, J?T^W;>- 'J J'^i \fe4'\b SPEECH TH MR. BENTON, OF MISSOURI A *»> CASE OF McLEOD In Senate, JHonday, June 14, 1841 — On the motion, of Mr. Rives tu refer so much of ihe President's! message as relates to our foreign affairs to the Commiltee on Foreign Affairs. Mr. BENTON would take this opportunily to express his opinions on the subject before the Se nate, and would take the pecasion to say that he would always choose to speak during the usual hours of business in the Senaie, but if prevented from speaking at such hours, be must have re- courte to those which were unusual, and, at this season of the year, oppressive. He would speak in the night if he could not in iho day; refusals (o adjourn should not debar him of his right. He had a right to speak, and should exercise that right, not to annoy the Senaie or to delay business, but to discharge his duly to the country, and lo show that he was able and determined to assert and to ¦vindicate his rights. Mr. B. believed that the gentleman whose eor- regpondence was the subject of discussion, and who might .be considered chiefly interested in it, (the Secretary of State,) would have no objection to this discussion; neither to its character, nor the tinae it would consume. That gentleman had done, at a former extra session, infinitely more than it was proposed to do now. Mr. B. spoke of the extra Kession of May, 1813, called by Mr. Madison to provide means of carrying on the war, and so large a proportion of which was consumed in partisan attacks upon the character and measures ef the Administration. Mr. B. was a young man at that time, a visiter at "Wasliins^ton, and often took his stand among other visiicrs in the crowded and heated lobby, of the House. Standing in that place, he saw a llepresentative from the State of New Hampshire, now the Secretary State, [Mr. "Webster,] submit '.his celebrated resolu tions against the administration of Mr. Ma dison ; and during the month which he re mained at "Washington, he heard these reso- Ipiions debated, day in and day out, by Ihe whole phalanx of the Federal party, to the exclusion of the busine.«s for which Congress was called to gether, and to the delay of the stipplies which the invaded and bleeding condition of the country so imperiously demanded. He heard the mover of the resolutions deliver his withering denunciations against his own Government; he saw him followed by the solid column of the Federal battahon then in the House; he saw the Democracy, patient and "forbearing, giving them all the time they would ask, and all the scope they would take; and no one availed himself more fully of D.;mocratic for bearance than the mover of the resolutions himself. He had time and scope to his heart's content in at tacking his own Governmeat, and that in time of war, and at a called session of Congress, The recollection ef this mast have its effect upon the mindiOi him who was then Ihe subject of so much forbearanae. Hie must be willing, and even anxious, to extend to others the indulgence of which he has had the benefit. He must be willing that those who please should havo their time, and scope, (.at this extra session of Congress, called in time of peace to take snap judgments on the Ame rican people,) to arraign an act of his, in which, ,now as near thirty years ago, he has the miifor- luae to appear on the wrong side of his country's cause. Mr. B. said the history of our country contained a warning lesson to gentlemen who take the side of a foreign country against their own: he alluded to the case of Ar'outhnot and Ambrister, seized among the Seminole Indians in 1818, and hting as outlaws and pirates by the orders of General Jackson. The news of that execution was heard with joy by the American people, who considered the.ee Englishmen as a thousand times more cul pable than the wretched savages whom they stimis- lated to the murder of women and children, and who had abandoned their own country, and the white race to which they belonged, to join savages against a country with which their' own Govern ment was at peace. The country heard the new.s of the execution with joy: they approved the act of General Jackson. Not so with the politicians I — the politicians of the Federal school e.-.pecially. They condemned it; partisan presses attacked il; and when Congress met, committees of each House of Congress reported against it — loudly condemned it — and were followed by a crowd of speakers. AU tbe phrases now huard in claiming exemption for McLeod, and bewailing his fate, were then- heard in deploring the fate of Arbuthnot and Ambrister. "Violation of the laws of nations — inhuman — unworthy of ihe nineteenth century — shocking to humanity-=-barbarous — uncivilized — subjecting us to reprisals, and even to war from England — drawing upon us Ihe reproaches of Christendom, and even the wrath of Heaven: such were Ihe holyday phrases with which the two Houses of Congress then resounded. To hear what was said, and it would seem that the British lioB would be instantly upon us. "We were taught to tieiable for the return news from Englandi "Well ! it came ! and what was it? Not one word from the British Government against the act of Jackson ! Not the scrape of a pen from a Minis ter on the subject ! Not a word in Parlia ment except the unsupported complaint of some solitary members — just enough to show, by the indifference with which it was received, that the British House of Commons had no condemnation to pronounce upon the conduct of General Jack son. Their silence justified him in England, while committees and orators condemned him here; and this justification from abroad, in a case where two Englishmen were actually hanged, should be a warning to gentlemen how they should commit themselves in a case where an Englishman is merely in the hands of justice, and has nothing to fear from "God and the country" if he is as inno cent as he now allies, and as humanity would wish him to be. Gen. Jackson was right, and the committees and orators'iwho condemned him were wrong. He was right in the law and in the application of the law. He had no musty volumesof national law to refer to in the swamps of Florida; and he needed none. He had the law of nature, and of nations, in his heart. He had an American heart, and that heart never led him wrong, when the rights, the interest, and the honor of his country were at stake. He hung the Englishmen who were exciting savages to the murder of our women and children; and the policy of the measure is no less apparent than its legality. Before that lime, Englishmen were eternally in the ranks of the Indians, stimulating them to hostili ties upon us: since that time no Englishman bas been heard of among them. The example was whole some — its effect salutary. It has given us twenty- five years of exemption from English interference in our Indian hostilities; and if the assassins of the Caroline shall be hung up in like manner, it will give us exemption from future British outrage along the extended line which divides the Union from the Canadas. It is mournful, Mr. President, continued Mr. B. to see gentlemen of eminent