s 
 
. 
 
 DEBATE 
 
 IN THE 
 
 House of Representatives 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Territory of Orleans, 
 
 ON A 
 
 MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS, 
 
 RESPECTING THE ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF 
 
 General Wilkinson. 
 
 POINTED BY BRAbFORD & ANDERSON, CORNER Op CHA&TRES AND TOULOUSE 
 
 STREETS 1807. 
 
x 
 
DEBATE, 
 
 C. 
 
 ORLEANS LEGISLATURE. 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
 
 Monday, March 16, 1807. 
 House in committee of the whole, 
 on a memorial to congress, relative to 
 the conduct of Gen. Wilkinson Dr. 
 Cooley in the chair. 
 
 Col. Fulton moved that the me- 
 morial be rejected 
 
 Mr. Parrot faid that he could not 
 conceive upon what grounds the 
 gentleman made fuch a motion. The 
 memorial contained folid facls, grie- 
 vances of which we complain ; and 
 they ought to be forwarded to go- 
 vernment. 
 
 Coir Fulton replied that his mo- 
 tive for wiming to fupprefs it, was, 
 becaufe he thought it difgraceful to 
 the houfe to read it. 
 
 Mr Parrot thought the fubjecl: be- 
 fore the houfe one of the mod im- 
 portant that ever came before it ; 
 and hoped, for the fake of his coun- 
 try, that fuch a one would never 
 again come before it. He obferved, 
 there are members of this houfe, de 
 termined to go through thick and 
 thin, to juftify the meafures we fo 
 much complain of; men who ftand 
 in awe of a Punic Tyrant, "drefs'd 
 in a little brief authority," who has 
 been preying upon the very vitals of 
 our country. 
 
 Col. Fulton begged leave to reply 
 to the gentleman when he fpoke of 
 puny or petty tyrants, he fuppofed he 
 alluded to him he was under no 
 awe of any one ; he faid every one 
 who knew him, knew he was inde- 
 
 pendent. If gentlemen wifh to ar- 
 gue the point fairly, let them with- 
 out intimidating. 
 
 Mr. Donaldfon obferved that the 
 memorial was fo fulfome to the ears 
 of many in the houfe, that he wifhed 
 to difpenfe with the reading of it. 
 
 Mr. Hughes hopsd the gentleman 
 from Acadiadid not wifh to have this 
 memorial difmifled without being 
 read ; he could not give his confent 
 to it ; he did not wifh to have a thing 
 thrown away without knowing what 
 it contained. If it contained truth, 
 which he believed was the facl, it 
 merited a better fate than the gentle-* 
 man feemed willing to aflign it if, 
 on the contrary, it contained falfe- 
 hoods* it would meet the indignation 
 of the houfe. He claimed as a right, 
 the privilege of exprefling his opini- 
 on on the memorial, let its fate be 
 what it would. 
 
 The queftion was taken on the 
 reading of the memorial, and refolvea 
 in the affirmative. The clerk then 
 proceeded tc read the following 
 
 MEMORIAL: 
 
 To the Honorable the Senate and House 
 of Representative.!} of the United 
 States, in Congress assembled. 
 EXTRAORDINARY and alarm- 
 ing- events, oblige the legislative coun- 
 cil and house of representatives of the 
 territory of Orleans, to appear in the 
 character of complainants, at the bar 
 of your honorable body. * 
 
 Among the privileged secured to 
 us by the treaty of cession, were some 
 which congress thought of so much 
 importance, that they hastened to be- 
 stow them as an earnest of the further 
 
t 
 
 benefits we were taught to expect. 
 We knew how to appreciate them ; 
 and rend with satisfaction in the first 
 law passed for our government, the 
 provision, that " The inhabitants of 
 u the said territory, shall be entitled 
 " to the benefits of the writ of habeas 
 " c or/ix s. They shall be bailable, un- 
 u less for capital offences, where the 
 " proof is' evident or the presumption 
 u great, and no cruel or unusual pun- 
 " i:,hrncnt shall be inflicted." 
 
 Whenever we have been tempted to 
 complain that other privileges, deem- 
 ed by us essential were withheld, we 
 have been reminded of former periods 
 in our history, when Liberty was only 
 a tt nancy at the will of our superiors^ 
 and told to be grateful for the exten- 
 sion of a remedy against every species 
 of illegal, personal violence ; we exa- 
 mined the nature of this provision, and 
 wi:w in its theory an admirable contri- 
 vance to secure the liberty of the citi- 
 >:en ; we enquired into its operation, 
 and found that its practice had pro- 
 duced the correspondent e fleet ; and 
 \ve considered this assurance of per- 
 v.onal, as the first step to political inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 Secured from the dread of legal 
 punishment by a determination not to 
 merit it, and safe in the protecting 
 power of the law against all attacks on 
 our reputation or property, we assum- 
 ed the pL'in but lofty port of Freedom, 
 and looked forward to the period when 
 60,000 citizens, who had by enjoying, 
 learned to appreciate their rights, 
 should unite in assuming an equal 
 rank in the great Federal Famihi a 
 station to which " nature and nature's 
 God," has destined them. Under 
 these anticipations! our government 
 experienced another change. And 
 here again we rejoiced to find the in- 
 valuable p:ivileges of personal securi- 
 ty, re -assured with other provisions 
 equally important. In the second ar- 
 ticle of the prdii it is declared 
 ill .-.I die inhabiting, df Said tcrrhcry 
 
 " shall always be entitled to the belie* 
 " fits of the writ of habeas cor/ius and 
 " of a trial by jury that all persons 
 "shall be bailable, unless for capital 
 " offences, when the proof is evident 
 " or the presumption great, and thi'.l 
 " no man shall be deprived of his li- 
 u berty or property, but by the judg- 
 " inent of his peers, or the law of the 
 " laiid." We view with admiration, 
 and as children of the great Am-ri'-an 
 Family, claim a participation in the- 
 benefits of the constitutional provisions 
 contained in the 7th and 8th articles 
 of the amendments to the Constitu- 
 tion, and fear not the disspprobation of 
 congress, when we contend that within 
 this territory " no person shall be 
 " held to answer for a capital or other- 
 " wise infamous crime, unless on a 
 " presentment or indictment of a 
 " grand jury, except in cases arising 
 " in the land or naval forces, or in the 
 " militia, when in actual service in 
 " time of war, or public danger." And 
 that in all priminal prosecutions the 
 accused ^ shall enjoy the right to a 
 " speedy and public trial by an impar- 
 " tial jury of the state and district 
 '* wherein the crime shall have been 
 " committed, which district shall have 
 " been previously ascertained by law, 
 " and to be informed of the nature Sc 
 " cause of the accusation to be con- 
 " fronted with the witnesses against 
 " him to have compulsory process 
 " for obtaining witnesses in his favor, 
 " and to have the assistance of counsel 
 " for his defence." 
 
 We feel a grateful pleasure in re- 
 ferring to these constitutional bulwarks 
 erected for our protection an honest 
 pride in the consciousness that we 
 have not rendered ourselves unworthy 
 of the blessing and an indignant grief 
 which v. e are sure your honorable bo- 
 dy will participate, in the reflection 
 that the noblest plan ever devised for 
 the protection of personal liberty. 
 the finest theory ever imagined for the 
 restraint of arbitrary power, should. 
 
before we had well seen its operation 
 be rendered abortive that the best 
 gift ofiered by the United States 
 should be violently torn from our 
 grasp, and that, while its constitutional 
 guardians looked tamely on, the holy 
 templeof justice should be sacrilegious- 
 ly lilled of this revered palladium of our 
 rights. 
 
 The annexed documents support 
 the following- statement of facts, to 
 which we entreat the immediate and 
 efficient attention of the proper bran- 
 ches of government. 
 
 The return of the regular forces to 
 this city in last, announ- 
 
 ced to us the settlement of our diffe- 
 rences with Spain upon our frontiers, 
 and we felt grateful to those who had 
 been instrumental in tranquiiizing 
 the country. But our tranquiiity was 
 of short duration. Measures were 
 soon put into operation which filled 
 the city with alarm, and every thinking 
 mind with the apprehension of the 
 most sinister events. Very active pre- 
 parations were made for defence, but 
 the utmost mystery observed as to the- 
 cause rumors were put into circula- 
 tion of an intent to proclaim martial 
 law and the old forts which command 
 the city were repaired. At lenghth, 
 when a sufficient degree of alarm had 
 been created, the merchants of the 
 city were invited to convene at the go- 
 vernment house on the day 
 of December last, and many of them 
 attended. They were met by the Go- 
 vernor of this Territory, and Brigadier 
 General Wilkinson. The latter com- 
 municated to them that the prepara- 
 tions then making were to oppose col. 
 Burr, who had formed a plan to sever 
 western from the Atlantic states, and 
 to invade the province of Mexico., 
 That in the prosecution of these ob- 
 jects, he would himself be at Natchez, 
 with two thousand men, by the 20th of 
 December, and would soon after be 
 joined by a body of six thousand men. 
 That with this force he would march 
 
 down to this city, take possession of 
 it, plunder the banks, and seize the 
 shipping to transport hi* urruy, under 
 convoy of a British fieet, to La Ve/a 
 Cruz. 
 
 This information, he said, he K.d 
 received, partly by a letter from Mr, 
 Burr addressed to him, (the General) 
 written in cypher, and dated the 
 
 last, and received by him, at 
 Natchitoches, on the 16th of October 
 last which letter, or a decyphered 
 copy, he produced ; and which, among 
 other things, acknovvlt dgtd the receipt -jf 
 one from the General of the 6th of the 
 preceding month. , 5* usk-.'d hit, advice as to 
 the propriety of taking Eaton / onge on 
 his way down. Other parts of the plan, 
 not contained in the letter, he stated 
 had been communicated by a messen- 
 ger from Mr. Burr, who had been sent 
 to him at Ntctchitoches. 
 
 The Governor supported the Gene- 
 ral in a speech, in which he stated his 
 belief in the existence of the danger, 
 and read a letter, which he said was 
 anonymous, but the hand writing of 
 which he knew to be that of a respec- 
 table gentleman in Tennessee. The 
 parts of this letter which were read, 
 advised him to beware of traitors, to 
 beware of the month of December 
 to beware of the Ides of March j o be- 
 ivarc cf the General and gave hints of 
 some design against the city ; it has 
 since been discovered that this letter 
 was actually signed A. Jackson, and ad- 
 vised the Governor to beware of the 
 General. Both the General and the Go- 
 vernor united in recommending an em- 
 bargo on the shipping, as a measure 
 essential to the general safety the 
 merchants who were present acquies- 
 ced in the necessity, and the embargo 
 was laid. A ship of war was immediate- 
 ly stationed below the city to prevent 
 the departure of any vessel without (he 
 General's passport, and sorne which 
 had sailed without this Document, were 
 brought back and detained until it was 
 procured, although the necessary 
 
6 3 
 
 -clearances from the custom house had 
 been given ; and we believe thataltho' 
 the collector has not since the 
 
 refused the papers requi- 
 red by law, no vessel is suffered to pass 
 tiie i 01 1 at JPiaquemine, without the 
 General's permission. 
 
 Upon the illegality of this embargo, 
 we need not offer a single argument. 
 The legislative power of congres alone 
 could legally enforce a measure of this 
 nature. Upon its expediency, many 
 considerations occur. Gen Wilkinson 
 Was the only witness of mr. Burr's 
 treasonable designs ; he stated his 
 plan to embrace the attack of this 
 place, the plunder of its wealth and 
 Seizure of its shipping ; and in order 
 to counteract these projects, it was 
 determined to keep all the shipping in 
 the harbor, to deprive them, by enlist- 
 ing their seamen, of all hopes of es* 
 cape, to detain the treasures of the 
 banks, and by withdrawing all the out- 
 posts, and collecting the military 
 force at New-Orleans, to leave all the 
 territory open to the invasion of the 
 enemy. 
 
 We do not pretend to be judges of 
 military operations, but on a point so 
 essential to our safety as the defence 
 of our territory, and so important to 
 the union as the maintenance of its 
 tranquility, we can but advert to the 
 impropriety of keeping the regular 
 forces isuiated in this city, and with- 
 drawing the garrisons from Fort A- 
 dams and Natchitoches, when the ob- 
 vious policy, if invasion were appre- 
 hended, would have been to have met 
 it in the defiles of the upper country, 
 aided by a numerous militia, instead 
 of waiting an attack in a town incapa- 
 ble of defence or if the attack of the 
 Spanish dominions were meditated, 
 to have occupied the garrisons situa- 
 ted on their frontier. 
 
 The embargo was a serious evil to 
 our country its immediate operation 
 is already severely felt in the injury of 
 private credit. The extent of its con- 
 
 sequences e'anntt be easily calculated, 
 In a government subject to events like 
 this, commercial operations must be 
 always uncertain, confidence must be 
 destroyed, and the price of insurance, 
 and uncertainty of returns, will always 
 damp the spirit of enterprise, enhance 
 the price of imports, and lessen that of 
 staple commodities. 1 hese evils arQ 
 already felt. The capitals about to be 
 invested in our lands, in our public in- 
 stitutions, and in loans to our inhabit- 
 ants, are suddenly withdrawn, and the 
 spirit of emigration to our territory is 
 destroyed; and a fall of at least twen- 
 ty -Jive fier cent, in the price of real es* 
 tates, attests the misfortune of our 
 country. Measures more deeply to be 
 deprecated, because they struck at the 
 root of all a freeman ought to value in 
 life Measures fortunately unknown 
 in the history of the American people, 
 and which, we devoutly pray, may be 
 only cited hereafter to shew the exem- 
 plary punishment that followed their 
 adoption. 
 
