of its triumph over the system of peace and neutrality. When the country was thus on the point of rushing down the precipice, the President of the United States, destined so often to become its saviour, again stretched out his paternal hand, and prevented the fall. Interposing the powers of his office, and his unbounded personal popularity, between the legislature and the gulf at the very brink of which it had almost arrived, he arrested its career, and afforded the country time to recover from its delirium. He sent an envoy extraordinary, to make one further attempt at an amicable adjustment of our differences with England, before we should resolve to terminate them by the sword; and by this step he again broke the measures of the war-party. Their rage was proportioned to their disappointment, and it hurried them into the most furious invectives against the President, against the envoy, and against all who were understood to favor the measure. Every body remembers, Mr. Chairman, how they accused this envoy of being a tool of the British ministry, an enemy to liberty, and even an opposer of the independence of this country. Every body remembers what clamors were raised about the unconstitutionality of his appointment; how the clubs toasted, the orators harangued, and the societies resolved. Every body remembers how all the presses under the influence of this party loudly alleged, that the friends of the negotiation were a faction devoted to England, and that the President of the United States, by sending the envoy, had placed himself at the head of this faction. Every one remembers how the leaders of this party did not refrain from repeating these accusations within the walls of this House, and even on this floor. It was in vain that the friends of the measure, and of peace, spoke to them in language like this: "Let this attempt at negotiation be made, and if it fails, we will join you in war. Should England refuse to do us justice, when thus peaceably applied to, we will join you in every measure of compulsion. We consider this as the last effort at negotiation; and so the President has announced it in his message for nominating the envoy." No! These gentlemen now so peaceable, when France repels with contempt two successive efforts at negotiation, and meets all our advances by new measures of hostility, could then be satisfied with nothing less, than immediate measures of coercion and irritation against England. A single attempt to negotiate they reprobated as pusillanimity, and the very idea of a compromise they treated as a surrender of the rights and honor of the country. When the envoy arrived, and presented a memorial stating all our claims, and urging satisfaction, but urging in the usual forms of diplomatic civility, these forms were converted into a cause of accusation, a most violent outcry was raised against this civility, by the very gentlemen who now proclaim their unbounded and even enthusiastic approbation of the conduct of the late minister to France, who in his first address to the Government of that Republic, assured it solemnly and publicly, that this country was ready to submit cheerfully, to any infractions of its treaties or violation of its rights, which France might think it for her own advantage to commit!* Whence this strange inconsistency, but from an eager desire of war against England, and a blind, servile devotedness to France? And will gentlemen after all this deny, that the whole scope of the measures, the whole drift of the system of their party, has been war against England and alliance with France? The envoy, however, continued to negotiate, and at length concluded a treaty, by which ancient differences were adjusted, and the foundation laid for amity in future. No sooner did the treaty arrive in the country, than every artifice was used to inflame the public mind, and excite against it the popular prejudices. Nothing was omitted to defeat it in the Senate, and when ratified by that body, it was attacked by every coffee-house politician of the party, before it was published, by all their presses, and by the resolutions of all the clubs. When made public, the most unheard of means were used to overwhelm it with general odium, to raise an universal cry against it, and deter the President from giving it his sanction. In every town mobs were assembled, under the more respectable name of town-meetings; those of a different opinion were silenced by clamor, intimidated by threats, or actually driven away by violence; and all opposition or discussion being thus prevented, these assemblages of ignorant and illiterate men were prevailed upon to vote by acclamation, for resolutions which they were incapable of understanding, and could not even hear. Thus the appearance of a formidable popular rising in various parts of the continent was exhibited, and the frenzy caught. It spread wider and wider, and aided by various auxiliary passions, drew into its vortex great masses of the best citizens. The country again seemed on the point of rushing down the precipice; but fortunately its guardian genius yet presided over its affairs. The President of the United States again placed himself in the breach, and received on his buckler all the strokes aimed at the happiness of his country. He spoke to the people; they heard the voice of their father; they listened and became calm. He ratified the treaty; and the people said, "It is done, and must it not be supported? He has done it, and is it not right? They listened and were appeased, they read and were convinced, they discovered their first errors, acknowledged and renounced them. * See Mr. Monroe's book, pages 10 and 34, 35, where this declaration is acknowledged and justified.