I come now, sir, to say something on the question of impressment, wholly omitted in the treaty, and which the gentleman from Virginia has said was informally and satisfactorily arranged by the note of the British Commissioners on that subject. He has said that their note contained a stipulation, “that they would order their naval commanders to abstain from the practice of impressments on board American vessels.” I confess I was astonished at the declaration. It is true the printed document has not been furnished till just now. I presume the note of the 8th of November, 1806, to have been alluded to, because something like the same defence on this subject has been used by one of the American Commissioners in his late letter to the Secretary of State, (although, indeed, until I heard that defence read, I had not understood that any improper dereliction of the American interests had been imputed to our Ministers; I had always understood, and, except in the letter alluded to, and the arguments of the gentleman, I have yet understood from every source of information open to me, that it was not expected by our Ministers that the treaty could be ratified by the American Government, but that it was the best they could obtain;) I could not think the quotation of the gentleman correct as to the language of that note. I mentioned then, sir, to those who sat near me, that I had understood it to convey no promise to abstain from the practice of impressment, but a vague and unsatisfactory declaration that the British naval commanders should be instructed to use caution in the impressments they made; as it was said they had been always before instructed; by that means, sir, placing ourselves, if we choose to recognize this informal stipulation, in a worse situation than before, inasmuch as it was an unequivocal acknowledgment of the right of impressment, when exercised under the caution of a British officer. And what, sir, is the language of this same note of November 8th—we have it now before us: “His Majesty’s Ministers give to Mr. Monroe and Mr. Pinckney the most positive assurances, that instructions have been given and shall be repeated and enforced for the observance of the greatest caution in the impressing of British seamen, and that the strictest care shall be taken to preserve the citizens of the United States from any molestation or injury; and that immediate and prompt redress shall be afforded upon any representation of injury sustained by them.” How, sir, let me ask, have those officers conducted themselves under these repeated instructions? To say nothing of the continued violations committed on our merchant vessels, we have indeed had a most notable example of the extreme caution which her naval officers had no doubt been instructed, and were determined to observe, in the mode of impressments, in that excessively cautious plan adopted by Admiral Berkeley, to effect his honorable and loyal purposes, in the memorable attack upon the Chesapeake. Then, sir, I must admit, that in pursuance of what I now believe were his orders, the most cool and deliberate caution was used. Our frigate, on an outward voyage, on the very day she left her port, in the usual unprepared state in which I am told vessels of war sail in time of peace, is with the utmost caution pursued by the British ship of superior force, in sight of several others. The American frigate is overtaken; her men, proved to be American citizens, are demanded of her, as of right being the subjects of the King. They are refused, and indeed, sir, I must acknowledge, with peculiar caution, before it was possible for our frigate to prepare for action and the defence of the honor of her flag, the British commander fires three broadsides into her, and commits the murder of fifteen or twenty other American citizens, and no doubt most cautiously compels the United States frigate to strike her colors, goes on board, and takes off three of the native citizens of our country, none of whom have to this day been returned!
But, sir, if this treaty, with its appendages, had contained in it provisions and stipulations which were responsive to our injuries, and which comported with our rights, is there a man in this nation, who consults the dignity and honor of his country, who could have wished its assent to it, subject to the condition dictated by the King of England, and transmitted by a note of the British commissioners annexed to it? The gentleman from Virginia has spoken of the insult conveyed by the letter of Champagny of the 15th of January, 1808, to our Minister in Paris; its terms have been grammatically scanned. Sir, there was no need for this; we are at no loss for subjects of humiliation and insult, whether we look to France or to England. As early as 1793, attempts of the most unjustifiable nature were made to involve us in war by both these powers. Lord Grenville, so early as that time, expressly told our Minister, without disguise, that the British orders of November in that year were intended to have an internal effect upon the affairs of this country. Such has ever since been the conduct of the belligerents, constantly and undeviatingly pursued in the most disrespectful manner, towards us; such was certainly the object of the British Cabinet, in annexing the note of the 31st of December, 1806, to the treaty of that date; and certainly, sir, if a direct attempt to force us into war, is considered an insult to our independence, and an encroachment upon our rights of self-government, such was the language of that note, which, in open and unreserved terms, made it an indispensable condition to the ratification of the treaty, “that the Government of the United States, by its conduct or assurances, will have given security to his Majesty, that it will not submit to such innovations in the established system of maritime law,” as the French decree therein alluded to contained—his Majesty thus most graciously taking upon himself the right of determining for us what course of conduct we should pursue towards his enemy! I do not say, sir, that the letter of Champagny, which has been repeatedly mentioned with such asperity by the gentleman, is such a one as consists with the respect due to us; by some gentlemen its language has been construed to mean a proposition originating in a disposition of friendship, and to convey nothing more than an offer, founded on a supposition of the actual existence of war between Great Britain and the United States, and in that event, to take care of such of our property as should be exposed to capture, until there should be an opportunity of restoration; but to me, sir, I confess the language is not satisfactory. We have a right to expect from all nations something more, or something less than equivocal language. Our Government speaks in terms of friendship, and in the plain language which neither conveys a doubt as to its hostility or friendship; we have a right to expect the same frankness in others. But why, sir, should gentlemen who profess to feel, and I hope do feel only as Americans, suffer their sensibilities to transport them to battle with the Gallic Cock, while under heavier insults they seem disposed to succumb to the British Lion? Why is the letter of the British Minister of the 23d of February wholly forgotten, when we are undergoing the humiliating revival of insults and threats? Is it less awakening to our national sensibility, and to the alarms of honor or interest, to be told, as we are by that letter, that his Majesty the King of England is disappointed in his just expectation that we should have gone to war with France, than to be told through our Minister at the Court of France that the Emperor of that nation expected we were at war with England? If insult was intended by either, it seems to have been measured by the same equal standard with which they have by their hostile orders measured their injuries to our commerce; perfectly in the spirit of retaliation, sir.
