Indiana American, Volume 3, Number 52, Brookville, Franklin County, 25 December 1835 — Page 1

UNBDIIAWA AMUEIBIKDAW

OUR COUNTRY OUR COUNTRY'S INTEREST AND OUR COUNTRY'S FRIENDS. cTf. CI. AUKSOX. BROOKYILLE, INDIANA, FRIDAY EVENING, DFXE1JBER 23, 1835. VOL. III. No. 52

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.

r iiMcUUeut of the Senate In the discharge of my official duty, the task a1D . i - ....n mf nf rnmmuntcatinfr with a 'it n ft V01 V tD uwi. o -Coneress. The reflection that the representf the Union has been recently renewed, and ttlOB - ;,,-l i.rm nf its services will exL, 'h my own, heightens the solicitude with A I shall attempt to lay before it the state of the devout hoDe which I "s, that its labors to improve them may be Micned witn suctcoo. O0 UIA narinl nf nrnfiillntl illtprYouare asst-mmc ... - i , . : r. nntri H !. II Tl V 5 111 I W P .1 Ml .1. .nj ..meneritv of our country. havinff riven P .n i,p Krale" of nations which removes all ji ru . , . , .nnrebension ot omg w uu '"B"y "'" wndence from external foes, the career of freedom , ..-M. an earnest from the nast. that, if true to ourselves, there can be no formidable object in the luture, 10 u -" -r" t . .... : nmnnrtinn In the? riisanncarance of BUt. ll lu J""f " , Lnc.nna cL'hirh attend our weakness, as those ainu c i'-,,triv" z. . contrasted with the power of some of the states once - , ,tt l. i of the old world, siiouiu we iw ue wuuwus . w . i.:.i,K .lMiirtnthec.inviction.lhat it is to our vise wn" - -- - - n conduct we must look for the preservation of those causes, on u... . - fantion of our happy system of government. In the example 01 uiu , n of the people, we trace to interjal dissension ... :nfl.,nres which have so often blasted the hopes If the friends of freedom. The social elements. which were strong ana succcbisiu. mucu mmc. ......i lnrer. failed in the more difficult of properly adjusting their own internal ordilation; and thus gave way the great principle . ,f .m.nt It us trust that this admo nition will never be forgotten by the Government of the People Ottne uniieu oiaiee; mu mai. mc icotimonv which our experience thus far holds out to the treat human imujr,. -. -"j - the bleasings 01 irec Buii.uir..., ... in ill time come. . n-. v.... V,,t in lnnV at II. state of our aoriciiltiret, manufactures, and commerce, and the unexwpled increase or our population, w ieei iu u.B.rtude of the trust committed to us. Never, in any rmer period of our history, have we had greater sison than we now have, to be thankful to Divine Providence for the blessings of health and general irosperity. livery orancn vi uuut e uu . . .i . .i,,,.Jinf nuriri1!- in prfrv element rfnational resources and wealth, and of individual saifbrt, we witness the most rapid ana sono imjrovements. ith no interruptions to tuis pieas.k prospect at home, which win noi yieiu wi me L-.:..fi.,mAi,c anil rnnd will that so strikinclv ip;iii ui nai t " xrvades the mass of the people in every quarter, uaidst all the diversity of interest and pursuits to rtichthey are attached: and with no cause of 6olicimde and regard to our external anairs, w nicn w in not, it is hoped, disappear before the principles of .:mi iiiQtire and the forbearance that mark our uiiifu with foreign Dowers. we have every WtMW.I " - - ' ( i - i.tfaal nrmiA nf nur helnved rountrv. inWU MJ IVI j liiejnerai state 01 our rureigu uciauuin wt nuteria'ly chanf ed since my last