Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1832-02-04

ways ia tho right. But we hope thu, your Majesty
Whi leg graci"nsy pleased TO rccolcct, that 1t was
can power, but those who have been expelled from
IT, '"at wronGcd Your Majesty: and that we, when
ont ul power, woro the side of your Majesty.
an" we do humbly pray that your Majesty, taking
III. mitigating circumstances INTO conservation,
Will grUCjouSly CuHdcsccnd to extend 10 US tho
priyncwcs OF the British act of fariiancnt otlS25,
ANA To grant us the boon of a trade with your
| MUcSly'S West India Colon'c.!-or to have
presented himscib before the British Monarch IN tho
manly and identified attitude Of Il Minister of this
! Republic and, abs,aiuing from all condemnation
or aujn.udvCysipn upon the past conduct OF las
Government, to have placed the withdrawal! of oar
ior'ncr demand upon the ground o' Concession, in
a spirit of amity and compromise!
| Bat ia. late Secretary of State, the appointed
organ OF the American People 10 vindicato their
rights with all foreign powers, and TO expose the
m,nstIc" Of any unoundrL demands which they
might assert was not content with cNcrtinu his in.
gcnuty to put his own country III tho wrong, and
the British goycrnmcn; in the right. Uo endca.
vCred to attach TO The late Administration tho dis
credit OF bringing forward uniOunicd professions,
| and, by dSclaimiug them, to propitatc the favor
OF ;hc British King. lie says that tho views of
tlc present Administration, upon tho subject of
tho colonial trade, shave been submitted TO tho
'rcoge Of the United SiNtcs; and the coun-
'scIS 10y which your conduct Is directed,
care the result, or the Judgment expressed by
"thc only earthly tribunal to which tho
"l0tc Administration umcnahlc for its
"acs IL should Ice sufficient that tho claims set
"up by Nc'a, and what caused tho interruption
cot The trade in question: have been explicitly
"abandoHcd by those who FIRST asserted them, and
caro- not revived by their SUCCESSORS Tho late
Secretary Of state, tic gentleman under conside-
ration, here makes the statement that the late
Administration were Tn" first 10 sol up tho claims to
Wucb EG refers. Now. under all tho high rCSpongi
"!niy winch belongs TO the Ccat which | occupy
deliberately pronounce that this statement is
nhruc ana That the late Secretary either must have
kh9wh II to be untrue, or Ito cu!pably nrgli-
gent OF his duty in not asccTtaininy what had been
done under prior administrations. | repeat the
caaige-.hc statement must have been known to
be untrue, or there was culpablc negligence. Fit
Wc:o material, believe it could DC shown that
the claim in GIcS;ion--;he right to the admission
into the British West Indies ofthe produce of tho
United states upon an equal footing with similar
produce OF ilc British continental coonics--s co.
oval VITA the existence of our present Comsti.
tut;on;and tbnt whenever tho occasion arose fox
aSS0E''ng'ihe claim, it. asserted. But | shall
go no father lac! than TO Mr.. MaGison's
Administration. MIR. Monroe, the then Secretary
O! SLATE, instructed our then Minister at London
upon TINS subject; hc negotiated with Lord Cas-
terca IN respect to it, and this very claim prevent
ed IN adjustment, ut that time, oltho colonial cues
ton. Ii was again brought forward under Mr.
Monroc'S Administration, when Mr.. Rush was our
Minister at London. lie opened "A long and pro.
tractGd negotiation upon this and other topics
which was suspended il the summer of 1921
prncipaily because the parties could not agree on
any satisfactory arrangement Of this very colonial
question.
Thus, at least, two Administrations. prior to
That OF M. Adams, had brought forward this idcn-
'Ical claim or prcicatjoR which his was the first
TO assert according 10 tho late Secretary of State
lEc noNt Charge, which the late Secretary of
state, the official defender of the rights Of the
American People, preferred awaillst his own Go
vcrnncnt was that OF omi'ing to accent the terms
"oncrcd by the act Of Parliament of July, 1925
"a!tor the subject had been dr0wrht before Con-
''ggess aud "eLdc'"tcly acted upon by our Govern
"mcnt." Never was there a more uufouulod
charge brought forward by any native against his
oirR NoVcrnuicnt; and never was there more UNI
warranted apology setuP for foreign Government;
and plain historical narrative Will demonstrate
the truth of both these propositions.
1t has been already stated that the NEGOTIATION of
Mir. Rush embracing The precise colonial claim un
def consideration, was suspended in 1924, with an
understanding between the two governments that
!tWas TO be resumed on all paints, at some fii-
i"Fe convenient period Early i'll July, 1926, neither
government having then proposed resumption
OF Tie negotiation, the British Parliament PASSED
an act TO regulate the colonial trade with Gorcign
fowarS. This act was never, during the late ad.
mlnIstTaticn, either at London or Wash;nrton
officially communicated by the British to
the American government; and we only
obtained 1t through other channels Now,
IL 1t had been the purpose of the British govern
mGht' ny TIC passage of that act, to withdraw the
colohnl question from the negotiation. it ourht TO
nave communicated that purpose to this oCyorn
ment, and, at the time, the act of Parli,
!nent, as suppanting and substituting tho ucmotio
.i0n' i3ut 1t never did communicate such purpose.
ihe act itself did not specifically embrace the jni
ted states, and offered terms which, ,pon the face
oil the act, 1t was impossible for the United States
to accedo to. 1t required, for example, that. TO
ehiitle IoWers, not possessing colonies, to the
benefit of the act, they must place the NAVIGATION
ana commerce OF C.. Britain upon the footing of
INC most J"rored nation. TO have dono this
would have admitted British shipping TO import