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's
SPEECH
9
f
OP THB
HON. AARON V. BROWN, OF TENNESSEE,
'. • »
ON TflE
CORRESPONDENCE OF MR. WEBSTER
WITH THE
BRITISH MINISTER
IN RELATION
O THE SURRENDER O^ ALEXANDER McLEODl
DELIVERED IN THB
HOUSE OP^REPRESENTATIVES, JULY 9 AND I0,:i84l.
WASHINGTON:
PRINTED BY BLAIR AND BIYES.
1841.
• 1«
t •
- IL. f
« ' »
SPEECH OF MR. BROWN, OF TENNESSEE,
- IL. ■ f
ON THE
Correspondence of Mr. Webster with the British Minister, in relation to
the surrender of Alexander McLeod. Delivered in the House of Rep-
resentatives, July 9lh and lOr/i, 1841.
• ft
The following resolution being under consideration in the Commitiee of
the Whole on the slate of the Union :
Re^hcd Thai the President of the United States be re.ltiested to intoptn this Ho'-.se, if not
inetr ;Sle with the ,.t*«c .erv.ce, whether any officer of the ,™y, or ^^''--^iTZ
of ,„e United State,, has, since the 4th of March las,, been '^"'"f^.'^H^^Z^^Z
given tounderstand that Mr McLeod w.U be released or surr.nderetl ; .nd, tl so, to commttn,
ettte to this Honse copies of the instructions to, and report of, such olTicer.
Mr. A. V. BROWN, of Tennessee, addressed the Honse as follows :
Mr Speaker: 1 offer no apology for further discussion of this subject.
It has not been discussed enough yet. It was not discussed enough ast
winter, when the British Government half confessed that she had mvaded
our soil, burnt our property, and murdered our people. She ,™ nearly con-
fessed it, that when hor minister's letter was received, contnn.tng he impu-
dent avowal "that the de.struct.on of tl.e Caroline was the public act of
nersons in her tMajes.y's service, obeymg the otderso. their superior anthor-
itie'^ " this hall rung with indignation from one side of it to the other.
Th , chairmtin of the Ways and Moans, and the present Postmaster
General, both coming from the regton of country where this outrage was
perpetrtited, made the most animt.ed appeals to our sympathies and pat-
""BuUhe cold sntrtreslion was made then.as how, that the negotiation was
ye ndi"a„d'; e must beware bow we'. aroused the sleeping lion of
filrs power. Soon afterwavd, the Comt^i.lee on Foretgn Relations ub-
™ ltd a^eport, rather spirited iti'it^; tone, commenting with some shght sa-
ve v on B"ih aggression andaWfe'fiAn j ^«.en we were again admonished
oniorle^sand a^ics, and .he' ease '*iih which she could reduce our
towns and cities to ashes.
■
These admonitions were effectual. Debate subsided ; ihe first flaslies of
our indignation died away ; and we adjourned, half regretting that we had
dared to debate the subject at all.
Sir, Lord Palmerston observed all and read all that was uttered in this
hall ; and concluding, from the too cautious temper of that debate, that Mr,
Forsyth would not be sustained in the lofty stand he had taken, determined
at once to make a peremplonj demand upon us — to appeal to our fears " of
the serious consequences of a refusal," I hope in God that no action of
this House, on this resolution, will ever confirm his degrading estimate of
its disposition and determination to resist all foreign aggression at every
hazard.
It is time, high time, for us to speak out boldly, and without reserve.
England's ministry have spoken the words of burning shame to the insulted
honor of this country. One of her members of Parliament bus even threat-
ened to arm our slaves, and to excite all the Indian tribes against us. And
shall an American Congress be afraid to speak — afraid to call cveii for ne-
cessary information — lest, peradventure, it should embarrass our future ne-
gotiations? Sir, I am free to declare that 1 desire to embarrass all such
negotiations as have been lately going on. Were 1 the American Execu-
tive, my Secretary of State should never write another line in the way of
negotiation, until England withdrew that degradiiig threat, which is yet
hanging over my country, and which Mr. Webster has never had the heart
to repel — all American as that heart is, according to the gentleman from
Virginia, [Mr. Wist:.]
But, sir, can this call, by any possibility, embarrass future ncgctialion ?
It cannot, for the resolution on its face confers on the President a boundless
discretion in giving or withholding the information. Besides, a large por-
tion of the call relates only to the mission of two of our own public officers
to the State of New York, with whose instructions England shonld never
have been made acquainted. But, instead of this, it is highly probable that
the British Government knows all about them, whilst our own countrymen
are profoundly ignorant on the subject.