My astonishment, sir, has indeed been excited more than on any former occasion, when I have heard a gentleman condemn our Government for the rejection of a treaty, which provided no redress for former injuries, no security against future ones, and which, by the conditions annexed to it, would have infallibly, by stipulating resistance against a belligerent, directly have involved us in war; and that not a war of self-defence, but a war of alliance with one of the powers, for the purpose of resistance and offence against the other. War, sir, I hope will be avoided, notwithstanding the bold attempts to involve us in it, and which have been so steadily pursued by the contending nations. It will I hope be avoided, unless our self-defence shall render it indispensably necessary. Attack or invasion from France cannot be rationally contemplated. War with England, we must all agree, rests on more uncertain grounds; if any thing will prevent it, I believe it to be the course pursued by our Government. The resolution under discussion explicitly avows the terms on which we will consent again to renew our intercourse with Europe. If Great Britain is induced to relax, France must and will pursue the same policy. I think, sir, we have a right to believe, from the best information from England, that this relaxation will take place. I am aware of that disposition in the ruling party in England to go to war with us. I have no right to doubt the truth of the declaration of Mr. Monroe, that there is a party in that country strong and active indeed, as he has described it to be, who are disposed to hostility with us, and who are at all hazards determined to support the maritime supremacy of Great Britain; they are described to be the navy interest, the East India chartered companies, the West India traders, and the shipping interest—strong and active indeed, sir; they sit at the elbow of Majesty, and influence his ready will; but their temptations to war are removed by the embargo, and I hope will continue to be so, until they rescind those orders which have cut us off from the commerce of the world.
But the power contemplated by the resolution, of meeting any friendly disposition on the part of the European powers, is to be withheld, because it would add too much to the already overgrown popularity of the President, who, like Julius Cæsar, has been offered the honor of a Crown! It is true, sir, the demonstrations of confidence in the present Chief Magistrate are general and sincere in many parts of the Union. At the time the only address of this kind was proposed, which I have ever understood originated in Virginia, I had the honor of a seat in her Legislature. It was introduced and supported by the description of politicians there denominated the Republican minority; in what spirit of sincerity I leave others to judge at this day. But, thank God, it was not permitted to progress; and thus the person to whom it was intended to be presented was saved the suffusion of a blush, which the evidence of such adulation from his own State would for its sake have infallibly produced.
On this occasion an attempt is made to alarm us, by the assertion that the administration of the Government is assimilating itself to that of a monarchy; and it is said that the power of the President is more dangerous than that of a British King. Has the gentleman weighed the extent of this assertion, or contemplated the powers of a British King? In power, unrestrained as he is by their constitution, (if constitution that can be called, which consists of unsettled and undefined practices, most of them originating, no one knows where, and founded on principles which cannot be traced to any rational ground—a constitution which, notwithstanding their declarations of rights, is perfectly incapable of restraint upon the Executive arm; which subjects the Parliament to the King; which makes it completely his Parliament, and deludes the people with the show of liberty, while they are governed by the single voice of a monarch—yes, sir, it is his Parliament,) has he committed any great act of outrage on the nations of the earth? He feels the pulse of his Parliament before he permits them to convene. His Parliament, I may again emphatically call it; for it is he who orders it into existence, and he who suspends its functions or dissolves it at will. If its pulse does not beat responsively to his wishes, he either dissolves it or postpones its meeting from time to time, as has been the policy with the present Parliament, which, if it had met at the time first appointed, scarcely less than a revolution might have been apprehended, from the general ferment the execrable conduct of England towards Denmark had excited, and the head of our old master might have atoned for that unprecedented act of criminality; for, as such, it had been contemplated with abhorrence by a magnanimous people—a people who felt for the character of Englishmen in the commission of it. There are men there, sir, I acknowledge, who do honor to human nature. When we read the speeches of Erskine, and other great men in the present opposition, we may yet hope that there may be found enough of integrity in the nation to redeem its character from the stains of murder and robbery, which the conduct of its monarch has marked it with. Yet this is the King to whose power that of a President of the United States is said to be assimilating itself. By what instance, let me ask, does it appear that we are verging to the practice of a corrupt monarchy? Is it in the proposition involved in this resolution? No, certainly; for I have before proved that the same powers, and much more extensive and unqualified, have been delegated at every period of our Government, from its commencement to the present session. Is it from any other general assumption of power? No; for it is acknowledged by all that the present Administration has acted in perfect consonance with the powers of the constitution, and I will add, (what its enemies have before allowed,) with the most strict and unceasing regard to the interests and happiness of the people.
