Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1839-1843, October 18, 1842, Image 1
<HJfB <& B W ffl IB W 2 $ M iS? . |
~^^Tm CHER AW. SOUTH-CAROLINA. TUESDAY. OCTOBER 18, 1812. NUMBER 49. j
By M. MACLEAN.
Tk*m?:? Published weekly at three dollart a
year; with an addition, when not paid within
three months, of twenty per cent per annum.
Two new subscribers may take the paper at
fire dollars in advance; ana ten at twenty.
four subscribers, not receiving tneir papers
in town, icay pay a year's subscription with tho
.dollars, in advance.
Ji year's subscription always due in advance.
Papers not discontinued to solvent subscribers
In arrears.
Advertisements not ctcoeding 1 fi lines inserted
f jr one dollar the first time, and fifty cents each
a .bsequcnt time. For insertions at intervals of
two weeks 75 cents after the first, and a dollar
if the intervals are longor. Payment due in
advance for advertisements. When the number
f insertions is not marked on the copy, the J
advertisement will be inserted, and charged till
ordered out.
0*The postage must be paid on letters to the
wditor on the business of the office;
AGRICULTURAL LETTER FROM
GEN. WASHINGTON.
We are indebted to the kindness of an old friend
tor the following valuable document; valuable
not only because of the revered source from which
it emanates, but because it affords many excellent
lessons from an able and practical farmer; it is too
IT strongly characteristic of the American hero. We
ee here the exercise in private life of that attention i
to detail, that inflexible devotion to order and dis.
eiplinc, which so eminently mark the public char,
meter of Washington. No one can read this letter i
?:.i?* ot nnco that the writer was an in- !
W1UIUUW 0WJt4? ? VMWV ?
dustrious, fiound, practical farmer. He, whose
indomitable energy had given freedom to a world,
did not esteem the most minute details of agriculture
unworthy his attention.
It will probably surprise the reader to find Gen.
Washington insisting upon the use of harrows and
cultivators in the cultivation of his eorn ; this we
have been accustomed to plume ourselves upon as
a much more modern invention.
This letter, directed to his overseers, is taken
from the manuscript copy in Washington's own
h ind writing, and, as we arc informed, now appears
in print for the first time.
Philadelphia, lAth July, 1793.
Gentlemen,?It being indispensably necessary
that I should have some person at Mount Vernon
through whom I can communicate my orders;? \
who will see that thise orders arc executed ; or, if
not obeyed, who w.ll inform me why thry are
not;?who Will receive the weekly reports and |
transmit them ; receive money and pay it; and in '
general to do those things which do not appertain ;
? ?ntr individual overseer?I have sent iny ncph
w J .
_w, Mr. Howell Lewis, (who lives with me here)
to attend to them until I can provide a manager
of established reputation in these matters. You
will, therefore pay due regard to such directions as
you may receive from him, considering them as
coining immediately from myself. But that you
also may have a general knowledge of what 1 expect
from you, I slialj convey the following view
(which I have of the bus.ness committed to your
charge) as it appears to me, and direct you to
govern yourseli by it: as I am persuaded nothing
inconsistent therewith will be ordered by Mr. !
.
Lewis, without authority from rnc to depart from :
jk |
1st. Although it is almost needless to remark I
that the com ground at the farm you overlook
ought to bo kept perfectly clean and well ploughed
?yet, because not only the goodness of that crop
depends upon such managcnicut, but also the
wheat crop which is to succeed it, I cannot forbear
urging the propriety and necessity of the measure
in very strong terms.
ild. The wheat is to be got into the barns or '
into stacks as soon as it can be done with any sort
of convenience, that it may not (especially the j
bearded wheat, which is subject to injury by wet
weather,) sustain loss in shocks?and because the
" J ? *-?*'A* mm Kp hfMirfioiiil to
iDuitcrcu grain m u^iuo muj
the stock; but no hogs arc to be put on stubble
fields in which grass seeds were sown last fall,
winter or spring; other stock, however, may
be turned on them, as it is rooting that would be
prejudicial.
