The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-09-22

thores claimed the right and expressed the determine
ton to hang them a. traitors These were at Quo
soners all bound to Boston to be exchanged The Br
tsh officers came ON board, and began to select the
ihmen whom they intended to send home grace thl
eaows The officers had NO sure means of deteotins Che
Irish but by their brogss Or their confession Scott who
was below; bearing what was going on, immedi.te,y
rushed on deck and told his afflicted to hold their
peace Then, turning to the British officers he boldly
denounced their proceedings and threatened like
retaliation upon the British prisoners IL they darsd
to execute q single among his comrades The
officers haughtiIy reminded him that he himself
prisoner, and ordered him into the cabin. He was
not man to be intmidated, and refused to go, and
again called upon his Irish soldiers to
questions high quarrel ensued but the result was
men for they would not open their lips The officers,
however had already selected twenty three before
fellow prisoners and put on board frisate and dis
patched to England to be hung But they did not go
until Scott had solemny warned the Brtsh authorities
that he would surely avengc the death OF every man they
dared to lay violent hands upon, by terrible retrbu
ton upon the first English prisoners that ehould fall into
his hands after he should be liberated Scott was soon
exchanged How faithfully he kept his promise shall
He proceeded at once to Washington nd obtained
the passage by Congress Of retaliatc up Brit
ish prisoners any such outrage threatened Que
bee lie again fought and conquered lie had prisoners
in plenty lie forthwith selected twenty three Of ecnu
inc English descent for he declared he would Offset
Irish by Irish and held them hostages for the doomed
twenty lrishmen taken home to be executed lie
then to the British authorities what he had
done and informed them that If they dared to
their threat the twentyth three Hishmen the twenty
sharing the same fate The consequence vss that the
OF the lrshmen spared and at the close Of tho
war they were embarked from England and shortly after
ariivedin New York;
| What tremendous threat, (Scott himself being
| prisoner at Quebec,) when ''he solemnly waIne
the British authorities that he would surely aveng
the death of every man they dared to lay hand
upon, by terrible retributi0n upon the first Eng
.h prisoners that should fall into his hands, after
be should be liberated!' Is it not wonderful
that they dared to liborate him.. The President
had sometime before ordered two for one to be in
generated as hostages for every adopted citizen
whose life was threatened, and the officers of our
army and navy had duly executed the order. But
what was the actual execution of the threat by
such Lilliputans as Madison, and Brown, and Deca.
tur, and tho rest Of our commanders, by land
and sea, in comparison with the bare assertion of
Capt. Lemuel CULVER, when he was q prisoner on
board a British ship That dread word, spoken by
the terrific Scott was mere potent than the Prea
dents, backed by the army and navy. &C The con-
sequence was that the lives of the lrishmen were
spared
1t is pity to spoil this heroic drama 80 beautifully
gotten up by General SCOTS fancy the of the
Presidential election to reconcile adopted cit
zens to support him, after having boasted that he
was the founder of the party whose object was to
prevent them from being adopted citizens ut all.
But it must be done. Mr. Madison 8 message proves
| that what Scott pretends he started in 1913,
executed national law from the Threshold of the
in 1872 and the statute of 1918 (of which Scott
assumes the paternity in relation to retaliation,
proves that the very particulars which he gives to
| color his fabrication must be false The act was
not passed to empower the President to do what he
had already done, but to give the authority of Con-
gress to more stringent measure, that of retala-
ting the death of any adopted citizen executed for
! treason, as being taken in arms, by that of any
British subject whether taken in arms not, and
| wherever found A bill had been introduced by
Mr. Wright to authorize retaliation, but it had
been laid aside unnecessary, the President hay
| ing the power and having exercised it. At
| the close of the session, Mr. Campbell, of Ten.
| nessee obtained the passage Of bill designating
| the mode of retaliation, as well as authorizing
it and prescribing how it should be brought to bear
upon the enemy-the sufferers to be selected as fol-
lows:-It designates, Sin the first instance, pr.
| soner who having been in the United States and
having been citizen thereof, shall have been taken
whilst voluntarily bearing arms in the service of
Great Britain against the United States"
The second class is composed of those native Of
some one Of the British colonies now the United
States, may not have been citizen Of the United
| States"
And third, on failure to find sufficient number Of
| either class among the prisoners taken from the
enemy, the President might cause retaliation to
be execute d any British subject wherever found,
and whether taken in arms or not against the
United States, (see the act in Sd vol of Nics's
| This record defeats therefore, the crcumstanh
alities on which the general relied to give the APP
peaIaIce of very exact truth to the story fabricated
To proptiate the Irish ard other adopted citizens
| his support notwithstanding his warfare against
them he tells in detail that after the law passed.
| she again fought and conquered-he had prisoners
| in plenty-he forthwith selected twenty three Of
genuine English descent (for he declared he would
| not Offset Irish by Irish) and held them for the
doomed twentythrse lrishmen taken home to be
executed !"
Now, it appears from the very act of Congress
which Scott pretends he had caused to be passed,
| that prisoners Of genuine English descent could
rot be selected in the first in the second instance.
The law makes the selection of the first and second
class, and the first might include Irishmen natural
/ i've hO had IN nd inip fha
| British standard, If any such there were The
second class was specified for the purpose ofmakng
the tory refugees born in country who had taken
up arms against it, furnish the next victims. And
in the last place, the law allowed any British sub.
| ject wherever found and whether taken in arms
not, to be pu to death in retaliation for the execu
ton of any American citizen, but did not allow
| Scott " forthwith to make the selection, to
make it at all But the President of the United
States-and unluckily for his long memory, it APP
| pears that in the very case of the twenty three
prisoners be cites for his ownthe President did not
depute him to act in the matter Mt all, but did de-
pute General Dearborn, fact shown by that careful
collector of news during the war, Niles, who quotes
10 the 18th volume Of his Register page 23S the fol-
| lowing passage from General Dearborn's letter.
8 ] have taken measures in relation to the twenty
three prisontrs who are to be put in closs confne.
ment."
| Hence it appears that Scott's attempt to take on
himself the functions of the President, of Congress,
and Of General Dearborn, with respect to the re-
taliatory measures proves to be failure from the
| beginning to the end. The whole drama must pass
for felton, unless he bring forward some of the
spectators Of that remarkably theatrical scene, of
which We have in the autobiography such an inter-
espg wood cut--the twenty-three Irish prisoners,
to man, landing on the quay at New York, and
bracng him. Singuarly enough it so hap.
pened'-this is the written account, and is the con-
| yersationa idiom Of Scott himself singularly
enough it so happened that on the very day of the
| landing of these old comrades of General Scott on
the wharf, their commander and friend, then still
suffering from his wounds, passed along the quay on
| foot He was instantly recognized by the now
liberated prisoners, and knowing all he had accom-
plished in their behalf, they rushed upon him with
cheers, expressing teryor of affection, gratitude
and delight, that it is impossible describe Their
| JOY mbounded the recognition became
mutual. He seized and shaken till the
mingled pain Of his wounds and the emotions
| produced by such n heartfelt exhibition,