annual mesf! k. Mttl.mftni n. f lif nuestion of the Northcuttra boundary, little progress Las been made ureit Britain has aecunea accorame iu iuc F..tionoUoe li. states, presenveu iu kith the resolution ot the senate, uniess ceriam kKm:..n nnj;t;nna admitted which I Ituilllliai T itvuuiiivii. " " tmed incompatible with a satisfactory and rightoistinct proposal irom me uovcruuiciu Ireit Britain which has been invited, I can only fidence. that with be strong mutual disposition which I believe exi!3,tomakea just arrangement, mis fi""'"s sestioa can be settled with a due regard to the fell (banded pretensions and pacific policy ot ui t parties to it. Events are frequently occurring c tie Northeastern frontiers, 01 a cnaracwi '- -opon all the necessity 01 a speeay mu uc...... termination of the dispute, mis i-uimui..-,idded to the desire common to oom,- iu icucn liberal and frteadly relations so happily existing fmm all embarrassment """U vuc VW W v.wm,. ilno doubt, have its just influence with both. iii mirtm r n lnTPrrniirse wilii i uuuai Uiuiuuiaitiv aMiw.w - . u renewed, and it is expected mat me uin. . a cit lens, oartiallv paid, win miuujmii.u of the Queen's Government 11 permit the proper attention to the subject 01 a. That Government has, I am nappy to mioruj fw, mini fested a determination to act upon the Lw-,1 n.;..mU. n-(,;.v. have marked our comtneril policy the happiest effects upon the future hit between the United States and Tortugal, are ijcipated from it.and the time is not thought to pe aatewhen a svstem of perfect reciprocity will f esublished. .iic instalments cue nnaer me wuuyc...i.. King of the Two Sicilies, have been paid with f acrupulous fidelity by waicn nis wnoie p wea characterised, ana ue nope iiiuu-s) we adjustment ol the vexea quesnou v. it m. a-;ii v. -.ii-j ... . .nnrd iii.mfi'it and mu1 i iu or luiiuw iru 'J J wiun. -- Kjkene&cial inter .-oaree between the two coun!et. IV internal contest still continues m Spam, apiished as this struggle has unhappily been, r . i . .:n.rw rkinrtpr. the 1.sollnemosl uSu...... " ---Uionsofthe late treaty of indemnification with ve been, nevertheless, faithfully executed by Smni, n - 'Oprnvlsinn h.rimr hoon mrll at the last SeSSlOn ?ress for the ascertainment of the claims to & and the appointment of the funds, under the rntiivn j - . i c : 1 o venr parlv ition to the subject The public evidences of poo, and in the forms prescribed by it, been plaF is th rvnecocein ,Ko iTr.;oi States, and the J- iv II ". vu asa , r!rwt, at it fell due, has been regularly paid upon ia; Our commercial intercourse with Cuba regulated by the act of Congress. No re--urmai;on has been received as to tne uibi.-( f the Government of Madrid on this subject, 1 Ik. 1 1 : rwl inentea oeatn 01 our recenny iiiwiu.. ,;r, on his way to Spain, with the pressure of lit.: . ' . .. k.Kl - -ir at nnin ronnpr it scarcely ui uu.u.v. J change is to be looked for during the cumyur. Further nnrtinns nf the Florida archieves Wn sent to the United States, although the wre 01 me (jommissioners, atacrmcai membarrassed the progress of the delivery of - ne higher officers of the local uovernmeni ' gently shown an anxious desire, incompliIthtk. a.iIau r . . l . nc.rnmirit. tUUtetheselectinn ann doliverr of all we have Lpt to claim 'tl0n have been opended at Madrid, for abli8bm..fr- 1...; k.... Sn! r.of the Spanish American Governments of C?'phere as have availed themselves of the