abilities consulting books to find passages to justify an outrage upon their own country. .Better far to throw awav the books, and go by the heart. Then, at least, they would always have the consolation of being on their country's side. Better even to take the rule of the illustrious Commodore whose actions have shed so much lustre upon the American name, (Decatur,) and go for their country, right or wrong. Then they would always have at least their hearts on their side. Besides, there is no book which fits oar case — which was written for the duplicate Go vernments which we po.ssess. "We have State Go vernments as well as a General Government; and these State authorities have their rights, and are sovereign within them. The protection of the lives, Hberty and property of their citizens, is among these rights; the punishment of murder, ar- soh.and burglary, are among the rights of the State'^. If there was nothing in the law of nations, as written in the books, to recognise these rights, it would be necessary and proper for us to cause a new line to be written in those books. But this is not the case. The law of nations, as they now stand, is sufficient for us. The passage quoted from Vattel by tho Senate r from Pcnnsyl- v^nia.is pointed and conclusive in our favor. It applies to the case of McLeod, and covers it; and if we give up that man, upon the demand of the British Government, we shrink from the defence of right, and suffer the law of nations to be violated' in our persons. This brings me to the case before us. "What is it? The facts of the case are all spread out in ofHcial docnmenli, and the evidence of them are clear and undeniable An American steam ferry boat tra- verse.'s the Niagara river; she carries passengers and property from one shore to the other. The English believe, and perhaps truly, that she carries men and arms to the insurgents m Canada; and without any appeal to «ur Governments, either State or Federal — without applying to us to pat our own laws in force against her — an English officer, of bis own head, without the knowledge of the British Government, determines to do — what? Not to watch the suspected vessel, arrest her in the "fact, seize the guilty and spare the innocent, but to steal upon her in the night, board her asleep, and destroy her at the American shore, under the flag of her country. In the" evening of the meditated outrage, volunteers are called for-^fifly or sixty dashing, daring fellows — ready to follow their lead er to thQ devil, for that was the language used; and it proves the expedition to have been a diabo lical one, and worthy to be led as well as followed by demons. The arms were sabres and pistols; the season of attack, midnight; the means of ap proach, light boats and muflled oars; Ihe progress, slow, silent and stealthy, that no suspicious sound should alarm the sleeping victims. The order was, death and no quarter. Thus prepared and l3d, they approach the boat in the dead 'of the night — reach her without dioovery — rush on board — fly to the berths — cut, slash, stab and shoot all whom they see — pursue the flying, and besides those in the boat, kill one man at least upon the soil of his country, far from the water's edge. "Victorious in an attack where there was no resist ance, the conquerors drew the vessel into tho midst of the current, set her on fire, and with all her contents — the dead, the living, the wounded and the dying — send her in flames over the fright ful cataract of the Niagara. McLeod, the man whose release is demanded from us, was (accord- ¦ ing to his own declarations, made at the time in his own country, repeated since in ours, and according to the sworn testimony of one of the survivors,) an actor in that piratical and cowardly tragedy. Accordin;:; to his ..own assertions, and the admis sions of his comrades, he was one of Ihe foremost in that cruel work, and actually killed one of the '.'damned Yankees," to use his own words, with his own hands. All this was in December of the year 1837. It filled the country with indignation. It fired the bosoms of the border settlers on a line of fifteen hundred miles. Retaliation was in every heart, threat.? in every mouth, and war imminent. Mr. "Vari Ecren was then President. To calm the spirits of the escitcd, proclamations were issued to them. Tn prevent acts of retaliation, troops were raised :\rid stationed along the line. 'To obtain re- I dress for the outrage to our citizens, and the itjsult to our national character, application was made to the British Government to repair the wrong that was done. That Government delayed its an.^wer to our just demand — avoided the assumption of the criminal act— excused and justified,without assum ing it— rewarded the offenders wiih titles, pensions, and.praises — and clearly encouraged them to do ths like again. Diplomacy was still drawing out its lengthened thread— still weaving its long and dilatory web— still Penelopizing— when the isame McLeod, the boaster in Cana3aof his active share in this triple crime of midnight murder, arson, and robbery, crosses over to the American side and repeats, in thejiearing of Americans, and on the spot which had been the scene of his exploit, the audacious boast of his participation in it. Justice then took hold him. The laws of New York laid their hands upon him; and a grand jury of the vi- cinase, on an indictment regularly preferred, re turned a true bill against him. A trial, of course, was to take place in the courts of the State whose laws had been violated, whose citizens had been murdered and robbed, whose peace had been dis turbed, and whose authority had been set at defi ance. The news of this proceeding flies to the British Minister here: that Minister addresses a note to the Secretary of State, (Mr. Forsyth,) de manding the release of McLeod; and the Secreta ry answered, by the direction of the then President, (Mr. "Van Buren,) that this man being charged with offences against the laws of New "Y"ork, the General Government had no right to inter fere, and should not do so. This answer was read in the Senate in January last, when most cf the present members of the body were then present — when the present Secretary of State and the present Attorney General were both present — when all the old Senators now here were present — and when this response of Mr. Forsyth, refusing to give up McLeod, or to interfere with the courts of New York, received the unajnimous approbation of this chamber! Mr. B. repeated the expression, unanimous ap probation! and said that he would pause for cor rection, if he was mistaken. He paused. Several Senators exclaimed, "yes, ye?." Mr. B. continued: I remember ihe reading of that letter well, and the feeling of unanimous approba tion which pervaded the chamber when it was read. Every Senator thai spoke expressed his ap- proijalion. No one signified dissent; and the feel ing was then universal that the proper answer had been given by Mr. Forsyth — the answer which the law of nations, the dignity of the Union, and the rights of New "York required to be given. If 1 am wrong in my recollection, I repeat the