Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Wayne County, Ind.) 1831-1837, 1836-02-06
ON r f. s S
MONDAY, Jan. Is.

! MoNDAY, Jan. l8.
/ IN SENATE.
| The Special Message and another
message from the President of the
United States, concerning our rela-
tons with France, having been re-
ceived and read
Mr.. CLAY moved that the MESA
ges, with the accompanying docu-
ments, be referred to tho Committee
on Foreign Relations. Whereupon,
Mr.. BUCHANAN said that he
had been 50 much gratifed with the
message which had just been read,
that he could not, and he thought he
ought not, at this the very first mo-
Iment, to refrain from expressing his
entire appreciation of its general tone
and spirit. He had watched with in
tense anxiety the progress of our un-
fortunate controversy with France.
He had hoped, sincerely hoped, that
the explanations which had been made
by Mr.. Livingston, and officially ap-
proved by the President of the Uni
ted States, would have proved salts
factory to the French Government.
In this he had found his hopes to be
vain. After this effort had failed, he
ielt degree Of confidence, almost n
mounting to moral assurance, that the
last message to Congress would have
been hailed by France, as it was by
the American people, as the olive
branch which would have restored
amity and good understanding be-
tween US and our ancient ally. E.
ven in this, he feared, he was again
doomed to be disappointed. The
Government of France, unless they
change their determination, will not
consider this message as sufficient
We have the terms clearly prescribed
by the Duke de Broglie, upon which,
and upon which alone, the French
Government will consent to comply
with the treaty, and to pay the FIVE
millions of dollars to our injured fel-
low-citizens. Speculation is now at
an end. The clouds and darkness
which have hung over this question
have vanished. 1t is now made clear
as sunbeam. The money will not
be paid, says the organ of the
French Government, unless the Gov
eminent of the United States shall
address its claim officially in writing
to France, accompanied by what ap-
peared to him, and he believed would
appear to the whole American peo-
pie, without distinction of party, to
be a degrading apology. The strik-
ing popularity Of the case, the one
which he would undertake to say dis
it from any other case
which had arisen in modern times, in
the intercourse between independent
nations, was, that the very terms of
this apology were dictated to the A.
nerican Government by the French
Secretary for Foreign Affairs. One
of these terms was, that it had never
entered into the intention, (pensee,)
the thought of this Government, to
call in question the good faith Of the
Government Of France.
But the French Government pro-
coed still further. Upon the refusal to
make this apology, which they ought
to have known would never be made
never be made-they are not
content toleave the question where it
then was. They have given us notice
in advance that they will consider
our refusal to make this degrading a.
pology an evidence that the misun-
derstanding did not proceed on our
part from mere error and mistake.
In addition to this, the last note of
the Duke de Broglie to Mr.. Barton
declares that the Government Of the
United States knows that hencsfor-
ward the execution of the treaty must
depend upon itself. They thus leave
us to decide whether we shall make
the apology in the prescribed terms,
or abandon our claim to the fulflment
of the treaty.
He would not allow himself to ex-
press the feelings which were excited
in his mind upon hearing these letters
Of the Duke de Broglie read. Most
sincerely, most ardenty did he hope
that the French Government, when
this message reached them. if not be-
fore, might reconsider their determin-
alton, and that all our difficulties might
yet pass away. But their language is
now clear, specific, incapable Of am