The sun., 1897-05-15
A PREoEDENr FoR M,KIN1EY.
washinEton, Scnersos. Madison. aud Monroe
Against Cleveland.

WashinEton, Scnersou. Madison, aud Monro,
| Against Cleveland.
TorHE EDITOR OF THE suS-Sir: Your recent
editorial article on Tho Limit Of Our Treaty
Obligations TO Spain" has reminded mo OF ar
incident that took place in Washington's Ad
ministration, which shows how sacredly the
rights OF American citizens were guarded by the
fathers OF the Constitution, and is In strong con
trast with the policy that nowadays sacrifices
them TO the fear of offending foreign powers.
In 1893, when Citizen Genet, tho French Min
lister to this country, was organizing and
equipping privatoors in tho United States to
prey upon the commerce OF England, with whom
| France was thon ut war, the question came up
| In WashinRton's Cabinet as to what steps
should be taken to enforce our neutrality laws,
Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary Of the
| Treasury, presented scheme by which he pro-
posed to deal summarily with all persons sus'
! pected Of violating them. He had drawn up q
| circular to the collectors of customs instruct
| ing them to keep strict and secret surveil-
lance over all vessels and to report any persons
| whose actions were suspicious to him. Upon
tho presentation of this paper Thomas Jeffcr-
| son, whose love Of personal liberty was In
strong antagonism to Hamlton's arbitrary dis
position, opposed this inquisitoral Jurisdiction.
| In letter to another member Of the Cabinet,
| Edmund Randolph, the Attorney.G General he
thus stated his objections:
1have been still rejecting the draft of the let
ter from the Secretary Of the Treasury to the Custom
House ofncers instructng them to be on the watch
as to all infracons tendencies to infractions OF
the laws of neutrality by citizens, and to COM
municate the TO him. when this paper was
| INST communicated to me. though the whole OF II
struck disagreeably, did not in the FIRST moment
clearly the impropreties but OF the last clause
The have reflected the Objectionable the
whole appears. By this proposal the collectors Of
the customs arc to be made established corps OF
spies informers agairst their fellow citizens whose
actions they are to watch in seoret and inform
against In secret to the Secretary Of the Treasury.
who is to communicate II to the President. II the
action and evidence appear to Justify prosecution.
prosecution to be foot the nforma-
ton OF collector II II will not Justify It, then the
only consequence is that the mind of the Government
has been poisoned against citizen. neither knowing
nor suspecting It, and perhaps too distant to bring
forward his Justification. .
The acts of our citizens infringing the laws
of neutrality. or contemplating that, offences
against the ordinary laws and cognizable by them.
Grand Jures the constitutional inquisitors and
informers OF the country; they scattered every
where, SOC everything. and with the prejudiced
eye of permanent and systematic spy Their infor.
nation Ia on oath. s public, It is in tho vicnage Of
the party charged and be at rcfuted. These
officers, taken only occasionally from among the
people. familiar to them the once respected and
the experience Of centuries has shown that It is
safely intrusted with character, property, and
liberty
President Washington, whose sound Judgment
and exact justice never failed him. agreed with
Jefferson and Hamilton's circular was so modi-
fed as to require all prosecutions to be insti-
tuted by the District Attorneys and carried on
by due process Of law. Subsequently Jeffer-
sons ideas were embodied in the form of law by
Congress, and they are now codfed In the Re-
vised Statutes.
The policy pursued by the Cleveland Admin
istration during the Cuban troubles was an ex-
aggeration OF Hamton's proposition. and tho
country was filled with spies in the pay of the
Spanish Government, whose information. col
lected and presented by the Spanish Minister
was made the basis Of numberless prosecutions
the vast majority of which failed to stand the
test of jury trial. What would Thomas Jeffer-
son have thought Of the practice initiated by the
Cleveland Administration of requiring the Cap
tain Of a vessel. before leaving port, to mako
oath that he would not violate the neutrality
laws.
As you we'll say, no statute requires 1t; and no
collector. with or without the authority of the
Secretary Of the Treasury, has any right to ex-
act an oath that the law does not authorize. To
claim that he has is to claim that the Collector.
and not Congress- is to make laws for our peo-
pie. He might as we'll require every passenger
that sails for Europe to swear that he would
not violate our revenue laws.
The Collector has no moro right to require
such an oath from the Captain than the Captain
has to require the same oath from the Collector.
II the Captain complies with tho requirements
Of the law. the Collector is bound to give him his
clearance papers. and. II he refuses to do SO, he
is guilty of violating his own oath of office. and
m "A al In t,,h
case the Captain may apply to any United States
District Judge and obtain a mandamus com:
detention OF his vessel. and. Il the Collector Is
Treasury the Secretary is also liable for damages
II he has not already done So 1t is to be hoped
illegal and Unconstitutional requirement, and
leave the commerce of our citizens as free as the
law makes it. Is 1t not high time that all these
intend to, be neutral in the struggle between W EN-
menced ! BY the law Of nations and and our E own own
statute law our people have an unlimited right
right to sell them anything that We produeo '6s os
possess. and to buy from them anything they
GF the
that we acknowl edged their independence they
occupied precisely the same position toward us
the United States under Presidents Madison
and Monroe treat those provinces from our
In 1915 the Spanish Minister demanded of
President Madison's Administration that YES
sells of those provinces should be excluded from
our ports. Mr.. Monroe, his Secretary Of State
replied:
In reply to your third demand-the exclusion of
the nag of the revolving provincesI to observe
that In consequence OF tho unsettled state OF many
countries, and repeated changes of the ruling
authority in each. there being at the timo sew
eral competitors. and each party having its appropr
ate nag. the President thought proper. some time
past to give orders to tho collectors not TO make
nag OF any vessel criterion condition OF its ad
mission into tho ports OF the United States Having
taken no part In the differences and oonvulsons |
which have disturbed those countries Il Is consiAent
with the Just principles It is with the interests OF
the United States TO receive the vessels OF all coun.
tries into their ports. to whatever party belonging
and under whatever nag sailing. pirates excepted,
requiring of them only tho payment Of the duties
and obedience to tho laws while under their Juris-
diction, without advertng to tho question whether
they had committed any violation OF tho allegiance |
laws obligatory them In the countries 70 which
they belonged either assuminR aap In apv