The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-05-15
THE RECORD.

Although Mr.. Benton was so signally defeated
IN the Senate on the Treatyj although his sew
enty column speech written against il has found
an abrupt termination in The actual breaking
down of the only country press in the Union
that undertook 10 print is although be has
ceased TO harp on that subject IN the columns Of
the " imperial Globe" YET, we are assured, on
good authority, that he continues to growl, in
his conversations, against the settlement of our
difficulties with Great Britain, by this Admins
ralion. We are told he denounces the Treaty
because IL was not expressly stipulated in sep
arale article that England should not search OF
visit American vessels as if such a stipulation
would not have been as preposterous as 10 silpu-
late that Englishmen should not spit upon Anne
ricans There is as much right 10 do the one as
the other-but in either case il will be al the
peril of the offenders.
But If Mr.. Benton is so particularly outraged
at such an omission, on the part OF this Admin
stralion, what would the reader infer was the
extent of his indignation at the following agree
ment, which we take from the records of the
Senate, proposed during President Monroe's
admins ralion2 We copy from the Journal Of
The Senate:
"Article l. The commanders and commissioned
officers of each Of the two high contracting parties
duly authorized under the regulations and nsruc-
tons OF their respective Governments, to cruise on
the coast Of Africa, and of the West indies for the
suppression Of the slave trade, shall be empowered,
under the conditions limitations and restrictions
hereinafter specified, to deain, examine, capture,
and deliver for trial and adjudication by some
competent tribunal Of whichever of the two coun-
tries It shall be found examination to belong TO-
any ship vessel concerned in the Illicit traffic of
slaves, and carrying the flag of the other, owned
by any subject. citizens of either of the two
tracing parties, except when in the presence Of a
ship of war Of its own nation and it is further
agreed that any such ship vessel captured shall
be either carried or sent by the capturing officer to
some port OF the country to which 1t belongs, and
there be given up TO the competent authorities, or be
delivered up, for the same purpose to any duly COM
mssioned officer of the other party it being the in
tenton of the high contracting powers that any ship
vessel within the purview of this convention, and
seized on that account, shall be tried and adjudged
by the tribunals of the captured party and not by
those of the captor"
AT the time this proposition came before the
Senate, Mr.. Benton was member of that boz
dy. If we had not consulted the RECORD Of the
proceedings in the Senate on that occasion, and
seen the contrary with our own eyes, we should
have taken it for granted that Mr.. Benton had
certainly made speech, of at least hundred
and forty columns, against such proposition
What! agree that Great Britain should '.de
tain, erdmine, CAPTURE" American vessels,
whea not in sight oil an American ship of war?
Why, tloo hundred column speech against
such an iniquitous proposition would be The We
ry least a reader OF the Globe would expect
from MIR. Benton on such an occasion, after
what he said against the Treaty of Washington
But what did Mr.. Benton say and do on that
oco aston Here is the vote on its adoption,
taken from the RECORD?
"YEAS-Messrs. Barbour, Barton, BENTON,
Branch, Brown, Clayton, Eaton, Edwards, Findlay,
Hayne, Holmes, of Mississippi, Jackson, johnson,
of Kentucky, Henry Johnson, Josiah S. Johnston,
Kelly, King, Of Alabama, King, of N. York, Knight,
Lloyd, Of Massachusetts, Lowre, McIlvaine, Mills,
PARROT, Seymour, Taylor, of Indiana Taylor, Of
Virginia, Van Dyke, and Williams.