with 
 him in relation to it, and I know that 
 although he sincerely desires peace, he 
 is prepared for war, and believe that 
 he, and all his friends of the South, 
 will greatly prefer that it should come 
 now, and on the present issue, to a 
 postponement without a full and satis 
 factory arrangement of all questions, 
 and especially of the slave question. 
 By this I mean the case of the 
 Creole, and other vessels in like cir 
 cumstances. 
 
 If I have made myself understood, 
 you will see that Mr. Calhoun and his 
 friends will believe that a war upon the 
 present issue will be a war in defence 
 of the commerce and manufactures of 
 the North, and of the slavery of the 
 South, and that while New England 
 and the North are defending their com 
 merce and their manufactures, they 
 will be defending our slavery, the con 
 sequence will be that the whole coun 
 try will defend in argument what they 
 defend in arms slavery will cease to 
 be the slavery of the South it will be 
 an institution of the Union, and we 
 will become one people on this, as other 
 questions. With analogous views some 
 of us some eight years ago resolved 
 to force the defence of slavery into 
 our general politics. Before I began 
 to discuss the subject in relation to 
 federal politics, our Southern planters 
 were unwilling to speak of slavery in 
 the hearing of their slaves. I took 
 the ground that unless it could be de 
 
 fended on principle, and enforced as a 
 system permanent in its duration, the 
 sooner it was abandoned the better. 
 
 It was carried into the late Presi 
 dential election, and no candidate can 
 be found to array himself as an abo 
 litionist even in the North. Much was 
 done by our anti-abolition movement 
 during the late Presidential canvass. 
 A war with England would put an end 
 to abolition in the United States for 
 many, many years. It would prepare 
 the mind of all our people for all that 
 could be said in contrasting our treat 
 ment of our slaves with their treatment 
 of the poor, especially the poor in Ire 
 land and in India, and so far from enlist 
 ing the sympathy of Europe in behalf of 
 the unfortunate African, all nations 
 will charge the war to a thirst for em 
 pire, and a determination to crush us, 
 their most formidable rival, in com 
 merce and manufactures. 
 
 I have said that the correspondence 
 between Mr. Stephcnson and her maj 
 esty s ministers has changed the tone 
 of our government. I argue this 
 from the President s message, and the 
 reports from the heads of departments. 
 When I left the United States the 
 President was confident of the preser 
 vation of peace. The message and 
 these reports are preparations for war. 
 
 I look upon the report of the Secre 
 tary of the Treasury on the exchequer 
 as conclusive. I have had repeated 
 conversations with Mr. Calhoun in re 
 lation to such an issue as it contem 
 plates. It is his opinion, that during 
 a term of peace, while the banks are 
 paying specie, the government, by re 
 fusing to receive anything but its own 
 paper or specie, could maintain eighty 
 millions at par, with specie, on a rev 
 enue of thirty millions. If we have 
 war there will be a suspension by the 
 banks, and the exchequer bills, fund a- 
 
146 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 ble at the option of the holder, will be 
 come our circulation. The expenditure 
 of the government will be many mill 
 ions, the taxes will be paid in these 
 bills, and as all that we want is the 
 means of developing our industry, and 
 as the war will call out a large issue 
 of exchequer bills, it will create many 
 millions of capital, and the states will 
 spring forward with an impulse equal 
 led only by the energies of steam, the 
 great agent of modern improvement. 
 The government may spend some three 
 or four hundred millions, but it will 
 pay no interest to British capitalists. 
 Our privateers and public steamships 
 will cover every sea. France must 
 become a party to the war, or she 
 must lend us her ports, and her sailors, 
 too. Ireland will become independent. 
 England will be driven from the con 
 tinent of America. The tory adminis 
 tration will be driven from power, and 
 their successors will attain a peace by 
 the most humiliating concessions. 
 
 When I saw you I did not think it 
 possible that her majesty s govern 
 ment could think of going to war on 
 the plea of the slave-trade. I hope 
 that the calamity may be averted, but 
 I now believe that there is no other 
 means of averting it, but for the British 
 government to recede, and do what is 
 right as well in relation to the Creole 
 as the boundary, for you may rest as 
 sured, that, whether the views I have 
 presented be correct or not, they are 
 the views which will control events at 
 home, and you should entertain no 
 hopes inconsistent with them. The 
 war if made on this issue will be popu 
 lar with all parties. Another fact 
 you should bear in mind. Mr Fox is 
 the last man to see the real state of 
 things at Washington. lie sees noth 
 ing and he knows nothing of what is 
 going on in the United States. His 
 
 habits and opinions disqualify him to 
 judge of the progress of public opinion 
 among us, and we should make some 
 allowance for the effect of his opinions 
 on Lord Ashburton and on his own 
 government. You may rest assured, 
 that unless Lord Ashburton goes out 
 fully authorized to yield all that our 
 government requires, and fully im 
 pressed with the importance of pre 
 serving peace, all that remains is to 
 prepare for war. One means of doing 
 this is to put the European powers 
 right in relation to the true question 
 in issue, and you will be gratified to 
 learn that that is now in progress by 
 one fully competent to the task. 
 
 I am deeply anxipus to hear from 
 you. Will the British government 
 recede, or will she have the folly to 
 force us into a war ? 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 To Hon. EDWARD EVERETT, 
 
 American Minister at London. 
 
 FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. 
 
 PARIS, January 20, 1842. 
 
 DEAR SIR : Since my letter of the 
 18th was written, I have read the 
 letter of the Philadelphia correspon 
 dent of the London Morning Chronicle, 
 and see that Mr. Clay has resolved to 
 oppose the bill proposed by the Secre 
 tary of the Treasury, and that it is 
 said to be probable that Mr. Calhoun 
 and the democratic party will also op 
 pose it. 
 
 That Mr. Clay will oppose any meas 
 ure that does not look to his own ad 
 vancement I am prepared to believe. 
 He is, and has ever been ? essentially 
 selfish. He is the centre around which 
 all his purposes revolve, and I am not 
 surprised to learn that he is opposed 
 to this measure, nor am I surprised to 
 learn that a majority of the whig 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 147 
 
 members of Congress are acting with 
 him. 
 
 It may be well to examine what 
 bearing this opposition of Mr. Clay 
 and of Mr. Calhoun will have on the 
 question of peace. 
 
 In 1837, Mr% Calhoun proposed to 
 issue twenty millions of treasury 
 notes receivable in payment of the 
 public dues, and he told me repeatedly 
 that the great financial error of the 
 late war was the receiving of bank 
 notes in payment of taxes.* He con 
 demned the late administration for 
 issuing interest-bearing treasury 
 notes, because he said that such 
 notes, not bearing interest receiva 
 ble in payment of public dues to the 
 exclusion of bank notes, would be at 
 par with specie. lie and the whole 
 democratic party in Congress opposed 
 the $12,000,000 loan, on the ground 
 that they preferred an issue of treas 
 ury notes. It is true that the dis 
 count is a new feature, but the report 
 of the Secretary is, with this excep 
 tion so much the same as Mr. Cal- 
 houn s own suggestion, that I do not 
 believe he will refuse to unite with 
 the administration on some measure 
 founded on this report. But say that 
 Mr. Calhoun, and Mr. Clay, and their 
 friends unite against the Secretary s 
 scheme. What, then ? What bearing 
 will that have on the question of war 
 with England ? 
 
 Let us see what would be the effect 
 of a war without this scheme. The 
 credit of the states is prostrate. Illi 
 nois bonds seventeen cents on the dol 
 lar. Indiana no better, and govern 
 ment six per cents, under par. We 
 must come to Europe and depend upon 
 the Barings, and the Rothschilds, and 
 the bank of England, for money to 
 
 * See Appendix. 
 
 defend our cities and to protect our 
 firesides 1 ! Do you believe that we 
 will do this ? 
 
 Now, look at the state of the coun 
 try with this bill in operation ? The 
 bill, as it now is, proposes to make the 
 exchequer bills convertible into spe 
 cie. If we have a war, all that the 
 government will be required to do is 
 to make them convertible into govern 
 ment six per cent, stocks, and it will 
 command all that we require ? 
 
 See how it will act on the states. 
 We have some six hundred steam 
 boats on the Mississippi. Illinois has 
 commenced her canal, and requires 
 some five or six millions of dollars to 
 complete it. In case of a war, the 
 federal government will issue six mil 
 lions of exchequer bills, and the canal 
 will be completed in a single season. 
 Let there be war, and Virginia, Geor 
 gia, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, 
 Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, will receive 
 the aid of the federal government to 
 complete their railroads as part of the 
 military defence of the country, by an 
 issue of exchequer bills fundable in 
 six per cent, stocks. These exchequer 
 bills will purchase provisions and 
 labor, and give a certain income to all 
 who have surplus to invest in interest- 
 bearing stocks. They will bo paid 
 away to our own people as the price 
 of our labor, and if they remain, as 
 they probably will do, under par -in 
 the European market, so much the 
 better they will be so much added 
 to the wealth of our country they 
 will in the first place have created our 
 railroads, and in the next place they 
 will remain as interest bearing capital 
 in the hands of our people. What I 
 have said of our railroads will be 
 equally true of our navy. England 
 herself is but a nation of smugglers. 
 She will import our cotton in neutral 
 
148 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 bottoms, or she will drive her manu 
 factures to the continent. 
 
 Now, as I read the message and 
 the reports of the heads of the de 
 partments the President understands 
 these things well. He sees that a war 
 with England is popular, and if Mr. 
 Clay is so much blinded by his ambi 
 tion as to oppose a measure so essen 
 tial to the independence of the country 
 in case of war, I do not believe that 
 Mr. Calhoun will do so, and if they do 
 they will both find that the days of 
 their power are departed. I presume 
 to know something of public opinion 
 in the United States, and venture to 
 assert that no combination of politi 
 cians can resist the financial scheme 
 presented by the President, whether 
 we have peace or war. I do not say 
 that it will prevail precisely as pre 
 sented the discount is, in my opinion, 
 wrong, but such is the deep interest 
 which the Western, and even the 
 Southern States will have in calling 
 in the aid which the scheme will give 
 them in case of a war, and so palpable 
 are the benefits to them, in case of 
 war, that it will be almost impossible 
 to prevent them from urging a war on 
 that account. Another view of this 
 case is that the President and the 
 men by whom he is surrounded are 
 but men. I admit that the President 
 and his personal adherents are a small 
 minority, but they are so because the 
 country had divided between Mr. Clay 
 and those opposed to Mr. Clay. The 
 question of war and the system of 
 finance as a war measure, are meas 
 ures of the administration, and the 
 moment that the question is presented 
 in that shape neither Mr. Clay, Mr. 
 Calhoun, nor any other public man can 
 resist the overwhelming impulse of 
 public sentiment. President Tyler 
 will be hailed from one end of the 
 
 country to the other as the representa 
 tive of his country s honor, and no 
 President has ever been so popular as 
 he will be. He cannot fail to see this, 
 and, charged as he is with the issues 
 of war or peace, it will require on his 
 part the rarest virtue to resist the 
 temptation to force the country into 
 war. If Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun 
 unite to keep the currency question 
 open, that will force the President 
 before the country on the issue he 
 has made. He need fear no competi 
 tion. If the bill fails in this Congress, 
 it will not fail in the next ; but do you 
 not see that the tendency of things 
 will be to induce the President and 
 his advisers to strengthen themselves 
 still more on the issue they have made 
 by calling in the war feeling. 
 
 I repeat, that so far from dreading 
 a war, the leading statesmen in the 
 South, many of them, believe that a 
 war with England on the issue now 
 before us, would be the most fortunate 
 thing for them. 
 
 Let us pause for a moment and con 
 sider the bearing on them and on Eng 
 land. It is admitted that Great Brit 
 ain has reached a point where her pop 
 ulation trenches upon the means of 
 subsistence. Her political economists 
 may be said to divide into three 
 schools one for free trade and the 
 independence of the colonies one for 
 free trade with all the rest of the world, 
 and a modification of the colonial regu 
 lations, so as to enable them to con 
 sume more, but to secure a preference 
 for British goods in the colonies, and 
 both of these parties agree on an abo 
 lition of the corn laws, or such a modi 
 fication of them as will let in foreign 
 corn. These two parties constitute 
 the present opposition ; they argue 
 that the British commercial system 
 must undergo an essential and radical 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TKEATY.. 
 
 149 
 
 modification, or it must sink under the 
 competition organized on the conti 
 nent and in the United States. On 
 the other hand, the landed interest and 
 a controlling influence in the clergy 
 and nobility are opposed to any 
 change. They are now in power, and 
 are pushing their conquest in China ; 
 and if they are in favor of a war with 
 us, it can only be under a belief that 
 by a war they will break up our com 
 merce and destroy our manufactures. 
 
 This party do not realize our condi 
 tion. They do not know that they can 
 not injure us by an invasion that all 
 our magazines of war, our breadstuffs, 
 our arms and our men, are in the inte 
 rior which they cannot reach that in 
 such a war we can put any required 
 number of troops at any required posi 
 tion in a few days that we are out of 
 debt and do not depend upon any 
 foreign country for a single article, or 
 a single means of defence that for all 
 the purposes of creating or supporting 
 an army, or a navy, the credit of our 
 government I mean Mr. Tyler s ex 
 chequer bills, convertible into six per 
 cent, stocks will suffice. The opera 
 tion of these bills may be imagined 
 from the fact that the Baltimore and 
 Ohio Railroad Company made an issue 
 of one and a half millions predicated on 
 Baltimore city stock, at fifteen per cent, 
 below par, and yet the notes were at 
 par, or one per cent, below par, with 
 bank paper, and because they were 
 received at par by the company, on a 
 revenue of some four hundred thousand 
 dollars. Imagine, then, what the United 
 States could do with these exchequer 
 bills ? They could become the currency 
 of the whole country, and gradually 
 absorb the idle capital. 
 
 How would it be with England ? 
 It would be a war of interests. The 
 European powers would not only be 
 
 come the carriers, but they would 
 unite with us in emancipating all her 
 colonies. They would become the ri 
 vals of England in manufactures, and 
 would themselves see their interst in 
 compelling England to permit free 
 trade with the colonies. In the mean 
 time the British funds would receive a 
 shock which would greatly embarrass 
 the operations of the government. 
 Capitalists would transfer a part of 
 their means to the continent, or even 
 to the United States ; and if she finds 
 it difficult to meet her present expend 
 itures, what would she do when one 
 half of her commerce shall be diverted 
 to the continent ? If the deficiencies 
 of a few quarters of corn produce so 
 much distress, what will be the conse 
 quences of a war superadded to one or 
 two bad crops ? It must end in revo 
 lutionizing political power, and a 
 change of administration under such 
 circumstances must cost the tories and 
 the aristocracy many humiliating con 
 cessions, if it does not trench upon 
 some of the present prerogatives of 
 royalty. There is a feeling in Eng 
 land which will be brought into action 
 by a war with us, that when once 
 aroused may not be easily arrested. 
 But England has much to fear from 
 the feeling on the continent, and 
 especially in France. I give you 
 an incident. Last week, in a crowd 
 ed party, an American gentleman 
 came in contact with a young French 
 officer, some words passed, and the 
 Frenchman gave his card. It was 
 accepted. The American gave his 
 name and residence. As soon as the 
 Frenchman ascertained that the other 
 was an American, and not an English 
 man, he apologized, asked the return 
 of his card, and the matter was ar 
 ranged. Add to this the fact that 
 some of the leading friends of the king 
 
150 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 of the French are taking ground 
 against the slave-trade treaties, and 
 that Mr. Guizot has upon more than 
 one occasion said that it is not yet 
 ratified, and you will see that the 
 sympathies of Europe will be enlist 
 ed with their interests on the side of 
 America. 
 
 I assure you that these things are 
 well understood in the United States, 
 and that I fear that the present minis 
 ters do not rightly appreciate their 
 own position in relation to their own 
 people, or to the continent nor do 
 they understand the people of the 
 United States nor the relation which 
 the President and parties in the United 
 States bear to the question of war or 
 peace. I repeat that Mr. Fox is the 
 last man to understand the people or 
 parties in the United States. It is 
 not possible for one of his habits and 
 associations to do so, and I fear that 
 he has misled his own government, 
 and that he will mislead Lord Ashbur- 
 ton. I am sincerely desirous for peace. 
 I would avert if possible the calamity 
 of war, but it becomes the friends of 
 peace who have any influence to exert 
 it with the British government, and I 
 hope that as far as you can do so 
 with propriety you will prepare Lord 
 Ashburton for this new state of 
 things. i 
 
 I feel the greater responsibility, be 
 cause in my letters by the last steamer, 
 I gave assurances of a desire on the 
 part of the British government to 
 preserve peace, which I fear is not en 
 tertained. 
 
 Do write to me and let me know 
 what are your opinions on these points. 
 
 Yours, sincerely, 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 
 To Hon. EDWARD EVERETT, 
 
 American Minister at London. 
 
 DUFF GREEN TO DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 PARIS, January 24, 1842. 
 
 DEAR SIR : I take the liberty to refer 
 you to letters which I send by the 
 same packet to the President, for my 
 views in relation to the present aspect 
 of our affairs with England. Before 
 I read the correspondence with Mr. 
 Stevenson, and before I came here and 
 examined the subject with the light 
 cast upon it by European diplomacy, I 
 was of opinion that England was sin 
 cerely desirous of peace. But although 
 I believe that she sincerely desires to 
 accomplish her purpose by peace if she 
 can, I as sincerely believe that she has 
 made up her mind to accomplish it by 
 war, if it cannot be done without war. 
 
 I take the liberty also to refer you 
 to copies of letters which I enclose to 
 Mr. Wickliffe, that you may see what 
 I have done toward preparing the way 
 for forcing England to recede, because 
 she cannot go forward unless she is 
 sustained by the public opinion of her 
 own people, and will hesitate to do so 
 unless she is sustained by the public 
 opinion of continental Europe. 
 
 Through the influence of Gen. Cass 
 much has already been done to arrest 
 the current which the British press 
 had put in motion against us, but 
 I hope to be able to do something 
 more through the French and German 
 press, and, at the suggestion of Dr. 
 Niles, I will prepare an article for 
 the " Revue des Deux Mondcs," in 
 which I will demonstrate, as I can, 
 that the purpose of England is to 
 render continental Europe dependent 
 on her for the supply of the raw 
 material for the manufacture of cot 
 ton, and that her war upon slavery is 
 a war on our commerce and manufac 
 tures, through our domestic institu 
 tions. 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 151 
 
 while England 
 
 No one is more sincerely desirous of 
 preserving 1 peace than I am, and it is 
 because I would preserve peace that I 
 would urge on you, and every friend 
 of America, to prepare for war. We 
 can gain nothing by concession. If 
 you are firm, England must yield, or 
 if she goes to war she must forfeit her 
 greatness. We will fight the battles 
 of Europe. Almost every European 
 state will sympathize with us ; they 
 will all sec that we are fighting their 
 battles, and that our trade and re 
 sources will increase, 
 must lose her colonies. 
 
 If I am correct, and I am confident 
 I am not mistaken, the war will be on 
 New England. This must be under 
 stood in New England, and this fact 
 will unite our people. I have read 
 the Secretary s report on the issue of 
 exchequer bills. I look on it as the 
 ablest paper to which the discussion 
 on the currency has given rise. 
 
 I do not see how Mr. Clay or Mr. 
 Calhoun can sustain themselves in 
 opposing it. But the strongest argu 
 ment in its favor is the strength it 
 will give the jrovernment in time of 
 
 of 
 
 war within ourselves, and the ex 
 chequer bills will command them. 
 The bank of England rests upon the 
 public credit. The exchequer bills 
 may be made convertible into six 
 per cents., or five per cents., and 
 we need not go abroad for a dol 
 lar. 
 
 give the government in time 
 war. We have all the elements 
 
 ufacturing states ; 
 
 I repeat that no opposition can re 
 sist this bill if the public can be made 
 to realize the views of England. The 
 purposes are so palpable, and the in 
 telligence of our people is such, that 
 they cannot fail to see them. Much 
 very much depends upou you, and I 
 confidently hope that babes, yet un 
 born, are to lisp your praise for the I on the pressing necessity of preparing 
 
 ability and firmness with which I am 
 sure you will assert and maintain the 
 interests of our common country. 
 
 Prepare for war. This is our only 
 hope. I repeat, if you desire peace, 
 prepare for war. 
 
 The British government have one of 
 two modes of maintaining their ascen 
 dency. J3ne is by a repeal of their , 
 corn laws, and a general reduction of 
 taxes, to diminish the cost of produc 
 tion, so as to enable her manufacturers 
 to compete with us and other rival man- 
 thejother is by de 
 stroying slavery to render it impos 
 sible for other manufacturing states 
 to obtain the raw material as cheaply 
 as through her. She prefers the last 
 mode, and if she can accomplish it 
 by negotiation, she would much prefer 
 to do so. She does not wish war for the 
 sake of war, but she is prepared to ac 
 complish it by war. ^ If she finds that 
 we are prepared for war, and that 
 there is cause to apprehend that, 
 instead of rendering the European 
 continental states dependent on her, 
 through her colonies, there is great 
 danger that her colonies will become 
 independent of her, she will hesitate, 
 and may be compelled to fall back on 
 the principles of free trade. J She will, 
 in that event, open her ports to our 
 corn, and, having abandoned her war 
 fare on our manufactures, will cease to 
 annoy our domestic institutions. 
 
 Rest assured that these suggestions 
 are not fancy sketches. I give them 
 to you, relying on your ability to make 
 plain what I can clearly understand 
 myself, but cannot so forcibly impart 
 to others. 
 
 By all means let our friends urge 
 the fiscal agent, as a war measure, 
 and let every friend of the administra 
 tion speak out boldly and decidedly 
 
152 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TKEATY. 
 
 for war, as the only means of preserv 
 ing peace. 
 
 Your obdt. servt., 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 To Hon. DANIEL WEBSTER, 
 
 Secretary of State. 
 
 DUFF GREEN TO JOHN TYLER. 
 
 PARIS, January 24, 1842. 
 
 DEAR SIR : I enclose you the paper 
 containing- the report of the remarks 
 of Mr. Guizot in reply to Mr. Theirs. 
 I also send a copy of Gen. Cass s pam 
 phlet, and you will find that Mr. Guizot 
 has taken the ground prepared for him 
 by Gen. Cass. 
 
 France as well as England and the 
 United States has her parties, and the 
 most important consideration with the 
 King and his party is to secure the 
 succession to his family. Connected 
 with this is the possession of Algiers, 
 because France will not consent that 
 her present King shall surrender what 
 Charles X. had won. England has 
 annoyed the French, by subsidizing 
 the Arabs, under the avowed purpose 
 of keeping open the overland com 
 munication with India. It is now ap 
 parent that France has been induced 
 to sign the slave-trade treaty under 
 an assurance that England will cease 
 to annoy her in Africa, and that Eng 
 land will favor the succession in the 
 line of the present King. It is not a 
 matter of surprise that under such 
 circumstances France should be over 
 reached, and that to secure what she 
 considers a permanent good, she yields 
 what would seem to be a barren right 
 of search. But examine the subject 
 and you will find in this arrangement 
 with France, proof that England has 
 an interest far beyond the mere sup 
 pression of the slave-trade, in her late 
 slave-trade treaties. What is that in 
 terest ? Why should she agree to 
 
 quiet France in her possessions in 
 Africa ? Why should she give assu 
 rance of support to the King of the 
 French ? Do you suppose that the 
 suppression of the slave trade "per se" 
 is an equivalent for the risk she en 
 counters by permitting France to quiet 
 her African possessions ? Rest assured 
 that benevolence has nothing to do 
 with the matter that her purpose is 
 to make the labor of her East India 
 subjects available, and to render the 
 whole world dependent upon her, 
 through them for the supply of the 
 raw material, so that by rendering 
 them thus dependent, she may, through 
 the supply of the raw material, control 
 the manufacturers of other nations, and 
 thus compel all nations to pay her trib 
 ute. You will thus see that our quarrel 
 is the quarrel of continental Europe, and 
 it is due to Gen. Cass, that I should 
 say, that he is contributing greatly to 
 open the eyes of Europe on this subject. 
 In the first place, by the able pamphlet 
 which I send you, and in the next, by 
 his activity in resisting British in 
 fluence, through the representatives of 
 other European nations here. 
 
 Paris may be said to be the heart of 
 continental Europe, and the ablest 
 diplomats are located here. This, then, 
 is the point at which Europe is to be 
 acted on, and aware of this, Gen. Cass 
 has by his deportment and conciliatory 
 manner won upon the King and minis 
 ters as well as the opposition in 
 France, that he has more power than 
 any other American has had for many 
 years this enables him again to act 
 on the other states -especially on the 
 smaller states who are beginning to 
 feel the importance of their relation 
 with us. Yours, &c. 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 | To JOHN TYLER, 
 
 President of the United States. 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 153 
 
 DUFF GREEN TO JOHN C. CALHOUN. 
 
 PARIS, January 24, 1842. 
 MY DEAR SIR : When I last wrote to 
 you, I had not seen Mr. Stevenson s 
 correspondence with the British gov 
 ernment, nor the reports from the 
 heads of the departments at Washing- 
 ton. I have, since I came here, satis 
 fied myself that under the pressure of 
 the public debt, England finds it im 
 possible to maintain her commercial 
 and manufacturing superiority, be 
 cause she cannot raise cotton, sugar, 
 &c., as cheap in India as it can be 
 raised in the United States, Cuba, and 
 Brazil, and that her war on slavery 
 and the slave-trade is intended to in 
 crease the cost of producing the raw 
 material in the United States, Brazil, 
 and Cuba, that she can sell to other 
 rival manufacturing, continental pow 
 ers, the product of her East India 
 possessions cheaper than they can pur 
 chase from us. If she can do this, 
 having the power to compel her East 
 India subjects to purchase her manu 
 factures, and hers alone, she can, 
 through her manufactures, command 
 the supply of raw material, and thus 
 compel rival manufacturing nations to 
 pay her tribute, while she, in a great 
 measure, controls the manufacture it 
 self. This is part of her policy. Do 
 we not see one fourth of her iron man 
 ufactories now idle ? and why ? be 
 cause she says the supply exceeds the 
 demand ; and, do you not believe that, 
 if it comes to a question of whether 
 her spinning jennies, or those of con 
 tinental Europe, or of the United 
 States, shall stand idle, she will hesi 
 tate as to which is to be employed ? 
 or that, having the command of the 
 raw material, she will fail as to means 
 to accomplish her purpose. 
 
 Under the aspects of the case, you 
 will find that England has much more 
 
 than a work of benevolence in the sup 
 pression of the slave-trade. 
 
 She has the alternative of repealing 
 her own corn laws, a,nd abolishing her 
 protective duties, or of enforcing her 
 present colonial policy by stratagem 
 or war. 
 
 If she goes to war there will be 
 great danger that it will end in the 
 emancipation of her colonies, and that 
 this will be followed by the abolition 
 of her national debt, and protective 
 duties, if it does not end in the reor 
 ganization of society, the entire pros 
 tration of the present aristocracy, and 
 a modification of the present preroga 
 tives of the crown. 
 
 Under these aspects of the case, I 
 am satisfied that our only hope of 
 peace rests in being well prepared for 
 war, and that the first measure is such 
 an organization of the financial condi 
 tion of the treasury, as that we can 
 use the credit of the government at 
 home. We have nothing to expect 
 from Europe, at least for some time 
 to come. I was introduced to Baron 
 Rothschild by General Case, at a 
 diplomatic dinner, and speaking of 
 the question which now absorbs all 
 circles, the probability of war between 
 England and America, he said to me, 
 " But how can you go to war ? you 
 can get no money. I received a let 
 ter, to-day, from my correspondent in 
 London, inquiring to know whether 
 the United States would borrow money 
 on the continent, and my reply was, 
 not a dollar." He proceeded to say 
 to me, " You may tell your govern 
 ment that you have seen the man who / 
 is at the head of the finances of Europe, 
 and that he has told you that they 
 cannot borrow a dollar, not a dollar." 
 
 I then explained that there had been 
 a systematic effort, on the part of Eng 
 land, to depreciate the credit of the 
 
154 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 United States ; that her purpose was 
 to compel those continental powers of 
 Europe, as well as the United States, 
 who are engaged in rival manufac 
 tures, to depend on her East India 
 colonies for the raw material ; and, 
 therefore, the war with us would be a 
 war on the manufacturing states of 
 Europe ; that we had within ourselves 
 all the elements of war, that we had 
 six hundred steamboats on a single 
 river, and that, so far from having 
 anything to fear from England, we 
 did not fear to go to war with Eng 
 land, with Europe at her back ; but 
 that Europe would have a common in 
 terest with us, that by the use of ex 
 chequer bills, convertible into six per 
 cents., we could command men, ships, 
 and munitions. He said, " Yes, you 
 may get men and ships, but such is 
 the character of your state debts, that 
 the United States cannot borrow a 
 single dollar in Europe." This was 
 before dinner. After the dinner was 
 over, he came to me, and urged me to 
 come and see him, and converse with 
 him on this subject. He said, " You 
 may be able to go to war, but you must 
 get the means at home." 
 
 After he went away, General Cass 
 remarked, that he had had a long con 
 versation with me, and was impressed 
 with its importance. I have not yet 
 gone to see him, but I purpose to pre 
 pare for the " Revue des Deux Mondes," 
 the leading European review, an arti 
 cle in which I will demonstrate the 
 purposes of England so plain, that I 
 am confident there will be a powerful 
 re-action in our favor. 
 
 Do you not see that this is a war 
 upon the commerce and manufactures 
 of New England, through our domes 
 tic institutions, and that this is the 
 time to unite all parties and all sec 
 tions in their support? If England 
 
 be defeated in the present movement, 
 she has no alternative but to fall back 
 on free trade there is a strong party 
 in England who are in favor of free 
 trade and thus the manufacturing 
 continental states will unite with the 
 South in a common support of your 
 long-cherished measure of free trade. 
 But permit me to urge on you, that al 
 though I believe this can be accom 
 plished without war, the only means 
 of doing it is to be prepared for war ; 
 and that, under this aspect of the case, 
 I feel a deep anxiety to learn that you 
 are acting in concert with the admin 
 istration on the measure of finance. 
 
 I consider this the most important 
 crisis of your active and eventful life. 
 When I remember the many times 
 you again and again explained to 
 me that the great end of your labors 
 was to establish for the United States 
 a free trade ; and reflect that it is, as 
 I verily believe it is, now in your 
 power, by uniting with the President 
 and those of your own personal friends 
 who are in his cabinet and united with 
 him, in perfecting the exchequer bill, 
 to accomplish not only free trade for 
 the United States, but for the greater 
 part of the civilized world, I cannot 
 permit myself to believe that you will 
 not render your advice and co-opera 
 tion, and believing that, by your ad 
 vice and co-operation, the measure can 
 be made efficient, I cannot permit my 
 self to fear its failure. 
 
 I have been requested by persons 
 here, interested in American securities, 
 to prepare a small manual, historical 
 and geographical, of the United States, 
 with the statistical resources of the 
 United States and the several states. 
 It is to be published in England, and 
 will be translated into French and 
 and German. I wish to make it a 
 manual for the politician as well as 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 155 
 
 the banker, merchant, and emigrant. 
 It will, of course, embrace a very short 
 review of the discussion on free trade, 
 and the question of nullification. The 
 time has come when the eyes of the 
 whole world are fixed on us, and my 
 desire is to make the vindication of our 
 principles as efficient as it can be done. 
 Will you do me the favor to embody, 
 in as brief a manner as you can, a 
 review of the tariff question, and 
 the points agitated and adjusted by 
 the nullification question. Do jus 
 tice to the little state. Prepare it at 
 your earliest convenience. It is a 
 matter in which your own character, 
 and that of your state, and our princi 
 ples, arc so deeply involved, that I 
 am sure I may rely on you for this aid. 
 It will be important, too, in its bear 
 ing on the question of free trade, as 
 now discussed in England, and upon 
 which the question of war with us de 
 pends. 
 
 I beg you to bear in mind that there j 
 is a powerful free-trade party sprung 
 up on the continent of Europe, and 
 that England is now divided ; and the 
 real question is war with us, or free 
 trade. 
 
 Let me have any suggestions you 
 can give, growing out of the ques 
 tion. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 
 * p. S. General Cass has been very 
 kind to me, and I am not without hopes 
 that I will be able, through him, to 
 bring my negotiations to a fortunate 
 conclusion. General Cass requests to 
 be remembered to you, and says that 
 he has never ceased to be your per 
 sonal friend. 
 
 To Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 DUFF GREEN TO ADMIRAL DUPERRE. 
 
 IToTEL DE HOLLANDS, 
 RUE DE LA PAIX, 4 Mars, 1842. 
 
 MONSIEUR LE MINISTRE : During the 
 last summer, in a conversation with 
 Mr. Barcourt at Washington, I made 
 some suggestions which he requested 
 me to communicate to his government 
 through General Cass, who advises me 
 to address them to you. 
 
 I am the proprietor of extensive 
 mines in the United States, from which, 
 owing to the price, it can be delivered 
 at, and the superior quality of the 
 coal, the supplies of fuel for steam 
 ships crossing the Atlantic should be 
 furnished, and, indeed, I am not with 
 out hopes, that arrangements may be 
 made advantageously with your gov 
 ernment to introduce this coal for con 
 sumption in France, and especially on 
 your railroads. 
 
 I submit these remarks, that what I 
 am about to say may not be consid 
 ered impertinent interference on the 
 part of a stranger in questions rela 
 ting to the domestic affairs of France. 
 
 The establishment of a line of steam 
 ships, necessarily connects itself with 
 the proposition now pending before 
 the Chamber of Deputies for the con 
 struction of a system of railroads, be 
 cause the success of a line of packets 
 will depend upon whether it will have 
 such advantages as to command a 
 fair proportion of the passengers and 
 freight between Europe and Amer 
 ica. It is this which I propose to 
 examine. 
 
 Steam has produced a revolution in 
 commerce. The effect and capabilities 
 of railroads must be seen to be real 
 ized. 
 
 Greater progress has been made in 
 the United States, and the system has 
 been more developed there than else 
 where. I shall, therefore, be excused 
 
156 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 for referring to the system in operation 
 there. 
 
 The apprehension that railroads were 
 not suited to the transportation of 
 merchandise has vanished before ex 
 perience, and so has the belief that 
 they are suited only to short distances. 
 It is found that long routes pay the 
 best dividends on the capital invested, 
 because they are worked at less cost, 
 and command more business. The 
 only exception to this rule is, roads 
 between large cities or to mines. 
 
 Experience in the United States has 
 demonstrated, that merchandise and 
 passengers can afford to pay much 
 higher prices for expeditious trans 
 portation on railroads, and that where 
 railroads come in competition with 
 water transportation, much the greater 
 part of freight and passengers prefer 
 the railroads, because they are found 
 to be more punctual, as well as more 
 expeditious. 
 
 These facts have an important bear 
 ing on the system which France is 
 about to execute. 
 
 If it were possible for France to 
 turn the course of the great rivers of 
 Russia, of Prussia, of Germany, Hol 
 land, and Belgium, and to compel their 
 mingled waters to pass through Paris 
 to Brest, what would be its influence 
 on the commerce and the political re 
 lations of the continent ? The concep 
 tion is so vast, that the mind is lost in 
 contemplating its results. 
 
 France cannot turn the course of 
 these great rivers ; but by creating 
 railroads, which will pay a fair divi 
 dend on the capital invested, and would 
 be preferred as a medium of transpor 
 tation, she will do more than if she 
 could accomplish it. 
 
