United States.
The Times, 1824-02-21T00:00:00

?'ie nouse went into a committee 01' thie,whole,' -ir. ..T -ilorAllk the clhair, en the resolUItion stonic time since off'ered, by Mfr. Wrbatet, which is in th~e wordIs folloiVing i- " Resolved, 'rhat provision ought to be smatte by iaswfrder~ ing thed ekpense incident ta the d pointmsent of ani agentorcdiss =ine, to Greece, whenever thle President AbaU deem itexein't mae uch appointment." TheTresolutioni-having been ed Alr. WEBSTERt rose and said, thiat heia fadta,so far as his part wbas concemned, the excited expett so h ublic mind on the present occasion vrould be disappitd rwsdifficuilt.on any occasion. hat called the attent,lorn to a spot on th globe con- nected wvith such-associations aii~ .ifollca p.ons as Gr ee to avoid some degree ofIwarmth aha enthuslasm. Ve!, he was entirely sen. sible that iL kraively legisld.thig_ dri tifi present gtibject, those feelings must be chastised. IIW.shouid. endeavduir in wonat lie bad- so oll'er to the bouse,.to reprmesstich feelings, ci far as it was practi- cable ; yet, if' we wod14t whdlIly es'cape I~am them,~ we must, fly beyonda theAlmits ol' the, ciel zdwrld we muiist go b'ey6nd the lieilts oi'soclal order, the bounds where laws and knowledlge are foud; ay.wg ius levetis all bfore we could turn away from the ~nmrias dfnclnt reec. Wat,he asked, is th:s'pzpular assir~ly?-wdr hi- fee isussonof public measures ?-what tin opn, nreered ctin o mid pon mintd ?-wbat that po- pula elquece hich ifit erenowpresent, would on such a them shke hishal toitscenre?- Wat are these buit such -me- morils?Thi magifientedifce,thee columns, with their state. ly roorton, tisfin achiecurebywhnch we -are surrounded- wha ar thse ut o mny itnsse ofwhat Greece once was, and whatshehas augt usto e? Yt, ir, said Mlr.Webster, I have not ntrouce theresoutin no onyour table with tiny view towards repaying aught of the detwhic we, in common with the civililed world, owe to the land oscience freedom, arts, and armsi. It is a dlebt that never catn bie pad Whiatever miay be our feelings of grAtitiude ~'or these gifts, were constrained tt;i' ot with a i'iew alonec to thie presenit state of the world, and of our relatrirna to it. Whiat I propose, andI whiat salsy a reference to ins. dern, not to ancient Greeca'ote iig not to the dead.. I ami awiare, Si-, that it is a vr aytigt run over'conimon placs o th sujec ofthisresluton,to allit a visionary and Quixticmeaure,andto rgethe oot ol usximi of its being the suutistpolcyfu eah neto ak creof hsOwn concerns. That maxm, ir,is erytru, bt vry naplicbletothep resent occa- quesionin rlaton o ths afairwha itit bat or s to do in the present aspect of things. respecting Greete ? And sifrel~', Sir, this is a qwestion that conilirehends somiething more than a mere Vecuiniary, calculation. XIVhenever miy minid turns to that question, I cannot torget the age I live in, as well as the peculiar position Of MY Own' country.' M lr. Webster said, lie should endeavour, however, to avoid thie responsibility oif any effrat to change the policy of this G overnmient towards foreign niations. H-e approved of the policy at present pursued : lie was satisfied, iii this respect, with our present. conditiion. The p-olicy of this (loverasnent is peace for peace is to us the greatest source of national increase arid aggrandize- mient. The most sanguine proiedtor ednncit fuirnish miore bril- liant or exalted prospects than 'those whichl ojiiit be realized by these states if they can preserve their pacific relations towaidit the rest of the world:' Time, peace, induistry, and the arts, are raising this governmeiit by a certain and irresistible progr&ess. It is our true policy, M1r. WVebster said, to grow, not to acquire; we are to attain to greatness by internal tdevelopment., not by, external accre- tion ; and he shouldI be the last to turn a-side the wise policy, of the eoun-trv from it.swonted anidproper channel. Bitt, saidlhe,thatpoi- licy, while it is pacific, shotild at the same time he liberal lihe skpoke now, in relation to thdse gretit qtiestiotis which are at this hour agi- tating Europe antil the svorld-.4uestions whiich are concefroad where- ever a nation attempts to obtain its freedons-..tlsc question, in a wordi, between regulatedi and uinregulatedI power. 