request, let me be corrected now. [Several voices cried out, "right, right." No one said thertonlrary.] Mr. B. resumed: a great point — one vital and conclusive in this inquiry, is now established. It is established, that in the month of January last, when Mr. Forsyth's letter was read in this cham ber, we were all of opinion that he had given the correct and proper answer; and among the Sena tors then present were the present Secrefery of State, the present Attorney General, all the old Se nators now present, and four-fifths of the whole number now present. In a word, the Senate was constituted as it now is, with the exception of nine members who have goae out, and the same num ber who have come in. In January last, as we now see, it was the unanimous sense of the Senate that McLeod should not be given up — that the course of justice in New York should not be interrupted; and this also, I feel justified in saying, was the sense of the House of Representatives. "The McLeod correspondence was communicated to that body. Five thousand copies of it were moved to be printed. A reference of the whole was made to the Commiltee of Foreign Relations; and the judgment of the House appeared to be the same of that of the Senate. In the month of January last, it may then be as serted, that the two Houses of Congress approved tho decision of President Van Buren; and, accord ing to that decision, McLeod was neither to be given up, nor the course of justice in New York interfered with by the Federal Government. Mr. Fox received the answer ofi Mr. Forsyth — transmitted it to his Government — and received from that Government precise instructions to avow and assume the attack on the Caroline as a national act — to make a peremptory demand for the release of McLeod — to threaten us with serious conse quences in the event of refusal — and, as the British newspapers .said, to demand his passports, and leave the country — if his demand was not immedi ately complied with. It was on the evening of the 4th day of March — the day of the inauguration of the new President — that the news of these instruc tions arrived in this city, and along with them the war threats and the war speeches of the press and public men of England — the threat of many pa pers to send admirals and war steamers to batter down our cities — and the diabolical speech of a Peer of the realm, in the House of Lords, [Lord Mounicashel,] to excite our three mill'ons of ne groes to insurrection — to raise all the Indians against us — and to destroy our finances by burst ing the paper hubbies upon which they floated. . It was on the evening of the 4th day of March that these instructions, this demand, this threat, and all these war annunciations, arrived in this city. The new President had just been inaugu rated: his Cabinet had just been indicated: the men who were to compose the Presidential council were fully known; and I undertook at once to tell what would be done. I said to several — some now in this city, if not in this cha.mbei— McLeod will be given up; not directly, but indirectly. Underhanded springs will be set in motion to release him; and a let ter iinU afterwards be cooked up lo show, to Congress atnd the people, and to justify what had been done. This is what I said; persons are now in this city to whom I said il: and now let us resume the narra tive of events — let us follow the current of fsfcts — and see what was done by the new Administration which had just been inducted into office in the midst of triumphal processions, under the fire of cannon, the beating of drums, the display of flags, and with all the glorious pomp and circumstance of war. Let us see what they did. On the 12th day of March, the new administra tion having had time to organize, Mr. Fox ad dresses to Mr. "Webster a foimal demand, in the 4 name of his Government, for the release of McLeod; and goes on to say: "Tlie grounds upon whicli the British Government malcc tliis demand upon Llie Government of the Uinted States are lliese: that the transaction on account of which McLeod lias been arrested, and is to be put upon his trial, was a traiisactionoio. public character, planned and executed by persons duty em powered by tier Majesty's colonial authorities to lalce any steps and to do any acts vrhich might be necessary for the defence of her Majesty's territories and for the protection of hecMajesty's subjects; and that consequently those subjects of lier Majesty who engaged in that transaction were performing an act of public duty for which they cannot be made personally and in dividually answerable to thelawsand tribunalsof any foreign country." And after enforcing this demand, by argument, contesting the answer given by Mr. Forsyth, and suggesting the innocence of McLeod, the letter proceeds to say: *' But, be that as it may, her Majesty's Government formally demand, upon the grounds already stated, the immediate re lease of Mr. McLeod; and tier Majesty's Government entreat the President of the United States to taiie into his most delibe rate consideration the serious nature of the consequences which must ensue from a rejection of this demand." This letter to Mr. Webster bears date on the 12th of March, which was Friday, and will be con sidered as having been delivered on the same day. On the 15th of the same month, which wa.'s Mon day, Mr. Webster delivers to the Attorney Gene ral of the United States, a set of instructions, and delivers a copy of the same to Mr. Fox, in which he yields to the demand of this Minister, and de spatches the Attorney General to New York, to effect the discharge of the prisoner. The insiruc tions, among other things, say: *'you are well aware that the President has no power to ar rest the proceeding m the^civil and criminal courts of the State of New York. If this indictment were pending in one of the courts of the United States, 1 am directed to say that the Presi dent, upon the receipt of Mr. Fox's last communication, would iiave immediately directed a nolle. prosequi to be entered. "Whether in this case the Governor of Ne-w Yoric have that power, or, it iie have, whether he wotild not feel it his duty to exercise il, are points upon which we areiiot informed. "It is understood that McLeod is holden also on oivil .process, sued out against him by the owner of the Caroline. "We sup pose it very clear that the Executive of the State cannot inter fere withsuch process; and, indeed, if such;proces3 were pend ing in the courts of the linitcd states, the i'lesident could not arrest it. In such .ind many aoalagous^jases, the parly prose cuted and sued, must avail himsell of his exemption or defence,' by judicial proceedings, either in the -court into which he is called, or in some othercourt. But whether the process be cri- ' roinal or civil, the fact of having acted under public author"y,' and in obedience to the orders of lawful superiors, must here-: garded as a valid defence; otherwise, individuals wadld be hol den responsible for injuries resulting from the acls of Govern ment, andevenfromthe operations of public war. "You will be furnished with a coppy of thisinstrnction, for