Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1838-01-06
argued ,ka. it was ratified, and the appropriation mads

uously.
MIR. Glascock assented, and added that, however that
may. be, il was enough for him that The treaty was outy
| ratified. And he then adverted again TO the Object OF
the proposed resolution, TO elicit facts important anG ne.
cessary to be known by the people OF 1eotgla. r iaey
looked to this Government for aid IN case any oi i:s
should take place in executing the uenty a contood
| which he feared must take place, but when ne hoP.e
would not occur, or, if it should, might not DC d p''
! tracted one. &c N
caro,in, submitted the following, which Mr.. Dawson
also accepted: Strike out estate of Georgia. wheie'er r
it occurs, and insert 'the eaid tribe OF hunna @''
the Mississippi River" of hi. nh.
;ect in Offering the resolution he had submitted. ne
had not understood the gentleman from Virginia WI.
Wise) as having wan.oniy attacked the leop'e vi ~
policy of Georgia, and was glad that the conversation
had taken place which had arisen upon the SUBJECT. MI;
D.. freely admitted the superior advancement, over al,
other tribes of Indians, which had marked Inc oh"aIa
career Of the Cherokees; which advancement ne s'ur
buted 10 the wise, humane, and kind treatment OF Tue
people of his own State, within whose borders tne9
chiefly lie. They had sen, missionaries among the uioe'
and had thrown around them a protection "no.y NJ
known TO The statute book OF my othet o"e III le
Union. Ee claimed Tor Georgia q Prouo PoSiAoh uPo"
this subject.
Mr.. u. explained, that the Representatives OF Geor.
gia were elected by general ticket for the sIa'ei ina'
there were eight counties, and that theie we: ~
presentulive inthe delegation from the im'neou~ WEI
nifty of the territory inhabited by the Indians; lhat mus
it arose that the information asked for IN the resolution
he had offered, wns necessary 10 be sought IN lhat way
from the Government, &c.
such, a.resdu,ion as that under consideration had been
| submitted, at q former day. He regretted that ne hao
no, known this, as he looked upon the subject as d mos'
important one-a subject, he would say, whlcn, d . hSo.s
ing The character Of The country for justice and good fal'h,
/ was not exceeded by any other which was ever suoni';tea
TO the consideration of Congress. The resolution caiea
for information as TO whether force were necessary, (aha,
| if necessary, how much) to carry into effect the late
treuty, rs ii is called, with this tribe OF Indians. before
lie sat down, he should offer an amendment calling ior
all the Information in the possession Of government in
relation to The formation Of this treaty, and IN regard %
the manner which hos been, or shall be, adopted to carry
il into effect. Some portion of this information mao IN
formally been obtained, through the Puollsheu aocu-
ments Of the Senate, but not by order o! THIS MOUSE
and it was proper that il should be all before the ialler
before action should be had upon the question OF lore
ing the execution of The alleged treaty. For hiinseif,
he denied the existence Of any binding or volld treaty
with this nation; there was no treaty "h'ch c"clu
be carried into effect, without the most manifest IN
Justice. Government could not bind another notion
BY a treaty ratified and sanctioned by itself merely,
And, in illustration, Mr.. f. supposed the case OF ue
Government of Great Britain making a treaty, "Nichls
ratified by the Senate, and an appropriation 10 mace 10
carry it into effect. In the mean time, it turns out that
the parties on the part Of the foreign nation mad no au-
thori,y to nuke that treaty, aud this House called upon
to dsela Ts war, for The t",i GoT R, 2 o. i 10 sans, iio1 sIt by oue
hundred only Of the Cherokee nation-a tact known 10
the Executive and 10 the Senate-and yet the treaty,
such as il was, was made and ratified and now The
House are 10 be called upon TO provide means ior lore
inc il through. against the deliberate sanction OF The
other party. For one, he would never give, as ne mao
never given, q vote 10 carry such a treaty into effect IL
was a most oppressive and unjust proceeding, and has
carried with it, in It's every stage, u degree vi iniamy
which the House ought to be prompt in wiplng away.