'Whberever ir is disputed whethier a nation shall or shall not possess a constitution, our aidle of that question ought to be known anti declared; w e are bound to bring, in aid of its decision, that moral force which must ever reside in the opinion oif a free and ititelligeni nation. He had said that the policvofrthis Government was a pacific but a liberal policy! he should endleavolir to showv that in both of these characters it sanctionecd thie adoption of the resolution now on the table. The ae, said he, is a peculiar one, it has a marked and'striking caater, and the position and circumstances of our country are no less so. 1had we enjoyedI the option, in which period of the world's history, as thus far dlisclosed, our personal lot should be cast, none of us,' suirelv, would wvishi to have beeni born in any other time, or in any oth&r coontry. Thlere has occuirred no age that mnay be compared with the present, whiether in Lthe interest excited b wliat now is, or the prospects it hiolds out a-s to what shall be. 'IThe atti- tude of the United States, mneanwhile, is solemn and impressive. OusJisnow the great republic of the earth: its free institutions are matured by the experiment of halfa centuiry : nay, as a free Go- vernment, it goes farther back-the benefits of al free constitution hiave virtually been enjoyed here for two centuries. As a free Go- vernment, as the freest G~overmnment, its growthi and sttrength compel it, willing or unwilling, to standl forth to the coutempta- lion of the wrorid. WAe carinot.dIbsdure ouirselves, if we would ; a' past we miust take, honloarable or dishonDlcirable, In all that is- done in the civilized world.' ' The entire overthrow of the late French Emperor leftl the European world in a state of very strong excitement. In September, 1815, the Sovereigns who hail, by their united exertions, succeeded in putting down the French power, entered into, and' published to the world, an instrtiment of agreement,.which has; since been familiarly- known by the titleof the"Holy Alliance." This paper, which app,eared imrme- ditely onRthe restoratillo of the ilounrbant,- had, its origin with the abntoRu ~' Its appeairance ect6d at first htit litntle comlpa- rative interest. wa readdas little mr hnadvu xis sion of gratitudle for the success which had 4%ttended their uniited ex- ertions in' bringing the long war of Europe to a conclusion. It pro- fessed to he nothing more than a declsration, bsat the Sovereigns ments on principls of the public good, and witth a saCred reguaid to tile Christian religion. 8Such a combination ifar certAtinly novel. No- Ithing like it hatl ever before been puhisehedi by Kings. Yet, under the view of it wiciih. he had just expressed, it attrac-ted no very great [share of attenition. On thelface of it thiere seemed nothling to object' to. All that wsva strange about the tranlsqction was, that Monarchs mho professqed Christianity and civilization shouldl stipul4ie to do what, without any suich stipulation, it was% their acknowvledged dtitty to do: the con'tract bound them so nothing to whic' they were niot mnoralily bound already. WVhat was the amount Df the contract ? That they would not v'iolaite Chiistianity, nor dis- turb tlie Peace of Europe. At bear, such a contract was supe- rerogaLor.2.It was etniarlrable that a celebrited *riter on treaties, when defining what a treaty is, supposed, as possible, suchi a case as has occurred, and certainly spoke very disrespcctful, yof such a trea- ty as the hloly Alliance .actaally was. His words Mv. W1ebster quoted as follows :-" It seemns useless to frLime any pacts or leaguies barely for the defence and support of universal peace, for, by such a league, nOth'ing is superadde(i to the oblization of nataral lawv, snd no agreement is made lbr the periormance of any thingr whiceh the parties were not previously bouid to perform, nor Is the original [obligation rendered firniem or stroniger bv such. an addition. Men of any, tolerable cultutre and civilization mighit well be ashamed of en- tering in to any suich tomliact,the eoniditions of whjich impwly only that the Parties conceerned slhall tout offend In any clear point of dutyt. Besides, we shiould be guilty, of great irrev-erence towards Goil, sh1ould we suppose tlsat his injunctions had not already laid a suffli- cient obligation upon us to act justly, unless we ourselves voiliinta:' rily consented to the samle engagement; as if our obligation to obey His will depended upon o6ur own pleasuire. lIf one e-ngage to serve aniother, hie doth not set it down expressly and Par- ticularlv amoeng the terms anti conditions of the barga:n, that hw wll ot betra.y. nor miurder hiim, nior pillage, nor burn his house. 'Fur thle sm reason, that woulld be a dtshooousable engzagement, in whicli ment should bind themselves to act properly and decently, uind 'ot bra hepee.