 On Sunday the 13th of December, 
 Doctor Erick Bollman, a resident and 
 house-holder of this city, was arrested 
 by two military officers, under the com- 
 mand of Brigadier General Wilkinson 
 his papers were seized he was de- 
 nied the privilege of consulting coun- 
 sel and was immediately hurried out 
 of the territory. Two other persons, 
 (citizens of the United States,) were 
 arrested by a similar order and confi- 
 ned on board a Bomb-Ketch, opposite 
 the city. For some days neither the 
 arrest of these last persons, nor the 
 place of their imprisonment, were 
 sufficiently known to justify any judi- 
 cial steps for their release. At length 
 one of them, (Mr. Ogden) remarka 
 ble for his height, was discovered 
 from the shore a proper affidavit was 
 made, and a -habeas cor/ius obtained, in 
 obedience to which, and contrary to 
 the express order of General Wilkin- 
 son, the officer of the Navy in whose 
 custody he was, brought .him before 
 
{he judge, and he TOIS released. The 
 other, Mr, bvvartwout, was immediate- 
 ly removed to more close confinement, 
 and measures were taken, by frequent- 
 ly changing the -officer of his guard, to 
 avoid any proper return to the writ is- 
 sued for his release. 
 
 An affidavit of the arrest of Eoll- 
 naan was presented to one of the judges 
 of the superior court, on the afternoon 
 of the 14th of December, together 
 with the writ of habeas corpus , for his 
 allowance ; and it was urged by the 
 gentleman who presented it, that the 
 case was an urgent one that the pri- 
 soner would probably be removed out 
 of the reach of process by the next 
 day. The allowance of the writ was 
 at that time refused by the honorable 
 Wm. Sprigg, senior judge of the 
 .superior court, in order, as he alleti- 
 ged, that he might consult his col- 
 league, and he not being at home, the 
 motion for the habeas corpus was di- 
 rected to be made in open court. On 
 following day, this motion appears to 
 have ben made by Mr. Alexander, 
 supported by Mr. Livingston, both 
 counsellors of the superior court the 
 \vrit was allowed. On Thursday the 
 18th of December, Gen. \V ilkinson, to 
 whom the writ was directed, made his 
 return, in which he set forth : 
 
 [Here follows the return TJI the case 
 efBotlman.'] 
 
 After thus avowing his breach of the 
 constitution and laws of his country, 
 and declaring to the judges, sitting in 
 their official capacity, that he would 
 persevere in the same lawless course, 
 fie proceeded to denounce the two 
 counsellors who had dared to question 
 his proceedings He demanded their 
 immediate arrest -but though repeat- 
 edly urged, by the one who was pre- 
 sent, to substantiate his charge, and 
 though every effort since that period 
 has been made by the gentleman accu- 
 sed to provoke enquiry into his con- 
 duct, we do not find that any proof 
 prated to sriuu- 
 
 nate him- and we are therefore con- 
 strained to believe that this denuncia- 
 tion was intended to overawe those 
 who might be inclined to extend their 
 professional aid to the Geneal's vic- 
 tims. 
 
 This deduction derives additional 
 force from the proceedings after- 
 wards purfued with reipedt to Mr. 
 Alexander. On the following day 
 he was, by virtue of a military order 
 figned by general Wilkinfon, arreft- 
 ed in his houie, and conveyed thro* 
 the ftreets at noon-day under a flrong 
 efcoi t ot Dragoons he was paraded 
 through the principal ftreets in the 
 city, expofed to the pitying gaze of 
 hundreds of the aftoniflied inhabi- 
 tants, and committed to clofe con- 
 finement at head- quarters. From 
 thence, with Mr. Ogden, who was a 
 fecondtirne arrefted, he was convey- 
 ed to fome place then unknown. 
 There is however, unqueftionable 
 proof that on the 22d of January they 
 wtte in confinement at Plaqurmine. 
 The Habeas Corpus in the cafe of 
 Bollman is the on'y one which was 
 iflued from the fuperior court in thefe 
 cafes of military arreft the effect of 
 that was rendered abortive by the al- 
 ledged removal of the priforier. 
 
 The other cafes were profecuted 
 in the county court, where James 
 Workman tfquire prefided The 
 hiftory of thofe cafes and the reafons 
 why they were rendered ineffectual 
 are contained in a report made by 
 that officer t:> this houft That docu- 
 ment demands the ferious attention 
 of the national legiflature ; and the 
 tacit refufal of the governor of this 
 territory, to give effective energy to 
 tht civil authority, will no doubt be 
 examined by the executive of the U- 
 nion 
 
 The picture however of our fuf- 
 f Brings, dt b *itu4Uuiib and i&juiits, is 
 
] 
 
 fcot yet complete. We have feen the 
 citizen impriforied, and his advocates 
 dj.^irvrcd fr-i'i the bar, denounced, im- 
 piif'vneil <:nd banifhed the violation 
 otfhef;c,ed featofjuftice irf;lfwas 
 fli-I wanting to give a finifh and co- 
 Icrir.s/, a clow of intenfe guilt 
 V- the croup. This it received, for 
 Mr Workman a few days after his 
 cormnurnc'Mon was made to this 
 Ktn:fc, was himfelf arrefted, dragged 
 to ibe vuard hc;ufe and imprtlbned 
 i*iih Mr. Kcrr (another gentleman 
 of !rv. bar, \\ ho had taken out the ha- 
 bfr > corpus tor Ogden,) until they 
 Tv-ere rdeafed by the prompt interoo- 
 fttion cf the d'itrjc"r jrdgeof the Uni- 
 ted S^tes. We do not mean to be 
 jprvdrrft'ood as vouching for the inno- 
 cence cr guilt of the f..veral perfons 
 x* 'horn th-r commander in chief of the 
 Ann r\ , -rrny has arrefted. It is 
 how.v 'Tiie; what unfortunate that 
 tfhe ;..- none of the victims he 
 
 has ; '.t the bar or the bench 
 
 Was ever :!'<covevcd until they had 
 diftinguifhed *herrfv:lves by doing 
 their t'uiy in opp fi;i m to his tyrani- 
 ca? defigns. 
 
 In order to prevent all efcape from 
 fcenes fofull of hcrror, fci degrading 
 to an American, fo ruinous in their 
 corifcquences, and fo (ifgraceful to 
 thoft whofe diry it was toproiecl: us 
 againft them, guards were placed a- 
 bove, and forts and garrifons below 
 thetov n all travellers were flopped, 
 fearched, impriforcd unlefs provided 
 ^ith pafTports, and the citrzens of t his 
 territory in pading quietly through 
 their neighborhood were not only 
 flopped, but fired upon, by order of 
 General Wilkinfon. Innocent tra- 
 Teliers from a remote part of the 
 cc/untry have been forced to return 
 one hundred miles to procure this li- 
 cenfe to travel in their own country. 
 
 Tbjs order has been enforced even 
 
 againft a member of this houfc* 
 whofe perfon w:is imprifoned until 
 he had fufFered an illegal examination 
 of his private papers. 
 
 Though nothing can juftify, yet 
 circu:n(tances of extreme danger in 
 the moment of invafion during the 
 fufpenfion of the civil authority, 
 might excufe fome of thefe violent 
 meafures But here no foreign ene- 
 my or opendomeitic foe was then, or 
 has yet been proved to have been with* 
 in any perilous diilance of this city, 
 or that treafon lurked within our 
 walls Nay, there yet exifts, within 
 our knowledge, no proofs of any 
 treafonable defigns fufficiently organ- 
 ized and matured to give us any rea- 
 fonable caufe t fear for our fafety. 
 The courts were open to punifh, ju- 
 ries to try, and officers ready to en- 
 force the civil authority in all cafes 
 of convicltion If reafonable doubts 
 could be entertained of any want of 
 energy in the civil authority, the mi- 
 luas v was at hand to aid its operations 
 but this ancillary procefs did not 
 fuit the views of the commander 
 his ardent zeal could not brook " the 
 laws delay," his promptitude to fup- 
 port " the holy attiibutes of thecon- 
 ftitution" would admit of no flay to 
 his uplifted arm ; and though by an 
 union of mockery with violence, in 
 many of the cafei? he began by an ap- 
 plication to the courts and to juries, 
 yet his impatience always fnatched 
 his victims before they had time to 
 deliberte on the accufations he pre- 
 tended to make. 
 
 Again we repeat to your honorable 
 body, that we do not forget our de- 
 partment fo far as to pronounce on 
 the alledged guilt or presumable inno- 
 cence of the victims of his viloence. 
 But we muft be permitted to remark 
 that ineifher cafe the proceed ings are 
 illegal, opprefiive, and inhuman, 
 
t 
 
 Thus we have briefly ftated, with 
 as few reflections as the nature of the 
 cafe would admit, the a els of high 
 handed military power to which we 
 have been and are yet expofed acts 
 too notorious to be denied, too illegal 
 to be juitified, too wanton to be ex- 
 cufed We have alluded to, but can- 
 not fully defcribe the humiliating fit- 
 ua'ion te which they have reduced us. 
 Never would we have fubmittcd to 
 it, it the aid had been afforded by 
 thofe branches of government whofe 
 duty it was to have protected our 
 rk'lus, to have refitted opprefiion, and 
 to have rallied us around them on the 
 fiift afliimprion ->f iUegal power at 
 the head of thefe branches are men 
 not appointed by us over whom we 
 have no controul, and who are ame- 
 nable nly to congrefs fur their con- 
 duel . We pray that that conduct may 
 fee ftriclly examined into, and that 
 nothing connected with this extraor- 
 dinary ftateof thing* may be conceal- 
 ed We annex to this memorial a 
 nieflage from our governor, by which 
 we are invited to a temporary fufpen- 
 fion of the writ of Habeas Corpus 
 a compliance wiih which we con- 
 cieve would involve the violation of 
 of our oaths, the ordinance and con- 
 ftitution of our country, and w.'thout 
 the . femblance of neceflity lend our 
 authority to cover the unconftitution- 
 al proceedings of which we com- 
 plain. 
 
 Our great diftance from the feat of 
 government, renders opprefiion more 
 bold by the hope of impunity our 
 fcattered population takes away all 
 fear of refiftence the eafe v\irh 
 which men in office can procure t( fti- 
 mony, or influence opinion in their 
 favor, makes conviction more 'lifrlcult 
 and the neceflity of keeping up a 
 large military force, will iongexp<vfe 
 us to a repetition of the evilBut 
 
 all thefe confiderations will, we are 
 convinced, have the effect of render- 
 ing the proper branches of cur gov- 
 ernment more watchful over the con- 
 duct of their officers, and we rely 
 wirh confidence on the energy of the 
 Executive to remove, on the vigilance 
 of the Reprefentativcs to accufe, and 
 thejufticc of the Senate topuniih the 
 officers who (hall be found to have 
 difrtgarcied their duty. 
 
 The memorial being read, 
 Mr. Donaldson moved that the me- 
 morial be recommitted to a commit- 
 tee : he said that, the memorial before 
 the house, from the language and stiie 
 of it, went to defeat itself : It was not 
 confined to facts, and was vindictive. 
 
 Mr. Parrot sincerely hoped the 
 gentleman's motion would not prevail 
 he observed that the gentleman him- 
 self had been one appointed on a com- 
 mittee to draw up a memorial that 
 after diily dallying forty clays, and ma- 
 king a number of apologies to the 
 house, &c. the chairman expressed his 
 opinion that they never would agree, 
 and another committee was nominat- 
 ed, who have brought forward this 
 memorial ; and the gentleman has the 
 good conscience to 'rise and move that 
 it be recommitted, for what purpose 
 he best knows But I fear, should it 
 be, we shall never have it again before 
 us, by which we might be enabled to 
 discharge that duty we owe our con- 
 stituents and country. The gentle- 
 man says he is one of those who wish 
 that this memorial should be forward- 
 ed to government ; but I cannot think 
 him serious, or why move for its re- 
 commitment ? Can it not as well un- 
 dergo any amendments before the 
 house ? It was the unanimous voice 
 of this house about ten weeks ago, 
 that a memorial should be forwarded 
 to government, containing facts of 
 which we complained. Any member 
 at that time who would have come 
 forward to oppose it, would have met 
 
10 J 
 
 the honest indignation ^of the house- 
 but time has elapsed, and some of the 
 members have had an opportunity to 
 cool, and the cause of their grievances 
 with them. It has been asserted that 
 the measures adopted have been ibr 
 cur good- but I never can believe that 
 means so arbitrary and illegal of so 
 prominent and commanding a nature, 
 could have been for our good ; and I 
 v/ill go further, and say I do not be- 
 lieve they proceed from upright mo- 
 tives. 
 
 Mr. Gurley observed that he would 
 support the motion of mr. Donaldson 
 fora recommitment of the memorial, 
 upon the ground of having the unani- 
 mous consent of the committee that 
 things \vere inserted as facts, upon 
 which the house were to act, that con- 
 tained no truth -that in the present 
 state of the memorial, it was not pos- 
 sible to act upon it. It would require 
 to be so altered, amended and new- 
 moddled, in order to make it meet the 
 ideas of the house, that it could not now 
 be done that it had been suggested 
 that a committee of the whole should 
 make such amendments as were tho't 
 proper. He observed that there was 
 such a connection of sentences, and the 
 thing so blended and interwoven, that 
 it would be an endless task, and would 
 waste time without effect. He did not 
 wish it to be thought that he was ini- 
 mical to the measure of forwarding a 
 memorial to government ; but he 
 v-ished the propriety to he fairly ar- 
 gued first, as it was of serious conse- 
 quence, particularly as it would reflect 
 on the dignity of the legislature. 
 