3d. The whole 6wamp from the road from
Manlcy's bridge up to the lane leading to the new
barn, is to be got -.nto the best and most complete
order for sowing giseeds in August?or, at the
farthest, by the middle of September. The lowest
and wettest part thereof is to be sown with timothy
seed alone. Ail the other parts of it are to be sown
with timothy and clover seeds mixed. Tho
swamp on the other side of the aforesaid lane (now
in corn and outs) is to be kept in the best possible
order, that the part not already sown with grass,
seeds, may receive them cither this autumn (as
soon as the corn can be taken off w.tli safety) or
in the spring, as circumstances shall dictate.
No exertion or pains arc to be spared at Dagucrun
to get the swamp from Manley s bridge up
to the meadow above, and the two enclosures in
the mill swamp, in the highest order for grass, tc
be sown in the time and manner above mentioned
But that no more may be attempted than can b<
executed well, proceed in the following order with
them accordingly as the weather may happen tc
be, for this must be consulted, as dry wcathei
will answer to work in the low parts best, while:
JP the higher grounds may be worked at any time.
1st. Begin with tho swamp from Manley*
bridge upwa^ls, and get ull that is not already ii
grass well prepared for it, and indeed sown. 2d
That part of the lower meadow on tho mill rur
which lies between the old bed of it and the ract
and within the fences. 3d. After this is don<
take that part in the enclosure above (which wa
in com last year) lying between tho ditch an
fence of No. 1, up and down to cross fences. 4tl
Then go over the ditch and prepare slipe aft<
slipc as the ditch runs from the one cross fence 1
the other, and continue to do this as long as tl
season will be goo 1, or the seed can be sown wil
propriety and sifety.
: ?U.? t'n. #?nl? ii-..,
X conceive *11 H4V w aij nuj W
grounds in good order and w;th expedition, if
jive tliem one <**?! ploughing vid *hcn to tc
j them to pieces with heavy harrows. Whether it j
be necessary to cut down and take off the weeds
previous to these workings can be decided better j
by experiments on the spot than by reasoning on
it at a distance. My desire is that the ground i
shall be made perfectly clean, and laid down
smooth; without which meadows will always be
foul?much grass left in them, and many scythes j
broken in cutting what is taken off.
<4th Tho. hurkwheat which has been sown for '
manure ought to be ploughed in the moment a
sufficiency of seed is ripe to stock the ground a ! ]
second time; otherwise, so far from its answering
the purpose of manure, it will become an exhauster.
For this reason, if the ploughs belonging to the 1
farm are unable to turn it in time, those of Muddy 1
hole, Dague run and Union farm, must combine '
to do it, the work to be repaid by the farm which ; i
receives the benefit, as soon as the work is accom- ! !
plished thereat. <
5th. Where clover and timothy seeds are mix- '
ed and sown together allow five pints of the first, '
and three of the latter to the acre ; and where tim. '
othy only is sown, allow four quarts to the acre. '<
Let the seed be measured in the proportions here i
allotted and put into a half bushel, and the half
bushel filled with sand or dry earth, and extremely 2
well mixed together in your own presence or by t
yourself, which will answer two good purposes, '
viz: 1st, to prevent theft, for seeds thus mixed, j 1
would not sell?and 2dly, the seedsman being ac- ! J
customed to sow a bushel of wheat to the acre (
would be at no loss to cast a bushel of this or 1
anything else, regularly on that quantity of J
ground. t
Gth. It is expected you will begin to sow wheat <
early in August, and in ground perfectly clean and
* l.J T I.I i ?i ,1 1
?V6II piougnea. l wuuiu uuw, auu uu awtviuuig* i ly
direct that not less than five pecks of seed be
sown on each acre. The plan of the farm over
which you look is given to Mr. Lewis, fiom which
the contents of each field may bo known. And
it is my express direction that every watch, and
the best attention may be given, to sec that this
quantity actually is put in ; for I have strong
suspicions (but this ought not to be hinted to them)
that the seedsmen hdp themselves to a pretty large
toll.
