The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-02-13
WASHINGTON CITY, FRIDAY NIGHT, FEBRUARY 10,

charges Drought against her by this country hereto
fore are still subjects of complaint now. Some o
these matters Of complaint were particularly men
toned the other day by my colleague, Mr.. Thur
IhAN,l not one of which has ever been atoned for
tie spoke Of The burning of the Caroline; but
wish to call the attention of this House 10 sn0the
and more grcvous chaTge-to witt that the lndai
hostiltieS which we have long been Obliged 10 en-
counter are instigated by England. Thousands o
pounds every year are appropriated by Great Brit
ain for argesses for the Indians; and il well under
stood that the object of this literally is to secure
their friendship 10 herself, and to incte them Il
hostllities against the people of the United States
Great Britain makes her annual payments to the In
dams as regularly as we make appropriations foI
the support of our government for the express pur-
pose Of securing the confidence and good will oil
the Indians and TO destroy the good understanding
which would otherwise exist between them and ".
The influence thus obtained over the Indians is
| frequently manifested by the most dsmnable
Sirocitcs committed upon our people. The
endesyors of the British TO break the friend
ship between the Indians and the people OF this
country have no far succeeded, that II requires a
large sum annually 10 couhleract this base infu-
ence, and To secure our peace with them. Being
m ysof a member Of the Committee on Indian AZ
fairs, have taken pains TO ascertain the facts
and lind that British interference n this matter
costs about one million OF dollars annually. Our
frontiers have long been exposed TO the most cruel
ouIrages, where men, women, and children hav,
suffered, not only by being made cAptives, but by
being given IN to savage torture and murder. The
British officers themselves after the battle of the
River Raisn were compelled by the Indians to sur
render American citizens TO the demands Of savage
fury, to be tortured, and finally burnt the stake;
and this, SIR, was never atoned for; and will tell
you, sir, that the American people will never rest
satisfied, after these Inhumanos, until they have Il
chance TO "draw a bead" upon such foes. | may,
perhaps, feel more sensibly on this point, when |
consider The wrongs and injuries which my father
suffered while prisoner to the British and Indians
during the late war. IL was owing to the inhuman
treatment which he received at the hands OF his
captors, that he is now cripple and unable pur-
any Of the ordinary vocations of life. His
whole life from that period to the present time has
been one Of constant bodily suffering; night brings
him no relief, day dawns upon no hope. | swear
by the Eternal God, that If my life is spared, and
opportunities occur, will make an EngIishman's
life pay for every hour Of suffering which my father
has endured at their hands! | myself am deter
mined, my constituents determined, and, be.
lIeve, the American people are determined, TO
ayengc these injuries which the English have in
HIcted upon us, but have never yet atoned for
Why, sir, has she not twice brought her whole
power upon US to crush our independence After
the revolutionary war she let alone for awhile,
hut continually violating our rights as a nation
and insulting our flag on every sea- until "forbear-
ance ceased 10 be virtue" Notwiths standing all
our pacific measures and circumstances against
tHese Vlolauons, her aggression only became the
more common and insulting, and we were finally
compelled TO declare war against her. Again she
came across the waters, Boosting Of her power and
will to annlhiate our nationality, and though she
was bravey repelled she managed TO destroy few
small villages, and rob the unfortunate inhabitants
a mode Of warfare the most contemplate at all
times, and particularly unworthy ma nanmous
nation. These acts of rapine and plumber she has
never acned for. And now, because, forsooth, we
are not ready 10 give up territory which actually be-
longs TO US, there are some gentlemen in this
House who undertake 10 say that we are doing in
justice to Great Britain, and attempt TO apollo
gize for our course on this floor. Why, sir, the
moment that Great Britain takes any hostile
position towards this country third time, ten
thousand swords will leap from their scabbards and
million Of rifles will be taken down from the pegs
on which they ang, and million Of freemen will
fearessly march to the field Of battle; the remem-
brance of wrongs too long uEavenged, and the high
courage which frecmen fighting for their country
alone can know, will inspire them with desire for
the conflict, and determination to crush the perfd-
ous and insulting foe.
Mr.. PEsDLEToN here rose and said that if the
gentleman would give him leave, he would ask him
now to place him (Mr. P in proper position as
to the remark the gentleman had made about a
question Of veracity between himself and the gen.
teman; he wished the gentleman to explain that it
was not aquesuon of veracity, but merely one Of
inference.
thing personal will repeat that understood the
gentleman TO say that England had atoned or apol-
ogized for every outrage she had committed upon
us. | say she has not done so; and have pointed
out instances in proof Of this assertion If any
gentleman can show that Eng land has atoned for
these injuries will yield the point. She has, from
The very earliest settlement of our forefathers in
this country, continually made the objects of her
expressions and maevoence; her demands have al
ways been extravagant and unreasonable, and her
conduct towards us mperlous and illberal. Why,
sir England claims Canada, but she has no right 10
it, as | shall show before / get through my re-
marks started, sir, in these remarks with tho
proposition that VIC have an exclusive right to the
whole Of this island for the purpose of making an
experiment Of the adaptation of democratic princ-
plea to the wants and happiness of man. | con-
teRd, sir, that this American continent belongs ex-
clusivey to the people of the United States
We were a colony dependent on Great Britain
when we conquered Canada in the war Of 1745;
this we did before we were an Independent nation,
and oil the rights which Great Britain now has in
Canada were obtained through us. Canada was con-
quered by our valor and means Even Vir-
GINA contributed TO it; therefore | have said that
Great Britain has light TO it, and that it belongs
to people who originally conquered it from the
French and Indians. ! will put a case to the gen.
eman from Missouri Mr.. Sins which he will un-
but one great farm. (Yes, said Mr.. SIMS, | under
stand that perfectly.) propose, then, that this
farm be occupied only by American farmers.
q subscribe to that, said Mr. SIMs.) What farmer
Of common will undertake to make his crop of
corn, or wheat, or what not, without first going
to work to extirpa,e the weeds and briersf
But here we have Canada, Nova Scotia, and other
British possessions around US which are tares
among our wheat. These the weeds and briers
which | would have rooted out. They prevent the
spread Of our principles, and circumscrbe the bes-
sings of our governmental experiment. IL is time
rid Of these distractions to the progress of free
institutions. Their bahefu and corrupting Unfit
ence is but too sensby felt and too manifesty ev-
dent to escape the observation Of even the su
perfcal. We must remove this influence Our
people are increasing in numbers, and we need for
our enterprisng sons and daughters every foot of
territory thus encountered by the tools and slaves Of
arstocratc power.
The moment that England, or any foreign power
opposed to our system, obtains foothold on our
soil with our permission, we lend club to break
our own heads with. What would Great Britain
say if we got a foothold on her island and put
institutions into operation thereI We have Just
as good right to do it, che had to establish her
institutions here. Would she permit such thing
for moment No; our principles are so different