iu ail 01 lDin, 01 (DC oifepoHiuun ui

Spain to treat upon the basis of their entire independence. It is to be regretted, that simultaneous appointments, by all of the ministers to negotiate with Spain, had not been made; the negociation itself would have been simplified, and this long standing dispute, spreading over a large portion of the world, would have been brought to a more speedy conclusion. Our political and commercial relations with Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Denmark, tand on the usual favorable bases. One of the articles of our treaty with Russia, in relation to trade on the N. W. coast of America, having expired, instructions have been given to our Minister at St Petersburgh to negotiate for a renewal of it. The long and unbroken amity between the two Governments gives every reason for supposing the article will be renewed, if stronger motives do not exist to prevent it than, with our view of the subject, can be anticipated here. 1 ask your attention to the message of my predecessor at the openingof the second session of the NineteenthCong-res6, relative toourcommcrcial intercourse with Holland, and to the documents connected with that subject, communicated to the House of Representatives on the 10th Jan. 1825, and the 16th Jan. 1627. Coinciding in the opinion of my predecessor, that Holland is not, under the regulations of her present system, entitled to have her vessels and their cargoes receive into the United

States on footing of American vessels and cargoes, as regards duties of tonnage and import, a respect for his referenre of it to the Legislature, has alone prevented me from acting on the subject. 1 should 6till have waited, without comment, for the action of Congress, but recently a claim has been made by Belgian subjects to admission into our ports for their ships and cargoes, on the same footing as American, with the allegation we could not dispute, that our vessels received in their ports the identical treatment shown them in Holland, upon whose ves sels no discrimination is made in the ports of the U States. Giving the same privileges, the Belgians ernerted the same benefits benefits that were in fact enjoyed when Belgium and Hollaed were uni ted under one government. Satisfied with the justice of their pretensions to be placed on the same footinff with Holland, I could not, nevertheless, without disregard to the principle of our laws, ad mit their claim to be treated as Americans; and, at the same time, in respect for Congress, to whom the subject had long since been referred, has prevented me from producing a just equality, oy iahing irom the vessels of Holland privileges conditionally gran ted bv nets of Concress, although the condition up on which the grant was made, has, in my judgement, failed since 1S22. 1 recommend, thereiore, a re view of the act oflS24, and such a modification of it nH will nroduce an eaualitv. on such terms as Congress shall think best comports with our settled policy, and the obligations of justice to two friend ly powers. With the Sublime Porte, and all the Government on the coast of Barbary, our relations continue to be friendly. The proper steps have been taken to renew our treaty with Morocco. The Argentine Republic has again promised to Bond, within the current year, a Minister to the United States. A Convention with Mexico for extending the time for the appointment of commissioners to run the boundary line has been concluded, and will be submitted to the Senate. Recent events in that country have awakened the liveliest solicitude in the United States. Aware of the strong temptations existing, and powerful inducements held out to the citizens of the United States, to mingle in ti.o niVsensions of our immediate neighbors, in structions have been given to the District Attorneys of the United States, where indications warranted it. to Drosecute, without respect to persons, all who might attempt to violate the obligations of our neutrality: while, at the same time it has been thought necessary to apprise the Government of Mexico that we should require the integrity 01 our territory to be scrupulously respected by both parties From our diplomatic agents in Brazil, Chili, Peru. Central America, Venezuela, and New Grena da, constant assurances are received of the continued good understanding with the Governments to u-hih tlnv are severally accredited. With those Governments upon which our citizens have valid and accumulating claims, scarcely an advance to wards a settlement of them is made, owing, mainlv, to their detracted state, or to the pressure of imperative domestic questions. Our patience has been, and will probably be still further severely tried; but our fellow-citizens whose interests are involved, may confide in the determination of the Government to obtain for them, eventually, ample retribution. Unfortunately, many of the nations of this hemisphere are still self-tormcntcd by domestic dissensions. Revolution succeeds revolution, injuries are committed upon foreigners engaged in lawful pursuits, much time elapses before a Government sufficiently stable is erected to justify expectation of redress. Ministers are sent and received, and before the discussion of past injuries are fairly begun, fresh troubles arise; but so frequently new injuries are added to the old,to be discussed together, with the existing Government, after it has proved its ability to sustain the assaults made upon it, or with its successor, if overthrown. If this unhappy condition of things continue much longer, other nations will be under the painful necessity of deciding whether justice to their suffering citizens does not require a prompt redress of injuries by their own power, without waiting for the establishment of a Government competent and enduring enoueh to discuss and to make satisfaction for them. sTi.ce the last session of Congress, the validity of our Claims upon France, as liquidated by the treaty of 1831, has been acknowledged by both branches of her Legislature, and the money has been appropriated for their discharge, but the payment is, I regret to inform you, still withheld. V brief recapitulation of the most important incidents in this protracted controvery, will show how utterly untenable are the grounds upon which this course is attempted to be justified. On entering upon the duties of my station, I found the United States an unsuccessful applicant to the iustice or r ranee, lor me sati.a.n.i - w - J ... .:An.KlA Anil hull1 validity of which was never qumuui.au.v, now been most solemnly admitted by trance herself. The antiquity of these claims, their high justice, andtbe aggravating circumstances out ot which they arose, are too lammarw People to require description. It is sufficient to say, that, for a period of ten years and upward-, ourcommerce was, with but little interruption, the subject of constant aggressions on the P"' France aggressions.the ordinary features of which were condemnations of vessels and cargoes under urbitary decrees, adopted in contravention, as well oftbelawsof nations, as of treaty stipulations; burnings on the high seas; and seizures connscations under special imperial rescripts, in the pons of other nations occupied by the armies or under the control of France. Such, it is now conceded,

