Weekly national intelligencer., 1851-01-25
SPEECH OF Mr.. HUNTER,
OF VIRGINIA,
ONCLALMS FOR FRENCH SP0LLATTONS.
liz SENATE, MosDAr, JANUARY 20, 1851.

speak before assembly against oregone conclusion and
is especially dsagreeable upon subject which has been
often and fully discussed the under considera
ton. But however dstasefu the task may be- there are
occasions which may be ones duty it. Such
conceive be my In the present instance OF the Sc
et Committee raised by the Senate for the special consdea-
ton of this subject the only member opposed the bill
before and perhaps may be expected by those
whose opinions in measure represented on that
sion that should give the argument the other side, the
chairman The committee the Senator from Connsccu
already presented his views in favor of the bill Indeed this
seems to be of the in which is especially appro
pirate that Senators should rely their committees TO undergo
the labor OF investigating the documents the speeches. the
REPORTS and the statements OF fact upon which the merits Of
this depend These fill Volumes and il cannot be
peced that each Senator should examine them all for himself
II will be my object then, to give resume of the argu
menL and shall endeayor make it brief can Such
presentation of the may perhaps be useful even to
those gentlemen who have heretofore examined this question,
m refreshing their memories and be OF some service to
those who have looked into il at all. But not
these considerations would have induced undertake the
vain and fuless task ef opposing this BILL which fear
predestined pass il had not been for considerations
neced with the financial view of the question.
proposed in this bill TO appropriate five millions Of dol
liars upon principles which evident must lead further
snd probably much greater expenditure. If appropriate
five millions upon the principle that we are liable for these
debts, how undertake say, this bill proposes to
Do that will pay only five Millions and more If it
is debt, bound to pay all that is due. If
tuity think show only that ought to make
it, but that this, of all times, the most inappropriate for
such an experiment. ..... .r. a..
When the Secretary of the Treasury made his last annua
report, debt amounted to sixty -four millions Of dollars
Since that time the acceptance by Texas Of the terms offered
by the United States in relation her boundary has added
millions more, making sevenyfour millions, and this bill,
If il passes will increase debt seventy millions
The debt thus increased time when the Secretary
of the Treasury proposing to spend more by nearly nine
hundred thousand dollars for the next fiscal than he
poets receive from all sources whatever; and at me too,
when according his expectation, we are to be cut of
years to come. ..s.,...... ...u. ...,..
Sir we go on with expenditures at this fearful pace,
where it to end And especially in such as this,
where making sort Of provision to pay the
debt hereafter The path which nations tread to bankruptcy
by which they make approach to it as often to
shake Governments and convulse society," indeed an abyss
sewn with flowers and the man who would attempt to warn
them to the consequences when 10 mid career should ex
pect find himself dschaIging but hankess ofce Yet
disagreeabe may be- it is somebody's duty TO do it, and
perhaps is nobody duty than mine upon the present
occasion. ."
But may be told that all this is the demand
for the payment of debt if it be justly DUE admit if
beusy due, and if the entitled to it can be certain
y ascertaned that bound to pay it but it. as wish
to show such debt is not DUE and that the payment Of this
money would be gatuty, then it is very proper
consider whether the treasury in condition 10 enable us
to make donations The question upon the JUS
ce of the demand and that is the point which now proi
1t is maintained, side that the demand is just, be-
cause when negotiated the convention of 1900 gave
up the indemnes to which citizens were entitled in
der get rid Of certain valuable pretensions which the
French made against arising out of the old treaty of a
and of amity and made in l77S and the
consular convention Of l7ss and having thus converted
private property to public uses having thus sold out these
claims for valuable consideration we bound it is said,
TO emunerate the claimants for private property which
taken for public
On the other hand is maintained that we did not ex-
change them for any valuable peensons the part Of the
French nasmuch Of the petensons of the French
vera neye OF
gone in 1900, when this convention negotiated be-
the treaties which they predicated had been
abrogated and justly abrogated, years before. From
which follows that there exchange OF the claims Of
citizens for valuable consideration, because the French
had just petenons against and therefore did not
convert private property to public use, SO as 10 make our
selves responsible for it. 1t is also maintained that
tered into in order TO retaiae on the French the inu
that had been committed by them and
that having entered into this for that purpose and to
procure indemnify for the past and security for the future
absoed at the time Of the convention Of 1900
from the obligation of further prosecuting those claims and
only it affirmed that had discharged ourselves Of
all obligation to citizens to prosecute them further but
that the French could nghuy plead, in effect they did
plead, this satisfaction of the demand against hem
that after the treaty Of peace terminated the the in
IDENTITIES valid either against the French
against this Government In other words that MI. Murray
right when he wrote to the Secretary of State after the
final ratification Of that treaty, expressing the hope that the
Senate meant express by their Of raying that
treaty that the claims for indemnies nuties That
such indeed the views which governed the Senate in
their upon ais matter is think, in every way pro-
5abe and may be inferred from the history of the times
Sir, hope 10 make good both of these propositions; but
il succeed in proving either, shall present full and a
defence for the United States against the claims the pay
Of which it is sought subject them And, first
the proposition III relation the value of those French
pretensions. In order ascertain what their value is let
see for what they and what is their nature. Il
the first place, of the peensons which they founde
upon those treaties could have been derived from then
by any fair construction. And with respect to the other
which they up they gone in lsO0 because the ea
which they founded bad been justly abrogaed
that of their preensons had any foundation
in the treaty. very slight examination will show. On
that they had right to their ships in our ports
This founded the fact that ether nations forbid
den in the treaty against them in ports, and the
inferred from this prohibition to others positive permisso
themselves in ports against foreign nations wit
whom they To state such proposition is
refute il. "
The next preenson which they raised was, that under
clause a the treaty of amity and which allowe
them bring in prizes free of duty and carry them whittier
they pleased they had right to bring them in
sell them in the United States free of duty. Thus, while
could lay such duties pleased articles produced
their agriculture Manufactures yet in regard to this mat
ter Of prizes, forbidden under the treaty to levy
duty at all must be unnecessary to argue such question
The next that their consuls had the right erercis
admiralty jurisdiction shores and in towns. The
founded thai petenson provision in the consular
venon which gave the French consus the right Of ursdc
ton within the interior Of their ships. To show the
raised in relation vessels captured shores and with
in man nfo