this republic. If we cannot by a purchase of the country insure to ourselves a course of perpetual peace and friendship with all nations, then, as war cannot be far distant, it behooves us immediately to be preparing for that course, without, however, hastening it; and it may be necessary (on your failure on the Continent) to cross the Channel." We shall see later the significance of this suggestion that he cross the Channel into England.

The session of Congress had advanced to the middle of February before any remedial measures were proposed for the action of the Spanish intendant at New Orleans. Every fresh dispatch from Mr. Livingston was a repetition of the old story of neglect and silence. Meantime the Federal leaders, incited by the continued and growing disaffection of the Western people, as manifested by their inflammable appeals to Congress, had resolved upon recommending immediate hostilities as the last resort of the Government. The memorable debate which involved a consideration of this question was opened by Mr. Ross, of Pennsylvania, on the 14th of February, in a speech of remarkable force. The infraction of the treaty of Madrid in 1795, by which the right of deposit had been solemnly acknowledged, was claimed to be a sufficient justification for a resort to arms. In the further progress of this argument the speaker considered the opportunity as too favorable to be lost, because success would be more assured if a war was prosecuted while the Spaniards held possession of the country than it would be after it had passed under the dominion of France. With New Orleans in our possession, we could dictate the terms of a treaty that would forever secure our citizens from further molestation. These views were enforced by urgent appeals to the patriotism of the people, and the sternest denunciation of the tardy policy of the administration. At the close of his speech Mr. Ross presented a series of resolutions declaring the right of the people to the free navigation of the Mississippi and a convenient place of deposit for their produce and merchandise in the island of New Orleans. The President would have been authorized by the passage of these resolutions to take possession of such place or places in the island or adjacent territories as he might deem fit, and to call into actual service fifty thousand

militia to coöperate with the regular military and naval forces in the work of invasion. They also provided for an appropriation of five millions of dollars to defray the expenses of the

war.

A long and exhaustive debate followed, in which the speeches on both sides were marked by distinguished ability and eloquence,-those of Mr. Clinton against, and of Mr. Morris in favor of the resolutions, being among the ablest ever before or since delivered on the floor of Congress. Milder measures were finally substituted, authorizing the enrolment of an army of eighty thousand men at the pleasure of the President, and Congress adjourned.

Meantime Mr. Livingston reported some little progress in the work of negotiation, and had addressed a memorial to Bonaparte complaining of the conduct of the Spanish intendant. Just at this time hostilities were again about to be renewed between England and France. Mr. Addington, the British minister, in a conversation with Mr. King upon the subject, observed that in case of war it would be one of the first steps of Great Britain to occupy New Orleans. On the 11th of April, in an interview with Talleyrand, that minister desired to know of Mr. Livingston if our Government wished to purchase the whole of Lousiana. On receiving a negative reply, he remarked that if they gave New Orleans, the rest would be of little value. "Tell me," he continued, "what you will give for the whole?" At the close of the dispatch conveying this information to Mr. Madison, Mr. Livingston appends a postscript saying: "Orders are given this day to stop the sailing of vessels from the French ports; war is inevitable; my conjecture as to their determination to sell is well founded. Mr. Monroe has just arrived."

BONAPARTE'S PROPOSITION.

Fear that Great Britain would make an early attack upon New Orleans, now that war between England and France was certain, favored the efforts of Mr. Livingston for an early purchase, and increased the anxiety of France to dispose of the entire province. Indeed, in a consultation held with Decres and Marbois on the 10th of April, Napoleon fully resolved to sell the whole of Louisiana. The little coquetry that followed between Talleyrand, Marbois and Livingston,

was simply to obtain as large a price as possible. Napoleon then said, "I know the full value of Louisiana, and I have been desirous of repairing the fault of the French negotiator, who abandoned it in 1762. A few lines of treaty have restored it to me, and I have scarcely recovered it when I must expect to lose it. But if it escapes from me, it shall one day cost dearer to those who oblige me to strip myself of it, than to those to whom I wish to deliver it. The English have successively taken from France, Canada, Cape Breton, New Foundland, Nova Scotia, and the richest portions of Asia. They are engaged in exciting trouble in St. Domingo. They shall not have the Mississippi, which they covet. Louisiana is nothing in comparison with their conquests in all parts of the globe, and yet the jealousy they feel at the restoration of this colony to the sovereignty of France acquaints me with their wish to take possession of it, and it is thus they will begin the war."

The morning after this conference he summoned his ministers, and terminated a long interview in the following words: "Irresolution and deliberation are no longer in seasop. I renounce Louisiana. It is not only New Orleans I will cede, it is the whole colony without any reservation. know the price of what I abandon, and have sufficiently proved the importance that I attach to this province,-since my first diplomatic act with Spain had for its object its recovery. I renounce it with the greatest regret. To attempt obstinately to retain it would be folly. I direct you to negotiate this affair with the envoys of the United States. Do not even await the arrival of Mr. Monroe;-have an interview this very day with Mr. Livingston. But I require a great deal of money for this war, and I would not like to commence it with new contributions. I will be moderate in consideration of the necessity in which I am of making a sale. But keep this to yourself. I want fifty millions, and for less than that sum I will not treat; I would rather make a desperate attempt to keep these fine countries. To-morrow you shall have full powers."

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LOUISIANA PURCHASE TREATY SIGNED.

On the 30th of April, 1803, the treaty of cession was signed. Louisiana was transferred to the United States, on

condition that our government should consent to pay to France eighty millions of francs. Of this amount, twenty millions should be assigned to the payment of what was due by France to the citizens of the United States. Article 3rd of the treaty was prepared by Napoleon himself. It reads:

"The inhabitants of the ceded territory shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States, and admitted, as soon as possible according to the principles of the Federal Constitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages and immunities of citizens of the United States, and in the meantime they shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and the religion which they profess."

After the treaty was signed, the ministers rose and shook hands, and Mr. Livingston, expressing the satisfaction which they felt, said: "We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives. The treaty which we have just signed has not been obtained by art or dictated by force:— equally advantageous to the two contracting parties, it will change vast solitudes into flourishing districts. From this day the United States takes its place among the powers of the first rank; the English lose all exclusive influence in the affairs of America. Thus one of the principal causes of European rivalries and animosities is about to cease. However, if wars are inevitable, France will hereafter have in the New World a natural friend, that must increase in strength from year to year, and one which cannot fail to become powerful and respected in every sea. The United States will reestablish the maritime rights of all the world, which are now usurped by a single nation. These treaties will thus be a guarantee of peace and concord among commercial states. The instruments which we have just signed will cause no tears to be shed; they prepare ages of happiness for innumerable generations of human creatures. The Mississippi and Missouri will see them succeed one another and multiply, truly worthy of the regard and care of Providence, in the bosom of equality, under just laws, freed from the errors of superstition and the scourge of bad government."

When Napoleon was informed of the conclusion of the treaty, he uttered the following sententious prophecy: "This