iaihe character of the wrongs we suffered; wrongs, in many cases, so flagrant that even their authors never den ied.cvonicV to reparation. Of the extent of these injuries, some conception may be formed from the fact, that after the burning of a large amount at sea, and Unnecessary deterioration in other cases, by long detention, the American property so seized and sacrificed at forced sale6,excluding what was adjudged to piivateers, before or without condemnation, brought into the French treasury Upwards of twenty-four millions of Francs, besides large custom-house duties. The subject had already been an affair of twenty yea'rs uninterrupted negotiation, except for a short time, when France was overwhelmed by the military power of united Europe. During this' period, whilst other nations were extorting from her payment of their claims at the point of the bsyonent, the United States intermitted their demand for justice, out of respect to the oppressed condition of a gallant people, to whom they felt under obligations for fraternal assistance in their own days of suffering and of peril. The bad effects of these protracted and unavailing discussions, as well upon our relations with France as upon our national character, were obvious; and the line of duty was to my mind equally so. This was eithar to insist upon the adjustment of our claims, within a reasonable period, or to abandon them altogether. I could not

doubt that, by this course, the interest and honor of both countries would be best consulted. Instruc tions were, therefore, given in this spirit, to the Minister who was 6ent out once more to demand reparation. Upon the meeting of Congress, in December, 1829, I felt it my duly to speak of these claims, and the delays of France, in terms calculated to call the serious attention of both countries to the subject. The then French Ministry took exception to the message, on the ground of its containing a menace, under which it was not agreeable to the French Government to negotiate. The American Minister, of his own accord, refuted the construction which was attempted to be put upon the message, and at the same time, called to the recollection of the French Ministry, that the President's message was a communication addressed, not to foreign Governments, but to the Congress of the United Stater, in which it was enjoined upon him, by the Constitution, to lay before that body information of the state of the Union, comprehending its foreign as well as its domestic relations; & that if, in the discharge of this duty, he felt it incumbent upon him to summon the attention of Congtess in due time to what might be the possible consequences of existing difficulties with any foreign Government, he might fairly be supposed to do so, under a sense of what was due from him in a frank communication with another branch of his own Government, and not from any intention of holding a menace over a foreign power. 1 he view, taken by him received my approbation, the French Government was satisfied, and the negotiation was continued. It terminated in the treaty of July 4, 1831, recognizing the justice of our claims in parts and promising payment to the amount of twenty five millions of francs, in six annual instalnnts. The ratifications of this treaty were exchanged at Washinffton on the 2d of February, 1832, and in five days thereafter it was laid before Congress, who immediately passed the acts necessary, on our nart. to secure to France the commercial advanta ges conceded to her in the compact.. The treaty had previously been solemnly rauneu uy mu im of the French, in terms which are certainly not mere matters of form, and of which the translation is a9 follows: "We. annrovlmr the above convention in all and each of the dispositions which are contained in it, An, .Wl.ire bv ourselves, as well as by our heirs and successors,, that it is accepted, approved, ratified, and confirmed; and by these presents e.gneu