 The railroads of France must com 
 pete with the navigation of the British 
 channel,, the Northern, German, and 
 
 Baltic seas, and the rivers of Russia, 
 Prussia, Germany, Holland, and Bel 
 gium. One important duty of your 
 railroads will be to furnish freight and 
 passenger for your steamships and 
 packets, and the first inquiry is, has 
 France a seaport which has advantages 
 over the ports of England ? Most of 
 the passengers and much of the mer 
 chandise passing between the north of 
 Europe and America, go by way of 
 Liverpool. Can France induce them 
 to prefer her steamships and packets 
 to those of England ? 
 
 Such is the importance of time that a 
 proposition to construct a railroad from 
 Dublin to the southwest point of Ire 
 land, as the starting point of the steam 
 ers for America, has been seriously 
 agitated in England. This route would 
 have to encounter the dangers and de 
 lays of crossing the Irish channel ; 
 whereas, if we look upon the map of 
 Europe, we shall see that that part of 
 the continent which projects farthest 
 westward on the route to America ia 
 Brest. We here find a capacious and 
 fortified harbor, capable of protecting 
 any fleet. It is easy of access and 
 egress, and in time of war would com 
 mand the British channel. If we place 
 the map before us and draw a straight 
 line from Brest to Vienna, it will pass 
 nearly through Paris and Strasbourg. 
 If we draw a line from Paris to Mos 
 cow it will pass near Frankfort, Dres 
 den, and Warsaw. I am told that 
 railroads have already been projected, 
 and either completed, or are now in 
 the progress of execution from Raab 
 and Brun, by way of Vienna to Augs 
 burg, and also from Bamburg and 
 Nuremburg to Augsburg ; also, from 
 Frankfurth and Stettin on the Oder, 
 by way of Berlin, Halle, Cassell, Dus- 
 scldorf, Aix, Liege, and Brussels, to 
 Lille. 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 157 
 
 When we take into consideration the 
 dangers, difficulties, and delays of the 
 navigation of the British channel, and 
 contrast them with the punctuality 
 and despatch of a railroad from Brest 
 to Vienna, or from Brest to Moscow, 
 we cannot doubt that all the travel 
 from the north of Europe to America, 
 and most of the merchandise, would 
 prefer the railroad, which would bring 
 Paris as near to New York as Liver 
 pool now is. 
 
 A passenger coming from New York 
 to Brussels would save one day, and 
 the expense, delays, and inconvenience 
 
 of passing through England and cross 
 ing the channel. For other points on 
 the continent the saving would be 
 greater. A merchant wishing to send 
 merchandise to America, would avoid 
 the delays and risks of the channel, 
 and would consequently prefer the 
 railroad. In confirmation of this, we 
 give the following statements and 
 tables relative to railroads in the 
 United States and England. 
 
 At the beginning of 1841, the num 
 ber of miles of railroads, constructed 
 in the United States and England, 
 were : 
 
 "In England, completed lines 1,100 
 
 In progress 1,0002,100 miles. 
 
 " In the United States, complete 3,332 
 
 " In progress 1,7075,039 " 
 
 " In England the capital invested was $288,000,000, 
 
 and the average per milo $100,000, principally of double 
 
 track. 
 " In the United States the capital invested was 98,000,000, 
 
 and the average cost per mile $18,000 single track, graded 
 
 for two. " 
 
 The following shows the dividend and value of stocks on some of these 
 roads : 
 
 Camden and Amboy 6 to 7 $> ct dividend per annum. 
 
 Baltimore and Ohio 4 
 
 Boston and Worcester 6 7 
 
 Boston and Providence 7 8 
 
 Georgia Central 8 9 
 
 Schenectady and Utica 12 13 
 
 Champlain and St. Lawrence 10 
 
 Baltimore and Philadelphia 6 7 
 
 Baltimore and Washington 7 
 
 Charleston and Augusta 7 8 
 
 Boston and Lowell 8 9 
 
 Mohawk and Hudson 6 7 
 
 Mine Hill (Coal) 11 12 
 
 Utica and Syracuse 9 10 
 
 The following is a statement of the value of some of the railroad stocks in 
 Great Britain : 
 
 Stockton and Darlington (coal mine) at 75 for 100 paid. 
 
 Grand Junction 215 100 
 
 Liverpool and Manchester 175 100 
 
 London and Birmingham 179 100 
 
 Great Western 92 100 
 
 York and Midland 67 57 
 
 North Union 83 75 
 
 London and Southampton 58 30 
 
158 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TBEATT. 
 
 The following tables show the operation of several railroads in different 
 parts of the United States in 1839 : 
 
 Railroads. 
 
 3J 
 
 1 
 
 Gross Re 
 ceipts per 
 Annum. 
 
 Expense 
 per 
 Annum. 
 
 Passengers 
 through 
 per 
 Annum. 
 
 Per Cent, 
 of Expense 
 on Gross 
 Receipts. 
 
 Dividends in 
 1839. 
 
 Schenectady and Utica. . . 
 Utica and Syracuse 
 
 78 
 53 
 
 $400,700 
 251 200 
 
 $113,700 
 69 300 
 
 130,000 
 122 000 
 
 28 
 071 
 
 11 per cent. 
 UK 
 
 Mohawk and Hudson 
 
 16 
 
 150,500 
 
 68 000 
 
 188 000 
 
 &t 5 
 45 k 
 
 7 " 
 
 Camden and Amboy . 
 
 92 
 
 685 300 
 
 258 000 
 
 ico 000 
 
 qq 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 $1,487,700 
 
 $509,000 
 
 
 Av. 34 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 per cent 
 
 
 The above table shows the Northern roads are used for passengers almost 
 exclusively. 
 
 EASTERN ROADS. ABOUT HALF OP THE RECEIPTS BEI^G FOR FREIGHT. 
 
 Railroads. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Gross Re 
 ceipts. 
 
 Expense 
 
 per 
 Annum. 
 
 Per Cent, 
 on Gross 
 Receipts. 
 
 Dividends. 
 
 Boston and Lowell. 
 
 26 
 
 $241 200 
 
 $92 100 
 
 38 
 
 8 per cent 
 
 Boston snd Providence 
 
 41 
 
 312 900 
 
 93 600 
 
 30 
 
 8 
 
 Boston and Worcester. 
 
 44^ 
 
 231 800 
 
 126 400 
 
 54 l ^ 
 
 6 
 
 Taunton branch 
 
 11 
 
 58 000 
 
 40 700 
 
 12 ~ 
 
 6 
 
 Eastern Railroad 
 
 25 
 
 125 600 
 
 53 200 
 
 42 V* 
 
 43/ 
 
 Nashau and Lowell 
 
 14^" 
 
 55 000 
 
 29 900 
 
 54 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .... 
 
 $1,024,500 
 
 $435,900 
 
 Av. 42^ 
 per cent. 
 
 
 SOUTHERN ROADS. RECEIPTS JIATCLY PROM FREIGHT, EXCEPT THE FIRST AND LAST. 
 
 Railroads. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Gross Re 
 ceipts. 
 
 Expense 
 por 
 Annum. 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 on Gross 
 Receipts. 
 
 Dividends. 
 
 Baltimore and Washington .... 
 Baltimore and Ohio. . . .... 
 
 40 
 SS 
 
 $202,700 
 433,000 
 
 $85,200 
 280,200 
 
 42 
 65 
 
 7 per cent. 
 4X " 
 
 Georgia Central 
 
 110 
 
 113 800 
 
 34 400 
 
 30 
 
 8 
 
 Georgia Kailroad 
 
 Wiy> 
 
 184,600 
 
 70,300 
 
 38 
 
 9 
 
 Baltimore and Philadelphia. . . 
 
 93 
 
 490,500 
 
 104,100 
 
 33^ 
 
 7 
 
 
 .... 
 
 $1,424,600 
 
 $634,200 
 
 Av. 44^ 
 per cent. 
 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 159 
 
 The following table shows the increase of business on some of these roads : 
 
 Boston and Lowell net revenue, 1836 $89,800 
 
 " 1839 149,100 
 
 $59,300 increase in 3 years. 
 
 Boston and Worcester gross revenue, 1835. . . $119,100 
 
 1839... 281,800 
 
 $112,700 increase in 4 years. 
 
 Baltimore and Ohio gross revenue, 1833 $195,700 
 
 1840 432,900 
 
 $237,200 increase in 7 years. 
 
 Camden and Amboy net revenue, 1833 $181,000 
 
 1839 427,000 
 
 $246,000 increase in 6 years. 
 
 Liverpool and Manchester net revenue, 1832, $303,000 
 
 1839, 556,000 
 
 $253,000 increase in 7 years. 
 
 Columbia and Philadelphia net revenue, 1835, $229.351 
 
 1840, 449,267 
 
 $219,916 increase in 5 years. 
 
 A Brussels paper gives an abstract 
 of the report of the minister of public 
 works, from which it appears that the 
 receipts on the Belgian railroads, from 
 the year 1835 to 1840 inclusive, ex 
 ceed the expenditures, and show that 
 the increase was progressive, as fol 
 lows : 
 
 Date. Francs, c. 
 
 1835 100,224 77 
 
 136... 393,997 18 
 
 1837 226,994 12 
 
 1838 342,77700 
 
 1839 1,165,414 76 
 
 1840 2,338,053 66 
 
 Total 4,567,461 49 
 
 The following extracts have an im 
 portant bearing on the system in 
 France, because they demonstrate the 
 value of railroads for the transporta 
 tion of merchandise : 
 
 " On the Central Railroad Georgia. 
 
 "The opinion has generally prevailed 
 that a road to be profitable must have a 
 large amount of travel, and that the only 
 source of profit is the transportation of pas 
 sengers, and that, as a general rule, the 
 freight of heavy commodities yields little 
 or no profit. The experience so far, on our 
 road, demonstrates, in the most satisfactory 
 manner, the error of this opinion. Our 
 freighting business is more than double that 
 of passengers and the mail, and this has 
 been done under the disadvantage of having 
 but one train for both purposes, and, conse 
 quently, keeping up a speed altogether too 
 great for the most advantageous transporta 
 tion of freight. 
 
 " I have no doubt that freight trains, with 
 full loads, and a velocity not exceeding ten 
 miles per hour, would yield as much profit 
 per trip as passenger trains carrying fifty 
 passengers each way. I am confident the 
 
160 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 merchants will find it to their advantage to 
 abandon altogether the steamboat business 
 on the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers." 
 (Signed) " L. 0. REYNOLDS, 
 
 " Civil Engineer" 
 
 " On the Georgia Railroad. 
 
 " I can now state, with confidence, that 
 wherever the transportation is of a mixed 
 character, such as agricultural products, 
 general merchandise, and passengers, and 
 sufficiently large to justify the construction 
 of a good railway, that railways will be 
 found to be, not only the most expeditious, 
 but the cheapest artificial means of convey 
 ance at present known." 
 
 "It should be taken into consideration 
 that the down freight is principally cotton, 
 bulky and expensive to handle, yel we find 
 it leaves the rivers and seeks the railway. 
 Facts of this kind are worth more than 
 theory." 
 
 (Signed) " J. EDGAR THOMPSON, 
 
 " Civil Engineer" 
 
 The following, it is believed, will 
 give the business load of a single loco 
 motive of eleven tons weight at an. 
 average speed of ten miles per hour 
 over roads of different grades, and the 
 relative expense : 
 
 " Level, 83 ears, 3 tons each, net freight 250 tons, at a cost of 53c. per ton, per 200 miles. 
 10ft, grade, 60 " 180 " 62 " 
 
 20ft. " 50 
 
 30ft. " 40 
 40ft. " 30 
 50ft " 25 
 
 120 
 90 
 75 
 
 67 
 75 
 90 
 100 
 
 Late experiments in the United 
 States show, that a single locomotive 
 of eleven tons weight, on a level road, 
 travelling at the rate of ten miles per 
 hour, is equal to a load of five hun 
 dred tons gross, or three hundred tons 
 net, and that a ten-ton engine is 
 equal to a load of two hundred and 
 thirty tons gross, or one hundred and 
 fifty-two tons net, over a grade of nine 
 teen feet to the mile, travelling at the 
 same rate. 
 
 The table given above states the 
 cost of transportation after the road is 
 made. It does not take into the account 
 the interest of the capital invested in 
 the road, or the expense of keeping it 
 in repair. The cost of construction it 
 will be seen has been much less in the 
 United States than in England. The 
 following extract from the last report 
 of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad 
 shows the cost of keeping that road in 
 repair for one year : 
 
 " The repairs of the nineteen miles of the 
 heavy II rails, not having as yet required 
 any new material, have cost $180 per mile, 
 while for the ninety-two miles of old plate 
 rail, the cost for material is $325 4G, and 
 for labor and superintendence $399 per 
 mile." 
 
 If constructed on piles, as the New 
 York and Erie Railway, and the Utica 
 and Syracuse roads are, the cost of 
 repairs, as well as of construction, 
 will be less. 
 
 That some idea may be formed of 
 what railroads may do, we give a 
 statement of the operations of the 
 Utica and Schcnectady Railroads. It 
 is a great thoroughfare, but although it 
 is the most successful road in the 
 United States, it has to labor under 
 many disadvantages. The statement 
 shows its business for the first four 
 and a half years. We have seen that 
 the business on railroads increases 
 from year to year. 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TEEATi 
 
 161 
 
 "Length 78 miles single track. 
 
 " 20 " double track, midway. 
 
 " 2 " turnouts. 
 
 100 miles graded for two tracks. 
 
 " Capital, $2,000,000, paid in $100 shares $1,500,000 
 
 Eight of way paid from dividends $322,500 
 
 Purchase of Mohawk turnpike, dividends 62,500 
 
 Sundries 17,000 
 
 402,000 
 
 $1,902,000 
 Total cost, equal for road to $18,500 per mile ; right of way, etc., 
 
 $5,000, together $23,500. 
 It has been in operation four years five months up to the 1st January, 
 
 1841, during which time it has received from passengers, mail, 
 
 etc., etc $1,618,500 
 
 The total expenses for the same period average per annum 29X per 
 
 cent., were .".... 552,600 
 
 Net earning 50 per cent, for four and a half years on $1,800,000 
 
 capital $11,065,500" 
 
 This road is restricted from carry 
 ing freight, because it comes in com 
 petition with the canal. 
 
 The following is given as the cost 
 of travel on some of the roads, being 
 those on which travel is cheapest : 
 
 " Utica and Syracuse, 53 miles, 122,000 
 passengers carried for $69,400, or 57 cents 
 each. 
 
 " Mohawk and Hudson, 16 miles, 188,000 
 passengers carried for $68,100, or 37 cents 
 each. 
 
 " Utica andSchenectady, 78 miles, 135,000 
 passengers carried for $87,400, or C7 cents 
 each. 
 
 " These charges include all expenses of 
 repairs to road, etc." 
 
 There are no people in the world, 
 more practical in the application of 
 labor than those of Massachusetts. 
 They have just now completed a rail 
 road from Boston to Albany on the 
 Hudson river in the state of New 
 York. That some idea may be formed 
 of what railroads are doing in the 
 United States, I insert an extract from 
 an American paper just received. The 
 distance from .Rochester to Albany is 
 two hundred and nineteen miles, the 
 distance from Albany to Boston is | 
 
 two hundred miles, from Albany to 
 New Bedford two hundred and fifty- 
 five miles ; making a continuous route 
 from Rochester to Boston of four hun 
 dred and nineteen miles. 
 
 Extract from the Baltimore Ameri 
 can, January 4, 1842 : 
 
 " BOSTON AND ALBANY. The incident 
 which we mentioned a few days ago, that 
 sperm candles, made in New Bedford on 
 the morning of the 27th ult, were burning 
 in Albany on the evening of that day, hav 
 ing, in the interim, been conveyed 255 
 miles over the railroads connecting the two 
 places, has been answered by another, of a 
 similar character, in "Western New York. 
 Gentlemen who left Rochester on Monday, 
 brought with them to the festival at 
 Albany, that evening, a barrel of flour, 
 ground on Monday from wheat taken from 
 the sheaf, and thrashed, that morning. 
 The barrel was also made from staves, 
 taken from a tree, which was growing in 
 the forest, near Rochester, on Monday 
 morning. The flour was conveyed to Bos 
 ton in the train which carried the guests 
 to that city on Wednesday, and was used 
 at the dinner which was given in Boston on 
 Thursday. 
 
 " At the festival in Albany, Governor 
 Seward read a letter, written in 1762, by 
 
162 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 the then governor of New York, to the 
 authorities of Massachusetts, proposing to 
 establish a monthly mail between Boston 
 and Albany." 
 
 Flour is transported on this road 
 from Albany to Boston for twenty-five 
 cents per barrel of 212 pounds, or 100 
 kilogrammes. 
 
 The people of Massachusetts, in a 
 publication on the subject of railroads, 
 say : 
 
 " A railroad, by economy of time, saves 
 three quarters of the labor and expense of I 
 transporting burdens and persons. At a 
 low estimate for Massachusetts, this ex 
 pense is calculated at $16,000,000, of which 
 $12,000,000 per annum could be saved." 
 
 The state has, therefore, advanced 
 its credit to borrow the money for the 
 construction of the principal railways, 
 the purpose being to create a sinking 
 fund to pay the cost, when the rates of 
 fare will be reduced, so as to collect 
 no more than is sufficient to pay ex 
 penses, and keep the road in repair. 
 I have not the material to make an 
 estimate of the cost of travel and 
 transportation in France ; but, if the 
 saving is so great in Massachusetts, 
 with a population of 937,699, what 
 must it be in France, with a popula 
 tion of thirty-four millions ? 
 
 The capacity of railroads are not 
 limited to the transportation of mer 
 chandise, or of passengers. Their 
 bearing on the military and political 
 relations of France, are equally im 
 portant as upon its commerce ; and 
 it is characteristic of railroads, that 
 while they constitute the most efficient 
 means of defence against invasion in 
 time of war, or of rebellion, they fur 
 nish a profitable investment of capital, 
 and contribute to increase the wealth 
 and productive energies of the country 
 in time of peace. 
 
 But the value of the system to 
 France, whether it be considered in a 
 military, political or commercial view, 
 depends upon whether it conforms to 
 the exterior, as well as the interior, 
 relations of France. If it be limited 
 to the interior, then all that is required 
 is to determine how the several sec 
 tions can best be united to Paris as a 
 common centre ; and the interests of 
 each district should be carefully and 
 impartially considered. But, if it con 
 forms to the exterior, as well as the 
 interior relations of France, then that 
 system which is best calculated to 
 secure to France all the advantages 
 of her position under the application 
 of steam, should be adopted. Can the 
 system conform to the exterior rela 
 tions of France without prejudice to 
 the interior? And can a system be 
 adopted under the influence of local, 
 sectional interests, which will sacrifice 
 all the natural and political advan 
 tages of France, as it relates to her 
 exterior policy ? 
 
 As a stranger, looking on the map 
 of Europe, it would seem that there 
 could be no difference of opinion as to 
 a proper location of the main stem, or 
 stems. But experience in the United 
 States proves that private interests 
 often so far misleads the judgment as 
 to defeat its own ends. 
 
 The characteristic of Frenchmen is 
 a jealousy (I will not call it enmity) 
 of England. And yet, Frenchmen arc 
 not envious, or jealous, or malignant. 
 Why are they jealous of England ? Is 
 it not because England thrusts herself 
 into the affairs of the continent, and is 
 constantly fomenting jealousies of 
 France ? Why is England able to do 
 this ? Is it not because, so far as it 
 relates to the northern powers, she 
 commands the British channel, and 
 thus commands their commerce pass- 
 
THE QUINTUPLE TEEATT. 
 
 163 
 
 ing through it ? Is it not obvious, 
 therefore, that the most efficient coun 
 tercheck to the European policy of 
 England is for France to furnish to all 
 European nations a better, a safer, 
 and more expeditious medium of travel 
 and of commerce than the British chan 
 nel? If this question be answered in 
 the affirmative, then the question is, 
 can this be done ? It can only be done 
 by a railroad. The next inquiry is 
 where should the western terminus of 
 that road be ? If at Havre, it is in 
 the British channel, and subject to the 
 risks, dangers, and delays of that 
 channel, and if it were equally safe, it 
 will not be nearer to America than 
 Liverpool. If, at Nantes, it will be 
 subject to the delays and dangers of 
 the Bay of Biscay, and yet no nearer 
 to America. But if at Brest, it could 
 be connected with Havre and Nantes, 
 Orleans, Lyons, and even with Bor 
 deaux and Marseilles, as well as with 
 Paris, Strasburg and Lille, by depen 
 dent lines. 
 
 Brest is one day nearer to New York 
 than Liverpool. It is easy of access. 
 It is the "land s-end," and commands 
 the commerce of England, as the Brit 
 ish channel commands that of the 
 north of Europe. It would, therefore, 
 seem that Brest should be the western 
 terminus, because no other terminus 
 will contribute so much to render the 
 North of Europe independent of Eng 
 land. 
 
 When France can do this, their 
 natural relation to France will induce 
 the continental powers to prefer the 
 alliance of France to an alliance with 
 England. 
 
 These roads (the main stems at 
 least) should belong to the govern 
 ment which could indemnify itself by 
 a moderate charge for transport, and 
 could allow a free transit to all mer 
 
 chandise. And if semi-annual fairs 
 were established, at which the manu 
 factures and works of art of the civil 
 ized world could be exhibited, and 
 manufactures and merchandise sold by 
 pattern cards or samples, the effect 
 would be to make Paris the commercial 
 emporium, and Brest the greatest sea 
 port town of Europe. It would enable 
 France greatly to increase her ton 
 nage, and by concentrating their com 
 merce at Brest, would induce the 
 northern powers of Europe to sympa 
 thize with France in case of war with 
 England. 
 
 If its position indicates Brest as the 
 natural depot for the commerce of the 
 European continent in time of peace, 
 and for the navies of France and 
 America, in case of a war with Eng 
 land, it is an indispensable part of the 
 system, that it should be connected 
 with the principal towns of France by 
 railroads. This would not only create 
 a large local population to supply any 
 immediate resistance ; but would ena 
 ble the government to concentrate a 
 force to repel any invasion. The route 
 from Paris to Brest would pass near 
 many other towns, which could, at 
 small expense, connect themselves with 
 the main stem. 
 
 Permit me again to repeat, as an 
 apology for this letter, that believing 
 a line of steam packets to ply be 
 tween Brest and the United States, is 
 an essential feature of the railroad 
 system of France, and believing that 
 the construction of a road from Brest 
 to Paris, and thence connecting with 
 and intercepting the routes now in 
 progress in Austria, Prussia, Holland, 
 and Belgium, to be indispensable to 
 its success, I have ventured to submit 
 these remarks, hoping that the import 
 ance of the subject of which they treat, 
 and the obvious relation which they 
 
164 
 
 THE QUINTUPLE TREATY. 
 
 bear to my own private interests, will 
 constitute an apology for trespassing 
 so much on your valuable time. 
 
 I will be greatly obliged, if you will 
 inform me whether your government 
 desire a supply of coal, and if so, the 
 price they are willing to give, the 
 
 time and place of delivery, and the 
 quantity wanted. 
 
 Respectfully, yours, &c., 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 Monsieur V ADMIRAL DUPERRE, 
 
 Hinistre Secretaire d Etat, 
 
 de la Marine, &c. t &c. 
 
CHAPTER-XXIII. 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 T 
 
 HE value of money, as compared 
 with the value of other com 
 modities, depends upon the quanti 
 ty, as compared with the uses to 
 which it is applied. Thus Jacobs tells 
 us that in Wilkins leger (Saxon), as 
 quoted by Doctor Henry, we have the 
 prices of various articles in England, 
 in the reign of Ethelred, about the 
 year 997, which the learned doctor has 
 estimated with great correctness in 
 the money of the present time giv 
 ing the price of a man or slave at 
 2 6s. 3d. ; of a horse, 1 15s. 2tf. ; 
 of a mare or colt, ^1 3s. 5^. ; of an 
 ass or mule, 14s. Id. ; of an ox, 7s. Jef.; 
 of a cow, 6s. 2d. ; of a swine, Is. 
 of a sheep, Is. 2d. ; of a goat 
 
 We are told upon the same authority, 
 that at the end of the tenth century a 
 
 bushel of wheat was sold in Alsace, 
 in Saxony, for a penny farthing, and 
 that two hundred and sixty years later 
 the same measure of wheat sold for 
 three and a quarter pence. Jacobs tells 
 us that the 
 
 WAGES OF LABOR, 
 
 And the rates allowed for subsistence 
 of persons may both be usefully em 
 ployed to estimate the value of the 
 precious metals. In 1351, ivorkmen 
 took their wages in wheat at six 
 teen pence per bushel ; and weeders 
 and haymakers were paid at the rate 
 of two and a half pence per day ; 
 reapers, four to six pence per day ; 
 masons and tillers six and a half pence 
 per day, and other laborers one penny 
 farthing per day I 
 
 Jacobs estimates that in 1492, before the discovery of 
 
 America, the sum which formed the stock of money 
 
 current in Europe was $170,000,000 
 
 The increased product in 112 years 690,000,000 
 
 Making $860,000,000 
 
 Deduct export to Asia and applied to other uses 210,000.000 
 
 Leaving $650,000,000 
 
 Deduct for loss by abrasion 215,000,000 
 
 Leaving ~ $435,000,000 
 
 Produce of mines in one hundred years $1,687,500,000 
 
 Sent to India and China 166,025,000 
 
 Leaves 1,521,250,000 
 
 Deduct for sums otherwise used 301,250,000 
 
 Leaves $1,220,000,000 
 
 Deduct for loss by wear 170,000,000 
 
 $1,050,000,000 
 
 Leaving in Europe in 1699 ""$1,485,000,000 
 
 Jacobs further estimates the coin in 1809, at 1.900,000,000 
 
 Deducting for abrasin and loss in twenty years 90,476,100 
 
 Leaves $1,809,523,900 
 
 To this he adds the product of twenty years 518,680,000 
 
 Making "$27328,203,900 
 
 Deduct the sum sent to Asia and used otherwise 761 261,100 
 
 Leaving in Europe in 1829, but $1,566,942,800" 
 
166 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 It will be seen that the sum of the 
 coin in 1829 was $761,261,100 less 
 than in 1809, owing to the revolution 
 ary condition of Spanish America. 
 
 There was, consequently, a corre 
 sponding appreciation of the precious 
 metals and of fixed incomes. 
 
 TIIE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IX CALIFORNIA, AUSTRALIA, AND SIBERIA, 
 
 As estimated by Chevalier, increased the annual supply of gold at the 
 
 rate of 175,000,000 per annum, giving in ten years $1,750,000,000 
 
 He estimated in 1857 that there would be used for cur 
 rency, in states then short of gold $250,000,000 
 
 To meet increase of population and commerce 154,000,000 
 
 For increased currency of the world 154,000,000 
 
 For wear and tear during ten years 24,500,000 
 
 For hoarding and losses in ten years 105,000,000 
 
 For use of jewelers and manufacturers 345,000,000 
 
 Giving an aggregate increase in ten years of 
 Leaving to act on prices 
 
 $892,500,000 
 $857,500,000 
 
 He argues that the effect of this in 
 crease of specie will diminish the value 
 of fixed incomes, and adds : " Capital 
 invested in public securities, railway 
 bonds, bank shares, and similar estab 
 lishments, will diminish by a self-act 
 ing process, and waste away, so to 
 speak, by a species of consumption." 
 
 MR. PEABODY. 
 
 I was sitting in Mr. Peabody s office 
 in London, in 1842, when one of his 
 clerks brought in a large bundle of 
 Illinois bonds. Mr. Peabody asked, 
 "What have you done with them?" 
 The clerk replied, " I have sold them." 
 Said Mr. Peabody, "What did you get 
 for them?" The clerk replied, "Seven 
 teen." "There," said Peabody, "I 
 gave eighty for those bonds, and you 
 see I am compelled to sell them for 
 seventeen. Repudiation has ruined 
 us we can never get along in the 
 United States until we have an estab 
 lished church and privileged orders." 
 
 Said I, " It is strange that you should 
 speak to me in this manner. If I did 
 not know that you are a rich man, if 
 any one, having a transaction with 
 you, were to consult me, I would say, 
 Take care of Peabody he is about to 
 
 fail. " "Why would you say that?" 
 said he. I replied, "You know that 
 these bonds will be paid, every dollar 
 of them. You tell me that you gave 
 eighty for them, and yet you now say 
 that you are compelled to sell them for 
 seventeen. You must be hard pressed 
 for money." " Oh," said he, " I can 
 buy on the other side of the water at 
 fifteen" 
 
 Thus it will Be seen, that even Mr. 
 Peabody, who now is enabled to make 
 such donations to the poor of London, 
 as to command a letter of thanks from 
 the Queen of England, was, in 1842, 
 
 DEPRECIATING THE CREDIT OF THE UNITED 
 STATES, 
 
 Because he was enabled to make 
 a profit of two dollars, and the ex 
 change on fifteen invested on state 
 bonds, whereas if they had been at 
 par he could have realized no more 
 than the exchange. I reasoned upon 
 this fact, and I saw that Mr. Pea- 
 body was but part of a system which 
 had been organized in London with 
 branches in the United States, which, 
 if permitted to prevail, would impov 
 erish us. I saw that the sectional 
 warfare waged by the North upon the 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 167 
 
 rights and interests of the Southern 
 states, was a struggle for power, an 
 effort, by a combination of political as 
 pirants, seeking office, as a means of 
 imposing illegal and unconstitutional 
 burdens upon the people, that they 
 might enrich themselves and their de 
 pendent associates by jobs, contracts, 
 and speculations, and from that day 
 until this I have devoted my talents, 
 my energies, my resources, and my 
 influence, to counteract their measures 
 and policy. 
 
 I had been furnished by the State 
 Department with an abstract of the 
 census of 1840, which enabled me to 
 publish a series of letters, giving sta 
 tistics, showing the resources of the 
 several states, the distribution of capi 
 tal and labor, the unity of interests, 
 and the assurance of increased pros 
 perity, demonstrating the value of 
 our commerce, appealing to the man 
 ufacturing and commercial interests, 
 illustrating the advantages of an 
 early 
 
 RESTORATION OF AMERICAN CREDIT. 
 
 Mr. Chapman, of the firm of Over- 
 end, Guerney & Co., called upon me 
 and said that he had read my letters 
 with much interest that their house 
 were largely interested in the Ameri 
 can trade, and anxious to revive 
 American credit that they had been 
 requested to contribute to a fund to be 
 used in the United States in aid of 
 the election of members of Congress, 
 pledged to assume the states debts, 
 and asked my advice as to their doing 
 so. I replied that Congress had no 
 power to assume the state debts, and ad 
 vised that the creditors should unite and 
 restore the credit of the states of Illi 
 nois and Indiana, by advancing the 
 funds to finish the 
 
 ILLINOIS AND INDIANA STATE CANALS AND 
 RAILROADS, 
 
 Assuring him that the land fund 
 was an ample security, indepen 
 dently of the canals. They acted 
 on my advice, the canals were fin 
 ished, and, in a few years, Illinois 
 state bonds, which Mr. Peabody and 
 his associates had purchased at fifteen 
 cents on the dollar, were worth more 
 than one hundred ; and a glance at a 
 railroad map of the Northwestern 
 states will show what the use of credit 
 has done towards the development of 
 that section. 
 
 Aware that the same combination 
 who had made war upon American 
 credit, on seeing that the effect of the 
 increased quantity of gold would be to 
 diminish the relative value of the bond 
 ed debt of our railway companies, would 
 endeavor to convert that debt into 
 shares, I endeavored, by a series of 
 letters addressed to persons interested 
 in railroads, and especially to the gov 
 ernor of Virginia, to the Postmaster- 
 General of the United States, and to 
 the Congress, to demonstrate the ne 
 cessity of enabling the railway com 
 panies to pay their bonded debt by 
 modifying their contracts for mail ser 
 vice, capitalizing the payment by an 
 issue of five per cent, government 
 bonds, the interest upon which, at six 
 per cent., would be equal to the sums 
 paid tinder existing contracts. My 
 purpose was to enable the railway 
 companies to pay their bonded debt 
 by substituting the government bonds 
 for their own ; and, by the change of 
 system, the saving of one per cent, 
 per annum would create a sinking fund 
 which would pay the debt and ulti 
 mately give to the United States the 
 use of the railroads free of charge for 
 mail service. 
 
168 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 I forbear, for the present, the ex 
 planation of the manner and of the 
 names and the motives of the combi 
 nation which defeated this arrange 
 ment, contenting myself with giving 
 the following letters and explanations 
 of what was then done : 
 
 DUFF GREEN TO THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL. 
 
 WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 1851. 
 SIR: My circular of the 15th August, 
 proposing that a convention of persons in 
 terested in railroads, and in the manufac 
 ture of iron, be held in this city on the 
 first Monday in January next, for the pur 
 pose of consulting with you and the proper 
 committees of Congress, and arranging, 
 in concert witli your department, the 
 details of a plan for capitalizing the pay 
 ments for carrying the mails, has been 
 favorably received, and I am encouraged 
 to believe that many of the railroad com 
 panies will be represented; but it has 
 been suggested that a preliminary meeting 
 should be held on the first of December, 
 and that the attendance would be greater 
 if an assurance can be given, that, if a plan 
 can be suggested, alike advantageous to 
 the government and the railroad com 
 panies, you will aid in maturing its details 
 and recommend its adoption by Congress. 
 By permitting me to give that assurance 
 you will greatly oblige 
 
 Yours truly, DUFF GREEN. 
 Hon. A. Y. BROWN, 
 
 Postmaster- General. 
 
 REPLY. 
 
 WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 1851. 
 
 DEAR SIR : In reply to your note of the 
 5th inst., I have the honor to state that I 
 will very cheerfully consult with you and 
 any others in devising any plan, and matur 
 ing its details, by which the railroad and 
 iron interests of this country may be pro 
 moted, advantageously to the government 
 and the people, and which may be thought 
 calculated to prevent the recurrence of 
 those dreadful pecuniary revulsions which 
 have so often overtaken the country. 
 
 With very great respect, 
 
 Your obd t servt., 
 
 AARON V. BROWN. 
 Gen. DUFF GREEN. 
 
 CIRCULAR TO THE PRESIDENTS OF RAILROAD 
 COMPANIES. 
 
 WASHINGTON CITY, Dec. 10, 1851. 
 
 SIR : By the enclosed proceedings 
 of a meeting held in this city on the 
 3d instant, it was made the duty of 
 the undersigned as a committee to 
 correspond with the several railroad 
 companies in the United States, and 
 to report to an adjourned meeting, to 
 be held in this city on the first Tues 
 day in March next, to consider a 
 proposition to petition Congress for 
 a change in the law regulating mail 
 contracts, so as to enable the Post- 
 office Department to deliver to rail 
 road companies United States five per 
 cent, coupon bonds, upon permanent 
 contracts for carrying the mail, to an 
 amount the interest of which, at five 
 per cent., would be equal to the pay 
 ments to be made under existing laws ; 
 and they therefore respectfully call 
 the attention of your company to the 
 subject, and invite your co-operation. 
 They greatly prefer that you should 
 send delegates to the adjourned meet 
 ing ; for the opinions expressed by a 
 convention of practical men, represent 
 ing so much wealth, enterprise, and 
 intelligence, will command, as they 
 will deserve, the confidence and re 
 spect of Congress, and thus promote 
 the adoption of such details as may be 
 agreed upon in convention ; but if it 
 should not be convenient to send dele 
 gates, we would ask your company to 
 submit, through us, your wishes and 
 opinions upon the main proposition, 
 and upon the details connected there 
 with. 
 