 Dr. Wat kins rose in order to ex<- 
 press his astonishment at the extraor- 
 dinary manner in which the house had 
 been treated on this subject. He ob- 
 served that it had been unanimously 
 voted that a m'emorial should be foi- 
 v.arded to government. He wished 
 to know whether that vote should be 
 complied ^with ? He would oppose 
 the motion for a re-commitment, upon 
 
 two or three grounds the necessity 
 there was for communicating with the 
 Executive on this occasion ; that from 
 the conductor one ot the committees 
 which had been first appointed to draw 
 up tiiis memorial, (which he could not 
 refrain from saying did not act the 
 part due to its country,) he should 
 never consent to the re-commitment. 
 Were gentlemen afraid oi the memo- 
 rial i Should it be infamous, where 
 will it lodge ? He observed that the 
 memorial was of more consequence, 
 than all the laws which have occupied 
 the attention of the house the whole 
 session it contained matter of more 
 connection with our fundamental laws, 
 and more consonent to our doctrines 
 of government, than any or all the 
 laws passed in this house. 
 
 Mr. Hughets.r?-'\.'\i$ motion propos- 
 ed by the gentleman from Acudia, 
 is certainly one that shul huve my 
 most hearty disapprobation. I am as- 
 tonished bir, that the gentleman from 
 Acadia, or indeed any otncr in this 
 house, could hcive the boldness to rise 
 and support a motion for the recom- 
 mitment of the memorial now under 
 the consideration of this house j when 
 I reflect sir, that the same memorial 
 has been handed about from * one 
 committee to another, one of which 
 committees the gentleman himself 
 was a member for at least forty days ; 
 that committee was discharged, and 
 another appointed in its stead, and now 
 upwards of twenty days have elapsed, 
 the memorial is brought forward for 
 consideration, and the gentleman has 
 the good conscience to propose the 
 postponement of its consideration. I 
 am in hopes the proposition will have 
 KO effect, and meet the opposition it 
 justly mciits. And now I am up, if I 
 am in order, I will make some general 
 remarks on the extraordinary occur- 
 rcrrr.f v hich produced the memorial. 
 T 1-ey will be such I believe as no per- 
 K.f;i: .11 uiib house will find easy to re- 
 fute. 
 
Instead of hearing the memorial 
 submitted by your committee, termed 
 a libel, I expected to have heard it ap- 
 plauded for the temperance and mild- 
 ness of its language ; instead of hear- 
 ing it asserted that it contained char- 
 ges unfounded and malicious, I was 
 myself prepared to accuse the com- 
 mittee of having overlooked many im- 
 portant causes of complaint, and I was 
 even tempted to offer proofs of some, 
 to be added by way of amendment to 
 the report. I confess, mr. Chairman, 
 that I look around rne with astonish- 
 ment that I doubt the evidence of my 
 senses, when I hear conduct, such as 
 that of which we complain, palliated 
 or excused ; and I would rather bear 
 the idea that a temporary insanity had 
 assailed me, than be forced to the mor- 
 tifying certainty, that these palliations, 
 these excuses, the mean, humbling, 
 half justifications, of arbitrary power, 
 have been asserted by Americans, in a 
 free deliberative assembly ; Free As- 
 Kr.mbly ! pardon me, mr. Chairman, 
 the unguarded expression ; it is the 
 bitterest irony in our situation. Are 
 you safe, sir, in your chair ? Are ei- 
 ther ot us in our seats free from the 
 fear of actual violence ? The sword 
 of power is waved over our heads- 
 the bayonets of military despotism are 
 at your door, and the adoption of that 
 memorial may be the signal for your 
 immediate seizure, banishment or 
 death ? And pray sir, to what quar- 
 ter will you look for protection ? To 
 the executive of the territory ? tt is 
 worse than palsied it is acutually en- 
 listed in the service of your oppressor ! 
 To your constituents ? Your tame 
 submission to these outrages your 
 wretched time-serving delays the 
 want of character and energy we have 
 for two long months displayed, has 
 destroyed all confidence in us, or sym- 
 pathy for our sufferings. But there is 
 no danger ; the storm has blown over ; 
 the clouds are dispersed, and we are 
 
 now to enjoy the full sunshine of li- 
 berty and peace. 
 
 But what security have we that the 
 momentary calm will last ? It is true 
 that for two or three weeks past, we 
 have not seen any of our constituents 
 dragged from their families or friends j 
 that the guard which insulted even 
 members of this house, and violated 
 its privileges, is withdrawn ; that a 
 citizen may now ride a few miles out 
 of the city without having his pockets 
 searched, and the secrets of his friends 
 and family exposed to the insulting 
 scrutiny of a subaltern ; that defence- 
 less women and children are no longer 
 made prisoners of state ; and that the 
 business of the court is no longer con- 
 fined to the nugatory wr\ts Q habeas 
 corpus, or the reception of insulting 
 returns. 
 
 But sir, these scenes attended with a 
 thousand aggravating circumstances, 
 which have but just passed before our 
 eyes ; and what security have you, 
 I repeat, that they will not be renew- 
 ed ? The same force that was em- 
 ployed ; the same" tyranny that direct- 
 ed it, are yet in your city. An eye is 
 kept over all your proceedings : every 
 word uttered here is, I most religious- 
 ly believe, carried to your oppressor ; 
 and upon his will alone depends our 
 future fate. We know this ; we feel 
 it, and yet we do not blush to say we 
 are Free ! No sir, we are not free ; 
 and our constituents will, I hope, as- 
 cribe to fear, and nothing but fear, the 
 event which I anticipate with mortifi- 
 cation aiid horror, when a majority of 
 the members of this house shall reject 
 that memorial ; and when that same 
 majority shall adopt in its stead, an 
 address, excusing^ palliating or even 
 justifying the conduct that has wan- 
 tonly destroyed your constitution, and 
 impudently violated your laws ; when 
 we shall crawl in the dust beneath the 
 feet of our oppressor, and shew the 
 weakness, but surpass the forbearance 
 
[ 12 j 
 
 of the poor reptile that turns when 
 trodden on. 
 
 Sir, will it^ can. it be said, that real or 
 apparent danger rendered this conduct 
 necessary ? If I am answered in the 
 affirmative, I say the assertion i:> a 
 li bcl on pur constituents ; I will ne- 
 ver sanction it by my voice. What 
 sir ! was the political body so contam- 
 inated here, that justice could not be 
 administered ? Where were the trai- 
 tors ? Have they fled from justice ? 
 Have they made their escape from 
 this city ? Why are they not now 
 dragged to justice ? Why are their 
 names concealed from an indignant 
 public ? Because neither treason nor 
 traitors existed in the country thus ca- 
 lumniated ! because the idea origina- 
 ted only in the mind of a man, who 
 wanted by the excess of a new born 
 zeal, to cover the suspicions of guilt, 
 and who hoped to stop the investiga- 
 tion of his own conduct, by magnify - 
 the danger from which he wished 
 
 ?have us believe his services had de- 
 livered us !! 
 
 The letters, the papers, and the 
 persons, nay even the private conver- 
 sations of the inhabitants of this terri- 
 tory, have for three months been un- 
 der the absolute controul of the public 
 officers. If treason had existed in this 
 territory, it would in vain have endea- 
 vored to escape detection If the peo- 
 ple were so disaffected, that they were 
 ready to snatch the culprit from the 
 hands of justice if the judges could 
 not be trusted to commit, nor juries to 
 pronounce on the guilt of the delin- 
 quents, surely with such means, and 
 so inquisitorially exercised, some evi- 
 dence of the fact would have been pro- 
 duced ; some document, some decla- 
 ration ; some bottle conversation ; 
 some confidential communication 
 would have been drawn forth from 
 the secrecy in which friendship and 
 honor had buried them, to bear testi- 
 mony of iruilt, or at least to justify 
 
 I therefore repeat, and so long as 
 my feeble voice can be heard, I will 
 continue to proclaim, that our consti- 
 tuents have been vilely calumniated, 
 as well as cruelly oppressed ; that in- 
 sult has been added to injury ; and that 
 their imaginary disaffection has beeri 
 slanderously alledged as an excuse 
 for their real oppression. Away nen 
 sir, with the degrading excuse deriv- 
 ed from domestic treason or disaffec- 
 tion. It is one that will surely find no 
 favor with the executive of the Uni- 
 ted States, who has borne honorable 
 testimony to the readiness with which 
 the force of the territory was, in a mo- 
 ment of danger, offered to support the 
 Union ; nor will it be believed here, 
 when we have seen our most respect- 
 able citizens performing the drudge- 
 ry of garrison duty, and condescend- 
 ing, even on the mere allegation of the 
 general, to undertake the task of exe- 
 cuting orders odious in themselves, 
 and which I am sure must have been 
 doubly disagreeable to them, both as 
 free citizens, and men of respectability 
 in society. 
 
 If there was no danger from domes- 
 tic insurrection, did any pressing pe- 
 ril from without, threaten us with such 
 immediate destruction, that no time 
 was given to deliberate, or consult the 
 constitutional organs of accusation ? 
 From whence did it arise ? We have 
 been told but of one quarter from 
 whence any was expected I yet it is 
 extremely difficult to reconcile the ex- 
 istence of any such .clanger, with the 
 measures pursued to avoid it. If the 
 commander in chief of the American 
 forces was really in earnest, when he 
 told us Burr was expected at Natchez 
 on the 20th December, with 2000 
 rnen, would he have dismantled Fort 
 Adams ? would he have endeavored to 
 weaken the Mississippi Territory, by 
 demanding 500 men from thence, to 
 be bron r,'ht to this place ? would he 
 have thrown his whole force into a de- 
 fenceless town, and left the whole up- 
 
J 
 
 per country open to invasion ? and 
 would he, I ask it seriously, & pray his 
 advocates in this house to give a satis- 
 fuctory answer would he have con* 
 cealed his knowledge of the danger 
 from the governor of the country 
 which was to be the first invaded ? of 
 that in which the force was to have 
 been collected ? Would he not instant- 
 ly have requested gov. Meade to put 
 himself on his defence ? would he not 
 instead of endeavoring to weaken that 
 territory? by a requisition of militia 
 have marched there with his regular 
 force, and thus checked the first effort 
 of rebellion ? or would he not have 
 nipped it in its bud, by sending a copy 
 of his cypher letter to the governor of 
 Kentucky, before any force could pos- 
 sibly have been embodied, or while the 
 juries of the upper states and territo- 
 ries were groping in the dark, and for 
 want of proof pronouncing the migh- 
 ty culprit innocent ? Would he not 
 have furnished that evidence which he 
 had in his possession, and which would 
 have exposed the traitor & his schemes 
 himself to detestation and ruin. 
 
 If the object of Mr. Burr was to 
 plunder this place of its wealth, and to 
 seize on its shipping, would he, I ask 
 iiave laid an embargo to keep both 
 within his reach ? If he had not had 
 some other scheme than mere defence 
 against this northern rebellion, would 
 he have expended the treasure of the 
 public, in erecting fortifications in the 
 centre of your city, useless against a 
 foreign foe efficient only to overawe 
 your citizens, and to ruin their proper- 
 ties in its suburbs ? Would, in fine, the 
 naval force have been stationed along 
 the river in smali detachments ? or 
 would they not have been collected so 
 as to act with some advantage against 
 the descending force : It is notorious 
 that at the moment when he announ- 
 ced the greatest danger, of the four 
 gun boats in the river, only two were 
 stationed as high up as Point Coupes, 
 and the two others at long intervals on 
 
 the river, so that they might succes- 
 sively have been taken, if half the sup- 
 posed force had descended with the 
 hostile army ; and is it possible to sup- 
 pose, that if the object held been to 
 interrupt the invasion of Mexico, that 
 no part of the naval force should have 
 been stationed above Red river, Mid 
 that Nachitoches would have been left 
 almost without a garrison ? it is plain 
 therefore, from these acts, from these 
 omissions, from these arrangements, 
 that no serious danger was apprebead- 
 ed but that for purposes best known 
 to the General himself, and his coad- 
 jutors, it was deemed necessary to 
 keep up the alarm ; to divide and 
 weaken the country ; to curb the town ; 
 to keep all its wealth in his power; to 
 scatter the naval, and render the mili- 
 tary force useless ; to magnify the 
 force of the enemy, and to terrify the 
 executive the legislature and the judi- 
 ciary into a dereliction of their rights. 
 With the first, unfortunately, he has 
 succeeded ; the last remain yet at 
 their posts, and this day is to deter-* 1 
 mine whether we are to partake the 
 disgrace of the one, or share iu the 
 credit due to the oilier ! For !- 
 not deceive ourselves as to the eilect 
 which our approbation of these mea- 
 sures, or even our silence, will pro- 
 duce. A sacred trust has been com- 
 mitted to our keeping ; personal 
 honor, national dignity, and the so- 
 lemn sanction of an oath, concur ia 
 pointing out our duty. Should we be- 
 tray this trust ; should we disregard 
 what we owe to ourselves, our conn- 
 try, and our God ; should we be bold 
 enough to bear the reproaches of that 
 internal Monitor, which no sophistry 
 can refute, no pretended necessity si- 
 lence, no power overawe ; should ve 
 have the hardihood to do this, I usk, 
 can the boldest of us meet his consti- 
 tuents with composure, before they 
 appear at their tribunal ? The effects 
 of this vain terror, if it ever possessed 
 their iirintis, will be dissipated. When 
 
t 
 
 ,4 
 
 we render an account of this winter's 
 transactions, will they, I say, be satis- 
 fied with our list of divorces ? with 
 our tniHtia arrangements ? or even 
 with our grand reforms in the judicia- 
 rj, if they should be effected ? No 
 sir? they will enquire of us about 
 events which more nearly concern 
 them ; they will enquire of their vio- 
 lated rights; they will -ask about their 
 constitution, committed to our care ; 
 and in a stern accent, in which the 
 the voice of the Profile must afifirar to 
 jxe the voice of God, they will demand 
 Whether we did not, in his awful pre- 
 sence, swear that we would preserve 
 that constitution inviolable forever ? 
 They will then point to the open, a- 
 Towed, undisguised infractions it has 
 received in our presence ; before our 
 eyes ; in our own persons ; in the ve- 
 ry sanctuary of our legislature ; and 
 ask us what measure we took to pre- 
 serve the constitution ? what steps to 
 avenge the injuries it received ? 
 What answers shall we, can we give 
 to those enquiries ? shall we reply, 
 * s It Is true we have sworn to preserve 
 root* constitution and rights ; it is true 
 we bare seen them openly violated and 
 despised ; we saw the commerce of 
 your country endangered ; its citi- 
 zens draped disgracefully through 
 the streets, first to a military dun- 
 geon, then to banishment and ruin ; 
 it is er(?taJIy true we saw the peaceful 
 traveJler stopped on the high way, 
 searched like a felon, and forced by 
 violence to ask protection in passports, 
 unknown and unauthorized by our 
 lairs ; that private papers have been 
 seized, private letters examined ; that 
 "women and children have suffered im- 
 prisonment, exposed to cold and hun- 
 ger; that our own privileges have 
 been infringed ; that our own dignity 
 has been destroyed ; that our country 
 lias been Pandered ; that your known 
 loyalty has been questioned ; and that 
 your representatives have been insult- 
 ed by a solemn proposition to violate 
 
 their oaths, and join in the unholy 
 work of destruction ! !" All this we 
 must proceed to say we beheld with 
 tame submission, all this ; some of it 
 countenanced and admitted ; and when 
 solemnly called by the indignant voice 
 of our country, to express in our legis- 
 lative capacity, the feelings which 
 ought to glow in the breasts of free- 
 men, we excused these illegal acts ; 
 we palliated these enormities ; we 
 threw the mantle of legislation upon 
 the nakedness, the folly, the vice of 
 executive acts. Though we could not 
 lessen the horror so considerably felt, 
 we meanly undertook to divide the 
 odium :- we humbled ourselves in 
 the presence of a petty officer, and 
 terriiied by the bayonets of a single 
 regiment, we kissed the rod, and justi- 
 fied the reproach of your enemies, by 
 our mean submission and flattery, that 
 " you are not Jilt to be fret; /" 
 