7th. As 6oon as you have done sowing, and
even Ivfore, if it can be done conveniently, you
are to let heartily about threshing or treading out
the wheat; and as fast as it is got out, to have it
delivered at the mill or elsewhere, according to directions.
The longer this business is delayed, the
more waste and embezzlement will there be or the
crop. The wheat is to be well cleaned ; the chaff
and light wheat are to be properly taken care of for
the horses or other stock?and the straw stacked
and secured as it ought to be against weather and
other injuries; and until the whole be delivered it
will require ycur constant and close attention.
8th. The oats at the farm you overlook, arc, I
presume, all cut; in tl. I case, let all the sycth'.s,
and cradles, and rakes which you have received,
be delivered over to the mansion house ; or if you
choose to keep them against next harvest, you ;
must be responsible for them yourself.
9th. Ti.e presumption also is, that the flax is, :
ere this, pulled; let it be well secured, and at a
proper season stripped of its seed and spread to
rot. During this operation let it be often turned
and examined, that it be not overdone, or receive
injury in any other respect by lying out too long.
10th. Get the cleanest and best wheat for seed, j
and that which is freest from onions. I would ,
have about one third of my whole crop sown with j
the common wheat; one third with the white ; j
and the other third w ith the yellow bearded wheat.
The overseers (with Davy, as he knows the state
of his own farm and the quality of the wheat
which grows upon it,) may meet and decide among
themselves whether it would be be6t to have some '
of each of these sorts on every farm ; or, in order
more effectually to prevent mixture, to have one !
| sort only on a farm. In the latter ease, the cutI
ting of that which ripens first, and so on, must be
accomplished by the force of all the farms, instead j
of each doing its own work. If the seed on one
farm was to be sown on another, especially if seed
which grew on a light soil was to be sown on a
stiff one; and that which grew on a stiff* one i
! sown on light ground, advantages would unquce
tionubly result from it.
11th. Thepotutcos at the mansion house must j
be worked by the plough? from Union farm, and i
when this i3 required, it would be best, I conceive, i
i to accomplish the work in a day.
12th. It is expected that the fences will be ;
i made secure, and no damage permitted within :
them by creatures of any kind or belonging to any
body?mine any more than others.
13th. The greatest attention is to be paid to
the stocks of all kinds on the farms ; and the most 1
that can be made of their manure and litter.?
They are to be counted regularly, that no false
reports may be made ; and missing ones, if any,
: hunted for until found, or the manner of their go.
i I ing can be accounted for satisfactorily,
i j 14th. A weekly report, as usual, is to be handi
\ cd to Mr. Lewis. In this report, that I may
I I ... ir.r l./->.! tVio mirlf crnoa nn rririitirm when
, 1W1VSV* WVUV* IIV If %l?V .. W..J ...........
. you begin to p'ough, hoe, or otherwise work in a
i field, and when that field is finished. The in.
> crease, decrease and changes are to be noted as
r heretofore?and let mc ask?
t ' 15th. Why arc the corn harrows thrown aside,
or so little used that I rarely of late ever see or
s hear of their being at work ? I have been run to
i very considerable expense in providing these and
1. j other implements for my farms ; and to my great
i, mortification and injury, find, gen rally speaking,
?, that wherever they were last used there they remain,
if not 6tolrn, till required again ; by which
is means they, as well the carts, receive so much ind
jury from the wet weather and the heat of the sun
' 4 ? ???*???. ? * fKo nlnpr
], | lO DC Ulilll iur use iu ]i|;jn ui euyytj tuv ^iuw.