ttie use of the Executive of New Y'ork, and .the attorney Gene ral of that State, You will cari;y with you also authentic evi dence of the recognition t^y the Btitish Government of the de struction of the Caroline, as an act of public foroe, done by national authority. "The President is impr-essed with the propriety of transfer ring the trial from the scene of the principal excitement to some other and distant county. You will take car-e (hat this be suggested to the prisoner's counsel. The President is grati. lied to learn that tlje Governor of New York has already di rected that the trial ^ake place before the Chief Justice of the State. "HaWng consulted with the Governor you will proceed to Lockport, or wherever else the trial may beholden, and furnish Ihe prisoner's counsel with the evidence of which you will be in possession mateijal to his defence. You will see that he have skilful and eminent counsel, if such be not already re tained, and, although you are not desiied to act as counsel yourselfj you will cause it to be signified to hiin, and to the gentleman who may conduct his defence, that it is the wish of this Government that, in case his defence be overruled by the court in which lie shall be tried, proper steps be taken immedi ately for removing the cause, by writ of error, to the Supreme Court ef the; United -etates. . .... "Tlie Presidenthopes that you will use 3u«h despatch as to itiake your arrival at tho place of trial sure before tho trial comes on; and he trusts you will beep him informed of what. ever occurs by means of a correspondence through this l)e- partment." A cispy of these instructions, as I have said, were delivered to Mr. Fox at the time they were written. At the same moment they were delivered to the new Attorney General, [Mr. Crittenden,] who, thus eqnipt with written" directions for his guide, and accompanied by an officer of high rank in the United Status army, [Major General Scott,] imme diately proceeded on, the busine;s of his mission to the State of New York, and to the place of the im pending trial, at Lockport. About forty days thereafter, namely, on the 24th day of April, Mr. Webster replies to Mr. Fox's letter of the 12th of March; elaborately reviews tbe case of McLeod — justifies the instructions — absolves the subject — and demands nothing from the sovereign who had as sumed his offence. Thus, what 1 had said on the evening of the 4lh of March had come to pass. Underhanded springs had been set in motion to releai^e the man; a let ter was afterwards cooked up to justify the act. This, sir, is ihe narrative of the case — the histo ry of it down to the point at which it now stands ; and upon this case I propose to make some re marks, and, in the first place, to examine into the legality and the propriety of the mission in which our Attorney General was employed. I mean this as a preliminary inquiry, unconnected with the ge neral question, and solely relating to the sending of our Attorney General into any State to inierfete in any business in its courts. I believe this mis sion of-Mr. Crittenden to New York was illegal and improper — a violation of our -own statutes, and will test it by referring to the law under which ihe office of Attorney General was created, and the duties of ihe officer defined. That law was passed in 1789, and is in these words: "And there shall also be appointed a meet person, learned in the law, to act as Auorney General of the United S' ales, who shalibe sworn, or alTirmed, to a faithfulexecutioii of his ofiice; whose duty it shall be lo prosecute and conduct all suits in the .Supreme Court in which the United Slates shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law, when required by the President of ihe United States, or when re quested hy any of the heads ortheDsparlnienis, touching any matters that may concern their departments; and shall receive suchcomp ^usation for his services as shall be by law provided." Here, said Mr. B. are the dunes of the Attorney Generel. He is subject to no'crders whatever from the Secretary of State. That Secretary has nothing to do with him except to request his legal advice on a matter which concerns his department. Ad vice oa a question of municipal law was doubtless what was intended; but no advice of any kind stems to have been asked of the Attorney Gene ral. He seems to have been treated as the official subordinate of the Secretary — as his clerk or messenger — and sent off with "injlrucHons" which he was to read and to execute. This was certainly an illegal assumption of authority over the Attor ney General, an assumption which the statute does not recognise. In the next place, this officer is sent into a State court to assist at the defence of a per son on trial in that court for a violation of the State laws, and is directed to employ eminent and skilful counsel for him — to furnish him with evi dence — to suggest a change of venue — and to take a writ of error to the Supreme Court of the United States, if the defence of the prisoner be overruled , by the Slate court. If brought to the Supreme Court by this writ of error — a novel application ot the writ, it must be admitted — then the Attorney General is to appear in this court for the prisoner, not to prosecute him in the name of the United Stales, but to dismiss the writ. Now, it is very clear that all Jhis is foreign to the duty of the At torney General— foreign to his office — disrespectful and injurious to the Slate of New York — incompa tible with her judicial independence — and tending to bring the General Government and the State Go vernment into colUsion. McLeod, a foreigner, is under prosecution in a State court for the murder of its citizen'.; the importance of the case has in duced the Governor of the State, as he has official ly informed its Legislature, to direct the Attorney General of the Siaje lo repair to the spot, and to prosecute the prisoner in person; and here is the Attorney General of the United States sent to the same place to defend the. same person jgainst Ihe Attorney General of the State ! The admonition to Mr. Crittenden, that he was not desired to act as counsel himself, was an admission that he ought nut so to act — that all he was doing was ille gal and improper — and th.\t he should not carry the impropripty so far as to make it public by making a speech. He was to op pose the State without publicly appearing to do so; and, as for his duty in the Supreme Court of the United "^States, he was to violate that outright, by acting for the accused, instead of prosecuting for the United Stales! From all this I hold it to be clear, that our Attorney General has been illegally and improperly employed in this businefs; that all that he has done, and all the ex pense that he has incurred, and the fee he may have promised, are not only withnut law bui against law; and that the rights of the State of New York have not enly been invaded and infringed in this interfei ence in a criminal trial, but that the rights andinteresisof the owners of the Caroline, who have brought a civil action against McLeod for damagfs for the destruction of their property, have been al.