This mission was so extraordinary — so unlike any thing that had ever
occurred under any former Administration, that curiosity alone might prompt
us to inquire why a brave and gallant general of ou^ armies had been sent
oflffour or five hundred miles — not to meet and battle (as he had often and
gloriously done) the enemies of his country, but. strange to tell, to attend
to a lawsuit in court. Only think of it, sir ; an old soldier, covered with
his scars and his honors, sent out to assist the law officer of the Govern-
ment to argue a demurrer to an indictment, or to file a plea to the jurisdic-
tion of a countv court.
/
J
V
Heavens ! as the eloquent gentleman from Ken-
•
t
tiicky [Mr. Marshall] would say, '^ what an immortfil petrcfuclion" of hu-
man tbily ! *T tr 1 i
But, sir, to be serious. Was General Scott despatched to New Vork for
any purpose connected with the trial ot McLeod ? And, if so, what qould
have been that purpose? Was it to eflect a release by the sword, d the
Atlornev General should (ail to procure it by die purse ! Such a purpose
IS nicredii.le. What then \ Why, the most probable conjecuiro is, that
Mr. We!)ster had learned, from some source or other, that McLeod was to
be liberated at all events, and at every hazard, by the British authorities m
Canada ; that, in the event of a conviction, our soil was to be asain in-
vaded, our lail at Lockport to be pulled down or burnt like the Caroline •
and, H necessary, to shoot and .abre and murder our people, as they had
done before I if.
Sir, 1 want to know all about this military expedition ; and, if my coi -
jectur. should prove correct, then I want to know why Mr. Webster should
feel so n.uch svmpathy (or this English subject, who inhumanly boasted
thnt his sword was yet red with the blood of an American cit.zen,-why he
■should send iiim testimony and counsel, and render him every "J^'^^^''^^;"
his power to escape justice and to elude the law. Surely Mr. Webster
was under no obligation to the British nation so to volunteer his services m
behalf of one of li'er subjects. That would make hi.n more like a British
consul than an American Secretary of State. From that hour (if no be-
for.) when Mr. Fox declared the approval of the burning of the Caroline,
and the murder of her crew, by his Government, Mr. Webster should have
said- "Then cro and defend McLeod yourself; employ his counsel with
your own or your nation's money ; collect his testimony for hmi yourself;
hence(orth and forever 1 leave him to his fate, to answer to the insulted and
violated laws of New York in the best manner he -^Y-" J'- "-^J-
cially should he have said and acted in this manner, afftr those threats
which I suppose to have given rise to General Scott's expedition to New
Bui, s,r, tl.is whole mission Ims been marked, throngl.out, not more by the
most mo,l,ul and misapplied sympathy, than by the novehy and .ncons.st-
ency ot the dmies winch it imposed on the Attorney General. It is the
duty of that officer to vvosecnte, t,ot to defend, criminals ; to give counsel
to onr President, and to the heads of departments-not to traverse the coun-
try for the release of foreign felons, who, at the dead hour of m.dn.ght by
boats propelled by muflled oars, invade onr territory, burn otu property,
and ZZ their llnds in better blood than ever fiowed ,n Enghsh vem.
. Such are the duties of the Attoruey General, as- declared by the statute
of 1789. What duties were assigned to him in this degrading mission-
6
degrading to him who sent, and to him who was sent? You may iind
them in page 25 of document No. 1.
"The President is impressed wuh the propriety of (raiisferring ihe trial
from the scene ol" liie principal excitement to some other and uisiant county.
You will take cure that this be suggested to the prisoner's counsel.
"Having consulted with the Governor, you will proceed to l.ockport, or
wherever else the trial may he holden, and furnish >he prisoner's counsel
with the evidence of which yon will be in possession, material to his de-
fence. You will see. that he have skilful and eminent counsel, i( such be
not already retained ; arul, although you are not desired to act as counsel
yourself, you rv'dl cause It to he signified to him, and to ihe gentleman who
may conduct his defence, (hat it is the wish of this Government that, in
case his defence is overruled by the court in which he shall i^e tried, proper
steps be taken immediatthj for removing the cause, by writ of error, to the
Supreme Court of the United JStates.''
