New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-05
HENRY ADAMS'S HISTORY.
MADISON'S FIRST ADMINISTRATIONS

SONS.
Although. as Mr.. Adams points ont. faction
began to subsidc shortly after the opening vi
Nladisons first administration. it was 1Grh''icnt
enough at the outset to interior" very seriously
with the formation of his Cabinet and il WAS
powerful enough to force upon lin Secretary
of State whose incompetence threw upon Tic
Executive the burden of conducting MS DEPART
mcnt. The opposition TO Gallatn was IN Inc
opinion Of the historian, pcrvcrsc and unicaSoh-
able ANY question" he SAYS. "ot "aiiG'h
patriotism suggested ideas even more dcl!r;''e IMAM
those raised by his fitness. y party wh'rh ma
once trusted Burr and which still trusted VIII
kinson not to mention Giles himself, had h''le
right TO discuss Galatians patriotism. or the hon.
esty of forcign-born citizens. AMI ne adds:
THE men who doubted Galatians pa'r!otisin were
for tho most par: themselves ha'htuaiIy iacuouS'
or actually dallying with ideas Of treason Yet
Giles aud Samuel Smith and their clique stub
bcrnly hold their ground. and Madison. fearful
Of party schism. was paralNNcd until somebody
suggested that If Robert Smith could he put IN
the Treasury, his brother Samuel would vote TO
confirm Callatin as Secretary of State" MIR.
Adams thinks il unnecessary to rharacIcri2e sGrh
an arrangements: bat the position OF Madison
was irtolerable and. yiednl TO circumstances he
proposed i: 10 Galatin the latter at once
pointed out that if Eohhcr Smith. whose in
competence vas notorious. were placed IN inc
Treasury, he Gai.atin. would lave I" c"ndlct
the finances III oddition to thc Department "i
STATE; and naturally lie declined tie double
burden. 1t would lie better, hr suggested. tha'
Smith should become Secretary of State and nc
himself remain in tie Treasury Madison ac-
ceptcd the idea, and thus took upon himself the
weight Of the State Department III ad"i'ioh 10
his owl.
With the exception Of Gallatin thcr was no
able man in the Cabinet. The War and Navy d.
partments were held by co,orlcss men, EustiS AMI
Paul Hamilton The Sccrct,ry Of state was ho'h
incompetent and mischcvous. In council he h'"
his tongue. agreeing taci'ly with Administration
measures Outsidc he tali;rl freely, and often
against the policy he at the time supporting
BY his vote. Madison, however. had his haI"s
tied and could only wait tor better times "I'n
the patience characteristic of him lis situation
aad that Of the country WIS @raNeV cnoarr'eS''"1'
The President of the United States il 1909 was
By force of external condition., disabled 'Iolh car
rying out auyth!l.- ike an i'!c ."ndcn' course
France and England ro@,:o Jed tie American
pohcy The English Or'.,rs il toHnci tic l}"E-
lin md Milan Drciccs OF Napo,coh. trcn'h",l 80
directly upon Anne icun Interests and II ;iis th"t
neithor Congress nor the l.Ac'u'Ne coHhi MAJ
tain national freedom Of action. ~ thc same
time the country was feeling tie effects o! J":'rr-
IONS embargo. which had proiiccd S'n' results
entirely unexpected but destined 10 be hi.h!T III
portant 1t had created manufacturing ih'":cr
In New England, whose spind"s had multiplied III
two years from eight 10 eighty thon>and 30
large a capital had been InNr>'''d IL r"IS WEAK
when the rcopcun. of commercial intercourse was
proposcG tie measure encouuI rel or-ani2rd and
strong resistance Non-intcrr onrsc had LOT con-
tinucd the paralysis Of the embargo Shpowlcrs
han had ma
it, and many hitherto unused chr.H"ls OF dc
had been opened.
The Orders in Conntil however. and the Napoe
Unio DEGREES, furnished the most e'mbaTT" >a.i5
and complex problems TO tie Administrations u
was Of course the concern Of the Government 'ha'
France and England should both remove their
barriers to commerce. But neither would moe
before the other, and both We're influenced rot
only By selfregard bnt by prejudces and cnn'.'ieI
The whole course Of eTcnts shows coiirl'i|Fci;
that Madison had FAR greater provocaiion> from
Franco than from England during Tie rcrl"d pre-
cedinx aad leading up to The war with III" latter;
and Mr. Adams shows clearly enough that '"o'c
who alleged that the President cherished d per
sonal preference for France certainly had very
strong grounds for their opinion. whether or h"t
10 was correctly taken. Nothing bI' vrNation AMI
evaporation, however, gre" ont Of 'Ac I"iair's
with either country. In En-. land Canning nphcd
the tradition of indifference to and non-co'npr'-
hcnsion of American affairs which had already
produced results 50 damasinc 10 Great Britain.
In instructing Erskne, ohe Minister 10 Washing
ton he took grounds which put rccon"iuatloh ont
II the question If hts orders were followed Frs
kline construed lis instructions broadly, ana
effected an arrancemen, which Canning promptly
disavowcd, TO the aggravatipn Of '.c American
sense of injury Bat this kind of thing was not
do Of no channel
was a question Of diplomatic tcrgivcrsati"n or
DOWNRIGHT ncndacity, no one cord compete with
Napoleon.
Tie history Of the French negotiations occupies
q large space in these vormes, and il is al as
tonishrg record of shameless trrachery ana
duplicity the part of the Emperor and OF
humiliation and embarrassment the part Of
President Madison and his Cabinet. EnSl'nd
having agreed 10 repeal TIE Orders in Council
directly the Bc-lin and Milan DEGREES We're with
drawn it became tho object Of American diplomacy
az Paris 10 persuade the French Government 10 tho
step Napoleon who had not the least lea Of
abrogatirg the Berlin and Milan Drcres. played
with General Armstrong AZ Paris, and with Madi
son, through TuIrran at Washington. Being ab
soIutely CONSCIOUSNESS himself il cost him effort
70 make the most eAtravagant rnisreprcaent'''!ohs
and thus he succeeded, by barcfaccd chcanrry. in
persuading Madison that the DEGREES were alro-
rated, and in committing the President TO "a
proclamation announcing this rs Il fact. OF
cours., when England was called upon 10 fulfil
her pledge regarding the Orders i'll Council, sli"
declared that tie condition precedent did not en-
isl that the Berlin and Milan DEGREES had III
fact not been repealed, but were at that very tim"
in active operations and that consequently She
was not called upon 10 change her attitude. Per
ha,~ the mos: singular feature in this rarnc Of
cross-purposes is the state Of the public mind III
this country. The proofs OF Napoeons dnplicty
were Of such kind, it might Dc thought, US must
have forced full recognition of the truth upon the
mercantile class at least; for Napoleon continued TO
seize sequestrate, coniiscate and sell Or destroy
Americans amounted TO DrIny millions of dollars,
terruptions Of couple Of months only. Yet
though the IN lurieS and losses thus intlcicl UPON