uj our hand, we do accept, approve, gratify, and confirm it; promising, on the faith and word of the King, to observe it, and to cause it to be observed inviolably without ever contravening it, or suffer it to be -contravened, directly or indirectly, for any cause', or under any pretence whatsoever. Official information of the exchange of ratifica ;n tKn IT Slates reached Paris whilst the r.l.ambere were in session. The extraordinary ,and to us injurious, delays of the French Government, in theiraction upon the subject of its fulfilment, have been heretofore stated to Congress, and I have no disposition to enlarge upon them here. Jt sufficient to observe that the then pending session was allowed to expire without even an effort to ob tain the-necessary appropriations; that the two succeeding ones were also suffered to pass away with.a- 1 - I ...AmnnK,.iri. lo out any tning liKe a serious aucinfi i uii.. rision noon the subject; and that it was not until the fourth session, almost three years after the conclusion of the treaty, and more than two years after the exchange of ratifications, that me dih ior wie execution of the treaty was pressed to a vote and rejected. . In the mean time, the Government of I nited Sttps. f.nvinfT full confidence that a treaty entered into and so solemnly ratified by the French King, u-nuld he executed in frood faith, and not doubting that provision would be made for the payment of. the first instalment, whicn was to ueruinc uuc v the 2nd day of February, 1833, negotiated a. draft for the amount through the Bank of the U. States. When this draft was presented by the holder, with bv the treaty to authorize t nPivp tl, monev. the Government of p.-,r,,. .Unwed it to be orotested. In addition to .1.- in ih nnn-navment of the money by liic iiijw.j -" I .1 IT V..nrd 4-nn r.irmnhlv to Ler enflratrement, the uni ted States were exposed to a heavy ciauu muc .rt nf the Bank, under Dretence of damages, in satisfaction of which that institution seized upon, and still reuans,an rqu r-- . . neys. Congress u in session when ue aeci.i of the Chamber reached Washington; and an immediate communication of this apparently final e- . . . ik. .tinol.tinna of the cisionot rrwcewnwiuiui -- treaty, was the course naturally to be expected r tw.inont. The deen tone of dissatisfac tion which pervaded the public mind, and the cor respondent excitement prouucea ,u v.B- y only renerI knowledge we nau.i, ""V t ..ii. ts. immediate mure imu j, rt mc ..f rr.vess would be the consequence of - - . ' . . . 1 1 r ; i. 1 ci. L . icDuu ....... caliii-' the kUention of thai oouy , 1.. Since!.: desirous of preserving the pacific re ationa which had so long existed he ween tne to countries. I was anxious to avoid th.s course if I could be satisfied, that by doing so, neithei he interest nor the honor of my countiy would be compromitteJ. Without the fullest assurance- upon tb point, t could not MS " ' - - - . . al.- tU. ...ihiBnt responsibility to be mcurreu, ... ?"'" " "V " to adjourn without laying the .ubjeet I befo re t hem Those received by me were believed to be of that ChThatYhe feelings produced in the United States br the new. of thf reject ion of the WP"' would be such as I have r,bBd.lh been, was foreseen by the French G; and romptVeasures were taken bv .t lo prevent the consequences. The Km express

ed, through our Minister at Paris, his profound regret at the decision of the Chambers, and promised to send, forthwith, a national ship, with despatches to his Minister here, authorizing him to give such assurances as would satisfy the Government and People of the United States, that the treaty would yet be faithfully executed by France. The national ship arrived, and the Minister received his instructions. Claiming to act under the authority derived from them, he gave to this Government, in the name of his, the most solemn assurances, that as soon after the new elections as the charter would