Mr.. Everett then submitted, as he had proposed, Inc
following addition 10 the resolution, by way oil amend
ment thereto:
And that the President be requested to lay before
this House copies of oil documents relating to the nego::
tiution of the late treaty with the Cherokee Indians, and
of all communications of the Cherokee Indians relative
thereto"
MIR. .Holsey made a few remarks in reply to the ex.
preston Of regret which had fallen from his colleague,
(Mr. GlaScock) tina, he had replied TO the remarks o!
the gentleman from Virginia; and addressed a few words
to the latter, in reply 10 what he had said IN relation 10
Notification. lie defended the policy Of Georgia, as
having been directed to a proper defence OF her own
guaranteed rights, and the vindicaiion of her own Con-
sutution. And, in reply to Mr.. Everett, MIR. RI. briefly
recapitulated the history Of the treaty alluded 10, and de-
tsnded the course Of his State in relation thereto.
Mr.. Wise should vote for the Amendment OF the gen.
tlenan from Vermont. He also looked upon the treaty
as null and void: In order 10 make treaties binding, the
assent of both parties must be obtained. And he would
asst /, without fenr of contradiction, that there was not
one man in that House, or out OF it, who had ever read,
attentiveIy, the proceedings in the case, that there had
ever been any assent given to that treaty by The Chero'
kee nation. That was d question which was Kept care
fully ouref sight; but he would be willing to leave it 10
the decision of the gentlemen from Georgia themselves,
as jurois, or TO either Of them. He would not iear tile
issue of such a reference of the question, treaty or no
treaty. The House pissed the appropriation, because
the Senate had ratified the treaty, as it is called: a treaty
forced upon the other party, he was sorry to add, in no
small degree for specializing purposes.
Mr.. Dawson conlended that this simple question OF IN
uuiry should not be embarrassed by the connection with
it of other questions now raised. The sole object OF his
resolution was 10 elicit important information from the
Government for the People. The only tendency Of this
discussion, he argued, is to inAame Indian hostility
.uo;-at ,ta noon1a az q p0r0ia uhO had no DaTt In making
the treaty, which is the subject Of 80 much remark. inns
result he deprecated, especially as likely to follow Inc
introduction, by him, Of n resolution OF inquiry. ne
begged the gentleman from Vermont, therefore, 10 WIN
draw his amendment, and 10 permit his resolution 10
pass, and himself to gain the information his people de.
sired, upon a question Of deep and vital interest 10 them.
Mr.. Everett could not perceive the likelihood OF any
such embarrassment as that anticipated oy the gentle
man from Georgia. The latter had introduced a reso'u-
ton, the object of which is, the information OF the people
Of Georgia upon a given subject. For this amendment
he cannot, Of course, as the author OF that resolution De
held accountable if this were otherwise, there was no
gentleman in the House TO whom he would more reaoi'
" defer. But the information he (Mr. E sought was
Of interest to The people, not alone OF the State OF Geor-
pia, but Of the whole country. he wanted The Rouse 10
be informed, not merely as 10 The manner in when II 10
proposed to carry into effect the treaty, but OF the tactsi IN
the formation of that treaty, and os 10 whether therc is
such a treaty atall. Iii should appear that this Govern
menl had treated with an agent Of the other party, who
was known TO be an unauthorized agent, or who, in point
of fact, should turn out 10 have been unauthorIzed, he
hoped the House would not ugree 10 carry t%hattreaty INTO
effect. We: had no right to say to a foreign nation with
which we have treated, that i, shall be bound by the trea.
ty, although the agent presuming to act on its part was
unauthorized by its Government. And If such should
appear, to be the facts, in the present case, MIR. Everett
trusted tha, the House would never consent 10 declare
war for the purpose of carrying a treaty, thus made, into
effect.
MIR. Towns had Hoped, that the feeling and pathetic
appeal of his colleague, (Mr. Dawson) would have pre-
vailed with the gentleman from Vermont, and have in.
duccd him to withdraw his amendment. He believed all
the I'm Information Of the character described by that gen.
tleman, was already before the House and the country.
MI. Everett Begged leave to remark that a portion only
Of the dosuuiehis relating 10 the question had been print.
MIR. TownsGould conceive of no other object which