The Sun.
London, England, 1819-05-12 00:00:00

FLOIIIDA-ARBUTHNOT AND ANIBIINTER.

The INI a rcOess of LAtisbowN said he rose pnr-
inst“,in notice,, to nyote for ColCies of all Corn-
intioieatio pasised-hetyre!'nthe Prince
tiegew.'s Goverhineiit and the Government of
the United :States -of Ameiica, respecting the
concinct of the: American force in the VtoritliS,
and4nose re,pect hag thrtrial and ex—
eention of '.two s jeets t:y.of der of the
Ans,ric!an Gederal Jackson. 1n (14,in'g this, be.

had 111?iritesoipti impotiog Mhomatiity or to-
lostiee to the,Gl;vernment of the' United States,
nor to the able and enlightened Sate,oneti oho
Id the first "plare in the utseitntionion of that
Govermueor,..aOd n hose Merits theie had been
an oppor unity • of appreciating beet.-. Neither
did Lie mean to iiiipute to the Prince Regent's
Ministers that they had neglected to do'what-the
CirctiffislanCeS of the ttausactions alluded to call-
ed for on their part, or that they had .not made
the requi-ite comninnications to the Government
of the , United Statas. Bit he felt it his duty. to
bring the subject before their Lordships, in order
that a proper explanation might be given upon a
cpiestiOn sO essentially involving +he interests of
humanity and juStice, and he trusted he should
hear•that the American Government_ had either
disavoWed, or intended to disavow, the acts of
baibaiity COuintitted. by 'General Jackson. His
1.91(1011p hi=re detailed shortly the circumstances
of the invasio'i of the Floridaa'hy 'an American
force under General jackson;• and ethe seizure,
trial,
and
exectrion of Arbuthnot and Ambrister,
all, which have been already published. The
Noble Marquess strongly condemned the conduct
of General da'ckson in putting to death these
o ,and particularly in inflicting thatpn-
nishmcnt on Ambrister is oppos'e 1011 to the ben-
teoce of the Coma Mattial, which was for pu-
nisloreept of awinferior degree, in doing which,
Jaclison acted in direct contradiction to the Pro,'
visions of an Act of Congress, Which for exciting
povettsor tilires to con:unit hostilities neon the'
Utlited States, only Oh& fed the punishment of fine
and in?prisonment. In both cases he contended-
thatAtie barbariey ol Jackson coOld ugly c:xcire
hoe
for 00 disgust, there being nothing it; the law of
slat ious Which could in the least jUstiiy the putting -
to death the two individaals.,alluded to, as there
was no sufficient evidence against-either that he
had tOmmitted- fitly act that rendered, hitn...ame-,
nabie to punishment under any recognized provi-
-sioa of the" Il'sl,f of. nations: And tiothitig cold
be more dangerous titan to take away from the
law of nations (if ..law of nations it could then
be called) •all, the security derivable from known.
and recognized pro Visions, to substitute the mere
caprices of.individoals or of Gave; nments, With
regard ,olhe.cessinn of the Floridas by Spain to
the United States since the transactions alluded
to, lie felt it ioentahent upon him to make a few
observations, Viewing' it as he dial as a question of
the 'greatest importance to the interests of this,
country. It surely might. have been expected,
after all one expenditure in the war in which we
had been engaged; and which now pressed so
heavily upna the country, that we might have ac-
criied 'influence' entangli in Europe to prevent
Spain feoin ceding a.part of her Colonies which
was so important to the interests of this court-
try; or that are might have had influence enough
with Spain herself, after all that we had done for
her, to prevent such a cession.. This, innvever,
unhappily proved not to Ire the case, unless it was
to be supposed that so important a question bachl
beets altogether osverlooked by our diplomatists at
Vienna. The ,trainers of the Treaty of Utrecht,
mirch as that Treaty ,had been . blamed, hail.'
taken, care .to insert a provision prohibiting
Spain' front ceding .any
.part of her Colo-
-I,i,a to . another power ; but no steps. had
been taken e.t the Congress of Vienna to re-
new this Treaty 'regard to the point! alluded
to. It had indeed been asserted in another place,
by` the Noble Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, that the Treaty of Utrecht, with respect
' to that"Cprestion, was renewed by the. Treaty of
Sevi.le, in 1729, which latter Ticatv had become.l
a part 'the' e'irdrtnon law. Of nations ; but it nn-
fortunateisehapp-ened for this assertion, that pc,e-
viail; to tate la-st Mentioned Treaty, the rioricks
bad ;been ceded to this country, and therefore,
this Colony, • which Was of .all others the most
important with a.view to our interests, did not at •
the period alluded to belong' to. Spain. • That no
provision therefore was 'made at the Congress or
Vienna to prevent such a cession, was the more
deeply to be regretted, as it* waa..of all' others
whiit was most tc; be expected; Of the injuriotis
conSequeuees'of sec!) a cession to the. interests of
this county/ there could be no doubt, as in the
event of our etobdrklng- in a new war with the
United States, rbe whole trade of Otir West India
Islands would be endangered. Gild-boats and
sonsif craft might be' fitted nut from several ports
iii Florida, and might -Sweep away the far greater
part of our trading vessels from the ‘Vest India
islands, but particularly from Jamaica. The pos-
ses,ion of the Florblas also:worth! -give the 'lone-
ric-ans at) opporttoffly of connecting. themselves
Governments In *the West Indies,
in a manner that might prove essentially injurious
to our 'interests. It was not now his intention to
move for any papers respecting the cession of the
Floridas, but wercly to call for explanatitru.