-o gratuitously assailed in that part of ihe Secretary's instructions in which he declares that such civil suit cannot be maintained. I consider tbe mission as illegal in itself, and involving a triple illegality, first, as it concerns the Attorney General himself, who was sent to a place where he had no right to go; next, as it concerns the State of New York, as interlering with her administration of justice; and, thirdly, as it concerns the owners of the Caroline, who have sued McLeod for damages, and whose suit is declared to be unmaintainable. I now proceed, Mr. President, to the main in quiry in this case, the correctness and propriety of the answer given by our Secretary of Slate to Mr. Fox, and Us compatibility with the honor, dignity, and fu ture welfare of tliis Republic. 1 look upon the "instructions'''' which were given to Mr. Crittenden, and a copy of which were sent to Mr. Fox, as being the answer to that Minister; and I deem the letter entitled an answer, and dated forty days afterwards, as being a mere after piece— an article for home consumption— a speech for Buncombe, as we say of our addresses to our constituents— a pleading intended for us, and not for the English, and wholly designed "• "xcusc and defend the real answer so long before, and so promptly given. I will give some attention to this, so called, leUer, before 1 quit ihe ease; but for the present my business is "With the ''instructions,'''' a" copy of which being delivered to Mr. Fox, was THE ANSV/ER to his DEMAND; and a,s sucii was transmitted to the British Government, and quoted in the House of Commons as being entirely satisfactory. This quotation took place on the Gtb day of May, several days before the, so called, letter of the 24th of April could possibly have reached London. Lord John Ras-vell, in answer to a question from Mr. Hume, refeired to these in structions as being satiilaciory, and silenced all further inquiry about ihe affair, by showing that they had all they wanted. I hold these instructions to have been erroneous, in point of national law, derogatory to us in point of national character, and tending to the future degradation and injury of this Republic. ¦l"'hat the Secretary has mistaken the law of Ihe case in consenting to the release gf McLeod is per suasively shown by rclerting to the opinions ot the two Houses of Congres-s' in January last. Their opinions weic then unanimous in favor of Mr. Forsyth's answer; and that answer was a peremp tory refusal either to admit that McLeod ought to be released, or to interfere in his behalf with the courts of New York. The reasons urged by Mr. Fox in his letter to Mr. Forsyth for making the demand, were precisely the same with ihose subse quently given in Ihe letter to Mr. Webster. The only difference in the two demands was in Ihe for mality of the latter, being under instructions from bii Government, and in the threat which it con tained. In oiher refpccls the two demands were the same; ao ihat, at the out.set of this inquiry, we have the opinions of the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the body of their friends ia the two Houses of Congress to plead against them selves. I next refer to the arguments which have been used by my friend* who have preceded me, espe cially Ihe opening sp'-ech of the Senator from Pennsylvania, [Mr. B»c!ii.NAN,] and his pertinent and conclusive quotation from Vattel. The whole argument was close and pointed; and the quotation was absolutely irresistible. It was in these words : "However, as it is iinfiossiblc for the best regulated Slate, or for the most vigilant and absolute sovereign to model at his pleasure all the actions ol his subjects, and to confine them on every occasion to the most exact obedience, it would be unjiist 16 inijjutc to the nation or the sovereign every fault committed by the citizens. We ought not, then, to say, in general, that we have received an injury from a nation, because we have re ceived it from one of its members. "But if a nation or its chief approves and ratifies the act of the individual, it then becomes a public concern, and the in jured party is then to consider the nation as the real author of the injury, of which the citizen was, perhaps, only the instru ment. " If the of ended State has in her power the individual -uoha has done tlie injury, she may, without scruple, bring him to justice, and punish Mm. If he has escaped^ and returned to his own country, she ought to apply to his sovereign to have justice done in the case." This is the case before us. The malefactor is taken, and is in the hands of justice. His imputed crime is murder, arson and robbery. His Govern ment, by assumiijg his crime, cannot absolve his guilt, nor defeat our right to try and punish him according to law. The assumption of his act only adds to the number of the culpable, and gives u an additional offender to deal with them, if we choose. "We may proceed against one or both; but to give up the individual when we have him, without redress from the nation, which justifies him, is to throw away the advantage which chance or fortune has put into our hands, and' to make a virtual, if not actual surrender, Qf all claim to redress whatsoever. The law of nations is clear, and the law of the patriot heart is equally clear. The case needs no book, no more than the hanging of Arbuthnot and Ambrister required the justification of books when General Jackson was in the hammocks and marshes of Florida. A band of foreign volunteers, without knowing, what they were goThg to do, but ready to follow their file leader to the de vil, steal across a boundary river in the night, attack unarmed people asleep upon the soil, and under Ihe flag of their country; give no quarter — make no prisoners — distinguish not between young and old — innocent or guilty — kill all — add fire lo the sword — send tbe vessel and its contents over the fal!s in flames — and run back under cover of the same darkness whxh has concealed their ap proach. All this in time of peace. And then to call this an act of war, for which the perpetrators are not amenable, and for which redress must be bad by fighting, or negotiating with the nation to which they belong. This is absurd. It is futile and ridiculous. Common sense condemns it. The heart condemns it. Jackson's example in Florida condemns it ; and we should rendsr ourselves con temptible if we took any such weak and puerile course. Mr. Fox no where says this act was done by the sovereign's command. He shows, in fact, that it was riot so done; and we know lhat it was not. It W.1S the act of volunteers, unknown to the Bri tish. Government until it was over, and unassumed by them for three years after it occurred." The act occurred in December, 1837; our minister, Mr. Stevenson, demanded redress for it in the spring of 1838. The British Government did not then assume it, nor did they assume it at all until Mc Leod was caught. Then, for the first time, they assume and justify, and evidently for the mere purpose of extricating McLeod. The assumption is void. Governments cannot assume the crimes of