 It is well known that many persons 
 are opposed to internal improvements 
 by the general government some de 
 nying the power of Congress to make 
 appropriations for that object ; qthers 
 fearing that the exercise of such power 
 will lead to combinations resulting in 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 169 
 
 partial and unjust legislation. It will 
 be seen that the proposition under 
 consideration is free from these objec 
 tions. It asks no appropriation of 
 money in aid of the construction of 
 railroads. The contracts will be re 
 stricted to the service which the sev 
 eral railroad companies are in condi 
 tion to execute when the payments 
 are made. 
 
 It is true that the proposed modifica 
 tion of the laws regulating mail con 
 tracts will give similar payments pro 
 rata, as new roads are made and as old 
 ones are extended, and will so far in 
 crease the credit and resources of 
 railroad companies. The same effect, 
 although to a less extent, results from 
 existing laws, and surely it cannot be 
 urged as a valid objection to the pro 
 posed change that it will aid in the ex 
 tension of the railroad system. We 
 claim as a merit, that the proposed 
 modification will aid in extending the 
 system by giving greater value to 
 railroad investments. Under existing 
 laws contracts are made for four years, 
 and the payments are continued, if not 
 increased, ad infiniium. Under the 
 proposed modification, the contracts 
 will be made, giving the United States 
 perpetual use of railroads ; and the 
 rate of compensation is so reduced 
 that at the end of thirty-three years 
 the payments will cease, and the de 
 partment will forever thereafter have 
 the use of such railroad free of all 
 charge. 
 
 It is objected that old routes may be 
 superseded by new ones, and the pres 
 ent service so diminished as to render 
 it inexpedient to make the permanent 
 contracts at the rates proposed. It 
 has also been objected that railroads 
 now in use may be discontinued, and 
 that such railroad companies cannot 
 protect the department from loss. We 
 answer these objections by assuming 
 
 that the contracts will be made by a 
 board appointed for that purpose, and 
 that no contracts will be given unless 
 that board be fully satisfied that mail 
 service adequate to the payments will 
 be amply secured to the United States. 
 
 We desire to obtain the views of 
 your company upon these and all 
 other matters of detail, and respect 
 fully ask of you to furnish us such 
 statistics as will enable us to submit 
 to the convention and to Congress, 
 a statement showing the comparative 
 increase or diminution, as the case 
 may be, of the mail service performed 
 by your company the past and prob 
 able future increase of the weight of 
 mails carried over the route of your 
 road. And in this connection we wish 
 to learn what, in your opinion, will be 
 the probable increased weight of the 
 mails, if newspapers and periodicals 
 are sent free of postage. 
 
 We wish you to state what is the 
 present current price of your shares, 
 what rate of dividend does your com 
 pany now pay, and what dividend 
 could you pay under a contract such 
 as we propose. 
 
 The committee venture to invite the 
 co-operation of the railroad conven 
 tion to be held in New Orleans on 
 the first Monday of January, and that 
 newspapers in the South and West 
 will urge upon all those who are 
 interested in railroads, or in the ex 
 tension of the system, a favorable 
 consideration of the measure proposed, 
 and the necessity of prompt and effi 
 cient co-operation. 
 
 In behalf of the committee. 
 
 DUFF GREEN", Chairman. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS OF A MEETING HELD IN 
 WASHINGTON CITY ON THE THIRD of 
 DECEMBER, 1851. 
 
 At a meeting of gentlemen assembled, 
 at the request of General Duff Green, to 
 
170 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 consider a project for modifying the exist 
 ing laws regulating the letting of mails 
 to railroad corporations 
 
 Gen. Morton, of Florida, was chosen 
 president, and Albert Smith, of Maine, 
 secretary. 
 
 The meeting was addressed by Gen. 
 Green in explanation of his proposition; 
 after which a desultory conversation was 
 held by all the gentlemen present, and the 
 following resolution was adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of five be 
 appointed, with authority to correspond 
 with the several railroad companies in the 
 United States, upon the subject of an ap 
 plication to Congress for a change in the 
 mode of compensation for transporting the 
 mails on railroads, and to digest a plan, to 
 be submitted to a meeting to be hereafter 
 convened by the said committee. 
 
 Gen. Duff Green, Mr. Blunt, of Florida, 
 Albert Smith, of Maine, Robert II. Galla- 
 her, and Col. Fontaine, of Virginia, were 
 chosen said committee. 
 
 Voted, that the meeting be adjourned. 
 ALBERT SMITH, Secretary. 
 
 LETTERS FROif DUFF GREEN TO GOV. FLOYD, 
 OF VIRGINIA. 
 
 To His Excellency Gov. FLOYD, Pres 
 ident of the Board of Public Works, 
 in Virginia : 
 
 DEAR SIR : Other engagements have 
 prevented an earlier compliance with 
 my promise to submit, in writing, an 
 examination of the causes which pro 
 duce the periodical expansions and 
 contractions of the currency, and of 
 the combinations formed in England 
 and the United States to depress the 
 price of American produce especially 
 of cotton. As the subject deeply in 
 terests the whole people of the United 
 States, I avail myself of the press as 
 the medium of communication. 
 
 It is urged that commerce is a re 
 ciprocal exchange of the products of 
 labor, and that, therefore, high duties 
 on British manufactures necessarily 
 diminish the value of American prod 
 
 uce in the British market, for it is 
 said that England cannot buy from us 
 unless we buy from her. 
 
 It is also said that, inasmuch as tbe 
 price must be controlled by the univer 
 sal law of supply and demand, the 
 value of our cotton in the British 
 market must depend on the quantity 
 produced. 
 
 I admit that commerce should be a 
 reciprocal exchange of the products of 
 labor, for then the law of supply and 
 demand would regulate the price ; but 
 our merchants, acting on the theory 
 that England will buy from us as much 
 as we buy from England, are, from 
 year to year, compelled to remit large 
 sums in specie to make up for the de 
 preciation in the price of American 
 produce, and this occurs so often, and 
 operates so much to our injury, that it 
 becomes our duty to ascertain why it 
 is so, and whether it be possible to 
 prevent it whether this is the legit 
 imate operation of commerce, or the 
 effect of a powerful combination organ 
 ized for that purpose. 
 
 Agents of British bankers are loca 
 ted in most of our seaports not to buy 
 and pay for our cotton but to make 
 advances upon bills of lading for cot 
 ton sent to their houses in Liverpool, 
 to be sold there on account of the 
 American shipper. The funds to make 
 these advances are obtained by the 
 sale of bills of exchange, which are 
 so drawn that before they become due 
 the cotton will have reached Liver 
 pool, and if sold there for the sum ad 
 vanced (which seldom, if ever, ex 
 ceeds seventy-five per cent, of the 
 American price), the banker receives 
 the fund to make the payment, and 
 gets his interest, his profit on the ex 
 change, and his two-and-a-half per 
 cent, commission, without advancing 
 one dollar in money. In other words, 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 171 
 
 the American producer advances the 
 cotton and pockets the loss the Brit 
 ish banker advances his credit and 
 secures the profits. 
 
 This is not all the deficiency must 
 be paid in specie. Thus, if we assume 
 that the value of the cotton crop is one 
 hundred millions, and that American 
 merchants, relying on the sale of that 
 crop in Liverpool, purchase one hun 
 dred millions of dollars of British 
 manufactures, it follows that if, from 
 any cause, the cotton crop sells for 
 ninety millions only, there will be a 
 deficiency of ten millions to be paid in 
 specie ; and who does not know that 
 the export of specie to pay that bal 
 ance will so act upon the money mar 
 ket as to reduce the value of all the 
 other property of the country ? 
 
 Now, let us see how this balance is 
 produced, and how it affects the inter 
 ests of these foreign bankers. Their 
 agents have drawn bills, payable in 
 Liverpool, after the cotton has reached 
 that market, for seventy-five per cent, 
 only of the American price. Do we 
 not see that, if the cotton be sold for 
 ninety millions, these bills will be paid 
 from the proceeds of the cotton sold ; 
 that the bankers will realize their 
 interest on the sum advanced, the 
 profit on the exchange, and two-and-a- 
 half per cent, commission on the ninety 
 millions of dollars, while the shipper 
 has lost ten millions of dollars ? and 
 do we not see that the importation of 
 one hundred millions of merchandise 
 will have created a balance of ten 
 millions to be paid in specie ? It is a 
 well-known law that the value of the 
 property of a commercial country 
 bears a relation to its currency of 
 thirty to one ; the effect, therefore, of 
 this export of specie would be to di 
 minish the value of the property of this 
 country, not ten millions only, but 
 12 
 
 thirty times ten, or three hundred mil 
 lions, were it not that the extraordi 
 nary demand thus created will cause 
 the importation of specie, and that, 
 therefore, the effect is limited to the 
 derangement of commerce, the fluctu 
 ations in the currency, and the extra 
 cost of importing specie. 
 
 Now, these bankers deal in ex 
 change, and it is their business to 
 make profits by these derangements. 
 They desire to make London the centre 
 of the financial world, and to compel 
 all the world to pay tribute to them 
 through their financial agency. They 
 regulate the exchange of continental 
 Europe chiefly through the dividend 
 arising from the public funds, and 
 their purpose is to regulate the ex 
 change between the United States and 
 London through their control of the 
 American staples, which they have 
 obtained in the manner above ex 
 plained not by an advance of money 
 not by any use of capital but by 
 the use of their credit. It will thus be 
 seen that commerce, as now organized, 
 enables the British banker to depreci 
 ate the price of American produce in 
 the British market, and that he is 
 interested in creating a balance to be 
 paid by us in specie, because it gives 
 greater value to bills of exchange, 
 and because the British consumer ob 
 tains our cotton at reduced prices, and 
 is thus enabled to sell his goods to the 
 British merchant at a lower rate. A 
 brief review of the past will cast a 
 flood of light on the subject. In 1835 
 the bank of England increased its 
 discounts more than thirty-five mil 
 lions of dollars. The effect was to 
 stimulate the circulation in England 
 and greatly increase the price of cot 
 ton in the British market. Congress 
 having refused to renew its charter, 
 the bank of the United States; applied. 
 
172 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 to the state of Pennsylvania, and thus 
 became a state institution, which made 
 it necessary to sell out its branches 
 located in other states. These were 
 paid for in the notes of local banks. 
 If the bank of the United States had 
 required these notes to be paid in 
 specie, it would have destroyed the 
 greater part of the local banks, and 
 greatly injured the bank of the United 
 States. It was, therefore, wise in that 
 bank to invest these funds in state 
 bonds and in advances made upon 
 cotton and other American produce, 
 sent to a commercial house in Liver 
 pool, created for that purpose, and 
 having the confidence of the bank. 
 The great fire in New York had de 
 stroyed a large amount of merchan 
 dise. To enable the New York mer 
 chants to meet their payments to Brit 
 ish manufacturers, the bank of the 
 United States made large advances in 
 bills upon England, relying upon the 
 sale of American produce, and of Amer 
 ican securities in that market, to pro 
 vide the means of payment. 
 
 The Barings, the Rothschilds, Hot- 
 tinguer & Co., and Hope & Co., had 
 been the agents of the bank of the 
 United States. Failing to make a 
 satisfactory arrangement with them, 
 Mr. Jaudon was sent to London to pro 
 tect the credit of the bank. When he 
 reached there, Pennsylvania and Mary 
 land sixes were selling at sixteen per 
 cent, premium ; but a combination 
 was immediately formed, which, aided 
 by the bank of England, so depreci 
 ated the price of American produce 
 and of American securities, that Mr. 
 Jaudon was unable to realize funds, 
 by the sale of cotton or of American 
 securities, to pay the bills advanced 
 to the New York merchants, and it 
 was announced, by one if not more of 
 the interested parties, that the bank 
 
 would be dishonored. When driven 
 to the last extremity, and at the last 
 moment, Mr. Jaudon borrowed money, 
 by a hypothecation of his state bonds, 
 at a rate far below their value ; but 
 as the bank of England had issued a 
 notice that no bill drawn on account 
 of American produce would be dis 
 counted, and the combination was such 
 as to prevent the sale of his state 
 bonds, Mr. Jaudon was unable to pay 
 the money borrowed when it became 
 due, and he could not renew the loan 
 unless he paid an instalment of fifteen 
 per cent. To enable him to do this, 
 the bank of the United States was 
 compelled to issue its post-notes, which 
 were sold in the market at a deprecia 
 tion of twenty per cent. This and 
 other causes, growing out of the com 
 bination referred to, compelled a sus 
 pension of specie payments. Mr. 
 Jaudon was yet unable to sell his 
 state bonds, and could not renew the 
 loan but upon the condition of a re 
 sumption of specie payment by th 
 bank. All who are familiar with the 
 proceedings of that day will remem 
 ber that certain brokers, whose rela 
 tion to this combination of foreign 
 bankers cannot be doubted, came 
 down upon the bank, and, by absorb 
 ing all their specie, compelled another 
 suspension. This was followed by a 
 refusal to renew the loan, a sale of the 
 hypothecated bonds at nominal prices, 
 and a demand for the balance due, 
 which was paid in other assets of the 
 bank at such reduced rates, that a 
 person interested in the operation told 
 me in London, in the year 1842, that 
 one of the parties who had thus ob 
 tained the funds of the bank had, dur 
 ing that year, realized near three mill 
 ions of dollars by the increased value 
 of the securities thus taken from the 
 bank. 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 173 
 
 I have said that the failure of the 
 bank of the United States was causec 
 by a combination of certain bankers 
 aided by the bank of England, and 
 this was done by depreciating the 
 price of American produce and of 
 American credit in the European mar 
 ket. I am aware of the responsibility 
 which I incur in making such a declar 
 ation, and that I must array additional 
 facts to sustain it. I will be told by 
 these bankers and their agents in this 
 country that there could be no motive 
 for such a combination. Let us see. 
 
 When in London, in 1842, I had the 
 following fact from the best authority: 
 After the revulsion of 1819, the trade 
 between the United States and Eng 
 land was carried on chiefly through 
 the agency of three commercial houses 
 in London. One of these, who had 
 realized near three millions of capital, 
 wrote to his correspondents in the 
 United States and .in Canada that he 
 would not accept bills drawn on ac 
 count of American produce, or for the 
 purchase of British goods. This came 
 to the knowledge of the bank of Eng 
 land ; the governor called upon the 
 writer, and urged him to countermand 
 his letters, saying that the English 
 warehouses were filled with merchan 
 dise, and that the directors were ap 
 prehensive that his letters would 
 greatly diminish the trade with Amer 
 ica, which it was their desire to in 
 crease. The writer replied that he 
 feared a revulsion in the money mar 
 ket, and that he could not sustain him 
 self unless the bank would carry him 
 through. To this the governor said 
 that he was not authorized to give a 
 pledge binding on the board of direct 
 ors, but added, " You know that the 
 bank has always aided you, and, as 
 governor, I pledge myself to do all 
 that I can for you." Thus assured, 
 
 he did countermand his letters, and 
 when the bank issued its notice dis 
 crediting all bills drawn on account of 
 American produce, he was under ac 
 ceptance for more than fifteen millions 
 of dollars, and was ruined. Yea, 
 more. An elder brother, who had re 
 tired with a much larger fortune, sacri 
 ficed much the greater part of it in 
 the vain attempt to sustain him. 
 
 This is not all. When a short time 
 before that, the bank of England sent 
 an agent to the United States, Mr. 
 Biddle gave him a room in the bank 
 in Philadelphia, and aided him in the 
 transaction of business by all the 
 facilities which the numerous agents 
 and correspondents of the bank of the 
 United States could give. Yet when 
 Mr. Jaudon reached London, the bank 
 of England refused the privilege of 
 opening an account with them, and 
 the reason of this will presently ap 
 pear. So much as to the bank. A 
 word as to the bankers. It will be re 
 membered that Mr. Jaudon took with 
 him certain Indiana, Illinois, and Mis 
 sissippi bonds, which were hypothe 
 cated with certain bankers, and that 
 after those states failed to pay the in 
 terest, it was paid by the bank of the 
 United States. It will also be remem 
 bered that some time after the hypoth 
 ecation, those bankers made a trust, 
 by which these bonds were transferred 
 to certain widows and orphans, and 
 persons of small income, who, relying 
 on their reputation and character, had 
 deposited large sums with them to be 
 nvested at discretion. It will also be 
 ememberod that, at the time of this 
 distribution, certain newspaper para 
 graphs praised the generous liberality 
 )f these eminent bankers, who had 
 hus permitted their customers to par- 
 icipate in the speculation ; and that 
 no one no, not even the degenerate 
 
174 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 Americans who made merchandise of 
 the character and credit of their coun 
 try were so clamorous in denouncing 
 the United States, or so profuse in 
 sympathy for the poor widows and 
 orphans, as these bankers and their 
 agents. And who can believe that 
 they were not previously notified that 
 the bank of the United States would 
 cease to pay the interest on the hypoth 
 ecated bonds, and that the trust was 
 created, and the newspaper paragraphs 
 written, to cover the transfer of these 
 Indiana, Illinois, and Mississippi bonds 
 to those widows, orphans, and confi 
 ding customers, who had placed funds 
 in their hands for investment ? And 
 who cannot see that the subsequent 
 denunciation of American dishonesty, 
 and pretended sympathy for widows 
 and orphans, was intended to conceal 
 or mystify the agency by which the 
 losses were transferred from these 
 wealthy bankers to the widows and 
 orphans in question ? 
 
 One other fact. I was in London in 
 1842. A friend who wished to come 
 to the United States, had one hundred 
 and forty thousand dollars in American 
 securities, upon which he wished to 
 borrow three thousand dollars. I my 
 self took those securities to the prin 
 cipal man of business of the house 
 which, as I before said, had dur 
 ing that year realized near three mill 
 ions of dollars as a profit on the secu 
 rities which they had taken from the 
 bank of the United States, and pro 
 posed that he should take any amount 
 
 of the securities in question which he 
 might require, and forward them to 
 their agent in New York, advancing 
 thereon three thousand dollars, to be 
 refunded immediately on our reaching 
 the United States. His reply was : 
 " If it were known upon change that 
 we had advanced you one hundred 
 dollars on any American security 
 whatever, our house would immedi 
 ately be put in Coventry." 
 
 One other fact. When the agent 
 sent by President Tyler to London, to 
 negotiate the loan of five millions of 
 dollars, had been dissuaded from offer 
 ing the loan in that market by the 
 Messrs. Baring & Co. and Mr. Pea- 
 body, acting in concert, he went to 
 Ireland and left the negotiation with 
 me. I negotiated the loan, and the 
 agent would have received the money 
 (five hundred thousand dollars in hand, 
 and the rest in instalments as wanted) 
 but for the interference of persons 
 connected with and interested in the 
 combination in question. (I may, 
 hereafter, make this the subject of a 
 special letter, with some other striking 
 facts bearing on the issue in ques 
 tion.) 
 
 Do these remarks challenge your 
 belief, because you cannot see an ade 
 quate motive for such a combination ? 
 I now proceed to illustrate the motive 
 and policy. The public debt of nine 
 of the principal European states, in 
 1842, is given, as nearly as I could 
 then ascertain it, in the following 
 table : 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 175 
 
 THE POPULATION, PUBLIC DEBT, AND AREA OF THE EUROPEAN STATES. 
 
 Country. 
 
 Population. 
 
 Area in Acres. 
 
 Debt. 
 
 Interest. 
 
 Total Debt. 
 
 Total Interest. 
 
 Belgium . . 
 
 1,230,000 
 
 8,044,166 | 
 
 $6,000,000 
 20,000,000 
 
 4 per ct. 
 5 " 
 
 $26,000,000 
 
 $1,240,000 
 
 Denmark. . 
 
 2,097,400 
 
 3,247,680 
 
 65,000,000 
 
 3 
 
 65,000,000 
 
 1,950,000 
 
 Holland. . . 
 
 2,820,000 
 
 8,889,600 - 
 
 82,900,000 
 325,000,000 
 
 5 
 1* 
 
 407,900,000 
 
 12,170,000 
 
 
 
 
 588,500,000 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 France . . . 
 
 33,000,000 
 
 129,340,000- 
 
 47,500,000 
 238,500,000 
 
 !* 
 
 884,500,000 
 
 38,539,444 
 
 
 
 
 10,000,000 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 Portugal... 
 
 3,400,000 
 
 22, 080, 000 | 
 
 28,755,500 
 30,000,000 
 
 | 
 
 58,755,500 
 
 2,627,775 
 
 Prussia.. . . 
 
 13,800,000 
 
 67,942,000 
 
 97,500,000 
 
 
 97,500,000 
 
 7,800,000 
 
 Eussia . . . 
 
 51,100,000 
 
 1,306,757,700 
 
 368,000,000 
 
 5 
 
 47,259,375 
 
 2,362,968 
 
 Spain 
 
 11,963,000 
 
 112,947,200 
 
 32,500,000 
 
 4 
 
 400,500,000 
 
 19,600,000 
 
 Great ) 
 Britain, j" 
 
 26,861,000 
 
 74,688,000 | 
 
 2,418,100,650 
 1,112,378,330 
 
 3 1 
 3K f 
 
 3,430,478,980 
 
 111,476,260 
 
 Grand aggregate $5,407,893,855 
 
 $197,666,447 
 
 To these should be addded the unfunded debt of England 237,209,510 
 
 
 In annuities 306,867,085 
 
 
 You will see that, by computing in 
 terest on the last two items, the divi 
 dend arising from this source is more 
 than two hundred and twenty-five mil 
 lions of dollars. A large part of this 
 interest is payable in London, and 
 passes through a few bankers, who 
 are agents to receive and reinvest it. 
 Those who know the value of our cot 
 ton crop as a medium of exchange 
 between this country and England, 
 must see the power which the control 
 over the interest on the European debt 
 gives to these bankers in the regula 
 tion of European exchange, and how 
 much these bankers are interested in 
 maintaining the value of the funds 
 from which that interest is derived. 
 It will also be seen that the greater 
 part of this European debt bears an 
 interest of not more than four per 
 cent.; and it follows that these bank 
 ers, who were the agents of these 
 European governments for the sale of 
 their bonds, and of the fundholders 
 for receiving and, reinvesting their 
 dividends, knew that, if Mr. Jaudon 
 
 was permitted to establish in London 
 a market for the sale of American 
 bonds, bearing an interest of six or 
 seven per cent., the holders of Euro 
 pean three and four per cents, would 
 sell out and invest in American six 
 and seven per cents.; and they saw 
 that Mr. Biddle could, through the 
 agency of Mr. Jaudon, furnish Ameri 
 can bonds sufficient to absorb the 
 whole value of the European debt, 
 and they knew that the existence of 
 those European governments, whose 
 agents they were, depended upon the 
 maintenance of their credit, and there 
 fore, as the question presented by Mr. 
 Jaudon s appearance in London in 
 volved at the same time the credit 
 and the duration of the monarchies of 
 Europe, and the business and profit 
 of the bankers, who were their agents, \ 
 they combined to destroy the bank of 
 the. United States, as the best and: 
 only means of defeating the measures 
 adopted by ,that bank for tho sale of 
 American, securities in the European 
 market. 
 
176 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 Had Mr. Biddle placed his state 
 bonds with these bankers, they could 
 have regulated the quantity sold, and 
 the price, and as they could have con 
 trolled the market and fostered Brit 
 ish commerce, without destroying the 
 bank or annihilating American credit, 
 it will doubtless be said by their par 
 tisans in this country, as well as in 
 Europe, that their combination was 
 the necessary consequence of Mr. 
 Biddle s refusal to allow them one 
 half on one per cent, commission, 
 and of his attempt to build up a rival 
 American agency in the European 
 market. 
 
 In reply, I submit that my purpose 
 is so show that the failure of the bank 
 was caused by a combination of Euro 
 pean bankers who are the agents of 
 the monarchies of Europe, and that 
 that combination originated in the 
 necessity of protecting the credit of 
 these European monarchies, when 
 brought in competition with the credit 
 of the United States, and of the indi 
 vidual states of America ; and to show 
 that, as these bankers then combined 
 to destroy the Bank of the United 
 States, so will they again combine, 
 whenever it may be convenient or 
 necessary for them to do so, for the 
 advancement of their own private gain, 
 or to protect the credit or to promote 
 the purpose of the monarchies whom 
 they represent. - 
 
 More : My purpose is to show that 
 the system of European credit consti 
 tutes the chief strength of the existing 
 European governments that the debt 
 of these European nations represents 
 
 the expenditure heretofore made in 
 wars, and in the maintenance of 
 armies and navies, and privileged 
 persons, and would have no value 
 if the people were to refuse to pay 
 taxes. It is, therefore, the funda 
 mental policy of these monarchical 
 governments, and of the bankers whp 
 are their agents, to distribute these 
 public securities in the hands of many 
 persons, knowing that, as the value 
 of these securities depends on the pay 
 ment of taxes, the more they are dis 
 tributed the greater will be the num 
 ber of those interested in maintaining 
 the existing forms of government. In 
 other words, my purpose is to show 
 that, if tho toiling millions, who now 
 pay the enormous sum of two hundred 
 and twenty-five millions of dollars per 
 annum, in taxes, on account of the 
 previous expenditure in wars, armies, 
 and navies, were to apply the sponge 
 to that debt by a revolution, then these 
 bankers, now so strong in the power 
 of their combinations, would be weak 
 er than poor Nicholas Biddle after they 
 had crushed and destroyed his bank ; 
 and to show that, as the resources of 
 the United States are developed, and 
 our strength and prosperity advance, 
 will the power and resources of these 
 European bankers be exerted to main 
 tain their system of European credit 
 and finance at our expense. That such 
 is their purpose and policy is ap 
 parent to the most careless obser 
 ver. In proof of this, I call your at 
 tention to the following table, fur 
 nished, while I write, by the New York 
 Herald : 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 177 
 
 MOVEMENTS OF SPECIE AND BULLION TO NOVEMBER 1, 1851. 
 
 Months. 
 
 Receipts of California 
 Gold. 
 
 Gold Coinage. 
 
 Specie Export 3d. 
 
 
 $4,940,000 
 
 $2,620,966 
 
 $1,266,281 
 
 February . 
 
 2,860,000 
 
 5,082 987 
 
 1,207,689 
 
 
 2,634,500 
 
 6,285,735 
 
 2,368,861 
 
 
 2,785,500 
 
 3,176,058 
 
 3 482,182 
 
 Mav 
 
 3,205,600 
 
 3,201,262 
 
 4,506,135 
 
 ^r a y 
 
 June 
 
 3,570,000 
 
 3,653,243 
 
 6,462,367 
 
 July 
 
 3,053,000 
 
 3,240,495 
 
 6,004,170 
 
 August 
 
 4,048,800 
 
 4,078,329 
 
 2,653,444= 
 
 
 3,960,500 
 
 4,087,423 
 
 3,490,142 
 
 October 
 
 4,670,000 
 
 5,231,019 4 
 
 1,779,707 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 $35,727,900 
 
 $40,657,522 
 
 $33,026,978 
 
 
 
 
 
 Why is it that so much of our specie 
 goes to England ? Is it not because 
 there is a balance against us ? Is it 
 not because our produce does not sell 
 in the British market for as much as 
 we have agreed to pay for British 
 goods imported ? And why does not 
 our produce pay for the British goods 
 imported? Is it not because we 
 place our produce under the control of 
 British bankers, who sympathize more 
 with the British consumer than with 
 the American producer, and because 
 these British bankers are interested 
 in creating a balance against us, to be 
 paid in specie ? If there be any who 
 doubt this to be so, I bespeak a care 
 ful examination of what I have further 
 to say in my next. 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 
 DUFF GREEN TO GOV. FLOYD. 
 To His Excellency Gov. FLOYD, Presi 
 dent of the Board of Public Works, 
 in Virginia: 
 
 DEAR SIR : In my former letter I 
 gave a table, showing that the annual 
 interest on the public debt of nine 
 European states exceeds two hundred 
 and twenty-five millions of dollars, 
 
 with a statement of facts, proving that 
 the bankers, who are their agents for 
 the sale of their bonds, and of the fund- 
 holders for the receipt and reinvest 
 ment of the accruing interest, aided by 
 the bank of England, combined to 
 break down the bank of the United 
 States, because that bank attempted 
 to create an agency in London for the 
 sale of American securities, bearing 
 an interest of six and seven per cent., 
 in competition with their European 
 three and four per cents. I explained 
 that this was a matter of necessity on 
 their part, because inasmuch as the 
 public debt of these European mon 
 archies bears interest at the rate of 
 three and four per cent., and repre 
 sents the sums expended in wars, and 
 in maintaining armies and navies and 
 privileged persons, it is the policy of 
 those governments to distribute their 
 debt into the hands of many persons, 
 because they thereby increase the 
 number of those who are directly inter 
 ested in maintaining their credit, and 
 upholding the present forms of gov 
 ernment, which would be endangered 
 if the European fund-holders were to 
 sell out their three and four per cents, 
 and invest in American six and seven 
 
178 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 per cents. Since that letter was writ 
 ten I have read Kossuth s London 
 speech, from which the following is 
 an extract. He said : 
 
 " London is the regulator of the money 
 market of the world. These few words 
 spoken to you suffice to state the import 
 ance of this principle. "Well, if London is 
 the regulator of the public credit of the 
 world, and if a very considerable quantity 
 of the loan shares of every government in 
 the world are concentrated here in London, 
 let me ask, where is the security of those 
 loans ? Where is the possibility to see paid 
 the money under the governments of the 
 world ? Ts the security in the victory of 
 the absolutist principle, or is it the victory 
 of the principle of freedom? Take de 
 spotic governments, what is their basis of 
 existence ? Is it the love of the nations ? 
 Oh, how could the principle of despotism 
 be love ? Love in such a case is a contra 
 diction to our nature. Is the basis of the 
 absolutist governments the contentment of 
 nations ? How can men be content with 
 out freedom ? What is the connection of 
 the principle of absolutism ? It can be 
 marked out in a few words : People pay, 
 because I want soldiers and spies to be 
 your illimitable master. How could the 
 principle of these nations be contentment ? 
 Therefore, what is the basis of their exis 
 tence ? Immensely costly armies, and not 
 less costly diplomatic intrigues. The 
 sweat of the people cannot suffice to pro 
 vide for all those necessities not for the 
 happiness of nations, but to keep them in 
 servitude. Therefore, the absolutist gov 
 ernments must come again and again to 
 the money markets to get some loans. 
 Every new loan, in whatever unproductive 
 manner applied, diminishes the resources 
 out of which it should be paid j and when 
 the same goes on again and again, who 
 could take the guarantee upon himself for 
 the nations of the world with their eternal 
 loans, employed not for their benefit but 
 against their benefit and against their 
 liberty? Who can take the guarantee 
 upon him, that once these nations, groaning 
 under their material sufferings, will not 
 
 say, Let him pay who made the debt, we mado 
 it not T Here is the prospect which abso 
 lutist principles point out in that respect* 
 But there is a prospect, especially to the 
 House of Austria that prospect is inevi 
 table bankruptcy." 
 
 I call your attention to these re 
 marks of the great Hungarian, because 
 they verify what I said in my former 
 letter, and because our distinguished 
 fellow-citizen, the late Secretary of 
 the Treasury, is understood to have 
 asserted the principle, that England 
 and the United States are to act in 
 concert for the subversion of the ab 
 solutists governments in question, and 
 because such is the desire in certain 
 quarters to obtain the vote of our 
 naturalized citizens in the next Presi 
 dential election, that there is cause to 
 fear that many will be enlisted in the 
 effort to involve our government in a 
 war with the continental powers of 
 Europe, under the vain hope that Eng 
 land will be our ally, and that such 
 a war will advance the cause of Re 
 publican liberty. Let me "be under 
 stood. No one desires more than I to 
 favor the cause of liberty on the con 
 tinent of Europe ; but I do not be 
 lieve that we can rely upon the English 
 government, or upon English bankers, 
 who are the agents and creditors of 
 absolute governments, to aid us. I do 
 not believe that the cause of liberty, 
 on the continent of Europe, will be 
 advanced by a war in which we, as a 
 nation, take part. Kossuth himself, 
 in the speech from which we have 
 quoted, says : 
 
 " When I spoke so, I intended not to ask 
 England to take up arms for our liberties. 
 No, gentlemen, that is the affair of Hun 
 gary; we will provide for our own free 
 dom. All I wish is, that public opinion 
 should establish, as the ruling principle in 
 the politics of England, the acknowledg 
 ment of the right of nations to dispose of 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 179 
 
 their own affairs not to give a charter to 
 the Czar to dispose of whole nations." 
 
 That the time is near at hand when 
 the interests and policy of Russia and 
 Great Britain may bring them in con 
 flict, and the whole power and influ 
 ence of British gold and British diplo 
 macy will be exerted to make us a 
 party to that war, I can readily be 
 lieve. It is, therefore, important that 
 we should carefully examine into the 
 motives and policy of England, before 
 we permit our sympathies to mislead 
 our judgments so far as to make us 
 again the victims of her avarice and 
 ambition. Why has England been 
 jealous of Russia? Why does the 
 Christian Queen sustain the unbeliev 
 ing Turk ? Is it not because the con 
 quest of Constantinople would enable 
 the Emperor of Russia to seize upon 
 the British possessions in India ? And 
 what interest have we in preventing 
 that catastrophe? What matters it 
 to us whether England or Russia rule 
 in India ? Would not the conquest of 
 India by Russia, open the trade of In 
 dia to all the world : Is it not rather 
 the true policy of the United States to 
 cultivate the arts of peace, and thus 
 multiply our wealth and resources, 
 and by a judicious organization of our 
 credit, create, in the United States, a 
 financial power strong enough to pro 
 tect us against the money power of 
 London, and to make New York and 
 New Orleans, instead of London, the 
 great centres of the financial world ? 
 Who doubts that this is the real issue 
 of the present day, or that upon it, 
 more than any other, depends the con 
 flict now waging between despotism 
 and liberty ? 
 
 Kossuth is right in this : The per 
 manence of the absolute governments 
 of Europe depends on their ability to 
 obtain money. Their sole reliance is 
 
 upon loans and taxation ; for whenever 
 the people refuse to pay taxes, there 
 will be an end of absolute govern 
 ments. 
 
 Such is the foundation upon which 
 rests the whole funded debt of Europe, 
 which constitutes the basis of Euro 
 pean credit, and is the vital principle 
 of/ the money power of London a 
 power which, concentrated in the 
 hands of a few individuals, enables 
 them to regulate the policy of the 
 kingdoms of Europe with more effi 
 ciency than the mandate of the Pope 
 did in former ages, and especially in 
 relation to the questions of war and 
 peace. How far they may be able to 
 arrest or delay the progress of Russia 
 toward Constantinople and the British 
 possessions in India, remains to be 
 seen ; but we in the United States 
 would be deaf to all the lessons of ex 
 perience, if we presume, for a moment, 
 that this concentrated money power 
 will ever take part or sympathize with 
 us in any effort to advance the cause 
 of Republican liberty. 
 
