Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-12-30
Congrass of tMe W. Statea
80 u : TN = FJ0tItO'S
lRRPonrhp yoR rnE N.INrRLIIe EscBR ]
IN THE II, OF REPRESENTATIVE
TpNsRAY. pEC. %.
TUF CASE on nJR. MEADE.


THE CASE or eIR. MEADE.
! Mr.. 3riaeLie of KY offered for consiGie-
! ration The following resolution
Reso'rcd, That the President of the U. s. he
| requested TO cause 20 he laid before this House
! any information lac may DC able TO commune
| cate relative TO the impicSsment and detention
in confinement OF Richard CowleS Meade, "a
| citizen ofthc United states.
MIR. IRIMBLE said, that, having offered
the resolutions IT might be expected that
he wouid give some explanation of the
case 70 which ii alludes. He lad right
TO presume that every member of the
! House bad heard of The confinement of
| MIR. Meade. More than three wears ago
! that gentleman had been incarccraied IN
a Spanish dungeon, where he had ever
since remained. Ii was within Tvs (iIr.
! Trinble's) recollection, that many per-
| sous had expected thai the last Congress
| would have caused ;m inquiry 10 he made
! lulo Tie SUBJECT but, since that period,
| Tie case had assumed d new character,
| OF most extraordinary complexion. IN
was we'll known, lie said, that Mir Meade
IS q citizen OF the United States, aud. lie
believed, WAS, at oIe Tine, an accredited
| Consul, resident insome part oi the Span
! sh dominons. Either character Ought TO
have protected him from violence and out
rage. But, unfortunately for him, they
did not. The cawSeS which produced his
confinement were unknown TO Mr.. I.
they were probably buried in the vaults
OF The inquisition. That, however, was of
niue consequence, II the facts which he
was about 10 state were true and that
they are true was evinced, lie SAID. by a
| document which he held i'm his hand. and
which, he said, struck the mind with as
much force as IT ii was marked with the
characters of official certainty. am IRE
pared, said he, 10 admit, that if a citizen
ot The United States shall violate the pc
nal or criminal code of any other coun-
| try, he must submit TO the punishment
which may be inflicted ON him but such
Is not the case OF MIR. Meade. Ii was not
commended, lie said, that the person in
question had violated the letter or spirit of
any part OF The penal or criminal code OF
Spain-and, or hecoutrarv, the document
which he held i'll his hand afforded the
| highest evidence that there was no cause
OF compliant against him. Upon some
urgent and vigorous remonstrances being
made on this subject by our Minister, MIR.
Er'ng, pu6tic notorious royal, order ~as
issued. Mark ne, sir, said he--a pa56c
notorious r0yat order, announcing 10 Spain,
TO America, aud the Whole world, thai
there was no cause for the detention of Mr..
!
basement How the aching heart of MIR
| Meade must have tlrobbed and sweIIed
cheered with the prospect of leaving in a
few hours his loathsome residential dun
seon, 10 breathe once more the free and
wholesome air How il must have sunk
amt died within him, when The doors of
| Ills prison house were unbarred by a
meagre mlniOn, who had come skulking
through the vaults OF those ahodes of
death, with another secret order. Mark
me, again, sIr-another secret order, iSsu
cd at the same time, Hnder the same ROYAL
signature, commanding bis keeper TO hold
the prisoner at his peril. Yds. sir. one or
dtr. public and notorious, for release
ment, AMI another secret order for CON
tnement, OF the same date, and under the
same royal signature. II these facts be
true, the case stands without parallel i'm
ancient or modern times. Even the case
OF Czerny George has no siuilifude: he
was monster, executed by ihc Turk, be-
cause he had, III cold blood, plunged his
sabre through the heart of his own father.
Whereas Mr.. Nj. is acknowledged TO be am
innocent victim, suffering underroyal dis
pleasure will not attempt, said Mr.. +. 10
paint the horrors Of Spanish dunoeou
or tne sIekenings of hope at proiractrd
confinement. IL is not my wish TO excite
public feeling, and utterly discIaim all
intention OF connecting this subject with
DINER questions pow under discussion. or
WHICH may tall under discussion, between
tins government and Spain. Mr.T. aver
red also that lie had entire confidence in
NE late and present executive heads of
lie government, and had no doubt thai
every l'iDg Which could be done had been
done, IN behalf of Mr.. Meade. But he
held 1t The duty of this House, TO enouire
INTO this (be would again call ID extraordi-
nary case, and, if The facts and circuin-
stances shall require it, make such express
SION OF It's OPINION as will add weight and
'orce to-tuiuTe executive exertiOns. Ifthe
case were as welI-iounded ruImor told. lie
Ior one was ready to volunteer his arm in
defence ct Mr.. Meade, and breast tie
s'orhi, unlearlng consequences. For, said
he, while have the honor of a seal in tI;s
House, no lawless despot shall Law an an
cry finger on a fellow citizen of ming with
out The hazard of bringing that freey 10
the btock. He was one of those. me said
who we're willing TO believe that We ought
MOI AT Tins time uselcssly 10 embroil our
serves "lth any foreign power; and he
was thoroughly satisfied that IL is Our
best AMI wisest policy To- husband our re-
sources, our men, and our means. TO meet
the coming conflict with the only nation
that do1e strike us upon the land or on
the water--the only nation that can send
| It's a Hannibal, or whom we shall revisit
with a Scipio-that nation who has AREA
dy sacked orr infant Rome, aud whose
proud Carthage we shall one day humble
IN The dust, and sweep with the besom Of
relrbulive desolatiou. But. said he, there
are no present circumstances, or looked
Tor events, that ought 10 inclinc VS. 10 har-
den our cans, that we may not hear the