speClitig the ttansactions.of the Amerlca!) force in
the Floridas, he thonght it of dangerous conNe-
quence ,hat acts or -barbarity 'like those already
alluded to should Ue allowed to be committed tin-

der the pretended sanction of the law of nations,
and thatqt was of great.. importance to prevent
the United States of America from resorting to a
systemAci.decideAly
,atyariance with the institu-
tions of the. old world. Flis L;rdibiliioncluded
by moving for the communications inetttidnes.lin
the commencement of his speech. '
BATHURST aaid,. that with reSoect to the
late ces'sion of the Vlaridas to the United States,,
it was very. little, if at,all connected wi!lt the
papers, actually moved f by' theN able iklaitittess.,
and :that be li‘<ite very little to address to
their Lordships on that head. It must,'he eon-
Ceived. be a very "plain' 'prineiple to every one" of
.their Lordships, that One independent nation
could cede a part of its' territories -to another,
witiinnt being resPfinsible 'to a third power for
such a:rueas4,re, and tbat.no'system'cOuld be more
dangerous to be adopted than to go 'about fiom
one Government to another' in-the way of inter.-
fetence %Olienevvi it shoOld be 'deemed expedient
for one to transfer a part of its'leiriroritS;"to aity,
'Other I'ower,ann it shOtild be considered the the
were not in the po,eision•of Spain,at the.
time of the cession. With re'sPect;-1-loivever, to
the Main subject of the Noble Marrpies's motion,.
and.a:t referred to,hy film on. the fir4t day of the
Session, it should be .re't;oll,,cied that what his
\,-,able friend (the.l4_,ail' OrLiverpool)•bad then.
stated. ,va: merely thkit he wonld take' snine•
op-
port n!li!yto s' ate the gener.tl principles which
fluencedhis Alajt.s'y's Government in' the comic
Of the transactions "adverted to ; 'and their Lord.
.ships Mast be aware of the extreme delicacy as
well a the importance with respect tp interfetini4
on the occasion. lie wOnld mix state the gronnd

upon which bi 3 NlAjes!v's Gnveitunent did not
coucc ve itself bound to call fnr any Act of. Re-