You perceive, sir, that he was not to go as ^nddic, but as secret counsel-
not to plead for Mci.cod himself but to see that he hado/Ao\^, "skilful and
eminent,"' to do so ; that he was to furnish him with testimony: and, above
all, in case of conviction; that it was the wish of the Government that the
case should be taken to the Supreme Court of llio United States ; that the
prisoner's counsel was to be told that such was the wisl: of the Government,
The defendant, it was supposed, might not feel sufficient anxiety to save
his neck from the halter by appealing to a higher tribunal, and must, there-
fore, be encouraged to do so by the assurance that the Government ivished
liim to do so.
Mr. Attorney General is to si^s^mfj to him that he hud better appeal than
die!
Mr. Speaker, 1 puse to ask if, after this, you can lielieve that wonders
will ever cease? xVt all events, can you believe they are likely to cease
during this life-preserving, felon-saving branch of this Administration? I
say nothing of its head, who had come in too unexpectedly, and was sur-
rounded by loo many perplexities at that period, to be presumed to have
given much attcniion to this subject ; but 1 speak emphatically of this branch
of the Administration.
Mr. Speaker, 1 wish now to call your attention to the remaining clause
of this resolution, to wit: "whether the British Government has been given
to understand that McLeod will be released or surrendered."
It is probable that the President can give us but little more than tiie in-
formation contained in his message. 1 shall, ther- fore, under that supposi-
tion, submit my views on the merits of the McLeod case, and the course
pursued by the Secretary of Slate in the correspondence, as it now stands.
inu
To understand Uie merits of this case, and to judge of the propriety or
.^propriety of the course pursued by Mr. Webster in ,., we must have a
clear and distinct tinderstaiiding of the facts. For these, I reler yo, to the
ieech of the honorable chairman of the Ways and Means at the ast ses-
s on ,0 the statement of the ease made by Mr. Webster himself; and lartly.
,0 a condensed and nervous statement of them in the other end of the Cap-
itol which has never been denied or contradicted tkcro or on tins lloor
: This brin«s mc to the case before us. What is it >. The lac.s of the
case are ail spread out in ollicial documents, and the evidence is clear
a'd undeniable. An American steam ferry-boat traverses ''- ^'^g"™
river: she carries passengers and property Irom one .bore to tie other
tL Kmrhsh believe (and perhaps truly) that she carries men and arms to
U Msu^^ents in Canada; and without any appeal to our Government
either Slate or Kederal-without applyhi? to us to put our own laws la
tee against ber-an rm,lish odicer, of h,s ow"Uead, without the Unow-
ledae of the IJnlish (iovernment, determines to do-wlia ? iSot to ,.-a cli
be suspected vessel, arrest her in the fact, sei.e the gmhy a.id spa o th.
uocent ; but to steal upon her ni the ni,d.., board her asleep, and destror
' at tb American shore, nnd.r the Hag of her country. In the evening
„ the meditated outrage volm.c.rs are called for-fi y or -x'v J-hing
darmg fellows-ready to follo^v t.eir leaderto th. dev,l,-for tha wa tho
la„„m..,e used ; and it proves the expedition to have been a diabolical one
d vonhy to be led as well as followed by demons. The arms were sabre,
and pistols: the season of attack, midnight; the means of approach, light
toat and niuHled oars ; the progress slow, silent, and stealthy, that no^str
5^ us ouiid should alarm the sleeping victims. The order was UcaU.
Ll no nuar,er. Thus prepared and l.d, they approach the boa n the
dead of the nioht-reaeh her without discovery-rush on boaid-ily o lh»
b dis-cnt, slash, stab, and shoot all whom they see-ptmue the dying,
and beside, those in the boat, kill one man at least upon the soil o h s
c tmtiT, im- from the water's edge. Victorious in an attack where there
vT o esistauce, the coiK,uerors draw the vessel into the midst of the cur-
rent set her on lire, and with all her contenls-the dead, the hving, the
" und d and the d ing-send her in dames over the fright u cataract oE
Te N ' a. MeUod,- the man whose release is demanded from us, was
! cor ing to his own declarations, made at the time m his own country
Celd sniee in ours, and according to the sworn testimony of one of the
urvtvors) an actor in that piratical and cowardly tragedy. According .»
"own assertions, and the admissions of his comrades, he was one of the
emo n that cruel work, and actually killed one of the UamnedYan-
8
>
l^ees,' (to use his own words,) with his own haiKls."-A/r. Benton's speech
in Senate United States.