-sJndorff. Such were the sentfiments of ths eminent writer. How niearly be had anticipated the case of the Holy Alliance, MVr. Webster said, would a pear from compain with what he then wvrote, the preamble to t at alliance, whc Mr. WVebster read ini the following words'__" In the name of the moss HoyantI Indivisible Trinity, their Majesties the Emperor of Aus.s tIa, Ithe King of Pru'sia, and the Emperor of Russia; solemnly tie. clare, that the present act has no other object than to publish, in tile face of the whlole world, their fiXed Tesolutiosi, both in the adminis- tration of thleir respective states, and in their politital relations with livery other Government, to tak-e for their sofe gUide the pr cpts of tha hoy rligon....namelv, the precepts ofjustice,Christiani cgarit~~ and peacte, which, far frotii being applicable only, to private concerns, must hiave an immediate influence on the councils of' princes, andi guiide all their steps, as being the only means of con- soidating human institutions, and reniedying their imperfections." Thi measu"re, Mr. Webster wvent on to say, Vas no qtherwise important tItan that it wvas the fizst of a series, ant fhat it was followed up by measures of the most important kind. in th,pitof view,. it was worthy of the most mature con~ siderartion.' It coiltainedi two principles which were now de- clare-d to form a part of the lau.' of 'he world-the enforce- ment of which was tlireatened by a millioin aridt A half of bayonets. The first of these is, that all constitutional rights conle fromn the crown. "All useftil and necessary chianges (says the Laybach Circular of May, 121iz1 ought onily to emanate fronm the free will and, intelligent conviction of thse whobdni God hsas rendered responsible for power.'.' Thisi principle, Mr. Wlebster saidli carried Euirope hack at one remove, to the middle of the, darl ages. This wax the form under which otir sturdy anicestors obltained ANagna Charts, which was giv'en as a concessio'n fromi the Sovereign. But, in a latter atge, in the revolution which introduced the family-di Orange, the' British nation had gro*n wiseir: those thing which at Runnymead wvere giv~en As grants, byth il F Res, wler afterwsards formallv and expilicitly tdemanded and irisinted -on,i as rizhts. of the natiojn. Trhey bhad been assented to a.s siich-ancl oti this basis the English Constinution reasu at, this hour. For this reason it was, that BAritain, *hen she refused' to uniite in the prin- ciPhes Of the Holy' Atlliance, declared those principles to be subiversive of the principles of thle English Constitutidti. What, said r. ~Vbster is te natre oUthat alliance ? Alliances, bet aonatons,forthepurpse f m tua advantage or defence, had ben ofen hard o; bu an alian e Uh as- that at L.aYbach lie neer are tobe eclredto he ord. Wras this an.-alfltiace of naion wth naion? o, Mr Webter said., it was an alliance Ot crownus agNainst the peo'ple; of sovere'igns against theirovt 9ub- jects: it was, in a w'ord, the union of.she physical force of,gll go- vernments against the nghts oF the people in all countrie. What was the natural tendency of tuph r alliance ? It was to put an end to all nations, as .cuch. Extend the principles of that alliande and 'the nations are no more_thiere aonly Kings. It d(itdedso- ciety horizontally (if such a figure va ta.lowed to him). na'1l'efC'all the SoverUtgns -above, and till' lhe :people below ; it tet.sup the one above all rule or restraint, and put down' she other to be trampled beheatb their fMet. N'ot sadsfied with denianding from the subject allegiance to his own master, it exacted a- double, a triple, a quadruple, and,. he belierved, indeed, a quintuple allegi- ance. According to its principle, all people owe allegiance to all sovereigns. What must bc, .wb4athas been, the practical opera. tion of such principles ? They lead, nece.ssarily, to' mutual dis- trust, to general discontent, and to universal 'war.' This alliance, .lir. WVebster said, bad changed the lealing policV of Europe. It bad made it criminal for the people tocombine, or to resist the will of either of these Sovereigns. If, for example, s'S'aniard attempted 'to resist the Inquisition,he offended not only tihe ing of'Spain, but hesinned also against the Emperor of Russia. Qr if a Greek at- temptedtorexistthe-TRrkisih cinetqr he, too,'offendedthe Enm. peror of Russia. To use the words o' the Verona circular, such a man" tblo6sl a fire-brand iBtq'9le rsidst ofthie 'Ottoman eiipire." 'AtemcCongress of Troqpair, sa4.Vlz. IVebster, we find the 's6e cond dftbe~ doctrines tq-w ich l>befove'ihided as now -publishe&tw the world,te be its law.