?r ' of which with newom s, my carpenters (who ought
:o to be otherw.se employed) arc continually occupied
ie in these jobs. Harrows, after the ground is well
:h broken, would certainly weed and keep the corr
clean with more ease than ploughs. I ho;>c, there
se fore, they will be used. And it is my express or
to der that the greatest care be taken cf tho tools o
ar every kind, carts and plantation implements, in fu
1
turc?for I can no longer submit to tho losses I am ,
continually sustaining by neglect. I
16th. There is nothing I more ardently desire,
nor indeed is there any more essential to my permanent
interest, than of raising of live fences on
proper ditches or banks; yet nothing has ever
been, in a general way, more shamefully neglected
or mismanaged; for instead of preparing the
ground properly for the reception of the seed, and
weeding and keeping the plants clean after they
come up?the seeds are hardly scratched into the ^
ground and arc suffered to be smothered by the
weeds and grass if they do come up : by which
means the expense I have been at in purchasing
and sending the seeds (generally from Philadel.
phia) together with the labor, such as it is. that
has been incurred, is not only lost, but (and which
s of infinite more importance to mc) season after
?eason passes away and 1 am as far from the ac.
:omplishment of my object as ever. I mention
Ihe matter thus fully to show how anxious i am
hat all these scedB which have been sown or plan.
:ed on the banks of the ditches should be properly
ittendcdto; and the deficient spots made good
f you have or can obtain the means for doing it.
17th. There is one thing I must caution you
igainst (without knowing whether there be cause
o charge you with it or not)?and that is not to ,
etain any of my negroes who are able and fit to
york in the crop, in or about your own house, for
four own purposes. This I do not allow any
ivcrsccr to do. A small boy or girl for the purkjsc
of fetching wood or water, tending a child, or
iuch like things, I do not object to; but so soon as
hey are able to work out I expect to reap the ben.
ifit of their labor myself.
18th. Though last mentioned, it is not of the
east importance, because the peace and good gov.
.'rmncnt of the negroes depend upon it?and not
ess so my interest and your own reputation. I do,
hercfore, in explicit terms enjoin it upon you to
einain constantly at home, (unless called off by
m-ivoidabic business or to attend Divine worship)
ind to be constantly with your people when there.
There is no other sure way of getting work well
lone and quietly by negroes; for when an overookcr's
back is turned the most of them will slight
heir work, or be idle altogether. In which case
jorrection cannot retrieve cither, but often produ.
:es evils which are worse than the disease. Nor is
here any other mode but this to prevent thieving
ind other disorders, the consequence of opportu.
litics. You will recollect that your time is paid
or by me, and U 1 am aopnvea 01 11, 11. W WUI tt j
:ven than robbing my purse, because it is also a
jreachof trust, which every honest man ought to
loM most s irred. You have found mc, and you
ivill continue to find me faithrul to my part of the
igrc-ement which was made with you, whilst you
xrc attentive to your part; but it :s to be remembered,
that a breach on one side releases the oblit
ration on the other. If, therefore, it shall be pro- I
red to ine that you are absenting yourself from
:he farm or the people w fhout ust cause, I shall j
acid myself no more bound to pay the wages than j
pu do to attend strictly to the charge which is !
mtrustcd to you by one who has every dispos.tion
io be
Your friend and servant,
Gfo. Washington.
From the Cultivator.
south american evergreen grass.
Messrs. Cay lord cj- Tucker:?Enclosed I send
you a specimen of grass, which I have been anxious
you should receive for the last 18 months.
You will, however, necessarily receive it greatly
impaired in many of its most valuable features,
from the mode of conveyance, which I exceeding.
!y regret, since you will be unable to form an adequate
idea of the luxuriance which it possesses,
while 1 pluck it from the stalk. It is a native of
South America; evergreen in its character, and
capable of withstanding, uninjured, the frosts of
our winters?spreading forth, as the spring ad.
vanccs, its luxuriant velvet branches, under the
opening genial rays of our southern sun; and
? - < - tn 1^0
multiplying lis siaiivB Jiuqueuuj nw.i.
and even 200, in a bunch. It grows upon a rich,
loose soil, from 21 to 30 inches in height, and may
be mowed, in our climate, twice during the spring
and Bummer, giving from two to three tons per
acre, of the very best hay I have ever seen, and
afterwards furnishes a green pasture during the
entire winter. You will not fail to observe, I think,
when you touch the specimen, its velvet softness,
a distinguishing feature, in the green state,?