Now, sir, on these i^icts, which it warms one's American blood to recite,
can this band of merciless desperadoes be liable to punishment under the
laws of New York, where their crimes were perpetrated 7 To my mind,
after the best examination 1 have been able to Rive to the subject, there can
be but one response. McLcod, one of the perpetrators, is answerable, unless
he can show that it was a pubhc military expedition, set on foot by the
proper authorities in Canada, with or without a previous declaration of war
against this country, commanding the specific things to be done for which
he now stands indicted in the Slate of New York. 1 repeat— commanding
the specific things to be done for which h^ is indicted.
In time of open public war, such ant/ioritt/ would be presumed. The
courts would look to the public ads, proclaviaiions, declarations of tear,
and other proceedings of notoriety; and out of these would tind immunity
to the individuals engaged, whilst the Govervmcnt would retaliate on the
enemy by like incursions into their territory. B^t in time of profound
•peace, with all subsisting treaty stipulations of amity in full force, no such
•prcsumptiojis can be resorted to. Express, positive, and unecinivocal com-
mands from competent authority are all that can justify him. Were such
commands given ? The whole case turns upon that fact. The case will
turn on that fact in the courts of New York. The prisoner must come
forward with the orders of Sir Francis Head, 1 believe then Governor Gen-
eral of Canada. If not direct from him, he must show order from some
military commander who issued them, and who received his orders from
the supreme Colonial Government. Further back than that it would not
"be necessary, as 1 conceive, to trace the orders. If such orders covered
and embraced the specific act for which he was indicted, the courts of New
York icill and ought to discharge him. Cut if the orders were general, "to
break up the establishment at Navy Island," that would not do ; or if they
were " to destroy any vessel conveying insurgents to or from the island,"
that would not do. If they were "to take any steps, and to do any acts,
-which might be necessary for the defence of her Majesty's territory, or for
the protection of her Majesty's subjects," such orders would not do. They
'would not justify an invasion of our territory, nor the burning of a vessel
lying peaceably moored to our own shores, with no military stores, and
•with no troops for transportation. No prior use of the boat and no prior
conduct of her crew could justify the attack, because not essential " to the
«Wicconcerir'-as it was belore
that\vowal, only one of individual concern. This, however, only adds
onotlier party to the controversy, without releasing the first. Hence it is
.aid by Vattel, "ii the offended State has in her power the uidividual who
has done the injury, she may, without scruple, 'nring him to justice, and
punish him." , ^,
This case from Vattel is precisely the case ol McLeod. He was, to say
the best for him, but the servant, or agent, or soldier of the Canadian Gov-
ernment, ordered and sent to do one thing, to wit : to defend the Lritish
territory, and protect the British subjects; but exceeding his authority-go-
ing beyond his orders-he invaded our territory, burnt our property, .and
murdered our citizens. He fled back to his own country ; and, if he had
■■
m^-
11
:»
f •
remained there, our only recourse would have been to demand him of the
British Government. When demanded, if the British Government refused
to surrender him, she would have made it a " public concern,'' and we
miffht have looked to her lor satisfoction for the refusal ;— not for the origi-
nal act of her subject, but for the rcfnfial : and the measure of satisfaction
for that refusal would justly be, indemnity for '.osscs sustained by the origi-
nal act. But if, before, or pendino^. or subsequent to such a demand, the
individual returns within our jurisdiction, we may hold him responsible
for his transgression of our laws, and punish hmi accordingly. When that
is done, the original olFenco is atoned for. No double satisfaction lor tha^
can be demanded ; but we should be still at liberty to proceed for the sub-
sequent refusal, according to the circumstances of aggravation attending it.
But, sir, 1 repeat, t!iat nothing short of a previous order to do the specific
act complained of, given by competent authority, can save McL.eod in the
courts of New York. No subsequent approval of it by the British Govern-
ment can do it. McLeod will find it so on his trial ; and the American
Secretary of State should have told the British Government so, and should
liave demanded the production of the original order, or a copy of it, so as
to see precisely its extent and operation. And here is my highest objection
to the conduct of our Secretary of State, lie never had the fearlessness to
say to England, " Show ine your order to this nian or his leader ; show me
that— its date, its every word— that my Government may see whether these
crimes are yours or his. If yours, the courts of New York, m due season,
will send him home unharmed and uninjured, whilst 1 will hold you
instantly responsible for his conduct.*'
Tl.is is what Mr. Webster, in my liumble opinion, should have said and
done. What did he say and do? Me affects to see no distinction between
a prior order and a subsequent approval of tho conduct of McLeod. In
fact, he substitutes the latter for the former, and, with indecent haste, gives
the Ikitish Government to understand that the claim of New York consti-
tuted titc. only difficulty in the way of an instant compliance with its de-
mand. What more? Why he gives Mr. F(*:: a copy of his instructions to
the Attorney General, and thereby informs him of the hasty and extraordi-
nary means by which he was endeavoring to snatch McLeod out ol the
hands of New York, the only remaining obstacle to his surrender.