Why are we warned, sir, on this floor, against authorizing the President to do an act which may enhance his popularity so much as the removal of the embargo, and that it is another mode of adding to that influence already so overbearing? If, indeed, the embargo operates most distressingly, (as we all know it does, on every part of the community,) it is he who in the first instance, from the strong sense of duty, assumed on himself the responsibility (the odium, the gentleman would call it) of the measure. It is but fair, then, however ludicrous the charge in itself, that he should be left to regain the popular favor he is supposed to have lost. It will only leave him where he was.
But, sir, seriously, let me ask gentlemen to tell the nation, before we separate, what they will do. Is there any one so desperate, inconsiderate, or so wild in his opinion, as to say the embargo ought at the present time to be removed, while the hostile Orders of France and England are both enforced with the utmost rigor against us, and when they have multiplied, and been extended in their effects since the expediency of the embargo was fully decided on? What is the obvious alternative? Either authorize its removal, when our safety will permit, or continue in session to wait that event. But why, sir, sit here, at the daily expense of many hundred dollars to the community, when we shall have transacted the business of the nation, merely because some gentlemen are now doubtful of the right or the policy of delegating to the President a power which has, in much stronger and more general terms, been before intrusted to him, and all who have preceded him? But, if any thing better than this can be devised, let it be submitted. For my own part, I promise to give it the attention its importance may merit. But, at the least, let us unite in the adoption of some measures for the safety and interest of our country, at this time so imminently jeopardized by the powers of Europe.
Mr. Masters.—Mr. Chairman, I shall not undertake to say that the rejected treaty is so advantageous as we had a right to expect. I do not hesitate to declare that, or even Jay’s Treaty, is preferable to the present state of our affairs. If we take into our view all the relative circumstances of the British nation with France, Russia, and the other belligerent powers, and pay proper attention to the unprotected and defenceless situation of our country and our commerce, in forming our ideas of what we ought to expect from that nation whose navy commands the seas, can we then expect she will sacrifice that navy, or any part of her power, by conceding the point of search for her seamen on board of neutral vessels? It is inconsistent with their interest, and it is inconsistent with their superiority. This right of search for her own subjects, Mr. M. considered as the main block in the way of negotiation, which sound policy and interest require we should clear away. The British and American Commissioners had informally put this point on as good footing as he expected. Although the resolution under consideration is not properly limited and defined, he should not vote against it. His wish was to raise the embargo and arm our vessels. The nation could not bear the pressure. The embargo virtually inhibits all intercourse with foreign nations; the effects are and will be pernicious to the agricultural productions of this country, and produce will fall to the lowest ebb, and enforce the most unparalleled distress on the community. Commerce ought always to be left to the merchant, unshackled and unembarrassed, as much as possible. Our commercial intercourse is the principal resource, both of revenue and commercial opulence. The embargo will tear up by the roots and annihilate the commerce of this country. And the effects will be heavy taxes, an exhausted Treasury, a diminished and ruined revenue. It weakens your own power, fetters your operations, and deludes your citizens; it devours not only the fruits but the seeds of industry. It will sink down and depress the nation to an absence of hope and a want of resources; it will be felt by the nation as a calamity, without deciding the general question of dispute. Prove to me the embargo is consistent with common sense, and will be the means of adjusting our differences with the belligerent powers, and I will then be an advocate for it. Though we have the constitutional right to lay an embargo, it is a matter which requires great consideration, whether the measure will have the effect to which it was seemingly intended. It may be good in theory; he esteemed it chimerical in practice, a mere speculative proposition. Wisdom is to be gained in politics, not by one rigid principle, but by looking attentively at causes and the effects they have or will produce; not by adopting that false philosophy, which seeks perfection out of that which, in its nature, is imperfect; which refers every thing to theory, and nothing to practice; which substitutes visionary schemes for solid tests of experiment, and bewilders the human mind in a chaos of opinions. Search all the histories of the world, and you will not find eleven hundred thousand tons of shipping, of one of the greatest commercial nations, embargoed for an unlimited time.
Mr. Chairman, the season of our severe trial is not at an end, nor are we yet relieved from the dejection and gloom which hangs over our heads; doubts and uncertainty mingle with the hopes and expectations of the people. If you bring our commerce into the situation of the Chinese, you will end in the wild state of nature, that mocks the name of liberty, and the human character will be degraded, instead of being free.
If you entertain a sense of the many blessings which you have enjoyed; if you value a continuance of that commerce which is the source of so much opulence; if you wish to preserve that high state of prosperity by which the country has, for some years past, been so eminently blessed, you lose all these advantages by continuing the embargo and neglecting to arm your vessels. Restore, then, confidence and vigor to commerce. You are at war with your own interest and every idea of policy; instead of protecting commerce you destroy it.