rendering it at once highly acceptable, as an ar.
ticlc of food, to every individual of our domestic
animals, from the horse down to the fowl. Indeed,
I am sure, as I have witnessed frequently
the prrsent season, that the horse, cow, and Berkshirr,
will leave the finest oats, to graze upon this
grass. Horses and cows arc cquully fond of it,
when fed to them as hay, as I know from trial;
i and I presume sheep will like it equally as well as
hay, since they will graze it on the pasture to the
| very soil. I might say much more in its praise,
1 and I think deservedly so too, but I will for the
! present, however, only remark that I am of the opinion,
from my short experience with this grass, that
it is destined to prove to the southern planter?
when we shall have repudiated the present kill
and cripple, and in every way injurious, system of
agriculture that? is now practiced among us, what
your clovers, herds and blue grass, and timothy,
arc to the north, eastern, and western farmers.
I am sorry that I am unable to give you its true
botanic name, and as 6uch, will simply give you
the name which I received with the seed, viz:
South American Evergreen pasture Grass. Its
value, I hope, will prove not less extensive than
. its name. I would remark, further, in reterence
to an article in the May No. of the Cultivator,
o\cr the signature of your excellent correspondent,
44 Commentator," that I think it quite likely
this may be the same grass as that 44 recommended
to the South Carolina State Society, by Col- Wadt
' Hampton, which he calls Musquito Grass" the
' seed of which, he says, was sent him by a Mr
1 Carter, of Alabama. If this be Col. Carter, o
" Montgomery county, he does not live above thirtj
* or forty miles from Mr. Stone, on Talapoosa ri
^ ver, who gavcrac the seed in the winter of 1840
i who informed mc at the time, that his seed wcr
from Metamoras, on the confine* of Texas, and
there, from South America, hence its name.?
Should it prove the same, or whether it does, or
does not, I will promise " Commentator," if he
still wish it, that as early after the 1st of June
next, as practicable, I will send a bushel or two of
the seed to Mr. Ellsworth, of Washington city,
for distribution, as I am exce?dingly desirous to
see this grass extensively and fairly tested. In
our southern climate, the seed may be sown at any
season, and do well; the proper time, however, I
think, as does Mr. Stone, is from the 1st of Aug.
to the 1st of Oct.
Respectfully yours,
N. B. CLOUD, M. D.
Planter'* Retreat, Ala., Sept. 1,1842.
N. B. Unless I be greatly deceived in some
experiments in which I am engaged, in the eultuie
of the Cotton Plant, I think I shall astonish
some 01 jour suoscriDcrs in uie couon region, uj.
ward the winding up of the present crop, in regard
to an entirely n^io and improved mode of eul.
ture; by which I propose curtailing the expense
of producing this great national staple, toone.third
its present enormity ! 1 hope to be able to communicatc
to you for publication in your very excellent
paper, by the 1st of January next, the result
of my operations and experiments; in which I
will furnish you with the complete modus operandi,
from the first furrow made on the land, to
housing the cotton. This is my Henry Clay cot.
ton ! improved from the common seed of the country
by an improved culture. No humbug to sell
seed, either ! If successful, the nation shall have
the benefit of it, without money and without price.
And that it will prove successful, is already most
triumphantly apparent.
From the N. Y. Tribune.
MR. WEBSTER'S SPEECH,
At FaneMil Hall, Boston, Sep. 30.
We hasten to publish in full Daxiel
Webster's great Speech delivered yesterday
at Faneuil Hall in Boston. It
was written out from our notes nnd
put in type on board tho * Rhode Island,'
on her passage Inst night from Stoning,
ton to this city.
At n very early hour the room was crowdded
to suffocation, and beforo the time
appointed for the meeting, thousands '
had gone away unable to procure ad- I
mission. At precisely 11 o'clock, A.
