Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Mass.) 1828-1830, 1829-12-15

uSotys - obiy an agreement
between the President and Senate of the
united States and another party, although
both parties had long understood it to Be
a treaty, and had observed it as such in
such case, what would honour and JUS
t,ce require Should the people Of the
United States take advantage of blunder
made BY their highest functiouaries, and
long acquiesced in ? especially if the 9th.
er party had reposed entire confidence IN
the validity Of the proceeding. and had
maze important sacrifices in fulfilling his
|stpulations!
Suppose, for instance, that an agent of
lthe United States, had bought ships Of
Mr.. Girard for publick purposes, to the
amount of 800, 600, and the contract had
been sent to the Senate and ratified as a
treaty. Here would have been great
biunder, no doubt; but is Mr.. Girard to
suffer by it? When he applies for paw.
ment, is he TO be Old that the contract
with him has improperly been called 4
treaty; that the President and Senate
have no power to make treaties on such
subjects; and that, therefore, he cannot
be paid for his ships ? Mr.. Girard would
be not little amazed at this /; and might
naturally enough exclaim, that, in all his
intercourse with mankind he had never
before met with so impudent and SO fool
ish an attempt to cheat. As he grew COOL
er, he might say -" You have had nv
ships, and sent them to sea. You en-
gagged to pay me for them. If you called
me contract treaty, the name is one Of
your own choosing. Nor had any thing
TO do with sending it to the Senate. |
sold my ships to an authorized agent of
the Government, and he engaged that l
should be paid for them. IF the transac-
ton is not treaty, it is at. least a fair
bargain; and that is enough for me.
expect honest men, whether publick or
private, willing to execute their bargains
and as to dishonest men, shall do all in
my power to hold them to their bargains,
whether they are willing or not"
So the Cherokees may plead that il
was not for them to Judge as to the extent
OF the treaty-making power. They made
an agreement with men who represented
their father, the President. They suppos-
ed the President to know the extent of
his own powers. At any rate, they relin-
pushed land, and gave up many advanta-
ges, for the sake of solemn guaranty
in return. If the agreement, which they
made, was not treaty, it was an obEga-
tory contract, and they have a right to
expect, and to demand, that the contract
shall be fulfill d.
The politicians Of Georgia contend
that even if the Unised States have power
to make treaties with Indians, still they
have no power to cede away the territory
of State. This objection cannot be
supported in any sense. But it is plausi.
BILE /; and the whole plausibiIity rests in
mere sophism. The United States have
never ceded, nor attempted to cede, any
part of the territory Of Georgia. They
simply guaranteed to the Indians their
original titles or, in other words, the u.
States solemnly engaged to the Indians
that no human power should deprive them
of their hereditary possessions, without
their own consent. This was no encroach-
mellt upon the rights of Georgia, nor did it
relate at all to the territory of Georgia !;
which territory embraced those lands only
that had been previously obtained from
the Indians. If the treaty Of Holston
was an encroachment upon the rights of
Georgia, why was no complaint made. at
the time =? The Senators from Georgia
were in their seats, and the citizens of
Georgia were never charged, believe,
with passively surrendering their rights.
Why, then, was no complaint made for
more than thirty-five years
But it is perfectly clear that the United
States may cede the territory of any State
in the Union by treaty. II may be very
improbable | care not if you say it is
morally impossible, that the President and
Senate should ever cede any part Of what
is really and truly the territory of State.
Yet if such an event should take place, the
transaction would not be void for want of
constitution power. The General Gov
eminent has the power to make treaties
without limitation. Of course, treaties
may be made by the United States on all
subjects which are frequently found in
treaties of other nations. But there is
scarcely more common snbjec. of trea-
ties, in every part Of the world, than
cession Of territory. How are foreign
nations to know the extent of our treaty.
making power !! If our President and
two thirds of our Senator'S will cede any
part of our territory, there is no help for
it. Our security lies, not in their want of
power to do this, but in their want of in
clination.
If he United States had coded to Eng
land all that part Of the State Of Maine
which was in possession of the British
forces at the close Of the last war, how
can it be pretended that the treaty would
not be binding Indeed, at this very
yoonnout thavo 90 d;s1uto nhouk tho