 Shall we be obliged to make this 
 humiliating confession ? No sir, it is 
 yet in our power to retrieve the credit 
 we have lost to assume the character 
 that befits us to address the legisla- 
 ture of our country in the language of 
 manly freedom to shew to the execu 
 tive how much he has been deceived 
 and betrayed, by the civil and military 
 chiefs ; and to give him an opportuni- 
 ty of dismissing the weakness that de- 
 grades, and the tyranny that ruins his 
 service in this territory. And yet sir, 
 it is principally for our own credit, 
 that we ought to seize this occa- 
 sion of shewing that we are not the 
 unworthy representatives of a patri- 
 otic people. For, whatever ideas we 
 may have of our duty, the representa- 
 tives of the United States will know 
 theirs ; though we may be silent, they 
 will speak ; they are fearless, though 
 we may tremble ; and should we flat- 
 ter, they will never cringe ; and next 
 to the consolation of having done my 
 own duty, I find one in the certainty 
 that there are at least one hundred and 
 thirteen independent men in ourcoun- 
 
3 
 
 oils, who have remembered their oaths 
 and will punish the betrayers of their 
 country. 
 
 DR. W ATKINS. Sir; I oppose 
 the gentleman's (mr. Donaldson) mo- 
 tion. I consider it u subterfuge to 
 get rid of the memorial altogether ; 
 and I think I am warranted in saying, 
 from the conduct of that gentleman, & 
 his friends, that if you consent to his 
 wish, the memorial will never more 
 make its appearance in this house. . 
 The gentleman says it contains errors. 
 If so, and he or any other member 
 will give himself the trouble to point 
 them out, they can be corrected in a 
 committee of the whole house, as well 
 and at least as expeditiously as in any 
 other way. I am disposed to believe 
 that there may be some few errors, 
 but they are of a trifling nature, and 
 not calculated to effect the body of the 
 memorial in any material or import- 
 ant point. I have too great a respect 
 for the constituted authorities of my 
 country, too much regard for the char- 
 acter of this house, and too high a re- 
 verence for the dignity of that tribu- 
 nal to whose justice we are about to 
 appeal, ever to consent that your me- 
 morial shall be disgraced by one doubt- 
 ful fact, or one disrespectful expres- 
 sion ; and I have too much regard for 
 my own reputation, to suffer myself 
 to he guided by any other principle 
 than that of truth ; by any other mo- 
 tives than those whose object are the 
 public welfare. If sir, the gentle- 
 man's motion should fail, and I flatter 
 myself it will, I shall propose such al- 
 terations as in my opinion ought to be 
 made in the memorial, when it comes 
 to be discussed by paragraphs. But 
 when I take a view of the conduct of 
 this house ; when I advert to the ex- 
 traordinary and unprecedented pro- 
 ceedings which took place this morn- 
 ing of attempting to thrust the memo- 
 rial out of doors, without even suffer- 
 ing it to be read, I am compelled to 
 believe it is the object of that gentle- 
 
 man and his friends, not oiJy to reject 
 it, but to avoid if possible, any discus- 
 sion on the subject. Under these cir- 
 cumstances I shu.il avail myself of the 
 present opportunity to make some ob- 
 servations on the memorial itself. 
 
 It will be recollected sir, that I sug- 
 gested the propriety of such a mea- 
 sure at the beginning of your session. 
 I thought it proper to transmit to the 
 general government, a faithlul narra- 
 tive of the principal events in the po- 
 litical history of our country a few 
 weeks previous to that time. The 
 same opinion seemed then unani- 
 mously to prevail in this house ; and a 
 committee was accordingly appointed 
 to draw up a memorial to congress. 
 I was solicitous for the memorial to go 
 on at that time for several reasons. In 
 the first place it would have found con- 
 gress in session, and as all communi- 
 cation between the individuals of this 
 country and the Atlantic states, had 
 been intercepted by your rulers, who 
 seemed desirous of usurping the em- 
 pire of thought as well as that of Saw, 
 I deemed it expedient that the repre- 
 sentatives of the people should endea- 
 vor to defend the honor and interests 
 of their country, by presenting to the 
 general government, a faithful picture 
 of their situation . 1 1 cannot be denied 
 but at that time it was dangerous for a 
 private citizen to express any senti- 
 ment in opposition to the measures of 
 the day. It will not be denied but that 
 even upon this floor, (except when 
 your doors were closed) no member 
 had courage enough to condemn the 
 conduct ot General Wilkinson. How- 
 ever conscious he migrhthe of his own 
 innocence ; however high his bosom 
 might glow with patriotism, and how- 
 ever great his indignation at the wan- 
 ton violation of the laws and constitu- 
 tion of his country, not one of you 
 dared in those dangerous times, pub- 
 licly to avow your real opinions. The 
 bold and independent conduct of the 
 representatives of a free people, would 
 
probably have been rewarded by a mi- 
 litary arrest a violent separation from 
 his family and friends, i.nti an ignomi- 
 nious transportation to God knows 
 where to a Spanish dungeon, or at 
 least to a distant part of the United 
 States, to the utter ruin of his fortune, 
 and the eternal injury of his honor and 
 reputation. Again sir if at that pe- 
 riod of your session, I could have suc- 
 ceeded in sending- forward a proper 
 memorial, I would after having- voted 
 the necessary supplies for the support 
 of the government, and providing by 
 all the means in our power for the 
 protection and safety of the country, 
 have p-oposed to this house to adjourn, 
 because it was insulting to exhibit to a 
 people just admitted to the enjoyment 
 of the boasted principles of Rejrubli- 
 camxm* the deplorable spectacle of a 
 military chief in the very presence of 
 their legislature, violating not only the 
 laws and constitution of their own ter- 
 ritory, but trampling under foot that 
 sacred charter of freedom, which had 
 been erected at the expence of the 
 blood and treasure of so many of our 
 ancestors. What was the language of 
 every native LouisianJftri on that occa- 
 sion ? formerly, (scdd they) such 
 conduct wouid not have surprised us ; 
 we were then at the mercy of arbitra- 
 ry power. But we had been told that 
 our siiuution was cl"u<n<red ; that we 
 ire re governed by laws, and not by 
 the caprice of men ; that the rights of 
 the private citizen were as sacred us 
 those of the highest in authority ; that 
 the humblest cultivator of your soil 
 sncl the chief magistrate of your coun- 
 try, were bound by the same laws, and 
 subject for their violation to the same 
 penalties. What has become of this 
 boasted liberty, this government of 
 laws ? It has fled, like a vision, be- 
 fore the accursed influence of military 
 despotism. While you on the one 
 hand are making laws at an enormous 
 expence to your country ; the com- 
 chief is violating them on 
 
 the othea, setting your authority at de- 
 fiance, trampling upon the sovereignty 
 of the people, and prostrating every 
 principle of liberty, which you had 
 taught us to revere." lor rea- 
 sons best known to your committee, 
 they never made a report. And here 
 I cannot forbear remarking that they 
 did not in my opinion, discharge the 
 duty which they owed to their coun- 
 try, or to the dignity of this house 
 
 Alter having amused you for upwards 
 of forty days, you were obliged to dis- 
 charge them and name another com- 
 mittee in their place, who have report- 
 ed the memorial now under consider- 
 ation. I am a friend to this memorial 
 with the alterations I have suggested, 
 because in territorial governments, 
 where the principal officers are ap- 
 pointed by the president of the United 
 states, to whom and to the senate alone 
 they are responsible for their conduct, 
 it becomes the duty of the representa- 
 tives of the people, whenever their 
 rights are infringed, to lay their com- 
 plaints before congress, the legal guar* 
 diansofthe liberties of the people. 
 lor wise purposes it has been thought 
 proper to establish this kind of govern- 
 ment in remote parts of the union, 
 where the number of inhabitants did 
 not justify the formation of an inde- 
 pendent state. It is a kind of proba- 
 tionary state, (many of you, gentle- 
 men, may think it a purgatory) thro* 
 which it is deemed necessary that we 
 should pass, before we are admitted to 
 the full enjoyment of that glorious in- 
 heritance which is the birth -right, of 
 every native born American. For 
 myself, I am no great admirer of this 
 form of government : my objections 
 to it are various : it may, however, be 
 the best, which could havs been devis- 
 ed for us. In a country like ours, just 
 emerging' from despotism, composed 
 of the inhabitants of various nations &c 
 languages, unacquainted with political 
 concerns, because they had not before 
 been allowed to take any share in the 
 
t ? 3. 
 
 administration of government ; it was 
 perhaps good policy to regulate their 
 admission as an independent member 
 of the great American bnion, by gra- 
 dual and progressive steps. _ but it 
 never for this purpose M y as intended 
 t-hat we should be oppressed. Con- 
 gress did not set over us men who 
 were to rule us according to their 
 own arbitrary will. On the contrary, 
 they extended to us by express, writ- 
 ten- and clearly defined laws, the chief 
 of those fundamental principles of li- 
 berty, recognized and secured by the 
 Federal Constitution. 
 
 I am not one of those who are dis- 
 posed on slight grounds to censure 
 the conduct of public men. I am well 
 aware of the folly of attempting, nay 
 of the impossibility of satisfying every 
 body. I hope however I have discern- 
 ment enough to see, Sc courage enough 
 to expose any wanton inroads upon 
 our rights, under whatever name, or 
 by whatever specious pretexts they 
 may be sanctioned. We are remov- 
 ed at a great distance from the seat of 
 the general government. Until very 
 lately we have had no Delegate upon 
 tine floor ot congress ; and as it relates 
 to the subjects of which we are now 
 speaking, he must be totally ignorant. 
 W e have been formerly calumniated, 
 and we were silent. We have been 
 recently denounced, insulted and ac- 
 cused of treason it is therefore high 
 time to vindicate ourselves. 
 
 One word mr. chairman, as relates 
 to the general state and situation of 
 our country. We have a population 
 ofnearly 60,000 souls, scattered over 
 a territory of six hundred miles in 
 length, and nearly the same breadth. 
 Of this population, about one half are 
 slaves, one-tenth free persons of color, 
 and the remainder free white persons. 
 The whole of our militia, thinly dis- 
 tributed over this extreme region, if 
 you except the battalion of colored 
 
 people, do not amount to more thatf. 
 six thousand men. During cue exist- 
 ence of the Spanish government here, 
 in addition to this militia, it was' tno't 
 necessary for the safety of the coun- 
 try, to keep up a considerable milita- 
 ry force, and accordingly the King of 
 Spain maintained a standing army in 
 the different parts of the then provi nee 
 to the amount of from two to three 
 thousand men ; and that too at a time 
 when he was sole proprietor of the 
 whole country, and free from the me* 
 nacesofany enemy. Since the tak- 
 ing possession of this country by the 
 United States, we have frequently 
 been under serious apprehensions of 
 an attack on the part of the Spaniards. 
 They have more than once invaded' 
 our territory : they have constantly 
 kept up an armed force on our fron- 
 tiers ; and they are masters of the 
 country not only on the east and west 
 cf our- settlements, but are in posses- 
 sion of Baton Rouge, a fort which 
 could be easily made to command the 
 navigation of the Mississippi from a- 
 bove, and enable them at any time to 
 lay waste the lower country, and seize 
 upon this city. Notwithstanding this 
 exposed, defenceless situation ; not- 
 withstanding the importance of this' 
 country to the American Union ; we 
 never have had at any time, (if my in- 
 formation be correct,) for two or three 
 years past, more than from 150 to 300 
 troops fit for actual service in this city 
 or its vicinity. But where, it will be 
 asked, are your 6000 militia ? It has 
 already been seen over what an exten- 
 sive country they are' spread, exposed 
 in all directions to a jealous and rest- 
 less neighbor. But this is not all. 
 When the number of our slaves i:-, 
 taken into view, any man in his senses 
 will see that instead of marching our 
 militia from their homes to fight for- 
 eign battles, it will be always necessa- 
 ry in times of war, to strengthen them 
 