* * * iscrejhin cAnanw 1rWeb%teria acombinaEtiou which is exprealy Dledl ajAinst allfwhosetsuch an examtple-" manifesto which sets itself against the *hole course of the human intellect, against the charaeter of the age, dna whicb would bring its back at once to all the oppressions of thefeudal sys. tern, Here is doctrine which no niter, no dipen3 i,tiy cheven nlo ctt tter, eYer thouight of' avenclsog. !3r sai e r the ser, itIs a agrant iinovatiSn ou the prlnciples-anc practice of thewhole ci.i- lized world. '' . The end and scope ofthis doctrine isnediber more nor less than this-to interfere, by force, fi,' any governmtnt e,uinst any people who resist it. The times of the Stuarts have come back again, and with increased demands of power. Be the state of a people what it may, they sh3a not rise: be the goyernment what it wil, itshal li, no case be resisted. And this has been car- ried out too. Look at Spain-loook at Greece. If a mas may not resist either tie Spanish Inquisition, or the Turkivh dimetar, what in God's natne. mn he resist ? Stroufger esses can never arise. This alliance laughs at the doctrine of your Blackstones, and al others, who main tabi that in extreme cases, resort is to be had to first principles and natural righits; Are we prepared to part with this doctrine ? The doctrine is advanced; it is supported with aTn immense force. Tae timid shrink and' succumb. If it is not re- sisted here, and irnone other spot, it will be resisted no where. If there is no vigour JR the Saxon race to withstand it, there is none to be looked for else,where. Is it not time to step forth,and at least to declare that ire condemn and deny such monstrous opinions ? Hlow eau reformation of governmet ever begin but wvith the people? The radical defect of this system is, thai it divides civilization; it would allow it to Fo on in all other matters, but nt in principles of governnsett and civil llbestv. But humnan knowledge is all con- -nected; *.hat knoledge is fast spreading: the great mass of so- ciety, wvhich holds, and ever must hold, the physical, it fast ob- taining the intellectual power of society. The harmnony which has ever prevailed, either in Europe or America., has rested on dile principle of mutualindepeodenceof nations.I'' But now,it may be asked, what is aU at t to us? The question is easily answered. We are one of the n2tions. Our system of government Is, through- ont, utterly. hostile to that system, ant if we are safe from its efrects, we may thank outr situation, or our courage. The age we live in, and our own active character, have connected us with all the nationm of the world, -ied we, as a nation, have precisely the same interest in internAtional law as a private Indlividual hasir. the lawsof this country. Seat, apart from the soundness of the policy on general principles, there is s ground of dtity in this matter. What clo we not, as a people, owe to thu principle of awful resistanee ? To the principle that society shall govern it;lpf? 'TheLe printjples have raise i is to a state ot prosperitV in which out course is raphianlT irresistible. Mre are borne on as by a miglhty current, anl if we would stop long enough to take an obscrvation that: we may megasure our national course, ere we can effect it we find sie have alreadv nmove(d a vast distance Eroni the point at which it was eatminencel. This co.urse we canniot check.; it is the couTse of things, and it will go on. Shall we not, thlls situated, give to others wh i are srnigghlng for these very principles, the cheering aid of ouir example and opinion ? But, wlhatever wve do in this matter, it behoves us to dbs on principle. If, on the subject of the rumiioured combination aetdinit Southl Auierica, we talce any stand, it must be on principle that that stand is takcen. The near approach, or the inore remote distance -of danger, may change policy, bat cannot touch principle; and the same reasonsof an abstract kind, that would lead uis to plotest in thie case of thze whole Southem Continent, bind Us to protest in the case of tie smallest Republic in Italy. A second question, lhowevcr; ulay here be asked. What can we do'? This thunder is at a distance-the wide Atlantic rolls between.we are safe; would von hiave us go to war? llould yoam have us send armies into Eu'rope? No: I would not. But this reasoning mistakes the age. Formerly, indeed, there was no maling an impression on a nation but bv bayonets and subsidies, by fleets and armies; but the age has undergone a change: there is a force in public ovinfoh, which,' in the long run,will outwveigh all the physical force that can be brought to oppose it. Until public opinion is subdued, tihe greatest enemy of tyranny is not Yet dead. WVhat is the soul, the informing spirit of oar owa institutions, of our en- tire system of govemment ? Public oninion. While this acts iyith intensity, and moves in the right direction, the country must ever be safe-let us direct the force, the vast moral -force of this engine, to the aid of others. Public opinion is the greatest enemy of the holy Alliance. It may be said, that public opinion did not succeed in Spainl. Public opilion w.as imever tio- roughly chacnged there; but does ally man suppose that Spain is not at this day nearer, not merelv in point of time, but intellectually and politicallj, nearer to freedotm than she was last spring ? True, in- deed, the Bourbon power did niakemsr aimostunresisted march fro-, the Pyrenees to Cadiz, but is Europe satisfied? Public opinion is not conciliated nor destroved-like mI lilton's angels, it is vital in every part-and this followed backtheconqueror as he Teturned, and held Eurone in indignapt silence. Let us, then, speak: let us speak well of whba has done welD for sts. 