New-York daily tribune., 1856-05-20

Il
t.uons with En- Sine-who was induced, BY the
representations msa., to him on Msdis'n's behalf,
to solicit and obts,n fcrter instructions and sddi-
tonal authority-the embsrs'o' which had cncoun-
tered the most bitter hostility rmong our people,
aud which seemed likely to pro woke direct
resistance to the Federal authorl..v had, in
the session Of Congress which prece>ted the
acce&ion of Madison, been supesedsd ~
ncn-ntercourse with England and France, which,
as to either Of those nations, the President
Was authorized to suspend BY proclamation upon
their making q satisfactory arrangement with US.
| As soon ss Madison became President, he entered
into negotiation with Erskine which resulted in
upon, to the infinite satisfaction Of the whole coun
tIy, which suffered exceedingly from the suspension
Of trade, proclamation was issued renewing the
commercial intercourse with Great Britain. This
public satisfaction however, WAS of but short dura-
ton. Tho British Government refused to ratify
Erskires arrangements on the ground that he had
exceeded his Instructions; the non intercourse was
again renewed; eur Government was eXssperated
and mortified by the failure of scheme which had
promised to relieve them from all their embarrass-
ments, and things were thrown back into worse
condition than ever.
Erskine was recalled, and in his place the British
Government sent out Francis James jackson, other
wise known as Copenhagen jackson, for having
been employed just before, in conjunction with
powerful Brith armament 10 treat with Denmark
to induce that country to surrender its feet to the
pri, Oh thov IN
by Bcnsparte; which negotiation not succeeding,
the British had carried off the Danish feet BY
force. At that moment our Government was ex-
ceedingy core. The developments in relation to
the negotiation with Erskne, had placed them in
the position of having courted that arrangement by
concessions on their part, and by declarations Of
good will toward England, and dissatisfaction
toward France not very satisfactory to the bulk OF
their political supporters and as soon as it became
apparent that there was no hope of making with
Jackson an arrangement similar to that entered
into with Erskine having no hope from negotiation,
they resolved at least to recover by a display Of
spirit the ground they had lost with their own
party at home.
Having first resolved to communicate with the
new envoy only in writing, they complained, among
other things, that jackson had offered no eIplana-
tOn why Erskine arrangement had not been
carried out, to which jackson replied that the
American Government had no right to complain Of
the dsavowal of an arrangement "made under such
circumstances as could only lead to such conse-
"quences a. had followed" The implication here
was that the arrangement with Erskne had been
entered into by our Government as an eIperimenH
and in the knowledge that it was not fully bprne
out by Erskines instructions-a charge at that
time pretty commonly made in the opposition
newspapers and to which the facts Of the case gave
good deal Of colOr-but not at all, on that ac-
count, the more palatable in Jacksons mouth.
Some statements and argumentations in sub
sequent dispatch were construed into repetition
on Jackson's part of this offensive suggestion,
and in spite of his attempts at explanation,
which were construed into additional repetitions
Of the Ofense, be was informed that the American
Government would have nothing further to do with
a minister 80 regardless of diplomatic deeorum,
and that preliminary to an application for his re-
call further intercourse would be had with him.
1t was thought at the time that this proceeding
might provoke from Great Britain some severe
retort. Even declaration of war was apprehended
by some parties. The Brtish, however, took the /
matter very coOlly. jackson was formally recalled,
and the fact was communicated In an autograph
letter from the King to the President Nor was
any sign given of particular sensibity on the sub
ect, except aome delay in appointing successort to
jackson, which, when noticed by our Government
was explained as having grown out Of purely do
mestc and accidental causes.
Undoubtedly the present Administration would
have stood upon much better ground had they done
by Champion what Madison did BY Rose-sus-
pended him at once and then asked his recall. The
odense charged against Crampton-a breach Of our
laws, or conuivance at it, is much more serious
matter than any mere breach Of the awsof etiquette
The Executive has placed itself in an awkward
predicament by having kept up its relations with
this offender and referred his punishment to his own
Government, instead Of acting for itself at once.
The question now is, and pretty serious one too,
whether by thus as it were, making the British
Government the referee, as between Champion
and ourselves, We have not, to certain
extent, bound ourselves to abide by the ac-
ton of that Government, and whether it Is
not now rather late in the day TO re-
sumo the matter into our own hands. As
to spy serious trouble with Great Britain TO re-
sut from this affair, we do not believe in it. The
recognition of Walker is a much more dangerous
matter; but we must confess to some apprehen-
sions considering their awkward management
hitherto lest with an excellent case to begin with