permit, the r rench Chambers would be convened, and the attempt to procure the necessary appropriations renewed: that all the constitutional powers of the King and his Ministers should be put in requisition to accomplish the object; and lie wac understood, and so expressly informed by this Government at the time, to engage, that the question should be pressed to a decision at a period sufficiently early to permit information of the result to be communicated to Congress at the commencement oitheir next-session. Relying upon these assurances, I incurred the responsibility, great as I regard it to be, of suffering Congress to separate without communicating with them upon the subject. The expectations justly founded upon the promises thus solemnly made to this Government by that of France, were not realized. The French Chambers met on the 31st of July, 1834, soon after the election;- and although our Minister in Taris urged the French Ministry to bring the subject before them, they declined doing so. He next insisted that the Chambers, if prorogued without acting on the subject, should bere-asseinbled at a period so early that their action on the treaty might be known in Washington prior, to the mestingof Congress. This reasonable request was not only declined, but the Chambers were prorogued to the 29th of December, a day so late that their decision, however urgently pressed, could not, in all probability, be obtained in time to reach Washington before the necessary adjournment of Congress by the Constitution." The reasons given by the Ministry for refusing to convoke the Chambers at an earlier period, were afterwards shown not to be insuperable, by their actual convocation on the 1st of December under a special call, for do mestic purposes which fact, however, did not become known to this Government until after the commencement of the last session of Congress. Thus disappoiuted in our just expectations, it became my imperative duty to consult with Con gress in regard to the expediency of a resort to retaliatory measures, 111 case the stipulations 01 the treaty should not be speedily complied with; and to recommend such as, in my judgment, the occasion called for. To this end, an unreserved communication of the case, in all its aspects, became indispensable. To have shrunk, in making it, from saying all that was necessary to. its correct understandintr.and that the truth would justi fy, for fear of giving offence to others, would have iux.ii unworthy of us. ' To have irone. on the other hand, a single step further, for the purpose of wounding the pride of a Government and people with whom he had so many motives for cultivating relations of amity arid reciprocal advantage, would have been unwise and improper. Adjaoni6hed by the past, of the difficulty of making even the simplest statement of our wrongs without disturbing the sensibilities of those who had, by their tiosition, become responsible for their redress, and earnestly desirous of preventing further obstacles from that source, I went out of mv way to preclude a construction of the message- by which the recommendation that was made to Congress might be regarded as amcnance to France, in not only disavowing such a design, but in declaring that her pride and her power were too well known to expect any thing from her fears. The nessagc did not reach Paris until more than ,1 month after the Chambers had been in session; and such was the insensibility of the Ministry to our rightful claims and just expectations, that our Minister had been informed, that the matter when introduced would not be pressed as a Cabinet measure. , Although the message was not oflicially communicated to the French Government. & notwithstanding tbe declaration to the contrary, which it contained, the French Ministry decided to consider the conditional recommendation ofreprisals,amenacenndan insult whith the honor of the nation make it incumbent on them to resent. The measures resorted to by them to evince their senses of the supposed indignity. were the immediate recall of their Minister at Washington, the offer of passports to the American Minister at Taris. and a public notice to the Legislative . . . . . . 2a.l Chambers that all diplomatic intercourse wim the United Slates had been suspended. Having, in this manner, vindicated the dignity of France, they next proceeded lo illushr inci.Vn- Tn this end. a bill was unllCllVi J v... - . ;r.tnrw4.n into the. Chamber of ITICUIillCIJ lull wuuvv " " " . Deputies, proposing to make the appropriations necessary to carry into effect the treaty. As this bill subsequently passed into a law, the provisions of which now constitute the main subject of difficulty between the two .nations, becomes my duty, in order td place the subject before you in a clear light, to trace and to refer witn some particularity, the proceedings and discussion, in regard to it. The Minister of Fh nance, in his opening speech, alluded lo the measures which had oeen aaopicu iu the supposed execution of the hv ih honor (hV of iJ.e Ministry, declaied the mes sage, so long as it had not received the sanction of Congress, a mere expression of the personal.opinion of the President,-for which neither the Government nor the people ot tne United SUtes were responsible, ond that an engagement had been entered into, for the fufilment of which the honor of France was pledged. Entertaining these views, the nr 0 .... 1. a. r.nk Xlmittrv nrothe Fiench Ministry pro- . ..t.rth mnnov. was, iiu.v ii x ,,i.; TT;.l5 I II(T l l i tXA (li i the uoven.me.it . . - ted States had done nothing to injure the in-1

indignity, and recommend tne tent rving toon wwpuu.. w .... iiiuii;"'V ..... i . rnnc mr mn iinon it

treaty as a measure required me jasi year, Fut..5 - -r . V' ., . iimn if fare. our. Jate

