SPEECH OF GOUVERNEUR MORRIS, RELATIVE TO THE FREE NAVIGATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, The treaty of 1795, between the United States and Spain, secured the free navigation of the river Mississippi, and a privilege of deposit in the island of New Orleans, for three years, to the citizens of the United States. The treaty stipulated, moreover, that this privilege should be continued after the expiration of the three years, if, during that time, it was found not to be prejudicial to the interests of Spain. And it further stipulated, that if the privilege should not be continued there, an equivalent establishment should be assigned at some other place upon the bank of the Mississippi. In October, 1802, the intendant of New Orleans issued a proclamation, prohibiting the citizens of the United States from depositing their merchandise, &c. at New Orleans, without assigning any other equivalent establishment according to the provisions of the treaty. In reference to this alleged breach of the treaty, Mr. Ross introduced the following resolutions: Resolved, That the United States of America have an indisputable right to the free navigation of the river Mississippi, and to a convenient deposit for their produce and merchandise in the island of New Orleans; That the late infraction of such their unquestionable right is an aggression, hostile to their honor and interest; That it does not consist with the dignity or safety of this union to hold a right so important by a tenure so uncertain; That it materially concerns such of the American citizens as dwell on the western waters, and is essential to the union, strength and prosperity of these states, that they obtain complete security for the full and peaceful enjoyment of such their absolute right; That the president be authorized to take immediate possession of some place or places in the said island, or the adjacent territories, fit and convenient for the purposes aforesaid, and to adopt such measures for obtaining that complete security, as to him, in his wisdom, shall seem meet; That he be authorized to call into actual service any number of the militia of the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, and the Mississippi Territory, which he may think proper, not exceeding fifty thousand, and to employ them, together with the naval and military force of the union, for effecting the object above mentioned; and that the sum of five millions of dollars be appropriated to the carrying into effect the foregoing resolutions, and that the whole or any part of that sum be paid or applied on warrants, drawn in pursuance of such directions as the president may from time to time think proper to give to the secretary of the treasury. MR. PRESIDENT, I rise with reluctance on the present occasion. The lateness of the hour forbids me to hope for your patient attention. The subject is of great importance as it relates to other countries, and still greater to our own; yet we must decide on grounds uncertain, because they depend on circumstances not yet arrived. And when we attempt to penetrate into futurity, after exerting the utmost powers of reason, aided by all the lights which experience could acquire, our clearest conceptions are involved in doubt. A thousand things may happen, which it is impossible to conjecture, and which will influence the course of events. The wise Governor of all things hath hidden the future from the ken of our feeble understanding. In committing ourselves, therefore, to the examination of what may hereafter arrive, we hazard reputation on contingencies we cannot command. And when events shall be past, we shall be judged by them, and not by the reasons which we may now advance. There are many subjects which it is not easy to understand, but it is always easy to misrepresent, and when arguments cannot be controverted, it is not difficult to calumniate motives. That which cannot be confuted may be misstated. The purest intentions may be blackened by malice; and envy will ever foster the foulest imputations. This calumny is among the sore evils of our country. It began with our earliest success in '78, and has gone on, with accelerated velocity and increasing force, to the present hour. It is no longer to be checked; nor will it terminate but in that sweep of general destruction to which it tends with a step as sure as time, and fatal as death. I know that what I utter will be misunderstood, misrepresented, deformed and distorted; but we must do our duty. This, I believe, is the last scene of my public life; and it shall, like those which have preceded it, be performed with candor and truth. Yes, my friends, we shall soon part to meet no more. But however separated, and wherever dispersed, we know that we are united by just principle and true sentiment—a sentiment, my country, ever devoted to you, which will expire only with expiring life, and beat in the last pulsation of our hearts. Mr. President, my object is peace. I could assign many reasons to show that this declaration is sincere. But can it be necessary to give this senate any other assurance than my word? Notwithstanding the acerbity of temper which results from party strife, gentlemen will believe me on my word. I will not pretend, like my honorable colleague (Mr. Clinton), to describe to you the waste, the ravages, and the horrors of war. I have not the same harmonious periods, nor the same musical tones; neither shall I boast of Christian charity, nor attempt to display that ingenuous glow of benevolence, so decorous to the cheek of youth, which gave a vivid tint to every sentence he uttered, and was, if possible, as impressive even as his eloquence. But, though we possess not the same pomp of words, our hearts are not insensible to the woes of humanity. We can feel for the misery of plundered towns, the conflagration of defenceless villages, and the devastation of cultured fields. Turning from these features of general distress, we can enter the abodes of private affliction, and behold the widow weeping, as she traces, in the pledges of connubial affection, the resemblance of him whom she has lost forever. We see the aged matron bending over the ashes of her son. He was her darling, for he was generous and brave; and therefore his spirit led him to the field in defence of his country. We can observe another oppressed with unutterable anguish; condemned to conceal her affection; forced to hide that passion, which is at once the torment and delight of life: she learns that those eyes, which beamed with sentiment, are closed in death; and his lip, the ruby harbinger of joy, lies pale and cold, the miserable appendage of a mangled corse. Hard, hard indeed, must be that heart which can be insensible to scenes like these; and bold the man who dare present to the Almighty Father a conscience crimsoned with the blood of his children! Yes, sir, we wish for peace; but how is that blessing to be