'e shaU hiave the thinking world aU with us: and be it remembered, it was a tbinking communitv that achieved our revolution before a battle had been fought. I shall not detain tnis coRtimittee bv layine before it any statistical, geogra. phical, or commercial account of Greece. The document on your table, which has been furnished from the Department of State, in some measure supplies these, and her history is familiar to us all. Within the last thirty or forty years, the con- dition of that ctimtry has undergone a great improvement- [er marine produces thte best sailors in the lMlediterranean-better in that sea thari even our own. Their commerce, before the present commotior.s, hadi begun to extend itself ta France and Spain. Hob- house(our liest authority)states their seamen at 50'00, but that num- ber is certamnly much too large: they have 153.000) tons of shippinz. wbich ia equal to aboutone-fifth of that of the United States. Their population in lEuropean Turkey is about 5,000,000. and in Asia. llinor about 2,000,000 more. Their moral state is rapidly advancing in all respects. T'he literati of Euirope conceived a strong interest in theit behalf, and sent books and scholars and printing-presses intn Greece. Alany of tle works of modern Europehave been translated into their language, and they have produced many works entirely original. Thispeople, apleopeof intelligence, i engtuit i relfine ment, spirit. and enterprise, have been for centuries under the most atrocious, unparalleled Tartarian barbarism that ever oppressed the human race. This house is unable to estimate duly, It is unable even to conceive or comprehend it. it niust be remembered that the character of the force which has so long domineeied over them is purely military. It has been as trul v as beautifully said, that" the Turk has now, been encamped in Eutrope for forW fienturicsl. Y'en, Sir, it is nothing else than an enPamppnent. Thev came in by the sword, and they govern by the swvord. They hold the captive 'Greek,s to be their propertv; and when a wretched Greek has yielded up his year's earnings to some racpacious exactor, it as truly been said that lie " pays his ransom to live another year." Despotic power is ther.e, if the phrase may be allowed, formed into a regtular system of anarchy. * ' ' " Sir, the case iS unique....there has existed nothing lIke it, before or since. The world has no sasch misery to show. Surelv, there is no case in which we could poilnt to the civilized and Christian wrorld withsuch an emphasis of appeal.- a ' * If any thing could be suggested to make his resolution more explicit, he was willinu to receive the suggestion. He thought the only question was, whether it was worth while for the house to comae to a vote on the subject. The resolution can offend no one- If the Turk takes ofcence; he takes offence against law, and we cannot prrevnthim from doing this. The proper course would be to senml an agent. If any thing to endanger us wras contained in this resolution, he should not urge it; but after the contributions hich werenopenly making in this country, anid even thie correspotndlence of the Secrctary of State writh a Greek agent in 'London, noscli fear could bc reasonably en- tertainedl. Every thing short of an actual recognition of Grecian in. dependence had been done. WVould it offend any Europtan power? We would pay much to preserve, amity wvith Eu- ropean powers, but there is a price which w-e will not pay; and he I could not beliere there was a Christian prince or anv Chrictisan throni in Europe who c uld take offence. Again, he remnarked that there is a time when opinion expresscd in this mode mnay be of use, ant there is a tine when it would be useless. Now is the time to dc what he proposed, if is was intended by it to succour the Greeks The question may even now be settled, while we are deliberating They appeal to us by their wives and children-bv the commor faith-to give themthebenefits of Christian consolation. He di, not k;now that she Greek cause would prerail but if every Greel were annihilated, and all the country o Greece were covered ritl blood and ashes, he slhould not regret that he had Made this motion On the motion of iMlr. Po0,VsFT-r the committee then rose, ant the house adjourned. U2VP'RgD srT47?,s'. - - JIOITSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. Mnn. .T..i. TtE WItEK QUESTIOX.,