M., Mr. Wkbstkr came in, attended
bv a f.'orntnittepof gentlemen, consisting
of the Hon. Jeremiah Mason,
* Benjamin Russell. President Quiney,
Gov. Armstrong. H. G. Otis, Bnnja.
< mm Rich. Abbott. Lawrence, and many
others He was introduced to the au !imc?*
by the Mayor, in a very neat
41 n ! tasteful Address, to which he rep
led nearly as follows:
I know not?! know not how it is, Mr.
Mav or, out therp <* something in the echo j
of th se ,va i . or in .the sea of upturned
tacfc- which I see around me, or in the i
genius which always hovers ever this
place, fanning into life ardent and pntrio- j
lie feeling with every motion of its wings
? I know not how it is, but there is some-1
thing that excite* me strongly, deeply,
too deeply to allow adequate expression
sor my emotions. It will not he doubted
by you that this salutation, that this
greeting, is n greeting lelt hero at the
heart. Boston is my home?my cherished
homo. It is now more than five andtwenty
years since I came here, with my
family, to pursue here in this enlightened
met'opolis those objects, both public and
private, for which my studies and education
were designed to fit me. It is twenty
years since tho intelligent citizens of
Boston asked me to loan myself to the
public trust ns their Representative : and
it gives me infltc pleasure to see here to.
day, occupying those seats assigned tothe
gentlemen more advanced in life, not a
few of thoso who were originaly instru.
mental in indicating the course of life by
w hich I have endeavored to serve the people
of this town.
When the duties of public life have with
drawn inc from this tny home?I have
f?it nevertheless, attracted to the spot
to which nil my local affections tended;
and now (hat the progress of time must
bring about that period?even if it should
not he hastened by lite progress of events
?when the duties of public Itfe must yield
to the comingof advanced years, I cherish
I the hope of passing among these associations
and these friends what shall remain
of my life when these publico services
.-hall have ended which for, good or for
evil, are nil the inheritance I have to
leave to those who shall come after me.
The Mayor has spoken kindly of my
public services; and especially of the results
rf the negnciation which has recently
been brought to a close, and in whicn J
was engaged. I hope, fellow-citizens,
that something was thus done permanen
tlv useful to the country. I present nr
personal claims of particular merit, f en
deavorcd to do my duty. 1 had a hare
summer's work?but I am not wholly un
used to hard work. I had many anxiou
days, andsoino sleepless nights. But i
the results of my labor* merit the appro
bution of the country, I shall bo tichly re
warded, and my other days will be happi
er, as my other nights will give me uti
- sweeter repose. I sought to disperse th
I clouds which threatened a storm betwog
. England and America. For sever*
* - /ilicta f
?J year9 past there has exisicu a J
questions, which did not always threate
f war, but which never assumed tho aspec
y of permanent peace.
The highly lamented person?to whoi
; so just a tribute was paid by the Mayorc
at his inauguration ns President in 131
I called me to (he place I now occupy ; and
| though I know it is in bad taste to speak
much of one's self, yet among my friends
and neighbors here I will say a word or
two if you please. I had tho pleasure of
seeing him on several occasions at his
house and elsewhere. I have never made
any boast of tho confidence the President
reposed in me, but circumstances, hardly
worthy of serious notice, have rendered it
proper that I should sav that as soon as
Gen. Harrison was elected President of
the United States, without a word from
j mo upon the subject, he wrote to me inviting
me to take a place in his Cabinet,
leaving for mo to choose, nnd asking my
advice as to the persons I would wisn associated
with me. He expressed rather a
wish that I should take tho department of (
the Treasury ; because, he was pleased to
qsv hp knew I had oaid sotno considers
?J ? ----- ? t
hie attention to currency and finance;
nnd he felt that the wants of the country
?the necessity of the country on the
subjects of currency and finance were
among the causes which hud produced
the revolution?that levolution which
hnd resulted in placing him in the Presidential
chair.
ft so happened that I preferred nnother
place?that which I now occupy. I
felt ull its responsibility; but I can say
truly and correctly, that whatever attenHon
[ had paid to currency and finance,
I felt more competent to carry on other
concerns of the Government; and I was
not willing to undertake the daily drudgery
of trade. I was not disappointed in
tho exigency that existed in our foreign
relations. The whole danger was at no
time publicly developed; but the cause of
the difficulty I knew?and I knew too
| that nn outbreak seemed to be at hand.
