The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1850-03-23


The two great seas Of the world wash the one
and the other shore We NAV realize the
beautiful description ofthe ornamental edglng
of the buckler of Achilles
"Now the broad shield complete the artist crowned
With his last hand, and poured the ocean round:
In living silver seemed the waves to roll
And beat the buckler's verge and bound the whole
Mr.. CALHOUN. rise to correct what l
conceive TO be an error OF the distinguished
Senator from Massachusetts,. as TO the mo-
tives which induced the acquisition of FIori-
da, Louisiana, and Texas He attributed It
to the great growth of cotton. and the desire
of the Southern people to get IN extension
of territory, with the view of cultivatInp it
with more profit than they could in a COM
pact and crowded settlements. Now, Mr..
President the history of these acquisitions
think was not correctly given. 1t is we'll
known that the acquisition Of Florida was the
result ofan indian war. The Seminole In
dams residing along the line attacked one of
our fortresses; troops were ordered out. thew
were driven back and, under the command
Of General jackson. Pensacola and ST. Marks
were seized. 1t was these acts and not the
desire for the extended cultivation of cotton
which led TO the acquisition of Florida. ad-
nit that there had been for a long time de-
sire on The part Of the South. and of the Ad-
ministration | believe. to acquire Florida, but
it was very different from the reason assign
ed by the honorable Senator There were
collected together four tribes of Indans-the
Greeks, the Chocktaws, the Chickasaws. and
the CherOkees. about thirty thousand war
riors-who held connexion, almost the whole
of them, with the Spanish authorities in Flor
ida, and carried on trade perpetualy with
them. 1t was well known that most PERM
cious influence was thus exercised over them ;
and it was the desire ofpreventing conflict be-
tween the Indians and ourselves in the South,
as | believe, which induced the acquisition
of Florida. / come now to Louisiana. We
well know that the immediate cause for the
acquisition of Louisiana was the suspension of
our right of deposite at New Orleans. I'm
der a treaty with Spain we had a right to the
navigation of the river as far as New Orleans,
and right to make deposItes in the port of
New Orleans. The Spanish authorities in
terrupted that right, and that interruption
produced a great agitation at the West and
may say throughout the whole United
States. The gentleman then IN opposition, a
highly respectable party-the old Federal
party, which have never said n word of dis
respect in regard to--if mistake not, took
the lead in a desire to resort to arms 10 &C
quire that territory. Mr. Jefferson more
prudent, desired to procure it by purchase
A purchase was made. in order to remove the
difficulty and to give an outlet to the West to
TO the ocean. That was the immediate cause
Of the acquisition of Louisiana. Now sir we
come to Texas. Perhaps no gentleman had
more to do with the acquisition of Texas than
myself; and l aver, Mr.. President, that
would have been among the very last indi-
viduals in the United States TO have made
any movement at that time fer the acquisition
! Of Texas and l 90 further, if know myself
| was incapable of acquiring any territory
simply on the ground that it was to be an en-
largement of slave territory. | would Just as
| freely have acquired it if had been on the
! Northern as on the Southern side. No, sir
very different motives actuated me. | knew
at very early period-I will not go into the
history of 1.-THE British Government had
given encouragement to the abolitionists oil
the United States, who were represented at
/ the Worlds Convention. The question oil
the abolition of slavery was agitated in that
Convention. One gentleman stated that Mr..
Adams informed him that if the British Gov
ernment wished TO abolish slavery IN the
United States they must begin with Texas.
A commission was sent from this Worlds
Convention to the British Secretary of Strte,
Lord Aberdeen; and it so happened that a
gentleman was present when the interview
took place between Lord Aberdeen and the
committee, who gave me a full account of it
shortly after it occurred. Lord Aberdeen
fell into the project: and gave full encourage
ment to the abolitonsts. Well, sir it is well
known that Lord Aberdeen was very direct,
and, in my opinion, very honest and worthy
man; and when MIR. Pakenllam was sent
here TO negotiate with regard to Oregon, and
H..
dered to read declaration 10 this Govern
ment stating that the British Government
was anxious to put an end to slavery all over
the world, commencing al Texas. 1t is well
known, further that at that very time a ne
gotation was going on between France and
England to accomplish that object. and our
Government was thrown by stratagem odt Of
the negotiation and that object was, first, to
induce Mexico to acknowledge the indepen-
denCe of Texas upon the ground that she
would aboIish It. All these arc matters Of
history and where is the man so blind am
sure the Senator from Massachusetts is not
so bnd-as not to see that if the pro lect of
Great Britain had been successful, the whole
frontier of the States of Louisiana and Ar
kansas and the adjacent States would have
been exposed to the iaroads OF British emissa-
RES. Sir, so far as | was concerned, | put 1t
exclusively upon that ground. Inever would
run into the folly of remuneration, which
always held to be absurd. Nor, sir, would
put it upon the ground-which might well
have put it-of commercial and manufacture
ing considerations; because those were not
my motive-prncipIes, and I chose to assign
what were. So far as commerce and manu-
features were concerned, | would not have
moved in the matter at that early period.
The Senator objects that many Northern
gentlemen voted for annexation. Why, sir
it was natural that they should be DESTROYS of
fulfilling the obligations Of the constitution;
and hesides whnt man at that time dnnhted