preserved? I shall repeat here a sentiment I have often had occasion to express. In my opinion, there is nothing worth fighting for but national honor; for in the national honor is involved the national independence. I know that a state may find itself in such unpropitious circumstances, that prudence may force a wise government to conceal the sense of indignity. But the insult should be engraven on tablets of brass with a pencil of steel. And when that time and chance, which happen to all, shall bring forward the favorable moment, then let the avenging arm strike home. It is by avowing and maintaining this stern principle of honor, that peace can be preserved. But let it not be supposed that any thing say has the slightest allusion to the injuries sustained from France, while suffering in the pangs of her revolution. As soon should I upbraid a sick man for what he might have done in the paroxysms of disease. Nor is this a new sentiment: it was felt and avowed at the time when these wrongs were heaped upon us; and I appeal for the proof to the files of your secretary of state. The destinies of France were then in the hands of monsters. By the decree of Heaven she was broken on the wheel, in the face of the world, to warn mankind of her folly and madness. But these scenes have passed away. On the throne of the Bourbons is now seated the first of the Gallic Cæsars. At the head of that gallant nation is the great, the greatest man of the present age. It becomes us well to consider his situation. The things he has achieved compel him to the achievement of things more great. In his vast career, we must soon become objects to command attention. We, too, in our turn, must contend or submit. By submission we may indeed have peace, alike precarious and ignominious. But is this the peace which we ought to seek? Will this satisfy the just expectation of our country? No. Let us have peace, permanent, secure, and, if I may use the term, independent-peace, which depends not on the pity of others, but on our own force. Let us have the only peace worth having—a peace consistent with honor. A gentleman near me (Mr. Jackson) has told us the anecdote of an old courtier, who said, that the interest of his nation was the honor of his nation. I was surprised to hear that idea from that gentleman; but it was not his own. Such is that gentleman's high sense of his personal honor, that no interest would induce him to sacrifice it. He would not permit the proudest prince on earth to blot or soil it. Millions would not purchase his honor: and will he feel less for the honor of his country? No; he will defend it with his best blood. He will feel with me, that our national honor is the best security for our peace and our prosperity; that it involves at once our wealth and our power. And in this view of the subject, I must contradict a sentiment which fell from my honorable colleague (Mr. Clinton). He tells us, that the principle of this country is peace and commerce. Sir, the avowal of such principle will leave us neither commerce nor peace. It invites others to prey on that commerce, which we will not protect, and share the wealth we dare not defend. But let it be known, that you stand ready to sacrifice the last man, and the last shilling, in defence of your national honor, and those, who would have assailed, will beware of you. Before I go into a minute consideration of this subject, I will notice what the gentlemen opposed to me have said on the law of nations. But I must observe, that, in a conjuncture like the present, there is more sound sense, and more sound policy, in the firm and manly sentiments which warm the hearts of my friends from Delaware, than in all the volumes upon all the shelves of the civilians. Let us, however, attend to the results of those logical deductions which have been made by writers on the law of nations. The honorable member from Kentucky (Mr. Breckenridge) has told us, that sovereigns ought to show a sincere desire of peace, and should not hastily take offence; because it may be, that the offensive act was the result of mistake. My honorable colleague has told us, that among the justifiable causes of war are the deliberate invasions of right, and the necessity of maintaining the balance of power. He has told us, further, that attempts should always be made to obtain redress by treaty, unless it be evident that redress cannot be so obtained. The honorable member from Georgia, near me, informs us, that the thing we would obtain by war should be important, and the success probable, and that war should be avoided until it be inevitable. The honorable member from Maryland (Mr. Wright) has explained. to us the case cited by the gentleman from Kentucky, as being that of a wrong done by a private citizen. Under the weight of all this authority, and concurring with gentlemen in these their positions, I shall take leave to examine the great question we are called on to decide. I shall moreover fully and entirely agree with the honorable member near me in another point. He has, with the usual rapidity of his mind, seized the whole object. He tells us, and he tells us truly, that the island of Orleans and the two Floridas are essential to this country. They are joined, says he, by God, and sooner or later we must and will have them. In this clear and energetic statement I fully agree; and the greater part of what I have to say will be but a commentary on the doctrines they have advanced, an elucidation of their positions, and the confirmation of that strong conclusion. In order to bring this extensive subject within such bounds as may enable us to take a distant view of its several parts, I shall consider, first, the existing state of things; secondly, the conse quence to the United States of the possession of that country by France; thirdly, the consequence to other nations; fourthly, the importance of it to France herself; fifthly, its importance to the United States if possessed by them; and having thus examined the thing itself in its various relations, the way will be open to consider, sixthly, the effect of negotiation; and then, seventhly, the consequences to be expected from taking immediate possession. Before I consider the existing state of things, let me notice what gentlemen have said in relation to it. The honorable member from Kentucky has told us, that indeed there is a right arrested, but whether by authority or not, is equivocal. He says the representative of Spain verily believes it to be an unauthorized act. My honorable colleague informs us, there has been a clashing between the governor and the intendant. He says, we are told by the Spanish minister it was unauthorized. Notwithstanding these assurances, however, my honorable colleague has, it seems, some doubts; but, nevertheless, he presumes innocence; for my colleague is charitable. The honorable member from Maryland goes further: he tells us the minister of Spain says, the |