 c 
 
C 
 
 oa their own plantations, for the pur- 
 pose of protecting their families, and 
 enabling them to keep up a proper \\i- 
 bordination among their slaves. Our 
 militia are moreover peculiarly situa- 
 ted. They have never been as yet, 
 owing to various circumstances, pro- 
 perly organised ; and this country has 
 changed masters so often in the 
 course of a few years, and its political 
 relations so frequently varied, that it 
 would be unnatural to expect from its 
 inhabitants in the course of a few 
 months, during which time they have 
 experienced many vexations and dis- 
 appointments, any very ardent affec- 
 tion, either to our nation or our go- 
 vernment. I do not insinuate by these 
 observations that the people of Loui- 
 siana are not brave, and possessed of 
 all the qualifications which adorn the 
 character of man, and render him a 
 good citizen : I believe them attached 
 to the principles of our government, 
 and willing to sacrifice their lives and 
 their fortunes in defence of their coun- 
 try : nor have I taken this view of 
 our situation for the purpose of cen- 
 suring our local or general govern- 
 ment. I will not firetcnd to .^aij iv/i^re 
 the blame lies. I know not whether 
 our real situation has ever been 
 known, or whether if known, it would 
 have been better provided for. All I 
 contend for is, that we have been left 
 in a defenceless, unprotected state ; 
 and that at the arrival of gen. Wilk- 
 inson upon the Sabine, we were at the 
 mercy of the Spaniards or of any ene- 
 my that might have chosen to make 
 war upon us. Judge then sir, of the 
 gratitude and affection with which 
 that general was received, when alter 
 having settled the difficulties in the 
 west, which had occasioned great un- 
 easiness and alarm, he came with his 
 army to take up winter quarters in this 
 city. He was hailed with joy by eve- 
 ry lover of his country. We had 
 heard with some anxiety, it is true, of 
 
 his having demanded of the acting go- 
 vernor of the Mississippi territory, 
 500 iniiiiia, and oi his having given 
 oracrs tor the dismantling roii Adam* 
 ana for the transporting to this city 
 all the artillery and military stores of 
 that post. But we flattered ourselves 
 that it was for the better defence of 
 the country, and the protection of its 
 inhabitants. Shortly after his arrival, 
 every thing was put in motion, and 
 great preparations were made ibr re- 
 pairing the old fortifications. In ad- 
 dition to the soldiers, a number of ne- 
 groes were hired at enormous expence^ 
 large contracts ibr lumber and pick- 
 ets were made and we were inform- 
 ed that the whole city was to be im- 
 mediately put in a state of defence 
 Military guards were posted in various 
 purls of the town one of our princi- 
 pal streets which had cost the corpor- 
 ation many hundred dollars, was biock- 
 ed up, and public curiosity was excit- 
 ed to an alarming pitch the most 
 profound mystery was observed on 
 the part of the general and the gover- 
 nor, as to the cause of these warlike 
 preparations conjecture was on tip- 
 toe ; and as it is impossible to stifle 
 enquiry in the busy minds of freemen, 
 every one made war with the nation he 
 liked the least, and by turns the batte- 
 ries of st. Charles and st. Louis were 
 made to play against Spain, France, 
 England and even against our own 
 country. The most rational part of 
 the community were lost in astonish- 
 ment. u If we are preparing, (said 
 they) to fight a foreign foe, why desert 
 our frontiers, entrench ourselves in 
 New-Orleans, place our safety in her 
 imperfect walls ; and leave the Bal- 
 ize, Fort St. John's, Fort Adams and 
 the Walnut Hills, unprotected by a 
 single cannon or a single man." 
 
 While the public mind was in this 
 state of agitation and alarm, an assem- 
 bly of the merchants was called at go- 
 vernment house. To these gentle- 
 
men the general stated that Aaron 
 J3urr, in combination with a number 
 of wealthy and influential characters, 
 from various parts of the United States, 
 were engaged in a desperate and law- 
 less enterprize to invade Mexico, to 
 sever the Atlantic from the Western 
 states, to make himself master of this 
 city, plunder the banks,seize upon the 
 shipping, and under convoy of a Bri- 
 tish fleet, to transport his army to La 
 Vera Cruz. In the prosecution of 
 these objects, to use the language of 
 your memorial, Burr himself was to 
 be at Natchez by the 15th or 20th of 
 December, with 2,000 men, and was 
 soon afterwards to be joined by a body 
 ef six thousand more. This informa- 
 tion the general said he had received 
 partly by a letter in cypher, addressed 
 to him from mr. Burr, and partly by a 
 letter from mr. Dayton, also in cy- 
 pher, received on the 10th of October 
 last, while at Natchitoches. The o- 
 ther parts of the plan had been com- 
 municated to him by accreditted a- 
 gents of Burr, sent for that express 
 purpose. 
 
 The governor confirmed the ac- 
 count which hud been given by the 
 general, and read some parts of a let- 
 ter, which he had received from a gen- 
 tleman of high respectability in Ten- 
 nessee, advising him to beware of 
 traitors to beware of the 20th of De- 
 cember to beware of the ides of 
 Marchand both him and the gener- 
 al united in recommending an em- 
 bargo to be laid on the shipping, which 
 was accordingly done. 
 
 It is, mr. Chairmain, difficult to 
 conceive, but much more so to des- 
 cribe the consternation which this dis- 
 closure produced upon the public 
 mind ; but great as it was, it was e- 
 qualled if not surpassed by the honest 
 indignation which burst forth against 
 the authors of this infernal plot, from 
 the bosoms of every citizen of our 
 country. It is impossible to deter- 
 
 mine what description of men were 
 most ardent to meet the traitorous , to 
 and I solemnly declare my belief 
 that there is not a respectable citizen 
 of the territory who \vould not have 
 risked his life in defence of his coun 
 try. One or two new volunteer com- 
 panies were formed, the old ones were 
 augmented, and the battalion of Or- 
 leans Volunteers gallantly offered their 
 services to the executive for the de- 
 fence of their country. The officers 
 of the militia were extremely active; 
 great exertions were made to com- 
 plete their organization, and every 
 demonstration of zeal in the common 
 cause given on their part. There 
 seemed to be but one object and but 
 one mind resistance and death to the 
 traitors. While we were engaged in 
 reflecting upon these things, it was 
 rumored that the general intended to 
 declare martial law, and that the go- 
 vernor meant to suspend the writ of 
 habeas corpus. The former part of 
 this threat was in effect immediately 
 put partially into execution, and the 
 latter part was suspended only for the 
 want of power and from a representa- 
 tion of the folly and danger of such a 
 measure. On the 13th of December 
 Doctor Bollman was arrested in the 
 public streets by a military guard, un- 
 der the orders of general Wilkinson, 
 which was soon afterwards followed by 
 the arrest of Swartwout and Ogden. 
 These gentlemen had been but a short 
 time in the country, and were known 
 but to few of its inhabitants. The ex- 
 traordinary nature, however, of their 
 arrest and confinement, in open viola- 
 tion of the best privileges of an Amer- 
 ican citizen, excited some interest in 
 the public opinion, and induced their 
 friends to sue out writs of habeas cor- 
 pus in their favor. The first of these 
 writs was issued by the superior court 
 in favor of Bollman, who had already 
 been hurried out of the country, or at 
 least was so alledged by the genet- 
 
$), out of the reach of civil process 
 
 The return to this writ was perhaps 
 the most singular in manner an4 stile 
 of any ever before made to a court of 
 justice. The general's approach to 
 the court was announced by his aid de 
 camp, mr. Duncan. He appeared at 
 the bar, with all the po ;np, and was 
 eloathecl with all the insignia of mili- 
 tary power. He informed their honr 
 ors, that he took upon himself all res- 
 ponsibility for the arrest of Errick 
 Bollman, and that he had adopted mea- 
 sures for his safe delivery to the exe- 
 cutive of the JJnited States, as he 
 would do with all others, without rer 
 gard to standing or station, against 
 who.m satisfactory proof of guilt might 
 arise in his mind. He enlarged coiir 
 s ; '-:i ably upon the extent of the con- 
 spl/ucy ; the great and imminent dan- 
 ger to which we were immediately 
 exposed; the wealth, the talents and 
 number of Burr's associates ; and, 
 casting his eyes around upon an appall- 
 ed 7iiu ititude, declared, tfrat even with- 
 in this city, there were many enemies 
 to their country ; that treason not only 
 lurked in your hiding places, but stalk- 
 ed proudly through, yo.ur streets at 
 raid day ! The several documents in 
 support of these allegations, particu- 
 larly Burr's and Dayton's letters in 
 cypher, and p;irts of the letter which 
 the governor had received from Ten- 
 nessee, suppressing as the governor 
 had done before him, the name of its 
 i author, and whatever related to the 
 general himself ! He further said that 
 it was after several consultations with 
 . the Governor and two of the judges of 
 the Territory, viz. Hall and Mathews, 
 that he had hazarded this step, but 
 being contradicted by the honorable 
 I Judge Mathews, the general replied, 
 that he had understood him to that ef- 
 i feet, and then looking down upon the 
 ; bar, he called out for two of its mem- 
 bers, and denounced them as traitors 
 to their country. The disgraceful 
 
 scene that followed, should be buried 
 in ete.n -.1 oblivion. Great God i shall 
 the sacred te upie of justice be con- 
 verted (by an American officer) into a 
 club of revolutionary tumult, and mi- 
 litary denunciation ? an 1 shall IAG ci- 
 tizens of freedom looii tamely on ? 
 Shall the insulted ministers of the law 
 return thanks to its violator, applaud 
 his conduct, bow before hi n, and kneel 
 at his feet ? The Gen ral retired, not 
 to the puce which he deserved, but 
 in triumph, and the friends of the con- 
 stitution departed with grief and in- 
 dignation and despair-^ to bewail the 
 misfortunes of their country. The ef- 
 fects of this disastrous day were soon 
 every where discovered. Suspicion 
 became identified with treason. Eve- 
 ry one conscious of his own innocence 
 and believing the declaration of the ge- 
 neral to be true, concluded that others 
 were guilty public as well as private 
 confidence was lost individual friend- 
 ship was destroyed di the bonds of 
 society were torn asunder <ncl public 
 tranquility as well as domestic happi- 
 ness were banished from our shores : 
 Broils and party spirit succeeded in 
 their places ; and the contention was 
 between the friends of the law, and 
 the advocates for arbitrary power. 
 The people however were still united 
 upon, ons point resistance to Burr. 
 A similar return was, in the last resort 
 made to the habeas cor/ius in the case 
 of Ogden, who after having been once 
 set at liberty by the civil authority, 
 was a second time arrested and con- 
 fined along with mr. Alexander, by 
 the orders of the general. 
 
 In the mean time guards were plac- 
 ed above the city to arrest and exam- 
 ine all travellers, to stop all boats, ex- 
 amine their passengers, and to fire 
 upon the boats which refused to come 
 to ! a detachment of dragoons was 
 sent to Manchac, with the same"; and 
 additional orders to break open and ex- 
 amine all letters and other papej?a 
 
fbund in the possession of travel- 
 lers. 
 
 A second regulation was established 
 mo-king it necessary for vessels and 
 citizens of this territory? as well as o- 
 ther persons, to furnish themselves 
 with passports ; and those who ne- 
 glected to do so, were compelled to re- 
 turn to the ci':y of New-Orleans, in 
 search of a document, the necessity of 
 which had never heen publicly noti- 
 fied. 
 
 While these things were going on, 
 at the 3:Uizs and in the country, your 
 post-o.Tice was erected into an inq'risi- 
 ti on ; private letters were broken o- 
 pen ; the secrets of individuals ware 
 disclosed ; and the reputation of every 
 honest man exposed to the mercy of 
 every malicious scribbler. The pri- 
 vate as well as public conduct of indi- 
 viduals, was watched ; and they were 
 alarmed, menaced or intreated, accor- 
 ding to the timidity or firmness of 
 their dispositions : secret depositions 
 were taken, without the knowledge of 
 those they were intended to criminate : 
 and characters were to be tried, for ac- 
 { quittal or infamy-.before a judge whose 
 own fidelity had long been suspected. 
 The information, however, from Ken- 
 tucky, the pretended seat of the con- 
 spiracy, did not altogether comport 
 with the fears as to the dreadful situa- 
 tion into which the public conduct of 
 our rulers had reduced this unfortun- 
 ate city. Boats were constantly de- 
 scending the river ; private commu- 
 nications were daily received, and it did 
 not appear that they were under any 
 great apprehension there, either for 
 their own, oroursafetv. Burr it is 
 true was wandering through that and 
 the neighboring states in a suspicious 
 manner ; some apprehension had 
 been excited in the public mind, and 
 he had been twice arraigned before 
 the district court of Kentucky, for 
 hostile intentions against the peace of 
 -the unipn, but was acquitted on both 
 
 occasions. Such was the situation of 
 aifoirs, when in the afternoon of ;-.i3 
 14t.li of January, General A.Uiv arriv- 
 ed among us. This gentleman it had 
 been reported was to hold a div,iti- 
 guished command in Burr's army. He 
 made his entry into this city about one 
 o'clock alone and unarmed. Hs took 
 up his lodging at a public boarding 
 house, and being indisposed sent a 
 messenger to the governor to inform 
 him of his arrival, and requesting that 
 information might be sent to Gener.d 
 Wilkinson to the same effect. He. 
 mentioned that he had left Nashville 
 on the 2 2 d of December, and that Burr 
 was then tiie-e with only two flat boats, 
 destined for this city. He had never 
 been in New-Orleans but once before, 
 in 1800, when ne remained only a. 
 few days ; and could not, therefore, 
 have any extensive acquaintance with 
 its inhabitants. H^ had very recent- 
 ly occupied a distinguished piace in 
 the councils of the government, and 
 was held high in the estimation of his 
 country, as a man of talents and brave- 
 ry. About four o'clock on the same 
 day of his arrival, Whilst at dinner, a 
 detachment of the regular troops, con- 
 sisting of one hundred and twenty men 
 commanded by colonel Kingsbury, 
 accompanied by one of the general's 
 aids, posted themselves before the 
 door of the hotel : A:bir was violent- 
 ly dragged from the table ; paraded 
 through the streets, exposed to the pi- 
 tying gaze of hundreds of his astonish- 
 ed fellow citizens, and indisposed as 
 he AV.IS, committed to close confine- 
 ment in a cold, uncomfortable room at 
 the barracks. They beat to arms 
 through the different streets of the ci- 
 ty ; all the inhabitants were in corn- 
 motion ; the battalion of volunteers and 
 a number of the regular troops were 
 ordered under arms ; and three other 
 gentlemen, inhabit -tnts of the city, anft 
 ail of the in holding offices under the 
 tsrrUoriai government) v-'oro arreatfed 
 
C 22 } 
 
 and conveyed to Head-Qmrters. Two 
 of these gentlemen were liberated by 
 writs of hab'C!.* CO-/IHS, and the other 
 was voluntarily released by the gener- 
 al himself some time after. A few 
 days subsequent to this period, ceruin 
 information WAS received of the aniv- 
 valofBurrin the neighborhood of Nat- 
 chez, with thirteen flit boats, loaded 
 principally with provisions, and with 
 only a sufficient number of men to 
 conduct them down the river : no 
 guns, ammunition or other military 
 sto"es were found on board, more 
 than is commonly met with in Ken- 
 tucky boits. And from that time to 
 his surrendering himself to the civil 
 authority, it does not appear that he 
 was joined by any additional force. 
 
