“2. Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to demand and insist upon the restoration of the property of their citizens, captured, and condemned, on the pretext of its being employed in a trade with the enemies of Great Britain, prohibited in time of peace: and upon the indemnification of such American citizens, for their losses and damages sustained by those captures and condemnations: and to enter into such arrangements with the British Government, on this and all other differences subsisting between the two nations, (and particularly respecting the impressment of American seamen,) as may be consistent with the honor and interest of the United States, and manifest their earnest desire to obtain for themselves and their citizens, by amicable negotiation, that justice to which they are entitled.”
Mr. Worthington.—On further consideration of the resolution now before the Senate I confess I feel more opposed to it, and do believe, on the whole, it will be best not to pass it in its present form. The resolution must mean something, or it must mean nothing. It must intend to convey to the President the opinions and advice of this body, or not to convey it. Now, sir, if it is intended to convey to the President the opinion and advice of the Senate, which is certainly my understanding of it, I beg gentlemen to reflect a little before they adopt it. The advice of this Senate I trust will never be given to the President without having the desired effect; and let me add, sir, that from the intimate connection which exists between this and the Executive branch of the Government, I must believe that the President would not feel himself justified, nor would he be willing to take so much responsibility on himself as entirely to reject it. Sir, I could not justify him if he did. We are equally responsible with him in our executive capacity, and can we for a moment believe that he would act contrary to the decided opinion of the Senate, who can at all times control or defeat him by rejecting a treaty made contrary to their advice and opinions? What, sir, is the object of the resolution?
We request the President “to demand and insist upon the restoration of the property of their citizens, captured and condemned on the pretext of its being employed in a trade with the enemies of Great Britain, prohibited in time of peace; and upon the indemnification of such American citizens for their losses and damages sustained by these captures and condemnations:” and afterwards “to enter into such arrangements with the British Government, on this and all other differences subsisting between the two nations, (and particularly respecting the impressment of American seamen,) as may be consistent with the honor and interests of the United States, and manifest their earnest desire to obtain for themselves and their citizens, by amicable negotiation, that justice to which they are entitled.”
Mr. Adair.—Mr. President, the motion before the Senate is to recommit the resolution to a special committee. Gentlemen in favor of the resolution as it stands, have called upon us to point out the alterations we wish to make in it, as a cause of commitment; I will do so by stating my objections to it in its present shape. The first resolution on the paper which I hold in my hand, and which met with a unanimous vote of the Senate two days past, contains a mere declaration of their opinion on an abstract principle; to this resolution I fully and freely assent, although I did not vote for it, being that day unwell and absent. But this second resolution, if it is to have any effect at all, is meant to convey an instruction to the President of the United States. It contains a request to him, not only that he will endeavor to obtain an adjustment of our differences by treaty, but that prior to this he will “demand and insist upon the restoration of the property of our citizens captured and condemned on the pretence of its being employed in a trade with the enemies of Great Britain, prohibited in time of peace; and upon the indemnification of such American citizens for their losses and damages sustained by these captures and condemnations;” that he will enter into arrangements, &c. This, Mr. President, is the part of the resolution I object to. It is going too far. It is circumscribing the powers of the President, and tying him down to a particular point. It is making that the sine qua non, the basis on which alone he is to treat; at least it is doing this so far as an opinion of the Senate, expressed in this way, can do it. It really looks to me, as if, on this particular point of the restitution, we were afraid to trust our Chief Magistrate. I presume there is not a member who hears me, who does not fully believe the captures and condemnations alluded to in the resolution were unjust; that they are an infringement of our rights; and that we are entitled to restitution. But let it be remembered that these condemnations are the solemn decisions of a court of very high authority in Great Britain; a court that, it is well known, acts under the counsels (if not the control) of the cabinet. May we not then reasonably suppose that the British Government are as fully assured (in their own minds) that these condemnations are just and warranted, under the law of nations, as we are that they are unjust and unwarranted; and that they will be as unwilling to acknowledge in the face of the whole world that they have been wantonly robbing us of our property, as we will be to acknowledge that we have paid so much without a cause? It has been well observed by an honorable member from Tennessee, that in forming commercial treaties of this kind, there will be various points to consider, and it may not be necessary to contend for strict justice in every punctilio; arrangements or treaties, when there are existing differences to settle, must always be a bargain of compromise and forbearance; in one point we may give a little, that we may obtain an equivalent in another. So it may turn out in settling our disputes with Great Britain. Why then are we not satisfied with expressing our opinion on the great principle of right; and leave it altogether with our Chief Magistrate to enter into and point out the details?
Messrs. J. Quincy Adams, Samuel Smith, Pickering, Tracy, and Maclay, delivered their sentiments.
The motion to recommit the resolution for the purpose of amending it, was lost—yeas 15, nays 16.
Mr. Worthington then moved to strike out the words in italics, from the second to the eleventh line.
Messrs. S. Smith, and White, opposed the motion, which was disagreed to—yeas 13, nays 16, as follows:
Yeas.—Messrs. Adair, Baldwin, Bradley, Gaillard, Howland, Logan, Maclay, Moore, Plumer, Smith of Vermont, Sumter, Turner, and Worthington.
Nays.—Messrs. Adams, Anderson, Bayard, Gilman, Hillhouse, Kitchel, Mitchill, Pickering, Smith of Maryland, Smith of New York, Smith of Ohio, Smith of Tennessee, Thruston, Tracy, White, and Wright