.
partition. The fact was, that two persons, tor.
merly British subjects, were taken and exeeoted
in the Spanish territories by the Ametienn Ge-
neral. The Act itselfs,areider such circantstances,
concerned that country its Whose territories it had
hee'ri'coinmitted. Notwithitanding this, the Ame-
rican Government had expressly armed, that the
act complained of was done;not only not by its 'or-
ders, but even'for a loot; titne.withont its know-
ledge and such was eve') mate part of the snb-
sequent complaint against' General Jackson for his
condact. The real qu'estion.was, whether or not
this wasone.ot those occasions upon which repa-
ration should be required. Aed he would put
it to ail their Lordships, whether, in case sncir
a reparation was demanded, they tvere trot [mood
to enforce such in case of refusal, at all
.hazards,
even, to tine extremity vf war and they. may.
judge Whether such was an occasion in which it.
was tit'to einbark this country in a state, of war,
fare ! Aud further, he would ask, in a case where
Et Mit ish subject tiosaght it proper to eugage in
the service of a foreign country, and part iculatlY
at a time when such State was at war with his
own country, did such person miof forfeit all
right and claim to Brliit. ;rioter:6°n ?, was.
a-principle in the Law pf Nations which .he be
lieyed' they 'were called Lipari on every ground of
'policy to adopt.: They were not bound to pro-
tect every British Adventurer who thus chose:to
fOrego Iris allegiance,; and the question
then-
for their decision was, whether these per-.
sons; Aurbrister and Arbuthnot, had. not, by
so•engagiug themselves in foreigat services, with-
out the consent of his Majesty, eniirelyfurfeited
every claim to Bri;ish protection ? Widt respect
to Ambrister, he bad voluntarily end) oked'in the.
military service of a foreign power, and was taken
inn a course of hostility against the opposing
power. In the 'instance of Arbuthnot. ,the 'ase
'was-different ; and, in stating this, the N'able Se
cretary of State entered into somewhat of circatn-
statitial detail. He had beet) for some time before
engaged in a commercial line, and, in :the course
thereof; had supplied one of the belligerent pat-
ties with variotis iffportant articles of 'atinS end
atinnunition, partieuiarlY ,he latter,-,-though his
case was still different bum that of • Ambrister,
whose situation and et-induct twits iarch as clearly
to render the step taken by General Jackson clearly
a. question between that Officer arol lib; own Go-
veritinent. Rettirding to that. of A thnthnotehis
_Lordship stated some further eiteutustances,—
Many or -his transactions were of a commercial
character ;'but the whole tor- a longtime was
, •
such as clearly .to put him out of lit itish puttee-
tints, In the result the unfortunate man suffered
(1;:all), but it was utter a trial by a regular Alili-
taryCourt, whets at the same' time two Indian
Chiefs who were taken with them were executed
at the moment• The pursuits' in which Arbuth-
not had embarked, were evidently more of a poli-
tical than of a commercial nature, and he, was for-
merly appointed by one of time belligerent parties
its authorised agent ; and in such: character he
had actually made official communieatious, and
among other powers, to the British Government:
These circuastances were.estabtished by means of
a'. letter its his oven hand-writing, and he must re-
peat, that the whole of this man's conduct was
such as. to put him out of the pale.of British plo-
t
tectum. Looking to the treatment of these on-
happy men, as: individtralseby the American Com-
mander, he felt there could but one sentiment
pervade the House and the Country, one of indig-
nation and horror? —(Hear, hear !)—and such was
the general sentinseut in the. United States then).-
selves ! 0:t the grounds he stated, he again
asked whether a necessity was. created so as to
authorise this country to demand, reparation, al-
ways recollecting that such could riot consistently
be done without putting the' country in a situation
so as to recur', accordi.ng to tire events, to the ex-
'remit y of
.war ?
The 'Marques's of LANSDowN explained.—He
did not mean to say that the act at General Jack-
son was arie for which our Governmeirt was
bound stick reparation, or for which they
could he justified its going to tear with America.
His object was, to have a public disavowal of
the act, and to settle the law of nations on this
point. A principle of honour and of interest
most induce the Government of tine United States
to disavow tiie act. This was the view he had
of the subject, There, certainly taass. a great dis-
tinction between Ambritter .and Mitt:Oink ; for
tit= ratter did not appear to have been 80 engage]