individuals. It is only as a military enterprise that this offence can be assumed; and we know this affair was no such enterprise, and is not even represented as such by the British minister. He calls it a "transaction " Three times in one para graph he calls it a "transaction;" and whofever heard of a fight, or a battle, being characterized as a transaction? "We apply the term to an affair of business, but nevetto a miUtary operation. How can we have a military operation without war? without Ihe knowledge of the sovereign? without the forms and prehminaries which the laws of na tions exact? This was no military enterprise in form or in substance. It was no attack upon a fort or a ship of war, or a body of troops. It was no attack of soldiers upon soldiers, but of assassins upon the sleeping and the defenceless. Our Ame rican defenders of this act go beyond the British in exalting it into a military enterprise. They take different ground, and higher ground, than the Bri tish, in selling up that defence; and are just aa wrong now as they were in the case of Arbuthnot' and Ambrister. Incorrect in point of national law, L hold these instructions to have been derogatory to us in point of national character, and given with most precipi tate haste when they should not have been given at all. They were given under a formal, delibe rate, official threat from the minister; and a thou sand unofficial threats from high and respectable sources. The minister sayt: "But, be that as it may, her Majesty's Govemment/ormally demand,upon the grounds already suited, the tm7nc(2ia/e re lease of Mr. McLeotl; and her Majesty's Government entreat the President of the United Slates to take into his mo:^t detibC' rate consideration the serious nature of the consequences which must ensue Irom a rejection of this demand." Nothing could be more precise and formal than this demand — nothing more significant and palpa ble than this menace. It is such Rs shoultj have prevented any answer — such as should have sus pended diplomatic inlercour.',e — until it was with drawn. Instead of that, a most sudden and preci pitate answer is given; and one that grants all that the British demanded, and more too; and that with out asking any thing froo) them. It is given with a haste which seems to preclude the possibility of regular deliberation, cabinet council, and official form. The letter of Mr. Fox bears date ihe 12lh of March, which was Friday, and may have been delivered in office hour^ of that day. The instruction to Mr. Crittenden was delivered on the 15ih of March, which wa,s Monday, and a copy delivered to Mr. Fox. This was the answer to the demand and the threat; and thus the answer was given in two days; for Sunday, as the lawyers call ir, is dies non; ihat is to say, no day for busi ness; and it is hardly to be presumed that an Ad ministration which seems to be returning to the Church and State times of Q.ueen Anne, had the office of the Department of State open, and tbe clerks at their desks on Sunday, instead of being in their pews at church. The answer, then, was given in two days; and this incontinent haste to comply with a threat contrasts wonderfully with the delay — the forty days' delay — before the letter was written which was intended for home con sumption; and which, doubtless, was considered as written in good time, if written in time to be . shown to Congress at this extra session. ' Sir, I hold it to have been derogatory to our na tional character to have given any answer at all, much less the one that was given, while a threat was hanging over our heads. What must be the effect of yielding to demands under such circum stances? Certainly degradation — national degrada tion — and an encouragement to Great Britain to con tinue her aggressive course upon us. That nation is pressing us in the Northeast and Northwest; she is searching our ships on the coast of Africa; she gives liberty tp our tilaves wrecked on her islands in their transit frbm one of our ports fo another; she nurtures in London the societies which pro duced the San Domingo insurrection, and which are preparing a similar insurrection for us; and she IS the mistress of subjects who bold immense debts against our Stales, and for the payment of which the national guarantee, ft the public lands, are wanted. Sh.B^has many points of ag gresive contact upon us; and what is the effect I of this tame submission — this abject surrender of McLeod, without a word of 'redress for the affair of the Caroline, and under a public threat — what is the effect of this but to encourage her to press us and threaten us on every other point? It must increase her arrogance., and encourage her encroachments, and induce her to go on until sub mission to further outrage becomes impossible, and war results from the cowardice which courage would have prevented. Onjhis head the history of many nations is full of impressive lessjii?, and none more so than that of Great Britain, it is a nation of brave people; but they have sometimes had minjsteis who were not brave, and whose timidity has" ended in involving their country in all the calamities of war, after subjecting it to all the disgrace of pusillanimous submission to foreign insult. The administration of Sir Robert W^ilpole, long, cowardly, and corrupt — tyrannical at home and cringing abroad — was a sigjial instance of this, and, as a warning to ourselves, I will read a pas sage from English history to show his conduct, and the consequences of it. I read from Smollct, and from his account of the Spanish depredations, and insults upon English subjects, which were conti nued Ihe whole term of Walpoles's administra tion, and ended in bringing on the universal war which raged throughout Europe, Asia, Afric-', and America, and cost the English people so much blood and treasure. The historian says: "The merchants of England loudly complained of these out rages; the nation was fired with resentment, and cried for ven geance; but the minister appeared cold, phlegmatic, and timo rous. He knew that a war would involve him m such diffi culties as must of necessity endanger his administration. The treasure which he now employed for domestic purposes must in tilat case be expended in military armaments ; the wheels of that machine on which he had raised his influence would no longer move; the opposition would of consequence gain ground, and the ^imposition of fresh taxes, necessary for the mainte nance of the war, would fill up Ihe measure of popular resent ment against his person and ministry. Moved hy these coasi- derations, he industriously endeavored to avoid a rupture, and to obtain some sort of satisfaction by dint of memorials and ne gotiations, in which he betrayed his own fears to such a. degree as animated the Spaniards to persist in their depredations, and encouraged the court of Madrid to disregard the remonstrances of thelirltish Ambassador." Such is the picture of Walpole's foreign policy; and how close is the copy we are now presenting of it! Under the scourge of Spanish outrage, he was cold, phlegmatic, and timorous; and such is the conduct of our Secretary under