 Notwithstanding Burr's surrender, 
 however ; notwithstanding the most 
 Tinequi vocal evidence of the feeble- 
 ness of his force and the failure of his 
 plans ; notwithstanding the conviction 
 in the mind of every man of reflection 
 of the want of legal power in territori- 
 al governments,' to suspend the 
 writ of habeas corpus ; he governor 
 <*f the territorv addressed to this house 
 on the 10th of February, a message 
 recommending that measure, and as- 
 ^Kmirrj; as his reason for so doing, that 
 he had been " recently advised of the 
 r>proach to this rity of an agent of 
 the conspirators, of his name, the route 
 ho had taken, and the object of his 
 mission ; but that he had it not in his 
 power to adduce such proof as would 
 justify a civil magistrate to commit 
 him to prison." An American citizen 
 against whom suspicion was entertain- 
 ed, but of whose guilt no proof could 
 be adduced, was expected in your city, 
 and it was probable that he would be 
 rescued from that suspicion by the ap- 
 plication of the writ of habeas corpus, 
 and placed upon a footing which the 
 laws of your country entitled him to, 
 and you are called upon by the execu- 
 tive of this territory to take away not 
 
 only from htm, but from every other- 
 citizen, the great constitutional bul- 
 wark of the liberties of the American 
 people. The fate of this message is 
 well known. But sir, to the shame of 
 this house, let me ask,what would have 
 been its fate had not the minority re- 
 sorted to the measure of consulting 
 the judiciary of ou 1 * country. During 
 the time of three days of secret debate 
 which this important question occupi- 
 ed, it was evidently seen that a large 
 majority of this house, was determin- 
 ed at all hazzards (I will not question 
 their motives) to second the views of 
 the executive. Some of your mem- 
 bers were bold enough to say, that the 
 governor had recommended the mea- 
 sure ; and that it must therefore be 
 proper. I am however both for my- 
 self and my country grateful to them, 
 for yielding their opinions to superior 
 wisdom ; and leave it to the world to 
 deckle how far the governor was justi- 
 fiable (or ignorant of your powers) in 
 recommending, for the apprehension 
 of one suspected individual, the sus- 
 pension of the dearest privilege of an 
 American citizen. 
 
 From the view I have taken of this 
 subject, mr. Chairman, you will not 
 be induced to believe that I have any 
 doubt of the existence of a plan to sub- 
 vert our government, and to invade 
 the dominions of Spain. On the con- 
 trary, sir, I most firmly believe it ; I 
 beiieve that such a plan has been long 
 in agitation, that it has taken deep root 
 and spread through a great portion of 
 the United States. But sir, I am per- 
 suaded from the facts I have detailed, 
 that I can convince you, this honorable 
 house and the whole world, that its ori- 
 gin is not to be found in Burr's cypher- 
 ed letters, in Dayton's communicati- 
 ons, or in Burr's agents to Wilkinson ; 
 and that its defeat is not to be ascribed 
 to the affected patriotism either of 
 gen. Wilkinson or gov. Claiborne. 
 The officiously lopping off limbs to 
 
( 23 
 
 preserve the body may answer the am- 
 bitious, avaricious purposes of an igno- 
 rant quack, but will never meet the 
 sanction of a sound intelligent physi- 
 cian, who upon taking a view of the 
 whole distemper, clearly sees that 
 such mutilations can have no other ef- 
 fect than to weaken the body, and hur- 
 ry his patient to death. I have no idea 
 that your constitution is to be preserv- 
 ed by trampling- it under foot that 
 your laws are to be maintained by set- 
 ting them at defiance. No man will 
 doubt that Burr was a conspirator, and 
 if we believe Wilkinson, that Dayton 
 and many others were concerned with 
 him. Let us look at his conduct. If 
 I am not mistaken the last time he 
 met the general at the Federal City, 
 he accosted him nearly in the follow- 
 ing words : (my authority is governor 
 Claiborne) General what are you a- 
 bout What has become of your am- 
 bitionYour love of glory and danger- 
 ous enterprise ? I possess these quali- 
 ties, replied the general, in the same 
 Degree I ever did. Then what are 
 you doing here, said Burr ? Point out 
 to me a held said the general and 1 am 
 your man. Burr pointed to iViexico 
 -and the remainder of the conversa- 
 tion was in secret, and is still unknown 
 to us. The general is appointed to the 
 government of Louisiana,und we short- 
 ly afterwards find Burr on his way to 
 that country. Why this visit ? Was it 
 for the pleasure of traversing a wilder- 
 ness of several hundred miles in ex- 
 tent ? Was it to examine the dreary 
 plains rf the Indiana territory ? To 
 take a view of the wretched villages of 
 Kaskaskias or Kahokia ? or was it to see 
 gen. Wilkinson ? From St. Louis he 
 descends to New-Orleans, not as an 
 ordinary traveller, but in an elegant 
 barge, manned by the troops of the 
 United States, soldiers under the ge- 
 nerals command. To whom is he in- 
 troduced, and in what style ? To the 
 old friends of the general, and in terms 
 f the highest recommendation) both 
 
 as to his talents and probity. He 
 spends a few d*.ys here returns to St. 
 Louis talks over v-iih the general 
 the plan oflnvading- Mexico (ridicules 
 a iboiish club he hud heard of at Ncw- 
 Orlcans, established upon patriotic 
 principles) and departs for the Atlan- 
 tic states. The next news we hear o 
 him is at Philadelphia, in the mouth 
 of August, from whence he writes to 
 the general, not as \cu or I would 
 write, but a letter in cypher, a lan- 
 guage unknown lo any one but them- 
 selves, in which he states that he had 
 obtained funds, and actually commenc- 
 ed the enterprise An enterprise hi 
 which Wilkinson was to be second to 
 Burr only ? in which Wilkinson was to 
 dictate the rank and promotion of his 
 oilicers. Examine this communica- 
 tion sir, and compare its contents with 
 your knowledge of the human heart. 
 What internal evidence does it con- 
 tain ? Put your judgment under the 
 controul of that evidence, and follow 
 me from Natchitoches to New-Or- 
 leans, and the honorable gentleman 
 
 from Acacliawiil lose his motion.- 
 
 \\ licit did the general do on the re- 
 ceipt of Burr's letter? lie writes to 
 the president of the United States, gi- 
 ving him some account of the scheme. 
 This was proper, lint what ought lie 
 to have clone further ? He knew that 
 Burr was in Kentucky, and that the 
 vnterfirize had not yet made much pro- 
 gress. We knew that the documents 
 in his possession, if forwarded in legal 
 form, to the governor's of Kentucky, 
 Tennessee and Ohio, would be suffi- 
 cient to enable the constituted author- 
 ities of those states to seize the traitor 
 and stifle at once the whole nefarious 
 plan. He knew from Gen. Wilkinson's 
 correspondence with Burr that these 
 documents might have been sent in 
 time to meet him there, to surprise 
 his army, if he hud one, and capture 
 its chief. Did he do this ? No sir; 
 whilst the honest state of Kentucky 
 was groping in the dark for testimony 
 
24 ) 
 
 while she was endeavoring to get 
 some clue for the discovery of Burr's* 
 guilt, General Wilkinson, in posses- 
 sion of damning proofs against him, 
 v/is not only silent upon the subject, 
 but wrapped himself up in mystery <k 
 suspicion ; and took such a sUuid as 
 placed his conduct, nd the whoie of 
 his operations in the most equivocal 
 point of view. What would have been 
 the fate of Burr and his accomplices, 
 had the courier mr. Smith, on his way 
 to Washington, left a copy of Wilk- 
 inson's testimony with the governors 
 of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio ? 
 He passed through Nashville about 
 the middle of November, previous to 
 Burr's trials in Kentucky, and thirty 
 or forty days previous to his depar- 
 ture from Tennesse. What was the 
 general about ? We find him at Nat- 
 chez on the tenth of November soli- 
 citing the acting governor of the Mis- 
 sissippi territory for 500 of his militia. 
 But the governor it seems had the as- 
 tonishing insolence to demand for 
 what purpose these men were want- 
 ed ? The general refused to satisfy 
 his curiosity? and the men were not 
 granted. Why this demand on the 
 part of the general ? Burr was ex- 
 pected at Natchez in a few days with 
 2900 troops, and therefore the gover- 
 nor of that tervritory must send 500 
 of his militia to New-Orleuns he 
 must disarm himself, deprive l.is 
 country of its only force, and leave its 
 inhabitants unprotected a prey to 
 their own slaves, or the neighboring 
 savages and for what ? Because in 
 a short time a powerful enemy was 
 to be at his gates. Further sir why 
 dicl the general conceal from governor 
 Meade the projects of Burr 'i Was 
 it to put him on his guard, to enable 
 him to make a stand against the inva- 
 der ? or was it to lull him to siee*?, 
 that his country might be. found open 
 anddefenceles<: 7 and the road to NV\v- 
 Orleans free, from obstructions? I 
 the gentlemen sir, to an- 
 
 swer these questions. I will- now* 
 proceed to New-wrleans. A lew days 
 alter the general's arrival in this city, 
 governor Ckiborne did me the honor, 
 under tiie most solemn injunction of 
 secrecy, to disclose to me ail the par- 
 ticulars of Burr's projects, and to con- 
 sult me aa to the best measures that 
 could be adoptee! ior the safety of tne 
 country. He seemed to be confounded 
 with fear cc aatpntshnUi nt, and observed 
 that from the general's account, Burr 
 had many powerful friends in -this ci- 
 ty. He asked me whether I hact a~ 
 ny knowledge upon that subject ; and 
 intreated me if I had to communicate 
 it to him with thut candor and love of 
 my country which he did me the honor 
 to say he knew I possessed. I replied 
 thut I never had heard of such a 
 scheme, and that I firmly believed 
 there was not a man in the territory, 
 (the agents and officers of foreign go- 
 vernments excepted) who would not 
 risk his life for its defence That- up* 
 on the integrity oi the union depend- 
 ed the liberties not only of this terri- 
 tory, but of the whole American em- 
 pire, and that I was warranted in say- 
 ing from a knowledge of the public 
 sentiment and the character of the 
 people at large, that Burr nor no o~ 
 ther man either had, or would ever be 
 able to find among the people of Loui- 
 si.. na, friends to a scheme pregnant 
 with so much ruin and marked with 
 infamy. I further observed that he 
 himself must have heard much conver- 
 saiion upon the subject of a war with 
 Sp.. in, and an invasion of Mexico in 
 case of that event. That this was a 
 favorite topic with all the true Ameri- 
 cans in this country, as well as with 
 many of the native Louisianians- 
 That some time since, when from 
 the political relations between the U- 
 riity.i states and Span-, every man of 
 sense was apprehensive that war would 
 be the result, a club v/as formed in 
 this city, culled the Me.iican society 
 That it had for Us object collecting 
 
( 25 jr- 
 
 That it had for its object collecting 
 information relative to the popula- 
 tion and force of the internal pro- 
 vincesof Spain, wl ich in th event 
 of war, might be ufeful to the Uni- 
 ted States That I was a member 
 of that club, and that the principal 
 members of it were men of great ta- 
 lents and high ftanding in focietv, 
 and diftinguifhed for their zeal in 
 fupport of our government. But I 
 allured him upon the honor of a gen- 
 tlemen, that the fociety had ceafed 
 toexift for many months 'that we 
 never had heard of Burr's plans, and 
 that neither dire&Jy or indirectly did 
 I ever hear from him or any other 
 man upon earth, any proportions 
 hoftile to the ir.terefts of the United 
 States, or any other nation with 
 which we were at peace. His ex- 
 cellency told me that he had not him- 
 felf feen the original documents up- 
 on which the general founded his 
 calculaiions but that he had receiv- 
 ed verbally from him a full and fatis - 
 factory account of them. I fugged - 
 ed the propriety of his obtaining 
 certified copies of all the important 
 facts 5 and of hi- immediately tranf- 
 mitting them to the governors of the 
 upper ftates and territories, as well 
 as to the prefident of the United 
 States. I advifed him immediately 
 to difpatch couriers for that puipffe, 
 and offered my services, to fet out 
 the next day. ifneceflary, to Ken- 
 tucky. I told him that I had confi- 
 dence in the patriotifm and integrity 
 of the upper country ; and as the ge- 
 neral had neglected to give them in^ 
 formation of their danger, it might 
 be yet time ; and that at all event* 
 it was his duty to do fo. I fuggefted 
 the propriety of his taking a ftrong 
 ground ; calling out and putting in- 
 to aclu:il fervice few.ral hundred of 
 bis militia, and ot his retaining them 
 
 under his own command. I oppof- 
 ed the declaring martial law, or the 
 fufpenfion of the writ of habeas corpus. 
 I confidered fuch meafures unnecef- 
 fary, illegal ts 5 calculated to excite a- 
 larm,deitroy ail confidence in the civil 
 authority, & throw the wNole govern- 
 ment into the hands of the military 
 chief. I took a view of the general 
 conduct of that officer, & although I 
 hop.d, was willing to believe <hat 
 he might be actuated by the beft of 
 motives, yet 1 thought his conduct not 
 calculated to infpire that confidence 
 which the public fafety fo urgently re. 
 quired. 
 