ai d ;uti-e of r ranee, ite, as inai was u -t - ; -- ,

terests of France; or, in other words, that no steps had been authorized by Congress of a hostile character towards France. What the dkpositin or action of Congress might be, was then unknown to the French Cabinet. But on the 14lh of January the Senate resolved, that it was at that time inexpedient to adopt any legislative measures in regard to the state of affairs between the U. States and France, and no acta n on the suljett had occurred in the House of Representatives. These facts were kirown in Paris prior to the 28th of March, 1835, when the committee to whom (he bill of indemnification had been referred, reported it to the Chamber of Deputies. That muni t tee substantially m-echoed the sentiments of the Ministry, declared that Congress had set aside the proportion of the President, and recommended the passage of (he bill without any other restrictions than those originally proposed. Thus was it knownto the French Ministry and Chnmbers, that if the position assumed by them, and which had been so frequently and solemnly announced as the only one compatible w ith the honor of France, was maintained, and the bill passed as originally proposed, the money would he paid, and there would be and end of this unfortunate contro versy. But this cheering prospect was soon destroyed by an amendment introduced into the bill at the moment of its passage, providing that the money should not he paid until the French Government had received satisfactory explanations of the President's message of the 2d December, IS34; and what is still more extraordinary, the President of the Council of Ministers adopted (his amendment, and consenled (o ifs incorporation in the bill. In regard lb a supposed insult which had been, formerly resented by the recall of their Minister, and the offer of passports to ours, they now, for the first (ime, proposed to ask explanations. Sentiments and propositions which they had declared could not justly be imputed to the Government or People of the United States, are set up as obstacles to the performance of an act of conceded justice to that Government and People. They had declared that the honor of France required thetfiulfilmcnt of the engagement iuto which the King had entered, unless Congress adopted the recommendations of the message. . They ascertained that Congress did not adopt them, nd yet that fulfilment is refused unless they first obtain from the President explanations of an opinion characterized by themselves as personal and inoperative. The conception that it was my intention to menace or insuH the Government of France, is as unfounded, as the attempt to extort from the fears of that nation what her sense of juslice may deny, would be vain and ridiculous. But the Constitution of the United States imposes on the President the duty of laying be

fore Congress tbe condition of the country in its foreign and domestic relations, and of recommending such measures as may, in his opinion, he requirred by its interests. . From thr performance of wounding (he sensibilities of the People or Government of whom it may become necessary to speak ; and the American People are incapable of submitting to an interference by any Government on earth, however powcrful.with the free performance of the domestic duties which the Constitution has imposes on their public functionaries. The discussions which intervene between the several departments of our Government belong to ourselves; and for any thing said in them, our public servants are only responsible to their own constituents, and to each other. If, in the course of their consultations, facts nrc erroneously stated, or unjust deductions are - . . I 1 L A . made, thev require no otner lnaucemem u correct them, however inform" of their er ror, than their love of justice, and what is due to their own character: but they can never submit to be interrogated upon, the subject as a matter of right, by a foreign i power. When our discussions terminate ltt acts, our responsibility to foreign powers, commences, not as individuals Dutasa nation.. me punciple which calls in question the President for the language in his message, would equally justsfy a foreign power in demwnding explanation of the language used in the report of a committee, or by a member in debate. This Is not the first time that the Government of France has taken acceptions to 'the Message of American Presidents. President Washington and the first Pesident Adams, in the performance of their duties to-'AAmer-ican people, fell under the animadversions of the French Directory. ' The objection taken by the Ministry of Charles X, and removed by the explanations made by our Minister on the spot, has already been adverted to. When ' . . . . ' - J .flL.1I.AC. it was understood mat tne ministry ui i Ministerat Paris, in answer to the note which first announced a dissatisiacuon witn tne language used in January, 1835, calculated to remove all impre'ssions which an unreasonable susceptibility had created. He repeated, and called the attention of the French Government to the disavowal contained in the Message itself, of any intention to intimidate by menace he truly declared that it containand was to contain no charge of ill faith mnuiutthe & against the King of the French, and properly distinguished between the right to complain, O . . i i A - r ' , .-n nf execute an agreement,

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