 Kossuth is right : The great ques 
 tion of this age is not arms, but 
 money. We have seen that the chief 
 element of the concentrated money 
 power of London consists in the fund 
 ed debt of monarchical governments ; 
 and who does not know, that whenever 
 a conflict between either of those gov 
 ernments and liberty may occur, the 
 whole strength and energy of that 
 concentrated money power will be ex 
 erted to crush the germs of liberty, 
 wherever they may appear ? Upon 
 what, then, do the hopes of lib 
 erty rest ? Upon what must the op 
 pressed nations of the world rely? 
 and whence must the means of their 
 redemption come ? Must they not 
 look to us and how can we help 
 them so long as our credit and our re- 
 
180 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 sources are regulated by a combination 
 of European monarchs, or the concen 
 trated money power of their bankers 
 and agents ? 
 
 Have we the means of organizing a 
 monetary system of sufficient strength 
 to resist that combination, and to give 
 efficient aid to European liberty in her 
 conflict with despotism ? 
 
 I beg you to bear in mind, that the 
 combination which broke down the 
 Bank of the United States, has given 
 way before the energy, activity, and 
 resources of this young and vigorous 
 people that American credit has re 
 vived, and that the greater security 
 and increased dividends will induce 
 many to sell out their European three 
 and four per cents., and invest 
 
 in 
 
 American sixes that this is the age 
 of progress that the words of that 
 remarkable man, Kossuth, will be re 
 peated, and make a deep impression on 
 European fundholders and that when 
 once the process of transferring to the 
 United States is begun, it will require 
 no London agency to accomplish it. 
 No one can foresee the effect of the 
 panic thereby produced. Who, ten 
 years ago, could have believed that 
 so many wealthy European emigrants 
 would have come to the United 
 States ? The transfer of capital by 
 this process has but just commenced, 
 The following table shows the num 
 ber of depositors in the savings banks 
 of England, and the amount deposited 
 on the 20th of November, 1840 : 
 
 Class. 
 
 Number of Deposi 
 tors. 
 
 Amount of Deposits 
 including Interest. 
 
 Kot exceeding 20 
 
 440,740 
 
 2,904,207 
 
 
 209,463 
 
 6,437,846 
 
 " 100 
 
 85,118 
 
 5,847,811 
 
 150 
 
 28,449 
 
 3,408,037 
 
 200 
 
 *15,538 
 
 2,639,648 
 
 Exceeding 200 
 
 3,066 
 
 742,248 
 
 
 
 
 
 782,374 
 
 21,979,797 
 
 
 7,988 
 
 485,908 
 
 Eriendly societies 
 
 7,693 
 
 1,005,345 
 
 
 
 
 Total, 
 
 798,505 
 
 23,47i,05X) 
 
 
 
 
 These deposits are by law invested 
 in the public securities of the British 
 government, and the effect of any 
 panic which would induce the depos 
 itors to demand payment would be to 
 compel these savings banks to force 
 
 those securities upon a falling market, 
 and thus depreciate their value. 
 
 The whole number of persons in 
 Great Britain receiving dividends on 
 the 5th of January, 1842, is given in 
 the following table : 
 
 87,176 receiving incomes not exceeding 10 per annum. 
 
 44,648 
 
 93,305 
 
 25,641 
 
 14,701 
 
 4,495 
 
 2,827 
 
 1,367 
 
 266 
 
 20 
 100 
 200 
 400 
 600 
 1,000 
 2,000 
 4,000 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 181 
 
 151 public companies and joint stock companies 4,000 per annum. 
 
 35 " " " C,000 
 
 40 persons with incomes not exceeding 6,000 
 
 15 " " " 8,000 
 
 24 public and joint stock companies 8,000 
 
 10 " " 10,000 
 
 4 persons with incomes not exceeding. . .. 10,000 
 
 12 " exceeding 10,000 
 
 34 public companies \rith incomes exceeding 10,000 
 
 When you examine these lists and 
 see how many there are who have 
 small incomes, and reflect upon the in 
 ducement which such persons have to 
 emigrate to the United States, and to 
 invest in American securities, we are 
 justified in believing that American 
 credit, resting upon a permanent and 
 fixed basis, will be preferred by 
 many persons in Europe, and that 
 large sums will be remitted to the 
 United States as a permanent invest 
 ment. 
 
 It is estimated that there are near 
 ten thousand miles of railroad now in 
 operation in the United States, and 
 that there soon will be at least 
 twenty thousand miles, and the capi 
 tal invested more than six hundred 
 millions of dollars. The present dis 
 bursement for mail service on rail 
 roads is about one million of dollars. 
 As this service is so rapidly increas 
 ing, for the sake of round numbers, we 
 will assume that the proposed change 
 of system will commence on a dis 
 bursement of twelve hundred thousand 
 dollars, which will be the interest, at 
 six per cent, on twenty millions. We 
 propose that the Postoffice Depart 
 ment shall make contracts with rail 
 road companies for the perpetual use 
 of their roads, and that instead of be 
 ing paid, as now, on contracts for four 
 years, the railroad companies shall re 
 ceive an amount of five per cent, 
 bonds, chargeable on the revenues of 
 the Department ; the interest of which, 
 at six per cent., would be equal to the 
 service rendered. Thus, we now pay 
 
 three hundred dollars per mile per an 
 num for carrying the mail on first-class 
 railroads, which is six per cent, on five 
 thousand dollars, and which, at five 
 per cent., would reduce the charge on 
 the Department to two hundred and 
 fifty dollars per mile per annum, leav 
 ing fifty dollars per mile per annum as 
 a sinking fund to pay off the principal, 
 which it would do in less than thirty- 
 three years. The effect of this would 
 be to give the use of the railroads for 
 ever thereafter free of all charge, and 
 consequently to save to the Depart 
 ment twenty millions of dollars in 
 thirty-four years. As this would be 
 so much money saved, whether it be 
 applied to. defray other expenditures of 
 the Department, or availed of to reduce 
 the rate of postage, the change of sys 
 tem is entitled to a credit for that 
 sum ; and as we are legislating not 
 for to-day only, but for the future, the 
 change of system is entitled to a 
 credit, not for that sum only, but for 
 the sum obtained by compounding the 
 interest on that sum in perpetuity. 
 As any sum compounded at six per 
 cent, semi-annually duplicates itself in 
 less than twelve years, the following 
 table shows that the gain by the 
 change of system 
 
 Will be, in 33 years $20,000,000 
 
 40,000,000 
 
 80,000,000 
 
 160,000,000 
 
 320,000,000 
 
 640,000,000 
 
 967,674,470 
 
 45 
 57 
 59 
 81 
 93 
 100 
 
 But this will not be all ; the effect 
 would be greatly to enhance the value 
 
182 
 
 FINANCIAL. 
 
 of the large fund invested in railroads. 
 It would make railroad shares and 
 railroad bonds available as capital, 
 and thus furnish a basis for invest 
 ments, and for the organization of a 
 system of American credit, much more 
 permanent and reliable than the sys 
 tem of European taxation. It should 
 be identified with and controlled by the 
 great body of our people. It should be 
 essentially American in all its aspects, 
 tendencies, and affinities. It should 
 be identified with our soil, and so 
 connected with our progress and wel 
 fare, that it may not, and never can, 
 be any other than American in feeling 
 or policy. It is strictly local, and yet 
 connects itself beneficially with the 
 most remote sections of this great 
 country. It is an interest acting within 
 prescribed limits, confined within its 
 own sphere, but connected with, pro 
 moting, sustaining, and enlarging, 
 other similar interests in each and 
 every other part of this great re 
 public ; an interest self-sustaining, 
 and rapidly increasing, whose power 
 and strength consist not in taxes 
 levied upon a down-trodden and op 
 pressed people, but in the facilities, 
 accommodation, wealth, prosperity, and 
 blessings, which it gives, and whose 
 beneficial power and influence may be 
 so organized, increased, and concen 
 trated, as to protect us from the pow 
 erful European combination to which I 
 have referred, at the same time that 
 each company preserves its individual 
 powers, control, and influence. 
 
 We have seen that the change of 
 system of mail contracts will save 
 to the people of the United States, 
 through the Postoffice Department, 
 nine hundred and sixty-seven millions 
 of dollars in one hundred years. It 
 will do much more than this. The 
 twenty millions of dollars which it 
 
 purposes to issue, will not be a charge 
 upon the treasury, for, inasmuch as 
 the system provides a sinking fund 
 out of the present disbursement, which 
 pays the principal, it will be as much 
 a creation as if it were California gold. 
 It will not only be so much saved to 
 the government, but it will furnish a 
 basis of banking on the principle of 
 the free banks of New York, which 
 have now been in operation for many 
 years, without the loss of a dollar to 
 the bill-holder ; and, it matters not 
 whether it be so used by the railroad 
 companies, or by others, the effect for 
 good will be the same. It will create 
 a capital which may be used to build 
 up manufactories, stimulating and sus 
 taining our domestic industry, and 
 furnishing the means of enabling our 
 agriculturists, our planters and far 
 mers, to retain their cotton and their 
 corn until the British consumers will 
 be compelled to come here and pur 
 chase it at American prices, instead of 
 buying it as they now do, in Liver 
 pool, through British agents, at British 
 prices. 
 
 Under the system proposed, the 
 American banker who deposits these 
 bonds, as the basis of a bank circula 
 tion, will receive the interest on his 
 bonds and on his bank notes. These, 
 together, will be at least twelve per 
 cent, per annum ; but, as the payment 
 now made to railroad companies is six 
 per cent., the change of system will be 
 entitled to a credit for six per cent, 
 compounded, and at this rate the sav 
 ing will be 
 
 On the first issue, say $20,000,000 
 
 Which in 12 years will be . 40,000,000 
 
 24 
 3G 
 48 
 60 
 72 
 84 
 96 
 100 
 
 . 80,000,000 
 . 160,000,000 
 320,000,000 
 . 640,000,000 
 .1,280,000,000 
 .2.500,000,000 
 .5,120,000,000 
 .6,490,626,370 
 
FINANCIAL. 
 
 183 
 
 As the expenditure for transporting 
 the mails will increase, as the system 
 of railroads is extended, we must 
 credit the system with the saving on 
 the roads to be made, as well as on 
 the roads now in operation. If we 
 suppose that the system will be ex 
 tended so as to increase the expendi- i 
 turc for carrying the mails on railroads I 
 
 at the rate of one hundred thousand 
 dollars per annum, the saving will be 
 at the rate of twenty millions of dol 
 lars for every period of twelve years, 
 and the compound interest thereon. 
 The amount will then stand thus : 
 The saving will be to the United 
 States, through the Postoffice Depart 
 ment, as before stated 
 
 For the first 33 years $20,000,000 
 
 For the next 12 years, or in 45 years 60,000,000 
 
 12 57 160,000,000 
 
 12 < 69 300,000,000 
 
 12 < 81 620,000,000 
 
 12 93 1,260,000,000 
 
 7 100 1,903,206,000 
 
 Such would be the saving to the 
 people, through the Postoffice De 
 partment, on the present system of 
 expenditure for carrying the mails. 
 If we apply the same rule for esti 
 mating the profit to the railroad com 
 panies, or to those who use the bonds 
 
 as a basis of banking, it will be found 
 that the accumulation of capital will 
 be much more surprising. Thus, the 
 first issue will be twenty millions, and 
 a like sum in addition every twelve 
 years. These sums, compounded at six 
 per cent, per annum, semi-annually 
 
 "Will give, say 
 
 Which in 12 years will be 
 
 24 
 
 36 
 
 48 
 
 60 
 
 72 
 
 84 
 
 96 
 
 100 
 
 Add saving through Post Office Department, as above. 
 
 820,000,000 
 
 60,000,000 
 
 140,000,000 
 
 300,000,000 
 
 620,000,000 
 
 1,260,000,000 
 
 2,540,000,000 
 
 5,100,000,000 
 
 10,220,000,000 
 
 12,942,264,000 
 
 1,903,206,000 
 
 And \ve have the sum of (to the credit of the change of sys 
 tem proposed) $14,845,470,000 
 
 Let not these sums startle you. I 
 beg you to run through the calcula 
 tions, as I have done, and you will be 
 satisfied that, enormous as this sum 
 appears, it is, indeed, not a moiety of 
 what would, in fact, be gained by the 
 beneficial influences resulting from the 
 plan proposed. It would create rail 
 roads, build up manufactories, create 
 wealth and incalculable resources, by 
 the stimulus it would give to the pro 
 ductive industry of the country. To 
 the South and West it is indispen 
 sable as a means of exchanging their 
 respective products, and this it would 
 
 accomplish, not by one great mam 
 moth bank, concentrating its power, 
 and regulating the price of cotton by 
 contracting the currency, but by so 
 distributing aud organizing the busi 
 ness of banking as to furnish a supply 
 adequate to the wants of the country, 
 of a currency deserving the public 
 confidence, and not subject to the con 
 trol of British intrigues or specula 
 tion, and, therefore, free from the pres 
 sure of the screws of the bank of 
 
 England. 
 
 Yours, truly, 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE TARIFF. 
 
 [* HAD become satisfied that the use 
 -*- of machinery had so increased Euro 
 pean manufactures, that the conflict 
 of interest would cause an effort to 
 readjust the commerce of the world, 
 and that that adjustment must neces 
 sarily more and more identify the in 
 terest of the South, as the producers 
 of cotton, with the interests of the 
 North, as manufacturers, and of the 
 Northwest, a large part of whose 
 surplus provisions would find the best 
 market in the manufacturing and 
 cotton and sugar producing states, if 
 the whole people could be made to 
 realize that the North and the South, 
 and the East and the West, are, or 
 should be one people, united by one 
 common bond of mutual interest, be 
 cause the real conflict of interest was 
 not between the North and the South, 
 as slaveholding and non-si avehold- 
 ing communities, but as between the 
 North and the South, including the 
 East and the West, as one political 
 community, organized under a common 
 government for the promotion and pro 
 tection of their common interests, so 
 far as those interests may or might be 
 affected by their intercourse with each 
 other, or with foreign nations. I saw 
 that the effect of the sectional organi 
 zation of the North was to cause a 
 counter sectional feeling and political 
 organization of the South, and there 
 fore I did not content myself with 
 appeals to the people of the North. I 
 deemed it to be my duty to address the 
 
 people of the South, and among nume 
 rous other letters, I addressed the 
 following to the Hon. R. M. T. Hunter : 
 
 DUFF GREEN TO THE HON. R. M. T. HUNTER. 
 
 To the Hon. R. M. T. HUNTER : 
 
 In the Congress of the confederation, 
 April 30, 1784, a report of a com 
 mittee, of which the following is an 
 extract, was agreed to : 
 
 "Unless the United States, in Congress 
 assembled, shall be vested with powers 
 competent to the protection of commerce, 
 they can never command reciprocal advan 
 tages in trade ; and, without these, our 
 foreign commerce must decline, and event 
 ually be annihilated. Hence it is necessary 
 that the states should be explicit, and fix 
 on some effectual mode by which foreign 
 commerce, not founded on principles of 
 equity, may be restrained. 
 
 " That the United States may be enabled 
 to secure such terms they have resolved," 
 &c.. &c. 
 
 The resolutions asked that the states 
 should give to Congress " the power of 
 prohibiting the subjects of any foreign 
 state, kingdom, or empire, unless 
 authorized by treaty, from importing 
 into the United States any goods, 
 wares, or merchandise, which are not 
 the produce or manufacture of the do 
 minions of the sovereign whose subjects 
 they are." 
 
 Subsequently, on the 13th of July, 
 1785, the Congress, upon motion of 
 Mr. Monroe, proposed an amendment 
 to the ninth article of the confederation, 
 providing, among other things, that 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 185 
 
 Congress should have the sole and 
 exclusive right and power " of regu 
 lating the trade of the states, as well 
 with foreign nations as with each other; 
 and of laying such imposts and duties 
 upon imports and exports as may be 
 necessary for this purpose," and in a 
 letter addressed to the several states, 
 showing the principles on which the 
 alteration was proposed, it was said : 
 
 " The common principle upon which a 
 friendly commercial intercourse is con 
 ducted between independent nations, is that 
 of reciprocal advantages ; and if this bo not 
 obtained, it becomes the duty of the losing 
 party to make such further regulations, con 
 sistently with the faith of treaties, as will 
 remedy the evil, and secure its interests." 
 
 I make these quotations to prove 
 that one of the chief objects of the 
 adoption of the federal Constitution 
 was to confer upon Congress the 
 power to protect our interests in our 
 commerce with foreign nations, and to 
 adopt "such further regulations" as 
 will secure to us " reciprocal advantages." 
 
 By reference to the proceedings of the 
 Virginia House of Delegates, Jan. 21, 
 IT 8 6, it will be seen that Edmond Ran 
 dolph, James Madison, and others, 
 were appointed to meet commissioners 
 from the other states, " to take into 
 consideration the trade of the United 
 States ; to examine the relative situa 
 tion and trade of the said states ; to 
 consider how far a uniform system in 
 their commercial relations may be 
 necessary to their common interest and 
 their permanent harmony ; and to re 
 port to the several states such an act 
 relative to this great object, as when 
 unanimously ratified by them, will en 
 able . the United States in Congress 
 assembled effectually to provide for the 
 same." 
 
 These commissioners met others 
 from some of the other states, at An 
 napolis, on the llth of September, 
 
 It 86, and their recommendation led to 
 the adoption of the federal Consti 
 tution. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the chief 
 purpose was to form a government 
 with power to adopt such a system of 
 commerce as may be necessary to our 
 "common interest" and to the "per 
 manent harmony " among the states 
 and by reference to these extracts we 
 see that the purpose of giving to Con 
 gress " power to regulate commerce 
 with foreign nations," was to enable 
 Congress to make " such further regu 
 lations " as are " competent to the pro 
 tection of commerce," and will " com 
 mand reciprocal advantages in trade." 
 
 Such being the purpose of the federal 
 Constitution, I ask whether the regu 
 lations made by Congress are such as 
 to protect our commerce, and secure to 
 us " reciprocal advantages," or whether 
 they be such as to promote our " com 
 mon interest" and "permanent har 
 mony" among the states ? 
 
 If it is true, as I allege it is, that 
 the great issue now before the world 
 is financial that it is whether the 
 monarchies of the Old World, and 
 their system of taxation, represented 
 by their funded debt, or the republi 
 canism of the New World and our 
 system of progress as represented by 
 our railroads, is the best basis of 
 credit, and that under our system of 
 commerce, as now regulated by Con 
 gress, it is in the power of the Bank 
 of England, at any time, to cause a 
 ruinous contraction of our currency, by 
 compelling the export of specie and / 
 if a low rate of ad-valorem duties gives 
 to the Bank of England increased 
 facilities for exporting our specie, then 
 it is the imperative duty of Congress 
 to so regulate commerce with foreign 
 nations as to "protect" our "common 
 interest." 
 
186 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 There are a few recognised and ad 
 mitted principles of political economy 
 about which there can be no difference 
 of opinion ; and there are some facts, 
 so well established, as to require no 
 further proof or illustration. Thus it 
 is admitted that .the chief source of 
 wealth and prosperity of a nation is its 
 productive industry. Hence it follows, 
 that it is the duty of Congress, charged 
 as it is with the control of our foreign 
 commerce, to so regulate that commerce 
 as to bring into action and stimulate 
 our home industry. By this I do not 
 mean that Congress should enact a 
 prohibitory tariff, and thus exclude 
 competition with foreign labor, but I 
 do insist that the chief end of the 
 federal Constitution was to so regulate 
 our intercourse with foreign nations as 
 to protect our " common interests," in 
 all questions connected with our 
 foreign commerce, and that this power 
 was given to Congress, with especial 
 reference to our "credit" If so, it 
 follows that it is the duty of Congress 
 to protect our " credit" against the 
 contingencies arising from our inter 
 course with foreign nations. And 
 hence I insist that, as the export of our 
 specie necessarily produces a con 
 traction gf our currency, and as that 
 contraction diminishes the value of 
 property, it follows that it is the duty 
 of Congress to protect our " common 
 interests" by preventing as far as 
 practicable, this export of specie ; and 
 hence it follows, that if we can trace 
 the export of specie to measures adopt 
 ed by the Bank of England, then the 
 measures of protection to be adopted 
 by Congress should be such as to pro 
 tect us against those by which the 
 Bank of England causes the export of 
 specie. 
 
 This brings us to the inquiry of how 
 and by what means the Bank of Eng 
 
 land is enabled to cause the export of 
 our specie. 
 
 The funding system is of compar 
 atively recent origin, and its power and 
 influence are imperfectly understood 
 by the people of this country. The 
 elder Peel said, "a public debt is a 
 public blessing," and this saying has 
 become a British proverb. His argu 
 ment was " The debt adds on one side 
 to the existing capital an amount of 
 100,000,000 or 800,000,000, while, 
 on no side, it ever diminishes the 
 
 wealth or capital of individuals 
 
 The debt, therefore, positively, in 
 creases the national wealth by its 
 amount ; but if, in a statistical table, 
 you deduct the amount of the wealth, 
 or of the income of the country (a 
 very doubtful application of the prin 
 cipal), still, as the minus and the plus 
 are equal, it will follow that the debt 
 is not a burden." 
 
 Such was the argument of the elder 
 Peel. I do not admit its truth, for it 
 will be seen that the case, as stated, 
 assumes that the whole debt is owned 
 in England, and that, inasmuch as the 
 sum paid by the government is paid to 
 the people of England, therefore it " is 
 not a burden." It follows that, if any 
 part of the debt be due to any one else, 
 then, to that extent, it is a burden. It 
 follows, also, that, as the debt is due 
 from the government to those only 
 who are the holders of it, it is neces 
 sarily a burden on those who pay 
 more than they receive ; and that, if 
 the payments are equal to the receipts, 
 yet the sum invested in the debt is to 
 that extent a dead loss of the sums 
 thus invested ; for if A pays in taxes 
 all that he receives as interest, then A 
 receives nothing for the sum invested 
 in the debt. 
 
 I had occasion to examine into this 
 subject, and found that the whols 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 187 
 
 number of persons receiving incomes 
 in Great Britain, on the 1st of January, 
 1843, was as follows : 
 87,1 76 whose incomes did not exceed 10 per ann 
 
 44,648 
 
 
 ii 
 
 20 
 
 
 03,305 
 
 
 H 
 
 100 
 
 
 25,641 
 
 
 tc 
 
 200 
 
 
 14,701 
 
 
 U 
 
 400 
 
 
 4,795 
 
 
 If 
 
 600 
 
 
 2,827 
 
 
 (( 
 
 1,000 
 
 
 1,367 
 
 
 
 
 2.000 
 
 
 266 
 
 
 II 
 
 4,000 
 
 
 151 public 
 
 ompanies, 
 
 It 
 
 4,000 
 
 
 35 
 
 
 U 
 
 6,000 
 
 
 40 persons incomes not exceed g 6,000 
 
 
 15 " 
 
 ** 
 
 8,000 
 
 
 24 public companies 
 
 " 
 
 8,000 
 
 
 10 
 
 (1 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 
 4 persons incomes 
 
 It 
 
 10,000 
 
 t 
 
 12 " 
 
 (1 
 
 10.000 
 
 1 
 
 34 public companies, exceeding 10JOOO 
 
 To this may be added the depositors 
 in the savings banks, whose deposites 
 are converted into the public funds, and 
 upon fourteen days notice may be 
 withdrawn. The amount of these de 
 posites on the 20th of November, 
 1840, was 23,471,050, on account of 
 798,055 depositors, as follows : 
 
 440,740 deposits not exceeding - 
 809,463 
 
 85,118 
 
 28,448 
 
 15,538 
 
 3,066 
 
 20 
 50 
 100 
 150 
 200 
 200 
 
 782,374 persons deposited - 21,979,797 
 
 7,988 charitable institutions dept d 485,908 
 
 7, 693 friendly societies deposited 1, 005, 345 
 
 798,055 depositors, and - - 23,471,050 
 
 If we compare the statement of per 
 sons receiving incomes, and add to 
 the number of those whose incomes 
 do not exceed 600, the number of de 
 positors in the savings banks, it will 
 be seen that the public debt of Eng 
 land, great as it is, is distributed 
 among the masses. And this fact 
 should admonish us that the funded 
 debt of England, distributed, as it is, 
 among the people, has become an es 
 sential part of the government of Eng 
 land ; for every one who is interested 
 in the funds, is to that extent interest 
 ed in upholding the government. The 
 Emperor of France understood this 
 well, when he distributed the war 
 13 
 
 loans among the people of France, in 
 stead of placing it with the large 
 bankers. 
 
 The interest upon the funded debt 
 of nine principal European states, 
 payable chiefly in London, is about 
 two hundred and fifty millions of dol 
 lars per annum, and constitutes one of 
 the means by which the exchange is 
 ruled in favor of London. But this of 
 itself, is not sufficient to regulate the 
 exchanges. We have seen that the 
 Duke of Wellington declared that 
 England was indebted to her system 
 of home manufactures and of com 
 merce, for the power and strength 
 which enabled her to subdue the elder 
 Napoleon ; and it will be found, upon 
 analysis, that England is enabled to 
 sustain her public credit, not because 
 the debtor and creditor sides balance 
 each other, as assumed by the elder 
 Peel, but because she has so regulated 
 her commerce with foreign nations as 
 to give employment to her home in 
 dustry, and receive, in the shape of 
 profits on her merchandise, consumed 
 by foreign nations, more than sufficient 
 to pay the interest upon her debt, the 
 burden of which is thus transferred 
 to those who consume her manufac 
 tures. 
 
 And it is therefore pertinent that 
 we should inquire how it is that Eng 
 land is enabled to give profitable em 
 ployment to her home labor, and at 
 the same time undersell her competi 
 tors in the markets of the world ? 
 The answer is : that she does this by 
 the wisdom and forethought with 
 which she " regulates commerce with 
 foreign nations," so as to protect her 
 public and private credit. 
 
 For example a merchant in San 
 Francisco wishes to purchase British 
 goods. Money in San Francisco is 
 worth thirty per cent, per annum , 
 
188 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 while in London it is worth but three 
 per cent. ; yet he is compelled to pay 
 a premium on funds which in San 
 Francisco are worth thirty per cent., 
 to obtain a like sum in London, where 
 it will be worth but three per cent. 
 Why is this so ? Is it not because the 
 people of England have so regulated 
 their commerce with San Francisco, 
 that the merchant at San Francisco is 
 compelled to transfer his funds from 
 San Francisco to London, and there 
 fore is compelled to pay the expense 
 of the transfer ? Is it not because 
 England has so regulated her com 
 merce that she compels other nations 
 to go to England to sell, and also to 
 buy ? And how is she enabled to do 
 this ? Is it not by the wisdom and 
 foresight which " protects " her home 
 industry, her commerce, and her 
 credit? What constitutes her power 
 and strength ? Is it the bullion in the 
 Bank of England ? Or is it not rather 
 the measures, by which she so regu 
 lates her commerce with other nations, 
 as to enable the bank at all times to 
 bring a supply of the precious metals 
 to London as the centre of the financial 
 world, and thus protect the public and 
 private credit of England, so that they 
 are available as capital, in giving em 
 ployment to labor ? Is it not because 
 she is enabled to use her credit as 
 capital, that she is enabled to furnish 
 the capital, at cheap rates, with which 
 she employs her home labor, and 
 creates the foreign commerce, the 
 profits on which pays the interest on 
 her public debt, and makes it available 
 as capital ? 
 
 Let me be understood gold and 
 silver, are by common consent received 
 at fixed rates, in all the operations of 
 commerce ; gold and silver therefore 
 are received in payment, and pass 
 from man to man, at their standard 
 
 value. A bank note is also received 
 in payment, because, if the bank be in 
 good credit, the note can be converted 
 into specie. That is, the credit of the 
 bank enables the holder of the note to 
 use the note as gold or silver ; and, 
 therefore the bank note is equal to 
 gold and silver, so long as the credit 
 of the bank is such as to give it 
 currency as money. So with the public 
 debt of England. So long as they are 
 convertible into gold and silver, con 
 sols will be received as money, at the 
 rates at which they are convertible, 
 and therefore, although that public 
 debt represents sums expended in 
 wars, and in maintaining armies and 
 navies, and other expenditures of the 
 British nation it represents also the 
 actual sum in money which the holders 
 have paid for it, if the sum thus paid 
 be no more than the current market 
 value 
 
 Yet we know that the value of the 
 debt consists in the payment of in 
 terest, and that whatever may weaken 
 the confidence of the public in the 
 ability or stability of the government 
 will diminish the value of the debt, 
 and to that extent impair the power 
 and resources of the British govern 
 ment. You will thus see that i t is the 
 imperative duty of the British govern 
 ment, and of all others who are in 
 terested in the prosperity of England 
 to aid as far as they can in maintain 
 ing- the public credit ; and hence it 
 follows that the bank of England is 
 compelled to adopt such measures, as 
 will prevent such competition between 
 our system of credit and the public 
 credit of England, as will depreciate 
 the value of British consols. 
 
 If we admit that it is the duty of the 
 British government and of the bank of 
 England to protect their credit, so as 
 to prevent its depreciation, and it be 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 189 
 
 true that the wise use made of their 
 credit enables them to employ it as 
 capital, giving profitable employment 
 to their labor, and through its agency 
 to make all other nations tributary to 
 them, then it becomes us to inquire 
 whether we may not organize a system 
 of credit competent to give employ 
 ment to our labor, and thus to render 
 us independent of, and protecting us 
 against the measures and policy of the 
 bank of England ? This inquiry how 
 ever deserves a most careful consider 
 ation, and is reserved for another 
 letter. 
 
 Very truly, your friend, 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 
 THE AMERICAN PARTY A LETTER FROM 
 
 DUFJP GREEN. 
 
 (From the American Organ, Feb. 28, 1855.) 
 To Hon. R. M. T. HUNTER : 
 
 Before proceeding to speak of the 
 measures which are indispensable to 
 the proper regulation of our commerce 
 with foreign nations, it may be well to 
 submit some facts and propositions 
 which I deem to be incontrovertible. 
 
 The purpose of Virginia and of the 
 other states, in organizing the federal 
 government, was " to enable the United 
 States, in Congress assembled, to take 
 into consideration the trade of the 
 United States ; to examine the rela 
 tive situations and trade of the said 
 states," and to adopt such " uniform 
 system in their commercial regulations 
 as may be necessary to their common 
 interest and permanent harmony." 
 
 That the Constitution gave to Con 
 gress power "to regulate commerce 
 with foreign nations," and "to coin 
 money and regulate the value there 
 of." 
 
 That the purpose of granting these 
 powers was to create a fixed and cer 
 tain standard of values, and, as far as 
 
 practicable, prevent uncertainty in the 
 values of property. 
 
 That the value of the property of 
 commercial nations is as thirty to one 
 of the sum of their currency. 
 
 That if the commerce between two 
 commercial nations be so regulated 
 that one of them can, at will, contract 
 the currency of the other, the effect 
 will be to enable the nation having 
 such control over the currency to regu 
 late the value of money and of prop 
 erty in the country thus subject to 
 that control, and by that means to 
 regulate their commerce as well as the 
 value of their money and of their prop 
 erty. 
 
 That the greater part of the debt of 
 nine European governments bears an 
 interest not exceeding three per cent., 
 and that the annual accruing interest, 
 payable, the greater part, in London, 
 is more than two hundred and fifty 
 millions of dollars per annum. 
 
 That the European governments, 
 and especially the governments of 
 England and France, have promoted, 
 as far as they could, the distribution 
 of this debt among the masses, be 
 cause, to the extent that the masses 
 are interested in the public debt, they 
 are interested in preventing a revo 
 lution which may injure the public 
 credit. 
 
 That, as the debt is a tax on their 
 productive industry, the governments 
 of Europe are interested in preventing 
 an increase of the rates of interest ; 
 and that the governments and persons 
 interested in maintaining the value of 
 their public credit, are interested in 
 preventing a competition between Eu 
 ropean three per cents, and American 
 securities giving six and seven per 
 cent. 
 
 That the bank of England can, by \ 
 raising the rate of interest, create an I 
 
190 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 extraordinary demand for bullion, and 
 that the effect of such demand is ex 
 plained by an intelligent English 
 writer, who, commenting upon the ex 
 ports of British manufactures, says : 
 
 " When a manufacturer is in immediate 
 want of cash, he dare not make a forced 
 sale in a home market. It would invaria 
 bly pull down prices permanently. It 
 would expose his necessities, and vitally 
 injure his credit He goes, therefore 
 quietly to a foreign agent. Ho consigns 
 his goods to him for an advance of ready 
 money, say fifty per cent, of what he ex 
 pects to realize, with an understanding that 
 as much of the remainder as the goods 
 fetch in the foreign market shall be paid to 
 him afterwards." 
 
 That, as under our system of com 
 merce, as now regulated by Congress, 
 such "forced sales" will give greater 
 and more speedy returns if the goods 
 are sent to New York, than if they 
 are sent to any other market, it fol 
 lows that, whenever the bank of Eng 
 land puts up the rate of interest so as 
 to create "an immediate want of cash" 
 manufacturers who are compelled to 
 make these forced sales will send their 
 goods to New York to be sold. 
 
 That the purpose of increasing the 
 rate of interest is to create a money 
 pressure in the London market, and to 
 compel a shipment of specie from the 
 United States, whence a supply is 
 more cheaply and sooner obtained 
 than from elsewhere. 
 
 That the necessary consequence of 
 increasing the rate of interest by the 
 bank, and the "forced sales" of mer 
 chandise will be an export of specie 
 from New York to London, and a con 
 traction of our currency, proportion 
 ate to the demand for specie thus 
 created. 
 
 That the diminution in the value of 
 our property will be in the proportion 
 of thirty to one of the reduction of 
 
 our currency ; that is, if the currency 
 be reduced thirty millions, then the 
 value of our property will be reduced 
 nine hundred millions of dollars. 
 
 That such contraction of the cur 
 rency must necessarily arrest our pub 
 lic improvements, by reducing the 
 value of our public securities ; and 
 that it will also greatly embarrass 
 private as well as public enterprise, 
 producing great distress among the 
 laboring classes, by depriving individ 
 uals, as well as incorporated com 
 panies, of the funds requisite to pay 
 for labor. 
 
 That the purpose of England in 
 emancipating her West India slaves, 
 was to repeal the West India monopo 
 ly of the supply of the British market 
 with tropical products, andj to enable 
 the British manufacturers to exchange 
 their goods for East India produce, 
 under a belief that the cheap labor of 
 India could successfully compete with 
 slave labor in Cuba, Brazil, and the 
 United States. 
 
 That the experiment has failed, in 
 asmuch as Sir Robert Peel himself 
 was compelled to say in the debate on 
 the repeal of the sugar duties : " I 
 must say that I have my doubts, if a 
 colony in which slavery has been 
 abolished by law, can at present enter 
 into successful competition with a dis 
 trict in which the system continues to 
 exist." 
 
 That the present war with Russia is 
 an effort on the part of England to 
 maintain her monopoly of jthe East 
 India trade, because |the continental 
 European powers, having established 
 aome manufactures for themselves, 
 England being unable to sell her manu 
 factures to other European nations, 
 now sends her manufactures to India, 
 where they are exchanged for the 
 tropical products of India, which are 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 191 
 
 carried in British ships to the conti 
 nent, and thus those European powers 
 who have no tropical possessions are 
 compelled to pay England tribute in 
 the shape of profits on East India 
 produce, purchased with British manu 
 factures. 
 
 That a nation which sends her best 
 blood and her noblest sons to perish 
 before Sebastopol, that she may retain 
 her present monopoly of the East India 
 trade, will use whatever power she 
 may have to cripple our resources, and 
 prevent a competition with them for 
 that trade. 
 
