The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1849-10-10

of the services rendered. together with
lien upon the vessel and cargo for the
amount OF salvage he was entitled to. If
M Poussin did not know that Commander
Carpenter had valid claim for salvage,
he did know that he had rendered services
to the Eugene which would infinitely
overbalance any injury that her captain
and owners had sustained by brief de-
tention Of thirty hours. The demand,
therefore, that Commander Carpenter
should be severely censured merely for
OBTAINING the ship for SO brief period, in
prosecution of his claim for salvage, was
highly uDbecoming in the French govern
ment, and totally unworthy OF serious con-
sideration or argument by the Govern
ment of the United States.
Add to all this the fact that the last ad-
ministration had officially expressed its
entire approval of the conduct of Com
mander Carpenter throughout the whole
affair! Does the French organ think that
this decision of Mr.. Folks administration
should have been reversed? Does it en-
terrain the opinion that the present Adj
ministration should have gone behind that
decision to rip up the matter, and try
Commander Carpenter for conduct (which
had been passed upon and decided, en-
phaticaly and fully sanctioned, by the last
administration If It does, let it don the
French livery at once, and abjure the
name, heart and feelings Of an American.
If it does not, the knavery of its course in
this business is beyond compare. In con-
trast with the course pursued towards
Commander Carpenter by the Union, we
quote the following remarks of the Albion,
British paper published in New York
From the Nep York Albion Of September 20.
"Whst dropping however, the French minis
ter, for the moment, the American journals have
gone largely into the question of salvage claimed
by ships of for rendered to vessels in
distress. DESTROYS Of finding fault with the Adj
'ministration for supporting the conduct of its
officers, of the opposition papers have
charged Commander Carpenter, Of the United
States steamer Iris with a breach of naval ETH
in putting forward claim for salvage under the
circumstances This charge, we are glad to say,
has fallen to the ground on every point; dgent
searchers into precedents having established that
both in law and equity the claim might have been
'substantiated, though Commander Carpenter lib
'erally waived it. After perusing the various doc
uments and letters that have been made public We
come to the conclusion that the conduct of that
officer in the highest degree praiseworthy
throughout, whether regards his professional
skill in the rescue Of the Eugene, his subse-
'quent proceedings. His statement of the facts of
the is also manly and straightforward
Can the Democracy of the Union read
the foregoing frank, manly, impartial, and
just judgment pronounced by an English
man upon the conduct Of Commander Car
pender, without hanging their heads in
very shame at the abandoned course pur-
sued by their self-styled ''sole organ" at
the seat of government, throughout this
whole proceeding
The Union finds great fault with our
Government for submitting M. Poussin's
insulting letters to the consideration and
action of his own government. 1t says,
Union of September 27th)
'In fact, the Secretary (Mr. Clayton) had three
courses to pursue-
"lst To have notified M. Poussin that he could
hold no further intercourse with him.
"Or, I'd. He might have called the French
government TO recall him.
"Or, thirdly. The course which he actually
pursued, which was the worst Of all.''
De- - mind tbot A., ;o,..,.I e..
which the foregoing extract is taken has
been all along laboring to make it appear
that the course pursued by our Govern
ment towards M. Poussin was unneces-
sarily harsh. The course which il sac
tually pursued in referring his highly
Objectionable conduct to his own govern
ment, the Union says, was ''worse" than
if it had called on that government to
recall him. Now, the former course was
decidedly more lenient towards M. Pous-
sin than the latter would have been Ii
afforded him a chance of remaining A
note from M. de Tocqueville, disap-
proving, in suitable terms, OF the insult
ing language of M. Poussin to this Gov
eminent, with an assurance that that
disapproval had been made known to M.
Poussin, followed by an apology from the
latter, might have opened the door for re-
newal OF official intercourse between him
and this Government. This, the Democratic
editors of the Congressional Globe seem to
have been at no loss to understand, when
they imputed the reference of the matter
to the French government as an "error"
arising from an "excess of good inten-
tons" on the part Of our Government.
M. Poussin certainly deserved no mani
festation of "an excess of good inten-
tons" at the hands of this Government,
which he had so repeatedly. and without