I allude to that occurrence to which tho
Chairman alluded?which took place during
the year 1841, with which was connected
the narno of Alexander McLeod.
A year or two before, tho British Government
had authorized a military incursion
I of ihfl United States,??
IIJlll lilt IVIIIIUI^ VI .... _
to destroy a steamboat alleged to be employed
by a power hostile to the peace of
Her Majesty's territory in Canada. The
act was avowed by the British Government
as a public act. Alcxandor McLeod,
a person who individually roceives
and deserves no regard or sympathy,
happened to bo ono of the agents who in
a military character performed that uct:
and, coming into the United States some
time afterwards, he was arrested by the
authorities of New-York on a charge of
homicide and held to trial us fora private
i felony.
Nhw, gentlemen, according to my apprehensions,
a proceeding of that kind
was directly adverse to well settled and
well received principles of public law;
and of all othets likely to arouse the indignation,
not only of the Government,
butalsooftho People of the country nggrieved.
So it would have been with us.
If a citizon of the United States, who,
under tho orders of his Government, nnd
as a military man, obeys an order which
ho either must obey or be hanged, should
find himself in the territory of tho power
against which the supposed crime was
committed, and should be seized and tried
as an individual for that crime, there is
not a man among us who would not cry
out for redress and vengeance. Any elevated
Government, in a case where ono
of its citizens, in the performance of his
duty, should be seized and sought to bo
made answerable, every elevated Government,
I maintain, would say, "I am responsible
for this actas in the story
of Nisus and Euryalus, sho would ex.
claim?
" Ad sura qui feci?in mc coavertitc ferrura."
Now, gentlemen, when the despatches
of the British Government first reached
this country?though I do not think it
useful nor important tosaymuch of them
?yet if you all knew their contents, you
would see that tho commercial interests
of the city mu-t havo been crushed at
'Pk.? j thoufrht could be
once. i inn i/i ifm a
n
averted; in the firs" place by upholding
the acknowledged principles of public law.
and, in the next place, by demanding an
apology for whatever against these princi
pies of law had been done by the British
Government. Let us put ourselves
right in the first place, and insist that
they shall do right in the next.
While in England, in 1939, I happened
to be called on to address a largo asscmbly
of English persons, and in alluding
to the relation of tnings between the two
countries, I stated there what I thought,
and what I now think, of any points in
, controversy which might terminate in
war between the United Slates and Eng
j land, and of the results of such a contest,
declaring that the only advantage which
8 either would enjoy would he in possessing
f the right of the cause. With the right or
our side we nro a match for England,
With the right on her side she is a match
for us?and forany body. In all thedifFeren
II ces between nations and in the final judge
e ment upon thern, a great new element ha
? <" <-! restitution of the tribunal
n come nuuiKr.
J I mean the tribunal of the public opinioi
jj- of the world ; a nation will not go to wo
n now, eithar with the consent of her sub
,t jecta or peoplo unless the grounds an
reasons are sufficient to justify her in th
[n general judgement of the world. Tnein
_ fluenco of civilization, the influcnco r
j commerce and above all tho influence t
??wmmm
! that heavenly light which shines over .
Christendom,restrain men?restrain princes
and people from gratifying an inordinate
loveof ambition through the bloody
scenes of war; and, as has been wisely
and truly said, every settlement of national
differences bet ween Christian States,
by reasonable negotiation and on the principles
of public justice, is a new tribute to,
and a new proof of, the benign influence
aL . m *
oi mo ^nrisunn creed.
