The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-08-10

institution Of slavery.
So far from being able TO maintain that the annex.
alton Of Texas would be a violation either of the
terms or spirit Of the national compact, MIR. Adams,
think, will require all his logic to defend him
self from the charge of having been instrumental by
the Treaty Of Florida, in violating not only the Con
stitution but the stipulstions Of solemn treaty. as
we'll as all the ma xims of sound national policy, in
alternating from the Union the territory occupied
! by Texas.
The true question before the country would be-
not the annexation Of Texas, but the restitution to
the Union Of that part OF Louisiana lying between
the Sabine and the RIO Grande.
| The whole territory now occupied by the Republic
of Texas once belonged to the United States. We
presume that hardly any American acquainted with
the political history Of his country will dispute this
fact and least Of all, Mr.. Adams who provedbur H.
tie to the territory, to the satisfaction of the
minister of the foreign power which laid claim to it
Upon this subject, we shall now merely quote the
| following passage from Mr. Clays speech on the
treaty negotiated by Mr.. Adams, generally called
the Florida Treaty
:" MIR. Clay presumed that the spectacle would not
be presented OF questioning, in this branch OF the
Government our title to Texas, which had been
| stantly maintained by the Executive for than
fifteen years past, under three several administrations
lie was at the same time ready and prepared to make
out title if any in the house were fearless
enough to Controvert it, He would for the present,
briefly state, that the who is most familiar with
| the transactions Of tins Government, who largely
participated in the formation Of Constitution and
all that has been done under it who, besides the emf
nent services that he has rendered to his country
principally contributed 10 the acquisition of LOUIS
lana, who must be suppos, from his various oppor
tunities best to know its limits declared fifteen years
ago, that title TO the Rio del Norie well
founded 1t TO the island of New Orleans
Here Mr. c. read an extract from memoir pre-
scented in 1905, by MIR Monroe and MIR. Pinckney, to
Mr. Cevallos, proving that the boundary Of louisa
ma extended eastward to the Perdido, and westward
to the Rio del Norte, in which they say The facts
and principles which justify this conclusion,
satisfactory to their to convince il that
the United States have not better right TO the island
OF New Orleans, under the cession referred TO, than
they have to the whole district OF territory thus de-
scribedO The title TO the Perdido on the one side,
AID to the Rio del Norte the other rested on the
same principle-the priority of discovery and occu
patton by France Spain had first discovered and
made establishment at PEN acoa France at Dau-
phin island in the bay Of Mobile The intermediate
space unoccupied and the principle observed
| among European nations having contiguous settle
ments, being that the unoccupied space between
them should be equally divided, was applied to ii,
and The Perdido thus became the common boundary
So, west of The Mississippi, La Sale, acting under
France, in 1852 or first discovered that river. In
| 1855, he made establishment on the bay of st.
Bernard, west of the Colorado, emptying into it
The nearest Spanish settlement Parnuco, and
the RIO del Norte, about the midway line, became
the common boundary"
| The question arises how came this immense terri
tory between the Sabine and the Rio Grande, as
large as New England and the middle States united,
advantageousy located, and unryalled in soil and
climate, to be exchanged for the territory Of Fori
da, and exchanged not terms, bu, the
condition OF paying to Spain Cor behalf of SPAIN
an enormous bonus in money and other considera.
tons
The answer is sufficiently humiliating to national
pride. The Chief Magistrate of our nation at that
time was as pure patriot as ever breathed, but
mild eon6ding and unsuspicious in his nature, and
wholly free from sectional feelings he from
cry sordd impulse His Secretary Of State the head Of
his Cabinet and manager Of foreign relations,
Mr.. John Quincy Adams, a man who had spent so
much of his life at the courts of Europe, as TO have
become an alien in feeling and thought to lis own
country, and who celebrated then for his po-
litica and diplomatic abilities, his astuteness and
foresight he is for his intense and relentless
amnesty To the South and its Institutions
MIR. Adams has since declared that he a
lucant instrument in the negotiation Of the treaty
OF Florida, by which the valuable territory in ques
ton was coded to Spain; but how it came TO pass
that, head of the Cabinet and manager of the ne
gotaton, he should have had so little influence with
Mr. Monroe; and how he, as Northern man,
should have been opposed TO the result Of the 60
lia,ion which he was the active instrument in bring
II -
OBJ tinately bent concluding bargain IN which
the interests Of his section Of the country,
well those Of the nation at large, wholly lost
sight Of, is a mystery which Mr. Monroe no longer
lives to explain.
The immediate Of bargain so thrfiless and
unwise, and so dscreditabe to the intelligence and
hrmpess Of the Government, was asserted on the
floor Of Congress by Mr.. Clay to be foreign in,erle-
rence-the same cause which is busily at work
to prevent our acquisition Of the territory The
Russian Government interfered on behalf Of Spain,
and expostuated with our Government mildly in
language, but with significant earpestness and per-
t,nscity and Mr.. Adams, feeling perhaps patriotic
alarm at the idea Of being the means of subjectog
his beloved country to the wrath Of the Holy Ali
ance, of which Prussia was the head and Spain the
neither member, temporized and compromised as
well as his agitated nerves would permit The diff
ference in the style Of the communications which
passed between our Government and the Prussan
Minister is thus characterized by Mr.. Clay in his
speech on the treaty.
| Z" If Count N,ssclrodc had never written another
paragraph, the extract from his despatch to Mr. Pc.
etIcs, which has been transmi ted to this House. will
demonstrate that he me,ited the confidence of his
master II quite refreshing to read such stats pa
Psrs alter Perus'ng those he was sorry 10 say he
wished there was veil troad and thick enough to
conceal them orever) which this treaty had produc-
ed on the part of our Government"
few years afterwards Mr.. Adams himself be.
came President-Mr. Clsy occupying under him, and
by gift from him, the station which he declared so