British outrage. He wanted the public treasure for part>' purposes, and neglected the public defences: our Ministry want the public lands and the public money for douceurs to the States, and leave the Union without forts and ships. "Walpole sought some sort of sa tisfaction by dint of negotiation; our Minister does the same. The British Minister at Madrid was paralyzed by the timidity of the Cabinet at home; so is ours paralyzed at London by our submission to Mr. Fox here. The result of the whole was, accumulated outrage, coalitions against England, nnivetsal war, the disgrace of the Minister, and th3 elevation of the m'an to the highest place in his country, and to the highest pinnacle of glory, whom "Walpole had dismisied from the lowest place in the ¦ British army — that o( cornet of horse — for the politi- caloffenceofvotingagainsthim. The elder WiUiam ¦pitt the dismissed cornet — conducted with glory ,'iand success the war which the timidity of Walpole begat; and, that the smallest circumstances might not be want ing to the completeness of the parallel, our prime minislei heio has commenced his career with issuing an "™f '<"" '^ .Ju our military and naval officers as Put was treated by waipoio , and for the same identisal offence. . ' „ . „„ Sir, I consitler the instructions to Mr. Crittenden as most un fortunate and deplorable. They have sunk the natioual cna- racterin the eyes of England and of Europe. They have lost us the respect which we gained by th? late war, and by the glorious administralion of Jackson. They bring us into contlmpt, and encourage the haughty British to Pf h .us to cx- tiemilies. We shall feel the elTect ol this deplorable diplomacy in our impending controversies with that people; and nappy and fortuHaie it will be for us if, by correcting our error, re tracing our steps, recovering our manly altitude, discarding our distribution schemes, and preparing for war, we shall be able thereby to prevent war, and to preserve our righ^. I have never believed our English difficulties free from danger. I have not spoken u[mn the Northeastern questions liut the Senator from that State who sits on my right (loolsm 1 at Senator Williams) knows my opinion. He knows that o have lung believed that nothing could save the rights ofWainn but the mar countenance of our Government. Preparatioe. for vvar might prevent war, and sive the rights ol the Slat - This has been my opionion; and to that point have at my la bors tended. I have avoided speeches; I have opposed all dis- tribulions of land and money; I have gone lor ships, forts and cannon— the ultima ratio of Republics as well as kings. 1 gu for them now, and declare it as my opinion that the only way in obtain our rights, and to avoid eventual war with England, is toabandon all schemes of dislribuiion, and lo convertourpub lie lands and surplus revenue, when we have it, into cannon, ships, and forts. . Irard pressed on the instructions to Mr. Crittenden— pro strate and defenceless there— the gentlemen on tbe other side take refuge under the letter to Mr. Fox, and celebrate the har mony of its periods, and tlie beauty of its composition. I grant its merit in those pacticutars. I admit the beauty of the style, though attenuated into gossamer thinness and lillipulian weakness. I agree that the Secretary writes well. ladmithis ability even lo compose a prettier letter in less than forty days. But what has all this to do with tlic question of right and wrong —of honor and shame — of war and peace— with a foreign Go vernment? In a contest of rhetoricians, it would indeed he im portant; but in the contests of nations it dwindles into insigni ficance. The statesman wants knowledge, firmness, patriot ism, and invincible adherence to the rights, honor, and inte rests of his country. These are the characteristics of the statesman; and tried by these t«els, what becomes of this letter, so encomiastically dwelt upon here? Its knowledge is shown by a mistake of tho law of nations— its firmness, by yielding to a threat— its patriotism, by taking the part of foreigners— its adherence to the holior, rights and intereslslof our own country, by surrendering McLeod without receiving, or even dcmand- ingi one word of address or apology for the outrage upon the Carolinel The letter, besides its fatal concessions, is deficient in manly tone— in American feeling— in nerve- in force— in resentment of injuriousimpulations-^and in enforcementofourjust claims to redress for blood spilt, territory invaded, and flag msulled. The whole spirit of the letter is feeble and deprecatory. It does not repel, but begs off. It does not recriminate, but de fends. It does not resent insult— not even the audacious threat -^which is never once complained of, nor even alluded to. This letter is every way an unfortunate production. It does not even show the expense and trouble we took to prevent our citizens from crossing the line and joining the Canadian insur gents. It does not show the expense we were at in raising a new regiment of infantry expressly for that service, (several voices said yes, yes, it mentions that.) Good, let it be credited acoordingly. But it does not mention the appropriation of $650,000 made at one time for that object: it does not mention thenumerous caUsupon.the militia authorities and the civil authdirities along the line to assist in. restraining our people; it does not mention the arrests of persons, and seizures of arms, which we made; it does not mention the prosecutions which we instituted; itdoes not show that for two years we were at great expense and trouble to restrain our people; and that this ex pense and trouble was brought upon by the excitement pro duced by -the aflair of the Caroline. The British brought us an immense expense by that atlair, for which they render us no thanks, and the Sectetary fails to remind them. The letter does not repel, with the indignant energy which the declaration re quired, that we had ''permitted^' our citizens to arm and join the insurgents. It repels it, to be sure, but too feebly and gently, and itomitsaltogatherwhatshouldnever be lost sight of in this case, that the British have taken great vengeance on our people for their rashness in joining thist-evolt, Greatnum- bers of them were killed in action; many were hanged; and many were transported to the extremities of the world— to Van Uieman's land, under the antarctic circle — where they pine out a miserable existence, far, far, and forever removed Irom .removed from kindred, home and friends. The fauKsortlie later ate funilamEntal and radical— such as no beauty of composiiion, no tropes and fi^nires, no llowers of rhetoric, can balance or gloss over. The objections go to its spirit and subsiance— to errors of fact and law— to its tameoess aniUimidity- andto its total omission to demand redress from the British Government for tUe outrage on the Caroline, which that Government has now atjsuraed. She has now assumed that outrage for the first time— assumed it after three years of silence; and, in the assumption, offers not one word af ai}ology or of consolation to our wounded feelings. Shet^ip^her