 In giving thefe opinions I difchafsed 
 my duty-^but the Executive thought 
 proper to take a different courfe. We 
 fee him immediately afterwards con- 
 feeing to, and approving of unlawful 
 military arreftsj und the tranfporta- 
 tion ot your fellow citizens You 
 fee him advifing an illegal embargo 
 upon your (hipping, transferring to 
 the General the command of the Bat- 
 talion of Orleans Volunteers with- 
 out their confent or knowledge, and 
 you fee this refpeaable corps conver- 
 ted into conftables and catchpoles 
 
 You fee them employed in dragging 
 their former friends and companion^ 
 from their houfes, paiading them 
 through the (freets to their places of 
 confinement. You fee them pofted 
 on the road engaged in the odious tafk 
 of hunt ing down their fellow citizens, 
 fearching their pockets, breaking o- 
 pen their letters and acling as fpies 
 upon their conduct. Could you fir 
 approve of fuch meafures as thefe, and 
 will you now withhold a knowledge 
 of them from the General Govern- 
 ment ? I ventured from the beginning 
 to refufe them my approbation, and 
 when acling under the obligations of 
 Executive favor and in fpite of threats 
 and intreaties I dared upon this floor 
 D r 
 
to Rand up in defence of the violated 
 fights of my conftituents. I flatter 
 myfelf that I (hall now, having got 
 j id of ihofe obligations, be entitltd to 
 your indulgence for the time I fhall 
 take i:p,and your candid examination 
 of fiich arguments as my feeble tal- 
 ents may enab-e me to make ufe of. 
 We have feen fir, that fufpicion a- 
 3one was ftifficient in 'hcfe times to 
 infure your arrefh If you dared af 
 fert ir< m your knowledge of the pa- 
 triotiim of the vveftern (rates, that 
 Burr would n*t fucceed that he 
 never would find in Kentucky a fuf- 
 ficient number of men to put his 
 plans into execution, you were ac- 
 cufcd of wifhing to lull the people 
 into a (late of dangerous fecurity ; to 
 itifle the vigilance of government ; 
 ar.d were therefore denounced as a 
 friend to Burr. If you, on the other 
 hand, gave implicit confidence to all 
 the general's information ; if you 
 believed that Burr could eafily raife 
 6 or 10,000 men, and that fuch was 
 his character and talents that with 
 that force nothing could flop him, 
 you were equally his friend, and a 
 traitor to your country. 
 
 If you admitted that danger exift- 
 ed, but avowed the opinion that the 
 laws of your country were adequate 
 to its fuppreffion, and that your courts 
 of juftice were open ; you were told 
 that it was aecefTary *' to antici- 
 pate the tardy procefs of the law" 
 that fuch old-fangled opinions were 
 not applicable to the prefent times; 
 and advifcd to conceal them within 
 your own bofom t leaft you might ex- 
 pofe yourfelf to the vengeance of the 
 Dew and merciiefs defpotifm. For 
 my own part fir, I never could a- 
 dopt this doctrine. 1 have fr m my 
 infancy adored the principles upon 
 which the American Conititution is 
 founded, and under that Conftitutiou 
 
 I doubt the poffibility of a cafe i$ 
 which any officer of the government 
 however high his ftation, however 
 pure his character, can be juttificd in 
 a departure from the written laws of 
 his country ; much lels from a fla- 
 grant, and what appears to me, a 
 wanton and unnecelfary violation of 
 them. If you once admit fuch a 
 principle as this, you lay the founda- 
 tion for defpotifm ; and may bid 
 adieu to liberty aid the reign of law 
 -you put it in the power of any 
 ambitious man, of any idol of the 
 people, of any powerful military 
 chief, to fupoofe fuch a cafe, to ima- 
 gine public danger, make it a pretext 
 to trample your laws under foot 
 feize upon your government, admi- 
 minifter it a while according to his 
 own fancy, and finally ere6l upon its 
 ruins juft fuch a fyftem as Cstfar did 
 in Rome ; as Bonaparte has done in 
 France. In this way all the govern- 
 ments in the world have been over- 
 turned ; and in this way, it you 
 countenance fuoh doctrines, the liber- 
 ties of America will be loft. What 
 does it matter to me, Mr. Chairman, 
 if this be rfft-cted by Aaron Burr or 
 James Wil kin fon. For the fake of 
 argument, however, I will admit the 
 petition / will /upptfe that a caie 
 may happen where " the tardy pro- 
 cefs of the law," may be "antici- 
 pated" when a governor may aban- 
 don, and a general of your army may 
 and ought to ufurp all power ! Was 
 that our cafe ? To what real danger 
 has our country been expofed ? Look 
 at Mr. Burr in Kentucky follow 
 him down to Natchez ! How many 
 men had he ever cofle&ed together ? 
 What quantity of arms or other mil- 
 itary (tores do you find him or his 
 afTociates, in poffeflion of ? You have 
 heard of 13 boats being feized near 
 Marictta> loaded with provifions awt 
 
C * 7 3 
 
 prefumed to belong to Burr's party. 
 Admit the fadl. But how many 
 men were on board thefe boats ? and 
 \vhat arms had they ? No arms at 
 all, and not more men than were ne- 
 cellary to row thefe boats to Natchez 
 On the 22d of December he leaves 
 Nafhviile with 2 boa r s ; at the mouth 
 oi Cumberland he i* joined by 11 
 more ; and with this formidable force 
 he at rives about the loth of January 
 at Bayou Pierre 13 boats thenload- 
 ed with provifions, having on board 
 from 50 10 100 men, and about 40 
 {land or arms, which appear to have 
 bfen brought alorg with them for 
 the pu p>fe of killing turkies & wild 
 geefe for this mighty army to op- 
 pofe vvh^ch you are called upon, (and 
 many of you have already pledged 
 yourfelve^-J tojtiflify General Wilk- 
 infon and Governor Claiborne in the 
 fecret as well as open violation of e- 
 very thing that is dear to the liberties 
 of man. Many of you have alrea ly 
 hailed the General as the faviour of 
 his country, have bound yourfelves 
 down to approve his conduct, and 
 call upon us in the face of off ndui 
 Heaven and the proftituted rights of 
 yourcounrry, to go along with you 
 by rejecting the memorial. Permit 
 me to a(k fir, (allowing every thing 
 that has been faid about the nature 
 and extent of Burr's plans to be true) 
 who is entitled to that facred epi- 
 thet ? Who has really been the Sa- 
 viour of our country ? Whohasde- 
 feated the fchemes of Burr ? Have 
 the opera/tons of general Wilkinfw and 
 governor Chi borne extended beyond the 
 limits of this territory ? Have the 
 dreadful fffefts of the wounds which 
 have been inftifted upon your Conftitu- 
 tion penetrated into the enemy scamp ? 
 was Burrs progrefs arrefted? Was 
 the feverance of the Un'on, or the inva- 
 Mexico prevented by concealing 
 
 his plans, embargoing \ntr flapping? 
 withdrawing your troops from the upper 
 count 'ry, demanding governor Meade's 
 militia, infulting your courts of juft'ue, 
 denouncing your fellow citizens as trai-r 
 tors, arreftin* ana tranf porting them, 
 without even the form f a trial^ filling 
 the public mind ivith eon/lant alarms, 
 deftroying the civil a'ttbir.'ty. or fi '-tally 
 by trampling under foot every pi inciple 
 of jvftice and sf right ? No Sir ! YM 
 owe. yourfalv.ition ->/ fa general ffiilkin- 
 fon or governor Clai borne, but to the Pa- 
 triot if m and integrity of the people //' Ken 
 tucky ; and tithein fhmld your altars fe 
 erefted. You oivt if to that love of * li- 
 berty a)d 'independence ; to that attach- 
 ment 10 their country ; to that confidence 
 in the horejl adm'iniftration of the the gen- 
 eral government* wh<ch glows in the 
 minds ofourwrftern brethren. You owe 
 it tv their love of thofe facred principles 
 which you have not only fecn torn front 
 you without a murmur ; hut tor the hfs 
 of which you have kijfid in humilia- 
 tion the ravi [her* s feet, and wtfb to place 
 upon his head a crown sf immortal ho- 
 nors. If Burr had had to contend with 
 fuch Jentiments in Kentucky ; // he could 
 there have ufurped with impunity the 
 powers which your fuperiors have done 
 here, what would then have been your 
 rttuation ? Who in thai cafe would 
 have been yaur Savior? If Gen. ffiilk 
 infon had been upon the Sabine ; if him 
 and his whole army, however brave and 
 loyal they mny be, had been in tbe re mot eft 
 corner of the globe. Burr never could 
 have fucceedfd. His lawlefs fchemes 
 would have been defeated as they have al- 
 ready been. But had he evenfucceeded 
 in puffin* Natchez with his miferable 
 force, what would have been his fat? 
 here? tfjkyour boys and your women 
 in the Jlreets. They wiuld have been 
 fufficient to have given a good account 
 of him. But Jir, if has been ajked, 
 feme triumph, fuppfe Gemral 
 
28 ') 
 
 tin Itiflead of oppnfwg him, had 
 aflcd as Burr expefted, and as the 
 
 general Jays he had a right to exwrtj 
 in concert with him ; what would' h we 
 been the rejuit ? / leave this quef- 
 ti.n to be anfwered by the Generals 
 advocates thernjeive> ; and / yi id ei- 
 ther to him or to them, all the advan- 
 tages they can draw from it. 
 
 To the Editors of the Orleans Gazette. 
 
 1 will thank you to in- 
 sert the following in your next num- 
 ber, 
 
 HAVING on a late occasion in the 
 house ol representatives, observed 
 that General WiikLison naci, in his 
 communications to the Merchants of 
 this city, and aiso the superior court, 
 mentioned the name of Gen. Dayton 
 as an accomplice of Aaron Burr ; I 
 think it clue to candor to state that I 
 \va& under a mistake. The name of 
 General Dayton was not 1 believe, up- 
 on i c-lection, publicly mentioned by 
 General Wilkinson, as concerned with 
 Burr. But at the same time 1 render 
 homage to truth, in correcting with 
 pleasure, an accidental error, I re- 
 serve to myself the right of stating- to 
 the public the circumstances and im- 
 pressions under which that error was 
 committed This shall appear in 
 your next paper. 
 
 I have the honor to be very respect- 
 fully, 
 
 Your ob'dt. humb. servt. 
 
 JOHN W ATKINS. 
 
 New-Orleans, April 5, 1807. 
 
 To the Editors of the Orleans Gazette. 
 
 IN compliance with my promise I 
 Bow "relate" to you the circumstances 
 Whirl' induced n;e to state that Gen. 
 r iYil';inson had publicly mentioned the 
 receipt of a letter from Gen. Dayton 
 
 on the subject oF Burr's conspiracy, 
 At the time Governor Claiborne 
 communicated to me all th.it he had 
 learnt from General Wilkinson, he 
 mentioned among other tilings that 
 Gen. Wilkinson had received a letter 
 from Gen. Dayton, in which was these 
 remarkable words u Louisiana & Mx- 
 
 ic~ 3urr & IVilkinuon." When a 
 
 public disclosure of this plot was af- 
 terwards made, this letter of General 
 Dayton's was every where spoken of, 
 and seemed to form a part ol it. - 
 Several of my friends, persons of the 
 highest respectability, "''informed me 
 that they had heard of the same let- 
 ter, and repeated to me such parts of 
 its contents as to convince me it was 
 the same letter the Governor had men* 
 tionecl to me. I was not present at 
 the assembly of the merchants ; but I 
 had understood that this letter was 
 read there as well as before the supe- 
 rior court. In short, General Day- 
 ton's letter had in my mind become 
 so identified with Burr's, that they al- 
 ways presented themselves together. 
 In the house of representatives, 
 Gen. Wilkinson read this same letter, 
 and it was translated into French by 
 the clerk. This letter was pnrtly in 
 cypher, and partly in common char- 
 acter. It began by predicting to the 
 general the loss of the government of 
 Louisiana, and hinted in very strong 
 terms thtt he was sinking in the con- 
 fidence' of his country -that Mr. 
 Jefterson might affect to serve him, 
 but that he would finally yield to pub- 
 lic opinion, and after talking about 
 troops, concluded with <* Louisiana & 
 'Mexico 'Burr^f Wilkinson" I will 
 not pretend to say that Gen. Dayton 
 is the author of this letter ; but I po- 
 sitively affirm that such a letter exist- 
 ed ; and pledge myself to prove 
 whenever it may be necessary, that 
 Wilkinson gave Dayton as the author, 
 if not publicly, at least in private con^ 
 versations. 
 
 I am very respectfully, &c. &c. 
 JOHN W ATKINS. 
 
/r. Donaldson observed, that he 
 $houid now renew his motion of yes- 
 terday, that the memorial be recom- 
 mitted to a committee appointed tor 
 that purpose, he had no objection to 
 any member of the committee who 
 framed the memorial which was then 
 before the house, t?ut that he wished a 
 new committee to be appointed that 
 they might bring forward such a one 
 as the house could act upon or would 
 meet the ideas of a majority of the 
 house. 
 