 That the most sure and efficient mode 
 of arresting our progress, and prevent 
 ing a competition for the East India 
 trade, is the periodical contraction and 
 expansion of our currency, which is 
 now accomplished through the bank of 
 England. 
 
 That it is apparent, upon the face of 
 events, that the alliance between Lord 
 Palmerston and Napoleon III., must 
 embrace combinations hostile to our 
 interests, and that a successful termi 
 nation of the war with Russia, will be 
 immediately followed by measures 
 which may involve us in a war with 
 England and France. 
 
 That, under these circumstances, the 
 tendency of a movement which creates 
 a strong American sentiment, and 
 which commits the North to maintain 
 the constitutional rights of the South, 
 must be to promote that "common 
 interest and permanent harmony" 
 among the states, which was their 
 purpose in adopting the federal Con 
 stitution ; and if so, it is the duty of 
 the South to unite in the movement, 
 and aid in the accomplishment of so 
 desirable an end. 
 
 That the Wilmot Proviso originated 
 in the sectional opposition to the " tariff 
 of 1846," and that the anti-slavery 
 
 agitation in the North is owing more 
 to a sectional rivalry, created by a 
 belief that the South have exerted an 
 undue influence in the government, 
 than to any well-defined public senti 
 ment, religious or political, on the ab 
 stract question of slavery itself. 
 
 That so far as anti-slavery has be 
 come a religious or political sentiment 
 of the North, it may be traced to 
 British origin and sectional influence, 
 and may be identified with the meas- - 
 ures and policy of England, whereby 
 she seeks to make all the world trib 
 utary to her as the consumers of the 
 tropical products of her East India 
 colonies. 
 
 It follows, that if the American party 
 tenders to the South a " more perfect 
 union," upon the basis that the legis 
 lation of Congress and the action of 
 the federal government should be such 
 as to promote the interests and pro 
 tect the property of the American peo 
 ple, it will tend to allay the sectional 
 feelings which have heretofore arrayed 
 the North against the South, and pre 
 pare each section for those mutual 
 concessions which are indispensable 
 to a proper and permanent adjustment 
 of sectional issues. 
 
 If, as I contend, the effect of the 
 present tariff is to enable the bank of 
 England to export our specie and thus 
 contract our currency and that the 
 only means of depriving that bank of 
 that power, is a proper exercise of the 
 powers to regulate commerce, and the 
 value of money, it follows that as the 
 North and the South are alike interest 
 ed in the proper exercise of those pow 
 ers, and as the issue is not a question 
 between the North and the South, but 
 between the North and the South 
 united, and the bank of England as 
 the agent of the governments and 
 financiers of Europe, it becomes the 
 
192 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 duty of the North and the South to 
 cease their sectional bickering, and 
 unite in the calm discussion of all 
 questions connected with their rela 
 tions with each other and with foreign 
 nations, that they may bo enabled to 
 agree upon such a system as may be 
 " necessary to their common interests, 
 and permanent harmony" (See Vir 
 ginia resolutions.) 
 
 The purpose of these regulations 
 should be to "protect our commerce," 
 and secure to us " reciprocal advan 
 tages." To do this, we must so 
 strengthen our financial position as to 
 prevent the contraction of our curren 
 cy by the export of specie occasioned 
 by the demand for bullion in the bank 
 of England. 
 
 The strength of the financial posi 
 tion of England consists in the regu 
 lations which give a money value to 
 her public debt, and enables the bank 
 of England, through its control over 
 British commerce with foreign nations, 
 to increase its bullion by compelling 
 those who consume British goods to 
 pay therefor in specie. 
 
 As the periodical contractions of our 
 currency are caused by the demand for 
 bullion in the bank of England, and 
 the power of the bank to compel pay 
 ments in specie depends upon our in 
 debtedness to England, it follows, that 
 the only means of preventing these 
 periodical contractions of the curren 
 cy is to diminish our consumption of 
 British goods, and to relieve ourselves 
 from our dependence on British capi 
 tal. 
 
 To do this, we must so organize our 
 credit as to make it as available to us 
 in giving employment to American la 
 bor as British credit is in giving em 
 ployment to British labor. 
 
 It is now admitted that monev prop 
 erly expended on a well-located rail 
 
 road adds ten times the sum thus ex 
 pended to the value of the property 
 connected with the road ; and, as the 
 funded debt of the monarchies of 
 Europe represents sums expended in 
 wars, and in maintaining armies and 
 navies, and privileged persons, and 
 will cease to have value if the people 
 refuse to pay taxes, and yet, the finan 
 cial arrangements by which their pub- 
 lie credit is maintained gives to their \ 
 funded debt a money value, it follows 
 that, inasmuch as the money which is 
 properly expended on our roads, so far 
 from requiring a tax for the payment 
 of interest, pays large profits on the 
 investments thus made, and adds so 
 much to the value of other property ; 
 therefore, the money thus invested is 
 a much better basis for public credit 
 than the sums expended by European 
 monarchies in wars and the mainte 
 nance of their existing governments, 
 and, if so, then all that is required to 
 render us financially independent of 
 the bank of England is to so regulate 
 our foreign commerce as to render the 
 sums invested in railroads available 
 as capital, for the purpose of giving 
 profitable employment to American 
 labor. 
 
 By a late statement of the iron trade, 
 it appears that during the last two 
 years there were imported into the 
 United States, from England, 524,095 
 tons of iron, which, at forty dollars 
 per ton only, cost us $20,963,800 ! 
 Now, it is manifest that the greater 
 part of this large sum was paid in the 
 bonds of our railroad companies, at 
 rates much below their nominal value. 
 You will see that these bonds furnish 
 to the London financiers the means of 
 exporting our specie for, in case of 
 a demand for bullion in the bank, 
 these bonds are remitted to New 
 York, sold at a depreciation, and the 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 193 
 
 proceeds remitted in specie. The ef 
 fect is to recruit the bullion in the 
 "bank of England, and diminish the 
 value of our property, and especially 
 of railroad securities, by the contrac 
 tion of our currency. 
 
 The effect of this export of specie 
 being to depreciate the value of rail 
 road shares and railroad credit, it con 
 sequently arrests railroad enterprise, 
 and deprives our laborers of profitable 
 employment ; whereas a financial sys 
 tem which would enable our railroad 
 companies to purchase and use Ameri 
 can iron, would not only diminish the 
 power of the bank of England to act 
 upon our currency, by forced sales of 
 railroad bonds, but it would soon con 
 vert the productive labor of this coun 
 try into a positive capital, competent 
 and willing to maintain our credit by 
 protecting our currency, and prevent 
 ing the periodical contractions which 
 it is the interest and policy of the 
 bank of England now to produce. 
 
 We are now paying near two mil 
 lions of dollars per annum for railroad 
 mail service. This is the interest at 
 six per cent, on thirty-three millions of 
 dollars. Instead of paying this two 
 million of dollars, as we now do on 
 contracts for four years, I would make 
 contracts for railroad mail service in 
 perpetuity ; and deliver to railroad 
 companies bonds, chargeable upon the 
 revenues of the department, and re 
 deemable at the pleasure of the gov 
 ernment, and bearing an interest of 
 three per cent, only, to an amount the 
 interest upon which at six per cent., 
 would be an equivalent for the service 
 rendered, and to give current value to 
 these bonds, and enable the railroad 
 companies to purchase iron with them, 
 I would provide that the surplus in 
 the treasury, beyond the wants of the 
 government, should be appropriated 
 
 to purchase, at par, such of these 
 bonds as had been made the basis of 
 bank issues, under the laws of the 
 several states. The effect of this ar 
 rangement would be not only to re 
 duce the present disbursement for rail 
 road mail service one half, but to 
 convert that disbursement into a posi 
 tive capital, relieving our railroad 
 companies from their dependence on 
 English iron, and give a money value 
 to the entire cost of our railroads. 
 This conversion of the expenditures 
 on our railroad mail service into a 
 positive capital, would contribute to 
 the daily augmentations of our wealth 
 and resources, uniting and binding to 
 gether all parts of the Union ; for the 
 capital thus created, although dis 
 tributed in each section of the coun 
 try, would be deeply interested in the 
 maintenance of our public credit, and 
 in case of an emergency, could be 
 made available for that purpose. 
 
 I am now an old man, having long 
 since ceased to take an active part in 
 party politics. I have, nevertheless, 
 carefully noted the progress of events, 
 and, being Southern in birth, educa 
 tion, feelings, sympathies, and princi 
 ples, I have a strong preference for 
 the men of the state rights party. 
 Believing that the great body of the 
 people of this country have a strong 
 preference for our republican form of 
 government, and that the American 
 movement may be so directed as to 
 promote a greater ha,rmony between 
 the North and the South, by creating 
 an American sentiment stronger than 
 the fanaticism which has so long mis 
 led many well-disposed Northern men, 
 I would entreat you, and every other 
 influential Southern statesman, to re 
 member that the power of this gov 
 ernment resides with the people, and 
 that it is the duty of patriotism to. 
 
194 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 act with, and give a right direction to, 
 public opinion. 
 
 Let me entreat you, be not deceived 
 by the false clamor. The American 
 party are not Abolitionists, and, per 
 mit me to say, that a liberal, gener 
 ous, and cordial confidence and co 
 operation in the American movement, 
 adhering to what is right, and reform 
 ing what is wrong, is the best and 
 surest means of arresting and coun ter- 
 acting the anti-slavery agitation. In a 
 subsequent letter, I may take a brief 
 review of parties, showing that the 
 people can and will " regulate" the poli 
 ticians. 
 
 Very truly, your friend, 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 
 : (From the American Organ.) 
 GEN. DUFF GREEN ON THE TARIFF. NO. II. 
 
 To the Hon. R. M. T. HUNTER : 
 
 The " principle of the tariff of 1846" 
 I understand to be an ad-valorem duty. 
 I now proceed to prove it to be unwise, 
 and inconsistent with the obligations 
 imposed by the Constitution. 
 
 It will not be denied that one of the 
 chief ends of the federal Constitution 
 was to form a government to be charged 
 with our intercourse with foreign na 
 tions ; nor can it be denied that many 
 questions must arise which necessari 
 ly affect our prosperity, and upon 
 which the action of our government 
 should depend upon the relations 
 which exist between foreign govern 
 ments and ours. Thus Congress has 
 power not only to "regulate com 
 merce with foreign nations," so as to 
 protect our interests and promote the 
 common welfare, so far as it can be 
 done by a proper exercise of that 
 power, but Congress also has power to 
 declare war, if it becomes necessary 
 for that purpose. It must, therefore, 
 be admitted that the power to " regu 
 
 late commerce" is a much more com 
 prehensive grant than the power to 
 " levy and collect duties." The purpose 
 of this latter power is to create a rev 
 enue, and it is therefore subordinate 
 and auxiliary to the power to " regu 
 late commerce with foreign nations." 
 If the power to levy and collect duties 
 be subordinate and auxiliary to the 
 power to regulate commerce, then the 
 power to " levy and collect duties" 
 should be so administered as to aid 
 the proper exercise of the power to 
 "regulate commerce," with foreign na 
 tions. For as each power is a separate 
 and distinct grant, and both are in- 
 tended to promote the " general wel- 
 I fare," it is the duty of Congress to ad- 
 j minister each in such manner as that 
 each may aid the purpose for which 
 the other was granted. Let us apply 
 this principle to ad-valorem duties. 
 
 The Constitution gives to Congress 
 power to " coin money and to regulate 
 the value thereof," and to "fix a 
 standard of weights and measures." 
 The purpose was to give a certain and 
 fixed standard of value regulating the 
 exchanges and operations of com 
 merce, so as to protect the property of 
 individuals and determine the relation 
 between debtor and creditor. Gold 
 or silver are, by the common consent 
 of nations, the standard of value, and 
 hence all obligations for payment of 
 money are held to be payable in gold 
 and silver. Yet it is now admitted 
 that the value of the property of com 
 mercial countries bears a relation of 
 thirty to one of their currency. It 
 follows, therefore, that if one commer 
 cial nation becomes indebted to anoth 
 er, under an implied understanding 
 that the debt is to be paid in produce 
 or property, and the creditor, instead 
 of receiving produce, demands and re 
 ceives gold and silver, the effect will 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 195 
 
 be to diminish the value of the prop 
 erty of the debtor nation thirty times 
 the sum of the payment thus demand 
 ed. It is the duty of Congress to so 
 " regulate commerce with foreign na 
 tions" as to protect us, as far as possible, 
 from such a contraction of our curren 
 cy. Will an ad-valorem duty do this ? 
 It does the very reverse. Take the 
 rase of railroad iron say that the 
 price is sixty dollars per ton, the duty 
 will be twenty dollars. In case of a 
 pressure in the London market, and 
 iron falls to thirty dollars per ton, 
 then the duty is but ten dollars. It 
 needs no argument to prove that there 
 would be no such reduction in price 
 were it not for some contingency 
 creating an extraordinary demand for 
 bullion in the bank of England, and 
 such sales, at this reduced price, would 
 not be made, were it not for the pur 
 pose of shipping our specie. The ef 
 fect would be that we would save fifty 
 dollars in the price of a ton of iron, 
 and lose twelve hundred dollars in the 
 depreciation of the value of property. 
 I refer you to Mr. Calhoun s speech 
 upon the currency, where he admits 
 that the value of the property of a 
 commercial nation is thirty times 
 the sum of its currency ; and if we 
 assume this datum to be correct, I 
 have demonstrated that an ad-valorem 
 duty is not only unwise, but most 
 unjust, and utterly inconsistent with 
 the duty imposed upon Congress by 
 the " power to regulate commerce 
 with foreign nations." 
 
 The coalition between Mr. Clay and 
 Mr. Adams adopted as the basis of 
 their party organization a high tariff 
 and internal improvement a high 
 tariff to collect a large surplus rev 
 enue, levied upon the commerce, paid 
 for chiefly by Southern exports, to be 
 expended by combinations chiefly in 
 
 the North and West. This, the South 
 said, was unequal and unjust, and un 
 constitutional because it was unequal 
 and unjust, and tending to corrupt 
 legislation. You will, I am sure, 
 admit that there is a palpable dis 
 tinction between a tariff levied for the 
 purpdse of creating a large surplus 
 revenue, to be expended by Congress 
 on local works or internal improve 
 ments, and a tariff intended to so 
 " regulate our commerce with foreign 
 nations" as to prevent those periodical 
 contractions of our currency which have 
 caused such ruinous depreciations of 
 the value of property, and each and all 
 of which can be traced to the extra 
 ordinary demand for bullion, and the 
 measures adopted by European bank 
 ers, coercing the shipment of specie. 
 I spent the greater part of 1842 and 
 1843 in London, my chief purpose 
 being to study for myself the operations 
 of trade between England and the 
 United States. I knew that the theory 
 of free trade is, that commerce is a 
 reciprocal exchange of the products of 
 labor, and I wished to know why a 
 demand for bullion in the bank of 
 England necessarily produced a ruin 
 ous contraction of our currency. I 
 became satisfied that, as ours is the 
 weaker part of the British financial 
 system, a financial crisis in England, 
 whatever might be its cause, whether 
 produced by overtrading, a bad harvest, 
 speculations in railroad shares, or 
 Spanish American bonds, or South 
 American or Mexican mines, was al 
 ways made to explode here ; and its 
 worst effects were transferred to us. 
 I will give a few facts by way of illus 
 tration. 
 
 The refusal of Congress to recharter 
 the bank of the United States com 
 pelled the shareholders to accept a 
 charter from the state of Pennsylvania. 
 
196 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 This made it necessary to withdraw 
 the branches located in other states ; 
 this was mostly done by sales of the 
 assets in the branches, which were 
 chiefly paid for in the notes of local 
 banks. Had the bank of the United 
 States demanded specie, most of the 
 local banks would have suspended ; 
 the directors of the United States 
 bank therefore made large advances 
 on state bonds, and for cotton and 
 tobacco, and sent Mr. Jaudon with the 
 bonds to London, and Bid die and 
 Humphries to Liverpool, in charge of 
 the cotton and tobacco. 
 
 The bank advanced some five 
 millions in bills upon London, to en 
 able the merchants who had suffered 
 by the great fire to pay their British 
 creditors. When Mr. Jaudon sailed 
 for London, Pennsylvania and Mary 
 land sixes were worth sixteen per 
 cent, premium ; when he reached Lon 
 don he could not sell at any price, and 
 I was credibly informed that the bank 
 would have been protested had not 
 Mr. Morrison, at the last moment, 
 advanced the funds, upon an hypothe 
 cation of his best securities at ninety 
 five per cent., to enable Mr. Jaudon to 
 protect the credit of his bank. 
 
 Do you ask why Mr. Jaudon could 
 not sell his state bonds ? I reply that 
 the interest on the public debt of the 
 sevqral European governments, pay 
 able the greater part in London, and 
 the greater part of which is controlled 
 by a few bankers, who are the agents 
 of these governments for the sale of 
 these securities, and also of the princi 
 pal fundholders to receive and re-invest 
 their dividends, amounts to about two 
 hundred and fifty millions of dollars 
 per annum. These bankers said that 
 if Mr. Biddle was permitted to establish 
 an agency in London for the sale of six 
 and seven per cents., in competition 
 
 with their European three per cents., 
 Mr. Biddle could furnish any required 
 amount of American six and seven per 
 cents., and that the inevitable con 
 sequence would have been that many 
 of the holders of European three per 
 cents, would have sold out and pur 
 chased American six and seven per 
 cents. It was, therefore, with them a 
 matter of necessity, as well for them 
 selves as for their clients, the mon 
 archical governments of Europe, and 
 these bankers combined to depreciate 
 American credit. They saw that this 
 could most readily be accomplished by 
 breaking down the bank of the United 
 States, and therefore they refused to 
 purchase the state bonds held by Mr. 
 Jaudon. 
 
 Do you ask why the bank did not 
 sell cotton and tobacco through their 
 agency at Liverpool, and thus obtain 
 the means of meeting the drafts given 
 to the merchants of New York ? I will 
 explain : 
 
 Up to that time the commerce be 
 tween the United States and England 
 was conducted chiefly through the 
 agency of three London houses, known 
 as the three W. s. The American 
 merchant bought from the British 
 manufacturer on a long credit, and 
 drew a bill upon one of these W. s. 
 The goods were brought to the United 
 States, and bonds at long dates given 
 for the duties. The goods were sold 
 and American produce remitted, so 
 that the merchant was enabled to 
 place funds in the hands of his London 
 correspondent in ample time to make 
 his payments. 
 
 The British financiers saw that Mr. 
 Biddle could protect his credit through 
 the sale of the cotton and tobacco sent 
 to Biddle & Humphries, at Liverpool, 
 and they therefore resolved not only 
 to annihilate our credit, but to destroy 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 197 
 
 our commerce. What I am now about 
 to say I have from the best authority: 
 One of the W. s, fearing a monetary 
 crisis, wrote to his American corre 
 spondents that he could not accept their 
 bills as he had done. The governor 
 of the bank of England called upon 
 him and said that the bank wished 
 to encourage trade with the United 
 States, and by a pledge of aid in case 
 of necessity induced W. to recall his 
 letters. The consequence was, that 
 when the time came W. was under 
 acceptance for more than twelve 
 millions of dollars, and, instead of 
 carrying him through the crisis, the 
 bank of England refused to discount 
 any bill drawn on account of the ship 
 ment of American produce, and the 
 consequence was that W., who had a 
 positive capital of more than two 
 millions of dollars, became bankrupt, 
 and his brother, who had retired from 
 business, expended even a greater sum 
 in the frnitless effort to save him. 
 Now, why did the bank of England 
 urge W. to aid them in their effort to 
 send a large quantity of British mer 
 chandise to the United States ? and 
 why did the bank refuse to discount 
 bills drawn on account of shipments of 
 American produce ? Do you not see 
 the motive ? The time had come when 
 it became necessary for British finan 
 ciers to so regulate their commerce 
 with the United States as to enable 
 them to regulate the value of our 
 money by contracting our currency. 
 It was not enough for them to refuse 
 to purchase state bonds they saw 
 that it was indispensable to assail our 
 credit through our commerce. To do 
 this it was necessary to create a large 
 commercial balance against us, and to 
 protect their three per cents, from the 
 competition with our six and seven 
 per cents., it became necessary to so 
 
 regulate their commerce with us that, 
 instead of selling upon long credits 
 and thus giving us the aid of their 
 capital, they now required cash pay 
 ments for their manufacturers while 
 they used their credit in the purchase 
 of our produce. 
 
 The effect of this new " regulation" 
 of their commerce with us is to enable 
 the bank of England at any time, upon 
 one week s notice, to create a panic 
 and cause a contraction of our currency 
 by exporting our specie. 
 
 Was this new regulation of their 
 commerce called for by any failure on 
 the part of our merchants to meet their 
 engagements ? On the contrary, by 
 reference to an official report from the 
 Treasury, you will see that the duties 
 paid by our merchants on custom 
 house bonds, from the year 1789 to 
 1837 inclusive, amounted to six hun 
 dred and ninety-four millions of dollars 
 on bonds having six, nine, and twelve 
 months to run, and that the loss by in 
 solvency, during that period, was less 
 than one per cent. 
 
 It follows that the merchants who 
 were so punctual in the payment 
 of duties were no less punctual in the 
 payment of the sums due to their 
 British creditors. Why, then, did the 
 bank of England refuse to aid those 
 who were engaged in the trade with 
 the United States ? The new regula 
 tion which compelled us to pay in 
 advance, instead of purchasing on 
 redit, shows that the purpose was to, 
 nable the bank at will, to so regulate i 
 their commerce with us, as to enable 
 :he London bankers to export our 
 specie, and by contracting our currency 
 to so depreciate our credit as to prevent 
 a competition between our six and 
 seven per cents, and their three por 
 
 What would be the condition of 
 
198 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 England and other European nations, 
 if they were compelled to give seven 
 per cent, for money ? How long 
 would England continue the war with 
 Russia if consuls were depreciated to 
 forty? 
 
 Do not suppose that I intend to 
 charge that the warfare on our credit, 
 or the contraction of our currency by 
 the exportation of our specie, is done 
 wantonly for the purpose of doing us 
 injury. What I do charge is that such 
 warfare is an indispensable part of 
 the British financial system, and will 
 continue to be s.o as long as our com 
 merce, as regulated by Congress, 
 furnishes to the bank of England the 
 surest and cheapest means of recruit 
 ing her bullion. What I would im 
 press upon you and upon Congress is, 
 that as England has reorganized her 
 system of commerce so as to increase 
 the facilities by which the bank of 
 England can transfer our bullion from 
 Wall street to London, and inasmuch 
 as the export of our specie diminishes 
 the value of our property in the ratio 
 of thirty to one of the sum of the 
 diminution of our currency, which 
 must necessarily be much more than 
 the sum of the specie exported, we 
 lose, by the construction of the cur 
 rency, and consequent diminution of 
 the value of our property, much more 
 than the benefit which accrues from 
 any reduction in the price of foreign 
 merchandise, and it is therefore the 
 duty of Congress to protect us, not 
 against the cheap labor of Europe, but 
 against the measures which foreign 
 bankers have adopted, by which they 
 can create an expansion or contrac 
 tion of our currency at will. How 
 can Congress do this ? I reply, by so 
 regulating our commerce with foreign 
 nations as to regulate the value of 
 
 money. The power is expressly grant 
 ed, and the duty is imperative. 
 
 Let it not be said that England is 
 our best Customer, and that commerce 
 and exchanges will regulate them 
 selves, or that, as we are the greatest 
 consumers of British merchandise, 
 England is interested in promoting 
 our prosperity. Let me ask you to 
 look to Ireland, to India, and to Port 
 ugal. Are not Ireland, India, and 
 ^Portugal, consumers of British mer 
 chandise ? And who does not know 
 that the wealth and resources of each 
 have been exhausted by the operation 
 of British commerce. 
 
 Do you not see that the real issue of 
 the present age is between the mon 
 archies of Europe and their system of 
 taxation, represented by their funded 
 debt, and our republican form of gov 
 ernment, and our system of progress, 
 represented by our railroads as the 
 basis of financial and commercial 
 credit ? Do you not see that the 
 crises of 1840 and 1854 are attributa 
 ble to the same cause ? In 1840 the 
 competition was between three per 
 cent, consols and six per cent, state 
 bonds. In 1 854 the competition is be 
 tween three per cent, consols and 
 eight per cent, railroad bonds. Which 
 is the best basis of credit ? What 
 would be the condition of England if 
 she were compelled to pay eight per 
 cent, interest on her public debt ? 
 Why does England send her chivalry 
 the best blood of her most noble 
 families to perish before Sebastopol ? 
 Is it not because she hopes thereby to 
 maintain her commercial and financial 
 supremacy ? And what assurance 
 have you that if she can humble the 
 pride of Russia, she will not then 
 create combinations to arrest our 
 progress, and thus destroy that com- 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 199 
 
 petition for the trade of India which 
 our possession of California necessa 
 rily creates ? Do you ask for proofs 
 that such is her purpose ? Look at 
 the late insolent interference of the 
 British and French agents at St. Do 
 mingo. Look at the concert of Eng 
 land and France in relation to Cuba 
 and the West Indies, and the Sand 
 wich Islands. Do you not see that 
 the coalition between England and 
 Napoleon the Third is the conse 
 quence of the necessities which com 
 pel them to sustain each other ? And 
 do ^ou not see that the same motives 
 which compel them now to make war 
 on Russia may compel them to make 
 war upon us ? Is it not, therefore, 
 our duty to leave our sectional strife 
 and bring union, wisdom, and strength 
 to the support of our common country ? 
 And instead of laboring to perpetuate 
 the sectional issues which constitute 
 the chief basis of party organization, 
 should we not rejoice to see the North 
 invite the intelligence and patriotism 
 of the South to unite with the North 
 in a movement which, if the South be 
 wise, will consolidate the North and 
 the South for the maintenance of the 
 institutions which are no less indis 
 pensable to the welfare and prosperity 
 of the North than of the South ? 
 
 I reserve further comment for an 
 other letter, and remain your sincere 
 friend, 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 
 FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. 
 
 To the Hon. R. M. T. HUNTER : 
 When on a former occasion, I ventured 
 to address you through the press, urg 
 ing the impolicy of an indiscriminate 
 opposition to the American party, not 
 being a member of that party, I did 
 not know, and therefore did not under 
 
 take to explain or to vindicate their 
 purposes or principles. 
 
 I saw that it had become a powerful 
 organization that many of its prom 
 inent members were men of influence, 
 and unquestionable patriotism. I 
 thought I saw in the professed objects 
 of that party, the basis of an organi 
 zation upon which uniting upon a pref 
 erence for our own government would 
 give a new direction to party conflicts, 
 and tend to lessen, if it did not en 
 tirely supercede, the rivalry between 
 the North and the South. For I hold 
 that the chief purpose of the federal 
 government is to so "regulate" our inter 
 course with foreign nations as best to 
 promote the interests and welfare of 
 the people of the United States, and 
 that in the discharge of this duty, the 
 North and South are and should be 
 one people ; and that the measures 
 and policy of the federal government, 
 domestic and foreign, should unite, 
 foster, and strengthen their interests 
 as such. 
 
 I knew that names are substantial 
 things, and therefore when I was told 
 that the democratic senators in caucus 
 had resolved to denounce and proscribe 
 the American party, and that the issue 
 thus to be made, was to be an in> 
 portant part of the machinery of 
 the Presidential election, I ventured 
 through the letters addressed to you 
 to warn the democratic party, and es 
 pecially the republican party of the 
 South, of the impolicy of such a pro* 
 ceeding. The result of the election 
 proves the truth and force of what I 
 then said. 
 
 I did not ask you or the party of 
 which you are so distinguished a mem 
 ber, to recognise or approve of the 
 proscription of any person or class of 
 persons on account of the place of 
 
200 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 their "birth, or of their religion but I 
 did then urge, and propose now to re 
 peat, that the issue upon which the 
 future peace, welfare, and prosperity 
 of this country depend, is not a sec 
 tional conflict between the North and 
 the South, in which the local and sec 
 tional interests involved in the ques 
 tion of the tariff and of slavery 
 should be permitted to array the North 
 and the South against each other, but 
 that it is, as it was before the adoption 
 of the federal Constitution, an issue be 
 tween all the states of the Union, as 
 one people, on one side, and all the 
 world, with whom we have intercourse, 
 as foreign nations, on the other. And 
 I saw, or thought I saw, in the Amer 
 ican sentiment, which must necessarily 
 be embodied in an American party, 
 the basis upon which all Americans, 
 native-born or naturalized, Protestant 
 or Roman Catholic, might, by rallying 
 upon the Constitution, make a united 
 effort to harmonize and reconcile the 
 local and sectional interests which it 
 was the purpose of the Constitution to 
 assert and maintain. 
 
 I repeat that the result of the late 
 election proves the truth and force of 
 what I then said. The democratic 
 candidate is elected, but his majority 
 would have been much greater, if the 
 single issue had been, between a can 
 didate uniting all those who are Amer 
 ican in principles and sentiment, and 
 who are ready and willing to make 
 common cause in support of the rights 
 and interests which it was the purpose 
 of the Constitution to assert and pro 
 tect, as well those of the South as 
 those of the North ; and if this be 
 so, it is our duty to promote that har 
 mony of interest and of opinion which 
 will give strength and permanence to 
 such an American sentiment. It is a 
 
 melancholy and mortifying truth that 
 in the late election, the vote for the 
 anti-slavery candidate was so great, 
 in most of the Northern states as to 
 create, a sectional, political organiza 
 tion of such power and influence as to 
 give great encouragement to the aboli 
 tionists. And this is to be regretted 
 more, because there is an influential 
 and increasing party in the South who 
 believe that there is no hope for the 
 Scuth, but in a dissolution of the 
 Union. While there is an influential 
 and growing party at the North who 
 would greatly prefer a Union with the 
 Southern slaveholding states. The 
 public opinion of each section is being 
 trained to the belief, that there is an 
 irreconcilable conflict of interests and 
 of opinions, which will, in time, dis 
 solve the Union ; and it is apparent 
 that the consequences of such a meas 
 ure, and the manner in which it can or 
 will be done", has become a question of 
 serious consideration. 
 
 I repeat : This question is forced 
 upon us, and although it may not ap 
 pear, it will enter into and give color 
 to the proceeding of the Southern Con 
 vention, about to be held in Georgia, 
 of which I am gratified to learn that 
 you will be a member. How is it to 
 be met and disposed of? I would 
 meet it by showing that there is no 
 cause for a conflict of sectional inter 
 ests between the North and the South, 
 and that the legislation of Congress 
 in relation to the tariff, and to African 
 slavery, should be such as to protect 
 and foster the interests of the North 
 and the South. I do not use the word 
 "protect" here in the sense in which it 
 was used by Mr. Clay and the partisans 
 of his " American System," for he pro 
 posed high duties for the protection of 
 American manufactures, and to create 
 
POLITICAL. 201 
 
 a fund to be appropriated by a corrupt quences of the contingencies which 
 party Congress to sectional internal im- ; affect the money market of the Old 
 provements. I propose that protection, World, so long as we give them the 
 which it is the duty of Congress to facilities which they now have to ex- 
 give, by such regulation of our com- port our specie. I reserve the further 
 merce with foreign nations, as will | explanation of my views for another 
 protect our currency from the contrac- , letter. 
 
 tions and expansions, which are now Very truly, your friend, 
 
 and will ever be the necessary conse- DUFF GREEX. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 T HAVE referred to the fact, that 
 from the commencement of the 
 government there has been a funda 
 mental difference between the Repub 
 licans of the South and the advocates 
 of a monarchical government repre 
 sented by the Elder Adams and " the 
 British party in the United States." 
 The Republicans of the South and the 
 democracy of the North, insisting that 
 the authority of the federal govern 
 ment is limited by the powers given, 
 and the reservations made in the Con 
 stitution, while the monarchists, under 
 the name of federalists and such other 
 aliases, as from time to time they have 
 deemed it expedient to assume, al 
 though driven from power themselves, 
 have contended for a " strong govern 
 ment," enlarging its power by impli 
 cation and construction. Such a 
 division of parties is an anomaly in 
 the history of government, and is to be 
 accounted for by the fact, that although 
 apparently a government of the ma 
 jority, in point of fact, ours was hereto 
 fore a government of concurring ma 
 jorities. The slaveholding states, 
 although a minority, and therefore 
 vitally interested in limiting the 
 powers of the government by a rigid 
 construction of the Constitution, con 
 stituting the Southern republican ma 
 jority, acting with the democratic ma 
 jorities of the North, maintained a con 
 trolling influence in the government, 
 until after the election of Mr. Lincoln, 
 they unwisely abandoned and sur-1 
 
 rendered the control of public affairs 
 to their opponents. I had noted the 
 progress of events with deep anxiety, 
 and as the questions of slavery and the 
 tariff were made the issues on which 
 designing men endeavored to organize 
 sectional feeling, I endeavored to show, 
 by numerous appeals, through the 
 press, that the question of the tariff 
 was a question of currency rather than 
 of duties, and that the North and the 
 South were alike interested in its 
 proper adjustment. 
 
 That the reader may properly 
 understand the issues inaugurating 
 the late war, I reproduce from the 
 National Intelligencer the correspond 
 ence between certain persons in Con 
 necticut and Mr. Buchanan, then the 
 President, relative to the proceedings 
 in Kansas, and also from the Pennsyl- 
 vanian, a communication in reply to 
 the censure of his conduct. 
 
 MR. BUCHANAN AND KANSAS. 
 (From the National Intelligencer, Sept. 4, 185T.) 
 
 IMPORTANT CORRESPONDENCE. We find 
 under this head, in the columns of the offi 
 cial journal of yesterday, the subjoined cor 
 respondence between certain distinguished 
 citizens of Connecticut and the President of 
 the United States with reference to the ex 
 isting dissensions in the Territory of Kan 
 sas and the duties deemed incumbent on 
 the general government in regard to their 
 settlement. 
 
 We have no disposition to challenge 
 the right of the memorialists to address 
 their petition to the President, a right 
 which the latter has conceded and honored 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 203 
 
 by awarding to it a respectful attention and 
 a courteous answer. To apply to them, 
 therefore, either as individuals or as a body, 
 the injurious designation of the Union, 
 when it styles them reverend and imper 
 tinent intermeddlers, seems to us no less 
 disparaging to the President than to the 
 gentlemen thus inculpated, since it places 
 the former in the attitude of paying undue 
 heed to a manifesto which he would, on 
 the theory supposed, have better consulted 
 his dignity by leaving unnoticed. 
 * We may venture, however, to express 
 our regret that the memorialists, in stating 
 their complaints, should have assumed with 
 BO much positiveness their own theory, 
 honestly entertained, we doubt not, of the 
 protracted difficulties in Kansas, and mani 
 fested so little allowance for any possible 
 difference of opinion which might conflict 
 with their own impressions. Their expe 
 rience and observation, we think, should 
 have taught them the fallibility of human 
 judgment as in all moral questions, so espe 
 cially in those involving political preposses 
 sions, and induced them to admit a wider 
 scope for the play of adverse, though equally 
 sincere, convictions of duty in a case of ad 
 mitted difficulty and embarrassment. The 
 reply of the President, even though it may 
 fail to change their views in the premises, 
 will at least, we doubt not, suffice to vindi 
 cate the purity of his motives, and disclose 
 ihe grounds on which, as a conscientious 
 magistrate, he feels called to take a position 
 quite different from that which they would 
 assign him. 
 