—Author of the Speech. much zeal supported all the pretensions of France, now come forward and make a direct attack on the Executive, the tendency of which necessarily is to divide it from this House, when there is the utmost need of union, and withdraw from it the confidence of the people, when that confidence is more than ever essential. What is this but a continuation of the same system? And are we to be blamed for seeing in this attempt a new effort, to throw this country into the arms of France, by rendering the government unable to resist her; by forcing it from weakness to submit to her mandates; to break in obedience to them, its treaty with England, and substitute in its place an alliance offensive and defensive with her? But not so the party whose object was war against England, at all events. They saw in this treaty the death of their hopes, the final frustration of all their projects; for this treaty took away all cause of quarrel between the two countries; and they resolved to make one grand effort for its destruction, which, being accomplished, all the ancient disputes would be reinstated, with new aggravation; and a rupture would be rendered by so much the more certain as there could be no faith in any new accommodation. To this object, they bent their whole force, and this House was the place chosen for the attack. When the treaty came before this House to be carried into effect, doctrines new to the constitution, and incomparable with its existence were introduced, in order to destroy it. The treaty-making power was attempted to be rendered subject to the control of this | House; as the power of appointing foreign ministers was now attempted to be rendered subject. The treaty was attacked through the sides of the constitution; a war was sought by the overthrow of our government, and the violation of our plighted faith. But a firm resistance was given to these attempts. Enlight-resistance now? If this be not their system, ened discussions spread the truth before the eyes of the people. Warned by the errors into which they had before been drawn, and roused by the magnitude of the danger, they rose in their might, and the party was dismayed; they spoke and it trembled; they put forth their hand and touched it, and it sunk to the earth. Thus again, Mr. Chairman, were the projects of these gentlemen confounded. Thus again were they prevented from effecting their purpose, so much desired, of driving this country into war with England and the fraternal embraces of France. The remaining history is known. The French under pretexts so frivolous that not one gentleman on this floor has been found hardy enough to defend them, have quarrelled with us on account of this treaty; because by terminating our differences with England, it cuts off all hopes of our being drawn into war against her. In this quarrel France proceeded, avowedly, on the ground of our being a divided people, opposed to our own government, and attached to her, repels all our amicable advances, meets them with new injuries, and declares that before she will listen to us we must tread back all our steps, reverse our whole system of policy, break our treaty with England, and admit her own construction of her treaty with us. In this critical and alarming situation of affairs, the same description of persons, the same individuals even, who so perseveringly attempted to bring us into the war against England, according to the views of France, who have so uniformly and with so If this be not the object of gentlemen; if it be not their intention thus to serve their country by reducing it to the situation of Holland, how are we to reconcile their present with their former conduct; their eagerness for hostile measures formerly, with their tame submissive spirit now; their zealous opposition to every thing like negotiation formerly, with their equally zealous opposition to every thing like then all that I can say about their present measures, contrasted with those pursued by them on a former occasion, about their former eager ness for alliance, with one foreign nation, and war with another, contrasted with their present declamations against all sorts of foreign connexions or intercourse, is to exclaim, in the eloquent language of the gentleman from Pennsylvania, that those measures form the last leaf of that book, wherein are written the inconsistencies of party. Whether this system of war and alliance, this system of fraternity with France such as. the Dutch now enjoy, and hostility under her orders against all her enemies; this system so steadily pursued, but so often defeated, shall now at length begin to triumph, I consider as the question now to be decided. It is now to be decided whether an important step shall be taken, towards compelling our government through debility to submit implicitly to France, towards laying this country bound hand and foot at the feet of that haughty domineering nation. To take this step, to commence the triumph of the fraternal system, I take to be the object as I know it to be the tendency, of the inroad on the executive power attempted by this amendment. Hence it is that I oppose it with the warmest zeal, and with all my might; and if my opposition shall contribute in the smallest degree to its defeat, I shall neither regret the time I have occupied, nor apologize for the trouble I have given to the committee. |