 Doctor Watktns rose to explain the 
 impossibility of ever bringing forward 
 such a memorial as would accord with 
 the ideas of all the members of this 
 house. How in the name of God can 
 we pretend to discuss the propriety of 
 forwarding this memorial to congress 
 when the very grievances that we 
 complain of in the memorial have been 
 made meritorious acts, and an address 
 approbatory of the measures adopted 
 by gen. Wilkinson in this city has 
 been signed and presented to him, and 
 the names of some of the members of 
 the house are subscribed to it and that 
 of the gentleman who now renews his 
 motion for a recommittment, unless I 
 have been grossly misinformed ? 
 What sort of a memorial is it contem- 
 plated that we should send forward to 
 congress ? one setting forth that it is 
 true we have just emerged from a 
 state of slavery and entered into the 
 wide field of American liberty, but 
 that we have not sufficiently recovered 
 from the effects of slavery to enjoy 
 that liberty ? Our wounds must be a- 
 gain scarified before they can heal. 
 
 The question was then taken on the 
 recommittment of the memorial, and 
 lost. 
 
 Mr, Gurley rose and moved for the 
 rejection of the report of the commit- 
 tee. He observed that he had flatter- 
 ed himself when the motion was made 
 yesterday to recommit this report that 
 it would have succeeded. But from 
 the observationswhich have fallen from 
 
 gentlemen this morning., he was per?, 
 Cecily convinced of the object of the 
 advocates of this memorial, and tha ; : 
 not the slightest ground existed to 
 hope for any coincidence of opinion 
 oetween them and those who wished it 
 substantially changed,while its authors 
 confess it replete with erroneous and 
 false statements, and of necessity with 
 unjust, because unfounded criminati- 
 ons. We are still teazed to go into an 
 immediate consideration of it, and to 
 adopt it with the few alterations which 
 they themselves propose, and which 
 only prove to my mind that no sub- 
 stantial alterations of any nature are 
 intended by them or can be expected 
 by us. Indeed the idea of amending 
 this report in a committee of the 
 whole house is ridiculous, we might 
 as well resolve ourselves into a com- 
 mittee of the whole, to write the histo- 
 ry of Louisiana. In making the mo- 
 tion which he had done to reject the 
 memorial., he did not deem it necessa- 
 ry to go into a consideration of its con- 
 tents, he was ready, however, to do it 
 when necessary. But in the mean 
 time believing it to be evident to e very- 
 member of the house, that essential 
 alterations in it were necessary, he 
 conceived that the house had virtually 
 decided in favor of his motion by re- 
 fbsing to adopt the only measure by 
 which those alterations could possibly 
 be made. 
 
 Mr. Collins rose to second the mo- 
 tion of the gentleman from Orleans: 
 that the memorial contained state- 
 ments not true, and ought not to come 
 before this house, and that his vote 
 would be to reject it 
 
 Mr. Hughes wished the gentleman 
 who spoke last would inform him be- 
 fore what house or place this memo- 
 rial ought to come, as he had declar- 
 ed it ought not to come before this. 
 One thing the gentleman has not ne- 
 glected to inform us, which is that he 
 will vote against it, but what of that,. I 
 will tell him that I will vote for it and 
 
so ) 
 
 that it shall have my most hearty ap- 
 probation. The facts can be proven. 
 
 Mr. Gurley rose to explain that it 
 was on the ground that the majority 
 of the house was against a recommit- 
 ment of the memorial that he moved 
 for its rejection in toto. 
 
 Doctor Wat kins observed he wished 
 to debate on this subject as is common 
 on all debates before this house : he be- 
 lieved that our government had been 
 threatened to its foundations, but that 
 the nefarious plot was defeated long- 
 before it ever reached this city that 
 the authors of its defeat are not here, 
 not to be found among the tramfiltrs 
 upon our lawt> he rose to oppose this 
 motion and wouki move to take up the 
 memorial article by article arid 
 onsiuer it. 
 
 Air. Parrot, said he was just about 
 rising when the gentleman who spoke 
 last did lo tne same ei-Vxt : he observed 
 that the mode pointed out of discuss- 
 ing the memorial article by article, 
 was certainly the proper and usual one 
 but it appeared to him to be the de- 
 termination to strangle this me:; o ial 
 in its birJi, to bring it to a premature 
 fate, but he would ask the gentleman 
 if his bow-strings were ready, & if he 
 had his mutes at hand. This suia he 
 Is a Turkish mode of execution, which 
 I must confess J do pot like however 
 we shall have one consolation that at 
 least it will meet with an honorable 
 death, so far as it relates to its execu- 
 tioner. 
 
 Mr. Donaldson observed that it 
 had been said that no danger ever ex- 
 isted to warrant the measures that had 
 been adopted in this city, and that it 
 was never sufficiently nigh ; it is true 
 said he it was never at our gates, but is 
 it the mode of a good general to wait 
 until danger is so njgh ? No, the best 
 v/;u- is to he guarded against it and we 
 $huutd never despise danger, and too 
 numy states and citizens have fallen 
 from the very circumstance of despis- 
 Mg danger ; bz declared that he be- 
 
 lieved our present safety was owing 
 to the prompt measures which had 
 been adopted in this city. The gen- 
 tleman from Opelousas tells us of a 
 Turkish mode ; I have heard of cram- 
 ing Turkeys, and the gentleman wish- 
 es to cram this memorial down our 
 throats. 
 
 Mr. Gurley observed that in moving 
 as he had done for the rejection of the 
 memorial, he thought thrt be had 
 been so explicit in the declaration of 
 the motives by which he was governed, 
 as to have left no room for charges 
 which have been heard in your com- 
 mittee, of want of liberality Sc candor. 
 Gentleman affect to believe that the 
 exercise of those virtues' in thdr favor 
 can have no limitations. With what 
 propriety (continued Mr. G.) can gen- 
 tlemen call on us for the exercise of 
 generosity, after having refused the 
 proffer of accommodation which was 
 hoklen out yesterday, by the motion, 
 which I had the honor to support, for 
 a recommitment of this memorial to 
 the same committee which had repor- 
 ted it. This motion I thought so rea- 
 sonable that it was with astonishment 
 I had found it negatived. When mem- 
 bers of that committee had concede^ 
 that they had made a report to this 
 house which was incorrect in point of 
 act, and which required gre.it and ma- 
 terial alterations to meet even th"ir 
 ideas of propriety, we are still compel- 
 led to act upon it, and to take the 
 chance of such partial alterations as 
 may be made in a committee of the 
 whole house. But after what I have 
 witnessed, I feel perfectly satisfied 
 that as no material alterations can be 
 hoped for even on a recommitment, 
 the sooner the better we tiisburthen 
 ourselves of all consideration of the 
 subject. Not that I am disposed, mr. 
 Chairman, as has been stated, to 
 strangle this measure in its birth ; 
 much less shall I ever be induced to 
 give a vote in this house for which I 
 fear to assign the reasons which go- 
 
ve rn me . With regard to the first im- 
 putadon, my conduct has been a com- 
 plete refutation of it. I have been 
 willing to cio every thing which could 
 have brought before this house such a 
 representation to the national govern- 
 ment as I thought worthy of this legis- 
 lature. I mean by this a fair repre- 
 sentation of facts, and a temperate ex- 
 pression of opinions resulting from 
 those facts. buch a representation I 
 shall forever contend, is the only one 
 calculated to have any effect, or to an- 
 swer any one object which I have a 
 right to presume that this legislature 
 has in view. 
 
 in examining the memorial which I 
 have done witn attention only the pre- 
 ceding night, I am confirmed in the 
 impression which I had formed on 
 hearing it read in the house, that it 
 contained the most exaggerated and 
 unfounded statements and such as I 
 trust will never be given to the world 
 under the solemnity of legislative sane 
 tion. 
 
 I shall as briefly as possible, mr. 
 Chairman, examine some of those 
 statements in order to justify the opin- 
 ions which I have expressed and the 
 vote which I shall give. In doing this 
 gentlemen who have advocated this 
 memorial will excuse me if I do not 
 choose to follow them in the circuit 
 which they have taken, and for which 
 every man must perceive the object to 
 be wholly foreign to any possible 
 question which can arise from the sub- 
 ject under our consideration. Indeed 
 from what we have heard in support 
 of this memorial, more than from the 
 memorial itself, we are led to the real 
 motives in which it originated. From 
 what we have heard one would sup- 
 pose that this house had abandoned its 
 legislative functions, that it had erec- 
 ted itself into a judicial tribunal to de- 
 cide not on the recent events of which 
 this memorial professes to treat, but 
 on the character and conduct through 
 life of the individuals implicated in it. 
 Mr. Chairman, I stand not here the 
 Advocate of any individual ; but I will 
 
 never cease to reprobate an attempt 
 like to prostitute the dignity of the 
 legislature by making it subservient 
 to a party and by engaging it to be* 
 come a mad partizan in the quarrels, 
 and contests of individuals. 
 
 It is therefore that I shall leave the 
 conjectures, suspicions and denuncia- 
 tions against the commander of the 
 army of the United States and which 
 have been made to embrace the history 
 of his whole life, not because they are 
 unsusceptible of refutation, for many 
 of them refute themselves, but because 
 they are entirely foreign to the sub- 
 ject at present before the house. 
 That subject so far as I know any 
 thing of it, extends only to a consider- 
 ation of the question, whether this 
 memorial contains a fair representa- 
 tion of the public measures which we 
 have witnessed in this territory for 
 the last three or four months. In re- 
 ference to this single subject, I shall 
 call the attention of the house to some 
 parts of this memorial. The first 
 part of it consists of a declaration of 
 the rights conferred on the people of 
 this territory by the different acts of 
 congress establishing our government. 
 So far I must confess, although I 
 fear but very little farther, the au- 
 thors of this memorial seem to have 
 proceeded with some regard to truth. 
 We then have an account of the arri- 
 val of our troops from the Sabine in 
 this city, and the measures which were 
 shortly after adopted for its defence. 
 And here commences the 'irst charge, 
 against the comman-ler in chief of his 
 having excited unnecessary alarm by 
 holding out the i lea that martial law- 
 was to be proclaimed. From what 
 quarter the authors of this memorial 
 obtained their information, I know not 
 But this I know, that this is the first 
 moment that I ever heard that any 
 idea of this sort was ever siifrg-estecl in. 
 the country by any one, much less ws 
 I ever informed of any attempt to ex- 
 cite unfounded akirm among the peo* 
 pie, 
 
That the citizens of this territory 
 were alarmed ; that every man who 
 Jovcci his country, felt during a period 
 of danger some doubt and uncertainty, 
 an extreme degree of solicitude, can- 
 not be denied. A conspiracy the 
 most attrocious & desperate that ever 
 disgraced human nature was develop- 
 ed to us. We saw it directed aguinst 
 the union of our country and that con- 
 stitution of government to which we 
 had been accustomed to look for the 
 protection of every thine dear and val- 
 uable. At the head of this desperate 
 project we saw a man of talents un- 
 questionable, and who once possessed 
 the confidence of his country. The 
 knowledge we had was sufficient to 
 induce the apprehension of great dan- 
 ger ; and our ignorance of particulars 
 not only strengthened these appre- 
 hensions, but was a new source of real 
 danger in itself. Such was our situa- 
 tion, and such were our feelings, when 
 this systematized scheme of rebellion, 
 rapine and murder, was first unfolded 
 to us. It was at this time that the 
 merchants of this city with a patrio- 
 tism which will do them eternal ho- 
 nor, came forward and offered the de- 
 lay of their vessels in your port, in or- 
 der to enable the government to pro- 
 cure seamen to man the public ships 
 destined to ascend the river. Little 
 did they then think that the acceptance 
 of this voluntary and patriotic offer, 
 would in the course of three short 
 months, be denounced as a crime 
 which called for the most signal pun- 
 ishment. For such, mr. Chairman, 
 is the simple history of what is deno- 
 minated in this memorial an embargo, 
 and which is said to have been estab- 
 lished by an unpardonable usurpation 
 of power and violation of our rights ; 
 and to which, continued as it did only 
 six or seven days, have been ascribed 
 effects which if they had any exist- 
 ence, would piove that the country 
 had been utterly ruined. The fact is 
 t]iat nothing like an embargo has ever 
 
 existed, and I defv any man to pr6v 
 that a single vessel has been prevented 
 from going to sea by any of the mea- 
 sures to which we refer. It is thus 
 that this affair termed an embargo has 
 been brought forward to swell the long- 
 catalogue of exaggerations Mid false 
 hoods with which this memorial a- 
 bounds. 
 
 Mr. G. here read that part of the 
 memorial relating to the embargo, Sc 
 concluded by demanding of every 
 member of the house whether there 
 was even the shadow of truth in a sin- 
 gle statement on that subject. 
 
 We next come to a most able and 
 learned criticism on the military move- 
 ments of the commander in chief., 
 which in a most decisive style you 
 have heard declare-, have been calcu- 
 lated not for the defence of the coun- 
 try, but for its surrender to the man 
 with whom he is represented by the 
 advocates of this memorial as a confe- 
 derate in treason. Mr. Chairman, I 
 cannot but feel for the honor of this 
 house when I consider the insidious 
 attempt which is now made to induce 
 us to pronounce a solemn mock judg- 
 ment in the face of the world, on a 
 subject of which it is not in the nature 
 . of things possible that we should be a- 
 ble to form a correct opinion. For 
 sir, we must not forget that with re- 
 gard to these military arrangements, 
 the question is not singly whether 
 they have been good or bad ; much 
 less whether they have been the best 
 that possibly could have been devised ; 
 but whether they prove that this ter- 
 ritory was actually abandoned by the 
 commander in chief to the inroads of 
 the expected invader, and whether 
 the measures adopted by him were 
 calculated, as we are called upon 
 gravely to assert upon our honor and 
 our oaths to the government of the 
 nation, to deliver over our citizens, 
 their fortunes and their lives into the 
 hands of ;* desperate band of traitors 
 and assassins.