 " FROM THE UNION* OF SEPTEMBER 3. 
 
 " The public had become apprized during 
 *"tho past week that a correspondence of a 
 peculiar character had taken place between 
 a number of clergymen and others of the 
 North and the President of the United 
 States, in relation to political affairs in Kan 
 sas. What purported to be copies or ex 
 tracts from this correspondence having 
 found their way into the newspapers, we 
 deemed it proper that such a publication of 
 it should be made as would relieve ah 1 
 doubt in the public mind as to its genuine 
 ness. To this end we called upon the Presi- 
 14 
 
 dent yesterday, who has furnished us with 
 copies, and kindly consented to their pub 
 lication. 
 
 " To His Excellency James Buchanan, Pres 
 ident of the United States : 
 
 " The undersigned, citizens of the United 
 States and electors of the state of Connecti 
 cut, respectfully offer to your Excellency 
 this their memorial. 
 
 " The fundamental principle of the Consti 
 tution of the United States and of our po 
 litical institutions is, that the people shall 
 make their own laws and elect their own 
 rulers. 
 
 " We see with grief, if not with astonish 
 ment, that Governor Walker of Kansas 
 openly represents and proclaims that the 
 President of the United States is employing, 
 through him, an army, one purpose of which 
 is to force the people of Kansas to obey 
 laws not their own, nor of the United States, 
 but laws which it is notorious, and estab 
 lished upon evidence, they never made, 
 and rulers they never elected. 
 
 " We represent, therefore, that by the 
 foregoing, your Excellency is openly held 
 up and proclaimed, to the great derogation 
 of our national character, as violating, in 
 its most essential particular, the solemn 
 oath which the President has taken to sup 
 port the Constitution of this Union. 
 
 " We call attention, further, to the fact 
 that your Excellency is, in like manner, 
 held up to this, nation, to ah 1 mankind, and 
 to all posterity, in the attitude of levying 
 war against (a portion of) the United States, 
 by employing arms in Kansas to uphold a 
 body of men, and a code of enactments, pur 
 porting to be legislative, but which never 
 had the election, nor sanction, nor consent 
 of the people of the territory. 
 "We earnestly represent to your Excel 
 lency, that we also have taken the. oath to 
 obey the Constitution; and your Excel 
 lency may be assured that w/e shall not re 
 frain from the prayer that Almighty God 
 will make your administration an example- 
 of justice and beneficence,, and, witlu liis 
 terrible majesty, protejcfcour people and our 
 Constitution. 
 
 " Nathaniel W. Taylor, Theodore I>. Wool- 
 
204 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 Bey, Henry Button, Charles L. English, J. H. 
 Brockway, Eli W. Blake, Eli Ives, B. Silli- 
 man, Jr., Noah Porter, Thomas A. Thacher, 
 J. A. Davenport, Worthington Hooker, 
 Philos Blake, E. K. Foster, C. S. Lyman, 
 John A. Blake, Wm. H. Russell, A. N. Skin 
 ner, Horace Bushnell, John Boyd, Charles 
 Robinson, Henry Peck, David Smith, J. 
 Ilawes, James F. Babcock, G. A. Calhoun, 
 E. R. Gilbert, Leonard Baker, H. C. Kings- 
 ley, B. Silliman, Edward C. Herrick, Charles 
 Ives, Wm. P. Eustis, Jr., Alexander C. 
 Twining, Josiah "W. Gibbs, Alfred Walker, 
 James Brewstcr, Stephen G. Hubbard, 
 Hawley Olmstead, Seagrove Wm. Magill, 
 Amos Townsend, Timothy Dwight, David 
 M. Smith." 
 
 " WASHINGTON, August 15, 1857. 
 
 " GENTLEMEN : On my return to this city, 
 after a fortnight s absence, your memorial, 
 without date, was placed in my hands, 
 through the agency of Mr. Horatio King, 
 of the Postoffice Department, to whom it 
 had been intrusted. From the distinguished 
 source whence it proceeds, as well as its 
 peculiar character, I have deemed it proper 
 to depart from my general rule in such 
 cases, and to give it an answer. 
 
 " You first assert that the fundamental 
 principle of the Constitution of the United 
 States, and of our political institutions, is 
 that the people shall make their own laws, 
 and elect their own rulers. Tou then ex 
 press your grief and astonishment that I 
 should have violated this principle, and, 
 through Governor Walker, have employed 
 an army, one purpose of which is to force 
 tJie people of Kansas to obey laws not their 
 own, nor of the United States, but laws 
 which it is notorious, and established upon 
 evidence, they never made, and rulers they 
 never elected. And, as a corollary from 
 the foregoing, you represent that I am 
 openly held up and proclaimed, to the 
 great derogation of our national character, 
 as violating, in its most essential particular, 
 the solemn oath which the President has 
 taken to support the Constitution of this 
 UnionJ 
 
 " These are heavy charges proceeding 
 from gentlemen of your high character, and, 
 
 if well founded, ought to consign my name 
 to infamy. But, in proportion to their 
 gravity, common justice, to say nothing 
 of Christian charity, required that before 
 making them, you should have clearly as 
 certained that they were well founded. If 
 not, they will rebound with withering con 
 demnation on their authors. Have yon 
 performed this preliminary duty toward 
 the man who, however unworthy, is the 
 Chief Magistrate of your country? If so, 
 either you or I are laboring tinder a strange 
 delusion. Should this prove to be your 
 case, it will present a memorable example 
 of the truth that political prejudice is blind 
 even to the existence of the plainest and 
 most palpable historical facts. To these 
 facts let us refer. 
 
 " When I entered upon the duties of the 
 Presidential office, oil the 4th of March 
 last, what was the condition of Kansas ? 
 This territory had been organized under 
 the act of Congress of 30th May, 1854, and 
 the government, in all its branches, was in 
 full operation. A governor, secretary of 
 the territory, chief justice, two associate 
 justices, a marshal, and district attorney, 
 had been appointed by my predecessor, by 
 and with the advice and consent of the 
 Senate, and were all engaged in discharging 
 their respective duties. A code of laws 
 had been enacted by the territorial legisla 
 ture ; and the judiciary were employed in 
 expounding and carrying these laws into 
 effect. It is quite true that a controversy 
 had previously arisen respecting the valid 
 ity of the election of members of the terri 
 torial legislature, and of tho laws passed 
 by them ; but, at the time I entered upon 
 my official duties, Congress had recognized 
 this legislature in different forms, and by 
 different enactments. The delegate elected 
 to the House of Representatives, under a 
 territorial law, had just completed his term 
 of service on the day previous to my in 
 auguration. In fact, I found the govern 
 ment of Kansas as well established as that 
 of any other territory. Under these cir- 
 .cumstances, what was my duty ? Was it 
 not to sustain this government ? to protect 
 it from the violence of lawless men, who 
 were determined either to rule or ruin ? to 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 205 
 
 prevent it from being overturned by force ? 
 in the language of the Constitution, to 
 1 take care that the laws be faithfully exe 
 cuted ? It was for this purpose, and this 
 alone, that I ordered a military force to 
 Kansas to act as a posse comitatus in aiding 
 the civil magistrates to carry the laws into 
 execution. The condition of the territory 
 at the time, which I need not portray, ren 
 dered this precaution absolutely necessary. 
 In this state of affairs, would I not have 
 been justly condemned had I left the mar 
 shal, and other officers of a like character, 
 impotent to execute the process and judg 
 ment of courts of justice, established by 
 Congress, or by the territorial legislature, 
 under its express authority, and thus have 
 suffered the government itself to become 
 an object of contempt in the eyes of the 
 people ? And yet this is what you desig 
 nate as forcing the people of Kansas to 
 obey laws not their own, nor of the United 
 States ; and for doing which you have de 
 nounced me as having violated my solemn 
 oath. I ask, what else could I have done, 
 or ought I to have done ? Would you have 
 desired that I should abandon the territorial 
 government, sanctioned as it had been by 
 Congress, to illegal violence, and thus renew 
 the scenes of civil war and bloodshed 
 which every patriot in the country had 
 deplored ? This would, indeed, have been 
 to violate my oath of office, and to fix a 
 damning blot on the character of my ad 
 ministration. 
 
 44 1 most cheerfully admit that the neces 
 sity for sending a military force to Kansas, 
 to aid in the execution of the civil law, re 
 flects no credit upon the character of our 
 country. But let the blame fall upon the 
 heads of the guilty. Whence did this ne 
 cessity arise ? A portion of the people of 
 Kansas, unwilling to trust to the ballot-box 
 the certain American remedy for the re 
 dress of all grievances undertook to create 
 an independent government for themselves. 
 Had this attempt proved successful, it 
 would, of course, have subverted the exist 
 ing government, prescribed and recognised 
 by Congress, arid substituted a revolution 
 ary government in its stead. This was a 
 usurpation of the same character as it would 
 
 be for a portion of the people of Connecti 
 cut to undertake to establish a separate 
 government within its chartered limits, for 
 the purpose of redressing any grievance, 
 real or imaginary, of which they might 
 have complained, against the legitimate 
 state government. Such a principle, if 
 carried into execution, would destroy all 
 lawful authority, and produce universal 
 anarchy. 
 
 " I ought to specify more particularly a 
 condition of affairs, which I have embraced 
 only in general terms, requiring the pres 
 ence of a military force in Kansas, The 
 Congress of the United States had most 
 wisely declared it to be the true intent and 
 meaning of this act [the act organizing the 
 territory] not to legislate slavery into. .any 
 territory or state, nor to exclude it there 
 from, but to leave the people thereof per 
 fectly free to form and regulate their 
 domestic institutions in their own way, 
 subject only to the Constitution of the 
 United States. As a natural consequence, 
 Congress has also prescribed, by the same 
 act, that, when the Territory of Kansas 
 shall be admitted as a state, it * shall be re 
 ceived into the Union with or without 
 slavery, as their constitution may prescribe 
 at the time of their admission. 
 
 " Slavery existed at that period, and still 
 exists, in Kansas, under the Constitution of 
 the United States. This point has, at last, 
 been finally decided by the highest tribunal 
 known to our laws. How it could ever 
 have been seriously doubted is a mystery. 
 If a confederation of sovereign states ac 
 quire a new territory at the expense of 
 their common blood and treasure, surely 
 one set of the partners can have no right 
 to exclude the other from its enjoyment by 
 prohibiting them from taking into it what 
 soever is recognized to be property by the 
 common Constitution. But when the people, 
 the bonqfide residents of such territory, 
 proceed to frame a state constitution, then 
 it is their right to decide the important 
 question for themselves, whether they will 
 continue, modify, or abolish slavery. To 
 them, and to them alone, does this question 
 belong, free from all foreign interference. 
 
 " In the opinion of the territorial legisla- 
 
206 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 ture of Kansas, the time had arrived for 
 entering the Union, and they, accordingly, 
 passed a law to elect delegates for the pur 
 pose of framing a state constitution. This 
 law was fair and just in its provisions. It 
 conferred the right of suffrage on every 
 bonqfide inhabitant of the territory ; and, 
 for the purpose of preventing fraud, and 
 the intrusion of citizens of near or distant 
 states, most properly confined this right to 
 those who had resided therein three months 
 previous to the election. Here a fair op 
 portunity was presented for all the qualified 
 resident citizens of the territory, to what 
 ever organization they might have pre 
 viously belonged, to participate in the elec 
 tion, and to express their opinions at the bal 
 lot-box on the question of slavery. But 
 numbers of lawless men still continued to 
 resist the regular territorial government. 
 They refused either to be registered or to 
 vote ; and the members of the convention 
 were elected legally and properly without 
 their intervention. The convention will 
 soon assemble to perform the solemn duty 
 of flaming a constitution for themselves 
 and their posterity ; and, in the state of in 
 cipient rebellion which still exists in Kan 
 sas, it is my imperative duty to employ the 
 troops of the United States, should this be 
 come necessary, in defending the conven 
 tion against violence while framing the 
 constitution, and in protecting the bona- 
 fide inhabitants qualified to vote, under the 
 provisions of this instrument, in the free 
 exercise of the right of suffrage, when it 
 shall be submitted to them for their appro 
 bation or rejection. 
 
 " I have entire confidence in Governor 
 Walker that the troops will not be em 
 ployed except to resist actual aggression, 
 or in the execution of the laws and this 
 not until the power of the civil magistrate 
 shall prove unavailing. Following the wise 
 example of Mr. Madison toward the Hart 
 ford Convention, illegal and dangerous com 
 binations, such as that of the Topeka Con 
 vention, will not be disturbed unless they 
 shall attempt to perform some act which 
 will bring them into actual collision with 
 the Constitution and the laws. In that 
 event they shall be resisted and put down 
 
 by the whole power of the government. In 
 performing this duty, I shall have the ap 
 probation of my own conscience, and, as I 
 humbly trust, of my God. 
 
 " I thank you for the assurance that you 
 will not refrain from the prayer that Al 
 mighty God will make my administration 
 an example of justice and beneficence. 
 You can greatly assist me in arriving at 
 this blessed consummation, by exerting 
 your influence in allaying the existing sec 
 tional excitement on the subject of slavery, 
 which has been productive of much evil, 
 and no good, and which, if it could succeed 
 in attaining its object, would ruin the slave 
 as well as his master. This would be a 
 work of genuine philanthropy. Every day 
 of my life, I feel how inadequate I am to 
 perform the duties of my high station with 
 out the continued support of Divine Provi 
 dence ; yet, placing my trust in Him, and in 
 Him alone, I entertain a good hope that Ho 
 will enable me to do equal justice to all 
 portions of the Union, and thus render me 
 an humble instrument in restoring peace 
 and harmony among the people of the 
 several states. 
 
 " Yours, very respectfully, 
 
 " JAMES BUCHANAN." 
 
 From the Pennsylvania!!, October 20, 
 1858 : 
 (From the North American of yesterday.) 
 
 DUFF GREEN TO THE PEOPLE OF PENN 
 SYLVANIA, AND ESPECIALLY TO THOSE 
 WHO PREFER A GOVERNMENT OF LAW 
 AND ORDER TO ANARCHY. 
 
 I am encouraged by your past his 
 tory, my own hopes of the future, and 
 the sympathies created by our common 
 interests, to appeal to your intelligence 
 and to invoke your co-operation in the 
 adjustment of pending political ques 
 tions ; and I address myself to you 
 because their early and satisfactory 
 adjustment much depends, as I believe, 
 upon the President, a citizen of your 
 own state, and the influence which he 
 can bring to bear upon the deliberations 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 207 
 
 of Congress ; and because, during the 
 canvass which has just transpired, his 
 official conduct and character have been 
 assailed with a bitterness and vitu 
 peration seldom equalled in the politi 
 cal discussions of this country ; and 
 because, as the tendency of that war 
 fare will be, as some suppose, to 
 weaken the influence which ho ought 
 to exert in your behalf, it therefore 
 becomes your duty now to examine 
 with fairness and candor, and to de 
 termine for yourselves, whether his 
 conduct has been censurable, as al 
 leged, and what it is proper for you to 
 do in the circumstances in which he 
 and you are placed. 
 
 If the result of that examination is 
 to satisfy your sober and deliberate 
 judgment that he is no longer worthy 
 of your confidence, but merits censure, 
 then let such be the expression of 
 your opinion ; but if a calm and de 
 liberate investigation shall prove that, 
 under the difficult and embarrassing 
 circumstances in which he was placed 
 he has not only had the wisdom to see, 
 but the firmness to recommend, those 
 measures which were best calculated 
 to promote your interests, and to in 
 crease and strengthen his influence in 
 the proper adjustment of that issue 
 which is now most pressing, and in 
 volves not only the rich man s wealth, 
 but the poor man s daily food, then it 
 becomes your duty to lay aside your 
 prejudice, and to bring to his aid all 
 the power and influence which you, as- 
 a people, can give. Let us pause and 
 see what are the charges and what 
 are the facts. The charge is that he 
 was pledged to maintain the princi 
 ple of " popular sovereignty" in Kan 
 sas, and that, in recommending the 
 admission of Kansas under the Le- 
 compton constitution, and the approval 
 of the English bill, he has violated 
 
 that pledge. It is understood, and I 
 believe I state the issue correctly when 
 I say, that, by "popular sovereignty," 
 his accusers mean that the whole con 
 stitution, made at Lecompton, instead 
 of that part which relates to the ques 
 tion of slavery, should have been re 
 ferred to the " popular vote/ and they 
 claim that this has become a funda 
 mental principle in our government. 
 
 I meet this charge directly. I deny 
 that, in this or any other sense, "popu 
 lar sovereignty" is a fundamental prin 
 ciple of our government. I deny that 
 the President was pledged to maintain 
 such "popular sovereignty" in Kansas, 
 and assert that, so far as he was 
 pledged, he has faithfully and truly 
 exerted his power and influence to ful 
 fil his pledges. I assert further that, 
 although with the limited information 
 which I had, I disapproved of his mes 
 sage recommending the admission of 
 Kansas under the Lecompton consti 
 tution, and although I was opposed, 
 and had I been a member of Congress 
 I would not have voted for the English 
 bill ; yet, with the lights I now have, 
 I approve of his message and of his 
 approval of the English bill. 
 
 I deny the whole doctrine of "popu 
 lar sovereignty" as held by his ac 
 cusers, because I believe it to be 
 infidel and revolutionary, subversive 
 of the fundamental principles of re 
 ligion and of government. I not only 
 admit, but I maintain, that the power 
 of our government is vested in the 
 people ; but, nevertheless, it is a gov 
 ernment of the laws and the Constitu 
 tion, and not of "popular sovereignty" 
 The government is a compact between 
 the people making it, whereby each 
 and all relinquished to representatives 
 the power to make laws, and gave to 
 the government authority to enforce 
 obedience to the laws thus made. 
 
208 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 The purpose of the government is to 
 
 through the atoning blood of Chris 
 
 maintain the rights and interests of 
 
 are mysteries hidden in the inscrutab 
 
 the weak against the usurpations of 
 
 providence of God. Why false do 
 
 the strong to restrain and check the 
 
 trines, errors, strifes and animositi( 
 
 power of the many when they would 
 
 are permitted to enter the church, < 
 
 oppress the few. Therefore, if this 
 
 why men, zealous disciples of Chris 
 
 new-fangled idea of "popular sove 
 
 and anxious for the welfare and happ 
 
 reignty" means anything more than 
 
 ness of man, are moved by passio] 
 
 the proper exercise of the rights and 
 
 pride and prejudice, no man can sa; 
 
 powers of the people, in the manner 
 
 except that it is the law of our natur 
 
 and forms indicated by the laws and 
 
 from which no man is free. We ai 
 
 the Constitution, it is treason, rebellion, 
 
 told that what was written aforetim 
 
 or anarchy. That it was treason, re 
 
 was written for our instruction, ac 
 
 bellion, anarchy, and civil war in Kan. 
 
 hence we find that David, the chose 
 
 sas, I am prepared to prove whenever 
 
 man of God the man after God s ow 
 
 it is expedient. My present purpose 
 
 heart, had his infirmities, as other mei 
 
 is to show to the intelligent, thinking, 
 
 So there was a Judas among the twelv 
 
 religious public that it is a heresy 
 
 and Peter denied his Lord, with a 
 
 fraught with danger to the church and 
 
 oath ! ! If David, and Judas, an 
 
 to the well-being of the state. 
 
 Peter, being men, had been perfect an 
 
 I repeat that, if by " popular sover 
 
 without sin, how could sinful men, a 
 
 eignty" the accusers of the President 
 
 we all know ourselves to be, hope t 
 
 mean the proper exercise of the power 
 
 be reconciled to God ? The record c 
 
 of the people, as reserved and recog 
 
 the. sins of David, of Judas, and ( 
 
 nized in the law and the Constitution, 
 
 Peter, was written to admonish us c 
 
 I take issue with them on the facts. If 
 
 the disease which is within us of th 
 
 they mean a - higher law" than this 
 
 existence of the law of God, and of th 
 
 that the popular will is to be the law 
 
 necessity of the mediating grace c 
 
 of the land, and that party platforms 
 
 Christ. I believe in a special Prov 
 
 are more potent than the Constitution 
 
 dence, working through the use c 
 
 that vox populi is " vox Dei," then I 
 
 means. When I reflect upon the in 
 
 say that, so far from being a funda- 
 
 mensity of space, filled with the man 
 
 mental principle of our government, 
 it is treason, rebellion, anarchy, and in 
 fidelity. Obedience to law is the duty 
 of man. This new idea of " popular 
 sovereignty" substitutes the popular 
 will as the rule of the law. In the ex 
 ercise of such " popular sovereignty," 
 Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit 
 and lost us Paradise. It was in the ex 
 ercise of such " popular sovereignty" 
 that his enemies shouted, "Crucify 
 him, crucify him," and slew tho Son of 
 God. 
 
 Why it was that man was permitted 
 to sin, or why he should be redeemed 
 
 festations of His power, and see that 
 
 He has given 
 movement of 
 
 laws, regulating the 
 the heavenly bodies, 
 
 which have continued, without variable 
 ness or shadow of change, I recognize 
 the infinitude of His power and the 
 duty of submission to His will. When 
 I look back upon the history of man, I 
 find that the organization of govern 
 ment and submission to the law are 
 indispensable to his spiritual as well 
 as his temporal welfare ; and, there 
 fore, I feel it to be my duty, and yours, 
 to unite in resisting a heresy which 
 would refer to the variable, undefined, 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 209 
 
 unascertainable popular will, created 
 by artful appeals to popular prejudice, 
 made by designing demagogues for the 
 promotion of their own personal ends, 
 instead of that matured will of the 
 people, declared, in the laws and the 
 Constitution, to be the proper guide for 
 the conduct of public men. Do his 
 accusers charge that, in this matter of 
 " popular sovereignty" in Kansas, the 
 President has violated the law or the 
 Constitution ? I do not so understand 
 them. As I understand the case, it is 
 that he agreed, with Gov. Walker, that 
 
 the best means of 
 
 terminating 
 
 the 
 
 Kansas controversy was to recommend 
 that the legislature of Kansas then 
 elected, at an election which had re 
 ceived the sanction of the preceding 
 House of Representatives, a majority 
 of whom had admitted the delegate to 
 his seat and rejected the Topeka con 
 stitutionshould pass an act authori 
 zing the election of delegates, to meet 
 in convention, with power to make a 
 constitution, and that that convention 
 ought to submit the constitution, thus 
 to be made, to a vote of the people of 
 Kansas. 
 
 Does any one pretend to say that, 
 under the circumstances, the President 
 did not advise that the Lecompton con 
 stitution should be submitted to a 
 popular vote ? No one says this. But 
 it is said that the constitution was not 
 submitted, and that, by recommending 
 the admission of Kansas, under that 
 constitution, he violated the pledge 
 given to Gov. Walker, and abandoned 
 the principle of popular sovereignty ! 
 Let us pause and examine this charge. 
 
 The cry of " no more slave states" amendment. 
 
 one has ever denied the right of the 
 people of a territory, when they come to 
 organize a state government, to decide 
 the question of slavery or no slavery for 
 themselves," and I recur to this dec 
 laration as an illustration of the undue 
 influence of temporary excitement and 
 party prejudice, upon one occupying so 
 exalted a position, to show the necessity 
 of a strict adherence to the law and the 
 Constitution, and to truth and reason 
 as the rule of our action, instead of 
 launching the ship of state into the 
 uncertain sea of popular opinion, 
 lashed into fury by artful and design 
 ing men, who make politics a trade, 
 and live by the excitement which they 
 create. 
 
 If that honorable Senator had cast 
 his eyes across the Mississippi river, 
 he would have been reminded that 
 slavery existed in Missouri before it 
 was ceded to the United States, and 
 that the right of property in slaves, 
 and the right to be admitted into the 
 Union, upon an equal footing with the 
 original states, was guaranteed by the 
 treaty ; and yet he must know, as we 
 all know, that the admission of Mis 
 souri as a state was opposed, under 
 pretence that Congress had power to 
 prohibit, and ought to prohibit, slavery 
 in Missouri. This claim of power to 
 prohibit slavery in the new states was 
 not only asserted then, but has been 
 the bone of contention ever since then, 
 until it was admitted to be a usurpa 
 tion, by the opposition in both houses 
 of Congress, during the last session 
 n the Senate, on Mr. Crittenden s, and 
 n the House, on Mr. Montgomery s 
 
 was brought into Congress upon the 
 application of Missouri to be permitted 
 to organize a state government. Mr. 
 Trumbull, in reply to Mr. Douglas, said, 
 in a late speech in Illinois, that " No 
 
 We are told that we should judge 
 the tree by its fruits. This vote of the 
 opposition in both houses of Congress, 
 and this declaration of Mr. Trumbull, 
 that " No one has ever denied the right 
 
210 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 of the people of a territory, when they \ would exert his power to prevent any 
 
 come to organize a state government, to 
 decide the question of slavery or no 
 slavery for themselves," is the fruit of 
 the President s message, recommend 
 ing the admission of Kansas under the 
 Lecompton constitution ; and, although 
 I did not approve of that message, and 
 had I been a member of Congress 
 would not have voted for the English 
 bill, yet I now maintain that, judging 
 the tree by its fruits, and looking to 
 the principles involved as well as to 
 consequences resulting therefrom, for 
 that message and all that he has done 
 in relation to Kansas, the President, 
 instead of censure, deserves our com 
 mendation and support. 
 
 To the charge that the Lecompton 
 constitution was not referred to the 
 vote of the people, I reply that the 
 charge admits, and no one has ever 
 denied, that, under the circumstances 
 of popular excitement, it was the Presi 
 dent s opinion, and that he authorized 
 Mr. Walker to say that it was his 
 opinion, that the Lecompton convention 
 should submit the whole constitution, 
 and not a part only, to a popular vote. 
 When the President gave this advice 
 he had exerted the whole of his 
 authority in that matter. He did not 
 make the constitution he was not the 
 convention. The reference of that 
 constitution was not to be his act, but 
 the act of the convention. He had given 
 no pledge that he would refer the con 
 stitution to a vote of the people. He 
 had no power to refer it, and, there 
 fore, could give no pledge that he 
 would refer it. As he gave no pledge, 
 he could not, by any forfeiture of such 
 pledge, violate the popular sovereignty 
 of the people of Kansas. But, although 
 he could give no pledge that he would 
 refer the constitution to a popular 
 
 improper interference with the right of 
 the people to elect representatives who 
 would refer it, when made, to their ap 
 proval or rejection. Does any one of 
 his accusers charge that he did not, to 
 the extent of his power, fulfil that 
 pledge ? No, no one makes that 
 charge ; although it is said that there 
 were frauds at two or more districts, 
 and that a majority of the people re 
 fused to vote, and, therefore, the 
 election was illegal. 
 
 I refer to these facts because, in 
 passing judgment upon the conduct of 
 the President, they become important, 
 and, therefore, to enable us more prop 
 erly to understand the real issue I 
 recur again to the history of the case. 
 
 Mr. Calhoun, at the time of his death, 
 was the prominent statesman of the 
 South. Mr. Clay had become so much 
 identified with the North, that he did 
 not even pretend to be a Southern man. 
 The South was without a candidate. In 
 the North, there were Mr. Van Buren, 
 Mr. Marcy, Mr. Dickinson, Mr. Web 
 ster, Mr. Buchanan, Gen. Pierce, Gen. 
 Cass, and Mr. Douglas, to say nothing 
 of other aspirants, too numerous to 
 mention. Anti-slavery had become a 
 political sentiment so formidable, that 
 it was well understood no candidate 
 could get a Southern vote, who was 
 not fully pledged against that heresy. 
 Hence the compromise of 1850 ; hence 
 the Kansas-Nebraska bill ; hence the 
 platforms of both parties in 1850, and 
 hence the Cincinnati platform. Those 
 who nominated Mr. Fillmore, as well as 
 those who nominated Mr. Buchanan, 
 hoped to get Southern votes, and hence 
 they were pledged to maintain the 
 right of property in slaves. 
 
 But there was another party, who 
 raised the cry of " no more slave 
 
 vote, he did give a pledge that he | states " and who, although they had 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 211 
 
 themselves violated the Missouri Com 
 promise, by refusing to extend the line 
 through New Mexico and California, 
 availed themselves of the Kansas- 
 Nebraska bill, to renew the agitation. 
 The result was a civil war in Kansas, 
 and zealous Christians, pious fathers of 
 the church, did not hesitate to furnish 
 men, money, and Sharp s rifles to be 
 used, in making Kansas a free state. 
 It was in vain that they were told that 
 the question of slavery in Kansas, was 
 a question of climate and population 
 that Kansas must of necessity be 
 come a free state, because prudent 
 slave-owners would not risk their prop 
 erty in Kansas, and because there is 
 an abundance, and to spare, of unoc 
 cupied lands, suited to slave labor in 
 the Southern states ; and that, having 
 no slaves to spare for that purpose, 
 we cannot make new slave states, un 
 less we renew the African slave-trade. 
 The cry had been raised a Northern 
 political anti-slavery party had been 
 organized a corps of unscrupulous 
 correspondents had been sent to 
 Kansas, who filled a few partisan 
 papers with repeated falshoods, until 
 the public mind of the North had be 
 come so much inflamed, that pious, 
 good, patriotic Christian men, voted 
 for John C. Fremont for President !!! 
 
 I ask you to look back upon this 
 delusion to compare it with the per 
 secution of the witches, the Quakers 
 and Baptists of New England and 
 then to ask yourselves if it is a matter 
 of surprise that this movement in the 
 North should create a counter move 
 ment in the South or that the South 
 should have been alarmed and suspi 
 cious ? or that the people should re 
 quire pledges for the protection of 
 their rights of property ? 
 
 Such were the fruits of the anti- 
 slavery agitation of the North. It was 
 
 understood that the admission of Kan 
 sas under the Lecompton constitution 
 would affirm the right of the people of 
 a territory, in making their constitution, 
 to determine the question for them 
 selves ; and that the rejection of that 
 constitution would assert the power of 
 Congress to prohibit slavery in the 
 new states. Mr. Buchanan and his 
 friends were pledged to maintain the 
 right of the people as asserted by the 
 South, and he had been not only sus 
 pected, but accused of insincerity, and 
 an influential movement had been 
 made for a dissolution of the Union if 
 the Lecompton constitution had been 
 rejected, upon the ground that its re 
 jection would be proof of the existence 
 of a feeling in the North so powerful, 
 and so hostile to the South, that it 
 would be no longer prudent or safe for 
 the South to remain in the Union. 
 
 Under such circumstances, the Le 
 compton constitution came to the 
 President with a request that he should 
 submit it to Congress, and recommend 
 the admission of Kansas as a state. It 
 is not denied that each citizen of Kan 
 sas could have voted in the choice of 
 delegates to the Lecompton convention. 
 A majority, it is said, did not vote, 
 but that was in their own wrong ; and 
 because they preferred the Topeka con 
 stitution which had been rejected by 
 the previous House of Representatives, 
 in which the opposition had a majority. 
 The President had fulfilled his pledge 
 to prevent any improper interference 
 in the choice of delegates. He had 
 advised that the whole constitution 
 should be referred to a popular vote. 
 He could not compel the people to 
 vote, nor could he compel the conven 
 tion to refer the constitution to the 
 people. He had to act upon the case 
 as it came to him, and I congratulate 
 you and the country that he had the 
 
212 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 wisdom and the firmness to act so as 
 to vindicate and establish the rights 
 of the South ; and that this question 
 which has so long arrayed the North 
 against the South ; which has excited 
 so much bad feeling, and has so much 
 disturbed the proper legislation of Con 
 gress, has been so auspiciously con 
 cluded under the administration and 
 the influence of a citizen of your state, 
 who having thus redeemed his pledges 
 to the South having vindicated and 
 established their rights in this ques 
 tion, so vital to them, may now call 
 upon the South to stand by him in the 
 proper adjustment of that other ques 
 tion, involving no less the interests of 
 the South than of the North, but which, 
 in consequence of the sectional charac 
 ter it has assumed, has become no less 
 a question between the North and the 
 South than the question of slavery 
 itself. I mean the question of the 
 tariff. 
 
 The South selected a citizen of your 
 state as their candidate for the Presi 
 dency, knowing that he had been and 
 then was in favor of increased duties 
 on imports, and especially on foreign 
 iron. It is natural to suppose that he 
 can and will exert an influence favor 
 able to your interests, and you must 
 see that so far from deserving bitter 
 censure, his conduct in the matter of 
 Kansas has given him new claims to 
 your confidence, and by increasing his 
 power to serve you, calls for your 
 approval and support. 
 
 But it is charged that he betrayed 
 his pledge to Gov. Walker. In what ? 
 We have seen that, through Gov. Wal 
 ker, he advised that the convention 
 should refer the constitution to the 
 people ; that it was not so referred, 
 was no fault of his the reference was 
 to be made by the convention, not by 
 him. In this, therefore, there was no 
 
 violation of his pledge because he 
 could not, and did not, make such a 
 pledge. But it is said that Gov. Wal 
 ker was opposed to the acceptance and 
 submission of the Lecompton consti 
 tution. In this there could have been 
 no violation of any pledge, because 
 Gov. Walker himself advised the 
 election of the delegates, and the hold 
 ing of the convention. Both he and 
 the President advised that the conven 
 tion should refer the constitution ; 
 neither could ha,ve foreseen or antici 
 pated that it would not be referred ; 
 there could have been no agreement 
 between them in reference to it, and 
 therefore there could have been no 
 violation of pledges in relation to it. 
 But it is said that he approved of the 
 English bill. I happen to know per 
 sonally that Gov. Walker approved 
 and urged the passage of that bill, if 
 he did not aid and advise in preparing 
 it, and therefore it is manifest that the 
 charge of bad faith to Gov. Walker, so 
 pertinaciously urged against the Presi 
 dent in this respect is met by the fact 
 that the English bill had sufficient pop 
 ular sovereignty for the governor. And 
 it seems to me that those who euiogize 
 the governor and condemn the President 
 are not just or reliable who applaud 
 one and censure the other both con 
 curring in the support of that bill. 
 
 As to that feature of the English 
 bill which, in case of the rejection of 
 the Lecompton constitution, requires a 
 sufficient population to entitle Kansas 
 to one Representative in Congress be 
 fore it is admitted as a state, I do not 
 understand that the President s ac 
 cusers assert that it was put into the 
 bill at his suggestion. Nor do I un 
 derstand that, apart from the peculiar 
 circumstances of the case, they con 
 demn the principle itself. So far from 
 doing this they admit that each terri- 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 213 
 
 tory should have the requisite popula 
 tion before it becomes a state. So far 
 as this provision makes a distinction 
 offensive to the popular feeling of the 
 North it was not only wrong in 
 principle but unwise in policy ; but is 
 it just to make the President responsi 
 ble for the error of Congress ? It is 
 true that he approved of the bill, but 
 he was required to act upon it as a 
 whole, and we should bear in mind the 
 fact that it was admitted, and urged as 
 an objection to the Lecompton consti 
 tution itself, that there was not 
 sufficient population to form a state, 
 and therefore many Southern members 
 were willing to vote for that con- 
 stitutution as a means of getting rid 
 of the agitation, knowing that, even 
 under that constitution, Kansas would 
 be represented in both houses by anti- 
 slavery men, and be an anti-slavery 
 state. Under the circumstances, is it 
 surprising that they should insist that, 
 if the people of Kansas rejected that 
 constitution, they should wait until 
 they had sufficient population ? That 
 clause, therefore, should be placed to 
 the excited feeling of Southern men, 
 and is chargeable to their want of 
 wisdom, and not as a fault of the 
 President. 
 