In regard to the terms of this treaty, in
regard to the matters made subjects of
discussion, it is somewhat awkward for
me to speak, becauso the treaty and correspondence
have never beon authentically
published. But I persuade myselfthat
when the whole shall be calmly consider,
ed, it will be found that at least there has
been manifested a good disposition to
maintain every just right of the country
and every point of honor on the ono side,
and to set a proper value ujion a lasting
pecje between us and the greatest commercial
nation in the world on the other.
Gentlemen, while I thus acknowiedgo
tho complimcntyou have paid to me, I havo
an agreeable duty to porform towards
others. In the first place, I have great
pleasure in bearing testimony to the intelligent
attention manifested by the
President of tho United States, and to
his sincere and anxious desire, in the
whole negociation, to bring it to successful
termination ; and it gives me great
pleasure to acknowledge now, as I ahull
ever acknowledge while I live, my obligt. (ions
to him for tho unbroken and steady
confidence which he reposed in mo. The
negotiator for the United States, if
troubled, and jealous, and distrustful,
would indeed have been an unequal
match for the cool and sagacious representative
of cno of the most powerful and
proud nations of Europe?possessing, to ^
the fullest extent, the confidence of his
Governmont, and the authority to bind it,
in concerns of the most vital interest, to
any course in which he might agree.
I never shall forget the frankness ond
generosity with which, after a long intorview
in which suggestions were exchanged
on both sides with the utmost freedom
and liberality, I was told that upon my
shoulders, and in my discretion, rested
the ultimate decision of every que*
Hon at issue between the two nations.
I desire also to acknowledge, as I do
with hearty cordiality, the aid I received
from the other gentlemen concerned in
the administration of tho government. I *
may horcsay what I have said in a more
official manner, that the highest respect
is due to the Commissioners of Maine and
Massachusetts, for their cordial co-operation?their
faithful adherence to the interests
of their own States, mingled, with
a just consideration of what was due to
the general government. And I hope I
shall not trespass on the proprieties of thtr
occasion, if 1 speak of the happy selection
inade by the government of England, in
the servant on this mission of peace
who, though steadily pursuing the interests
of his own government, yet possesses
large and liberal views, with a strength
and weight of character which would
cause everything to which he should agroo
to receive the approbation of the whole
people:?intimately acquainted with the
relations of the two countries, and always
acting with strict integrity towards the
people and the government of the United
States. I am sure he will find his work,
received with commendation at home,
and ifpeacc should be made, with congratulations
for having been instrumental
in making an arrangement satisfactory
and desirable, not only to our party, but to
all parties?for making an arrangement
honorable to both nations, as all just arrangements
ore,?and which he mav
o '
well consider the greatest labor ofhis life.
I hardly know whether it is proper on
this occasion to advert to the correspondence
; but when it shall appear with tho
discussion of the other important questions?for
the occasion was sought there
to treat upon subjects of great moment
J llinao uhnll )lA Ijtid
nna C?nuci H ?"lion mvav ....... .
heforo the public and shall bo calmly
and thoroughly read, I shall venture to
trust their judgment concerning them*
There yet remain, gentlemen, in our
foreign relations several subjects of considerable
interest yet unsettled with Eng.
land. In the fi.siplace there is tho important
subject of our colonial trade, or
the trade of the United States with the
Northern British provinces and tho West
Indies. It became my duty to look into
thia subject?to keep the run of it. as we
say, from 1839 to tho present time. I
was constrained to believe, indeed I know,
that tho operation of that arrangement is
unfavorable to the shipping and navigation
of the United States, especially of
New England.
? >" imrwrffinf CIlHiprl fnf thfl ex
I 11 13 ail wwwjw. .
crtions of diplomacy or for the considersj
lion of Congress?ono or both. Congress
called upon the department in which I am
fur information, and a respectable Com*
mittee of the House of Representatives
presented a report upon the subject. It in
j one which I hold to be of vital importance
to our navigation and to the intereala of
the nation.
rl Thon there is the question, somewhat
e more remote, but which it will be well
^ enough to settle; I mean the Oregon
,1 Boundary towards the Pacific aud the
Rocky Mountains. There are reasons
%