Sir, Mr. Fox saw at once that his threat had told— the Britirjh ministry
saw the same thin^— the JJritish Parliament saw it— and they arc all now
waiting in full assurance that the heroes of Acre will have no opportunity
to increase their laurels on the coast of America.
But sir, they may be mistaken after all. There is but one thing can
save him ou his trial. If indeed he were absent from the scene of these
12
outrages-i( indeed he was no member of that '^ pubhc force," he will and
oujjht to be acquitted.
But the Supreme Court will require him, as Mr. Webster ought to have
done to produce the order under which the party acted. They will look
closely to the extent of that order; and if that order was exceeded, he must
die No subsequent approval of the British Government can shield him—
no oversight of the American Secretary can set aside the strict and impar-
tial administration of justice. Die he must; and all the thunder ot the
British navy cannot frighten the American people from approving and ap-
plauding tiie sentence. •
If such should be the fate of McLcod, there remains but one question to
be considered-and that is, one of peace and of war. Will Great Britain leel
l)Ound and pledged to declare war against this country to avenge his death l
Sir, Euermitted to recede/'
Sir, here is an admission of our original right to seize and punish
■ McLeod, infinitely stronger than is any where asserted by Mr. Webster ; —
an admission but hitle weakened by the sophistry which seeks to show
that this original right had been lost by an appeal to the British Govern-
ment for redress. That redress has never been granted — nay, it has not
even been promised ; and, therefore, upon every known principle this Gov-
ernment stands remitted to iier original right to punish McLeod whenever
she can get hold upon him. She has him now. She recurs to that ad-
mitted original right, notwithstanding its surrender by Mr. Webster.
I wish now to refer to another speech of Lord Palmcrston, in reply to
Mr. Hume, in the same debate. He said :
" Witli regard to Mr. Forsyth's letter, 1 beg leave to say that the principle
stands thus : In the case of the American citizens engaged in invading
Canada, the American Government disavows the acts of those citizens, and
states that the British authorities might deal with them as they pleased,
and that they were persons who were not in any degree entitled to tlie pro-
tection of the United Stales. But in the other case they treated the affair
of the Caroline as one to be considered as that of the Government, and not
to be left on the responsibility of individuals. Until., therefore, the British
Government disowned those persons, as the American Government dis-
avowed tneir citizens in the other case, they would have no right to change
their ground on the question."
Now, sir, observe the posiiion taken in this last extract by Lord Palmers-
ton. Until the British Government disown the persons who made the
attack on the Caroline, they were not to be treated like the British author-
ities treated the Americans taken on the Canada side. And how was that 1
By making them responsible to the local authorities. And why not treat
them on both sides alike ? Becatise we have not disowned our people, say
they, as you have done yours. But if you have not disowned them, have
you ever ovmed them, or acknowledged their acts to be yours ? No, never.
For two years we demanded of the British Government to say whether
it did or did not disown these persons ; but she 'itterly failed during all
that time to say whether she did or not. In the uiean time, whilst she is
standing mute and will not utter a single word eithf.r way., McLeod returns
to the United States, impudently brags of his exploits in the affair, is ar-
rested, and confined for trial. Up to this time, we could not get England
to say a word on the subject ; but now she comes very suddenly to her
speech. One of her felon subjects is about to get the rope around Ins neck,
and she speaks up at once with full volubiUty. Is she entitled to her de-
I
14
«,,nd^ b she enti.led to take our people on her side of the border, and
hang them up »' '''^^7 7^"",,^,,^, yet reeking with the blood of our fel-
;r:ur:::;'sS :!:r-.. l vapor tfrongh o„r .nd. wi.h .uter
'"'Ifm VTebster virtually says all this may be done. He virtually snrren-
^ k! ,ilts and privileges of our border citizens, and lays them exposed
t'eCrv m ^dt FdiU that may be set on foot against them in
Inlda C; sk were this the last pt.b.ic act of my life, I would protest
against his doctrines, and appaal from his decisions.
rm ^1