,
at to lose., the proldetion of tits
own eobnlty.
more was pretended -than that he :bad been a
channel.ot 'Communication tor be Indians ; and
be acted altogether in a civil, not in a military
capacity. As to the cession of, the Forbids, all
he meant to say was, that the proud situation in
which Ertglapd stood at the -- general • treaty o'f_
Peace, gaVe:liker a right-to require from Spain,.
that no such-cession -`should—ualte
thing Shouldtave been gnarded against at the Con-
gress of Vienna: It hairbeen the constant policy
of this country to look to possible events of .this-
kind, and to enter into _stintlLl:ions to prevent
their taking place. Hitherto there was a ba-
lance, on whicft this country used. to rely for:her
security ; and it was an essential part of this ha-•
lance of nations to prevent th'eflbridas from be-
ing ceded to. t:te thtlied-StateStati ereirt which
will here-after he bitterly deplored a, injtitdout and:
fatal to the interests of 6i4-.,i':136(3,41 in case of
any intn-re war with the., United States., ~As„,
however, he,undersiotil that sonic of the commu-
nications to which he alluded, took place, Ike
.troUld riot pre his.niotilm, • " •
..• The Earl of I.AvEttiniii,, foreihle mid
'argumentativ,e speech, situportiA o hat had 'wen
aalvancetthy:-liis Noble Frivnd: The.iiiie of
duct lailOpteil.by the British Govet nment,
he ntf
(It:ion4llY otrserved,.was strict,iv lootoled nbt tray
upon • the la,vo and. OuSt oins of Hat i!
but more eipeecally:ttpon the Treaties ConelUdi.(l
:with :the tuVed states thentselv,s, particularly,
,(as was uni(er,tood) that conc,,luded hetweenl.,?o'
Grenville '--arid •Mr. Jay, which lie. cini;t ed. • 11-j
fully esiab!iSlied that the contliturnt • 'the ill-f:+ed
individualt! in,nuestion was such as to forfeit
parts 4;1, Claims to the protection cif the Bil-;
ridi Government, Tile case of.Ambri,ter Was
utignestion';:chly: such as to warrant, tin the. acs
koowletlisett:piiriciple of Staieni:ceSSit y., the line
conduct adopted with respect to . him :: arol
that ,of.-Athoatmot, though not in the military
service ofthe Indians was such, as an active:po-
litic,,l agen.t.witLi reference to the Belligerent re.
lotions of ihe countries at the time, as-to plaCe
him' in-a similar state of liability ; pa,rticu,latly
with referent:a to. his procuring arms and amMu.
nition for one of the Belli;:t,etctit patties 3. and
this, as his Nt•hle Friend bud stated, atitplyap-
• neared from a docwoent in tlie:party's own
With his Nobl.. Friend, he thought the.
[louse coulii liar e no difficulty in ,d.ecitling why-
ther or not such a case --constitated a ground
for a dernand for national :reparation; con pin ii
with a contingency of,:the aitertimive of war,les-
peciallv as 'the Govern went. of. the United States
had 'formally- declared the • act' in question was
not only tin,4lo4oriz.cd,
.11,titt Onle tro'
known io them. With .i•i:SpCt to. the pession
of
the' Fl:n-blas, he had no- diffic:Uity. its s;iying..,that
under the cireionstinces in whiclt
with re:erence -to her territories yin
that' -part of
the world, they could not .pret_ciid, Outlet- any
principle of national .generosity-or :fcttliag, to_
call Sp-pin. to :execute the ,gturruntee
lAted by lamer treaties (if such di;l tin
Less this country was pt:enared to say she would
mr.kit-ennonon,cause with Spair in the, escnr„,ol!
the alternative of war being regarded as urees,s.
,sdry or adri:.tuble 1. As to what4trnay.be the fu-
rtive result of the measure• alluded to, with
neV
.rence.:to-the circuntS6hecs 'of eitlier nation, it
would lead into Jo° wide a 1I Itt of disens.slf):ll'llad
any thing.thelnestion bi;fore the 1-lOtise fOr,:
or could pOssiltly. warrant.
Af;er the Noble .11L-aquess had :conelnded, the
quests al Was
,put, and the '-rakirnikeiss. of ',ans.-
dowit's tnotion nega7ived -with onr
Ajourited till to-morrow.