 But it is said that the President has 
 made the English bill a party test, 
 and that he has exerted his influence, 
 and the patronage of the government, 
 to enforce it. If it be true that there 
 has been any abuse of executive pa 
 tronage, I regret and condemn it. I am 
 not the partisan or the eulogist of the 
 President. I wish to be an advocate 
 of truth and justice, and, therefore, 
 I ask, who, and what, are his accu 
 sers ? Are they seeking power and, 
 if they get possession of the govern 
 ment, will they dispense the patrooage 
 to partisans and favorites ? Have they 
 
 no favorite candidate for the Presi 
 dency ? And if they elect him, will 
 they put in no claims for wear and 
 tear of conscience ? Is their advocacy 
 of "popular sovereignty" purely dis 
 interested patriotism, or is it a mask 
 to hide their own selfishness ? Par ex 
 ample, Mr. Haskins claims great merit 
 for his independence. He claims to 
 be a martyr in the cause of " popular 
 sovereignty," and yet, he himself tells 
 us, in his Tarrytown speech, that he 
 could not have been elected to the 
 present Congress if the opposition 
 vote had not been divided on two op 
 position candidates, and that ho is 
 well aware that he had not the least 
 possible chance of re-election unless 
 he could become the opposition candi 
 date. Now, under such circumstances, 
 I can see a controlling motive to avail 
 himself of the English bill, as a means 
 of getting back to Congress as an op 
 position member, but the facts ad 
 mitted by himself, deprive him of all 
 claim to independence, and prove that 
 he went over to the opposition, prefer 
 ring the chances of a re-election by 
 their votes. What claim has he, under 
 such circumstances, upon the Presi 
 dent ? Or how can he assume to be a 
 political martyr, or to charge that the 
 President makes a corrupt use of the 
 public patronage, because it is not ex 
 erted for his benefit ? 
 
 I repeat that, although at the time I 
 did not approve of his message sending 
 the Lecompton constitution to Con 
 gress, he acted wisely and properly ; 
 for, by their votes on Mr. Crittenden s 
 amendment, in the Senate, and Mr. 
 Montgomery s, in the House, the anti- 
 slavery party have conceded all that 
 the South ever asked or contended 
 for. The discussion following it has 
 not only admitted the right of the 
 people of a territory, when they come 
 
214 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 to make a constitution, to decide the 
 question of slavery for themselves, 
 but it has conceded our right of prop 
 erty in slaves concessions which fully 
 satisfy the South, and which would 
 never have been made had not the 
 President submitted that constitution 
 to Congress. It is in this view that 
 the proceedings of the last Congress 
 may be taken as a final and satisfac 
 tory adjustment of the slavery issue. 
 The contest in Kansas proves, con 
 clusively, that the question of new 
 slave states is a question of climate 
 and population ; and knowing, as we 
 do, that we have no slaves to make 
 new slave states, the South are com 
 pelled to choose between remaining in 
 the Union as a permanent minority, or 
 to go out of the Union and form a new 
 government. No sane man can be 
 lieve that, if we dissolve the Union on 
 such an issue, we can make .arrange 
 ments with the other states for the 
 surrender of fugitive slaves, or for the 
 protection of our right of property in 
 slaves, as satisfactory to us as the 
 guarantees we now have in the Con 
 stitution. To dissolve the Union, there 
 fore, is impossible. We have no in 
 ducement to dissolve it. We will not 
 dissolve the Union we will hold the 
 North to their compact, and rely on the 
 Constitution., and not upon " popular 
 sovereignty/ for the protection of our 
 rights. And I repeat my congratula 
 tions that this healing measure, which 
 leaves us free to examine and dispose 
 of the question of the tariff, has been 
 achieved under the administration of 
 a son of Pennsylvania, under circum 
 stances which strengthen his influ 
 ence, and give him claims upon the 
 confidence and co-operation of the 
 South, in the adjustment of that other 
 question, upon which, as I believe, 
 more than any other, depend the wel 
 fare and prosperity of this country. 
 
 Of this I propose to treat in another 
 letter, in which I will prove, from care 
 fully prepared statistics, that it is im 
 possible to give constant employment 
 and remunerating wages to labor un 
 less we have an abundant and cheap 
 currency; and that we cannot have an 
 abundant and cheap currency unless 
 we so regulate our foreign commerce 
 as to maintain a sufficient specie basis 
 for the protection of a legitimate uso 
 of so much credit as may be required 
 to give full employment to labor, and 
 transfer the produce of the soil and of 
 labor from the producer to the consu 
 mer. I will also demonstrate, by statis 
 tics which cannot be questioned, that 
 the idea that we cannot compete in the 
 markets of the world, unless we cheapen 
 the price of labor, is an error. I will 
 show that it is the low price and 
 abundance of money and of credit, 
 and not the low price of labor, which 
 is the source of wealth and prosperity 
 to nations for money is the measure 
 of the values of property, as the yard 
 stick, is the measure of cloth. Labor 
 is the poor man s property. When 
 money is six per cent., the yardstick 
 is three feet long ; when it is twelve 
 per cent., the yardstick is six feet 
 long, and when it is eighteen percent., 
 it is nine feet in length. To so regu 
 late our foreign commerce that money 
 is worth eighteen per cent., is to com 
 pel the poor man to sell his labor by a 
 yardstick nine feet in length, and to 
 purchase the rich man s money by a 
 yardstick one foot in length. I entreat 
 you to unite with me in the effort to 
 bring the public attention, and espe 
 cially the attention of the President 
 and of Congress, to such an adjust 
 ment of the measure of values that 
 the poor and rich may all have one 
 standard yardstick of three feet in 
 length. 
 
 DUFF GREEN. 
 
CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 THE failure of the Charleston Con 
 vention to nominate a candidate for 
 the Presidency the nomination of 
 Messrs. Douglas, Breckinridge, and 
 Bell at Baltimore, and of Mr. Lincoln 
 at Chicago, verified my worst appre 
 hensions. 
 
 I had been requested by the Presi 
 dent of Mexico to make an arrange 
 ment with our government, by which, 
 instead of sending specie to Mexico to 
 pay the balance on the Mexican in 
 demnity, our government should ac 
 cept the bills of exchange of that gov 
 ernment, payable in New York for the 
 amount. As the arrangement would 
 have saved to each government sev 
 eral hundred thousand dollars, it was 
 approved by General Taylor and Mr. 
 Clayton, then Secretary of State, and 
 the bills of exchange were forwarded 
 to the Mexican minister in Washing 
 ton, in accordance with the arrange 
 ment thus made. The death of General 
 Taylor made Mr. Fillmore President, 
 and Mr. Webster Secretary of State ; 
 and, for reasons which I was at no 
 loss to comprehend, Mr. Webster dis 
 avowed the act of his predecessor, and 
 gave the contract for the payment of 
 the indemnity to the Messrs. Baring 
 and their associates. I appealed to 
 Congress, when, for the first time, I 
 ascertained the powerful organization 
 of the Washington lobby. Conversing 
 with a gentleman who had been very 
 successful in measures before Con 
 gress, he told me that I could not ob 
 tain the sanction of Congress unless 
 
 I paid the lobby. I asked, " Who are 
 the lobby ?" He gave me a list con 
 taining names of some of the clerks in 
 the departments, and of the committees 
 of both Houses of Congress. I was 
 told that they were an organized body, 
 combined with members of Congress, 
 who, under their influence, voted for or 
 against measures, or for or against 
 claims, as arranged by this combina 
 tion of irresponsible persons, whose 
 business it was to support or to oppose 
 measures or claims pending before 
 Congress, and that they combined to 
 defeat measures and claims on which 
 the parties interested would not pay 
 them a stipulated sum or percentage for 
 their influence ; and united in support 
 of measures and claims upon which 
 the parties interested would agree to 
 pay for their services. I refused to 
 employ them they combined against 
 me the proposition of Mexico was 
 defeated, greatly to the loss of our 
 own government as well as of Mexico. 
 
 A few days after the nomination of 
 Mr. Douglas, I was going from Wash 
 ington to Philadelphia, a leading West 
 ern partisan of Mr. Douglas took a 
 seat by me, and said : " Green, you are 
 a great fool." I replied,- " That may be 
 true, but it is not very polite in you to 
 say so why do you say so ?" " You," 
 said he, " are wasting your time and 
 energies, and in support of Southern 
 railroads why don t you unite with 
 us in the Central Pacific ? There is 
 money enough in that for us all." 
 
 I afterwards read the report of the 
 
216 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 committee, and the "Bill to secure 
 contracts and make provision for the 
 more speedy transportation, by rail 
 road, of mails, troops, munitions of 
 war, military and naval stores, be 
 tween the Atlantic States and those of 
 the Pacific, and for other purposes," 
 and found that the bill provides that, 
 
 " There be, and hereby is, granted t 
 William H. Swift, Samuel T. Dana, and Joh 
 Bertram, of Massachusetts ; Moses H, Grin 
 nell, Benjamin Chamberlain, Hamilton Fish 
 John A. Dix, Daniel C. Eaton, Azariah Boody 
 Joseph Harrison, George W. Cass, Anthony 
 B. Wofford, Joseph H. Scranton, Morton 
 McMichael, of Pennsylvania; Edmund Pen 
 dleton, of Virginia ; Benjamin H. Latrobe 
 Ross Winans, and Thomas Swan, of Mary 
 land ; Henry D. Newcomb, of Kentucky; VYil 
 liam Case, S. S. 1 Hommedieu, and Henry B 
 Curtis, of Ohio ; Thomas A. Morris, Jesse 
 L. Williams, and David C. Branham, of Indi 
 ana; Joshua Cobb, of Tennessee; E. 
 Grosvener and William J. Wells, of Michi 
 gan; John Wentworth, A. B. Judd, John 
 Moore, and Charles G. Hammond, of Illinois ; 
 John How, James H. Lucas, William Gilpin, 
 and Willard P. Hall, of Missouri ; Charles 
 Mason, Lucius H. Langworthy, Hugh T. 
 Reid, and Hoyt Sherman, of Iowa ; Samuel 
 J. Hensley, T. D. Judah, and Louis McLane, 
 of California ; Herman C. Leonard and J. C. 
 Ainsworth, of Oregon, and to such persons 
 as a majority of such grantees shall admit 
 as their associates, every alternate section 
 of land within one mile of such railroad 
 line as such persons may adopt." 
 
 Having read this list of names and 
 the bill, I turned to the report of the 
 committee, and found that they gave as 
 
 "THE PLAN OF EXECUTION. 
 
 Your committee have found the greatest 
 diversity of opinion as to the mode of ac 
 complishing the object, and for years the 
 inventive genius of men has been directed 
 to schemes for constructing a Pacific rail 
 road. It is generally conceded that govern 
 ment must, in some way, encourage the 
 work, to induce private capital to take hold i 
 
 of it. After much consideration, your com 
 mittee have adopted the plan of advancing 
 government thirty-year bonds, bearing five 
 per cent, interest, in payment for telegraph 
 and transportation service, which is to be 
 executed during the progress, and after the 
 completion of the work. To secure the 
 government they are to be advanced only 
 as sections of fifty miles are completed, be 
 ginning at each end with what is supposed 
 to be only enough to aid capital ; the amount 
 per mile is to increase as the work proceeds 
 from both ends towards the centre of the 
 line, where the expense will be greatest 
 As a further security, these advances are to 
 be a first mortgage lien on the road and 
 equipment ; so the effect is an advance of 
 government credit for thirty years on what 
 would seem to be ample security. We have 
 stated the annual service now required by 
 the government (which could and would 
 be far better performed by a railroad), at 
 five millions of army and navy transports, 
 and one and a half millions of postal ser 
 vice, which, together, amount to six and a 
 half millions. It is proposed to advance, 
 as the work progresses, sixty millions in 
 Donds, which may be increased by accruing 
 nterest over service, as the work proceeds, 
 to seventy millions; the annual interest 
 would then be three millions five hundred 
 thousand dollars. The annual service, as 
 above stated, six millions five hundred 
 thousand dollars ; so the annual service 
 would exceed the annual interest, three 
 millions of dollars. 
 
 This last sum would remain with the 
 government as a sinking fund sufficient to 
 xtinguish the bonds in less than twenty- 
 our years, and, therefore, before the bonds 
 will become due." 
 
 I saw that here was an openly avowed 
 purpose, under pretence of a contract 
 for carrying the mails, &c., to divide 
 among the persons named, and to "such 
 persons as a majority of such grantees 
 might admit as their associates," 
 seventy millions of dollars, with an 
 annuity of six millions five hundred 
 thousand dollars, openly and shame 
 lessly advertising the fact that the 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 217 
 
 proposed contract would pay the inte 
 rest on the seventy millions of dollars 
 and give a surplus of three millions. 
 I saw that as an annuity of one dollar 
 at six per cent, will, in thirty-two 
 years give ninety dollars and eighty- 
 eight cents, the purpose was to dis 
 tribute among the associates two hun 
 dred and seventy-two millions, six 
 hundred and forty thousand dollars, 
 and that it was a solemn and melan 
 choly truth, that there was money 
 enough in the Central Pacific Railroad 
 bill as presented by Mr. Curtis, for all 
 the associates. I was startled at the 
 corruption, and not surprised at For 
 ney s assurance that if they could not 
 elect Mr. Douglas there would be a 
 bargain to elect Mr. Lincoln. I was 
 not surprised at the charge of corrup 
 tion made by Mr. Dickinson as quoted 
 in my letter to the people of Pennsyl 
 vania and New Jersey, nor am I now 
 surprised at the efforts made to pre 
 vent the admission to their seats of 
 members of Congress, who, if admitted, 
 would vote against like donations of 
 the people s money to the associates 
 who have two other bills pending be 
 fore the radical Congress, which, un 
 der pretence of building railroads to 
 the Pacific, will, if passed, add so 
 much more to the public debt, and en 
 able the "grantees" to divide among 
 themselves " and such persons as a ma 
 jority of such grantees shall admit as 
 their associates," several hundred mil 
 lions more of "public plunder. 
 
 Advised, as I was, by the events of 
 the Crimean war, the repulse of the 
 British fleet in their attack on the 
 Russian fort at the mouth of the 
 Amoor river, and the movement of 
 Russian agents in Japan and China, 
 I was at no loss to understand the real 
 motive for the encouragement given 
 by the British goverument, to the con 
 
 struction of the Grand Trunk Railroad 
 of Canada. I saw that although Van 
 couver s island and Puget s sound, had 
 been the most remote part of the habit 
 able globe to England, so long as the 
 mode of communication was by Cape 
 Horn, a railroad and telegraph from 
 Quebec to the Pacific would so enhance 
 their value that instead of surrender 
 ing their claims to their possessions 
 on the Pacific for a sum sufficient to 
 indemnify the North west Fur Company, 
 the British government, who had ar 
 rested the progress of Russia by the 
 war in the Crimea, would not only fa 
 vor the construction of the Central Pa 
 cific Railroad, in connection with the 
 Grand Trunk Railroad of Canada, by 
 encouraging an advance of the funds 
 required to build it, but would, if it 
 were necessary, advance the sum re 
 quisite from their own public treasury. 
 I saw, that the shrewd men who were 
 interested in competing lines in New 
 England, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Il 
 linois, and Iowa, were deeply interest 
 ed in preventing the control of the 
 Pacific road from passing into the 
 hands of men who would be interested 
 in making the Grand Trunk Railroad 
 of Canada, the GRAND TRUNK of the 
 Pacific Railroad, and I believed that 
 with them the election of members of 
 Congress and a President who would 
 favor their plan of building that road, 
 was much more important than the 
 election of the candidate whom they 
 had aided to put in nomination. With 
 them, the question was not who ought 
 to be elected President, but whose 
 election will enable the association to 
 get the funds from the treasury of the 
 United States to build the Pacific 
 Railroad, and give to them not only 
 the use of the seventy millions of dol 
 lars, and the annuity of six and a half 
 millions of dollars, but give the con- 
 
218 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 trol of the travel and transportation 
 of the Pacific Railroad, and that by 
 control enable them to transfer so 
 much of that travel and transportation 
 as may be transferable to the rail 
 roads in which they were interested, 
 instead of permitting it to go East, over 
 the Grand Trunk Railroad of Canada. 
 Alike interested in the construction of 
 the Pacific Railroad, the Canadian and 
 American railroad companies were 
 competitors for the control of the 
 requisite funds, for upon that control 
 would depend contingent profits, of 
 equal or greater value, great as was 
 the bonus asked of the American Con 
 gress. With this view of the purpo 
 ses and motives of those who had 
 nominated Mr. Douglas, I appealed to 
 my friend Gov. Fitzpatrick, and urged 
 him to refuse to serve as their candi 
 date for Vice-President, and exerted 
 my influence to induce the friends of 
 Breckenridge and Bell to unite upon 
 either, and thus prevent the election 
 of Lincoln. With this view I wrote 
 the following appeal to the people of 
 Pennsylvania and New Jersey : 
 
 TO THE PEOPLE OF PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW 
 JERSEY. 
 
 The pretence on which Messrs. Sew- 
 ard, Lincoln, Sumner, Hickman, and 
 others, urge the election of the anti- 
 slavery candidate for the Presidency 
 is, that there is a conflict between 
 what they term slave labor and free 
 labor. They, therefore, insist, that the 
 measures and policy, and the power 
 and influence, of the federal govern 
 ment, shall be exerted to confine sla 
 very within the existing slaveholding 
 States ; that by so confining it it may 
 " die out." The pretence for this war 
 upon the South is, that the Declaration 
 of Independence asserts that " all men 
 are born free and equal," and that in 
 
 asmuch as negroes are men, there 
 fore they should be free ! 
 
 They assume that such was the pur 
 pose of the Congress of 1176, and urge, 
 as a duty, a perseverance in that sys 
 tem of measures which will make the 
 slaves free men. Does any one pretend 
 that Mr. Lincoln would have been 
 thought of as a candidate for the 
 Presidency had he not been the oppo 
 nent of Judge Douglas in 1858, and had 
 he not then urged, as a matter of ne 
 cessity, the emancipation of Southern 
 slaves had he not urged that all the 
 States must become free? Let us, for 
 a moment, reason together. Is it true, 
 in principle or in fact, that all men are 
 born/ree and equal? As a fact, we 
 know that it is not true ; for, so far as 
 their birth determines their status, 
 many men are born slaves. Nor is it 
 true that they are born equal, for we 
 all know that some are born poor and 
 some are born rich some are born to 
 live in a republic, and some are born 
 to live in a despotism some are born 
 to possess the blessings of Divine rev 
 elation under the influence of the Gos- 
 pel, and some are born in heathen 
 lands and never heard of a Saviour 
 some are born with a white skin, and 
 some are born with a black. It is not 
 true, therefore^ that all men are born 
 free, nor are they born equal. What, 
 then, they ask is the meaning of the 
 Declaration of Independence ? We 
 answer that we must look to the inter 
 pretation given to their own declara 
 tion by the men who made it. They 
 tell us, in the words quoted by Mr, 
 Jefferson, that the negro-slaves were 
 not intended to be placed on an equal 
 ity with the white man that they 
 were considered and held to be, and 
 were taxed as property. Mr. Lincoln 
 himself is compelled to admit that they 
 are held as property, and so does Mr. 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 219 
 
 Sumner, and so does Mr. Hickman. 
 The question, even with them, is not 
 whether slaves are property ; they 
 admit, all of them, that they are prop 
 erty, and were and ever have been 
 held to be property in the states, 
 recognizing them to be property. Mr. 
 Sumner, in a single lucid moment, ex 
 claims that he has no more to do with 
 slavery in Charleston than he has to 
 do with the slaves in Constantinople, 
 and says further, that if the South will 
 surrender to Mr. Lincoln, and to him, 
 and to their associates, the control of 
 the power and patronage of the federal 
 government, he will not disturb their 
 right of property in slaves. Let us 
 calmly, as men, as Christians, as patri 
 ots, and as statesmen, consider the 
 issues involved. 
 
 I appeal to you as men, and as Chris 
 tians, is it not a fact that there is a 
 distinction so marked between the 
 negro and the white man that it can 
 not be effaced ? Is not the difference 
 such as to prevent an equality between 
 the two races ? Is the negro the equal 
 of the white man ? If he is not, who 
 made the negro ? Why was he made 
 to be inferior to the white man? 
 Can any one find, in all the scope 
 of creation, anything which was 
 not rightly and fitly made ? and 
 were not all things that were made 
 suited to the purpose for which they 
 were made ? Who among all the 
 men that live can know what was the 
 purpose of God, when he made the 
 negro ? How can we comprehend his 
 purpose ? Is it not by an inquiry into 
 the uses to which he has assigned his 
 creatures? Why were not our rail 
 roads our steamboats our fine 
 houses our cities our clothes, and 
 our food, ready made for use ? Why 
 was man made subject to sickness, 
 pain, hunger, thirst, labor, and death ? 
 15 
 
 Why is it that man was permitted to 
 know good and evil, and forbidden 
 to " put forth his hand, and take also 
 of the free of life and live forever ? 
 Are not these things hidden in the in 
 scrutable will of the Creator ? Where 
 fore, then, do these men in their pride 
 arrogate to themselves to condemn the 
 owners of slaves ? Wherefore do they 
 assume that slavery is sinful a 
 wrong ? Who made them to judge ? 
 By what right do they assume that 
 slavery "must die" ? that "all the 
 states must be slave or all free" ? 
 
 I treat this subject in this wise, be 
 cause I know that many persons in 
 the North have been trained from in 
 fancy to believe that slavery is sin 
 ful that it is an evil, and that it is 
 part of a good Christian to wish that 
 the slave may be free ; and because 
 this sentiment has enlisted the sym 
 pathies of many pious and good per 
 sons, so that designing demagogues 
 seek to make that sentiment & means 
 of creating a sectional political party, 
 of such strength as to enable them, by 
 its use, to usurp the powers and patron 
 age of the government. Is it not a 
 strange feature of this delusion that the 
 men, who insist that they themselves, 
 are no better than the glaves (for they 
 say all men are born free and equal, 
 and therefore these slaves being their 
 equals should be free, because they 
 are equals). I say, is it not strange 
 that such men should insist that we, the 
 masters of these slaves, are so much 
 degraded by being masters, that we 
 are unfit to participate, as their equals, 
 in the administration of government ? 
 We ask no more than to be treated as. 
 equals. 
 
 I wi&h to satisfy all, every one, that 
 these men deceive themselves they 
 do not believe what they assert they 
 do not believe that the negro is their 
 
220 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 equal they know that they are not 
 our superiors no, in no sense by which 
 the properties or qualities of men are 
 estimated and yet they would de 
 grade the white master below the black 
 slave, because by assuming to sink 
 themselves to the level of our slaves, 
 they hope to control and govern us. 
 
 Were the men who made the Declara 
 tion of Independence black or white ? 
 Were they slaves or were they free 
 men? Was the Constitution a com 
 pact between free and independent 
 states, made by free men or was it 
 a compact between slaves ? Who 
 were the parties to the Declaration of 
 Independence ? Who were the parties 
 to the Constitution ? Can any one be 
 lieve that the Southern states will con 
 sent to remain in the Union, if the 
 legality of their right of property in 
 slaves is to be made the question on 
 which they are to remain in a govern 
 ment, the sole purpose of which is 
 avowedly to be the promotion of the 
 sectional interests of the abolitionists 
 of the North ? 
 
 So much as to the principles and 
 purposes of the anti-slavery party. 
 Let us turn for a moment to the pur 
 poses and principles of the men who 
 nominated Judge Douglas. It is 
 known that the delegation from New 
 York at Charleston and Baltimore 
 nominated Mr. Douglas. Now hear 
 what the Hon. Daniel S. Dickinson 
 said of that delegation in a speech 
 made at the Cooper Institute on the 
 18th July. He said : 
 
 " But the prayer is over, and a band of 
 conspirators took possession of the assem 
 blage, and, instead of a national conven 
 tion, a great huckstering bazaar is erected 
 a political trades sales is opened man 
 agement inaugurates her slimy and repul 
 sive court, and the office of chief magistrate 
 of this mighty republic is put up like the 
 
 board of a public pauper, at the lowest 
 bidder. Its proceedings bear evidence of 
 deliberate and long-cherished design, of a 
 combination and conspiracy to tie up minor 
 ities against them, and leave those free who 
 were for them, and thus attain, by fraud 
 or force, a particular result, regardless of 
 the popular sentiment or of consequences 
 which might follow. The ruling faction 
 had snuffed up the scent of four hundred 
 millions of spoil, and for them the admin 
 istration of Douglas was expected to rain 
 milk and honey, snow-powdered sugar, and 
 hail Moffat s vegetable life pills." 
 
 Mr. Dickinson then describes the 
 proceedings at Charleston and Balti 
 more, resulting in the nomination of 
 Douglas, and says : 
 
 " A decision so abhorrent to every prin 
 ciple of common fairness so replete with 
 outrage and usurpation, divided, dismem 
 bered, and broke up the convention, as it 
 should have done, and as every sensible 
 man saw that it would do ; and I commend 
 with my whole heart the spirit of the 
 president, General Cushing, who refused 
 longer to preside over the tyrannous cabal, 
 and of the delegations who, under the same 
 president, reorganized and placed in nom 
 ination Messrs. Breckinridge and Lane. 
 The remaining faction, made up chiefly of 
 delegates from republican states, whose dele 
 gations were the authors of the great 
 wrong, deprived of their head and without a 
 democratic body, proceeded to nominate Mr. 
 Douglas and Fitzpatrick, and as we were 
 informed, amidst tremendous enthusiasm, 
 Vermont, and other New England states, 
 and the whole Northwest were pledged to 
 Mr. Douglas, subject, of course, to a slight 
 incumbrance, held by one Abraham Lincoln" 
 
 Proceeding to speak of the disrup 
 tion of the convention, Mr. Dickinson 
 says : 
 
 " The authors of this outrage, whom we 
 should hold accountable, and who are 
 justly accountable with it, were the ruling 
 majority of the New York delegation. 
 Creatures who hang fester- 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 221 
 
 ing upon the lobbies of state and federal 
 legislation to purchase chartered privilege 
 and immunity by corrupt appliances ; who 
 thrive in its foetid atmosphere, and swell 
 to obese proportions, like vultures upon 
 offal ; office brokers, who crawl and cringe 
 around the footsteps of power, and by false 
 pretences procure themselves, or vile tools, 
 places of official trust and emolument, that 
 they may pack and control caucuses and 
 conventions at the expense of the people 
 they defraud and betray, while honest men 
 are engaged in their industrial avocations 
 to earn their bread. Oh, how has the once 
 noble spirit of the democracy fled from such 
 contaminating approaches ? Rome, whose 
 proud banner once waved triumphant over 
 a conquered world, degenerated in the pur 
 suit of sensual delights, into a band of 
 fiddlers and dancers, and the democratic 
 party of New York, founded in the spirit 
 of Jefferson, and emulating for many years 
 the noble efforts of a Jackson and a Tomp- 
 kins, has, in the hands of political gam 
 blers, been degraded by practices which 
 w.ould dishonor the resorts of a Peter 
 Funk in cast-off clothing ; cheating the 
 sentiment of the people of the state and 
 nation; cheating a great and confiding 
 party, whose principles they put on as a 
 disguise, for the purpose of enabling them 
 to cheat; cheating the convention which 
 admitted them to seats ; cheating the dele 
 gations who trusted them ; cheating every 
 body and everything with which they 
 came into contact except Mr. Douglas, 
 their nominee. 5 
 
 Such is the character of the men 
 and of the proceedings which placed 
 Mr. Douglas in nomination, as given 
 by Mr. Dickinson, whose character 
 and standing are known to the people 
 of the United States. What the pur 
 pose of the party, who sustain the 
 nomination thus made, is, appears in 
 the following extract from an address 
 published by Messrs. Miles Taylor, 
 Geo. E. Pugh, and Albert Rust, and 
 dated " DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL EXECUTIVE 
 COMMITTEE ROOMS, WASHINGTON CITY, 
 July 18, 1860." They say : 
 
 " It remains for us to add, as the senti 
 ment of the Democratic National Commit 
 tee, and as the universal sentiment of the 
 supporters of Douglas and Johnson, THAT 
 
 NO COMPROMISE WHATEVER IS ADMISSIBLE. 
 
 We desire to ascertain the strength of the 
 national democracy in every state, North and 
 
 South, AND WE INTEND TO ASCERTAIN IT. 
 
 We have made no proposition for a joint 
 electoral ticket in any state, and earnestly 
 exhort you to reject such propositions in 
 dignantly whenever and wherever made. 
 If we have any friends in any state, let 
 those friends call a state convention at 
 once, and nominate a full electoral ticket, 
 pledged to the exclusive support of Douglas 
 and Johnson. We can agree to nothing 
 else, because to acknowledge the right of a 
 factious minority to dictate their own terms 
 of co-operation suffer them to violate the 
 solemn professions of the democratic party, 
 and trample under foot our democratic 
 usages would be to disband the national 
 organization at once. Do not fail, there 
 fore, to act immediately ; assemble your 
 selves everywhere, by states, by counties, 
 and neighborhoods ; take no counsel, listen 
 to no suggestion from those who have 
 shamefully deserted the national democ 
 racy. Every vote for Breckenridge and 
 Lane, is a vote, indirectly at least, for Lin 
 coln and Hamlin ; a vote for inaugurating 
 an ; irrepressible conflict between the North 
 and the South, and, therefore, a vote for the 
 disunion of the states. Be not deceived 
 by plausible assertions of your enemies. 
 Breckenridge and Lane have no strength, 
 not the least, in any of the Northern states. 
 They will not receive one electoral vote in 
 the North, and except perhaps in three or 
 four Northern states, will not have even an 
 electoral ticket. 
 
 "On the other hand if the Southern 
 democracy should now desert the democ 
 racy of the North, it would be an end of 
 the alliance between them. What remains 
 then to the South if we would maintain 
 the Constitution, the Union, and the integ 
 rity and usages of the Democratic party, 
 but the cordial support and consequent 
 election of Douglas and Johnson ?" 
 
 We add one other extract from the 
 
222 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 Washington correspondent of the Phil 
 adelphia (Forney s) Press, admitted to 
 be a special organ of Mr. Douglas. 
 Hear him. He says : 
 
 " In that event in case none of the can 
 didates receive a majority of the electoral 
 vote, neither the friends of DOUGLAS, nor 
 those of Bell and LINCOLN will be foolish 
 enough to let the election go to the House. 
 If they permit that the above scheme of 
 the seceders will be carried out to the 
 letter. It would be death to every one of 
 them. Bell, if there are two democratic 
 tickets in the South, will receive a majority 
 of the Southern states. An arrangement 
 will be made before the electoral college meets, in 
 accordance with which BelPs electoral vote 
 will unite eitJier with Douglas or with Lin 
 coln, provided that two will have received 
 enough states to elect. Some suggest, 
 perhaps, in that event, Mr. Douglas as 
 President, and Mr. Everett as Vice-Presi- 
 dent. The offices could easily le divided. 
 The Union men taking the South, and the other 
 party the North. The electors would then 
 meet at the appointed time, and cast the 
 vote for their respective states in harmony 
 with the agreement entered into, thus 
 throwing the seceders out of office, and 
 sending them, even in their own states, up 
 Salt river." [See Phila. Press, July 18, 
 I860.] 
 
 Here we have the declaration of 
 Mr. LINCOLN, that ALL THE STATES MUST 
 
 BECOME FREE, " OR ELSE THEY MUST BE 
 COME SLAVE." 
 
 Upon this issue Gov. Richardson 
 tells us that there is no alternative 
 but a war after the manner of John 
 , Brown, or purchase. He tells us that 
 no one believes that slavery will be 
 carried into New Jersey or into the 
 territories, and that, therefore, there 
 is no alternative between a war upon 
 the south, or a mortgage of the white 
 man, that the proceeds may emanci 
 pate the Nock ; and yet with this ex 
 hibit we are told by Mr. Forney s 
 Press that there is to be an under 
 
 standing that, in case there is cause 
 to fear that Mr. Breckenridge will be 
 returned to the House as one of the 
 three highest candidates, then " Bell s 
 electoral vote will unite either with 
 Douglas, or with LINCOLN, provided 
 that two will have received states 
 enough to elect," and that " some will 
 suggest, perhaps, in that event, Mr . 
 DOUGLAS as President, and Mr. Everett 
 as Vice-President," adding, as matters 
 of course, that " The offices could easily 
 be divided, the Union men taking the 
 South, and the other party the North " /// 
 Now, is it not strange that, opposed 
 as Mr. Douglas and his leading friends 
 say they are to Mr. LINCOLN S anti-sla 
 very platform, one of the leading pa 
 pers, in his interest, shall, at this early 
 day, openly avow a purpose to unite 
 with Mr. Lincoln to defeat the election 
 of Breckenridge upon an agreed plan 
 of a " division" of the offices ? What 
 position is Mr. Lincoln to take in the 
 new firm ? Is he to be Secretary of 
 State and heir apparent ? Such a sug 
 gestion is preposterous. It is pos 
 sible that some few of the partisans of 
 Mr. Douglas, and even Mr. Douglas 
 himself, may prefer Lincoln to Breck 
 enridge, but Mr. Bell and his friends 
 never. Mr. Bell is not, and none of 
 his friends can be, a party to such an 
 arrangement. His nomination was 
 made in good faith, as an earnest by 
 the very respectable body who met at 
 Baltimore, that there is a strong and 
 influential body at the North, who, not 
 only disavow and utterly condemn Mr. 
 LINCOLN S warfare on the South, but as 
 a pledge that their influence will be 
 exerted to quiet the apprehensions and 
 to protect the rights of the South. 
 Mr. Bell was selected because he was 
 an eminent Southern statesman, able 
 and fearless in the discharge of his 
 duty, whom no threats could intimi- 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 223 
 
 date, and no office could purchase. 
 To suppose that he or his friends will 
 unite in an arrangement with Mr. 
 Lincoln and his friends to make Mr. 
 Douglas President, under an agreed 
 division of the offices, argues an utter 
 ignorance of his character, and of the 
 character and purpose of the gallant 
 Southerners, who will rally, in support 
 of the Union and the Constitution, 
 around his name as their candidate. 
 Nor do I believe that Mr. Lincoln and 
 his friends will be a party to such a 
 union. They will, no doubt, willingly 
 accept of such aid as Mr. Douglas and 
 his friends can give them to elect Mr. 
 Lincoln. They may even promise to 
 take Mr. Douglas as their candidate 
 in 1864, if lie will get on their platform ; 
 " but they will not go for Mr. Douglas 
 now, for, if what Mr. Dickinson says of 
 the New York delegates be true, or 
 even approaching the truth, Mr. Lin 
 coln and his backers would not accept 
 their guarantee that there would be a 
 fair division of the offices." 
 