arms akimbo, and avows the'offence; and our Secretary, in his long and beautiful letter, finds no place to in'^ert a demand for this assumed outrage. He gives up the subject, and demands no thing of the sovereign. He lets go the servant, and does not lay hold of the master. This is a grievous omission. It is tanta mount to a surrender of all claim for any redress of any kind. McLeod, the perpetrator, is fl;ivcn up: he is given up without conditions. The English Government assume his ofl'ence— de mand his release — offer us no satisfaction, and we give him up, and ask no satisfaction I The letter demands nnihiiig—literaliy i.oihing; and in that respect desrtadcs us as much aa the surren der upon a threat hadgdegradcd us, Thisis a most material point, and I mean to make it clear. I mean to show that the Secretary, in giving up tlie alleged in strument, has demanded nothing from the assuming superior; andthisi will do him the justice to show, by reailing from his own letter, I have examined it carefully, and can find but two jjlaces where the slightest approach is made, not even to a de mand for redress, but to the suggestion of an intimation of a wish on our side ever to hear the name of the Carolme men tioned again. These two places are on the two concluding pages of the letter. If there are orhers, let gentlemen point them out, and they shall be read. The two paragraphs 1 dis cover are these: "The undersigned trusts, that when her Britannic Majesty's Government shall present tho gruunds, at length, on "which theyjusLify the local authorities of Canada, in attacking and destroying the 'Caroline,' they wilt consider that the laws of the United States are such as the undersigned has now repre sented them, and that the Government of the United States has always manifested a sincere di.--position to see those laws ef fectually and impartially administered. If there have been casesin which individuals, justly obnoxious to punishment, have escaped, this is no more than happens in regard to other laws." "The President instructs the undersigned to say, in conclu- sioo, that he confidently trusts that this, and all other questiorts ofdifTerence between the two Governments, will be treated by bothin thefull exercise ofsucha spirit of candor, justice, and mutual respect, as shall give assurance of tho long continuance of peace between the two countries." Thisis all that I can see that looks io thcf^possiblo contingency of any future allusion to the case of the Caroline. Cert;\inly nothing could be a more complete abandonment of our claim to redress. The first paragraph goes no further than to '•HrusV that the grounds may be presented which ''jtistifi/"—a. strange word in such a case—the local auihontieg in attacking and de stroying this vessel; and the second,^ binies it all up, by defer ring it to the general and peaceful seittement of ali other ques tions and differences betwecnthe two countries. Certainly this J3 a farewell sahitation to the whole affair. It is the parting word, and is evidently so understood bythe British Ministry. They have taken no notice of this beautifulletter; they have returned no answer to it, nor even aclcnowiedgea its receipt. TheMinistry, the Parliament, and the Press in England, pro fess themselves satisfied. They cease to speaktof the affair- and the miserable Carohne, plunging in flames over tbe fri.'^ht-' ful cataract, the living and the dead on board, is treated "as a gone-by procession, which has lost its interest forever. It is vain for gentlemen to point to the paragrapli, so pow erfully drawn, which paints the destruction of this vessel, and the slaughter ol the innocent as well as the guilty asleep on hoard of her. That paragi-apij aggravates the demerit of the letterj for, after so well sho wing the enormity of the wrong, and our justtitle to redress, it abandons the case without requirino- the slightest atonement ! "^ " But gentlemen point to a phrase in the letter, and quote it with tiiumph, aa showing courage and fight in our Secretary. They point to the phrase, "¦bloorhj and e.xmj>eraied loar," and consider this phrase as a cure fur every defect. But how did Mr. Fojt consider it? as a thing to quicken him, or the British Government? as an inducement or stimulus to hasten an atone ment for the outrage which they had assumed? Not at all. Far fvomit. Mr. Fox did not take fright, and answer in - two days, nor in forty; nor has ho answered yet; nor will he ever answer while such gentle epistles are written to him, The '''¦bloody and esrosperflied wa7-," which is here shadowed forth, is too feebly acid pointlessly exhibitnd to make auy impression on the minds of the English and their minister. Besides the capital defect of not stating on what fourth day of July the a!ore£aid " blooUi/ and exasperated war" will chance lo be gin, it happens, also, to be LoLalLy dtjfeclive in not stating tlie coiv tingency on which it was to happen. It is not said that, if ynq do not make redress for the outrage you have assumed— il w5, do not get satisfaction for this wrong—or, if you ever do .bo again— -then and in that case this war of blood and ryge. will break ftut. Nothing of this, nor anything pointed or tangible, is saiil in the letter, but only a vague intimation that such oc- currehcB;3,may lead to thiswar. The Utile cflect vidiich it had upon-themindof the minister, and his Government, Is sliown by the ^l6nt contemfit with which they have treated i(. This famousletter was written on the 24th day uf April; this is, Tune, and to this day no answer has been given to it ! Its receipt has uQt even been acknowledged ! TTiifortunate as this boasted letter is in so many respects, i has a further sin to answer for, and that is its place, or order— itsxollocation- in the printed document which is laid before ue* an«l in its assumption to enclose ttie 'Hnstruclisns" to Mr. Foi whichhad been enclosed to bim forty days before. The letter is ])rinted before the '¦Hnstructians,^' though written forty days after them, and purports to "e7Jc/osc" what had been so long before delivered. To be sure all the pa)>evs are correctly dated; and the close observer may perceive the order they ought to take, and that, in fact, they come to us wrong end foremost. There may be some scenic contrivance— some stage trick in this; but it is according to the new tactics— the tactics which put the carf before the horse— and repeals one^financial system before another is established. ' ¦ ' Sir, the case of McLeod is not' isolated; it is- not a solitary atom, standing by itself; but it is a feature m a large picture— n link in a long chain. It connects itself with all the aggressive conduct of England towards this countcy: her encroachments on the State of Maine— her occupation of our territory an the Oregon— her insolence in searching our vessels on the coast of Africa — the confiscation of our slaves, wrecked on her islands, in their transit from oneportofour country to another — her hatching injLondon for our Southern States what was hatched there above forty years ago for San Domingo, the insurrection of our slaves and the destruction