Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1847-12-17
opening celebration, sat down to splendid sup
nor af tho LAFAYETTE Hotel

support ever extended to tn cause of internal
improvements by their distinguished guest Mr. !
Webster, referring also to he great diplomatic
ability he had displayed in the negotiation of
the treaty of Washington lS43. lie propos-
ed the health of Daniel Webster, which was
drank with acclamations.
Mr.. Webster rose to respnd, and spoke SUBJ
stantially as follows
lie said that he had alreay in another place,
detained the company as IA as proprietv, and
the state of his own health would warrant. But
nevertheless he could not rerain from express
ing his gratitude for the m,mer in which his
friend. the president of thethy, had mentioned
his name, and the cordialitywith which it had
been received.
The gentleman had alluhd to certain trans
actions in which he had hid an agency while
connected with the executie department of the
general government, and particularly to the
treaty of 1912 between thsNountry and Great
Britain. This was an event of considerable i'm
portance, and it provided. pfllaps he could say
without ostentation, for tn. amicable arrange
ment of international matters Of no very tritling
magnitude. He should not depart from truth in
saying that all matters of Hunters Clubs, Barn.
burners incursions, and we certainly would not
speak of Barnburners as the term was now I'M
derstood, with disrespect a laugh l-forays from
one side of the boundary line to another-that
these have all ceased since that time What
silenced these forays? We had military
force of a thousand men along the line, but it
was found inefficient, General Scott, and other
chieftains on the frontier could not lay the ef-
fervescence Of hostile feeling. What did so p!
The simple stpulations between the two gov
ernmcnts that such persons as committed enor-
nous crimes in the one country and escaped in
to the other, should be sent back, on formal de-
mand. for trial in the country where the offence
was perpetrated From the moment of the rat
icaton of the treaty of Washington there was
no foray at all. not single tre>pass from the
Bay Of Funday along the whole frontier OF three
thousand miles.
No such thing as this had existed before in
the history of nations. Previons to 1912 there
was no such treaty. for the surrender of fugi-
tives from Justice, between sny of the European
powers But since that time the example OF
the United States has been generally followed
by the great powers OF Europe. Prussia, Rus
STA, France all these have adopted the princi-
pie. and generally adhered to tue forms which
were thought wise here.
BY the original treaty of 1888, the boundary
line between the British possessions in North
America and the United STATES. was traced
along the st. Lawrence and the great Lakes
and the torty-tith degree of North latitude. 1t
pursued the middle of the river and the lakes
1t was a fixed geographical inc, and was run
out BY two or three commissions. But it SC
happened, according to this boundary, that tie
vessels of the two nations could not navi gate
some parts ofthe St. Lawrence and the Upper
Lakes, without trespas-ing upon the territory
OF the adjoining power. The American coul
not conveniently navigate from Lake Erie thro
Lake Huron, without traver,ing part OF the
Canada waters while on the other hand. in the
tong sa" % .no ~ LaS e';cc he channel an,
the deep water were on the American side
For all purposes Of jurisdiction, it was vel
enough TO let the line remain as it was, but foI
the purposes of navigation it was quite obvious
that the river and the lakes should be open tc
the ships of both nations. from shore to shore
Thi, was accordingly provided f r in the treaty
of Washington. The stipulation was opposed
in some iarters,as being a surrender Of Ameri.
can soil to British INVASION, but happily it was
ratified, and he believed that every body now
was convinced that the provision was beneficial
! (Cheers.)
His friend had touched upon another topic
the great subject Of internal Improvement
WHY. what in the world vas government insti-
tuted for, except internal improvement Ger
tainlv not wnoy, or chiefly, to regulate the ex
htions were frequently those of war, Of hostil
tv. But governments were not made for war
| At present, it was true, there was extended com
mercial relations between different countries
but they were only one branch, and that not the
most important branch, of affairs to which the
attention and care of government should be de
voted lie took it that all really good govern
ment was established to do that Tor the people
which needed to be done, and which the people
I could not do for themselves. Government SHOULD
/ be merely the united, the concentrated force o
the people And therefore, a priori, 1t was thf
duty of government to consider whether tia
thing which was necessary To be done, could b.
done without government aid. lfnot the pre-
sumption clearly was that the government oug'
to grant that aid or do that thing. (Much ap
plause.) Such had always appeared to him bu
fair Interpretation of the duty OK government
And the propriety Of this view he thought clear
" appeared from another consideration. New
Hampshire could not collect a dollar from an
custom house within her limits ; Massachusetts
one Of the great commercial States, could nc
collect dollar from any of her custom houses
All the financial benefits of the entire commerc
of the country accrued to the general govern
ment Most certainly then it was for the genel
al government to provide for the necessities {
commerce. Did it require the protection {
forts, of lighthouses, of piers, of breakwaters-
who but government was bound to grant ths
protection!
Take the case of the breakwater in the Del;
ware-a work opposed for twenty years upo
constitutional grounds, though, happily, witt
opt eifect-who was to expend million of mc
ncy on that? The little State of Delaware ?
She had no int est in the matter-at least II
exclusive interest-not one quarter so much a
the city ofPhiladelphia. Should it be Pennsy
i vania, or New Jersey? Neither was alone il
terested in the work. Maine, New lIampshir
Massachusetts-all New England was as niue
concerned in that improvement as any part
the country and in fact more so, for New En-:
, land was more interested in the navigation
the Delaware than was any other region, al
New England vessels to be wrecked there
Take another nslance-the work projected
the harbor of Mobile some years since. ltw;
, opposed by the representatives of that very u
, gion, but he had voted for it throughout. r
turning from Washington at the close of a ses
ion when the measure was unsuccessfuly urge
r one of his constituents, little vexed at Il
r course of proceeding, had asked him how
/. could support a measure which was so siren
ously opposed by the very people II was mo
designed to benefit. His answer was ready
: because, during the two or three years befor
o there had been several ships lost there. Sotr
!. it was that the whole country was concerned
the improvement of any of its parts. (Paudits
But he supposed that allusion was more