 But out of the fullness of the heart 
 the mouth speaketh. This proposition 
 for a union with Lincoln, to defeat the 
 election of Breckenridge, may be the 
 shadow of events to come. Mr. Doug 
 las and his friends denounce Lincoln 
 as a disunionist. It is admitted that 
 if the friends of Douglas, Breckenridge, 
 and Bell, in New York, Pennsylvania 
 and New Jersey, have each a separate 
 ticket, the vote of these states will be 
 given to Lincoln, although it is known 
 that, as between him and either of his 
 opponents, he would be defeated. To 
 refuse to unite upon a single ticket, 
 therefore, is to give the votes of these 
 states to Lincoln against the known 
 will of the people. Under these cir 
 cumstances, the friends of Mr. Breck 
 enridge and of Mr. Bell are willing to 
 unite on a single ticket, but Mr. Doug 
 
 las and his friends refuse to unite in 
 this arrangement, and have selected 
 Southern men, representing slavehold- 
 ing states, to issue their mandate for 
 bidding it, and wherefore ? It is, they 
 say, because Mr. Douglas is the nom 
 inee of the regular " organization I ! " 
 Do they wish to kill the "organization"? 
 Of what use will the organization be 
 if Mr. Lincoln is elected ? They wish, 
 they say, to ascertain the strength of 
 their party in all the states, and intend 
 to ascertain it, for what purpose ? They 
 cannot believe that they can elect Mr. 
 Douglas. They may believe that they 
 can elect Mr. Lincoln. Why should 
 they prefer Mr. Lincoln to Mr. Breck 
 enridge, or Mr. Bell? To refuse to 
 unite on a single ticket is to vote 
 against Mr. Bell as well as against Mr. 
 Breckenridge ! Have the Southern 
 partisans of Mr. Douglas agreed to 
 divide the offices with the Northern 
 partisans of Mr. Lincoln ? and is this 
 proclamation of this Southern branch 
 of Mr. Douglas s Committee, a perform 
 ance of their part of the arrangement, 
 by which Mr. Lincoln is to be elected, 
 that he may make them the recipients 
 of the Southern offices? But this 
 proclamation claims that they are the 
 true " organization ! !" 
 
 THE ELECTION OF MR. LINCOLN. 
 
 The reader who has carefully read 
 the preceding pages must have been 
 impressed with the fact, that from the 
 date of my conversation with Daniel 
 P. Cook, at Washington city, in 1817, 
 when he disclosed to me, the purpose, 
 originating with John Q. Adams, of or 
 ganizing a Northern party, on the basis 
 of opposition to slavery, as a means 
 of obtaining the political control of 
 the government of the United States, 
 my mind was deeply impressed with 
 the apprehension that the organization 
 
224 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 of a sectional party for the avowed 
 purpose of emancipating Southern 
 slaves, in violation, of the recognised 
 constitutional rights of the Southern 
 slave-owners, must necessarily create 
 a counteracting, Southern political 
 organization, in defence and for the 
 protection of the rights and interests 
 so assailed ; and that, although I was 
 intimately connected by marriage with 
 Mr. Adams, and at the time of his 
 election occupied a position, social, 
 personal, and political, which would 
 have secured the most cordial and 
 efficient support of Messrs. Adams and 
 Clay and their "associates" if I had 
 united with them when urged to do so, 
 in the winter of 1824-25, by my nephew 
 Mr. Cook, and my personal friend J. 
 Scott of Missouri, who, in disregard of 
 the known will of their constituents, 
 were anxious to secure the aid of my 
 pen and my press to sustain them 
 before the people. 
 
 I not only refused to unite with them 
 in that conspiracy against " the Union 
 and the Constitution," and devoted my 
 energies and influence in support of 
 the election of General Jackson, but 
 when I saw that General Jackson, 
 in violation of the solemn pledges which 
 he had himself given, and which I had 
 again and again repeated in his behalf, 
 had entered into the conspiracy, in 
 augurated by Martin Van Buren and 
 William H. Crawford, to exert the 
 whole influence of federal and party 
 patronage, to elect Mr. Van Buren his 
 successor,* I refused to unite with him 
 in that conspiracy, and refused to take 
 his hand in the presence of his Cabinet 
 and of the greater part of the mem 
 bers of Congress, although I well 
 
 * See the disclosures made by William B. 
 Lewis in his letters and memoranda given to 
 Parton, and published in the last volume of 
 his Life of Jackson. 
 
 knew that the consequence of my re 
 fusal would be to provoke his bitterest 
 resentment, and the loss, not only of 
 the printing of Congress, but of the 
 patronage of the government, then 
 worth to me more than fifty thousand 
 dollars per annum. 
 
 Why did I refuse to unite in the 
 support of Mr. Van Buren ? 
 
 I gave the reason to Gen. Jackson. 
 I told him, that as soon as Mr. Van 
 Buren became satisfied that by the 
 combined influence of the public pa 
 tronage and the party organization, he 
 could command the vote of the South, 
 he would bid against Mr. Clay for the 
 abolition vote of the North, and it was 
 because I foresaw that the unscrupu 
 lous conspirators, who had combined 
 to educate the people of the North in 
 to a belief that African slavery was a 
 sin, which it was their duty to abol 
 ish, would not hesitate to make war 
 upon the South, if they found it neces- 
 say to wage war as a means of main 
 taining that political ascendency which 
 is necessary to enable them to enrich 
 themselves and their " associates" by 
 jobs and contracts and the plunder of 
 the public treasury. I saw that there 
 was no hope of defeating that corrupt 
 combination, organized for the purpose 
 of public plunder, but in the doctrine 
 of " state rights" in the right of a 
 state to appeal from the decision of 
 the federal government to a conven 
 tion of the states, the supreme power, 
 reserved by the constitution to the 
 states, of amending the Constitution. 
 We believed that the Constitution cre 
 ated a government of limited and well- 
 defined powers, that the powers and 
 rights reserved to the states were not 
 included in the powers granted to the 
 federal government, and that as the 
 reservations were against the federal 
 government and the executive, legis- 
 
POLITICAL 
 
 225 
 
 lativc, and judicial, were each depart 
 ments of the federal government, 
 neither the executive, legislative, nor 
 judiciary, nor all combined, were the 
 proper arbiters to decide questions, in 
 volving the authority or powers under 
 the Constitution, arising between a 
 state and the federal government. 
 We believed that all such questions, 
 which necessarily must depend upon 
 the proper construction of the . Consti 
 tution, should be referred to the tri 
 bunal, to- whom the exclusive control 
 over the Constitution is given, viz. : 
 To a convention of the states, or to the 
 legislatures of the states acting on res 
 olutions passed by the requisite ma 
 jorities of both Houses of Congress. 
 We did not believe that a state had 
 the right to nullify an act which Con 
 gress had power, under the Constitu 
 tion, to pass ; but we did believe that 
 the states, each in the exercise of its 
 reserved powers, may deny the power 
 of the federal government to enforce i 
 an act, which, under the Constitution, 
 Congress had no power, or are for 
 bidden to pass ; and we believed 
 that in such case it is the duty 
 of Congress to refer the question thus 
 arising between the state and the 
 federal government to the states, as 
 suggested. If the states believe the 
 power to pass the act in question has 
 been conferred by the Constitution, the 
 declaration, that the power has been 
 given made by the requisite majority of 
 states, would be a decision in support of 
 the act. If the requisite majority believe 
 that the power has not been, but ought 
 to be, given to Congress, then the requi 
 site majority of states may confer the 
 disputed power and if they believe 
 that the power has not been, and ought 
 not to be given, then, for want of a 
 requisite majority of states in support 
 of the power, Congress ought not to 
 
 attempt to enforce an unconstitutional 
 act. The argument of nullification was 
 met by the declaration, that a state 
 had a right to secede, but that a state 
 could not, at the same time, be in the 
 Union and out of the Union. I .saw 
 that nullification was a peaceful remedy 
 in the Union, and that secession would 
 necessarily bring war or disunion.* 
 
 With this view of the issue involved, 
 finding that the appeal to the people 
 of Pennsylvania and New Jersey had 
 failed to effect a union on the demo 
 cratic nominee, I wrote an appeal to 
 the people of the South urging them 
 to unite in support of Mr. Bell as the 
 compromise candidate, but I became 
 satisfied that such a union could not 
 be made, and I, therefore, did not pub 
 lish it, and reserved my influence to 
 be exerted on Mr. Lincoln in case of 
 his election. 
 
 MR. CORWIX. 
 
 When Congress met in December, 
 1860, Mr. Corwin of Ohio was made 
 chairman of the committee of thirty- 
 three, to whom the question as between 
 the North and the South was referred. 
 Mr. Lincoln had married the sister of 
 my nephew s wife. I had known him 
 personally when he was in Congress, 
 and hoped that he could be induced to 
 exert his influence, so as to satisfacto 
 rily adjust pending issues. I called on 
 Mr. Corwin and requested him to unite 
 with me in a letter to Mr. Lincoln. He 
 refused to do so. I then wrote to a 
 nephew living in Springfield,asking him 
 to ascertain whether Mr. Lincoln could 
 be induced to exert his influence to 
 prevent the secession of the Southern 
 states. I received a reply, saying that 
 
 * See the discussion on nullification and 
 secession in the U. S. Telegraph and the 
 Richmond Enquirer and Globe from 1833 to 
 1836. 
 
226 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 my letter had been submitted to Mr. 
 Lincoln, and that he would write to 
 me in a few days. On the same day 
 I was told that the committee of thir 
 teen of the Senate, to whom had been 
 referred the same question, had met, 
 and that Mr. Davis and Mr. Toombs of 
 Georgia, on the part of the South, had 
 declared that if the Northern members 
 would, in good faith, accept Mr. Crit- 
 tenden s proposition to extend the Mis 
 souri compromise line to the Pacific, 
 as the adjustment of the slavery ques 
 tion, it would be also accepted in good 
 faith by the South, and that this prop 
 osition had been rejected by the 
 Northern members of that committee ; 
 and believing that there was no hope 
 of an adjustment without the active 
 interposition of Mr. Lincoln, and hop 
 ing that I could, by a personal appeal, 
 induce him to come to Washington 
 for that purpose, I resolved to consult 
 President Buchanan, and if he ap 
 proved, to go immediately to Spring 
 field. On my way to the White 
 House, I met Mr. Corwin, who seemed 
 much excited, and said, " We have re 
 solved to take Wade s speech in the 
 Senate as our programme, and if the 
 South secede, we will, with the con 
 sent of England, organize a strong 
 government, including Canada, and 
 the other British American provinces, 
 we will declare a protectorate over 
 Mexico, and make it a refuge for run 
 away negroes and free blacks, and 
 will wage a war of extermination on 
 the South, You think that you will in 
 jure us by secession you will give us 
 .men to fight our .battles." 
 
 I replied, "I understand you." I 
 .called upon the President, who urged 
 ; me to go to Springfield, and author 
 ized me in his name not only to urge 
 upon Mr. Lincoln the necessity of his 
 coming to Washington, but to assure I 
 
 him that he would be received with all 
 the respect due to the President elect, 
 and that he, Mr. Buchanan, would most 
 cordially unite in the measures neces 
 sary to preserve the Union. I con 
 sulted other influential persons, who 
 concurred in the necessity of Mr. Lin 
 coln s interposition. I went to Illi 
 nois. I saw Mr. Lincoln, and upon 
 my return to Washington authorized 
 the publication in the New York 
 Herald, of the following letter : 
 
 (From the New York Herald.) 
 
 INTERVIEW OF DUFF GREEN WITH SIR., 
 LINCOLN ON THE CRISIS. 
 
 WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 1861. 
 Since my dispatch of the 4th, I have 
 seen and conversed with Duff Green 
 upon the subject of his visit to Spring 
 field. He speaks of Mr. Lincoln with 
 much respect, and believes that he 
 sincerely wishes to administer the 
 government in such manner as to 
 satisfy the South ; that he will not 
 favor emancipation in the District of 
 Columbia, nor in the forts or dockyards 
 in the Southern states, nor will he 
 favor an interference with the trade in 
 slaves between the Southern states ; 
 but says, that, having resided so long 
 in a non-si aveholding state, Mr. Lin 
 coln has taken an active part in oppo 
 sing what he terms the extension of 
 slavery into the territories, and believes 
 that this constituted one of the chief 
 issues in the late canvass, and is there 
 fore firmly and unequivocally resolved 
 to make no concession on this point, un 
 less it be adjusted by an amendment 
 
 to the Constitution, 
 far as his views are 
 
 Mr. Lincoln, so 
 indicated by the 
 journal supposed to be advised by 
 him, believes that secession is rebel 
 lion, and is resolved to use force to 
 suppress and punish it. 
 
 In reply to the inquiry of what will 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 227 
 
 satisfy the South, Mr. Green placed in 
 his hands a copy of Mr. Crittenden s 
 resolutions, and said that he had been 
 told that, although Messrs. Davis, of 
 Mississippi, and Toombs, of Georgia, 
 voted against these resolutions as be 
 ing unsatisfactory to them personally, 
 they had both said in the Senate s 
 committee, that if tendered by the 
 other side in good faith, as a basis of 
 adjustment, they would accept them 
 for the South. 
 
 Mr. Green endeavored to satisfy Mr. 
 Lincoln that the movement in the South 
 is not the result of any personal ob 
 jection to him, nor of a desire or a 
 purpose to dissolve the Union ; but of 
 an earnest belief of the necessity of 
 additional constitutional guarantees 
 for the protection of their rights in 
 the Union. 
 
 He said the South believes that the 
 federal government is a compact be 
 tween independent sovereign states, 
 which, at the time of their acceptance 
 of the Constitution, by refusing to 
 create an umpire with authority to 
 decide questions arising between them 
 and the common government, and re 
 serving the powers not delegated or 
 inhibited to them by the Constitution, 
 had each reserved the right for itself 
 to judge of infractions of the Consti 
 tution, and of the mode and measure 
 of redress. That at the time of the 
 adoption of the Constitution all the 
 states held slaves. That the Consti 
 tution not only recognized the right of 
 property in slaves, but authorized the 
 continuance of the African slave-trade, 
 and made an express provision for the 
 surrender of fugitive slaves ; that no 
 one at that time could have anticipated 
 that the time would come when, having 
 sold their slaves to " the South, and 
 received pay for them as property, en 
 titled to the protection of the federal 
 
 government, the Northern states would 
 organize a sectional majority, and 
 attain the control of the federal gov 
 ernment, upon a pledge that the whole 
 influence and patronage of that gov 
 ernment will be exerted in a continu 
 ous and persistent effort to emancipate 
 the slaves, who have so much increased 
 in numbers and in value ; that the 
 Southern states cannot consent to re 
 main as members of a government 
 which is to be permanently under the 
 control of a sectional majority, organ 
 ized as a political sectional party, on 
 the basis of a warfare on the institu 
 tions of the South ; that the effect of 
 remaining in such a Union will be the 
 same as if they had been a conquered 
 province ; that if they had been con 
 quered by the sword, and held subject 
 to the despotic will of a sectional gov 
 ernment, that government could im 
 pose no heavier or more disgraceful 
 burdens than can be imposed upon 
 them by the same sectional govern 
 ment which, having conquered them 
 through the ballot box, wields the 
 sword to enforce their will, and com 
 pel them to pay the taxes, and to 
 bear the burdens imposed under the 
 forms of laws passed by the same in 
 flexible sectional Northern majority ; 
 that such a condition of the govern 
 ment deprives the South of all that is 
 valuable in government, and subjects 
 them to the caprice of the worst pos 
 sible form of despotism ; that he had 
 become satisfied that the members of 
 Congress who had been elected as 
 members of that sectional majority 
 are using the pretence that they are 
 opposed to the extension of slavery in 
 the territories, as a means of preserv 
 ing their sectional organization, be 
 cause they see that if they relinquish 
 that pretence, and permit the question 
 of slavery in the territories to be ad- 
 
228 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 justed, then the South will become a 
 part of the United States, and have 
 its due proportionate influence in the 
 government ; that it will then be a 
 part of the whole, instead of being, as 
 as it is now and must forever remain, a 
 mere sectional minority, with no rights, 
 or powers, or influence in the govern 
 ment, except to bear burthens and 
 pay taxes, so long as opposition to 
 slavery is made the text of political 
 ascendency. To the suggestion that 
 if the present agitation be quieted 
 by the extension of the Missouri 
 compromise line to the Pacific, the 
 question will be revived by an at 
 tempt to absorb Mexico, and to ex 
 tend the system of slavery into Mexico, 
 Mr. Green urged that since Cain slew 
 his brother the great question of 
 society had been what part of the joint 
 products of capital and labor shall go 
 to capital and what to labor ; that 
 this question had resolved itself into 
 two systems wages labor and slave 
 labor ; that Mr. Seward had admitted 
 this truth, and had endeavored to array 
 the North and the wages labor of the 
 North against the South by assuming 
 that there is an " irrepressible conflict " 
 between the two systems ; whereas 
 the truth is, that the conflict is not be 
 tween the systems, but between the 
 capital and labor which constitutes 
 the system of wages labor ; and urged 
 that this truth is forcibly illustrated 
 by the effect of wages labor in Eng 
 land and Wales and of slave labor in 
 the South ; that after the confiscation 
 of the nunneries and monasteries 
 which, under the Papal system, were 
 charged with providing for the poor, 
 that duty was devolved upon the 
 parishes ; and the conflict between 
 capital which gave employment and 
 the wages labor of England and Wales 
 was such (as appears by official 
 
 returns to Parliament) that in thirty- 
 eight years, from 1813 to 1850 inclu 
 sive, the sum levied in England and 
 Wales alone as poor rates was more 
 than one thousand three hundred and 
 eighty-eight millions of dollars, show- 
 that the "irrepressible conflict 7 between 
 the capital and wages labor of Eng 
 land and Wales had applied the lash of 
 hunger and nakedness with such force 
 as to reduce the wages so much below 
 the point of subsistence that capital 
 was compelled to levy a tax as poor 
 rates to the amount of more than one 
 thousand three hundred and eighty- 
 eight millions of dollars to prevent 
 their poor from starving ; whilst from 
 the commencement of the system until 
 now not one penny has been levied as 
 poor rates to prevent the suffering of 
 the Southern slaves. In England and 
 Wales, when capital pays labor the 
 stipulated wages, labor has no further 
 claims on capital short of the work 
 house and the poor-rates. In the 
 South, when the slave child is born or 
 the slave is purchased, the law creates 
 a contract between the slaves and the 
 master, and as they are required to 
 labor, so he is required to provide for, 
 to feed, clothe and protect them in 
 infancy and old age, in sickness and 
 in health ; and the master who fails 
 to discharge this duty is not only 
 punishable under the laws, but would 
 put under the ban of public opinion. 
 Ele urged that the measures and policy 
 of England are dictated by her com 
 mercial interests ; that her manufac 
 tures were the source of her wealth 
 and prosperity ; that having a legisla 
 tive control over parts of Africa and 
 India, she exchanges her manufactures 
 for the tropical products of Africa and 
 India, which products she sells to 
 other European nations, having few or 
 no tropical colonies, and thus collects 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 229 
 
 a tribute in the shape of commercial 
 profits from those who would other 
 wise be her competitors in the markets 
 of the world. That such being the 
 interests of England, the influence of 
 her pulpit, her press, her schools, her 
 poets, her philosophers, and her states 
 men, was exerted in furtherance of her 
 policy, dictated by her necessities. As 
 she had the legislative control over 
 the commerce of parts of Africa and 
 India, and could regulate that com 
 merce so as to monopolize its profits, 
 while having no control over the prod 
 ucts of slave labor in Cuba, Brazil 
 and the United States, and therefore 
 could not monopolize its profits, it be 
 came her interest to make a war of 
 public opinion against African slavery. 
 New England is a servile copyist 
 of Old England. Having transferred 
 her slaves to the Southern states, 
 it was a natural and easy process 
 for John Q. %.dams to organize a 
 sectional anti-slavery party in New 
 England, which, originating in an ab 
 stract idea that slavery is cruel, un 
 just and sinful, although confined at 
 first to a few fanatics, has progressed 
 until it has become a powerful politi 
 cal sentiment, which, availing itself 
 of other exciting causes, has become a 
 majority, not of the whole, but of the 
 Northern States, and having thus 
 placed the power of the government 
 in the hands of a minority of the peo 
 ple, are resolved to enforce the abso 
 lute control of this minority by a civil 
 war, under the pretence that they are 
 a majority and therefore authorized to 
 enforce their party platform by the 
 sword. To this he said the South will 
 not submit. She will not become a 
 subject province, conquered by the j 
 ballot-box. She will not remain part | 
 of a government which is pledged to i 
 exert its power and influence to dis- 1 
 
 par age and deprive her of the rights 
 which it is the duty of that govern 
 ment to protect. 
 
 In reply and comment on the idea 
 of the excellence of Northern civiliza 
 tion, and of the barbarism and sinful- 
 ness of slavery as enforced by Northern 
 schoolmen, philosophers, and partisan 
 presses and pulpits, Mr. Green urged 
 that there is an inscrutable law regu 
 lating all created things, which pro 
 vides that wherever the stronger and 
 the weaker are brought in conflict 
 there is no alternative but war and 
 extermination, or else subjection and 
 protection. For in the beginning the 
 earth brought forth grass ai^i herb 
 yielding seed after his kind, and the 
 tree yielding fruit, whose seed was 
 in itself after its kind and God 
 created great whales, and every living 
 creature that moveth, which the waters 
 brought forth abundantly after their 
 kind, and every winged fowl after his 
 kind ; and God made the earth after 
 his kind, and cattle after their kind, 
 and everything that creepeth on the 
 earth after his kind ; and God created 
 man in his own image, and gave him 
 dominion over the fish of tjie sea, and 
 over the fowl of the air, and over 
 every living thing that moveth upon 
 the earth ; male and female created he 
 them ; and he blessed them, and said, 
 " Be fruitful and multiply and replenish 
 the earth, and subdue it." Such was 
 the original creation. By man s trans 
 gression " came sin and death, and all 
 our woes ;" and hence, as all things 
 were created after their kind, the con 
 sequence of sin is, that the stronger 
 preys upon the weaker; and thus, when 
 two races of men are brought in con 
 tact, there is no alternative but war 
 and extermination, or subjection and 
 protection. He referred to the fact 
 that the aborigines in the North had 
 
230 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 perished before the march of Mr. 
 Seward s Northern civilization, while 
 the effect of the protection given to the 
 three hundred thousand African slaves 
 by the Southern civilization, had been to 
 increase their numbers in a few years 
 to more than four millions. As a more 
 forcible illustration of this truth he 
 referred to the fact that, instead of 
 waging- a war of extermination, as did 
 the Puritans of New England, the 
 Jesuits carried with them into Spanish 
 America the Roman system of subjec 
 tion and protection, and that the result 
 ing consequence is, that instead of being 
 exterminated by the remorseless prog 
 ress of ^Northern philanthropy, there 
 are at this time seven millions of In 
 dians in Mexico on a territory but 
 little greatest than two of the American 
 states. To the idea that the South 
 wish to acquire Mexico for the purpose 
 of extending slavery into Mexico, Mr. 
 Green replied, that the South cannot 
 acquire Mexico without the consent of 
 the North, which consent it is believed 
 the North will not give, unless it be 
 for the purpose as avowed by Mr. 
 Wade and others of making war 
 upon the present sytem of labor in 
 Mexico, exterminating the Indians of 
 Mexico as they have exterminated the 
 Indians of New England. Mr. Green 
 read an extract of a letter addressed 
 by him to Lord John Russel in 1858, 
 as follows : 
 
 "There seems to be an impression in 
 England, and especially among the creditors 
 of Mexico, that the United States desire to 
 annex Mexico, and some look to annexation 
 as resulting in the payment of the Mexican 
 debt. The United States understand too 
 well what would be the consequence of 
 annexation to permit it, if all the world 
 wished it. We refused to keep Mexico 
 when we had it. We paid for and kept 
 part of her unoccupied territory; we do not 
 want her people. They are unfitted for 
 
 such a government as ours, and we would 
 not assume the responsibility of governing 
 them if it were gratuitously tendered to us ; 
 much less would we pay their debts and 
 bring them into our Union to become a dis 
 turbing, if not a controlling, influence in 
 our politics. We would not accept of 
 Mexico upon condition that we should 
 govern them ; much less will we pay their 
 debts upon the condition that they are to 
 govern us." 
 
 He urged that to force the system 
 of free white labor into Mexico and 
 the Southern states involves neces 
 sarily a war of races, to end in the 
 extermination of four millions of slaves 
 and seven millions of Mexicans. That, 
 as to the extension of slavery in the 
 territories, that is necessarily a ques 
 tion of population and of climate, and 
 that the number of slaves and the in 
 fluence of slaveholders will not be 
 increased by the extension of the line 
 of thirty-six degrees and thirty min 
 utes to the Pacific ; that it is not more 
 slave states, but the acknowledg 
 ment of their rights and the peaceable 
 enjoyment of them that is required by 
 the South ; that the question of slavery 
 shall no longer be made a pretence for 
 the organization of a sectional politi 
 cal party, and that without this con 
 cession it is impossible to maintain the 
 Union. From the manner in which 
 these suggestions were received by 
 Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Green believes, al 
 though Mr. Lincoln did not say so, 
 that he desires a satisfactory adjust 
 ment, and that, although he is opposed 
 to the further extension of slavery 
 and will not himself recommend any 
 measure having that tendency, he will 
 nevertheless not only acquiesce, but 
 rejoice, if the Congress and the states 
 will, by the adoption of Mr. Critten- 
 den s resolutions, restore confidence 
 and avert disunion. 
 
 Mr. Green believes that the move- 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 231 
 
 ment in the South may yet be so modi 
 fied as to accomplish this, if the peo 
 pie and the legislatures in the North 
 ern states are earnest in their desire 
 to preserve the Union, and instead of 
 attempting coercion and intimidation, 
 will recognize the fact that the whole 
 South insist that the Constitution is a 
 compact between sovereign states, 
 which in case of secession are to be 
 recognized and treated as such ; and 
 that inasmuch as the concession asked 
 by the South is indispensable to the 
 maintenance of their rights within the 
 Union, and therefore vital to them, 
 whereas it will deprive no state of the 
 North of any single right or impair 
 in any wise a single interest, he does 
 hope that there is yet sufficient intelli 
 gence and patriotism in the North, 
 sufficient respect for the rights of the 
 Southern states, and sufficient love of 
 the Union on the basis of the original 
 compact between the states, to induce 
 the people of the North to prefer a 
 peaceable adjustment to civil war. 
 The question of peace or war, of union 
 or dis-union, rests with the people of 
 the North. Mr. Green says that he 
 has endeavored to discharge his duty, 
 and despairing of any action by Mr. 
 Lincoln, or by Congress, unless the 
 people impel them by an immediate 
 and forcible expression of their wishes, 
 he declares that upon the people of 
 the Northern states rests the respon 
 sibility. All that the South demands 
 is their equal rights within the Union, or 
 independence out of it. They will not 
 consent to be a conquered province, 
 whether that conquest be by the bal 
 lot-box or the sword. The leaders in 
 Congress are clamorous for civil war. 
 Mr. Green hopes and believes that the 
 people prefer peace, and will therefore 
 urge the adoption of the amend 
 ments to the Constitution, indis 
 
 pensable to the preservation of the 
 Union." 
 
 COMMENT. 
 
 The candid reader will see, in this 
 statement of my interview with Mr. 
 Lincoln, that my purpose was to arouse 
 the people of the North to a sense of 
 the necessity of giving the guarantee, 
 in the shape of an amendment to the 
 Constitution, which would protect the 
 rights and interests of the South in 
 the Union, and thus prevent secession. 
 Not content with this appeal to the 
 North, I endeavored, with whatever 
 influence I could exert, to arrest the 
 secession movement, by urging upon 
 the members of Congress from the 
 Southern states that Mr. Lincoln was 
 the representative of a minority even 
 in the Northern states ; that there was 
 a majority in both Houses of Congress 
 opposed to the faction which he repre 
 sented ; and that as the majority of 
 the people and of Congress were with 
 the South, it would be most- unwise to 
 abandon the government by withdraw 
 ing our Senators and representatives 
 from Congress. In the folly and de 
 lirium of the moment, a few political 
 leaders, impelled by the just resent 
 ments of the Southern people, organ 
 ized the Southern Confederacy. My 
 family and my sympathies were in the 
 South. Deeply regretting the secession 
 movement, and fearing the disasters 
 which seemed to me inevitable unless 
 we could induce the Northwest to unite 
 with the South, I urged upon Mr. Davis 
 the necessity of maintaining the control 
 of the mouth of the Ohio, and of ten 
 dering to the Northwest a union with 
 the South. I urged him to permit me 
 to go to Washington and confer with 
 Mr. Lincoln as to the terms of peace, 
 so that I might, in a semi-official form, 
 present an argument explanatory of a 
 
232 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 plan of adjustment which would be ac 
 cepted by the Northwest, and thus ter 
 minate the war. After some hesitation 
 lie authorized me to write to Mr. Lin 
 coln, asking permission to visit Wash 
 ington. To that letter I received no 
 reply. 
 
 MR. LINCOLN S PLAN OF RECONSTRUCTION. 
 
 I was in Richmond when it was 
 occupied by the federal troops, and 
 called upon Mr. Lincoln. He received 
 me with great kindness. I said : " I 
 went to Springfield to urge you to 
 exert your influence to prevent the 
 war. I come now to ascertain upon 
 what terms we can make peace." He 
 replied : " If you desire peace, all 
 that will be required of you is to ac 
 knowledge the authority of the United 
 States. If you wish to keep your 
 slaves, vote against the amendments 
 to the Constitution. I cannot recall 
 my proclamations. Whether they are 
 binding or not will be a question for 
 the courts." He said further, that he 
 came to Washington resolved to carry 
 out in good faith the pledges which he 
 had given to me when I was in Spring 
 field ; that at his request his friends 
 in Congress had, on the last night of 
 the session, passed the resolution pro 
 posing an amendment to the Constitu 
 tion prohibiting Congress from any in 
 terference with the institution of slav 
 ery in the slaveholding states ; and 
 said that he did not commence the war, 
 and was anxious for peace. 
 
 This conversation took place in the 
 presence of Judge Campbell, and it was 
 in consequence of interviews which 
 Judge Campbell and I and others then 
 had with him that Mr. Lincoln autho 
 rized the commanding officer, then in 
 charge of the federal army in Rich 
 mond, to invite the members of the 
 Legislature to be convened, that by 
 
 recognizing the authority of the federal 
 government the relations between Vir 
 ginia and the Northern states should 
 be restored on the basis of the pledges 
 which he had given through General 
 Singleton, who had been some weeks 
 in Richmond, authorized, as he said, by 
 Mr. Lincoln to give assurances that all 
 that he required was for the seceding 
 states to acknowledge the authority 
 of the United States. 
 
 After the death of Mr. Lincoln, I ad 
 dressed to General Singleton a note 
 to which, the following is a reply : 
 
 WASHINGTON CITY, D. C., 
 March 21, 1866. 
 
 DEAR SIR : I have received your note of 
 the 19th, and as I am on the eve of starting 
 for my home in the West 1 shah 1 be com 
 pelled to reply with more brevity tlian is 
 satisfactory to myself. 
 
 I was authorized by Mr. Lincoln to say, 
 and did say freely, while in Richmond last 
 winter, that he, Mr. Lincoln, asked no con 
 cession from the South, but a cessation of 
 hostilities, and submission to the Constitu 
 tion and laws of the United States. That 
 if any states- in rebellion would cease hos 
 tilities, elect their Senators and Represen 
 tatives to the Congress of the United States, 
 and ask to be recognized as a state of the 
 Union, to enjoy her full rights and immunities 
 as such (non oibstante slavery) , that he would 
 be in favor of recognizing such states, and 
 of restoring the people thereof, as if no dif 
 ficulties had intervened. That his procla 
 mation of emancipation had exhausted his 
 authority over the subject of slavery, the 
 legal effect of which, with all other ques 
 tions growing out of the war, must be left 
 to the determination of the courts. 
 
 I have papers and other evidence to es 
 tablish beyond cavil what I have written ; 
 and it affords me great satisfaction to add 
 that Mr. Lincoln s views and wishes on the 
 subject had undergone no change up to the 
 day of his unfortunate and lamentable death. 
 I am very truly, &c., 
 
 JAS. W. SlNGLETGN. 
 
 Gen. DUFF GREEN. 
 
POLITICAL. 
 
 233 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Upon turning to the resolution re 
 ferred to by Mr. Lincoln, I find it to be 
 in the following words: 
 
 "That no amendment shall be made to 
 the Constitution which shall authorize or 
 give to Congress power to abolish or inter 
 fere, within any state, with the domestic in 
 stitutions thereof, including that of persons 
 held to labor or servitude by the laws of 
 said state." 
 
 This resolution was offered by Mr. 
 Corwin, of Ohio, as a substitute for the 
 following, offered by Mr. Adams of 
 Massachusetts : 
 
 " No amendment of this Constitution, ha\ 
 ing for its objects any interference with the 
 relation between their citizens and those 
 described in Section II. of the fourth article 
 of the Constitution, or other persons, shall 
 originate with any state that does not recog 
 nize that relation within its own limits, or 
 shall be valid without the consent of every 
 one of the States comprising the Union." 
 
 The substitute offered by Mr. Cor 
 win was unanimously adopted on the 
 3d of March, 1861, by both Houses of 
 Congress, and, as it now appears, up 
 on the recommendation of Mr. Lincoln, 
 as a means of arresting the secession 
 movement. Who can doubt that if he 
 had come to Washington in December, 
 1860, as I urged him to do, and had then 
 exerted the like influence in favor of 
 the passage of Mr. Crittenden s resolu 
 tion, extending the Missouri compro 
 mise line to the Pacific I say who can 
 doubt that his influence, if it had then 
 been exerted, could have passed Mr. 
 Crittenden s resolution, which, if it had 
 then been passed, would have pre 
 vented the war ? 
 
 Let the candid reader compare these 
 resolutions and he will see that the 
 concessions proposed by that which 
 nnder Mr. Lincoln s advice was unani 
 mously adopted by the radicals after 
 the commencement of the secession 
 
 movement recognized fully the right 
 of property in slaves, and admitted it 
 to be the duty of the government to 
 protect that right of property, and that 
 recognizing that right it nevertheless 
 adhered to their party platform, re 
 gardless of the constitutional rights 
 of the South. 
 
 I quote the amendment, however, as 
 proof that the purpose of the radical 
 faction was to control the patronage 
 and powers of the federal government ; 
 that their sympathy for the slave was 
 a mere pretence, as a cover for the jobs 
 and contracts which would enable the 
 "associates" to plunder the treasury 
 and enrich themselves at the expense 
 of the people ; to admonish them that 
 the present public debt is the fruit of 
 the war ; that I, for one, believe that 
 a wise use of the public credit, as the 
 basis of an abundant and cheap curren 
 cy, will soon restore the prosperity of 
 the whole country, uniting the South 
 and the North as one people in the de 
 velopment of our vast industrial re 
 sources ; and to warn the men who, 
 having profited by the war to enrich 
 themselves, now seek to control the 
 legislation of Congress, that they may 
 continue their onerous system of tax 
 ation, and multiply their riches, by 
 converting their paper money into gold; 
 that they of all others are most inter 
 ested in the early and satisfactory ad 
 justment of pending issues. The South 
 have accepted the terms proposed by 
 Mr. Lincoln. The demands of the radi 
 cal Congress are a violation of the 
 terms on which our armies and our 
 people agreed to terminate the war ; 
 and it is no less the interests than the 
 duty of all, of the rich and of the poor, 
 to unite and make the peace a sincere, 
 real union of all the people, and all the 
 states, in support of a common govern 
 ment and of a common prosperity. 
 
234 
 
 POLITICAL. 
 
 I would warn the fund-holders that 
 Congress has no right to deprive the 
 Southern states of their representation 
 in either House of Congress, and that 
 the continued exclusion of Southern 
 
 Senators and Representatives may 
 create an issue as to the authority of 
 the radical Congress, which may 
 seriously impair the value of public 
 securities. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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