The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-12-01
REVIEW OF MR.. BENToN's OPPOSE
TJON TO THE TREATY.

rho Treaty. of Washington was under consiue-
ra,;on that the President be directed " 10 tdhe
;m,,sdiafe possession" of the territory In DIS
nute Better, far better, for the fame oflhe Hon
Senator, that this portion OF the proceedings IN
secret session, had remained an ETERNAL Sc
caEr The Hon. Senator is known TO be ad-
dcted TO sudden bursts of passion TO this IN
trinity doubtless may be attributed many oil MS
errors. But in this, the greatest error Of his
life, we are constrained to believe he acted de-
liberately His late Missouri letter, in which he
so gratuitousIy assails the Secretary OF State,
would be sufficient evidence to convince US
but there are other evidences which we will not
refer TO here.
Being deliberately done, the effect of the act
on the Hon. the Senator's reputation, tor good
or for evil, must be lasting. 1t must be lasting,
because the Treaty, and all the proceedings on
it in the Senate, as well as elsewhere, are
henceforlh to be matters of history ,unscr,be to
me" moral justice of the Hon. Senator's
extraordinary proposition, even if our title TO
the territory had been indsputable. Great
Britain, evincng an earnest desire TO consum-
mate final and peaceful adjustment of ques-
ton which had so long baffed the efforts Of both
Governments, dispatched special diplomatic
agent, Cher Envoy Extraordinary still residing
near our Government with instructions 10 de-
vote his abors mainly, if not exclusively to the
settlement of the ancient question of Boun
Diary. His credentials were presented in
the usual manner, indeed all the formalites
usual on such occasions, were strictly observed.
No br nch of our Government, nor any public
functionary, hesilated TO recognise his aulhor-
ty to treat on the subject on the contrary, his
landing on our shores was hailed with universal
satisfaction. The moral spirit Of the times had
become adverse to the barbarous practice of set
Ting disputes byh resort to arms. Millions might
have fallen on the disputed territory, and en-
riched the barren soil with their blood, but still
the justice of the claims of the respective coun
tries would have remained the same. Neither
Government desired war, and both were anX
ious for a final settlement Of the dispute Grea,
Britain made the first advancement towards eff
f,ctng so desirable an end She set the first
courteous example. Our country was comph-
mented by the first of European Powers, in
sending hither SPECIAL MINIS TER, that
peace, on permanent basis, might be secured.
Thus the event was regarded by every Ameri-
can not dead to national pride. The minister
OF our Government, ito whom was assigned the
duty of treating with this Special Agent, was
fully equal 10 the task. His bitterest political
enemies grant that the age boasts no greater
mind. His acts prone that our country possess
es no greater statesman and patriot A Treaty,
adjusting finally and forever, the great question
in dispute, and divers other matters threatening
serious difficulties, was mutually agreed upon
by the ministers, approved by the President and
his Cabinet, and sent to the Senate for its final
ratification, provided il should likewise GET the
appreciation of that grave body. Ii was at this
juncture-betore the compact had been in the
possession of the Senate a sufficient number of
days for its merits or dement's to be thoroughly
understood, even before the vote had been taken
on i-as it lay before the Senate, assembled in
all the solemnity OF secret session-the Hon.
Senator from Missouri forgetting that the great
country, which he in part represented, abhorred
even the resemblance OF pusillanimous action,
as her most precious jewels-forgettng that
his true-hearted counuymen could not be in
duced, under any circumstances whatever, to
sanction palpably dishonorable breach of faith
with any nation of the earth, whether civilized
or savage, weak or powerful-the Hon. Senator
from Missouri (and we write it with an aching
heart y rises in his place, and deliberately pro-
poses that the President be directed to seize
upon the territoryin dispute IMMEDIATELY If
our title to every loot of the territory had been
indsputable-if Great Britain had had no particle
of right to any portion of it-yet after our Go
vernment had recognized her special minister,
and treated Nth him on the subject-under
these circumstances, it would have been pusil-
luminous and dishonorale in our Government
to have adopted such proposition as was Of
fered by the Hon. Senator from Missouri. The
widest savage Of the HARVEST could not be
guilty of such fragrant breach of the pledged
good faith Of his tribe No true Ame-
rican can listen to this Hon. Senator's
denunciations of the Treaty of Wash
ington His brother Senators, those Of his
own political party, did not listen TO him.
When the vote was taken, every one present
with one exception) Indignantly spurned the
proposition! We ascribe honor TO the noble
hearted Senators who shouted 'No!' when
the question was put
The next resolution offered by the Hon. Sc
nator from Missouri, to which we would direct
the attention of our readers, is the following:
Resolved, That the President Of the United States
be requested to inform the Senate whether any
ferences, written oral, formal informal took
place between the American negotiator and the late
special minister from Great Britain to the United
States, in relation to the payment, assumption, or
guaranty of the State debts by the United States
and, if So to communicate the same to the Senate.
.r1